The Queen's Journal, Issue 18

Halloweekend harmonies A&E Page 8

Queen’s

University

the journal since

1873

T u e s d ay, N o v e m b e r 2 , 2 0 1 0

Little red riding

Silver lining for gaels

Liberal nomination meeting set for Nov. 7

By Katherine Fernandez-Blance Assistant News Editor

photo by Christine blais

The OUA Finals for women’s rugby took place at Kingston Field Saturday. The Gaels won silver after being defeated by the Guelph Gryphons 54-5. Queen’s advances to the CIS championship.

Queen’s 5, guelph 54

Queen’s takes OUA silver

The women’s rugby team loses to Guelph in OUA finals

By Kate Bascom Sports Editor The Queen’s Gaels came up short in the OUA women’s rugby final Saturday. In their game on Kingston Field, the Gaels fell to the Guelph Gryphons by a score of 54-5.

The heavily favoured Gryphons showed why they conceded only seven points all season by playing a very strong game from start to finish.

While Queen’s showed plenty of heart, the extremely talented Guelph side was able to jump out

INDEX

Volume 138, Issue 18 www.queensjournal.ca News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

A&E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Features . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Editorials . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Postscript . . . . . . . . . . 15

Op-Ed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

to a 12-0 lead early on and didn’t let up until the final whistle. At one point in the second half, Queen’s showed that Guelph does, in fact, have some holes in their defence when eight-man Ash Ward grabbed the ball and dove across the tryline.

While Queen’s didn’t win the ultimate prize, both coaches and players were quick to emphasize their strong performance against a very talented opponent.

Head coach Beth Barz praised the team’s effort.

“I think there were times when we played great defence and there were times when we made good decisions on attack,” she said. “On the flip side of that, there were also times when defence didn’t go as well as it should and we made some pretty boneheaded decisions in terms of us our tactical decision-making.”

Barz was equally enthusiastic about the result. This was the Gaels’ first appearance in the OUA

Finals since 1995.

“This is what we’ve being aiming for all year … I think a lot of times people say you lose the gold but I think we won a silver Please see Despite on page 13

The future of Kingston and the Island’s Liberal riding will be determined this Sunday when eligible Liberal Party members vote for one of five candidates to replace Speaker of the House and MP Peter Milliken in the nomination meeting for MP. After serving Kingston and the Islands for 22 years, Milliken, ArtSci ’68, announced on June 26 that he wouldn’t seek re-election.

Milliken will remain the MP and Speaker for the riding until the next federal election is called and Parliament is dissolved.

Ron Hartling, president of the Kingston and the Islands Liberals said that although Milliken will certainly be missed, a new MP should be able to engage more in partisan issues, something Milliken was unable to do because of his additional role as Speaker of the House.

For the 39 years prior to Milliken’s Speaker’s claim, Kingston has always had an MP that has been of ministerial caliber, meaning that if their party goes into government, the MP would be selected for Cabinet, Hartling said. Because Milliken has been Speaker of the House for the past nine years, he has been unable to be selected for Cabinet.

“Kingstonians aren’t used to having a back bencher. They are used to having someone of quality to be selected for cabinet,” Hartling said.

Five candidates, Bill Flanagan, Bittu George, Phillip Osanic, Harvey Rosen and Ted Tsu, are hoping to become the Liberal nominee for Kingston and the Islands MP. Hartling said all Liberal members who registered with the party on or before Oct. 14 can vote at the nomination meeting. The voting will be done via preferential ballot, which essentially means voters rank all candidates in order to prevent a majority in the first round, he said.

“Once the Liberal candidate is selected, we’ll be out getting them established in the minds of voters,” Hartling said. “He’ll be working to establish himself and speak out on the issues he will push if elected.”

Hartling must remain strictly neutral in the nomination meeting due to his role as president, but he said the future of the Liberal riding is looking to be very promising—especially since he said he expects the riding to remain a Liberal stronghold.

“We’ve got a great constituency office, and especially with the prison farm issue, we’ve really seen a crystallization of opinion in Kingston that Harper has to go.

I know a few NDP and Green Party members that have signed up for a Liberal membership,” Hartling said.

Scott Matthews is an assistant professor in the political studies department. Though he has no involvment with the nomination race, he said he agrees that Kingston is likely to remain a liberal riding.

“A lot of people are involved in Please see Kingston’s on page 5

Growing Goodes Hall The west wing expansion of Goodes Hall is on time and on budget

By Labiba Haque Assistant News Editor Students at the Queen’s School of Business will be exposed to a larger range of electives once the Goodes Hall expansion is completed in December 2011.

David Saunders, dean of the School of Business said the new expansion will allow larger classrooms for students as more electives to choose from.

Saunders said construction is going according to plan. The 18 month construction project broke ground in July of this year.

“It’s a complex project and it’s fully on time and fully on budget and to me that’s terrific news,” he said.

The new wing is being built on the west side of Goodes Hall, which was formerly a parking lot.

The wing will have five levels, including an underground parking

facility linking to the underground lot located under Tindall Field. The 75,000 square foot expansion is set to have six classrooms as well as a number of faculty offices and student areas, two new research faculties and Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) features. LEED are internationally recognized green-buildings designed to improve performance such as energy savings, water Please see School on Page 4

Feature

2 •queensjournal.ca

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

The currency of a Queen’s grade The Journal looks at how a Queen’s mark matches up to other Canadian Universities

By Katherine Fernandez-Blance Assistant News Editor Haley Wilson gets 80s at Guelph University but after conversations with friends, she said she’s unsure she’d fare as well at Queen’s.

“I get the impression that the University of Guelph grades pretty averagely,” the third-year undergraduate said. “It seems that Queen’s caps it off at a far lower level.”

Wilson said she’s heard rumours that 82 per cent is considered a “good mark” in the Queen’s history department. She said she usually receives about 85 per cent in her history and anthropology classes at Guelph.

“It is possible to get 90s, but you have to work your ass off,” Wilson said. “[Professors] are a little better with [giving] lower As.” Wilson, who plans to apply to graduate studies programs in History, said she’s curious whether admissions departments consider where the applicant completed their undergraduate degree.

“I began wondering how Queen’s marks are interpreted,” she said.

“What we’re trying to do is determine what an ‘A’ student really means and whether or not our assessment matches what we think of our students.”

—Jonathan Rose, Assosiate professor with Queen’s political studies According to grading information collected about Queen’s Arts and Sciences courses over the last two academic years, 18.39 per cent of students in the faculty received final ‘A’ grades, which mean a mark of an 80 per cent or above. Arts students in the faculty received fewer ‘A’ grades than science students.

Queen’s Associate Professor of Political Studies, Jonathan Rose, said professors mark to the standards of a grading culture.

“The grading culture in political studies is very different than, for example the grading culture in psychology,” Rose said. “In sciences, it’s not uncommon to give out 90s. It’s less common in arts.”

Rose said the University is working towards a switch from a 4.0 grading model to a 4.3 model, like most other North American universities have. In order to do so, departments have had to re-evaluate their grading practices.

“As a department we are having a broad conversation about how to translate our grades, but also to rethink our grading culture,” Rose said. “What we’re trying to do is determine what an ‘A’ student really means and whether or not our assessment matches what we think of our students.”

Nonetheless, Rose said students need to take grades with a grain of salt and remember that they’re meant to act as a feedback mechanism to tell students what a professor thinks of their work compared to the other work they’ve seen.

“Through the years, I’ve heard people say, ‘my friend at University X is getting ‘A’s and I’m just getting ‘B’s and I’m just as good as that person’,” he said. “But it misunderstands that grading exists in a culture that may not be the same as another university’s culture.”

Rose said there’s a misconception that grades can have negative effects on students’ academic futures.

“Our students regularly do get placed,” he said. “The grades aren’t hurting them, they might actually be the reason why they are getting in.”

Paul Bowman, manager of Career Education and Counseling at Queens’ Career Services, advises students about what to do after finishing an undergraduate degree.

About 40 per cent of the students he sees are fourth years and about half of those students are interested in pursuing some form of graduate studies.

Bowman said students’ academic aspirations following undergraduate studies are dependent on their marks.

“Queen’s is a tough place to get an

80,” Bowman said. “Certain doors will be opened or closed depending on academic performance. When advising students, I can suggest different options for a student who has a 70 average compared to an 85 average.”

Bowman said Queen’s tough academic standards are caused by professor’s varying views on the purpose of a university education.

“If the philosophy is about inquiry and engagement with an academic discipline, that’s a whole different mindset in the professor than university just being a stepping-stone to professional life,” he said.

Although student’s marks aren’t the only thing admissions officers look at, they do remain a significant component of an application to a postgraduate program.

“This probably means that Queen’s students are having to work harder to get into those programs,” Bowman said.

Michele Dextras, interim manager of admissions at the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Law, said she’s never seen any empirical data comparing one institution’s academic averages to another.

“All programs are looked at equally,” Dextras said. “Providing a student attends a recognized institution, it doesn’t matter where students went to for their undergraduate degrees.

She said that while a student’s transcript isn’t evaluated based on which school it comes from, it is heavily evaluated.

“A student’s academic performance is the best predictor of how they will do in law school,” Dextras said.

Michel Dansereau, senior admissions officer at McGill University’s Faculty of Medicine, said admissions staff don’t weigh the name of an applicant’s undergraduate university. However differing expectations could effect admission into a program.

“If an institution awards a student with a mark of 85 the grade of ‘A’, while another institution awards a student with a mark of 80 an ‘A’, they are both considered as ‘A’ students,” Dansereau said.

“We don’t alter grade point averages, however we do note the context in which the GPA was earned,” he said. “For example, we would not treat the student who has a 3.90 GPA earned from largely introductory courses the same way as the student who has a 3.90 GPA from courses that include very challenging ones ... numbers are only part of the story.”

