volume sixty-six, issue 1 september 21, 2020 Masthead Editor's Address managing editor-in-chief Greetings from the new beginning ofthe same end, ‘aya morgan ‘This is our very first quar made paper and we are bringing it to content editor-in-chief you smoking hot ikea late night plz (contactless delivery Tucas huntsman merkur Spl). The Garg i eurrently operating from te basement of ‘every library on the UofT campus, aswell as several ‘production manager ‘disclosed octions throughout the GTA. We are wrapped in snnika eller blankets and tear soaked foe masks wondering, alongwith ‘you, i this is indeed the en. copy editor tava tar But inspite ofall ofthat, we are trumpeting ou triumphant ett from the baren wastes of lockaown! And boy, have we arts & culture {got content for you. The new editorial team brought thee all ash man & uvinapersaud With Chicago stl citations, ruminations on the tials of online ‘school, and some new U of Fmascotst opinions cole sandblo Tey stark Were so proud of or team of editors and brave contibutors who gave their energy towards this greasy li publication. avant-garg ‘Times are tough and ining ime to ereate is hard. We really ‘iam p. bryant & joshua bienstock appreciate everyone in our Gargoyle fail editors, eontrbutors, and readers alike. You make this paper what its polities ‘Thank you for sticking with ws alex heyman sree kovaes Stay sexy and remember you're not lone — we're eying to, Lucas Huntsman Merkur & Maya Morgan distributor Editors-in-Griet this could be you! staff emeritus ‘anTitsang Sront cover as huntsman meri & ma morgan back cover Jas huntsman meri maya morgan ‘contributors Sstin patrick bear shit, esther smerek ‘ews About us ‘The Gargoyles University College's easiest student newspaper and publishes every two weeks. ‘Weare a paper that believes that sometimes youshould be angry, and that sometimes you should be loud, andi you have not hada voice before you deserve a voice. We donot give print space to ‘igo and we do not feign neutrality on ses of social justice. At this moment everything in our ‘office is being hosted by UC admin, Production bi-weekly in the aether. ucgargslea gmaicom/ submissions uegaryoyle.ca woagargovlecaShould We Abolish the Police? How can we live with them? Can we live without them? ‘alex heyman (CW: police wolence In May 2020, Minneapolis plie killed a Black American man named George Floyd, Witnesses’ cll phone videos eaprured Floyd repeating "I eant breathe” as officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his nec "until he asphyxiated. Floyds ast moments echoed those of Eric Garner, choked to death by NYPD. offers in 2014, whose pleas of "ean breathe tured the phrase int a rallying ery fora wave of racial justice activism inthe mid-2010s. Floyd's death contributed ta sina resurgence of protest, especialy inthe U.S. and Canada, against police brutality toward racalized people. Inthe following ‘weeks and months, poice attempted to eruh even Peaoefl protests with ruthless tacts, inching rubber bullets, tear gas (a chemical weapon that's ben banned in wear singe the 1928 Geneva conference), and trapping groups of protesters in ase arrest, even i their only offense ‘was violating a mid-evening curfew that was also pi in place to quell the protests. These ations, ecard on video (even when police retaliated violently fori), only strengthened ant-poice sentiment. the post-George Floyd era are cls to nePolice~ usually meaning that cities Should reduce ther police fores' proportionally very high operating budgets and invest the extra funds in non-violent emergency response services, public Schools, anti-poverty and ant-homelessness programs, ete These changes, the thinking goes, Wwould make the marginalized communities that police Aisproportionately brtalize safer and more Dresperons, as well as les likely to engage in behavior Aleered criminal inthe fist pace A minority of activists take things one step further however, and seek to # AbolishThePolice entire (Sometimes, they phrase it as above; other times, they to "defund the police" by which they mean “take away al police fads" The word “func is Ambiguots like that.) Among those in earshot who aren of the ani-plice-activist persuasion, police abolitionisn nay trigger a particular knee-jerk Fesponse: "Without police, no one will bey the law, tnd society wil descend into ehaon” Ihave to admit this intuition has tation in my evn mind, thoagh as good skeptic I need to examine it areilly to make Sure my imagination isn just shackled by copaganda, Inthis arti, IM give my best shot at explaining the reasoning behind both the pro-abolition and anti-aboliton postions, and then eritically assess both For anarchists, police abolition isa natural part of the overall project of abolishing the state ~ though T doubt that everyone who's eaed for police abolition recently is explicitly an anarchist-1 Suspect that in many eases, their abolitonism ‘originates less in high-minded poiial theory than indirect, grounded observation oftheir own social realities, Police in xr society do lite ta help marginalized communities. They rarely bother themselves with marginalized people's concerns and grievances, denying