Charity dodgeball Dip, dodge and duck. Page 11 Monday, February 3, 2014
SPOKE
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Hands-on learning Trade show benefits students. Page 5 45TH Year — No. 5
Kick-starting social change Feminist Style products promote consent and equality
BY LAURIE SNELL
If you don’t like something, change it – or so they say. For 22-year-old entrepreneur Amulya Sanagavarapu, that’s exactly what she plans on doing. The Waterloo university student is frustrated by the sexual objectification of women and is using her Kickstarter campaign to promote social change through consumerism with her clothing line Feminist Style. Kickstarter is an online program that provides funding for creative projects without compromising ownership of the product the artist is trying to create. These campaigns rely on supporters to pledge money, promising the product or service upon successfully achieving their financial goal. Creators are allowed a timeline of one to 60 days to accomplish their goals, but the end result is all-or-nothing. If creators are successful in reaching their pledge goal, the backers receive the product or service. Sanagavarapu stumbled across what was presented as a Victoria’s Secret Pink Loves Consent campaign that promoted positive messages of sexual awareness, confidence and strength in young women. In fact, it was created as a
spoof by feminist duo Hannah Brancato and Rebecca Naglem, both Baltimore, MD residents, who envision a world where sex is empowering and pleasurable rather than coercive and violent. In order to get the message out, they created FORCE: Upsetting Rape Culture, a creative activist collaboration to upset the culture of rape and promote a culture of consent. The fake products included messages such as, “ask first,” “consent is sexy,” and “I love my body.” They were so wellreceived on social media during this temporary takeover in 2012, where Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter exploded with female enthusiasm and empowerment, that the organization’s webpages were shut down soon afterwards due to copyright infringement. To the dismay of many, Victoria’s Secret appeared to be silencing an effective campaign of antirape culture. Sanagavarapu said she watched all of this unfold and was captivated by the demand for such a simple product. “I always thought if my ideas were marketable, they’d exist already,” she said, adding that that is clearly not the case. “I always saw products that were advertised in a sexist way – or the products themselves had a sexist spin on
them – and I would always consider how I would do things differently … when I saw the Pink Loves Consent campaign and it turned out
to be a prank I thought, this doesn’t make sense if there are masses of people tweeting about how they’d purchase this product. Then no lingerie
companies adopted the product,” Sanagavarapu said, adding that she is eager to fill the void in the market.
the whole process, they’ll look at various options, and they want to take into account the students who are only here for eight months, ” Wright said. CSI has been advocating for a reduction in the cost of parking passes for students since the beginning of the academic year. A meeting early in the fall semester laid out CSI’s position, but the college noted that there was increased cost on their part from required enforcement of parking regulations. Some students were parking without paying for the pass and, in some cases, were using fraudulent passes, which meant that students who were paying could sometimes not find a spot. The college stepped up enforcement to make parking without a pass a costly venture.
But in the Jan. 20 meeting, the college said student compliance with parking measures had improved and, at the very least, students could expect a freeze on the cost of parking passes for the next academic year. One of the parties representing the college at that meeting was vice-president of corporate affairs Kevin Mullan. “Because parking is an ancillary service, we don’t receive subsidies for it and it has to be fully recovered. So if people are not paying for their parking, or not buying passes, or have fraudulent passes, it means the people who are paying are paying for it,” Mullan said. When asked if students could see a reduction instead of just a freeze, Mullan was non-committal, saying that the college’s
budget process would determine if that was possible. “We’re saying that, minimally, next year we can look at freezing the parking pass rate for students ... we’ll be looking at the costs. That’s why I say it will go through the budget process. Even a freeze could put a lot of pressure on ... but minimally, we’ll be looking at a freeze,” Mullan said. Mullan added that the budget is normally finalized in May or June, so students can expect a clearer picture in the spring. CSI, for their part, has vowed to continue to advocate for other cost-saving measures for students. One possible option is an eight-month pass, instead of the current annual model. Students who purchase this hypothetical pass would not be allowed to park during the summer, and
Wright argues that the college should charge less. Most programs do not have a summer component. “I’d like to see an eightmonth pass ... They are open to exploring that option. The large majority of the students are here for eight months,” Wright said. He added that, despite the freeze, the fight is far from over. “We are going to constantly continue to press them and see what the status is on this. This is not something that is just going to die down. Just because we got them to freeze doesn’t mean we’re not going to continue to keep that open dialogue ... we want to be actively involved with maintaining the voice for the students to make sure that they are heard,” Wright said.
PHOTO BY LAURIE SNELL
Amulya Sanagavarapu, founder of Feminist Style, shows off a sample of her product on Jan. 21.
continued on Page 3
Parking pass freeze gets warm reception from CSI BY JOSH BURY
It’s the kind of freeze that Conestoga College students can look forward to. No, it isn’t a polar vortex. Students don’t anticipate those. They know the school will be open anyways. It’s a freeze on the cost of a parking pass for the 20142015 academic year. In a conversation with Conestoga Students Inc. president Jason Wright on Jan. 20, Spoke learned a meeting that morning had led to an agreement with the college to freeze the cost of the pass for students. “We’re very happy, especially since it is for students ... we had a very good discussion with the college about it, and I was really surprised with what they came back with: they’ll review
NEWs
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Now deep thoughts ... with Conestoga College Random questions answered by random students
How important is fashion to you?
“Very. Fashion gives you a voice without speaking.” Victoria Lichty, second-year public relations
“Not very, but it is nice to dress up every once in a while.” Joel Stuinmann, first-year information technology support service
“Fashion is really important in my daily life. It is also the field I want to advertise in.”
Rachel Fuller, second-year advertising and marketing
“I feel that I express myself most through my fashion. Whether it’s classy or laid back, I dress to my mood and to please no one but myself.” Jacky White, second-year advertising and marketing
“It is important; you have to look good to feel good.”
Shauna Peters, first-year hearing instrument specialist
“Fashion is what makes us all unique. Without it, we would all be dull. So yes, it’s very important.” Anastasia Dao, first-year business administration
Smile Conestoga, you could be our next respondent!
