The Athenaeum

Tag: university

  • Acadia’s Culture of Getting Involved

    Acadia’s Culture of Getting Involved

    How fascinating is it to go to a school where it is so cool to be involved in extracurriculars? People often talk about the small school experience that Acadia has to offer. Smaller class sizes mean more personal connections with professors, less students on campus means getting to know people quicker, and other benefits about the small size of Acadia are often used to market it as a great choice for a university. One of the best parts of Acadia that’s rarely discussed, though, is the culture of being involved that’s so prevalent.

    Being involved at Acadia is not only normal, but it’s expected of students. Compared to a lot of other Canadian schools, especially larger schools outside of the Maritimes, Acadia encourages students to find their passion and to do something with it. Students sometimes find it surprising to come out of high school and to be so encouraged to be involved in the school and community. This is what Acadia should market: it’s ability to give students so many opportunities to discover their interests and to pursue them, despite its small size.

    Being a part of something other than just classes allows students to destress by doing things they enjoy. Students tend to be happier when they feel like they have responsibilities outside of doing work, which is why it’s so great that Acadia is so welcoming towards those who are involved.

    Here are just a few of the ways students can get involved with extracurriculars at Acadia:

     

    1. Clubs

    There are so many opportunities for students to be a part of a club. Just a few of those available include

    -Medical Response Team

    -Model UN

    -Sisters of Color

    -InterVarsity

    -Program Societies

     

    1. Sports

    -Varsity & Club sports

    -Intramurals

    -The Athletic Complex

     

    1. On-campus Activities

    -Residence Assistants

    -Campus tour guides

    -Jobs at the SUB

     

    1. Volunteer Opportunities

    -S.M.I.L.E.

    -Kinderskills

    -Triple A

     

    1. Jobs/volunteer opportunities within your program

    -Teaching Assistants

    -The Writing Centre

    -M.A.S.H.

    -SIAM

     

    1. The Athenaeum!

     

    This is by no means an exhaustive list. A more comprehensive list can be found on Acadia’s website, but it still does not include everything there is to do in Wolfville. Perhaps it’s because the school is so small that it is that much more important to find something that interests you. With so many opportunities, a lot of students end up finding multiple ways to get involved, which makes Acadia such a unique school.

  • Opinion: I believe in Nova Scotia. You should too.

    Opinion: I believe in Nova Scotia. You should too.

    This article was published in Issue 79.1 of The Athenaeum.

    Several months ago, I met a guy. Initially, I didn’t think it was worth my time to talk to him, but at the insistence of a good friend I sat down and chatted with this guy about his work. For the past year he had dedicated much of his life to We are NS, a Facebook and Instagram page he had started to showcase what Nova Scotia was really about. When we talked he spoke with such passion and ferocity that he could have been there for hours.

    But it was one sentence that truly grabbed me. He told me how “the landscape of Nova Scotia inspired creativity”.

    That got me thinking.

    As one of the founding provinces of Confederation, Nova Scotia has always played a smaller but important role in Canada. From a mighty shipbuilding and fishing economy to booming natural resources, Nova Scotia has had a front row seat to the changing demands of the global market. The ups and downs of the global economy are as unpredictable as the weather, but their effects can be equally destructive. Atlantic Canada has been hit particularly hard by the latest series of slumps and outmigration is at an all-time high, depriving the province of $1.2 billion annually, but this is not a cause for despair.

    This is a wakeup call. Like Madonna or David Bowie, this province has the opportunity to reinvent itself in a big way.

    Let me first profess that I am by no means an economics expert nor a native Nova Scotian. The latter aside, I have fallen in love with this province. It’s impossible for me not to smile when I walk through Wolfville in the fall and see the beautiful colours, or hike Cape Split and feel the cool wind, or sip on a glass of Luckett wine as the sun sets in front of me. I can’t get enough of this province because it exudes beauty.

