Chronicle 15 16 issue 12

My vision for the future is to have a program that is considered a contender for the OUA Volume XLIII, Issue 12

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title each season.

March 8 - 14, 2016

- See page 21

UOIT faculty

strike looming?

page 3

Vying for votes page 16

Photograph by Logan Caswell

SA budget concerns

page 3

Early exit for Lords page 22 Photograph by Michael Fletcher

Photograph by Andrew Brennan

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The Chronicle

March 8-14, 2016

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KCAB FRONT

Campus

of the

DC journalism students look at Durham College and UOIT, and beyond, by the numbers and with their cameras Word Search - Programs at DC-UOIT G M S N E M N U G S Y T B N A F X P C A E O H L Z X J D M C Y N D S V Q U U R E C L V B U F J D C S H Y D T G X V E T M I F I G D A E J D R B K F J N Y X C J M G S P U Y Y O W Z G Q G M R F S D Q R A W N F Y H W O R F S N X S Y F Q B M X T

A warm hug for a cold drink

M F D E E A M Z X C M J S A J U L B U O F Q D C A F M C B I Y R T I X E X V V L I H Z S N X E C I M Y M Y J B W V W J R D E U F Q E N M J A X O W T V Y G T K T Z H I M R W T Q V N T E H F L T E I L M M S I H F B A Q V I C T I M O L O G Y V W T N C D B Y E G I C N Z X M L L U J V T C F I K Z K G H U X N L T A S T D J N G T W H E Q S T P J Y P W E B C I E W L N U C W A D O D Q A E G I R S L T N O I T A C I N U M M O C O R L E I L I B Y K O E C L V Y U P O X Q Y I N E H X J N B I S H E Z B H L M Z L I V Y E X D E C N A R U S N I N Z O A T I M J U N P Y A U L P G I J D I P H I P O M N S D A K W Q A N X S H N Z U G B N O Q Q T E E Q Y B E C K K C Q D M J M R G S N D V Y G U I L Z N Y Q O S G X Y U P T J A M M H E N T D E E Y U J P F O E H V R K C M B K H Z Z F K D E W Q H G S W W Y O E K G I V B N A T S X X O O H C W G S M P E V I Z I N K R X A I S X F E A E S R Q A K T B K D X K H B B J Y J N F C J G D E W R L Y V X I R V M A J U F U Q Y V I D E T V I E U E C N E I C S K R J M D J U R I R A I S H O C E N Y A M F L N I H I S I X H M X E Z G O M N M P I N T Y U S A N Y D V Y K S Y O T T I N W O H Y U M U F P C V E A K O I D I O A J L T K P O C E O T K Q C T G K C R S V C M R N G G X X O E J P Z Z F W X I K I H P A D M O M K N H E Z D F C N T P N C P C C P X G T B C R S Y O W T C L R N A P A R A L E G A L I C M B U A A N O I T A C U D E D O O H D L I H C Y L R A E F F O G U I O S M Q Y D M Y G H Q L V N K J I Y S X X O I Q F F I Z D Z E Q Z P A K D C X Y O Z G L I K V S O K B F P A O H Q E D B L O F O G O K Q D G T S O D M M F B M Z L I W C

Photograph by Taylor Waines

DC and UOIT's hot spot, the Pit, was gifted with the presence of ice cold Cokes on March 2. Students could go up to the machine, give it a hug and it would shoot out a cold Coca-Cola.

H U M A N R E S O U R C E S Y R G R J C K B I V G P W Q F V X I U B O N Z O B J S X S U T D K T W C R P L R D O B Y Z Z C E V L E C U P W Q M R O G Z M L U X F W W W D C V D B T P E E C Y H M H H W I J F P T M G M F B Y N Z K B A K R A C M U W H X V D O B Q E N N P O U P T A V J C J U P E U T K Y G ACCOUNTING

ANIMAL CARE

AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERING

CRIMINOLOGY

DENTAL HYGIENE

EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

JOURNALISM

KINESIOLOGY

BIOTECHNOLOGY CHEMISTRY

COMMUNICATION

FINANCE HUMAN RESOURCES INSURANCE

LEGAL STUDIES

MARKETING MEDIATION NURSING

OFFICE ADMINISTRATION PARALEGAL PHYSICS

VICTIMOLOGY

PUBLIC RELATIONS WEB DESIGN

SCIENCE

Created by Michael Fletcher and Sean Heeger

Campus

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March 8 - 14, 2016

The Chronicle

Potential UOIT strike Alyssa Bugg The Chronicle

A faculty strike might become a reality for the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) if the UOIT Faculty Association (UOITFA) and UOIT administration can’t mutually decide on a collective agreement come March 21.

The UOITFA has been negotiating on behalf of 170 tenured and tenure-track faculty (TTTF) to reach an agreement with UOIT administration. (A collective agreement is a contract describing the terms and conditions of employment agreed upon between an employer and the union representing the employees.)

UOITFA President Gary Genosko says the administration’s initial proposal of a zero-zero-zero wage increase over the next three years of Across the Board (ATB), which is set in place to ensure faculty’s salary is kept in line with inflation and cost of living, was rejected by association members immediately.

“They [UOIT administration] do not care our benefits are among the worst, they do not care that our pensions are terrible, they do not care that our wages are among the lowest. That does not move them,” says Genosko.

“We’re one of the most lowly paid faculties in the province. The university has abandoned, completely abandoned its historic goal of raising our salaries to a competitive level within Ontario,” says Genosko. “But they’ve sort of given up on that project, so we believe we

have to make significant gains to cover cost of living and inflation.

The university would like to pay us nothing over three years.”

According to Melissa Levy, manager of communications at UOIT, the two sides were set to resume negotiations Monday, March 7 (after The Chronicle’s press deadline), with additional dates set for Tuesday, March 8 and with three other dates set with a mediator on Monday, March 14, through Wednesday, March 16. (For ongoing updates on negotiations, see our website, chronicle.durhamcollege.ca and follow our Twitter, @DCUOITChronicle.)

“The negotiations are the terms of the collective agreement and the university is hoping an agreement will be reached as soon as possible,” says Levy. “The university will address the proposals of the faculty association at the bargaining table.”

According to a series of UOITFA’s bargaining newsletters, the association and administration have signed off on many of the non-monetary items but are stalled on a number of the monetary items.

According to Genosko, another area of concern is the university’s willingness to invest in more professors and keeping the student to professor ratio as low as possible.

Genosko says that investing more professors will deepen the educational experience and it can become more of an open, transparent and democratic community, where academic values are the more important values to UOIT. According to the UOITFA, during the 2014 - 2015 academic year, the student to TTTF ratio at UOIT

was approximately 49 to 1, despite the national student to faculty ratio sitting at 24 to 1 between 2010 and 2012.

“Since 2011 the university has posted every year huge surpluses, huge surpluses. It is not credible to tell us there is a financial problem at this university, which is what we’re hearing,” says Genosko.

“The failure to reinvest those surpluses in the academic mission, which is the core mission of the university, is to me and to my members, a major failing of this administration.”

Levy maintains that students are UOIT’s top priority.

“Students are the university’s primary concern. The university’s focus in these negotiations is to come to an agreement with the faculty association. The university will communicate with students, faculty and staff if needed,” said Levy, adding that “the university is hoping an agreement will be reached as soon as possible.”

Genosko says the areas in which UOIT is spending its budget is also concerning. A 2015 graphic on the UOITFA website shows, using data from the Centre for Education (Statistics Canada), the university’s expenditures compared to the provincial averages. The data shows UOIT has allocated 28 per cent of its expenditures to administration, where the average is 10 per cent; 40 per cent to instruction, where the average is 57 per cent; and 10 per cent to student, where the average is 12 per cent.

The UOITFA held a strike mandate vote Feb. 22 – 25, where faculty

could vote on whether they would stand behind the association’s decision to strike if it came to that.

Members voted 77.17 per cent in favour.

According to the UOITFA website, as of July 1, 2014, the base annual salary for a TTTF faculty member is $72,710 to a maximum of $181,775.

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The UOITFA represents both the more than 170 TTTF and 55 teaching faculty, which have separate collective agreements. The TTTF’s agreement expired on June 30 of last year and they have been working without a contract since.

The 55 teaching faculty will not be involved or affected by the potential strike.

Student Association puts big bucks into advocacy Andrew Brennan The Chronicle

This year’s Student Association (SA) has done something its predecessor did not at Durham College and UOIT. It has created a pool of money from its budget to create a fund solely used for advocacy.

SA president Jesse Cullen and his executive have made a concerted effort to tackle issues such as Islamophobia, rape culture on college campuses and an increase in public transportation fees for students.

The SA will use just over $130,000 of its total budget of around $8-million in advocacy expenses.

At The Chronicle’s deadline, Cullen couldn’t comment on the budget due to his re-election campaign and no other acting members of the SA executive were available for comment.

This year’s SA has decided to use the majority of their budget on the following services: • Health Related Expenses: $4,114,742.58 • Finance and Administration: $1,027,785.19 • Campus Life Expenses: $406,184.86 • Clubs and Society Expenses: $304,169.73 • Pub Expenses: $278,961.84

Photograph by Andrew Brennan

Kortney Beresford, the volunteer coordinator, working at Riot Radio.

has access to and that it’s completely funded by student fees.

Joseph Walsh is a student in the Broadcast For Contemporary Media (BFCM) program at Durham College. He’s surprised by the SA budget and says it could be divided more equally, considering Riot Some students are surprised to Radio has been without a TriCaster hear the amount of money the SA since December.

The TriCaster is the machine which allows Riot Radio to show pre-recorded videos on its website and broadcasts on the big screen outside its studio. Without it, students are not given the opportunity to display the material they produce in class.