marginalized people ste And legal routes of expressing them. Their main interaction with marginalized communities i patrolling them for shat the sate deems Criminality ~ harassing, inearcerating, and even Jing their members ~ just to ensure they're nota threat tohigher-status people, seemingly the aly ‘people thatthe police really “serve and protec" ‘An! comminities of those higherstatus people ~ ‘what do they need the police for, other than ‘maintaining thie relative position on the social ladder? Police barely even visit their communities, letalone arrest anyone there. In the end, any good the police do is absolutely dwarfed by the harm ‘they if, bath directly and by reinforcing systemic inequality. The solution is obvious: just get rid ofthe. {suspect that, in contrast, those opposed to police abolition tend to base their view (explicitly or Implietly) on abstract theories of how society finetions. To them the term “police” does not refer ‘only tothe specific institution of policing in our Society i's a synonym fr the general concept ofa State la enforcement organization. This is hove ‘youl typically see “police” defined in detonavies (oot that they're infalible authorities on what 2 ‘word means or should" mean to be clea). 1 likely thatthe politica theories of our society's Anti-aboltioniss are rooted in our society's ‘dominant political tradition of liberalism, Stretching back to Thomas Hobbes in rth-century England. (It's worth noting that despite Hobbes strong influence on liberalism, he stands out in favoring monarchy over representative democracy.) Hobbes believed that violence beyets violence (and poverty) by destroying people's ability to trust each tether and cooperate. The only way for people to escape this eel of violence so, va collective agreement, creat a state and give it the authority tw enforce cortain rules goveraing peoples behavior iolently, if necessary. As sociologist Max Weber athave putt, Hobbes thinks that if people ‘ont want to fear violence from each other, they ‘must give an entity a monopoly on the estimate tse of violence. (For Weber, thisis the very Sefton ofa state.) Hobles was eoncerningly ‘unconcerned about the state abusing ts power later iberal theorists would attempt to avoid this problem by recommending systems, suchas elected representatives, for keeping the state accountable to the people. These theorists intended for some aspects ofthe state's behavior to be more malleable by public opinion than others the hardest 0 change were constititional rights designed to proteet minorities from majorities and the electoral power they wield in their numbers. In this view, police are simply the division ofthe state responsible for enforcing the law in evi contexts Ifyou break the la, then isthe job of the courts to decide your punishment ~totell you to paya fine oF goto prison or what-have-you ~ but it the police who will make you do what the courts say ifyou don't do it voluntarily Ifyou don pay your taxes, the police wil make you you reise {oeven paticipate in the judicial process, the police wll make you. Ideally, the police won't even Ihave to use tele power that often the mere fact that they could acts as a deterrent for disobedience ‘Studies might shov that police only solve X percent ‘of erimes, Dut even if the fail more often than not, ‘X might sil be high enough that many potential ritinals aren’ willing to take the risk The value ‘of policing sin al ofthe crime ~and especially inthe violence ~ that does? happen, not justin the police response to the rime that does happen People obey the lw out of fear of panishment. If there are no plie, there sno punishment, and thus no incentive to obey the a If there's no in ‘centive to obey the law, then there's effectively no Taw, and no state, and we all return to Hobbesian violent anarchy As pto-abolitonists are eager to point out, however, liberal democratic societies have long suffered from design fas that prevent them from ing up evento thei own ideals. For instance, bert theorists likeJohin Locke envisioned aright tomateral property almost as unconditional as those to ie and Hert, and this has permitted the ‘evelopment of vast economic inequality on| ‘account of how, ita free market, geting money is tesier the more money yon already have. (Locke justified this by claiming that his preferred fconomy, even the poor are better off than they be without state, Whether or aot this is true, Locke's design is still very far from optimal given teverythinga state can do) This economic ‘nequality often translates nto equally severe social and political inequality, due to insufficient legal safeguards against the rich buying elections and dominating eltute via mass media, Making tnatters worse is the limited distribution of constitutional rights at the outset of iberal ‘democracies such asthe U.S: ifony white men can ‘ot, then the stat sony accountable to white ‘nen (and everyone else can only make themselves heard by disrupting the functioning of society and ‘making the alread-powerfl afraid ofthe ‘consequences of not listening). Meanwhile, to preserve their own poser, the already poserfl Fight to farther disenfranchise the