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NEWS

173.12 • Thursday, APRIL 3, 2014

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CSA and CFS file lawsuit against university

Litigation has commenced for collection of CFS membership fees Michael Long

Few could have predicted back in 2010, when Central Student Association (CSA) was still trying to dissolve its relationship with the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) and the Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario (CFS-O), that just four years later the three organizations would be involved in a joint lawsuit against the university.

But on March 21, lawyers representing the CSA, CFS and CFS-O submitted a notice of application to the Superior Court of Justice in Ottawa against the University of Guelph, thereby commencing the legal proceedings.

The CSA is a seeking a mandatory order requiring the U

of G to collect CFS and CFS-O membership fees from the CSA membership (undergraduate students) for the 2013-2014 academic year, and for so long as the CSA continues to remain a member of the CFS and CFS-O. The CSA is also seeking mandatory order requiring the U of G to remit those CFS and CFS-O membership fees it collected on behalf of the CSA during the 2010-2011 and 20112012 academic years, but were withheld due to the uncertainty surrounding the decertification referendum.

The CFS and CFS-O are both seeking damages against the university, which combined total more than half a million dollars, that are the result of the university not collecting membership fees for the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 academic years. It is also seeking five per cent interest on the amount claimed in the application.

In essence, the application charges

that the university intentionally induced a breach of contract between the CSA and the CFS/ CFS-O by refusing to collect or remit membership fees. It says that the university unlawfully interfered with the contractual relations between the CSA and CFS/CFS-O, resulting in damages and losses.

The application also affirms that the CSA Board of Directors is empowered to make decisions about whether to stay or leave the CSF and CFS-O, without recourse to referendum.

The university has maintained throughout that students have more than once expressed their desire to leave the CFS and CFS-O: once during the 2010 referendum – the results of which the CFS and CFS-O successfully appealed in court – and again during a 2013 survey when students again voted in favour of the leaving the CFS and CFS-O. During those years, the university, which collects the

CFS and CFS-O memberships fees for the CSA, held the fees in trust.

But by 2012, the CSA Board of Directors determined that it would rather settle its dispute with the CFS and CFS-O than fight on. In November, the CSA asked the university to continue to collect the CFS membership fees and remit the fees it had collected for the past two years. The university did not do so. The lawsuit claims this action damaged the three student organizations.

In April 2013, the CSA and CFS/ CFS-O formally entered into a so-called litigation cooperation agreement. The agreement states that CSA and CFS/CFS-O will work cooperatively and jointly together in the preparation, filing and prosecution of a legal proceeding where they will seek relief for the membership fees the university is withholding and refusing to collect.

The CSA and the university also engaged in a process of mediation

off and on during the intervening period, but to no avail. The university has repeatedly offered to assist the CSA in a legal battle against CFS and CFS-O, but the CSA has so far refused the offer.

The dispute has now entered into a new phase of formal litigation.

The university says it has not yet had a chance to review the notice of application in detail and so is unable to comment on its merits at this time.

The CSA released an update on the dispute on March 26, announcing that “a judge appointed by the Courts will act as an external independent arbitrator” in the dispute, but did not clarify the process further.

Students should note that the lawsuit should not be confused with an arbitration tribunal – which Student Life’s Student Organization Policy provides rules for – but is, in fact, a real lawsuit.

Student Volunteer Connections moves to Student Life

Michael Long

Student Volunteer Connections (SVC), which has operated as an independent non-profit corporation since 1987 and has helped students become active in the greater Guelph community since 1967, will dissolve its status as a corporation in July of this year to become a program of Student Life.

Aside from changing the way the organization operates internally, SVC says this shift will not significantly alter the services they offer to students.

A motion put forward by the SVC Board of Directors to become a program of Student Life was approved by the membership (all U of G undergraduate and graduate students pay the less-than-two-dollar student

fee, making every student a member) at the SVC annual general meeting on March 27. Only one member in attendance noted their dissent.

The decision followed a yearlong process whereby SVC surveyed student opinion – asking what qualities they most valued about SVC – and deliberated on the pros and cons of several different organizational models.

Shawna Smith, who has held several roles at SVC, was hired in 2013 to research a transition away from the non-profit model. She says the decision to move beneath the umbrella of a larger organization stemmed in part from a number of ongoing problems and inefficiencies.

Chief among those was a lack of institutional memory. Because

the SVC doesn’t have a permanent staff, students often find it hard to learn the ropes. As a future branch of Student Life’s Community Engagement and Global Citizenship (CEGS) department, Smith hopes SVC will benefit from some of Student Life’s collective wisdom.

“The goal of SVC is still to provide that ‘learning lab’ experience for students without having that legal responsibility [of running a non-profit],” said Smith.

And Smith says Student Life is happy to have SVC under its wing, especially because the two groups work so closely right now as it is. CEGS has “very similar values and a similar mandate as what SVC does,” said Smith, and Student Life also stands to benefit from SVC expertise in coordinated volunteer efforts.

Laurie Schnarr, the director of Student Life, is confident that the new relationship will be mutually beneficial.

“This new partnership will enable us to further align our values and vision in order for SVC to deliver more community engagement opportunities for students,” said Schnarr, who added the Student Life is “excited to work with SVC staff to better gauge levels of student volunteerism and to determine gaps in our collective offerings.”

Now that the AGM has approved the transition, a memorandum of understanding will be drawn up between SVC and Student Life that will give a better picture of the what future relationship will look like. Smith adds that while its still too early to say exactly how

much autonomy SVC will retain, or how much, for example, the transition is expected to save off of SVC’s bottom line, she is sure that Student Life is comfortable taking the back seat role.

Smith also stressed that SVC still wants to remain as transparent as possible, and noted that students will make up the bulk of an Advisory Council and continue to fill the traditional staff roles.

While Smith says that the decision to become a program of Student Life seems like an ideal fit in hindsight, SVC was keen from the outset to consider all possible transition options, including becoming part of the CSA or becoming an program merely “affiliated” with Student Life. A full report on the transition decision can be read on the Student Volunteer Connections website.

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NEWS Divestment campaign targets U of G endowment fund www.theontarion.com

Michael Long

Senate report: CIA misled on interrogation program The Washington Post has revealed details of a classified report by the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee. The report finds that the Central Intelligence Agency misled the government and the public about the efficacy of its controversial interrogation program.

The report notes the CIA concealed numerous details about the severity of its interrogation methods, exaggerated the significance of threats, and credited interrogation techniques for delivering information that had already been surrendered voluntarily by the prisoners.

“The CIA described [its program] repeatedly, both to the Department of Justice and eventually to Congress, as getting unique, otherwise unobtainable intelligence that helped disrupt terrorist plots and save thousands of lives,” said one U.S. official briefed on the report. “Was that actually true? The answer is no.”

The 400-page report – by far the most comprehensive since the CIA’s controversial “enhanced interrogation” program began after Sept. 11, 2001 – also details numerous previously undisclosed cases of prisoner abuse that yielded no valuable information.

The report is particularly notable for highlighting discrepancies between statements made by high-level CIA officials and the information those officials were actually receiving from agents in the field.

The Senate Intelligence Committee will now deliberate on sending an executive summary to President Obama. It may be months before that summary is made public.

MSF: Guinea Ebola outbreak unprecedented The aid agency Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) says the Ebola outbreak that has killed 78 people in Guinea is “unprecendeted.”

Cases of Ebola are now being reported across the region, sometimes hundreds of kilometres apart.

“We are facing an epidemic of a magnitude never before seen in terms of the distribution of cases,” Mariano Lugli, a MSF co-ordinator in Guinea, who added that the geographical spread is greatly complicating the containment of the outbreak.

Ebola is spread by close contact and kills between 25 and 90 per cent of victims.

The virus has now spread to neighbouring Liberia, where seven cases have been reported, according to the World Health Organization. Sierra Leone has also reported five suspected cases.

Public officials have called on members of the public to take precautions like wearing gloves and refraining from having sex.

