Beginning a new chapter Libraries always evolving and adapting. Page 4 MONDAY, APRIL 3, 2017
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True Hue and loving you Fighting back against poor body image. Page 8
A LEARNING NEWSROOM FOR JOURNALISM STUDENTS
CONESTOGA COLLEGE, KITCHENER, ONT.
WWW.SPOKEONLINE.COM
49TH YEAR — NO. 11
Security gives cars the boot BY ROBERT JANES
Conestoga College’s Security and Parking Services began the enforcement of two pilot projects on March 27. “This was our first full year of doing parking enforcement ourselves, in-house as opposed to city bylaw,” said Janet Mannella, manager of occupational safety, security and parking services. “We’ve had a few trials and errors with some things and we’ve had to adjust our approaches and one of the approaches that we want to change is from towing the vehicle to booting the vehicle.” In the past, Conestoga’s parking services towed vehicles of owners who had outstanding tickets. On the fourth ticket, the vehicle would be towed to a third party’s lot at the expense of the student, faculty or staff member who had parked without a valid parking permit. On March 27 Security and Parking Services ceased towing vehicles and began to place vehicle immobilizers, or boots, on the front tire, along with the placement of pylons and signs around the vehicle to notify the owner. “It’s a way to get them to come into the office and we educate them, we tell them that their parking is suspended. We do all the same things that we would
PHOTO BY ROBERT JANES
PHOTO BY ROLAND FLEMING
Two Security and Parking Services staff members (whose names cannot be published due to the department’s policy) demonstrate how to affix a vehicle immobilizer onto the front tire of a vehicle on March 22. The department implemented new changes on March 27, including the use of vehicle immobilizers and new smoke-free entrances. For video story, see www.spokeonline.com. do with the towing but now we just go back out and we take the boot off,” said Mannella. Opinions on the boot varied among Conestoga students. “Well, the only problem is that the car’s stuck there so it takes up a parking spot,” said Henry Daemen, a second-year mechanical engineering student. Daniel Eckhart, a thirdyear mechanical engineering student, agreed, saying, “Once your car gets a boot on it, you’re going to buy a pass or park somewhere else. Now they got a few tickets out of you and the parking pass you initially refused to buy.” Mannella said Security and
Parking Services will not hand out tickets during the first month or for a first offence. Instead, they will educate the driver on parking regulations and fees. “If it’s your first time, or you’re a visitor and you’re not aware, obviously we won’t give you a ticket,” said Mannella. “But if you continue to violate (parking regulations) on purpose there are some consequences and it could possibly go to student code of conduct. For employees it could go to employee discipline but we hope not to do that.” The second pilot project that Security and Parking
Services initiated was smokefree entrances at some of the doors on campus. “It doesn’t include just smoking, it is smoking devices, e-cigarettes, anything that gives off a plume of polluted air or smoke,” said Mannella. The initial legislation was put in place in 2015 by Smoke-Free Ontario, which enforced no smoking within nine metres of any entrance. “It will expand out another nine to 10 metres upon approach to warn people that they’re going to be entering (a non-smoking zone) and if they choose to use that door, it’s a smoke-free door,” said
world, with 500 million people being affected by it worldwide, there is still much unknown about epilepsy. People’s general misunderstanding of the disorder has fostered feelings of mistrust and caused individuals who already suffer from its effects to frequently feel ostracized by those around them. This is why Cassidy Megan, a Nova Scotia resident, created Purple Day in 2008. She started with the goal of merely getting people to become more comfortable with talking about epilepsy and the struggles that come with it. But after The Epilepsy Association of Nova Scotia joined Megan and aided her in the development of the idea, Purple Day went viral. In 2009, over 100,000 students across Canada
participated in Purple Day and since then, public participation has only continued to grow. This year all 42 Zehrs Markets stores across Ontario hosted events in March as a way to raise money for local epilepsy support centres, while also helping to educate their patrons and communities on the disorder. In fact, 2016 was the largestever event for the franchise, which saw all Guelph, Kitchener, Waterloo and Windsor stores participate and raise over $7,500 through cookouts, breakfasts, various other events and, of course, the sales of purple shirts. “The purple shirts are our way of showing we care and that we want people to be comfortable sharing their stories about
epilepsy,” said Lauren Hill, an employee at Zehrs Markets on Homer Watson Boulevard. “A few of us wear them throughout the whole month of March, then everyone puts them on and matches today (March 26) to try and get shoppers to become interested in donating and getting one too. They’re only $5.” Canada first started officially celebrating Purple Day in 2013 and last year saw Prime Minister Justin Trudeau send out a letter encouraging Canadians everywhere to take part in the purple wearing festivities and get talking about epilepsy. “Learn the facts, dispel the myths and understand what you can do to help.