    Currently the province is between a rock and a hard place. Outmigration deprives the province of nearly 1300 people between the age of 20-29 every year. Why? Most of you know the answer. They don’t see a reason to stay.

    According to an article in The Chronicle Herald “eliminating net migration over the past 10 years could have generated over half a billion dollars in additional provincial revenue”. Even recent university graduates could have contributed over a billion dollars to the provincial economy, had they chosen to stay.

    The opportunities are here. There is more than ample room to expand our horizons and bring Nova Scotia to North American and global prominence. In today’s world we cannot content ourselves with being a small hideaway on the Atlantic. We have to assert ourselves and push to new heights with new ways of thinking.

    I turn now to California. The Golden State is considered the gem of the American economy, with a GDP the size of Spain. Needless to say it’s a big state. The higher education institutions of the region, specifically Stanford University, pushed the state to the cusp of an economic boom in the mid 1970s.

    Frederick Terman, son of distinguished psychologist Lewis Terman, saw how at MIT the faculty actively researched and maintained contact with industry through constant interaction and putting students in corporations through co-ops or internships. He brought these ideas to Stanford while serving as Dean of the university from 1955-1965 and helped sow the seeds for the birth of Silicon Valley.

    It was this contact between universities, corporations, and government that allowed for the prospering of Silicon Valley. Each recognized the importance of one another in achieving its ultimate ends. Universities wanted more money to do things with, so they invested by putting students in corporations through co-ops and internships. Corporations wanted more workers and to churn more profits, so they brought in more and more students to solidify their workforce. The government wanted to grow its economy and achieve a higher standard of living, so it invested more into universities to enroll students. The cycle comes full circle.

    Nova Scotia is the province best suited for this to happen. The release of the Ivany Report in 2014 provided the impetus for change. The province has 10 universities and NSCC, which has 13 campuses, all for a population of less than a million people.  That only reinforces how ripe for growth our province is.

    We’re already going in the right direction. Universities across the province are building off their strengths. Acadia has the Centre for Rural Innovation, the Atlantic Wine Institute, the Tidal Energy Institute, and the Institute for Data Analytics, in addition to Launchbox, providing funds for student-entrepreneurs. Dalhousie is responsible for 98% of all industry sponsored research in the province, working with companies like BlueLight Analytics and Atlantic Motor Labs to strengthen its ties to marine biology and ocean science sectors. Cape Breton University has the Uhma Institute of Technology (UIT) Startup Immersion Program, which teaches students for six months regarding successful entrepreneurship in order to bolster the business climate of the island.

    It’s clear that the time for change is upon us. Change isn’t always popular, nor fun or easy. But it is necessary. This province will continue to be a crucial part of Canada and an even more important player in an increasingly globalized world.

    We’re currently taking steps in the right direction, with grassroot startups making their debut across the province. East Coast Lifestyle serves as the paradigm in the quest for Nova Scotian entrepreneurs. We’ve proven that we can do it. All of the necessary tools for growth and expansion are in front of us and the roadmap is there.

    I believe in Nova Scotia.

    You should too.

  • Pushing Cocaine at Acadia: The Ath Interviews a Coke Dealer

    Pushing Cocaine at Acadia: The Ath Interviews a Coke Dealer

    “Yeah you’re seeing kids who still have braces looking like Mick Jagger at these parties. It’s fucked, they’re definitely getting exposed at a younger and younger age. It’s definitely a problem at Acadia.”

    Disclaimer: This article, as an investigative piece, in no way reflects the habits of the average student at Acadia University. It in no way condones the use, abuse, or sale of narcotics to the student body or in general. This article will not be directed at any one person or group due to the sensitive nature of the content. The interviewee agreed to the interview on the condition of total and complete anonymity. Put simply, this is one interview, of one person, for one purpose. That purpose is to discover what I would imagine to be what occurs on most university campuses nationally. This is in no way a reflection of myself or any person or persons with whom I associate myself. To be perfectly clear, there are a lot of choices made during your time in university and for some people, at some times, the choice to do cocaine is one of them.

