By Lori Tarbett

Two second-year FASS students, Kristin Williams and Nicole Murphy, are the first recipients of the Nicholas Leroux Memorial Bursary.

“This bursary will assist students with disabilities and keep Nick’s memory alive, but it is also a tribute to the generosity and selflessness of his entire family,” says Matthew Cole, executive director of the attendant services program. “The family lost a son, and in the midst of this tragedy they were thinking of how to help others.”

Kristen Williams is an English student with cerebral palsy from Grimsby Ontario. “Thanks to this bursary, I was able to cover some of my school expenses. It has been very helpful.”

Nicole Murphy, a psychology student with cerebral palsy, who’s originally from Mississauga, echoed those thoughts. “School is very stressful, always trying to get good marks and I am constantly worried about my finances. The bursary relieved some of the stress so I could concentrate more on school.”

Nick Leroux of Brockville was a first-year student at Carleton who received daily support from the Carleton Residence Attendant Services Program. The first of its kind in Canada, this program was expanded to students at Algonquin College. It provides personal care assistance, available 24 hours a day, to facilitate students with disabilities living on campus and pursuing their education. Tragically, Nick passed away on March 12, 2007, at the Ottawa Heart Institute after a battle with Frederich’s Ataxia, a rare neuromuscular disorder that slowly affected his muscles and eventually his heart. He was just 19 years old.

Leroux attended Toniata Elementary School where he was one of the valedictorians in his graduating year. He was also the recipient of the Mathematics Faculty Award. He continued his education at Thousand Islands Secondary School (TISS) where he was a member of the choir, parents council, the Mathletes and Reach for the Top. Nick also enjoyed theatre and played the role of Theseus in the 2006 production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. At his November 2006 high school commencement ceremonies, Nick was named an Ontario Scholar, received the Marjorie Winslow Estate Award, a TISS staff award, and the Co-operative Education Faculty Award. He also received two Ontario-wide scholarships, the Maurice Izzard Memorial Scholarship and the Frank Ralph Pounsett Memorial Award.

Leroux posted regularly on YouTube and had previously designed web sites for Fun With Books, and the Brockville Public Library and contributed to the site for the Upper Canada District School Board. He was a talented artist and woodworker.

Leroux received an $11,000 entrance scholarship to Carleton to study software engineering. He lived on campus in a barrier-free residence room and made many friends in a short period of time.

At the time of his death, his parents, William and Lisa Leroux (Calvert), made the decision to assist other students with disabilities to have the same opportunities that their son pursued. The Nicholas Leroux Memorial Bursary was founded and the bulk of the contributions came from friends and family. Each dollar donated is matched by the Province of Ontario.

By Lori Tarbett

While many students will be basking in the sun on the beaches of warmer climates, Nana O. Yeboah will be one of the eight FASS students who will be donating their spring break time to help others in Mexico.

Known as Alternative Spring Break (ASB), the program is a Community Service Learning initiative aimed at challenging students to make connections between the service they provide to the community and the knowledge and skills they acquire in the classroom. This year, 25 students, one faculty member, two staff members and two student leaders will travel to Cuernavaca, Mexico during Reading Week where they will live and work with the Cuernavaca Centre for Intercultural Dialogue on Development.

Participants will partake in lectures, discussions, community visits and service in the community. While the focus is on Mexico, students are encouraged to consider these issues in relation to their own communities.

Yeboah, the twenty-four-year-old Brampton native of Ghanaian descent, joined ASB because she wanted to do something more productive with her time. “I am hoping to gain a renewed sense of community service and the different aspects it includes,” says Yeboah. “I am also hoping to make connections between the gender, racial and social inequalities in Canada to the inequalities abroad.”

While it is ultimately up to each student to pay for their trip, they are encouraged to raise money any way they can – from shoveling snow to selling chocolates explains Yeboah. Faculty and staff can also help by donating school supplies which will be brought to Cuernavaca and distributed to schools in need. Those interested can contact the First Year Experience Office.

“The world is in turmoil and as I grow in age, I see with my own two eyes that there is truth to this statement: I have always felt that it is my obligation to help out more than just within my immediate community,” says, Yeboah, an English major with a minor in women’s studies. “I think Alternative Spring Break will help me understand the severity of the problems our world faces today.”

By Lori Tarbett

Mark Oldershaw and Angus Mortimer know more than anyone that the journey is often more important than the outcome. This was one of the messages the two Beijing Olympians delivered to first year Faculty of Arts and Social Science students last week.

After six months (and four years) of intense training and competition leading up to the 2008 summer Olympics, the pair of paddlers made their way back to Canada and Carleton to welcome the FASS class of 2012. Among the words of wisdom they shared with the crowd, they encouraged the students to practice discipline. “Discipline means taking a big goal and dividing it into little goals. Each time you accomplish a little goal you’re making your way towards the big goal,” said Mortimer.

“University is a lot like the Olympics. It is a four-year process. Keep that angle in mind. Every week, every month, every semester, accomplish your smaller goals. This will lead you to your graduation which is a lot like making it to the Olympics for us,” added Oldershaw.

Oldershaw and Mortimer are third year English and Music students, respectively. They described Carleton as an ideal place for athletes, and paddlers in particular, to pursue post-secondary education, not only because of its location next to the Rideau canal, but because Carleton professors are very supportive and understanding of their demanding schedule.

