The Queen's Journal, Issue 19

Sporting fall colours

I love you... oh damn

Four-for-all

in focus page 6

postscript page 20

sports page 16

Queen’s

University

the journal since

1873

F r i d ay, N O v e m b e r 5 , 2 0 1 0

Never forget Holocaust Education Week starts Nov. 8

By Jessica Fishbein Assistant News Editor

Queen’s faculty since 1991 and has been Dean of the Faculty of Law for the past five years “Students are very interested in federal politics,” he said. “But also in education and issues that effect youth.”

The Holocaust marked one of the worst tragedies in human history, and in order to ensure that victims aren’t forgotten, Queen’s Hillel is participating in Holocaust Education Week on campus from Nov. 8 to Nov. 11.

Next week’s initiatives will mark the 30th year Holocaust Education Week has taken place in Canada.

Holocaust Education Week was initially organized around the Nov. 9 anniversary of Kristallnacht, or the Night of Broken Glass, when The Nazi government had Jewish homes and business ransacked and hundreds of Jews killed and taken to concentration camps.

Since it began in 1980, it has grown from being various small community sponsored events to a major forum for international speakers. According to the Canadian Jewish News, last year about 30,000 people attended programs across the country.

In recognition of the anniversary, this year’s theme, entitled “We Who Survived” focuses on survivor testimony and the importance of documenting it now, before there are no more survivors left.

On Wednesday, Nov. 10 at 7:30

Please see Liberal on page 4

Please see Raising on page 5

photo Illustration by justin tang

Kingston and the Islands MP Peter Milliken will leave office in the next federal election. Candidates (clockwise from top right) Ted Hsu, Harvey Rosen, Bill Flanagan, Bittu George and Phillip Osanic.

Riding the Liberal wave The Journal talks with candidates running for the Liberal nomination on Nov. 7 Bill Flanagan

By Clare Clancy News Editor Bill Flanagan said as MP of Kingston and the Islands he would work to promote the importance of international involvement.

“I’ve worked with a number of international projects, in Russia, China and Brazil, specializing in HIV prevention and care,” he said, adding that Canadians are proud of their international involvement.

“I think Canadians have a long record of involvement in international affairs and

INDEX Volume 138, Issue 19 www.queensjournal.ca News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Op-Ed . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Features . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

A&E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

InFocus . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Referendum . . . . . . . . . 8

Postscript . . . . . . . . . . 20

Editorials . . . . . . . . . . . 10

international development,” he said. “We have a commitment to those in the world who are less fortunate than us.”

Between 1998-2004, Flanagan was a part-time executive director of the Canada AIDS Russia Project which was spondored by a $3.3 million grant from the Canadian International Devlopment Agency.

The project centred around HIV research and training in Russia.

Flanagan said he’s running for the federal Liberal nomination in Kingston and the Islands because he wants to help change the direction of Canada’s current government.

“I want to be part of offering a positive and compassionate alternative to the Harper Conservative government,” he said.

“Like many people I’m concerned about the direction of the Harper government.”

Flanagan has been heavily involved with the prison farms controversy in Kingston. He said it shows that Kingston needs an MP who can speak for its electorate. “[The prison farms closure]

is one example of how Harper’s Conservatives are not in tune with Kingston voters,” he said, adding that the community has been protesting the closure of Canada’s six prison farms since 2009 when Corrections Canada made the announcement public.

Flanagan has been a member of

Queen’s still in the red University ran a $14.7 million dollar deficit in the 2009-10 fiscal year

By Tyler Ball Editor-in-Cheif Every April, Queen’s releases a financial statement outlining the revenues and expenditures of the University’s operating budget. The 2009-10 Financial Statement is a seemingly impenetrable 30-page document, so the Journal spoke to Carolyn Davis, vice-principal (finance and administration), to clarify some of its concepts.

For the 2009-10 fiscal year,

Queen’s totalled a $14.7 million operating deficit.

“There’s a few components in there,” said Davis. “If you go back in time, salaries and benefits have been rising at a faster rate than revenues have. Much of that deficit is due to that.”

The operating deficit is an improvement on last year’s $64.9 million loss, but less stable than $9.7 million in 2008 and healthy surpluses during the three years previous.

The report attributed much of the losses to rising salaries and pensions. Davis said administration is advocating a conservative fiscal strategy to accommodate for the rising salary expenses.

“What we’re doing is budgeting very carefully these days,” Davis said. “We’re asking faculties to find a way to accommodate any increases in salaries from within their budget.”

Please see Salaries on page 3

neWs

2 •QUEENSJOURNAL.CA

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2010

Five candidates race to the Liberal finish line Liberal nominee candidates want to step into MP Peter Milliken’s shoes in the next federal election (clockwise from top left: Harvey rosen, ted Hsu, Bill flanagan, philip osanic and Bittu george).

PHoTo by CHrISTINE bLaIS

PHoTo by JuSTIN TaNg

PHoTo by JuSTIN TaNg

c o r r e c t i o n s Tim mackay wrote the article ‘Queen’s takes OUa silver.’

Ted Hsu is running for the Liberal nomination on Nov. 7. incorrect information appeared in the Nov. 2 issue of the Journal.

The Journal regrets the errors.

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FEATURE

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2010

QUEENSJOURNAL.CA

•3

Salaries and pensions under review Continued from page 1

She said the University budgets for annual salary increases of 2.5 per cent. So far, the administration isn’t sure if they’ll need to cut jobs to meet this expectation.

“That’s really what we’re looking at right now,” Davis said. “We’re partway through the budget exercise for the next fiscal year. Faculties are going to have to see how they’re managing.

“Cutting staff is never your first choice. It’s something you try to avoid if you possibly can because employees are the people who run the university. If you look at our costs, a very large proportion of our costs are salaries and wages. They’re the people doing the jobs.”

Salaries, benefits and pensions currently make up 56 per cent of the Queen’s budget, totalling $412 million. Ultimately, Davis said it’s the responsibility of each faculty to evaluate where to cut costs in their operating budget—even if it means cutting staff.

“If you eventually come to the situation where you have a continuing and structural deficit it may be that some faculties have to look at that,” Davis said, adding that while salaries make up a large proportion of the operating budget, other factors also contribute to the deficit.

Queen’s brought in $734.8 million in revenue and incurred $739.8 million in expenses plus a $9.6 million loss on derivatives.

In a general sense, a derivative is an agreement between two parties based on future price movements.

Queen’s holds funds in British Pounds because of its international expenditures, like the operation of the International Study Centre (ISC) at Herstmonceux Castle.

The value of these funds vary with exchange rates.

“Students [at the ISC] pay for their fees in Canadian dollars but the expenses for running that facility are in British Pounds,” Davis said. “What happens with foreign exchange is that it goes up and then it goes down.”

The University holds derivatives based on an estimate of when it needs to convert funds into British Pounds. The recent economic downturn saw the devaluing of the Pound and subsequently, the devaluing of Queen’s derivatives.

“The Pound has actually gone down quite dramatically against the Canadian dollar,” she said. “We bought some contracts before we realized that was going to happen, so we’ve taken some losses on it.”

Davis added that the financial statements are compiled based on current exchange rates, and that the derivatives may improve before the University actually spends the converted cash.

Another large portion of the budget is spent on travel, totalling $20.8 million. Davis said the travel budget is a necessary expense.

“It’s an extremely important part of a professor’s job to stay up to date with what’s emerging,” Davis said. “We encourage faculties to use the travel budget to support that kind of development for

their people.

“There are parts of it that are related to the principal and the vice-principal travelling to make contacts that will be useful for the University, for advancement and for relationships with the federal government, with the provincial government [and] with other governments,” she said. “We have the justification for that travel.”

Almost $53 million is allotted to the “amortization of capital assets,” which accounts for the deprecation in the University’s assets. Like a car, assets like software and facilities lose value with time.

Queen’s includes this devaluing into its budget so that when a building, computer or office chair reaches its scrap value, there’s money set aside to replace it.

“For a building the expected useful life is how long it’s going to stay standing without you having to make very big investments in recapitalizing it,” Davis said.

The University places a “useful life” on its assets to account for this. Buildings have an useful life of 40 years, while lab equipment, computers and furniture are expected to last five years.

“We reckon that buildings should last for 40 years,” she said.

“Limestone buildings last much longer than that, [but] some of the concrete buildings that were put up in the 70s you have to be more worried about, but by and large 40 years is a good generalization.”

Despite the large allotment to the deprecation of buildings and software, Davis said students shouldn’t be worried about the effect new building initiatives have on the budget.

She said new projects, or “capital expenditures” currently under construction, aren’t solely funded by the Queen’s purse.

“The capital and the operating aspects for those projects have to be carefully planned,” Davis said.

“What has happened with the medical building for instance, is there’s been fundraising and a very generous contribution from the government ... those kinds of projects go ahead without the University having to borrow money, or necessarily having to go to the government cap in hand for it.”

Davis also cites the Isabel Bader Arts Centre as a debt-free project thanks to government grants and a $22 million donation from the Bader family. Construction on the $63 million project is slated to begin in the winter. Queen’s staff projected the construction to be finished by now if not for a lengthy approval process with city council.

“There’s an example of a project that’s properly planned where you can work towards the future in a safe financial way,” she said. “People shouldn’t have to worry about what impact the Isabel Bader Centre is going to have, or what impact the school of business is going to have or the medical school. All that been properly taken care of.”

However, the debts incurred by the Queen’s Centre construction continue to affect the University’s finances. This year the University expensed $6.7 million in long-term debt interest payments, most of

SUPPLIED

Queen’s highest expense in their 2009-10 Financial Statement is $412 million for salaries and benefits, expected to increase with the the University’s pension obligation. which Davies said relates to a loan from the Ontario Infrastructure Projects Corporation (OIPC).

“They provided funding during the construction of the Queen’s Centre and the kinesiology building,” she said. “Typically when you have a project going, you get construction funding. As you build the building you draw down on the loan and then at the end of it you

convert into a longer term loan.”

The two loans related to the project were $75 million and $50 million, each with five per cent interest rates.

The University expects to pay over $28 million in long-term debt interest over the next five years and Queen’s has established a policy to secure the money for new projects before breaking ground.

“We have a very stringent policy now that we don’t start building until we have the funding lined up for them,” Davis said.

—With files from Jake Edmiston Queen’s full financial statement is available at bit.ly/queensfinance

QUEEN’S OPERATING DEFICIT

GRAPHIC BY TYLER BALL

The University has incurred an operating deficit since 2008, but this year’s $14.7 million deficit shows an improvement over last year’s $50.5 million imbalance.

News

4 •queensjournal.ca

Friday, November 5, 2010

Liberal nomination candidates weigh in One of five qualified candidates will be chosen on Nov. 7 as the federal Liberal nomination for Kingston and the Islands Continued from page 1

Flanagan said he is committed to ensuring that Queen’s and educational institutions in general are of the highest quality in Canada.

“Investing in education is investing in our future,” he said.

“University issues [and] postsecondary issues will be of great importance to me. We’re becoming a knowledge-based economy.

Queen’s is at the forefront of that.”

Flanagan said this means research and teaching need to be government priorities in his mind.

“Investing in education is investing in our future.”

—Bill Flanagan Sean Torrie, president of Queen’s University Liberal Association, said Flanagan is the best person to speak on behalf of Kingston and the Islands.

“I met Bill just over a year ago.

He’s pretty big in the prison farm movement, which I think will be the defining issue in the next election for voters in Kingston,” Torrie, ArtSci ’11, said. “He has a lot of experience in Kingston. He’s a very outward looking guy.”

Torrie said Flanagan’s wealth of experience makes him the best candidate to be MP. “He’s the director of an AIDS NGO in Russia and he’s done a lot for the School of Law in terms of international programming.

He knows and understands local issues.”

—With files from Katherine Fernandez-Blance

Bittu george

By Katherine Fernandez-Blance Assistant News Editor Bittu George, ArtSci ’95 and LLB ’98, has been interested in Canadian politics since grade four, and his passion has driven him to a 12-year political career, serving as both a city councilor and a deputy mayor, and running for Liberal office.

“For a class assignment, my teacher wanted us to get up in the morning and talk about what was in the news, so I started watching the news, which in 1980 meant the Quebec referendum and Trudeau being re-elected,” George said. “It was fascinating to see it all unfolding, and I knew from then that that’s what I wanted to do in the future.”

“I’ve suggested that the voting age should be moved to 16.”

—Bittu George George has some big plans for Kingston if elected in the Liberal nomination meeting.

“It’s a question of making sure we look after our interests in regards to various federal institutions here.

We need to ensure safe working conditions for our prison guards,”

George said. “I’m also very opposed to the closing of the prison farms.”

If elected, George said he would like to see Kingston used as a pilot project for a national health care management system.

“We can’t reform the system because any information about patients and tests is very difficult [to access] because everything is still very paper-based,” George said, “We need to use the technology we have. The government of Canada should push for a national health management system, regardless of province.”