    Cocaine at Acadia is nothing new. Mostly seen at parties and in the bars but you’ve likely seen it at least a couple times. It’s at the (insert major here)’s house, it’s at the party down the street, it’s on the coffee table at a late night get together, it’s definitely on the guy or girl who spends a little too much time in the bathroom. Definitely not something as pervasive as the use of marijuana, but it is there. The inspiration for this article came to me as a result of hearing it mentioned more than occasionally. The investigation that took place for this interview was not extensive. A friend of a friend of a friend sort of situation where you ask around and simply find yourself someone who sells cocaine to a large student clientele here at Acadia. For the purposes of this article we’ll simply call my source “Tony”. Here’s the full transcript of our interview:

    I am here interviewing my anonymous source, I believe it is the 27th or 28th of October. This is for the article titled “Pushing Coke at Acadia, an Interview” it should be published for The Athenaeum in the coming weeks. Obviously I’m required to tell you this is an anonymous interview and you’re not required to answer any of these questions, however your cooperation is very much appreciated. So we’ll start today with the first question.

    What was the first exposure you had to cocaine here at Acadia?

    My first exposure, I guess, would have just been through different friends in the party scene, you know, people going sort of just behind a door or looks given to each other. There is sort of vibe that you can just pick up and so once you become close enough with those people that you can get into that door or into those rooms, it will happen. Then its just sort of loose after that.

    So you did decide to start selling cocaine at Acadia is that correct?

    Yes.

    Why did you start to deal? I mean what was the attraction?

    It kind of came up all of a sudden, really. The attraction was money, money was a big factor. One thing also was that I knew people I could get it from and other people didn’t. I was sort of a middleman, and I took advantage of that opportunity.

    So these people you say that you knew you could get it off of, would you describe them as members of the criminal underworld, were they higher level drug dealers or were they members of the community?

    I wouldn’t say that there is any sort of master criminal underworld but maybe some higher levels in the numbers that they are pushing. Nothing too crazy.

    So obviously the ‘sexy’ nature of this article is going to be in the quantities and how pervasive this is believed to be in the community. So this really brings us to our next question, what is the largest quantity of cocaine you’ve ever had at one time?

    The largest quantity of cocaine I’ve ever had at one time would be around fifteen grams. I was always a very low level dealer in that sense.

    What would you estimate the street value of that to be?

    Oh I cant remember, I’ve since stopped.

    Of course. You’re out of it now right?

    Yeah I’m out of the game now. I mean I would get relatively good deals from the person I was buying off of, especially when buying in large quantities. I would sometimes be able to get it for twenty or thirty dollars [a gram] less than I would sell it for. The attraction of a cut for myself was definitely enticing.

    What can you comfortably tell me about yourself?

    About myself? Hmmm. I’m not your stereotypical drug dealer I guess. That’s all I can really say.

    Who, obviously without giving specifics, was your clientele here at Acadia?

    It would be anyone from students to non-students. Age would range as well, freshmen going up into middle aged men. Sometimes, I didn’t deal with just the student population.

    Would you say the majority of your clientele was students?

    Majority were students, yes.

    What demographic would you say is the largest user of cocaine here?

    I would say that it’s hard for me to make a generalization like that. Just because of certain people that I’m exposed to. For me. mostly just white guys and girls. But again, that was the sort of circle that I was exposed to. I would say typically middle/upper-class individuals. Definitely privileged individuals.

    So I guess… would you say cocaine is a drug of privilege?

    Interesting question.

    I mean with the various definitions that privilege has had would you say, lets say, just your take on it. Would you say cocaine is a drug of privilege?

    I would say that yes, it definitely has that reputation of a rich mans drug. And it is almost a sad thing because it can turn a rich man into a poor man very quickly. I would say yes there is a sense of cost when you’re trying to get it. Especially if you’re a dealer there is a huge cost to it that you have to pay off to someone who is going to be very angry if they cant pay off the next guy in the chain. There is a kind of money you need to bring to it.