Compiled by Michael Long

On April 1 in Branion Plaza, while propping up a 100-foot long plastic pipeline in the breaking wind, Fossil Free Guelph (FFG) launched their campaign to get the U of G Board of Governors – who controls the university’s $270 million endowment fund – to stop investing in fossil fuels.

Based on documents obtained from the university, the group estimates that between 10 to 15 per cent of companies in the U of G’s endowment portfolio are in the fossil fuel business – a figure they say does not sit well with the university’s reputation for environmental stewardship.

FFG is now asking the university to substitute those fossil fuel stock holdings for other options, preferably investments in renewable energy.

Boycotting investments for political or ethical reasons is known as divestment. As an environmental tactic, it has been gaining momentum on university campuses across North America in recent years.

At the University of British Columbia, for example, students voted overwhelmingly in favour of a 2014 referendum question that called on their student union “to make all reasonable efforts to urge UBC to divest from fossil fuels.”

Undergraduate student and FFG organizer Hannah Batten says FFG would love to see a Guelph referendum question on divestment. But first students have to be educated about the process.

PHOTO BY WENDY SHEPHERD

Fossil Fuel Guelph has launched a campaign urging the U of G to reconsider its investment in fossil fuels, citing political and ethical reasons to boycott these investments. The group kicked off the campaign by marching a 100-foot long plastic pipeline on campus (pictured here).

FFG (which is now an action group of OPRIG) was founded in 2013 by Ryan Hayhurst, a PhD Student in Rural Studies, after he realized that Guelph didn’t have a divestment campaign of its own. Guelph is now part of the “Fossil Free” network, which includes about two-dozen other groups across Canada.

As a preliminary action, Hayhurst met with Don O’Leary, Vice President of Finance and Administration at the U of G, to talk about the specifics of the U of G endowment fund. He says they “weren’t able to create any momentum” out of that meeting, but Hayhurst still hopes the Board of Governors be proactive in developing a revised investment strategy.

Unlike many other universities in

Canada, the U of G does not have an ethical investment policy.

Chuck Cunningham, Assistant Vice President of Communications and Public Affairs, says that the Board of Governors is “interested in discussing the matter of ethical investments further.”

The FFG’s grandest ambition is to use divestment to help put financial pressure on the fossil fuel giants. But doing so would require a concerted effort by a huge number of investors, explains Professor Ilias Tsiakas of the Department of Finance and Economics at the U of G. “If the university rebalances its portfolio to move away from a group of companies, this will likely have no effect on these

companies because the size of the university investment is small relative to the size of the companies,” said Tsiakas. A massive movement is required, he added.

But FFG says that is no reason to delay.

“We need to be a leader rather than a lagger,” said Hayhurst, who now hopes the administration will begin to “sweat a little bit” while FFG continues to spread the word.

Altogether, he’s confident the status quo won’t resonate very well with students. “[The administration’s] not out here in Branion Plaza saying, ‘We support fracking! We support fracking!’ They don’t want people to know, right?”

“100 Happy Days” criticized by U of G Prof

Positive psychology may backfire in online challenge Stacey Aspinall

Can you think of 100 things that make you happy?

One of the latest social media trends that’s been taking up space in Facebook newsfeeds and Instagram accounts is 100 Happy Days, a worldwide social media campaign that challenges participants to publish a new photo each day of something that makes them happy.

The challenge was started by Dmitry Golubnichy, a 27-year-old living in Switzerland, who believes that being happy is a choice, and everyone can be happy by appreciating the little things in life. The idea is that as the pace of life has increased, people become preoccupied with busy schedules and do not take the time to enjoy the moment they are in.

“The ability to appreciate the moment, the environment and yourself in it, is the base for the bridge towards long term happiness of any human being,” the website states.

The challenge is supposed to

help people notice what makes them happy every day, boost their mood, receive more compliments from other people, and become more optimistic.

While it seems important to take the time each day to practice gratitude for the positive things in life, a University of Guelph professor has suggested that keeping up the practice for 100 consecutive days may actually cause the opposite effect.

Professor Jamie Gruman, from the Department of Management, is a founding member and chair of the board of directors of the Canadian Positive Psychology Association, and recently spoke to CBC news about the 100 Days of Happiness Challenge.

According to Gruman, undertaking the challenge may breed unrealistic expectations of consistent happiness that can actually detract from the goal of long-term happiness.

“I think the main reason it’s probably not going to be as effective for a whole bunch of people is because it’s a hundred days, and that’s a long time to be focused and disciplined,” Gruman told CBC news.

Due to a lack of time to commit

to the project, 71 per cent of people have reportedly quit the challenge.

“I think that people can fall off the wagon and feel bad about that, and so maybe cutting back on the number of days might be an effective thing to try,” Gruman suggested.

Katherine Budinsky, a fourth year Biological Science student at University of Guelph, recently joined the project. She has been posting pictures on Instagram and Facebook, and has enjoyed the enthusiastic response she has received online.

Budinsky explained that striving to be a positive person does require effort, especially as a student during this stressful time of the year.

“Some days nothing in particular makes the day good, and some just aren’t happy days at all. But I think that’s the point of the project, [that] when I’ve had a bad day I’m forced to go out and find something to make me happy,” Budinksy explained.

“I’ll buy flowers or make cookies or watch my favourite movie or go out for coffee, so at least something nice happened that day, and it does make me happier.”

However, not everything that contributes to happiness can necessarily be represented in a photograph. In

addition, there have been studies that have indicated that social media can contribute to unhappiness, because we tend to compare our lives to others and feel inadequate.

Maybe we shouldn’t be aiming for happiness all the time - or even for 100 days.

What we can take away from the challenge is that practicing mindfulness and being more aware of the little joys in everyday life can promote a more positive outlook.

PHOTO COURTESY OF H/34 IN ASSOCIATION WITH MEIKLE JOHN LABS

ARTS & CULTURE

173.12 • Thursday, APRIL 3, 2014

The Weekly Review:

5

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

3 vast-improvementsover-the-original out of 4 Sameer Chhabra

Peter Jackson’s first foray with The Hobbit was an awkward mess of a film. From a purely technical point of view, the movie was fantastic, but it was spectacularly boring, with much of the main plot dragging on for far too long. The film suffered specifically because of Jackson’s refusal to veer away from J.R.R. Tolkien’s original story. Even some of the most mindless and inane details that were present in Tolkien’s novel managed to make their way into Jackson’s film, and the production was weaker for it.

Ironically, a feature that so closely followed its source material was the exact argument against perfect book-to-movie adaptations. Jackson proved that a film that follows its source material’s story to the last letter will not only run for an unnecessary amount of time, but will also be boring enough that its nearly three-hour run time will feel like

far more.

Thankfully, viewers and critics alike will be happy to know that The Desolation of Smaug is a fun production and a great movie.

The visuals are beautiful, the action is plentiful and well-choreographed, the acting is a mix between scene-chewingly absurd and succinctly minimalistic, and Andrew Lesnie’s cinematography yet again brings a fantastic Tolkien feel to New Zealand.

Jackson and his cast of artists let their world speak for itself, succeeding in carrying on the tradition of excellence that the original Lord of the Rings films helped pioneer.

Simply put, The Desolation of Smaug is the movie that An Unexpected Journey could have been if much of the fat was trimmed off.

Picking up a short time after the conclusion of its predecessor, the hobbit Bilbo, the wizard Gandalf, and Thorin Okenshield and his team of dwarves are attempting to outrun the vengeful Azog the Orc, who served as the first film’s primary antagonist. Continuing their journey to reclaim the Lonely Mountain, the heroes split

ALBUM OF THE WEEK: CHUTES TOO NARROW

up into two groups, with Gandalf leaving to search for a re-emerging evil in Middle Earth.

As with many long-existing franchises with a consistent track record of success, The Hobbit films are no longer exercises in film-making – instead, they represent a shift to a wider universe with more characters, more locations, and new stories to

COURTESY PHOTO

entertain diehard fans and newcomers alike.