Jane Emrich, Assistant Dean of Students at Queens’ Faculty of Law said that although the undergraduate institution doesn’t play a large role in graduate admissions, on the whole, Queen’s students tend to do fairly well for themselves.

Emrich said the Ontario Law Schools Admissions Service (OLSAS) prepares a statistical summary of applicants to Ontario law schools from different undergraduate universities at the end of each admission cycle.

After crunching a few numbers,

Emrich was able to establish that Queen’s undergraduates applying to Ontario law schools receive higher percentage of admission offers than students at other universities.

Using data on the number of students who applied to Ontario Law Schools and the number who were accepted, Emrich developed acceptance rates for the 2010 cycle.

Out of the four universities she surveyed, Queen’s fared the best with 47.8 per cent of applicants receiving offers of admission. The University of Western Ontario was second with 47.6 per cent followed by the University of Guelph with 46.5 per cent and 45.7 per cent for the University of Toronto.

Prior to making acceptance decisions, admissions officials may choose to consult the Ontario Law School Application Service’s 2011grade conversion table. On this table, Queen’s is the only university listed as a category

Photo by Christine Blais

Assistant Dean of Students at Queen’s Law Jane Emrich said Queen’s students had a higher rate acceptance to Ontario Law Schools than other schools surveyed.

Feature

Tuesday, november 2, 2010

queensjournal.ca

•3

PhoTo illUsTraTion by JUsTin TanG

From left: Queen’s University, McGill University, University of Guelph and University of Toronto. five institution. As such, Queen’s students need a 94 per cent to a 100 per cent average to achieve at 4.0 GPA. Category three schools, like Guelph, Brock, U of T and Western, need between 90 per cent and 100 per cent for a 4.0 rating.

OLSAS was unable to provide a representative for comment to the Journal.

Emrich said the results from her study suggest that Queen’s students aren’t at a disadvantage despite the OLSAS categorization.

“Grading is always relative,” she said. “That’s why there’s an attempt to provide some uniformity to provide some kind of fair process.

“If you look at the results from the cycle it doesn’t seem to have borne out [to disadvantage Queen’s students].”

Emrich said she’s heard from other law programs that being an undergrad from Queen’s doesn’t hurt an applicants chances.

“I know that from talking to colleagues, Queen’s students are highly regarded,” she said, adding that despite the University’s reputation, the school the applicant

Queens’ high academic standards didn’t hamper her postgraduate interests. Christie graduated from Life Sciences and is now completing her final year of medical school at the University of Calgary.

“I’ve never heard of a student who seemed to be at an “Grading is always acceptable level that didn’t get relative. That’s why in [to postgraduate studies],” she said. “Most universities must there’s an attempt be understanding that Queen’s to provide some students generally will have lower uniformity.” grades. I’ve never heard of the —Jane Emrich, standards actually hindering Assistant dean of students at anyone.”

Christie said her Queen’s degree Queen’s Faculty of Law even gave her an advantage in According to Emrich, other some regards.

“In as far as succeeding in a factors in addition to marks are considered when judging an postgraduate program, the skills learned at Queen’s are very application.

“Because the competition is so important,” she said. “Medical fierce, transcripts and LSAT scores schools look at more than just are definitely important,” she said. your grades. Extracurricular “[But] the grades are just one factor involvement is such a big part of … You have to read the whole file. Queen’s, is a big part of applying Were the courses of high academic to any graduate or professional rigour at high levels or is it filled program.” with electives at lower levels?”

—With files from Jake Edmiston Emily Christie, ArtSci ’04, said hails from isn’t a major push or pull.

“That would be a gross oversimplification,” she said. “It would be difficult to say that the name of the university is a deciding factor.”

CREATING EQUALITY? Undergraduate Grading Conversion Ontario Law School Application Service Queen’s

4.0 GPa = 94 per cent to 100 per cent 3.90 GPa = 87 per cent to 93 per cent

Western

4.0 GPa = 90 per cent to 100 per cent 3.90 GPa = 85 per cent to 89 per cent

U of T

4.0 GPa = 90 per cent to 100 per cent 3.90 GPa = 85 per cent to 90 per cent

Undergraduate Grading Conversion Ontario Medical School Application Service Queen’s

Western rMC

4.0 GPa = 90 per cent to 100 per cent 3.90 GPa = 85 per cent to 90 per cent 4.0 GPa = 90 per cent to 100 per cent 3.90 GPa = 85 per cent to 90 per cent 4.0 GPa = 93 per cent to 100 per cent 3.90 GPa = 84 per cent to 92 per cent

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News

4 •queensjournal.ca

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Counting student votes Lack of campus advertising seen during last week’s municipal election through any City sanctioned information source.

AMS Municipal Affairs A lack of information during the Commissioner Hilary Windrem recent municipal election may agreed that there was a lack of have affected Queen’s students’ advertising of the mayoral election on campus. motivation to vote.

“There were no City of Kingston “I didn’t really know who the candidates were and what their posters that were up where students goals were, and I didn’t really would go on campus. There was want to make a random decision,” no outreach in that way,” she said.

However, despite claims that Daniel Karp, ArtSci ’13, said.

Karp said while the polls were most students didn’t vote in this accessible physically speaking, election, Windrem observed many people didn’t know where the opposite.

“I spent all day at the Queen’s they were.

Centre and it looked like there “I really didn’t know was a continued stream of students who the candidates were coming in to vote,” Windrem, ArtSci ’11, said, adding that she and what their goals went to the Williamsville poll were, and I didn’t really also on Albert St. where she saw a large want to make a random student turnout. decision.”

Having polls located in different buildings this year may —Daniel Karp, ArtSci ’13 have positively impacted the voter turnout, she said.

“In the past they’ve used “I think the polls were just as accessible as every other classroom buildings for voting that weren’t on campus. You always have to the most physically accessible. walk there, even if you live far For someone who has mobility away from campus,” he said. “The issues, this is a problem,” she said. only reason I found out about “The brand new Queen’s Centre where the poll was was because I is arguably one of most accessible buildings on campus, which could went to Cogro.”

Karp said he didn’t know a lot have contributed to a higher voter turnout.” of students who voted.

However, only students who “There weren’t a lot of advertisements for the mayoral live in Sydenham district, which election,” he said, adding that he encompasses the area between found out where to vote through Johnson and William Streets and his politics professor rather than Lake Ontario and midpoint of

By Jessica Fishbein Assistant News Editor

Kingston harbour and Sir John A MacDonald Blvd were able to cast their ballot at the Queen’s Centre.

Students living in the King’s Town district, which encompasses the area between Railway St. and Ontario St. and mid-point of the Great Cataraqui River and William and Division Streets had to go to Regiopolis Notre-Dame Catholic High School.

Portsmouth district, which encompasses the area between Bath Road, Lake Ontario, Sir John A MacDonald and Little Cataraqui Creek had Polson Park Public School. These locations range from a five minute to 10 minute drive from the Queen’s Centre.

“Because of how [the] city divides districts and where they put stations there were some people who were upset they had to travel far,” Windrem said.

“Engaging students in municipal politics is hard enough but getting them to walk far to a polling station is harder.”

“There were no City of Kingston posters that were up where students would go on campus.”

—Hilary Windrem, municipal affairs commissioner Online voting is a proposed solution to inaccessible voting polls.

“Certain mayoral candidates are committed to introducing online voting. Online voting is a lot more

photo by justin tang

Hilary Windrem, municipal issues commissioner, says voting is important because of its impact on every day life. accessible not only for students but for everyone,” Windrem said.

Recently elected Mayor Mark Gerretson voiced his approval of online voting during his campaign and plans to implement it in the future.

While online voting can help combat voting inaccessibility, in terms of fighting voter apathy there’s a lot more that needs to be done, Windrem said.

“Apathy can’t be entirely eliminated. We’re always going to have that 10 per cent that just won’t

vote for whatever reason, maybe they’re not informed or interested.

The key is showing students how municipal politics affects their everyday life, and how the agendas of elected officials affect student experience at Queen’s,” she said.

“Our votes as a body affect these everyday things.”

—With files from Katherine Fernandez-Blance

School of Business plans for a progressive future Continued from Page 1

photo by ROB CamPbell

The west wing Goodes Hall expansion is set to be completed in December 2011. efficiency and improved indoor environmental quality.

The budget for the project is $40 million, with $22 million coming from fundraising. Saunders said the School of Business has already acquired $19 million and has set up donors for the remaining $3 million. The other $18 million of the budget is self-financed, $6 million of which is provided by capital funding from

the government funded graduate expansion and $12 million internally from the university.

“It’s really a combination of government funding, philanthropy and internal resources of the three,” he said, adding that the opt-outable fee of $97.50 has contributed to the $1.2 million students have pledged for the expansion.

Currently, $200,000 of the 1.2 million students have pledged has

been raised. The opt-outable fee will appear in student fees until the target $1.2 million is raised.

Saunders said the students had wanted to get involved with the project and ComSoc executive had proposed a referendum in adding an opt-outable fee to raise money for the expansion.

“The students are putting in $1.2 million into the project.

When we go to potential donors

or alumni, [they] say ‘that’s great’ and it shows great dedication. So symbolically it is very important,” he said.

This year roughly 60 per cent of commerce students paid the fee.

The School of Business is working with ComSoc to create other ways to promote student participation in the expansion.

Saunders said one of the ways they are currently promoting this is by allowing student access to changes already made inside the current Goodes Hall building. In addition to building the expansion, there have been eight new student team rooms and a renovated commerce office in the current Goodes Hall.

