Support for Dwyer Community

A year ago today, I woke up for school. I slipped into my grey slacks, tucked in my uniform shirt, made sure I was wearing black shoes. I walked to school, like I did every day, through a neighbourhood of mainly elderly Italian and Portugese couples, stopping to pet the neighbour's dog that has barked at me every morning since I was six. I got to school on time, was greeted at the door by my teacher, stood for the national anthem and morning prayers.

Our school has been one of the most humanitarian and spirited schools in the region for as long as I can remember -- as long as many of my teachers (many of who went there and came back to teach, our of love for the place) can remember. In fact, during my four years, we collectively raised over $25,000 for the Terry Fox Foundation, built a school in Africa, collected food for the less fortunate families of our school, and raised hundreds of dollars in support of 'Me to We'. All of our non-uniform money went to organizations for the greater good. We came together to support members of our school, students and faculty who had tragically lost loved ones. We celebrated victories in sports and the arts, our football team, womens' hockey team and annual musical revered by other schools and citizens of the region. We have, yearly, at least 5 students on scholarship to schools for sports, and teachers who consistently rank in the best of the region.

Yet, when one unfortunate mishap happens off of the property of my school, one woman has the nerve to say that Monsignor Paul Dwyer Catholic High School is the "worst Catholic school in the Durham Region".

I am flat out embarrassed.

Let me start out by explaining a few things. First, unless people ten years our senior actually work at a high school, they have absolutely no idea of what it is like now. I do not think it is fair for parents and older members of community to cast judgment on a school's students without being fully immersed in the social atmosphere. Computers have definitely added to the social climate of a high school -- bullying rates have skyrocketed. And yes, this is an inevitable fact -- bullying will happen. Bullying will happen everywhere. But it's not like "bullies stalk the halls" and there are gangs of "knife-wielding students" around every corner. It is one kid, once in a while, who has issues no parent or teacher or friend can (or worse, want to) deal with, that becomes a bully. It isn't a social choice, to be a bully.

In my years of high school, I only knew of one personal friend who was bullied -- and this was over the internet; no physical threats or even much face-to-face interaction. And this was quickly resolved by the school administration by separating the two on different lunches and class schedules. In fact, the two later resolved their issues and became friends. Fights would occur -- but it was always the grade 9's thinking they had to make a name for themselves; the upper grades had hardly any cases of people picking on younger kids, or even fighting with one another. In fact, I feel the Dwyer community was quite close-knit and mature, given that it is a place that houses 1400 teenagers.

At my school, you were not allowed to enter most classes without first tucking in your shirt and having uniform shoes. You attended monthly masses, you knew some of your teachers on a first name basis, and you could walk around the neighbourhood without any fear of being hurt.

Yet, somehow, two young boys happened to have a fight after school, ending in a fatal wound.

I grew up in the neighbourhood. I wandered through the field next to the Oshawa Airport, I walked to the store at the stop of the street. I went to Dwyer just one short year ago. My sister, 5 years previously. My friend's father went there.

Dwyer is not a bad place.

I felt safe every day I went to that school. In fact, I stayed there until six some days, working on extracurriculars with teachers and friends.

It its beyond my comprehension that such a thing could have happened.

But it did.

I accept that.

I know that bad things happen at high schools. If you pack 1400 confused and trapped teens into a building for six hours a day, they are bound to get a little edgy. But we can't cast blame on an entire community simply because a few misguided individuals make mistakes. No one ever said that the entire country of Canada was the worst in the world when Paul Bernardo was arrested, or when Jessica Lloyd went missing.

People do bad things, under bad circumstances -- but it is in my strong belief that these circumstances were not a result of Paul Dwyer Catholic High School.

Accidents happen, such as the incident that resulted in a broken window at a local store -- no one still knows for sure what exactly happened in that situation. The problem with high schools is the spread of rumours.

An article written by Parvaneh Pessian from durhamregion.com quoted a Mrs. Young, defiling the name of Dwyer as the "worst Catholic School in Durham".

The article stated "From violently competitive cliques, knife-wielding students exchanging a torrent of threats, and even people being thrown through windows -- a murder just steps from the school's front doors comes as no shock".

While I attended Dwyer, less than one year ago, I was not involved in any of these situations.

Why, you may ask? Simply because these are rumours. Rumours are circulated by students, sure. They typically end quickly. But there's another circle going on here. Parents hear of things from their kids -- usually kids who have started fights and altercations and need to lay the blame on someone before their parent finds out that they're involved -- it's manipulation. Parents spread rumours to other parents just as fast as the rumours in the hallways and this can be just as dangerous. I heard things from my own parents and my friends' parents before I even heard them at school myself!