Mannella. Entrances that are now smokefree are Doors 5 and 6, as well as the doors at the rec centre and the power house. However, if the project is successful it may expand to more doors and other campuses. “I’m not a smoker,” said Daemen. “All of my buddies are though so I’m pretty used to the stench. It doesn’t bother me either way.” Mannella said Security and Parking Services will provide education and give warnings for one month. Afterwards, they will begin handing out $30 tickets to smokers who are repeat offenders.
Purple Day raises awareness about epilepsy BY ANDREW BENNEY
It started as one young girl’s dream to raise awareness about a neurological disorder that she had lived with for years, and has developed into an international event with a massive impact. What was once simply March 26, is now known as “Purple Day” by people and organizations around the globe. The day is dedicated to increasing public knowledge about epilepsy and informing those with the disorder that they are not alone in their struggles. Epilepsy is a neurological disorder that is greatly misunderstood and has often been unjustly stigmatized throughout history. Although it is one of the most common neurological conditions in the
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PHOTO BY ANDREW BENNEY
Aden Finlay, a Kitchener resident, shows off his newly acquired purple shirt. The shirts were a fundraiser for epilepsy awareness, held by Zehrs Markets, and were given to anyone who donated $5 or more to the cause.
NEWS
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Now deep thoughts ... with Conestoga College
Monday, April 3, 2017
FILBERT CARTOONS
Random questions answered by random students
Which fictional character inspires you?
“Michael from The Office, his outlook is so positive.” Baby Wrobelwska, general arts and sciences
“Danny Rand from Iron Fist, he is such a nice person.” Danielle McNabb, pre-health sciences Conestoga College student fees per semester for Doon and Cambridge campus students are approximately $786 per semester, as listed above.
“Meredith Gray because she saves people.”
Carlie Mclean, pre-health sciences
“Fiona Gallagher from Shameless. She always steps up.” Lindsay Halykl, pre-health sciences
“Scarlet O’Hara from Gone With The Wind. She’s resourceful and works hard.” Lilly Rogers, early childhood education
“Belle ... she always sees the good in people and I try to do the same.” Brady McCallan, community and criminal justice
Smile Conestoga, you could be our next respondent!
Seventy-three per cent of fee goes to salaries BY DEEANNA ROLLINS
A student priority fee of $40 per semester was introduced in 2004 to help with Student Life programming. Now, in 2016, this fee has risen to $49.45 per semester. Although the increase isn’t large, the fact that 73 per cent of that fee goes toward payroll and salaries for all of the people working in Student Life is of a concern. In the upcoming school year, those salaries will weigh in at just under $1 million. This includes the salary of the Student Life manager at $78,486, and the co-ordinator, four programmers, three career advisers, six summer intern students and 18 potential part-time students in the fall. The part-time pay alone will be equal to approximately $129,160. Mike Dinning, Conestoga’s vice-president of student affairs, defended these numbers at the March 23 Conestoga Student’s Inc. (CSI) board meeting, saying that Student Life “needs good staff to have good programming.” Dinning also updated the
CSI board on how much money was spent – $1.4 million – on renovations in the last school year. This includes $42,000 on the ATS engineering complex, $29,000 on the Woodworking Centre, $14,000 on multiple different Student Life rooms and $10,000 on reupholstering furniture. This money came from a surplus leftover from the 2015/2016 school year and was written into the budget. Students also pay a technology enhancement fee of $133 per semester. According to the college’s website, “This fee assists in offsetting the cost of providing students with up-to-date computer equipment, software and services.” Approximately 23 per cent of this fee goes toward IT services and their staff. It is also meant to pay for equipment, including the 616 new computers, 75 new 27-inch monitors, 18 upgraded printers and ONE Card access portals, and 112 new digital video projectors that were bought this school year. In other business, CSI board members discussed a money
request from the Library Resource Centre (LRC) so they can buy new technology for students. With the $3,000 request being approved, the LRC will be purchasing new laptops, power cables, chargers, remotes, clickers, and portable laptop and cellphone chargers. The LRC also requested $1,600 from CSI for promotional material to advertise their tech tutors. However, this request was turned down. Instead, CSI said the LRC should be getting money from Student Affairs. The library will also be looking at hiring 12 more tech tutors; some for the summer and some for the fall semester and will be looking for funding from the International Office and Student Affairs. These students will be from all different programs, including international students. Tech tutors work in the LRC and help students who have questions about anything technology related. This program was introduced to help the front desk of the LRC from being overwhelmed.
