Camp Triumph

I have recently returned home after having spent three weeks in Malpeque, Prince Edward Island volunteering at a children’s camp called Camp Triumph. There is no doubt in my mind the experience I shared with those 180 kids and the few dozen of my fellow counsellors was the most fulfilling in my entire life, maybe even the most entertaining as well.

I had first learned about Camp Triumph a couple years ago from my roommate and friend Matt Sheriko. For those of you who are not familiar with the camp, its main purpose is to provide a fun week-long getaway for children who are living in a family affected by chronic illness. Matt was also looking for people to volunteer as counsellors or staff in the kitchen, but I always preoccupied during the summer. It wasn’t until this summer that I gave myself a metaphorical boot to the bottom and decided to volunteer.

I signed up for all three weeks but, like some of the other counsellors, I had no experience whatsoever. I listened to advice from some of my friends who had worked with kids but I was still unsure of myself. I was almost at the point of searching “How to be a counsellor” on Google. When the first group of campers arrived my uncertainty was quickly replaced by absolute amazement.

Everyday of every week I witnessed abundant examples of leadership, creativity and selflessness from so many of the campers. When I would listen to the campers talking amongst themselves about their situations at home, I would often feel saddened for what these youngsters were going through. But it is not sadness that dominates my memories of Camp Triumph, it is the memories of fun times and inspiring moments. I’ll give you an example.

When one of the archery sessions at camp came to a close, a young girl stayed behind without being asked to help myself and another counsellor clean up while the other kids went to get ready for lunch. After we thanked the girl for her help she said “I just love helping everyone.” This young girl was no more than 10 years old and, despite everything, she possessed a personality trait some people have a hard time grasping throughout their entire lives.

Words cannot define how important Camp Triumph is to these kids, or how much being a part of it has meant to me. What can define the importance of Camp Triumph are the stories and the moments like the one I just described. These kids have so much potential and camp may be the only place they have the opportunity to show it at this point in their lives. But if properly nurtured, I sense great things for every one of these future leaders.

Part-time profs face full-time struggle

The lockout and strike at St. Thomas University in 2008 brought issues affecting part-time professors to the forefront of the debate. Photo courtesy of Acadia University Faculty Association.

brian campbell’s first experience as a part-time professor was not the happiest one. The University of New Brunswick offered Campbell a job to teach three courses during a summer intersession. He thought this would be the beginning of his teaching career – something he describes as being a long-term goal.

“I quit my job at Starbucks and started working on all this stuff and then no one signed up for my classes. And they all got cancelled and because I hadn’t been offered the contract unless there were enough students, I had nothing.”

Since his lease expired around the same time as the whole incident, Campbell and his wife decided to travel across the country to try and find a new city to make a new start. The couple eventually settled in Vancouver but only a couple weeks later Campbell got a call from Craig Proulx, an anthropology professor at St. Thomas University.

“He said they needed somebody to teach [a course] here in Fredericton,” says Campbell. “Of course I had to do the applications like anybody else. I got the job pretty fast and ended up moving back [to Fredericton] after two or three weeks in Vancouver.”

Galvin sisters keep pace

By: Stew Corbett

Anna and Sarah Galvin

Runners find encouragement in a lot of different places. They have family and friends off on the sideline as well as their teammates running right beside them. But two runners on the STU cross country team have the best of both worlds.

Anna and Sarah Galvin are both wrapping up their second season as members of the STU cross country team. Anna has returned for a fifth year after completing her Bachelor of Arts and is currently enrolled in the social work programme. Sarah is in her second year and has not declared a major for her BA but wants to eventually go into education. Both sisters cite their mother as being the main reason for starting to run.

Freedom of speech vs. Freedom of the press

By: Stew Corbett

Editorial cartoons are a prime example of freedom of the press. Photo courtesy of Bruce MacKinnon.

