Issue 6, Vol 141, The Brunswickan

10

arts

07

sports

opinions

04

The Brunswickan

Volume 141 Issue 6 • Canada’s Oldest Official Student Publication • UNB Fredericton’s student paper • Oct. 11, 2007

Campus Commotion

by Josh O’Kane

Two weekends ago, several individuals broke into a residence house by removing the screen in a ground floor window and climbing through. As such, residence house teams across campus have advised all residents with ground floor rooms to make sure their rooms are safe from being accessed through the outside.

Fights have been breaking out on campus the past few weekends as well.

Weekends aren’t even an excuse anymore for some individuals – things of all nature seem to be happening on campus on weekdays, too.

The Brunswickan is laid out every Monday night from 6:30pm until the early hours of the morning. Last week’s issue was finished around 4am, at which point Editor-in-Chief Jennifer McKenzie was greeted by several intoxicated individuals outside the office window – who began banging on a window, while screaming and yelling. UNB Security arrived shortly after they did, and encountered their own trouble with the small group. McKenzie had to get a ride home with campus security to avoid more trouble.

Things like this happen every year, but some episodes are escalating. As noted, at least one residence has had a ground floor window break-in. A security guard spotted two persons wandering around the roof of another residence on a weeknight. The night before that, one person was found spitting at residents of Mackenzie House through the lounge window. Fights have been breaking out in the quad in front of the SUB regularly.

Despite the strange series of unrelated incidents, Reg Jerrett, Director of Security and Traffic at UNB Fredericton, says the amount of infractions for which students have been caught are down this year.

However, he does mention that “there have been a number of incidents of property damage occurring on weekends, and the glass in doors tends to be the target… Property damage has been the biggest single issue of concern.”

Jerrett also mentions that “of late, posters on campus have been defaced in acts of mischief. If anyone witnesses anyone marking up posters or university property, promptly report them to Campus Security.”

The ruckuses on campus have a very classic cause, says Jerrett.

“Weekend merriment where too much alcohol is consumed is the contributing cause of misbehaviour.”

He says that the main tactic used to resolve problems from the security end is simple.

“Every effort is made by Security to reason with an individual who has crossed the line,” says Jerrett. “Most cases are successfully handled through dialogue. Failing this, city police would be called to render assistance.”

Angela Garnett, Director of Residental Life, says that despite the strange events, the residence community has also handled fewer disciplinary issues than last year.

“Things like fines and interventions that we’ve had… We have actually had less of those so far,” says Garnett.

She says the main problem occurring in residences this year is unwanted or unescorted guests – getting in whichever way they can.

“We’ve had a couple incidents this year where off-campus students are on campus looking to enter a residence building for whatever reason. We’ve had incidences where people are knocking the door looking to get in. Always a problem is people tailgating, walking in after those who might have a key.”

Usually guests attempt to get in because they know someone in the house, but often, some individuals just want to get in to party. Garnett says it’s not usually residence students from other buildings who prove to be the biggest problem.

see Campus page 2

Racial slurs stir up campus

Jesus, take the wheel

by Dan Hagerman, with files from Ashley Bursey

SHOUT UNB President Kurt Goddard

by Jennifer McKenzie Andrew Saa Gbongbor believes that God is best suited to handle the person who wrote racial slurs on his posters, last Tuesday. “The man above (God) will know best how to charge him for his actions in demoting humanity.”

Fredericton Police, however, have not turned their cheek to the incident.

Chao Marshall Wang, 40, was arrested on Saturday night, after he was spotted removing posters from telephone poles on York Street and a door to the Forestry

Unstoppable?

Andrew Meade / The Brunswickan

V-Reds cap off perfect exhibition season with sweep of Fall Classic. For full story see Sports p.7

Andrew Meade / The Brunswickan

Building had been vandalized.

Wang has been charged with Mischief and Damage to Property in connection with racist graffiti on posters on both UNB and STU’s campuses, although police are still investigating the matter.

Posters promoting Gbongbor’s benefit concert were vandalized with racial slurs last Tuesday, after the event. The show, organized and hosted by SHOUT (Students Helping Others Understand Tolerance), was held to raise money for Gbongbor’s efforts to immigrate his mother to Canada from Sierra Leone.

It was the second event of this nature Gbongbor has held.

see SHOUT page 3

Forget about beer goggles. Forget about spinning in circles with your forehead on a baseball bat. If you want to know what drunk driving is like or what the repercussions might be, the studentdeveloped computer game Booze Cruise has you covered. The game puts players behind the wheel of a car with a bloodalcohol limit of 0.25 and then tells them to drive home.

The game was developed by a class from the University of Calgary. Jim Parker, professor for the Serious Games course last year, a class built around the premise that certain games are not only entertaining, but also have a communications task in mind, says the game is just “a class project gone wild.”

He concedes that the media has been asking some “tough questions,” wondering if the game might seem like a teaching tool for potential drunk drivers to actually learn to drive drunk. Parker says that’s ludicrous.

“Obviously, if you’re going to do something as remarkably dumb [as drive drunk], you should do it in a simulation like we have offered,” Parker says from his office in Alberta. “Let’s say you do this. You practice [driving drunk], and you get better. Well, you’re better. You might still get caught and it’s still a stupid thing to do, but at least you’re [a] better [driver]…”

The storyline of the game has players waking up in the trunk of a car, with the not-so-simple task to drive home from there. However, this is much easier said than done: a simulated blood alcohol level of 0.25, above the legal limit of 0.08, makes the game exceedingly tricky, and the time limit – players are given a minute and a half to get from the party to their home – just adds to the challenge.

While the natural thing to do would be to crash at the game’s house party and wait it out, the game invites players to see the consequences of breaking the law. Since the car swerves very easily due to the player’s impaired reflexes and it’s almost impossible to see anything due to the motion blur, players will spend most of the game running over people, including the random Elvis and maybe a grandmother or two. It’s a game designed to inform teens about healthy choices, so there’s no gratuitous blood or violence, but each hit and run is added to your tally at the end.

Based on how many traffic violations you’ve committed (I got 43 on my first try through the game, and I didn’t even make it back to my house), you’re also told how much your insurance will increase (my first try increased it by about $10,000), how many years you’ll lose your license for, and how many years you’ll spend in jail. The game does not list the factors of causing potential harm to yourself in your total, but given the amount of times I crashed on a standard ride home in the game, it’s safe to say that in real life, I would never have made it.

“It won’t [make you better at driving drunk]; it’ll make you better at playing driving games, drunk,” says Parker. “It’s not a real car. It’s a driving game. The target audience is 13 to 16 [years old], pre-drivers, and these guys know how to drive simulators, so let’s see what it’s like to drive a simulator drunk.

“They think they’re pretty good, and they get on this thing and it’s hard. The level of impairment is 0.25. It’s high, but we get those people all the time on the road. [New drivers] aren’t going to see these bloody movies that police show them, it’s not going to work…this is a connection. They think they’re good at games, a lot of them are, and they can’t do it. Maybe it’ll give them pause when they start driving.”

The class plans to polish the game, and then pass it along to driving schools and police stations across the country to help new drivers. They won’t be selling the game for public consumption, but keep an eye out for online versions in the coming months.

EWB Junior Fellows share African experience

by Melanie Bell

While most university students were spending their summer vacation earning paychecks in their hometowns, Holly DeRoche and Owen Scott were volunteering halfway across the world. These two students were chosen as Engineers Without Borders Junior Fellows within UNB. This program provides selected chapter members with preparation and training before sending each one on a four-month individual placement in an African country. These placements are chosen by the National Office based on accepted applicants’ experience and skills.

Most of DeRoche’s summer was spent in Walewale, a town of 2,500 people in the Mamprusi district of Northern Ghana. She lived in a compound house with a large family. Her host father was a highway engineer.

“It’s a good job, but he supports lots of people,” she says. “A lot of the kids living in his compound weren’t his,” she explained.

Electricity had been recently installed in the area, but outages were frequent due to low levels of water in the hydropowered dam. At times, the family slept on mats outside to better withstand the heat.

DeRoche had a firsthand experience of the region as a worker for the three-

member District Water and Sanitation Team. This team was stationed in the area to manage various sanitation projects, including hand-dug wells, bore holes and latrines. The bulk of the team’s work involved interaction with the region’s communities.

DeRoche and her coworkers traveled to several villages to train and work with local committees. In the village of Gbani, three of four hand pumps in the local wells had broken down. DeRoche decided to stay with the Village Chief while the team called in mechanics to repair the machinery. During her stay in Ghana, she experienced both the season’s first drought and road-blocking floods.

In Gbani, the human impact of these weather conditions hit home. After a flood, the Chief said to her, “My kids are going to be hungry.”

Each village in the Mamprusi district was supposed to have its own water and sanitation committee which was an expectation that DeRoche helped to further transition into reality.

“I was just supporting a permanent structure,” she says, adding that her own impact was mostly in terms of increased capacity building.

During the volunteer experience, she helped educate her coworkers in computer and writing skills, encouraged them to integrate into the communities, and think critically about their job.

DeRoche says that she “learned a lot about the realities and actual challenges” of life and work in Africa. One of these was the language barrier—most people in the district didn’t speak English, and

she spoke little of their own language.

Fortunately, there was a translator on the committee. Even with this intervention, however, she found it challenging to fit in within a team that had different hierarchical norms than those she was accustomed to. She was also struck by incongruities between poverty and wealth. “You’d see people farming with hoes by hand, and then someone’ll answer a cell phone.”

She found that it was difficult for her coworkers to share in her exuberance because they had their own families to take care of. It took awhile for her to feel comfortable in her new environment and role.

“By the time I was leaving I was really getting into things and feeling like I could actually get things done.

Realistically, you learn a lot more than you actually can do.”

Owen Scott spent his four months in the rural Zambian town of Mpongwe, situated within the Copper Belt province. In working with the Mpongwe Bulima Organics Cooperative Society, he was charged with managing efforts to get a mushroom dryer to function.

Since 1999, the Cooperative has bought wild harvested mushrooms from small-scale producers in the area, dried them to prevent spoilage, and sold them to the UK for use in restaurant cuisine.

“650 people rely on the mushrooms for part of their income during the rainy season,” Scott explains, adding that the fungi fetch high prices in export markets.

see Africa page 2

News

2 • October 11, 2007 • Issue 6

Podcast lectures make in-roads for higher education UNB Professor takes a lead in new form of education

by Lauren Kennedy

Say goodbye to PowerPoint lectures and hello to a new wave of learning.

Some professors choose to teach using a new form of lecture that can be downloaded directly to most handheld players and computers, called podcasts.

Bryan Crawford is an Assistant Professor in the Biology Department at the University of New Brunswick and finds that his students really like the podcast way of learning.

“Last year the podcasts were downloaded over 7,000 times during the semester and this year, I’m finding that I start getting e-mails from students asking ´where’s today’s podcast?´ two hours after the lecture,” he said. “It’s quite easy and I think it provides a great deal of benefit for both me and the students.”

He makes his podcasts on his laptop during class and it also contains the same images he is projecting on the screen, which coordinates with the audio portion of the lecture, so when

students are reviewing the lecture of as a learning tool. the day, they are able to see exactly Firstly, it saves time in writing things what slide he was talking about. down frantically. This way, students Last year, as Crawford explains, he can focus on understanding rather participated in a UNB pilot test of than writing. If the student does hapvarious audio response systems (also pen to miss something, it’s as easy as known as clickers), where, as the pro- pressing a button and rewinding and fessor, he was able to ask questions going over it as many times as they during his lecture and the students need to, to get all the information. are able to answer with their remotes Students all have busy lives, he points (clickers) and it is a way of instantly out, and having lectures on portable seeing how well a class understands. devices allows students to study while Crawford feels this is an excellent of doing other things, this also works for determining those learning levels. students you are unable to make the “In a small group it’s reasonably class. If you’re just not able to focus easy to get students talking enough you can go over material when you are that you can tell if they are getting it at your best. but in a class in a “We’re not all at lecture hall, that’s our best at 8:30 in “It’s quite not really possible, the morning, so if you easy and so the clickers offer think more clearly at a good way to genanother time, you can I think it erate some interacjust go over it then,” provides a tivity in a big class he said. and a way to figure Finally Crawford great deal out if students are makes clear that if a of benefit getting lost.” misunderstanding of However, last material comes up, for both year, when one of the recorded lectures the brands of clickkeep a great record me and the ers conflicted with of what was exactly students.” his own podcasting said so no one is able software, he had to to make an argument - Bryan Crawford ask his class which out of the professor they would rather do without: the explaining it wrong so it leaves room clickers or his podcasts. He had never for no disagreement. seen hands go up so fast.

As a professor, these podcasts offer “I’ve never seen so many hands go several advantages to him as well. up when asking a room full of students By being able to examine the sever a question,” he explains. “I don’t think records he is able to see which lectures I could’ve got greater unanimity if I’d were downloaded most frequently ask them if anyone would like some which allows him to see what topics spare money I had lying around,” the students had the most trouble he jokes. with, while on the other hand he is Crawford offers several important able to go over lectures from previous features he feels that podcasts offers years and improve on the presentation

Internet

of a certain topic.

“I occasionally find that, despite intending to mention something, or thinking that I’ve explained something well, when I go over the lecture that it may have not been as clear as I’d like or that I misspoke, I am able to look back and will make a point of revisiting that topic in the next lecture to clear up any confusion,” he said.

One question that Crawford normally comes upon when he tells people that he teaches using this method is how his class attendance is affected.

His answer to that is that he has no idea.

“I’ve been podcasting lectures since I first started teaching here last fall, so I don’t know what the attendance would have been if I had not done it,” he said. “I still have a room full of students very morning, so it certainly hasn’t had a dramatic effect, but I think the more important question is why I should be worried about attendance.”

He feels that as an instructor, his main concern should be whether the students are actually learning anything.

While some students are able to learn without going to class he sees that as OK, but Crawford would much rather

have a few dozen engaged students than a lecture hall full of students who would rather be somewhere else.

Crawford point out that while the podcasts can obviously help students who are unable to make it to class, they are not a replacement for missing the class itself.

“Fundamentally, I also think that if students are genuinely able to get as much from an audio recording with slides as they are from actually coming to class, then I’m probably not doing a very good job as a professor,” he said.

“The podcasts offer features that the live lectures don’t and visa versa.”

