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SPOKE A L E ARNI NG N E WS R O OM FOR J O U R N A L I S M S T U D E N T S
Practising the pipes
Three's company Mom and daughters all at Conestoga. Page 9
WORDS FROM THE WISE
By ALEXANDRIA PEER
You may have seen a lone bag piper on your way to or from Conestoga College, in the open field beside Pino’s Pizza, or even passed him in the hallways of residence with his pipes in tow, but never stopped to ask him about his unusual hobby. Joshua Christie, an electrical engi neering technology student, plays the bagpipes, an impressive set of McCallum ABOs to be precise. “When it’s nice, it’s easier to prac tise in the field,” he said. “I don’t really have a place to practise other than the field right now. In res it all depends. I’ve played in the base ment a couple times and they’ve said it is fine for me to practise there because they can’t hear it on the first floor. I find sometimes there’s burrs out there, but what else can you expect from a field?” Christie’s family is of Scottish descent and both his grandfather and great-grandfather played the bagpipes. “I started learning two years ago. I started learning through the Fergus Pipe Band from Bill McMeekin,” said Christie. Christie is a member of two bands; the Paris Port Dover Pipe Band and the Kitchener Firefighters Parade Band. He takes lessons from Gord Black every Saturday morning for an hour at Kitchener’s fire headquarters. “Robin Adair is my favourite tune to play in competition and in gener al I like (to play) Itchy Fingers. It’s a fun tune to play. It’s basically top hand movements,” said Christie. He said few people ask him about his bagpipes. “Some people come and say ‘hey, I want to learn the pipes, do you know anyone that I can learn from?’ Other than that, most people don’t approach me about it,” he said. “I do wish they would ask me more about it.” Christie’s next endeavour will be to attend the Toronto Indoor Highland Games where he will compete in the pipe band competi tion on April 14. He said it’s a big step for him, and he’s been worrying that he won’t have all the tunes memorized.
See P a g e 15 f o r a n o t h e r p h o to .
PHOTO BY BRADLEY ZORGDRAGER
Conestoga’s Aboriginal Services has an elders program that features elders from various nations coming to the campus to meet with students. Above, elder Arnold Albert visited on March 30. He jokes that the staff he carries is named Arthur Itis (arthritis).
Thieves target college parking lots By ANDREW SOULSBY
Two vehicles have been stolen from Conestoga College’s Doon campus parking lots this year. According to Barb Eichholz, supervi sor at Safety and Security Services, the thefts were isolated incidents involving two GMC trucks. “People go out and find that their trucks are not there,” she said. “We call Waterloo Regional Police and pro vide any footage for them that we cap ture on video and that’s all we can do.” Olaf Heinzel, public affairs co-ordi nator for the Waterloo Regional Police Service, said the first theft occurred on Feb. 7 and the second on March 8. “One was a Chevy Silverado and the other one was a Sonoma,” he said, adding they have not yet been recov ered and the thefts are still under investigation. According to Heinzel, police received both complaints after 5 p.m. In March 2010, Spoke reported a similar incident in which two vehicles were stolen from Doon’s parking lots in connection with a chop shop, an operation set up to strip vehicles of their parts for sale in underground or
PHOTO BY ANDREW SOULSBY
Two vehicles were stolen from Doon’s parking lots this year despite constant video surveillance overlooking the lots. Police say the trucks have not been recovered. overseas markets. The person involved with the thefts was eventually arrested. The campus’s proximity to Highway 401 makes it a target for car thieves, Eichholz said, adding another reason Doon’s lots are targeted is because “we have large parking lots, but, you go to
the mall it happens, you park in your driveway it happens.” Eichholz also said she did not believe thefts have occurred at any of the other Conestoga campuses. In 2011, police received four com plaints of car thefts from Doon cam pus, according to Heinzel.
NEWS
Page2 ♦SPOKE
Now deep thoughts ... with Conestoga College Random questions answered
random students
W hat do you like on the barbecue?
“Pineapple and mangos are delicious.” Mandy Liverance, CSI office receptionist
“I like chicken.” Navinder Kaur, second-year practical nursing
Monday, April 9,2012
There’s no shame in visiting Counselling Services By WILLIAM WITCZAK
Exam time is coming up and a lot of students are starting to feel the pressure of school and life’s other responsibili ties. If you ever feel like you can’t take the stress anymore, Counselling Services is here to help. Located in the Student Life Centre in Room 1A101, Counselling Service offers a free, non-threatening envi ronment to help students deal with any problems. I decided to use the college’s resources to help deal with some relationship issues that I was experiencing in January and left in a com plete state of comfort. The process of setting up an appointment was quick and painless. All I had to do was simply call, 519-748-5220, ext. 3360 (or alternately you can just walk in and set up an appointment) and within the
week I had a date and time to discuss my issues. Upon walking in I was greeted by the receptionist in a kindly manner, seated for a couple of minutes and was met by my counsellor, Barb Kraler, who walked me to a private room to talk. Though the talk may have only been for a half an hour, I can honestly say that it calmed me and put me in a better place. While talking about my issues, she gave me some advice to try and follow and also comforted me about going to the counsellor’s office. “Students may primarily come in and see a counsellor for personal issues,” Kraler said during my session. “We also do career counselling, but personal counselling is the most frequent. And of that, relationship issues would be one of the most com mon reasons as well as
stress, anxiety and depres sion. “(There’s) no shame in it at all, it’s one of the most com mon human experiences ... if people find it distracting and hard to focus on school, or things they used to do, and if it seems like it’s taken over one’s life at this time, then that is definitely worth talk ing about.” The Doon campus’s location hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The other Conestoga campuses also offer coun selling services. Check www.conestogac.on.ca/counselling/contact/location.jsp for the hours. If there was one thing that I would stress to anyone who’s going through some tough times it would be to make an appointment and talk to someone. The services are here for us and they can do wonders if you just give them a chance.