The School of Business has been moving groups of students into different buildings due to current space constraints. Currently there is a domino effect in ensuring there is enough room for students in the building, Saunders said.

“The PhD students and the PhD office are out of this building and in Dunning for 18 months and then they will directly move into the building once the new wing is built,” he said, adding that the space is then used for classrooms for other students.

Currently the School of Business accepts approximately 300 applications of the 4,500 who apply each year. According to the

Senate approved enrollment plan the School of Business will accept approximately 475 students in two years time.

“The minimum average right now is 87 per cent and the incoming average of students accepted is 92 per cent. The increase of students accepted may change the incoming average to 90 per cent,” he said, adding the increase will not make a significant impact in the quality of students accepted due to the high demand of the program.

Steve Millan, the School’s executive director of finance and administration and chair of the building committee, said although the expansion is not set to be completed by December 2011, there will be three new classes available to students next September.

“In the end we are really trying to give benefits to our students so … we don’t have to wait until the end of the construction project,” he said.

Millan said the excavation is near completion and the pouring of concrete will start next week.

The erection of the construction crane will happen in the next three weeks.

“The students have been very supportive in this process; there hasn’t been any complaints from the students of the community, part of that is because we have been able to give them access to new facilities already,” he said.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

News

Grocery delivery service launched Two recent graduates from the University of Toronto have started ZippMarket, a grocerydelivery business that will provide groceries, cleaning products and other essentials to university students on and around Toronto university campuses.

The business was started by Anthony Darcovich and Anila Akram in an effort to make grocery pickup more accessible. The project developed out of an entrepreneurial course both students took at U of T as undergraduates.

“We always joke about getting stuck in the turnstile with toilet paper—it actually happened to me in first year; the TTC attendant had to go pick up the bags that got left behind. That’s why we designed a service around campus essentials,” Darcovich told the U of T campus newspaper The Varsity.

ZippMarket’s inventory list is still growing, but currently they offer an extensive array of nonperishable food items, coffees and teas and dish detergents.

Delivery on orders over $50 is free, and next day delivery is available if students order from ZippMarket’s website by noon.

The company currently delivers all items themselves without using a courier company.

The project is currently funded by personal savings, earnings from summer employment and a joint

government-non-profit youth small business loan from the Canadian Youth Business Foundation. The co-founders said that the business has received mixed reception so far.

“We’ve had top business and technology executives tell us that the idea is great — and then rip into it, from a logistical and operational point of view,” Darcovich told The Varsity.

Some students have said that their need for grocery-delivery is very low because they tend to eat out a lot due to time restrictions.

Others have congratulated the co-founders for their ingenuity.

—Katherine Fernandez-Blance

Facebook Controversy Resolved A long running dispute between the University of Calgary and their students over Facebook ended with an overturning of a previous court ruling on Oct. 12.

In 2007, Keith and Steven Pridgen took a law and society course with instructor Aruna Mitra. The creation of a Facebook page called “I no longer fear hell, I took a course with Aruna Mitra” resulted in over a dozen students being charged with non-academic misconduct at U of C, their student newspaper, the Gauntlet, reported.

Inititally, Kieth Pridgen received a sentence of a 24 month long

Kingston’s future Continued from Page 1

the association. The political tea leaves are not showing a run to the conservative party in big numbers,” Matthews said.

Milliken was very prominent in Ottawa, Matthews said, but because he hasn’t been in Cabinet, he has been unable to be as influential in Kingston.

“The issue is that in the system, our MPs don’t have influence on policy outside of Cabinet, generally speaking,” Matthews said, adding that although he’s a member of the party, he is unsure whether or not he’ll be voting in the Liberal nomination meeting on Sunday.

academic probation. Following an appeal, this was shortened to six months.

Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Jo’Anne Strekaf found the Facebook page and the Pridgen brothers’ comments on it didn’t cause harm to instructor Aruna Mitra and didn’t necessitate charges of non-academic misconduct.

Strekaf’s ruling established the brothers’ Charter right to freedom of expression were infringed upon by the U of C’s review committee decisions.

“The judge actually quashed the decision of the dean and the General Faculties Council and criticized the Board of Governors for denying our right to appeal,” Keith Pridgen told The Gauntlet.

—Clare Clancy

queensjournal.ca

campus newspaper.

“Other universities have animal science degrees, but without the ability to focus on all the aspects of animal health we have,” he told The Gateway.

The program will be organized within the Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences.

The soft-launch was in January for transfer students but this September saw the enrollment of the first full class of students.

First-year student Larkin Joevenazzo told the Gateway she has so far been impressed with the program.

“The topics we cover are fascinating,” she said. “It’s the type of stuff I want to learn about as opposed to say, bio or chem.”

—Clare Clancy

Creation of new degree in Animal Health

Dalhousie students filmed without knowledge

University of Alberta has established a BSc in Animal Health, the only degree of its kind in Canada. The degree will give students wishing to pursue veterinary science a chance to concentrate their studies in animal biology and behaviour.

“There’s no Bachelor of Science in Animal Health to our knowledge anywhere in Canada,” Program Chair Craig Wilkinson told The Gateway, U of A’s

Female students at Dalhousie University have been secretly filmed on Studley Campus, Dalhousie’s largest of three campuses, reported CBC News on Oct. 25. The videos

•5

were posted to YouTube and show women walking around campus from behind.

Dalhousie has reported the issue to Halifax Regional Police who are now investigating.

Director of Security at Dalhousie Mike Burns sent an email to students warning them of the situation.

“The videos were taken without consent of the subjects and appear to have been taken in a manner where the subjects would have been unaware that they were being recorded,” he said via email. “The nature of the video is an invasion of individual privacy, as well as being offensive in its content toward the subject of the recording.”

Const. Brian Palmeter said the videos are disconcerting in a statement Tuesday.

“It appears that the video camera is obscured from sight, possibly in a kitbag,” he said.

Palmeter told CBC News in two instances, the camera appeared to be aimed up a woman’s skirt.

“Certainly that’s a little more invasive than the other videos,” he said.

—Clare Clancy

Want to know what’s new on campus?

Write for News! Email us at journal_news@ams.queensu.ca

Flanagan’s fans

He said that from the perspective of the Liberal party, it’s important that the candidate elected has the ability to campaign effectively, stay on message and connect with the community.

“They need to be able to organize voters and get them out on election day. Although many people rush to the polls, there are some people who really need candidates to knock on their doors and drag them out to the polls,” he said.

For profiles of all five Liberal nominees, please see Friday’s Journal.

journal file photo

Speaker of the House and MP of Kingston and the Islands Peter Milliken will leave office after an election is called.

supplied

Queen’s University Liberal Association endorses candidate Bill Flanagan as Liberal nominee for MP of Kingston and the Islands.

Editorials

6 • queensjournal.ca

Q u ee n ’ s

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

University

the journal Infirm, not informed?

A

n article published in the Oct. 30 edition of the Toronto Star described the voting experience of 99 year-old Scarborough resident Irene Moore. Moore suffers from partial blindness, deafness and severe memory loss.

However, none of these difficulties prevented her from voting in the recent Toronto municipal election. Moore lives in a long-term care facility that hosted a polling station with officials on hand to aid voters who need assistance through the voting process. Moore was unfamiliar with the candidates in the municipal election. She chose one at random, and cannot remember who she voted for. The Star captured the concern of Moore’s daughter-in-law, who said she’s concerned that Moore may have been manipulated.

While this concern is plausible, the public has to have some faith in the scruples of the average electoral employee. It’s more reasonable to worry about Moore’s ability to make an informed decision than the possibility of a corrupt official.

It’s unsettling that Moore’s impairments may have prevented her from making an informed decision, but it’s a reflection of one of the practical limitations of any electoral

system. While individuals should educate themselves as carefully as possible in order to make an informed decision, they aren’t obliged to do so. Many people vote from an uninformed—or mistaken—perspective.

The only practical solution to avoiding uninformed voting would involve some kind of aptitude test, where voters prove their ability to make an informed decision by indicating familiarity with various platform issues.

Not only would such a process be costly and time-consuming, it would also be undemocratic. The Star article includes an interview with a political science professor who stresses that every person has the right to vote, regardless of state of mind. Arbitrarily imposing a maximum age limit on voting would be discriminatory, and run counter to the ideals of a democratic system.

In theory, the votes cast by individuals choosing at random should cancel each other in the final tally.

Ideally, everyone who votes would vote for the candidate or party that most closely matches their beliefs, but this is hardly the reality. The government has a responsibility to make sure that everyone can vote, not that everyone does so “properly”.

Get bullies by the horns

A

n article published in the Oct. 29 edition of the Globe and Mail focused on different methods schools can use to combat bullying.

The article suggested that the majority of schools are failing to effectively combat bullying, relying on black-and-white understandings and punitive zero-tolerance policies. Some common strategies target students who aren’t likely to bully anyway. Others don’t consider the type of bullying in question, and thus fail to address situations effecitvely. School administrators tend to use measures that sound good, failing to take into account up-to-date strategies and research.

While it’s important to acknowledge that bullying will never disappear completely, it’s crucial that schools take appropriate action.

While bullies sometimes “grow out of” their behaviour, the consequences for their targets can be long-lasting and serious—consider the recent wave of suicides in the US motivated by homophobic bullying.

Administrators must adopt a strategy that emphasizes that bullying behaviour is unacceptable, not something to be laughed at. This behaviour is a form of abuse and should be taken seriously. When

children are aware that bullying is taken seriously, they will be less likely to engage in bullying behaviour.

This also helps overcome one of the major obstacles of targeting bullying behaviour: getting students to report it. Children who don’t report bullying promptly can’t benefit from the support a school environment is supposed to offer.