Ruckuses at UNB from Campus page 1

“We have had a few things like that where it’s students who we believe to be off-campus students. To be honest, we’re not even always sure whether they’re students.” She does note that “they’re definitely not residents in that house.”

Garnett is aware of one case in particular where unwanted guests broke into a residence house through a ground floor window. The persons were eventually caught.

“All of those students are in the process of being dealt with by security,” she says.

To avoid future problems, Garnett

advises that students take necessary precautions for their homes’ safety.

“We ask that everyone keep an eye out, know their neighbors, and make sure unwanted guests aren’t floundering. As a community, stick together and take safety precautions. If you see someone that doesn’t belong, ask them to leave. Call security. Keep windows shut and locked.”

Reg Jerrett advises students to be responsible for their home as well.

“Be responsible citizens of the university and larger community. University students are an asset to the university and the larger community, and acts of misconduct by a few tarnishes the good works performed by the majority.”

Third world experience from Africa page 1 Initially, mushrooms were dried at the Mpongwe Development Company’s coffee operation. When the MDC stopped growing coffee in the area, a dryer was donated to the co-op for mushroom processing. Unfortunately, efforts to get the dryer to function in 2006 proved fruitless.

Another local organization, the Organic Producers and Processors’ Association of Zambia, partners with the co-op to provide certification, markets, connections to donors, and technological support. Scott was chosen for the latter. , he took charge of the project management. This involved contacting a welder and electrician, sourcing parts, and supervising a team in an environment where he was just learning the language and “never fully understood what was going on.”

He also provided computer training to employees, who had little knowledge of how to use the two computers donated to the co-op. Scott integrated data analysis into the training, showing members how they could use computer programs to analyze production on their own farms.

After spending the initial six weeks in a coworker’s mud brick dwelling, he felt he was not getting an appropriate

perspective on what life was like for the farmers the co-op worked with. He moved to a farm seven kilometers from town to live with a member of the coop. He slept in his own hut and biked to work every day.

Scott found himself becoming acclimated to daily life in his new culture.

“If you really put yourself into it,” he says, “it’s no longer ‘over there’. It quickly starts to become normal. It almost becomes embarrassing how unexciting it is sometimes,” he said.

Back in Canada, he has returned to his old routine, although his view of the Third World has changed.

“Some people feel guilty when they come back because of all they have here, but I haven’t internalized that mindset that much,” he said. “I thought I had a positive, realistic image but found it doubled due to the sheer level of resourcefulness and capability of people I met. When I think about people in developing countries, they’re not just statistics anymore. They’re family, friends, people I really care about.”

“I wanted to use my engineering skills overseas,” DeRoche said. “This was the first step.”

Applications for EWB Junior Fellowships are due on October 22. Anyone interested in applying is encouraged to visit www.ewb.ca for further information.

News

Issue 6 • October 11, 2007 • 3

Where are you Richard Currie Center?

Andrew Meade / The Brunswickan

The site of the proposed Richard J. Currie Center where construction will begin Spring 2008.

by Lauren Kennedy On the Richard Currie Center Campaign website it boasts “ that it will become the University of New Brunswick’s new front door- and its face to the community,” but so far in the spot where it’s supposed to be built on the south side of Buchanan Field, there is no construction started and just an eyeful of green.

This enormous addition to the University of New Brunswick Fredericton campus will be a structure designed to address the wellness needs of the campus as well as the greater Fredericton community, providing both athletic facilities and centers for research activities and laboratories. These services are planning to be designed for students, faculty and staff and citizens of Fredericton.

It was designed as a vision for healthy living and has extensive floor plans showing four gymnasiums, one of which is able to turn into a space for large-scale ceremonies and be the new home to the Varsity Reds Basketball and Volleyball

programs as well as an additional new parking lot for an added 80 cars. There is also another component to the Center, incorporating a “Healthy Living Village” which partners professionals in the health research field who address the growing concern of health care and the declining state of the nations health through research, education and promotion. The Currie Center is planned to be the anchor building for this facility.

The Human Performance Laboratory is a lab of professional researchers researching how the body moves, diagnosing health related problems, etc.

Currently, UNBF is the home of one of the most advanced movement analysis labs in the region and with the creation of this laboratory which will be one of a kind here in Canada, the University plans to put it’s name on the map.

The intended indoor walking/jogging path is actually planned to bisect this lab where researchers can receive more data without interrupting the workout of individuals. State of the art technology will be used to track the movement of the human body, identifying movement issues, researching fatigue, and examining workout strate-

gies of individuals.

There are currently eight individual centers within this new building to be named at a price to be named in honour of UNB donors, two of which are already spoken for. The total cost UNB is looking to raise for the naming of these eight buildings is $6,350,000.

The question on most peoples minds is why hasn’t the Currie Center started construction yet.

The Project Manager for the Currie Center, Keith Lumsden with the Chief Advancement office said in an e-mail response the question of who should act as spokesperson for the Currie Center project is as yet an unanswered question in itself.

The one person that did have something to say and who could speak for the Currie Center was Barbra Nicholson, UNB’s Associate Vice-President of the capital planning and property development.

“The Richard J Currie Center is now in the design phase,” she said. “We have done some site preparation work and, subject to having all of the financing in place, construction will begin in the Spring of 2008.”

Roméo Dallaire testifies at trial

by Jordan Gill

Former UN general and senator, Roméo Dallaire, testified this week at Canada’s first War Crimes trial against Désiré Munyaneza, a man charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity in Rwanda. Munyaneza is a 40 year old former Toronto resident accused of being a Hutu militia leader. He is further accused of leading a militia group that is responsible for raping and murdering some 800,000 Tutsis in the Butare region of Rwanda in 1994. He attempted, but failed to receive refugee status in Canada and was arrested in 2005 after a six year investigation. If convicted, he faces a life sentence to be served in Canada.

Dallaire has testified at many war crime trials, with this being only the latest. Although he did not know the defendant, nor did he witness any of the crimes of which Munyaneza is accused, Dallaire was called in as an expert witness to prove that the actions of Munyaneza were that of a murderer and rapist, and that his actions were carried out to exterminate the Tutsis.

Dallaire testified about the roadblocks that were set up after the death of the Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana.

“We started to see bodies beside the roadblocks, people killed with machetes,” said Dallaire. “People were literally killed on the spot… They were simply there for ethnic cleansing … It was simply to destroy human beings…

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We passed village after village where there was no one left except the bodies.

Almost all the churches and monasteries were full of massacred people.”

When the defense asked whether the posttraumatic stress disorder that Dallaire suffers from would have affected his memory, Dallaire replied: “On the contrary, posttraumatic stress disorder hard-wires events in your brain to the extent they will come back in digitally clear detail to your brain. You don’t actually remember them. You relive them.”

The defense believes that some of Dallaire’s testimony is irrelevant to this particular case; that he’s going beyond establishing the existence of the genocide and talking about how it happened.

That’s something else.

In 1994, Roméo Dallaire was the chief United Nations general in Rwan-

da. He witnessed the horrors of the Rwandan genocide as it occurred. He repeatedly pleaded with the UN and the nations of the UN that have permanent seats on the Security Council (US, UK, Russia, France, and China) to send more help. In response, they cut his staff and refused to label the atrocities in Rwanda as genocide because if they did, they would be bound by international law to intervene.

After the genocide in which Rwanda lost 800,000, he returned to Canada.

He went into a deep depression where he attempted suicide, climaxing when he took medication and alcohol and passed out on a bench in a public park in Ottawa. Later he would write a book on what he had experienced called, ‘Shake Hands with the Devil’. The book was made into a movie, released last month.

Support the troops or the war?

by Naomi Osborne

The yellow ribbon symbolizing support for our troops has become a common sight in Fredericton. They can be seen everywhere, from the local Sobeys to many of the small shops downtown; one large yellow ribbon looks out from behind the window of a small office downtown.

Beth McDermott works for the Constituency Office of Greg Byrne and Rick Myles. They show the ribbon in their window and would never consider getting rid of it.

“We proudly display it in the window, we support our troops, not the war” said McDermott.

Now, more than ever, Canadians are proudly displaying yellow ribbons that read “Support Our Troops.” The public puts them on their vehicles, front windows, and even their lapels to show our troops in Afghanistan that they are supported in their efforts.

While most see these yellow ribbons as a symbol of support to the Canadian troops in Afghanistan, others believe it as a campaign funded by the Department of National Defense in an effort to sell the war in Afghanistan under what is

Andrew Meade / The Brunswickan

called “Operation Connection”.

The Fredericton Peace Coalition announced in a press conference last Thursday morning that they will be lobbying against this yellow ribbon campaign. They will be going around to all of the local businesses and churches who display the yellow ribbon on their windows, asking them to consider what its true meaning is.

They will also be asking the businesses to consider putting their stickers up

that read “Bring Them Home!” with a yellow ribbon in the form of a question mark and the words “Question War” in the middle. They see this as a better way of communicating to everyone that they are supporting the troops and not the war.

The Peace Coalition is only making the suggestion and isn’t implying that people should take down their old ribbons, but simply add their new one, too.

“It wouldn’t make sense to ask local businesses to take them down after they paid for them and everyone displays them now, people do care about the troops” said McDermott.

This month will be the sixth year anniversary of the invasion and occupation of Afghanistan. The Peace Coalition is launching the campaign because they believe that the yellow ribbon campaign is supporting the current mission in Afghanistan, when people should be promoting the return of the troops.

According to their online survey, 68% of Canadians questioned said they do not believe the Afghan mission should continue past its end date of February 2009.

Their main claim is that if Canadians do not support Canada’s role in Afghanistan, but they post the yellow ribbon in support of our troops, then it implies that they support what the troops are doing, which is simply fighting a war.

Racist vandal shocks universities from SHOUT page 1 After spending several years in a refugee camp, Gbongbor left the wartorn country in West Africa with his father. He is now a third-year Human Rights major at St. Thomas.

SHOUT is a national student advocacy group that worked with Gbongbor on this event. “My event went very well, in fact more successful than the one I put up last year.”

SHOUT UNB President Kurt Goddard says this type of incident is working against what his organization is trying to do.

“It’s shocking to have something like this happen, but at the same time, it lets us know just how necessary we

are right now.”

Goddard is quick to point out that it wasn’t only SHOUT posters that were defamed. “It wasn’t an attack on our group; it was an act of hate, which is the most upsetting.”

Gbongbor also explains that the vandalism has not had an impact on his intent to continue hosting events of this nature. He feels his events will remain successful, despite this incident of racist opposition. Goddard agrees.

“I think that if anything, this will encourage people to come out and support us, where they now recognize there is a serious problem that isn’t talked about enough. It’s a big wake-up call, and I think the response has been and will continue to be very positive.”

According to Goddard, SHOUT

already has several upcoming events planned. Next Saturday, October 20, they’ll be hosting the ‘GULU WALK’ to raise awareness and fundraise for a school in Northern Uganda. Registration begins at 3pm in Holy Cross House, on the St. Thomas University campus.

As well, they are hoping to bring in a Rwandan genocide survivor to speak in mid-November, in partnership with the UNB Student Union.

“SHOUT is definitely looking to address this issue on campus – whether it be through a media campaign or events. It’s really important to stand up to intolerance, especially on a university campus, where the population is so culturally diverse.

An event like this one reminds us of the importance to continue working to promote understanding.”

Comments & Letters

eic@unb.ca • October 11, 2007

Love, Sex and Your Father’s Sock Drawer A Column

by John McLovin

Version 3.0.12 Welcome back my little turkey-filled love pastries, welcome. I trust your journeys back to your respective homelands this past weekend were both restful as well as productive. It is a well known fact that, being the first long weekend of the new school year, many first year students see thanksgiving as an opportunity to end that strained long distance high school relationship in person. After a month of class and being buried in books and assignments every night, you finally realized that maybe things need to change and you don’t really have time for a serious relationship anymore. Or, perhaps you just saw this really hot guy at the bar last weekend and after staring at him for 20 minutes you realized that you would feel a lot less guilty about going home with him if you didn’t have that boyfriend back home. Either way, you did it; you’re free…now lets have some fun!

On a side note to anyone who got dumped, broken up with, or are now on a break from their partner for an undisclosed amount of time… I think it would be in your best interest to avoid Nicky Zee’s, Sweetwaters and the Social Club over the next few weeks. I’m just saying, it might suck.

Ok, so where were we? Oh right.

Last week I dove into the protocol surrounding how to hold yourself in the awkward post-make out scenario. Oh my god, I just remembered something I wanted to tell everyone. Ok, so last week after I finished typing this article out I decided that it was time to return home from a long day of classes. As I pulled into my driveway I saw this girl walking up the street towards me. It took me about four seconds to actually

process who this girl was and how I knew her… but then it hit me. My first Nicky Zee’s make out partner. Firstly I was surprised she was still at UNB… it had been awhile, I thought she had graduated. Guess not. Either way, as I was saying, she was coming towards me, probably didn’t recognize me yet, and so I thought about what I had just finished writing and examined my options. Stay, smile and chat… or run away like a little scared puppy. Needless to say, I make a very cute and adorable puppy. Lesson learned, it is easier to write about talking to an old make-out friend then to actually do it. Sigh. Oh well.

What does all of that have to do with this week’s lesson? Nothing. I just wanted to share with the class. Let us continue.

at this crossroad, but lets just assume for tonight only, that you are able to convince your new friend that this is a good idea. So you survived the bar and the cab ride home… swing open the bedroom door, look out because here comes lesson #3.

Lesson #3 The Gentleman’s Guide to the One Night Stand a.k.a. How to not have terrible drunk sex.

Before I get started with this, I want to set a few things straight. First of all, I am not either for or against random sexual encounters…to each his or her own. There are obviously risks to this.

For the girls… Chlamydia and pregnancy are two big ones. For dudes…

just can’t help that. But wearing nothing but your socks during sex is a sure way of standing out as looking stupider than the rest of us. Here’s a tip: when you go to take off your shoes upon entering the house, room or whatever, take off your socks at the same time. Voila, you’re already like…20-25% naked…crazy. Oh and if you were thinking about wearing some form of footwear…don’t. This isn’t a porno and you aren’t a plumber or sexy trainer at the gym. Ok awkward…continuing on.

Step 2) Have a condom nearby.

Whether it is in the drawer, your pocket or wherever, you should know where they are so that you don’t have to scrounge around looking for one.

Keep in mind, the longer she waits on

Step 3) Know what you are doing.