Students give old chairs a makeover By ASHLEY WELFORD-COSTELLOE
“Salm on or any fish.” Ramneet Kaur, second-year practical nursing
“Pork chops, but only if I cook them myself.” Terrence Osmond, first-year police foundations
“Steak or anything that's red.” Chris Canning, first-year police foundations
“Only sausages.” Anton Milicic, first-year supply chain and operations management
Smile Conestoga, you could be our next respondent!
The interior decorating stu dents and faculty had their work cut out for them when they had to gather up old chairs and re-purpose them in creative ways for a “Chairity” Gala, where these works of art were put up for bid through a live and silent auc tion. “We actually acquired chairs that were either pur chased from thrift stores or picked up off the side of the road,” said Brandy Hillar, a second-year interior decorat ing student. Students were assigned the project at the beginning of September and it was due the last week of November. They were required to work on the chairs on their own time as they had other projects as well. This meant coming in on Friday evenings. Each group of students had to come up with their own design. Emma Ulakovic and
PHOTO BY ASHELY WELFORD-COSTELLOE
Emma Ulakovic (left) and Brandy Hillar, both second-year interior decorating students, helped design and reupholster chairs for a ‘Chairity’ gala. It took place April 3 at the Hub in downtown Kitchener. Brandy Hillar wanted to incorporate light into their chair, which proved to be dif ficult at times. One of the issues they had was trying to find something that would give their chair a high gloss
as they wanted to spray paint it black. Another issue was upholstering the chair. “We thought this was going to take a couple hours on a Friday night,” said Ulakovic. “Little did we know, two Friday nights later and at least 12 hours of work, we finally finished the uphol stery.” “Trying to incorporate light was difficult,” said Hillar. “Our brainstorming period was very long because we wanted to incorporate light into our chair, but we (could n’t) be restricted to an outlet. We ended up using LED touch lights, but it was a long process.” The students worked in groups of three so they could learn the necessary team work skills which are used in the interior decorating indus try. All proceeds from the ticket sales and the auctions went to the Hospice of Waterloo Region.
NEWS
Monday, April 9,2012
New board elected By KAREN HAYNES
Every last e-ballot has been counted and the names of the newly elected Conestoga Students Inc. board of direc tors have been released. The new board members are Danielle Wingfield, Cameron Jones, Kevin Bluck, Jennifer Thao, Kayce Yardam, John Anderson, Juan Reyes and Daniel Gebreselasie. These students will begin their terms on May 1, dis cussing and making decisions on student-related issues across campus.
These people decide where (students’) money goes and how it’s spent so it (was) more important than ever to have (had) your say.” - Ciara Byrne
In recent years the student vote has been low and this year was no exception. While last year’s vote saw 600 bal lots cast, this year’s 200 vot ers represented less than six per cent of the student popu lation eligible to vote. Voting took place from March 19-23 through stu dents’ college emails. CSI president Ciara Byrne said she was disappointed in the voter turnout despite all of the election advertising that students did. “These people decide where (students’) money goes and how it’s spent so it (was) more important than ever to have (had) your say,” she said. And the directors have a lot of money, more than $1 mil lion, to account for in their year-long term. While they manage this money and consider what is best for the students at Conestoga, Byrne offered some words of advice to the new board. “Keep the students at the front of your agenda. Be con fident in the organization and yourself. Dream big.” Byrne was re-elected as president for the 2012-2013 school year.
SPOKE ♦ Page 3
Student sings the praises of charity work By JEFF BOMBEN
A teenager with a strong voice rocked away on his guitar in the middle of the Kitchener Market on March 31 with many people stop ping to drop change into his guitar case, helping with his dream to change the world. With a graceful smile, Brent Murphy belted out the song, Call Me Maybe. Despite being only 16 years of age, he is a passionate, goal-driv en person who currently attends Grand River Collegiate Institute in Kitchener. On Aug. 5, Murphy is going to Kenya to help build a school. During the three weeks he will be working on a free-standing classroom and will also help build a new water sys tem. The most exciting part of his trip is when he will have the chance to teach English. Every Saturday for the past four months, Murphy has risen at 7:30 a.m. and headed, guitar in hand, to the market to raise money for his trip to Kenya. He sits at the market with a sign saying, “Donate to help me build a school and provide clean water in Kenya.” Since Murphy starting going to the market, he has received over $4,200 toward his trip. “A lot of people come up to me and ask me what I am doing and where
I am going,” said Murphy. “I learned a lot about it in school because they do a lot of work with Free The Children and also with the Martin Aboriginal Initiative (a notfor-profit corporation that identifies issues impacting Canadian Aboriginals). They don’t get the proper funding.” Me to We is a part of Free The Children and sells socially conscious clothes, books and music. Me to We also provides guest speakers, lead ership training and transformative travel experiences to places such as Ecuador, Kenya, China and Arizona. Multiple schools in the area have clubs that support Me to We and some students like Murphy decide to take one of the “life-chang ing trips.” According to the Me to We website, www.metowe.com/me-to-we-is, the organization measures the bottom line, not by dollars earned, but by number of lives changed and the positive social and environmental impact everyone makes. Half of Me to We’s profits are donated to its charitable partner, Free The Children. After graduating high school in a PHOTO BY JEFF BOMBEN few years, Murphy hopes to attend Brent Murphy rocks away on his guitar at the the University of Guelph where he Kitchener Market on March 31 as he continues to would like to major in global stud raise money for his trip to Kenya in August. ies.