While the athletes described their experience in Beijing as inspirational, they welcomed the downtime. “We’re glad it all happened, but we’re happy to take a break. It’s an opportunity to catch our breath,” said Oldershaw.

The two are taking advantage of this resting period for the moment, but this won’t last long. They will soon begin training for the next summer Olympics in London where they aim to improve their records and bring home medals. When asked if they hope to attend more Olympic games, the pair replied, “Oh yes.”

By Nicole Findlay

In/Words, Blank Page, Mot Dit, and the Chapbook Project welcome a sister publication to the collection. The first student produced feminist magazine, Vagina Dentata, was recently launched in a joint initiative between students of the Department of English and the Pauline Jewett Institute of Women’s Studies.

Vagina Dentata was created by Amanda Besserer, an MA student in the Department of English, and the only female editor of another student publication in/words. “I believe creative writing to be an empowering experience that is imperative to understanding how literature works,” said Besserer. “Often when we study literature, we divorce ourselves from the production of it. I find this very sad.”

While her participation in in/words provided her with a creative outlet, she wanted to provide a vehicle that would give voice to writers concentrating on themes relating to feminism. She recruited Anna Sajecki, with whom she had worked in the English Literary Society, Ashley Simpson was also involved with in/words projects and graphic designer, Maria Vicente. Other contributors were introduced to the project through Collett Tracey, an instructor in the Department of English.

Among the students introduced by Tracey was Jesslyn Smith who then participated in the creation of the inaugural edition of Vagina Dentata. Smith says the project gave her an opportunity to hone her writing and editing skills – outside of the classroom, for the duration of her four-year undergrad. The magazine also provides her with an artistic outlet to both address and showcase feminist ideas.

“I hope that readers will gain insight to many different feminist perspectives from the women’s writing, or writing by men about women’s issues,” said Smith. “I want them to realize that “feminism” does not have a specific definition, and I want people to be able to relate to the articles in the magazine.”

Vagina Dentata will be published once each semester and made available through newsstands located in the tunnels, unicentre, and the offices of PJIWS and English. Additionally, copies are available by emailing vaginadentatamag@yahoo.com. A web-zine is also in the works. Students are encouraged to email their submissions of poetry, prose, academic articles and visual art on topics relating to feminism, womanhood and gender relations for publication in future magazines.

By Adam Coombs

Ian Freeman, a second-year English major, claimed the title of top debater in North America, besting more than a hundred other competitors.

Freeman and his partner, Padraic Ryan finished as the third place team, losing to a team from the University of British Columbia in the semi-finals. The North American Championships, which took place the last weekend in January, attracts teams from all across Canada and the United States, including most major Ivy League schools.

Freeman is the first member of Carleton University Debating Society to finish as top speaker at a title tournament. Two other Carleton teams attended the tournament, but finished outside of the quarterfinals.

This is the second weekend in a row where Carleton Debate has found success, when Ryan won the prestigious McGill Winter Carnival Invitational.

By Nicole Findlay

The plight of fledgling authors seeking to publish their first works struck a chord with senior-year students. With the release Blank Page, Collett Tracey, an instructor in the Department of English, along with a group of six student editors, has provided a forum for the budding writers.

After the success of In/Words, a six-year old magazine produced by student writers from across Carleton, Tracey developed a sister publication Blank Page, aimed primarily at her First-Year Seminar students.

The magazines provide students with an opportunity to publish their work, while developing as both writers and editors, within a community of other writers.

Each of Blank Page‘s student editors became involved by happen stance – some came across a copy of In/Words and approached Tracey to submit their work, others learned of the magazine through friends already involved, still others attended the regularly held readings. What unites them all is a passion for the written word and dedication to supporting younger, aspiring writers.

The editors, Justin Million, Mark Sokolowski, Cameron Anstee, Nick Cuohan, Peter Gibbon and Amanda Besserer, each mentor the first-year students and future editors. The group aims to produce between four and five issues over the next semester.

The submissions criteria is loose and subjective but a theme emerges when pressed. The editors are looking for pieces that have an individual voice, honesty, creativity, meaning and also those that illustrate the vulnerability often felt but rarely expressed by first-year students.

The inaugural edition of Blank Page features a combination of poetry, short stories, rants, essays, reflections, and experiences.

In addition to producing the regular publication, the editors and writers will work to establish an infrastructure that future editors can build on. They have also developed workshops and open mics for students interesting in honing their creative writing skills, provided mentoring, feedback and guidance intended to reduce anxiety.

The next issue of Blank Page will be distributed in early 2007. Please send submissions by February 2, 2007 to blankpagepoetry@yahoo.ca.

David Emery a recent Carleton alumnus with a BA Honours in English credits Professor Kevin Gildea with changing his perception of the world. It was through Gildea’s first-year 20th century literature course, that Emery, who had not yet declared a major, set his sights on English.

“Professor Gildea passionately introduced ideas, philosophies and concepts in his analyses of the literature that acted as a revelation of sorts,” said Emery. Through his studies, Emery thrived on what he describes as an intellectually stimulating environment.

While he plans to take some time off, he is considering a Masters in Canadian literature at McGill University.

Other Senate Medalists Include:

Emily Megan West, BA, English
Jonathan Macarius Abresch, BA, English
Scott Daniel Kuehn, BA, English
Colleen Kelly, BA, English