I suppose at this point, it’s unsurprising that Peter Jackson is going to make a great movie based on Tolkien’s work.

That The Desolation of Smaug features strong performances by Richard Armitage, Martin Freeman, Evangeline Lily, and the low baritone of Benedict Cumberbatch (who voices the eponymous fire-breathing dragon Smaug) is just icing on the cake. Additional praise should be given to Stephen Fry, who cameos as the Master of Laketown – a fat landlord who rules his city with a tyrannical and well-fed fist. Fry’s talent should never be called into question, and watching him saunter on screen to act out anything is always a treat.

The much touted 48 framesper-second visual quality is yet again on display, and the movie is a stunning piece of art to behold.

Colours are bolder and scenes look like paintings, with CG characters and backgrounds almost seamlessly blending in with the rest of the production. Again, it should come as no surprise that special

effects created by Weta Digital, under the supervision of Jackson and his crew, are beautiful.

The truth is that Jackson is clearly a talented filmmaker with a keen eye for fixing his mistakes in order to strengthen his work. My largest concern with An Unexpected Journey was its monotonously slow pacing, and The Desolation of Smaug fixes this problem with the opening credits. Gone is a long, heavily narrated opening sequence that serves to recap the previous film’s events. Instead, Jackson presents a short cold open, flashes the film’s title, and continues with the story.

Ultimately, all that matters with universe building is the story.

As long as the story is interesting and well-paced, everything else easily falls into place. The Desolation of Smaug fulfills this criteria with an effortlessly unfolding story that does away with any concern for plodding exposition. Audiences are treated to an entertaining production that benefits from a strong script and a cast of artists who care.

STYLE PICK OF THE WEEK: BRANDON CHOGHRI

COURTESY PHOTO

Chutes Too Narrow (2003) is the second studio album by American rock band, The Shins. The album was recorded in James Mercer’s (founder, vocalist, and lead singer-songwriter for the band) basement in a rough neighbourhood in Portland, Oregon, a testament to the indie-rock vibe. Rolling Stone called the album “a study in old-school pop songwriting, full of Sixties-style psychedelic folk rock, abundant pop hooks and James Mercer’s inimitable high-pitched croon,” and Q magazine described it as a “leap forward,” which is fitting because the album is the also the perfect way to usher in the spring.

PHOTO BY WENDY SHEPHERD

Brandon Choghri is our pick for style of the week-definitely jumping into spring with style. Choghri was spotted on campus wearing fitted white denim, cuffed to show off his brown leather boots, and a light denim shirt on top.

Choghri was also sporting Clubmaster style Ray Ban sunglasses.

ARTS & CULTURE

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173.12 • Thursday, APRIL 3, 2014

Writing the World: The Connie Rooke Conversations Nick Hegedus On March 28, the University of Guelph hosted an event called Writing the World: The Connie Rooke Conversations. The event was held to honour the legacy of the late Constance Rooke.

Dr. Rooke was the former chair of Guelph’s English department, Associate Vice-President of the university, and founder of Guelph’s Master of Fine Arts Program in Creative Writing. Rooke was also a professor of English at the University of Victoria, and was well known for her work in editing The Malahat Review, effectively turning the publication into the major Canadian literary magazine.

The magazine currently honours her through its annual Constance Rooke Creative Nonfiction Prize.

This gathering marked the first in what the university hopes to be an annual event.

President Alastair Summerlee

opened the event, speaking of Rooke’s incredible legacy at the university and in the writing community, as well as her contribution to the development of Canadian literature over the last few decades. He also spoke of Rooke’s influence on his own career and role in his ascendance to President of the university.

Several major Canadian authors and literary figures spoke at length regarding Dr. Rooke’s influence on them and their work, through her thoughts on literature and her discerning eye as an editor. Many also read excerpts from some of their own books; ones that Rooke played a role in bringing to print.

Michael Ondaatje, the Booker Prize-winning author of The English Patient, discussed his close relationship with Dr. Rooke. He testified to her talent as an editor, as well as the very high standards she had for literature and

her influence on his writing. He concluded by reading a selection from his 2007 novel, Divisadero.

Leon Rooke, Dr. Rooke’s husband and himself a poet, novelist, and short story writer, read from one of his poems in which Dr. Rooke plays a central role.

Other guest speakers included biographer and poet Rosemary Sullivan, novelist Susan Swan, novelist Linda Spalding, and poet Dionne Brand. Each read selections from their own work and discussed the life and work of Rooke, providing a fitting testament to her legacy.

After the presentations, the guests held a roundtable discussion in which they talked about the current state of Canadian literature and the role of literature in a world that increasingly emphasizes technological development.

They opined that literature still has an important role to play in developing a unique Canadian

PHOTO BY WENDY SHEPHERD

Michael Ondaatje did a reading Friday March 28 in Guelph at the Science Complex Atrium at the University of Guelph.

Writers and spectators gathered for the evening’s event to honour the late Constance Rooke. culture, and in creating an increasingly interconnected world by bridging the gap between different parts of the world.

The event concluded with a banquet and book signing, during which attendees had the opportunity to speak to other authors.

SETS presents: Shadows of the Earth

Adrien Potvin

The Shadows of the Earth festival, which ran from March 27 to 29, showcased the final products of the university theatre ensemble’s year. Festival B featured two excellent plays; Rupture, an introspective and non-linear drama about reconciling with trauma and lost time, and Finding Temperance, a tongue-in-cheek memorial of a 19th century witch that takes a turn for the worst, centering on a group of high school students.

The ensemble for Rupture set the stage for their show in the all-black room, with five boxes displaying bleak aphorisms such as “Death is

Everything,” which certainly established the tone for the play’s mood.

In this work, an ex-best friend in mourning, a doctor obsessed with patients dead on his watch, an epileptic teenager remembering her struggle and diagnosis, an estranged niece receiving a letter from her uncle after nine years, and a young woman lamenting her partner’s split bare all in an abstract, sort of Brechtian arena of confessions.

Peppered with avant-garde flourishes – such as a moody retelling of the “tortoise and birds” fable and a scene where the characters toss a football angrily and list facts about the human body – the narrative of Rupture seems to take place outside

of time. Furthermore, the performers avoid directly addressing each other – a decision that makes these confessions all the more powerful.

The gaze of the audience and the “listening in” to these confessions reminds one that everyone has reconciliations, shortcomings, and things we can’t let go of - regardless of how visible one makes them, if at all.

Finding Temperance followed after a short intermission. While less immediately bleak than Rupture, the play is a sly examination of the nature of truth and adolescent curiosity in the guise of a screwball comedy. When four teenagers retell and evaluate the story of Temperance

Lloyd, the last witch hanged in Britain for witchcraft (who was actually defending herself from an assault), one of the girls falls off of a cliffside to her death. Connecting to their friend’s spirit by way of a Oujia board, the others discover a shocking parallel between her story and Temperance Lloyd’s. Highlighting issues such as domestic abuse, truth, and the crushing grip of guilt, the play’s heavy moments sneak out in a powerful way, given the near-goofy nature of the story and its execution.

Deftly blending physical comedy, intriguing subject matter, and pop culture pastiche, the play was an engaging and humourous work with a stunningly dark undercurrent.

If Finding Temperance has any common theme with Rupture, it’s that of the undeniable power of the unseen and unspeakable.

Nonetheless, the two very different plays demonstrated a clearly successful semester of work, and a compelling and creative experience for the audience.

Rupture was written, directed, and performed by Terrell Philadelphia, Leo Hartery, Ciara Lopes, Taylor Barker, and Lauren Datta.

Finding Temperance was directed by Katie Veloso, designed

by Michelle Jackson, and written and performed by Jessica Watkin, Nicole Smith, Cleo Vaillancourt, and Amanda Penwill.