In this generation everyone and their dog has a blog, Twitter page or what have you. This mass-communication phenomenon has stirred up a number of debates regarding freedom of speech and freedom of the press. It also seems to have inadvertently lumped these two terms together into one freedom-loving defense against defamation.

Despite what people may think there is a slight difference. If you type into your dictionary.com “free press” and “free speech”, there will be two separate definitions. In fact, they aren’t even listed as being synonymous with each other. Basically free speech is a right reserved for anyone to voice their opinion publicly and not get in trouble for it. Free press on the other hand is reserved for publishers of books, newspapers and other media outlets in regards to political matters and so on.

Lack of transparency leaves human rights out in the cold: Criminology chair

Dr. Paul Groarke. Endowed chair of criminology and criminal justice at St. Thomas University. Photo courtesy of STU faculty website.

Dr. Paul Groarke started the night off on a light note at his human rights lecture at St. Thomas University on Monday.

“The first thing I will do is remove my jacket which is something I never got to do in the courts,” says Groarke. “When I was on the tribunal they always insisted that the lawyers wear jackets. Now I get to indulge in the luxury of taking it off.”

Groarke is this year’s endowed chair for the criminology and criminal justice department at St. Thomas.  Prior to being appointed chair for the 2009 fall semester, Groarke taught at the university and served 11 years as a member of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal. Monday was the first time he spoke publicly about his experiences since making his final ruling in 2006, and he didn’t have many good things to say about the system.

Dummie Dorge drums up awareness.

By: Stew Corbett

Mitch Dorge from the Crash Test Dummies listens to an up-and-coming drummer. (Photo by Stew Corbett.)

Mitch Dorge, drummer for the Canadian band Crash Test Dummies, was at Bliss Carman Middle School in Fredericton Thursday night giving a presentation on making responsible choices with different substances.

After the Crash Test Dummies went on hiatus in 2001, Dorge started building a program aimed at inspiring people to go out and pursue something they were interested in and he soon realized he had a knack for dealing with young kids. Other people noticed his abilities and asked him to spread the good word.

“People started coming to me and asking ‘Do you think you can incorporate some messaging about drinking and driving?’” said Dorge.

Dorge uses his unconventional and positive methods to inform youth of what drugs and alcohol are and what they can do. Dorge believes that youth being educated about such substances using death as an absolute will become confused when they face reality.

Welcome!

Hello,

If you’re reading this blog posting you probably already know who I am. But in this day and age who really knows who else is watching? For the sake of these mystery men and women I’ll tell you a little a bit about myself and why I started this blog.

My name is Stewart Corbett, most people call me Stew though. I was born and raised in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.  I have a BA from St. Thomas University with a major in Journalism with a  minor in Anthropology.

Although being a journalist is my dream job at the moment, I am also seriously considering becoming a school teacher and maybe even a professor one day. All three of these careers would allow me to do what I love doing most; sharing my own knowledge and other people’s knowledge with as many people as possible. That’s also the main reason why I decided to start my own blog.

I believe there is nothing more important in this world than gaining knowledge from others and using that knowledge to form your own opinion about something. I hope you can do this from the posts I make on this blog.

I also started this blog not only to encourage debate, but to help myself to be more open to other people’s views. I will admit that sometimes I am arrogant and have a hard time accepting other people’s opinions when it comes to certain things. I hope to fix this problem so I may not only become a better teacher in the future but a better student as well.

I can’t promise a post every week or anything like that. I will probably just hammer out a few things now and then as they cross my mind. I certainly can’t promise you’ll like everything or anything I have to write about. My hope is that you do not agree with what I say so that I can learn how to take criticism better.

I will also finish every post with a random quote from the internet or a book I have read that I feel relates to the posting.

So here it is, whether you like it or not; the Word of Stew.

“The man of knowledge must be able not only to love his enemies but also hate his friends.” –Friedrich Nietzsche

P.S- I should probably also mention I will not be using this blog exclusively for controversial opinion pieces. I will also be throwing in creative writing here and there.

