Dialog Newspaper December 2008

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George Brown College student newspaper

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2 December 2008 The Dialog

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The Dialog December 2008 3

Managing Editor’s Message

By Ashley Ward Managing Editor

The month of November went by too fast and so much has happened at George Brown in that time. As you can see from the front page, students at George Brown have been very busy, there have been quite a few events such as the Day of Action, Graphic Design School opening and Fall by-elections.

On November 3rd I was awake most of the night to watch the results of the U.S. presidential election. Late that night Barack Obama had won and is now the President-elect of the United States.

That night changed a lot of ideas I believe for so many people including myself. To see an AfricanAmerican voted by the people of that country as their new president was truly amazing and something I thought I would never see in my lifetime.

Watching viewers with tears streaming down their faces and the reaction to his win around the world was truly an event I will never forget. Globally I think so many citizens of the world had already embraced this man not only as leader for the United States but a global leader as well.

That night I was able to get an Obama shirt, from my family and wore it to George Brown the next day. I was greeted by cheers from many students eating pancakes and getting ready for the march to Queen’s Park to protest rising tuition fees. I think what had happened the night before spilled over into the hearts and minds of many students who are eager for change.

I asked a few of my colleagues about how they felt about the new American President-elect.

“It just shows that no matter where you come from, your colour, how much money you have or you don’t have, you can become whatever you want. I think that’s the most important thing for me.”- Neil Cumberbatch, Events Coordinator “I think Obama has an uphill climb because look at the economy,

Executive Welcome

By Chris Ogbiti Vice president of Ryerson Campus Good day beautiful people of George Brown

College, my name is Chris aka “Mr. Rye”. I want to take the opportunity to thank Ashley Ward, Managing Editor for giving me the chance of writing in the December issue of the Dialog. I also want to send out my love to all the December babies (Sagittarius and Cap-

look at what Bush has left. But if there was anybody that could get the U.S. out of it’s predicament then it’s Barack Obama.- Lisa Campbell, St. James, Lifeworks.

“It’s an ugly win because his winning is exciting but shadowed by the same sex marriage rights being taken away. I think...a positive thing is that because it was such an unexpected win I think it’s really inspiring and motivating people.”Michelle Van Looy- Centre Facilitator for the Centre for Women and Trans People and LGBTQ Centre.

“Obama’s win, yeah the first black president but I think he has the same U.S. imperialistic agenda that McCain or anybody else has.”

– declined to give their name.

The protest began for me at George Brown as I followed the students marching in the street wearing their Drop Fees shirts and holding Drop Fees signs on King Street. The march went from George Brown College to Ryerson where they merged with other schools in the GTA. The march continued into downtown streets blocking traffic and surprising many people who had looks of

ricorns) because this is our month to shine.

Yes I am a December baby Dec 25th (Sadly I only get one gift but its all good) don’t forget to send my birthday gift in the mail.

You are probably wondering who is this guy gracing the Executive’s section of the dialog?

Well you are about to find out what this Chris character is all about. I’m the Vice President of Ryerson Campus (Yes there is actually a George Brown College campus that exists on Ryerson University’s turf) we are the baby siblings of St. James and Casa Loma that nobody talks about. My portfolio from the Student Association executive is Academic Issues (sounds boring eh?). Currently I am in my second and final year enrolled in the Early Childhood Education program.

What are my responsibilities and projects this year?

My responsibility as the Vice President of Academic issues is that I am a primary advocate for all George Brown students’ academic rights on all campus. It is my duty to track all

Dialog Correction

wonder on their faces.

With a flatbed truck and a Student Raiza Khan’s name and proDJ, the cheers, music and gram were incorrectly identified in the November issue. She is a Social Service chants were at times really loud. I’m sure Dalton Worker alumni and currently completing McGuinty could hear the Life Skills Model 3. The Dialog regrets students coming. Jack the error.

Layton made an appearance and had this to say of debt in the future,” said Melvin to the crowd.

Zimmerman.

“Student debt is standing in the Chants of “Yes We Can,” “Yes way of your dreams, let’s lower We Can,” could be heard as the those barriers, let’s make change students got closer to Queen’s Park. happen like they did in the United At one point many of those marchStates just yesterday. Don’t give up ing stopped walking and abruptly and don’t let them tell you it can’t sat down on the street at the base be done,” he said to loud cheers.

Queen’s Park. No streetcars, buses As I was walking, taking picor cars could move anywhere as tures and making notes an older the students made their intentions gentleman paused to look at my clear. Minutes later the march Obama shirt and began speaking progressed up the hill and onto the to me. As a retired professor from lawns of Queen’s Park as speeches York University he encouraged were read by government supportthe protest and was so moved that ers, students and members of the he decided to read me a speech he Canadian Federation of Students. wrote. Here is part of it: More chants followed and petitions “As a retired teacher and still active senior scholar at York I bring were signed by government supyou warm greetings and encourage- porters. A long day but well worth it as students from so many differment in your struggles for the right ent schools came to together for a to an affordable education now united cause; their education. and one free from an awful burden

student appeals and complaints and prepare a report to the Student Association Board of Directors and College each semester. I work closely with Karla Orantes, Appeals Coordinator. So you will be seeing me at Casa Loma and St. James. Ryerson is another responsibility I am taking care of. It’s a small campus and with not a lot of SA services that can be offered to the students. So my job as VP Rye is to improve student life on the campus by making sure SA is visible and accessible to each full time student.

One of the major projects I did this November was working with the Appeals team and Diversity, Human Rights and Equity team in organizing an Academic Forum which was called “Student Rights and Responsibilities.”

This was to provide students with the opportunity to hear and learn about the College’s policies and how it applies in their daily routines on campus. This was a great idea to keep the students well informed, the forum was held on each campus: November 11th at St. James,

November 12th at Casa Loma and November 13th at Ryerson campus. Unfortunately we didn’t get a huge turn out that we would have expected. But once there is life there is still hope because the Student Association will be having another Forum in February of next year and we will be discussing “Tips and Guidelines for exam preparation.”

When I am not in my office, I spend a lot of my time with my family especially my Nana, Nona and my godchildren.

I am also huge with my music business beause I am part of a band and a group. I attend spoken word events because they ease one’s mind and soul. I love my Nona and Nana’s home cooked meals. When you see me at your respective campus, please feel free to come up to me and say hi I am not scary (I hope not).

My office is always opened for any student. I joined the Student Association for a specific purpose and that is to serve and fight for my colleagues’ rights. I hope everyone has a blessed month and happy holidays.

Managing Editor: Ashley Ward Designers: Jorge Midence, Shamelle Sutton S.A. Communications Coordinator: Allyson Gordon Dialog Published by: Student Association of George Brown college George Brown College student newspaper

Contact In person or mail: Room 159A - St. James Campus 200 King Street East Toronto, ON M5A 3W8 Tel: 416-415-5000 ext. 6386 Fax: 416-415-2491 Email: dialog@georgebrown.ca

Contributors: Crystal Coburn Karla Orantes Christine Wallace Andre Morgan Andre Ilicea Melanie Amadasun Jason Beeston Tammy Nopuente Neil McGillivray

The Dialog newspaper is published by the Dialog Collective under the auspices of the Student Association of George Brown College. The collective is comprised of student editors and reporters and is responsible for the overall vision and direction of the Dialog newspaper, as it coincides with the larger vision of mission of the Student Association.

The cost of producing a monthly newspaper is in part defrayed by advertising revenue and largely subsidized by the Student Association. Occasionally, some advertisers, products and services do not reflect the policies of the SA. Opinions expressed in the Dialog are not necessarily those of the Dialog Collective, the Student Associa-

tion of George Brown College, or its editorial staff.