Nothing is more frustrating, let alone painful, for a woman than a guy who has no sweet clue what he is doing. Drunk or not. I would now like to share with you a list of tips and ideas for you to consider when trying to play Casanova.

Obviously I can’t cover everything you should/ would like to know, but here are a few of the main ones. a) Here’s an unusual idea: A naked woman consists of more than just a vagina and nipples. Just the same way you aren’t a prick or an asshole (well maybe you are a prick, who am I to judge?).

Point is, be considerate, and don’t focus your attention to just those areas. I actually had to refer to an anatomy textbook for this, but I guess women also have inner thighs, stomachs, breasts (those things attached to the nipples), a neck and lips. Go figure. b) Don’t crush her. Statistics show that you probably weigh more than she does, even if that isn’t the case, show some kindness and don’t let your dead weight restrict her ability to breathe while you attempt to get yourself off.

You wouldn’t want someone to drop a 180 lb bag of potatoes on you while in bed, would you?

So as promised, we will begin to examine some more advanced topics for those of you who have made so much progress already. It is to be expected that becoming skilled in the art of convincing people to make out with you at the bars will only quench your thirst for so long. And if I know you like I think I know you, you’re one thirsty son of a bitch. So let’s now assume that you are moving past the make-out stage and are so bold as to suggest that you both share a cab back to your place. Of course there are many ways to crash and burn

um…. I got nothing so far, but I’m sure there is some sort of negative side… you would think there would be eh? Nope can’t think of anything. Anyway. Risks.

Big ones. Be sure to play safe. Alright.

Let’s go.

Step 1) Take off your goddamn socks.

I know it seems like I am skipping something or that I am picking a really random article of clothing to focus on… but no… this is very relevant. Ask any girl, drunk or sober, socks must come off.

Face it guys, we look stupid naked. We

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the bed naked for you, the more time she has to realize this is probably not what her guidance counselor meant by extracurricular activities. So be quick with it so that you don’t have to interrupt what you were doing. Oh and one other thing… I don’t care how inconvenient it seems at the time, or what she says in the heat of it all. WEAR A CONDOM. You have no idea how much it matters until your standing in a 24-hour drug store check out line with home pregnancy test to bring home to your new “friend”.

Dude. Not cool. So remember wrap it,

Are video games the future of entertainment?

Mugwump

by Tony von Richter

So unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few weeks, you’ve undoubtedly heard about the success of ‘Halo 3’ for the Xbox 360, and how it raked in over $170M on its first day of release, making it the highest earning first-day for any entertainment offering in history, and made over $300M in its first week on the shelves.

This unprecedented success prompted Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates to state “Halo 3 embodies our vision for the future of entertainment, where some of the world’s greatest creative minds will deliver a new generation of interactive storytelling.”

Are video games the future of entertainment, though? Will they eventually come to be on the same level as movies, music, and television?

It will take a while for it to happen, but I think in time, video games will be as accepted as movies and television shows with the mainstream media covering major releases just as they do for the more traditional forms of entertainment.

In fact, this is already starting to hap-

before you tap it. Moving on…

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pen, as in the last year the media devoted a lot of coverage to the launches of the PlayStation 3 and the Nintendo Wii and continued to cover the sales battle between the three main consoles. Seemingly, every media outlet in the land had a story on the impending release of Halo 3 and its record-breaking sales figures.

However, as evidenced by the coverage of Halo 3’s launch, there’s still a long way to go for video games to be on par with movies and television, as most of the coverage had a tone of incredulity to it, as if it was inconceivable that a video game could be as big, or even bigger than, a major movie release.

While it’s not good that a large portion of the media is so completely uninformed about a significant portion of popular culture (video game sales totaled about $7.4B in the United

States in 2006), it’s understandable that these members of the media would be shocked by the commercial success of a video game. A large portion of society still believes the notion that video games are for kids and are just mindless wastes of time that really don’t contain anything of substance.

It’s undeniable that some people play games just to mindlessly kill time, and that some titles require about as much thought as staring at the wall, but the same can be said of all other forms of entertainment as well. The fact is that when video games were first invented, they weren’t much more than a fun diversion, like a board game that just happened to play out on your television screen.

Now, however, as the technology behind them has improved, video games

have evolved to a legitimate art form able to evoke emotions and thought just as the more traditional forms of entertainment and should be recognized as such.

So are video games the future of entertainment?

No, not exclusively, but they will be on par with music, movies, television, and books as a mainstream entertainment option.

Unfortunately, that’s a long time away, at least I think it will be a few more years before the creative efforts of game creators like Hideo Kojima and Shigeru Miyamoto are considered to be equal to those of men like Steven Spielberg and Joss Whedon.

That day will come eventually though, and until then, well, I guess I’ll just spend my time playing Halo 3.

c) Play nice. If you are just getting to “know” this young lady for the first time, it is safe to assume that you aren’t exactly privy to all of her kinks and turnons. That being said there are few things you shouldn’t do unless you know she wants you to… and something’s you should never do. For example, she probably doesn’t want you to bite her nipples. They are sensitive and it hurts.

Lick them, kiss them, blow them, touch them… leave the biting and rough pinching out…for now *wink wink* As for something you should never do… imagine a girl sinking her teeth into the head of your penis. Yeah. Don’t nibble or bite on her clit. Also hurts and not in a good way. Books have been written on things you can do down there. just leave out the teeth. d) Watch your mouth. Again with the whole “you probably know what she’s in to” thing. A little bit of dirty talk is acceptable. Your drunk, she’s drunk, you’re having wild, random sex. But

moderation is key here, be sure to exclude certain words that start with c, s, b, and w and try to be respect of this young women, who so courteously, agreed to come back to your dingy residence room while your roommate is out of town.

Also be sure not to say anything stupid afterwards such as: “Thank you”, “I am waiting to be impressed” (said in a Sean Connery type voice) “So when do the babies come out?” or my personal favorite, “Wow, wait until I tell my mom about you!”

Step 4) Its all about sex. Ok so to make a long story short… and in you’re case… embarrassingly short, the whole sex thing boils down to two key factors when you are drunk. One, don’t come too soon. Two, don’t play Mr. Porn Star. Sure, try a few positions, but try and realize that you are drunk and not very coordinated. She will appreciate it more if you just focus on keeping a good rhythm and pay attention to her cues.

Now it should be known that most drunken one night stands are not going to be your best sexual performance.

In fact, you probably won’t even be able to get it up. Of course that isn’t a problem I’ve ever had to deal with, so I can’t really offer any advice on that…

Moving on.

You should also be prepared for the reality that she probably won’t want to see you again after this…or that she will want to be your girlfriend immediately and before you know it you’ll be helping “dad” carve the turkey at thanksgiving dinner next year at her parent’s place in Truro. *shudder* Anyway. To those of you who do wish to partake in this form of activity, I wish you the best of luck and I hope that my few tips and pointers can help guide you in the right direction and that she doesn’t leave wondering if she had just had sex or witnessed some poor guy having a seizure on top of her for 3 minutes. Its probably best if you let her call you…

Tune in next week when I do the unthinkable...

Lesson #4 The Young Lady’s Guide to the One Night Stand a.k.a. BAHAHAHAHAHAH are you kidding me!!! I mean… oh wow, you’re sooo big!

See you next week!

Woodsmen overlooked Dear Editor: I am fortunate enough to be a member of a very unique group of students. I am a UNB Woodsman. Once again this fall I have joined my fellow woodsmen to defend 42 years of proud tradition.

Since 1965, a group of strong, determined men (and more recently women) have come together to prove that UNB students are as tough and as skilled at lumberjacking as any of our competitors. Many times we have stepped onto the field knowing our opponents may be larger, better rested and better equipped.

In spite of this, we have often triumphed by grit, determination and sheer hardness of will. Today, however, we face a new type of challenge.

As a club team, we receive minimal support form the University. We work weekends as lumberjacks, landscapers, and general labourers to earn money to support the team. On top of all this we rise before the sun every weekday morning to practice hard in preparation for our competition. Since 1965, every fall the Forestry association and UNB Woodsmen have worked to organize the annual UNB Woodsmen For the first time in 42 years, the UNB Woodsmen competition will not be held on university grounds. The construction of a new soccer field has resulted in the loss of the Chapman field parking lot, traditional site of the competition. The university did not even have the courtesy to inform us that we would lose our traditional competition-grounds until early September.

I am not writing to take away from any other sports, nor out of jealousy of soccer. We understand that all athletes want to be able to give their best performance in the best venue possible, and this new field will improve the state of sport at the university as a whole. We simply want what is due to

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us as a competitive sports team at the university. I know that the Woodsmen are not the only club being marginalized by the university, as I’m sure our friends the UNB Ironmen will agree.

We, as athletes, shed our blood and sweat every day to defend the pride of the University of New Brunswick, and we don’t think it’s too much to ask that we receive some recognition, if only in the form of a small place on campus to practice and compete.

What we must do to turn the tide is rally support form the students. This year, the “UNB” Woodsmen competition will be hosted by the Maritime College of Forest Technology (across the road from the regent mall) on October 13th. There is nothing I can compare the event to that will even give a sense of what it is like, only to say that you must see it to believe it. Competition will be intense as the best and burliest young lumberjacks from across eastern Canada and the U.S. lay it all on the line in the pursuit of glory. Hopes, dreams and axes will be broken, so I implore all students to come out, bring friends, dress warm and support the UNB Woodsmen. Holler and curse at us, whatever it takes to drive us to compete to the best of our abilities.

Andrew Holt

Comments & Letters The Brunswickan Editorial Board

Editor-In-Chief • Jennifer McKenzie Managing Editor • Tony von Richter Co-News Editor • Josh O’Kane Co-News Editor • Lauren Kennedy Arts Editor • Ashley Bursey Photo Editor • Andrew Meade Sports Editor • Brian Munn Copy Editor • Alicia Del Frate Production Editor • Ed Cullinan

Staff Advertising Sales Rep • Bill Traer Delivery • Mike Lee Contributors Naomi Osbourne, Jessica Grzesik, Brad Conley, Hunter Gavin, Sean M.H., Dan Hagerman About Us The Brunswickan, in its 141st year of publication, is Canada’s Oldest Official Student Publication.

We are an autonomous student newspaper owned and operated

by Brunswickan Publishing Inc., a non-profit, independant body.

We are a founding member of the Canadian University Press, and love it so. We are also members of U-Wire, a media exchange of university media throughout North America.

We publish weekly during the academic year with a circulation of 10,000.

Letters Must be submitted by e-mail including your name, letters with pseudonymns will not be printed. Letters must be 200 words maximum. Deadline for letters is Friday at noon.

Editorial Policy While we endeavour to provide an open forum for a variety of viewpoints and ideas, we may refuse any submission considered by the editorial board to be racist, sexist, libellous, or in any way discriminatory.

The opinions and views expressed in this newspaper are those of the individual writers, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Brunswickan, its Editorial Board, or its Board of Directors.

All editorial content appearing in The Brunswickan is the property of Brunswickan Publishing Inc. Stories, photographs, and artwork contained herein cannot be reproduced without the express, written permission of the Editorin-Chief.

21 Pacey Drive, SUB Suite 35 Fredericton, NB, E3B 5A3 main office • (506) 447-3388 advertising • (506) 452-6099 fax • (506) 453-5073 email • bruns.editor@gmail.com

Issue 6 • October 11, 2007 • 5

Co-operating for A response from CHSR Your Community Dear Editor,

by Erin Hancock

You may be familiar with the co-op grocery store, credit unions or MEC (Mountain Equipment Co-op), but do you understand the significance behind what it means to be a co-op?

A co-operative is an association of people who come together to meet a need in their community that they may not be able to meet as individuals. Where the private and public sector fail to support a community, the members of that community can take ownership over an issue and creatively address it. Where most other enterprises exist to maximize profit, co-operatives primarily exist to fill a void. In some cases, co-operatives meet the most basic needs of a community that some argue should be met by the government, such as housing, food security and employment.

October 14-20 marks Co-op Week, a time for Canadian co-operatives to celebrate their successes and contributions to Canada and community development throughout the country. In Canada, there are over 10, 000 co-operatives and credit unions, providing products and/ or services to about 1/3 of the Canadian population. In New Brunswick, there are over 200 co-operatives and credit unions; including a film-makers co-op, forestry co-ops, food co-ops, co-operative banks (credit unions and caisses populaires), restaurants and more.

Co-ops may sometimes appear similar to other enterprises, offering what at first glance seems to be the same products or services available at other businesses.

However, there are key differences that distinguish co-ops as unique enterprises.

First of all, co-operatives are democratic structures that provide each member with a vote and the Board members that provide direction for the co-op are elected from the membership base. Unlike other businesses where more money buys you more votes, each member of a co-operative holds the same influence in decision-making.

Co-operatives are community centered, meaning that the community

members who utilize the co-operative services are often also the owners. The phrase “we are the co-op” stems from this philosophy. Because community members are also owners of the enterprise, one may argue that co-operatives consider sustainability more than other enterprises that are owned by foreign investors do. In the end, the members of a co-op want to see their jobs, community, local environment and culture thrive; where foreign investors may be concerned with simply one, economic bottom line. Money is not exported as soon as it is made; it is recirculated in the community, supporting other community members and going into other services as well. Perhaps the Government of New Brunswick could reassess how to achieve self-sufficiency by looking a little bit closer to home and supporting local initiatives.

Co-operatives are all around us. The Fredericton Direct Charge Co-op was conceived in 1973 by local families who wanted to have their grocery needs met and now the co-op is owned and controlled by over 8,000 local families . If you were to visit Doodle’s Café in the Charlotte Street Art Centre, you would be able to drink delicious Coco Camino hot chocolate (organic, fair trade) from Ottawa-based La Siembra Co-operative, purchase chocolate, coffee or tea (also organic and fair trade) from Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-op based in Grand Pre, Nova Scotia. You might visit the Caisses Populaires Beausejour Ltee. (financial co-op) on the corner of George Street and Regent Street on Saturday mornings before heading to the market to purchase some produce (some of which comes from farming and producer co-ops in NB). Some of these co-ops were formed by people who needed a product, some were formed to create employment for the worker-owners and some were formed because the founders had a vision to provide a more ethical and environmentally-friendly product for the public.

All in all, co-operatives are a strong part of many Canadian communities.

Take the opportunity to learn a bit more over Co-op Week, October 14-20 by visiting local co-operatives, asking questions or visiting some websites to learn more (www.coopscanada.coop, www. ica.coop). Co-operatively, community members can explore how they can meet their needs, be innovative and support sustainability of their communities.