aleeady-weak and they sueceed to a dangerous dagre because of the existing power gap. This vious yee of n= fealty tends toward an ottcome in which the State ~ including, of course the police ~ heed only the will ofthe powerful, and the west re left with ‘only enough if, liberty ad propery to be eal tools for their superiors, Furthermore, Hobbes’ dichotomy’ betwoen a society with state and violent chaos is false one. There exist, and have always existed tatcless societies tha enforce rule of conduct ina ‘decentralized fashion, Punishments may be violent (eg beating, killing exile) or non-violent Ce ‘ostracization)~ andl while the frequency of ‘olence varies from one scietyto the next, we {know of no instance in whichis totaly absent. Stateles societies also tnd tobe small ~ small ‘enough to feasibly maintain a consensus on wha ‘constitutes unacceptable behavior, so they don't form ireeonelabl conflicting factions and break apart This articles still about police abolitionism, 1 ‘swear ~ bit {think ts informative that that subject has led me into so rich diseussion of broader issues Police violence against ‘marginalized people in our society is rooted in Structural problems that keep the law and the state beholden tothe interests of some people much ‘more than others, To eliminate this form of ‘opptesson once and forall, those who are ‘rrently marginalized must be given the voice in ‘ur sciey’s governance that they have deserved al along, and tat the philesophy behind our politics has promised them. But are wet achieve Sich a thing through evoltion or revoltion, and Felatdly, what magnitude of change is necessary? T won't ty to resolve this longstanding debate here and now, but close by commenting oni To the evoltionaries, I say this: t's okay to estroy something tht performs an important fimetion a lng a8 you have something else lined ‘upto replace it with It night turn out, fr instance, thatthe culture of existing police ‘departments sso messed up that it remains a Ihuge obstacle to ending police brutality regardless of broader changes in society (Foran illustration, See the Medi article "Confessions of a Former Bastard Cop”) In this situation, even ifyon think society needs something lke police, we might need to disband our existing police organizations and scemble new ones ith few ono members rom the old ones. To the revolutionaries: [won't try to quash your ambition, but keepin mind that ifyour plan involves everyone behaving pro-socaly in the coimpete absence of violent coercion, centralized oF fat = of fit involves stateless cooperation on the Seale of, sa, the industrial supply ehains that make ‘modern technology possible~ thea what you're planning is anthropotogically precedente. And Above all, make ste you have a plans again, i's okay to destroy something that performs an Timportant fnetion as long as you have something ‘lene upto replace seth, Perhaps yo think ‘jetory over oppression Is historially inevitable, bu if tha’ tre, its because people work to ‘understand how a world better than their own ean test as well a 10 make that world realityA Publication Too Far Justin patrick academia inthe ats century difficult to navigate nite, but is toghet doing eas a sudent In my experience in graduate tds, it oten fc ike fs more ofa networking ame than ssthing. Networking cars ference eters and reference etter earn admission to competitive programs funding and event tenure-track job opportunites I ved to look at Northrop Frye asa Kopefl example that ould perhaps be replete He made sgnfeant poisons and evenly came profesor sethout a PhD other ord, Fthoght that pblcations could bea way to transcend the networking nightmare of worrying a en toa profesor could be misinterpreted and esd to abridge birme,aeter short on spplicton, and an ery en to an sade earer Tse abeays denpsed this imterdependent aspet of academia since fee Hike al of ty grades and ting ar not enough; ike need to be chaperoned as fmy stent status makes me les person. Now, however ann nse writing one's way to an exo of independence spose During my master's, {ied a numberof way to game te sytem of academia Smite to conferences without expicly statng that wa a stent and not correcting the response enals resing me as-Prfeso" which once reaifed ina funded conference toa sll erica Pla Science Associaton spinoff conference where only one other student presented. became tdieted to writing cadre book reviews forany journal or platform that would take high onthe cheap th fee Books and the que traaround of publications Seven book reviews fom HNetand a rapagassortnent of todent journals wer enh of bis to Eoin oumal with an impact factor to send mea book to reve Trspedupan over 60-000.ont amc during iy masters and submited ittoa high-end publisher fo one their shorter book Publications, Imad it tothe review pace, For ot the nes five months, responded othe Comments of editors and three reviewers By some nial, the manag survived. However, ight Tnforethe editorial board was to delve their vend they asad me to send my CV's second te. Then, nother ena came nad al te crashing down, They esentily onplinented me on the writing bt old me that Tease Teas sent hey dd