Monday, February 3, 2014
Pan Am offer criticized BY TYLER BATTEN
Major controversy surrounding Pan Am Games executive expenses were nearly overshadowed by last week’s announcement that the Ontario government would be offering a loan break to students who volunteer at the games. Qualifying OSAP borrowers will be offered a chance to apply for an extra six-month, interest-free period following Pan Am volunteer work and the completion of their program of study. The loan break will apply to current or prior OSAP loans. OSAP’s mandatory pre-study period contributions will also be waived. Some students aren’t impressed by the Pan Am offer. “I’d really like to make money over the summer,” said Alisha Khalid, a firstyear international business management student at Conestoga College. She added if you work and make money you can pay down the principle instead of just volunteering and delaying the interest payments. “I feel like having a paying job is much better.” This isn’t the first time the games have been slammed. Criticism of the games has flooded in from the political right after “strange” expense claims were filed by members
of the organizing committee. Toronto Mayor Rob Ford vowed to boycott the games back in October. In a letter addressed to the chief executive officer of the organizing committee, Ian Troop, the mayor voiced concerns that expenses being filed were “completely inappropriate.” Among the stranger expenses filed was a 91-cent parking ticket by Troop himself who made a $390,000 yearly salary as the games’ CEO. Troop has since been fired from his post, reportedly due to “leadership issues.” Deputy health minister Saad Rafi took the helm on Jan. 6. The games were originally expected to cost Ontario taxpayers $1.4 billion but an update made last week forecasts that sum to rise considerably due to the cost of security, the creation of an athletes village and a provincial Pan Am Secretariat. The new tally is expected to be over $2.5 billion. The OSAP loan break portion of the games is expected to cost the Ontario government around $1.9 million in lost interest. About 4,500 students are expected to benefit from the offer. Supporters such as Conestoga College’s manager of financial aid and student
awards, Patrick Bennett, said, “… it’s a great opportunity, especially for students related to that type of field.” Many critics, such as National Post’s Robyn Urback, consider it a Liberal public relations “gift.” Urback wrote: “… on this side of Queen’s Park, I think we still call ‘volunteering’ for financial benefit (whether cash or waived interest payments) a type of ‘working.’” In November, The Star reported that Sport Minister Michael Chan expects the economic injection of the games will boost Ontario’s 2015 gross domestic product by $3.7 billion, so long as the final price tag isn’t over $2.5 billion and the majority of seats sell. The Pan Am Games are the world’s third largest international multi-sport games and have historically played out financially well for most host cities. With the Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games already so wrapped in controversy and yet still over a year away, it’s hard to tell what in the end will draw more attention, the games themselves or the politics? To volunteer, or to find more information about the 2015 Pan Am Games, go to: www. toronto2015.org/about-us/ toronto-2015
Home-schooling a great education I have not lead a normal life where school is concerned. Where as most adults my age have experienced the private, public or Catholic school systems from junior kindergarten to Grade 12, I was educated in the Catholic school system from years four to 12. “What happened prior to fourth grade?” many of my friends have asked me upon hearing this strange fact. When I tell them that the era of my life from birth to Grade 4 was filled with home-schooling as opposed to “regular” school, I usually get some pretty strange questions, some of them more than a little bit judgmental. If someone wasn’t asking me if I knew my ABCs, they were telling me I should dislike my parents for placing me in such an unusual setting for my primary years of development. In short, a lot of people think that homeschoolers are dense, sheltered people with an aptitude for nothing but social awkwardness and poor fashion sense. I am here to say otherwise. The home-schooling experience differs greatly from community to community. While some children may be taught by a parent or tutor from the
Tony McLellan Opinion
privacy of their own home, others congregate at various points throughout the week in a school-like setting, but with less formalities and overall restrictions. I experienced both styles of homeschooling, as my mother was and still is a certified teacher, and a good one at that. Home-schooling had a way of creating a respect for learning about academics and the environment, and humanity in a very unique fashion. While we had some general guidelines for when traditional learning would take place, most families involved in my home-schooling community would divert more time than not into various field trip-related activities, such as taking a trip to a local farm to learn how to properly manage a garden, or to the museum where we would get to experience an interactive exhibit on the lives of pioneers. Indeed we were learning, but in an unorthodox way.
Home-schooling caused my future academic performance to vary from subject to subject. In Grade 4, I was reading and writing several grades ahead of my classmates. However, I was not placed in enriched courses due almost exclusively to my math sense, which ranked at least two grades below where I should have been. While the community and my mother had done their absolute best to attempt to balance out the subjects we learned about, the language-arts section was my defined and constant strength, which unfortunately meant I wasn’t all that great in math or science. What I value most about what home-schooling gave me is my empathy for general humanity. I learned my daily lessons alongside many boys and girls with different ethnic backgrounds, religions, financial standings and personalities. This has given me an accepting disposition, and the will to make peace instead of war. I’m not saying that I’m an amazing person, but home-schooling certainly helped shape me into a better man than I would have become without its influence.
NEWs
Monday, February 3, 2014
A whole new world
BY TASHA LUNNY
Same, same but different. That is how April-Dawn Blackwell described her inspirational trip to help a non-governmental organization in Southeast Asia. The saying is one she heard on a past trip to Thailand. It means the general idea is similar but the details are very different. While travelling in India, this saying often came to mind. Blackwell is a Conestoga alumnus, academic administration employee and a student pursuing her masters in business administration. Her three-week trip began with an international consulting project in which she and six other students in her program teamed up to assist an organization in India. This project led them to Dream School Foundation (DSF), a group dedicated to a cause so simple that it can be overlooked here in Canada. “Essentially what they do is they help impoverished kids who are trying to go to school through governmental schools, not private schools, just complete their education,” Blackwell said. In India government-run schools are only free until eighth grade. Millions of kids never get a high school education usually because their families cannot afford to send them. After the free school-
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ing runs out earning a living becomes the No. 1 priority. “Dream School Foundation … puts programs in place to help work with the community, the parents … and help foster that engagement with the child so they have somewhere to go after school to get tutoring or just someone to help support them going to school,” she said. During her trip she and her peers met with charities in Vietnam and Hong Kong as well as travelled to Bangalore, India to meet the Dream School Foundation’s volunteers and founders. One of her most emotional moments came when seeing the faces of the students being helped by DSF while visiting a local school. It was the sweet harmony of young voices that quickly displayed these children’s everyday reality. “They started singing this song … it’s about how they will overcome someday,” Blackwell said as her eyes welled up with tears. “That’s a song that these kids would actually learn because that’s the mindset they have to have.” Blackwell describes the school as an old military base that in Canada would be condemned. The walls of the small classrooms were flaking, each window wore metal bars, benches were used as desks and one lone
chalkboard would sit at the front of the crammed room. The teachers tried to brighten the classrooms by taping pictures and learning tools to the walls. Once leaving the school a thought occurred to Blackwell once again – same, same but very, very different. “We often look at things and try and find similarities and connections but … what you expect to be the same sometimes (is) a frame of mind that you have to lose,” she said. Blackwell spent a year living in Australia after graduating from Conestoga. This was an experience that has forever changed her views of travel, and one of her biggest encouragements to students today is to take pathways available to expand their own global perspective. “Take every opportunity to broaden your awareness and scope of understanding because … every safe and strategic opportunity you have to go to a different country or a different classroom and meet people, take (it).” The trip to Southeast Asia led Blackwell to consider the advantage that geography has given her. If she had been born in a different area of the world, would the same opportunities have been available to her? She didn’t know the answer to that question, but it did make her aware of just how blessed she is. She
uses that appreciation to fuel her involvement with others and encourages students to do the same. “I have a responsibility to do something with how fortunate I am,” Blackwell said.