    What would you say, I mean in your experience what would you say the average price range people are comfortable with?

    Per gram? Sixty to seventy dollars. Depending on a few things, it ranges based on the dealer and what they charge, the quality of your product. For example: if I felt that I certain batch I had gotten was of lower quality I would price down initially. Vice versa if I got something that was a higher quality I would price up. so sixty to eighty dollars max.

    Have you ever sold any drugs other than cocaine here at Acadia?

    Some MDMA (ecstasy) and some marijuana. During my time as a dealer, cocaine was the main thing.

    Just a few more questions here Tony. Were you ever scared of getting caught?

    Oh one hundred percent! Definitely but uh, (sic.) without tooting my own horn I like to think that I was one of the smarter individuals in that game. I was always cautious, never really reckless. Well… maybe reckless sometimes, but always smart about it.

    Yeah that was my main question coming here like I would be super scared of getting caught.

    Everyone is always worried about it and the people that aren’t are the ones that get caught. Right? The people who aren’t scared are the ones not playing the game.

    I mean like… fifteen grams of cocaine is a lot to have at once, I mean relatively speaking, and legally its way too much to get caught with. It doesn’t take a genius to know the legal ramifications of that would be huge.

    Oh yeah for sure.

    My main question, (sic.) not my main question but an important question is, what made you agree to this interview?

    I’m out of that sort of lifestyle at the moment. It’s not something I’m currently doing, I guess I’m not your stereotypical drug dealer. I have no problem discussing it in certain veins, when it’s to help people have safe experiences. That’s why I was always honest in any sort of dealings. If a batch was low quality I would tell them that that was why I was pricing it down and that it wasn’t necessarily top quality. So there is a certain sort of honesty that needs to be had within that sort of experience especially with fentanyl going around, people were extremely on edge. There always needs to be a level of awareness in the community that would do it. I felt as a dealer at the time that was by far my responsibility to be honest with people I’m selling to. Too often you hear about dealers that are trying to rip people off or are straight up selling fentanyl and I don’t want to have any fucking part of that.

    Were you ever concerned about something nefarious being in the product you were selling?

    Absolutely. That’s why I always watched my dealer do some of what he was bagging up for me before I bought it or I would do it before I sold it. If I had any doubts I just wouldn’t sell it.

    What would you estimate the amount of money you made was and how long were you involved in the trade for?

    I guess… Just under a year I probably made… let me just do some quick mental math here… I guess in that year I would have made around five or six thousand dollars.

    If you’ve been exposed to the lifestyle since what would you say that your experience was like? I mean how pervasive is cocaine on campus? Would you say that it is something you hear people frequently doing? Once a week? Once a month? I mean obviously the circles that you and I run with are very different but what would your assessment of the current cocaine culture be?

    You mean the sprawl of it? I would say on a weekend to weekend basis it isn’t huge. It would be rare or questioned if just on a random Vil night (Editor’s note: The Vil is Acadia’s ‘nightclub’) or random weekend you were doing blow. Obviously your big events, your big days, are going to get more of an attraction. However, I would say it’s definitely not a taboo subject amongst students. Like for instance that “behind closed doors” thing that I was talking about sort of looks that everyone was getting? That is not a “Oh I wonder what they’re doing?” kind of a thing anymore, everyone is aware of what is going on.

    Everyone is aware that behind closed doors, I mean its not even a question, I say this in the preamble to the article. You see three or four people whether its male or female walk into a bathroom together there is absolutely no question that some or all of them are going in there to do cocaine.

    Exactly. It’s not a shock for other people to see it around. I wouldn’t say its as ubiquitous or as easy to get as marijuana, nothing will ever surpass that, but definitely getting very close to that.

    Really? Wow.

