The Ontarion - Issue # 175.14

Thursday, December 4, 2014

Issue No. 175.14

SEE CENTRE

U of G GETS

Secure Wifi PAGE 3

THE WEEKLY SCENE

Interstellar

PAGE 5

MENTAL HEALTH

& thePAGE Holidays 11

NEWS 3 • ARTS & CULTURE 5 • SPORTS & HEALTH 7 • LIFE 12 • FEATURE 15 • OPINION 16 • EDITORIAL 17 • FUN PAGE 18

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Issue 175.14 • Thursday, December 4, 2014

NEWS

Secure wireless – don’t be left without!

The University of Guelph makes the switch EMILY JONES The University of Guelph is making a switch to secure wireless on Dec. 16, 2014, and doesn’t want to have students, faculty, and staff to be left without a connection. The decision to switch to secure-wifi has been a long time in the making and is “really about protecting, and keeping what should be private, private” explained Dave Whittle, Associate Director, IT Operations and Infrastructure at the University of Guelph.

The Computing and Communications Services (CCS) have been working towards this switch since the beginning of the Fall 2014 semester, and feel that they have “a responsibility to provide a level of protected security,” for all members of the University of Guelph community who are trusting to do their work here, explained Rebecca Graham, CIO and Chief Librarian, at the University of Guelph.

“There have been attacks against wireless infrastructures for the past 10 years,” explained Whittle, “it is very easy to intercept what is going on,” Whittle’s remarks hint to why it is so important for the University of Guelph to be making this switch now.

The CCS has worked towards promoting this switch from the beginning of the Fall 2014 semester by engaging in “a rigorous campaign of posters, and messaging across the campus to make people aware of what we are

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New mining bill brings potential risk to Australian environment

MATTHEW AZEVEDO/THE ONTARION

doing,” explained Whittle. “We have been trying to do more with outreach [which involves] having members of our team in high traffic areas around campus like the Science Complex, the UC, and the library to make sure that there is awareness around this change.”

For those who are visiting the campus, and need guest access, there will still be guest access. Guests will need “to have a guest login,” said Graham, which can be easily found, alongside all other information regarding the switch to secure-wifi at the University of Guelph’s CCS website for all those who have not yet made the shift.

Approximately 66 per cent of students, faculty, and staff have already made the shift to secure-wifi, according to Whittle – but “the closer we get to that 100 per cent, the happier we will be.”

The CCS believes that it is important to give people a secure and safe place to work, and this switch to securewifi is the first step to making sure this is the case. It is important to keep this in-mind for home networks as well.

“Strong authentication and encryption [are key], encouraged Whittle.

The switch is set to take place on Dec. 16, 2014, and the hope is to have the majority of people switched over by then. If you are one of the few left without wifi upon your return to campus in the Winter 2015 semester, the help desk and support staff at the library will be there to help.

Many fear that the successful passing of this bill is a step in the wrong direction. Giving large corporations access to an enormous amount of natural-resources can disrupt the multitude of ecosystems present in the Great Barrier Reef. Furthermore, this bill allows companies to extract mass amounts of ground-water without considering any ecological consequences, ultimately leading to environmental harm.

Furthermore, critics are concerned that the legislation does not secure water for local and rural communities in the surrounding area as well as it should.

It is a crucial move made by the state of Queensland to deregulate such an important and prominent resource, allowing it to become unsupervised and controlled by large corporations.

In an attempt to ease the minds of those concerned, Natural Resources and Mines Minister, Andrew Cripps, introduced the bill this past week and spoke about its projected benefits.

“The bill delivers a number of key reforms while retaining certainty and security of entitlements and, most importantly, balancing economic, social and

Controversial bill allows for license-free extraction EMILIO GHLOUM

In a new bill passed by the Queensland State Parliament, laws and legislations have been passed to help secure groundwater resources for large scale companies. The bill poses a crucial threat to the Great Barrier Reef, and has caused controversy among environmentalists.

By allowing the deregulation of ground-water extraction, large mining companies can now freely mine for billions of litres without any government interference. The process of securing ground water has the potential to be harmful to the environment.

While the Great Barrier Reef is already facing challenges with climate change and mass pollution, this new bill creates another potential threat to the stability of one of the most bio-diverse environments in Australia.

environmental outcomes,” Cripps said to the public.

“It does not abandon the interests of the environment, does not abandon the Great Barrier Reef ... [it] provides opportunities for economic growth in Queensland while taking into consideration the needs of local communities for water and also the important needs of the environment.”

Environmental spokesperson Jackie Trad spoke adamantly about the bill and its potential to cause environmental damage.

“The Government can agree to give a mining company a water development option, which is essentially a right to exclusive water use without any scientific or hydrological assessment taking place beforehand,” Trad said. “Also, without taking public submissions. In essence, this is a shameful bill. It is an utter disgrace.”

Whether the bill will allow for further economic growth in the Queensland region, or cause irreversible environmental harm, remains to be seen. The bill is controversial in its conception, and has been criticized by locals, government officials, and concerned environmentalists alike.

Upcoming events Dec. 5: National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women Dec. 6: Anniversary of the Montreal Massacre Dec. 8: Add period for Winter Semester begins Dec. 10: Human Rights Day Dec. 12: Examinations conclude

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NEWS

Under the Organic molecules on Comet 67P Radar

Cricket player Phillip Hughes dead from injury During a competitive cricket match held in Australia, 25-yearold Phillip Hughes was hit by a pitch and struck in the lower neck area. Playing on the South Australia cricket team, Hughes was a top order batsman, a role reserved for only the best hitters on the team. While protective gear is often worn in an attempt to avoid such injuries, further concerns are brought into question when accidents occur within the game and result in death.

In a match played against New South Wales on Nov.25, Hughes was up at bat and was hit by a bouncer. In cricket, a bouncer is a type of pitch that requires for the pitcher to throw the ball fast and short, allowing the ball to bounce towards the batter’s head and chest region at very high speeds. In this case, Hughes misread the bounce and was hit by the ball.

After collapsing and requiring mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, Hughes was immediately taken to St. Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney where he underwent surgery. It was confirmed that the injuries Hughes sustained were catastrophic. When the cricket ball made contact with Hughes’ lower neck area, it split the cerebral artery fatally. Surgeons attempted to relieve some of the brain pressure by removing some fragments of the skull, but Hughes never regained consciousness.

The match was immediately postponed, followed by immense shock and support from players and fans alike. Hughes was a first-class player, and was highly regarded as a top professional in Australian cricket. Hughes’ legacy as a player, and as a family man, has been recognized by many professionals and Australian citizens internationally. Cricket bats with flowers have been placed in gardens across the country, serving as a memorial to Hughes.

This untimely incident has given rise to a conversation regarding the safety of cricket players. A few days after it was announced that Hughes had passed, Cricket Australia stated that they would run an investigation looking into further protecting players. Adjustments to the equipment used by players should be expected to occur sometime in the near future to avoid the possibility of a similar incident.

-Compiled by Emilio Ghloum

Philae lander discovers carbon-based molecules SAMEER CHHABRA

Continuing to produce incredible scientific results, researchers part of the Rosetta mission have confirmed that the Philae lander detected organic molecules on the surface of Comet 67P. Though not very much is known about the molecules, Rosetta has revealed that the molecules are carbon-based.

The molecules were discovered using Philae’s Cometary Sampling and Composition Experiment (COSAC) instrument – one of two gas analyzers on board the lander.

Despite Philae’s current inactivity, the lander was able to drill into Comet 67P in order to collect

and deliver samples to its various onboard instruments. Sample data was sent back to Earth before Philae’s batteries went cold.

Further study and calculations are necessary in order to confirm more details, especially those regarding the exact composition of the molecules.

For biologists studying the origins of life on Earth, the question of what triggered life’s initial development remains a mystery. Owing to the fact that the early Earth’s atmosphere and surface were not conducive to the development of life, a popular theory today suggests that comets crashing into the surface of the planet were able to trigger the development of the basic molecules necessary to developing life.

Amino acids are organic compounds composed of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and a selection of certain other elements. Alongside water, amino acids in the form of protein are the second largest component of human muscles, cells, and other

tissue. Alongside carbohydrates and nucleic acid, proteins form the three necessary building blocks for life.

The popular comet-life theory suggests that the rapid heating and cooling that resulted from comets crashing into Earth’s atmosphere was enough to trigger the development of amino acids that would eventually form into proteins and early single-celled organisms.

“There’s a possibility that the production or delivery of prebiotic molecules came from extraterrestrial sources,” explained Nir Goldman, a chemist at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, in a statement released earlier this year.

“On early Earth, we know that there was a heavy bombardment of comets and asteroids delivering up to several orders of magnitude greater mass of organics than what likely was already here.”

The future of Philae is uncertain, as the Rosetta mission is still waiting for an opportunity to recharge the lander’s onboard

solar batteries, but the Rosetta comet orbiter is still active.

Rosetta is expected to orbit Comet 67P at a height of 20 km for approximately 10 days starting on Dec. 3, before returning back to its current orbiting height of 30 km.

“The desire is to place the spacecraft as close as feasible to the comet before the activity becomes too high to maintain closed orbits,” said Laurence O’Rourke, at the Rosetta Space Operations Centre near Madrid, Spain.

“This 20 km orbit will be used by the science teams to map large parts of the [comet] nucleus at high resolution and to collect gas, dust, and plasma at increasing activity.”

While the Philae lander’s discovery is not yet conclusive, nor do we have absolute certainty that comets really did trigger life on Earth, the Rosetta mission’s success proves that continuing to study space is necessary for understanding our planet.

Toyota Mirai, Hyundai Tucson: not the first of their kind, but the first of a new generation What Hydrogenfuelled vehicles bring to the table JACK HINDS In the not-to-distant past, science fiction writers imagined a future where our vehicles would run on a clean-burning, powerful and silent fuel source. They also imagined we’d be flying around in vehicles that drove themselves, did our laundry, and brought us tea at the same time.

While laundry and tea-making are still largely manual, car-less tasks, a clean and efficient car is very much a reality, and a new player has just hit the market.

Hyundai have rolled out the very first production hydrogen car, with Toyota hot on their heels. The new Hyundai Tucson, sporting a proton-exchange membrane hydrogen fuel cell and electric induction motor capable of making 134 HP, the Tucson is the first in what will most assuredly be a slew of hydrogen-powered cars that will soon hit the market. The car’s release is currently restricted to a specific area in California, as hydrogen refuelling infrastructure is currently

COURTESY

The emergence of hydrogen-fuelled vehicles has effectively opened up the conversation on alternative energy resources. non-existent in most of North American and Europe. However, we can predict that, just as with plug in electrics and hybrids, the infrastructure will be quick to develop if consumers begin adopting the technology.

