Editor in Chief:
Shani Blankrot
A Mari Usque Ad Mare
Non Regina alism? Moreover, why should we
choose to embrace it?
Navin Chari
Industrial Engineer-
ing PhD Candidate
W ith our collective 144th
birthday approaching,
isn’t it time we finally grew-up?
Can we not, as the independent
citizens of Canada finally have
a referendum which would be
productive to the entire nation.
Fresh from just enduring a pain-
ful recession, with austerity being
the most prevalent global theme,
why don’t we start cutting the
fat - especially in the most redun-
dant of areas. According to Ma-
clean’s, it has been stated that the
British monarchy costs Canada
approximately $50 million a year
and we pay more per capita than
the Brits do!
The underlying concern, howev-
er, is not just economic, but also
democratic. Why do we need to
be reminded of English Imperi-
2011 Canadian Mining Games gave it all
they had.
Brian Roy
Mining '11
F rom February 24th to 27th,
eighteen mining engineering
students from Dalhousie Univer-
sity attended the 2011 Canadian
Mining Games in Edmonton, Al-
berta. Every year, the 10 mining
schools across Canada meet in a
different city to compete in chal-
lenges as well as to network with
peers and industry representa-
tives. In 2010, Dalhousie hosted
the games and put on a great
program for all visiting students.
Two weeks ago, the Dal team
made its way to Edmonton for
yet another weekend of min-
ing madness. After checking
into their downtown hotel, the
team made its way to the first
social event of the weekend: an
opening banquet sponsored by
mining company, Barrick Gold.
The Dal team wasted no time
scoring points by coming second
in the public speaking contest,
thanks to Dal student Ian Bailey.
Many Monarchists state that we
need to be reminded of our past
and our ties to the British Crown,
but is Cornwallis's aboriginal
genocide something worth remi-
niscing? With respect to current
ties, many countries, most no-
tably Ireland and India, have re-
placed their heads of state with
a domestic president yet have
still sustained their membership
within the Commonwealth. In
fact India even hosted the Com-
monwealth Games this year.
I know there is a lot of hoopla
regarding the upcoming royal
wedding, and the attention they
attain is well deserved, but it
should be on the same plane as
what we offer to other foreign
dignitaries or Charlie Sheen - not
as our head of state. Let's act as
adults, and make this the first
step in reform in addressing our
democratic deficit.
Vivat et res publica Canada!
On Friday morning, the team got
up bright and early and made its
way to the University of Alberta
campus for a day filled with
competitions relating to every
aspect of mining engineering,
such as mine design, mineral
identification, rock mechanics,
mine rescue, and drill and blast,
to name a few. Dal’s best perfor-
mances were given by students
Alasdair Bishop and Justin Jim,
who placed second in the jack-
leg competition. Students Ashley
Fairfax, Kagiso Maotwanyane,
Ian Bailey, and Craig Hudson,
also came out strong by winning
third place in mechanical design.
After a full day of competitions,
the students attended a well-
deserved banquet hosted by
mining giant Vale. Once again,
students had the opportunity to
speak with industry delegates
and catch up with friends met
during the Halifax mining
games. The day ended with a
pub-crawl across downtown
Edmonton, filled with lots of free
drinks and lots of dancing.
Finally, the students competed
one more time on Saturday and
Photo of the Week
Nick Greeno's (5th year Mech) cat. "Everyone loves cat pictures".
Notable
performances include third place
in drill and blast, thanks to Dal
students Andrew Kinsman and
Scott Shears. But the Dal miners
really showed their true colors
during the tug-of-war compe-
tition, by placing first after a
well-deserved battle on slippery
grounds and in freezing weather.
After the last challenge, the
students headed back to the
hotel for another well-deserved
meal: a closing banquet hosted
by Suncor. Prizes and certificates
were given out, and the Dal
team’s efforts were rewarded by
placing in the top five. Follow-
ing the dinner, the Dal delega-
tion went to enjoy Edmonton’s
nightlife scene, proving once
again that when it comes to the
dancefloor, they are just unbeat-
able.