“We do have Riot [Radio] here, which is an incredible service. But

then at the same time, it seems to be neglected a little bit. So, as a broadcasting student, you do feel a little left out,” says Walsh.

Ryan Piccini is also a BFCM student and says the success of his current show on Riot Radio and future job opportunities are affected by this neglect.

“We have a Facebook page and a

Twitter page, and with the TriCaster down, we can’t promote that. We can’t get future employers to see this,” says Piccini, adding his demo reel suffers as a result.

Kortney Beresford, Riot Radio volunteer coordinator, stresses the importance of the full Riot Radio experience to students, especially those in broadcast-based programs.

“It’s giving students the hands-on experience in the studio that you couldn’t get from just sitting in a classroom,” says Beresford. She says the overall Riot Radio experience has been reduced with the TriCaster not working.

Last year’s SA president Ryan LePage says his executive chose rather to advocate as individuals and focused its efforts on promoting student engagement through clubs and societies.

“When a student’s involved in a club or society, they’re generally more involved in campus, and the second they’re more involved in campus they, by default, become more engaged. Then once they’re engaged, they’re hopefully engaging others to get involved in what they’re doing and it just expands as the clubs are spread across the campus,” says LePage.

The full SA budget and general spending can be found on http:// sadcuoit.ca. The fiscal year for the SA budget ends in April and began in May 2015.

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March 8 - 14, 2016

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Editorial

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NHL All-Star game controversy continues Now that the NHL All-Star game has come and gone and now that we have all had time to dissect the obvious John Scott controversy, it’s time for the NHL to make some changes to their version of the mid-season classic.

The NHL saw a 33 per cent increase in viewership since the 2009 All-Star game.

Due in part to the Arizona Coyote tough guy Scott being voted in as the Pacific Division team’s captain, which seemed to be hockey fans ‘trolling’ the NHL and Scott.

Scott’s involvement in the festivities dominated the hockey world for the weeks leading up to the game.

There were rumors and much speculation about what the NHL would do about Scott being in the All-Star game and what scheme they would come up with to have

him erased from this game like he was never there in the first place.

When it seemed like everyone had calmed down and accepted that Scott would be in the 2016 All-Star game, the Arizona Coyotes traded Scott to the Montreal Canadiens just two weeks before the All-Star game.

Montreal quickly sent him to their minor league affiliate team the St.John’s Icecaps in Newfoundland.

A move that people thought would keep Scott out of the game due to ineligibility because he wouldn’t be with his NHL club.

Surely you can’t allow a minor league enforcer to be on display alongside the NHL’s elite players.

Scott, the eventual All-Star game MVP clearly made his presence known on this big stage but he also showed the NHL they need to take

EDITORS: Deen Albertini, Sachin Bahal, Andrew Brennan, Alyssa Bugg, Ryan Burden, Logan Caswell, Megan Chase, Bill Christou, Michael Clark, David Conti, Alexander Costa, Jordan Edmonds, Alyssa Erwin, Michael Fletcher, Jordyn Gitlin, Sean Heeger, Kyle Johnson, Shane O’Neill, Mariah Pardy, Sherise Peart-Kent, Reba Pennell, Remona Maria Pillai, Cameron Popwell, Taylor Prest, Cody Quinney, Amanda Ramlal, Tabitha Reddekop, Christopher Rego, Alexander Ross, Justin Stewart, Marina Tyszkiewicz, Sandhya Visvanathan, Taylor Waines.

a long look at their selection process for this tradition.Having fan voting and overall involvement in the NHL is exactly what the league needs and it showed with the 33 per cent increase in viewership.

But this voting system leads to more distractions and problems than the NHL and some fans could handle.

It's only fair that the NHL makes sure every team is represented by at least one of their players at the All-Star game.

However, they allow any and all players in the NHL to be voted in and that is what happened with John Scott.

The NHL All-Star game is all about fans watching their favourite players and other top tier players showcasing their abilities and putting on a show.

It doesn’t seem like the NHL fully understood what they were doing when they allowed fans to vote on whoever they wanted for this AllStar game. Fans left out deserving players like Evgeny Kuznetsov, John Klingberg, Scott’s former teammate Oliver Ekman-Larsson and of course arguably the best player in the world, Sidney Crosby.

These are the players fans are going to pay to see and these are the players that properly represent what NHL hockey is all about.

The NHL should adopt a voting system similar, if not identical to what Major League Baseball (MLB) does.

The MLB releases a ballot with a set list of players who are having great seasons with their respective teams and those players are the only ones who can receive votes.

The All-Star game has been struggling to stay exciting and relevant because star players see no reason to attend the game because there is no incentive to play. Players who are voted into the game by fans are willing to eat the one game suspension given out by the league if they choose not to go.

That is because they see the game as an opportunity to suffer injuries.

The All-Star game is good for the league because it is a way to keep fan involvement high, especially when they host the game in the southern states where the market for hockey isn’t very strong.

But the league needs to address some of the issues with the game and make changes to avoid problems like they had this time.

Michael Fletcher

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and Design, 2000 Simcoe Street North, Oshawa, Ontario L1H 7L7, 7212000 Ext. 3068, as a training vehicle for students enrolled in Journalism and Advertising courses and as a campus news medium. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the college administration or the board of governors. The Chronicle is a member of the Ontario Community Newspapers Association.

Publisher: Greg Murphy

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5

Opinion

Uber vs. Taxi: The ongoing fight The fight against Uber by taxi drivers isn’t like to end any time soon. For one, what Uber is trying to do is envision the future of transportation by implementing it now. While on the other hand, taxi drivers lose business because of Uber’s presence.

This has caused protests, resulting in congestion in Toronto, London, San Francisco and other major urban centres around the world. It’s easy to see where taxi drivers are coming from but there is a better way to handle things: a more respectable way. Protesting causes more harm than good.

Uber has been operating in Toronto since 2012. Basically, how Uber works is that a user downloads the app, sets it to where they want to be picked up and an Uber driver goes to collect them.

The most popular service that Uber offers is called UberX, which has everyday people who have signed up online to become an Uber driver and offer people rides around the city. There’s no fussing with handing the driver cash or a credit card, all of that is done through the Uber app. So once you get to your destination, you are charged for that ride via the credit card you have linked to your account via the app.

Uber considers themselves a

Sachin Bahal technology company; that’s how they can get around the license and fees that come with becoming a taxi driver. And that is one of the main causes for this uproar.

But the other issue is that taxi drivers want to ban Uber so the service doesn’t take over their territory. Uber has been in operation for four years for so many may argue it’s too late to ban them.

Uber operates in a revolutionary way. This is the way of the future and we should be embracing these kinds of advances.

In the next few years, more people are going to stop buying their own cars and will use services like Uber or Zipcar where you can pay to borrow a car for certain amount of time (like a few hours or so). Instead of going against what Uber is trying to do, why not start to open up to new ideas of how people will start to get around cities?On the flip side, the way Uber is operates is technically illegal.

They aren’t properly licensed as a taxi service even though this is the service they provide.

This causes many legal troubles

for Uber and causes even more backlash taxi drivers and city officials. People who use Uber would probably feel safer if Uber operated in properly legal way.

If cab drivers continue to fight Uber, it will only do more harm than good, meaning that the number of taxi customers will start to dwindle and more people will rely on Uber when going short distances in a city.

While cab drivers are trying to get their voices heard, there are also stories about cab drivers turning down customers because the fare is not worth it for them or is not on their route.

There are also stories about some drivers who switch customer credit cards and give the fake ones back to the customer without them knowing. That is until they get their next credit card bill.

If cabbies want people to side with them and ultimately trust them, these types of things need to stop. These things hurt the image and reputation of cab drivers, which isn’t good at this point because of all their public outcries.

In the end, taxi drivers shouldn’t try and put up so much of a fight because ultimately services such as Uber will be the new norm. So we should be embracing rather than banning uber.

The Toronto Zoo: Out of the ordinary Prisons have a lot in common with the typical zoo, but the Toronto Zoo is not a typical zoo. The 710acre zoo houses over 5,000 wouldbe prisoners- some of the happiest, healthiest, and safest prisoners in the world.

Animals being held in captivity has sparked ethical debates for years, as animal activists insist that the animals freedom of choice is restricted while in an enclosure.

This is undeniably true, yet the issue is miniscule in comparison to the benefits presented by life in captivity.

These benefits are scarcely achieved by common zoos.

The Toronto Zoo sets itself apart through its continued excellence in the field.

It demonstrates its supremacy by continued success with animal wellness and repopulation, constant upgrades to facilities and habitats to better the animals quality of life and comfort, and by maintaining stellar relations with the community.

The Toronto Zoo has accomplished something rare and impressive: the birth and preservation of two healthy panda cubs.

This is exceptional because the endangered species is usually unable to breed in captivity, and even less often in the wild.

In fact, if the pandas were left in the wild, the female, Er Shun would not have been able to support twins. She would have chosen one cub to raise, and eaten the other.

Ryan Burden The birth of twins makes up for 50 per cent of all panda births, in which case one would automatically die. In the wild, the remaining cub has many factors that could contribute to its death including predators, disease and malnutrition.

The Toronto Zoo provides 24-hour service to the cubs, and is able to call in a team of skilled veterinarians at a moments notice.

This applies to all of the zoo’s animals. In captivity these animals are safe and secure, but lack freedom of choice.

This begs the question, would animals be better off healthy and safe without choices, or suffering with choices?

The Toronto Zoo doesn’t just care for its animals, though. It is a leading contributor in many fundraising efforts and habitat restoration projects. The work done by the Toronto Zoo is vital to the survival of the species it cares for.

