Organ donation Marathoner runs to increase awareness. Page 3
SPOKE
A LEARNING NEWSROOM
FOR J O U R N A L I S M S T U D E N T S
Insightful art Exhibitors all visually impaired. Page 8
A new year, a new you BY ASHLEY CURRIE
With 2012 now in the past and 2013 just beginning, many people find themselves starting over, including set ting new goals for the year ahead. Making New Year’s resolutions is something mil lions of people do, but actu ally keeping them is a differ ent story. According to hvescience.com (a website dedicated to provid ing health science and technol ogy news for those with curious minds), about 20 per cent of people who set a New Year’s resolution revert back to their old habits within a month. Serge Prengel, a licensed mental health counsellor, says on his website (proactivechange.com) that the num ber is actually upwards of 40 per cent, adding that more than 60 per cent of people break their New Year’s reso lution by the six-month mark. However, not all hope is lost. Prengel says that just by firm ly setting a resolution you are 10 times more likely to actu ally achieve your goal than those who do not set one. Forbes.com has some tips for sticking to your resolution. They suggest being specific with your goal. Instead of say ing you want to save money set a specific amount you want
to save each month. They also suggest writing down your resolution and staying positive about your chances of succeed ing. Furthermore, they say having a resolution partner and making time to actually complete the resolution are key ways to help yourself achieve your goal. Some of the most popu lar resolutions include beihg healthier, saving moneyVlosing weight, or quitting or reducing a bad habit such as smoking or drinking. Yvonna Michalek, a 20-yearold student, says her resolu tions this year are to eat bet ter and be more honest with people. “I work in a place with lots of unhealthy but quick food options so my resolution for this year is to try to eat better and avoid the pizza and poutine as much as possible,” she says. ‘T also want to try to be more honest with people and say what I’m feeling instead of hiding my thoughts or lying about what I think.” Another thing to remember when setting a resolution is that if you slip up one day it doesn’t mean the whole goal should go in the trash. If you are trying to eat healthy and then you grab a Big Mac for lunch one day, just jump right back on the horse the next day. Keeping a New
PHOTO BY ASHLEY CURRIE
Yvonna Michalek enjoys one last slice of pizza before beginning her New Year’s resolution to eat healthier. Year’s resolution is about form ing a new good habit to replace a bad old one. Andrew Jenkins is a 24-year-old student living in Guelph. He says he usually
doesn’t keep his resolutions but last year he was actually successful. “My resolution last year was to stop drinking Coke. It was small but specific and I man
aged to keep it. This year I’m trying to cut out root beer too,” he says. “Maybe by keep ing a small goal like this each year, in a few more years I won’t be drinking pop at all.”
Conestoga College universal bus pass on hold BY KELSEY HEELEY
Students at Conestoga College are going to continue to pay more for their bus pass es per term than the amount university students pay for the whole year. Conestoga Students Inc. wanted a universal bus pass, called a U-Pass, to be includ ed in tuition fees starting in September 2013, and held a referendum last year, asking students if they felt the same way. After a majority of stu dents said yes, CSI took the pro posal to the Region of Waterloo, which is responsible for public and specialized transit. The region was supposed to get back to CSI about the feasibility of implementing a U-Pass, however, Ciara Byrne, CSI president, was upset to learn the plan was scrapped
with no consultation. ‘We were not told ahead of time that regional council was not going to implement the pass (in 2013). I found that out from a reporter for the Waterloo Region Record,” she said. She added it is unacceptable that Conestoga College stu dents pay $227 per term for a pass, while Wilfrid Laurier University and University of Waterloo students pay $67.50. “Conestoga students have the worst bus service out of any of the post-secondary institutions in the region,” she said. Both universities are more centralized, so the students can reap the full benefits of the transit system. In contrast, two of Conestoga’s campuses, Cambridge and Doon, are out of the way, so public transit is even more important, she said. Grand River Transit (GRT)
PHOTO BY KELSEY HEELEY
Tony McLellan, a first-year journalism print student, checks the bus schedule to see what time his bus arrives. currently has seven bus routes that serve Doon cam pus daily, two of which also serve Cambridge. Tony McLellan, a first-year journalism print student at Conestoga, isn’t happy that the U-Pass has been put on
hold. He said it makes him a little angry. “While it may be true that university students pay a bit more for their tuition, college students still pay thousands each year,” he said. If the U-Pass was intro
duced, it would cost college students only $90 per term. Coun. Jane Mitchell said the region won’t proceed with the U-Pass because the bud get is too tight. It would cost $6.5 million to increase bus service to the college because 12 new drivers and 14 buses would have to be added. Mitchell said she is also worried that students won’t use the bus service, even with the U-Pass. Mitchell said the region still wants to implement the U-Pass, but suggested the start date may be in the dis tant future. “For the U-Passes to be put through in 2013, everything would have to be done at the same time. The buses, trained drivers, extended bus services and hours. It’s too much,” she said.