I would like to mention something that was included in last week’s edition of the Brunswickan. It was an article entitled “Turn the volume down...way down”, that featured complaints about the selection of radio stations here in Fredericton. In this article, the writer seemed to suggest that there is no apparent alternative to the two most popular local commercial stations or the CBC to be found on the airwaves in town. Well, as it happens, there is! And it’s CHSR FM. If you were in agreement with what was written in that article, keep in mind To the editor:

Congratulations! The Brunswickan does it again! This last week I was in town visiting friends as I’ve been away from Fredericton for about six months now.

While eating downtown I picked up the latest issue of the paper. After flipping through it, and not finding much worth while, my attention was finally grabbed on the last page in a article written about radio in Fredericton and how there is no alternative to the top forty audio brainwash that is shoved down listeners ear drums by the main stream radio. Needless to say as an almost 2 year member of CHSR 97.9 fm (and someone who is still involved with broadcasting for the station-despite now living in Nova Scotia) I was a bit perplexed. According to this article the radio station that I had four shows on,

that we here at CHSR FM have been providing an alternative to commercial media in Fredericton for decades now.

If you don’t know much about us: yes, we are a real radio station, run by local volunteers, broadcasting from the SUB 24 hours a day to Fredericton and the surrounding area at 97.9 fm, as well as to the rest of the world online at chsrfm.ca.

The aforementioned article ended with the writer saying that he probably couldn’t do a better radio program than those he heard on the commercial stations he was complaining about, but

that he could do better than to listen to said stations. I would like to point out that anyone in the community can come to CHSR and get trained to do a program of his or her choice. So, if you don’t like what you hear on the other stations in town, come on up to CHSR FM and do your own show!

To give you an idea of what we’ve got to offer, take a look at our bi-weekly column here in the Brunswickan or pick up a copy of our program schedule at the station or in the SUB lobby.

served on two committees, and did allot of work for didn’t really exist. Now I have been known to indulge myself from time to time in activities that can hurt the memory but despite all of this I’d like to think that I didn’t just create an imaginary radio station and all the friends and memories I have of it in my head (lord help me if I did).

I think it’s almost a waste to go after the writer of this article. After all maybe he really doesn’t have a clue that CHSR exists. HOWEVER the editor of the paper and the arts editor surely know the station exists. Not only does CHSR have a column that usually runs in the paper but to get to the office of the Brunswickan you have to walk right under CHSR! To allow an article to be written that says there is NO alternative radio in Fredericton when you know

damn well there is seems ludicrous (not the rapper-the idea-although if it was the rapper then we could go back to the topic of mind altering drugs and this whole thing might make a bit more sense). You can’t print an article (even on opinion piece) that says something is true when it isn’t. The editors of this paper should have informed the writer that there was an alternative OR at the very least added their own note pointing out the same fact.

Overall it’s nice to see that when I come back in town the newspaper, despite it being a new year and new staff (I assume), still makes forehead smacking mistakes! It makes me feel like I never left!

-Andrew Vaughan; 4 time CHSR Barry Award winning radio host-that is if the station actually exists.

Scott Kitchen CHSR Program Director

Editors Note: Rip by Sean M.H., is an opinions column and does not necessarily reflects the opinions of the Brunswickan. Last week’s article, however does not imply that there are only two radio stations in Fredericton- Though it only mentions three stations, Sean in no way rules out the existence or the possibility that there may be other radio stations on the airwaves. J.M.

Feature Writer & Staff Writer Positions Available Work for us! We’ll pay you!

Application due to eic@unb.ca by 5:00 PM Oct. 12

Comments & Letters

6 • October 11, 2007 • Issue 6

An open letter to Alex Stevens Dear Editor,

What’s your favorite childhood toy?

My imaginary Lite Bright Andrew Lambert

Barbie Brianna Laidlaw

After reading your article, Mr. Stevens, regarding the Weak Size Fish show, I was awed by your courageous effort to give a professional review in spite of your being too drunk to actually remember the show. I, too, was excited to see this show, as I knew I was in for a treat: this is only Weak Size Fish’s third show where they had the full band.

No one better than a seasoned musician like yourself could understand how difficult it is to play to play for 2 full hours in a bar that is excruciatingly hot and without taking a break from singing or playing. My memory fails me though: what was the name of your band again? What instrument do you play? And when is your next gig?

My stuffed hawk Natasha Black

Stuffed dog Mike McLean

Barbies Vanessa Morris

and vocal harmonies are so overrated.

Bands like Pink Floyd, the Outlaws, Lynard Skynard, Fleetwood Mac, Shania Twain, and so many others would be so much better and have a much stronger and more loyal following if they would follow your sage advice.

Again, you are so right - it would make so much sense if when any band played a venue with a small stage that they just leave those members that can’t fit on the stage home. Knowing it is all about what a band wears and how they look and not at all about their unique sound is such an astute observation; it’s like you and Paris Hilton are of one mind – fantastic! (And I think the way you describe Nick Mazerolle’s quick tongue and nimble hands, you and Paris would get into quite the cat fight over

him, yes? Me-ow!)

And as a final point, you couldn’t be more right about the overuse of microphones. Not only are you right when you say there were too many of them, I say take it one step further: banish their unsightliness from the stage altogether. The band could save lots of money by just using fake plastic mic’s and lip-synching the words. This practice hasn’t hurt Janet or Britney’s street cred one bit and if it’s good enough for them, it should be good enough for the Fish, too.

Bravo, Alex Stevens, bravo!

ingly less impressive, yet ultimately far more important because it is accountable and answerable to Parliament. It holds office only while it enjoys the confidence of Members of Parliament, so that executive authority hinges on the colloquial will of the people.

Tests of confidence arise in votes on the Speech from the Throne, budgets, and anything else the government simply declares to be a matter of confidence.

When such a vote fails, confidence is withheld, the government falls, and an election is normally called. And that’s what brings us to today’s history lesson.

Parliament reconvenes next week when the government introduces a new Speech from the Throne with a new set of legislative priorities that has already set off a new round of political gamesmanship. The pieces are already falling into place.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his minority government have declared that if the opposition parties support the Speech from the Throne, and thus the government’s legislative agenda, they cannot then vote against any of the bills the Speech mentions. To ensure this is the case, the government intends to declare most if not all of these bills as matters of confidence, hoping to scare opposition parties that do not want an election into supporting Conservative

policies.

Even without seeing the Speech, the Bloc and the NDP have already made demands that the Harper government cannot support. Thus, in expectation of Harper’s plethora of confidence votes, it falls to the Liberals to decide whether Harper stands in the Commons or falls to the electorate when the Speech from the Throne finally comes to a vote.

If Dion’s Grits support it, they stand between a rock and a hard place where they must determine whether they also support the bills that fall out of the Speech. The alternative risks forcing an election in which they would need to make the case for supporting the government’s policy agenda but not its bills.

Harper’s political manoeuvre is tactically adept. Painting Speech from the Throne supporters as either wholesale supporters of the government or as eventual flip-flop junkies is a perfect way of ensuring that he can govern for a full mandate, even in a minority government situation. Dion’s recent leadership weaknesses are not helping the Liberals chances.

However, the Conservatives appear to misunderstand fundamentally the function of the Speech from the Throne.

Despite what the threat of numerous confidence votes might suggest, a vote in favour of the Speech does not give the government carte blanche to enact as it pleases.

If it did, there would be no need for a legislative session beyond the Speech from the Throne. The Governor General could parade into Parliament and read the Speech, some MPs would give rousing and partisan speeches, the vote would happen, and either it would pass and they could all go home or the government would fall and we’d be off to the polls.

Of course, that is not how things work, because a 30 page speech does not encompass the details hundreds of pages of legislation and estimates. If MPs approve the Speech from the Throne they do not surrender their conscience, because to do so would extinguish Parliament’s inherent accountability.

Approval is indicative merely of an agreement in principle of the legislative and budgetary policies the government plans to bring forward. Once introduced, those measures are still subject to the rigorous scrutiny of Parliament.

Bills must still go through committee.

Budgets must be analyzed. Questions must be asked and answered.

Meanwhile, the opposition Liberals cry foul, claiming Canadians do not want an election. But, in reality, this

is the time when the opposition must unwaveringly meet its commitment to holding the government accountable.

It has been a year and a half since Harper took office. Are we satisfied with our government? Has it, and its ministers, performed well? Should it be allowed to create a gauntlet of confidence matters that stand outside the normal practice of Canada’s Parliament? These are questions to bear in mind as the Governor General delivers the Speech from the Throne.

If the opposition truly supports the goals and ambitions of the government, then it must support the Speech. But, if the Speech is such a significant digression from their values, then the opposition parties cannot support the Speech.

The same holds true for any legislation introduced as a matter of confidence if and when the Speech from the Throne is approved.

The time has come for the opposition to pony up. It is not enough that the Liberals might presently stand divided.

Do not mention that Dion’s leadership is routinely under question—the party chose a leader and it must make do with the one it selected. Liberal MPs form Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition and have a duty to hold the government to account.

A vote in favour of the Speech from the Throne or any other confidence matter merely to avoid an election that might cause their party difficulties is a vote that shirks the opposition’s duties under responsible government, and a vote that says to Canadians that they are not ready to govern. Our democracy insists that an ineffectual government held to account is better than a government with the greatest policy ideas that is never checked by elected representatives.

It is true that the government cannot use the Speech from the Throne to cloak itself in apparent authority to govern without opposition. But at the same time, the opposition parties cannot mask themselves behind the veil of weak leadership or lack of direction, and certainly not behind an allegation that the public does not want an election.

Such a veil comes at the expense the opposition’s burden under responsible government.

If the government wears its cloak or the opposition dons its mask, it will shroud Parliament in a void of accountability.

Nick Ouellette has served on the UNB Student Union Council and the UNB Board of Governors, and now serves on the UNB Fredericton Senate and as an Assistant Don in UNB’s Residence Community.

Sincerely yours, Meaghan Dougherty

How Confident are we of the Confidence in this Minority?

Rousing The Rabbles

Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots John Fitzgerald

Your basic questions are good ones: Can the Fish appeal to the masses? Can they fill a venue if they don’t have their friends standing behind them? In their three shows in Bathurst and one show in P.E.I. this summer, they packed the houses, each of them three times the size of the Capital, and did so when no one from university was around. I am sure you were at each of these shows, doing your legwork and background so you could continue writing with the high level of professionalism you exhibited in this review. I must have missed you at those shows because you had been swallowed up in the crowd.

I couldn’t agree with you more than when you said that a band should not have more than two guitarists nor more than one singer. Really good instrument

by Nick Ouellette

The time has come for a history lesson.

Little has engrained itself in the popular culture of our nation as much as the Canadian Heritage Moments such as the one that first utters the words “responsible government” for many Canadians. Yet, other than knowing “it’s a Canadian idea,” the question remains whether every Canadian knows what responsible government really is.

Definitions such as dutiful and loyal are grand and full of aspiration, but they both fail to capture the true meaning of responsible. And while we might hope that our governments are reliable, conscientious, and competent, even the fickle, careless, and incompetent government can be said to be a responsible government.

A responsible government is seem-

The Brunswickan Annual General Meeting

Tuesday, October 30, 2007 4:30 PM SUB Room 103

Questions? eic@unb.ca

Sports

brunswickansports@gmail.com • October 11, 2007

Varsity Reds unstoppable at Fall Classic

Andrew Meade / The Brunswickan

Varsity Reds’ John Scott Dickson (12) and Hunter Tremblay (7) celebrate UNB’s opening goal of the tournament against the Laurier Golden Hawks.

Reds cap off dominant exhibition season by winning the Fall Classic

by Tony von Richter

On what was supposed to be a quiet weekend on the UNB campus the Varsity Reds men’s hockey team decided to make a little noise of their own by outscoring their opponents 15-4 en route to taking the fourth annual Fall Classic tournament.

The tournament victory finished off an undefeated exhibition season for the Reds, which saw them win six games, including defeating such highly touted teams as the sixth ranked Waterloo Warriors, the third-ranked Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks, and the New York Islanders rookie squad.

Leading the Reds this weekend were new recruit Kevin Henderson who scored four goals and an assist, veteran

forward John Scott Dickson who added five goals, and third year forward Brad Efthimiou who contributed five assists to account for the majority of UNB’s offense during the tournament.

Beginning the tournament with perhaps their toughest opponent of the preseason, the Reds faced off against the Golden Hawks, who came within a goal of competing with UNB for the national championship last spring, and were 3-1 heading into the tournament.

The Reds started the game off with a bang, scoring four goals in the opening period and never looked back as they scored another four in the next period and two more in the third to defeat Laurier by a 10-2 score and earning a spot in the championship game against the rival St. Thomas Tommies.

The Tommies earned their place in the championship game by defeating the St. Francis Xavier X-Men 4-1 with STU goalie Matt Davis putting in a stellar performance stopping 31 shots and earning the Tommies a measure of revenge for St. FX dashing their title hopes by beating them out for the third and final Atlantic Conference spot in last year’s national championships.

Saturday night’s game was the second in less than three weeks between the two teams with St. Thomas looking

to avenge an 8-1 loss to the Reds on September 21.

In a fairly even first period the two teams traded goals with Jean Bourbeau scoring for the Tommies and Kevin Henderson answering back for the

UNB dominates tournament honour roll Tournament All-Stars Forward – Hunter Tremblay, UNB

The Fifty Mission Cap

by Brian Munn

When I wake up in the morning, I don’t immediately check my e-mail or brush my teeth. I don’t shower.

Well, I do shower, but not right away.

Every morning, as soon as I wake up, I reach for the remote and turn on SportsCentre.

Men’s Volleyball UNB - 3 Ryerson - 1 Friday, October 5th Men’s Hockey UNB - 10 Laurier - 2 Men’s Volleyball UNB - 3 Montreal - 2 Saturday, October 6th Men’s Volleyball McMaster - 3 UNB - 1 Women’s Basketball UNB - 60 MSVU - 51 Cross Country UNB Women’s 5K - 3 UNB Men’s 10K - 3 Men’s Hockey UNB - 5 STU - 2 Monday, October 8th Women’s Volleyball UNB - 3 U de M - 1

Weekend Tournaments

Forward – Justin Bowers, STU Defense – Luke Gallant, UNB

Women’s Basketball UNB Invitational @ LB Gym

Defense – David Bowman, UNB

Men’s Basketball RMC Tournament @ Queen’s University

Goaltender – Danny Battochio, St. FX Tournament MVP

Friday, October 12th

John Scott Dickson, UNB Andrew Meade / The Brunswickan

ditching flag football for the Superbowl, there is never an excuse to sit at home and watch when you could be doing.