Being the youngest Liberal candidate has helped influence his opinions on youth voting, George said.

“Young people aren’t typically looked on as being important to the political process. I’ve suggested that the voting age should be moved to 16. This would force parties to take young people more seriously,” George said. “This is their country and their future.”

As a Queen’s student in the 1990s George was involved with Queen’s Model Parliament, AMS Assembly and the Law Student’s Society Assembly.

“I have a tremendous understanding of what Queen’s students contribute to the community,” George said.

Youko Leclerc-Desjardins, ArtSci’10 and MPL ’12, first met George through volunteering at the Penitentiary Museum. He said that George is the right man for the job because he’s able to build consensus within the party.

“He’s very optimistic. He’s more of an every-man,” LeclercDesjardins said. “The important thing is that there is a really strong conservative candidate, and Bittu has the qualities necessary to win the election.”

Ted hsu

SWITCH, a company that advocates for economic development in the green energy sector. However, he also has business experience from his term as executive director at the bank, Morgan Stanley.

In addition to a scientific and economic perspective, Hsu was raised in Kingston and after living in this city for years, he’s confident he can provide a Kingstonian perspective as well.

“If you ask people what Kingston needs the most, it is affordable housing,” he said.

“We don’t want old houses that haven’t been kept up very well. We need affordable housing, not just cheap housing.”

Adrian Bret, MPL ’10, said Hsu has solutions that help both the environment and the economy.

“The reason why I support Ted so much is because he not only talks the talk but walks the walk when it comes to solutions for the environment,” Bret said.

“We need affordable housing not just cheap housing.”

—Ted Hsu “He has experience in environmental conservation, especially renewable energy and also knows about finance and details about entrepreneurship.” The combination of these experiences makes Hsu an ideal candidate for the Liberal nomination, he said. Hsu grew up in Kingston but crossed the border to pursue his graduate degree, Bret said, afterwards he became executive director of SWITCH. “He left his job working in a large corporate atmosphere to come back to Kingston and start a non-profit company. I have a lot of respect for him. He sees the advantages that Kingston has and wants to make a difference.”

By Jessica Fishbein Assistant News Editor

Philip Osanic

Ted Hsu runs a non-profit environmental organization in Kingston and said he’s confident he could bring sustainability issues forward in Parliament.

While all the other Liberal nomination candidates are lawyers, Hsu, ArtSci ’84, has a PhD in physics from Princeton University. With a science background, Hsu said he’s used to thinking of innovative solutions to complex problems.

He said that by working to save energy, we can also save money.

Hsu’s platform hinges on initiatives that combine environmental and economic initiatives. For example, putting a price on greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels, even a low one, would help economic growth and create incentive to stop polluting. He said initiatives of this sort would incentivize the public to switch to renewable energies and then create new jobs as the sector grows.

Hsu has done a significant amount of environmental work and is the executive director of

By Labiba Haque Assistant News Editor Philip Osanic has been a “lifelong Liberal” and a local full-time Kingston lawyer since 1994. He teaches in the Queen’s Faculty of Business, School of Law and at St. Lawrence College.

Osanic, LLB ’91, said as a professor, education is very close to his heart.

“We want students to have access to postsecondary education, I think it would be a sin for bright individuals to not do so because they can’t afford it,” he said.

“It’s a problem that people aren’t saving enough for retirement.”

—Philip Osanic If elected as the Liberal candidate for Kingston and the Islands in the next federal election, Osanic hopes to formulate ways to help relieve some pressure in student loans after

after graduating.

Students aren’t the only ones experiencing a shortage of cash though.

He said with much of the Kingston’s population nearing retirement, there needs to be adjustments made to government programs.

“It’s a problem that people aren’t saving enough for retirement,” he said, adding that by changing the system to benefit elderly, they would be incentivized to save and better prepared for a comfortable retirement. When individuals contribute to their Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP), their contributions are not taxed, so long as there is no withdrawal.

However once a person reaches the age of 65, they must convert it to a Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF). When a senior then makes a withdrawal, it is taxed as income.

“I want to make the first $3,000 to $5,000 people withdraw, tax exempt. This will give the incentive to people to contribute to the RRSP,” he said, adding that this way the money that otherwise would have gone to the government in taxes can trickle down through the community.

Georgia Campbell Comm ’10 and ArtSci ’10 took a business law course with Osanic. She said she would vote for him because of his community involvement.

“I think so much of politics involves the legal realm; because he is a teacher [and] a professor of law, he’s able to communicate well,” she said, adding that Osanic’s knowledge in the legal sector and his good communication skills as a professor will be transferrable as a good MP. “It’s important when talking to students that they know how he is as a teacher. It speaks a lot to what he could deliver [as MP].”

“I know the players, and I know the people on both sides of the House. I’m firmly attached to the Liberal values that we’re trying to bring to Ottawa,” Rosen said.

“Canada’s reputation internationally has suffered a huge blow during the five years of Conservative rule, we need to do a lot of work to correct that.”

Rosen said as Mayor he was able to secure $25 million from the provincial government for the Ravensview Sewage Control Plant in 2003. “[This was done] through tough negotiations and it was a significant achievement that didn’t get as much recognition as it should have,” Rosen said, adding that this serves as a great example of his potential to contribute positively to Kingston if elected to the Liberal party.

“I’m firmly attached to the Liberal policies that we’re trying to bring to Ottawa.”

—Harvey Rosen

“It speaks to what I could do on behalf of the municipality in Parliament.”

Rosen said that while the nomination meeting will be a close race for all candidates involved, his experience should matter most to voters.

Rosen said he was surprised with the Queen’s University Liberal Association’s quick endorsement of running mate Bill Flanagan.

“Unfortunately the Association has made a decision without speaking to other candidates,” Rosen said.

Jaimmie Riley, ArtSci ’11, said Rosen’s strong ties with the community and a list of impressive accomplishments make him the most qualified man for the position.

“I always appreciate Harvey’s policies but his enthusiasm for —With files from Clare Clancy Kingston and the people in it—his devotion shows he wants to make Kingston a better place,” Riley said.

“I do think he’s the most qualified candidate his experience can be noted by—his accomplishments in Kingston,” Riley said. “[Rosen’s

By Katherine involvement in Ravensview] Fernandez-Blance shows enthusiasm for Kingston Assistant News Editor infrastructure, and beyond that Kingston Mayor Harvey Rosen, LLB the [riding.]” ’75 said his extensive experience —With files from Clare Clancy in provincial and national politics mean he’s do a good job as a Liberal Candidate.

Harvey Rosen

Have any news?

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Friday, november 5, 2010

News

queensjournal.ca

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Raising awareness

Continued from page 1

p.m. in Stirling D, Holocaust Survivor Nate Leipciger will be speaking about his story and experiences.

He was born in Poland in 1928 and survived a series of ghettos and death camps.

He and his father were liberated in May of 1945 and immigrated to Canada in October of 1948.

He has since taken to educating youth about the holocaust and received a meritious service decoration from the government of Canada in 2000 for his work.

“Having arrived at Auschwitz at the age of 15, and having seen the others of my age group marched off directly to the gas chamber, I feel a terrific obligation to educate our youth,” he wrote in a March of the Living testimony.

He wrote that each time he makes a “pilgrimage” to Poland, he does it to pay homage to his mother, sister and grandparents who perished.

While most Holocaust Education programs occur in the Greater Toronto Region, Regional Jewish Communities of Ontario is co-sponsoring programs in Kingston, Thunder Bay, Newmarket, Sudbury, Guelph, Barrie and Peterborough.

Naomi Rosenfeld, Holocaust Education Week co-chair, said Canadian universities like McMaster, McGill and Western also work to commemorate victims of the Holocaust during this week.

“The main goal of the week is to educate people at Queen’s and the Kingston community at large about themes of the Holocaust,” Rosenfeld, ArtSci ’13, said. “We are raising awareness to ensure it or anything like it never happens again.”

Promotion for Holocaust Education Week has occurred through the use of social

media like Facebook, posters on campus, emails to faculty and announcements at lectures and Hillel events.

“The history we tend to educate about is specific to Holocaust, but themes of genocide are applicable to events going on in world today,” she said. “It is clear that hate is not going away, which you can see with what is going on in Darfur right now.”

[The] historical content about the Holocaust will be shown in a walk-through exhibit displayed in the lower-Ceilidh JDUC from Monday to Thursday of next week, Rosenfeld said. This exhibit has been displayed in the JDUC during Holocaust Education Week every year since 2006, and Queen’s is one of the few universities in Canada to have a walk through exhibit of this scale.

“It is a museum-like exhibit where people can learn about events prior, during and after the Holocaust, such as what was going on in Germany at the time, Hitler’s rise to power and the spread of anti-Semitic propaganda,” she said.

Scott Miller, director of curatorial affairs at U.S Holocaust Memorial Museum, will be speaking about his 10 year project of documenting the fate of the St. Louis; a ship denied entry in to Cuba, the US and Canada because it contained 937 Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi Germany.

In addition, the movie Escape from Sobibor, based on the factual account of what happened at the Nazi death camp of Sobibor will be shown.

Life in the ghettos, concentration and death camps will also be discussed during the week. The many types of resistance demonstrated by Jews and non-Jews alike will also be discussed.

“Throughout the Holocaust, there were all types of resistance, such as the Warsaw ghetto uprising and the righteous among

PHOTO BY JUSTIN TANG

naomi rosenfeld, co-chair of holocaust education Week, said she wants to ensure Queen’s students know themes of genocide are applicable to today. the nations who risked their lives to help,” Rosenfeld said, adding that victims such as gypsies and political prisoners will be acknowledged as well as Jews.

“It’s very important this is not just targeted for Jews but for community at large.

“Our events don’t require previous knowledge; they are there for people to come to learn. We want the community at large to know about it so they can raise awareness on their own,” she said. “We want someone to be able to come who doesn’t know a thing about the Holocaust and leave with a general knowledge and overview of what happened.”

While the Holocaust occurred decades ago, it is crucial to continue to learn about it and understand why it remains relevant to today, Rosenfeld said.

“A lot of time people might look at the Holocaust and think that it’s so long ago and not relevant to their life, but not only are the themes relevant and applicable, there are so many connections at Queen’s to the

Holocaust,” she said. “This is not something in the past that we can forget about.”

Hillel Co-President Shira Sasson echoes these sentiments.

“The Holocaust is one example of what hatred is capable of. The purpose of Holocaust Education Week is to show our respect in remembering the millions who were killed, and to learn from the stories of Holocaust survivors who we are so fortunate to have with us,” she told the Journal in an email.

“The lessons we learn through Holocaust education are very relevant to more current issues. Through education and remembrance, we will be able to prevent such atrocities from ever happening again.”

For events happening on campus, go to Campus Calendar at queensjournal.ca

MAKE IT LARGE FOR $5.00 MORE

6 •queensjournal.ca

InFocus

Friday, November 5, 2010

Friday, November 5, 2010

As leaves fall, the OUAs call

InFocus

With another fall season of Queen’s sport in the books, Journal photographers Journal photographers Christine Blais and Justin tang reflect on the Gael’s Christine Blais and fall season as it comes to an end.

Justin Tang reflect on the action captured from the sidelines.

queensjournal.ca

•7

News

8 •queensjournal.ca

Friday, November 5, 2010

AMS fall referendum statements The Journal provides this free space for parties on the ballot. All statements are unedited.

Plebecite questions Do you think Queen’s University should invest in cost reducing, energy conserving building upgrades?

Are you aware that Queen’s University is currently undergoing an institution-wide Academic Planning exercise that would set each faculty’s priorities for the foreseeable future?

Do you feel that you have had meaningful opportunity to voice your concerns regarding Queen’s Academic Plan?

Canadian

Undergraduate Conference on Healthcare (CUCOH) The Canadian Undergraduate Conference on Healthcare (CUCOH) is the largest student-run conference of its kind in the country.

Each year over 300 undergraduates from across the country come to Queen’s University for a weekend to immerse themselves in current healthcare topics. Internationally renowned speakers, doctors, healthcare administrators and policy makers come to engage students in active analysis of their healthcare system. Students can respond during the seminars and the discussion panel session where they can discuss amongst their peers and professionals. An Information Fair with graduate schools and corporate companies is available for networking. Furthermore, a Health Sciences Research Competition highlights students’ work early on in their careers, with cash prizes and a chance to be published in the Queen’s Health Sciences Journal. Delegates have a chance to meet new friends from various universities during the conference and at our Friday night social and Saturday night banquet. The delegate fee is maintained at a low price to make the conference accessible for more students, despite high costs of speakers and declining sponsorship. With your optional student fee support of $0.75, you can help make CUCOH happen. Students from all faculties join our conference and executive committee for a simple reason: the future of healthcare depends on the unique talents and contributions of each and every job sector.