Hospitality students encouraged to attend event By TIFFANY WILSON
An evening fuelled by conver sation, intelligence and real world experience will be brought to hospitality students by the event management stu dents at Conestoga College in conjunction with the Alumni Relations department. Conestoga hospitality alumni and industry professionals are participating in the hospitality networking night being held on April 16 at the Kitchener Market from 6 to 9:30 p.m.
Students from the following programs participated: bartending, culinary fundamen tals, culinary management, culinary skills, event man agement, hospitality and tourism management, hospi tality foundations, hospitality management - hotel and restaurant and hospitality operations — food and bever age. All are invited to this free event in order to make valuable connections for their future careers. According to their advertise-
ment, “It’s not what you know, but who you know.” Kristal Beer, Conestoga College Alumni Relations event organizer, said the evening will include a speed networking session followed by a reception including hors d’oeuvres, door prizes and a cash bar. “Based on the number of students in attendance, we want to set (the networking sessions) up based on pro grams so the students can talk to people directly in the
field. The reception will be the time (students) will min gle and talk to everyone,” said Beer. The evening would not be possible if it were not for sponsors, including the Kitchener Market, The Cake Box, Appetizingly Yours Events and Catering and Conestoga Student Inc. To register or for more infor mation, contact Beer at kbeercc@conestogac.on.ca. Students are asked to regis ter by Friday, April 13.
American chain opens in Waterloo Region By SARAH SHAW
Fashionistas rejoice. Marshalls, an American department store, has finally made the leap across the bor der to the Great White North and settled in Kitchener, one of their 12 new locations in Canada. In addition to their usual customers, they are targeting a more youthful demographic of 14- to 25-year-olds not often seen in department stores. Marshalls is also setting themselves apart from com petitors by not selling jewelry or home decor items. The only Marshalls store in the tri-cities held its grand
opening on March 29 at the Boardwalk on Ira Needles Boulevard. “We used to shop across the border because we liked the diversity of the products they offered there and, depending on the Canadian dollar, it was cheaper to shop in the States,” said Donna Coutts, a Kitchener shopper. “Now that the stores are located in Ontario, I’m more likely to shop here and it’s nice to have some of these brand names more accessi ble.” While these new stores bring in big business, many feel that bringing the American favourite here could hurt small cities and
towns by taking away from locally owned and operated smaller businesses in the area as well as negatively affect Canadian stores. “I don’t think there is any particular need for American chains to come to this area, especially since they can be so devastating to individually owned and operated busi nesses that provide every thing that we already need,” said Kitchener . resident, Marianne Pennings, who added that she “can also understand that people may like the diverse options that foreign-owned businesses can bring.” Many shoppers might be surprised to know that
Canadian-based companies such as Winners and HomeSense are owned by TJX, an American-based com pany operating out of Framingham, Mass., that also owns Marshalls. And it’s not just Marshalls that has a cult following in Canada. Next year Target will open 30 new stores in Ontario alone, including ones in Guelph, Fergus and Cambridge. And just like any other bigname American company that has made the move across the border, such as Wal-Mart, Canadians will embrace the growing variety of brand name merchandise at cheap prices.
COMMENTARY
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Monday, April 9,2012
Quebec on right track By RACHEL HENRY
You sit beside a hospital bed. Your outstretched hand is in the death-grip of a woman writhing in agony on the bed. Tears stream down her face as she begs for more morphine, or anything that will make the pain subside, if only briefly. You try to wait it out, knowing exactly what the doctor will say - no amount of drugs will help, only death can relieve her. Now imagine this woman is your mother. Quebec recently rekindled the controversial issue of voluntary euthanasia after a report was released sug gesting the government make it legal for doctors to help terminally ill patients end their life if the patient wish es. The report rejected assisted suicide, which is per formed by a family member, in favour of “medical aid to die.” The stipulations surrounding voluntary euthanasia would include an explicit, written request from adult patients suffering from an incurable disease causing unbearable physical and psychological pain. Two physi cians would be required to evaluate the request. According to a March 22 article in the National Post, a recent poll showed 70 per cent of Quebecers and a majority of the province’s doctors support the decrimi nalization of euthanasia. The opposition claims that euthanasia, though volun tary, is still murder. Murder is defined by the Canadian Oxford Dictionary as the “unlawful killing of a person, performed with malice or forethought..” Euthanasia would certainly be premeditated, but by the patient and with the intent to bring an end to his or her suffering. Suppose your dog or cat is sick. The vet has found sev eral cancerous tumors on his body and every breath makes him shudder in agony. You know death can’t be far off, but you want to do the humane thing and end his suffering, so you ask your vet to euthanize him. Pets fre quently receive this type of consideration while humans do not - terminally ill patients will have limbs amputat ed, be pumped full of drugs and be left to exist in a vege tative state simply because pulling the plug is illegal. In Canada palliative care has its limits. For terminally ill patients, there comes a time when no amount of effort to preserve their life will increase their life’s diminishing quality. It is then that efforts must be directed toward maintaining their dignity. Unfortunately, for now, “do not resuscitate” orders are the closest terminally ill Canadians can get to control ling their medical means, though hopefully not for long. The views herein represent the position of the newspa per , not necessarily the author.
Letters are welcome Spoke welcomes letters to the editor. Letters should be signed and include the name and telephone number of the writer. Writers will be contacted for verification. No unsigned letters will be published. Letters should be no longer
than 500 words. Spoke reserves the right to edit any letter for publication. Address correspondence to: The Editor, Spoke, 299 Doon Valley Dr., Room 1C30, Kitchener, Ont., N2G4M4
Steve always had his own controversial theories about how to stop global warming.