So you can’t find a card game anywhere? Hey, try the Internet! You can play poker, and I can watch hockey. I think everyone is happier with this one, except maybe the wife.

But it doesn’t end with poker. In fact, that’s just the beginning. I could debate NASCAR and fishing and horseracing being sports or not. But it gets so much worse.

Spelling Bees. It’s enough to make me cry. I’d rather watch some sort of Yankees vs. Senators vs. Colts vs. Team USA poker game than a spelling bee.

TSN – The Sports Network – has, in the past, broadcast 12 year old children spelling out five-syllable words that I either don’t know the meaning of, couldn’t care about the meaning of, have never heard, or will never use.

And they dress them in matching golf shirts, trying to fake us out.

“Oh, they’re wearing matching golf shirts. It must be some sort of athletic team!”

If these kids are athletes, then the NB School District 10 Math-letes Championship should probably pre-empt the American League Championship Series.

My grandmother is an amazing cribbage player, and is a demon on the Scrabble board. If this trend doesn’t change, I fear that someday in the not-too-distant future I may see my Nan on The Score being interviewed

by Cabbie.

I have no problem with people who like poker. I’ve played a game or two in my day. I’ve spelled words, too.

But that doesn’t mean that I’m cut out for a primetime slot on Sportsnet.

Sure, you can debate about other ‘sports’ not actually being sports.

“Any idiot can turn left!”

“I’d like to see you do that fancy skating with a stick in your hand!”

“Stop cheering and start playing!”

But in the end, they do take at least some discernable athletic ability. You can break a sweat, at least. I guess they can belong on TSN. So how do you draw the line? How can the people at ESPN decide what is and what is not deserving of a TV slot.

To them, I offer this simple test: if my grandmother can do it, it shouldn’t be on The Sports Network. She can cook with the best of them, but that’s more Iron Chef than Ironman.

Thursday, October 4th

Upcominig V-Reds Events

Forward – Kevin Henderson, UNB

Up Next on TSN: Grandma takes on the Mathletes To me, there is no better way to kick off the day – or to end the day, or to spend the day – than watching sports.

But sometimes, I run into a problem.

Poker.

I hate when sports channels show things that aren’t sports.

Poker? Not a sport.

What Daniel Negraneu gets on the flop doesn’t matter. It’s not like you have a Proline ticket on the next World Poker Tour event.

Card games are boring enough. You don’t need to add special effects and colour commentary, because it’s not going to get any better. No matter how they spin it, you are watching plain, everyday people – old, geeky, unathletic, boring, weird, creepy, or any combination of these – play cards.

One of the cardinal rules of sports watching is that if you can play it instead of watching it, you do. Unless you’re

Reds.

The second period was all UNB as they outshot the Tommies 17-11 and kept the play almost exclusively in St. Thomas’ half of the ice for the later half of the period. Scoring for the Reds were

John Scott Dickson, Hunter Tremblay, and Nathan O’Nabigon.

UNB continued to control the play in the third period, although STU began to reassert themselves as the game became decidedly more physical, which included UNB defenseman Andrew deSousa getting a game misconduct for checking from behind, and a couple of scrums that led to the Reds’ Henderson and STU’s Joel Lietner being hit with ten-minute misconduct penalties. The teams once again traded goals as the Reds Scott Dickson scored his second goal of the game and Devan Praught scored late in the game to make it a 5-2 final for the Varsity Reds.

Following the game, the tournament all-stars were announced with forwards Kevin Henderson and Hunter Tremblay and defensemen Kevin Gallant and David Bowman representing UNB. Rounding out the all-star team were St. Thomas forward Justin Bowers and St. FX goaltender Danny Battochio.

For his stellar performance the Reds John Scott Dickson was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

The next game for the Reds is this Wednesday as they travel to Prince Edward Island to begin the regular season against the UPEI Panthers.

V-Reds Results

WADA ‘Pound’s CIS Current drug testing insufficient, says Pound

by Myles Gough The Charlatan (Carleton University)

OTTAWA (CUP) -- The CIS has implemented a new mandatory online course to teach student athletes about doping in sport. However, Dick Pound, Chair of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), still believes that not enough is being done to prevent steroid use in Canadian university athletics.

Tom Huisman, Director of Operations and Development for CIS, called the course “more efficient” than previous drug education seminars administered in years past to varsity athletes, and said it will allow them to get all the necessary information about the CIS doping control program in a more timely manner.

The CIS and the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport coordinate the doping control program and conduct drug tests on university athletes to ensure they are complying with the rules of the Canadian Anti-Doping Program, which took effect in June 2004.

According to Huisman, testing is primarily random with a one in 25 chance that a student athlete will be tested during the calendar year.

However, Pound, in a recent telephone interview, said that the CIS should consider stepping away from random sampling to improve the effectiveness of its doping control program.

“A 4% chance of getting tested is not huge, and when you are working with limited resources, you need to make sure testing is effective.”

“Random testing is probably the least effective because it is simply a numeric decision and doesn’t assess where the risks of drug use are highest,” said Pound.

Drug testing has been a staple in CIS competition for 17 years. Since its inception in 1990, nearly 5,000 tests have been conducted and 44 infractions found.

The two substances accounting for the most infractions are steroids and marijuana.

With ten positive marijuana tests since 2002, questions have arisen about the

validity of marijuana being included on the WADA’s list of banned substances.

The general argument is that marijuana is not a performance-enhancing drug and should not be prohibited.

Pound said the debate around the inclusion of marijuana is a consensus judgment with a lot of different perspectives.

“We don’t want there to be any suggestion in the sport community that we condone the use of illegal substances,” Pound said, explaining his position and that of his organization.

Under the rules of the Canadian Anti-Doping Program, if an athlete can establish that a positive test was not intended to enhance their sport performance, then punishment will be less severe.

Last year, three CIS football players tested positive for marijuana. None received suspensions.

While marijuana has been a recent concern, overall statistics show steroids have accounted for 23 — more than half — of all doping violations in CIS history. “[The] CIS wants to ensure that everyone has a level playing field,” Huisman said, stressing the importance of steroid education.

“Doping control will hopefully alleviate the pressures on students to feel the need to gain an unfair advantage.”

Bruce Marshall, Head Athletic Therapist at Carleton University, said the majority of education is focused on performance-enhancing drugs.

Rob Saunders, a fourth-year Electrical Engineering student and member of the Carleton men’s basketball team, has been tested twice at the national championships.

“It sucks,” Saunders said. “We just won and we were celebrating [...] and then you get some guy come up and tell you that you’ve been randomly selected for a drug test.”

But Saunders said he does not object to the idea of drug testing in CIS competition, and praised Carleton’s athletic therapy staff for the work they do to educate student athletes.

Marshall said there is a therapist assigned to each major varsity team to oversee student training regiments and to offer advice.

He also said there is a clinic where varsity athletes can come and check the status of prescribed medications to ensure they are not violating the CIS doping control program.

“I’m sure there are guys working out, who go to Carleton, that are taking steroids. But as far as our varsity sports, I would say it is unlikely,” Marshall said.

Women’s Hockey STU @ UNB 7:00 PM @ AUC Men’s Hockey UNB @ UMASS Lowell Saturday, October 13th Women’s Soccer CBU @ UNB 1:00 PM @ Chapman Field Men’s Soccer CBU @ UNB 3:00 PM @ Chapman Field Men’s Hockey UNB @ UNH Cross Country Women’s 5K 11:00 AM @ UNB Men’s 8K 11:35 AM @ UNB Sunday, October 14th Women’s Soccer STFX @ UNB 1:00 PM @ Chapman Field Men’s Soccer STFX @ UNB 3:00 PM @ Chapman Field

V-Reds Athletes of the week Jessica Steed

Cross Country & Basketball BSc Kin II Fredericton, N.B. Jessica led the pack for the entire first lap of a two lap race but was caught by a group of StFX runners early in the second. Jessica finished in 10th place in the five kilometre race.

Coach Randall was pleased with Jessica’s performance, “This was a good race for Jessica given the fact that we had an extremely hard week of training.”

John Scott Dickson Hockey BSc Kin III Barrie, Ontario

John Scott Dickson had a very strong weekend to help the V-Reds capture their second consecutive Fall Classic Tournament. Dickson was named MVP of the tournament for his efforts including two goals in the final.

Earlier he had the hat-trick in leading UNB to a 10-2 defeat of Laurier to give him five goals for the weekend.

The third year Kinesiology student is a former player with the Windsor Spitfires of the OHL.

Sports

8 • October 11, 2007 • Issue 6

Cougars fall short in bid for Atlantic title

High-octane Sea Dogs My buddy, the NHLer down Remparts

by Bruns Sports Department

Brian Munn / The Brunswickan

The UNB Cougars were the cream of the crop in the Atlantic Division this season, but couldn’t translate their hot late-season play into playoff success. The Cougars hosted Dalhousie in the league semi-finals, opening the playoffs with a 12-4 victory over the Tigers at Royals Field on Saturday. The momentum quickly faded, however, when Dalhousie rallied in the second game for a 6-4 victory. The Tigers rocked UNB pitching for 15 hits, but ended up stranding 11 runners on base. The Best-of-3 series then shifted to Halifax for the third and deciding game. UNB held an 8-5 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh inning, but Dal rallied to score four runs in a walk-off, 9-8 victory. The loss knocks the Cougars from the playoffs. Their National title dreams aren’t completely dashed, however, as they could still qualify for one of the tournaments two Wildcard slots.

Angelo Esposito was undoubtedly the best player selected in the 2005 QMJHL Entry Draft. Alex Grant went first overall to Saint John that year, after Esposito threatened to play for an American prep school instead of joining the expansion Sea Dogs.

Despite the success of Grant – now the Sea Dogs Captain and a Pittsburgh Penguins draft pick – Esposito remains public enemy number one in the Port City. On Saturday night, Saint John got one up on Esposito, downing his Quebec Remparts 3-0.

It was the first ever victory for the Sea Dogs over the Remparts, and their first victory of the season over a team from the Telus Division.

In what turned out to be an exciting, action-packed hockey game, rookie goaltender Robert Mayer stole the show, making twenty saves on twenty shots to earn his first career QMJHL shutout.

“It was very exciting to earn my first shutout here in front of our home fans,” said Mayer following his dominating performance.

Alex Grant, who had a goal and an assist, and Chris DiDomenico, who had two assists, led the Sea Dogs offensively.

Grant’s second period goal proved to be the eventual game-winner, while Alexandre Picard-Hooper and Scott Howes provided insurance markers in the third.

DiDomenico registered the first big scoring chance for Saint John on Saturday, ringing a shot off the crossbar near the seven minute mark of the first.

Five minutes later, Grant very nearly got the Sea Dogs on the scoreboard as well, streaking down the wing and getting off a stellar wrist shot that Remparts net minder Kevin Defosses managed to get a right pad on to keep the score knotted at zeros, which was how the opening frame ended.

Saint John opened the second period with a successful penalty kill – the first of

five on the night. Ryan Sparling earned a breakaway near the two minute mark of the second, speeding into the Remparts’ zone before getting off a solid backhand shot which Remparts goalie Kevin Defosses managed to stop.

Mayer made a huge stop off of an Angelo Esposito shot two minutes later; the Swiss import denied the Pittsburgh Penguins prospect with a lightning-fast toe save to keep the Remparts’ scorecard vacant.

On an odd-man rush, Alex Grant gave the home team a 1-0 lead, beating Defosses with a high shot to the glove side to earn his second tally of the season.

Saint John’s defensive unit held the Remparts to only four shots on goal in the second period, none of which were able to elude Mayer, who continued to exhibit tremendous poise between the pipes for the Sea Dogs, confounding Quebec’s shooters time and time again by making use of a dynamic combination of strong positioning and exceptionally quick reflexes.

On a two-on-one break, the Sea Dogs then doubled their lead with 9:42 remaining in regulation, as Chris DiDomenico fed Alexandre Picard-Hooper with a picture-perfect cross-ice pass.

Picard-Hooper made no mistake, firing the puck to the back of Quebec’s net to earn his third goal of the season. Payton Liske also picked up an assist on the scoring play, giving the 19-year old at least one point in all eight of Saint John’s regular season contests this year.

At the 16:52 mark of the third, newly-acquired winger Scott Howes then scored on the power play to give the home team an extremely comfortable three-goal advantage.

With less than a minute left in the third, Sea Dogs defenseman David Stich stood up Remparts forward Hubert Poulin with a solid open ice hit.

Poulin then threw his stick and began chasing Stich deep into the Sea Dogs zone. Stich, who had the puck, turned just before Poulin tackled him. A fight broke out, with neither player taking the upper hand.

Mayer and the Sea Dogs’ defense shut the door from there, keeping Quebec’s forwards at bay in the game’s closing minutes in front of the second-largest crowd of the season at Harbour Station.

New look Varsity Reds basketball

by Ed Bowes

With the 07-08 basketball season just around the corner, the Varsity Reds men’s and women’s teams are preparing for another season of nonstop action here in the capital city.

The men’s squad, led by veteran coach Thom Gillespie, has a solid core of seven returning players from last season which includes two fourth year starters, Thor Jenson and Colin Swift. Also returning to the team will be Joel Little, Danya Bubar, Jonathan Maxwell, Colton Wilson, and Mike Anderson, who will all be feeling the added pressure after the loss of star point-guard Oliver Glencross. Glencross has left big shoes to fill, making it necessary for the veterans to step up and assume the newly opened leadership roles.

New to the team this year are Jeff Van Dolah, a 6’1 guard from UNBC; James Ourom out of Capilano College; and Alex DesRoches, 6’4, hailing from Mathieu Martin High School.

All six will be bringing youth, speed, and depth to this year’s edition of the V-Reds.

Coach Gillespie is quite happy with the high level of fitness of his new recruits, as well as his returning players.

“It’s probably the best shape we’ve been in the preseason in three or four years; this definitely allows you to spend more time on the basketball than the conditioning,” said Gillespie.

One of the biggest changes to the men’s style of play will come with the change in league rules. This season will mark the switch from the CIS 30 second shot clock to the FIBA 24 second shot clock.

