The recognition of absence or emptiness, in my mind, is actually a good thing. As a society we are genuinely afraid of absence. The absence of meaning leads us to develop theories to explain the unknown and the absence of love leads us to search for our fairytale. The pursuit of meaning has the ability to lead to some pretty great things. As mentioned above, it seems pretty likely that all of us have a certain desire, and need, to find meaning in things like love, pain and the human condition. Think about it, how would we find truth if we didn’t appreciate the complete and utter absence of it on occasion? What I mean, is that the recognition of absence has the ability to necessarily lead to the rewarding pursuit of meaning.

We live in a world that places a premium on ‘knowing’. We are told from a young age that we must know our past, our present and our future to be considered stable and progressive individuals. As a result we spend a lot of time questioning what it means to truly know ourselves and the world around us. It’s as if we somehow fail the test if we don’t establish a grounded and definitive meaning to who we are and what we are meant to do.

Like many things in life, the pursuit of meaning and knowledge can be a double edged sword. What if we don’t find it? What if we can’t define who we are? What if? What if? What if? We’ve all been there and we’ve all struggled to find something to fill an absence that we don’t quite understand. We all have our own ways of coping and filling this absence, but my question to you is whether or not we should worry about filling it at all. For example, without the absence of love, could we ever experience the joy of being swept off our feet and without the absence of happiness could we ever understand the feeling of recovery and rejuvenation? Maybe the recognition of absence is what prepares us to experience something incredible.

What I’m trying to get at is the meaning that we ascribe to absence itself. For example, when we feel the absence of love, the natural instinct is often to ask, “what is wrong with me, why can’t I find love?” By reacting in this way we impress a negative conation on the concept of absence and immediately privilege those who have filled the void. Instead of doing this it is possible to take absence and accept it as a presence that is part of who we are. The mere recognition of absence means that you have prepared a meaningful space for something new to occur. We don’t always know what that ‘something’ is, but we sure as hell know that we need it. Think about it, how could you fill an emptiness if you didn’t first recognize and accept its existence?

You’re probably wondering where I’m going with all of this and I guess I don’t really blame you. For some, this entire article is probably your definition of ‘absence of meaning’.

I want to take you back to the purpose of this article. I want to tell you about an incredible song, one that awoke me to an absence that I didn’t even know I had. The song is called Try and it’s by an artist named Zach Berkman. I heard the song for the first time about four months ago and remember enjoying it but not really thinking anything of it. Then, about two weeks ago I looked it up again and gave it another listen. This time, the song grabbed me and captivated my attention. I started to wonder what it was about this particular song that provided me such clarity to consider my thoughts. After a while I realized what the song was doing. It was forcing me to ‘try’ to figure out what I was missing. Why did I feel complete and whole while listening to the song? What was it that the song gave me that I wasn’t getting otherwise? I kept listening to the song and asked myself these questions until I suddenly came to the realization that I was tricking myself. The song wasn’t encouraging me to answer any of these questions. It was merely telling me to ask them. It was telling me to appreciate the brilliance of a life of uncertainty and a life of questions. What do we have left if there is nothing more to discover? It was telling me that no matter how confusing the world got, the point was to keep trying to figure it out. It was telling me to wake up to the commonplace, to the things that I take for granted, and to recognize the excitement in those people, places and things. The song was reminding me to recognize just how much joy there was in questions and a life without ultimate answers. When Berkman says “oh look how you shine, I know I could love you if we tried, so try, try, try, try” I think that he wants us to realize that we need to ‘try’ life to realize just how much it can ‘shine’. It’s not important for life to always ‘work’ it just has to ‘be’ in order for it to mean something and to be special.

So, without further ado, I hope that you will listen to the song and take something from it. Don’t take what I took, take something else and let it make you think.

Let’s assume for a second that part of the change I notice in Western has something to do with a change in how I see the place and that part of it is an actual change in the mood on campus. Admittedly I was fairly self-absorbed in my attempt to balance academics and the HUCSC last year and I honestly wonder whether this may have caused me to look right past some of the great things happening on campus. More importantly I wonder, if at times, I looked right past the people who make up the fabric of a Western that ‘cares’.