From the article: ""I'm surprised it hasn't happened sooner because they have no control over those students whatsoever," said Ms. Young, who pulled Jessica out of the school at the end of her Grade 10 year after hearing repeated disturbing stories.""

One can't lay the blame on administration, either. The staff at Dwyer has always worked hard to maintain an atmopshere of safety and respect. But we need to remember one thing;

Teachers are educators. Not policemen.

I expect nothing from faculty other than for them to teach us to love and respect others. Sure, a governing force is sometimes neccessary, but what can a principal or teacher really do to stop a student from doing what he or she wants? Nothing -- a teacher can only lead by example and teach what is good and what's not. I can personally vouch for any staff member at Msgr. Paul Dwyer, had he or she been aware of the situation that was about to occur, that they would have done anything in their power (mainly, calling the police, as any citizen would have the responsibility to do) to stop it.

The Dwyer community has lost a member. They need time to mourn, time to recover, time to reevaluate. They need to do things the adult way, which they are capable of.

Spreading rumours and pointing blame, as seen in the Oshawa This Week, is not the adult way to go about expressing opinion. It is, ironically, the typical 'high school way'. I do not know what happened to her daughter at Dwyer, but I'm sorry that anything did, and I'm sorry that she did not have the courage to alert administration if she was unable deal with her situation herself. Things happen in high schools. But they are not standalone. They are fueled and catalyzed by stereotypes and blame and predjudice.

I am not disappointed in my alma mater.

I feel sorry for them.

I am, however, disappointed in the community media, this woman, and anyone who feels any animosity in this situation whatsoever. I'm sorry that Mrs. Young's daughter did not have a pleasant time at Dwyer, that she was on the bad end of someone else' misfortune, and that administration couldn't help either of them. But one must realize that this is not the case for all students.

Please do not cast shame upon a community that does not deserve it.

Perhaps all of us should take note of our school motto:

Vertias Bonitas; Goodness and Truth.

The article by durhamregion.com can be viewed here.

Environmental Art

Humans are intrigued by complexity. We secretly like not knowing everything -- we like the fun in trying to figure things out. The more confusing, the better. And what is more complex than the entire world?

We try to understand the world. In my view, there are two ways people try to do this; through science and art. Yet, I also believe these two ways are intricately related.

Since the near beginnings of man, art has been a way of expressing knowledge, a way of coming to understand new places, new landscapes, new ideas, new concepts. Art is communication, appreciation, imagination...art is everywhere. Art has always been about the environment. Think about the ancient wall carvings and totem poles of the indigenous communities; how they were used to convey the feelings that group had towards the environment around them.
Art is how we express our feelings. It's everywhere; carvings, paintings, statues, graffiti, music, television, movies, architechture, stories, myths...


Humans try to emulate the beauty they see into something they can produce. Sometimes that's about domination, about taming the world in some small way -- whittling a piece of wood, making something raw into something new and pretty. But sometimes it's about appreciation, about looking at that raw piece of wood and painting it exactly as is, knowing that the complexity of it is the real beauty.

Many people see many different things. Any person in the world could look at a scene and see something different, have a different perception; but the unifying thing is that what they see is part of the world, part of the environment. We are transfixed, we are confused, we are challenged, we are terrified, we are consumed, we are inspired by the environment around us. It's all we know and it's all we don't know -- and that's the paradox we've been living with for centuries.

The concept of using then environment in our art isn't new; it's not a hippie thing, or a new, modern millenium thing. It's not brought on by war or global warming or technology (although these are things that influence our perception of the environment and art). Art, however is not simply a mirror in which we see the world. Art has always been used to put value upon the environment. But this value I speak of is not monetary or political -- it's an emotional and personal value. The artist chooses to make something and he or she puts a value on it; but the beauty of art is that each individual person gets to put their own value on what they see in that piece of art.












In today's society, where most people are knowledgeable about our actions and their global impact, it seems that more and more artforms are relating back to our primal views of the environment. Our most up-to-date paintings, movies, and music are carrying heavier themes of environmental appreciation, responsibility, and impact. I have a professor who likes to play one environmental song per lecture. He showed us this diagram. However, I feel that more and more 'envirotunes' are being made, and they're getting better! People are becoming more aware of the environment and are focusing on talking and communicating about that.