Dialog will not publish any material that attempts to incite violence or hatred against individuals or groups, particularly based on race, national origin, ethnicity, colour, gender, sexual orientation, age or disability.

Contributions to the Dialog are always gratefully accepted. We request that articles be submitted as digital copies in plain-text (TXT) or rich-text (RTF) format.

Letters to the editor can be sent in an email message to dialog@georgebrown.ca. Images should be in EPS format as vector images or TIF format (Mac or PC).

We request that you submit a hard copy of your work.

Originals only please.

GBC Students Protest Tuition Fees in Toronto

4 December 2008 The Dialog

By Karla Orantes

Campaigns and Appeals Coordinator The Student Association of George Brown College supports the fight for affordable tuition for every student in Canada. Student loans gain interest after graduation. Education is a very important investment for both, the student and the government. People decide to go for post-secondary education because they will gain relevant skills for particular professions. Students are the future of industries; they are the human capital of a nation.

The government in Ontario should invest more on education through grants, scholarships and bursaries. Student loans with interest rates only penalize students with huge debts at the end of their studies, and the government gets not only a

good profit from the loans, it also gets the future labour force of the country.

Organizing a march is no easy task, especially with the demographics of the college and the busy class schedules of students. However, we at the SA believe that education does not only take place in a classroom setting, we strongly promote student involvement in social justice causes such as the “Drop Fees Campaign”.

In our interactions with students we learned that there is general concern with regards to tuition fees, and students support the fight, but many expressed disillusionment with the movement. Many students shared with us that they have signed petitions year after year and they have not seen any positive results. Many other students asked “is this really going to happen (drop fees)?”

This year, we started promoting the campaign from September during orientation weeks. The campaigns staff were able to collect over 2,000 signed petitions asking the Ontario government to drop tuition fees and increase funding for postsecondary education. The petitions were all faxed to the Ministry of Education at Queens Park by all the colleges and universities involved in the day of action in Ontario. The reason behind this initiative was to voice their concerns of the students with regards to the cost of their education.

Our reply to these questions was that change takes time, and more than that, change for the common good takes great effort. We asked students not to give up on the fight, and invited them to join us for the march to take place on November 5th. The date for the march (November 5th) is linked to the movie V for Vendetta, a film that gives a picture of how a revolutionary movement is born to remind us all that “people should not be afraid of their governments, but rather governments should be afraid of their people”.

The day of the march, our Vice President

i belong

of Education, Frederick Sam, organized a breakfast for students who came to the march, we also gave out t-shirts with the Drop Fees logo on it.

We gathered around 150 GBC students to join us in the march for affordable education. On the way to Queens Park, we joined with students from Ryerson University and the University of Toronto. The turn out of students was pretty good considering their busy schedules; the march lasted almost five hours. We hope that this march was a good experience for those who participated, and that those who didn’t, realize how much of this change the student movement is fighting for depends on them.

For more information on the “Drop Fees Campaign” check out: www.dropfees.ca

@The Centre for Women and Trans People Lover, dyke, care-giver, pro, geek, activist, trans, princess, diva, vulnerable, cuddler, do-gooder, femme, survivor, gender- bender, romantic, sporty, serious, hard-core, fighter, bitch, poet, feminist, transactivist, pro-choice, queer, independent, strong, girlie, immigrant, cis, rebel, nonconformist, warrior, resilient, academic, builder, dreamer, pro-sex, shy, butch, student, leader.

This student-operated centre warmly welcomes volunteers, participants and ideas for workshops, initiatives, groups, committees and actions.

i belong @ The George Brown College Centre for Women and Trans People St. James Centre Room 165B (In Lifeworks) 416-415-5000 ext 2725

Casa Loma Centre Room E130 (In Lifeworks) 416-415-5000 ext 6328

womenscentre@georgebrown.ca www.sa.georgebrown.ca/service-womens-centre.aspx

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The Dialog December 2008 5

See Me Play, Now Watch Me Strip

By Crystal Coburn

Dialog Reporter

The 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and

Whistler, B.C. is just about two years away and the reality is many athletes need to find their way there. There are pots of money available to the athletes however the amount of money they receive depends partly on how much potential their sport has to win medals. For some athletes this may not be enough and since there is very little time during the day to have a part-time job, additional money has to come from somewhere. We have seen this before and read the story many times. The corporate money and sponsorships are low and the media continues to highlight the most popular sports. So it comes as no surprise when five of Canada’s top female biathletes choose to pose nude for a 14 month calendar in hopes of lifting the financial burdens to get to the 2010 Olympics. While no one is looking for a hand out they have decided to make a trade; money for sexy pictures.

While the Bold Beautiful Biathlon athletes

have argued that the calendar was done with the hopes that it would “empower women and girls through inspiring quotes and expressing the beauty of a healthy, athletic body,” selling provocative poses to get to the Olympics inspires a different kind of mentality. While it does allow women and girls to view healthy, athletic bodies as a model for them, the reasons the biathletes shed their clothes sends a different message. This message provokes women and girls to feel that their body image, athletic or not, is a commodity to be bought and sold by anyone willing and able. It adds to the misunderstanding that women cannot be real athletes especially since male athletes do not have to resort to taking their clothes off to raise funds.

It keeps women trapped in a cycle of assumed femininity, domesticity, docility and subordination. Even before flipping through the calendar or reading the explanation on the website, the cover shot depicts five pretty women laughing in a friendly, non-threatening manner which can lead one to believe that they are not to be taken seriously. The cover shot is a far distance from the kind of rough and aggressive athletes these women must be during competition in order to

be successful.

It is safe to say that when today’s female athletes were little girls they didn’t consider having to drop their skirts, throw their bras to the side and pose seductively to earn some cash just to continue playing a sport they loved at an elite level. I would like to think that most of us just wanted to get out on the field, court, pool, or ice and give it all we had. However, somewhere along the line when we decided that we wanted to ride this wave of goal scoring, mid-range jumpers, and well calculated aces to a bigger platform, the reality of having empty pockets as a professional female athlete began to show.

Endorsements are not flooding in, the media has not deemed our presence in athletics important enough and there’s no time for a second job. At this point achieving greatness and being paid for it seems an unlikely probability.

So what’s left? Nothing. Wearing nothing, to be specific.

This is the unfortunate direction that so many under funded female athletes have taken to complete their journey. On one hand the decision to “market” yourself to raise finances

is necessary; however on the other hand the assumption that other than athletic ability, your sexual allure is all you have to offer is absurd.

Show me the money and I’ll show you my thighs seems to be the motto.

What does that mean for the Lady Huskies here at George Brown? Throughout college the need for female athletes to bare all may not happen, however when pursuing athletics professionally it is very likely that these women may find themselves between a rock and a hard place.

According to Forbes.com between June 1, 2007 and June 1, 2008 the world’s 10 top-earning male athletes took home about $483 million while the 10 top-earning female athletes only took home $118 million. The top male athlete, Tiger Woods, made only $3 million less than the overall earnings of all 10 women in the same year.

The scales are greatly unbalanced which may be one of the reasons why the pressure to do a nude calendar does not feel so bad. Still, the perpetuated stereotypes are a higher price that women can’t afford to pay.

GBC Debaters

By Crystal Coburn

Dialog Reporter

This edition’s debate directly affects the wallets of every current and future George Brown College student. Four students were chosen to debate the possibility of having a U-pass made available to the student body. The U-pass is currently proposed as a mandatory fee eligible to fulltime undergraduate students whose public transit line takes them directly to the school they are attending. The average cost of $480 would be added to tuition at the start of semester one and would be valid for the entire school year. The debaters come from different areas of study and they include Matthew Ricci, fourth year in Business Administration, Osa Igiewe, third year in the Child and Youth Work program, Paul Brown third year in Construction and Engineering and the SA Vice President Casa Loma/ Student Life, Yemi Thomas, third year in Human Resources and SA President. The question that was proposed to them was would you pass on the U-pass?