nt wart to Dbl canes got a proesor to jonas ‘over, eventhough the Dook was already ‘writen. There was no eseape No matter how hard work, ial eame back to newerking, sent ermal on to ew anders versed inthe opie, Tntnone woud go for rea, thene was Researcher cade social media site where frum omments cout toward your profiles pat factor. Aer year of emnening on arson thread, ny Researchate score rose higher than some professors ny departments, While many graduate stunts are inte interme of publishing Spportintis often not publishing nt their PD dsertation or only as ewes with hee superssars ought hada ehanee to defy the odds and move to bigger publetions to cement an ealy status asa expert in my esearch opie not veto wom ae ch aboot job pplication, a above al propose l-neted poly recomendations sooner ater than ater Toad another dimension to this ny research topi fs stidentgoverament In ser words was ‘eting about polite sytem in which Iam. a iret participant, and even so, was stil shut out Furthermore there ea sick ey ih eich scholars on this topic oie the writings of student leaders ‘who dled young, obsessing aver the even the mast, ‘ninasol esp of wing ef bein fra "vents taken too soon Irene that my writing ‘oul be worth more to thse scholars were ded than fer aie Maybe this jst a ba txperience Maybe another pbsher wil ake the Took or other shorter publeatons could make i throng. Upon starting s PhD. program, 1 dead the eating being second las tien before the ints ofthe ory tower Lie Cea aeGap Years for “Grown Ups” why this is the perfect year to take a semester off SN ee ssc, a Sezer cs ahem [2 imerecrttentn ceiaugane og) Soe rece nt aoe : - — — ~~ = - - - - | —_tnany stents have registered and paid for | Signifeant portion of thet yearly tition, Td take to -thesteets every night~naked lee witha \, _seeapionerating oral oso ditch this yar Te — ~~ However, sine this is not a easonble proposal or ‘ny conades without liniess tine, sggest i ead that you it your course oad so that yo ean ese oer things. What are the grounds on which ____Viake this argument? Wel 2. You need a bre nese es Te igh on the pce Proc on Concentrating on « ital object foros fhe day can et Were a week note semester and ale ital Siders despot and wringing theta fg mbosble combine tht with he at hat Fens one reply sear hat schoo en one of your works geting an tangible or | tow of eamingand ops signe’, ch nteretonal edb and you may fel ke Sounds sol eshing at ts worst and aenatingat ff M2" zetingabsclatey nothing done. For statin one sumnerscholandthagh any dens his eases them top een ret hres of pages week apes ost or pressre on themselves og something pees weck an pope cove, ich exes ven noe dates ad begat eee that wrecks the hel ofthe beain sd he quality of work paper after pape would not be ale ol on “ne thing ered Consider that yx it F thermmber of asses you tke onlin, you wl get “todo more of your degree in-person and may — therefore retain more knoe, You probably need a beak even yo fe ike vou dont need one {took Break fom schoo in Tul and withina moth Iwas able to wake up ees thou pangs of terror and my nausea abated . The tine that ay fee wasted from not taking more classes isesreely salable Sou use to help ourselfevena ite Nowa great tne odo yon do part oft Athome: ny two ont fsa ve Fr you si yoredoing what yon want tobe Picked up fm photog started ating ion together pore snd han eter coe time off and away om your area ‘endoratsomeleiinate fetal Taking my MM stay Ean be more wef in understanding what My series ssomehing have alsa wanted ME Soue learning anti contmuation When! 664 os and a gration draws nearer the Tooke of tom Pica! Scene and BESS: possity orcas tang tine to workon my ME Ptosopty treated how warped rain had Big ert scesfrher and ferther sway With Tome = procesing al phenomenon ssl Everthingin fv and legitimate employment. MW constructed or as an edge sie Pipedream foros of now's the time totale Mla fastened ides ofan joy on me and that one in-aiion shot before yu have © qt thinking about te meaning of human existence Som eft me pure to anthingyeth ‘Wort entescnai, dons work ot and svn ny ie ie. Schoo ht theo jmp Bak it, To B isstrdin temas quote: hing that ne ‘Your majors may note ding this toon bit f were doingare worth sing ir good tosep bck even alte tse what ae Sour area of sty iturin onto. You iy {Sacver tha ou ae dng xsl what yo rat tobe doing and tra with «nena {Speciation ory ay be faced wah heat tha you ned gu Ether way, Be Sevingyounel lt of tie dow the toad and lncovering things about yourself in he proses TENT ber ended up dropping «ally summer courses after the mterns Bcase Iwas doingso pory: Obviously, now that my experience not universal but i's harder todo well when your'e not engaged, and ros students that Ie spoken to are checked the Ill out. Confer honestly with yourself ae you sping ove any motivation in wo weeks? & ‘oath? Si? ot, consider iting the dainage ices tv beerto jut est oes : v ay ae Aad etn feebHow Are We All Going to Survive This Year? online school’s problem is that it’s online lucy stark ‘Thanks for asking. but no, Lhave not attended any ofthe CLNS workshops for being an effective ‘alne lamer or ting time ecient Why? Because jst ike the classes they are supposed tel wth thse workshops are also online ‘One week nto the fall semester and my brains being destroyed by the endless oop of aria sere and lokig tthe asiterented faces fm pees on BB Collaborate, Just ding! You eat ‘ven fol yourself int thinking there are other people gong through the same thing beease no ‘ne want tenon theireameras. And why ‘wo they ett? With he eames fy can istract ore ro the pointless online Tete by coking stretching or dng ting else lrg it love stretching o siting outside during hy leeture whenever is possible because, forthe eof me, Leannot itil and stare ata compte srmen for more than go mites. And tha’ nak te trsngto subtly Nex how disconnected oo) Tram Gs not like when Lott stdents are ke ea gt 2 hours fle lst night” and they | want you to be impressed). im genuinely envious | ofthe people who ar abl foes completely ‘uring online lected meetings ye ont there pleat help me ost. | "think the most concerning partis thatthe most ‘cent way to spend yor school day =a i, the ‘ay you'e going to got the most dane and have the most ime isto stayin one roo al dT {id that yesterday. woke up at 9 (sleeping Inter than sual sone ofthe oly tings ke aout onlin learning) and frm 9am to 1 pm, ‘id ot eve my room except to ge od. This 1s Ineredibly. Unhealthy. Most ether days, ‘would take # break to go fora walk orn or Something ouside, bt beeause of my seed ‘only had time odo my breaks inside. And what ‘avy when you have break? You wateh TV ‘or Vote, To do my workoat yesterday 1 Watched a YouTube exercise torial So, even ‘uring my healthy tine as staring a9 Seren 'm reli o sound as nooner 2 posable, burg, think the boomers were Fight about his one: we're aay ooking a ou «damn phones (or eomputes). Not changing my setting, not having eh i, not fecing people face to-fae—also why does the dea lofrbrenknt rooms" eae me toners set, Bat meeting up wth strangers in real ife sounds so apprting?those things areal adding ip and making me worried el about the esto tis Sear This only weck Whats going to happen ‘ven the mater gts harder oF we get exas? (Or when i gets way to cold os ontsid and do ‘work? What happens when the second COVID ‘nae isa we ea even meet ip wth ove ‘ses frends olive outside of ur homes? Pessimism tothe MAX, eae But, thought by geting out al ofthese ears andeoncers, abe ble read ver and know exactly wht | shonld ddothin year give myself breaks fom the ‘compute. It's gong to be har to bid those ‘reas ino ny Schedule an eomtinue to gh for ‘hem agalast the immense pressure to always be ‘working of be productive. Reminder to sap Today willy ie long with my ptf don't prioritize tines o walt Qoees Park or ‘he grocery store or erally walk to Missing 1 {hi online lacing might be amazing forms tales (calveson our bodies are spelled the sme {sthe word for a baby ow? Cite, a ant to escape to “The Lakes" hat Tylor Swi sigs about on her boas trek of Folkore~ natre wil be ny savior this year: Whether hat ay means esting fey baked bead fom nature's = ‘eat or sol training myself to on far enough twenjoy varias green parades devoid of ig sgaces (Queen's Parks geting ait repetitive at this olny wanna run so ofr, bu resting a {he caléTovontoalris eal “TL:DR: fy want to print ot pages of your line textbook and met pat» part sy Snthotsereens, pease HMU! Once I ets 00 cold (nz eks), eat dot do though?A™\is © Odin Who? CULta Be Looking for Queer Rep in Norse Mythology neiltiams ‘The people want tospeak to—mosty white middleclass ‘queers probably find the image I present fara: ‘Ament o something from the interme, about gender. ‘Specifically, itis about the gender ofthe Old Norse deity (or the Marvel Franchise character?) Lok. This untrustworthy; shapeshifing, adopted child is regularly regaded as an excelent example of queer representation inmth orn poplar media, fu in gender and sexily. ‘Tobe quite bunt, hate this notion, Queer people, being se rootless are always seronging around for role models land exemplars to identity with and celebrate To be represented isto be sen: tbe seen isto know you exist. 1 ow the weird loneliness of existing without a mold of ‘who you are, an ideal of who you could be, but take ‘offense because the discourse surrounding Lak tips her ‘ofthe contest of her queemess. Very specially, LOI (anal coded) takes on the form ofa mare to lure agian horse away from his construction project, thus becoming pregnant with ol. Lak transgresses the limits of her ‘assigned gender, but the version of Loki people identify With is non-transgressive. Theres ver tle tha’ tly untoward inthe raver-haired pretty Doy/gel who represents Lot inthe popular imagination and the ‘question “Ist gay to fek a horse ifyou are also a horse And defending the interests af the gods?” Is nt even in play. Lok is id sure but tame, simpler fr the sake of Saying ves, that’s me!” and for selling comics. Engaging withthe original mater reveasa more complicated Image. Engagement should not only rediacover queerness ‘bu suggest different Kind of identification aswel. "Yes, that’s ie” not the representation Pm ater—and think yat shonld want something