The arcade (not on) fire Though nostalgic, arcades don't measure up to expectations set by youth Nostalgia is something of a blessing and a curse. It has the power to make food taste better in retro spect, awful music from your past still sound good, but most importantly, it makes you forget about the nega tives to your past endeav ours. When left untouched, it can cast your past in a smileinducing light. However, when revisited, you might find that you’ve awoken a demon, not a beautiful sleep ing memory. Exhibit A: arcades. Their relative obscurity in our cur rent day and age essentially relegates them to a relic of the past. So when given the chance, many would jump at the chance to return to their past via a pseudo time machine. But what you find will be far different from the fond memories you hold in such high regard.
Bradley Zorgdrager
Opinion
Much of arcades’ novelty has been lost in the wake of better home entertainment, such as the Nintendo Wii, Xbox Kinect and PlayStation Move, which replicate the arcade experience. So, can an equal gaming experience be achieved at home in your pyjamas? Well, not quite equal. At home you don’t have to stand around and wait while the clearly oblivious player in front of you takes his time playing game after game. While your rage builds due to this self-centred individ ual’s ignorance to your obvi ous need to sit in and drive a fake car - another activity
that has lost its appeal since most of us can now drive a real car - so does your headache. Maybe as a child you were resilient to the constant bar rage of other screaming chil dren, flashing lights and loud machines, but as an adult, the resilience is replaced by resentment and ruined hear ing. However, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel — prizes. But wait, I don’t want any more light; the bright screens and blinding lasers have already given me more than my fix. A bouncy ball, a barely-sewn-together stuffed animal or a candy you can buy for less than $2 - even after inflation ruins the nostalgically cheap past prices - these are the rewards for my suffering? Excuse me for being an old codger, but could I exchange these tickets for some Tylenol instead?
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Monday, April 9,2012
SPOKE ♦Page 5
NEWS
Page 6 ♦SPOKE
Monday, April 9,2012
CAN YOU HEAR ME N OW ? Larissa Luke (left) uses a video otoscope on sec ond-year practical nursing student, Gina Pereira’s ear. The instrument is used to view the inner ear canal and eardrum. PHOTO BY ANDREW SOULSBY
Young councillor, young ideas By JAKE DAVIDSON
Despite being in his mid-20s and new to Cambridge City Council, Nicholas Ermeta has big plans for the city. After being elected as Ward 8 councillor in October 2010 he started small, such as get ting the councillors to sing 0 Canada at council meetings once a month. He has also worked with the youth advi sory committee to get more things for today’s youth to do, such as the new BMX park set up in Riverside Park. He has also asked for the deci sion on a proposal to put
roundabouts on Franklin Boulevard be delayed to give residents more time to com ment on the plan. However, the region hasn’t acted on the proposal as of yet. Another thing Ermeta and the council have been trying to do is get free public transit for seniors. Council passed a motion to have the region look at it but they haven’t heard back from them. He also lob bied hard to get the light rail system extended all the way through Cambridge, but failed. “I did stand up for my city and I put up a good fight that was a battle we didn’t win but
I at least put in the legwork and tried my best to get Cambridge a better deal,” Ermeta said. He hosts neighbourhood meetings in his ward once a month so that people can bring their concerns to him and so he can get some feed back. One of the items on his agenda is to get better public transit for the city. Some areas of his ward only get bus service until noon and then again from later in the after noon until six in the evening. He wants to expand service so that the people on Townline Road get buses as well.
The council has been trying to get the mayors from Milton, Mississauga and all the towns in between to throw their support behind having the Go train run through Cambridge. “Nicholas brings a young perspective to council,” said Mayor Doug Craig in a phone interview. “He is very strong in the planning aspects of his community. He has con tributed very much to the debates.” Ermeta became a councillor because he wanted to get peo ple involved in the communi ty. He wants to be out helping
others face to face. As a coun cillor he gets to take on a leadership role and he has the power to make decisions. “I love people, I love making a difference in their lives,” said Ermeta. He said he doesn’t have any immediate plans for the future. However, he does intend on running again for his position because he wants to be in it for the long term. But things could change and he might decide to do some thing else. In the meantime, Ermeta will continue to work hard at making sure the peo ple in his ward are happy.
PHOTO BY JAKE DAVIDSON
Nicholas Ermeta is the young Ward 8 councillor in Cambridge who has ideas and the drive to change his ward and his city.
NEWS
Monday, April 9,2012
Half of college's garbage could actually be recycled
A tower of water bottles repre sents the aver age number used by a Conestoga student annually.