Check out www.cucoh.com to find out more.

DECA Queen’s DECA Queen’s is a chapter in an international association of inspired students working to become the leaders of tomorrow by competing in professional development

conferences and case competitions.

The association focuses on helping students develop key skills essential to any career; in particular, we emphasize analytical concepts, quick thinking, presentation skills, and problem-solving skills on a continual basis. It is not just a one-time competition or conference, but rather a year-long commitment involving training sessions and workshops in addition to competitions.

DECA Queen’s hosts its own Invitational Conference each November–oneoftheorganization’s most highly anticipated events – in which hundreds of students from various faculties and from Ontario universities meet at Queen’s University for three days.

Students also are provided with the opportunity to compete in the DECA U Provincial Conference in Toronto, as well as the International Career Development Conference (ICDC) which is held in the United States.

DECA U is one of the fastest-growing undergraduate organizations in Canada; it was founded in 2006 with 400 members spread across 10 universities and has since grown to over 1000 members in 16 universities in Canada. DECA can also be found in the United States, Puerto Rico, Guam, and Germany with a total of over 13,000 post-secondary student members worldwide.

Funds raised by the optout fees will be used to support events throughout the year to promote professional and career development on campus

The Future Group The Future Group is a Calgarybased NGO focused on the prevention of human trafficking.

Specifically, the group has presented a series of measures to the Federal Government of Canada aimed at both the protection of victims and the establishment of a Canadian counter-human trafficking office: —“Prevention of human trafficking by working with source countries to address root causes including deterring the demand side of the industry; —Protection of trafficking victims including rescue, rehabilitation and, when appropriate, repatriation and reintegration; and, —Prosecution of traffickers and commercial sex-users in criminal proceedings.”

-http://www.thefuturegroup.org As the Queen’s University chapter of the Future Group, we propose to extend awareness about this international crime in hopes of eliminating an epidemic that is truly global in scope. Accordingly, on January 29th, 2010 we will be hosting a seminar on the prevention of human trafficking in Canada that will be available to members of both the Queen’s community and the Kingston community as a whole. Speakers will include MP Joy Smith, Constable Heather

Richardson, Naomi Baker (creator of Canada Fights Human Trafficking) and Timega Nagy (the first documented victim of human trafficking in Canada). We recommend this informative and stimulating event to anyone who is interested in the defence of human rights. We will also be working towards creating a partnership with local Kingston Women’s Shelter.

Keep A Child Alive Keep A Child Alive (Queen’s Chapter) is an official chapter of KEEP A CHILD ALIVE (KCA), a charity co-founded by Alicia Keys in 2003 that is dedicated to providing life-saving anti-retroviral treatment, care, and support services to children and families whose lives have been affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa and India.

Currently, there are 33.4 million people infected with HIV/ AIDS worldwide, including 2.1 million children. 67% of people infected HIV are in Sub-Saharan Africa, making it the most heavily affected region in the world, and with 2.4 million people living with HIV, India has the second highest HIV prevalence worldwide.

Although it only costs $1/day for the medication that would give a person living with AIDS one more day in their life, 70% of people in developing countries do not have access to the AIDS medication they desperately need to survive... How much is a life worth?

KCA is an urgent response to the AIDS pandemic ravaging Africa and India. Our work makes it possible for children and families to obtain life-saving anti-retroviral treatment and the surrounding medical care, changing AIDS from a virtual death sentence to a manageable disease.

KCA also supports orphanages that care for children who have lost their parents or family to AIDS. KCA has funded 18 clinical and orphan care sites in 8 different countries in SubSaharan African and India.

Keep A Child Alive (Queen’s Chapter) is requesting an increase in our optional student activity fee, subject to individual opt-out, from $0.20 to $0.50, an increase of $0.30. Keep A Child Alive (Queen’s Chapter) gives 100% of donations to KCA programs. Join us in the fight against the global AIDS pandemic and help KEEP A CHILD ALIVE! For more information on how you can get involved please visit http://bit.ly/ kcaqueenschapter or contact us at kcaqueenschapter@gmail.com.

Mostly

Autonomous Sailboat Team Queen’s Mostly Autonomous Sailboat Team (MAST) is a unique undergraduate student team that designs and constructs robotic sailing vessels for competition at

an international level. During the competition the boat steers, hoists and trims the sails based on wind, GPS and water speed measurements without human intervention. MAST has represented both Queen’s and Canada at international conferences and competitions where they have earned many awards for their performance. With over 50 participating members, MAST is one of the biggest and most active design teams on campus. Students from all faculties and years are welcome to join and require no previous experience.

MAST is the only educational initiative on campus that teaches marine architecture and one of the few teams that focuses on systems engineering.

Members are also exposed to real-world problems, hands-on construction and project management experience, which are instrumental in finding employment after graduation.

Some of the beneficial applications of the technology MAST develops include alternatives to large-scale oceanographic research vessels, handicapped sailor assistance, sailor training, sailing safety, ocean surveillance and carbon emissionneutral transportation.

MAST is asking to establish an optional $0.30 fee that is subject to individual opt-out. Your support will help MAST continue to be successful and allow them to represent Queen’s internationally.

Allocated funds will be used for materials, software, transportation to competitions and building equipment.

MUSE Magazine MUSE is a fashion, arts, entertainment, and lifestyle publication that aims to collectively portray the artistic scene in the Queen’s and Kingston community alike. With a particular focus on creativity, MUSE strives to form a bridge between the inspiring and the aspiring. In addition, MUSE aims to establish a network and build connections with the Queen’s student body as well as the local Kingston art community through events and sponsorship opportunities. Most importantly, MUSE looks to broadcast Queen’s artistic culture and provide a refreshing and unique outlook on the fashion, arts, entertainment, and lifestyle industries. Bi-annual issues will be published and distributed on campus, as well as in other designated Kingston communities for free.

Queen’s Amnesty International Queen’s Amnesty International works in conjunction with Amnesty Canada to spread information regarding international human rights violations and abuses. Our goal is to inform the Queen’s community to empower everyone

to make a change and speak up for those who do not have a voice.

We are specifically focused towards the Queens community and carry out specific Amnesty International campaigns in an attempt to educate, empower, and evoke change. Amnesty International is trying to make a world in which every person in every country can enjoy the freedoms included in the Declaration of Human Rights.

As a Queen’s specific chapter of Amnesty, we try to inform the Queens community that we have the power to help people across the world to achieve the same standards of respect and freedom that we have.

At our weekly meeting we discuss human rights issues and abuses and engage in a weekly letter writing campaign. The money from our fee is used to pay for the letter writing materials that we use to send letters to governments around the world urging them to stop human rights abuses that violate international law.

Our funds also allow us to advertise for the annual speaker series and film festival, which brings awareness to specific domestic or international human rights issues we feel deserve to be brought to the attention of the Queen’s community.

Queen’s Baja SAE Design Team The Queen’s Baja SAE Design Team is a group of undergraduate students who work together to create an off-road racing vehicle to compete in the North American Baja SAE Series. Every year the team designs, manufactures, and races a completely new vehicle from the ground up. Members gain real world experience in solving practical engineering problems, as well gaining management and professional communication skills.

The team is one of the oldest design teams at Queen’s, having been participating in Baja SAE since the 1970s. The Queen’s Baja Team is also known as one of the top teams in the world of an international field of over 200 teams. The AMS Fee collected goes towards the team’s operating budget of approximately $25,000. Expenses include tubing for the frame, shocks, fasteners, brake components, and competition fees to name a few. The team’s ability to participate in Baja SAE is predicated on securing enough funding to cover our costs, which in recent years has become difficult due to cut-backs. As such the AMS fee is a crucial source of income for the team. If you would like more information about the Queen’s Baja Team, or about the competition, please visit our website at: www. queensbaja.com

Queen’s Bands Queen’s Bands has been a staple of Queen’s University since 1905.

We do multiple performances Please see page 9

Friday, November 5, 2010

News

Continued from page 8

every week, from football games, volleyball games and hockey games to alumni events and parades.

A 100+ person organization, Queen’s Bands is the most visible representation of legendary Queen’s spirit both in Kingston and around the province.

The vast majority of our budget goes to transportation, lodging and equipment upkeep. Each member pays a substantial membership fee, and we are still unable to afford transportation to all the events we have been asked to participate in.

Our student fee has been the same for 12 years, while all of our costs have steadily increased.

Voting yes for Queen’s Bands ensures that we’ll be able to continue supporting Queen’s varsity athletics and Queen’s alumni events.

Cha Gheill!

Queen’s Chinese Press The Queen’s Chinese Press (QCP) is Queen’s only bilingual publication, publishing in both English and Chinese. Formerly the Empress, established in 1994, the QCP aims to serve the Queen’s community by being a platform for diverse voices that otherwise would not have been heard. The Queen’s Chinese Press publishes monthly during the school year. Current editions are found exclusively online @ www.queenschinesepress.com, and print editions are contingent upon funding. Further, the QCP plans to initiate the QCF, a bilingual online forum that will be a thriving marketplace, a symposium of ideas, and a friendly meeting place for everyone. With renewed support, we will accomplish the above and many other projects to better serve the Queen’s community.

Queen’s

Conference on Education The Queen’s Conference on Education (QCE) is seeking an AMS opt out fee.

QCE is a not-for profit weekend conference open to all undergraduate students. The conference is aimed at students from any and all backgrounds and faculties interested in careers in the field of education. Throughout the weekend delegates engage in professional growth through workshops, keynote speakers and discussions about the critical issues that are faced in the education system today. QCE has two main goals; to have a professional

conference allowing delegates an opportunity for personal and professional growth. Secondly, our gaol is to make the conference financially accessible to all who are interested. The AMS opt out fee would be used for both of these purposes. A portion of the opt out fee would contribute to the costs associated with hosting high profile keynote speakers, as well as supplies needed for workshops. The other portion of the opt out fee would go towards QCE’s “sponsor a delegate” program. All students are eligible to apply to be sponsored to come to QCE and will be selected based on financial need. QCE strives to give undergraduate students from all faculties at Queen’s an opportunity for professional development, as well as a chance to find out what teaching would be like as a future career.

Queen’s Debating Union The Queen’s Debating Union (QDU) is the oldest student organization on campus, and one of the oldest in North America.

Established in 1843, and founders of the Alma Mater Society, the QDU has played a substantial role in Queen’s life since the University’s inception.

The QDU represents Queen’s at National, North American, and World Championships, and we are currently the 11st highest ranked debating club in the world, above Harvard, Princeton, and MIT. On campus, the QDU runs weekly meetings open to the entire student body and gives people the opportunity to learn and practice the art of public speech. The QDU will teach you to articulate your thoughts and be more persuasive— important skills both during and after your time at Queen’s. The QDU also runs a high school outreach program, teaching Kingston students how to debate and improve their confidence at speaking in public. We also assist departments like English and Environmental Sciences in their courses, and conferences like ICBC and CUCOH in their events.

The QDU’s opt-out fee goes directly back to students: we use the money to subsidize the cost of participation in the union. We compete at over a dozen external tournaments every year and host two national tournaments on the Queen’s campus annually. Renewing the $1.40 opt-out fee allows us to represent Queen’s and to maintain our local initiatives in helping the Queen’s community. We want to insure that all students, regardless of their financial situation, are able to benefit from the programs that the QDU offers.

On November 9th, and 10th please vote YES to a renewal of the Queen’s Debating Union optout fee. To learn more please check out our website at: http:// queensdebatingunion.org/, or come to a regular meeting on Wednesday and Thursday nights in Kingston 201 at 7pm.

Queen’s Formula SAE Queen’s Formula SAE is a student design and race team open to all Queen’s students. The team applies engineering knowledge, design skill, team building and project management to build an openwheeled formula style race car that is raced against other universities from around the world. The 25 cent increase for this project goes directly towards materials, research and development of the car and assures that this opportunity continues to be available to students.

Queen’s Musical Theatre Queen’s Musical Theatre (QMT) is a student-run organization which stages two professional-quality productions per year. We aim to provide an environment at Queen’s conducive to positive learning experiences for students within the framework of a working theatre company. Some of our recent productions include Little Shop of Horrors, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Man of La Mancha, and Jekyll & Hyde. We are currently working on our January production of Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Mikado. Students involved with QMT have the opportunity to take part in shows through roles in the cast, orchestra, crews, and production team. In addition to our productions, we hold musical theatre related social events, such as karaoke nights, trips to see shows, and audition preparation sessions.