The zoo claims to hold a responsibility to care for all species on the planet, and does so by rebuilding habitats, funding research, and ensuring the survival of critically endangered animals.

An example of this is the Toronto Zoo’s Endangered Species Reserve Fund, which funded re-

search that would directly assist in the conservation of many endangered species including the Siberian tiger, polar bear, giant panda and many more. The Toronto Zoo is a world leader in fighting animal extinction not only amongst zoos, but of all organizations.

The zoo actively connects humans with nature. It maintains a great relationship with its guests and the community through inclusion and its strong presence in Canada.

It reaches out to the public to teach about animals, as well as include the community in the fantastic journey of the animals that call the zoo home.

As of February, the zoo is offering the public the opportunity to name the panda cubs that were delivered in the fall. The zoo brings people closer to nature every day by giving the community the opportunity to learn about and be a part of the animals lives.

Common zoos may evoke pity and sadness in their guests, as the animals they are supposed to care for are treated like prisoners. Many zoos are not fit to care for animals, and some aren’t even habitable.

The Toronto Zoo sets itself apart from the others through their success in caring for and raising animals, constant upgrades and improvements to animal safety and happiness, and a continued strong relationship with its community.

The zoo is a leader in animal conservation, and the tip of the spear in the fight against extinction.

Is match fixing a problem in the world of tennis?

The sport attracts suspicious gambling

Sport has been rocked by scandal over the past half year and tennis is the latest to fall victim to allegations of match fixing.

Winners of singles and doubles titles at the recent Australian Open Grand Slam tournament are among the core group of 16 players who have been reported for losing games when suspicious bets have been placed against them.

Players are being targeted in hotel rooms at major tournaments and offered upwards of £35, 000 per fix by corrupt gamblers.

The names of more than 70 players appear on nine lists of suspected fixers who have been flagged by tennis authorities over the past decade without having been penalized once.

One top-50 player competing in the Australian Open that recently passed was suspected of repeatedly fixing their first set.

It’s apparent that tennis is a popular betting sport, undoubtedly because of the minimal amount of betting involved. However, match fixing has been ideal for a number of reasons.

First, there are only two or four people participating and points are much easier to give up if compared to a National Football League game.

Usually the game comes down to a few points, and a few points thrown can easily change the result. Previous rumours about betting fraud have always circulated around typically minor and first round matches.

Recently, an investigation by BuzzFeed and the BBC analyzed the betting activity on 26,000 professional matches from 2009 to 2015.

They found the field for the year's first major is littered with suspected match-fixers. The report claims that a minimum of one major singles champion has been involved.

Tennis has had just 19 ‘major’ winners – seven men and 12 women. That list would include the likes of Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Rafael Nadal and even the world number one, Novak Djokovic.

Is it unfair that all the names fans have been accustomed to for several years now are in the spotlight? You bet.

But ultimately tennis is getting exactly what it deserves.

Alex Costa This isn’t a shock though, not even a surprise. It was inevitable because tennis has a gambling problem, and its leaders are so tangled up in massive conflicts of interest.

They are also so clumsy about public relations that it didn’t do anything about the problem when it was first brought to their attention. Tennis fans and sports fans across the globe are probably trying to hypothesize this recent theory.

They want to try and relate some sort of evidence back to the idea of tennis match fixing.

Five years ago, then-CEO of IMG, Ted Forstmann, admitted to betting on tennis matches, including on his friend and apparent partner at the time, Roger Federer.

This would be the first sign that something bizarre was taking place in tennis.

Fans are realizing that IMG owned several important tennis tournaments. It is also becoming apparent that IMG is the agent for several big name players.

This paints the picture that it’s not just some outside presence but rather something within the sport itself.

In late 2008, tennis set up the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) which has been looking at fraud and has successfully banned six players for life in addition to several other measures.

Unfortunately, the TIU has not remained consistent and in subsequent years there have been repeated alerts sent to the TIU about multiple players. Among those multiple players, none of them were disciplined.

The European Sports Security Association, which monitors betting for leading bookmakers, flagged up to 50 suspicious matches for the TIU in 2015.

This made things on a little suspicious.

The organization determined that tennis attracts more suspicious gambling activity than any other sport. The problem of suspicious betting and match-fixing is not going away.

Multiple players, including the ones above, who have repeatedly been flagged by the TIU over the past few years and are due to play in the French Open in State Roland Garros, which begins Saturday May 21.

6

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March 8 - 14, 2016

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March 8 - 14, 2016

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7

Photograph by Sachin Bahal

Within the Blancride app, users can then choose where they would like to be picked up and a driver registered with Blancride will pick them up.

Sharing the commute with Blancride Sachin Bahal The Chronicle

Blancride doesn’t see Uber as a true competitor. At least that’s the opinion of Blancride’s general manager, Arash Barol.

Barol says the term ride-sharing was coined by Uber but he says Uber isn’t really in the ride-sharing business, saying they are more of a personal chauffeur service.

On the other hand, Blancride is focused on longer distances. Barol says, “Our business model is totally based on everyday commutes, people going to and from school or work.”

Barol also says Uber is more focused on short distances about 10-15 kilometres while Blancride is focused on journeys that are 15-35 kilometres in length.

He says, “Uber is doing a very good job at short distance and that’s not where we’re competing in any way.”

Blancride was started by Hamid Akbari, an assistant professor in strategic management at UOIT. The app first launched in beta form for UOIT students at the end of 2014. At the time, it had about 500 users.

Akbari says the idea for Blancride was sparked by his own daily

commute. He says that on one of his commutes, he saw many other drivers in their cars, alone.. According to Statistics Canada, 83 per cent of the 11 million drivers on the road drive to work alone but Akbari wanted to change some of that and try to get more people carpooling.

The user downloads the free app, on either their iPhone or Android smartphone, and signs up through the app. The user will be given the option to register as either a driver or a passenger, or be both later on.

As a passenger, a user would set a pickup location and destination, as well as the time and day.

A driver would see the request

and choose whether or not to pick them up. If that driver is headed in the same direction and going within five kilometres of their destination, the driver can pick them up.

The cost of Blancride is calculated via the in-app calculator which takes into account distance travelled and cost of gas. However, with the new flexible pricing feature, users can now agree to a lower or higher price regardless of the price suggested by the app The average cost comes out to be $0.25 a kilometre for the first 20 kilometres, $0.15/kilometre for rides of 20-50 kilometres and five cents per kilometre thereafter are

used to suggest a rate through the app.The app officially launched to the public in June, 2015, just before the start of the Pan Am games in Toronto.Blancride now has more than 12,000 Blancriders, which is what they call their users.

Barol says that the majority of users are located in the GTA but some are in Kitchener, Waterloo, London and even a few in Kingston.

In terms of expansion, Barol says Blancride will be focused on growing in the GTA for the next four months. They will then start to expand to other major cities in Canada and eventually the U.S in the next year or so.

Student governor nominations and elections underway Alyssa Bugg The Chronicle

Durham College’s (DC) Board of Governors (BOG) is accepting nominations for the student governor position for the 2016 – 2017 academic year until March 10, with campaigns and voting taking place the following week.

Each year students have the opportunity to nominate and elect one of their own to bring the student perspective to discussions and decision-making to the BOG, which oversees and makes decisions on issues that impact the functionality of the college.

According to Jennifer Clark, corporate and board secretary at DC, this is an important role in decision-making at the top level.

“It’s important to be sure that there’s someone at the table that can bring [the student] perspective to [discussions]. So they can talk about how these kinds of decisions might impact a student. We feel it’s

important to have that voice at the top as well,” says Clark.

The board contains 17 governors, five of those are elected within the college and under provincial legislation include one student, one academic staff member, one administrative staff member and one support staff member.

Clark says the elected student is

program suspensions, approving the budget and this year, approving the college’s strategic plan put forth by management.

According to Clark, this is a great opportunity for students to obtain leadership and governance experience while still in school.

“All private corporations must have a Board of Directors, all public

Experience that you're able to take with you when you graduate. a full voting member and is on the same level as the college’s president when making decisions. The board oversees decisions on matters such as approving new programs and

sector organizations are required to have a Board of Trustees or Board of Governors and it’s an important part of how our whole economy operates,” says Clark. “So what a

wonderful opportunity to find out about that while you’re still a student and to have that experience that you’re able to take with you when you graduate and are looking for a job.”

According the Clark, the ideal person for the position is someone who cares about the long-term reputation of the college, who’s willing to do the work required and come to meetings ready to ask questions in a formal setting, keeping the college’s best interest in mind.

Nominations: Students are able to nominate themselves or another student, but they must be enrolled through the active period (September 1, 2016 through August 31, 2017). Nomination forms for the student governor position are available online and through the BOG’s office. Forms must be submitted in person and will be accepted through March 10 in the BOG’s office at the north Oshawa campus. Nominations close on March 10 at 4:30 p.m.

Campaign: Nominees are required to follow campaign and canvassing procedures set by the college, such as adhering to campaign material, message distribution and canvassing restrictions.

Candidate campaign period begins: March 14 at 8:30 a.m.

Candidate campaign period ends: March 18 at 4:30 p.m.

Voting: Voting will be accessible 24-hours a day through the voting period and will take place online through MyCampus.

Online voting period begins: March 14 at 8:30 a.m.

Online voting period ends: March 18 at 4:30 p.m.

Election results will be announced by March 24.

For more information on the nomination and election process, students may contact Jennifer Clark through email at Jennifer.clark@ durhamcollege.ca or by phone at 905.721.2000 ext. 3292.

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Nikki Clarke, president of the Ontario Black History Society, speaks about the positive contributions made by the black community.