What makes the concept of hydrogen-fuelled vehicles so important isn’t necessarily that they run on hydrogen, but that they continue to support a trend of fuel-source diversification. As hard as we may try to

distance ourselves from it, we’re still part of nature. If we pay attention, our other co-habitants on this planet have a very important lesson for us: diversity is the key to survival. We, as humans, have a nasty habit of putting all our eggs into one basket, because carrying a single basket full of eggs is much more cost-efficient than carrying a dozen baskets with a single variety of egg in each. While there’s good reason behind both ideals, moderation is, as always, the

key. As our traditional fuel sources dwindle, we need to begin looking not just at a single alternative, but a multitude of alternatives.

The hydrogen car adds another weapon in our arsenal to combat the impending doom of our oil-dependent transportation industry. The Tucson and the Mirai pull up chairs next to biodiesel, hybrid electric, and plug-in electric cars- all waiting for the human race to get smart and realize they need to change their consumption habits. Have solar panels on your roof and a very heavy foot? Grab a plug-in electric Tesla. Have a farm nearby with a digestor and some biodiesel to spare? Grab a tweaked old Volkswagen. Can’t quite kick your gasoline habit and have some extra money to spare? Grab one of the new BMW i8 hybrids. Variety allows natural selection to run it’s course without jeopardizing our ability to travel and maintain the level of technology to which we’ve become accustomed- a principle much the same will, in the near future, need to be applied in earnest to our electrical grid.

What other fantastic and revolutionary fuel sources may be joining the party soon? That’s for you, as the next generation being thrust into a rapidly changing world, to decide.

Issue 175.14 • Thursday, December 4, 2014

ARTS & CULTURE

The Weekly Scene: Interstellar 3.5 ConvolutedScientific-FeverDreams out of 4 SAMEER CHHABRA I understand why other people, and other critics, might not have enjoyed Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar as much as I did. Its script is clunky, its ideas contrived, and its overall quality is indicative of a level of self-indulgence not seen since Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. However, audiences and critics alike should recognize that comparing a director to Kubrick, and claiming that their film is a similar reflection on the cinematic form, is simply one of the highest praises an individual can deliver.

Telling the story of former NASA pilot Cooper, played by Matthew McConaughey, the latest Nolan feature centres around a team of scientists’ mission to find an acceptable planet that can serve as the new home for an exorbitant numbers of humans.

Interstellar is a science-fiction film obsessed with science. The

film wraps itself in a protective cloak of Hawking, Einstein, and Thorne, and instead of stumbling with complicated scientific jargon, the film sprints with an exciting, fast-paced, oftintelligent story. Basking in the iridescent glow of astrophysics and radio astronomy, Christopher Nolan builds a puzzle-like film whose contrived pieces all fit perfectly into place.

future, space is no longer the final frontier, but a frontier with no explorers. So absorbed with Earth are Terrans, that NASA no longer functions or exists.

“Interstellar is a science-fiction film obsessed with science.”

COURTESY PHOTO

Written by two Nolan brothers, Jonathon and Christopher (with Christopher directing), Interstellar tells the story of a planet on the brink of collapse.

Crop damage and environmental disasters have led to widespread starvation, while society has restructured to place emphasis on solving internal matters instead of taking to the stars. In Interstellar’s

The Nolans brothers’ script looks to a dark, and grim future, where scientific wonder has been replaced with unyielding pragmatism. If there is a glimmer of optimism, it’s that Interstellar’s future has no militaries, and no war.

However, the film’s philosophy and idealism is unarguably undercut by a clunky script riddled with

The Pleasure of Improvising Freely New translation of Lê Quan Ninh’s book mediates life, pleasure, and art WILL WELLINGTON Improvising Freely: The ABCs of an Experience, local press and print-on-demand bookstore PSGuelph’s most recent title, collects, in alphabetical order, the musings of French percussionist Lê Quan Ninh. The book, in an English translation courtesy of University of Guelph Philosophy professor and poet Karen Houle, is, indeed, about drumming. But this slim, Kraft-Dinner-orange volume is just as much about intimacy.

Houle’s introduction lovingly details her meeting Ninh at With the Grain, following a life-changing performance at the 2008

Jazz Fest. Her photographs of Ninh, scattered throughout the volume, offer beguiling glimpses into their friendship, and Ninh’s words themselves stress that free improvisation has less to do with pounding skins and more to do with listening closely to oneself, to one another, and to the world all around. Ninh’s prose (or Houle’s translation) seldom proves simple to parse, but when Ninh writes that “The long and slow apprenticeship is how to be in each other’s company,” and, of the fondly remembered musician Peter Kowald, that “his ear for music transcended and transformed into an ear for others,” he clearly characterizes improvisation as a species of human intimacy.

“To say that tuning is nothing but one moment coordinating different tempos,” he later writes, “is perhaps also a good definition of love. The multiplicity of tempos going on during a performance is not unlike the everyday of relationships.” At the informal reading group held shortly after the book’s September launch in PSGuelph’s nothing-if-not-intimate

workshop, nestled in the front corner of cozy experimental music venue Silence – the general consensus echoed these sentiments, as readers applied Ninh’s observations to parenting, dance, and conversation. As Houle puts it, “Living one’s life is improvising.”

As Ninh makes clear in several chapters, free improvisation, at the level of political organization, means anarchism. But most of these reflections are more personal than polemical. In the performance practice he describes, Ninh asks a lot of himself and, occasionally, he asks a lot of his readers too. Certain passages are so heady that they approach total confusion, like the maddeningly elliptical chapter on “Air.” At such alienating moments, one may relate all too well to Houle’s description of dreary contemporary subjectivity: “You move through your days … not really looking anyone in the eyes … it’s amazing how dead we can be, even in the middle of being alive.” Thankfully, such passages are seriously outnumbered by those that enliven the intimate experiences of reading and living.

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weak dialogue. Cinematically speaking, the film unknowingly explores an artistic paradox: what happens when superb actors deliver superb performances that are hindered by weak character interaction? A talented cast led

by McConaughey is forced to coallesce with one another in a script whose humanity is greatly lacking.

This is undoubtedly a film founded on exploring the depths of scientific possibility, and its non-human talent accentuates this fact. Nolan’s directing is phenomenal, and the manner in which his camera works with both definitions of space is powerful and mesmerizing. A particular scene has a ship placed between Earth and star-punctuated darkness. The sheer smallness the audience feels is only highlighted by the absurd immensity of the shot, and it’s remarkably easy to get swept up in the momentousness of it all.

Frequent Nolan collaborators Lee Smith and Hans Zimmer return to edit and score the film respectively, while Hoyte van Hoytema joins for the first time, lending his talents to the film’s cinematography. These three

artists create the film’s sordid universe, and exceptional praise must be given to Zimmer, whose organ-heavy score alone creates most of the the film’s emotional weight.

On the topic of the film’s adherence to astrophysical principles: owing that this is scientific fiction, and not scientific literature, it’s incredibly easy to criticize decisions made by the scientists in the film. In the name of entertainment, an audience must suspend their disbelief in order to truly enjoy the film. This is to say that the film’s science isn’t perfectly sound; chief example: why travel to other planets when Mars is right next door?

As art can, and should sometimes do, Interstellar takes the real world and molds it to a vision that produces emotion and affect in its audience. This is a film devoted to possibility and exploration, and it is a film that begs its audience to consider their grand universe. “Look to the stars,” Nolan seems to argue.

“Look to the possibilities beyond your planet, and see what the universe holds in store.”

Such passages, like the gorgeous “Dance,” awaken one’s attention and, paradoxically, encourage distraction. Improvising Freely drops from one’s hands and one sits dumbfounded by existence.

The flexing limbs of a spider. The calm hum of the refrigerator. The squeak of fingers on paper.

In a charming passage from his book The Pleasure of the Text

(also about intimacy and also, perhaps coincidentally, arranged alphabetically), French thinker Roland Barthes writes that reading is most pleasurable, “if … I am led to look up often, to listen to something else.” If inspiring one to experience the world more vividly is anything like the point of literature, then Improvising Freely is a very great work indeed.

Upcoming events Dec. 4: “The Last Waltz”: Guelph musicians perform music from The Band’s seminal concert film The Last Waltz for Missed Connection Records’ “Compilation NO. 1” LP release party. 9 p.m. at DSTRCT, $10.

Dec. 5: -Run With the Kittens. 10 p.m. at Jimmy Jazz, Free.

- Winter Lights and Music, 6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Market Square (1 Carden Street). Free family-friendly holiday event featuring music, lighting of the tree, and public skating.

Dec. 6: - Mimico/Zones/Dan Loughrin - Experimental Music. 8 p.m. at Silence (46 Essex St.) $10/PWYC -Folkway’s 8th Annual Boreal Christmas Concert & CD Release with Tannis Slimmon, Jude Vadala, Katherine Wheatley. 8 p.m. at Guelph Little Theatre.

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ARTS & CULTURE

Jam space: musing on sound and culture Top 10 of ’14 ADRIEN POTVIN Goodness gracious, what a year for music. As the editor of the arts section, here is my inevitable year-end list, featuring some of the most enjoyable, innovative, and important records of 2014. I’d like to stress two things; that these are in no particular order, and that I’d like to stress important in the sense of creative offering and social relevancy. For a year like 2014, where “awareness” seems to be the recurring theme, these albums all work, to some degree, as a sort of time capsule of the year’s ideologically-charged mainstream narrative.

St. Vincent – St Vincent With one the most enthralling LPs and live concert experiences of the year, St. Vincent (Annie Clark) is, essentially, on top of the world. In her fourth album, St. Vincent, Annie Clark intervenes with high-art and pop in a truly 21st century manner – the electric guitar, always a kind of monolith in rock/pop music, is given a breath of new life as an instrument with fresh implications of engaging

the organic with the synthetic.

Sun Ra and his Arkestra – In the Orbit of Ra For the 100th anniversary of the birth of composer/poet/astral philosopher Sun Ra, this LP set, compiled by Arkestra reedman Marshall Allen, is hardly an exhaustive curating of Ra’s massive catalog, but it deftly works to paint a compelling portrait of his challenging, freewheeling music and political/philosophical urgency.

Flying Lotus – You’re Dead!

A thrilling meditation on death, jazz, and hip-hop, Flying Lotus’ fourth LP gets weird with its furious jazz passages, ethereal beats, and underlying afterlife narrative. Blending the organic with the synthetic, like St. Vincent mentioned before, is becoming increasingly difficult to do with revelance, and FlyLo strikes a brilliant harmony with You’re Dead.