Money collected from our $0.50 fee (subject to individual optout) helps us to provide valuable opportunities for students, not only through our productions, but also through workshops, trips, cabaret evenings, and other events. QMT provides students with meaningful experience that has allowed many of our alumni to go on to develop their own musicals, attend prestigious theatre schools, and work in the Toronto and Broadway theatre scenes. With your support, we will be able to continue to provide Queen’s students with these exciting opportunities and to bring professional-quality musical theatre to the Queen’s and Kingston communities.

queensjournal.ca

Queen’s University Concrete Canoe Team The Queen’s University Concrete Canoe Team is an entirely student run design team whose undertaking is the design, development, and creation of a canoe made of concrete. The team competes annually in the Canadian National Concrete Canoe Competition with universities and colleges nation-wide. Our key objective is to provide a unique learning environment for students of all years while promoting a creative, innovative, and fun activity that encourages leadership, teamwork, communication, project management, and problem solving skills.

For the past 10+ years, the Queen’s University Concrete Canoe Team has been an excellent way for students to get involved in the Queen’s Community and meet other students with similar interests from a variety of years and disciplines. The team members interact with primarily local engineering companies in an effort to receive sponsorship for the team.

The Queen’s Concrete Canoe Team is involved in all open house sessions for prospective students and is always met with interest and enthusiasm. The Queen’s Concrete Canoe Team is unlike any other club. The design and construction of a new canoe each year entirely in collaboration with their fellow peers and participation in a national competition is a unique experience and a fantastic learning opportunity.

Many members have expressed that their experiences on the Concrete Canoe Team have been among their fondest at Queen’s and in some cases have learned more than they did in their classes due to the hands-on approach and interaction with knowledgeable executive members. The team has had several appearances on the Discovery Channel, Queen’s TV, and CBC National News (at the competition) due to the media attention that the unusual idea of a concrete canoe attracts. Queen’s Concrete Canoe always represents Queen’s proudly and brings positive publicity to the university

•9

canvas art, music, spoken word ... and anything else that can be published. Queen’s is home to a unique and diverse artistic culture, and it is our purpose to provide exposure through open coffee houses, Random Acts of Poetry, and Art Attacks. The magazine itself is a annual publication, the result of seven months of collaborative efforts; searching and sifting through submissions to find those representatives of a provocative student identity. Alongside the magazine, Ultraviolet incorporates a CD to showcase the musical submissions – to date, UV is the only campus publication to include an audio component; music is art too. Ultraviolet is a free art resource to all students, distributed without charge. UV is now celebrating its 15th birthday, and with this minimal fee, we will be able to bring art to students for at least another few years. It is our main focus to broaden everyone’s focus. Exposure yourself; submit your voice at ultraviolet_mag@hotmail.com

Students for Corporate Social Responsibility

Students for Corporate Social Responsibility (SCSR) is a studentrun association committed to promoting CSR at Queen's University. SCSR promotes CSR through on-campus events and academic initiatives. SCSR events are open to all students and encourage participants to actively explore issues related to CSR. SCSR initiatives aim to educate students on issues related to CSR, the importance of CSR, and how students can encourage corporations to act responsibly. All SCSR’s events and initiatives are planned and managed by the SCSR executive – a team of 14 students from a variety of faculties and years.

Corporate social responsibility is a concept whereby organizations consider the interests of society by taking responsibility for the impact of their activities on customers, suppliers, employees, shareholders, communities and other stakeholders, as well as the environment.

Sample CSR Issues: labour rights, fair trade, product testing on animals, and corporate governance ltraviolet CSR is important because we, as students, can have an impact, agazine both now and in the future, as employees and entrepreneurs, on Ultraviolet Magazine is an the decisions and the direction on-campus initiative to promote chosen by businesses. art among the student body.

We aim to provide an outlet for students from all faculties, to display their creative capabilities in poetry, prose, photography,

U M

Ready to vote?

Referendum voting will take place Tuesday, Nov. 9 until Wednesday Nov. 10.

Voting is online. Check your webmail or myams.org for details Tuesday morning.

Editorials

10 • queensjournal.ca

Q u ee n ’ s

Friday, November 5, 2010

University

the journal Truant? Don’t do it

S

tudents in Nova Scotia will soon face a new restriction intended to keep them glued to their seats.

Starting next September, students who miss more than 20 per cent of the class time for a course will receive a failing grade. The move is part of a two-year trial project aimed at reducing absenteeism in the province.

The project is the brainchild of a group of parents, students and educators, including a former deputy minister.

While many students hear of this sort of punishment by word of mouth, few districts in Canada actually make attendance a prerequisite for passing a course.

Any measure that will increase student attendance is laudable, and this one is no exception. Students who skip class miss out on new material and instruction, which often can’t be regained by copying notes or last-minute cramming.

Falling behind discourages a student from attending future classes, especially in an already difficult or dry subject. It’s also disrespectful to the instructor of a course.

While some students are able to teach

themselves unfamiliar material, this sort of high-risk approach doesn’t work for the majority. Keeping students in the classroom is absolutely vital.

At the same time, a truancy cap needs to be properly instituted. Though this sort of structure is important for younger students, older students need to take some initiative and responsibility. Over-supervising students about to enter adult life doesn’t teach them about the consequences of absentee behaviour.

It’s also important that educators recognize that persistent truancy isn’t necessarily a sign of laziness. Though the average student at any level misses the occasional class, some students may find the learning environment counter-productive for a number of reasons.

These students need additional support, not just a motivation to sit in a chair.

This punishment won’t resolve truancy entirely. Resourceful students will always find ways to skip while staying off the radar.

But the pilot project will likely encourage less than enthusiastic students to take their academic performance more seriously.

Alcohol not all bad

A

n article published Nov. 1 by the Toronto Star summarized a medical study with a controversial conclusion.

The study graded the danger of legal and illegal drugs on a 16-point scale, taking into account the effect of each drug on both the user and others.

The study found that alcohol is a more dangerous drug than heroin, crack and other illegal drugs. David Nutt, the psychiatrist and neuropyschopharmacologist behind the study, cites the results as evidence that governments need to reconsider waging war against hard drugs.

Nutt was fired from his position as chair of the United Kingdom’s Advisory Council on Misuse of Drugs after repeatedly clashing with the government’s rigid stance on illegal drugs.

His perspective is endorsed by Dr. Jurgen Rehm, a scientist at Toronto’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. Rehm suggests the solution may lie in hiking alcohol taxes and limiting alcohol advertising, which often entices minors. The article was published on healthzone.ca, the Star’s online health supplement.

It’s difficult to reconcile the conclusion of Nutt’s study. Most people drink alcohol without serious side-effects; this cannot be said of people who smoke crack.

Alcohol can be dangerous, but measuring it alongside hard drugs feels like a comparison of issues that differ greatly in severity.

It’s important to note that Nutt’s study was published in The Lancet, one of the most prestigious peer-reviewed medical journals in the world. It’s quite likely that his conclusions are valid within the framework and analysis he conducted.

The real problem with grasping Nutt’s study lies in how it is described in the Star’s article. The article provides a simplistic summary of the framework Nutt used to arrive at his conclusion, which is helpful for a non-expert audience. However, the Star article doesn’t connect the dots, focusing heavily on Nutt’s conclusion: the numerical “harm” number assigned to each drug.

While it’s easy to find Nutt’s study online, it’s difficult to sift through the technical jargon and detail. It would have been of great benefit to the reader if the Star had addressed a complex topic in more detail.

The study arrived at its conclusion based on the fact that because alcohol is so wide-spread, the issues it raises create a greater burden on the average taxpayer than illegal drugs. Ultimately, covering a story with such unexpected implications needs to involve more than a blurb about an outrageous conclusion.

Kindle: just kindling?

Kate Bascom

M

y mom is a planner and a worrier. That’s why she’s asking me to make a wish list—not only for Christmas, but also for my birthday, which falls days before the holiday.

I protested. I’m too old to be thinking about opening presents, and November is too early to be thinking about that sort of thing. My mother explained that a friend of hers had suggested getting me a Kindle.

I have a reputation as a bookworm, but my mother knew to cross that off of my list.

The Kindle became available in Canada about a year ago. It’s an e-book reader: a piece of technology that’s no bigger than a book itself, with a screen that displays the text of a novel, magazine or newspaper.

I’m not bothered by other people wanting a Kindle, because I understand that it has practical value. But why is there a need for practicality when it comes to glorious books, when a few pages of text bring such comfort to me and make me feel so much smarter.

Books take up space, wear with age, and buying new ones inevitably means leaving the house. The Kindle is turning books into a high-tech pastime, where you have to download stories and stare at a single computer screen to read a novel. But this is what I don’t understand—how do people get enjoyment out of these things?

My childhood was spent staring at bookcases at the library, at the bookstore, at my house. Shelves of books that made up a rainbow of colours with fancy fonts and authors’ names that sounded exotic to an

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Friday, November 5, 2010 • Issue 19 • 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 20 of Volume 138 will be published on Tuesday, November 9, 2010

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eight-year old.

I still remember the words of Goodnight Moon, and I Love You Forever still brings tears to my eyes.

The experience of opening a book for the first time is like no other. The crack of the spine, the smoothing of the pages, the crisp black text and the first folded page that acts as a bookmark. And don’t even get me started on that new book smell.

Books bring people together. As you sit on the bus or in-between classes reading a novel, someone recognizes the title and stops to chat with you. They declare their love for Little Women or ask you if you really think Wuthering Heights is as romantic as some perceive it to be.

That’s not possible with the Kindle, which has no front cover to recognize, or a title to indicate which fantasy world you’re immersed in. Even worse is that the Kindle cannot show the same physical declaration of use that a well loved book can. There isn’t the broken-in spine, the dog eared pages or even the strange stains that slowly accumulate on the pages over the years. Instead, the Kindle just has ugly scratch marks and dents that hint towards carelessness—and a need for a new edition instead of a much adored book.

This is not a complaint about technology, but a celebration of a childhood love that has become a central part of my adult life.

Technology makes our lives more efficient, but books are not supposed to be efficient: they’re meant for a leisurely read on the beach with a cocktail under the sun.

Elias Da Silva-Powell Adam Zunder

Ally Hall

Alyssa Ashton

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Friday, November 5, 2010

Opinions

queensjournal.ca

Nuclear non-proliferation

talking h

To prevent the spread of nuclear arms, our international institutions must be reformed

Ben Hartley, ArtSci ’10 Barack Obama was elected on a platform of change, promising an ‘open hand’ to the Iranian regime.

Progress, he stated, “cannot be solely America’s endeavour.”

In a 2009 speech in Prague, Obama’s approach to international law was clear: “rules must be binding. Violations must be punished. Words must mean something. The world must stand together to prevent the spread of these weapons.”

But despite this new American multilateralism, the actions of the international institutions of the non-proliferation regime have not had an abating effect on Iranian proliferation.

American multilateralism has not deterred Iran because consensus-based decision making and diverging threat perceptions amongst declining great powers have prevented international institutions of non-proliferation from effectively taking action.

In turn, this gives greater agency to national governments of rising powers in preventing nuclear weaponization.

At the United Nations, new sanctions aimed at Iran have exposed cleavages in the UN Security Council (P5) over the definition of acceptable risk that dilute the usefulness of collective multilateral action.

Specifically, they disagree over the calculus of where the ‘Red Line’ of unacceptable Iranian capability actually is, exposing diverging threat perceptions.

Britain and France continue to assert their dominance vis-à-vis aggressive postures as a way of retaining moral authority, and Russia and China have expressed a “zero tolerance” attitude towards only the verifiable existence of an Iranian nuclear weapon.

The United States by contrast still views any Iranian enrichment with suspicion and draws the line at “breakout capability” while Israel continues to view an Iranian bomb as an existential threat that would necessitate pre-emptive

military action.

The differing threat perception within the permanent members of the Security Council reduces the eventual value of sanctions and ultimately prevents an abating effect on Iranian nuclear demands.

New sanctions have been biting for Iran, but the continued gambit of provocation in the context of asserting their “right to enrich,” guaranteed in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), is evidence that they have not had the intended effect.

But at the 2010 NPT Review Conference at the UN, it was these same powers; the US, France, Great Britain and Russia, who prevented timelines and binding mechanisms from being in the final document: principles that, if universally applied, would undoubtedly assist their position on the Iranian file.

The stance of these states was that binding mechanisms would weaken international treaties because they would not be adhered to.

Despite support from the 118 members of the Non-Aligned Movement—which includes Iran—for binding language, the final document was deliberately vague: that non-proliferation should be “pursued within an agreed legal framework, which a majority of States parties believe should include specified timelines.”

The value of the NPT is its

The conflict between these two interests in a collective defence alliance invariably requires a consensus policy heavily influenced by dominant national actors, like the US. political and moral suasion. But exceptions to its terms and a lack of commitment to verifiable mechanisms dilute the NPT’s moral authority and capacity for non-proliferation in the international system.

Nonetheless, some European ‘have-nots’ within NATO—led

by Germany’s foreign minister Guido Westerwelle—have publicly supported policies of European disarmament and further nuclear cooperation.

Westerwelle argues that nuclear weapons “no longer have a military

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s

... in the JDUC

Photos By Craig Draeger

Is it too early to break out the winter coat?