Administrators also need to be clear about what constitutes bullying, as much for students’ benefit as their own. School officials need to recognize that bullying can range from physical attacks to taunting and rumours, and be prepared to deal with each incident as it arises.

Schools should also try and provide outlets for students that discourage scenarios where bullying could arise. Providing areas where students can spend recess and lunch periods without being isolated by their peers helps insulate them from hostile behaviour.

School administrators also need to be ready to tackle problems outside of the school environment. Bullying often continues outside of school property, and teachers need to make it clear to students that they have the authority to deal with problems that happen outside of the classroom.

Costs don’t add up Christine Blais

W

hile I sit at my desk writing this editorial on a Friday night, it has become painfully obvious to me that people have unrealistic expectations for students. A lot of people I know are working 40 hours a week trying to pay for tuition while they’re enrolled in a full course load.

Others are accumulating so much debt that the value of their university degree is becoming increasingly questionable as the years go by. Some are lucky enough to have wealthy parents who can pay for their education. But for the rest of us, it’s a tough obstacle to overcome.

Tuition costs often influence academic performance at school because the time students spend at work is time they don’t have to study or go to class. They end up skipping classes to work in restaurants and retail stores to finance their education. Then professors are surprised when students don’t do their readings every week, and students are disappointed because they can’t achieve the perfect scores they had in high school.

How does that make any sense?

When you think about it, tuition is an unfair thing to ask from someone straight out of high school, who hasn’t had the opportunity to make money yet. It’s basically cornering people in need of a service and putting them in debt before they even have a chance. Educating people shouldn’t be a business. It should be free for anyone who is sincerely interested in it.

Let’s face the facts. Not everyone who goes to university actually wants to be there

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Tuesday, November 2, 2010 • Issue 18 • Volume 138 The Queen’s Journal is an editorially autonomous newspaper published by the Alma Mater Society of Queen’s University, Kingston. Editorial opinions expressed in the Journal are the sole responsibility of the Queen’s Journal Editorial Board, and are not necessarily those of the University, the AMS or their officers.

Contents © 2010 by the Queen’s Journal; all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without prior permission of the Journal. The Queen’s Journal is printed on a Goss Community press by Performance Group of Companies in Smiths Falls, Ontario. Contributions from all members of the Queen’s and Kingston community are welcome. The Journal reserves the right to edit all submissions.

Subscriptions are available for $120.00 per year (plus GST).

Please address complaints and grievances to the Editors in Chief.

Please inquire about further grievance policies if you are not satisfied with the response.

Please direct editorial, advertising and circulation enquiries to: 190 University Avenue, Kingston, Ontario, K7L 3P4 Telephone : 613-533-2800 (editorial) 613-533-6711 (advertising) Fax: 613-533-6728 Email: journal_editors@ams.queensu.ca The Journal Online: www.queensjournal.ca Circulation 6,000 Issue 19 of Volume 138 will be published on Friday, November 5, 2010

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and tons of people who aren’t attending really wish they could, but don’t have the means to do so. It’s unfair that universities let financial backgrounds take precedence over the hard work students put into school.

I have a friend who works one semester and studies every other semester. We graduated from high school at the same time. I’m in my fourth year and he’s still in his second year. I admire his dedication. But I can’t help but be angry that his education presents such a financial stress that he needs to interrupt his learning to finance his way through. At this rate he’ll be out of his mom’s basement by 25—at the earliest.

In some countries like Scotland and France, tuition costs are largely subsidized by the government. An average Scottish student’s tuition varies from $0 up to $2,000 depending on parental income. However, in the US, tuition costs can range up to a whopping $60,000 per year. I don’t understand how tuition could cost so much when some places are capable of making it accessible for everyone. Where is the tuition money going anyway? I don’t feel like it’s always targeted towards things I agree with.

Personally, I could do without the abundance of plasma TVs in the ARC. Most people aren’t watching them and there are always 3 or 4 on the same channel. Is that necessary? I mean, it’s not a Future Shop, it’s a freaking gym. Meanwhile, budget cuts are restricting the classes we can take, and students are working too hard to pass.

Elias Da Silva-Powell Adam Zunder

Ally Hall

Alyssa Ashton

Opinions and Letters editor

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Rob Campbell, Tim mackay, Parker mott, Anand Srivastava, Ron yan

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Jeff Fraser, Ari Herberman, Kate Kilgour, Kieran Slobodin

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Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Opinions

Make time for early outreach Only by reaching out to students early will be be able to achieve our educational goals

Kieran Slobodin, ArtSci ’12 There are many questions that students must ask themselves when deciding what to do after high school. There are the common questions like “Do I want to take a year off?” or “Do I want to go to college or university?”

A lot of students will ask themselves “How do I plan on paying for this?” Others will stress more about living with a roommate.

While details are important when deciding on one’s postsecondary path, the first question should be, “What do I want to be when I grow up?”

That’s what Early Outreach is about: engaging youth in informative dialogue about what they want to do in life and about which post-secondary options will help them reach their goals.

To effectively have this dialogue, students need to be

well informed about everything from entrance requirements, program options, financial aid and academic expectations.

This process must start early—a Council of Ontario Universities study found that 73 per cent of students make the decision to attend university before the age of 15 and 35 percent of students decide before the age of nine— and should involve high schools, parents, and the community.

The role of educating students about their options is the responsibility of the provincial government. There are numerous ways to reach out to students about higher education.

The government has not yet explored every method and has had mixed results with its current approach. Some models, like the Pathways to Education program originating in Regent Park, Toronto, have had substantial success. Other approaches have not.

The most important part of crafting any public policy is research. Before deciding on a course of action, governments must be aware of the issue, who’s affected by it, and what the most effective solution is.

In the subject of early outreach,

Professor Ross Finnie says the government’s focus is misguided.

Supplied

the government has done its homework, so to speak, by having the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario conduct several studies into areas of early outreach as well as reviewing some of its current programs.

This process has resulted in the cancellation of funding for programs that encourage first generation students to attend higher education.

First generation students are students whose parents did not attend any form of post-secondary education and, consequently, are more likely to have unrealistic expectations of college and university in terms of workload, cost and lifestyle.

The provincial government has instead directed funding towards programs that are designed to retain first-generation students and ensure they complete postsecondary education successfully.

The research, however, disagrees. In a recent study led

by Professor Ross Finnie of the University of Ottawa, it was found that first-generation students are not any less likely to complete their post-secondary accreditation.

This study has prompted both Professor Finnie and the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance, of which the Alma Mater Society is a member, to urge the provincial government to reconsider its decision.

It’s important to note that the government has committed a lot of funding to first generation enrolment programs in the past.

In fact, over $30 million has been committed to such programs since 2007.

However, now that the funding is no longer there, these programs are shutting down and Ontario is losing a valuable and meaningful opportunity to reach out to firstgeneration students.

These changes are affecting Queen’s.

The University has run a very popular program for first-generation students across Ontario that allowed them to experience a day-in-the-life of a university student.

The program was designed to introduce students to the university experience and dispel a lot of the myths that obscure the realities of higher education.

In addition to employing a coordinator for first-generation programs, Queen’s offered bursaries to low-income students involved with the program.

With the recent funding changes, the program isn’t likely to survive and similar programs across Ontario are likely to be pulled as well.

Both York University and the University of Toronto have cancelled similar programs. In times of fiscal constraint and projected budget cuts of up to 15 per cent, it wouldn’t be surprising to see more of these programs go.

The provincial government has defended its position by saying not enough students are graduating and they want to see more firstgeneration students completing their degrees. But it needs to get the students to college and university first.

Certainly at an institution like Queen’s, that boasts boisterous student spirit and one of the highest retention rates in the country, it is hard to agree with the government.

Along with its 2010 budget, the provincial government has set an astonishing goal of 70 per cent participation in higher education.

The only way the government can reach such a number is by targeting programs to underrepresented groups and to disperse the myths that cloud higher education.

The government needs an access strategy that is targeted and grounded in sound research and the example of first-generation programs is a simple, easy start.

Often, the motivations behind early outreach are misconstrued as an attempt to increase enrolment and fill empty seats.

It’s not; it’s about helping students reach their goals by making them aware of which pathways will get them there.

No student should think that because their parents didn’t go to university they cannot achieve their dreams.

Early outreach is about getting students to where they want to be and removing the barriers that are in their way.

to ensure losses to students are minimized or eliminated.

I firmly believe the best way the AMS can achieve its goal of representation is to give more room to the faculty societies.

Let’s face it; all the executives and commissioners are ArtSci students, which is hardly representative of the student body.

I realize schedule conflicts may prevent engineering or commerce students from holding these positions, which is all the more reason to decentralize power, so the societies can take care of the

needs of their own students.

ArtSci students can’t be the only ones running the show; we must find a way to have every student represented.

Understand that there are different goals between faculties, especially on things like social issues, and this must be addressed.

To those who disagree with me on this point, so be it, but you are not serving the interest of student representation to its utmost.

Kieran Slobodin is the AMS Commissioner of Academic Affairs

queensjournal.ca

talking h

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... around campus Photos By Craig Draeger

What was the best costume you saw this year?

“Two homeless people with fake Western diplomas hanging around their necks.”

Armen Dumanian, ArtSci ’14

“I saw people rockin’ the Teletubbies” Diana Saturno, ArtSci ’13

“I saw someone go as the house from ‘Up.’ ” Jess Maxwell, ConEdi ’11

“My friend was a liger.”

Melody Tsukahara, ArtSci ’13

LETTERS TO THE EDITORS Cut costs, not the event itself RE: “AMS, confess you’re a mess” (October 22, 2010) Dear editors, I’d like to clarify a few things about my article.

I never said the charity ball doesn’t give any money to charity.