Photograph by Tabitha Reddekop

Celebrating Black History Month Tabitha Reddekop

and promote the positive contributions black people have made to society.

She says many people view black history negatively because accurate information isn’t being taught in schools, but Black History Month gives her an opportunity to correct this by speaking at events and schools.

“The mainstream doesn’t provide the information about black history, so we have to fill in the gaps,” she says.

Clarke recalls some of the students’ reactions to the mention of black history.

“One little girl said, ‘well it’s when black people were treated badly and we have to hear about it.”

She says this type of negativity is common, so she focuses on teaching students about the positive contri-

butions of the black community instead.

“I moved away from the negative aspect of what they think black history is and to what it really is. It is about positive contributions.”

She also concentrates on contributions of black inventors that interest students, such as the invention of potato chips and super soaker water guns.

She says bringing awareness to this type of innovation is at the heart of what black history month is all about.

Clarke says the roots of Black History Month can be traced back to 1926, when a black historian named Carter G. Woodson founded Negro History Week in the United States to commemorate the achievements of black people.

He chose to hold the week in the

month of February because that was the birth month of both Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, who were both key figures in the fight against slavery.

This week of celebration and recognition eventually evolved into today’s Black History Month.

According to the OBHS, the celebration was introduced to Toronto in the 1950’s and has been recognized by the city since 1978.

February officially became Black History Month across Canada in 1995 after the OBHS successfully lobbied the federal government.

Clarke says Black History Month is not just about black history, but involves world history.

“You see the impact of blacks contributions throughout the world on arts and culture, architecture, academics, inventions, sports and

the list goes on,” she says.

Clarke acknowledges not all history is positive; citing segregation as an example, but letting people connect with the past can start the healing process.

“There’s a lot of damage done, I mean the civil rights movement was not that long ago,” she says.

Although Clarke has received her share of painful memories from discrimination, but she says these memories let her see change is happening. “[It’s] a very graphic, vivid example of what I dealt with as a child, whereas my children don’t go into a store and have to deal with that,” she says.

Clarke says she has hope that things will continue to improve.

“It takes time, but I am excited for the future,” she says.

Sanders said in regards to homophobia in downtown Oshawa.

Coun. Sanders acknowledges that ‘Prepare to be amazed’ reads the lighting in the downtown core could sign as you drive into the city of be just one of the reasons for the Oshawa. survey results.

However, to some people, the dim lights, and graffiti paint Oshawa as an unsafe place.

Oshawa Councillor Doug Sanders, who is in charge of improving the downtown, said the steps are being taken to make Oshawa a safer place.

After homophobic-related vandalism and assaults, Oshawa’s LGBTQ Committee issued a survey asking all residents how safe they “There’s not as many feet on the felt in downtown Oshawa. street, and there’s a lot of businesses The survey results showed the that close down at say 5 p.m. when downtown as fairly safe during the they could actually operate longer,” day, but the safety at night is less he said. assuring.

The survey identified a lack of “We’re a diverse community and streetlights in downtown Oshawa we support all residents,” Coun. as a key concern for safety.

Coun. Sanders said the Business Improvement Area (BIA) took on a project recently to add more streetlights to the downtown area.

“If we have to improve lighting then we are looking at those oppor-

is always in the know about different ideas, projects, and other areas of improvement.

The BIA has asked DRPS for information on any acts of vandalism, break-ins, or assaults so they can track safety and find more ways for improvement in specific areas, Coun. Sanders said.

“If we do have dark, secluded alleys somewhere then let’s get some lighting on them, get some security cameras on them, let’s move the people on that are creating these unsafe areas,” Coun. Sanders said.

He also pointed out that the BIA is looking into adding more police presence in the downtown area.

Coun. Sanders said foot patrol or parked police cars in the area might be needed to improve safety.

With new housing developments, transit additions, and construction of a new hotel nearing completion, Coun. Sanders sees a positive future

for Oshawa.

According to the BIA, the vacancy rate in the downtown area has dropped 21 per cent, resting at nine per cent right now. Coun.

Sanders said the activity in downtown Oshawa will continue to grow as businesses open up in the area.

By having more feet on the street, Coun. Sanders believes that people will feel safer in the community.

The goal is to have a community that feels safe, he said, and the BIA is constantly looking to improve the downtown.

Coun. Sanders said they are trying to promote youth leadership and entrepreneurship through Core21, a business hub.

“We are trying to create things so that the students want to stay here when they graduate or want to stay here when they open their business because we believe they’re the future,” he said.

The Chronicle

Nikki Clarke, a speaker and activist for black history, knows full well the pain of discrimination.

She moved to Quebec from Jamaica as a child in the 1970s and says her neighbourhood was not the most diverse or accepting toward her family.

She says a demonstration of this lack of acceptance happened when as a child she went to the store to buy a loaf of bread.

While at the store, she was burned with a cigarette and told she didn’t belong by the woman behind the counter.

Now Clarke is the president of the Ontario Black History Society (OBHS) and uses Black History Month as a method to tell her story

Lights, cameras, action: Improving safety in Oshawa Taylor Waines The Chronicle

We're a diverse community and we support all residents. tunities to improve lighting in different areas,” said Coun. Sanders.

The Durham Regional Police Service (DRPS) and BIA constantly work together to improve safety, he said.

By attending the council meetings, Coun. Sanders said the DRPS

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Dragons' Den comes to DC

Cameron Popwell The Chronicle

Durham College opened its doors to entrepreneurs from all over the region as Dragons’ Den producers held open auditions for the show’s 11th season.

One of these creators was the father-son pair Brodi and Michael Stanfield, who were auditioning to show off their product: the ARAIG (As Real As It Gets) virtual reality gaming suit on behalf of their company, Inventing Future Technology Incorporated. “They make the process really easy, that’s why I think so many people try out,” said Brodi at the audition on Mar. 2.

“During the interview, they ask you a lot of the questions that you’d expect, plenty of ones that I think you’re supposed to in their position.”

Following them was Don Cordanly from Uxbridge, who was there to pitch his safety light for snow ploughs. “I watch [Dragons’ Den] religiously,” said Cordanly, “When I heard it was coming to Durham, I had to try out.” Producers Ahmad Omar and Nicole MacKay, who were at DC to hear the pitches, expressed satisfaction with the entrepreneurs.

“This year we’ve got a diverse pool of applicants, as well as a wide variety in the industries that these products and ideas cover,” said Omar. According to MacKay, proposals that are chosen to make it past this round in the show will be sent on to make a second pitch directly to the show’s “Dragons” in Toronto, with the most flamboyant and exciting pitches making it to air.

“We take these ideas to the other producers and vote on which ones will make it through,” said MacKay, “We expect around 3,000 applicants nationwide, but only 100200 can go on to the actual show.”

According to MacKay, proposals that are chosen to make it past this round in the show will be sent on to make a second pitch directly to the show’s “Dragons” in Toronto, with the most flamboyant and exciting pitches making it to air.

Dragons’ Den is a CBC show on which entrepreneurs can pitch their ideas to successful business tycoons, or “Dragons” in the hopes of receiving financial backing to help their idea come to fruition. Dragons’ Den has led to the funding of several multi-million dollar products such Inventors and business owners from all over Durham Region arrive as Awake! Chocolate and Holy Crap at DC to pitch their ideas to Dragons' Den producers. vegan cereal.

Photograph by Cameron Popwell

Cold snap may affect student grades Kyle Johnson The Chronicle

I

f you’re like everyone else, in the winter you will go into hibernation and end up cherishing every moment that you’re spending in the warm embrace of your home instead of being outside in the blistering cold.

The brutality of Oshawa winter seems to affect everyone differently, some good and some bad. A group of people in Oshawa who are constantly affected in a negative way by this season are Durham and UOIT students. This year we’ve seemed to come up lucky because of the light winter we’ve experienced so far but this doesn’t mean it still hasn’t had an impact on students. Anyone who moves to Ontario or even Canada should be expecting some real bad winters. They almost always consist of great amounts of snowfall, winds that will put your face in physical pain if not covered up, and sunlight for only approximately nine hours a day. This long season can take a toll on anyone living here but for post-secondary students, the struggles are a little different.

As the winter season starts to roll around, it is a challenge for students to keep up academically.

Getting to and from classes becomes difficult. Gloomy winter weather dampens the mood of students and makes it difficult to stay focused.

Shorter days and longer nights during the winter months, disrupts students’ sleeping patterns and results in laziness. This can lead to academic problems. No one wants to leave their warm, cozy homes to drive, bus or even walk in the cold weather to get their classes. With walking to and from school in the

winter, no matter how long the walk is, you have to bundle up and stay warm which can take an annoying amount of effort. For the students driving or busing to school, you have to take into account the extra time it takes to get there because of the snowy conditions. No matter what the method of transportation is, winter conditions can make it seem like more time and effort just to get to and from school.

Greg Monforton and Partners Injury Lawyers has been assisting victims from car accidents for over 30 years, and according to their website nearly 30 per cent of Canadian winter car accidents happen on snowy or icy roads. Five per cent happen during snowfall.

During the snowy, icy days both car and bus drivers will drive a lot slower and cautiously, making it take longer for students to get to and from school. This plays a role in their motivation to attend classes.

“If I have a class that is one hour or two, I definitely don’t want to take a bus for 20 minutes just to attend that class,” says Tia Stebih, a Police Foundations student at Durham College. “To take the bus I have to walk 20 minutes to my bus stop and when it’s super cold it’s just not worth it.”

But it’s not just transportation, many students will have mood changes as soon as the winter weather starts to take effect. There is a disorder called seasonal affective disorder (SAD) that is known to be the cause of this common depression among not only students but also anyone living in Canada.