“I’ve already done it.”

Rob Lee, Eng ’11 Supplied

US President Barack Obama meets with Chinese President Hu Jintao in Washington to discuss issues of nuclear security. purpose” not already served by US- based ICBM’s, and thus should be removed from European soil.

That the American Nuclear Posture Review doesn’t address NATO’s political reliance on a ground based deterrent however, implies American tacit approval of a sustained European arsenal, and Anders Fogh Rasmussen’s support for expansion of missile defence capabilities also corroborates a NATO policy that instead favours the nuclear status quo in NATO’s new Strategic Concept.

The conflict between these two interests in a collective defence alliance invariably requires a consensus policy heavily influenced by dominant national actors, like the US. In the Middle East, Iran is well aware that any regional hegemony provided by weaponization will be short lived, as American failure to prevent an Iranian weapon will constitute adequate grounds for a cascade of defensive proliferation in states such as Saudi Arabia and NATO member state Turkey.

Here, a US failure to provide security as a public good would precipitate a nuclear cascade in the region and would be seen as not only a blow to American power, but to the credibility of the institutions of the international non-proliferation regime that the US has attempted to empower.

The Turkey-Brazil deal is an effective example of how this power balance has changed, and why institutions of the non-proliferation regime are largely

ineffective when compared to the agency of national governments.

While it may stand as a side-note in history, the deal proved that these international institutions failed, and that national actors won out.

While the US condemned the Turkey-Brazil deal in public, choosing to rebuff Iran from the multilateral 2010 Nuclear Security Summit held April 12 to 13, 2010, Obama sent a private letter to President Da Silva on April 20, 2010, only eight days later, asserting his implicit support for the pact.

The fact that rising powers like Turkey, Brazil and India have been able to bridge the gap between UN Security Council with Germany (P5+1) and Iran reflects a changing world order in which non-proliferation institutions remain ineffective while declining great power states continue to use their status to protect defensive nuclear postures.

As long as institutional design reflects realities that prevent effective cooperation, a universally acknowledged system to prevent the spread of nuclear arms, capable of preventing proliferation in a regime such as Iran, will remain a significant challenge.

why there is the belief that we are entitled to free education. A high school education is required to be able to perform at an adequate level, but a university education is an investment that benefits both society and the student.

I agree that the exorbitant fees charged by universities in the United States are obscene, but why shouldn’t the cost of education at least be shared? If the benefits of investment in education affect both society and individuals, is it ethical

for society to share the full cost of this investment?

Ultimately, some responsibility for paying for university rests on the student. When we get something for free, we often don’t value it as much as if we had paid for it. Tuition, room and board can definitely be a hardship (I know, as I’m fully funding my own education), but I also value my experience much more as a result.

James Simpson, ArtSci ’11

Ben Hartley is Junior Researcher for the Proliferation Security Research Group at the Queen’s Centre for International Relations and AMS VP (operations)

“No, it’s Kingston and it’s November.”

Connie Kuang, Comm ’11

“It’s definititely not too early to break out the winter coat.”

Sean Whelan, Comm ’12

“Definitely not, it’s freezing.”

Brittany Ugolini, ArtSci ’12

LETTERS TO THE EDITORS Balance student interests with other issues Re: “Costs don’t add up,” (November 2, 2010) Dear Editors, I appreciate Ms. Blais’s idealism in suggesting that university should be free to students.

The reality of the situation is that Ontario faces a massive budget deficit, and must make decisions that balance what everyone wants.

For instance, there is a shortage of family doctors in Canada. If you were a working professional without a family doctor, would you prefer university students had free education, or that there were more money available to hire more doctors?

Balance is necessary, and for this reason I don’t understand

“No.” Susan Agnew, ConEd ’11

Have your say.

Write a letter or visit queensjournal.ca to comment.

Arts&Entertainment

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• 12

Friday, November 5, 2010

Return of the deaf tones

This year marks the ninth annual incarnation of Tone Deaf, a festival celebrating the adventurous exploration of sound and broadening of musical palettes in Kingston

By Ally Hall A&E Editor Think adventurous sonic exploration. Think ambiguous loops and provocative fusion.

Think breaking boundaries. Think Tone Deaf 2010.

Each year a group of committed artists and supporters in Kingston band together to organize the festival and curate participants from a local and national scale. Last year highlighted mid-to-late 20th century music pioneer Alvin Lucier and two of his previous students, Ben Manley and Nicolas Collins.

“Tone Deaf provides audiences with a rare opportunity to experience a range of innovative and adventurous creative sound performances,” Kristiana Clemens, CFRC operations support officer, told the Journal via email. “[It expands] our understanding of music and art by blurring the boundaries between the two.”

Though initially founded by Canadian sound artist and professor Craig Leanord, Matt Rogalsky has taken it under his wing over the past years in collaboration with others from various facets of Kingston’s artistic community.

“We’ve provided an alternative space for music that isn’t often or hasn’t often had a chance to be heard in Kingston,” Rogalsky said. “There’s evidence that Tone Deaf has had impact in Kingston just by looking at the range of concerts which are now

being produced by CFRC, Modern Fuel and some of the bands that come through with Apple Crisp concert series, there seems to be a much broader appreciation for music of different kinds. I’d like Tone Deaf to take some of that credit.”

Beyond his role in the community as artist, performer, producer, engineer and professor, Rogalsky said he’s committed to continuing to push the Tone Deaf mandate despite the constant flow of new and exciting tunes through the Limestone city.

“That doesn’t mean that Tone Deaf’s job is done,” he said. “I think we’re still an important voice for unusual and experimental new music. We’re part of the yearly calendar now, people expect Tone Deaf to happen and they come out.”

“There seems to be a much broader appreciation for music of different kinds. I’d like Tone Deaf to take some of that credit.”

—Matt Rogalsky, co-organizer/co-curator of Tone Deaf Kicking off last Thursday night at Modern Fuel, the ninth anniversary of Tone Deaf brought with it a unique challenge—a lack of funding.

“Performers who had been approached to perform at Vapours contacted me to

Tone deaf artist in profile 1. Who are you?

I am Zach Clark.

2. What do you do?

I make sounds when it seems like the right thing to do and listen when it doesn’t.

3. How did you get involved in Tone Deaf 9?

I’m taking private electro-acoustic composition lessons with Matt Rogalsky and he asked me to perform this year.

4. What are you inspired by?

Anything that makes a sound really. Circumstances are important too. It depends what I’m working on though and what I’m listening to when I’m putting it together. For the piece I’m performing tomorrow, I was specifically inspired by gong yoga practitioners, a piece by Karlheinz Stockhausen, the sound of the gong itself and a lucky convergence of myself, my gong and a cello bow in the same room one day.

5. What do you think Tone Deaf brings to the community?

The kind of sounds you don’t usually get to hear. I grew up in a fairly small town so coming to Kingston and finding out that there was a festival devoted to experimental music was huge for me. It’s a kind of music that can really inspire someone to do their own thing musically. If you can’t play any instrument you can still make cool music by smashing things together, talking into small objects, etc ... Tone Deaf demonstrates that marvelously.

6. Do you think experimental art and music is gaining momentum in Kingston?

It seems to be, though I’ve only been here a few years. Recently there’s been a new monthly concert series started by Mark Streeter devoted to noise and experimental art forms called the Art Forms of Dimensions Tomorrow, so that’s a good sign.

7. What can people expect from the show on Friday?

A new appreciation for the gong. A lot of people think it’s a one-trick pony, you hit it and then an emperor enters the room followed by his harem, or something like that. Maybe someone will even come away from it with a resolve to buy themselves a gong. You’d be surprised at how cheap they can be.

Zach Clark performs as part of Tone Deaf 9 tonight with Decomposing Pianos and Shanna Sordahl at 7:30 p.m.

Supplied

The Tone Deaf festival aims to blur the boundary between music and art while inspiring and challenging its array of attendees with provocative new work. arrange shows in Kingston despite the lack of funding and Modern Fuel agreed to host,” Clemens said.

With their ear to the ground on the city’s independent artistic endeavors and a longstanding relationship with Tone Deaf, it’s no surprise that the folks at Modern Fuel stepped up to the plate.

“I’m a strong supporter of experimental music,” Modern Fuel Artistic Director Michael Davidge said. “We scrambled, re-adjusted and we did receive some money from the community foundation of Kingston to support the Vapours concert,” Davidge said. “The fact that we could all come together to produce this grassroots Tone Deaf is really quite exciting.”

The festival has evolved since its inception and as it gains more footing in the community, it’s organically becoming a separate entity from its previous partnerships.

“Tone Deaf is in a transitional stage, we’re trying to get it off the ground as an independent organization so that it’s no longer a part of Modern Fuel’s programming,” Davidge said. “The hope is that being independent, Tone Deaf can access more funding and grow.”

With the festival in capable hands, the organizers found ways to persevere and overcome the funding obstacle.

“Organizing a festival without money isn’t easy,” Clemens said. “As the curator for the Vapours series and the coordinator for the RadioActive Carnival, [a project presenting sound and radio-art events in Kingston], I found myself doing a lot of leg work for a festival that I had not previously been involved in organizing and that did not have many resources to offer … it was both fun and frustrating at times. But I think it all came together in the end.”

Past editions of Tone Deaf have brought artists from a national and international scale but this year Rogalsky said the focus is primarily local.

“Tone Deaf has always been a curatorial project,” he said. “It’s invitational and this year I think it’s almost entirely local and original artists, the organizational or curatorial team gets together and hashes it out, tries to figure out a few programs and concerts that will work.”

With performances earlier this week from artists Blake Macfarlane, Nicholas Fellion, Holzkopf, Freida Abtan, Marinko and Sealegs, attendees were enveloped in a uniquely unusual and captivating experience.

This week also brought Open Frequency to Modern Fuel, the product of interdisciplinary studies students collaboratively combining their efforts in film, fine art, music and drama.

“It’s been a great opportunity to see how gallery shows work first hand,” Rebecca

Whitaker, ArtSci ’11, told the Journal in an e-mail.

After an eight-week effort, the class’ work culminated into an alternative form of entertainment for attendees under the umbrella theme of ‘making the personal public.’

“All of the pieces relate to this theme in some way,” Whitaker said. “My piece is about secrets; some very scary ones, others not so threatening and the emotional responses that come with revealing these secrets … it’s rewarding to see how everyone’s unique ideas have built off of one another to make something powerful.”

The Artel will play host to local improvisational musicians Decomposing Pianos this weekend, as well as artists Shanna Sordahl and Zach Clark.

“Venues like the Artel, events like the monthly Noise Jam and performers and organizers like Matt Rogalsky and Decomposing Pianos have helped to support a nascent scene for new music here,” Clemens said.

With hopes of a fearless audience, Saturday brings The Kingston G3s playing Rhys Chatham’s guitar trio to The Mansion Please see It’s on page 14

Traversing Tone Deaf 9 Friday Nov 5 The Artel Decomposing Pianos with Shanna Sordahl and Zach Clark Free 7:30 p.m.

Saturday Nov 6 The Mansion Kingston G3s play Rhys Chatham’s Guitar Trio By donation 2:30 p.m.

Saturday Nov 6 and Sunday Nov 7 Vogt Studio Theatre Caruthers Hall Hear in the Dark By donation 7:30 p.m.

Until Nov 7 Modern Fuel Open Frequency Sound Installation Free Need more sonic adventure? Keep an eye on modernfuel.org, cfrc.ca/blog and the-artel.ca to stay in the loop on upcoming experimental events like the Noise Jam on Nov 29, open to all at The Artel.

Arts & EntErtAinmEnt

Friday, november 5, 2010

queensjournal.ca

• 13

Ross-in-residence

Stuart Ross wears many hats from poet, publisher, author, editor and now as this year’s writer in residence, sharing his experience and knowledge with literature-loving students at Queen’s arTisT in profile

happen to me and have happened to me.

7. Did you transition into short stories and poetry or have you always had a penchant for them?

1. Who are you?

Stuart Ross.

2. What do you do I’m a poet, fiction writer, essayist, editor and small-press publisher. This fall I’m writer-inresidence at Queen’s University’s Department of English.

3. Where can people find you?

At 529 Watson Hall, or at various events that I’m organizing in the community. Also at bloggamooga.blogspot.com.

4. Have you always wanted to be a writer and editor or did you have other aspirations growing up?

For a while I wanted to be a writer or cartoonist. I was a crappy cartoonist. Later I became an editor out of necessity, to pay the bills. But I love editing.

5. What is the biggest challenge in your work?

1. Deciding I’m sufficiently satisfied with a piece of writing and can send it out for publication.

2. Paying the bills.

6. Where do you gather inspiration?

Stuff I overhear or witness.

Stuff I find in newspapers. In the works of other writers. Things that

Transition from what? I’ve always been interested in reading poetry and fiction, and I’ve always written both. And not just short stories and fiction: I have a novel coming out in the spring from ECW Press. It’s called Snowball, Dragonfly, Jew. I’ve also had a couple of collaborative novels published in the past.