I have always known that there are people at Western, Huron, Brescia and Kings that are incredibly passionate about the communities that they live and educate themselves in. But I don’t think that I always took the time to evaluate and appreciate the depth of commitment that people on this campus have to the things that they care about. There is more to these people than just what they do. It’s the why, the motivation, the story and the journey that leave me in awe of the caring that one can find if you look hard enough at UWO. It’s one thing to be committed to representing a cause, but it is another thing entirely to invest your heart and soul into the personal journey found within the desire to make a difference.

Two experiences have changed the way that I look at the University of Western Ontario. One experience was the One Love Rally during this year’s Orientation Week. Most people didn’t know quite what to expect from the event, but within minutes of the opening lines from Lieutenant Choi and moments after the final notes of Steven Page’s moving performance I knew that I had just witnessed a game-changer. I don’t want to overrepresent the impact One Love, but I do think that it was a special event for the way that it broadened the scope of Orientation Week. Sometimes we search for complicated ways to let people know that we care about them, yet sometimes all we need to do is remember that One Love is enough and that we just have to say it. Whether One Love really is the start of something new at Western is for all of us to decide, but the very idea that each person in the audience left feeling like they were somebody is something to build on.

The second event that got me thinking about the idea of Western starting to care about one another was the re-opening of the USC Support Services Centre. For those who haven’t had a chance to visit the Centre, make sure to take time to visit Room 38 in the UCC Basement. It is an incredible space to hang out and meet great people. I didn’t spend a lot of time in the Support Services Centre last year and went to the re-opening on a bit of a whim. To be honest I felt a little bit apprehensive about putting myself out there to meet the commissioner, coordinators, execs and employees that form the backbone of the USC Support Services, but after spending the better part of two hours in the Centre I realized that my apprehension had been replaced by a true sense of acceptance. The people that I met in the Centre conveyed such genuine passion for the things that they were involved in that I couldn’t help but talk to them about it. I stopped feeling out of place and started to talk about the things that I care about. I mentioned earlier that it’s not so much about what these people do and that its almost more about the why and the journey. The sense I get from this group of people is that the things that the Support Services do are about becoming part of the journey each person at Western has to go through to find out who they are and want to be.

Maybe I’m reading too much into my first two weeks back at Western, but I’d like to think that this is the start, or at the very least, the continuation of becoming a campus that cares.

Jack’s letter to Canadians offered a number of beautifully written passages that seem to accurately portray the passion Mr. Layton had for our country and its people. However, the line that stood out to me the most was not the eloquent final paragraph that has already become a household quotation. What resonated with me was Jack’s reminder to “cherish every moment with those you love at every stage of your journey.” He wrote this in reference to the many brave individuals who continue to fight cancer, but I think the phrase has universal application.

In our lives we are constantly racing towards the next goal or the next moment.We often wish fervently for the future and miss the beautiful things that happen in the present. It sounds a whole lot like ‘stopping to smell the roses’, but I think that there is a much deeper sentiment to consider. It’s not just enough to stop and appreciate the moment. You have to find a way to become it. To feel your heartbeat, appreciate beauty and accept love for yourself and others. You can’t just smell the roses or the moments. You have to let them fit into your world and begin to open yourself enough to understand how they have changed you.

I’ll never forget an exchange I overheard on a Tuesday morning in a coffee shop earlier this year. Out of the corner of my consciousness I heard someone say “Friday couldn’t come soon enough for me.” It’s an innocent enough phrase, something that I hear everyday and something that I have been guilty of saying from time to time. I didn’t think anything of it until I heard a second voice say, “I love Tuesdays because Tuesdays mean that I still have the rest of the week to live. Life is too precious to wish it away.” Under normal circumstances I might have thought the comment to be just a little bit pretentious, but at that moment I couldn’t help but think about how right this second voice was. I haven’t stopped thinking about that moment and I realized that we should take advantage of, or as Jack reminded us today, cherish every moment with the people and things that we love. Don’t forget about the future, because the future can be great, but don’t forget to live in the ‘now’ because it can be pretty special too.

Jack’s passing also presents us with an opportunity to remember an individual who used his voice as a citizen to the best of his ability. Jack Layton did not grumble in a corner or hide his desire to make change at any point in his life. He put his thoughts, ideas and opinions into action and helped to move our society forward. He didn’t always do this from a position of significant public profile. He recognized that his voice was worth something, whether he had a title or not, and that he had a responsibility as a citizen of Canada to encourage change where he identified a need for it. Hopefully Jack’s passing will stir people to speak up about the things that bother them and help them to move towards solutions. It seems to me that we all seem to be waiting for the right time, when we have less at stake, to make our voices heard. Why wait? Stand up for something now, because you never know how many more chances you will have to do it.