Re: Christie Blatchford’s “Layton’s death turns into a thoroughly public spectacle”

In regards to Christie Blatchford’s piece on the late Jack Layton’s so-called “public spectacle” of a death, I must say Ms. Blatchford has, like many of the people she criticizes in her article, failed to consider the future impact of this tragic event. Instead she chooses to focus on the initial reaction, a relatively miniscule amount of time following the death of Mr. Layton. Such is the way of the “modern world” as Ms. Blatchford so cleverly states.
The media’s, and therefore public’s attention, maybe focused on Mr. Layton’s last letter for the moment. But a man’s lasting legacy comes from what others say of him, not what he says of himself. Soon we will feel the loss of such a great man. Soon we will see the difference he made.
His passion and personality is why he will be remembered and missed, not because of the letter that he wrote and not because he died too young from cancer. The pain of Mr. Layton’s wife, family and close friends will be the same that we all feel when we lose someone who is dear to us. But for the rest of people who mourn Mr. Layton’s death, it is the politician that we will remember. And that is a part of Mr. Layton that we cannot and should not ignore.
That, Ms. Blatchford, is why I disagree with you when you say that Mr. Layton’s specific accomplishments have been somewhat diminished because of the initial fanfare of mourning. His death was a public ordeal because he had a public personality. And that’s not a bad thing. He will not be remembered for his letter; he will be remembered for his legacy.

For Rwanda

After finishing my fourth and final year at university, I alleviated the boredom of finding a job by reading books that analyze world events and international affairs. I started out by reading Shake Hands with the Devil by Canada’s own Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaire. In this book, Dallaire outlines his experiences and frustrations while leading the UN mission in Rwanda during the 1994 genocide that claimed the lives of over 800,000 people. One thing he noted in his book was the misinterpretation of the title for the UN’s 1994 mission to Rwanda.

The United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda or “UNAMIR” is sometimes called, for obvious reasons, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Rwanda. This trivial detail is something Dallaire finds extremely important. Since reading Shake Hands with the Devil, I’ve read three other books that at some point mention the genocide that occurred in Rwanda and the small UN contingent that could do little to prevent it. In all three texts, the authors use the “in” instead of the “for” when referring to the mission’s acronym which is somewhat ironic considering some of the points those authors are trying to make.

One of the main arguments made by all these authors in their respective analysis is the rampant apathy the international community had towards the Rwandan Genocide. These authors cite reasons such as geopolitics and conflicts of interests for this apathy and claim that the world forgot about the human life that was being lost in that tiny African country. No one except roughly 400 personnel from the UN were there for Rwanda and its people. That is why the name of the mission, and that mix-up between “in” and “for” is so important to Dallaire. I too find that it is important that UNAMIR is not misrepresented by this common faux-pas; it’s not that much to ask (c’mon, the title of the mission is properly written on Wikipedia).

I’m not sure where I was going with this post. I guess I just wanted to say that if we truly want to look at the genocide in Rwanda and other place and say “Never Again”, our resolve has to be both realistic and compassionate. We have to make sure we’re going for the people and the country, not the interests of more powerful nations.

Discipline needs to start early

Ken Fells. Photo from CBC.ca

If you live in Nova Scotia then you have probably heard about the Ken Fells incident. If you haven’t, I’ll give you the extremely short version in point form:

– Kid films two girls fighting at school

– Principal Fells tries to confiscate kid’s phone

– Kid pushes Fells

– Fells puts kid in a choke hold and drags him into his office

This incident brought to light several issues: race, discipline in schools, use of violence in schools. To me it’s all about respect; a 14-year-old punk should not be able to push a person of authority. PERIOD. Was Fells’ actions a bit extreme? Maybe. But looking at the kid’s track record he had it coming to him in the near future anyway. I was going to write a big commentary on how all these issues should be addressed but in my search for background info, I found that Laurent Lepierres opinion piece hit the nail on the head. I strongly recommend it to anybody who wants to understand the reality of the situation.