I said that its expenses exceed its revenue by $2,000.

This event is worth having,

but costs should be trimmed so the event is a fundraiser for the beneficiary, not a lump donation out of student pockets.

Over the past years, expenses for the event have almost doubled; the loss expected for this year could be avoided with modest cuts to expense items, like event décor.

As for Mr. Osborne’s letter addressing the losses of Queen’s Model Parliament, I believe the delegates attending the event should shoulder the loss; speaking as a delegate myself, I would be willing to pay more for the conference

Alexander Rotman, ArtSci ’13

“My own: I was Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.”

Steph Sardelis, ArtSci ’13

Have your say.

Write a letter or visit queensjournal.ca to comment.

Arts&Entertainment

queensjournal.ca

• 8

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

PS I love Mangan in the sky with diamonds

This Halloween weekend brought an intimate double set with The Wooden Sky and Yukon Blonde, a hazily harmonious homecoming with PS I Love You and Diamond Rings and a cozy collaborative concert with Dan Mangan

photos by Justin Tang, photo by kate kilgour (Right)

Paul Saulnier (left) and Ben Nelson (middle) of PS I Love You brought John O’Regan (right) of Diamond Rings on stage with them for a ruckus-filled last song.

By Kate Kilgour Staff Writer Once again, Diamond Rings and Kingston locals PS I Love You, shared the stage together for a Halloween weekend scarily-amazing show. Diamond Rings, in zebra-print leggings, looked his traditional style

of eclectic glam, rocking the colorful eye makeup he’s become known for.

He jaunted from mic to mic, guitar to synth, with brief interludes of dancing perfection.

His recognition in music and style communities is quickly growing and this sold-out show only vouched for his rising fame. Taking

us through six selections from his freshly-released debut album, Special Affections, every second was captivating.

PS I Love You followed with an equally impressive set, proving they are only improving with every show. It’s no doubt that Kingston’s pride is growing exponentially with the hype continuing to swell

around Saulnier and Nelson.

True to their own aesthetic, Saulnier in plaid and Nelson in skinny jeans, their set was tight and powerful, raspy and melodic.

Juxtaposing the pop-synth sounds of Diamond Rings, PS I Love You led us from “Meet Me at the Muster Station,” to “Starfield” and “Butterflies and

Boners”. “Facelove,” their most well-known track, brought their set to a near-close.

The last kick of the show was “All Yr Songs,” a Diamond Rings hit, which was performed by all three artists. For two distinct acts with seemingly differing vibes, their collaboration efforts were seamless.

photos by christine blais

Toronto’s The Wooden Sky brought the tunes from their haunting record If I Don’t Come Home You’ll Know I’m Gone to The Grad Club last Friday night.

By Ari Herberman Contributor When I walked into the Grad Club on Friday, I heard R.E.M.’s “Man on the Moon” drifting from the speakers in the bar and instantly knew it would be a good night.

As The Wooden Sky, an indie-rock outfit from Toronto, began their 13-song set, the room was bustling with anticipation.

The band finally took to the tiny stage with “When Lost at Sea,” an appropriate choice made clear when front man Gavin Gardiner sang out the first line, “we got arrested on Aberdeen with empty hands and mouths to feed.”

When asked about the lyrics by an audience member, Gardiner said that no one had actually been arrested, but they still managed to stir up some trouble. “We did break into a bunch of houses and stole booze. It was homecoming, fuck it.”

“This one’s about homecoming too,” Gardiner

said as the band launched into “(Bit Part),” continuing a tight set through-and-through and showcasing their diverse sound without losing the crowd’s interest.

Their sound ranges from hearty, foot-stomping rock (“When We Were Young”) to more laidback, country-folk fusion tunes (“Something Hiding For Us in the Night”). It’s all tied together by Gardiner, whose artfully husky vocals channel Springsteen.

The Wooden Sky’s talent hasn’t gone unnoticed. Their most recent album, If I Don’t Come Home You’ll Know I’m Gone, released in August of 2009, earned a spot on the long list for the 2010 Polaris Music Prize.

Despite its success, to say Friday’s show did justice to the band’s achievement would be an understatement. The live performance was right on par with the spectacular quality of the record, and each member demonstrated true passion and skill for their instrument. Each song left

me wanting more and at times, I found myself wishing for a little more improvisation or an extended solo when the songs seemed to end too quickly.

Standout moments included energetic covers of “American Girl” and “Mary Jane’s Last Dance.” The Wooden Sky gave Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ classics a slightly more punk feel but ultimately stayed true to the original versions in the best sense. Their energy was on high and they hit all harmonies with precision and ease. Drummer Andrew Kekewich’s talent particularly shone during the latter.

Another highlight was “The Late King Henry,” which the band dedicated to fellow musician and good friend Dan Mangan who was performing the same night at Sydenham Street United Church. The feel-good, retro-rock rhythm had the crowd dancing, singing and clapping along and I finally got the solo I’d been craving when pianist, guitarist and vocalist Simon Walker took a

moment to tickle the ivories.

For the final song of the main set, opening band Yukon Blonde was invited on stage to add some extra percussion to The Wooden Sky’s “Something Hiding For Us in the Night.” Yukon Blonde, based in Vancouver, played a well-received opening set that included their popular single “Wind Blows” and a cover of Neil Young’s “Down by the River,” after which lead singer Jeff Innes declared “it’s Neil Young Week.” (This was revised to “Corey Hart week” when Gardiner joined Yukon Blonde onstage for the next song donning a killer pair of shades.)

When The Wooden Sky returned to the stage for an encore, they played the anthemic “North Dakota,” then announced a 10-minute break followed by an acoustic performance. After a smoke break and a refill, everyone smart enough to stick around filtered into the lounge.

At one of the tables I began talking to a recent Queen’s grad

who told me about how The Wooden Sky connected her with friends when they were separated for a year’s time. We were joined at the table by Yukon Blonde bassist Brandon Scott and Graham Jones, who talked to us about touring, school, Europe and more as we constructed a map of Ontario out of scattered Hickory Sticks on the table.

Eventually, Yukon Blonde, The Wooden Sky and, to our surprise, Dan Mangan gathered in the middle of the room and led the rest of us in a rowdy sing-a-long to Weezer, Elton John and The Beatles until when mid “I’ve Just Seen A Face,” we were kicked out of the Grad Club at three in the morning.

Gardiner said earlier on, “we love playing in Kingston, so this is special for us.” I think it’s safe to say that, on behalf of everyone lucky enough to be at the show, it was special for us, too.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Arts & Entertainment

queensjournal.ca

•9

photos by christine blais

Rebecca Schidlowsky and her sister Mary may be inspired by Gossip Girl, but got the final push to start Ezia Couture after reading a story in the Calgary Herald.

‘We see it as people wearing our artwork’

Tuning into the instructional and collaborative aspects of their company rather than the lucrative, the entrepreneurs behind Ezia Couture talk to the Journal about balancing bows, books and bringing a little Blair to the Limestone City

By Alyssa Ashton Assistant A&E Editor On good hair days, bad hair days, exam hair days and hitting the town hair days, headbands are a girl’s best friend, providing a hint of glamour and much needed taming to our high maintenance manes.

Headbands use to be the cool accessory when we were five and had little control over what we wore, but they made a surging comeback thanks to the Queen of the Upper East Side, Blair Waldorf, from the CW hit show Gossip Girl. Now fashionable and, most importantly, affordable headbands hit the Limestone City thanks to Rebecca Schidlowsky, a Queen’s student emulating Queen B. Schidlowsky, ArtSci ’12, and her 15-year-old sister Mary established Ezia Couture in May of this year, making handmade headbands by capitalizing on the skills they learned in years of Saturday art classes. The sisters love Gossip Girl and wanted to look as sophisticated as Blair, but found that without the Waldorf budget it’s difficult to do so.

“I always watch the show and I started to love headbands,” Schidlowsky said. “But I couldn’t find them anywhere, they were either really poor quality or really expensive, you have the two extremes.”

Seeing this clear niche in the market, Schidlowsky and her sister just needed a slight and loving push from their mom to take the plunge into entrepreneurship.

“My mom sent me an article from the Calgary Herald about these other girls who started their own business and I was like okay Mary we can do this, let’s get it started. But nothing really started happening until the following May because I was in school.

But we started [having] Skype conferences,” she said.

The sisters taught themselves how to make headbands, using trial and error to discover wrapping techniques and designs that would work. The pair often reuses fabric from old blankets, dance costumes, shirts and other household items to make the headbands. They also hit up vintage stores and use looks from the runway shows of Milan and Paris for inspiration. Though Schidlowsky’s ultimate inspiration comes from the person she would most like to get her headbands on.

“Blair Waldorf, so I guess Leighton Meester,” she said. “It would be a dream to get them on a celebrity, but especially her … I always try when I design headbands to think would Blair think this is tacky or would she think this is classy, could I wear this into Harrods or Tiffany’s.”

“We have no expectations for the company, which makes it a lot less stressful ... where it goes, it goes.”

their ad-campaigns.

Though headbands may seem like an odd way of shifting body image perceptions, Schidlowsky points out how it has often been said each time Blair puts on a headband, it’s like she’s putting on her own crown, allowing girls everywhere to feel like their own versions of a princess when they put on an Ezia headband.

While Schidlowsky is pursuing a Queen’s degree in history, she has found something she truly loves in creating headbands.

“When I think of a headband it’s not a headband, it’s an outlet for artwork. We don’t think of

it in a commercial way … we see it as people wearing our artwork,” Schidlowsky said. “I hate that mentality that fashion isn’t a legitimate industry … it’s a beautiful industry if you think about it … taking a painting off the wall and turning it into someone’s outfit, that’s so cool.”