Gillespie is ready to shift away from the team’s tendency of playing well into the shot clock and taking the first available good shot. “In the past, we have been very half-court oriented, and very execution oriented,” explains Gillespie. “This season will be a much more up-tempo, more pressured style of game.”

The women’s side will once again be led by Coach Jeff Speedy, who will be making his sophomore appearance with the Varsity Reds.

Much like their male counterparts, the women’s team has also given their squad a facelift, picking up five new rookie players this season. Speedy describes guard Christine Ryan, a key recruit, as “a dedicated, hardworking player, who has surprised a lot of us.”

Jillian Sipprell, the post from Centreville, “is a tough player who is improving everyday,” explained Speedy.

The rookies are faced with a big adjustment of a new coaching style and the university level game play.

In Coach Speedy’s eyes, the biggest challenge will be balancing the mixture of new, young players, and returning players who have been put in much different roles than previous years.

The veterans will have more weight than ever to carry on their shoulders after the loss of leading scorer Christie McBride, and will have to use their experience to set an example for the rookie players.

According to Speedy, the biggest strategic change to this year’s team will be the shift to a more defense-oriented style of play. Last season the women were ranked with the sixth best defense out of only eight teams, losing their chance at CIS Nationals by a single basket.

“Defense will be a drum that I will be beating all year,” said Speedy who is hoping to improve the girls to second or third in defensive play.

Coach Speedy is confident that the pre-season schedule for the women’s squad will play a major role in the overall success of the team. He describes the schedule as, “intense and insane,” and is confident that their preseason endeavors are far tougher then those faced by any other team in the country.

Next week, the V-Reds women will be traveling to the west coast where they will be hitting the court against Simon Frasier University and the University of British Columbia, which Speedy notes as “arguably two of the best teams in the nation.”

In the weeks following, they will be heading down to the United States where they will be matched up against numerous NCAA Division One teams, which promises to be a great challenge for UNB.

Pulling the 50/50

by Brad Conley

Growing up, I had one love and one love only: Hockey. Everything I did had something to do with hockey. Whether it was watching games on TV, catching a Tier II Junior game with my dad, playing ball hockey, or playing minor hockey, it was all because of my love of the game.

During my childhood, I knew exactly what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wanted to be a pro hockey player. As I grew older and realized that this dream wasn’t going to happen, I kept wondering what it would have been like if I did somehow make it to the NHL. A friend from my hometown, Mark Katic, has made that dream a reality.

After playing midget back in my hometown of Timmins, Ontario, he was drafted second overall on the OHL Entry Draft by the Sarnia Sting in 2005, one spot behind the top prospect, Jonathan Tavares. He has played his last two years in Sarnia. This summer, he was selected 62nd overall in the NHL Entry draft by the New York Islanders.

Katic, who was originally slated to go fifth overall, dropped over fifty spots in the draft. But when I caught up with him during the Islanders training camp in Moncton, he told me that the number didn’t matter – he was just happy to be drafted by someone.

“I came in a day early (to the draft) and hung out with my agent a bit, he just kind of calmed me down a bit. I was kind of nervous coming into something big like that.”

But even though Katic had to wait so long for his name to finally be called by the Islanders, he was just happy to have been chosen and says he will hold no grudge to the teams that passed him over.

“They (the teams that passed on him) have their own thing, and if I wasn’t part of it that’s fine. I was just waiting for one team to like me enough to select me, so once that team [did] it was awesome.

There are no grudges at all. I am just happy to be with an organization and I am going to do the best I can to crack the lineup one day.”

After the draft, Katic flew back to Timmins for a day, and then headed out to the Islanders rookie camp. There, he was able to get a feel for Long Island, the Nassau Coliseum, and some of the other players who were Islanders property.

After Katic spent a little bit of time in New York, it was off to Moncton where the team was holding their training camp.

Unlike some other NHL teams, the

Islanders like to have their rookie camp and their training camp at the same time, which allowed Katic to meet some of the big guns on the team, and see what its like to actually be an NHL star.

“I have met pretty much everyone (on the team),” Katic said with an earto-ear smile.

He was able to meet them during team bonding, when the team played paintball and had a lobster supper.

“Guys like Brendan Witt, who is my roommate. He has been a great guy to help me through my first camp. Just being around the guys like Bill Guerin and Rick DiPietro, they are professionals and we look up to that. I’d like to be like that one day.”

He has, however, missed out on one celebrity spotting during camp. Mike Comrie’s girlfriend, Hillary Duff, hasn’t been around yet, but Katic hopes to meet her someday.

Another issue that came up during the interview was whether or not he liked the new RBK Edge uniforms.

“They’re great,” he said. “I used them with Team Canada, and they’re really nice and tight fitting.... I really like wearing them.”

Having played in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) for the last few seasons, Katic was able to talk about Patrick Kane and Jonathan Tavares, two of the most talented young up-and-comers in the world of hockey.

When asked which one was better, he couldn’t really choose.

“It’s hard to say, they are different players. Kane’s more dynamic, he goes end to end at will. Tavares is a great player, he protects the puck so well and he has great hands and great vision. It seems no matter where he shoots from, he seems to score,” Katic said, trying to be as diplomatic as possible.

“Its comparing apples and oranges, but they are both amazing players.”

From there, I got to ask a few less serious questions.

Unfortunately Katic had not yet played NHL ’08, since he was on a plane heading to New York at the time it came out so he could not give us a review.

I did get to ask him the burning question, though. Did his newly-drafted status reveal that all the stories are true?

Do NHLers really get more chicks?

True to his modest nature, he assured me that he hasn’t tested the waters yet.

Finally, I had one more question for him, the one that every New York Islander is asked. I had specifically saved it for last.

I asked him to spell ‘Dubielewicz’, the last name of the Islanders’ backup goalie, Wade. And just like most of his teammates, he did not have a clue.

For me, this short little look into the world of a newly drafted hockey player was pretty sweet. It’s always good to see a kid do well, and it’s even better when it’s a good guy from your hometown.

I want to thank Mark for allowing me to speak with him, and wish him the best of luck in the future. It doesn’t mean I’m cheering for the Islanders, though.

Brian Munn / The Brunswickan

We are hiring!

We’ll pay you!

Feature Writer & Staff Writer available Deadline: Oct. 12 @ 5:00 PM Send your resume to eic@unb.ca

October 11 •2007

The Brunswickan • 9

Classifieds

Classifieds are a FREE service for members of the university community. Please try to limit submissions to 35 words or less. Your name, student number, and phone number are required at submission, but will not be published. We can accept them at Room 35, SUB, 453-5073 (Fax), or e-mail: bruns-ad@unb.ca. Please do not submit by phone. We reserve the right to edit or refuse publication. All classifieds are subject to available space. For display advertising contact Bill at 447-3388. Classified deadline is Monday at noon.

WANTED

Dresser wanted, f7iek@unb.ca.

please

contact:

FOR SALE JL 12” subs with JL built subwoofer enclosure. Comes with two w3’s and sick looking box. $400. Call 4710698.

Vehicle for sale: 1997 Ford Aerostar AWD Ext cab, 210,700 Kms. Has a had a lot of work done to it...and has been well maintained. The Aircon (both front and back), engine and transmission are working perfectly fine. Has a new alternator, new starter, new tie-rod ends and ball joints and a new crank shaft sensor. If interested, pls contact 457-0160 Moving sale/yard sale: Moving sale on Sunday, October 14th from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at 1222 Regent Street, Apt 28. Use the third entrance to the building, it will be open, if not fell free to use the buzzer at the middle entrance to be let in and follow the signs. Has everything you would need for a one bedroom apartment, and some more. come on by…buy some stuff! for additional information feel free to call 457-0160.

FOR RENT Available immediately. Furnished, heated, lighted room with kitchen and bathroom, laundry privileges.

Centrally located on bus route. Quiet walk to campus. Student or working person, parking. In quiet home. No smoking. Cal 454-4550.

Furnished room for rent in a three bedroom apt, five minute walk to campus in skyline area. Bright, clean and spacious apt includes heat, lights,

cable plus, high speed internet, washer & dryer, parking and shared phone.

This is available to a mature, quite, non-smoking female tenant. Rent is $350 monthly, and eight month lease is available. Please call 454-4411 or email: veronica.fequet@unb.ca.

Three bedroom heated, lighted, parking, close to UNB. $1200. Call 453-9188.

Available Immediately. Two furnished rooms, spacious, newly renovated all inclusive with cable service and washer/dryer in a very quiet neighborhood. The rooms have their own kitchen & bathroom. looking for mature students $375-$475 (these lovely rooms won’t last long). Southside, uptown on two bus routes 15 min walk to UNB/STU Please call 471-8267.

Apartment for rent: two bedroom apartments at the top of Regent Street. Has large bedrooms and a nice patio. Includes heat and hot water.

10 minute walk to both Regent and Fredericton Malls, about a 20 min walk from campus. The Rent is $795.

Pls Cal 457-0160 Two bedroom apartments at the top of Regent Street. Has large bedrooms and a nice patio. Includes heat and hot water. 10 minute walk to both Regent and Fredericton Malls, about a 20 min walk from campus. The Rent is $795. Please call 457-0160 or e-mail: triaxe_jtj@yahoo.co.uk.

One room in a four-bedroom house on Graham Avenue for rent. Three minutes to campus. Internet, laundry and parking available. 459-5465.

Three bedroom basement apartment.

Renovates (ceramics/wood). All inclusive, laundry, cable, internet. $780

per month. No lease. Call 471-0698.

Available now: One unfurnished bedroom in a furnished three-bedroom apartment to be shared with two other male students. Location Beckwith Street. Two minute walk to campus.

Laundry on site. Rent and lease term negotiable. Call 455-0263, leave message. E-mail to Phillip at j3nm1@unb. ca and/or Steven at p59tv@unb.ca.

York Sunbury Historical Society is pleased to announce a talk by Peter Larocque, curator of NB cultural history and art at the NB Museum on 19th century N. B. art on October 18, at 7:30 p.m. at Old Government House The talk will feature the work of significant artists in the province whose work can be seen at the York Sunbury Museum in Fredericton and at the New Brunswick Museum in Saint John, (circa1815 -1915, Woolford, Hoit, George T. Taylor) and the important impact of photography.

An overview of the many roles that women played in fine art in the province throughout this hundred year period will also be a focus. The early difficulties of establishing art schools in the province will also be discussed.

This event is free of charge and the public is invited to attend. For further information please contact Penny at 455 6041.

The Arthritis Society New Brunswick Division presents a free Chronic Pain Management Workshop on Saturday October 13, 2007 from 9:00-11:00 a.m. at the Gibson Health Clinic, 2nd floor, Canada Street, Fredericton.

Topics to be covered in the workshop include the physical causes of pain in arthritis, a description of the pain cycle, relaxation techniques, stress management, coping with depression, use of appropriate exercise, handling fatigue and medications. Limited to

15 participants, pre-registration is required. To pre-register, call The Arthritis Society 452-7191.

Annual Student Bed Push for Fredericton Women in Transition House 15th Annual Bed Push, October 192015th Annual Student Bed Push for Fredericton Women in Transition House will begin in Saint John October 19 and end in Fredericton the next day. The proceeds from the fundraising event will go to the Fredericton Women in Transition House.

To date, the bed push has raised more than $150,000 in charitable support, raising $25,500 last year alone.The bed push begins at 10:00 p.m. at the Lancaster Mall parking lot in Saint John on Friday, October 19, and finishes at the Boyce Farmers’ Market in Fredericton around 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 20.

Student Abroad – Go Global with UNB! There will be an Information Session for any UNB students interested in learning more about studying overseas with UNB. Would you like to study for a term or an academic year at one of UNB’s partner universities in over 30 countries? Walk the cobbled streets of Munich, enjoy a

coffee at a Parisian café, see the highrise buildings of Singapore…the opportunities are endless. You pay UNB tuition and the credits transfer to your UNB degree. Want more info? What: Student Abroad Information Session

When: Friday, Oct. 12 from 3-4:00 p.m. Where: Student Union Bldg, room 103. If you can’t make it to one of the sessions but are interested, please contact iro@unb.ca.

TANNING SPECIALS

3 LOCATIONS 530 Queen St. 458-9771 1113 Regent St. 454-8267 154 Main St. 472-5048

2 FREE TANS

20% OFF 10/31/07

Arts & Entertainment

bruns.arts@gmail.com • October 11, 2007

The ups and downs of being Good Dude, where’s

m’lady?

by Josh O’Kane

The Dudes will be playing with Two Hours Traffic at the Capital on October 11

It’s been a year since Matthew Good got out of the hospital for overdosing on Ativan, an event that strongly shaped how his newest album, Hospital Music, came together. He hasn’t spoken to a university paper in a while, but took the time to give the Brunswickan a call and talk about his life, music, and worldviews.

Brunswickan: I heard you don’t usually speak with college papers.

Matthew Good: Well, to be honest, I’ve always really liked doing it. But – I can’t remember when and how it was – I had an interview with one, and it was just really horrible-ass journalism.

They just completely… there were quotes out of context. It was almost an attack piece, like they were just waiting to write an attack piece. After that, I kinda just stopped. Not that mainstream media doesn’t do that anyway, right? In that situation, one thing you do worry about is people who are in journalism that are trying to whip up a name for themselves, and controversy always tends to lend itself to that. But now, I’ve decided to do it.

B: Since the Matthew Good Band, your solo efforts have varied stylistically. Hospital Music is a more acoustic, almost folk setup, as opposed to White Light Rock & Roll Review and Avalanche. What influences your style in putting together an album? And is it true this album is a result of being hospitalized over bipolar disorder?

MG: Yeah, pretty much. This record really was a record that was written because of what had happened over a year ago… to do with my divorce, which was a trigger for what ended up being my diagnosis and me having to use Ativan to counteract an antidepressant I had been on for years – which, after my divorce, the milligrams went up. But one of the side effects of the antidepressant was, where I suffer from bipolarity, it actually causes greater mania. And of course, my general practitioner at the time didn’t know that I was bipolar. Back in 2003, I was undergoing massive stress - Avalanche hadn’t come out, the band had dissolved in 2001, I was in a relationship in which I paid for everything. It was an extremely stressful time for me and I had a lot of pressure from my record label at the time.