Monday, April 3, 2017
NEWS
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Turban tying event improves awareness BY MATTHEW EVANGELISTA
PHOTO BY NICOLE CLARK
Nim Nayakarathna and Thasneem Thowfeeq, both first-year information technology business analysis students, stand by a sign welcoming students to an international student event.
Games Night offers free food, chance to socialize BY NICOLE CLARK
A group of third-year nursing students recently held Games Night, an informational night of fun and socialization for international students. The event was held on March 20 in the Welcome Centre at Conestoga College’s Doon campus. It included video games, food, meditative drawing and stress ballmaking stations, and was held to provide information to international students regarding sexual health, mental health, nutrition, exercise and landlord laws. The event also provided the students with an opportunity to meet and interact with new people. Conestoga College currently has over 2,500 international students from 80 different countries amidst an overall full-time student population of 12,500. To have events such as this one, aimed at helping to smooth the transition to Canadian living, is an integral part of an international student’s college life. Beth Shortt, a third-year bachelor of science and nursing Conestoga-McMaster student who helped organize and run the event, said, “We held this event to raise awareness of mental health, sexual health and nutrition issues. I focused on stress and art therapy. I have been using zentangle, which is a form of artistic meditation. I also talked to students about ways to reduce stress.” As to why Shortt and her fellow group members made the decision to hold the event, Shortt said, “We had a games night instead of a hallway health booth so that we could get to know international students on a more personal level. Also, because our research has
It’s been 16 years since 9/11; 16 years since the turban became a symbol of fear and distrust in North America. But Sikh students at Conestoga have been trying to bring a higher awareness of the turban, sometimes called a dastaar, which, in the Khalsa society, signifies many virtues including spirituality, honour, selfrespect, courage, piety and responsibility. Conestoga Sikh students hosted a turban tying event last month in the atrium to spread awareness. In the three years of holding the event they have tied over a thousand turbans, totaling more than 1,200 metres of cotton cloth. This event was also held at Wilfrid Laurier University. The turban has been an important part of the Sikh religion since the 1400s. It holds their long, uncut hair, a natural gift from God, protects it and helps keep it clean. Sikhs also do not shave. The turban is exchanged between
friends as a sign of intense bonding. “People treat us and see us with some hate sometimes. And we are saying it’s not bad, because they have their own faith, but we have a different identity that we carry with us and that we want to tell,” said Amanpreet Singh, a Conestoga Indian-born mobile solutions development student. Sikhism is the world’s fifth largest faith, and one of the youngest. Almost 500,000 Canadians identify as Sikhs, making up around 1.4 per cent of the population. There are four Sikhs in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet, and over 27 million followers worldwide. “In Sikhism there is a concept that wherever you are, in whichever part of the world, even if you’re lonely, it is the concept of upliftment and in high spirits. It means we are always in high spirits, and we’re always inspired to do more and more, even if awareness is not there,” said Divjot Singh, another Indian student at Conestoga College.