Vodicka amalgamated and lugged six bags of cafeteria Leslie Dewarjeens stared at waste into the atrium, aided the four plastic bins, labelled only by the housekeeping “recyclable - paper,” “com supervisor, Phyllis Caissie, posting - organics,” “recy politely turning down my clable - containers” and offer to help because it would “garbage,” and then at her get my “hands dirty.” empty applesauce container. Pre-sorted by students in “Where does it go?” the puz the cafeteria, one bag held zled office administration — items from the paper bins, legal student asked me as I one from containers, one from stood nearby with my organics and three from notepad and camera. garbage. The clear bags told The demo waste audit had an equally clear story of stu n’t begun yet, but it was OK if dents’ lack of knowledge she wanted to use the bins about sorting. reserved for it. It didn’t even Plastic forks were thrown in matter if we guessed wrong (I with organics. Paper clut guessed “recyclable —contain tered the containers pile. ers”). Today her applesauce Many, many compostable container would be going materials, such as coffee cups where it belonged. and paper plates, were Unfortunately, individuals garbage as far as their users who practise - and under had been concerned. One fly buzzed around while Vodicka stand the importance of waste diversion such as Jana sorted. Vodicka, environmental co The smell was mildly offen ordinator of Martin Services sive, but what really stunk (Conestoga’s housekeeping was the carelessness that was service) will not be on hand evident in some of the gath every day to dump out con ered garbage. In Vodicka’s taminated recyclables and words, most students “don’t organics and properly sort think about (garbage) once it them. leaves their hand, but (there By EUSSA DEN HOED
SPOKE ♦Page 7
PHOTOS BY ELISSA DEN HOED
Conestoga recently held a Green Week which encouraged students to think green. Activities and giveaways included a free coffee and mug giveaway, a live waste audit, a bus ticket giveaway, an ‘Everyone Wear Green’ day, a Green Week cafeteria menu and green cotton candy. Above, Jana Vodicka sorts garbage while student Nicole Jobes records it on video. are) people who have to deal with it.” Biotechnology student Mary Mullen, who watched from the upper floor balcony, admitted that it’s “kind of confusing” when it comes to sorting waste - but not so much here as at Fleming College, where she said waste is sorted into seven separate streams. When Vodicka’s sorting con cluded, she had filled to capacity three bags of paper, containers and organics - and was left with less than a full bag of garbage. Three mar keting students watching nearby expressed surprise at how little was “actually garbage.” Conestoga has a goal of 60 per cent waste diversion. According to last year’s annu al waste audit, mandated by the provincial government, it’s sitting on the “mid-50” mark, like most colleges in Ontario. Recycling and composting service at Conestoga comes at a price, and that price comes out of the annual student budget. Vodicka estimates
Cafeteria waste, pre-sorted by students, was arranged In front of their containers by Jana Vodicka prior to sorting. The three bags of regular garbage, shown on the far right, shrunk to half a bag after proper sorting was complete.
that about $80,000 of last year’s budget was spent on waste disposal, 70 per cent of it on landfilling - though half of what the school sends to landfill doesn’t have to be, as her demo waste audit proved. It would be easier to scrap the service, but this would come at a cost to the environment and the Waterloo landfill, which has only 19 years left before it reaches capacity. Former CSI director of sus tainability Zoey Ross, who attended the audit, said he
would like to see instructions for proper sorting given to first-year students during ori entation. Video taken of the mini audit will become a “teaching tool,” said Vodicka. During the filming of her sorting through garbage, she declined to speak, saying the video footage, taken by new media technologist Chris Martin and journalism print students Eric McKenzie and Nicole Jobes, would “speak for itself.”
Zoey Ross holds a stack of printer paper representing the amount thrown out by each Conestoga student every year.
FEATURE
Page 8 ♦SPOKE
Monday, April 9,2012
Y ou only live O
By JAZLYN SLACK
Everybody has a dream. It may be to go skydiving or to travel the world. It may be to simply live life to the fullest or help a homeless person. Some people may have years to accomplish their dreams; oth ers may only have a few months or days. Walt Disney once said, “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” Disney pursued his dream in arts and entertain ment, becoming a legend who everyone knows and loves. The young boy from Missouri stud ied art and photography and turned his dreams into a reality. Some people creat bucket lists to help them achieve their goals. The term, made famous by the 2007 film of the same name and which starred. Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, refers to a life list or list of life goals that people want to achieve before they “kick the buckThere are different reasons as to why one would create a bucket list. Some do it without even realizing they’re making one, while others sit down with pen and paper and jot down every little thing that comes t0 mind- Then there are
those who don’t have much time left and want to make a differ ence in their lives. Alice Pyne, a 16-year-old blog ger who has a terminal cancer, writes as much as she can on her blog, telling the worldlabout her bucket list in hopes of accomplishing as much as she can before cancer takes her life. On her blog she writes, " I ’ve created a bucket list because there are so many things' I still want todo with my life - some are possible, some will remain a dream.
I’ve created a bucket list because there are many things I still want to do with my life - some are possible, some will remain a dream .. - Alice Pyne
“My blog is to document this precious time I have left with my family and friends, doing things I want to do. You only have one life - live it!” With items including “to swim with sharks, to go to Kenya, to be a dolphin trainer and to go to Cadbury World and eat lots of chocolate,” Pyne blogs that she’s “not quite finished it (her bucket list) yet, as I keep remembering other bits, so I might add things
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to it as I go along.” Having years to accomplish one list of things can almost be overwhelming. Imagine being a sick 16-year-old who doesn’t have much mole time to live and having the spirit to do all that she can so her parents can lay “she lived her life to the fullest.” Travelling is one of the most popular things on people’s buck et lists. There are so many places to explore in the world, with, its seven continents, Approximately 196 countries arid more States, provinces, cities, towns and vil lages than one can even count. The world is so full of beautiful architecture, landscape and peo ple that when one thinks of trav el, travelling the world becomes the title, and their list consists of the many different places and things they want to see. Joel Pennington, a travel Agent at Flight Centre in Fai rview Park Mall, said all that’s on his bucket list is t o “travel and enjoy life.” Pennington has travelled to many places including Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand/ “Pretty much every where b ut South America,” he said. The next country on his bucket list is Brazil where he - hopes to go in 2014. The Flight Centre travel agency pees, on average, 20-25 customers per day. “It’s all about experiencing new things and get ting educated,” said Pennington. Travelling becomes a category of its own, but maybe you’re a traveller and your life goals are
J
to visit all the wonders of the world. The possibilities of a bucket list are endless. Some, such as Kitchener residents Peter and Edythe Diebel, would like to travel the world by motorcycle and live a “healthy and long life.” Others, such as 16-yearold musician Daniel Dorman, ju st w ant to play music and live a Christian lifestyle. In the book, Before I Die, written by Jenny Downham, she write s , “All I know is that I have t w o choices stay wrapped up i n blankets and get on with dying, or get the list back1together and get on with living." Your bucket list is interred to help you live .your life t o the fullest, so you leave this world with no regrets and know that you accom pl ished everything
y o u wanted to. A s author Alan
Sachs s a i d “Death is more universal than life; everyone dies but not everyone lives.”