“…. Whether people apply that in Canada, in KitchenerWaterloo, in India (or) wherever, you will realize how humbling it is to take a small step (and see) how much you can help.”
that one in four college women will be assaulted – 67 per cent by someone they know. Her Kickstarter campaign goal is $150,000 and as of Jan. 27, has 113 backers with $4,354 in pledges. Kickstarter recommends shorter timelines to create a sense of urgency, Sanagavarapu said, so she opted for a 30-day timeline to heighten the importance of her product and the issues surrounding it. Her all-ornothing campaign will expire Feb. 16 and her first product, most controversially, is consent underwear. Underwear for all shapes and styles contain messages such as “ask me what I like,” “you mustache (with a mustache image) me for consent” to “no means no.” There are even styles for men that say “#notthatguy” or “#askfirst,” that suggest another social media campaign is on the horizon. The prices for the underwear depend on the quantity consumers wish to purchase. The more you buy, the less expen-
sive they become – one pair costs $8, five pairs are $35, 10 pairs are $60 and 20 pairs cost $100. She believes her product will effectively target sexism and she will use the proceeds for feminist advertising to reach more people with her message to effectively create change. “I don’t want people to think it’s just a lingerie company. It’s supposed to be products that target sexism in a variety of ways, starting with consent panties. But basically, as long as we see sexism, sexist products or anything that has double standards and gender inequality, then there will always be something to target. We will always need social change through consumerism,” Sanagavarapu said. Waterloo marketing specialist Jill Clark believes that Sanagavarapu’s intentions are great, but her financial goal is too high with a 30-day timeline. “Her approach seems to be that she wants to sell regular products but in a way that
isn’t sexualizing women. One of the challenges though is starting with a line of underwear. Putting the messages that she has on the underwear – I wouldn’t have the word consent on it. It’s a really sticky topic and no one is going to see these underwear when someone puts them on,” Clark said. Though Clark thinks there are some flaws in the Kickstarter campaign, she believes Sanagavarapu’s intentions are good. “The idea is great – having a line of clothing that you sell in a way that you aren’t objectifying women is a great marketing tactic … I’m not sure that starting with consent underwear is the absolute best approach. I understand why she’s doing it to continue on with the trend. It makes sense,” she said. With little less than two weeks left, “$150,000 is a really hefty goal for a company that has no press, no sales and is just selling underwear. I’ve seen Kickstarter campaigns for
really innovative bikes or technologies and stuff that are way smaller than this – and you can always do more than one campaign,” Clark said. For Conestoga College radio student Alex Martin, who considers himself a feminist, Feminist Style is fairy unique compared to other, existing products. “I’m not sure what the demand for something like this would be but I like it as an alternative. I think the real difference is in how it’s marketed. Sexist marketing is such a ridiculous thing,” Martin said. He added he believes consumers of this product are likely already aware of the problem. “It’s the masses that you need to sell it to for there to be a realized difference. It needs to have commercial success for there to be social success,” he said. For more information on Feminist Style visit www.kickstarter.com/projects/amulya/ social-change-through-consumerism-feminist-style.
PHOTO BY tasha lunny
April-Dawn Blackwell holds a Dream School Foundation calender that she received while visiting the organization in Bangalore, India.
Social change through consumerism
From Page 1
“When Victoria’s Secret launched Pink for their younger generation, they launched with a lot of slogans like “sure thing,” “ready for anything,” and “no peeking” – stuff that taught such sexual objectification to young girls. They didn’t teach consent. In fact, they taught the opposite of consent. They were sort of saying that saying “no,” is a way to flirt and there were all of these bad messages going to young girls.” From that point – about a year ago – Sanagavarapu began this small side project to meet the perceived demand while continuing to work toward her computer science degree at the University of Waterloo. In her introductory video to Feminist Style, she uses facts to explain her frustration, stating 63 per cent of girls, aged seven to 10 use makeup, a figure that increases to 90 per cent by age 14; 50 per cent of teenage girls engage in unhealthy weight control and
COMMENTARY
Page 4 s SPOKE
Monday, February 3, 2014
Smoke is still smoke BY HAILEY MERKT
A thick cloud of water vapour escaped from his chapped lips, rolling into the still air. “It’s totally safe,” he said to his curious friend. He brought it back to his winter-worn lips, took a long hard drag, paused, and slowly exhaled a ghostly fog. “Try it,” he insisted, passing it over. The friend smiled, took the e-cigarette between her two standard-smoker fingers and began to inhale. “Tastes like cherry pie, doesn’t it?” he asked. Coughing, the friend replied, “Just like it.” The electronic cigarette (also known as an e-cig, e-smoke or e-dart) was invented in the ’60s, but has only caught on in the past decade. It is a battery-powered device, which simulates a real smoking experience by producing an electronically-heated water vapour to line your lungs. The selling feature for most is that an e-cig contains about 4,000 less chemicals than an actual cigarette. This new-aged invention contains pharmaceutical grade nicotine, Propylene Glycol, food flavouring and water. So yes, the e-cig is a “healthier” alternative. However, scientists worry about the possible future repercussions that might come with filling your lungs full of nicotine-enhanced vapour over an extended period of time. The product hasn’t been tested long enough to determine its long-term effects. The e-cig might just be the best new-aged invention to date, for all the wrong reasons. It allows people to “smoke” anywhere, anytime. It’s even attracting a bunch of first-time smokers, known as “vapors.” The e-cig is merely part of the techsavvy world we have all become so reliant on. It is replacing cigarettes with a new costly addiction. According to the Tobacco Vapor Electronic Cigarette Association, “starter kits usually run between $30 and $100. The estimated cost of replacement cartridges is about $600, compared with the more than $1,000 a year it costs to feed a pack-a-day tobacco cigarette habit.” Craig Wood, sales associate at Waterloo Esmoke, said the product is being sold as “an alternative to smoking.” However, it’s feeding the smoking sensation, tricking your mind into thinking it has what it wants — cheating the system in a way. You might not be a smoker per se, but you’re still relying on something to give you that quick fix. If you truly want to quit smoking, this is not the best approach. Instead, consult your physician for help. And don’t be afraid to try and try again. 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. Email letters to: www.spokeonline.com with the subject line “Letter to the Editor,” or bring them to Room 1C30 at the Doon campus.
Do we look this ridiculous when we are fighting on the ice?
Online crisis intervention needs to be offered 24/7 I don’t know too many people who like to make phone calls under the best circumstances, let alone if they were in the middle of a mental health crisis. These crises can cover a wide range of feelings and problems from excessive anxiety and mood swings to suicidal thoughts. So, it is important that everyone who needs help get it. In theory, services such as IMAlive.org, which is one of the only services of its kind that actually brands itself as a crisis intervention network and provides crisis intervention using instant messaging, is a great idea. For some people, it’s a lot easier to reach out for help when the person helping is just some text on their computer screen. However, one problem with these services is, with a couple of exceptions, most of these online crisis chats are only online for very
Casey Schellenberger Opinion
limited time periods. For example, IMAlive.org, at its worst, is only online for three hours every day, from 7 to 10 p.m. While IMAlive. org is currently trying to raise enough funds to run the service 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for now there are still times where the service is unavailable to those in need. For an exclusively Canadian example, YouthinBC offers one-onone online chats between noon and one a.m. seven days a week. Most people can’t plan their mental health crises around when the online crisis net-
works will be, well, online. This leaves them to either gather up enough courage to make a phone call or try to deal with it on their own. The only 24-hour-a-day services I’ve been able to find are 7 Cups of Tea, which calls itself an “online emotional support service” and has volunteers from all over the world trained in active listening, not necessarily crisis intervention, and www. mentalhealthhelpline.ca, which is not a crisis helpline, but instead an information line about services available to people in Ontario. So, while an online alternative to the current phone crisis lines would be welcome, I’m unsure of how effective they’ll actually be until they can be implemented on the same scale and offer the same services as the 24 hours a day, seven day a week phone lines.