PHOTO BY NICOLE CLARK
Gurpreet Singh, a first-year mobile solutions development student, works on a zentangle piece at the Games Night. shown these types of events Nim Nayakarathna, a firstto be more effective.” year information technology Gurpreet Singh, a first-year business analysis student, mobile solution development has been in Canada for only student, said, “It’s fun. two months and is originally Right now, I think it will from Sri Lanka. He said on be helpful.” Originally from behalf of himself and his Punjab, India, he has been friend, “At the moment, most in Canada since August and of our interactions are with in Ontario since September. Indians, we rarely interact Other than the free food, why with Canadians or Englishdid Singh decide to attend speaking people. That’s why the night’s event? He was we came to this event, to hoping to meet new people, mingle with you guys. We a sentiment felt by most of came here for a change, to those in attendance. meet new people. We see the Lucas Coelho, a first-year same faces every day, so we energy systems engineering came here to meet new people technology student at and make new friends. We Conestoga, said, “It is nice to are searching for events like meet new people outside of this, to make new friends.” my program. The information When questioned whether is nice about the landlord the event was informative, and the food information.” Nayakarathna responded, Coelho, who is from Brazil “Yes, definitely.” and has been in Canada since Thasneem Thowfeeq, a firstSeptember, was also drawn year information technology to the event by the lure of business analysis student, free food, and was happy also from Sri Lanka, said he to come away with new enjoyed the event as well. “It’s acquaintances and friends to really nice, we like the stress talk to. balls.”
PHOTO BY MATTHEW EVANGELISTA
Gurpal Singh proudly wears a turban tying event T-shirt designed to educate and show confidence in his faith and culture.
FEATURE
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Monday, April 3, 2017
The history of local libraries An evolution from copy to code
BY RILEY LINSEMAN
Sandra Sydor has been working at Cambridge’s Idea Exchange for 15 years. During that time, she’s seen major changes, including going from physical copies to digital data. As a result, they are drawing more people to their services than ever before. “Libraries have transformed from a location that houses books to a more digital space for reading, art and discovery,” said Sydor. Idea Exchange, formerly the Cambridge Public Library, started out in 1836. The “Galt Subscription and Circulating Library” was established with a loan of 25 pounds ($40 today) from one of the founding members of Galt, William Dickson. The proposal to create this system was made only a year before. The library has had lots of expansions, including one in 2007 when the Hespeler branch went through a major renovation. It increased the branch’s overall size to 14,000 square feet. The old building was encased in glass and the larger size allowed for an expansion of the children’s space and other areas around the library including the study, book and computer areas. The Kitchener Public Library has been around for a pretty long time too. Not quite as long as the Cambridge library, but that doesn’t make it any less significant. Dale Dyce is the marketing and communications manager of the central branch of KPL on Queen Street North. Dyce said the most exciting part of libraries is how much they’ve evolved over the years and how much they will continue to grow. “Libraries today are hubs of activity, conversation and cultural diversity. They are vital community spaces where almost anything is possible. As excited as I am about what libraries have become, I’m even more excited to imagine where they might still go,”
INTERNET PHOTO
INTERNET PHOTO
The Berlin Public Library opened in 1904 and was the first standalone library building in Berlin (now Kitchener). The Kitchener Public Library is its successor.
The Kitchener Public Library’s Central branch, on Queen Street North, had a big renovation in 2010 which saw the addition of more books and space.
said Dyce. The earliest history of a library in Kitchener was in 1854, when a small group of citizens created the “Mechanic’s Institute” for sharing books, limiting it to members only. According to In Touch magazine (that wrote about KPL’s 125th birthday in 2009), the library started out as a single room in the town hall. A board to oversee the library was created in February and the first librarian was hired. Two months later, on April 14, 1884, the reading room featured a regular circulation of three daily newspapers, 18 weekly newspapers and 13 magazines. Only 45 people used the room regularly. On January 8, 1904, a separate building for the library was finally opened and the library was given its name, Berlin Public Library. The contractors were approached three years before with a budget of $24,500. This ridiculously cheap building,
expansion of 25,000 square feet to accommodate the growing community that used the library. According to Matthew Kang on the CBC News Kitchener-Waterloo website, the library was only intended to serve a population of 70,000 people when it was built and now, over 100,000 use it. In addition to the large expansion, KPL has opened Studio Central, a digital media studio. Dyce said the library doesn’t want to spend too much money, and the studio area already has plenty to offer including computers and virtual reality, 3D printers and audio booths. But the library wants to offer even more, such as a full recording studio with green screens and classes on how to use it all. Both Dyce and Sydor know how important it is today that libraries are seen as community space. Both libraries are doing their part. One way Idea Exchange
when compared to today’s prices, was considered “state of the art” with a reading room, an assembly hall, a reference area, a smoking room and an office. Mabel Dunham was hired as the chief librarian in 1908. She was the first professionally trained librarian to head a library in Ontario.