Although seasonal affective disorder is not known as a distinct psychological disorder, many individuals face the symptoms.

According to PsychologyInfo.

com, “as the days become shorter, and the weather colder, there is an increase in vegetative depressive symptoms. Individuals eat more, crave carbohydrates, sleep more, experience chronic fatigue and gain weight.”

I’m definitely not a winter person and anyone who is, is crazy.

Students tend to lose their ambition and find it more difficult to focus on their schoolwork because of this depression.

“What really tends to impact students worse than just it being winter is the continued cold weather, snow, rain more than anything,” says Nicky Patel, director of the Student Academic Learning Services (SALS) for Durham College, “Continued cold weather and continued rain tends to depress a group of students.” Durham College Protection, Security and Investigation student, Ty Connors, says he definitely struggles to stay focused because of his winter blues, which takes a toll on his grades.

“As soon as October-November hits I’m immediately in a bad mood. I’m definitely not a winter person and anyone who is, is crazy,” says Connors. “I’m never seriously

depressed but just enough so that I rarely have my drive to do any schoolwork.”

The shorter days and longer nights during the winter months can also take a negative affect on the academics of students. Students will become lazier and sleep more in the winter. One reason is because the winter provides perfect sleeping conditions. It’s quiet and the cold weather outside makes being warm and comfortable in your home under a thick blanket while you sleep that much better.

The second and more meaningful reason is the lack of sunlight. During the winter it gets dark early in the evening causing us to want to fall asleep earlier, resulting in more overall sleep.

According to an article on the United Kingdom Nation Health Service about winter tiredness, anyone who feels tired during the winter season should blame the lack of sunlight. The article states, “As the days become shorter, your sleep and waking cycles become disrupted, leading to fatigue. Less sunlight means that your brain produces more of a hormone called melatonin, which makes you sleepy.”

“I think the shorter days and longer nights have something to do with it. It’s because our bodies like to sleep when it’s dark out, ” says Mohammed Alotiba, an electrical engineering student at UOIT, “The winter time also brings out my laziness when it comes to school because of over sleeping and cold weather."

Overall, winter weather has a negative impact on the lives of students, which can take a toll on them academically. Students commuting already have a tough time getting to class without the snowy, icy roads

making the trip longer. The effect is a drop in their motivation to attend class. Students can also lose focus on their schoolwork because of depression that many have during the wintertime. And lastly, the lack of sunlight mixed with the shorter days and longer nights during winter can really mess with students’ sleeping habits causing them to sleep more and naturally become lazier.

With that being said, there are ways to cope with the long Canadian winters. Self-motivation exercises and a healthy lifestyle not only make you feel better but also make sure you don’t fall behind with your academics. The Director of SALS, Nicky Patel, says that in order to get through the winters students need to have a really good balance in their life.

“They need to make sure that they’re eating nutritious food. Stay off the junk food and too much alcohol,” Patel says, “Exercise a little bit more. There’s a tendency to be a couch potato in the wintertime because none of us like to go outside when it’s really cold but maybe try to do some indoor things like using the Wellness Centre.” Patel also mentions that making contact with people is also important because people tend to become more secluded when it’s cold out. This should help with the feeling of isolation during the winter.

According to Current Results Weather and Science Facts, the average temperature for February in Oshawa is a high of zero degrees and a low of negative seven degrees and this is not even including the wind chill.

This statistic is the reason why students or anyone living in Oshawa must adjust their lifestyle in order to get by during the winter.

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Getting technical with photography Sachin Bahal The Chronicle

Ever wonder who you should turn to when you need help with your camera or other photo needs?

Look no further than Oliver Fernandez, the Photography and Video Support Specialist for the School of Media, Art & Design (MAD) at Durham College.

Fernandez provides technical support for photo and video problems that students and faculty may have.

He also is the one who looks after the photo studios when they’re not in use.

He will set up specific lighting requirements as well as help keep the studios clean.

Fernandez says that with his role, there are many challenges to overcome.

The most prominent one that is faced every school year is with new technology.

“Technology is changing every year, so we are constantly learning what new technology there is and adopting it into our programs and providing state-of-the-art technology to our students,” says Fernandez.

Fernandez has been at Durham College long enough to be teaching about developing film to now using everything in a digital way.

Fernandez has been in his current role for more than 14 years.

But before that he originally was in the School of Business & IT by filling in for a faculty member who went on maternity leave.

Fernandez says that he has always had an interest for photography.

“It dates back to the film days, my dad gave me a Nikon FE 35mm film camera, I got interested in photography at a young age,” he says.

Fernandez actually wanted to become a journalist.

He did graduate from the Durham College journalism program in 2001.

He attended the program after he first graduated from York University with a degree in political science.

After graduating York and working for two years, Fernandez thought that he had no interest in

political science. program and has been part of the When he’s not providing tech- of photos and videos as well as go That’s when he came to Durham School of Media, Arts & Design nical help, Fernandez says that in snowboarding, surfing, skateboardCollege, completed the journalism ever since. his spare time, he likes to shoot lots ing and working out at the gym.

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DURHAM AND UOIT STUDENTS RECEIVE

10% OFF! MUST PROVIDE STUDENT ID RECIEVE FREE T-SHIRT ON PURCHASES OVER $50

1700 SIMCOE STREET NORTH, OSHAWA | WALKING DISTANCE FROM CAMPUS!

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Coffee and kindness: A treat for students How Durham College celebrated Random Acts of Kindness Week Amanda Ramlal The Chronicle

Kindness was spread through the halls of Durham College where students went out of their way to help their peers with homework.

It was all part of the first Random Act of Kindness Week (RAKW) to help encourage kindness on campus Feb. 1-Feb. 5.

The event ran from Monday to Friday at the Oshawa and Whitby campus and turned out to be a great success, says Kirsti McNabney, Student Orientation and Transition Coordinator. The DC Crew plan to continue doing RAKW in future years she says.

Durham College has always showed their appreciation for students on campus and Feb 2nd is known as Student Appreciation day.

In the past DC Crew has handed out cookies and coupons for Student Appreciation day. After some planning to make the event fall on the first week of February, Durham College got to celebrate the first official week of RAKW. Stations were set up at both campuses for students to share how they had experienced kindness during the week or how they plan to give it. It was encouraged that everyone pays it forward.

The DC Crew wanted to give the opportunity to people who weren’t on campus to still know there was a way to be involved with RAKW. With the help of the marketing department1 the hash tag “#dokindness” was created on Twitter.

Students shared experiences and ideas on how to continue spreading kindness on campus not just for the week, but through out the whole year.

McNabney says during RAKW she heard of people doing various acts of kindness: Holding doors for each other, international students were helped taught English by other students and professors went out of their way to help students with class work outside of class.

Aramark also pitched in, creating coupons for students. Kindness was spread when coupons for free coffee were being handed out as students waited in line at Tim Hortons.

“Hopefully not only people continue to be kind but also take in how nice our campus is,” says McNabney. “Kindness is about doing something nice for someone else,” she continues, “even little things can make a huge difference.”

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Coming soon: Advanced Filmmaking Reba Pennell The Chronicle

Quentin Tarantino, Steven Spielberg, Clint Eastwood and J.J. Abrams. Those are just a few of a long line of famous directors. Could you be the next famous director that people know who you are just by your name?

Durham College is offering a new Advanced Filmmaking program to help you earn your graduate certificate to further your career.

The program is one-year and is designed for people who have a minimum of three years working experience in the filmmaking or video production industry or are a Durham College graduate in programs related to any type of filmmaking. This includes Broadcasting, Digital Video Production, Journalism- Broadcast and Electronic Media or any film program.

Greg Murphy, Dean for the School of Media, Art and Design, explained the process for coming up with the course.

Photograph by Reba Pennell

Greg Murphy, dean for the School of Media, Art and Design, announces a new program for filmmakers.

“There are people who want to take their skills and take them to another level,” Murphy said. “Whether they want to be able to say make a documentary, or they want to make a narrative film.”

Murphy said the concept of the grad certificate is layering skills from one program on top of another to create even more skills.

Murphy said that the program was created to allow students who wanted to enhance their skills to become better at the storytelling process of video.

Students who are taking the program will take classes that look more into detail about working with the storytelling side of the art of film. Students will also learn more

about editing and screenwriting, he said.

The program consists of three semesters, ending with a field placement or a capstone project where students work in groups to create an independent project, showcasing the work that they have learned over the semester, according to Murphy.

The program’s tuition for international students is about $16,000 while domestic students would pay about $5,000.

Once graduating from the program, students could potentially become an assistant director, cinematographer, production manager or screenwriter, Murphy said.

“We think that by teaching people how to be better at filmmaking, they’ll be on more film crews, that people will come here because there are skilled people, there are talented people,” Murphy said.

Seats are still available for the September start semester. More information is available on the college’s website.

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The Chronicle

Presidential candidate

Jesse Cullen

March 8 - 14, 2016

Presidential candidate

Raseem Dabbous

Campus

chronicle.durhamcollege.ca

Presidential candidate

Cerise Wilson

Presidential candidate

Charlie Qaqish

VP University Affairs candidate

Mariam Abo Nokerah

Faces of the 2016 SA elections

VP International Student Affairs candidate

Adib Ahsan

Meet the candidates who spoke at the DC-UOIT SA elections candidate forum in the UB Atrium on March 1.

For election results visit chronicle.durhamcollege.ca

VP University Affairs candidate

Ramez Moussa

Other candidates who campaigned: Parastoo Sadeghein, Michael Guerard, Amy Coady, Ali Naqvi, Israel Nieto, Robyn Walter, Chris Carey, Helen Bradbury, Andrew Budden, Bushra Khan, Asha Abdulwahab, Michael Laing, Waleed Hamed, Ashank Menon, Naeem Shah, Gabriel Rose, Siddiq Moolla, Muhammed Waleed Jamshaid, Maha Khan, Sara Ventura and Terry Price.

