“Abdoul Abdi needs to be free!” came the chants of a small crowd of protesters outside Sackville High School on Tuesday night. The protesters aimed their cries at the sprawling line waiting to attend prime minister Justin Trudeau’s town hall event in hopes of raising awareness about the deportation case of Somalian refugee Abdoul Abdi. […]
Julia-Simone Rutgers
Posted inNews + Opinion
The intentional ignorance of Halifax police street checks
We’ve been here before, many times. On Monday night, Black community members packed into a room at the Cornwallis Street Baptist Church to discuss street checks and racial profiling with researchers from the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission. The community meeting was one of a series of three “Starting the Conversation” sessions conducted this week […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
First in its divest class
Laval got the headlines, but it turns out Halifax’s smallest university was actually the first in Canada to divest from fossil fuels. The Atlantic School of Theology made the historic decision more than a year ago. The Anglican Diocese of Nova Scotia and PEI—which controls the school’s investments—quietly passed the resolution at a diocesan council […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Under the Dome
The Dome, one of Halifax’s largest nightclubs, rolled out a controversial series of dress code and policy changes last week in an effort to upgrade its image. The club’s new dress code—announced in an infographic posted to its Facebook—includes a ban on tank tops, “undershirt” style white t-shirts, baggy or ripped jeans, sportswear, crocs and […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Precarious labour is exploiting university educators
University campuses across Nova Scotia are continuing to benefit from contract faculty who face high workloads, low job security and lower wages than tenured professors, leaving a mental health drain on this province’s educators. The common assumption is that contract professors, who Dalhousie Faculty Association president Darren Abramson calls “precarious academic staff,” are mostly graduate […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Province reluctant to legislate university sexual assault policies
With orientation week just around the corner, thousands of students attending Nova Scotian universities will be living, working and learning on campuses without developed sexual assault policies. The problem, according to the Canadian Federation of Students, is the Nova Scotia Liberal Party’s reluctance to pass legislation mandating the development of sexual assault policies on all […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Jade Brooks turns her trauma into teaching
When Jade Brooks was 15, she thought she met the love of her life. He wooed her, bought her gifts, took her on dates and told her that he was in love. Looking back now, she recognizes him as her trafficker—the man who manipulated her into moving from her home near Uniacke Square and selling […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Where are all of Halifax’s Black-owned nightclubs?
According to some members of the entertainment community, the city’s vibrant nightlife is missing some colour. Almost none of the bars or nightclubs in HRM are Black-owned*. Halifax DJ Ryan Somers, known as R$ $mooth, can remember very few clubs having Black owners since he became part of the music scene in 1993. If people […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
All-access pass for accessibility at Jazz Fest
For the first time in its 30-year history, the Halifax Jazz Festival’s venues will be 100 percent accessible, thanks in part to the work of local activist and former professional bassist Paul Vienneau. For Vienneau, who has been using a wheelchair since 1991, these changes have been years in the making. Vienneau performed at the […]