“What I’m trying to do with the series is offer a wide range of different kinds of writing.

To expose students and members of the Kingston community to excellent writers.”

—Stuart Ross, writer-in-residence 8. What do you enjoy the most about running workshops?

Seeing the surprise or joy in someone’s face, or hearing it in their voice, when they write something they never would have expected to write. I also really like inflicting insane projects on participants, like writing a poem from the last line up to the first line, or translating from languages they don’t understand.

9. Do you see collaboration as important to your craft?

Absolutely. I’m a big believer in collaboration. I’m a big believer in any writing method that derails me from writing consciously. I also love to see what happens when two different aesthetics or styles collide.

10. Can you tell us a little bit about your work with This magazine?

SupplieD

Ross’ collection Buying Cigarettes for the Dog won a ReLit Award, given to small press published literature in Canada.

I’m the Fiction & Poetry Editor at This. I think I’ve been at it for about seven or eight years. I choose a fiction writer and one or two poets for each issue, and the interesting thing is that it’s not a literary magazine—so I look for

work that may appeal to people not specifically into poetry or fiction. But at the same time, I want to challenge them with some pretty weird shit.

11. What about your work with Mansfield Press and the Meet the Presses Collective?

SupplieD

Ross balances his time at Queen’s between working with students, editing and taking time to focus on his own writing.

Since 2007, I’ve been an editor at Mansfield Press. I acquire fiction and poetry, and even some non-fiction. It’s a dream come true, because I get the great pleasure of editing and shepherding a book into the world, and someone else foots the bills. I’ve been able to publish first books by brilliant writers like Leigh Nash and Robert Earl Stewart, plus books by literary heroes like Tom Walmsley and David W. McFadden, whose Mansfield book, Be Calm, Honey, was shortlisted for the Governor General’s Award in Poetry.

Meet the Presses is a collective I helped co-found a few years ago in Toronto. We put on an occasional curated, small-press fair called the Indie Literary Market, and our individual members put on readings and workshops and whatever other event occurs to them that they want to put under the MtP umbrella.

12. How have the Real Resident Reading Series events been going at The Grad Club?

Way beyond my wildest expectations. The two events so far have been packed: standing-room only in the Grad Club. And the readings have been please see Derailing on page 14

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14 • queensjournal.ca

Arts & EntErtAinmEnt

Friday, november 5, 2010

Derailing and diversity Continued from page 13

wonderful: it’s a thrill to be able to introduce writers to a new audience. I’ve got sufficient budget to put on five readings, and I’m also going to host a reading by writers I’ve edited at Mansfield, though that might be off-campus.

On Nov. 8, the series will feature David W. McFadden, a great Canadian poet coming in from Toronto, Queen’s own Carolyn Smart who will be reading from Hooked as well as some new work, and Rabindranath Maharaj, an acclaimed novelist and story writer who’s coming from Ajax.

On Nov. 29, I’ll be reading from my own fiction and poetry, as well as John Lavery from Gatineau, who I think is Canada’s finest fiction writer, and the award-winning translator Anne McLean.

There will also be a reading by writers I’ve worked with at Mansfield Press and hopefully a final reading by students I’ve worked with out of my residency office.

What I’m trying to do with the series is offer a wide range of different kinds of writing. To expose students and members of the Kingston community to excellent writers who will be new to them, and help build new audiences for the writers.

‘It’s carved it’s own niche’ Continued from page 12

as well as an interactive piece, Hear in the Dark, to the Vogt Studio Theatre in Carruthers Hall.

“The objective is to create an immersive listening space,” Clemens said. “The audience is led to focus more fully on the sound, due to the lack of visual input. It can be a spooky, but also very transformative experience.”

One of the festival’s co-organizers and co-curators Chris Trimmer spoke to the importance of having a passionate drive behind the festival.

“Matt has done a really good job of being creative each year, having themes, inviting

13. Why did you decide to bring the writers you did to the events?

As I said above, I’m really committed to presenting aesthetic diversity. I’m bringing writers who interest me, whose work I admire. In some cases, writers who I’ve never heard read before.

14. What are you working on now?

Working on a short-story manuscript called I Am Claude François and You Are a Bathtub, working on poems, working on a novel and playing with the idea of a weird kind of memoir.

15. Finally, what is your favourite piece of literature?

That’s an impossible question. The writers I love best are Samuel Beckett, Patricia Highsmith, Ron Padgett, David W. McFadden, Lisa Jarnot … The list is finite, but very long.

The next Real Resident Reading Series featuring Rabindranath Maharaj, David W. McFadden and Carolyn Smart is Nov. 8 at 6:30 p.m. really great and notable artists to town,” he said. “I think that’s such a special and unique thing for Kingston, it’s not really happening anywhere else … it’s carved it’s own niche.”

The festival’s diversity, longevity and success may be attributed to several factors but organizers, participants and attendees alike agree on the importance of Kingston’s strong and burgeoning artistic base.

“In any city or community, even a small city like Kingston, there’s a core of people who are really interested in pushing boundaries as far as performance,” Rogalsky said. “Seeking a sort of sense of what music is, we’ve built on that core of people here … with the range of concerts you’re able to hear around the year in Kingston now it’s evidence that the community are not just satisfied by hearing the same thing all the time, it’s growing.” please see “Traversing Tone Deaf 9” factbox on page 12 for festival information and schedule.

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Sports

Friday, November 5, 2010

queensjournal.ca

• 15

Queen’s 44, Guelph 0

Gaels cruise to victory over Guelph Men’s rugby advances to OUA Semifinal after win Saturday on Kingston Field

Photo by Justin Tang

Centre Jonathon Guichon scores a try for the Gaels in their victory over the Guelph Gryphons. The Gaels will be in Hamilton this Saturday for the semifinals.

By Tim Mackay Staff Writer The Queen’s men’s rugby team won a lopsided quarterfinal by 44-0 against the Guelph Gryphons Saturday at Kingston Field. The game was the strongest and most well-rounded effort from the Gaels, they capitalized on their offensive opportunities and played dynamic defence. The first half saw the Gaels jump out to a 20-0 lead, following scoring from full-back Mike Wong, flanker Matt Kelly, and winger Scott Kyle.

“This was the best game we’ve had all year,” said head coach Paul Huigenbos. “We worked

hard, putting things together and it definitely came together today and the boys feel really good about this win.”

The fact that the Gaels managed to add 24 points in the second half after several substitutions, showed the depth of this year’s team.

“We scored some nice tries and played a full 80 minutes…we didn’t let any opportunities go by the wayside,” he said. “The thing I’m most happy with is the seven substitutions that came on had an impact and they really brought the game up to another level.”

Lock Hank McQueen, prop Burke MacDonald, centre John Guichon, and centre Brendan

McGovern all scored tries in the second half to give Queen’s the comfortable victory. McQueen, also the team’s captain, mimicked his coach’s enthusiasm about the team’s first playoff game of 2010.

“It was a good full team effort.

Both backs and forwards were really tuned in from the get-go,” he said.

Some of the struggles of the Queen’s team this year have been focused around problems finishing off their offensive opportunities.

However, Saturday’s quarterfinal saw no trace of such struggles as the Gaels produced their highest offensive output in over a month. “[Our plan] was to link together

two strong halves, to play a full 80 minutes. We haven’t really done it all season and to come out like we did in both halves was great for us,” said McQueen. “It’s indicative of a strong performance that our subs came in and did a phenomenal job.”

The focus now switches to the Gaels’ semi-final match against the McMaster Marauders in Hamilton next weekend. The Marauders defeated Queen’s in their only head-to-head match this season, winning a tight, hard-fought game by a score of 25-18.

The semi-final gives the Gaels a chance at redeeming that loss and advancing to yet another OUA

Rowing Oua championships

Another one for the rafters Women rowing squeaks by rival Western for the 2010 OUA banner in St. Catherine’s

By Lauri Kytömaa Assistant Sports Editor At 11:44 a.m. on Sunday the women’s heavyweight eight was ready for the last race of the OUA championship hosted by Brock University in St. Catherines.

Anticipation and nervousness gave way to screaming encouragement as they narrowly tallied enough points to take home the banner.

The Queen’s women held a narrow 88-75 team point lead over rival Western entering the last event, but because the top three positions would receive 25, 15 and 8 points respectively so the whole weekend’s efforts rested on the oars of the last competitors.

Queen’s would finish the race 2nd, just four seconds from Western. Though it wasn’t a first place for the crew it was good enough to secure a 103-100 point victory over Western for the OUA banner.

The team point system makes

winning the banner a demonstration of a team’s all around capabilities.

The coaches spent a long time adjusting the heavyweight and lightweight teams to maximize the total number of team points.

The ultimate decision was to cut down the number of competing athletes to allow the top athletes to compete in more boats. Head Coach John Armitage said it was somewhat of a risk.

“[We were] confident not cocky. We worked really hard so there was no reason we couldn’t win.”

—Emily Richardson, lightweight rower “We reduced our squad by about seven people. It was painful for us, it was painful for the rowers.

When we had done our team goal setting at the beginning of September, the girls set the OUA

banner as the ultimate goal at the end of the season. As coaches we are bound to respect that goal, we took an ultimate gamble, we ended up racing with 21 women,” he said.

The lightweight women were the story of the weekend as they came off with 1st place finishes in the eight, four and the single.

They were able to reel in 59 of the teams points with these big finishes as well as a 5th place in the double. The heavyweight side brought home the 2nd in the eight and four, 6th in the double and 1st in the single for 44 points. Katya Herman raced in both single events and singlehandedly provided 21 points.

Lightweight rower, Emily Richardson said the team had a lot of faith coming into the weekend.

“We expected to win [the eight], we were a little more sceptical about the four because we hadn’t raced that line up before. Confident not cocky. We worked really hard so there was no reason we couldn’t

win,” she said.

[T]he girls set the OUA banner as the ultimate goal at the end of the season. As coaches we are bound to respect that goal.

men’s rugby final. McQueen said he was restrained yet confident about their semi-final match on the road.

“We’re going to have a hard week of training, and we need to make sure everyone’s switched on and we’re all on the same page,” said McQueen. “Mac’s a strong side so we need to come in focused and prepared.”

The Gaels will be in Hamilton this weekend to face the McMaster Marauders in the OUA Semifinals. Game starts at 1:00 p.m.

Queen’s 12, Toronto 8

Bronze for Gaels Women’s lacrosse takes out Toronto to claim third place in the OUA

By Kate Bascom —John Armitage, Sports Editor

rowing head coach Just two weeks earlier, goals of an OUA banner could have been dampened by substandard results.

At the Brock Invitationals the lightweight women finished 2nd in the eight, nine seconds behind rival Brock. Their four had equipment damage at the start and couldn’t finish the race. The heavyweight women placed third in the eight behind both Trent and Western.

The team looked like the sure underdog but the team’s morale

Coming off a strong season with a 10-4-1 record, the women’s lacrosse tream headed to London to face off against the top teams in the league.

The Gaels brought home a bronze medal, beating the University of Toronto Blues 12-8 in the OUA Championship last weekend The Gaels traveled to the Championships looking to redeem themselves from their fourth place finish in the last year’s final, a loss that came at the hands of the Varsity Blues. In their quarterfinal game, the Gaels dominated the McMaster

Please see Gold on page 17

Please see Bronze on page 18

SportS

16 • queeNsjourNal.ca

fridAy, novEmbEr 5, 2010

women’s socceR plaYoFF pReView

Final four then maybe more?

With an exciting overtime win over the nipissing Lakers last week, the gaels advance to the OUA semifinals

By Kate Bascom SportS Editor The women’s soccer team’s stellar season has earned the Gaels the top spot in the country going into this weekend’s OUA Final Four in Kingston. The Gaels have had both team and individual success this year as the team has gone 14-2 in the regular season. Forwards Jacqueline Tessier and Kelli Chamberlain have both had standout seasons as they currently sit 1-2 in goals scored in the OUA. With Tessier scoring 18 goals in 17 games, she has been named the OUA East Player of the Year.

Head coach Dave Mc Dowell, who was

named coach of the year for the second year, said he was not as optimistic when the season began due to injuries along with other nagging questions.

“We knew we had a lot of talent,” he said.

“How it would mash together was a question mark ... How [we were] going to score goals was the big question going into the season. I think [the team] answered that pretty quickly in the first weekend. I think we’re a hard team to defend because we can score from all over the place and that’s been one of our characteristics this year.”

McDowell said in practises, he’s looking to get the team to loosen up going into the high-stakes weekend.

I can’t seem to focus I’m not getting anything done I just don’t feel like myself anymore

blue sky project I’m always tired

I can’t stop crying

it was such a team effort,” she said. “We had struggled throughout the game in different periods of the game. In the end we really came together and were able to pull out a win even though it might not have been the most pretty. It was just such a team effort.”