Swans – To Be Kind To Be Kind is more of a physical experience than anything, at least if listened to properly (i.e., painfully loud). In its two-hour-plus runtime, a thick, ubiquitous air of dread underlies the group’s bone-crushing percussives and sweeping, visceral

guitar-scapes. Its cohesive realization invites the listener to share in the record’s pitch-black, intangible suffering. While certainly not for everyone, Michael Gira and co. offer an album that is undeniably, one of the most rewarding and challenging listening experiences of the year.

FKA twigs – LP1 It’s difficult to discuss the music of FKA twigs (Tahliah Barnett) without discussing the challenging politics of sexuality present in her work. LP1 immerses an audience the way a great dancer would; a powerful, acrobatic sexuality permeates the album in its dense, engrossing production and gorgeous lyrical delivery. An importantly postmodern sense of self is established here, and it demands your attention.

Freddie Gibbs and Madlib – Piñata Freddie Gibbs has clearly seen some shit. In what would initially seem like a mismatch, what with Madlib’s tendency towards the left-field, and Gibbs’ intensely visual braggadocio, Piñata operates like if the film Dolemite was cut on wax instead of film, drenched in 70s funk samples and visceral crime storytelling that

make for one of the most cohesively realized hip-hop albums of the year.

Isaiah Rashad - Cilvia Demo This not-quite full-length album by Isaiah Rashad proves, if anything, that Rashad can keep up with his fellow TDE heavyweights. However, the dream-like, meditative qualities of Cilvia Demo show a special grasp of hip-hop’s more cerebral side, punctuated with depression and 20-something anxieties. That’s not to say it’s entirely bleak – it seems that Rashad is well aware that he is a young man, and that things can, and will, change for the better.

Ought – More Than Any Other Day This first album by Montreal postpunk outfit is in the same vein of punk as Television, Talking Heads, etc. – a sound marked by angular, intelligent guitar work and provoking, agitated lyrics permeates the album. Although none of them are actually from Montreal, it’s interesting to note how the group came together during Quebec’s Maple Spring in 2012, adding a sort of layer of “outside-looking-in” that makes sense of the group’s agitation and anarchic urgency.

Tinariwen – Emmaar Nomads by both political and geographic necessity, this group of Malian Tuareg musicians seems to be in a consistently liminal zone of appropriating their desert culture for Western audiences while remaining true to their cultural identity. Fortunately, Emmaar is at once an incredible world music album, characterized by earthy polyrhythmic percussion and rich guitars, that emulate the sweltering desert heat but do not devalue the music for a novel spectacle of nomadism. This is as real as it gets.

Run the Jewels – Run the Jewels 2 Hard-hitting, relevant, and rightfully pissed-off, Killer Mike and El-P’s second outing as Run the Jewels continues the brash (but accurate) social commentary of its predecessor, and turns it up a few notches. More clear-cut in its goals and its production, Run the Jewels 2 is a powerful statement from the unlikely hip-hop duo, especially after the events and subsequent narrative of the Ferguson, MO case.

eBar hosts Lowlands, Rival Boys, and Dirty Frigs Fortnight Music presents evening of local favourites ADRIEN POTVIN Local favourites Lowlands performed at eBar on Friday, Nov. 28, with Toronto’s Rival Boys and Dirty Frigs. With tunes ranging from high-energy indie pop to moody, atmospheric roots-folk, the eBar was treated to one of Guelph’s eminent groups as well as two exciting Toronto acts.

Rival Boys, first on stage, are a Toronto-based trio that performs high-energy power pop, performing material mostly from their recent Ice Storm EP. With brother and sister Lee (bass/violin/vocals) and Graeme (guitar, vocals) Rose, and drummer Sam Sholdice, the trio performs powerfully honest music, specifically in Lee’s incredible voice and energetic stage presence. There is a certain power in Rival Boys’ melodies themselves, and how they relate to the distinctive voices of the Roses. This urgency and

beauty, in tandem with their intense stage presence, is hard to look away from and easy to devote the entirety of one’s attention – if not just to see how easily Lee Rose jumps from bass to violin, all while playing with basssynth pedals at her feet.

Dirty Frigs, also from Toronto, took the stage shortly after Rival Boys’ set.

With a gloomy but rhythmicallypunctuated sound, their music is, at times, a bit like if XTC had a gloomrock edge, with high-energy songs underscored by a sense of darkness and evocative, eerie presentation. And what a presentation – lead singer Bri Salmena, for their final tune of the set, walked through the crowd like an apparition – her ethereal, Jehnny Beth-esque (Savages) tenor bellowing through the crowd with crushing power and conviction. If anything, I heard the most murmurs about their incredible set during the rest of the evening. They had never played in Guelph before, so I, for one, really hope they come back soon.

Lowlands closed the night to a packed room at around 12:30 – they never seem to fail at filling a room when playing in their hometown, and an enthusiastic crowd welcomed material from their second LP, titled

DANIELLE SUBJECT

Fortnight Music hosted local staples Lowlands, as well as Toronto-based groups Rival Boys and Dirty Frigs, for an exciting night of music, marked by intensely passionate stage presences and evocative songs.

Huron. While generally straight-ahead and fairly monochromatic folk-rock, there are flourishes of a darker, more far-reaching gothic Americana in Lowlands’ work, as well as a live delivery that is picturesque in its execution with

pounding, primal drumming, and richly gorgeous banjo and slide guitar tones.

Overall, Dirty Frigs was really the band to see that evening – full of rawness, evocative textures and live

intensity, marking a very welcomed Guelph debut. Though all three bands put on excellent performances, they in particular were certainly the talk of the venue.

Here’s hoping we see more of them.

Issue 175.14 • Thursday, December 4, 2014

ARTS & CULTURE

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Album of the Week: Canadiana Suite

Dong-Won Kim with the GSO

COURTESY PHOTO

HEATHER GILMORE

The IICSI’s improviser-in-residence ends his time in Guelph with a visceral, beautiful, and vital improvised performance, featuring a large ensemble of members of the GSO, GYJE and the Rivers Jazz Ensemble.

Canadiana Suite (1964): Oscar Peterson. Playfully energetic, soulful, and at times brooding, Oscar Peterson (piano) leads Ray Brown (bass) and Ed Thigpen (drums) on a patriotic journey across the great white north in this timeless jazz classic.

River Run Centre welcomes U of G improviser-in-residence Scholar and musician DongWon Kim hosts finale concert with GSO ADRIEN POTVIN In celebration of the spirit of improvisation, storytelling, and

cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary dialogue, the River Run Centre’s Cooperators Hall hosted the culminating performance of improviser-in-residence DongWon Kim on Saturday, Nov. 29.

The event was organized by the International Institute for Critical Studies in Improvisation, Musagetes, and the Laurier Centre for Music in the Community.

A large ensemble featuring strings, woodwinds, and brass from the Guelph Symphony Orchestra, the Guelph Youth Jazz Ensemble, and

the Rivers Jazz Ensemble (Daniel Fischlin on guitar, Jeff Bird on bass, and Lewis Melville on pedal steel) performed an improvised hour of music under the intertwining direction/conducting of Judith Yan and Dong-Won Kim. Kim is a scholar of traditional Korean music and improvisation at Wongkwang Digital University, a member of Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble, and has been the IICSI’s improviser-in-residence since September. Much of his pedagogy deals with teaching distinctively Korean

methods of engaging improvisation, storytelling, and critical practice of music with Western music forms.

With Ben Grossman as the storyteller tying the improvised, multidisciplinary piece together, and Georgia Simms as a solo dancer featured in some of the passages, the hour-long suite was based off of parables and stories from around the world, offering a truly cross-cultural approach to the dynamics of improvised music in a large group setting.

With the group’s members reading from the story Grossman read, it

was a truly unpredictable, invigorating, and beautiful performance.

Part of the mission of the IISCI is to mediate the act of artistic improvisation with social practice and the betterment of communities. In the numerous “Ding-Dong with Dong-Won” improvisation workshops hosted since the beginning of Kim’s residency, Kim’s time in Guelph has certainly been marked by consolidating these creative aims with thinking more broadly about music, culture, and community building.

SPORTS & HEALTH

Student invents gel that may save lives VetiGel and its implications JOANNE PEARCE Joe Landolina, a student from New York University (NYU), may have invented a gel that will cure traumatic bleeding. Suneris, a biomedical engineering company which was founded by Landolina, who is now CEO, is the organization behind VetiGel. In just 15 seconds, the gel, which has plantbased haemophilic polymers made

from polysaccharides, stops massive amounts of blood bleeding out as a result of traumatic injury.

The company explains on their webpage just how they stop the bleeding exactly: “Three aspects of hemostasis, [the stopping of flow of blood], are enhanced to quickly and effectively stop bleeding.

Immediately after application, our gel stimulates the clotting process by physically holding pressure in the damaged blood vessel. The gel then rapidly activates the accumulation of platelet mesh. Our gel completes hemostasis by accelerating

the binding of the clotting protein, fibrin, to the platelet mesh, resulting in blood coagulation and a stable clot.”

Currently a third-year student from Polytechnic Institute of NYU, Landolina came up with the concept when he was only 17, back in 2010.

“I was always interested in science, and my grandfather owned a winery, so, from a really young age I learned how to work in a chemistry lab and had a love for chemistry,” said Landolina to IBTimes UK. The gel is thought to speed up the body’s natural clotting

behaviour so that even haemorrhaging arteries or internal organs can be closed up in seconds. Early research on the substance is promising, as researchers have been able to stop bleeding liver injuries and punctures in carotid arteries. No human trials have been conducted yet, however.

The gel has not yet won Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval as a new medical product.

Additionally, VetiGel is still two years away from being approved, meaning a long wait is expected before it is released to market.

However, Suneris has planned to

begin to sell VetiGel to veterinarian clinics in the meantime while waiting for the approval. For Landolina, this will act as an opportunity to save animals, get real word application, as well as acquire funding that is difficult to come by for new biomedical companies.

“Our goal is to get this in every ambulance, in every soldier’s belt, and in every mom’s purse,” commented Landolina to Bloomberg News.

The implications of VetiGel are very interesting to think about, however, further study and research is still necessary.

8

SPORTS & HEALTH

Remembering Pat Quinn Recognizing the greatness that was STEPHANIE CORATTI People say kids these days haven’t witnessed greatness, and as a result, don’t know how to appreciate it. We can’t tap our steering wheels to a classic hit by The Beatles exclaiming, “Now this is music,” – a subtle hint to our obvious generational pride. We can’t watch highlights of the infamous 1987 Summit Series match-up of Canada versus Russia, featuring a bench clearing brawl and a blackout, and recount the memory of witnessing it live, understanding the significance of what that game represented. We can’t appreciate what it meant for a rookie on the Toronto Maple Leafs’ blue line to knock Bobby Orr – a Boston Bruins superhero – unconscious with an open-ice body check in the 1969 playoffs.

We can’t truly, in every essence of the word, appreciate the greatness that was Pat Quinn.