Disclaimer: All the participants in this debate were assigned to argue the pros or the cons therefore the arguments presented are

not necessarily in line with their personal opinion.

me looking at $60 a month as opposed to $96 a month…is great”

about the fee potentially going up in the future?

Matthew and Paul VS. Yemi and Osa

Yemi: “It’s also important to look at the movement towards a greener society. I think this would encourage people to take transit. The people that drive, well maybe this would encourage them to take transit.”

Paul: “This fee is due for a large increase after the first run of it. The actual cost is actually supposed to be higher and it’s pegged at 60% of your Metro pass. So this is a deal…if the metro pass goes up so does this.”

Matthew: “You’re increasing a tuition fee for everyone that’s mandatory; it doesn’t make sense on a financial scale.”

Added points/concerns from Yemi and Paul:

Matthew: “While I can understand the beauty behind a U-Pass for students I don’t believe it’s fair based on the fact that there are a lot of students out there … that don’t actually use it and will be paying for other people’s metro pass.”

Yemi: “On the premise that some people use it and some people don’t isn’t the most valid of arguments especially given that… it’s sort of like our tax system…we all pay taxes towards certain things like health care, and some use it more than others.”

Paul: “Most students do take transit to this school, unfortunately that’s not everyone and unfortunately this fee is $480 total for the eight months. My books cost $600 and that was hard for me to scrounge up at the beginning of the year…so to pay $480, that’s tough.”

Osa: “I think the U-Pass will benefit the majority of the George Brown students rather than the little amount of people who live in Oakville…Orangeville. If it was far for you in the first place you wouldn’t think of considering coming to George Brown if you knew it was all the way down here…

Paul: “My only qualm with the plan is actually the price point. It has to be offered cheaper because to expect everybody to pay for it …would be unfair.”

- the long monthly lines for the TTC passes would be replaced with one payment at the beginning of the year which saves time for everyone

Moderator: Do you think it’ll increase the ridership now or do you think it’ll just make it cheaper for people who already use it?

The GO, YRT, Viva transit and the TTC have come to an agreement where if you pay for both what you pay for the U-pass you would get taken off of your GO, YRT, or Viva travel expenses.

Paul: “Definite immediate increase. Major concern is that there is a lack of parking at school. I kind of have a fear that the TTC might not be ready for that increase.”

-The benefits of the U-pass will affect future students and anyone applying to George Brown will be aware of it before hand, thus less likely to be upset about it.

Yemi: “The increase in ridership means there’s a decrease in cars on the road; less fuel consumption.”

-The Student Association will confront all of the conflicting administration issues before it is brought to vote so that students have a complete picture as to what they’re getting in to.

Moderator: Are you guys worried at all

6 December 2008 The Dialog

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George Brown Students Remember Favourite Foods During Holiday Season

ginger, and sweet red wine. It doesn’t get much better than this!

By Christine Wallace Student Contributor

During the month of December cultures from around the world engage in festive celebration, Christmas is one out of the many holidays that is celebrated around the world.

I, myself, cannot wait to greet the holiday season with lots of delicious eating. I look forward to preparing and sharing holiday feasts with family and friends.

Roasted turkey, with brown gravy made from the drippings, ladled on top of fluffy and buttery mashed potatoes, and let’s not forget dressing that is just moist enough so that I can taste each bit of onion, and celery within cubes of just moist enough bread. A spoon of sweet corn nibblets and a dollop of cranberry jelly on the side.

Ah yes my ultimate holiday meal, and although this is true for most North Americans, being of West Indian background, the holiday meal will also include an iron pot of curried goat that has been stewed over the stove for more than four hours, spooned over hot fresh white rice.

Added to this will be a festive quencher, a sweet beverage of steeped sorrel blossom, cooled and spiced with grated

These are a few of the additional dishes that make an appearance on my family’s dinner table year after year during the holiday season just for pure and simple enjoyment.

While reviewing my own holiday culinary spread, I found it quite interesting how the relationship between food and customs are shared around the world. I decided to pursue my culinary quest, and learn more about other cultures and how food is used to celebrate holidays.

Speaking with Zuzuki Diaz, a Business and Marketing student, her face lights up as she describes a special drink called Ponche. A hot beverage her grandmother would prepare for the holidays. “It’s a drink made with sugar cane and lots of pieces fruit that are in season, which I really like,” she says. Another dish made by her grandmother, Bacalao, is fish made with olives and eaten with baguettes, and is commonly enjoyed in Mexico around the holiday season.

“When people smoke in their car and toss their cigarette butts out the window and it just bounces along. That’s why they make ashtrays to put cigarette butts in them.”

– Jeff Armstrong, Assistant Athletics Coordinator “People who don’t signal when they make a turn it’s so easy to do it’s just that little lever that you have to hit to signal your turn but they don’t.”- Phyllis Beaton- Vazquez, ASL Curriculum Review Leader “A pet peeve of mine to do here with the college is that as faculty I have a laptop, LCD cart that I’ve received from iTAC and I need to use the elevator and it’s packed.

Students won’t get out and go up one floor or go down one floor and I’m pretty much stuck otherwise I can’t take the cart up the stairs.

Sometimes I have to wait three or four times until either it’s empty or people will get out for me.” – Anonymous “Kids who don’t know how to pull up their pants, I don’t understand why people wear their pants down at their knees and their belt to hold it up and walk around with their legs

The preparation and eating of dumplings is shared by all family members and is a reward to all, for a long year of hard work. “It really represents Chinese holiday spirit!” she said.

Food always seems to be the soul of every holiday celebration, different cultures from around the world use food as a symbolic way to celebrate, and to bring family, friends, and fun all together for good times. Happy holidays!

Financial Management student Meiyi Jin, expresses that dumplings are her favorite holiday food. Dough formed with flour and water is rolled into a circle, with a small amount of mixture made with vegetables, chicken, or

Seen It / Hate It – Faculty Edition “One of my pet peeves is when students say the classroom is a mess and it was left a mess by the students that were there before. That is absolutely my pet peeve because I’ll walk into a class and they’ll be a Timmy’s cup, some paper, The Dialog or 24, something left in the classroom and it wasn’t the teacher that left it there it was the students.” - Mark Simpson, Professor and Coordinator Institute of Entrepreneurship and Community Innovation, Sife Faculty Advisor

shrimp, placed in the middle then sealed into a dumpling.

“They can be boiled, steamed or fried,” she said. One out of the batch would contain a gold coin, and a year of good luck to the one who eats it.

open all day. They can’t even run, they can’t run up stairs properly. What is so great about that fashion?”- Anonymous “Littering, that’s my number one, because I can’t understand how anyone could have an excuse for it. Garbage cans and recycling bins are everywhere, that’s my pet peeve.”Betty Jean, Faculty Intervenor Program “People who avoid us because we’re deaf, as soon as we approach somebody, they’ll come up for example and say can I help you and you indicate that you’re deaf and they run away from you.”- Phyllis Beaton-Vazquez, ASL Curriculum Review Leader “When the technology isn’t working in the classroom, I teach a lot of courses that have visuals aids. It’s hard to act all that out.”Karen Hamilton, Professor in the School of Liberal Arts and Science