“
Libraries ... are vital community spaces where anything is possible. — Dale Dyce
”
“I prophesy that the Kitchener Public Library 50 years hence will have eclipsed the most buoyant hopes of its supporters. The public library of another half century will be all that we have dreamed of, and more,” said Dunham in 1934. KPL had a big renovation done in 2010, adding an
emphasized this was by setting up a taco stand where people could share skills and ideas. KPL is planning on an expansion to the Doon/ Pioneer Park branch’s community centre, which is planned for 2018. When the centre was built back in 1989, there were only 7,200 people living in the area. Today there are over 20,000 and the City of Kitchener has decided it’s time for something to be done about this. The centre already features a huge gym with storage rooms that are stocked to the ceilings with toys for kids and a splash pad outside, but people living in the area want more space. The plans are to expand the gym (doubling its size), build a larger lobby and create more space for meetings or catching up with friends and family. Libraries have always been a vital part of communities, and there’s no doubt this will be the case in the future.
Monday, April 3, 2017
Going green BY JAMES WELLS
The week of March 20 to 24 was Conestoga Student Inc.’s first environmental week ever. With many presentations, events and guest speakers, CSI attempted to make the students a more aware and well informed environmental community. On the evening of March 22, Brittany Grieg and Anmolpreet Singh, CSI board of director’s environmental committee members, hosted an open forum in The Venue for students, staff and faculty. Singh gave an overview of CSI’s environmental plan and Greig highlighted the successful environmental initiatives the college itself has achieved. Singh introduced their environmental agenda, which includes three important categories: a CSI environmental policy, fiveyear strategic goals and the environmental week itself. CSI’s environmental policy involves promoting environmental awareness, making sure CSI employees are aware of environmental practices, seeking opportunities to reduce CSI’s environmental impact, creating a five-year strategic plan, an annual plan, and forming an annual environmental committee. Singh continued to explain CSI’s five-year and annual plans. The five-year plan includes goals to reduce paper usage by 25 per cent in the office only, develop an annual environmental week, completely stop printing flyers by 2021, develop a student community garden and change the lighting at the
CSI office to LED lighting. The annual plan includes the reduction of promotional flyers until 2021, begin to use compost bins in the office and seek to create environmentally friendly planners. “We plan to use more electronic devices like social media, emails and the TVs around the school to get messages out,” said Singh. Next up for the evening was Grieg’s presentation, where she elaborated on the vision and current environmental achievements Conestoga College has had so far. The college has its eyes set on a future with low carbon operation and plans on becoming one of the sustainability leaders in the community. From the infrastructure and landscape of the Cambridge campus, to the biodiversity of the Doon campus, Conestoga College is slowly but surely making its way into a cleaner tomorrow. “Conestoga College continues to seek out additional recycling and reuse programs. Conestoga College is committed to reducing waste disposal and increase waste diversion,” said Greig. To conclude the evening’s event, guest speakers from Sustainability Waterloo Region and three students, Alexa Sylvestre, Becca Plickert and Olena Bednarchuk, from Conestoga’s sustainability program, spoke about other important environmental topics within and outside of the school. Students got the chance to ask questions and provide interesting environmental ideas to Grieg and Singh at the conclusion of the event.