Spoke
i s p u b l i s h ed a nd prod u ced weekl y b y t h e j o u rn a l i sm s t u den t s of C ones t o g a C olle g e Editor: Laurie Snell Assignment Editors: Steph Smith, Kelsey Dunbar Advertising Managers: Tyler Batten, Ashley Kowitz Spoke Online Editors: Brandon Hommel, Katrina Edlefsen, Spencer Beebe, Devon Hayes,
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NEWS
Monday, February 3, 2014
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However, both were shocked by the number of free items that the vendors were giving away, with draws and games throughout the day. Mark Cooper from DeWalt was running a game where students had to drill four screws into a piece of wood as fast as possible. The student with the winning time received a brushless hammer drill, retailing at $299. “It creates competition amongst the programs. A lot of the carpentry guys take pride in this,” Cooper said. Both Stronge and Carson were happy with how the event turned out. One of their suggestions for next year is to figure out a way for the woodworking program located at the Doon campus to organize a class field trip out to Waterloo, so they too can experience what the event has to offer. Doug Lockston a carpentry professor and the faculty adviser for the trade show, addressed the issue of getting students from Doon to Waterloo. “Most of the students here come during their lunch break, or between classes. We’d love to have students from Doon come up, but they have classes too and the logis-
Over 400 students came out to the sixth annual Tool and Trade Show held on Jan. 22 at the Roofing Centre in Waterloo. tics with everyone involved For more information on don’t always work out.” the various trades offered at “I’m happy how it turned Conestoga’s Waterloo campus out, next year I’d prefer a few visit www.conestogac.on.ca/ more vendors,” Lockston said. trades.
Students learn tools of the trade
by mark lorentz
One of the main reasons for choosing college over university is the “hands-on” experience. This statement was demonstrated at the sixth annual Tool and Trade Show held at Conestoga’s Waterloo campus. The trade show was created to benefit both students and suppliers. The students could test out various power tools, participate in games and talk to various sales representatives about the products on display. Vendors, on the other hand, saw the potential of dealing with students face-toface, networking and creating potential long-term customers. “That’s the one big benefit of coming to this year after year, the students get to test out our stuff and see if they like it,” said Greg Barnes, industrial construction specialist at DeWalt. There was a $100 vendor fee for the show, with a certain per cent going toward grants for students within the programs offered at Waterloo campus. Fifteen vendors came out for the show including DeWalt, Milwaukee and Hilti who all had large setups with numerous tools for stu-
dents to test out. “The women who came by the booth so far are really pumped. They have a real interest and like showing the guys up, I think,” said Nicole Belanger, Hilti account manager for southern Ontario. “The number of women is definitely growing. Every year there’s more and more. I hope it will continue; I believe it will,” Belange said. Conestoga students Corrina Carson and Jenniefer Stronge are taking the post-graduate event management program and were in charge of organizing the event. In their program students need to complete 120 hours of work placement within the academic year. Stronge believes when all is said and done in regards to the event they will have completed half of those hours. When asked what the most difficult part of organizing the event is, Stronge said “getting the right contact information. Some of the representatives no longer work for the companies here today, so we had to scramble and find who to contact.” Originally Carson and Stronge asked for six prizes to create some incentive for students to come out to the show.
PHOTO BY Mark lorentz
NEWS
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Monday, February 3, 2014
PHOTOS BY KELSEY DUNBAR
The serving staff takes notes as the head chef delivers his orders for serving lunch at the bloom restaurant on Jan. 24.
Iron Chef ... the greatest culinary experience in Waterloo Region BY KELSEY DUNBAR
Instead of competing against the region’s most renowned chefs, Conestoga College culinary students teamed up with them and attempted to “smoke” the other teams in the third annual Iron Chef competition. The event, which was held on Jan. 24 at Bingemans’ Marshall Hall, featured teams fighting it out in hopes of winning the votes of celebrity judges. The competing culinary students did not find out who
they were assisting until the day before the competition. Chef Philippe Saraiva, coordinator of the culinary arts program at Conestoga’s Waterloo campus, said the competition allowed the students to experience a real life and sometimes stressful kitchen. “We have some students come into the competition who have never been in the industry before … Some of them find their future employment and employer based on the interaction that happens during Iron
Katelyn Stoliker of Niagara Falls competed in the third annual Iron Chef competition. Above, she prepares risotto for the bloom restaurant located at Conestoga College’s Waterloo campus.
Chef,” he said. In the same manner as the Iron Chef TV show, there is one ingredient that must be used by all teams. The not-sosecret ingredient was duck. “Duck was my suggestion this year because it is an awesome product and most people do not cook it at home. Sometimes it is served at a restaurant … but it is not very popular, so I thought it would be an awesome challenge for everybody,” Chef Saraiva said. All of the restaurants that competed in Iron Chef
were local businesses and well respected within the culinary community. Some of the restaurants were BlackShop, Beer Town, Borealis, del Dente and Wildcraft. The restaurants’ chefs volunteer to compete solely to give back to the culinary arts program. All of the proceeds from the event went toward awards and bursaries for culinary arts students. For full coverage including
Jesse Lorbetskie, of Kitchener, looked forward to gaining experience working with a skilled chef. He believed his creativity was his main asset in the competition. Above, he makes smoked pork bites for bloom.
who won the competition, see the Feb. 10 edition of Spoke and a video at Spoke Online.
Conner Moreira of Cambridge was an extra pair of hands and did whatever her chef partner needed her to do at the competition. Above, she forms burgers for bloom.
NEWs
Monday, February 3, 2014
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Approaching sexuality in a positive manner THEMUSEUM’S exhibit starts the conversation – ‘it’s time for the talk’ By DEVON HAYES
It really is time for the talk. With the Science of Sexuality exhibit having opened on Jan. 25 at The Museum, visitors will be able to learn about sexuality on multiple levels, with one important message – positivity. The exhibit – originally called Sex: A Tell-All Exhibition – was developed in 2011 at the Montreal Science Centre. Now premiering at The Museum – its fifth location – the exhibit has received generally positive feedback from viewers of all ages. “A common denominator started coming out. While it was developed for those 13 and up, everyone was going to see it,” said David Marskell, CEO of The Museum. “What we’re all about is going beyond the exhibit and focusing on the dialogue, and our advertising is ground in ‘it’s time for the talk.’ What we hope is that there will be smart discussion about being responsible.” The exhibit is split up into five “zones,” and it begins with, for lack of a better phrase, the beginning. “This lays it out in a positive, respectful and frank way, and it might help some teachers and parents who might be awkward themselves, because the teacher can just let them roam,” Marskell said. “This
isn’t a guided tour, you go on your own.” The My Origins zone shows new life and answers that question many kids ask: where did I come from? The zone is complete with an understanding of the science of conception, all the way to the birth of a child. The second zone, Me, is lined with life-size images of both nude males and females, from infancy to elderly. The zone is meant to emphasize the changing body, and how everyone has a different body. “One of the key things about this exhibit is that people feel normal, no matter what they are or what they feel,” Marskell said. He added it is designed to help teens understand that sometimes, not everything is perfect. The Me & You zone focuses on one’s interaction with another person on a sexual level. A video about what happens during a sexual encounter can help people at any age understand their own anatomy as well as that of the opposite sex. Flirting and love are also some key topics in this zone. Me & Others covers a much more vague topic – what to do in the case of pregnancy or diseases and infections, and who to talk to. The importance of this zone is to understand that as long as the necessary precautions are well
thought through, sex can be incredibly healthy for both mind and body, but there can be consequences to ignoring them. My Point of View allows visitors to leave a message about what they know and how they feel about the exhibit, or even just about sexuality in general. The exhibit is rich with interactive machines – a line of buttons, each with a different question, can be pressed, resulting in a real doctor answering your question. These can be answered in English or French, as the entire exhibit is bilingual. “If you stick your arm in this hole here, it’s a sensory thing – I think it’s supposed to give your arm a certain feeling,” said Andrea Carvalho, a volunteer at The Museum. The exhibit is laid out for learners of all types, with video, audio and sensory materials. The main message for young and old is that knowledge about sex and sexuality can ensure a safe and fun experience, and that, while everyone has the right to be shy personally, they also have the right to speak up. “It’s the most under-discussed topic – it’s such a ubiquitous thing – but everyone can relate to sex,” Marskell said, “but nobody will talk about it.”