“My pet peeve is on the Go Train, the rules are clearly laid out that nobody supposed to put their feet up on the seats and yet people still do that. That’s so annoying.”- Nancy T. Blanchard, Coordinator ASL-Literacy Instructor program, ASL-English Interpreter program and ASL Deaf Studies program “My pet peeve is the number of students who smoke up right in front of the entrances. For two reasons, it doesn’t give people the best first impression about George Brown as a college and so I see it as disrespectful when they can just walk around the block or go to the park. Unfortunately it’s still a criminal offence and I don’t want our students getting a criminal record if the police or security

happens to walk by.” – Maureen Loweth, Dean, Faculty of Business, Arts and Design “Not enough sugar in my morning double, double. It’s amazing it really depends on what Timmy’s you go to.”- Lara Sauer, Professor in the School of Construction and Engineering Technology “Students text messaging teaching,”- Anonymous

while

I’m

“Well mine is people smoking in front of the hospitality building right under the no smoking sign. You have to hold your breath while entering the building.”- Chef Laura Bryan, Baking and Pastry Arts “The classrooms here you can’t use wireless in the rooms here, you have to be wired up to the cables no matter where you are, that’s one of my pet peeves.”- Wayne Nicholson, Professor ASL- Literacy program, ASLEnglish Interpreter program and ASL Deaf Studies program “Littering, that’s my number one, because I can’t understand how anyone could have an excuse for it. Garbage cans and recycling bins are everywhere, that’s my pet peeve.”Betty Jean, Faculty Intervenor Program “One of my pet peeves is people who don’t listen. There seems to be a lot of people who care so much about themselves but when it comes time to finding out what other people are up to they don’t really care. People who don’t listen, you need to listen.”- Michele D.

Faculty “I guess my biggest pet peeve would be the school not being very environmentally friendly. It’s true they pretend to recycle and you think you’re doing a good thing really you’re not because it just ends up in the garbage.”- Jacqui Mudrov Athletics Assistant “[My pet peeve is] people with a lack of common courtesy so whether that means holding the door for an extra second for someone to walk through or moving out of the way when you see someone coming down the hall when it’s crowded, just being pleasant.” – Rhondda Reynolds, Professor in ASL- English Interpreter program, ASLLiteracy Instructor program “Inconsiderate people.”- Tammy Nopuente, Coordinator Athletics Student Affairs “Any of the doors, the people that smoke right beside the doors and you can’t let people through, that’s one of my pet peeves.

I know they should be further away from the entranceways.” – Anita Harding, Professor ASL- English Interpreter Program, ASLLiteracy Instructor Program “One thing that bothers me is that in the halls and on the stairs as well, slow people, they get together in groups and they line up across and you can’t pass them. They all stand in groups and you’re sitting there like excuse me, excuse me and they’re talking and they don’t acknowledge you until they’re doing something else.”- Jeff Armstrong, Assistant Athletics Coordinator

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The Dialog December 2008 7

Centre for Hospitality and Culinary Arts Bridges the Gap between Food and Presentation

By Ashley Ward Managing Editor & Crystal Coburn Dialog Reporter

F

or Chris Stecko, a second year student of Culinary Management, the Egg Farmers of Ontario competition was a proud moment. Although he had placed in past competitions this was the first time he won first place, which he earned in the Just Good Stuff category of the competition. Stecko admits that this win, “feels completely different. In one word I would say amazing.” His award-winning dish was practical but eye catching and took three weeks to perfect.

His choice for the final dish was based on how easily it could translate to real menu choices in a restaurant.”

This competition was one of many opportunities he has had since he began the program at George Brown.

During his studies he has learned that in the culinary

Culinary Management students Chris Stecko and John Vetere, winners of the Egg Farmers of Ontario cooking competition, pose with their prizes and dishes industry “every contact made is a bridge to a potential supplier or job opportunity.”

Egg Farmers of Ontario decided to hold the competition at George Brown because it was the only space available that could hold between 11 to 12 competitors in downtown Toronto.

Clare Jones, Egg Farmer of Ontario Food Consultant said, “What we want to do is build relationships with college instructors and students that are in culinary All Photo Credits: Ashley Ward

Hazelnut Bites

Ingredients: 115 g butter, softened 75 g icing sugar, sifted 115 g pastry flour 75 g ground hazelnut 1 ea egg yolk 26 ea blanched whole hazelnut, to decorate

Icing sugar, to finish

courses, we figure if we can catch them now usinglots of eggs and liking eggs then they’ll be using them throughout their careers.”

One of the judges included Cora Mussely Tsouflidou founder of Chez Cora’s the popular breakfast restaurant.

She explained why she was happy to be a part of the competition.

“Well because I have a lot of enthusiasm for everything that’s happening around eggs, especially because cooks are my favorite people. I feel that in the restaurant business cooks are the most important people,” she said.

George Brown placed high in the competition a second time with John Vetere, a second year student in the Culinary Management integrated program. He won second place in the Real in the Kitchen category. For him “it feels good to win, its always a little unfortunate that you don’t win first place when you try really hard and you kind of fall short but at the same time it’s more of a motivation.” His winning dish, Mini Grilled Cheese and Egg Sandwiches came from a couple test runs he did with his younger brother who he claims is a very picky eater but loves grilled cheese sandwiches. To get his brother to eat eggs he combined eggs and grilled cheese. Since his brother loved it he figured “why not do it for the competition.” Since Vetere has been in the program he has had the chance to work in Edmonton, Alberta and Red Deer at a steak house that was featured on Breakfast Television once a week for two months.

He said being on the show got him a great deal of experience and exposure.

The School of Hospitality and Culinary Arts is not just about how to cook, there’s a lot more to it than that.

Dustin Groskopf is a Hospitality Tourism and Leisure student who is learning about the proper way to run a travel agency or restaurant in another country.

“I have to learn a lot about marketing in other countries.

You can’t really open a hamburger joint in China, you want to open a Chinese food place right?”said Groskopf.

Groskopf splits his time between learning in the classroom on Adelaide Street and then works from 5-10 p.m. as a waiter at the Chef’s House Restaurant on King Street.

Groskopf explained that he likes interacting with people a lot that is why he chose a program such as this one.

He said working at the Chef’s House is awesome and that it has been “...a little nerve wrecking at first. Your mind blanks sometimes, I guess I’m getting a handle on that now,” he said.

“The teachers are so nice, like Doris the program coordinator here she’s always got a smile on, always trying to help people,” he said. Because of the experience he is gaining while working at the Chef’s House

he said that once this is on his resume he would be successful in finding a job at a high end restaurant.

John Walker, Dean, Centre for Hospitality and Culinary Arts said that in the management school hospitality covers a broad range of Poached Egg with Guaareas.

“One thing that is unique camole and Asparagus Tempura. about our centre is that, yes we have the sexiness of the Chef School but we have the integrity as well,” he said.

A few of the programs in Hospitality are special events, hotel management, food and beverage management, nutrition management and more.

A partnership has just been secured with Corby to sponsor two competitions next year in the Management program.

A wine tasting competition and a bar tending competition.

Since the age of 12, Walker had immersed Inside the Chef’s House himself in this field and went to cooking school at Restaurant at 215 King age 16. He has worked as Street East. chef instructor and a number of different faculty positions at Humber College including Dean prior to working at George Brown. He started working for George Brown in 2000.

“The neat thing about hospitality is that the two go hand in hand, the culinary creation and hospitality management,” said Walker. “We have the largest hotel management program in the province there’s over five hundred students in that program and we’ve just launched two new programs in that department, a catering Mini Grilled Cheese and management program and a culinary nutrition man- Egg Sandwiches. article continues on page 8...

Provided by: Chef de Cuisine, Oliver Li, Centre for Hospitality & Culinary Arts Method: 1.

Preheat the oven and preheat to 180°C/350°F. line a baking sheet with non-stick baking paper. Cream the butter and sugar together with an

2.

Beat in the flour, ground hazelnuts and egg yolk until evenly mixed.

3.

4.

electric mixer until light and fluffy.