I, for one, can’t argue. A mere five-years old when the Leafs hired “The Big Irishman” as Head Coach, I couldn’t have possibly known, or understood, the feat of 35-consecutive victories as Head Coach with the Philadelphia Flyers that led to the 1980 Stanley Cup Finals, with the Flyers ultimately upsetting the New York Islanders in six games, or the vision and hockey sense it took for Quinn to build as General Manager, and lead as Head Coach, the Vancouver Canucks to the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals with the likes of Trevor Linden and Pavel Bure, only to fall in a heartbreaking Game Seven to the first-overall New York Rangers.

“...embodying the very passion it takes to win.”

In all honesty, when my beloved Leafs missed the playoffs for the first time that I could actually recall in 2005-06, as a 12-yearold, I was calling for Quinn to be chased out of town. I was simply too young to understand that, at the time of his termination,

the former-Leafs defenseman was the winningest active coach in the NHL, and fourth on the all-time list.

“We can’t truly, in every essence of the word, appreciate the greatness that was Pat Quinn.”

I didn’t recognize that the Hamilton native had led the Leafs to their first division title in 37 years, and their first ever 100-point season. Quinn, of course, surpassed that feat with 103-points, a Maple Leafs record that still hasn’t been topped. Add it to the list of things I never understood.

I didn’t understand what it took to coach a team – more specifically, the Leafs – to the Conference Finals in your first season as head coach, and then return to that very spot three years later in 2002, only to be eliminated by the Carolina Hurricanes.

As a kid, the close up of the great Pat Quinn chomping away on his gum was the best thing about him. On Nov. 23, when it was announced that Quinn had died at the age of 71 years old, those close-ups were the first thing that came to mind.

Now 21-years old, I knew Quinn had been something to recognize, something great – only the greats stand behind the bench fearlessly with two black eyes after getting hit with the puck twice in the same week, a sight I’m glad to remember. It took this article, however, to completely recognize and acknowledge that it was Quinn who brought my all-time favourite player – Gary Roberts – to the Leafs, in addition to knowing just how much I’d love to have a coach on the Leafs bench now who would start banging on the glass holding a stick, embodying the very passion it takes to win.

I wish I would have understood, then, how much that Olympic gold in 2002 – the first for Team Canada in 50 years – actually meant, recognizing that it was

Pat Quinn who was pulling the strings all while chomping away at his gum behind the bench in Salt Lake City.

I wish while I was jumping around my living room after Jordan Eberle had scored the game tying goal with 5.4 seconds remaining in the 2009 World Junior Championship semi-finals against Russia, that it was Head Coach Quinn who instilled in that eventual goldmedal winning team what it took to come out on top.

With all those memories, I can tell you where I was, what I was doing, and who I was with. I can tell you that John Tavares put the puck on net for Eberle to capitalize, and that Martin Brodeur jumping higher than the crossbar after winning Olympic gold still makes me smile.

Yet, it took writing this to recognize Pat Quinn’s significant impact in all of those things. It took writing this to recognize that I had witnessed greatness.

COURTESY

Pat Quinn, an all around champion, won two Memorial Cups, Olympic gold, a World Cup Championship, gold with Team Canada’s Under-18, and a third gold with Team Canada at the IIHF Under-20 Championship. Quinn also won Jack Adams for NHL Coach of the Year twice. Overall, “The Big Irishman” was the definition of greatness.

Upcoming events

Dec. 5: Snack Giveaway, 12 p.m. to 12:30 p.m., first floor of Library Dec. 8: Stress Busting Resource Table & Snack Giveaway, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., first floor of Library

TheON

Dec. 28: Women’s Hockey vs. Alberta, 3 p.m., Gryphon Centre

Gryphons’ Men’s Hockey

RYAN PRIDDLE

The Guelph Gryphons lost their sixth game in a row to the Ryerson Rams at the Gryphon Centre on Nov. 27. A close match-up, the Gryphons dropped a 4-3 contest decided in second overtime. Jordan Mock, Robert De Fulviis, and Len Fabbri, were the Gryphon goal scorers.

Goaltender Andrew D’Agostini stopped 35 shots in the loss. The following night on Nov. 28, the Gryphons were unable to find the win column once again, falling 4-3 to the Varsity Blues in Toronto. The Gryphons hit the ice next on Jan. 3, 2015, traveling to face off against Ryerson.

Issue 175.14 • Thursday, December 4, 2014

SPORTS & HEALTH

9

Skates, stereotypes, and Francis Adamo A look inside the Gryphons figure skating team through the lone male skater STEPHANIE CORATTI As Francis Adamo sees it, most people don’t know the Guelph Gryphons even have a figure skating team. With that, most also don’t know that they’re the defending Provincial Champions heading into this season.

Adamo, who took home OUA gold in the Men’s Event in February 2014, is the lone male on the Gryphons skating team – and, with complete honesty, has no qualms about it.

“I really love having teammates around, and a lot of supportive people,” Adamo explained, adding that skating can often be a very solitary sport. “And, you can put this in if you want, there’s worst things than getting up and training with two dozen girls – it’s not the worst thing in the world.”

Breaking into a sport that is thought to be predominately for girls wasn’t a second thought for Adamo.

After seeing a competition on TV, the Guelph native recounts that he instantly started trying to imitate the ticks, resulting in his Mom enrolling him in skating at the age of seven.

“That was it, no going back from there,” Adamo said. “Now, what? 14 years later and here we are – that’s kind of crazy to think about.”

The fourth-year University of Guelph student follows big names such as Patrick Chan and Evgeni Plushenko; however, he chalks up his biggest influence to a past Russian coach.

“You know, the stereotypical Russian coach,” Adamo joked. “But he was a former World Junior Champion, and he taught me everything from the mental aspect to everything that goes into being a top competitor. It’s really made me a better skater and person.”

Adamo, experiencing a fair bit of success in his skating career – including attending the National Junior Championships – credits previous and current coaches as a whole for his success as a Provincial Champion in 2014.

The Gryphons, finishing with 105 points, won medals in 13 of 14 events to overtake the three-time reigning champions, the Western Mustangs (totaled for 82 points), to take home team gold in Toronto.

“It was hands-down by far the most fulfilling thing I’ve ever done in this sport,” Adamo explained of the championship. “We knew we had a really good team, we knew we had the pieces there, but we just put it together, and it was just a tremendous feeling.”

This season, the Gryphons are hosting the OUA Championships to take place on Feb. 17-18, and will be looking to be for a similar result.

“We did lose a lot of our core skaters, but we have a lot of new skaters

that have come in and are really talented,” Adamo said of the team this season. “We’re really looking forward to this year.”

As a team veteran, Adamo will be providing some motivation for the potential repeat, a responsibility that contributed to the 2014 Championship season.

“I’ve been trying, in recent years, to look into motivational speeches and put something together every time we go to a competition,” he explained.

“I take elements of our practices, our experiences together, and try to motivate everyone in that sense.”

Motivation is a huge factor within such a precise sport, especially a sport where a single wrong move can cost an athlete immensely.

“You have to have the athleticism of a high jumper, but the grace of a jumper, and the stamina of a long distance runner,” the figure skater explained. “It’s a lot of specific skills, and it’s hard for a lot of people to recognize how much really goes into it, and really how tough it is.”

“Ice is hard,” Adamo added, laughing. “And that’s not an original quote – every skater will tell you that.”

Off the ice, however, the Earth and Atmospheric Science major is shooting to become a meteorologist, describing his dream job as tracking hurricanes at the Hurricane Centre in Miami.

For now, though, Adamo will continue to find success in a sport that too many believe isn’t for men.

“Don’t listen to the stereotypes out there,” Adamo said of advice for other

MATTHEW AZEVEDO/THE ONTARION

Francis Adamo, the lone male figure skater on the Guelph Gryphons figure skating team, is looking to take the OUA Championship for the second time in two years with the University of Guelph hosting the competition in February 2015. males coming up in the sport. “It’s a really cool thing, it’s a unique thing – be proud of that.”

The Gryphons’ season begins on Dec. 13 at the Bill Phillips Synchro Invitational in Stratford.

to refresh and make plans. Keep in mind that spending time with friends is allowed this time of year – a time often reserved for family simply because it’s all we’ve ever known. Plan a night full of Netflix with some old friends, or go bowling. There’s no reason your holiday season has to follow a Hollywood-holiday script.

been spent on a significant other that you now get to spoil yourself with. Remind yourself that your family just wants you to be happy – especially you, ladies.

Unfortunately, it’s still assumed women are happier when paired off. Assert yourself, and show off your ability to be happy on your own terms, not somebody else’s.

importantly, a doctor for the necessary help.

Savor the single life.

If I told you not to worry about intrusive questions regarding your love life, I’d be lying.

There’s going to be a lot of them, you and I both know that.

“When are you going to bring your boyfriend home?” will undoubtedly be a popular one among the crowd. Don’t let these conversation-certainties ruin your holidays. Go prepared with a sense of humour, and a quick comeback boasting about the money you saved that would’ve

Don’t just “snap out of it.”

Sometimes, the not-so-great feelings that come paired with the holiday season aren’t things we can just “snap out of.” Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) – a lack of exposure to sunshine resulting in decreased melatonin production – affects a number of people annually, while a continuous feeling of hopelessness might be an indication of depression. It’s not enough to just “snap out of it”; don’t be ashamed to reach out to family, friends, and most

Mental health & wellness Giving the holiday season a new, positive perspective STEPHANIE CORATTI The holiday season is marked by family get-togethers, and Christmas movie marathons with your roommates. It’s a time where being surrounded by people is the expectation, whether you’re shopping in overly crowded malls, or stuck in a room full of relatives.

Despite the rarity of alone time during this time of year, the feeling of loneliness is a prominent one. Whether you’re rocking the single-status around your Christmas tree, or simply feeling a little

down-and-out, we have some strategies for you to make this the best – and healthiest – holiday season yet.

Rejuvenate yourself.

After 11 months, there’s no doubting that once December hits, we’re all running a little dry on energy. It’s been a long year full of relentless hard work, earned accomplishments, and exhausting letdowns. However, we all assume the holiday season is supposed to be filled with others. While everyone else is busy running themselves a little thin, take this holiday season to give yourself a break, and pamper yourself with some much needed alone time.

Know your limits.

Recognize how much time spent alone is too much for you. We’re all social beings to a certain extent, so give yourself the opportunity

Recognize that you hold the power.

Some people might crank up Elvis Presley’s “Blue Christmas” and label it their jam this December, as self-pity will ultimately be at the top of their to-do list.

Although, as much as we love Elvis, you might want to skip this track. Take a more proactive approach, and allow yourself to recognize that you hold the power in making this the happiest of holidays. Enjoy time spent by yourself, whether it’s repeatedly watching Elf or reading those books on your night stand that have been there for months, and most importantly, spend the holiday season how you want.