PHOTO BY devon hayes
Andrea Caruacho, a volunteer at TheMuseum, explains how an interactive activity can help explain methods of birth control and sexually transmitted infections on Jan. 25.
Shaking and skating in Uptown Waterloo BY ASHLEY KOWITZ
PHOTOs BY ashley kowitz
Waterloo residents take to the Waterloo Town Square ice rink for Shake-N-Skate on Jan. 27.
DJ Marty McFly spins music at the fifth annual event.
Despite the cold, Waterloo residents grabbed their skates and headed to Waterloo Town Square on Jan. 27 for Shaken-Skate. The event combines the elements of shaking and dancing with a DJ and funky lights to set the mood. Shake-N-Skate is a free, family-friendly skating party series that was organized by the City of Waterloo and KDUB’s Vidman. This was the fifth year the event was held and last year KDUB held several events at the City of Guelph’s rink as well. KDUB is a non-profit group that was founded by Dan Lauckner, a Kitchener resident. It is comprised of
a few local event organizers in Kitchener-Waterloo. They have also organized events such at the Waterloo Zombie Walk, International Pillow Fight Day in Waterloo, and the Water Gun Bubble Battle among others in the city. “I went to a skating party in Toronto, had a blast and thought, this could work in Waterloo. I love my community and love to have fun,” Lauckner said about the inspiration behind the event. The night featured music from DJs Marty McFly, CΛK€ and Vidman to accompany the skaters. There were also colourful, flashing lights, adding to the party feel. Free flashing toys were given to
those who braved the cold, along with hot chocolate to keep the participants warm despite the temperature dropping to -15 C during the event. “My kids and I try to come skating in Kitchener or Waterloo once every single week. The music and the glowing toys made it more fun this time,” said Deb Crawford, a Waterloo resident. Crawford also said her children already asked to come to the next Shake-n-Skate in March. Part two of Shake-n-Skate will be taking place March 1 at Waterloo Town Square’s skating rink featuring music from Souljah Sessions Crew and Vidman. For more information, visit kdub.ca.
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NEWS
Monday, February 3, 2014
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Fashion 2014: What to expect
By Brandon Hommel
Looking back on 2013, the world saw some of the greatest trends to hit photo shoots and runways. New styles were born, and old looks were given a facelift. But as they say, out with the old and in with the new. So it’s time to put to bed those old trends, and broaden our horizons for what 2014 will be bringing to the fashion world. As designers such as Ralph Lauren and Alexander Wang are putting on their pre-fall fashion shows, and clothing stores are steadily approaching their launch of spring lines for mid-February, only one question comes to mind, what will we be seeing for spring 2014? What we do know for sure is that spring is the time when designers let their hair down, as they bring out flashier colours, floral prints and lower neck lines. Really anything that screams, “Spring is here and we don’t care.” What about winter you ask? Every fashionista thinks months in advance about what they are going to wear. Even though it says February on the calendar, it’s already March in their minds. No greater example of that comes from Cailin Moir, a fashion consultant at Town Shoes, Fairview Park Mall. “I’m excited for 2014. All of the blogs I follow are already showing their sun dresses and it’s making me anxious to start dressing up, but the weather is slowing me down. Town shoes also has their spring line coming out too and from what I’ve
seen, my discount is going to come in pretty handy. For 2014, I predict that grunge look will come into play. You know the whole ripped jeans, plaid shirt tied around the waist look. I like it, but it has to be done right.” What can we expect for sure from 2014? Well, for starters, a whole lot of shoes. Superstar, hip-hop recording artist, Kanye West, is putting out his own line of T-shirts. Also, if you’re a fan of the Air Yeezy’s 1&2, then you’re in luck. The 35-year-old Grammy winner has landed a deal with Adidas to make his own shoe line. Don’t worry ladies, not only will the fellas have great new shoes to consider, so will you. Mark Jacobs has recently signed a shoe deal with pop sensation Miley Cyrus, and Sex and the City star, Sarah Jessica Parker. Men are finally getting the flash they deserve in 2014, and it’s not only the male models in front of the cameras either. There is a new trend in the works and it’s shine. Designers are working harder to give men the statement pieces they deserve without involving huge chains and jewelry. So what designers are using are glossy and metallic finishes to get the job done? Topman design and Christopher Kane have both turned up the sheen, and as Rihanna would say, made the men, “Shine bright like a diamond.” Clothes, shoes and accessories seem to be the main attractions on the minds of
what is up and coming for 2014, but what about the stuff every girl stole from her mother’s room growing up? Makeup! And it’s bigger and better than ever before. MAC Cosmetics has a lot of great things in the works this year, with collaborations with Kelly Osbourne and Rihanna. Not only that, they just launched their first collection for spring called, A Fantasy of Flowers. Local MAC artist and firstyear business administration student, Anastasia Dao, has the inside scoop of what MAC has planned for 2014. “A lot of the new MAC collections are bringing natural glow back. Tons of shimmers and metallics are in as well. Even though matte is a fantastic look, it is so last year. This year it is all about the dewy look. What I’ve been noticing in store is that MAC is really bringing back colour. Right now their Punk Couture line is filled with daring colours such as neo-orange pigment and that name just screams colour!” Clothes, shoes, accessories and makeup, nothing new or different about those four, but 2014 is making it seem like nothing will be the same about them. Designers working with rappers, men’s fashion lines are becoming more daring, and makeup is changing how we will see someone’s face, again. It’s an exciting year ahead from what has been announced. But for what hasn’t been, have your seat belts strapped because it’s looking like it may be a crazy, and wild ride.
PHOTO BY Brandon Hommel
DIY spring outfit? All you need is a flannel shirt, your favourite T-shirt, a pair of black jeans and a fresh pair of solid-coloured shoes. Tie the flannel shirt around your waist, and you’re already looking like an ’80’s cool kid. Throw in some of your favourite accessories like a pair of sunglasses and a gold chain and you’re Kanye approved for spring!
Residence Fear Factor more disgusting than scary BY CASEY SCHELLENBERGER
Students who participated in Conestoga residence’s Fear Factor contest found some of the challenges hard to swallow. Two of the four rounds consisted of eating something unpleasant, with one round requiring contestants to eat whipped cream covered in hot sauce. Another round had them swallowing a cup full of sardines. “I’m pretty sure I won’t be eating dinner tonight because it was pretty gross,” said Melissa Darroch, a second-year architecture project and facility management student. “Like my ears are still burning from the hot sauce.” Darroch won both eating
rounds but Kendra Terpstra, a first-year public relations student, won the other two rounds. One involved digging through bowls of spaghetti to find cut-outs of animals and then figuring out which word could be spelled using the first letter of each animal’s name. The other was an egg race. The contest went to a tiebreaker, where whoever could wall sit the longest walked away with the prize, a large pizza “I don’t really care,” said Darroch. “Personally, I was just in it for the fun.” Terpstra was surprised to win. “After she ate the sardines, I was feeling like it was game over for me,” Terpstra said, “but, I came back.”