In closing, I look at Jack Layton as someone that we should all respect. His courage, determination and strength should be admired. I like to think that he would not want to be deified or remembered as a man of perfection, but I think that he would want us all to believe that a world with a few more ‘Jack Layton’s’ would be a place where we’d all want to live.

By sectioning off the electorate into conquerable voting blocks political parties are able to avoid addressing the issues that cut across the politically defined cultural, ideological and demographic groups. Politicians appear to be uncomfortable with addressing these issues because they know that each voting block will splinter in reaction to movement on these items. As a result, political parties play it safe by only addressing the issues that allow them to keep the voting blocks intact. Each party has an interest in doing this because it means that potentially volatile political issues do not have to be dealt with. Instead, they adopt an incremental approach to politics that sees big problems go largely unaddressed and big ideas muzzled. The ideas big enough to solve the problems facing Canadian society often never see the light of day because they are deemed to controversial or electorally risky.

In addition, this election has seen the political parties avoid seriously discussing the concerns of groups that do not carry a significant amount of electoral sway. The youth vote has received symbolic attention from the major parties in the form of post-secondary education plans but the overwhelming sense is that this block will not vote anyway. Hopefully this thinking will be proven wrong on May 2nd, but it is too early to say whether videos like Pat Searle’s “Vote Day” or Rick Mercer’s Rant will actually inspire Canadian youth to vote. The only way that this group will ever be taken seriously is if it goes out and votes in the next election.

The lack of attention paid to the opinions of young voters relies upon the underlying assumption that they will not exercise the right to vote. The political parties understand that this group holds electoral potential but for the time being are willing to take a chance on it not showing up. The situation is entirely different for other groups across Canada. Take the First Nations demographic. Some of the most significant human rights issues in Canada are those that feature the government’s approach to First Nations communities. However, not a single party has shown any interest in having a substantive debate on how these issues should be addressed. They understand that the average Canadian is not going to cast his or her vote based on a plan for First Nations communities and therefore feel comfortable leaving it out of the campaign entirely. The First Nations voter base is not numerically large and holds little electoral influence. As a result, the parties seem to only offer small token gestures of support. This doesn’t sound like the Canada that stands up for its diversity and for the rights of those who need it. Instead, it sounds like a country that is afraid to address the things that make it uncomfortable.

The question we must ask ourselves is why the electorate allows this strategy of targeted campaigning to continue to exist. It would be unfair to blame the political parties and the politicians for this phenomenon.There are good people running for federal office who have admirable goals for Canada’s future, but they find themselves forced into the system for the purpose of getting elected. Can we really blame them for this? Many candidates have strong passions for public service and have a desire to influence change in Canada and the world. If faced with a choice between committing the sin of running a populist election campaign and the prospect of losing the opportunity to change the country for the better would any of us really do anything different than what our politicians are doing? I for one believe that there are good politicians out there like London-North Centre MP Glen Pearson who has, in my view, gone into the ‘system’ with the intention of changing it. If you haven’t had the opportunity to read Glen’s blog I suggest that you take a moment to scan a few of his entries. No matter what your political affiliation, reading what Glen has to say will remind you that politicians are human and have the same frustrations and dreams as the average citizen. It seems to me that the fault for the current state of politics lies at the feet of the electorate and the selfish desire to have our individual problems targeted quickly. This approach often comes at the expense of a comprehensive national strategy. If we were to demand that politicians solve not only our problems, but the underlying societal issues that have led to them, we could change the way that political campaigns unfold. It appears to me that society’s need for immediate solutions often results in band-aids that do not address the real problems in our communities.

In summation, I think that it is important for all of us to go out and vote on May 2nd and to vote for the candidate who has articulated the most coherent vision for Canada’s future. This however is only the start of our democratic responsibility. If we want to truly change the way that politics is done in our country we are going to need to spend the next session of parliament resisting the urge to be wooed by partisan pandering. We need to demand comprehensive solutions to the root causes of the individual issues that we discover on a day to day basis and consider the broad scope of what our local problems represent on a national scale.