The Dal mining team would like
to take this occasion to thank
team leader Ian Bailey for his
stellar job in organizing the Dal
delegation, and would also like
to thank all the sponsors for their
generous donations. Once again,
congrats Dal miners!
Sextant Positions
Fall 2011
Needed: Editor in Chief and
Assistant Editor.Well compen-
sated. Email sextant@dal.ca
Get PAID
100-200 words -- $15
200-400 words -- $25
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maximum of $5
Picture of the Week, Comic,
abstract -- $20
Note: your content must be
printed on either the print or
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DSEUS Elections
Voting days: 8:30 am Monday
March 14th and 5:00pm Wednes-
day March 16th
Check out daleng.ca
The Sextant is published by the
Dalhousie Sextant Publishing
Society and aims to represent
all of the students studying and
living on Sexton Campus.
Editor: Shani Blankrot
Assistant Editor: Dilan Watson
Treasurer: Riccardo Ciccarelli
March 9th 2011
Page 1
CO-OP CORNER
Things to Remember:
• The Co-op website offers
many tips and is very infor-
mation. The website is
engandcompscicoop.dal.ca
• Round II is from February 15
– April 8
Words of the Week
Iron Ring Conspiracy Theory(n):
The notion swarming Sexton
Campus that everyone got one
size smaller than the Iron Ring
size they ordered.
Pinky-Itis (n): The condition of
blood loss to the pinky resulting
from having an Iron Ring one
size smaller than ordered.
Editors’ note: Word of the Week is a humour column
based on popular expressions around Sexton Campus.
If you have any complaints or suggestions, please email
sextant@dal.ca. Obviously we prefer suggestions!
Write.
Get Paid.
Send articles to sextant@dal.ca
Halifax's Best Trivia!
Sexton Campus
Events
Looking for something to do?
Not spending enough time
mingling with other faculties/
disciplines? Then check out
some of these events.
Thursday, March 10th
EWB/Eng Week, T Room
Saturday, March 12th
Dal OUT, T Room 9-12
Sunday, March 13th
Daylight Savings
Thursday, March 17th
St.Patrick's Day at the T Room
Saturday, March 19th
School of Psychology
Open Mic at the T Room
Does your society have an
event on Sexton Campus?
Send an email to sextant@dal.
ca and we’ll post it here!
Don't forget - it's free to
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Sextant.
daleng.ca

G ossip
eek
G ossip Geek here, your one and only
source into the scandalous lives of
Sexton’s engineers.
On Sexton campus, there is one event
every year that all those in attendance
remember for the rest of their lives: The
Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer. And
like any great memorable event, the party
that followed was also once in a lifetime.
And like any great Gossip Geek, I have the
Free Trade CoffDebate
ee is a “commodity”, mean-
Emily Stewart
4th year Enviro
How is Fair Trade free trade?
Fair Trade IS free trade; it oper-
ates within a free trade frame-
work. People sometimes de-
scribe Fair Trade as being the
opposite of free trade, but this is
incorrect. Put simply, consumers
have the opportunity to choose
to buy whichever coffee they de-
sire, with Fair Trade being one of
those options. What’s more, Fair
Trade increases the amount of
information available to the con-
sumer about the product they’re
buying.
People sometimes think that Fair
Trade is not free because it offers
a minimum price, which could be
seen as similar to a subsidy. If Fair
Trade were not free, it could look
something like this: all coffee
farmers are subsidized for their
production and therefore a con-
sumer in Canada would have to
buy subsidized coffee. But in fact,
a consumer chooses to either
buy Fair Trade or conventional
coffee.
March 9th 2011
Page 2
scandalous photos to prove it.
Before rings were put on anyone’s pinkies,
A was up bright and early making these
and pouring mimosas. You know A, just
because you make muffins doesn’t make
it okay to drink at 10am.
Spotted: K PTFO’d before the band got
on stage at the TRoom. Its okay K, maybe
next year you will have pictures from a
party you actually stayed awake for.
And then there are those who like to dress
up for the occasion and make a state-
ment.
Spotted: R in cowboy attire.