The Elevator Project presents: “The Big Show”

Sameer Chhabra

The City of Guelph was faced with a problem 18 months ago – they were interested in restructuring their community investment programs but were unsure of the direction to take. To solve their problem, the City of Guelph called upon consultant Rebecca Sutherns, whose efforts would eventually lead to the formation of The Elevator Project.

Working in collaboration with 10 Carden, Innovation Guelph, the Guelph Community Health Centre, and Mayor Karen Farbridge’s office at the City of Guelph, The Elevator Project is a collaborative effort intended to work with the community to find new ways to make the city better.

On March 25 at the River Run Centre, The Elevator Project hosted an innovation fundraiser dubbed “The Big Show.” The purpose of the event was to showcase 52 Guelph-based teams whose ideas were presented as ways to make a

difference in the community.

As a large-scale and completely public crowd-funding event, “The Big Show” allowed members of the Guelph community to invest money and resources in order to bring the 52 ideas to life.

“The Elevator Project is different from other [similar crowd-funding] models in a number of ways,” explained Gabrielle Clermont, Community Animator for The Elevator Project. “Cross sectorial partnership [is the cornerstone of the project]. Our model deals with every facet of the community.”

In the River Run Centre’s Canada Company Hall, Clermont’s words of cross-sectorial partnership rang true. Ideas from a wide range of community interests were on display, including environmental projects to aid Guelph farmers, arts projects to empower future generations of musicians and actors, and even neighbourhood projects designed to aid new-immigrants settling in the community.

Scott McGovern is a member of Ed Video, a media arts centre with the purpose of enabling the creation and exhibition of independent media arts. At the River Run Centre, McGovern and Ed Video attempted to raise funding for eight video displays that would allow Guelph artists and exhibitionists an opportunity to showcase their work outside of gallery settings.

“Ed Video heard about [The Elevator Project] several months ago,” explained McGovern. “We always have several projects on the go that we are looking for additional funding for. Based on the parameters of [the project], we decided to apply with [our pitch].”

The Elevator Project prides itself on being a unique business model separate from the largely impersonal crowd-funding model.

“Our model is a complete cycle,” explained Clermont. “We work on both sides of the issues. [Other initiatives] rarely deal with idea/project development. You have an idea, you

bring it forward, and you are either awarded funds or you aren’t.”

The Elevator Project gives initiatives and organizations a platform to showcase their ideas in a way that enables members of the community to actively aid them. Monetary contributions are donated, alongside less-tangible donations, like that of management consultation and expert mentorship.

“Ed Video feels very lucky that our pitch was funded with real money, as so many great ideas were pitched for The Elevator Project,” said McGovern. “Usually, we propose projects to a jury of peer evaluators, such as what happens with the Canada Council for the Arts. This process was new to us.”

Following the reception in the Canada Company Hall, attendees were directed to the River Run Centre’s Co-operators Hall for a summary presentation. Here, Clermont announced the 15 initiatives that were selected by a committee of their peers, including Ed Video.

“I know you’ve all been waiting

for months to find out who was selected,” joked Clermont before announcing the winners.

One of the 15 winners was the Yorklands Green Hub, a project with the vision to create an ecological research hub at the former site of the Guelph Correctional Centre.

The Yorklands Green Hub was also the People’s Choice winner. “[Our purpose] is to create for Ontario’s public domain a self-sustaining education, demonstration, and research hub,” explained the Yorklands Green Hub website.

For the members of The Elevator Project, in addition to all 52 initiatives on display at the River Run Centre, the goal was simply to make Guelph a better place to live.

“We believe that everyone has something to give and we value the many different types of contributions individuals and companies can make,” said Clermont. “It isn’t all about cash. If we want to solve big community issues, we have to come up with new ways of making those things happen.”

8

www.theontarion.com

Lowlands’ fundraises upcoming album at eBar Guelph band puts on a show downtown to support their new album Danielle Subject On Friday, March 28, eBar held an album fundraiser, which was presented by Fortnight Music. Headlining the event was Guelph’s own Lowlands, a folk-rock band on the rise to fame. The event was a success, and the crowd proved a great turn out.

Green & Gold, an indie-folk band from Newfoundland, opened the event with high energy and got the crowd pumped up for Lowlands’ much-anticipated performance. Lowlands then played their first set, followed by the astounding Dani Nash, who kept the crowd’s excitement going with her upbeat drum solos and unmistakable stage presence.

Lowlands came on for their second and final set, playing songs primarily from their

upcoming album. The first set had a predominantly folk sound, while their second set was more fast-paced and had many elements more geared towards rock music. The fans followed their last song with an uproar of applause.

The band got together after their first set to give a brief interview.

“Originally when Lowlands started, we had [a] stand up bass [and a] banjo – we were straight up folk music, lots of yelling and harmonies, ’cause that’s what sounds good. But some of our songs now, off this new record that we’re putting out, are straight up rock.

Like rock solos … almost garage rock,” said Gordon Auld, on genre and Lowlands’ upcoming album.

Auld is the guitarist, banjoist, and the lead singer for Lowlands. Other band members include Abe Del Bel Belluz on lead guitar, Matt Monoogian on vocals and pedal steel, Mike DePaola on drums, and Joseph Gallo Jr. on bass.

When asked about the dynamics of the band and what it is that holds the band together, Gallo and Del Bel Belluz explained that most of it is about passion and dedication.

“I think there’s such good music … that everyone … has the drive to, you know, make it happen and put the effort into it,” said Gallo.

“I think it’s also just the day to day of going to practice,” added Del Bel Belluz.

The members of the band were all very laid-back, and it is clear in the way that they interact offstage with each other that they collaborate well as a team.

Judging by the energy of the crowd at the end of the night, it is obvious that Lowlands has quite the following, and that many are anticipating the release of their new album.

It’s always nice to see one of Guelph’s own becoming a success, and there is no doubt that the next time around, their show will have an even bigger turnout than the last.

Chantale Pomerleau’s

ARTS & CULTURE

PHOTO BY MATTHEW AZEVEDO

The band Lowlands played a fundraising show downtown at eBar Friday March 28 in support of their new album.

Above, left to right, is Matt Monoogian on pedal steel and Gord Auld on guitar.

“Speechless”

Advocating for Autism Awareness with music Emily Jones

This year, something incredible special came out on April 2: a song called “Speechless” was released, with all proceeds going to Autism Canada. April 2 is also Autism Awareness day. The most incredible part of it all was the love that went into making this song.

Chantale Pomerleau, a third year Psychology student with a minor in Family and Child Studies here at the University of Guelph, began writing this song last April.

In regards to the writing process, Pomerleau stated, “I had a sudden urge to write a song about my brothers and their journey with autism.” Pomerleau’s twin brothers are currently thirteen and were diagnosed with Autism at the age of 3.

Pomerleau described herself as “an advocate for mental health awareness, wherein I believe that we all face difficulties in life at one time or another, that seeking help is a sign of personal strength

not weakness, and that the power of people coming together to make a change can make a world of difference.”

I had a sudden urge to write a song about my brothers and their journey with autism.

- Chantale Pomerleau,

Third-year Psychology student

Since Nov. 2013, Pomerleau has been working with Kenny Munshaw, a musician and songwriter, who offered to help with the project and song development.

Munshaw has been involved in charity work, and recently cowrote the song ‘I Thank You’, by The Tenors, for Big Brothers and Big Sisters Canada. Pomerleau spoke highly of Munshaw, stating that he “helped me to create depth through instrument, and tweak the lyrics so that the message is conveyed most effectively.”

The song is called “Speechless” because it is a word that has carried throughout Pomerleau and

her family’s journey and experience with Autism. Pomerleau spoke about being speechless when learning about the diagnosis, being speechless when seeing her brothers socialize, being speechless when change is happening, and finally, feeling speechless when recognizing that they were able to overcome hardships.