diferent too. We might find ‘what I'm looking for in another character from Nordic poetry Ooimn. ‘rm not referring to Odin, whose names crude angiciza- ton ofthe word which appears in the vigil sourees and ‘sho seems litle more than alight ystial patie Headey in the poplar consciousness I want ote. shou Odin The Iike oan expression of surprise $Thevo ike thet in moter father and oer) «queer icon ther eve was one. But Before we de into the gy {etal yon should know more about Odin sat “Though we know the most about Gi fom Ola Norse tests haling from medieval eda, Odin was wor. hipped rom the Roman acpation of Germania t the ‘ike age, from Seandnava fo ental rope to - ‘and: Xe discovered the rune alphabet, ges favor in {ntl Knows almost everthing butte universe rom a ints corpse, rules hat ever, sad to have founded Tan royal ieages, and eats numerous asolatons sr pty and fervor, death and mage. The base reasons for Oainsqueernoss are prety simple: xe performed gender and sewalty ina non-normative ay Though very thucha patriarchal hea dey, muipe sources repr that Odi spent some tine ing on an land to practice feminne-coled magi, which st sey ving aa woman, “Additonal Ob’ wie, rag atone with ‘Srbrothers(peraps during OO shame gender ‘ile. Gains reters maybe hypestases-Uit It say Ssernate entities ofthe eal dey ell So Odin ie tian wh hel folvelikea worn (Wont gain. ces feminine sree) and has sx wth women er tap wile exile for beng worn and perhaps under the guise of being two other men? This sal chamef, Strange and eve the wrsreness ofthe sian sinks of quernes. ‘But what makes Odian especialy interesting tome, and es pecially valuableas a queer role model, isi strange class ‘character and how they osilate between a normative po- ‘ition anda non- normative one. In adition to stepping the boundaries of wr assigned gender, Odinn alo violates ‘rupper-class position. In many adventures, inn takes ‘on the persona of an old wanderer who is delassé or maybe even outside lass. At one time, dinn-the-wanderer ‘is welcome in the halls ofthe high, a another, xe is Smprisoned on sight (eta some magical interference, but nonetheless). And ually, Onn comes to trek and defeat those xe wists: stealing the mead of poetry from landowning giants or orchestrating the death ofa king xe ‘once favored. But Otani welcome among slaves too, who ‘xeisjustas happy to deceive, kil, and replace forthe sake fof some scheme Odinn is dangerous to everyone. Odin always looks ater xi own interest, the interests of Asgard, the home of the ruling elites. Sot comes as no ‘surprise that when Lok (never an insider among the gos, 4 foreigner) comes to inslt her adopted fais O8inn ‘who shames Loki for having indulged a pervert’ way of living’ Gi JeeKson Crawford's translation) or wonanish sways (in Lee M- Hollander’). None ofthese translators are brave enogh to render the line ina way with any contemporary resonance, but the real sense ofthe phrase s Something likes" see that u're a fucking faggot" OF ‘otee, Lak urs the same accusation right back at Odinn, ‘but soon finds herself thrown out nthe cod, For all the shame that follows O8inn and Lak it is xe who keeps it et at the table and no wonder, Odinn can wear adres or ft wanderer’ lak but was always in charge. And Odinn fan sleep with any woman x kes, almost without consent ‘And Odinn can decide who vil survive and wo wil die on the bated, whichever serves xem best And Gdinn will Allston a throne, with birds and wolves who pick st corpses by xirside, whether or not they were judged the ‘worthiest to live. think I've heard of contemporary Odinns fut there, who begile the vulnerable with thelr bain intelligence, whe hurt people and disguise their deeds with the language of theraps als known as ‘rune magic), and ‘who want fo look poterless wile holding many more cards than they show. As we have see, thisisa tremendously ‘dangerous postion to occupy but where giants are fooked bby Oainn, their small servants end up dead ‘There may be just one oF two possibly redeeming features n Gdinn's character. ea thik of notrats person with as ‘many names ad identities (sin has dozens f tiles and nieknames). And Lean think oo person more eam mitted toself-transformation, whether by becoming a hawk or ‘woman-soreeres, whether by cutting ont xi eye for Knowledge oF ding ad coming hack oie 0 Tera the nes. Odin is alway switching skins and identifiers ways making journeys int the anknown, going a far as {omotlate srs iit Teas to Tearing, Odinn not on a ‘quest to find some true, genine, o ‘essential self. Xe ‘ses self lke a tool, turning it over and inside out, ‘becoming what suits xem best forte ime being. What could be queere than that? Don't let me take your representation away from you but Jet me suagest a more complicated relationship the figtes yo identify with, Heng Odin fa terse thi (itera, xeis named Ygg—the terrible one), but after reading this hope you ean see something of yourselfin ‘vip (the changeable one) and something you might be agree that tobe seen isto exist, but Taso believe that the best recognition comes not from meeting your tin but sour shadow, We meet ourselves every day andl probably ‘ont notice bt itis a rare and valuable thing to meet an other who reminds you of yourself as much as they dont 1 Fhope you dont want tobe someone else completely not jst because you'd be giving up your chaie over wo you are, ‘but because to accept seh a simple arrangement I oten to Jose consciousness ofthe dif of yur positon. By sing not just wto you ae it who you are not, you hone sour sense of sou may find toadopt but always to exist near, comfortably ad ‘uneontortably, for better and wore. You are not one ting, franother; yu arein Mux, just as Odinn wasOn-Screen Academics ashman 1. Ryan Reynolds in Van Wilder If acategory of hotness could apply to Ryan Reynoks even bya slaring stretch of said eategorys definition he wl be squarely place a the top ofthis group's rankings.’ Seine. Although an Wilde is nto fri iatenion to Academia and focuson the unsanttoned and raucous elements of eam Is be spends Seven years in univers. You kw who ese dos that? (Gad student I's Math TM, Despite the overwhelming appeal of ts lee, this movi is ot what yon wold conser watchable. Do sourela favor and wath iterally any ther Ryan Rel rove except Waiting) 2. Viol Davis in How to Get Away with Munder {still haven’ decided ike this show, but knew rom the fst times er om seen that Eloved Viola Dis din etch tnt deen of his seees to ind ot they ata ha ge way th murder buf they ida, woulda’ consider tis show instructive, Maybe try the'For Dummies’ guides instead, {3 ily Blunt in The Five-Year Engagement This one's Halpert approve. 4. Denzel Washington in The Great Debaters felin love when my debate coach made ws watch this movie. We was nme in st place it that wast Dena fa 5:Julla Roberts in Mona Lisa Smile {once spent five days writing an essay outline contrasting the Aepction of New England traitonliem a the proresive ‘hinking of West Cost Academia Min his ove never wrote ‘ha essay but Ti writing this ht now, supe was al fornaught 6.Tom Hanks n The Da Vine Cae "gerne thought twas hil prodigy for reading this book in ‘heft grade It contbated mor ome than it adaptation ‘id tothe word of ema, bt the ln stillserves up some Ron Howard-brand vanil-yogur mediocrity. The eal sues that his rovisries getaway with formally ving its protagonist 2 new brillant blackhaired bet for alove interes sidekick three times ina rom Tom Hank seat nside and oat and we al Jew he deserves better than ths preditbii 17-RenedctCumberbate n-The Imitation Game ‘The man tat inspired leagues of women to cll themselves Caer in his et role to date 8, Pal Bettany in A Resi Mind His character wasnt rel but my felings for him were 69. Harrson Ford in Raiders ofthe Last Ark This ones only s0fardown the Ist because fe deep paternal connection otis character and 'm not about hat. Ps, this point nhs ie, Academia TM was ost Indiana’ ame side hustle that eld his passion ~ ransacking sated sites ad iting Ne The Zodiacs When They’re High AF uvina persaud Capricorn December 2-Jansary 19 can you say paranoia? Aquarius Santary 20 - February 8 “Tolerances high you outdo snoop doggy dges 81 bunts aay. Kudos to ‘yout frend, Blaze uppppo Pisces Febriary19- March 20, Gets the manehies at 2am ane cannot for he feof them decide what to fas they js end up staring into the de for 30 minutes wating foe Soniething to magia appear Aries ‘March 21 Api 39 inalyyy ils the ack oat Taurus ‘Apr 20- May 20, Literally cannot stp as Gemini May-June 20 Congratulations on reaching nina oh great ones Cancer Tune 2 -July ‘oes nt eave the couch for several horse theyre to high they cant et Tul 25 - August 22 “Thinks thew a comedian and wont tp telling jokes bt ays somehow so high they forget the pinching Virgo Augis 25 September 22 ‘Conspiracy theorist, Libre September 29 -October 22 Cano eontro their emotions gong from fs of lughter to baling their foro ino. seconde at Scorpio (ctobr2g-November 21 {sgt it onnnnn ala Mavn Gaye Sagittarius November 22 December 21 Socrates who? Sagitaris isthe el pilosopher her. Thinking about thir exstetil ers tl thei head explodesPlan a Date to Find Out Which Academia™ Hottie You Are ashman 1. What you wil eat: 2) Chareutere board 1) Carnitas tacos €) Pork enderoin {Beet hourguignon ©) Dali sandwiches 2. For dessert 8) Cream puts Pudding «© Pecan pie creme bebe ©) Sale doughnuts 13. Acockal to help ital go down: 2) Sauvignon bane b) Whiskey ©) Bourbon on the rocks 4) Merlot ©) Cotton candy vodka 4: deal ven 8) Pienie b)acwe «) Candle-it table at home Bistro ©) The couch 5 Ifthis date could occur anywhere inthe word, you would choose: Italy b)Per €) New York ‘Pars ©) Michigan 6. Most likely topic ofdiseussion to flex that you're in Academia An b) Archaeology ©) Contemporary legal issues History ©) Psychology 7-What you wil wear 2) Plaid blouse and slacks 1) Khaki. Bversthing ©) Blazer and dress pants @Asuit } Sweats 8.TV viewing forthe post date cil 8) ILove Lucy Gunsmoke «True Detective {History Channel ) Sorubs Ifyou got mostly 4's You're Julia Roberts (AKA Katherine Ann Watson) from Mona List Smile, You're tee-thinking and stick to your principles witen push comes to shove. Your tenacity wins over even the most "Stubborn of people but sometimes you misplace yo faith in fathers. When