NEWS
Page 2 * SPOKE
Now deep thoughts ... with Conestoga College Random questions answered by random students
W hat is the hardest New Y e a r’s resolution y o u ’ve m ade or heard of? “I made one last year to lose 70 lbs. You can tell it never happened.”
Ahmed Saleh, second-year international business management
“The hardest resolution for me to keep would be to cut back on my procrastination because I do it a lo t ”
Alessandro Iglesias, first-year international business management
“The hardest resolution for me to keep is to stop swearing.”
Jake Fernandes, first-year advertising and marketing
“From what I’ve heard the hardest would be to quit smoking, because even if you’re mentally determined your body still thinks it needs the nicotine.”
Jenny Pawlowski, second-year respiratory therapy
“The common resolution of going to the gym isn’t the most difficult but it seems like most people have a hard time sticking to it and give up soon.”
Ryan Schulte, second-year software engineering technology
“One year on the news I heard about a man who made a resolution to run a marathon every day for the entire year.”
Sam Murray, first-year firefighting
Smile Conestoga, you could be our next respondent!
Monday, January 7.2013
Get help for those winter blues BY WESLEY BUTLER
The winter can be a happy time of year, but there are those who feel depressed when the season arrives. The Canadian Mental Health Association helps people with seasonal affective disorder by providing them with special ized lights that simulate sun light in their homes. “The reason why some peo ple get depressed in the win ter is because of the lack of light,” said Linda Bender, co ordinator of community devel opment and education servic es at CMHA. “These lights are designed particularly for people with this disorder, so they can be under the same amount of light they would be in the summer.” Known as “light therapy,” people with seasonal affective disorder sit beside a special fluorescent light box for about 20 minutes per day. When they notice their symptoms going away, they can stop using the lights. Seasonal affective disorder is a type of depression that some people experience in the winter, and occasionally in the summer. The symptoms of this disorder include thoughts of hopelessness, increased appetite with weight gain, loss of energy, lack of concen tration and social withdrawal.
For people with mild symp toms, Bender recommends they spend more time out doors during the day and arrange their environments so they get as much light as possible. They should move furniture so they can sit close to windows, install sky lights and add lamps in their homes. For people with more severe symptoms, antidepressant medications are safe to take. Counselling and short-term treatments such as cognitivebehavioural therapy will help with depression. There are many ways sea sonal affective disorder can be treated at home, such as cutting down on sugar intake, eating more fruits and vegeta bles, and exercising every day for about 30 minutes. Alcohol should not be consumed as much in the winter, because it can make the depression worse, and create thoughts of suicide. Although awareness of this mental condition has existed for over 150 years, it was not recognized as a disorder until the early 1980s. “Many people who have the disorder don’t know what it is,” said Bender. “But the mental health association spreads awareness of it and provides help to those who have it.”
Research in Ontario sug gests that two to three per cent of the general population may have seasonal affective disorder. Another 15 per cent suffer from the less severe “winter blues.” The disorder may affect some children and teenagers, but it usually begins in people over the age of 20, with the condition occurring more in women. For more information about seasonal affective disorder, contact the Canadian Mental Health Association at 519740-7782.
FACTS ABOUT SEASONAL AFFECTIVE DISORDER ■ It affects two to three per cent of the general popu lation. ■ The disorder can affect children and teenagers, but is much more com mon in people over the age of 20. ■ It was not recognized as a disorder until 1980. ■ Cutting down on sugar, eating fruits and veg etables and exercising for at least 30 minutes per day can help treat the disorder.
NEWS
Monday, Januaiy 7,2013
SPOKE ♦Page 3
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Since receiving a liver transplant in July 2011, Ray Jonasson has been competing in races across Ontario and promoting organ donation.
A m arathon message Runner promotes organ and tissue donation BY BRAD COUGHLIN
It was late 1996 when the disease made its first appear ance. Running the Ancaster Mill Race in his hometown, Ray Jonasson was passed on a big hill; an incline no one had beat him on before. “I was more exhausted than any marathon I’d run,” said Jonasson, once a highly com petitive runner. “I focused all my efforts on getting to the finish line without doing a face plant.” Just three days earlier the runner had tested himself at another race, won and run his fastest ever. So, when he collapsed for 45 minutes and missed the final ceremony, Jonasson attributed it to an oncoming cold. “When your symptoms are being tired, those aren’t symptoms you go to the doctor for,” said Jonasson. But, his low energy per sisted longer than any com mon cold would and the runner finally went to his physician.