Schidlowsky said she is hoping to slowly expand her company by diving in to other types of accessories. First on her list is creating chic and unique wristlets.

“Every girl at Queen’s has a wristlet and they’re all Coach … the market is so saturated with Coach,” Schidlowsky said, explaining her

hope to diversify this market.

Though it’s easy to get caught up in the commercial success of her business, Schidlowsky proves that she’s in this for the love of fashion and the bonding time with her sister.

“We have no expectations for the company, which makes it a lot less stressful because [the director of business development] and I are like; where it goes, it goes,” she said. “It’s not about money, it’s about learning.”

Please see eziacouture.com for collections, lookbooks and more information.

Vapour & vinyl

—Rebecca Schidlowsky, ArtSci’ 12 Her dedication to re-creating the sophistication of the Upper East Side is obviously working, as Ezia Couture will now be featured in Project Red and Queen’s Vogue runway shows this year and will be seen in Muse Magazine.

If it’s not impressive enough that 20-year-old Schidlowsky is teaching herself business basics and running this company, she’s also aiming to show girls of all sizes that they’re beautiful.

“I hate the term plus size model, it makes it sound like a fat model.

But, no it’s a regular sized person who’s beautiful,” she said while explaining why the company aims to use girls of all sizes in

photo by christine blais

Last Thursday night marked the opening of Tone Deaf 9, an annual festival of adventurous sound running until Saturday Nov. 7 in various locations around Kingston. Local artists Blake Macfarlane and Nicholas Fellion kicked off the Vapours series of experimental music followed by coloured projection performances (pictured above) by Holzkopft and Freida Abtan.

Please see Friday’s issue and tone-deaf.org for festival schedule and more information.

Arts & EntErtAinmEnt

10 • queensjournal.ca

Tuesday, november 2, 2010

This ain’t no party, this ain’t no disco now playing at the screening room, life During Wartime boasts vibrant scenery to juxtapose the lingering idea of war

supplieD

represents beauty over sordidness, like how the fancy apartments in Polanski’s Rosemary’s Baby contrasted the diabolical plot.

One thing is for sure: this is one squalid movie. These are characters on the brink of suicide, so delirious they dream about death and the beauty of disappearing. Trish loves Harvey not because he is lucrative or attractive, but because he is normal and has will power. Some characters fight for normality in Life During Wartime, others kind of mock it and in a sense that is their freedom. The reassuring notion for the characters is that forgetting and forgiving will lead to freedom and democracy.

Life During Wartime is a powerful practice in deciphering its character archetypes and then breaking them down to their honest bones. But once Solondz breaks the truth, there is destruction, coincidence and carnage. And ultimately, as we breach our emotions, we find a true darkness within.

Just like Solondz’s Happiness (which Life During Wartime is said to be a sequel to) and Welcome to the Dollhouse, the film takes opposing characters and puts them on the Solondz Pedestal—asking when the worst can happen, can we ever amend? Usually the answer is immaterial and Solondz dares us to speculate, as great filmmakers do.

The film does become overwrought in the last half hour, interchanging its black comedy with self-parodying quirks meant to exploit its purpose. Solondz is a talented filmmaker however and his constant need to make us cry may turn some off.

Life During Wartime is a sullen film, but it circumvents its erratic quirks by showing what all great black comedies can prove—the point is to be repelled and then naturally, you will find yourself compensating for the humour that follows.

Todd Solondz’s latest venture amalgamates varying types of characters to explore reactions to the worst case scenario. strums out pathos, longing

By PArKer mott and futility. sTaff WriTer But in Life During Wartime, the Talking Heads are nowhere to be Movie: Life During Wartime Starring: Shirley Henderson, found—but there are talking heads.

Allison Janney and Chris Marquette These are characters, enclosed in Writer/Director: Todd Solondz tight, encapsulated close-ups to slowly deconstruct their facial (Happiness) gestures and despondent nuances.

Duration: 98 minutes Who are the other characters?

3 s ta r s o u t o F 4 The ensemble follows Trish (Allison Janney) the ex-wife of a pedophile, Bill: Are you alone here? trying to nurture her three children Jacqueline: Married ... Alone, while under the wing of Harvey same thing.

Weiner (Michael Lerner). Her Todd Solondz has called his latest husband is Bill (Ciarán Hinds) who venture into the human pathos, wanders the scenery like a ghost.

Life During Wartime, more He’s essentially a memory, an awful “politically overt” than anything. one—one that haunts and is best Well, he could mince his words to heard silently.

But the real highlight is the any end, but Life During Wartime is an absent minded, yet connotative springtide Billy (Chris Marquette), morality tale that hurdles past the freckled and precocious its contrivances to achieve a son of Trish, who is too young to understand the macabre and moral fibre.

I laughed sporadically, but I the sins of his father. There’s that suppose that’s the point. It’s a dark awkward scene involving Billy comedy that’s more dark, than asking his mother how a man After living up to the expectations comedy. After all, we are dealing rapes another man. Trish, out of all explanations, tries to romanticize it with wartime. and demands of parents, teachers The last time we heard the song and give it a justification. and coaches, it is time to set some Life During Wartime strives for “Life During Wartime” in film truth by bellowing its characters in was in the 1984 Talking Heads goals of your own. How about concert movie Stop Making Sense. a gust of cynicism. The characters fast-tracking your career in a place Here, the closest we get to a self- dress in 1970s attire (when the referential number involves Joy song of this title was, coincidentally, that offers unlimited opportunity (Shirley Henderson) strumming released) but we never exactly get and a lifestyle filled with a redolent version on guitar. It the sense of which war we are FOLLOW dealing with. There are no subtle adventure? shots of army posters, explosions or messengers delivering KIA supplieD Come make your mark in the notifications. The lingering idea Janney’s character grapples and Win a Trip! of war is merely juxtaposed by with life and child-rearing as Northwest Territories, where Solondz’s vibrant scenery, which the ex-wife of a pedophile. graduate degree holders can earn

Make a

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Sports

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

queensjournal.ca

• 11

Queen’s 2, Nipissing 1 (OT)

Women’s soccer suffers scare The Gaels sneak by the Nipissing Lakers in overtime, winning 2-1 to advance to the OUA Final Four

By Anand Srivastava Staff Writer The women’s soccer team carried over their strong regular season to a 2-1 overtime victory over the Nipissing Lakers in the OUA quarterfinals on Saturday. The win propelled the nationally third-ranked Gaels into the OUA Final Four next weekend, hosted at Richardson Stadium.

After a scoreless first half, forward Kelli Chamberlain headed home a corner to open the scoring for Queen’s in the 62nd minute.

The Gaels looked to be in control, however, an 89th minute Laker tally sent the game in to overtime.

In the extra 30 minutes, CIS leading scorer Jacqueline Tessier potted her 19th goal of the season and keeper Chantal Marson turned away every Nipissing attempt to seal the win.

Tessier had several close misses before she was able to beat the Nipissing keeper in extra time.

“All game I was trying to cut back and do something fancy in the corner but finally I decided to just take the goalie on,” Tessier said. “I had a nice shot with my left and I thought the goalie had it but it squeaked in over top.”

Tessier attributed the win to a strong team game, both physically and mentally.

“The girls worked so hard the entire game,” she said. “That’s what playoffs are—any team can win. Even when they came back to tie it in the last minute, it’s really hard to refocus mentally but we

Photo by ron yan

The Gaels’ Jacqueline Tessier scored in overtime to send the Gaels to the OUA Final Four this weekend in Kingston. have such a strong team dynamic in the regular season, both in this week. the other team playing and we’ll “I think we need to be a bit find out some things maybe from games, however, that we were able to do that and one-goal McDowell said the sharper in the offensive third, we other people around the league,” get the win.” are a whole tended to do things a little quicker McDowell said. “The big thing for Head coach Dave McDowell playoffs than we needed to,” McDowell us will be shaking off some of the said he was pleased with his team’s new season.

“We’ve had two tough games said. “I thought we looked a little little doldrums out there.” perseverance especially given the against [Nipising] this year and tight, maybe it was playoff nerves. highs and lows of extra time.

OUA Final Four weekend “It’s not good for my health, one of our assistants said that the Although I’d rather not be going will begin with the semifinals on that’s for sure,” McDowell joked. matchup was what we needed,” through that experience, it was Saturday at Richardson Stadium “Maybe it’s good preparation for he said. “You want to build some a good experience to prep you followed by the championship and us in terms of what you need momentum and get a feel for going forward.” bronze-medal games on Sunday.

Queen’s will face the McMaster to do to win playoff games in what you have to do in playoff tough conditions. I thought games to win. You’ve got to battle. Marauders in the OUA Semifinals The Gaels will play in the Nipissing played really well and Sometimes it’s not the prettiest on Saturday. The University of OUA Final Four this were very difficult in terms of soccer at this time of the year Ottawa Gee-Gees will kick off weekend at Richardson against the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Stadium. Queen’s plays counterattacking and some of their unfortunately but we’ll take it.”

The team will work on Hawks in the other semifinal game. McMaster at 11:30 a.m. set pieces.”

“We’ll watch a little video of Queen’s beat Nipissing twice improving their attack in practice

queen’s 19, McMaster 40

One and done The defending Vanier Cup champions lose in the OUA quarterfinals to the seventh ranked McMaster Marauders in Hamilton

By Kate Bascom Sports Editor

Photo by jeff chan

Gaels running back Jimmy Therrien tries to fend off a barage of McMaster Marauders.

The Queen’s Gaels may have struck first in Hamilton on Saturday but the McMaster Marauders had the final word, overpowering the Gaels 40-19.

This was the Gaels’ second loss to the Marauders this season and eliminated them from the OUA playoffs.