PHOTO BY Casey Schellenberger
Melissa Darroch, a second-year architecture project and facility management student, dines on whipped cream and hot sauce as part of Conestoga Residence’s Fear Factor contest.
Feature
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The Future Foretold
A first-person account of a tarot card reading BY STEPH SMITH
PHOTO BY JODY ANDERSON
Steph Smith, a Spoke reporter, does tarot card readings for fun. Tarot has been around since 15th century Europe and originated as a card game involving tricks, similar to the ones played today.
Conestoga College students had the opportunity to receive a glimpse into their future in the Sanctuary on Jan. 23. International clairvoyant Kristina Hope Ray gave eager and anxious students alike free individual tarot card readings. The line for this unique event grew as word got around that there was a fortune teller on campus. I arrived at noon, just as it was starting and already there were about 10 people in line. By the time it was my turn to get a reading, I had waited nearly an hour and a half. Originally used as playing cards in games involving tricks, similar to those played today, tarot has been around since mid-15th century Europe. The 78-card tarot deck is made up of the major arcana (22 trump cards) and the minor arcana (56 suit cards). Some view tarot as occult, but they are mostly used spiritually and for fortune-telling. I was excited, as I have a set of cards and normally do readings for myself or other people, so it was a nice change to have a reading done by someone else. However, I don’t claim to be a clairvoyant and just do the readings for fun. Kristina asked me to think of a question that she could answer for me. It could be anything such as future work and career, money, love, family, friends, relationships and so on. She told me to think of the question, without asking her it, keeping it in my mind while she read the tarot cards. She first asked me if I was in my second year of college and if it was my last year, to which I replied that it was. This is sort of a general question, as most programs offered at Conestoga College are two years in length, so I was not surprised that she got that right. “I feel from your cards that you’re very smart, you’re intelligent, do you believe so?” This was nice to hear, but
it wasn’t something I didn’t already know or think. It was another general question that I would, of course, answer yes to. It was still nice to have my intelligence acknowledged. “I’m hoping that you’re doing something really, really good that’s going to bring you good money.” I smiled a little bit at this remark. Journalism, like most careers today, is a very competitive industry. You have to be good at your craft to make a decent amount of money. It’s one of those careers where you can get thrown to the wolves to learn how to thrive. It’s exciting. It’s hard work. And can be very rewarding. According to a 2006 statistic from the Professional Writers Association of Canada, freelance incomes, which have historically been low, are shrinking. Just to give a bit of a perspective on what a journalist makes, as many start out as freelancers or contributors to a publication, the average yearly income, among the 858 freelance writers that PWAC surveyed, was just over $24,000 before tax. “I see money, career, smart. I see sort of management level, moving up in the world, getting up there in life. I think you’re going to do really, really well. It’s not going to happen right away, obviously, it’s going to take a few years.” Boom. There’s my question. I wanted to know about money and career. How did she know? I figure it was a likely chance that she would have something to say about this right away because it’s one of those questions that a lot of people have on their minds, especially in today’s economy. Plus, she’s at a college with a lot of people graduating soon, so it’s pretty much a given. “I don’t know if you’re planning any work this summer, but I see work in, like, May or June.” Hopefully this is a good omen. I would hope that I can find work this summer in journalism, or work in general as my contract at the fac-
tory I’m currently employed at runs out once I’m not a student anymore, so this is something to consider. I like the positivity. She also saw a vacation on my horizon ... But toward the end of summer. I was surprised because my family is planning a vacation for the end of March, not something in the summer. However, she did cover all her bases by saying it will be either overseas or to a cottage ... “Do you have a little bit of a stubborn streak to you?” I do, but I’ve also been told that I give off this air of intimidation. But I think she was maybe on to my skepticism. “This is a good thing, actually. It gives you determination, that strength and confidence. You seem like a really nice girl and I’ve only just met you. It gives you a little bit of a backbone, people know not to step on your toes.” Kristina then asked me to tell her my question, as well as what I’m taking in school. She commented on how money and career were the first thing she talked about during my reading. “Journalism? Hey, you ask any one of those people on TV that are journalists and travel, I’m sure they’re making a lot of money. I see you maybe going in that direction, being on TV. You’re a very pretty girl. I think it’s great and you’re going to do very well.” It was nice to receive such votes of confidence from a complete stranger, but I couldn’t help but be a little skeptical. While she was nice enough, I felt that everything she said was completely predictable, seeing as she was in a college full of people who are hopeful for money and careers. It is also to be assumed that most students would have a summer job, or be looking to get one, especially in May or June because we’re done school by the end of April. Overall the reading was an interesting experience but I don’t know if it was worth the long wait. However, I’m glad I didn’t have to pay for it.
Sports
Monday, February 3, 2014
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Soccer teams exit before semifinals BY CODY STEEVES
Despite a lack of players on the women’s indoor soccer team at a tournament at home, both Conestoga varsity teams played well, although they were knocked out early. Both teams were eliminated before the semifinals. During the women’s final game of the day, they played with only one sub after having a number of players leave due to commitments at school, leaving their lineup with just seven players instead of the usual 10. Despite this they played exceedingly well, ending up in a three-way tie for a place in the semifinals, but were eliminated due to having the highest goals against average after their two games played. Another notable loss happened during their final match against Centennial, when their main goalkeeper, Caitlyn Schlegel, was injured. She was replaced by defender Amanda Gohn. Varsity soccer coach Aldo Krajcar said he hopes to have one or two more players join the women’s team to help bolster their roster, saying this isn’t the first time they have been short players and it will likely not be the last time either. He believes due to the games being on a weekday, the players have other commitments at school which end up being more of a priority.
PHOTO BY Cody steeves
A striker from Conestoga College’s alumni team dashes down the field during their semifinal game on Jan. 24. While the women were lacking players the men certainly were not. Their roster contained 15 players throughout the tournament, but they were still missing key players. However, despite the team’s strong offensive prowess, their defence was lacking. In both
of their games they held an early lead, most notably during their final game against Sheridan, where they finished the first half of the game up 1-0. The second half was wellfought, however, their strikers couldn’t find another marker and the Condors ending up
losing 3-1. Krajcar said the defensive weakness is one area that needs to be worked on, adding although they lost the tournament he believes that he is conditioning them for regionals. In addition to the varsity teams, the Conestoga College
alumni team competed in the tournament and played well, notably in the semifinals, where they fought tooth and nail for their victory, finishing the game 4-3. Thanks to their stonewall defence and goaltending, the alumni team was able to carry on and win the tournament.
Varsity check-in PHOTO BY Greg Stamper
Conestoga College advanced police studies students, from left, Alyssia Dietrich, Amanda Allsop, John Rhodes, Tyler Van Allen and Nicole Robinson, are primed and ready for Dodgeball for Danny, a tournament their program is running on Feb. 12 at the rec centre.