“It is my goal that listeners can relate to these words, and feel the overarching message of hope that I wish to convey,” said Pomerleau, and she hopes that listeners will “be sure to reflect on your own situations, and acknowledge the fact that adversity can instill you with skills and strength you did not know you had.” The aim of this project is to use the power of music to make a positive impact and create a change in society that is badly needed.

The utilization of our voices, the act of reaching out to teach other people to be aware, and the capacity for people to feel connected to one another is one of the most beautiful things about being a human being. It was a privilege to speak with Pomerleau and to be a part of sharing her story.

PHOTO BY SARAH HERSH

Chantale Pomerleau, pictured above, wrote a song called “Speechless” to support Autism Awareness.

2014 Guelph C

PHOTOS BY WEND

Tasting the evolution of beer Andrew Donovan “It’s a German style wheat beer that has a banana bubble gum flavour to it,” said the lively vendor for Silversmith Brewing Company.

Ordering something so eccentric is truly a homage to how the taste buds change over time.

There is a coming-of-age that students go through. When you show up to university in your freshman year, your fridge is filled with the cheapest beers and the most turpentine of liquors.

However, just like your mind graduates to higher levels of intellectual capacity during your

undergrad, your taste buds graduate as well. By your senior year, you find yourself exploring fine European wines and dabbling in local craft beers.

For those with inkling for new tastes, the Brass Taps held their yearly Craft Beer Show, where 12 vendors from all around southern Ontario got to showcase vintage brews as well as new experimental brews on the brew master’s docket.

In all fairness to the Silversmith’s Bavarian Breakfast Wheat beer, it wasn’t something I’d normally have ordered – the very idea of a banana bubble gum flavouring to my beer seems, well, sacrilegious – but it was actually quite enjoyable. With a dry, crisp flavour, it was easy to drink and did make the taste buds explode.

Craft beer is unique in that you often get tastes that you’d never find in a mass-produced beer.

The entire craft brewing scene can often seem pretentious and intimidating, with words like “full bodied,” “dry,” “carbonation levels,” and “finishes” being thrown around. You’re often left swishing around beer in your mouth and nodding in agreement with the vendor without fully understanding why this beer is a “light bodied beer with medium carbonation, and a smooth yet harsher finish.”

If you get past the lingo and mastery that is craft brewing, you can really find yourself getting lost in an endless world of unique beers. In fact, most towns you visit in Canada now will have a craft brewery – or at the very

least, a pub that carries craft brews from the area for you to sample.

Beer is evolving.

Craftbeer.com is an American website that advocates for support of local independent breweries, but also helps users pair craft beers with food.

Does your beer have a hop-filled bitterness with roasted malt carbonation? It will likely pair well with sweet and rich foods. Is your beer sweet with maltiness? It’ll balance spicy foods well then.

Each beer also has a recommended serving temperature and glass style that is meant to bring out maximum taste while complimenting the flavours of the beer.

Admittedly, the pairing techniques can be a bit overwhelming.

However, when you drink a beer like Moosehead Brewery’s newest pale ale, Boundary, you just feel as though you ought to be eating it with a 24oz steak, while leaving the Molson Canadian and Coors Light for the more easygoing hamburger and hotdog days.

Ontario Craft Brewers have 37 different microbreweries listed on their website, and many of those breweries have multiple beers. Whether you’re gluten-intolerant, vegan, or eat organic foods, there’s a brewery in Ontario that has your dietary and taste bud needs met.

So even though the Craft Beer Show has passed once more, the LCBO and Beer Store are chalkfull of Ontario craft brews to try this summer.

Craft Beer Show

NDY SHEPHERD

SPORTS & HEALTH

173.12 • Thursday, APRIL 3, 2014

The boys (of summer) are back in town

After a five months deepfreeze, baseball season is upon us once again Andrew Donovan

Billy Beane was right – it’s hard not to be romantic about baseball.

That infamous line from Moneyball reminds me why it’s okay if I get a bit choked up when I smell a ballpark dog, hear the sound of 108 red stitches on a baseball hitting a Canadian maple bat, and see the ballet that is a perfectly executed 6-4-3 double play.

For some, spring is marked by the Equinox on March 20, but for Canadian baseball fans, spring has only sprung once the umpire yells ‘play ball’ on Opening Day. As romantic as the sport of baseball may be, there was no love in the story of the Toronto Blue Jays abysmal 2013 season that saw Canada’s team win only 74 games – good enough for last place in the American League East.

And as much as I hate to admit it, I don’t see the Jays winning more than 80 games this year, which will likely still put them in the cellar of baseball’s most competitive division.

However, there are plenty of worthwhile storylines to talk about going into the 2014 season.

Heading into spring training, the Los Angeles Dodgers were the team to beat (7/1 odds), and despite the injury to Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw, I don’t think those odds have budged.

The Cardinals (15/2), the Tigers (9/1), the Nationals (11/1), and the Red Sox and Rays (12/2) round out the top five, with the Yankees coming in at 6th best odds for their 28th World Series (14/1).

The Dodgers and Cardinals earned their one and two rankings in Vegas, no doubt.

Nevertheless, I like the Washington Nationals coming out of the National League. Bryce Harper is a year older, and a hell of a lot bigger – he put on about 40 pounds in the offseason, and a lot of muscle. Harper, if his knee holds up, could be on pace for 35+ home runs, 110+ RBIs, 20 stolen bases, and an MVP candidacy. Moreover, once Doug Fister gets healthy, the Nat’s starting four will feature Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmerman, and Fister – that’s ridiculous.

I know the Tigers appear to be the outright favourites for the

AL pennant, and with the likes of Miguel Cabrera, Ian Kinsler, and Victor Martinez in the top four of the batting order, and Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, and (when healthy) Anibal Sanchez heading the pitching rotation, it’s hard to disagree,

but I have them losing to the Red Sox in the AL Divisional Series.

This pains me to say (considering I’ve been a longtime Athletics fan), but the Red Sox are just too good for the Moneyball A’s to compete with. I have

equipment, and knowledge you need to fix your bike yourself,” said Lilia Clarke, the Central Coordinator for the Bike Centre. “We have tons of volunteers – that’s basically how this space functions. You don’t need to know anything about bike repair, you’ll learn just by volunteering. I actually didn’t know anything about bike repairs before I started working here.”

For even a regular biker, learning how to fix mechanisms or functions on your bike is important – you never know when you’re going to experience a flat tire, a broken chain, or a loose break pad.

The one-on-one atmosphere that the Bike Centre provides is the perfect opportunity for cyclists to become familiar with basic repair and the setup of their bikes.

Moreover, while you can easily pay $40 to $50 for a tuneup at a bike shop that charges flat rates, the Bike Centre operates purely off donations – from parts, to frames, to the change in your pocket.

“Because it is donation based, you are not paying for a tuneup. You come in and we’ll see what your bike needs, help you out to oil your chain, and whatever else you need for a spring tune-up,” said Clarke.

Once your bike is road-ready, the importance of a quality lock cannot be understated, and I am speaking from personal experience. Last summer I had a $1000 bike stolen from a bike stand in downtown Guelph, from what I thought was a cut-proof lock. Not only does a stolen bike mean you’re out a mode of transportation, it means you now have to invest in a new bike.

“I use a kryptonite lock, it’s like a big ‘U’ shaped lock and you can’t cut through it,” said Lilia, who works and rides frequently in Toronto and has heard a fair share of bike theft horror stories.

This spring, make sure you protect your investment by learning about it, and no matter where you’re riding, if you leave your bike – even for a minute – lock it up.

Restorations, tune-ups, repairs, whatever your bike needs, the CSA Bike Centre can provide. Best of all? It runs off donations.

PHOTO BY WENDY SHEPHERD

Yes, it is very early in a marathon of a 162 game season, but I still like the Nationals winning the World Series on the shoulders of Bryce Harper.

Exploring the CSA Bike Centre

Spring has sprung and it is time to get your bike tuned Andrew Donovan

There’s a hidden gem on the corner of Gordon Street and South Ring Road, and it’s called the CSA Bike Centre – a ‘do-it-yourself’ not for profit bike repair centre that serves Guelph students and community members on a donation basis.