    Well, I mean, yeah! It’s pretty easy to get. There’s people who are coming from out of town to me and they say hey can you still set this up for me? I mean people know who to call they know who to get it from. There are no surprises it really isn’t that hard to get. I mean there is something I’m starting to notice and maybe its me getting into my old age but people I’m noticing, kids coming in, frosh this year (2017) are getting it much quicker than we were when we got exposed to it. A hundred percent faster, I would say. Which is very strange, like it was the first time I was like “oh kids these days” but you definitely shouldn’t be saying it with shit like this. I mean its one thing to say “kids these days with their iPhones”

    Yeah its quite another to say “kids these days with their cocaine”. I mean it’s a little wild like you do go to parties sometimes and you see, I mean I’m only 21 so I’m not that old but you see people who are basically fresh out of high school.

    Yeah you’re seeing kids who still have braces looking like Mick Jagger at these parties. It’s fucked, they’re definitely getting exposed at a younger and younger age. It’s definitely a problem at Acadia.

    So, I don’t know if you’re heard the Biggie Smalls song “The Ten Crack Commandments” basically Biggie gives ten rules for selling crack, I mean crack cocaine and cocaine are not really very different. I’m going to ask your opinion on one of the rules and I’m sure you’ve heard it before but “never get high on your own supply” thoughts?

    Oh my goodness does that ever ring true. Well, yeah especially with, especially with cocaine. With pot its one thing you can somewhat control yourself. The sneaky thing with cocaine is that there is sort of a culture around it where like “this is for me, fuck everybody else”. Like if you’re sharing a bag with friends, everybody is going to pour a little bit bigger of a line for themselves, you know? the addictive nature kind of sneaks up on you, you don’t really realize that its happening. Once you start realizing, like holy shit I have 15 grams of this awesome stuff just in front of me I can quickly just pop a little line off for myself, but that quickly becomes gram lines that you’re cutting, you’re cutting whatever. Then it’s just you doing it on your own supply but then once friends know you’re dong your own supply close friends want to come in and take bumps with you. It’s not just you you have to watch out for, it’s everybody else.

    With something like that you really get into trouble when you come up short. This happened to me once where you’ll end up short money because you’ve given out too many lines or you’re taken too many and then you have to pay off what you’ve been fronted. Once you’re down that rabbit hole you start to get into debt with people and thats when it starts to get dangerous.

    Would you say that drug dealers were universally comfortable fronting you larger quantities of cocaine?

    I would say that they were universally comfortable with it. But I also had that reputation that I always paid them back, and paid them on time. I never showed up a day late and a dollar short.

    Whats the largest quantity that you’ve ever been fronted?

    Fifteen grams.

    Jesus Christ. You’re nuts, I’ll… I’ll phrase it as a question because I think it would be a good conclusion to the article. A lot of people, I mean our readers, would say that you’re a bit of a wild man, a reckless guy I guess. I mean to sell drugs to university students you do have to have a little bit of a reckless spirit.

    Wild man? I would say goddamn right I’m a wild man.

    I think we’re good to conclude on that remark. thank you very much for your contribution Tony.

    Thanks. I look forward to reading.

    Christopher Vanderburgh is a fourth year Politics student and Features Editor of The Athenaeum

    Write for The Athenaeum. Acadia’s student newspaper, since 1874.

  • Small Pond Syndrome

    Small Pond Syndrome

    Why did you come to Acadia? I’m sure for multiple little reasons: the beautiful campus, the regional reputation, athletics, location, scholarships, or you’re just a big fan of mud sliding. Whatever you’re into man.

    But it’s just that, it’s the little reason. I argue that being a small institution is one of our greatest assets not just inside the classroom but outside as well. Outside the classroom, meaning socially playing nice with the other kids on the playground, fosters an awareness for mutual respect.

    My interactions outside of the classroom have led me to collect this extremely sophisticated and completely scientifically based analysis of our small school population before attending Acadia. Broadly speaking students usually fit around three points on the continuum on the confidence scale regarding making friends going into this university.