Sign-ups for charity dodgeball end today BY GREG STAMPER
On Feb. 12, the students of the advanced police studies program will be holding the sixth annual charity event in memory of Danny Holmes, son of police foundations fitness instructor Colleen Holmes, who tragically lost his battle with cancer at the age of four. This year’s event, titled Dodgeball for Danny, will see the rec centre play host to a dodgeball tournament as well as a barbecue, all happening between 1 and 4 p.m. The tournament is open to anyone, with teams
consisting of 8-12 players at $10 per person. Prizes will be handed out to the team with the best uniform, the most money raised, as well as the top team in the tournament, which will also receive a trophy. All proceeds will go to the Sunshine Foundation, in which Colleen partnered with to create the “Danny Plane.” Each year the charity and its supporters attempt to raise enough money to send a plane full of children and their family members to Disney World. The vacation is designed to alleviate the
pain and stress of children who are terminally ill, as well as their families. They also hope to grant wishes to 10 children who are unable to leave hospital. A total of approximately $300,000 is needed to make this possible. The dodgeball organizers are hoping for a total of 15 to 20 teams, with the Guelph Police Service already signed up to be part of the action. Today is the last day for entry into the tournament. Sign-up sheets can be picked up from Holmes in the rec centre or by emailing dodgeballfordanny@gmail.com.
Conestoga College’s varsity teams were busy practising and competing in various tournaments in January, and this month will be no exception. The weekend of Jan. 17 the indoor soccer teams competed at Centennial College’s tournament. The women’s team made it to the semifinals and the men’s team was eliminated during the quarter-finals. The varsity badminton team is currently practising for their upcoming regional tournament at Lambton College on Feb. 7 and 8. Last year they did not place high enough to compete in provincials, however, this year they look to change that. Coach Michael Kam said earlier this season that he was emphasizing the fundamentals at practices, including cardio development, which he hopes will result in team members making it to provincials. Since their return after the holiday break, the men’s and women’s volleyball teams have been busy playing games, however, only the women’s team has had any success. Their return has seen them on a three-game win streak. The men’s team sits at 0-3. Both teams were to travel to Windsor on Jan. 25, but due to poor weather conditions the games were postponed. The upcoming schedules for both teams can be found at www.ocaa.com/. The men’s and women’s indoor soccer teams will be competing at George Brown College’s tournament this Friday. Afterwards only two tournaments remain until the teams start to play their regional tournaments which will take place between March 3 and 22.
NEWS
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Generous donors here to help Students can get financial assistance from the community
BY COLE Froude
Conestoga College offers a wide variety of scholarships and bursaries but did you know that there are approximately 350 total donor-funded awards, scholarships and bursaries available too? Conestoga is fortunate to have many generous donors who contribute financially to students in certain programs, as well as for achievement in sports and academics, and for students who have financial need or who go above and beyond in the community. “We have a variety of donors who range from individuals in the community as well as corporations and foundations,” said financial aid and awards manager Patrick Bennett.
Students can apply for all the awards with a new application introduced this semester via the student portal. “Students can access the single application by logging on the student portal, clicking on the financial tab and filling out a profile which highlights what their achievements are and their financial position. Then we use that information to see what bursaries, awards and scholarships would be a good fit for them.” Students better get the jump on filling out the application, as the deadline is Feb. 7. Students can also make changes if their financial status changes or add any extracurricular involvement until the deadline.
PHOTO BY Cole Froude
Financial aid and awards manager Patrick Bennett urges students to apply for financial awards.
Keep your furry friends warm and happy BY KATRINA EDLEFSEN
Just because they have a built-in fur coat doesn’t mean that all animals are equipped to deal with the icy temperatures plaguing Canada this winter. With weather dipping in and out of negative double digits, Canadians are questioning whether they should be taking their pets outdoors. According to Tracy Laraway, an agent at the Cambridge and District Humane Society (CDHS), when dogs are taken outside for walks it is important that their paws are given proper protection and care. One option she suggests is getting a pair of widely available dog boots for your pet even though she admits that many dogs are not a fan of the sensation caused by having their paws covered. “If your dog will not wear boots – then the best fix is to coat their paws in petroleum jelly before heading out into the cold,” Laraway said. “It helps to keep the salt and ice off their feet and all you have to do is wipe it off with a warm, damp cloth when you return indoors.” However, not all dogs like being indoors and some are even bred to remain outside. A letter received by the Hamilton Spectator from Jerseyville resident Kathleen Payne, pointed out that some animals are bred to be outside such as her family’s
Great Pyrenees. In the letter, Payne said her dog refuses to come inside due to the fact that it has been bred to remain outdoors to protect the livestock, such as her family’s sheep. “She has a spot, with dry straw, out of the wind if she chooses to sleep there; normally she does not,” said Payne in the letter. “She can be found outside, bedded down in a pile of hay. I should also mention that she will not come into the house, by her choice, because it is too hot for her.” Laraway said, “The best insulation for a doghouse is straw – and lots of it, it dries quickly, the dog can fluff it up and burrow in it. Blankets on the other hand – if the dog gets wet then goes and lies down on the blanket – it just transfers the wet to the blanket.” The doghouse should also be on the smaller size to help maintain warmth. “If the doghouse is too big, there is a lot of air flow that can get around it, making it very hard to keep warm,” Laraway said. Of course, it is hard to keep your pets indoors all the time so when they do have to go out remember to warm them up with a towel or blanket after bringing them back indoors. Not only will it help them take the chill off, but it is also a good time to get a few good, warm cuddles in as well.
Monday, February 3, 2014
NEWs
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Small store, big personality
by callie wrigglesworth
If there is one word to describe Blair House Gifts, it would be “different.” The quaint gift shop, which opened last September in the downtown Galt area of Cambridge, carries a wide variety of gifts and souvenirs. Items range from jewelry and scarves to clocks and toys. “I like different things,” said Ann Dohanik, owner of Blair House Gifts. “You know, you’re trying to buy for many different personalities and tastes so you have to have a mix of items in your store. I try to get some Canadian products and come summer, I tend to carry garden items and I have always done a lot at Christmas.” Dohanik ran her gift shop in Blair for 18 years until the building she was renting was sold. “I took nine months off to look around,” Dohanik said. “I was looking for sort of that perfect spot and I saw several different locations, but I settled on this one. I liked it the best. I like the exposure. I like that the road is busy and we have a big parking lot behind the building here, so there is enough parking for customers.” Dohanik came from Galt originally. She ran a store in Toronto for years before opening up her shop in Blair, and
PHOTO BY Callie Wrigglesworth
Blair House Gifts is located on Grand Avenue South in Cambridge. The shop sells toys, jewelry, clothes and many unique items. now is happy to be back. “It has been good. The nice thing about being here as opposed to Blair is there are offices, the library, the theatre and people walking by,” Dohanik said. “A lot of my good customers who have been dealing with me for years are coming in here a lot more than they used to go to Blair. I think in the long run it is going to be a really good move.”
The new store has a lot of character with hardwood flooring and a stone wall, which seems to fit perfectly with the furnishings and products. “I love it. It’s smaller than the other location but I love the high ceilings and the stone wall ... it is just what I need right now,” Dohanik said. Dohanik deals with over 100
suppliers in Canada and other countries around the world and often goes to gift shows to find that special something to add to her collection of items. “I am always looking for those different ones (items) that people might not necessarily carry ... I tend to go in every booth in the gift show ... you might just find that one treasure that really is worth having in your store,”
she said. She compares the prices of items at the gift shows in order to get an idea of what other people are selling the product for. “I like to try to have the best prices I can ... you will see sometimes the same product with different suppliers for quite a difference in price.” Dohanik said it is hard to say which is her most popular item, but her soy candles seem to be a favourite purchase. The all natural candles are made in Canada and burn for 100 hours. They come in 12 different scents and cost $21. Located in the back corner of the store, she sells reproductions of old wind-up toys. “I have a lot of customers who collect them. There is a man and he is almost 90. He comes in every year and buys one for his son. They are fun and just different. People don’t see toys like that much,” Dohanik said. If customers are looking for a specific item, they can come into the shop and see Dohanik and she can sometimes get what they are looking for. “I feel like I am part gift shop, part tourism centre because people are always stopping,” Dohanik said. For more information about Blair House Gifts, visit their Facebook page at facebook. com/BlairHouseGifts.