People are beginning to use art for communicating environmental issues. People have messages to convey; strong messages that urge us to once again put values on art, values on the world around us. Art can be a very powerful thing. It can start a spark of idea in our minds, help us to see things in new ways. It can be an important environmental tool. Art has been used for years as a way to influence the public. However, the emerging trend in art isn't simply environmental propaganda, in my view. A point needs to be made. And personally, I say rock on!

What's interesting is that now that art is back to focusing on the environment, it's also taking on a new edge; people are recognizing that art emulates the environment...but art is also part of the environment. People are actually using pieces of the world around them in sustainable ways to create art, such as this eco-friendly Gibson Les Paul!

So when you're looking around and living your life, be open to natural art; really think about the messages they're giving you. They can be quite powerful.

Here's your quote of the day;
"Good planets are hard to find;
Temperate zones and tropic climes;
True currents in thriving seas;
Winds blowin' through breathing trees;
Strong ozone and safe sunshine;
Good planets are hard to find..."
-- Good Planets Are Hard to Find, Steve Forbert

Thinking Beyond Ctrl+Z

"People are like stained-glass windows.
They sparkle and shine when the sun is out,
but when the darkness sets in,
their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within."
-- Elizabeth Kubler Ross

So, today (well, yesterday now) was St. Patrick's Day. It is the one day a year where the non-Irish drink Guinness and pretend to be Irish, and the Irish...well, they do that every day. The streets were filled with drunken friends clad in green and glitter. It sounds like fun, yes. But it got me thinking about how we treat ourselves; how we value ourselves and our friends. How we value everything. But before that, a short -- but related -- digression.

Myself, not yet being 19, am not legal in terms of alcohol where I live. So we went downtown for a bit, just to explore and enjoy this unusually nice weather. And on the way back from our excursion, two friends and I had a small brush with death. We were almost hit by a city bus. We had the right of way, and the bus, which had come to a complete stop, suddenly accelerated around a corner, forcing the three of us to literally run out of the way of the speeding bus.

Now, we hadn't been drinking much (it had been a few hours) and thankfully escaped unharmed. But I couldn't help but think of what might have happened if circumstances had changed. What if we had been drinking more? What if we hadn't been so aware of each other's proximity, leaving enough room for each of us to escape the path of the bus? Now, I don't know why the driver did what he/she did, but this may have been a direct result of that day's choices. If one small thing had gone differently, I might not be here right now. And that is terrifying.

The part of this story that almost goaded me the most was that after we dove out of the way, the bus stopped several meters away. It sat there for a moment, with a few dozen other students inside staring out the blue-tinted windows. And then something more astounding happened.

The bus drove away.

We were left alone, shaken, but thankfully unscathed, by the side of the road.

So this brings me back to value. How much do people really care these days? I realize accidents do happen, and perhaps this was one of those freak things. But, as I said, the immediate aftermath of the incident was what affected me most. How could someone just drive away? That is not only inconsiderate, but almost inhumane, in my mind. I think that the well-being of three students (who, by the way, had been on that very bus twice before in those past two hours) is much more important than the timeliness of an already-lacking schedule. But is this way of thinking relative?

Let's go back to drinking. I know I'm living the college/university life, but I can't understand how people can drink and party hard every weekend. How can you be healthy and actually pass classes? How can you feel good about yourself, when you know you need alcohol to do that for you? I mean, a few drinks once in a while is fine. But when you're spending the night wrapped around your toilet twice a week, there has to be something wrong. How can a person not care enough about their own body to do that? I mean, it's a simple enough choice -- drink to such an extent that you're ill....or don't. I know there are other factors; peer pressure, the need to explore, the wanting to feel in control and adult...

But I think this all boils down to one thing.

Respect. Yes, the very same thing your elementary school teachers drilled into your head.

Ok, I'm getting lecture-y. I'll stop that.

It's taken me a while to understand it, but I think I get it now. Especially since I've been studying the environment and ecology. Everything is related. If you don't respect yourself, you don't respect your body, and you don't respect other people. If you throw your beer can out the window, you don't respect yourself, your space, or the other things you share than environment with.

Take a second and think about what "respect" means. It literally means "re-see" -- take a step back, and have another look. Respect is all about scope. I think we all need to take a 'step back' and realize that things aren't static, and we're not set at one magnification.

Respecting ourselves means we need to re-see ourselves at a new level. How about, instead of thinking about how you feel, think about how you feel about you; how others feel about you; how strangers feel about you -- and how all of these things translate into your actions.

Respecting others means we need to re-see them by thinking about how they feel, and how that affects the way they act, and how you act towards them.

Respecting the environment means we need to re-see how we feel about the environment, and how we act within it.