Take a teaspoonful of the mixture at a time and shape it into a round with your fingers. Place the rounds well apart on the baking paper and press a whole hazelnut into the centre of each one.

Bake the biscuits for about 10 minutes or until golden brown, then transfer to a wire rack and sift over icing sugar to cover. Leave to cool.

Yield: makes about 26 cookies

Arts & Entertainment

8 December 2008 The Dialog

...gement program.

Walker also spoke about the completion of both new buildings the Chef’s House and the Hospitality building on Adelaide Street.

“It’s just incredibly exciting but one thing that we must remember it’s not about bricks and mortar it’s about the people in the front lines in the classroom and the support staff who provide daily services,” he said.

John Higgins, Director Corporate Chef for the centre thinks of his job as more of a hobby than actually work. Since becoming a member of faculty in 2002 he’s been learning all the time and enjoys that aspect of his job.

“I enjoy a lot of the people that I work with. You know something, you learn from everyone, you learn from the students,” said Higgins. “You’ll see them doing something and you’ll say wow, here’s a good idea. It’s a very interesting place to work… I really enjoy what I do, I couldn’t think of doing anything else.”

His favorite dish is fish and chips from a place named Saltcoats in Scotland. “It’s the best fish and chips in the world,” he said. “Actually on my screensaver I have a picture of the fish and chips.”

As one of the primary people who put the Chef’s House together Higgins explains the vision was to create a learning environment that is student friendly.

Higgins also feels that there will be room for improvement and that things may have to change which is why program reviews are done.

A few weeks ago Chef Jamie Oliver surprised a class of students and stopped by to chat on a Friday morning.

“It’s just nice when you can get to talk to someone who’s a personality that can come cross very, very nice, very polite, very well-mannered…and respectable towards the people they’re working with,” said Higgins.

Chef de Cuisine, Oliver Li loves the Chef’s House and proclaims

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that it holds his dream kitchen.

“To have seating for 60 to 70 with this type of equipment and this kind of lay-out you won’t get this there’s no way,” said Li. Li explained that his job includes administrative duties as well as teaching the basics to students.

He teaches speed, working in an open concept kitchen and to be clean, organized and sanitized.

There are cameras and large screens that show patrons of the restaurant exactly what’s going on.

“I try my best to answer [questions], by my observation if I see anything I’ll stop and show you how to do it properly,” said Li. “I like to work with students, I like cooking and sometimes there is great pressure but I try and ease the pressure without comprising the college.”

Li also said that there are a lot of expectations for this restaurant not just from the college but from the people who will be eating there because of all the media attention they have been receiving from CTV, Breakfast television and Chef Higgins was in the newspaper recently.

Hilde Zimmer who is Chair of the Centre for Hospitality and Culinary Arts absolutely loves the energy surrounding this centre. A former student as well she likes that there is always something happening, a new cuisine being created or a new trend.

“The best part of the Chair’s role is to work in the academic areas of the college with the faculty and with the students,” said Zimmer. “Basically I am a servant role I have to do things to help my faculty do their job better.

Zimmer explained that anther part of her job is to make connections in the industry so that the programs offered are current.

As to why George Brown has the best Hospitality and Culinary Arts Centre, Zimmer believes it is because of the commitment of the faculty, the leadership of the Dean and the diversity of the students.

Nonstop Laughs at S.A. Comedy Show

By Ashley Ward Managing Editor & Crystal Coburn Dialog Reporter

Photo Ctredit: Ashley Ward Comedians Andrew Johnston and Jean Paul with Neil Cumberbatch.

A comedy show is the only place were you can find people laughing about Obama painting the White House black, Jamaicans having an angry accent, and a guy giving a girl a refund after the first date.

Neil Cumberbatch, Events Coordinator for the Student Association planned the event with his staff. Four comedians were chosen by Cumberbatch to entertain the students at St.James Campus and represent the diversity of the college, John Ki, Jean Paul, Andrew Johnston and Sugar Sammy.

“One [comedian] is Indian... he grew up in Montreal, we have another comedian his background is Trinidadian, he grew up in New York but moved to Toronto. Another comedian is Asian and we have another comedian that represents the gay community,” said Cumberbatch.

The comedians are booked through Yuk Yuk’s but Cumberbatch prefers to book a

comedian directly with them or their managers. In order to find these comedians he likes to see them beforehand at other comedy shows or events.

The comedy shows are not hard to plan because this is the fourth one but for events like this in the student lounge it is always timed around the schedule of the students.

Headliner Sugar Sammy explained that he really loves to perform at colleges.

“It’s my demographic, I don’t want to let go of that,” he said. I just feel like if I don’t do college’s all these new people who haven’t seen me yet will not know about me ever.”

He also said performing at college’s keeps him in touch with current subjects. “My act needs to stay new all the time, to stay fresh and doing colleges keeps you that way. The college kids are on it man, they know exactly what you’re talking about. You’re talking about Xbox...you know I still can’t make

jokes about Nintendo, no one knows Nintendo anymore!”

His schedule of performances involves him working five months straight and then taking one month off to rest, then working five months straight again and taking another month off.

Jean Paul also loves to perform for students because they’re young, hip and relaxed he explained.

“Usually I don’t get to do as much of that kind of stuff and a lot of the Caribbean stuff,” he said.

He gets his material he says from things that he sees, an idea may pop into his head.

Some of his delivery is free style and other jokes he’ll talk them out in front of an audience.

Andrew Johnston the MC for the evening said that this crowd was the most culturally diverse crowd that he’s ever been in front of, which turned out to be a learning experience for him. He said it was like a crash course because you never know what you can get away with or what people will respond to.

“People keep to their own interests and niches, the more sort of things like this, the more sort of getting you out of your comfort zone you can do the better,” he said. “I realized that I was a very foreign creature to people but they were polite. It was great to work with everyone this was an all-star line-up. John Ki, Jean Paul, Sugar Sammy- fantastic. Really hat’s off to George Brown for putting together a terrific line-up.

Arts & Entertainment

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The Dialog December 2008 9

Reel Asian Film Festival Features Compelling Documentaries at U of T

By Ashley Ward Managing Editor

O

n a Sunday afternoon at Innis Town Hall located at the University of Toronto downtown campus, stories were brought to life through film at the Toronto International Reel Asian Film Festival. Screening at this particular location was Oh Vietnam a collection of three documentaries all by Vietnamese filmmakers.

The first documentary to be shown was short film named Parallel Adele, about two half- Vietnamese women both named Adele from the United States.

The film explores what it is like to be a person who is half- Asian and touches on topics such as language, family relationships, dating, and stereotypes. Pham said that it took her 8 months to complete the film and she quit her job and took out a loan to do it.

“I was ready for it,” said Pham. “I was done with corporate America and crappy jobs that were never really going to get me anywhere.

Pham’s ability to get many people who are half-Asian involved in the film is because of her network of friends and they wanted to be a part of it.

“It’s something that mixed people really want to talk about. They really like to talk and there just haven’t been a lot of films that have expressed our point of view. It’s really great because it turned out to be a more emotional experience than most people expected because they were kind of telling it for the first time,” said Pham.

Next for Pham will see her returning to Vietnam to finish another documentary she had started in 2007 on her father’s first trip back to Vietnam since he left after the war.

She said her family experience is very similar to the second documentary Oh Saigon by Director Doan Hoang. She

films her families first and second trips to Vietnam since leaving during the end of the war when she was a child.

Hoang documentary tells the story of her family who was the last to board a helicopter out of Vietnam to the United States in 1975. As they boarded the plane Doan’s older sister Van was left behind.

They were flown to a refugee camp in Arkansas and then settled in Kentucky. Six years later Van joined them in Kentucky. She had travelled by boat from Vietnam where she survived being kidnapped, thrown overboard and then rescued. Her father an ex Vietnamese major never spoke of the war and Doan was never allowed to ask him about it.