    The first being you were a big deal in high school, came here with your buddies, and felt like you need to add one or two more people to the roster of your sick childhood squad. Acadia can offer you this convenient reality. Or, you may know people from playing local sports, or attended the same high school, but you are by no means close with anyone and are eager to meet lots of new faces. Finally, of course there is a population of students who don’t know a soul and making friends seems like a massive undertaking. This may be because you’re an international student, out of province, or you just like to keep to yourself.

    Whatever your perspective is, Acadia can be a fresh start for you, and can act as an equalizer. The first few weeks of your first year can be very hard and this shouldn’t be glossed over yet, you will find it’s much harder to isolate yourself then you may think. I am getting acquainted with new friends already this year and I am going into the second month of my third year. Due to the small size, students can become more intimate with more people because you are frequently being put into situations with the same population of people. It’s a wonderful attribute of Acadia no matter where you began on the social continuum.

    My roommate once chatted with someone at Shopper’s Drugmart standing in front of the chip aisle because she felt familiar enough with him. She always saw him at the library in the past and this was enough of a reason to critique chips together. They were both very perplexed at which chips make the best storm chips, which is the best PC brand chip flavor, and the classic conundrum of regular versus wavy cut chips etc. Classic chip struggles.  Just seeing the chip guy enough before said chip-run created a basis for a friendly conversation. I truly believe that Acadia/Wolfville are on the short-list of university towns where that is socially acceptable.

    What we should remember is that although a friendly place, Acadia is a small pond. No no.  More like one of those fancy infinity pools that look off onto the ocean that really only exist on MTV’s “Cribs”, Oprah’s house, and affordable resorts. It has this small, rigidly defined population. Yet, it has a full vista view which alludes to opportunity commonly known as “the real world” and referred to as “adulthood”.

    What about all the people I have successfully or unsuccessfully hit on? How often will I see them at this friendly, small school? You will see them what seems like everywhere (especially when you stink of Subway in the lib in between classes).

    Here is a fun and simple equation you can do in your head: think of all the people you have either professed your love to, made out with, danced with at the vil and/or axe, stared too long at the library at, directed their naked butt to your bathroom, had full blown your-mum-and-dad-know-what-I-look-like-in-real-life relationships with, gone to coffee with, had a deep heart to heart after class with, or had an inexplicable crush on. Whatever experience you have or have not had. Then divide that by 6.46 km2. After you divide those awkward times by space (the square kilometers of Wolfville) you have your very own unique and customized answer! You are now a certified love physicist! Congrats.

    Now, what do you do with that number? Be nice to each and everyone one of them no matter what the result of the situation is. You could be coworkers, neighbors, have all the same classes, or just like eating breakfast at the same time every day if you eat at Wheelock.

    Laugh at their jokes, always say hi, and give them that follow back on insta. I can’t say that I always live by my own advice but I try my best. Shit, right when I was writing this I just avoided eye contact with someone while sitting in the BAC café I KID YOU NOT. Do what I say not what I do! You never know what may come of the situation. Inclusion is always the answer.  This of course also includes other acquaintances or individuals who you have not made a fool yourself of on a romantic level with.  It means be nice and remember everyone’s name that you have learned.

    It may seem as though this town may seem suffocating at times. But what is really happening when you run into people is that you are reminded that each of them have feelings which you should respect.  No man is an island and everyone loves to be remembered. The small population is truly a good exercise in pushing yourself to treat others with respect. This lesson learned outside of class is one that is invaluable for the future and is served on a warm platter to us from yours truly, Acadia University. Right, so remember when you are heading to the swim-up bar in the infinity pool at Oprah’s house, give a polite hello and nod to all that are in there with you over these four+ years.