Coffee is the new ‘memory tonic’ by Becky Sheasby
Students, pick up that coffee mug. If you don’t drink a morning cup of java, you might want to reconsider. New research shows that it might have a surprising perk that would be especially helpful for students. Research conducted by psychologists and neuroscientists at John Hopkins University shows that coffee helps boost the brain’s “pattern separation” performance, which means it helps with a person’s memory. Pattern separation is the ability to tell the difference between two objects or events that are similar, but not identical. It takes an average of two small cups of coffee or one strong cup to boost the brain’s pattern separation ability. The stimulant will strengthen the memory for up to 24 hours after the cof-
fee has been consumed. For this research, researchers studied over 150 people who were not regular caffeine users. Before the researchers gave the participants a dose of coffee, the participants were shown a picture of everyday objects. They were then divided into two separate groups five minutes later where one group was given a placebo and the second group was given a 200 milligram caffeine tablet. Each participant then left and returned 24 hours later. They were asked to recognize images that they had seen 24 hours previously that were either the same pictures as they saw before, new images or similar images that had been slightly altered. In a article on CBC.com, Michael Yassa, a co-author of the research paper and an assistant professor of psycho-
logical and brain sciences said, “We found that those who were administered caffeine actually had better retention of the information we taught them the day before. The caffeine enhanced their ability to say, ‘This item was similar but not identical to the one I’d seen before.” Pattern separation is our brain’s ability to stay sharp and keep from getting jumbled up. It can also be a crucial tool in learning because it helps us recognize whether a piece of information is new or if it should be assigned a new meaning in our brain’s memory banks. Based on this research, students will most likely benefit from a cup of “memory tonic;” it will help with that lecture or that exam. Just don’t drink too much of it otherwise you might experience symptoms such as jitteriness or headaches.
PHOTO BY Becky sheasby
Lindsey Holderness, a first-year office administration student at Conestoga College, drinks a cup of coffee and ties a piece of yarn around her finger to help boost her memory before class on Jan. 23.
NEWs
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Monday, February 3, 2014
Insert random national day here BY STEPH SMITH
Do you know what international or national day your birthday falls on? Conestoga College students were asked if they could answer this question, and when they couldn’t, they received some pretty interesting answers. A national day, as defined by Wikipedia, is a designated date where celebrations take place marking the nationhood of a country. Oftentimes, national days are also referred to as a national holiday depending on the country that celebrates it. Holidays usually mean that people, such as workers, students, teachers and government officials, have the day off. However, the majority of the list is days that celebrate a particular food, object, place, saying or way of life. Some of them seem completely made up or ridiculous, such as the Feast of Fabulous Wild Men Day (Jan. 12) and International Moment of Frustration Scream Day (Oct. 12). Though some of these national days are a little, or very, obscure, they are “all genuine national days some-
where in the world,” according to studentbeans.com, the website that hosts the list of days which has been floating around social media such as Facebook and Tumblr. The list doesn’t include actual holidays that are currently recognized around the world such as Christmas or Thanksgiving. “It’s Martin Luther King’s birthday, but it doesn’t even include that? Jan. 15 is just Hat Day,” said Aly Smith, a first-year protection/security investigation (PSI) student. Other students, such as David Ruxton, were eager to find out what day their birthday shared. Ruxton, a first-year PSI student, couldn’t have had a better national day fall on his birthday, April 20. “National Look-a-Like Day? That’s perfect! I have a twin, for real,” Ruxton said. Some students would have preferred to have shared their birthday with a different day. Corinne Edwards, a thirdyear computer programming student, thought the days her birthday fell on, Hobbit Day and Dear Diary Day, were weird. “Aw, yours is nice!” said Edwards to Sara Dutton, a fellow classmate, whose
birthday falls on National Be An Angel Day. Spencer Gough, a secondyear radio broadcast student, has a birthday which falls on Buy-A-Musical-Instrument Day. His friend, Mike Balch, who is in the same program and year as Gough, said he was going to buy him a kazoo this year to celebrate. Balch, however, wished that he shared Gough’s birthday (June 24) after finding out it falls on the very obscure Museum Comes to Life Day. According to an explanation on the website giftypedia.com, Museum Comes to Life Day is a day to celebrate museums and the hard-working people who bring the past to life. So, in addition to your birthday, you can celebrate a national or international day as well. It’s an added bonus if your birthday falls on something good, like desserts or ice cream, but it could still be just as good if it happens to be something weird. To see the full list of international and national days, or to see which ones fall on you or your friends’ birthday, visit this TinyURL link to the studentbeans.com page: http://tinyurl.com/cr20b6h.
PHOTO Illustration BY Steph Smith
Looking pensive, Riaz Qureshi poses in front of a lightbulb on Jan. 26. Having been born on Sept. 10, his birthday falls on Swapping Ideas Day.
fun & games
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Useless Facts
Oh Cliff!
Horoscope Week of February 3, 2014
Aries
March 21 April 19 You’re on a roll recently, but don’t let it get to your head. Savour a moment of clarity instead. This weekend: Rhythm.
Taurus April 20 May 20
You’re trying to help someone, but it’s something they need to work through on their own. Let them know you’re there if they need you. This weekend: Shine.
Gemini May 21 June 21
You look good and you feel good. It’s time to enjoy the mood and hit the town. This weekend: Indulge.
Cancer June 22 July 22
You’re lovable and you make people around you happy - so get out there and spend time with people! This weekend: Application.
Leo
July 23 August 22 Something is bothering you, and if you don’t work through it soon, you’ll find that it is a distraction when faced with more enjoyable fare. This weekend: Quality time.
Virgo
August 23 September 22 You deserve a break. Instead of being modest, arrange for some time to take a load off. This weekend: Blur.
It is illegal to frown at cows in Bladworth, Sask.
Libra
There were 240 pedestrian fatalities in New York City in 1994.
September 23 October 22 Something going on around you could use a touch of your class. Just try to be polite when offering your refined sensibilities. This weekend: Glory.
In Japan, watermelons are squared. It’s easier to stack them that way. Bird droppings are the chief export of Nauru, an island nation in the Western Pacific.
Scorpio
October 23 November 21 Back away from the drama and do your own thing. Put the earbuds in and go on a journey, if that’s your thing. This weekend: Slide.
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.
You’re in a situation right now that isn’t working. Get out of it. You’ll be a lot happier. This weekend: Breaking the chains.
Capricorn December 22 January 19
Capricorn: Instead of comparing yourself to everyone else, why not take a look at the huge steps you’ve taken recently? You’re on the rise. This weekend: Grain.
Aquarius January 20 February 18
It’s one of those situations where if you don’t do it, no one will. You thrive under pressure. Lead on. This weekend: The Path.
Pisces
February 19 March 20 You’ve got a big opportunity coming up, and you need to keep an open mind about it, despite recent events. This weekend: Parabola.
What if everything you knew was a lie ...? Ephram Strange isn’t the best person to ask.
Word Search
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