“When I first interviewed my dad I was really shocked to see how much he had to stay,” she said. “He sort of avoided being filmed then once the camera was on him we wouldn’t stop talking, he went on for four tapes.”

When Doan interviewed her sister she realized that a “wall” was between her sister and her mother who never got along. Doan found out that her sister was her mother’s child from an arranged marriage. One of Doan’s goals in the film was to help repair that relationship which she thinks she has done but also damaged at the same time.

On her first trip back to Vietnam Doan, her mother and brother met their extended families, visited her father’s sisters grave and met her father’s brother whom she did not know existed. He despised her father for leaving Vietnam; her uncle supported the communist government.

“As I started to edit I think I came to realize under the advice of others that the story that meant the most to me was my immediate family,” said Hoang. “It took me two years to watch my father’s interview without crying, he said, “my life has amounted to nothing,” it’s hard to hear your father say stuff like that.”

Eventually her father and sister did go with the entire family to Vietnam and met with their family members on the

second trip.

“The film was the attempt to do my best and address the personal wounds of the war,” she said. “I wanted to show that wars are horrible to families and it’s not a thing about soldiers and governments.”

The third documentary, In Daddy Tran: A Life in 3-D also tells the story of a man who left Vietnam with his family to Canada to make a better life through photography.

Hai Tran’s love for photography travelled with him from Vietnam to Calgary, Alberta. To support his family he worked at a photo lab earning minimum wage and using his earnings to build a collection of used cameras. This collection led to Tran’s own business, Vintage Visuals that sold used cameras. The film was directed by his daughter-in-law Sui Ta who is married to Michael Tran. They both followed him on his daily outings of his favorite hobby; taking photographs, 3-D photographs in particular. Tran who is now 65 now wakes early in the morning to capture just the right sunrise, or morning dew at just the right moment.

He and his wife spoke of a time when he was taking pictures in a forest when a bear and her cub happened to roam to

where they were. They left unharmed but Tran goes to great lengths to get that perfect shot. Everywhere he goes he takes pictures and what makes him so happy is being able to show his photographs to people.

“Basically we just wanted to be comfortable for him, we just approached it in a very family way,” said Ta. “I think because he’s family it didn’t seem like he was talking to an outsider he was able to talk to us in a very natural way.”

Some of Tran’s charisma and humour were highlighted in the film as his insistence on using his two younger daughters when they were children as models for photographs in numerous costumes and the many locks he has for every door in their home inside and out.

During the film the unique store Hai Tran had owned for so long was forced to close, the building was bought by new owners. Although frustrating for Tran, Ta and her husband didn’t want the film to dwell on that.

“We’re happy we were able to say what we wanted in a very short way and for him to like it [that’s] been amazing,” said Ta.

Photo Ctredit: Taku- media.smaku.com Doan Hong, Adele Pham, Wife of Hai Tran, Hai Tran, Sui-Ta, Michael Tran.

10 December 2008 The Dialog

Sports

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Athletics Dodgeball Tournament Brings Out the Best at Alex Barbier Gym

By Ashley Ward Managing Editor

Wife Beaters beats Hot Route to win first Dodgeball tournament organized by the athletics department at George Brown. A tense and whistle-blowing final occurred at St. James campus between these two teams as lightweight green balls flew

Photo Credit : Ashley Ward

through the air and at each other during the fast-paced tournament.

With both teams yelling and pointing fingers during the final, although it was a little overboard, both teams played in good spirits with lots of laughs in between.

“We had eight teams, one team didn’t show up. People were energetic and enthusiastic we had a lot of good uniforms, everyone seemed to be riled up we had some fun and Red Bull came out,” said Jeff Armstong, Athletics Assistant, referee and coordinator of the event.

Armstrong thinks the Athletics department will likely do this again.

Although with just two referees it was a little difficult.

“We’re human we miss things but we also catch a lot of other things too,” said Armstrong. “I thought it was a good time we had a lot of fun, but I’m exhausted.”

Wife Beaters won against Carlos’

Team to make it to the finals and Hot Route beat Ball Handlers to make it to the finals as well. Members of Hot Route and Ball Handlers were actually Huskies Rugby teammates and one of the most vocal teams during the four hour tournament.

“As the far as the refereeing is concerned I think that my man here Jeff the head referee and myself the assistant referee I think we did the best job we could and a fantastic job at that. I think we refereed a fair game on both sides,” said Nick Lakhan, Assistant referee.

Captain Darren Richardson of Hot Route didn’t agree with Lakhan or Armstrongs calls but will be back again to play in the tournament next year.

“I guess I can say my boys played hard today and I’m proud of them, maybe on a good day some calls would have went our

way and they clearly didn’t and it’s hard kind of hard when the other team doesn’t believe in sportsmanship and they played questionable but I guess it was a good time and everyone seemed to have fun and we’ll be back again to do it next year, said Richardson.

Huskies Women’s Volleyball

Huskies Men’s Basketball Team Improves to 6-2 The Huskies Men’s Basketball team beat the Centennial Colts at home 75-63 to improve to a record of 5-2. Although the Huskies started slow in the first half, the second half proved to be theirs as the lead barely changed and the Huskies dominated the rest of the remaining quarters.

Head Coach O’Neil Kamaka said the team played well but in the first half they were lacking energy.

“I thought we could Huskies Forward Collin Whitely have played better in dunks the ball during the Huskies the first half, the second

By Ashley Ward Managing Editor

win against the Colts.

half we picked it up a little bit we played with a bit more energy and settled down a bit. I think we were playing to their tempo in the first half, they were dictating the game, the pace of the game. We talked in the second half that we need to start dictating. I thought we eventually started picking up the defense and then offensively executing taking advantage of what they were giving us,” said Kamaka.

Rookie guard Billy Kabongo felt the same way and that the intensity of the team changed in the second half as well.

“We played as a team,

we’re trying to get a winning streak going,” said Kabongo. “The second half we played way better than the first half because everybody was playing together.”

The competition was intense on the court with a lot of talk going back and forth between both teams.

Petey Antunes also a rookie guard explained that it was because the Colts thought they could get the win but that wasn’t the case.

The Huskies continued their wining streak with a recent 64-56 win against Loyalist. The next game for the Huskies will be against Seneca on December 5th.

Photo Credit: Jason Beeston

By Tammy Nopuente Athletics Coordinator

The George Brown Women’s Volleyball team played their only home game at Casa Loma campus on Wednesday November 5th against the Seneca Sting. The Athletics Department organized a Fan Appreciation Night during the game to thank the fans for their support; free popcorn and drinks were provided along with many draw prizes. The Huskies played three straight sets against the Sting and was dominated in the match. They lost to the Sting 25-15, 25-15 and 25-8. Sadio Matthews played a stellar game for the Huskies ending the game with the most kills and digs.

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School of Design Grand Opening: Think & Do

By Crystal Coburn Dialog Reporter

In the 21st century Western society has become increasingly visual in the way that it disseminates information. In this day in age our optical senses are at an all time high. We are constantly absorbing information, interpreting it to suit our needs and then projecting it into aspects of our life based on what we see.

We have been conditioned to relate to one another through our optical nerves.

Whether we are the consumer, seller, activist or design student, this is the way we have learned to relate ourselves to one another. Friday, November 14th, 2008 marked the grand opening of George Brown’s Institute without Boundaries new School of Design building, located at 230 Richmond Street East.

The night’s events were sophisticated but inviting, inspirational and fun. Upon entrance to the building, formerly a postoffice, you realize this is the approach the designer has taken when creating the environment, and rightly so. The wine was flowing, gourmet appetizers were

available to all, and tucked in a corner was the DJ for the night adding his touch to the mood.

