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Mount Saint Vincent University

Located in Mi’kma’ki, the unceded and ancestral territory of the Mi’kmaq People, Mount Saint Vincent University (MSVU) is strongly committed to fostering equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility across all facets of the university, within its local community, and in society at large. Founded in 1873, MSVU has been nationally recognized for its legacy in the advancement of women, its leadership in online and experiential learning, and its personalized approach to education focused on nurturing socially responsible global citizens.

MSVU is made up of more than 4,000 students (representing close to 70 countries), 600 faculty and staff, and more than 36,000 alumni. Its research centres provide unique learning opportunities for students while facilitating critical advancements in food security, healthy aging, Alzheimer’s disease, literacy, early childhood development, women in STEM, community engagement in military affairs, and more. Faculty members and departments across Arts, Science, Education and Professional Studies offer early access to hands-on research opportunities enabling graduate and undergraduate students to enhance their education by working alongside forward-thinking researchers.

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Children and youth in care often have complex health and social issues, but they often struggle to access comprehensive health care. (Shutterstock)

We know better, so why aren’t we doing better in supporting the health of children and youth in care?

Kristyn Anderson, Dalhousie University; Alyson Holland, Dalhousie University; Jacquie Gahagan, Mount Saint Vincent University; Steven Smith, Saint Mary’s University; Tania Wong, Dalhousie University, and Tonya Grant, Dalhousie University

Children and youth in care are more likely to have experienced trauma that can affect future health. A comprehensive, trauma-informed health strategy for these children and youth is long overdue.
Locating early learning programs in schools provides stable programming infrastructure and allows for potential collaborations between early childhood educators and teachers. (Allison Shelley/The Verbatim Agency for EDUimages)

What to look for in a high-quality ‘pre-primary’ or junior kindergarten program

Christine McLean, Mount Saint Vincent University and Jessie-Lee McIsaac, Mount Saint Vincent University

People, policies, practice and place all matter in publicly funded, school-based children’s early learning programs.
Who is determining children’s capacity to decide whether or not to wear a mask and what’s at stake in their decision? THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Why children’s ‘choice’ about COVID-19 masking at school needs far more discussion

Krista C Ritchie, Mount Saint Vincent University and Sara King, Mount Saint Vincent University

Children deserve agency in decisions that affect them, but adults are ultimately responsible for making decisions in children’s best interests.
The ‘othering’ of women through misogyny, racism and sexism in scholarship has had, and continues to have, serious consequences on women’s lives. (Shutterstock)

Why women’s studies programs in Canada are more important than ever

Jacquie Gahagan, Mount Saint Vincent University; Adwoa Onuora, Mount Saint Vincent University, and Tegan Zimmerman, Mount Saint Vincent University

Women’s studies programs should continue to be supported to ensure the fight for women’s rights are not reversed or forgotten.
Approximately one-third of 2SLGBTQ+ young people who participated in a nutrition study noted that they did not have any support systems in place to help them with their nutritional needs during the pandemic. (Shutterstock)

Food insecurity during COVID-19: 2SLGBTQ+ people talk about challenges and support

Phillip Joy, Mount Saint Vincent University

Food insecurity is a social justice issue tied to social determinants of health. Historically marginalized people like 2SLGBTQ+ youth are at risk, and more likely to be food insecure during COVID-19.
In-depth interviews with former youth in care described barriers and challenges to attending post-secondary education once they received a tuition waiver. (Shutterstock)

Health of former youth in care could be bolstered by stronger tuition waiver programs

Jacquie Gahagan, Mount Saint Vincent University; Dale Kirby, Memorial University of Newfoundland; Krista C Ritchie, Mount Saint Vincent University, and Kristyn Anderson, Dalhousie University

To understand how tuition waivers and associated supports can help former youth in care complete post-secondary education and positively affect their health, evidence-based practices are needed.
An image from the comic ‘Compassion’ by Kayleigh Fine, which was commissioned to illustrate the importance of compassionate care for 2SLGBTQ+ people. (Kayleigh Fine)