That’s when they found it. Blood work came back, results were off the chart and every thing pointed to Jonasson’s liver - he had primary scle rosing cholangitis (PSC), a chronic liver disease. The only cure was a trans plant, so he was put on the transplant list - a wait he’d need more than marathon endurance for. “You have to get very sick before you even make it, and then you hang on for your dear life and try not to get too sick to fall off,” said Jonasson. “There’s a shortage.” He lost his marriage and business and completely rear ranged his life during the 15-year wait for a new liver, but in July 2011, Jonasson finally received one at the London Health Sciences Centre. Now, having gotten back to running and having com pleted this year’s Ancaster Mill Race, Jonasson speaks about organ and tissue dona tion every chance he gets. “It is literally the difference
between life and death,” he said. “If that person’s family had said no, it would have been game over.” Currently, only 22 per cent of all eligible Ontarians are registered for organ and tis sue donation through the Trillium Gift of Life Network (TGLN). However, Kitchener currently has 28 per cent reg istered.
" I t is literally the difference between life and death. If that person’s family said no, it would have been game over." - Jonasson
“In the last four years the number of registrations has gone up ... but we still have a long way to go,” said Ronnie Gavsie, president and CEO of TGLN. “Twenty-eight per cent leaves a lot of people
not registered and so many (patients) on the wait list without hope.” Gavsie credits some of the increases in donation to the new registration methods. Due to situations when donor cards may have been lost, a registration database was created. Donors can now sign up via www.beadonor.ca, at a Service Ontario centre, or by downloading a mailing form. Along with various types of advertising, the TGLN is promoting donating online through their Gift of Eight pages. “A Gift of Eight page is a personal or organizational page where you can state your commitment to donation and you send that page to oth ers and ask others to register through it,” said Gavsie. “One organ donor can save eight lives.” The TGLN is also working hard to dispel myths about organ and tissue donation that lower the registration numbers. All major religions support donation, nobody is
precluded due to previous ill nesses and no one is too old to be a donor said Gavsie, cor recting common myths. ‘Medical expertise and tech nology is improving constant ly so transplant has become the life-saving procedure available to us for more and more conditions,” said Gavsie. “We don’t expect the wait list to go down and we know the number of transplants would go up dramatically if we had enough organs and tissue to meet the demand.” Jonasson uses the war in Afghanistan to make his point. From 2001 to 2011, 158 soldiers died in the Afghan war - they were celebrated and commemorated. But, in that same amount of time, 2,621 Canadian citizens died while waiting for organ and tissue transplants. “All the people on the wait list now look at the fact that only 22 per cent of eligible Ontarians are registered,” said Gavsie. “To them, the message is that three out of four people don’t care.”
COMMENTARY
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Monday, Januaiy 7,2 01 3
We’ve survived another year BY KRIS MANUEL
The year 2012 witnessed tragedy and triumph. In February, Whitney Houston died at the age of 48, a day before the 54th Grammy Awards. One of the most successful singers in the 1980s, her drug addiction took a toll on her career and on her life. More than 180 lives were also lost just a few months back when Hurricane Sandy hurled itself ashore in late October, causing cities to evacuate and damaging many homes. And, on July 20, 12 people were shot to death and 58 were wounded in a movie theatre during a screening of The Dark Knight Rises in Aurora, Colo. However, the year 2012 also marked a time of people getting together for change. Quebec students across that province went on strike against a proposal, Law 48, to raise tuition fees by 75 per cent over the next five years. The movement started on Feb. 13 with more than 100,000 protesting students. After less than 24 hours in power, the newly appointed Parti Quebecois government cancelled the bill. With the U.S. election on Nov. 6, Barack Obama won a second term in a close battle against Mitt Romney, gaining 51 per cent of the votes. But that wasn’t all. Maine and Maryland voted in favour of allow ing same-sex marriage. And Washington State and Colorado voted in favour of recreational use of cannabis while the medical use of marijuana was approved in Massachusetts. In November, thousands of Ontario elementary teachers threatened to stop working in December. Elementary and high school teachers are angry about the change in their contracts with new rules that restrict their right to strike or refuse to work outside school hours. On Aug. 5, 2012, NASA’s rover Curiosity landed on Mars to search for life. NASA announced it has found evidence of water, sulphur and matters containing chlorine on the “Red Planet” about four months after its landing. And let’s not forget, we did survive the Dec. 21, 2012 apocalypse. So let’s live 2013 to the fullest. As American author Maria Robin said, “Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.”