Photos by Logan Caswell

VP International Student Affairs candidate

Board of Directors (UOIT) candidate

Jankhan Patel

Temidire Oduyale

Board of Directors (UOIT) candidate

Gabriel Belten

VIP Equity candidate

Jamila Alleyne

VIP Equity candidate

Reina Rexhmataj

VIP Equity candidate

Tortise Ikomi

VP College Affairs candidate

Vianney Nengue

Campus

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Durham police graduate is a humanitarian Taylor Waines The Chronicle

Hannah Elkington, a graduate from Durham College’s (DC) Police Foundations Program, spoke to DC students at Alumni in the Pit about her journey to becoming a York Regional Police officer.

With a job based on security, Elkington told the students about an ironic experience she had in South Africa.

On an expedition, as she made her way across the Kalahari Desert, Elkington reached the border between civilization and the wild.

Running along a fence for a while, Elkington’s curiosity got the best of her.

‘What is the fence for?’ she asked her tour guide.

It is a border between the lions, the elephants and the people, he said, assuring her that they were safe on this side of the fence.

After three days of running along the fence, the barrier ended.

Instead of enclosing the animals, it was merely a border between the humans and the wildlife.

Concerned, Elkington asked the tour guide about the animals. Elkington laughed as she reminisced at his response “No, no, no,” he said to her. “They know that they’re not supposed to come on to this side of the fence.”

The not so secure fence experience was just one of the many stories she shared with Durham College students on Feb.2.

Photograph by Taylor Waines

Hannah Elkington speaks to Durham College students.

Following her graduation in 2014, Elkington was immediately hired on by the York Regional Police and went to Ontario Police College.

Since then Elkington has been on independent patrol for about a year.

When she is not working, Elking-

ton travels to Botswana and Peru to promote education and help out in developing countries.

Her continuous efforts to give back stem from her roots.

Born in South Africa, Elkington’s family made the move to Canada

in 1998 following apartheid. The apartheid was based off of white supremacy.

“It was one of the most extreme forms of racial segregation that happened in world history,” Elkington explained, associating it with the Holocaust and other genocides.

“So when that ended and different leadership took place in South Africa the country became very violent and almost at civil war with itself.”

After moving, Elkington’s parents made a vow to themselves and their children to not let them forget where they came from, and the struggle they had left behind them.

Her parents’ goal was to break from the comfort zone of North America where safety, food, water and technology came easy and paint a picture of what the world really looks like.

“We grow up in North America in this very sheltered world and we can’t really see past the screens of our iPhones and our TVs…everything is flat for us,” Elkington said referencing Facebook, televisions, and cellphones. “That’s very comfortable… it’s not comfortable to go somewhere and look at a child who’s starving and realize that as somebody who lives in North America, my standard of life contributes to that poverty.” This is a concept she found hard to grasp while growing up.

Elkington said her parents showed her all aspects of the world, the good and bad, but they also offered her avenues to take, to help

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alleviate some of the suffering in other countries.

Elkington volunteered at a South Africa AIDS orphanage after she graduated high school for three months and said she learned a lot.

“Those kids really taught me a lot of things about being happy in the midst of great struggle, and also finding joy in some of the saddest places,” she said.

While there, she met a 13-yearold who sparked a change of mind.

The young girl was prostituted out by her mother for drugs, and developed HIV/AIDS. Elkington felt bothered by her story.

“You look at that that young person and you go ‘what does the future hold for them?’,” she said.

Feeling discouraged, someone offered her advice - if you only reach one person in your whole life, then it has been worth it.

Elkington adopted this idea and continues to this day to integrate it into her policing duties.

“Having that mindset, I think you see people for what they are,” Elkington said. “If right now I can only make a difference in this one person, I can’t end poverty in Africa, I can’t change global warming… but if I just focus on the one person that’s right in front of me that I can help right now, I’m probably going to make a bigger difference.”

Through advice, tips, and a glimpse of a day in the workforce, the Alumni in the Pit event both celebrates DC grads and inspires current DC students.

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Entertainment

Photograph by David Conti

Music through the generations - vinyl records, cassette tapes, and compact discs.

Musicians stream their way to gold and platinum David Conti

ing numbers are too large to ignore, and they play a significant role in an artist’s success in 2016.

In order to properly calculate how streams translate to physical and digital sales, a new formula was created, one which makes users stream a song 1,500 times in order to equal to one full album sale. This may help the commercial artists with an established fan base, but hinders the small-scale artists, who use platforms like SoundCloud, Facebook, and other social media as a means to spread their work.

In 2015, streaming services saw their biggest growth yet, as fans

continue to shift gears from purchasing to streaming. Big names in the streaming business had a great 2015. Like Spotify, which now has a total user base of 95 million, with 20 million of those being paying subscribers. Last year was also big for the newcomers, most notably JAY Z’s Tidal, and Apple’s Apple Music.

While being more accessible, it’s also about the affordability.

“I could spend $10 to $15 on an album, or spend a monthly amount and get as much music as I want, it’s an easy choice,” says Nick Bolen, a student at Durham College who recently discovered the joys music

You would think that running off a student budget and staying stylish might be difficult, but this isn’t Mariah always the case. Students can stay with the latest trends or create their Pardy own style while saving money simply by finding a sale, thrift shopping, getting a retail job, or rumma- Macklemore preached to us shopging through their parents’ closet. pers, if you only have 20 dollars in your pocket and you’re looking for Finding that sale a come-up… then head on over to If you’re a shopaholic with a pas- a thrift shop. Where can you find sion for fashion but are shopping one? Chances are there’s a thrift on a low budget, then it’s most im- shop or two just around the corner. portant to keep an eye out for the In fact, there is a Value Village on upcoming sales.

Ritson Road North, a Hand Me The typical retail store lets a new Downs Oshawa on Simcoe Street item hang on the shelves for about and many other second hand stores six to eight weeks before it is marked you can find throughout Oshawa. down. Generally, stores overhaul If you have never been thrift their merchandise at the start of a shopping before, you might be overseason so by the time that season whelmed with the endless racks of ends there are a bunch of items that unorganized clothing. If you have haven’t been sold. been to a thrift store before, it may So if you’re in need of a winter seem like the place is full of dust coat but the winter season is almost and old clothes from every decade. over, buy that winter coat anyways! But with some patience and luck, This is Canada, who knows when you’ll be walking out of there with our next snowstorm will be? But if an outfit for just 20 bucks! that cold weather decides to leave early, you’ll still be set for the next Getting a retail job winter season and you just saved Let me guess, you would have yourself 50 per cent. never thought getting a job would be the key to being “broke” and stylPopping some tags ish? Well, in this case getting a retail Like the American rapper job can help you out. A retail job

may not be able to get you all of the clothes you want to buy but it does keep you trendy. Working retail also has its benefits with discounts says previous DC student, Alyse Chung, who currently works in retail.

“I have been working retail since I was about 16 and it has saved me money,” said Chung. “I worked at Ardene and had a 30 per cent discount that kept me fashionable while on a student budget.”

Chung also said that sometimes retail stores give you free garments when you start so that you have a company-approved wardrobe.

The Chronicle

Musicians can now stream their way to gold and platinum sales.

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has announced that music streaming will now count towards gold and platinum album certifications. In order to receive gold or platinum certifications, an artist must sell over 500 thousand copies and one million copies respectively.

Because of the rapid growth in the popularity of music streaming, the RIAA reports that the stream-

Being fashionable, but not broke

can bring.

Both Tidal and Apple Music launched last year, and they have achieved two million and six-anda-half million paid subscribers respectively. The evolution is happening at a rapid pace, but the devolution in the previous generations doesn’t move nearly as quick.

Compact discs, cassettes, and vinyl records are still out there (Adele sold 126,000 copies of 25 on vinyl alone), mainly for nostalgic purposes.

Since the RIAA announced that streaming can count towards Gold and Platinum certification, 17 al-

bums have been awarded the status, including Big Sean’s Dark Sky Paradise as well as Shawn Mendes’ Handwritten.

In just a few years we have made the jump from CDs, to online album purchases and downloads, and now it seems the only tangible part of music could be fading into irrelevance.

As of now, the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) has no plans to include streams as part of its Gold and Platinum certifications, although it does include digital downloads when considering sales.

Raiding the parents’ closet Rummaging through your folks’ closet can save you money and give you a classic style while staying fashionably “in”. If your parents decided to keep most of their wardrobe from when they were teens, you might be able to find rock band T-shirts and vintage blazers.

You might be surprised what you will find. With the 80s trends making a comeback in the fashion scene with styles like Madonna’s neon spandex and The Breakfast Club’s Bender’s washed jean jacket, Photograph by Mariah Pardy you might have just saved yourself roughly a good $300 because your Staying trendy can be easy when you know how to budget. mom or dad had fresh style back in ’86.

Entertainment

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Turn trash into art Mariah Pardy The Chronicle

Some call it trash, but some call it art. Before you make the move to take out the garbage, there are masterpieces waiting to be made out of your old CDs and cardboard boxes, says Chrissie Wysotski, the family and events coordinator at the Whitby Station Gallery.

Wysotski runs a program at the gallery called the Trash Train. It made its debut in the fall of 2015 but stemmed from previous programs at the gallery called Collaboration Station and Ordinary Extraordinary which made its debut in 2012 and involved the art of making extraordinary things from just ordinary stuff. Although Wysotski and the rest of the Whitby Station Gallery’s team are often changing and updating the program every

two years, the idea remains the same. “The program provides an opportunity for families and friends to get together, meet new people and have fun creating some art,” says Wysotski. The Trash Train, a family drop-in program that runs on the first Sunday of each month from October to June, is free for all ages. The idea is for members of the community to create fine art pieces that must be made using inexpensive, everyday materials. Wysotski says the program was instantly a success with the Whitby community.