Compassion in health care reduces health inequality for 2SLGBTQ+ people

Phillip Joy, Mount Saint Vincent University; Andrew Thomas, Mount Saint Vincent University, and Megan Aston, Dalhousie University

Accessing compassionate health care is often difficult for Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and other sexual identities, such as pansexual or asexual individuals (2SLGBTQ+).
Finding a good path towards publicly funded early learning and care will require input from all stakeholders, including current providers and early childhood educators. (Shutterstock)

Nova Scotia’s shift to publicly funded early learning and child care won’t be easy, but it’s critical

Christine McLean, Mount Saint Vincent University and Jessie-Lee McIsaac, Mount Saint Vincent University

The new learning and child care agreement requires a paradigm shift as we begin to consider early learning and child care as a public service.
The swelling affects people’s lives in a multitude of ways. Maggie Steber for The Washington Post via Getty Images

Why it’s hard to end elephantiasis, a debilitating disease spread by mosquitoes

Alexander Kwarteng, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST); Jonathan Roberts, Mount Saint Vincent University; Kristi Heather Kenyon, University of Winnipeg, and Mary Asirifi, MacEwan University

The main sign of the illness is disfiguring swelling followed by peeling of the affected area. In women this swelling mainly affects arms and legs. In men it can cause enlargement of the scrotum.
Selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs) may be perceived as a safer muscle-building alternative to steroids. (Shutterstock)

Men are buying potentially risky steroid substitutes online to get the ‘ideal body’

Stefan Heinze, Dalhousie University and Phillip Joy, Mount Saint Vincent University

Idealized standards for muscular, fat-free male bodies may be fuelling the use of SARMs, or selective androgen receptor modulators, unapproved muscle-building drugs that are easily available online.
Boxes wait to be filled with provisions at The Daily Bread Food Bank warehouse in Toronto. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

More than food banks are needed to feed the hungry during the coronavirus pandemic

Elaine Power, Queen's University, Ontario; Jennifer Black, University of British Columbia, and Jennifer Brady, Mount Saint Vincent University

The ability of food banks to meet the needs of food insecure Canadians has plummeted just when it is needed most. But food banks have never been able to address the reason people are going hungry.
Adults sometimes trivialize play when we say children are ‘just playing’ or when we use play as a reward for when the so-called ‘real work’ is done.

Let the children play: 4 reasons why play is vital during the coronavirus

Christine McLean, Mount Saint Vincent University

P.L.A.Y.: An acronym to remind you why letting children play is a responsible and critical way to support children’s development through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nova Scotia is rolling out a universal full-day, no-fee pre-primary program, similar to Ontario’s and the Northwest Territories’ play-based junior kindergarten. (Shutterstock)

Nova Scotia’s new pre-primary class gives kids a head start through play-based learning

Jessie-Lee McIsaac, Mount Saint Vincent University and Joan Turner, Mount Saint Vincent University

The plan to fully implement a quality early childhood program in all Nova Scotia public schools is crucial when more than one in five children live in poverty.
The ‘Washington Post’ parody demands a better future and explains that civic action like the Jan. 19 Women’s March can help us get there. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

‘Bye Bye 45:’ Activists create news hoax with President’s resignation

Ian Reilly, Mount Saint Vincent University

A parody of ‘the Washington Post’ announcing that Donald Trump had resigned was recently handed out in Washington, D.C.
The Yes Men in 2009 handing out spoof editions of the ‘New York Post’ with the lead story ‘We’re Screwed’ outlining how “climate change is threatening the lives of New Yorkers — especially those who take the subway to work.” Still from the documentary by Laura Nix and the Yes Men

Humour and media hoaxes put social justice ideas on the map

Ian Reilly, Mount Saint Vincent University

For media activists The Yes Men, hoaxes have emerged as a proven tactic to generate public discourse on social justice issues that are not generally given space and time in mainstream news media.

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