Don’t be afraid to make your own traditions, and your own ideal holiday.

Happy Holiday Alyssa Ottema News Editor:

My favourite thing to do over the holidays is knit. I never have the time when I’m in classes and working, so I love to take advantage of the extra time over the break. Knitting really keeps me relaxed, which is necessary when I’m making my way between several stressful holiday parties and family obligations.

Matthew Azevedo

Photo & Graphics Editor

My favourite holiday moments are always spent with family and friends, enjoying good company, food, and plenty of laughs.

Some winters, our family spends a few days at our cottage. With no running water, at least a few feet of snow over hilly terrain, and a nearby frozen lake, there’s always something exciting and somewhat dangerous to do.

Emilio Ghloum Associate Editor

The holidays always make me so joyful. It’s a time of the year where most people are unusually happy, kind, and respectful (as long as you avoid shopping). I enjoy spending time with my family more than anything else over the holidays. Roasting chestnuts, watching Christmas movies, and eating an abundance of different holiday desserts never fails to bring my family together.

Stephanie Coratti Sports Editor

The holiday season means a couple of things for me. For one, I always joke about how I count down to the World Junior Hockey Championship (set tobeginon Dec. 26 every year), while everyone else is counting down to Christmas day -- those who know me, by the way, know I’m not actually kidding.

Some of my favourite memories over the holidays have included family and friends huddled around the TV watching Team Canada.

This year, the tournament is taking place in Montreal and Toronto, and I couldn’t be more excited to attend the games with my best friend who I rarely get to see during the rest of the year.

Carly Jenkins

Director of Layout & Design For me, the holidays are never the same twice, which I love and this year’s journey south to Mexico is no exception. I do love a good traditional week of eggnog and snowball fights, but I’ve also loved the years I’ve spent in tents on beaches, eating lobster at midnight in ice storms, or having a traditional Aussie holiday of barbecues and backyard cricket. Probably the only tradition my family has is our lack of tradition, at one point we did attempt to adopt a traditional Festivus celebration… but it only happened that one time.

Top, left to right: Emily Jones, Emilio Ghloum, Alyssa O Azevedo. Bottom, left to right: Stephanie Coratti (lying Taylor, Danielle Subject, Adrien Potvin.

Adrien Potvin

:

Arts & Culture Editor My not-much-younger brother and I like to watch movies throughout Christmas day - selections include but are not limited to Home Alone, A Charlie Brown Christmas, A Christmas Story, and Die Hard, the latter of which is a personal favourite. Oh, come on, it’s totally a Christmas movie. I fail to see how it’s not.

Anyway, time spent with the family is best spent indulging in sweets, treats, and loads of turkey, but my absolute favourite part of the Christmas season? Tourtiere. My grandmother’s traditional Acadien meat pie is proof enough that there is at least some justice in the world. Happy holidays!

ys

Emily Jones Editor-in-Chief

Over the holidays I enjoy spending time with loved ones, and seeing friends I don’t often get to see. This year, I get to see a couple of friends who have been away in other countries for years – they are family to me, and I can’t wait to see them. I also love getting presents ready for people – wrapping is one of my all time favourite holiday activities (besides cooking, of course!) This seems to have been a year of new beginnings for my partner and I – graduating from school, completing programs, getting new jobs, moving into an apartment together – I can’t wait to decorate our first real tree together!

Ottema, Al Ladha, Sameer Chhabra, Matthew g down), Carly Jenkins, Vanessa Tignanelli, Lorrie

Sameer Chhabra:

1. Bossypants by Tina Fey 2. The Name of the Wind

by Patrick Rothfuss

3. Let’s Pretend This Never Happened

by Jenny Lawson 4. The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides 5. The Time Traveler’s Wife

by Audrey Niffenegger

Danielle Subject

6. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Web Editor

7. The Handmaid’s Tale

I’m a sucker for holiday traditions, and I look forward to going home and indulging in every Christmas movie imaginable. There’s nothing like watching It’s A Wonderful Life or Home Alone by the light of a warm fire with my snuggly golden retriever at my feet. Putting up the Christmas tree is another activity I look forward to. Our boxes of decorations are like time capsules, and going through them every year is a nostalgic adventure that my mom and I get to share together. Finally, my mom and I have had an ongoing tradition of seeing The Nutcracker ballet for years, and this year is no exception. For me, Christmas is a time for creating new memories, remembering old ones, and spending quality time with loved ones.

by Jonathan Safran Foer

by Margaret Atwood 8. Goldfinch by Donna Tartt 9. Just My Type by Simon Garfield 10. A Prayer for Owen Meany

by John Irving 11. The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman 12. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens 13. Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson 14. The Selected Poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke 15. The Sound and the Fury

by William Faulkner 16. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle

by Haruki Murakami 17. All The Way: My Life On Ice

by Jordin TooToo with Stephen Brunt

Copy Editor

The best apart about the holidays, for me at least, has always been the festive atmosphere. For a single month, beginning in December and ending on Jan. 1, everything everywhere radiates this weird, warm, welcoming, gingerbread-scented mood. I love the small things that we associate with the holidays – I love the Christmas specials, I love the Coke commercials, and I love the Christmas music. I suppose when it comes down to it, my favourite part about celebrating the holidays is getting to be a part of something that makes so many people happy – something that brings people together.

Holiday Reading List

18. Boy On Ice: The Life and Death of Derek Boogaard by John Branch

let it snow

19. Hockey Confidential by Bob McKenzie 20. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe 21. Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami 22. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

by Yasutaka Tsutsui 23. Under the Volcano by Malcolm Lowry 24. Ariel by Sylvia Plath 25. A Thousand Splendid Suns

by Khaled Hosseini 26. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

12

LIFE

Dealing with loss Loss, trauma, and learning to cope ASHLEY STREET Loss is something that all of us will experience and have to deal with at one time or another. Loss takes many different forms, and, depending on who you are as an individual, they can all be equally traumatic and difficult to deal with. Undergraduate years are a transitional time, and many of us experience losing something or someone important to us during these years. If you have never experienced grief before, the feeling of bereavement added to all the other pressures of being a student can be particularly painful and challenging.

This feeling can come from the death of a family member, friend, pet, the loss of a dream, harm to one’s health, a loss of the feeling of safety following a life-changing event, the loss of friendship or end of a relationship, or even the loss of something or somewhere sentimental like one’s family home. I lost my mother when I was in my first year. I have since tried to help those close to me get through their own losses, and I have learned that there is no one right way to go about it.

There are five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Not everyone goes through all of these stages but everyone needs to get to the last one – acceptance – to move on. There is no set timeline or method for getting through the grieving process, because everyone deals with it differently. There are two general things

that I would recommend: 1) Get help and support, 2) Take care of yourself.

When getting help, it is best to turn to the people who you are most comfortable with. Sometimes it’s helpful to turn to those who share in your loss, because the best support often comes from those sharing your feelings. Other times it may be best to look elsewhere, because some losses are so difficult that those sharing your experience may simply not have the ability to try and keep someone else motivated while also motivating themselves. Counselling can also be a beneficial experience, in addition to reaching out and strengthening the bonds with the people you love in your life. The university offers counselling services, and can authorize deferrals and extensions to give you the time that you need to process your loss. It’s important to reach out to someone, because, if you try and

keep it in, it will come out – most likely under less than ideal circumstances. I can think of quite a few times when I have spent the better part of an evening in a bathroom or other unceremonious place consoling an intoxicated friend (and, on a few occasions, a stranger) who has tried to repress a traumatic experience like a breakup or a rape and could no longer do so.

Part of taking care of yourself is seeking help, but there are other elements as well. It’s easy to let things go and not care as much when you are in a state of bereavement, but it’s important to keep doing the things that you normally would. Eat right, exercise, listen to what your body, mind, and soul need, and consciously try to meet those needs. You will be better able to process your own grief and be the best version of yourself if you make yourself a priority. You

are the most powerful agent of your own happiness – you are the maker of your own destiny.

As difficult as it is to deal with your own loss, it can also be difficult to provide support for someone close to you who reaches out to you. There is an old adage, “do not mock pain you haven’t endured” and this is important to keep in mind when approaching the losses of others; the loss of a hamster may seem trivial to you, but it could be traumatic for the person reaching out to you. Be kind, be understanding, and if you really feel that you lack the tools, try and direct the person coming to you to someone better equipped.

Loss creates change, and, as tragic as the circumstances may be, losing something or someone can be a tremendous opportunity for growth.

Confront your pain, process it, and flourish because you have dealt with it, not despite having dealt with it.

The Fashion Weekly: holiday style survival guide How to survive the holidays with style DIANA KURZEJA It’s that time of year that we all look forward to – once exams finally come to an end, our days are filled with shopping for gifts, spending time with loved ones, and attending holiday parties. It’s the season I look forward to the most, because let’s be honest, what’s not to love about the holidays? Not only is it about the delicious food and festivities – it’s the perfect excuse to dress up all year, and that’s where I come in to make sure you sparkle from head to toe this holiday season.

Holiday party style tips With every Christmas comes at least one obligatory Christmas party which brings the usual dilemma into question; how can you pull off looking stylish, but stay classy and appropriate? A holiday party doesn’t have to mean an ugly Christmas sweater, although who doesn’t love a good ugly Christmas sweater? If you’re looking for ways to pull off flashy and stylish for this year’s holiday parties, here are some style tips for this festive season.

Little black dress You can never go wrong with a little black dress (a staple every girl has in her wardrobe), and it’s a piece that’s easy to add sparkle to. Try adding a bit of silver or gold jewellery to your little black dress to make it look new again just in time for the holidays.

The perfect blazer Jewel tone blazers are in style this season, and are a great pick to dress up your basic tank-and-skirt outfit.

They’re classy, bold, and are a fun way to experiment with bold colours if you’re looking to try something a little different.

Textures and print Printed tops and textures, such as faux fur or leather, can transform almost any outfit in your wardrobe, and are the perfect contrast with something simple. Patterned tops, leather tights, or a faux fur vest can do so much for you if you want to freshen up what you already own and create an entirely new outfit.

Party dress with tights If you’re worried that you’re goingout dress is a little much for a holiday party, try pairing it with tights. Basic black, white, and tan tights can look great if you’re going for a simple look, but if you’re looking to jazz things up you can add brighter colours like fuchsia, turquoise, or red which would go perfectly with that little black dress.

New Year’s Eve outfit ideas Finding the perfect New Year’s Eve dress is as exciting as it can be stressful – there are so many options it can be overwhelming to know which style to go for this season.

Here are some basic styles that are classic, and will always look good no matter what you have planned for your New Year’s agenda.