I graduated from Dartmouth High School, a school that is somewhat notorious in the HRM. In my first year I was required to take a math course along with everybody else and let’s just say I was thrown in a class with some pretty bad apples. My teacher, Mr. Yazid was one of my favourite teachers in all my three years I attended DHS. Unfortunately he also took a fair amount of abuse from the legion of troublemakers in the class. I didn’t usually make best friends with my teachers in high school but at the end of my semester with Mr. Yazid I felt obliged to thank him for his efforts and also apologize for the lashings he took from the rest of the class. He thanked me but said there was no reason to apologize, that it was his job. This didn’t make much sense to me. Why is it the job of the teacher to take this verbal and sometimes physical abuse from kids and only be armed with a threat to send the student to the office, only for the student to return the next day with the same, or even higher level of disrespect?

Mr. Fells refereed several of my basketball games when I was younger and I found that in that position he was tough but he was always fair. Though these two roles could be seen in contrast to each other, I don’t doubt that Mr. Fells displays these same characteristics as an educator as well. If you don’t agree, again, look at the kid’s track record. His parents claim their son’s behaviour is not the issue? Their interpretation of the facts is horribly flawed but I also agree with them: the issue is not necessarily their son’s bad behaviour, it’s actually the lack of discipline these parents prescribed to their son. This inevitably resulted in the character which their son now personifies: a punk.

Discipline has to start early or there will be more incidents like this one which will create more whiny parents twiddling their thumbs and asking “why did that principal (or teacher) react like that?” Well now you know the answer.

To Mr. Fells: Though I do not condone all of your actions I do support you as a person and I know that you will show tremendous resilience in light of these events. I also hope one day it is not “the job” of you and your colleagues to take the amount and intensity of abuse that you are exposed to.

To the supporters of Mr. Fells: I applaud your support for this man for what he has gone through. However, I would advise not to make this into a race issue. Any parent or member of a school board would be quick to condemn any educator for physically harming a student, especially if they are not fully aware of all the facts. If every confrontation between blacks and whites is literally interpreted as a “black and white issue”, we as a society will never move forward in our quest for equality. This is not a malicious act like a couple of bigots placing a burning cross on someones lawn. If it is made as such, it will only bring more anger and more problems for everybody.

To Mr. Wagner and Mrs. Boutilier: Don’t demonize a man because you were too lazy or simply incapable of raising your own child properly.

STU cross country going to nationals

Watch here:

The women’s contingent of the St. Thomas University cross country team is traveling to Camrose, Alberta for the 2010 National Championship.

STU cross country blazes a trail

By: Stew Corbett

The STU cross country team kicked off their season on Saturday as they hosted the first of three meets.

Heavy winds and occasional rain did not stop the Tommies and runners from three other schools from tearing up the course in Odell Park. The women were racing five kilometres while the men raced eight. 

Lady Tommies hungry for title

By: Stew Corbett

 The lady Tommies basketball team is back and they’re ready to hit the hardwood for another exciting season.

After his team was crowned the champions of the ACAA last year while having a nearly flawless season, head coach Fred Connors knows it’s time to get back to work.

“We had a great season last year, but that is now history,” says Connors via e-mail. “We are now focusing on what we have this year, and we are excited about what the potential for this team is.”

The job search saga

Note: For those of you who are looking for job ad websites or jobs in general, I personally suggest this website called jobrapido.ca. You can narrow your search in Canada by province as well as job title. -Stew

What? job title, skills, company, etc. Where? city, province or postal code Job search powered by Jobrapido

Kelly sits at her kitchen table with her morning coffee and crossword as the sun shines through her patio doors. After she feeds her dog, Molly, her morning duties are complete.

It’s a Saturday morning so Kelly’s youngest daughter Julia is home from school. Julia sits with her mother at the kitchen table and points out popular culture hints in the crossword and answers them.

“Times are changing I guess,” says Kelly. “I must be out of the loop.”