One thing that I’ve been thinking a lot about lately is the idea of political engagement. WAIT! Don’t just turn the page because of that horrendously boring catch phrase. The word ‘engagement’ is, without a doubt, one of the most overused words in today’s political discourse. Unfortunately, it has been tossed around so much that it doesn’t really mean anything anymore. I myself have been guilty of using the word as a crutch to explain the concerning level of apathy towards all levels of politics.

But seriously, what does it even mean to be engaged? I mean, aren’t we all to some extent engaged in politics, just by virtue of living our lives? Does engagement really mean that we have to religiously follow the news or subscribe to the latest updates from CPAC (that random channel that broadcasts the House of Commons debates)? Is it possible that being politically engaged is actually just observing the problems that face our friends, our families and us? Instead of putting politics on a pedestal I think that it might be valuable for us to realize that at a basic level, politics are merely the representation of the natural challenges of our lives.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting that we should absolve ourselves of our civic responsibility just because we experience politics everyday. In fact, what I’m saying is the opposite. Shouldn’t political engagement, or whatever you want to call it, be intuitive and the easiest thing that you’ve ever done?

Think of it this way. When you were in kindergarten, to whom did you go when your friends were being mean to you? Well, unless you were one of those kids who took justice into your own hands, you probably ran to your teacher. You knew that she or he was going to be your best support and best help for solving the problem at hand. In a rudimentary sense, this expression of concern was your first foray into the political process. You had a problem, you recognized it, and then you asked someone to fix it. Shouldn’t this be the way that we look at politics in the broader sense?

Follow me for about three more paragraphs…

The way I see it, our role, as the Huron University College Students’ Council, is to somehow make you believe in us enough to trust that we are your best support; or at least one of many good supports that can help you when you need to solve a problem in your life. Obviously, it would be ridiculous for me to suggest that we can solve every problem that you encounter during your time at Huron, but I will say with absolute confidence that we care too much to let any problem go unaddressed. Just the other day, someone mentioned to me that there really needed to be a Canadian flag flown outside of the College. In this case, an individual stepped up and spoke to me because they knew that I might have a decent chance of solving their problem. I have since contacted the College administration, which has begun to explore the possibility of having a Canadian flag flown.

This one little example isn’t meant to act as a self-inflicted pat on the back, it’s designed to illustrate just how easy political engagement can be. All it takes to be engaged is an expression of concern to the right person about something that bothers you. Somehow we have to get people to start doing this at Huron. If you have a problem, don’t just sit on it. Come and talk to us. Knock on my door until I can’t ignore you any longer or get in touch with me in anyway you can, because we do have the ability to help you reach your goals and solve your problems.

Okay, well, there you have it. I don’t know whether I’ve been interesting or thought provoking, but at least I’ve given you something other than the generic babble that comes out of most Students’ Council messages. I don’t deny I’ve babbled, but to be honest, I don’t think that it has been generic. Anyway, if you’ve read this far in the article, thank you. I’m very grateful for your dedication to reading, however, I am only going to be truly proud of you if I see you in my office or read an email about something that you are passionate about.

Talk to you soon!

Adam

If you’re reading this article it means that you have discovered one of Huron’s many exciting involvement opportunities. The Grapevine is a fantastic source of information for Huron students and has given many budding journalists and photographers an opportunity to develop their skills. If you want to get involved get in touch with this year’s very capable editor Whitney Slightham.

I want to take a moment to recognize a few people who have held the HUCSC together over the summer. I am very proud of the Vice Presidents, Coordinators and Commissioners who have spent the summer working towards making this a great year for Huron. I also need to give a huge shout out to the Orientation Soph Team. Under the leadership of Adam Gawn, Dave Tompkins and Chelsea Smith this group of dedicated individuals were able to create the best Huron O-Week I have ever seen.

I am tempted to spend a lot of time talking about all of the great things that we have planned for the year ahead, and I will spend a few words talking about it. However, I think the more important message here is that we are here to work for you. Our office is always open to new ideas and the wants and needs of Huron students. Do not hesitate to walk in at any time. I am going to make a personal promise to attend as many different Huron events and to get to know as many people around the College as possible. I’ll do my best to find out about what’s going on, but if there is something that you think I should know about, please stop by or send me an email at president@myhuron.ca.