PHOTO BY JAZLYN SLACK
FEATURE
Monday, April 9,2012
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PHOTO BY DEVON SMITH
Wendy Czaco and her two daughters, Nikole (left) and Brandi (right), enjoy their time at Conestoga together where all three attend classes.
Three’s company at Conestoga Conestoga sisters share the hallways at home and on campus with their mother By DEVON SMTIH
Have you ever said or done something at school and thought to yourself, “Oh what would my mother say?” Nikole and Brandi CzacoMah have. But in their case, they might just get an answer. That’s because while they roam the halls of Conestoga, so does their mom. They might say it’s because she’s nosy. But mom prefers the terms inter ested and curious, as any firstyear print journalism student would. That’s right, while Nikole, 21, and Brandi, 22, go to their business foundations and busi ness — marketing classes, respectively, Wendy CzacoMah is right around the cor ner, attending her own set of classes. “I’ve wanted to go back for a long time,” she said. “But through raising the kids and everything, I just couldn’t see it ... I didn’t feel I could do
both.” Before the kids came along, a bumpy childhood and lack of a high school diploma kept her away from college. That’s not to say she wasn’t learn ing, however, as she spent her youth travelling, picking up new languages and being adventurous. Years later, Wendy found herself in a dead end job at a call centre and took it upon herself to get her Ontario High School Equivalency Certificate and apply to Conestoga. As she and her daughters wrap up their first year at the college, the girls looked back on the experience. “It was a little weird at first, I’ll have to admit,” said Brandi. “When she was like ‘Oh I want to go back to col lege,’ I was like, really? But I guess it kind of grew on me and I see that she really enjoys it so, whatever makes her happy, makes me happy
too. I’m happy for her.” Little sis feels the same way. “There’s times where I enjoy it and there’s times where it’s like, yeeeah my mom goes to college with me,” laughed Nikole. “But I think of it like she’s bettering herself. So, ultimately it’s going to better all of us. It’s great that she’s decided to come back to col lege and learn and get a bet ter career. I’m proud of her and I think I’m pretty OK with it.” The mother of two enjoys sharing the experience with her daughters too, and finds herself in touch with more aspects of her daughters’ lives than she might otherwise have been. Her program has kept her current on the ins and outs of social media. “It’s really neat,” she said. “Because in a lot of other situ ations, mother and daughter situations, the mom is proba bly oblivious to a lot of it, like,
she doesn’t get it, where I do because I’m learning at the same time they are.” The caring mother drives her daughters to school, even on her day off, and occasional ly makes a trio of lunches. Only “when she’s feeling nice” though, according to Nikole. The car isn’t the only thing the family shares in the morning, however, as one room in the house becomes a hotbed of activity. Every day their bathroom is filled to the brim with hair spray and estrogen as the college girls get ready for school. While Brandi and her mom use their height differ ence to share one mirror, Nikole applies her makeup using the other, perched atop the toilet with the seat down. The three would all agree that this is a special time in their lives. “Not too many people get to experience going to college
or school with their parents or mom,” said Brandi. “I think it’s an interesting experience. It’s a nice way to keep us together and bond, kind of in a different way.” Although the mother of two took print journalism, her passion lies elsewhere. “I like to visually create,” she said. “So videography is my ultimate goal ... but when I was doing my upgrading, both my English teachers said that I had a natural flow and a creative ability to write.” Although the program is a little more structured than she’s used to and she doesn’t know if she’ll pursue print, she’s taking it in stride. “You know what, I’m not losing by doing any of this. I’m learning a lot. I think that no matter what I end up doing, no matter what direc tion this takes me, whether it be the videography or wherever, I can’t lose.”
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PHOTO BY BEN STODDARD PHOTO BY BEN STODDARD
Brandon Chen (clockwise from left), Andrew Shen, Colman Ing and Justin Loomes (owner) play Mahjong at Just By Chance Games.
Game store is more of a hangout spot It hosts seven tournaments a week By BEN STODDARD
Just By Chance Games is more than just a store that sells stuff, it is also a great hangout spot. Justin Loomes opened the store just over a year ago with his sister, Alicia Loomes, and his fiance, Larissa Loomes (who is now his wife.) The business is located at 465 Philip St. in Waterloo. The store is cleanly organ ized and spacious. There is a section for trading card games such as Magic: The Gathering, a section for board games, a section for RPGs such as Dungeons and Dragons, a small rack with assorted comics and a section full of tables and opened board games for customers to play. “Everything in this store is a hobby of mine,” Justin said. The store runs seven tour naments a week. On Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays, they have Magic: The Gathering tournaments. On Tuesdays they have organized Warhammer games, on Wednesdays they play Dungeons and Dragons, and on Saturdays they host special events. On Sunday, they have both Yu Gi Oh tournaments and a board games night. Monday evenings are particularly busy - it’s not unusual for 30
or 40 people to be in the store at once. “Mostly what we do here is sit around and try out new games,” Justin said as two Asian customers were teach ing him how to play Mahjong (Mahjong solitaire is what you play on the computer). Some of these guys are here even more than I am.” He said most of their core are local university students.