THE COST OF COAL
NEWS RESILIENCE FESTIVAL FEATURES REPAIR CAFE
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PHOTO BY JOY STRUTHERS
Pat Lewis, right, fixes a family’s toaster in the Repair Cafe at the Resilience Festival in Guelph March 25. He is one of the volunteers who fixes items and shares skills with local people at the cafe, run by the Guelph Tool Library, at different times throughout the year. The festival had a number of events and seminars focused on strengthening the Guelph community. For video story, see www.spokeonline.com.
CSI VOLUNTEERS CLEAN UP THE ENVIRONMENT
PHOTO BY SHARON SAMUEL
Anuj Bhati, left to right, Andrew Aiyeleso, Colleen Thanites, Oliveah Friesen, Sophie Schneider, all CSI volunteers, and Darcee Carnes, CSI’s student engagement co-ordinator, cleaned up the campus for Environmental Week on March 24. For video story, visit www.spokeonline.com.
SYRIAN REFUGEES DANCE AND CELEBRATE
PHOTO BY BRANDY FULTON
Sakura Saunders, from the Bee Hive Collective, taught a group that visited Wilfrid Laurier University March 23 about the cost of coal. For video story, go to www.spokeonline.com.
PHOTO BY SHAFAQ PARWEZ
The sword and shield dance was performed by Syrian refugees as part of a thank-you celebration at the Rotunda in Kitchener City Hall on March 25. For video story, go to www.spokeonline.com.
COMMENTARY
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Monday, April 3, 2017
Bamboozled BY DEEANNA ROLLINS
In the last month or so, CBC has received over 1,000 emails from employees of the big five Canadian banks, CIBC, RBC, BMO, TD and Scotiabank, claiming to feel “pressured to upsell, trick and even lie to customers to meet unrealistic sales targets.” According to the law, in order for a consumer to be provided with a new product or credit limit, financial institutions are required to inform them of all the potential hidden costs and charges that may occur with said product. Unfortunately, that’s not what’s happening. Financial advisers from all over Canada say the pressure on them to meet targets means they haven’t been as upfront as they should have been. The employees feel like if they don’t conform to specific rules and meet certain targets, they will lose their jobs. This is a very real, and very scary, possibility. It’s a wonder it has taken this long for someone to come out and say how terrible they feel for doing this to loyal bank customers. “It’s not what’s important to our clients anymore,” said an RBC teller in an email to the CBC. “The bank wants more and more money and it’s leading everyone into debt.” A CIBC teller said something along the same lines in an email.“Hit those targets, who cares if it’s hurting customers.” This may be hard to hear, but they really are just doing what they’re told. Like in any other industry, employees are told to upsell, upsell, upsell. You, as an employee, are to do everything you can to make your employer the most money possible. Whether or not that’s selling someone a side of gravy or making their credit limit an extra $500, they’re still just doing their jobs. We, as a society, cannot be angry at the tellers and financial advisers for doing what they’re told for fear of losing their jobs. We would probably do the same thing. The anger, frustration and outright disappointment needs to be focused upon the higher-ups. The officials who can actually make a difference. Dissect your bank records and look for charges you didn’t know about. Call your branch manager and complain about these tactics and schemes. And, if you aren’t satisfied with their response, or were charged a fee you weren’t aware of beforehand, pull your money from that bank and go elsewhere. Doing nothing does not send a message. The views herein represent the position of the newspaper, 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., N2G 4M4
It’s shameful that ‘Dr. Phil’ teen can make money off of being disrespectful.