Sequins Sequined dresses, tops, and skirts are never limited when it comes to New Year’s, and are a sparkly addition to a fabulous outfit. You can never go wrong with a little bit of sequins if you’re looking to go casual with pants or a basic skirt, or go as dressed up as you can with a full sequined dress.

Timeless pale dress If you’re looking to be set apart from the little black dress, a pretty pale dress is the perfect choice.

A pale dress is a classy and timeless eye-catching look that can be simple or sparkling from head to toe – leaving you feeling unique but stylish.

Pretty in lace Lace is a classic staple that can make any girl feel classy and beautiful in the right shape and colour.

Whether you go for a lace dress, top, or skirt, you’re bound to look fashionable and fancy with a little bit of lace in your outfit.

EVELYN HILL VIA CC BY-NC 2.0

A fur vest adds warmth and a touch of edginess to any casual winter outfit.

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“ The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.”

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› Thomas Edison: Relentless Inventiveness Failure is no biggie. Just ask Edison. If he stopped at failure, he would never have moved on to invent a little thing called the light bulb. So if you’ve failed a class somewhere else, or have a scheduling conflict, come on over. You can catch up with our worldrecognized online courses, then move on to bigger successes. Talk about a light bulb moment.

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14

OPINION

LOLI_SEW_ROUND VIA CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY JESSICA AVOLIO

Learning to accept people as they are is sometimes a tough thing to do – but it is a necessary part of life, even if it means getting go.

Changing people Finding love in one way or another GILAD KENIGSBERG-BENTOV One of the most documented human experiences is the emotional hardship of heartbreak. Throughout history, plays, movies, music, and literature have been riddled with romantic depictions of heartbreak and the loss of loved ones, often vocalized in heart-rending tones. We don’t quite realize the magnitude of the emotion we invest into an individual until they are taken from us – or worse – until they voluntarily cut us out of their lives. A figment of the “happily ever after” mentality we once had revisits us at arbitrary times, often in the form of dreams or dazes.

We reconcile with it momentarily and bask in its euphoria, but once it is gone, we are once again depleted of joy, and we must face the awakening bolt of reality: we are alone.

A part of loving our partners means that we have to accept that they, just like us, have their own preferences and desires; that they too get upset, happy, angry, and jealous. At times, our points of view might not correlate with theirs, and at times, they might need a break from us – or even a separation. Far too often we are blinded by the lavish love we receive from our significant other, we get addicted to that rush of butterflies in our stomachs, and when it is gone, we do things that we later regret.

We blindly render our loved ones faultless; their simplicity gravitates us towards them, their contentment with life enchants us. Their look of innocence, the way light hits their face, and the way their eyes glow when you look at them – we cling on to these things. We hang on for dear life because, as much we love them, and as gratifying as their presence is, no matter what, we know in the back of our heads that one day they will slip out of our grip. We know that, once again, we will be stuck alone with our own thoughts and feelings.

People change. Why? Why can’t they stay the same? Just like the good old days? Don’t let fervent naivety take over rational thinking. When was the last time we looked back and thought, “What on earth was I thinking?” Those embarrassing moments are often justified with, “It’s okay, I was different.” Times change, seasons pass, and so do people; it is one of the many difficult processes that people must adjust to. As Arthur Schopenhauer once wrote, “Mostly it is loss which teaches us about the worth of things.”

When I wonder if it is only me who suffers from this situation, I realize that not only am I a single case of a pervasive epidemic of heartbroken individuals, but even the seemingly invincible celebrities and musicians – being human just like me – suffer from this exhausting malady just the same. With regards to musicians, one song in particular comes to mind when I think about this struggle; it doesn’t only perfectly encapsulate the struggle of trying to change someone, but it captures

the danger of falling in love with one aspect of another human being instead of all of them. The song is, of course, Roxanne by the Police.

Between the ostensibly endless number of times that Sting utters the name “Roxanne,” the lyrics really portray Sting’s love for a girl who “sells her body to the night,” who, as he claims, is too good for her occupation and merciless clients. Now, there is a substantial margin between the pain of falling in love with a prostitute and your average heartbreak; nonetheless, it involves an excruciating battle with one’s feelings and emotions.

It’s hard to let go of someone we love. It’s hard to watch the passion you once shared with one another wash away, and it’s even harder to see it shared with someone else. We keep busy to prevent thoughts from sitting and turning toxic – we try to distance ourselves from anything that might trigger longing and reminiscence. The memories that once lit up our faces are now nothing but a collection of repressed images and sounds. But I say bask in them. Let the sink in, as painful as it might be, take pride in how fortunate and privileged you were to have had a taste of what love is – something that so few of us truly get to experience – and come to terms with what happened, so we can at last move forward, part ways with difficult times, and invite in better ones. Soon you will realize that, what seemed like insurmountable aching at the time, was nothing but a priceless life lesson. Don’t worry, one day, if it is within your interest, you too will find love in one way or another.

Half the fun of the holidays is making your home feel festive. One way to do this is by making personalized ornaments that reflect your style.

You’ve probably seen this on Pinterest

Make your own multidenominational ornaments ALYSSA OTTEMA Salt dough ornaments: These are definitely the go-to DIY holiday decoration, and salt dough really is a wonderful thing. It costs pennies to make, but it makes really classy and expensive looking ornaments when you use it correctly. You can roll the dough very thinly and use cookie cutters to shape, or build, the dough up into three-dimensional decorations. Of course, the best part about salt dough is that it can be shaped into an ornament for any holiday or any season.

You’ll need: - 4 c. flour - 1 c. salt - 1 ½ c. warm water - Rolling pin - Cookie cutters (optional; for shaping ornaments) - Paint (optional; for decorating) Preheat your oven to 325*F. Mix the flour and salt together; then, gradually add the water, stirring to combine. Finish the mixing of this dough with hands, kneading until soft and pliable.

Roll the dough out on a floured surface until it is about 1/8 of an inch thick. Cut or build shapes for the ornaments, using a toothpick or pen to make a hole at the top of the ornament. Bake the ornaments until

hard. This should take approximately one hour for cookie-cutter ornaments or two hours for three-dimensional ornaments.

Decorate to your heart’s desire!

Other options: If you don’t have the patience or desire to bake your own ornaments, here are a few other (faster) options!

You can quickly and economically customize ornaments from the dollar store with metallic or colourful permanent markers. Many stores sell packages of ten or so, plain decorative balls for a dollar or two, and you can easily decorate these however you please.

You can also make a quick pompom garland using only yarn, scissors, and your fingers. Depending on the size of pom-pom you’d like, wrap yarn around two or four fingers approximately 100 times. Cut the yarn and tie to secure. Then, use an additional piece of yarn to tie the 100 wraps in the middle as tightly as possible. Finally, slip the yarn off your fingers and cut each end of the loop, fluffing out the pom-pom as you go. Repeat this process until you have as many pom-poms as you’d like, and then string them together.

If your place is too small for a threedimensional Christmas tree, Hanukah bush, or other decorations, you can make two-dimensional versions out of paint chips. Head to the nearest hardware store to stock up on chips in various holiday hues; then, simply cut the paint chips into branch or ornament shapes, and stick them on your wall to create a holiday atmosphere that doesn’t take up space. Painter’s tape is great to use for this, as it won’t chip or scratch the paint on your walls.

Issue 175.14 • Thursday, December 4, 2014

Gryphons’ Den 2014

FEATURE

MCS*4100 takes part in annual event EMILY JONES Professor M.J. D’Elia began teaching MCS*4100 (Marketing and Consumer Studies) in the Fall of 2012 and was “looking for a highimpact experience to conclude the course.” Gryphons’ Den is just that - it began around “the time, pitch competitions like ABC’s Shark Tank and CBC’s Dragons’ Den were jut taking off on television. There was something about the simplicity of the pitch format that appealed to me - and pitches are a common activity for new businesses as they look for investors and customers,” explained D’Elia.

Gryphons’ Den took place on Wednesday, Nov. 26, at the Academic Town Square in the Library, and was an open event that hosted the MCS*4100 class, as well as a group of established judges including: Giacomo (Jack) Palazzolo, Vice President of Marketing for Ford Motor Company of Canada, Josh Richardson, North American Brand Manager for Dare Foods, Ian McQueen, Partner at MATRIX Healthcare Strategists Inc., Arun Chettiar, Brand Manager at Energizer Canada, Mike Ruff, Vice President & General Manager, Ontario for PepesiCo Beverages Canada, and Amy Dean, National Brand Manager at Sleeman Breweries Ltd. 10 student groups from MCS*4100 had the opportunity to pitch their ideas to this group of judges, they only have three minutes and are not allowed to rely on PowerPoint presentations

COURTESY

Gryphons’ Den began in 2012, like Dragons’ Den; groups have a short amount of time to pitch their ideas in hopes of being chosen by a panel of successful judges. This event is one of the many ways Professor M.J. D’Elia has transformed MSC*4100.

– “[forcing] them to know their ideas inside and out,” stated D’Elia.

“Marketing is about communication and connection – crafting a good sales pitch is both an art and a science,” explained D’Elia.

“You need a presentation style that attracts attention, but you need substance to inspire action on the part of the audience.”

These 10 groups of students were given the opportunity to do just that. Jenna Foran, a student in this year’s MCS*4100 said the event “served as an amazing learning experience for business students to see the “backstage” of a business,” and that “[the] experience gave [her] a hands-on opportunity to allow [her] to dig deeper into the roots of entrepreneurship procedures then [she] ever had before.”

Jan. 8, 2015 at 5:30 p.m. in UC Rm. 264

When asked why this approach works, D’Elia said that, “it raises the stakes. By fourth year, students are familiar with group work and in-class presentations, so when they learn that they will be presenting to industry executives in a public presentation they are motivated to put in a bit more effort.”

“I would recommend this course to all business students, as it has truly been an amazing experience,” shared Foran. “As a student in their final term at Guelph, I am about to jump into my business career and have already seen the benefits of partaking in Gryphons’ Den.” The event provides students with the opportunity to “analyze existing companies, markets and industries. It exposes them to common business tools and

techniques like Porter’s Five Forces, SWOT analyses, and the business model campus,” said D’Elia, who believes that “this foundational knowledge can be helpful to students as they try to access the market opportunities for their new business idea.”

MCS*4100 enables students to “[…] investigate questions like: Will people like our idea? Will people pay for it? Who are the most likely customers?” stated D’Elia.

Gryphons’ Den is a platform for students to explore before actually getting into the market place themselves. It allows them an opportunity to really get involved and immerse themselves in a world that they hope to prosper in.