“We currently have approximately 50 participants that drop in during the three hour time slot and they stay an average of 20 to 40 minutes,” says Wysotski. “It’s been amazing to see the impact that this program has had within the community. Friends and families make it a meeting place

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Photograph by Mariah Pardy

Chrissie Wysotski (right) with volunteers at the Trash Train event at the Whitby Station Gallery. to connect, have fun and learn new skills and techniques.”

Some of the materials that Wysotski incorporates into the program are old CDs painted black for participants to use a scratchboard technique to create snowflake patterns.

Kleenex boxes have also been transformed into shadow boxes

where members learned how to create a scene using silhouettes and gained an understanding of positive and negative space.

“We literally take materials that were headed for the trash and make art out of them,” says Wysotski.

“The success of the Trash Train program has been overwhelming

and is an essential part of programming that we offer as a community gallery.”

To be a part of the Trash Train program, drop by the Whitby Station Gallery on the first Sunday of the month from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. or for any questions, call the gallery at 905-668-4185.

Travel back in time to the future Unravel-ing a hit

for many films created 37 years ago.

From that tiny little monster bursting out of Kane’s midsection to the reveal of the real and very robotic Ash, Alien gave viewers the chills in 1979, still does so now and will in 20 years.

Even the demonic alien itself is barely seen, but surely felt.

It’s concealed in the shadows where fear often hides, and only strikes at the perfect moment. Ridley Scott didn’t parade this antagonist around. If he had, its allure would have been lost.

The combination of Scott’s dir-

ecting and the respective script and soundtrack of the late Dan O’Bannon and Jerry Goldsmith give Alien more punch than any special effects could.

Ridley Scott and his team knew their limits and played to their strengths. Scott told a dark, creepy story and left the over-the-top action and mindless violence at the door, or in this case, the hatch.

The movie is unmatched in its ability to create fear out of the unknown. You can use all the CGI in the galaxy, but there will never be another Alien.

Puzzle games are fun. They make you think about your next move without the worry of a hail of gunfire raining down or a horde of enemies coming after you.

Unravel, the newest physics-based game from Coldwood Interactive is exactly the type of puzzle game you want to play. Its rich and realistic backgrounds, and extremely adorable character, Yarny, will push you to appreciate the physics-based puzzle games genre.

You can’t help but fall in love with Yarny. While he seems like a lost doll made of yarn, his bright red body and shining white eyes draw you into his adventure. The game involves traversing the world with yarn strings you create from his body. Yarny, is an ever “unraveling” character made of a single thread of yarn. He travels through the world to reconnect lost family memories.

The wordless story makes you want to keep playing because you can’t fight that urge to make it all the way to the end.

This small character makes the world around him look big. You use his body of yarn to do things as simple as drag a paint can across the ground, with sounds so realistic you’ll think someone next door was just lazy.

From climbing high through the forest to crossing dangerous waterways, Yarny uses himself to continue through new levels.

Since he’s only made of one thread of yarn, it’s up to you to ensure he can make it safely without running out of yarn before you reach the next checkpoint where you get more yarn.

Hollerado graced the presence of many Durham Region residents.

Hollerado played at The Moustache Club for its second time, the first was when the club opened.

Dean Baxter, the band’s bass player, said the “low-risk environment offers an intimate setting and is a lot more forgiving.”

Hollerado’s drummer, Jake Boyd, said, “Smaller venues are a lot more about energy.” Most of the people there were at the front of the stage

yelling along with the songs and dancing around.

Small venues like bars and clubs are easier on the bands because the fans are less critical, according to Baxter. “Don’t get nervous, but there’s a possibility that you’ll screw up,” said Baxter. “It’s easy to get everybody on your side.”

In smaller bars, especially with a band that has popularity around the world, it is easy to get the audience to forgive the band. With a band

like Hollerado that hasn’t played at The Moustache Club in three years, it is easy to get the energy of the audience up and keep it up through the set.

“It’s easier to gauge the reception of the audience,” said Baxter.

Playing small clubs and bars allows bands to test out new material that might present itself as risky to play at a larger crowd.

Hollerado books all of its shows through a booking agent and they

Andrew Brennan The explosion of computer-generated imagery (CGI) and 3D has become nauseating. Sometimes you just have to travel back in time before any of these things existed.

Baseball fans rejoice over Hank Aaron, music lovers play Earth, Wind and Fire, Tupac or maybe Led Zeppelin.

When it comes to movies, and specifically science fiction ones, Alien illustrates you don’t need special effects. Ridley Scott’s Alien is one of the greatest sci-fi movies ever.

Before the release of Alien, Ridley Scott had only directed one feature-length film, The Duellists, which follows two French officers in the Napoleonic age, fencing each other in a life-long feud.

Scott followed that with two of the greatest science fiction movies in history, Alien in 1979 and Blade Runner in 1982. Only a legendary storyteller such as Ridley Scott could make a bizarre transition look so effortless.

The fact Scott was able to tell the story of this crew, fighting an alien creature in outer space, in 1979, is absolutely incredible.

The way he uses the setting of the “Nostromo” ship to create this eerie and borderline terrifying atmosphere is what sets this movie apart from modern sci-fi. The movie is truly timeless, which can’t be said

Photograph by Brett Jordan via Flickr

The Alien Anthology was released on Oct. 26, 2010 and contains the first four movies in the saga.

Sean Heeger This game combines not only different ways to move around this vast world - like attaching yourself to a kite or boat – but couples a condensed open-world approach with a backdrop so realistic you’ll think you’re there.

After receiving unfavourable reception upon announcement, this game has picked up steam and become something that many critics from IGN sing praises over.

Yarny’s adventure has been compared by Engadget to hits like Limbo and LittleBigPlanet.

This has done well for the game as it has only been released a short time and already become an indie classic.

Yarny will make you a fan from the minute you see him and draw you into creator Martin Sahlin’s world of wonder and magic.

You’ll never want to let Yarny die as you travel through this adaptive backdrop born from Sahlin’s depiction of Umea, Sweden.

You’ll want to keep playing until you reach the end but this game is worth it for the cheap price of $20 you get it for, including special pricing for Xbox users who subscribe to EA Access.

After only a few hours, it’s easy to see why this game is a hit. If the puzzle platform doesn’t keep you, the adorable Yarny certainly will.

The game released February 9.

don’t play large arenas very often.

Despite their low-key performances at small bars and clubs, they tour around the world with other very popular bands such as Andrew W. K., The Stills, and one of Jack White’s bands, The Dead Weather.

Their show at the Moustache Club was to prepare them for the following tour overseas in Europe.

They toured with Sum41, a Canadian rock band from Ajax in February.

Hollerado plays low risk show at the Moustache Club Alex Ross

The Chronicle Famous bands tour across continents playing huge arenas and expect thousands of people to come watch them. While Hollerado, a Toronto-based indie rock band, plays larger shows in places like the Air Canada Centre, the Bell Centre in Montreal and some places in Europe like Paris, France and London, United Kingdom.

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Behind the scenes with IDs Michael Clark The Chronicle

A student’s ID card is their essential tool here at the campus. It offers a number of services outside and around Durham College and UOIT. With the number of students at both schools, it’s impressive that one small department is able to take on so much work and so many students to care for. Well that’s just the job Campus ID coordinator Donna Bruni is tasked with and she likes the challenge.

Bruni started her job three years ago here at the Campus as the newly

hired ID assistant. At first she saw this more as a temporary fill-in job but that changed quickly when the person in charge of Campus ID had a sudden and unexpected death in the family. From than on out she was training to take over the position and at first it was very difficult as she had only applied as an assistant, so when training for coordinator, she had to learn it all on the fly.

“As I have been able to learn, things have gotten much easier due to the experience I have gained,” says Bruni when asked about how she’s taking on her role now after

almost two years into it.

During this semester she says that they faced the common problems that occur every term. Equipment failure, notably ID printers, and the fact that they are a small department having to handle DC/UOIT campus, the downtown UOIT campus and the Whitby campus all at the same time. Even with all that pressure though, she still loves her job. “I have a phenomenal boss and my team is the best,” said Bruni, “ This department is growing in the services we offer and in its size, so this is a great opportunity for me to be a part of developing it.”

Campus

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UOIT's best year on the ice Sean Heeger The Chronicle

They may not draw in the crowd and fame of the Toronto Maple Leafs, but the UOIT Ridgebacks men’s hockey team did better this year than the Leafs have in the last few years.

In their ninth season of play, UOIT surpassed all previous years, and not only pulled off an impressive record of 18-8-2, but also won its first playoff series ever against the Queen’s Gaels.

After losing the first game of the series in overtime, the Ridgebacks would win the next to straight to take the series and move onto the next round against UQTR. However, they wouldn’t be able to overcome the top-ranked offence of UQTR and lost the series in two games by scores of 6-1 and 4-2 respectively.

Prior to this season, their best record came in the 2010-2011 season where they went 16-16-3-2.

This year came with mid-season coaching change for the team as Craig Fisher stepped back from his duties due to effects from an old injury and took over the role of hockey coordinator of both the men’s and women’s teams.

“We were really saddened to see him go,” said UOIT athletic director Scott Barker, who praised Fisher’s ability to “completely turn the team around” in the time he was head coach.