From ragging to riches
Memes are great. They entertain you for a good 30 seconds and then you move on with your life. Over the years, people have created great memes that circulate the Internet for over a year, while others burn out fast. A few of the more memorable ones include: Damn Daniel (a high school student who had a friend who created vines saying “Damn Daniel” when he wore his white Vans shoes. This got them invited onto The Ellen DeGeneres Show); Evil Kermit (Kermit in a hood trying to tell you to do something you shouldn’t); Harambe (a gorilla that was killed by zoo keepers after a young boy fell into his enclosure); Grumpy Cat; and one of the biggest memes of 2016, Joe Biden (these memes centred around Biden pranking, at the time, president elect Donald Trump). However, there is one meme that stands out from the rest. It features a young, fiery, red-headed girl who appeared on the Dr. Phil show in September of last year. Danielle Bregoli, also known as cash me outside girl, was brought onto the show by her
Meghan Weatherall Opinion
mother Barbra Ann. By age 13, Danielle had dropped out of school, been in multiple physical fights, stolen her mom’s car and an employee of the show’s car, and continues to be disrespectful to her mother. Dr. Phil sat down with them and tried to talk to the girl about her behaviour and how they got to this point of needing him to help them out. During the episode, half of it was Danielle barely speaking English. She came out with a line that snowballed her popularity. She said, “All these hoes laughin’. Cash me outside, how bow dah?” Yes, she told the audience they were hoes and threatened to take them outside and fight them when they laughed at her. After this show, a meme was created which went viral. Companies now contact
her and will pay her to sell their products. She has even signed a reality TV deal with one of the seven companies that have contacted her. Is this where our world is going? We already have to sit back and watch President Trump tweet about things that are false and sad. Are we really going to give millions of dollars to a girl who can barely form a proper sentence? Have TV show producers and companies (including Instagram, Fit Tea, Postmates and the Rolling Loud Music Festival) gotten so desperate for views and money that they are willing to promote the violent fights she gets into with her own mother? People see what Danielle is doing and they decide that they could do that too. People will try and copy her to become famous and make millions. Companies shouldn’t be promoting this behaviour. Instead they should be talking to the people who are doing something good for the world. There are hundreds of people overlooked by companies because they decide getting the views is better than promoting someone who is making a difference.
SPOKE
IS PUBLISHED AND PRODUCED WEEKLY BY THE JOURNALISM STUDENTS OF CONESTOGA COLLEGE Editor: DeeAnna Rollins Assignment Editor: Robert Janes Advertising Manager: James Wells Spoke Online Editors: Scott Blinkhorn, Cassidy Foulds
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The views and opinions expressed in this newspaper do not necessarily reflect the views of Conestoga College. Spoke shall not be liable for any damages arising out of errors in advertising beyond the amount paid for the space. Letters to the editor are subject to acceptance or rejection and should be clearly written or typed; a MS Word file would be helpful. Letters must not contain any libellous statements.
FUN & GAMES
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Monday, April 3, 2017
Useless Facts
Oh Cliff!
horoscope
Banging your head against a wall uses 150 calories an hour. (Do not try this at home. Maybe at work.)
Week of April 3, 2017
Aries
March 21 April 19 Don’t let the grind of a busy life extinguish your zest for life. Relief is on the way.
Taurus April 20 May 20
Stay grounded and you will find that there is no limit to how high you can fly.
Gemini May 21 June 21
Love and compassion are the greatest of all virtues and soon you will see yours rewarded.
Cancer June 22 July 22
There are big changes coming soon. Don’t run from them, embrace them.
Leo
July 23 August 22 Standing up for those around you will not only help them but give you a renewed strength.
Virgo
August 23 September 22 Be careful not to allow the pleasures in life to get in the way of what is important. You are close to a breakthrough.
Libra
The catfish has over 27,000 taste buds. (What can be so tasty on the bottom of the pond?)
September 23 October 22 You have recently survived a great test. Take some joy in your achievement and a well-deserved rest.
Butterflies taste with their feet. (Something I always wanted to know.) An ostrich’s eye is bigger than its brain. (I know some people like that.)
Scorpio
October 23 November 21 It is easy to be envious of those around you, and to feel like you have nothing to offer. Just remember there are others who envy you as much as you envy them.
A cow has to eat grass to produce milk and grass is living.
Sudoku Puzzle
Sagittarius November 22 December 21
Fill in the grid with digits in such a manner that every row, every column and every 3x3 box accommodates the digits 1-9, without repeating any.
A trial will soon be upon you. Don’t let it get you down – think of it as an opportunity.
Capricorn December 22 January 19
Soon you will find a reason to reaffirm your faith in yourself.
Aquarius January 20 February 18
A time will come for a muchdeserved rest but for now you need to continue to push yourself.
Pisces
February 19 March 20 Your excitement about a coming event is justified; there are great things just around the corner.