At the end of each Fall semester, D’Elia gets students to give

15

feedback on their time spent in MCS*4100 and with Gryphons’ Den. D’Elia said students “describe the experience as exciting and scary - and memorable and that [Gryphons’ Den] also sparks interests in Entrepreneurship from students in the audience.” Nicole, a member of “Group 01” from the 2012 Gryphons’ Den described her experience as “[a great] way to finish [her] undergrad career,” and that “It will definitely be a memory that I will never forget; and a story that I will always tell. I think I learned a lot about myself that day and overcame a huge fear.” Nicole deemed the experience to be one she would never forget and said it taught her to trust herself and her group members. Being able to participate in Gryphons’ Den allowed her to “[overcome] a huge fear that I had and feel much more confident in myself.”

Nick Germanakos, a student who participated in this year’s Gryphons’ Den explained that he was nervous, as his group was the first up. He explained that the “crowd was quite intimidating.” Germanakos explained the importance of participating in an event like this: “Whether its presenting to a group of executives, or informally sharing some info with a manager, this type of public speaking will be greatly beneficial” in the workforce. Germanakos went on to say “Finding the most important aspects of the idea and being able to consciously communicate them was a big challenge, but also a great learning [experience].”

This experience may be nerve wracking and overwhelming, but the payoff seems to be well worth the angst. By giving students the ability to test the waters, D’Elia allows them insight into the world of marketing and entrepreneurship in a way not everyone gets.

Come out to our first volunteer meeting of 2015, there’ll be food!

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OPINION

Canada’s “Zero Tolerance for Barbaric Cultural Practices Act” Racialism at its peak ETHEL OSAZUWA Canada’s Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Chris Alexander’s proposed new law named “Zero Tolerance for Barbaric Cultural Practices Act” aims to terminate polygamy, honor killings, and child/forced marriages within immigrant minority communities. This act is appalling. It depicts the overt systemic discrimination against immigrant minorities, and is a reflection of Canada’s perceptions of immigrant minority groups that reside on “Canadian” soil. The new act entails profiling immigrants, mainly from Islamic communities, and targeting

their cultural practices. The act certainly goes against Canada’s human rights policy and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

An interesting fact is that, regardless of a perpetrator’s cultural/religious background, polygamy is illegal according to Canada’s Criminal Code, pursuant Section 293. Criminal and illegal activities such as polygamy and child/forced marriages can transpire in any culture and any community.

“Canadians” practiced polygamy before it was abolished and, in the present day, Canada’s fundamentalist Mormons still practice polygamy.

Moreover, child marriage and violent acts are very much prevalent among so-called “Canadians.” Therefore, it is safe to say that “Canadians” are also barbaric.

Though the least problematic, the term “barbaric” is quite disturbing. The term means uncivilized, uncultured, or primitive. Canada is supposed to be a democratic, multicultural country that accepts individuals from diverse backgrounds. It is disheartening to see our “well trained and educated” leaders propose an act that will legally legitimize “us” versus “them.” The term is degrading, and the act should not stand.

There are so many other issues that the government needs to comprehend and focus on. These concerns include improving immigration services and resources to assist immigrants settle into Canada, and to reduce the language barriers faced by immigrants. Additionally, the government should be more

Perspectives on “Checkmate” A two-sided view on a powerful game KATE SINIPOSTOLOVA On Nov. 27, I saw Frog in Hand perform their 15-minute contemporary piece called “Checkmate.”

They showed a chess game as an epic, chaotic battle of White and Black, with some violence.

At first, I had a feeling that the dance was unnecessarily harsh and violent, and I almost left.

Being a chess player myself, I always found the game to be

strategic, orderly, and controlled.

Seeing this completely opposite portrayal of a chess game had me thinking that the choreographer knew nothing about chess. But as the dance kept going, I kept comparing the two contrasting views on the game – calm and strategic against violent and chaotic – and I realized that it was all a matter of perspective. As the player, I always had a distant, overlooking view of the playing field, and I never identified with any of the pieces that I took, exchanged, or sacrificed for a better position or combination of moves. I suppose that is the right way to play chess; if you get attached to your pieces, you won’t be able to win. But

when looking through their eyes (if pieces were alive, like in the dance), the field is a true battle to fight. At their level of perception at the front line, they could experience fear, friendship, hope, joy, despair, hatred, defeat, and victory – all of which were portrayed in the emotional dance of Frog in Hand.

Knowing that chess was invented for a king of India many hundreds of years ago as a military game, it makes me think of the real world, and how often situations have contrasting (distant versus close) perspectives. For kings in the ancient empires, and for military leaders now, sending armies out to war is not a hard

worried about providing educational campaigns to educate “Canadians” to be less xenophobice, and provide employment opportunities for immigrant minority groups. In addition, poverty amongst immigrant minority groups is higher than the “Canadian” poverty rate. The government needs to focus on reducing minority poverty, rather than promulgating an unnecessary act that will further stigmatize and segregate minorities from “Canadian” society.

This barbaric potential law will pose more barriers to the integration of these groups into society.

I am not in any way supporting polygamy or violence against minors and women. However, this act is just a systemic way of segregating and targeting immigrant minority communities, because laws

to protect against polygamy and violence already exist in the Criminal Code to govern all individuals in Canada. If need be, amend the existing laws. With the current Canadian law, we are all aware that polygamy and violence are prohibited. Does this new act mean harsher and longer sentence for immigrant minorities for committing the same crime as “Canadians?” For instance, if a minority is indicted with polygamy, will s[he] receive a five year sentence, and if a “Canadian” is convicted for the same crime would s[he] receive a two year sentence? There is still hope for this absurd act to be withdrawn. In fact, this “Zero Tolerance for Barbaric Cultural Practices Act” will break what Canada stands for – a just and friendly environment for all.

task physically. They can sit in their castle or office and tell the general beside them to send out battalion 34; in such cases generals are the chess players – cold and detached from the field, playing with strategy. The soldiers in that battalion are the pieces, undergoing all the stresses, emotions, and hardships of the fight.

Likewise, large organizations have divided perspectives. CEOs rarely know the hardships of the most low-paid workers in their own company unless they had to start from the bottom themselves.

Once again, the CEO is the player, while the employees are the pieces.

Distant and close perspectives each have their uses. A distant

perspective allows for emotional detachment, protecting the viewer and giving the opportunity for logical and strategic thinking.

Decisions made from a distant perspective are often beneficial to the group, company, or army as a whole, though some individuals in the group may suffer as a result. On the other hand, a close perspective shows the emotional struggles of the individuals in the group; this allows for decisions benefiting each individual, rather than the group as a whole.

Seeing a situation from all perspectives allows for informed and appropriate decisions that are beneficial to all or at least offer a good compromise.

Hatred and lies manage to reach the University of Guelph Investigating Norman Finkelstein’s talk LIEL MIRON HALYO On Nov. 13, 2014, an article was published in The Ontarion about Norman Finkelstein, a self-proclaimed renowned lecturer and political scientist that came to the University of Guelph, and spoke about the conflict in the Middle East. The article praises Norman Finkelstein’s views, while, in reality, he attacks the Israeli government and its people, and continues to further demonize the

nation and its actions. All “facts” presented by Mr. Finkelstein are not only extremely hurtful and biased, but are furthermore, entirely false.

During the lecture, Mr. Finkelstein claimed that the 4000 rockets fired from Gaza into Israel are in fact not rockets, but “enhanced fireworks.” He backs this claim up by saying that there weren’t many casualties and therefore, these; weapons cannot be classified as rockets. This claim is extremely ridiculous and false.

While the number of casualties is not catastrophic in comparison to the intifadas and past wars, it is still substantial. The reason this number is not extremely high is because Israel takes all the

precautions to keep its civilians and soldiers safe. Israel has done, and continues to do, everything in its power to ensure the safety of its people. Some examples include bomb shelters, which are mandatory in every home and/ or building, and a rocket defense system, which was created out of necessity, because of tens of thousands of rockets, not “enhanced fireworks,” being launched with murderous intent at civilian targets.

Furthermore, Mr. Finkelstein also contradicts himself by saying that rockets cause a lot of damage, yet he continues on to say that there was $15 million in damage.This is a large sum of money and, therefore, one would be able to classify the

damage done by an actual rocket, not an enhanced firework, as Mr. Finkelstein describes. He further continues and criticizes the Israeli attacks on the United Nations civilian shelters. However, what Mr. Finkelstein fails to mention is that Hamas, a terrorist organization looking to eradicate Israel and her people, hid an enormous amount of weapons underneath these U.N. civilian shelters, as well as under hospitals and schools.

Overall, having Mr. Finkelstein come to speak at the University of Guelph brings a lot more harm than good. The University of Guelph is known for being an extremely successful university for many reasons.

One of the main reasons students choose the University of Guelph

is because they feel very comfortable and safe here. Safety is crucial to making or breaking a university experience, and Guelph excels in creating a safe environment for all students – no matter what race, political stance, or opinions one holds. However, by bringing in a radical who provides false information, hatred is provoked, and the friendly and welcoming community created on campus is in harm’s way. By bringing in someone like Mr. Finkelstein, the safety and confidence students have in themselves and their background is jeopardized. Those chosen to speak at the university should spread tolerance, understanding, and verified facts –all aspects that Norman Finkelstein never presents.

Issue 175.14 • Thursday, December 4, 2014

EDITORIAL

Why looking back isn’t the worst thing you can do

TheON The Ontarion Inc.

Transitional periods and understanding yourself

University Centre Room 264 University of Guelph N1G 2W1 ontarion@uoguelph.ca Phone 519-824-4120 General: x 58265 Editorial: x 58250 Advertising: x 53534 Accounts: x 53534

ADRIEN POTVIN As I peer over the edge of my secondlast semester of my undergraduate degree, and look down at the pile of work I’ve got cut out for me, I’m still not quite sure what to think or where to go afterwards. I’ve got options, sure – grad school, publishing, teaching abroad, but I suppose getting a move on those things is always the hardest part. For the approaching New Year and semester, I thought I’d use this final issue’s editorial space to share some thoughts about growth, time, and developing a sense of self.

I’ve had a great time here in Guelph, a time full of ups and downs. This last year or so has particularly been a rip. Having done my obligatory Top 10 album list for the year, it prompted me to reflect on what I was listening to, old and new, at any particular time since January.

It’s interesting, because my thoughts on how I engage with music are always in flux, and I don’t really have any concrete agenda or point of reference. Since it’s been a bit of a personally and globally tumultuous year, and I try to further understand myself through art/music/etc., my perspective on things has been kind of all over the place. It seems like personal chaos is even more difficult to manage when it seems like the world is going insane before your eyes.

So, it was a tough list to make, no doubt, but whether or not you take the year’s end as mere symbolic gesture or a truly transformative thing, doing something like that at the year’s end really does make you evaluate yourself and how you have changed in a year, for better or for worse.