And then like every epic night, my engi-
neers got too drunk to take photos. Lets
hope everyone still had their rings the
next morning.
Congrats my engi-nerds! All those long
nights will soon be over and you can start
N: We know all the girls want to take focusing on learning better social skills.
their shirts off because the room gets so You know you love me
steamy when Nick Murray DJs.. but that
XOXO
doesn’t mean they do: or you should
either. Try and keep it classy next time. Gossip Geek
dalgossipgeek@gmail.com
on farmers that sell to conven-
tional rather than Fair Trade mar-
ond comment supports the first
by recognizing that Fair Trade
market because right now most
Fair Trade farmers can only sell
kets: effectively doesn't trade on the a small margin (about 20%) of
ing that it is traded on a com- 1. “Paying a guaranteed Fair Trade global (or even national) com- their grown coffee for Fair Trade
modity exchange for a specific premium -- in effect, a subsidy modity exchanges; it is a differ- prices. The other 80% is sold on
price all around the world. An- -- both prevents this signal from entiated and separate product the regular coffee market. Now
other example of non-free trade getting through and, by raising with its own market price. There- if people started buying more
is if a country subsidizes it’s pro- the average price paid for coffee, fore the farmers that could be Fair Trade, then let’s assume that
duction of a “commodity”, which encourages more producers to affected are usually a small num- those farmers would be selling
drives the overall price of the enter the market. This then drives ber of farmers in close proximity maybe 30% of their total coffee
commodity downward, hurting down the price of non-Fair Trade to Fair Trade farmers. on the Fair Trade market. This has
farmers from other countries that coffee even further, making non- The Economist’s argument is that resulted in them moving 10%
aren’t subsidized. The US does Fair Trade farmers poorer” – The Fair Trade eliminates price signals of their coffee off the regular
this with production of many Economist Dec. 9 2006 that are essential for an efficient market and, thus, lowering the
commodities, such as wheat. But 2. If more people bought Fair market (i.e. that because the price supply of non- Fair Trade cof-
Fair Trade is “de-commodified”. It Trade then the demand for regu- is always constant and relatively fee, which increases price. This
doesn’t trade on this exchange lar coffee would go down and high, it encourages production is a theoretical counter-effect
because it’s a niche or differenti- thus the price would go down where and when it should not to theoretical decreases in price
ated product targeted towards a even further hurting non Fair happen). Increased production of coffee as a result of increased
specific consumer (one with a de- Trade farmers. could drop the price. However, production.
sire to have an impact with their Note that this overall set of criti- even if production were higher So, while Fair Trade might not
purchasing decisions), whereas cisms is very theoretical and not because more growers became capture as much upside as we
wheat is wheat. rooted in research or evidence. certified or because uncertified would like, it is clearly good for
Likely the “Fair Trade – free trade” It’s important to first clarify who growers around them decided to the growers who are certified,
comparison comes from protest- might be affected. The vast ma- grow conventional coffee from and basically has no effect on
ers of free trade, who believe jority of non-certified growers seeing their success, the Fair those who aren't. The situation
that free trade is creating a lot of would simply be unaffected; that Trade market is so small that it could change as the Fair Trade
problems. is, their lives would not change could only really cause price dis- movement grows, which leaves
Does the benefit to Fair Trade because of other farmers being tortion and incorrect market sig- some questions and unknowns
farmers come at the expense of Fair Trade. This is mainly because nals on a very local level. that need to be re-evaluated
poor people involved in the con- Fair Trade makes up a very small Additionally, in many cases, in- over the years. Fair Trade isn’t a
ventional system? share of the market, and because creased demand for Fair Trade static system that will exist as is
There are some criticisms that it is a differentiated product from actually takes non-Fair Trade for years – it will need to change
Fair Trade has a negative effect the rest of the market. The sec- produce off the conventional with the times.
Apparel - Belt Buckles (Bronze, Silver and
Gold toned), Keychains and T-Shirts!
EngiBEERing every Friday afternoon in the
Design Commons! Wear a sweater vest for a
free beer!