Diodonna Winona dabbles in forces beyond mortal comprehension. She also enjoys people watching and coffee.
Word Search
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Zehrs promotes epilepsy awareness
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It is important to know that together, we can make a difference in the health and wellness of our fellow citizens,” Trudeau wrote. Epilepsy, as a spectrum condition, can be different for everyone and the symptoms can vary greatly, anywhere from periods of temporary confusion or disorientation, to tonic-clonic (convulsive seizures) happening regularly. Aden Finlay, a Kitchener man who was diagnosed with epilepsy in his teenage years, says he’s experienced many different effects of the disorder, but has learned to live with it. “Being a young person with epilepsy was hard,” Finlay said. “I got it when I was 18, so it was like at the time in your life when you’re young, you’re going out, you’re drinking and stuff, you’re trying to go to university, but I started having a lot of seizures and I immediately felt like it was holding me back. So it was something I had to learn about and deal with over time. It was more a burden on my life when I was going to school. I used to not think my sleep pattern and lifestyle choices would matter, but those are the times when I was more likely going to end up having a full-on seizure or a tonic-clonic. That period changed me. Now I take way more notice of those kind
of things. There are times when I get minor symptoms but I can still deal with them, I can talk through them or work through them and I know how to react and handle them afterwards. But I’m definitely different than I was.” Although Purple Day may be over until next year, the need to stop the stigma around epilepsy and promote healthy conversations on the topic is still present. On top of the Zehrs Markets campaign, there are numerous ways to get involved with Purple Day in your community. In the past, staff at both Waterloo and Guelph’s city halls have been donned in full purple attire for the occasion and other organizations in the area have hosted their own themed events to promote awareness. These have included the Guelph Farmers’ Market putting up an information booth and even barbecues put on by HomeSense/Winners on Fairway Road and Epilepsy Waterloo-Wellington. “It’s important to know that it doesn’t have to ruin your life,” Finlay said. “I used to always be worried about when I was going to have the next one or if the ringing in my ears was going to come back, but after a period of time I changed the way I was living, I got used to it and learned to deal with it.”
NEWS
Monday, April 3, 2017
Self-love in a digital world BY RILEY LINSEMAN
Adolescents and poor body image is a problem that’s been on the rise since the age of social media, but it has also been an issue for centuries. Conestoga College event management students Celia Mackenize, Flor Ponciano, Kat Snider and Zoe Campanaro are aware of this problem and put on the True Hue body paint art show in the Tannery Centre on March 25 to address it. While the focus of the show was a catwalk where models displayed body art, thus encouraging young people to love their body, the event also featured food and drinks to draw in a larger crowd. The runway portion of the event featured 26 models and 11 artists who displayed a wide variety of paintings. From phoenixes to prisms and spines to stars, each model chose to express him or herself in their own unique ways. And no need to worry about the kids! Not only were most of the models wearing bathing suits or at least underwear, those who did need a larger canvas wore nude garments to cover up their private parts. But why would anyone want to do such a thing? Showing off their bodies? How disgusting! That way of thinking is exactly why. The goal of True Hue was to make the young adults, both attendees and models, feel better about their bodies
PHOTO BY RILEY LINSEMAN
Conestoga College event management students presented True Hue, a fashion show-inspired event aimed at bringing awareness to self-love and body positivity. Artists painted models of all body types, using the body paint art as an extension of their expression. so such vicious words won’t affect them. “I think that’s what we wanted: To bring a feeling of togetherness and start a movement,” said Mackenzie. The artists of the event felt the same way. Beth Wilson, one artist, saw the event on Facebook and decided she wanted to be a part of it right away. “I thought it (body image) was a really good movement to spread awareness of body image … The models are very brave.” However, Wilson also said
people should only try body art if they’ve had a little experience with painting on skin. She’s done face painting at birthday parties for a long time and noticed that the paint on some of the models was already flaking during the show (indicating the right type of paint was not used). Model Rachel Gauthier thinks a body image movement is important. Her painting was an “inside” view of her back because “we’re more than just skin and bones. We’re beautiful on the inside too.”