In the past 11 months, I’ve been happy, hurt, healed, thrilled, and afraid, to extremes I had never experienced before. I guess it’s all a part of growing older, but I’ve thought that, in a university setting, they can be so defining to how you develop as a person. Since I study English literature, and that takes me to all kinds of facets of thinking, the evaluation of my own sense of self and place is nothing if not consistent. On top of this, my creative endeavours warrant probing further into that, and I’m beginning to take those more seriously and see them through.

The hardest part is balancing things that seem to have no clear boundary.

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ELISABETH SHAPIRO

Looking back on what you did wrong or right in your life (especially in the transitional space of an undergraduate degree) isn’t something to necessarily dwell on, but engaging with it positively can offer a stregntheened sense of self.

Studying humanities and working in a creative vein has me constantly intervening my sense of self within the things I engage with in academics, literature, music, and art. The distinctions between my artistic career, personal life, school career, and working here at The Ontarion, have been pretty mixed ones as of late. And, since I aim to continue in this line of work to some capacity, I guess I’d better get used to that. But it gets exhausting sometimes, because creative work forces you to evaluate yourself and your sense of place consistently, usually in a number of manners and methods that all contribute to your own distinctive perception of your life.

Of all things, I’ve started taking poetry more seriously since I’ve studied English here. I like doing it, I’ve come to appreciate its depths, and I try to develop my own style of probing those depths. It’s certainly not for everyone, but it’s for me. It’s about drawing from a well of experiences, ideas, memories, and discovering things about yourself and the spaces and people around you. It’s that magical moment when you read a passage that you connect with, either instantaneously or over time, or when you write something that you’re really happy with (then don’t even want to look at a week later). You need to work to understand and engage with it.

I feel that, in studying arts at least, you can apply critical understanding to your own work and passions, and that legitimizes it, in a way, for yourself. You begin to read into your own place in the world, because words and

ideas are formative of experience. And looking back on it, I never thought I’d be as invested in them as I am now.

The more writing/studying literature forces me to study myself and my past – especially at this crucial, transitional stage in my life – I realize quite how much I have changed since, say, towards the end of high school and my first year at a different university.

I was really socially awkward (still am sometimes), uncomfortable with myself, and filled with self-loathing, and I had plenty of vague ideas and no way to really translate them. I was never sure what group I “fit into,” and nobody could ever give me a straight answer. Maybe I was always too afraid to ask.

So I dropped out, moved back home, worked for a few years, and pondered where to go next – even considering joining the coast guard at some point. I saw my initial dropping out as a big mistake for a while, but I began to realize that my “sabbatical” (my parents weren’t too crazy about my calling it that) was invaluable to me, because I was able to do some growth of my own before taking a vital step forward after a disappointing step back. I became more social, lost some weight, pinned down a sense of style, got to know myself better, and moved on when I felt ready. I kicked myself for not taking a year off high school, but looking back, I wish I would have.

My time in Guelph has been marked by incredible highs and lows. I’ll always remember Hillside, cottages, the incredibly vibrant and will-be age-defining arts scene, the love, the breakup, the drinking too much, the great stuff I’ve read, and

the incredible friends, peers, and colleagues I’ve made here. The good, the bad, and the weird, they all contribute to growth in some degree, and I guess any learning experience is worth it.

I’m not quite sure what I’ll do differently in the New Year. I’ve got plenty of ideas, but moving on them is the tricky part as always. Maybe I’ll try and be less apathetic about some things. Maybe I’ll try and feel more happy and comfortable alone. At any rate, I feel like it’s going to be another time like when I was between schools - a time where I’ll need to further consider how to go about taking the next step So, I guess if I’m to give any actual advice in this editorial, it’s to take advantage of the liminal space you find yourself in. Because, you may be there more often than not, and for longer than you intended to be. You have a lot to mine from yourself, and tons to do with it, so learn the most you can.

Happy holidays, and thanks for reading all semester!

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

Have a question, comment or complaint?

Send us a letter to the editor at ontarion@uoguelph.ca.

Deadline is Monday at 4 p.m., 300 word max.

Editorial Staff Editor-in-Chief

Emily Jones Associate Editor

Emilio Ghloum News Editor

Alyssa Ottema Arts & Culture Editor

Adrien Potvin Sports & Health Editor

Stephanie Coratti Copy Editor

Sameer Chhabra Web Editor

Danielle Subject Production Staff Photo & Graphics Editor

Matthew Azevedo Director of Layout & Design

Carly Jenkins Office Staff Business Coordinator

Lorrie Taylor Ad Manager

Al Ladha Office Manager

Vanessa Tignanelli Circulation Director

Salvador Moran Board Of Directors President

Alex Lefebvre Chairperson

Patrick Sutherland Treasurer

Anthony Jehn Secretary

Sasha Odesse Directors

Melissa Chong Ah Yan

Bronislaw Szulc

Zina Bibanovic Contributors

Jessica Avolio

Heather Gilmore

Liel Miron-Halyo

Jack Hinds

Gilad

Kenisberg-Bentov

Diana Kurzeja

Matt Lawson

Ethel Osazawa

Ryan Priddle

Elisabeth Shapiro

Kate Sinipostolova

Ashley Street

Will Wellington

The Ontarion is a non-profit organization governed by a Board of Directors. 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 of refuse all material deemed sexist, racist, homophobic, or otherwise unfit for publication as determined by the Editorin-Chief. Material of any form appearing in this newspaper is copyrighted 2014 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 Thuroweb.

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FUN PAGE

ACROSS 1- Setting in motion 11- This, in Tijuana 15- Paving material 16- Lots and lots 17- Make three identical copies 18- Unspecified in number 19- Trauma ctrs.

20- Tokyo, formerly 21- The tiniest bit 23- Poses 25- The Mustangs’ sch.

27- Ration out 28- Garr and Hatcher 30- Arterial dilatation 33- Charged 35- Affirm 36- Fight, disturbance 38- Inventor Howe 41- Skater Lipinski 43- Come afterward 45- One who seeks advancement 49- Spoil 51- Descendant 52- Badger 54- Melt together 55- Breakfast choice

58- Fairly dry, when describing champagne 60- Tractor-trailer 61- Official records 62- The number of nucleons in an atom 65- Splotchy 66- Business activity 67- Easy to steer 68- Property

DOWN 1- Bear witness 2- Porter 3- Knight of the Round Table 4- Mischievous fairy 5- Low-lying area 6- Litmus reddeners 7- Puget Sound city 8- Highest mountain in Crete 9- Western pact 10- FBI guys 11- Effortlessly 12- Chairs 13- Native drum 14- ___ a time 22- Ear ornament 24- Trigonometric function 26- Italian article 29- Chowder

We are SO sorry about the puzzle mix-up last week, enjoy this week’s crossword and Happy Holidays!

cracker 31- Holiday start 32- River to the Ubangi 34- Drop of water expelled by the eye 37- Time to remember 39- Beginning on 40- Growing post-W.W. II environs 42- Abby’s twin 44- Least difficult 45- Gum arabic source 46- Brooding hen 47- Scented ointment 48- Pendent ornament 50- Extent 51- Lathered up 53- Style 56- From the U.S. 57- Narrow path for walkers, cars or ships 59- Drinking vessels 63- RR stop 64- Mohawksporting actor

SUBMIT COMPLETED CROSSWORD TO THE ONTARION OFFICE, UC 264, NO LATER THAN MONDAY DEC. 8TH AT 4PM FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN TWO FREE BOB’S DOGS!

Crossword Winner from 175.13 is…

Michelle Joselin!

CLASSIFIEDS Property Available May 1, 2015. 215 Paisley Street, Guelph. 7 Bedroom, 2 Bathroom Home with Large Common Areas and Shared Kitchen. Fully Renovated. $3675 plus utilities, only $525 per room. www.bperentals.com, 613.507.9090 or info@bpedevelopment.com

SELL YOUR BOOKS Co-op Bookstore

The Back to School Guide, Winter Edition hits stands Jan. 8, 2015.

in Johnston Hall December 1 - December 13 9:00 am - 5:00 pm, Weekdays

Please book your advertising space before Monday Jan. 5, 2015.

Saturday, Dec. 6

10:00 am - 4:00 pm

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10:00 am - 1:00 pm

Don’t miss out, and ask about our frequency discounts!

519-824-4120 ext 58267 onsales@uoguelph.ca theontarion.com/advertising

UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANTSHIPS SUMMER 2015 Exciting opportunities exist for students interested in summer work under two unique summer research programs.

The NSERC Undergraduate Summer Research Awards (USRA) and Undergraduate Research Assistantships (URA) are available for the summer of 2015. The positions are 16 weeks in length.

USRA and URA Position Descriptions are posted on the respective websites.

USRA (NSERC)

URA

STUDENT ELIGIBILITY • Must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada

STUDENT ELIGIBILITY • Must be a Canadian Citizen or permanent resident of Canada residing in Ontario

• Must be registered full-time at the time of application in a baccalaureate program in natural science or engineering. Normally students participating in this program are students at the University of Guelph but students from other institutions who meet the academic criteria are also eligible

• Must be a full-time or part-time student at the time of application in any baccalaureate program at the University of Guelph

• Must have a cumulative average of at least a ‘B-’ standing (≥70%) during the course of their undergraduate study • There are no

• Must have a cumulative average of at least a ‘B-’ standing (≥70%) during the course of their undergraduate study (departments may have additional academic criteria) as determined by the University of Guelph’s • Must have assessment through the submission of a Financial Need Assessment Form • Must return to study in a baccalaureate program in Fall 2015

•

• Must not have completed the last semester of their baccalaureate program

• Must not have started a graduate program at the time of the award

• Must be engaged in full-time research during the tenure of the award. However, a student may register as a part-time student at the University during the award period providing they are not registered for course(s) totalling more than 1.0 credits

• Must be engaged in full-time research during the tenure of the award

STUDENT APPLICATION

STUDENT APPLICATION

1. Forward a complete application to the respective department/unit. Complete applications consist of:

1. Submit a URA Financial Need Assessment Form to Student Financial Services for assessment, beginning Dec. 8, 2014 and no later than Feb. 2, 2015

a) NSERC’s Form 202 - Part 1 (now an online application)- refer to the NSERC website: http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/OnlineServices-ServicesEnLigne/Forms-Formulaires_eng. asp

. Once an approval email is received students should forward a complete application to the respective hiring department/unit. Complete applications consist of:

b) The University’s Form 2 documents page)

a) The University’s Form 2 documents page)

supervisor once the position has been offered)

transcript to their

Financial Services)

SELECTION PROCEDURE

The Department/unit makes decisions on the applicants and selects students for either a USRA or URA, beginning February 17, 2015. A student may only hold one award at any one time.

URA & USRA APPLICATIONS MUST BE SUMBITTED TO THE DEPARTMENTS NO LATER THAN FEBRUARY 2, 2015