From the moment you enter the building everything you see is arranged in a way that pleases the eye and lets you know one thing; creativity lives here. Luigi Ferrara, Director of George Brown’s Institute without Boundaries Centre for Arts & Design, insists that “design is all around us,” all you have to do is embrace the creative freedom that the space encourages. The new environment pushes you to grow and sharpen your skills through Thinking & Doing.

The first 10 metres from the entrance looks more like an art gallery than a typical mundane institute of learning.

From the Mac desktops filling the high ceiling rooms, exposed heating units, and industrial white brick walls, to the bright orange lockers lining the halls, this new building is the ideal space for inventing what does not exist, and reinventing what is already here. Anne Sado, President of George Brown College shares this sentiment by expressing during her presentation that, “we’re living in a digital age

The Dialog December 2008 11

with sharper, faster, more innovative forms of consuming and communication therefore our marketing tactics have to be on level with that reality.”

Similarly much of the décor is tailored to what real on the job spaces will look like. Shamelle Sutton, a graphic design student admits that she loves “the feel of the place because it looks like a studio.”

All in all, whether your ambition is to become a graphic designer, urban planner or software programmer it is a space that inspires you to be creative.

Photo Ctredit: Crystal Coburn Maureen Loweth (Left), Luigi Ferrara (Centre), President Anne Sado and panelists.

Theatre grad wins $100,000 prize as leading playwright

By Neil McGillivray

Senior Communications Officer Marketing & Communications Toronto playwright and George Brown Theatre grad Daniel MacIvor has been given Canada’s biggest theatre award – the $100,000 Siminovitch Prize.

MacIvor is widely recognized in Canadian theatre, having written nearly 20 plays and won several prizes, including the 2006 Governor General’s award for drama. He is also an acclaimed screenwriter and filmmaker.

MacIvor says he’s using some of the prize money to pay debts but also gave $25,000 to help two emerging Vancouver playwrights.

“Everyone I know who works full-time in the arts is carrying a considerable amount of debt,” says MacIvor.

Born in Cape Breton, N. S., MacIvor graduated from George Brown’s Theatre Arts program in 1985, as well as the drama program at Dalhousie University in Halifax.

In his acceptance speech in late October, he said that the Siminovitch prize — first introduced in 2001 and dedicated to scientist Lou Siminovitch and his late wife, Elinore, a playwright — reminded him of the ability of theatre to affect people.

“It has the power,” he said, “to transform the lives of audiences, who come into dark rooms with their minds and their hearts open, who are filled with questions, and who find a moment of peace in

the presence of something innately familiar.”

Recognizing direction, playwriting and design in three-year cycles, the prize recipient was decided by a jury from a total of 26 nominees.

MacIvor intends to continue writing and travelling across the country.

“My dream,” he said, “is for us to live in a world where there’s a theatre in every neighbourhood.”

Photo Ctredit: Neil McGillivray Daniel MacIvor winner of the Siminovitch Prize

12 December 2008 The Dialog

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In This Skin: Discussing Race and Colour at GBC

By Crystal Coburn Dialog Reporter

On November 19th, 2008 the Diversity, Equity & Human Rights Department in cooperation with The School of Social & Community Services and the School of Deaf & Deafblind Studies held the first part of a much needed Lunch & Learn Series boldly named Black women and Women of Colour: Living in Our Bodies. The premise of the seminar was to discuss what it meant to be a woman of colour with specific reference to how black women are valued, how they view themselves, and how society views them. This is not a small task by any measurement; however the purpose of the first of many seminars was to open up a conversation that allowed the women to discuss their lives and how they have been able or unable, to navigate successfully through it.

The event was organized

by Sharon Kamassah, the Human Rights Advisor along with two other facilitators, Deone Curling and Mercedes Umana

from Women’s Health in Women’s Hands.

All of the coordinators were very adamant that only George Brown students be permitted to join the discussion for the necessary sake of making everyone comfortable in expressing their thoughts truthfully. Kamassah felt it was necessary for the comfort of the students to allow the seminar to be a safe space without fear that their deepest feelings would be exposed. As Kamassah stated, “I thought it was an important issue that had not been addressed in the college… and it would be really empowering for women to come together and have that discussion, have that dialogue, talk about how we can support each other and take care of ourselves and make sure that our needs are being met in the college context.”

One of the issues highlighted in the discussion concentrated on the reality that race cannot be the only thing that is given attention because there are many other factors that come into play that affect the way a person functions in society. There are others things that contrib-

ute to a person’s understanding of themselves.

The luncheon was successful numbers wise and also because the students were forthcoming about their thoughts.

Curling smiles contently and supports this by saying “it was good, it was needed and I think more of it needs to be happening.” Umana chimes in enthusiastically by saying the “success of a workshop for us is when we are able to allow the participants to articulate their experiences, not only to articulate them but also to examine alternatives and sometimes the issues are so complex that just articulating the issue is quite an accomplishment.”

This seminar was just the beginning of many more. Kamassah plans on continuing to create a platform where black women and women of colour can forge meaningful relationships and unload the burdens that so many carry. At the end of the interview she smiles positively and says “it gives me energy to know that this is something we will continue.”

StudentAssociation Election Results

Here are the unofficial Election results from the Student Association’s Fall by-elections. Congratulations to all the candidates who made the decision to represent their student body and good luck this year to all those who won.

St. James Campus Director: Salem Ghide Casa Loma Campus Director: Sabrina Carnovale Casa Loma First Year Representative: Muna Abdurahman St. James First Year Representative: Melanie Amadasun Building Technologies: James Lyttle Business: Khalsa Babrah Community Services: Curtis Hector Board of Governors: Matthew Ricci

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ON HEALTH BENEFITS We close the health benefits office from December 22 2008 to January 4 2009.

If you have any inquiry regarding your benefits, please contact with the insurance company.

ETFS (International Students): 1-800715-8833 Green Shield: 1-888-711-1119 IMPORTANT NOTE- September start students Please come to any of our Health Benefits Offices to confirm your eligibility of the benefits with your student ID card. All the original receipts you have from September 1st can be sent to the insurance company so you can be reimbursed.

OPT-OUT INFORMATION- January start new students The Student Health Benefits Plan is a mandatory fee, as passed in a schoolwide referendum and conferred by the Student Association Board of Directors and the George Brown College Board of Governors. Students who are presently covered through another plan may apply for a refund.

The form is available on the website at: www.studentplans.ca/students (only domestic students) International students must opt-out using a Manual Post-Secondary Waiver Form

available at the Student Health Benefits Plan Office.

OPT-OUT DEADLINE January start new students: February 5th, 2009 FAMILY COVERAGE- January start new students Coverage for spousal and/or dependant children is also available to purchase at an additional cost by completing a Family Enrollment Application form available at the Student Health Benefits Plan Office.

FAMILY ENROLMENT DEADLINE January start new students: February 12th, 2009 If you want to know the details of your Health Benefits, please visit the health benefits office.

HEALTH BENEFITS OFFICES: Saint James: Room -121 (Basement across Cafeteria) Casa Loma: Room E130 (Lifeworks Centre) Ryerson: Room 614 (SHE Building) Hotline: 416-415-2443 E mail: sashbasst@georgebrown.on.ca Website: http://sa.georgebrown.ca/

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Untitled A Poem by Crystal Coburn

Consolidating time frames With pictures of me writing Showering you with mind numbing instances Of me infectiously reciting The last of a dying breed Lord hold me steady I’m trying to make it half full But the battle I’m slowly regretting Dissipating logic overrun by malicious tyrants Hoping to explode a little light on what’s already nighting Worn out obligations to a generation that is worthless Denying any chance of doing right by the birth less Blaming trespasses on those who came before Building perimeters around what is now yours Forgetting that your arrival was not on purpose Replacing the truthful stories with a strong lineage of white purses Hiroshima couldn’t clean out the thoughts of treason Bring back internment camps, gas chambers, and Jim Crow reason A fragmented ideal that came from one nation Touched a million lives Defined a me or you creation Insidious thoughts put down on LPs and CDs I call it Hip Hop We live slow and die free Tiny holes in the memory of a child left alone Creating the desire to look outside Refraining from what is condoned Internalizing notions of purity and power The end is drawing near Don’t let your sanity be devoured During the final hour we’ll all have our chance To be forgiven for the wrong doings Savour the last dance That’s my word.