To me, respect doesn't have to be a "spur of the moment" thing. Respect stems from the past. Your past experience is something everyone has a lot of; you have more behind you than you can be sure of in front of you.

Respect is reevaluation.

The bus driver didn't disrespect me by almost running me down. The bus driver did, however, disrespect me by driving away, after reevaluating the situation.

People make mistakes. But people learn from them. Which is why I find it so hard to accept that there is such a lack of respect in today's society. How long has the human race been living and learning; how long have people been alone, been together, been in the environment? And how much experience has been had? Multitudes. And where has all this gone?

We have lost the ability to look back.

In today's world, we rarely ever look back. And if we do, it's the momentary and ever-self-replenishing "Ctrl+Z". It's a do-over we barely think about, a mere function of our computers that our brains seem to have lost the capability to use. We, as modern humans, can't simply hit Ctrl-Z, and go back. We don't have a clipboard, we can't Crtl-C and Ctrl-P.

At one time, we had the ability to use hindsight. The human brain once had a billion times the memory of a computer. Actually, it still does. But do we use it?

That bus driver momentarily couldn't look back. That bus driver couldn't Crtl+Z that near-miss. So, instead of looking back, using the scope and reevaluation of respect to look back at the situation and make a proper judgement, that person drove away.

So, my challenge to you?

Next time you're faced with a decision, whether it be big or small, immediate or lengthened, try to think beyond Ctrl+Z. Try to use respect. Re-see. Change your scope.

If everyone could do this, think about how much better the world would be! How many problems could be solved!

Use a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Find out what it meant to me. Find out what it means to you.

I'll leave you with the Celtic tree of life; remember we're all interconnected.

It's good to be Irish. And alive.

Slainte!

- C

Inaugural Post!

"Every now and then take a look at something not made by human hands -- a mountain, a star, the turn of a stream. There will come to you the solace, and above all, the reassurance that you are not alone in the world."
-- Sidney Lovett

So, I spent the last fourteen minutes building up this page because I had something really important to rant about.
And then I forgot about what that was...oops. So I suppose I'll just touch on a few random thoughts.

This blog is about me, the world, you, and how we all relate. I want to discuss the way we live today, and why things are the way they are. I want to know why I feel to strange sometimes, living in a place where little seems to make sense, but people somehow know exactly what they're doing. I want to just sit and wonder...and you're now privy to my thoughts. If you like them, that's wonderful! If not, then I'm just going to type until life makes sense (Bill Gates' philosophy??)

This is about what happens when you get turned outside in. When the environment around you affects you as a person so strongly that you are as much a part of it as the air. When your thoughts aren't dictated by other people, but how you feel about what you percieve. When you invite the wild inside instead of trying to keep it hidden. When you feel like you have a reason to be here.

That's outside in.

Sometimes I think I should have been born a few decades earlier than I was. People tell me I'm old at heart, wise of mind. Friends think I'm just saying that because I have an unfortunate affinity for older men. You can decide. I think it's a combination of both.

I'm the kind of young person that is getting harder and harder to find these days. I am perfectly content to sit outside with a book and a mug of tea for hours. I love nothing more than to explore. I prefer an honest person and an acoustic guitar to a spray-painted mannequin with a recording studio. That was kind of harsh. But I appreciate music at it's rawest and it's most refined -- two things I think are very closely related.

One thing that I love to ponder is the relationship between the natural environment and human art. If you think about it, most stories, songs, paintings, sculptures, and movies are based on the most complex and interesting thing we know of; the world around us. Like music, it's raw and it's refined, a neverending set of paradoxes.

Whoa, whoa, whoa...I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me back up a bit.

If you can't tell, I'm a bit of a hippie. But not in a radical, replace-chainsaws-with-bunnies kind of way. I understand that we can't just stop everything and live off the land; it's gone way beyond that now. We've made the world ten times more complex that it was before we so-called "tamed" it. But more of that in later posts.

Like I said, I feel I'm part of a dying breed of young person. But, fortunately, I've come to the right place. I currently attend Trent University, where the few of us can still congregate to ponder, explore, play guitar, and drink copious amounts of fair trade organic coffee.

I personally have a little bit of experience in writing. I haven't really blogged much, but I've written a novel and a half, a whole lot of fanfiction, a few scripts, and many, many short stories. Writing lets me be me. Especially when I forget who "me" is. I don't know as of yet if writing will take me anywhere, career-wise. We shall see.

As for now, I'm going to keep pursuing my bachelor degree in Environmental Science and Studies. And keep pondering.
I'll leave you with an image of the Otonabee River I took not to long ago.

Get out and enjoy that spring air!

- C