someone breaks your trust, you bounce Baek ‘uickly and easily adap to every change life rings. Ifyou got mostly B's. You're Harrison Ford (AKA Indiana Jones) from Raiders ofthe Lost ark You're adventurous bt old-school. You know what you want and tend to gett Love eludes you though you have other pisstons in your life that keep you busy: Ifyou got mostly Cs You're Viola Davis (AKA Annalise Keating) fom How to Get Away with Murder You're headstrong and cutthroat. Some fear you, some loathe ya, but no one underestimates you. You're passionate and food at what you do with awit sharp enough folet everyone Kw it However they never see the whole pete; you're a ‘aster at hiding your secrets and keeping the skeletons in your ‘lost Forked aay Ityou got mostly D's You're Tom Hanks (AKA Robert Langdon) from The Da Vinet Code You're a disciplined and knowledgeable person, which has brought yo fr, Despite your sucess, yon ind yoteelf alvays chasing something. Even when you find what you're looking for, you feel drawn to another searh, always om the nt for the worlds wonders. Ifyou got mostly E's You're Emily Blunt (AKA Violet Barnes) from The Five-Year Engagement You don’t take yourself 10 seriously and peopl lve you fort You ean be gullible at times, but you tend to end up where you're supposed tobe even if you falloff rack, even iit takes a wile. You lni-back personality and eense of amour make Sua keeper well worth the waltProse, Poetry, Allusions of the Existential Mind: A Twenty-First Century Quarantine Collection Shit, Bear, Bienstock, Joshua Bryant, Liam P., Smerek, Esther OR.NPIW,.7H0D NS GRG469H1F: Avant Garg 21 September 2020Perspectives after Teletherapy it is impossible to tell how many chameleons are inaroom. a transparent audience to my confusion. head fog clouds my vision. it is important to care for and feed the Goldfish in your mind. i must care for and feed the Goldfish. they are relying on me to save them from the chameleons. Counsellor With clammy palms I say grace, mottled pieces of faith trudging past my nose and resting on my good favour. Because I'm lovely and plump, and imperfect and kind and my heart bleeds without my permission and my hair falls in curls around my face. Yes — Iam a wicked thing, for Love without you telling me. Because my hands are calloused and my heart sings of promise. And when I see art my eyes sparkle and Iam raptured Day ones Last night, I sat Cross-legged in the park Weightless and falling into rapt attention Ofa boy, ‘Nodding along encouragingly? As he explained philosophy badly. Man, I feel like a woman With clammy palms I say grace, ‘wiping them on my jeans, muttering my faith: T'm nota godly man, nor shall I ever be. I don’t deserve God, and he doesn’t deserve me * Bathera Smerek, “Perspectives after Teletherapy”, UC Gargole: Avant Garg, vo.66 (Toronto: Six Months A.C- After Covid, 2020) 2 Bear Shit, “Day Ones”, UC Gargoyle: Avant Gar, voL66 (Toroato: Five ¥¢ Months A.C- After Covid, 2020) 9 Liam P. Bryan, "Counsellor", UC Gargoyle: Avant Garg, vl.66 (Toronto: Five % Months A.C- After Covi, 2020) 2not okay not okay. what even is okay? have i ever been okay? will i ever be okay? is there something i can do to ever be okay? do i even want to be okay? i want to feel normal, or like i have some grasp over the life i live. i want to feel like the main character, the pilot, the captain, the creator, the owner... the one who takes up space. the one who crafts the narrative, the vision of what is to come, and executes it... deftly dodging the obstacles that come up along the way. i want to feel powerful. i want this life to feel like my own. but instead, i am not okay, * not even just “okay”, i am less than okay, i am nothing. i ama ball of confused emotions, a shell without a pearl, a creature without sentience, a bullet without a gun, a person without a mind, a mind without a body. iam only parts, only visions of what would have been if, only a figment of others’ perceptions held together by little to no effort nor energy nor will nor ability nor time. 1am but a random association of atoms that feel some attraction to one another but have no way of truly connecting. iam here but also not here at all am i in transit or did i just never begin the joumey? are you okay? what do you see? do i feel like something of substance to you? can you see me differently than i see myself? can you define me, for me? can i leam how to be okay through you? {just tell me what to do, how to think, where to look, and what to be. i'll be you so i don’t have to be me. i'll take that over what i am without you. i'd rather be okay with you than not okay with me. so i'll just be with you, and then maybe, i'll be okay. ‘Joshua Bienstock, "not okay”, UC Gargoyle: Avant Garg, vol.66 (Toronto: Five's Months A.C- After Covid, 2020)Lebuitwy Gens” ave whels ths over 2 winlion Files? ‘Senedn in Oscinvaific cihides © manga. obooiks odrenms: Seontrowisrel witter threads lonce haaa Stress dream I Wasenrened M1 4 class abevt frogs and Never | fa. 4: but you feo! nothing Went fe the lectures “n accident... the final exam W45 to stack them KIND SMILE PREFERENCE FOR COUNTRY-ROCKcomi ming soon: swords & sorcery