I eventually took the advice of someone and saw a regular therapist, and that person basically just said, ‘Your doctor should put you on this and this.’ He put me on an antidepressant, and he also said if you have a panic attack or anything, and at that point in time I was basically

Sheet Music

by The Dudes

passing out from them, he said to me, take an Ativan if you feel something coming on. But I never touched them.

I put them under the sink, and never really bothered with them. Then after my wife left me, I started turning to them more and more, even though it was a massively tumultuous time…

My marriage ended like you’re in grade nine and you’re sitting in the cafeteria and your girlfriend comes up to you and says, ‘Oh, we’re not going out anymore’. And of course, there’s almost a ten-year difference between me and my ex-wife in age (I’m older than her). Being that you’re a married person, you think, “Well, obviously counseling and blah blah blah”. You don’t throw a marriage away. That ended up being the case and it caused me greater anxiety and greater mania and as the year unfolded, my dosage of antidepressants were increased, which of course caused greater mania, and then my dependence on Ativan increased exponentially along with it. At certain points I would be taking like seven milligrams of it a day.

I did an acoustic tour in 2006 and I was fuckin’ stoned for a month. I was on stage, and God knows what I was doing. So basically, I had written maybe half the record before then, and then that happened, the night that I was at my parents’. I had dinner with my mum and dad, went upstairs, and I was watching a film on my laptop in their spare bedroom and had a manic episode. I took Ativan, had some beers and basically went into a state of euphoria where I just didn’t know what I was fucking doing.

When I woke up in the hospital, they told me I had taken in excess of 45 of them, and whew… I was lucky to be alive. And so I committed myself and that’s when I found out, we found the checklist [for bipolar disorder], and you know, ‘check, check, check’. So obviously the medication that I was on was immediately changed to a different regimen, or at least it was a bridge to

a different regimen, which of course completely changed everything.

After I got out of the hospital, I wrote the second half of the album and recorded it. It was one of those things where… you know, as an artist, you write what you know, always. In a lot of cases, some people have ambiguities that they apply to that. In this particular case, the subject matter was far too personal, and I decided, I don’t think I consciously decided – I just did – unconsciously wrote it being very blatant.

When you look at a situation like that, you have to deal with it. You’re not going to go about it half-assed, there’s kinda no point.

B: Within In a Coma, there were re-workings of Matthew Good Band songs. Are those going to be featured in this acoustic tour?

MG: Oh yeah, I’ll do some of those songs. Not all of them, but some of them for sure. Obviously with a back catalogue like mine you can’t really roll in and play a show without doing Apparitions or Strange Days or something.

You’d get lynched…

It’s a new record so a lot of material will be from it. I’ll mix it up. I like throwing obscure B-sides and shit in there too. It’s impossible to play a show like that and not play The Fine Art of Falling Apart.

B: Hospital Music is the last album on your current contract. What do you plan on exploring after Hospital Music?

MG: I don’t really know. As far as the world of music, the music business, I’m not sure what I’m going to do yet.

I don’t think that anyone thought this record would debut the way it did. We’re in very much an enviable position where we can sit back and wait and see what happens. I can’t really say.

B: Are you still living with your parents?

MG: Oh, Christ no. I didn’t really live with them at all – it’s just that my

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stuff was in storage. I got a place of my own in Vancouver. I’m a little too old for that.

B: How long have you considered yourself an activist?

MG: I don’t really know that I am one. I consider it due diligence, man.

You live in this kind of society. You live in a participatory society. It’s just due diligence… that’s what you do. If you’re not gonna do that, then how can you justify anything that occurs that you disagree with? If you display any due diligence beforehand, the only way you can do that is by being informed.

I wouldn’t particularly say I’m an activist; do I think that certain things should or shouldn’t have happened?

Within that simple analysis, there are the details that make up the details of what is right or wrong, which is usually vastly complex. I find that it’s a responsibility of absolutely everyone to understand those complexities far more than they do, because they don’t. A lot of people simply overlook them because the simplest explanation requires the least amount of time and effort.

B: Did you get a sample, or is that an actual recording in Girl Wedged under the Hood of the Firebird on Hospital Music?

MG: That’s two guys talking on Hastings Street. I live a block off it – I know it all too well. That’s two guys really talking. I sent the assistant engineer out with an old fashioned tape recorder to go tape recording people – to just go out and talk with them. That’s the beginning of Champions of Nothing – that’s a guy in a back alley, just saying, ‘Weird here is normal… weird here is the extreme somewhere else’.

Dear Tour Diary, Let’s do this thing. We got a new van when we played in Edmonton a couple of days ago. It’s almost new and definitely blue. We haven’t named her yet, but she seems like a Steve to me. Halfway to Regina we found a Calgary ant stowed away in the doghouse. We put him out the window. I wonder if he’ll find a new colony or live his days out as a bachelor.

Would another colony even have him?

Jon makes like he’s human resources and says, “Résumé’s tight. You ever protect a queen? OK, you’re in.”

REGINA The promoter was super nice and got us ’effed up before the show. We played like, really bad. Sorry Regina.

There were handsome mustachioed men partying hard at the front of the stage. I sang to them and it made me feel weird.

The Two Hours Traffic boys seem really swell. I bet this tour kicks ass. The house tech should be named Uncle Sweat Pants, but I think it was Gary. He says to our Phil, “Can I see you back here for a few secs?” but it sounds like a few sex.

Jon asks me back to the hotel for a few sexes and I laugh and laugh. Our hotel had fake wood paneling. Sweet.

We ate at the hotel restaurant in the morning. It was only 11:30, but they said we’d missed breakfast. If we wanted though, we could still get The Special.

Bacon/mushroom omelet with soup, fries and cheese toast. I say cool, but could they hold the bacon? Our waitress says no. Really? OK, could I have just regular toast instead of cheese toast? She

B: Any closing comments?

MG: You have a lovely school that’s made of brick. I’ve been there many times and played in your cafeteria, I believe. So it’ll be a nice change not to play in your cafeteria. And I’ll be back.

says no way. Crazy, right?

We try to find travel scrabble to beat the monotony of touring Canada, but we could only find travel Ouija board.

It’s great. You can talk to whoever you want, just as long as they’re dead. And there’s no costly roaming fee. By the by, who the ’eff is Emily Carr?

SASKATOON Saskatoon is a prairie miracle. We sold out Amigo’s last night. We played really ’effing well. New friends brought Jagermeister to the stage. Then they would bring more. Old friends gave us high fives and told stories. One girl took a real liking to Scott. She watched us load out and said she’d drive to see the Edmonton show today. Trying to sound non-committal, Scott says, “See you there, m’lady.” M’lady? Ridiculous.

Who says junk like that? I think that’s going to be the van’s new name. The boys partied with Two Hours and I fell asleep with a pilsner in my hand watching ladies soccer. I could hardly be lamer.

I was least hung over, so I drove m’lady to Edmonton. She’s a beauty.

EDMONTON Last night’s show was totally sweet Pete. People wanted autographs. Hilarious. The local rock kids are ’effing champs. We love it up here. The Two Hours boys had their parked van totaled by a drunk driver. He tried to flee the scene OJ style, but his Bronco wouldn’t start. Life is too good for shitbirds like that. We drank consolation beers with them until sun up. They’re kick ass guys. They like baseball and jokes, just like us! They want to start a website of restaurant reviews. It’s called Hungry Hippos and no one ever gets a bad review… “It was great. We ordered.

They brought us food. It was cooked.

We got full. They had chairs. We sat in the chairs. Super.”

Now we hit the coast!

It’s a heck of a long way to Vancouver.

I’m going to take up the back seat for a few sex and write 600 words for The Brunswickan. See you soon Maritimes.

Can’t ’effing wait! Onward m’lady…

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Four girls, a guy, and an ‘obnoxious’ SUV go national

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by Ashley Bursey A flat tire outside of Calgary almost spelled disaster for the Vancouver band Better Friends than Lovers.

“The wheel came flying off at 120,” guitarist Mandy Hardwick says, en route to Montreal from Sudbury. She laughs when she adds, “we almost died, but everybody’s okay. We couldn’t get the van fixed for about 11 days so we had to rent something… Rent and drive all the

way to Halifax and back to where the van is and get it on the way home.

We had to rent this obnoxiously giant SUV, so that’s a little embarrassing.”

The cross-country tour finishes up with the Halifax Pop Explosion, but Better Friends will be passing through Fredericton to play at reNeu Boutique on October 15.

“Our drummer is from the east coast, from just outside of Halifax, so it’s a homecoming for her,” says Hardwick. “I’ve never been east at all.

I’m originally from L.A. so I’ve only been a little bit northeast of Winnipeg, it’s all brand new. I’m having a great time.”

The group – an oddly dynamic combination of four girls and one dude – has been making tunes for

about three years, and just released their first full-length CD, Great Loves, on Global Symphonic.

“It’s great. I really love playing music no matter what, but I think it’s really inspiring to see a lot of women playing music, because it is such a hard industry for women,” she says. “I don’t know how many times I’ve gotten, ‘Wow, you can really play guitar for a girl’.”

“Seriously?” I ask her. “What do you say?” ”Well, either ‘fuck you’, or ‘thanks’, depending on the person,” she says.

The group’s indie-pop groove is laid-back, vaguely catchy, and whimsical; lyrically unremarkable, but quaintly charming.

“I guess we get a lot of emo, dirty dance-pop references, but we have a

really hard time coining our sound or comparing ourselves to other groups,” says Hardwick. “It’s always been quite difficult. I think we have a unique sound. I don’t know why, it’s the hardest question.”

Influences range from Fleetwood Mac to the Refused compilation to the Stars – “we like to keep the energy up,” Hardwick explains.

And what about the almost-SpiceGirls-stuck-on-tour dynamic of the group? Hardwick says the British super-group comparison is totally off-base. “[Touring] is really intense. I’m not gonna lie,” she says. “I don’t know if gender really has a lot to do with it. I think no matter what gender we all are, we’d be doing as much processing and talking about

everything we possibly could for days and days on end. I don’t know.

“I really love my bandmates and I think the situation is awesome. We’re all such good friends, and it’s nice to feel that way about people you work with. Not a lot of drama, with is pretty amazing. There’s tension at points, but we all work through it.”

Oh, yeah – and make sure you come out and dance. In Vancouver, Hardwick says, fans just won’t dance – maybe it’s a coolness thing.

“Come and dance and yeah, help us get home,” she says. “You know, you drive all day and then you get to a show and people don’t have a lot of energy, [so] you’re working even harder just to get people excited.

It’s really not a hard life…I can’t complain.”

Red-dy to rumble, bar-style

by Christian Hapgood

Mid-terms are here and the work is starting to pile up for university students, especially for those who have full or part time jobs. The timing couldn’t be any better for the release of the new Red Rush, a self-proclaimed natural health product. Red Rush is an energy chocolate bar (think more like Nestle and less like Power Bar) which is now competing with energy products such as Red Bull, Monster, Rockstar and Arush. Containing 160mg of caffeine, and 1000mg of Taurine, Red Rush is one of the most potent of the bunch and it packs a pretty hard punch.

With my experience with this particular brand and other highly caffeinated products, this bar is one of the most enjoyable. Not only does it taste good, but it gives you “a swift kick in the ass,” to quote the slogan. After consump-

tion, it takes approximately 45 minutes for the caffeine to kick in, but when it does, hold on.

“It’s incredible, I’m ripped,” says Douglas Estey after eating a Red Rush for the first time. The caffeine in the bar is processed differently when eaten, as opposed to drunk à la Red Bull, which intensifies its effects on the body. In fact, a good idea might be to eat half now and save half for later – when consumed in its entirety, it can often produce a jittery, hyper-talkative persona (that uncomfortable ‘coffee high’).

But, according to Health Canada, side effects from energy drinks include electrolyte disturbances, nausea and vomiting, and heart irregularities.

Energy products are being banned in countries like France, Denmark, Norway, and soon to follow suit, the U.S. The United States and Canada are starting to crack down on energy drinks that have potentially dangerous ingredients such as alcohol (think the new, uber-popular Rock Star vodka drink with a whopping 6.9 % alcohol and a crap-load of caffeine). The mix of

a depressant (alcohol) with a stimulant (caffeine, guarine, or taurine) brings on a state of vertigo or disequilibrium, which may result in a pretty bad end to a potentially good night.

That said, Red Rush seems like it might be a great asset to the energy scene, especially for someone who can’t stomach the carbonation of the drinks.

To be honest, caffeine is the only way I can make it through the day, and the thought of being able to eat my caffeine with chocolate – more than the normal caffeine dosage in your average Hershey bar – is more than satisfying. But, I’ve gotta offer a disclaimer: when using caffeine, it’s a smart idea to take into consideration the amount being consumed.

The effects of caffeine can be useful for university students when used in moderation. When studying for exams caffeine can be a student’s best friend, but too much can make you jittery (I know we’ve all been there!) and if all else fails, there will always be the classic cup o’ Joe to keep students going.

Arts & Entertainment

Issue 6 • October 11, 2007 • 11

Not your average Vuitton War camps and Dim Sum: writers come to UNB The York Sunbury Museum will be displaying 150 antique purses from now until the end of November

Alan Cumyn

by Ashley Bursey

by Naomi Osborne Gleaming displays of metal mesh and beadwork taunt the eye through the glass.

To most girls, this would be heaven. A room full of purses of every imaginable shape, size, and style.

No, these purses aren’t Prada, Louis Vuitton, Kate Spade, or even Armani.

But they do have something else that no designer can replicate: they all hold a piece of the past. They let us see how trends have changed over the years.

The exhibition called ‘It’s all in the BAG!’, put on by the York Sunbury Museum, features 150 antique purses varying in style, material, and craftsmanship technique. Each bag features fine crafted details of silk-screening, metal mesh, embroidery, crochet, leatherwork, silk, and beadwork.

The collection went up at the end of June and will stay until the end of November.

Penelope Pacey, the Museum Manager, is hopeful that the exhibition will inspire people to contribute their own, original, contemporary purses, fabricated from any medium and to be exhibited alongside the historic collection at the museum.

Entries that bring lots of diversity and creativity to the table will likely take the top prizes, including ‘Best Student Work’, ‘Best in Show’, ‘Most Original’, ‘Most Historically Accurate’ and ‘People’s Choice’, which will be voted on by patrons throughout the run of the exhibition.

The deadline for the competition has been extended until October 20.

Anyone across Canada can enter by filling out a form online and sending their creation to the museum itself. There will be an awards ceremony held at the end of the month, where prizes ranging from $100 to $1,000 will be awarded.