Peace.

Talent Show Winners

Photo Credit: Ashley Ward

Photo Credit: Ashley Ward

Gabriel Oduya (Left), Mobalaji Soluade (Centre), Michael Cain (Right).

Joel Stoute (Left), Ariel Hosanny (Centre), Steve Ndacyayisenga(Right).

The Dialog December 2008 13

Grad opens studio/gallery to promote Toronto jewellery designers

By Neil McGillivray

Senior Communications Officer Marketing & Communications a George Brown grad as a way to encourage Sarah Hamel is promoting a generation of new talent while also giving back to the colToronto jewellery designers as an entreprelege. Hamel has high praise for the quality neur who opened an innovative gallery and of training that students receive at George studio where they can show and sell their Brown, which is demonstrated by the fact work. that 12 of her in-house designers are George The George Brown Jewellery Arts graduate Brown grads. “When someone says they’re owns and operates Made You Look Jewelfrom George Brown, I know right away the lery Studio and Gallery. The innovative quality of training they’ve had.” venue features a gallery in front, displaying and selling the creations of over 100 Toronto In her first year in business, Hamel was nominated for the annual ARC (Achievement jewellery designers, and a studio in back, in new Retail Concepts) Award. The award, where self-employed jewellery artists rent presented by the Cadillac Fairview Corporawork benches and share expensive equiption Limited, honours retail innovation and is ment. considered to be the most prestigious award Hamel has intentionally stepped back from in the industry. Hamel also appears as a jewher own design work in order to support and ellery specialist on the CBC television show promote the work of other Toronto jewelSteven and Chris. lery designers. She also encourages new talent with the Made You Look Entrepreneur Sarah Hamel is one of five George Brown Award presented each year to a Jewellery graduates nominated by the college for 2008 Arts graduate at George Brown. The recipiPremier’s Awards. Winners of the awards ent receives free use of a bench at Made You will be announced in February, 2009. George Look for three months – worth $1,350 – Brown News will publish a profile of each helping launch his or her career. nominee in the coming months.

Hamel also serves as President of the 60year-old Metal Arts Guild of Canada, which she continues to revitalize and energize, increasing membership, launching a new interactive website and establishing the first-ever national head office. Her passion for new jewellery design emerged at George Brown.

Hamel was 21 and unsure what to do with her life when she enrolled in Jewellery Arts in 1999. “It was mostly a process of elimination. My parents were willing to pay for school “now,” so I decided I better pick something and give it a try – how bad could jewellery-making be?” Over the next three years, while learning the technical skills of making jewellery, Hamel’s entrepreneurial talents began to emerge. “I knew my classmates intended to run their own businesses, but I knew how difficult and expensive that is, and I was afraid many of them wouldn’t make it. I felt there was a need for a creation facility and retail outlet to get the talent to the market.” That’s when she came up with the idea of setting up a business where she would rent studio space to a community of jewellery artists and sell their work onsite, leaving them free to focus on designing.

After graduating in 2001, Hamel bought and renovated a rundown building on Queen Photo Credit: Neil McGillivray Street West in Parkdale and opened Made You Look.

Former George Brown graduate Sarah Hamel A year after opening, she established the at her jewellery store named Made You Look Made You Look Entrepreneurial Award for

14 December 2008 The Dialog

thedialog.ca

Truth By Illustration

DECEMBER SUNDAY

MONDAY

DEC 1 - DEC 5

TUESDAY

Movie Nooner CL

S.A. Food Drive Monetary and Food Donations Accepted

S.A. Food Drive

THURSDAY

Movie Nooner SJ GBC PRICE IS RIGHT @ SJ

Movie Nooner SJ GBC PRICE IS RIGHT @ CL

FRIDAY

SR. Boys High School Basketball Tournament, Alex Barbier Gym

S.A. Food Drive

S.A. Food Drive

S.A. Food Drive

S.A. Food Drive

Movie Nooner SJ LGBTQ Play Event $5 RSVP lgbtq@ georgebrown.ca

GBC Badminton Tournament, Alex Barbier Gym

SR. Boys High School Basketball Tournament, Alex Barbier Gym

Day of Mourning Montreal Massacre

GBC Badminton Tournament, Alex Barbier Gym

7 8 9 10 1112 13 COLLEGE CLOSED @ end of business day for Holiday break

14 15 16 17 18 19 20 CHRISTMAS DAY

Steak Dinner... $13.25

SATURDAY

1 2 3 4 5 6 Movie Nooner CL

Caviare... $54.25

WEDNESDAY

BOXING DAY

21 22 23 24 25 26 27 NEW YEARS EVE

Patty... Priceless

By Andre Morgan

S.A. I.T. Coordinator

28 29 30 31

Tech Talk – tools, tips and tricks to maximize your computer experience

By Andre Morgan

S.A. I.T. Coordinator Software: Free your Website Application with Adobe Air. The Adobe team has developed a flash based platform to use web applications on your desktop. Imagine using eBay buying and selling, the online radio Finetune and AOL videos without the browser. Run applications that pull the information from the Internet making them easier to use and more powerful. The benefit of running a desktop application over the convention browsers is growing. If you’re like me using multiple operating systems; Adobe Air works for all: Mac/Windows Vista/ Linux and they look just the same. I am running about 5 applications on Air and I love it. So browse through the Adobe

Air catalog and see what application you find interesting.

Try it at: Adobe.com.

Video Chat on Facebook with Tokbox: Tokbox is a fast way to get a video call while on the road. You can also send video mail to your friend’s email account. There are multiply ways of using Tokbox; namely through a Mozilla Firefox add-on, directly from tokbox.com and a standalone application with Adobe Air installed on your computer.

Try it at: Tokbox.com.

Protect Your Information at Free WiFi / Hot Spots Networks: Installing a free application can protect your information at open Wi-Fi wireless & wired networks available at airports and coffee shops. Hotspot Shield is free and works using a secured Virtual Private Network. Hackers can intercept anything that is sent over an

open network and yes, even that private e-mail, and credit card information. The application works on both Windows & Mac Operating Systems.

Try it at: HotSpotShield.com.

Hardware: Why iPhone can’t Play Adobe Flash According to wired.com running the Adobe Flash player would Term-ofService agreement regarding the use of third part games and applications on the iPhone. In a nutshell free web games would take focus from the App Store and iTunes Store. Apple is known for total control of all the applications that is used on their products. I doubt you will see any Flash on the iPhone soon. Thanks to the team at Wired network blog. Via: Wired.com Websites of the month: Blogto.com is the best place for local updates of events within Toronto, music,

film, the arts fashion and food.

Vixy.net convert your videos. Copy and paste your YouTube URL link in the input field to download the videos to your computer. There are four formats to choose from. Add download videos to your iPhone, iPod, PSP for free.

Mixtube.org allows you to create a music playlist from your YouTube videos.

You can simply get all the post of a particular user or add each link to make a playlist.

Feel free to leave me a comment or question at saweb@georgebrown.ca Look out for more in the next month’s Dialog newspaper issue.

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The Dialog December 2008 15

November 5th Day of Protest

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