  • You Don’t Deserve an A

    You Don’t Deserve an A

    YOU DON’T DESERVE AN A  

    Everyone knows that person. The one who is a model student. Perfect grades, endless volunteer experience, etc. etc. They’re a student of model behaviour, at least, until an injustice has been delivered to them in the form of a B+. (Heaven forbid, amiriteladies?)  

    If someone you know is upset that they didn’t get an A, it’s most likely for one of two reasons:
    1. They’re disappointed in themselves because they know they can produce better work than what they handed in.
    2. They were expecting an A, and somewhere deep inside, they think they should have gotten one because of who they are, not because of what they did.  

    I am positive that #1 is something that every one of us can relate to. We’ve all handed in half-assed assignments and been disappointed in ourselves. The key is that the disappointment lies in ourselves and our own actions, not the grade itself. For some people, it’s the other way around. They’re more concerned about the grade than they are with the quality of their work, as if the grade is a tangible thing that they just deserve , and they fail to see that the grade is a direct consequence of their own actions.  

    My question is this: why do these people think they deserve an A?
    – Because they’re smart?
    – Because they work hard and finish their assignments on time?
    – Because they’ve always gotten A’s and who is this jackass professor to tell them otherwise?  

    I hate to tell you this, but “that jackass” has a doctorate. You don’t have a doctorate. They know more than you do.
    They’ve studied more than you have.
    As much as you might hate it, they have the power.  

    And they get to decide if your work is deserving of an A, according to their standards. So get over yourself.  

    I emphasize “your work,” because there’s a certain crowd that might fly in and start shouting “grades don’t define you!”
    They’re right. Grades don’t define you. Grades are just numbers and letters. They have no impact whatsoever on anyone’s personal value, but they are definitely indicative of the quality of a person’s academic work. When a student receives a bad grade on an assignment, it’s not a personal attack. The professor is not saying that “because this student wrote this sub-par assignment, they’re a bad person and should be treated as such.” They’re just saying that the assignment was not amazing and that there’s ample room for improvement.  

    It’s important to maintain the separation between grades and personal worth, because the truth of the matter is that not everyone is cut out to be a scholar. Every person on this earth has different talents and capabilities, and not everyone is good at studying, or reading, or researching, or writing, and this is good! It’s how it should be! If everyone was a scholar, the world would have fallen into chaos a long time ago and we’d probably be dead. Not everybody has the natural ability to put together excellent assignments. That’s normal. What isn’t normal is to have a handful of students waltzing out of high school and into University expecting to receive A’s the entire time, and not having this expectation entirely crushed within the first few weeks.  

    Now, this might seem shocking, but sometimes your work don’t deserve an A.
    Assuming you’re the kind of person who has the academic capabilities necessary to score A’s, it still requires a certain amount of time and effort to achieve that level of quality. It doesn’t matter who you are, if you cut corners, your assignment is going to be bad. It doesn’t matter whether or not your half-assed work is ‘better’ than somebody else’s work, it’s not your best, and that’s bad workmanship. If you submit an assignment you rushed and manage to score an A, does that not cheapen the entire institution? If you know in your heart that you didn’t do your best but you scored well anyway, how can you even sleep at night? How can a system that rewards a student for a poor performance encourage anyone else to strive for excellence?  

    The short answer is that it doesn’t.  

    At this point, it’s probably good to take a moment and ask yourself, “Why did I come here? Did I come here to get empty validation in the form of a letter grade that has no impact on my value as a person? Or did I come here to actually learn some things about subjects I love, and improve myself in the process?”  

    If you did happen to pay thousands of dollars for empty validation, I’m not quite sure what to say to you other than ‘Good Luck.’ and I hope you find whatever you’re looking for.  

    However, if you’ve decided that you want to improve yourself as a student during your time here, the question you should be asking is not, “What the hell is wrong with my professor? Why didn’t I get an A?” but instead, “What is wrong with me? What could I have done differently that would have elevated my piece of work to a quality deserving of an A?”  