“Mostly what we do here is sit around and try out new games... Some of these guys are here even more than I am.” - Justin Loomes Larissa is just as into the hobbys available in the store. “Justin’s more into Magic, I’m more into RPGs,” Larissa said. The Loomes siblings have lived all around Canada. “I grew up in a combination of Newfoundland and B.C.,” Justin said. Before starting the store, Justin travelled around the country, visiting as many similar stores as possible. “It’s a great way to gather the best ideas and decide
what kind of store I wanted to run,” he said. “I was thinking of a video game store or a comic store at first, but there’s already a lot of competition in that area.” Justin studied for a dual major in chemistry and physics at Memorial University in Newfoundland, and Larissa holds an English degree from the same univer sity. “I took lots of different courses; I like learning about science and math,” Justin said. He eventually decided that he’d rather run a game store. After he dropped out, Justin moved to Yellowknife where he worked over 100 hours a week as a security guard at an airport, saving up money to start a business. Justin said that video games have a high turnover; they drop in price faster than anything else, while board games and RPGs are more stable. “I eventually decided to open this store in Waterloo because there isn’t much com petition and there are lots of university students. Also, I like this city.” The store is open every day from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. To learn more or find their detailed tournament sched ule, call 519-804-0468 or visit www.justbychancegames.ca.
Loomes sorts Magic: The Gathering cards. He owns the store with his sister, Larissa Loomes, and his wife, Alicia Loomes. The store is located at 465 Philip St. in Waterloo.
Monday, April 9,2012
ENTERTAINMENT
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M ad men are back The return of smoking, highballs and sex to the tele vision screen can only mean one thing - the mad men (and women) of AMC are back. That’s right. The staff of the fictional Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce (SCDP) is back after a lengthy hiatus. As leading man Jon Hamm put it on the Late Show, the pro gram’s 2011 absence was due to billionaires fighting (more politely, contract negotia tions between producer and creator Matthew Weiner, AMC and Lionsgate — the show’s production company). The Saturday prior to the show’s March 25 season pre miere had both critics and fanatics curious as to the direction in which Weiner would take the fifth season. Mad Men madness stormed the Internet as fans tried to predict timeframes, the future of SCDP and, of course, what lie ahead for Don Draper.
In true Weiner style, not the slightest bit of informa tion was leaked. Even Hamm, who was scolded for letting details slip in the
Brendan Daley
Opinion past, was tight-lipped. As predicted by many crit ics, the season premiere was slow - some might even say boring. However, with a year off between seasons, it was nice to catch up with the characters - the walk before you jog mentality. The season premiere served as a “catcher upper” for those who may have had trouble remembering season five. Interestingly, the staff will face new issues as they enter the latter half of the 1960s. Weiner managed to throw
racism into the mix of already existing sexism and homophobia, raising the question of whether Mad Men’s happy-go-lucky atti tude will continue to exist. The former Betty Draper returned to the screen during the second, April 1, episode. With some uncertainty regarding how writers would incorporate January Jones’ real-life pregnancy into the plot, they managed to sur prise audiences with a shock ing twist (Spoiler: is that a tumour on your neck Betty, or do you just need to lay off the cake?). Without giving any more away, I urge you to check out Mad Men. It has all the drama of a soap opera, but is much less feminine. With a seven-figure audience draw for the season premiere — second to AMC’s Walking Dead - fix yourself a strong drink and check it out. Mad Men airs Sundays at 10 p.m.
INTERNET PHOTO
After a year-long hiatus, Mad Men has returned to AMC with season five.
Headbang your life away By BRADLEY ZORGPRAGER
How do you follow up an album that opens with a song called Black Sin (Spit on the Cross) as Black Breath did on 2010’s Heavy Breathing? Apparently you have your self a Feast of the Damned and just eat the whole damn crucifix. Ironically for an album titled Sentenced to Life - a play on the phrase sentenced to death, suggesting that liv ing is worse than dying this album is particularly life-affirming, as Black Breath is playing better than ever before. Although Southern Lord Records previously released almost exclusively slow metal, such as doom or drone
Bradley Zorgdrager
Opinion metal, this album furthers the label’s descent into blast beats and proves that faster is (usually) better. Even the slow songs on Sentenced to Life feel a little lifeless; the opening riff of The Flame seems more than a little influenced by its counterpart passage in Megadeth’s seminal hit, Symphony of Destruction, and it doesn’t get much hot ter throughout. And though the next song, Obey, takes the black metal
path to slower tempos, to greater success, it still does n’t measure up to the album’s faster moments. The first three songs speed by with nary a moment’s relent or chance to stop head banging. By the time Home of the Grave comes around, the chance to bob, instead of bang, your head is a welcome relief. But the respite is brief, as Sentenced to Life is an album that’s as strenuous on the neck as it is on the ears - and that’s meant as a compliment. If thrashy death-influenced blackened hardcore sounds like an unnecessarily long genre description, that’s because it is. But in this case, it’s also perfectly appli cable, though you could just call it heavy.
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Monday, April 9,2012
Before Their Eyes struggles to find Redemption The fourth release from Before Your Eyes came after a year of band trials and tribulations. Guitarist Landon Tewers left the band and joined The Plot In You, vocalist Nick Moore left the band only to rejoin, Jordan DiSorbo and Brandon Rosiar took the place of Tewers and the band switched from Rise Records to InVogue Records. After this plethora of changes, Redemption proves to be a suitable album title. Whereas 2010's
Rachel Henry
Opinion
Untouchable inched towards a heavier sound while dab bling in pop-inspired vocals, Redemption has cut the pop sound down, leaving it just within choruses, resulting in less of a genre lapse and more heavy riffs.