The room is filled with seven glass cases of accessory history. There are purses dating back as far as the 1700s straight through until the 1950s. Large, detailed purses, ring purses made of metal mesh, clear plastic bags with gems,

Andrew Meade / The Brunswickan

cloth purses, bark purses – they all show a little slice of fashion history.

These purses were collected in central New Brunswick by local antique connoisseur and historian Katrina DeWitt.

“I love purses and shoes so I started with the early beaded bags and then progressed to mesh and metal, and got examples of all different kinds,” said DeWitt.

Purses have changed over time; the antique purses for the most part have the common drawstring style, whereas now they come in many shapes and the materials are more durable and substantial.

Beadwork is the one design that has begun to come back into fashion, said DeWitt. It’s extremely durable and has even been found in ancient Egyptian tombs.

For most women, the purse is the quintessential accessory, carrying everything from cell phone to ID cards to makeup to an extra sweater, functioning in modern times as a vital carry-all. But the antiques are all handmade, with beading and patterns that were passed down from generation to generation.

For the most part, DeWitt said, a woman would rather give up valued family recipes than give away a pattern to a much-loved (and oft-complimented) original bag.

For the most part, these purses resemble nothing comparable to what women love to spend their money on now. The designer handbags to which women have become slaves are quite different from what used to be highly fashionable: think Jessica Simpson’s beloved satchel versus Grace Kelly’s

pearl-encrusted clutch.

But some similarities remain. The bag as a status symbol (“buy the ‘it’ bag and it doesn’t matter if you’re wearing last season’s outfit,” fashion fanatics reveal) will always be a societal norm; be it the latest must-have alligator tote or red-carpet clutch, a purse can elevate an outfit from so-so to va-va-voom, and prices can skyrocket from a mere $500 to a hefty, don’t-eat-for-a-few-months $6000 – and that’s not even the highest price point out there.

As one of the museum’s most popular exhibits in recent history, “It’s All In the BAG” has seen soaring admissions since the end of June. But, according to DeWitt, they won’t be able to keep the purses for as long as they may hope.

“Unfortunately, I’m not willing to let them keep my purse collection,” DeWitt laughed.

She started her purse collection 35 years ago, and worked hard to collect all the different styles from each generation.

“I bought a dyed gray alligator bag because they were popular in the ’30s and ’40s, and now there is a woman in the States who makes purses out of alligator skin and dyes them 30 different colours, then sells them to the elite public for thousands of dollars,” said DeWitt.

Everything, from the way we value material to the new ‘it’ purse has changed dramatically since the 1700s.

But no matter how many bags women have these days, DeWitt will always hold the record for having the most antique purses.

“To me, they’re little works of art.”

Alan Cumyn admits he was a bit of a slow reader in his younger years.

“I was one of those boys much happier to be out on the baseball diamond or hockey rink than sweating over a book,” he says. “Eventually I got it and I started…well, reading avidly more when I was 12 or so, and then I saw it as a ticket into understanding the adult world. My older bro Richard is a wonderful short story writer and I think he always wanted to be a writer, and I always wanted to do everything he did, so I caught the bug, too.”

Fast-forward years and a master’s in Creative Writing later, and Cumyn’s been called, among other things, an “insidiously good writer” and an “absolutely original” talent.

His latest, The Famished Lover, was just published by Goose Lane Editions, and is a sequel to The Sojourn, a

war novel that Cumyn says he “didn’t originally mean to write.” “[War research] is absolutely fascinating. One of the things about it, is it can swallow you up and you can emerge decades later because it’s just so inter-

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esting,” he says. “The war was huge, impacted people in so many different ways…My great-uncle was an artist in Montreal during the Great Depression, and he scratched out a living doing magazine work, that sort of thing, trying to make a living as an artist in the worst of economic times. I found parallels between being a prisoner of war and an artist.”

And, true to form, The Famished Lover is a tale of a POW who, after three

weeks in a German prison camp, returns to Montreal and marriage and economic hardship, fighting to find work as an artist and ultimately taking a job painting pin-up girls for calendars.

The book, a first-person account of life as a soldier paralleled with domestic strife reads easily, flowing easily from flashback to present and encouraging the reader to devour page after page.

Cumyn, who notes there’s a “real power” to writing, says potential authors should follow their dreams, as cliché as it may sound.

“I think writing, for no matter what reason, is a really good thing to do. Like practicing any art, it’s thoughtful and it’s creative and it helps make us better people and help us get through our lives.

People [might be thinking]…is this a career for me?

“Financially, it can be a tough slog.

It’s extremely difficult to make a career as an artist, risky financially, and it can be heartbreaking. The current climate is not great for fiction writers. That being said, there are ways to do it, if you’re compelled…sometimes people give up on things because they’re not, quote unquote, not practical.”

John Reibetanz For John Reibetanz, poetry has become something he “can’t do without.”

“Poetry is so compressed, so condensed, I feel you can say more in poetry in a smaller amount of space,” he says.

“It offers so much variety in the voices you can take on… It’s a very flexible medium, not just navel gazing.”

Reibetanz’s latest anthology, Transformations, was released by Goose Lane Editions in Fredericton. A collection of palpably intoxicating words, poems interlaced with myth and the common man, from Van Gogh to Bathsheba to the moon, his words are remarkably tangible and as colloquial as they are classic.

“Basically, the four sections of the book give you four perspectives on the idea of transformation. Is started off sort of historically, looking at classical and aboriginal mythology, working out some of the connections that exist between our cultural paradigms for change and the actual transformation we experience in life.”

The second, he adds, is transformation in arts, followed by societal responses to change, and then the change in the natural world, “how much we can learn from that transforming other-ness.”

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“I think it’s dangerous to write poetry that immediately addresses concerns of society, and I flirt with that a little bit in the poems in the fourth section, because I feel very strongly about what we’ve been doing to our environment, and the kinds of relations that need to exist if we’re to have a sense of ourselves as human beings,” he explains. “You can’t

have that if you live in a denatured universe. Nature is a part of us, as we are a part of it…I’m writing a kind of poetry that I want to be heard.”

For Transformations, the poems run from Haiku (‘All Day Dim Sum’) to almost-prose (‘Touch’), and talk about everything from his computer mouse (literally) to Greek mythology.

“There’s a quote by Emily Dickinson on how you know when there’s a really good poem,” he says. “Well, a really good poem takes the top of your head off. And it does.

“It’s like the title there, Transformations. You feel transformed by the experience. And ultimately, that’s what it’s about. There’s a comment on the back [of the book]… you realize that these poems are meant to change your perceptions, and I think in all of them, that’s the moment you’re looking for, as you’re involved in the poem; whether you’re writing it or reading it, the shape of reality changes.”

Arts & Entertainment

12 • October 11, 2007 • Issue 6

Sean Connery and a bullwhip The Final Score

by Dan Hagerman Christian Hapgood / The Brunswickan

Slow on the coast

by Doug Estey

Saint John came alive late Friday night as Slowcoaster and That 1 Guy (yes, that’s his actual stage name) breathed energy and excitement into the historic Gothic Arches. The mixed crowd of both young and old, combined with the bizarre and wonderful opening act, made an interesting first impression towards what would turn out to be a wildly entertaining performance.

If you’ve never seen someone play a string-bound, galvanized steel pipe, you need to get out and witness California native Mike Silverman, better known by his stage name, ‘That 1 Guy’. Silverman played at the UNBF campus last week, charming the crowd in Fredericton. This man’s presence was undoubtedly the most powerful performance I have ever witnessed by a single individual. Clad in an outfit that closely resembled that of Weird Al Yankovic in his ‘Amish Paradise’ music video, Silverman somehow managed to do it all.

From bluegrass to techno, orchestral and beyond, That 1 Guy’s name must have resonated through all of uptown;

the crowd’s response to his oddly warming musicianship and technical ability was deafening. I’m not pulling your leg, here: this dude was quite literally off the hook. For two whole hours, he gave it everything he had, and it sure as hell paid off. People were losing it. That 1 Guy alone was enough to justify the outrageous $30 ticket price... almost.

Slowcoaster appeared on stage sometime after midnight, and they had big shoes to fill. I’d heard great things from those who witnessed them at this year’s Evolve festival, and with their new album release this past summer, I was expecting a great show. To be honest, they topped out as being exciting as a jam band gets, which, for the average Dave Matthews fan, would be a sweet deal. Unfortunately for me, this didn’t turn out to be all that enjoyable, but they still played a solid set and the crowd clearly loved it.

It’s a tough call, but judging by crowd response and feedback, as well as my fine-tuned superhuman listening ability, That 1 Guy stole this show, with Slowcoaster coming in a close second. It should be noted that there were several hundred people in attendance, marking it one of the most vibrant performances in the Saint John music scene this year.

Pretty impressive for an event consisting of only two acts!

Christian Hapgood / The Brunswickan

Indiana Jones’ Greatest Adventures (SNES) In life, one is often faced with numerous challenges. To overcome these challenges, you need the right tools to get by. If you have a tricky exam, you study hard. You need a sharp wit to get by in the social arena. And money certainly doesn’t hurt, either.

But let’s face it: sometimes, you need a leather jacket, a cool hat, and a

bullwhip.

While ‘Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’ is set to appear in theatres in May 2008, I simply cannot wait to get more Indy. I’m also way too pressed for time to watch the entire trilogy anytime soon. Thankfully, Nintendo has the answer to all of my life’s problems by letting me actually become the famous Dr. Jones. Indiana Jones’ Greatest Adventures lets you play through selected segments of each of the three films.

Graphics: This game was made by the same people who would go onto make the Rogue Squadron games for the N64 and Gamecube and the newly released Lair for Playstation 3. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, suffice to say that all of these games look exceptionally beautiful. This game is no different. Each level looks different from the last while fitting into the general motif of the playing area and movie, giving the game variety. Whether you’re punching Nazis in the face, swinging with your whip over snaked-filled pits,

or shooting people who are silly enough to bring a knife to a gun fight, it’ll always look pretty decent. Of particular note are the driving levels, making use of the SNES’s Mode 7 ability for some really cool looking sequences. Also, the cut scenes between some levels use photographs from the films themselves, and they don’t look half bad, either.

Gameplay: Hard. Not obscenely hard, but still pretty difficult. You’ll have to play this game over and over again to get all the way through. Thankfully, the developers were kind enough to provide a password system, made up of a combination of 4 Greek letters. The general premise of each level is fairly simple: guide Indy from one end of the screen to the other, dispatching any foes along the way. You start with just your fists at the beginning of every level, but you almost always find the whip shortly thereafter.

Once you have the whip, you won’t want to use anything else, as it makes for quick work of most enemies, and it lets you swing across pits. And once you find the gun, you’ll find that the whip is

inexplicably more powerful.

Sound: The music in this game is also really sweet. You can easily pick out the tunes from the movies, but it seems like most of the songs were taken from Raiders of the Lost Ark, and not enough from Temple of Doom or Last Crusade. The sound effects are mostly satisfactory, but while the punching sounds are especially heavy, the whip almost sounds too high pitched to be awesome. Sprinkled at the beginning of the levels are also some sound bites of the films, but when you get a ‘Game Over’ screen and it shows a picture of Sean Connery as Henry Jones Sr. saying “We’ve lost him!,” I can hardly think of anything more appropriate.

The Final Score: This game does what any good game should: make you want to play it more. It can sometimes be difficult to the point of frustrating, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll be whipping baddies and avoiding having your heart ripped out like a pro. If you buy this game, you will have chosen… wisely.

Monday Night Books & Bytes Movie Series IT Help @ HIL Learning Commons

by Leanne Wells from the UNB Libraries

Paris Je T’Aime

‘Paris, je t’aime’, a cinematic homage to the City of Light, plays at Tilley Hall, room 102 this Monday, October 15.

Eighteen different directors and a slew of indie actors come together for Paris, je t’aime. Each director presents his or her own short story set in a different Parisian quarter, each one featuring a different cast of characters.

The pieces vary in length, with some of them striving to tell a fully developed tale – no matter how simple the plot – while others are more abstract, content to rely on sparse dialogue and vivid imagery. With directors such as Gus Van Sant, Alexander Payne, Wes Craven, and the Coen brothers participating, the tales are as varied and oddball as one might expect. Maggie Gyllenhaal plays a lonely actress with a fondness for her hash dealer. Elijah Wood encounters a seductive vampire on a moonlit street.

Steve Buscemi is a flustered tourist.

Natalie Portman falls for a deaf Frenchmen. Each tale is markedly unique, and specific to the quirky style of its director, and the film is a veritable ‘Who’s Who’ for indie buffs.

116 minutes, France/Liechtenstein, 2006, English/French with English subtitles General Information The NB Film Co-op presents the Fredericton Monday Night Film Series.

The series partners are the Film Circuit, a division of the Toronto International Film Festival and the UNB Faculty of Arts. The series presents limited release, independent foreign and Canadian film for one night screenings, with the goal of diversifying local access to cinema.

These films are new or recent releases, which would not otherwise be available to Fredericton audiences on the big screen.

Writing & Study Skills Help – Evening Hours UNB’s Writing and Study Skills Centre is now offering students a dropin evening service in the Harriet Irving Library’s (HIL) Learning Commons.

The drop-in service is available on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 6-9:00 pm in the Research Consultation Office (Room 116) in the Learning Commons.

For further details about UNB’s Writing and Study Skills Centre, please go to their website: http://extend.unb.ca/ wss/ New Printer Hub All print jobs sent on the HIL’s first floor can be easily accessed from a centralized printer hub located in the main Learning Commons area (beside the Research Help Desk).

Having problems connecting to the UNB network? Drop by the IT Help Desk in the HIL Learning Commons for answers. IT Help is available from 10:00am – close (9:00pm on Fridays).

Group Study Rooms Available Check out HIL’s cool new group study rooms on the first floor. The rooms contain the latest SMART Board technology and can be booked for two hours at the Commons Service Desk.

LIVE Online LIVE, UNB Libraries’ virtual reference service, is now available from the new Learning Commons area.

Take LIVE for a test-drive and you will discover an online real-time environment where students can work collaboratively with the HIL library staff to find library resources.

Following each session, students receive an e-mailed transcript of their session.

LIVE is available Mondays through Thursdays, from 11:00 am to 8:00 pm.

Look for the link under ‘Ask a Librarian’ on the UNB Libraries’ home page, http://www.lib.unb.ca.