    I should add that sometimes, even if you work hard – you go to office hours, you ask questions on how to improve, you study harder for your exams, whatever. It doesn’t matter the circumstance. Sometimes you’ve genuinely done your best and you still don’t earn an A. This is frustrating and it feels unfair. I am not discrediting those emotions. Instead, I am going to suggest that when things like this happen it can be a defining moment. Are you going to throw a fit, or are you going to acknowledge that while you did work hard, your best isn’t good enough yet, and find ways to try harder next time? It’s not fair, but the reality is that often, our best isn’t enough. However, If you’re continually striving to improve, eventually you’re going to get there. Even if you don’t manage to get to an A-level, you’re going to finish the year a better student than you started it, and it’s going to be so much more fulfilling.  

    A note to the A-Students: Don’t become complacent. Just because you’re getting A’s doesn’t mean there’s not room for you to improve. Don’t limit yourself by complaining that your half-assed work didn’t get you an A.  

    All of this is to say: You don’t deserve an A, but you can certainly earn one. Work hard this term, friends.  

    Emily Ellis is a third year History student and Distractions Editor of The Athenaeum

  • No Regrets: Why I Am Leaving University

    Most of our time is spent in school, and we have yet to make any real choices in life. During my second year at Acadia I began to doubt what it was that I wanted to get out of my education and had no idea what I wanted to do for a career, so I decided to take a year off for the 2015-2016 term. The year I spent working at home was interesting, and I guess you could call it a learning experience. I knew for sure that I didn’t want to work at a menial minimum-wage job forever, and it gave me initiative to come back this fall. But upon my return, I found that it was a challenge to fit back into student life. At first, I thought that it was Acadia and my friends that had changed and moved on without me. But then I realized it was me who had changed.

    One of my professors called university a bubble, and I absolutely agree with him. Many of us are bubbled off and separated from the real world here, especially while living in residence with no real knowledge of what it’s like to pay bills or to have true independence in general. I think that this realization is what has driven me to drop out after this semester. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not telling you to drop out and play video games at your parent’s house for the rest of your life. What I mean is this: university just isn’t meant for everyone. For most of us, our bachelor’s degree is the first step in attaining a career,. But what do you do when you can’t even get a job in your field after graduating? What do you do when you realize that you’ll need multiple degrees and specializations to have a decent enough career to be able to afford having a family later on? I applaud the people who strive to do this because their dream and their goal is to go into education, to have a Masters or PhD, but when it’s a necessity to be a successful human being, it becomes an overbearing weight on your shoulders.

    Education is absolutely important in our society, but there is a stigma around higher education and I think it’s time for it to go. If someone had asked me in twelfth grade if I was going to community college or university, I wouldn’t have hesitated in saying university. I was given the impression that if you’re smart, then you need to go to university. But that notion is complete bullshit. People learn in different ways, and from my time at Acadia I’ve learned a lot of great and interesting things. However, I haven’t learned anything that I feel will benefit me that greatly later in the work force. I don’t feel like I’ve been prepared for any job at all, and it’s been two and a half years. If nothing else, that was my sign that university just isn’t working for me. Also, from what I see around me, people in our generation who have gone to community college are more successful now than the ones who have graduated with their Bachelors; they all have jobs in their field while those that have gone to university are working at Starbucks. For me this just isn’t worth it, especially when the price for a semester at university is the price for a year at a college.

    Again, by asserting all of this I am not trying to say that university isn’t worth doing and graduating from. What I am suggesting is that it is not the only way to get a decent education. I am trying to give you insight from a position that is not commonly heard from for the students who are unsure of what they’re doing. For those of you who may be on the fence about whether it is the right place for you, or if you’re only doing it because it is what you feel you are expected to do, you should put the same effort in any decision about leaving school as you did to get into your program. To elaborate, don’t spontaneously decide to leave because you’re scared or homesick. It should be something that you weigh heavily upon. You should not take your education lightly. As Nelson Mandela said, “education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

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