The first quarter saw the Gaels take the lead with a field goal

by Queen’s kicker Dan Village.

The Gaels, however, were unable to overcome the steep 30-point deficit created during the second and third quarters. Quarterback Justin Chapdelaine threw 12 completions for 25 attempts with 125 yards.

The Gaels went into the second half optimistic that they could keep the game under control. Head coach Pat Sheahan said he thought the possibility of coming back was very real and noted that nagging mistakes like turnovers were a factor in the loss.

“It was a disappointing finish to be fair,” he said. “In a game with so much at stake, I don’t think you can afford to have any unforced errors that way.

“Turnovers have a real potential to change the momentum. I thought we had a couple opportunities to seize the lead especially in the first half and maybe even go to the locker room ahead 10-0. Instead we Please see Queen’s on page 13

SportS

12 • queeNsjourNal.ca

tueSday, November 2, 2010

QUeen’S 4, McGiLL 6; QUeen’S 3, cARLeTOn 2 (SO)

Redmen still too much, Ravens not quite enough

Men’s hockey splits weekend against the McGill redmen and the Carelton ravens to break a three game losing streak

By LAUri KytÖmAA aSSiStaNt SportS editor Scrappy play and tight scores characterized Halloween weekend for the men’s hockey team. With two losses the previous weekend the team didn’t want to drop any more points to their OUA opposition. On Friday they hosted the McGill Redmen for a rematch, losing 6-4. The next day they moved to the Cataraqui Community Centre where they beat the Carleton Ravens 3-2 in a shootout.

Friday’s action against McGill had the characteristics of a bitter rivalry. A crowd of 350 came to the Memorial Centre to catch the 125th anniversary of Queen’s hockey and the Gaels gave them a game worth watching.

Unlike the lopsided 7-1 loss last week in Montreal, the scoring went back and forth.

McGill struck just 27 seconds into the first but a goal from Gaels defenceman Alexi Pianosi knotted it at one, 8:22 in the first.

The two teams traded goals until McGill went on a tear scoring four unanswered.

7:59 into the third period the count was an uneven 6-2 but Pianosi and forward Jordan Mirwaldt both tallied in the last four minutes to end the game at 6-4. Pianosi’s final goal gave him his first career OUA hat trick.

“The score was okay, I’ll accept that, [but] there were other distractions that led the game to get out of control,” said head coach Brett Gibson.

Penalties were thrown around like candy to trick-or-treaters. McGill and Queen’s combined for a total of 146 minutes of penalty time which included nine 10-minute misconducts.

“If you have that [many] penalties it’s frustrating. Both teams were frustrated and both coaches were frustrated,” Gibson said.

“There was no flow in the game because of all the penalties. You’ve got to play it your best when you play McGill and you’ve got to get some breaks. I feel we didn’t get any breaks.”

Saturday afternoon’s tilt against Carleton proved just as competitive though less penalty filled.

The Gaels opened up hard, desperate to get some points after a three-game

PHOTO by jUsTIN TANG

With a 6-4 loss to the McGill Redmen at the Memorial centre, the Gaels are now 4-3-1 and sit fifth in the OUA east. losing streak. Despite their dominant play, 10 minutes into the game, they remained scoreless.

“You’ve got to play it your best when you play McGill and you’ve got to get some breaks. I feel we didn’t get any breaks.”

—Brett Gibson, men’s hockey head coach Just as their momementum peaked the referees stopped play because maintence was required on a section of arena glass.

The arena crew struggled to quickly fix the boards sending both teams back in their respective locker rooms to wait for their chance to get back into action.

Gaels goalie Steele De Fazio said the play stoppage influenced the Gaels’ performance.

“We weren’t focused coming out of the break,” he said. “They jumped on us early

and got the goal. We had to regroup.”

After the premature break, Carleton found their legs and scored two unanswered goals to break open the scoring.

The Gaels struggled to find the back of the net until forward Jordan Soquila weaved into the offensive zone and deposited a backhand with 25 seconds left in the second.

The Gaels were back in the driver’s seat in the third period, outshooting Carleton 9-4.

Forward Scott Kenway scored seven minutes in to tie up the score.

With the score 2-2 neither team could find another goal through an overtime period. Forward Joey Derochie scored in the shootout and goalie Steele De Fazio stopped all three attempts to give the Gaels their first win in the last four games.

“It was definitely a mentally challenging game but our guys persevered in the end,” De Fazio said. “[It was] a big win for us, we definitely need the two points. The guys showed a lot of character by coming back and sitting through a lot of adversity.”

Part of the team’s adversity comes from the injuries piling up at the top end of their roster. Neither Payton Liske nor David Chubb played this weekend and Jordan Mirwaldt sat out the Carleton game after the first period of play. Liske and Mirwaldt both had 40 points in 28 games last season while Chubb had 17 in 27 games.

Team captain Jonathon Lawrance said accommodating for injuries is a team responsibility.

“It’s guys filling spots, lot of guys playing positions or roles that they may not have been playing at the start of the year,” he said. “It comes down to guys filling roles and working hard to make up for the guys not in the line-up.”

The Gaels are back in action at the Memorial centre on Friday against the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees. puck drops at 7:30 p.m. The Gaels will travel to Montreal Saturday to face the concordia Stingers at 2 p.m.

PHOTO by jUsTIN TANG

The hockey team battled for the puck at the Gaels’ celebration of 125 years of hockey at Queen’s on Friday.

SportS

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

queeNsjourNal.ca

• 13

Queen’s looks to next year Continued from page 11

PHOTO by jeFF CHAN

The Gaels are eliminated from the playoffs after their loss to the McMaster Marauders over the weekend.

ended up down 14-3 [and] that kind of changed the whole complexion of the game.”

The Gaels suffered seven turnovers in the game, which Sheahan said the team can blame on their inexperience.

“Moving forward, the elimination of turnovers will be one of our goals,” he said. “The evidence of turnovers is a sign of youth and inexperience. This is our highest amount of turnovers in about 10 years so we’ve got to fix that moving forward.”

The Gaels were familiar with McMaster, having lost to the Marauders 23-18 in their first game of the season. Sheahan said the Gaels weren’t surprised by the Marauders play.

“They’re a fairly physical team, they’ve got an experienced quarterback who stepped up and delivered,” he said. “I don’t think there was too much that happened in the game that I would say was a real surprise; other than our own mistakes [which] were a bit of a surprise.”

The Marauders took advantage

of the Gaels’ unravelling game in the third quarter, scoring 16 points. They put themselves too far ahead for Queen’s to play catch up even, with a 16 point offensive effort in the fourth by the Gaels.

“With the experience and an older group, everything’s much more stable. Once you reach a level of expertise, they become very difficult to replace.”

—Pat Sheahan, football head coach “We needed a much more tight effort in terms of the errors,” Sheahan said. “I think the places we have errors are places we know that we need to improve. Good football teams at this time of year will exploit you where you’re weak or where you’re vulnerable and that’s exactly what they did.”

The Gaels were a young team living with the pressure of being the defending Vanier Cup champions.

With the graduation of players like quarterback Danny Brannagan,

SUB MART

Despite loss, rugby makes Gaels history Continued from page 1

today,” she said.

Centre Karlye Wong stressed her team’s willingness and determination.

“I thought we worked really hard on defence,” she said. “They were a lot faster team than we’ve experienced this season but we were able to adapt well … these guys have had seven points scored against them all year, so to prove that we could score on them showed a lot of character.”

Flanker Jocelyn Poirier echoed Wong’s sentiments with regards to the Gaels’ strong work ethic.

“I think one of our goals was to play every minute, and I think we did that,” she said. “We never let up, we played hard all the way to the end, so I think we can come out with our heads held high.”

Although Queen’s was unable to stop Guelph from securing their third straight OUA title, the Gaels making it to the finals was a big moment for the women’s rugby program. Along with their second OUA silver medal, the Gaels earned

wide receiver Scott Valberg and defensive end Shomari Williams, the Gaels lost a core of experience and a group of players who were heavily relied upon in the run to the Vanier Cup last season. With only seven seniors returning, Sheahan said the turnover of players was immense.

“This team was very much in transition,” he said. “With the experience and an older group, everything’s much more stable.

Once you reach a level of expertise, they become very difficult to replace. The returning seniors had a big task. There weren’t as many of them around and they had to basically make up for the graduation of some of the best players in the country. It was a tall, tall order.”

There will be no captivating playoff run this season but the Queen’s Gaels can now look to the future.

“With each passing year, the nucleus of the team gains more experience,” Sheahan said.

“Another year of transition and we should be a strong team again in two years.”

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a spot in the CIS Championships which is being hosted by Trent University next weekend. This will be the first time in the history of the women’s rugby program that the Gaels have reached the national championship.

The result shows a commitment to winning from the coaching staff, raises the bar for expectations next season and raises the profile for Queen’s women’s rugby, which Poirier stressed.

“It’s huge,” she said. “This is history being made for Queen’s so we’re really proud.”

Poirier, Wong, and Ward along with centre Andrea Wadsworth, and scrum half Susan Heald were named Russell Division All-Stars after the game. Both Queen’s and Guelph move on to the CIS Championships next week at Trent University.

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613-544-3258

The Gaels will be in peterborough next weekend for the ciS championship.

PHOTO by CHrIsTINe bLAIs

The Gaels are outworked by the Guelph Gryphons in Kingston.

S

14 • queensjournal.ca T uesday, November 2, 2010 ports

Running for a banner

Sports in Brief Women grab third in Guelph The Gaels competed at the OUA Cross Country Championship this weekend in Guelph. The Gryphons swept both the men’s and women’s title, earning their sixth straight OUA team title. The Queen’s women’s side placed third while the men’s team finished fifth.