Unfortunately there is nothing dynamic about this release - it's exactly what a listener would expect from Before Your Eyes. In a bor derline-hackneyed genre, the lack of originality will leave new listeners bored and look ing for something more ambi tious. Most of the chorus vocals throughout the album are clean, paired with light screams and upbeat riffs. Fans could compare this delivery to From First To Last’s last release, Throne To
The Wolves, though the unfortunate recruitment of Breathe Carolina on Dream will leave fans cringing at the direction Before Their Eyes is heading in. Arguably one of the strongest tracks on the record, Find, is an optimistic performance that embraces atmospheric musicality, fol lowed by Everything which allows Moore to really demonstrate his vocal talent at the song’s zenith. Other notables are Revival, to which ex-guitarist Tewers
lends his guttural screams, and Backstabber, which is laden with breakdowns and sets the bar for the album’s heaviest tones. Before Their Eyes is clearly not ready to sink in a scene full of jaded genre-hoppers. As an effort to mesh their three previous releases, Redemption was nonetheless enjoyable for what it was — catchy choruses with glimpses at the talent that comprises the band but is unfortunately understated with this CD.
Guidestones is the stepping stone to revolutionary By VANDA POBRITOiU
Are you a Sherlock Holmes wannabe? Do you like thrillers and looking for clues? If so, Guidestones could be what you are looking for. Started in May 2009 by Jay Ferguson, director and co-cre ator, Guidestones is an inter active online thriller that is unlike any other type of enter tainment. According to the blogging web site 28day slater analysis.com, Guidestones is “On par with a summer block buster ... a succulent mystery.” The thriller is free and any one can sign up online with their email address at
www.guidestones.org. The episodes, which are rough-
The series blurs the line between fiction and reality by bringing in the very real mystery of the Georgia Guidestones. -Ja n e Doh ly three minutes in length, each end in a cliffhanger and have a clue hidden somewhere within. If you locate and then search that clue online it will take you
to a world of hidden videos, websites and other informa tion that will allow you to move ahead of the protago nists. Alternately, you can just watch and enjoy the show. The short episodes make it easy for anyone to watch them, whether it’s in a coffee shop, at work or on a short break. “The story was inspired by a woman, who chooses to remain anonymous,” said Ferguson in an email interview, “who was an exchange student from India and actually experienced many of the events that unfold in the story.” The story follows two Ryerson journalism students who, while researching an
unsolved murder, uncover a global conspiracy. Jane Doh of Wired Magazine wrote a feature on Guidestones on Feb. 16, and explained that “the series blurs the line between fiction and reality by bringing in the very real mys tery of the Georgia Guides torsos, a megalith that suddenly appeared in 1979 in rural Elbert County, Georgia.” Ferguson is also president of 3‘oclock.tv, which is an enter tainment production compa ny, and has contributed as a writer, director and producer for more than 15 feature films. Ferguson’s first feature film, Suburban Legend, was select
ed for official competition in the 1996 Montreal International Film Festival and won the Best Director award at the RPM Film Festival in Toronto. His second feature, Posthumous, was short-listed for official competi tion at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival. More recently, he helped shortlist TVOntario for a Webby and a SXSW Interactive Award by writing and directing segments of the prime-time TV series, Empire of the Word, according to his filmmaker biography. For more information regarding the thriller or the storyline, visit www.guidestones.org.
Monday, April 9,2012
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STUDENT LIFE
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CONESTOGA STUDENTS g e t
Monday, April 9,2012
r o c k in 'a n d d ip p in ’ w it h c jiq a n d c h o c o l a t e f o n d u e
PHOTO BY DEVON SMITH
CJIQ midday show host Lyndsay Hannusch entertains Conestoga students every day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The second-year broad cast radio student also hosts Retro Active Lunch from noon to 1 p.m. Listeners can tune into CJIQ 88.3 to catch Anger Management (metal), Indie Rock Invasion, Static Hype (electronica), Souljah Sessions (drum and bass, dubstep), Planet Prog (progressive rock), Pull the Plug (new rock, acoustic style), On the Rocks (smooth jazz), On Stage (classical music), Songs From A Quiet Place (relax ing music), as well as Spanish, Polish and Serbian programs, to name a few. The CJIQ program schedule is available online at www.cjiq.fm, where you can also listen in from your computer.
PHOTO BY SARAH SHAW
Justin Briner, a second-year radio broadcast student, shows his passion for the music he plays as co-host of The Morning Drive on CJIQ. He and co-host Cody Banks (not pictured) spin the tunes Monday to Friday, 6 a.m. to 9 a.m.
PHOTOS BY TIFFANY WILSON
Kelsey Meyer (left to right), Kristin Metz and Maddy Johnson, all business administration marketing students, took part in a chocolate fondue fundraiser on March 27 All proceeds went to Easter Seals which helps kids with physical disabilities achieve greater independence, accessibility and integra tion. Below, fondue-covered treats were a tempting offering for passersby as well as a fundraiser. .
STUDENT LIFE
Monday, April 9,2012
PRACTISING IN TH E
G R EAT O U TD O O R S
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OUTDOOR FUN p l a y i n g
c a t c h in t h e s u n
PHOTO BY TIFFANY WILSON
The day hit record high temperatures which encouraged Kelsey Heeley, a first-year journalism print student, to enjoy the sunshine and hot weather by playing Frisbee.
CRUNCH TIME a s
s c h o o l ye a r co m es to a clo se
PHOTO BY ALEXANDRIA DEER
Joshua Christie, an electrical engineering technology student, practises playing the bagpipes in an empty field beside Pino’s Pizza when the weather is nice. Christie plans to compete in the upcoming pipe band competition at the Toronto Indoor Highland Games on April 14.
PHOTO BY RACHEL HENRY
Students exit a Grand River Transit bus at Conestoga College. They are facing crunch time as the last day of school quickly approaches.
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