As the snow melts and five months of salt and sand is washed away from the city roads and trails, Guelph’s expansive bike path network will slowly become repopulated with bikes of the road and mountain variety.

After a sedentary winter, your bike is likely lacking the necessary oil, grease, and patchwork necessary to perform at its maximum capacity, and this is where the CSA Bike Centre comes in.

“The CSA Bike Centre is a ‘Do-it-yourself’ bike repair shop. We provide all the tools,

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the Sox winning convincingly.

Lastly, I know I’ll take some flack for this, and so many variables change in the seven month marathon that is the MLB season, but tentatively, I have the Nationals winning the World Series in six over the Red Sox.

PHOTO BY WENDY SHEPHERD

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www.theontarion.com

SPORTS & HEALTH

Guelph prof: Alternatives to lead shot in guns

Dr. Vernon Thomas takes on IOC in effort to reduce lead poisoning in the environment Morgan Faulds

At the University of Guelph, our motto is “Changing Lives and Improving Life.” That is exactly what Dr. Vernon Thomas, Associate Professor Emeritus with the Department of Integrative Biology, is attempting to accomplish by pushing for a change in policy regarding the lead shot in hunting and shooting sports.

Environmental lead poisoning affects not only wildlife but also humans, and although lead has been addressed in various industries – from paint to children’s toys – acceptable and effective policies have not yet been developed for hunting and shooting.

As an expert on migratory wildfowl and resident birds, Dr. Thomas was first alerted to the lead poisoning issue when a large number of loons were dying due to the ingestion of lead sinkers used on fishing lines. As a result, there is now a ban on lead fishing weights in National Parks across Canada, but not in Provincial Parks, due to reluctance at the Provincial level to make a change that would affect consumers.

A paper written by Dr. Thomas that compared lead shot to other alternatives played a key role in changing California policy regarding lead ammunition in hunting.

This change was in response to the near-extinction of the endangered California Condors

in the 1970s, when around only 30 birds remained. To protect the scavengers, who must be continuously re-trapped and retested to gauge lead poisoning levels, lead ammunition will be phased out in the state by 2019. The condors are an extreme example, but numerous other examples of lead poisoning are present in wild and captive populations of chickens, ducks, cattle, and other animals – all of which have the potential to land on our dinner table.

Human health hazards include lead poisoning of surface and ground waters, as well as direct

consumption. In human populations that consume a lot of wild game – especially geese and big game – bullet fragments are often consumed with the animal, leading to high incidences of appendicitis and other health problems.

Recently, Dr. Thomas has targeted the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF), who require the use of lead shot in all biathlon, skeet, and trap events, despite the fact that this opposes the promises of IOC Charter to protect

the environment. Shooters fire thousands of tons of lead each year in preparation for competition, each shooting over 1000 cartridges per week. Although there is irrefutable evidence showing that shooting ranges contribute to environmental lead poisoning, and although the IOC has been aware of these risks since at least 1993 when Dr. Thomas first approached the issue, there is still no movement on changing the regulations in the sport.

The favoured, most economically feasible alternative

presented to the IOC is the steel shot, which performs as well as lead up to 40 yards, but is just as cheap. For hunting, tungsten matrix or bronze alloy bullets have also been presented as alternatives, which actually have superior ballistics to lead.

Dr. Thomas stresses that this is no longer a question of whether or not lead impacts environmental and human health – all of the research and proof is undisputed.

The alternatives have been presented, so removing lead from the environment is now in the hands of the lawmakers.

LIFE

173.12 • Thursday, APRIL 3, 2014

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Inside Farming: Life on the beach, for a cow?

Rudi Spruit, CanACT president With winter finally over and spring on its way, it’s time to talk about some summertime activities, like lying on the beach. There are many reasons to love the beach: the amazing sunshine all day long, the food stands filled with ice cream and fries, and the gorgeous sunsets across a great lake. Even the feeling of the sand between your toes as you are walking down the edge of the water can have awesome relaxation effects. We are not the only species that love sand and beaches – cows actually love it, too!

Cows love sand for different reasons, however; the main being that it is a comfortable bed. Sand tends to mold around the body of a cow, much like memory foam. When a cow goes to lie in her bed, she always chooses it carefully – she is looking for something on a slight incline so that she always has a 360-degree view around her. She always wants a super clean bed, with no manure or water in the stall.

She also requires it to be soft and accommodating to her size.

Lastly, a cow is a herd animal, so she will select a bed with all of her friends around her.

The farmer, on the other hand, will have different reasons to purchase a specific bed

for a cow. He or she will require a bed that is not a breeding ground for bacteria, but it also must be easy to work with – and it must be cheap.

This is why sand is awesome.

It is non-organic, so bacteria cannot survive on the sand without some form of food, like manure. Sand is also cheap and easy to locate at any local aggregate pit. It is easy to work with, it cleans easily, and it’s also easy to separate out of the manure before the fertilizer goes on the field.

On our dairy farm, we have sand beds for our cows. You can see from the picture that the cows must love it. They are all lying together, in a very comfortable and natural way. They are lying on the slight incline that they love, in a clean environment, and the sand seems to form around their bodies.

This is what farmers love to see – cows need to lie down to produce milk; so more time spent lying down means more milk.

We can also see from the picture another comfort feature we added to our barn –green bed separators. We need these separators so that cows know which bed is where, allowing for a more organized lying area.

What is special about these green separators is that they are made out of plastic, and because of that, they are very flexible. They are used to guide

PHOTO BY RUDI SPRUIT

Humans aren’t the only mammals to love sand, because cows do too. They use it as a comfortable bed, much like memory foam, that molds around their body. a cow in the stall, but basically are non-existent when a cow gets out of the stall, because they move with her body so that she can get up any way that she would like.

There are many things we like to do in the summer – like lying on the beach and eating ice cream, checking out the passers-by, and watching the sun go down as we stroll along the

water front – but next time you are enjoying the sand, remember that you are not alone. Cows love it to, and I am sure would they would lay out all day on the beach if they could.

The family vacation I can’t forget Bakz Awan Recently, I had the opportunity to go on a Disney Cruise with my family. Leading up to the trip, I conducted copious research, which included finding details online, looking up cruise lines and online reviews, comparing itineraries, and cross-referencing prices for different packages. In this process, I couldn’t help but notice that many of the advertisements I would normally come across while surfing the web had all changed to vacation-related displays. Particularly, I began seeing more ads for competing cruise lines, ads from Disney themselves, and information on all-inclusive packages from many travel websites.

At the risk of sounding paranoid, these ads “followed” me across the Internet. Whether I was casually browsing funny pictures or researching articles on corporate social responsibility, I saw these ads on many of the websites I visited. It was actually hard to ignore these ads about Disney Cruises and

hotel deals, since I was already actively looking for a deal in my spare time. The frequency of the ads made sure that the cruise was always at the forefront of my mind, no matter which website I was on or task I was trying to accomplish.

There was no escape – it was like the world was pressuring me to finally decide on a cruise.

Eventually, I did.

After securing the vacation package and eventually going on the cruise, I returned from a fantastic experience and even considered booking another cruise for next year. Disney had on-site salesmen on the cruise ship ready to secure your future booking at a discounted rate, but I was reluctant to take their offer.

Upon my return home, I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw that the advertisements were still targeting me to book a cruise – especially from Disney. Somehow, they were able to pinpoint me. Even after my enjoyable experience with their brand, their advertisements continued to chase me across the Internet.

I really noticed the marketing strategy of retargeting after an influx of advertisements from Disney for repeat cruises after my trip. Through retargeting my data and personal information, Disney was able to promote their messages to me after I had made my purchase decision to reinforce a positive experience or, perhaps, promote another sale. Through my data, Disney was able to influence my entire purchase experience from prospect to customer.