The Gaels’ ranking will not be a focus for the team going into the weekend.

“It’s obviously very much an honour,” Sullivan said. “We still feel like we have so much to prove. There are still so many great teams we haven’t seen yet. We’re taking it with a grain of salt.”

The Gaels will be facing a new opponent on the weekend. The McMaster Marauders and the Gaels did not meet up in the regular season. Sullivan said the Gaels are ready for the challenge of facing an unfamiliar team.

“The good thing is that it allows us to just focus on ourselves instead of the other team,” she said. “When you play a team you’ve never played before, it’s pretty easy to go in a little nervous ... I think we have enough confidence in ourselves and each other that if we play our game it doesn’t matter what other teams throw at us.”

Queen’s 2, guelph 1; Queen’s 4, BRocK 5 (so)

Loss and win for Gaels

Women’s hockey escapes weekend with three points I used to be happy

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“So far we’re just trying to forget about all that stuff,” he said. “How big the game is and everything that comes with being successful.”

With two losses in the regular season, both which came against the Ottawa GeeGees, the Gaels have continued to show they can improve. McDowell said he credits the team’s effort and commitment for their perseverance on the field.

“We just found a way to win in each game,” he said. “I would say that we’ve always been our best in each game but we’re always found a way to be successful.”

The Gaels struggled in the first half of the quarterfinal game against the Nipissing Lakers and went into the half unable to capitalize on their opportunities. When Tessier scored in the game, the Gaels were unable to secure the victory in regulation when the Lakers scored in the dying minutes. An overtime goal by Tessier advanced Queen’s to the Final Four.

Midfielder Angela Sullivan said the team came through with a win because of the team pulling together.

“The overtime win was so great because

By BeNJamiN DeaNs ContribUtor Last weekend, the women’s hockey team beat the Guelph Gryphons 2-1 on Saturday and lost to the Brock Badgers 5-4 in a shootout on Sunday. The Gaels now hold a 4-3-1 record and sit fifth in the OUA. “There were a lot of improvements over last weekend,” said head coach Matthew Holmberg. “[However, we aren’t] all the way back to where we want to be.

The game against the Gryphons was exciting, especially the last three minutes when the Gaels successfully defended their narrow one point lead. The game against the Badgers featured a high point total and a close shootout.

“Brock is a good team,” Holmberg said.

“But I think that if we had played a little better defensively, we would have come away with [a win].”

Despite the weekend’s disappointing finish, rookie forward Alex Cieslowski ended the game with a memorable achievement, netting her first goal as a Gael.

“I was excited,” said Cieslowski. “It was a new experience.”

Goalie Mel Dodd-Moher had an impressive game on Saturday, recording 27 saves. Dodd-Moher is currently the OUA leading goaltender in goals against average, save percentage and shutouts.

With two tight games, forward Kelsey Thomson said the games offered the Gaels a chance to bounce back from their tough Please see hockey on page 19

SportS

Friday, November 5, 2010

queeNsjourNal.ca

• 17

Rowing oua championships

Gold rush for lightweight women Continued from page 15

was unshaken.

Richardson said the team prepared well leading up to the weekend and focused on the technical aspects of their racing.

“We kicked it into high gear in the two weeks between Brock and OUAs. We worked at higher ratings. We just kicked our [own] asses,” she said.

One of the most critical changes that the team made was to raise their stroke rate per minute for the race. Brock had defeated them earlier in the season because they had been rating at a high 38 stroke per minute while Queen’s was only at about a 34. The change required an increased intensity from the athletes but also the decision from the lightweight women’s coach, Nicole Bobbette, to shorten their oar lengths in order

The women’s rowing team win the 2010 oua championship in st. catherine’s.

to lighten the load they would have to bear each stroke.

With her team’s turnaround Bobbette was honoured with the Female Coach of the Year award. Despite the individual accolade she felt the award was reflective of a strong team coaching staff.

“I was just a small part of a really strong coaching team. [The award] wasn’t really reflective of the coaching team model that we decided to adopt. Although I was recognized I think all of the recognition should go to all of the women’s coaches and the athletes.”

The gaels will be competing at the cis championship this weekend in Victoria, B.c.

SUPPLiED PhOtO

No upsets for men’s rowing

Men’s rowing can’t catch up to brock and Western in St. Catherine’s

By Lauri Kytömaa ASSiStAnt SportS Editor The weekend’s results at the OUA Finals in St. Catharine’s show that the men’s rowing program still needs to find replacements for the 2008 athletic class in order to regain top-tier status. The men finished third in the OUA with 49 points, ahead of them were Brock with 108 points and Western with 107 points.

The heavyweight men’s program highlighted the weekend with a 2nd place finish in the eight. With a large athlete turnover and a third place finish last year the heavyweight program entered the 2010 season with tempered expectations.

“We’ve lost six of our returning athletes from last year,” said head coach John Armitage. “We had a couple of injuries and [heavyweight men’s coach] Nathan Splinter worked with them all season.”

Splinter modified the traditional structure for boat selection in order to improve their results.

Usually the top boat at Queen’s is set in the beginning of September after tryouts so that the rowers

have all season to race together and mesh as a unit. Timing and boat coordination are vital to the sport, so this long session is thought to maximize boat speed.

“He actually didn’t name his final crew until the end of the season,” Armitage said.

“He took these guys from nowhere to second place.”

Splinter decided to hold a second round of tryouts at the beginning of October instead of holding his chosen crew in order to make sure he had the right athletes selected and to provide motivation for the athletes to continue training hard. The heavy men also added a third place finish in the four and a fourth place finish in the double.

While not widely successful, the heavyweight men enjoyed improvements that will be vital in the years to come and Splinter was nominated for Coach of the Year.

The lightweight program didn’t achieve any gains in their championship weekend. The eight-man crew held onto their third place position from Brock Invitationals two weeks earlier coming in third behind Brock and Western. However, the lightweight

four that had finished only one second behind Brock in the earlier regatta, fell to 5th place, behind Brock, Western, McGill and McMaster. The lightweight double also closed in at a low 6th.

The Canadian University championships in Victoria this weekend will provide the men one last chance for redemption to close out the season. The heavyweight men’s eight and the lightweight four will remain largely intact as the team travels to British Columbia to compete against Canadian competition.

With potentially heavy competition from the University of British Columbia and the University of Victoria, Armitage said the team must not become distracted by unknown competition. “[We] just need to focus on ourselves and do what we do best,” he said. “I wouldn’t be surprised to see them improve on their OUA performance.”

The men will join the women at the cis championships in Victoria B.c. this weekend.

how the PoIntS were SCoreD Standings

Events 1st 2nd 3rd 4th heavyweight Eight 25 15 10 8 Lightweight Eight 25 15 10 8 heavyweight Four 20 12 8 6 Lightweight Four 20 12 8 6 heavyweight Double 15 9 6 5 Lightwight Double 15 9 6 5 heavyweight Single 10 6 5 4 Lightweight Single 10 6 5 4 bonus: Awarded if a boat won their heat 4: Eight 3: Four 2: Double 1: Single

5th 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3

6th 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2

7th 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1

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18 • queensjournal.ca F riday, November 5, 2010 ports

Queen’s 1, Toronto 2

Disappointing end to Gaels season The Gaels fall to the University of Toronto Varsity Blues in OUA quarterfinal action on the road

By Paul Bishop Staff Writer The men’s soccer team’s season came to an abrupt end on Saturday, losing 2-1 to the University of Toronto in the quarter finals of the OUA Playoffs. The Gaels led for much of the game, but fell after Toronto netted two goals in the closing minutes.

Defender Justin Vermeer was frustrated that such a strong effort went to waste.

“It’s disappointing,” he said.

“We respected our game plan; we did what the coaches had planned for us. It’s hard to play a game like that and not come out with the victory. We had that goal, and we let it slip away.”

After Queen’s took a lead in the 36th minute with a goal from right-back Joseph Zupo, the Blues

tied the game 1-1 with five minutes remaining. Toronto then took the lead in the last minute, after they were awarded a controversial penalty kick over a handball call.

Vermeer said he was shocked by the call.

“We weren’t cheated out of the win, but it was a heartbreaker.

It’s frustrating for your season to be over in five minutes.”

—Mike Arnold, midfielder “I was dumbfounded,” he said.

“We got unlucky, that’s what it came down to.”

Playing in his last game, Vermeer was unhappy to see his career with the Gaels end on such a sour note.

“Being in my fifth year, playing in my last game … it’s tough to see it go like that,” he said.

Captain Mike Arnold was also angered to see the season slip away so quickly.

“We weren’t cheated out of the win, but it was a heartbreaker,” he said. “It’s frustrating for your season to be over in five minutes.”

Arnold felt that there were times when the Gaels could have finished off the Blues by putting the win out of reach.

“We had chances to put the game to bed,” he said. “It’s tough leading most of the game because you start to fall into that mindset of just holding on.”

The captain described the somber mood in the dressing room after the loss.

“There wasn’t much going on,” he said. “We were just taking a few

moments to take it all in. We felt we were going to come away with that win.”

Still, he was positive about his team’s effort.

“Whenever you lose, it’s tough to think about anything else,” he said. “But I think we played really well. We traveled down to Toronto, and playing against easily one of the best teams in Ontario, if not Canada, and led for most of the game.”

Head coach Chris Gencarelli, too, was positive despite the defeat.

“We were playing some very good soccer,” he said. “We were very competitive.”

The coach went on to highlight his frustration with the referee’s decision to award a late penalty.

“They were awarded it, which I don’t think was the best decision,” he said. “But it is what it is.”

Saturday saw the end of an off-and-on season for Gencarelli’s team, who finished the regular season with an 8-5-1 record. The Gaels had little trouble beating easier opposition, but consistently fell to teams such as Carleton, Toronto, and Ryerson. Still, this did not prevent Gencarelli from being satisfied with his team’s performance in his first year at the helm.

“I’m not frustrated at all,” he said. “If you look back at the games we lost, we were in all of them.

Whenever we played Toronto, for instance, they would always score late in the second half. Sure we made mistakes, but I’m very proud.

This is one of the strongest teams I have ever seen, both as a player and as a coach.”

Bronze building step for lax Continued from page 15

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Marauders 15-3.

“Throughout the weekend, we really just played our game,” said Lisa McLaughlin, who scored three points on the weekend.. “I think all season we’ve been working on getting to that point where you don’t let the other team affect your game in anyway. I think we did exactly what we wanted to in our game.”

The Gaels benefited from seven different goal scorers. Marsha Cryderman was the leading scorer in the game with four while Gwynn Ross and McLaughlin each had three. Queen’s dominated defensively, holding the Marauders to only seven shots on net.

The Gaels advanced to the semifinals and faced the Western Mustangs. The Gaels had not been able to beat the Mustangs in the regular season, tying their first and losing their second game. The Gaels kept the game close until the half when they were down by only one goal but they were unable to get past Western’s defence eventually losing the game 10-6.

The Gaels hustled throughout

the game, outshooting the Mustangs 21-17.

McLaughlin said they looked to change their play against Western after their regular season record against them.

“When we were playing Western, they’re a very fast team,” she said. “It’s hard for anyone in the league to keep up with them.

We adjusted our style a bit more to be able to handle that better.”

“I think all season we’ve been working on getting to that point where you don’t let the other team affect your game in anyway. I think we did exactly what we wanted to in our game.”

—Lisa McLaughlin, midfielder After their loss, the Gaels played the University of Toronto in the bronze medal game. After falling behind by two goals early in the game, the Gaels stormed back with a great effort by attack Jacqueline Byers who had six goals in the

12-8 win.

McLaughlin said they went into the game with confidence, having beaten Toronto in all their matchups during the regular season but remained careful not to underestimate them.

“We knew the day before they almost beat Laurier who ended up winning the whole thing,” she said.

“We had to be very careful because we knew they would come out very strong.”

With the graduation of Lisa McLaughlin, Kelsey Eriksen, Kelsey Gray and Kalyn Bolland, McLaughlin said the team’s season has provided great experience that will carry over to next year.

“We have a lot of our team coming back next year, everyone grew a lot this season individually and on our team as a whole,” she said. “I think there’s a lot of positives to take away from it. I think the team will be even stronger next year when they all come back again.”

Midfielder Gwyn Ross and defence Kalyn Bolland earned OUA All-Star selections.

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Sports

Friday, November 5, 2010

Athletes of the Week

Joseph Zupo Men’s Soccer

Jacquline Tessier Women’s Soccer

Although the men’s soccer team’s season ended last Saturday with an unfortunate loss to the University of Toronto Varsity Blues, rookie defender Joseph Zupo provides reason for optimism in the future.

In the last three games of the season, the centre back scored four points and contributed to a defence that allowed only three goals.

“I thought that I wasn’t doing anything differently,” Zupo said.