Fourth-year runner Leah Larocque finished in 18 minutes and 41 seconds, coming in 16th place. Second-year runner Stephanie Hulse was the women’s team top finisher, placing 13th and crossing the finish line in 18 minutes and 33.2 seconds.

In her second year with the team, Hulse earned her first OUA All-Star team honour.

The men’s side saw third-year runner Clay Patterson come in 21st with his teammate, Andrew Corchene, finishing just behind him in 24th.

The CIS Championship will be held in Sherbrooke on Nov. 13.

—Kate Bascom

Women’s basketball right at home

ACROSS 1 English channel?

4 50 percent 8 First victim 12 Grazing site 13 Culture medium 14 Corduroy ridge 15 Scull tool 16 Assessment 17 Skedaddle 18 Deeply wounded 21 Microbrewery

product 22 N.J. neighbor 23 Duel tool 26 Deity 27 Suitable 30 Proofreader’s find 31 Muppeteer Henson 32 Bread spread 33 Nevertheless 34 Hot-dog holder 35 Sprite 36 “Mayday!”

37 Dieter’s bane 38 “Never mind the

details” 45 Shrek is one 46 Tittle 47 Carton 48 Entreaty 49 Helped a forgetful

actor 50 Can. neighbor 51 Watched 52 Gaelic 53 Huck’s pal DOWN 1 United nations 2 Suitor 3 Wagon 4 Author Robbins 5 Marble type 6 Thin wood strip

7 License 8 Horrible 9 Island near Java 10 A util.

11 Welsh vegetable

symbol 19 Poi base 20 Proof abbr.

23 Pigs’ digs 24 Zee preceder 25 Make up your mind 26 Card player’s call 27 Foreman fighter 28 Apiece 29 Plaything 31 Righteousness 32 Inauguration

recitation 34 Greet the villain 35 False front 36 Lieu 37 Celebrations 38 Get by 39 Unattractive 40 Genealogy chart 41 Session with a shrink 42 Touch 43 Mediocre 44 Physical

Last Issue’s Answers

The women’s basketball team closed out their preseason with a win at the 2010 Tindall Women’s Basketball Invitational at the ARC. The action started off against the University of Ottawa on Friday when they lost a tight match 57-59.

Things took a turn for the best in the next two games when the Gaels beat the University of Guelph and the University of Montreal 70-55 and 66-60 respectively. The 2-1 record gave the women’s basketball the tournament title. Gael’s players Jill Wheat and Brittany Moore were named tournament all-stars.

—Lauri Kytömaa

Photos by tammy leonard

Stephanie Hulse (top) finished 13th for the women’s team in Guelph and Clay Patterson (bottom) was the top finisher for men, placing 21st at the OUA Cross Country Country Championship.

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LOST & FOUND LOST OVER HOMECOMING/ REUNION WEEKEND “A Loved Med’s 58 Queen’s Togue” Blue/ Gold/Red with the “Med’58 – And Then There Were None”. Please return to the Alumni Office or call 613 544-4452.

FOUND On University Ave., Wednesday October 13th at around the noon hour, a bank card if you can describe it, it can be picked up at the AMS front desk.

TuesDaY, noVeMBer 2, 2010

PostscriPt

queensjournal.ca

• 15

What’s in a game?

In South Korea, American PC games like Starcraft are a spectator sport. Will North America ever see such a phenomenon?

BY JEFF FRASER CoNTrIbuTor Imagine: sitting in a sold-out stadium with thousands of screaming fans and detailed live commentary. You’re not watching a soccer game, you’re watching a Starcraft tournament where players compete for sponsored teams, train twelve hours a day six days a week and earn salaries in the hundreds of thousands.

Today, Starcraft is a phenomenon permeating all levels of South Korean society.

“It’s the exact same thing as sports teams because you get these fangirls and they do their cheers … it’s really funny, actually,” said Peter Kani, Sci ’12 and president of the Queen’s Collegiate Starleague Team.

The team, whose membership has grown to almost 20 players, participates in weekly Starcraft tournaments with 144 other University and College teams accross North America.

Unlike the large stadiums in South Korea, their tournaments are mostly observed online, Kani said.

“My friend showed me the Korean pro league scene ... I thought it was really interesting that a country would be so enthusiastic about e-sports,” he said. “You will not see a pro gamer that is out of shape. They all have rigorous training schedules.”

He said many of the players are admired as celebrities.

“It’s really kind of a backwards nerd fantasy world.”

There is a gaming scene in North America, Kani said, but it’s nowhere near South Korea’s level of popularity.

“Everybody’s way behind in skill level,” he said. “[We] don’t have pro teams like they do in South Korea, sponsored by major corporations. I feel like the culture here is … really different. There is a big scene but I don’t know if it will ever be broadcast on TV.” Starcraft is popular in South Korea due in part that as an American PC game, it was one of the few games available before 1998 when the South Korean government lifted its post-WWII ban on Japanese cultural content. Since Korean youth couldn’t get their hands on Japanese gaming consoles like Super Nintendo and Sony Playstation, they latched on hardcore to Starcraft, a PC game.

Graham Thompson, Comm ’10, authored a competitive gaming and business blog for two years.

He said part of the reason Starcraft has done so well is that it’s one of very few competitive games.

“A competitive game would be the type of game where the better player should win consistently. That

doesn’t mean a worse player can’t occasionally beat that person,” he said, “but it’s always through better play, more intelligent play or tricks that catch the other

player off guard.”

Most video games simply aren’t challenging enough to merit popular attention, he said. Casual games, like Nintendo’s Mario Party, depend too heavily on the element of chance to be a reliable barometer of the more skilled player.

Well-crafted multiplayer games like Starcraft work within the paradigm of intellectual games like chess, but pick up the pace, requiring players to consider hundreds of alternative actions every second.

“Sometimes you just watch what these people are able to calculate in their minds and carry out, and it’s phenomenal,” Thompson said.

“People like to think, ‘If I played video games that much, I could be that good.’ And that is just blatantly false. It’s the exact same way that you could practice playing hockey all you wanted, all the time, and you’re not necessarily going to be Wayne Gretzky. What happened in Wayne Gretzky’s case was that he was Wayne Gretzky, and he practiced all the time.”

Of course, it’s hard for a spectator to appreciate the skill involved in a game if he or she doesn’t know what’s going on.

“When you watch someone run and jump really high, you can see a physical result,” he said. “You know it’s hard, and you know it’s impressive.”

Watching a game of Starcraft, by contrast, can be like reading a novel in a foreign language.

Although North America has been exposed to games like Starcraft, none have become mainstream.

Thomspson said North Americans seem to prefer games they have an easier time getting a grasp of. The more the winner of a game is decided by skill, the more likely new players are to be defeated by

experienced ones.

Without the thrill of winning matches, newcomers lose patience and turn to more entertaining and casual games. This creates an incentive for game developers to build in randomizing features that help less experienced players win.

At the same time, too much unpredictability turns pro gamers off, Thompson said.

“No one wants to work hard at something to improve at it, if there are random elements that are going to keep them from benefiting from all that hard work.”

Consider, for example, the latest in Nintendo’s Smash Bros. franchise, Super Smash Bros.

Brawl. Thompson said many pro gamers believe that the game has less competitive value than the previous title in the franchise, Super Smash Bros. Melee, which is regarded as one of the best fighting games Nintendo has produced.

Mike Prime, ArtSci ’11 and vice-president of the Queen’s Smash Bros. Club, played Melee for Team Ontario and was ranked eighth in Eastern Canada.

“What makes Melee more competitive is that you have options all the time. You have absolute freedom with your character,” Prime said. “An individual who’s going to be good at a game that has lots of options must be able to consider all of those options in a very rapid manner ... They need to be able to identify situations and evaluate risk

versus reward.”

By introducing random events (such as tripping), which often have a major impact on deciding the winner, Prime said Nintendo has shifted the game’s emphasis from skill to chance, making it accessible to a wider audience.

“Publishers want to spend the least amount of money and get it out as quickly as they can, but of course that’s going to be at the cost of the game.”

—Jake Collins, 4 Colour 8 Bit Jake Collins, the resident gaming expert at Kingston’s local gaming hub 4 Colour 8 Bit, has a more optimistic perspective on games like Brawl.

“I always say that Nintendo is the most successful video game company out there,” Collins said. “They make their games fun—whether you’re six or 60 you can play and enjoy it, and generally you get a good understanding as soon as you start playing.”

He said Starcraft has experienced success in Korea because the developer, Blizzard Entertainment, has a unique attitude towards its games. To make its games appeal to new players, Blizzard developed

challenging single player modes and a complex laddering system that ensures players are matched against opponents of similar skill.

The strategy has worked: According to Edge, a popular gaming magazine, over 11 million copies of Starcraft worldwide have sold since its 1998 release, making it the fourth bestselling PC game of all time.

Collins said Blizzard has had so much success partially because of the freedom they get by self-publishing games.

“Publishers want to spend the least amount of money and get it out as quickly as they can, but of course that’s going to be at the cost of the game,” Collins said.

“The two most beloved companies out there are Blizzard and Valve, and neither of them have ever had pressure from publishers to get games out quickly.

It really shows in the quality of their products, and how people adore and love them for that.”

What’s more, Blizzard doesn’t leave its games to fate once they’ve been released. The company invests large sums of money in fostering the pro scene: Monthly Blizzard-sponsored Global Starcraft League tournaments in Seoul have a prize pool of about $170,000.

Blizzard also hosts its own annual tournaments at Blizzcon in Anaheim.

—With files from Kelly Loeper

16 • queensjournal.ca

Postscript

Tuesday, November 2, 2010