Alright, here’s the part where I tell you a little bit about the things that we have planned for the year. As a stakeholder in the HUCSC you can join our intramural sports teams, a club, a committee, promotions crew, photo crew, yearbook committee or come up with your own way to get involved. Stop by myhuron.ca to find a full list of our involvement opportunities. See the calendar in this issue of the Grapevine for event details.

Okay, so there you have it, the official 2010/11 welcome from the HUCSC. Enjoy the year and don’t hesitate to stop by!

Adam

By the way…how are we feeling about the World Cup right now? I’m jumping on the Ghana bandwagon even though I was just in the Netherlands. When I was younger I used to cheer for the Netherlands because I liked their orange jerseys! I have since shifted allegiances to a relatively frustrating nation…England…England seems to be kind of like cheering for the Maple Leafs sometimes…

Today marked the beginning of my trek back across the ocean to Canada. I suppose it’s a bit of a misnomer to refer to it as a trek (as most of my time was spent sitting on an airplane) but I actually did find myself doing an abnormal amount of walking.

The day began without a hitch. Valentina, Monica and I were up bright and early at 5:30am. This cautious approach paid off in the end as we were forced to play a complicated game of suitcase tetris with our Belgian cab driver before going to the train station! We had ordered a van to take us to the station because we figured that the three of us would have fairly significant amounts of baggage. When our driver showed up in a Mercedes we were slightly concerned. In the end, with the help of our affable Belgian driver, we successfully crammed everything, including outselves, into the taxi. On the way to the station our driver told us great stories and largely distracted us from his blatant disregard for traffic signs! At 6am it didn’t much matter what he did, but we still found it entertaining. After getting dropped off at the train station we purchased tickets and made it to the airport in perfectly short order.

Even the airport began as a positive experience. KLM didn’t charge Valentina for her extra suitcase and Monica and I fell within the Air Canada luggage limits. From here things started to trundle downhill. At the end of our check-in Monica and I were told that our flight had been pushed back by an hour. This didn’t really bother us because we were for the most part still wide awake!

We boarded our flight from Brussels to Montreal and flew into the wild blue yonder. Now, perhaps I’m slightly exaggerating the downward slope of the day because the flight from Brussels to Montreal was great. No turbulence, decent food and a couple of good movies. I watched the Hurt Locker for the first time and definitely enjoyed it. I am going reserve final judgement on it until I see it on a proper screen.

Now, everyone knows that Montreal is where the party’s at. Today was no exception. Our flight from Brussels was late getting in so Monica and I thought that we were going to miss our connecting flight to Toronto! In fact, we had so much time it was painful, but we didn’t know it then.

After racing out of the plane, we made our way quickly through preliminary customs and border security. From there we collected our luggage and passed easily through the final customs check and checked our bags once more. Quickly we found our security entrance and scampered into a line. Unfortunately for us we got stuck in the super slow lane! The Canadians took forever checking my bags, even making me remove the nike+ chip in my shoe! Apparently it looks pretty diabolical to have a chip in your shoe! Who knew? Our flight was scheduled to leave at 2:30, we made it through customs by about 2:25 and booked it to our gate. When we arrived we discovered that our rush had definitely been unwarranted as our flight was delay until 3:30. So we waited at the gate, watching our departure time get closer and closer. But, as seemed to be the growing trend, Air Canada once again changed the time and gate number for the flight. In doing so, Air Canada disrupted a lot of people’s plans so they offered to re-book missed flights. Monica is currently in the air as we speak and headed to Windsor. I helped carry her luggage a little bit today so when I went to bring her stuff up to the top floor to re-book her connection to Windsor I kind of zoned out a bit and ended up outside security…again…

This time through I was a pro and blasted right on to the other side. We actually did board our plane as planned at 7pm, but ended up sitting on the tarmac for about an hour and fifteen minutes before taking off. Our delay was a result of the system of thunderstorms that moved through Toronto this evening.

I am now currently sitting in Terminal 1 of Pearson Airport waiting to take the 11:30pm Robert Q shuttle back to London. I have now been awake for a full 24 hours and am in dire need of sleep. I have dosed off in the middle of more than one sentance of this blog posting and should probably stop typing in case I accidentally write something really stupid!