“Luckily for me, I got a couple of bounces here and there the last few games and my name showed up on the score sheet a little bit more but I really just stuck to what I was doing before and just got lucky.”

Zupo credits his team for his unusual scoring streak as a defender.

“I get forward as often as I can on free kicks, corners and throwins,” he said. “Really, it’s more my teammates with their crossing and their throwing abilities though. My job was made easier by the fact that they can do that very well.”

Zupo’s talent is hardly surprising given the amount of time he has spent with his sport.

“My grandfather introduced [soccer] to me at a really early age,” Zupo said. “My parents put me into a fun kind of league when I was just four.”

As Zupo grew older, his soccer career flourished.

“I played at [Wexford Soccer Club] from when I was eight years old until last year,” he said. “We won an Ontario Cup when I was playing U17 … I have been to Ireland twice, the Foyle Cup, and I’ve played in London for the Arsenal International Festival.”

Now, as he enters his off-season, Zupo is focused on his ultimate aim of winning a national championship as a member of the Gaels.

“You got to get a good training camp in for next year,” he said.

“Short-term, that’s probably my goal; get a good off-season in, move into training camp, do as well as I can there, and then from there, strive towards a national championship.”

With 18 goals in 17 games, secondyear striker Jacqueline Tessier has had no trouble scoring this season.

The leading goal scorer in Canada may have just scored one of her most memorable of the season.

A tied quarterfinal match between the Gaels and the Nipissing Lakers was decided by an early overtime goal by Tessier.

“It always feels amazing to be able to help the team get big wins,” she said. “To have that kind of goal where you score early on in overtime ... you can relax a little bit and just defend the win.

It felt great.”

Along with her individual achievements, the Gaels have gone 14-2 this year coming into the playoffs ranked third in the country.

“I love what I do,” she said. “I’m a striker. I score goals. It’s my job and I’m just glad I’ve been doing it this season.”

The quarterfinal game remained scoreless in the first half until forward Kelli Chamberlain scored in the 69th minute. It looked as if the Gaels would have a victory until the Lakers answered back in the dying minutes of the game.

“It was a tough game,” she said.

“They’re a team that competes hard no matter what, definitely a really dangerous team ... We had some trouble putting the ball in the back of the net. But we handled their goal at the end of the game very well. We came back mentally and were able to pull off a win in overtime.”

Going into the Final Four this weekend, the Gaels have been named the number one team in the country. Tessier said the team can’t depend on rankings and need to focus on their game.

“We’re not looking too much into the ranking,” she said. “It’s a vote. It’s just a poll, nothing more.

Were going into the game thinking like any other playoff game, it’s the team that shows up and wants it more on that day. We’re going to have put together a really good game of soccer to be able to pull off a win.”

—Benjamin Deans

—Kate Bascom

THE JOURNAL

CLASSIFIEDS

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Hockey sticks at .500 with loss to Brock

Sports in Brief Soccer players named as All-Stars The OUA East Division All-Star list released on Thursday included three Gaels soccer players. Forward Michael Arnold and defenders Andrew Nador and Joseph Zupo were each honoured by being

Continued from page 16

“It’s good to see that we’re finally reaching the back of the net.

We’re going to need to score a lot more still, but we’re definitely making improvements.”

—Kelsey Thomson, forward “I think we’re feeling good,” Thomson said. “This weekend was definitely a confidence booster to get us back up and I think Toronto and York are both good teams. We should be good to go.”

The Gaels travel to Toronto this weekend to face the University of Toronto Varsity Blues at 4 p.m. on Saturday and the York Lions at 2 p.m. on Sunday.

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• 19

named to the list.

Arnold was the only one of the three to be named to the First-Team All-Star list. Arnold was third in the OUA for scoring with nine goals on the season. Nador and Zupo were both included in the Second-Team All-Star List. It was only Zupo’s first year in the CIS. —Lauri Kytömaa

Stat of the

weekend against UOIT. “Brock and Guelph are both very good teams,” she said. “I think that they’re both really aggressive on us, which is what we needed to get back to our regular play.

Again, we were kind of playing down to their calibre, and then we found ourselves behind a lot. I think [the weekend’s] games definitely helped us to work towards playing our game.”

The Gaels made significant strides on offence; the team recorded six goals against the Gryphons and the Badgers, almost as many as their seven goals going into the weekend.

“It’s good to see that we’re finally reaching the back of the net,” said Thomson, who had one goal this weekend and is the Gael’s top scorer. “We’re going to need to score a lot more still, but we’re definitely making improvements.”

This weekend, the Gaels play the University of Toronto Varsity Blues on Saturday and the York Lions on Sunday. The Varsity Blues sit just behind the Gaels at sixth in the OUA, while the Lions are last in OUA.

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.

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week Now eight games into the season, the 4-3-1 men’s hockey team has gotten all of their wins in either overtime or a shootout. They are 0-3 in games decided by two or more goals.

ACROSS 1 Civil War general 4 Nev. neighbor 9 Cry loudly 12 Eggs 13 Very overweight 14 Atmosphere 15 Re-tailored clothing 17 Genetic matter

(Abbr.)

18 — carte 19 Smart people?

21 Put in the mail 24 Dagwood’s boss’

wife 25 Lawyers’ org.

26 Gun the engine 28 Nasty stingers 31 Parliamentarian’s

title 33 Despondent 35 Eyelid woe 36 TV, radio, etc.

38 Fresh 40 A Gershwin 41 Poetic foot 43 Annul 45 Roman magistrate 47 Id counterpart 48 Clay, now 49 See-through food

protector 54 By way of 55 Obliterate 56 Past 57 A billion years 58 Postpone 59 Whammy DOWN 1 — Angeles 2 Actress Longoria Parker 3 Listener

4 Picnickers’ drink

holder 5 Scrapes 6 Hawaiian neckwear 7 Stern or Newton 8 Chap 9 Snide 10 Pig’s comment 11 Support group?

16 Tit for — 20 Historic times 21 Tropical tree 22 Reed instrument 23 Resident of Cagliari 27 Moving truck 29 Burning heap 30 Close up tightly 32 “Buenos —” 34 Die 37 Entertained 39 “Parsifal” composer 42 Trumpet noise 44 Present 45 Bear lair 46 Hodgepodge 50 U.K. mil. org.

51 “Go, team!”

52 Census statistic 53 Chicken —

Last Issue’s Answers

Postscript

20 • queensjournal.ca

Friday, November 5, 2010

Drunk texts and sober regrets

Everyone has done something embarrassing when inebriated. Postscript features some devices on the market that will help save us from ourselves

By Craig Draeger Opinions & Letters Editor Ever wake up after a night of too many drinks and have to sign onto your Facebook or check your phone for clues of last night’s misadventures?

Admit it, you’ve done it too. During a night of intense inebriation, the urge to reach for your phone and tell your friend, boss or ex-lover what you really think of them can be overwhelming.

But when you wake in the morning, you may discover the results are as embarrassing as they are comical.

Alexis Wilkes, ArtSci ’13, is no stranger to drunk dialing. She said her most destructive instance was a couple years ago.

“It was my friend’s 18th birthday, the summer before I came to Queen’s, and I had been drinking a lot,” she said. “I decided it would be a good idea to call [my best friend’s] girlfriend, to tell her I liked him.

“She hated me after that. I really wish I hadn’t done [it].”

In fact, dialing and texting under the influence has become so widespread that it’s entered the realm of popular culture.

Websites like “Texts From Last Night” catalogue and immortalize the funniest moments in texting.

The lion’s share of these incidents presumably involve alcohol.

But if you’re tired of ending up like the people you read about on humour websites, a solution is on the horizon. A variety of new technologies have been developed to put the kibosh on drunk dialing and texting alike.

A litany of apps for iPhone, Blackberry and Android phones have appeared on the market in the last few months, promising to protect you from yourself.

The website for “Don’t Dial!,” an app for iPhone and Android

photo by christine blais

Impulsive, and sometimes inappropriate, communication when drunk may be due to alcohol’s effect on our ability to make decisions and reason about the consequences of our actions. phones, tells a familiar parable: “When you left for the bar, you had no intention of emailing your boss, texting your ex or calling your crush,” the website says. “Then someone ordered tequila shots.”

“I would have loved that,” Wilkes said. “Every night I was drinking, I would absolutely use that app. I’m a drunk dialler.”

The app allows you to block certain people on your phone’s contact list; it also allows you to set a timer for this block for a predetermined amount of time.

There’s even a password that you can give a friend to prevent yourself from contacting anyone.

Available from the iTunes store for a reasonable $0.99, “Don’t Dial!” is a decent option for the

the craziest nights: documented Check out some hilarious (unedited) texts from the “best” and “worst” nights ever, courtesy of website Texts From Last Night: • (843): Grinding on my ninth grade teacher. Dreams really do come true.

• (510): he said he didn’t have a condom.

(415): and you said?

(510): that that’s fine cause i was ready to be a mom. yeah—he magically had a condom he forgot about after that.

• (915): I told you I was good to drive.

(1-915): dumbass I drove ... you sat in the passengers seat and steered with a paper plate.

• (401): This is a mass text. Does anyone know where I am?

• (910): wow wtf my bar tab was 80 dollars.

(910): IT WAS DOLLAR BEER NIGHT — Source: textsfromlastnight.com

sloppy drunk on a budget.

Alternatively, there’s TigerText, the service that allows you to “send texts that don’t live forever,” it advertises.

The service, which is available for the iPhone, Blackberry and Android phones, can be downloaded for free. It allows users to send self-destructing texts that last a set amount of time (but only if both the sender and receiver have the app).

Then there’s the Bad Decisions Blocker (BDB) app—also available for $0.99 for iPhone—which completely blocks you from accessing a selected contact (or list of contacts) for a set period of time.

It blocks outgoing phone calls, texts and e-mails.

If software won’t do the trick, there’s the LP4100 phone from LG, which features a built-in breathalyser. Originally developed in Korea, it’s been showcased in the US (but not yet in Canada) and is designed to help users make informed decisions on whether or not to drive home. It can also be programmed to block out access to specific numbers if the owner blows over 0.08 blood alcohol level.

And it’s not just phone-related belligerence that can cause havoc in your personal and professional lives. Google just rolled out the “Mail Goggles” feature on its Gmail service.

The feature is programmed to become active during certain highrisk times of the week—Friday and Saturday nights, for instance—and challenges its user with timed, skill-testing math questions.

If you’re prone to fits of vitriol (or unwelcome affection) toward a former special-someone, there’s blockyourex.com, which will stop

you from creeping his Facebook or stalking her Twitter.

The website allows you to enter up to five names. The software will then delete any mention of their name or image from the internet—without the blocked person knowing, of course.

“I know some people Facebook stalk their ex,” Wilkes said. “[The service] would help in the transition between breakup and moving on.”

Even so, Wilkes said the personal touch can be more effective in hindering drunk dialing than technology alone.

“I wish someone would just take my phone from me when I’m drunk,” she said. “If I need to call somebody for a ride, or I need to call a cab, they could use their discretion and supervise the call, but I should not be left alone with my phone when I’m drunk.”

She said she’d reciprocate the favour.

“I usually confiscate my friends’ phone when they’ve been drinking too much,” she said. “I watch out for them.”

Wilkes said the most useful technology for a drunk person might have nothing to do with blocking communication at all.

“The problem I have is that I always leave my phone somewhere when I’m drunk. If I had something like a beeper, or a GPS, that would be handy,” she said.

“So [it would be helpful] if I had a bracelet ... or something that I keep on me, to help me locate my phone.”

Lee Fisher-Goodchild, coordinator of health education and health promotion programs at Queen’s, said drinking excessive amounts of alcohol can impair one’s decision making ability, which helps us to decide whether

or not to text or call a boss or an ex and say something we probably shouldn’t.

“Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant, which means that it actually depresses the function of brain cells,” she said, adding that the frontal lobe area of the brain is responsible for decision-making, distinguishing between right and wrong and the ability to monitor ourselves.

“Even a small amount of alcohol starts to depress the frontal lobe.

That’s why people feel that sense of euphoria when they start to drink.”

When they’re sober, people are able to censor themselves, she said.

“We inhibit ourselves from acting on our impulses. As people drink, that function becomes inhibited, which means we don’t tend to censor ourselves as much.”

Fisher-Goodchild said the loss of this capability can often cause us to do things we might regret later.

“When you’ve had more to drink, the emotional control centre becomes unstable,” she said, adding that this means our emotions don’t match up to what’s rational, resulting in anger.

She said the emerging technology may help us in these inebriated moments when reason is lost and emotions are unstable.

“The idea is to be able to do it yourself,” she said, but technology may be useful to us in those moments when it just isn’t possible.

“If you take a harm reduction approach ... it would suggest that if people get into a position where they might not be able to make a good judgment call, then having technology to prevent [it] is a good thing.”

—With files from Kelly Loeper