In his place came coaching veteran Curtis Hodgins who has racked

Photograph by Michael Fletcher

UOIT players Cameron Yuill (left) and Mark Petaccio celebrate after a Ridgebacks goal. up an impressive Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) record of 423-229-98 in his 20 years in the OJHL with teams including the Whitby Fury, Bowmanville Eagles, and Cobourg Cougars.

Hodgins also spent time as an assistant coach with the Oshawa Generals.

Stepping into the job was not hard for Hodgins as he already

had a strong foundation set by his predecessors.

“As the new coach, I simply tinkered with a few things with the team systems that I felt were important and gave the team a steady, everyday voice,” said Hodgins.

This season saw men’s hockey at UOIT compete at a much higher level than they ever have, and improve overall in all statistics.

The team had a strong offence scoring 94 goals with a 3.36 goals per game putting them in the eighth spot out of 19 teams in the Ontario Universities Association (OUA) league.

Their defence didn’t fare as well with 92 goals against and a goals against average of 3.25, and save percentage of .898 putting them eleventh in the OUA.

According to Barker, the biggest reason for this new spark in their play is the revamp to the team culture.

“The big difference with this team is the change in culture,” said Barker. “The coaching staff has done a great job recruiting players whom fit the mould of what it means to be a Ridgeback student-athlete.”

There are eight first year players on the roster this semester, all of whom stepped into their roles on the ice and helped bring this team to its best season and first playoff win according to statistics from the OUA website.

Right-wingers Mark Petaccio, and Loren Ulett both managed to make the OUA top 50 for scoring, getting 11 and 10 goals respectively on the season.

In the Ridgebacks’ series win against Queen’s, first year players accounted for six of the team’s 11 playoff goals.

“The players on the current roster all have a tremendous amount of skill combined with the positive experience makes going to the rink and competing a lot of fun for them,” said Barker.

With their season now over the team is set to look to the year ahead and build on the success they’ve created.

“My vision for the future of the team is to have a program that on the ice is considered a contender for the OUA title each season when it begins,” said Hodgins, “but more importantly also sees every one of our athletes graduate.”

DC students vote to keep intramurals for next year Jordan Edmonds The Chronicle

More than 1,500 students voted in favour of keeping intramural sports from disappearing for students at Durham College in a recent referendum.

The referendum was held due to Campus Recreation programming moving from the Student Association (SA) to the Department of Athletics at Durham and UOIT. Due to the programming being moved, a referendum had to be held to ensure students were happy to continue paying the $6 fee.

“The SA will no longer be in charge of programming, so the athletic department has taken it on in order to keep intramural sports going,” said Christie Attwood, campus recreation coordinator at Durham and UOIT. A total of 1,633 students voted on the first part of the referendum to maintain a $6 fee and keep intramurals at Durham College.

This fee does not increase a student’s overall student fee amount; it is simply approving an already existing fee.

The vote ended with 1,588 students in favour of still paying the fee, a 97 per cent majority.

The second part was to increase the fee to $10 from the original $6, to expand the number of intramural sports and introduce sports clubs, tournaments and extramurals.

On the second question in the referendum, 1,607 students voted, with 1,456 saying yes, a 91 per cent majority.

Currently, intramural sports offered on campus are basketball, hockey, indoor soccer, volleyball, flag football, badminton, squash and tennis.

Some examples of the newly proposed sports are indoor cricket, dodgeball and touch rugby along with many new tournaments and sports clubs.

Sports that get the most interest and votes will be added to the intramural program because the student body approved the $10 fee.

“We needed just over 1,000 students to vote to represent 10 per cent of the student body,” said Ken Babcock, athletic director at Durham College. “We exceeded that and managed to get around 15 per

cent of the student body to vote” One person who is in favour of keeping intramurals is UOIT Mechanical Engineering student, Agam Joshi, who was working at one of the voting stations.

“It’s important to vote because it lets the students decide for themselves,” he said.

Joshi explained how sports have a positive impact on student life.

“Sports help keep students mentally fresh, make friends and learn outside of their classes,” he said.

“Four dollars is a small fee but it will add a lot.”

Voting took place at various locations around campus, including the CRWC, Simcoe residence, South Village residence, Vendors Alley, Whitby Campus and the Campus Ice Centre.

Every Durham College student was eligible to vote in the referendum.

UOIT students have already had their fees re-allocated and have the dedicated funding in place.

“The outcome is an extremely posiPhotograph by Jordan Edmonds tive one and it is a real big win for the students at Durham College,” Agam Joshi working at one of the referendum voting stations. said Babcock.

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Disappointing end for Lords Michael Fletcher The Chronicle

After the Durham Lords volleyball teams finished atop their conferences this season, both the men and women saw similar fates at the Ontario College Athletics Association (OCAA) championships.Neither team found their way to the medals.

The Lords’ women’s team had a strong showing in the 2015-16 season, finishing in first place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 19-1, closing out the regular season on a 15-game winning streak.

However, a dominant regular season could not relate into an even better OCAA championship round.

The Fanshawe Falcons knocked out the Lords in the bronze medal game two sets to one. The Lords failed to advance past a final four finish for the second time in as many years, however, this is the first time since the 2005 and 2006 seasons they have back-to-back final four finishes.

Similar to the women’s team this season, the men carried a 16-4 regular season record; good enough for a first place tie in the east, into the OCAA tournament before being eliminated early by the defending champion Niagara Knights.

The women’s team ran into a key injury at the OCAA championships.

“We had to overcome some adversity with losing one of our starting players… that kind of took the wind out of our sails,” says second year head coach Tony Clarke.

Without Megan Romain (Ajax, Ont.), one of their regular starters in the lineup for the bronze medal game, Clarke says someone had to

Photograph by Michael Fletcher

Camille Lefaive in action for the Durham Lords women's volleyball team at the CRWC.

step up and take over. The Lords had two players who were not playing at their normal positions take the reigns while Romain sat out.

“We were without our team’s

quarterback, but I think the girls did a good job at bouncing back from that… unfortunately we came up short,” says Clarke.

The Lords roster going forward

to next season won’t be a serious departure from this year’s team.

Clarke says there could be around ten returning players to the Lords’ roster next season.

“We should see around nine or ten returning players but I’ve told the girls this many times, you still have to earn your spot on the team it won’t be handed to you because you played last season,” says Clarke.

Notable players who could return are Allison Marshall (Orillia, Ont.) and Camille Lefaive (Whitby, Ont.), who both took home OCAA tournament MVP awards for their play in the bronze medal game.

Meantime, the men’s team carved out a similar story to its 2015 season.

The Lords men’s team took the OCAA by storm last year, finishing the regular season undefeated at 18-0 before getting swept in two games in the playoffs.

Similar to the women’s team this season, the men carried a 16-4 regular season record; good enough for a first place tie in the East, into the OCAA tournament before being eliminated early by the defending champion Niagara Knights. However, Matt McGirr (Brampton, Ont.) and Andrew Watson (Uxbridge, Ont.) received provincial awards at the OCAA championship banquet.

McGirr was named to the East Division Second Team All-Star roster and Watson was named to the OCAA All-Rookie Team. McGirr was second in the OCAA with 0.61 aces per set and Watson was second on the Lords’ roster averaging 2.83 kills per set and 3.3 points per set, which landed him 12th and 15th in the OCAA respectively.

The 2015-16 Lords saw nine rookies added to the 15-man roster searching for a better finish to this season compared to last and have the potential to lose five players going into next season, notably team captain Erik Janssen.

Curtain call for Kobe Bryant Many fans across the National Basketball Association (NBA) were stunned in December when future Hall of Famer, Kobe Bryant, announced he was finally calling it quits. Tickets for the Los Angeles Lakers started increasing at a rapid rate, even given their poor record so far this season. Some look at everything the Lakers star has accomplished, combined with his strive for greatness and of course the five championship rings and think: there goes the best player ever. But those who have been watching number 24 for ten years may think: there goes the most selfish, and egocentric basketball player of all time.

Many may take this opinion as a major jab, with a career as long and storied as Bryant’s there are many valid points that can be made.

Bryant is third all-time with 32, 774 points, he is a five-time NBA champion, two-time scoring champion, 17-time NBA All-Star, two-time NBA Finals MVP, and the list can go on for several paragraphs. Many fans list him in the top-20 players of all-time, a list that is filled with names such as Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, and Wilt Chamberlain.

Bryant has always been an inefficient player who seemed to confuse

Alex Costa scoring a lot with playing well. In his single greatest season, 20052006, Bryant averaged an astonishing 35.4 points per game and dropped an embarrassing 81 points on the hapless Toronto Raptors and shot 45 per cent from the field.

How is it possible that a 17-time All-Star and former MVP has never shot over 50 per cent from the field once, even in 20 seasons?

Since the late 90’s analysts and fans have been gushing over Bryant, gloating over how fine-tuned his skills were during his career. But shooting below 50 per cent for someone of his caliber is not good enough. Bryant’s best shooting year was when he was 23; he shot 46.9 per cent. He never improved his efficiency after that. The following season Bryant shot 38.3 per cent from three-point range, something he would never repeat.

Bryant remained consistent for a mere 15 seasons beginning at age

Photograph by Jeramey Jannene

Kobe Bryant stands next to Michael Redd in a game against the Milwaukee Bucks.

20 when he finally became a starter for the Lakers. In contrast, there have been seasons like Shaquille O’Neal’s 2000 season, LeBron James’ 2012 season, or even Ste-

phen Curry’s 2015 season that are far more impressive.

Ultimately, Bryant’s best season doesn’t even crack the top-100 list.

The best way to look at Bryant’s ca-

reer is to be modest and say that he was a great, hard-working player.

But let’s not all go buy Kobe Bryant jerseys and cherish them until we hand them off to our children.

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