I also noticed the application of retargeting when cruise companies I was considering as alternatives repeated their advertisements to me after I had visited their websites, as if they were asking me to reconsider their services.

As far as I know, Disney hasn’t yet predicted my next cruise purchase. However, I was particularly taken aback when I then read about Target, who used predictive analysis to calculate a teenage girl was pregnant even before her father had found out. They were

already aggressively sending her advertisements and deals for baby items, against the wishes of her parents.

It is apparent that the use of retargeting and predictive analysis has allowed advertisers to discover things about us or reinforce their messages in eerie and definitely creepy ways. Imagine the kinds of tools of analysis companies will have to reach out to us in the near future.

Is there any escape? While one could argue that the best tool is a reliable ad blocker – one that limits the activities of advertisers during your browsing experience – I don’t believe this solves the heart of the issue. At the end of the day, through brokerages or major service providers like Facebook and cell phone companies, it’s difficult to remain private and make purchasing decisions on your own.

The truth is, I depend on these service providers daily, and it’s difficult for me to stop depending on them. Since I can’t go off and live on an island in solitude,

it’s tough to find a solution where I can remain private and also avoid being micro-targeted by ads.

With companies targeting you, retargeting you, monitoring you, and guessing your next move, it’s difficult to draw the line. So, I couldn’t help but wonder: Is it even my own purchase decision anymore? How can I determine how much of my decision making is influenced by the focused marketing activities of these advertisers?

Is it possible to be too overwhelmed by ads, leading to irrational purchasing decisions? Where can one actually turn, besides their friends and family, for reliable, neutral third-party information?

In the near future, I plan on clearing my private browsing data more often, using an ad blocker, and remaining skeptical of any information presented to me for its validity. I will also stay aware of the chance that my data might wind up in the wrong hands, and perhaps be used by companies to exploit me.

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OPINION

www.theontarion.com

3D printing: Advanced technology or advanced threat?

Dutch scientists successfully save the life of a 22-year-old woman with a rare bone disease through the use of controversial 3D printing technology Victoria Kiely

In late March of 2014, a team of Dutch scientists at the University Medical Center Utrecht changed a 22-year-old woman’s life forever. With the help of advanced 3D printing technology, this woman received an implant for the topmost part of her skull.

The patient in question had a rare bone disease that caused the skull to grow much thicker than normal, which lead to a number of complications, including searing headaches and poor eyesight.

The doctors had said that the long term effects of this condition have been known to result in severe brain damage and, in extreme cases, death.

“It was only a matter of time before critical brain functions were compromised and she would die,” said Dr. Bon Verweij, the leading doctor on the case.

During a 23-hour surgery, Verweij and his team successfully removed the affected part of the skull and replaced it with its durable plastic counterpart. “It

is almost impossible to see that she’s ever had surgery,” Verweij noted after just three months of recovery. The patient is reported to have already returned to work.

The technology has also been seen in various other non-standard medical circumstances. A hospital in the United Kingdom recently used 3D printing technology to reconstruct a man’s face that had been disfigured in a traumatic motorcycle accident.

The use of 3D printing is becoming increasingly popular in surgery and medical fields due to its many redeeming qualities. The technology is known to be one of the most innovative options in the medical field because of its rapid prototyping and manufacturing speed and accuracy. However, 3D printing is also proving to become gradually more controversial.

It is likely that as the technology becomes more readily available to the public, the threats associated with it will become more apparent. Some fear that 3D printing will be taken advantage of by the public and that people will choose to print things that could be dangerous, such as illegal knives and guns. The items printed would be difficult to track and would likely have very little oversight from officials.

Another concern with the 3D printing technology is that the materials used are often finite. Some of the known materials used currently are resin and plastic, which

UMC UTRECHT

With the advancements of 3D printing, scientists have come up with many life saving technologies. Pictured here is a 3D-printed skull that was implanted into the topmost part of the skull of a woman suffering from a rare bone disease. But does this type of technology have a potential to be dangerous if put into the wrong hands?

are not always disposed of properly.

Currently, 3D printers are not widely made and are high in demand, not only for professional fields, such as medicine or engineering, but in public use.

As more people are informed of

the technology, the demand for the machines to be made readily available to the public has been rising, although it seems that it is not yet ready for public release.

Although its presence seems to be advancing the possibilities of

medicine greatly, the technology could potentially be dangerous if put into the wrong hands. For this reason, 3D printing should be left to the professionals until products can be monitored by officials for safety purposes.

Response rate in triage slower for women

Studies show that women with heart attack symptoms are less likely to be treated as quickly as men Danielle Subject

The Toronto Star recently published an article in their Life section titled “Younger women with heart attack symptoms wait longer than male counterparts, study shows.” The study this article is referring to apparently issued results that suggest “younger women experiencing a heart attack or other cardiac event wait longer for essential care in emergency rooms than men of a similar age.” The study further states, “Both women and men who score as having more feminine traits on a standardized test wait longer for care.”

“At the triage, maybe these patients are just less assertive,” suggested the conductor of the study, Roxanne Pelletier, a clinical psychologist at the McGill University Health Centre.

Sure, maybe women entering an emergency room complaining about heart attack symptoms are

being treated less quickly than men because they are being too unassertive. It couldn’t be due to the known fact that women are not taken as seriously as men in a hospital setting. No, that would be silly.

This example is a classic case of victim blaming. Alternatively, the study should have focused a little less on the personality traits of the patients (part of the study asked the patients to fill out personality questionnaires) and more on the receiving end of the patients’ complaints. When a female walks into a doctor’s office or hospital and reports symptoms, the likelihood of those medical practitioners initially blaming those symptoms on hormones or menopause is unnecessarily high. Yes, this still occurs.

Perhaps the most intriguing claim made by Pelletier’s study is that “the study related to patients showing signs of anxiety. Women with this symptom were less likely than other women to have an ECG within the recommended 10-minute window; the same was not true for men.”

It is interesting that the women who showed signs of anxiety were treated even slower than those who did not.

Perhaps this has something to do with the stereotype of the hysterical woman? Although female hysteria – arguably the most oppressing diagnosis in medical history – is no longer a valid medical diagnosis, the stereotype continues to linger.

In the past, female hysteria was diagnosed to women who exerted symptoms such as a loss of appetite or sex drive, irritability, shortness of breath, or sexual desire. Basically, it was diagnosed to any woman who showed signs of being human. The common treatment for female hysteria was a hysterectomy.

Today, if a woman walks into a triage demanding medical attention and actively asserting that she is experiencing symptoms of a heart attack, she will apparently be judged as an overdramatic woman before she is seen as a patient in need of medical attention.

On an even more ridiculous note, USA Today published an article describing another recent study which showed that “women having heart attacks are less likely than men to get immediate treatment and more likely to die in the hospital.” This is not something that should be a

problem in this day and age – yet it still is.

So no, women do not need to be more assertive in a triage.

Rather, the response rate of those on the receiving end needs to be quicker, and the efficiency of care should not be determined by one’s sex.

The views represented in the opinion section do not necessarily reflect the views of the Ontarion nor its staff.

EDITORIAL

Relationships in the digital age are needlessly complicated

The cool blue glow of the ubiquitous screen is common in modern life. It seems that we tend to experience life from a safe distance, with the computer screen acting as a mediator between our virtual worlds and tangible existence – and sometimes it’s hard to tell which one should take precedence.

It’s time to look beyond the screen and reflect on the implications of life lived online.

Amidst the 21st century zeitgeist of the web, we must contend with the fact that our attention is constantly being pulled in different directions. When it comes to social media, there’s pressure to maintain a web presence across different outlets, with each reflecting a specific aspect of our personality.

We must update our Facebook statuses, put our best face forward in our selfies, fill our Twitter feed with quips and clever observations, Instagram the most pictureque lattes and splendid sunsets, and fill our LinkedIn page with evidence of professionalism.

Constantly multitasking makes it hard to maintain focus when there are so many distractions merely a click away. The

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173.12 • Thursday, APRIL 3, 2014

Internet is the procrastinator’s playground, and it has a worrisome tendency to split and fracture our attention span until we’re consuming information in bite-sized portions and craving that instant fix.

Increasingly, however, this mentality infringes upon our social relationships.

We encounter a deluge of information from all of these sources, but we’re often too overwhelmed to take the time to engage. We’re constantly updated on our friends’ and acquaintances’ lives, and our relationships (both platonic and romantic) have been irrevocably altered as a result.

The traditional notion of presence – “the state or fact of existing, occurring, or being present in a place or thing” – is devalued, so that we can seemingly maintain relationships with very little effort to connect faceto-face and in real time, often due to sheer laziness.

It is an inevitable fact that people will move in and out of your life, and this is particularly apparent during times of transition (i.e. university). Sometimes friendships fade away for a reason, but

in the social media world, this distance becomes condensed and we’re given the option to continue to keep in touch with those who have moved on.

In nurturing these relationships from a distance, we are able to achieve the illusion of connection, despite a lack of presence. In these cases, the screen becomes a tool that shields us from inevitable facts of life, such as the necessary melancholy of losing touch with old friends.

However, nothing can truly replace presence or the real, organic exchange between people in real time and close physical proximity. In the context of romantic relationships, I would argue that this presence is absolutely imperative. Using social media to pursue dating can allow for interaction to occur while minimizing the risk of rejection, but in ways it can be unsatisfying.

A lingering gaze, an offhand comment imbued with innuendo, and that palpable electric tension in the air are all attributes of attraction that cannot be replicated online.

So let’s look at our crushes

face-to-face, rather than Facebook to Facebook.

Liking someone’s profile picture is not the same as actually liking someone, just as “friend” requests aren’t necessarily synonymous with friendship.

When a romantic relationships ends, or you’re struggling with a break up, don’t post depressing status updates with bitter, passive-aggressive intent; let’s reserve our frustrations to vent over coffee with a friend.

In a world where virtual clutter can quickly accumulate, it can be hard to let go. But we should accept that some connections we make will be ephemeral.

Let’s all take the time to engage with each other in the 3-dimensional world, instead of permitting the ease of online communications to infringe on our real-life relationships.

Technology is a tool, of course, with the potential to enrich our lives if used prudently and strategically. But it also enables a dizzying array of questionable behaviour.

As writer Timothy Leary suggested in the 60s to “tune in, turn on and drop out,” these days we should log in, turn off, and go out.

The Ontarion Inc. University Centre Room 264 University of Guelph N1G 2W1 ontarion@uoguelph.ca Phone: 519-824-4120 General: x58265 Editorial: x58250 Advertising: x58267 Accounts: x53534 Editorial Staff: Editor-in-Chief Jessica Avolio News Editor Michael Long Arts & Culture Editor Emily Jones Sports & Health Editor Andrew Donovan Associate Editor Stacey Aspinall Copy Editor Alyssa Ottema Production Staff: Photo & Graphics Editor Wendy Shepherd Ad Designer Justin Thomson Layout Director Stephanie Lefebvre Office Staff: Business manager Lorrie Taylor Ad manager Al Ladha Office Coordinator Vanessa Tignanelli Circulation Director Sal Moran Web Editor Alexander Roibas Board of Directors President Heather Luz Treasurer Alex Lefebvre Chairperson Patrick Sutherland Secretary Anthony Jehn Directors Bronek Szulc Harrison Jordan Sohrab Rahmaty Melissa Yan Contributors Bakz Awan Matthew Azevedo Sameer Chhabra Morgan Faulds Nick Hegedus

Victoria Kiely Matt Lawson Adrien Potvin Rudi Spruit Danielle Subject

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Since the Ontarion undertakes the publishing of student work, the opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of the Ontarion Board of Directors. The Ontarion reserves the right to edit or refuse all material deemed sexist, racist, homophobic, or otherwise unfit for publication as determined by the Editor-in-Chief. Material of any form appearing in this newspaper is copyrighted 2011 and cannot be reprinted without the approval of the Editor-in-Chief. The Ontarion retains the right of first publication on all material. In the event that an advertiser is not satisfied with an advertisement in the newspaper, they must notify the Ontarion within four working days of publication. The Ontarion will not be held responsible for advertising mistakes beyond the cost of advertisement. The Ontarion is printed by the Guelph Mercury.

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www.theontarion.com Across 1- Pituitary hormone 5- Ides month 10- Drinks slowly 14- Part of TLC 15- The end of ___ 16- Antiquing agent 17- Excuse me 18- Kitchen gadget 19- Bull 20- Body of followers 23- Summer Games org.

24- Actor Epps 25- More spine-tingling 29- Pulsating 31- Barcelona bear 32- Type of shirt 33- Unapproachable 37- Woeful word 40- China’s Chou En___ 41- Writing table 42- Vanity item, perhaps 47- Proverb ending?

48- ___ Wiedersehen 49- Tendentious 53- Obvious truth 55- Org. 57- Baseball stat 58- Consequence

BestCrosswords.com

FUN PAGE 61- Capital city of Peru 64- Without ___ in the world 65- Against 66- Coup d’___ 67- French beans?

68- Hula hoops?

69- Bird of peace 70- Perfect places 71- St. Louis landmark Down 1- Gum arabic source 2- Partnership 3- Long narrow excavation 4- Does some tailoring 5- Musical instrument 6- Writer Loos 7- Happen again 8- Manitoba native 9- Working gear of a draft animal 10- Nymph chaser 11- Can ___ now?

12- A pop 13- Hit sign 21- Animated character 22- Corp. bigwigs 26- Let ___

CLASSIFIEDS

NATURE GUELPH Meeting. Thursday, April 10th at 7:30pm at the Arboretum Centre. Paul Delaney of York University speaking on “Our Changing Views of the Night Sky”. All welcome

COMMUNITY LISTINGS

ATTENTION LADIES! FASTBALL PLAYERS WANTED! KW based recreational women’s league is looking for players for the 2014 season. Part-time players welcome! Visit www.kwladiesfastball.com for league and contact info.

Apply for the Shire ADHD Scholarship Program by April 15. The bursary includes $1,500 and one full year of ADHD Coaching ($4,440 value). See here for more details about the scholarship and eligibility: http://www. shireadhdscholarship.com/CA-EN/default.aspx University of Guelph Jazz Ensemble Concert on Thursday, April 3 at 8pm. Manhattan’s Pizza Bistro and Music Club, 951 Gordon Street. Admission $2 Sistas in Soccer outdoor recreational soccer league for women aged 18 and up. Games every Sunday afternoon, end of May until October. No previous soccer experience necessary. Register online at www.sistasinsoccer.com.

27- Slippery swimmers 28- Stink 30- Ascend 31- Trompe l’___ 34- Musical staff sign 35- Bottle lid 36- Brainchild 37- Came down to earth 38- Prevaricator 39- Legal rights org.

43- American space agency 44- Sum up 45- Gathering of pus in body tissue 46- Ike’s ex 50- Certain fisherman 51- Sexy 52- Pertaining to Denmark 54- Fit to be tied 55- ___ worse than death 56- Femme fatale 59- Chilled 60- Currency unit in Western Samoa 61- Was ahead 62- Figure skater Midori 63- Dallas player, briefly

Last Week's Solution

SUBMIT your completed crossword by no later than Monday, April 7th at 4pm for a chance to win TWO FREE BOB’S DOGS!

Congratulations to this week's crossword winner: Adam Maahs and Jessica Nguyen. Stop by the Ontarion office to pick up your prize!

Open MONDAY - FRIDAY 8:30am - 4:30PM

Open MONDAY - FRIDAY 8:30am - 4:00PM

Infection Testing

Feeling Better Now速 Is an online mental health program to assist students in maintaining their wellbeing.

To access go to: www.feelingbetternow.com/ uoguelph and then enter the access code: uoguelph

Feeling better begins with understanding you are not alone.