The views herein represent the position of the newspa per, not necessarily the author.
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Do your part to make the world a b ette r place in 2013.
Take pride in being punctual But if running late, at least call the person Being late has to be my big gest pet peeve. Let’s review the definition of punctuality - to be punc tual. Punctual - happening or doing something at the agreed or proper time; on time. Most of us understand what punctuality is; we’ve all been taught to be on time, but what I don’t understand is how people can think that showing up three plus hours late is acceptable. It bugs me to no end that even with modern technology people are still late and don’t give any notice. I mean, it takes a whole 20 seconds to send a text or make a call saying you’re going to be late. A few years ago, while I was still in high school, my best friend and I were rush ing to get ready to go to our first semi with our boy friends. We were told they’d come get us at 4 p.m., and then we would go to the one boy friend’s house for dinner. At 4 p.m. they weren’t there; we figured it was just
Joanna Dittmer
Opinion
traffic and they would arrive soon. At 4:10 p.m., still no sign, nor at 4:15 p.m. By this time, every car that came down the street got us excited, only to be quickly followed by disap pointment. At 4:30 p.m., I decided to call and find out what was going on. First I tried his cellphone - no answer. So instead I called his home phone which he answered. When I asked what was going on, he said: “We’re coming for 5; we decided that by coming at 4 we’d be too early to the dance.” I was unimpressed to say the least. Why were we not informed of this change earlier? If we would have been, then we wouldn’t have had to rush to get ready on time, nor would we have been waiting around for half
an hour. I’m someone who prides herself on being punc tual, and if for some unfore seen reason I can’t be on time, or early, I at least have the decency to call or text with a reason. The world would be chaos if everyone acted this way. Imagine waiting at the doc tor’s office because he decided to take a late lunch. Or imagine waiting at the alter because your significant other didn’t get out of bed on time. It’s common courtesy to inform the other party that you won’t be showing up on time. There is nothing worse than sitting alone in a crowded restaurant reading and re-reading the menu in a poor attempt to make things less awkward. It wouldn’t drive me so insane if people would let me know they were going to be late. If I had a heads up, then maybe I could get some extra cleaning done around the house, or maybe I could do some homework. Moral of the story kids don’t be late, and if you are, at least have the courtesy to inform the other party.
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NEWS
Monday, January 7.2013
SPOKE ♦ Page 5
Guelph plan hits road block BY MARK FITZGERALD
The City of Guelph has com e to a crossroa d s w ith the O ntario Power A uthority (OPA) over the energy being supplied to citizens. In 2007 the City of Guelph developed the Community Energy Plan, which is an out line on how to supply the city with self-sustainable energy. The plan calls for the use of energy sources such as solar and geothermal. The plan is designed to account for the population growth of the city for at
least the next two decades. The plan states that the greenhouse gas emissions of Guelph will be less than the current global average. It also states that by 2031, the ener gy efficiency levels of the city will be equal to the current global best from Scandinavia and Germany. However, Jack Gibbons, chair for Ontario Clean Air Alliance (a group of individu als and organizations that are pro-renewable energy), said the OPA is refusing to fund the plan, in part because they want to build a new highvoltage transmission line into
Guelph instead. “They are refusing to enter into contracts with the City of Guelph. They want to do it their way. They’re stuck in the 1950s,” he said. Gibbons also said people need to start demanding that this plan be put into action. He suggested people call Energy Minister Chris Bentley and Guelph MPP Liz Sandals to voice their opinion on what type of energy plan they want. “It (the C om m unity Energy Plan) is an excellent plan. It’s a blueprint for Ontario, for Canada, and
Banish all year holiday cheer Christmas has passed and the joy and giddiness that accompanies the holiday usually gets packed away with the sparkly decora tions. However, there are some who like to feel the magic of Christmas all year long. We all know people in our neighbourhood, or in our parents’ neighbourhood, who leave their decorations, or at least their Christmas lights, up year-round. It makes me wonder, do they really love Christmas that much, or can they not be bothered to take them down and put them back up in a year? I mean, really, it’s not as if you have to take them down and put them back up every week. Then I got thinking about my own neighbourhood and the year-round Christmas house on my street ... maybe they just want to keep their house looking pretty, but I somehow doubt that’s the reason. My neighbourhood doesn’t look trashy or terrible, but those neighbours ... they aren’t the classiest of folk. I could understand if every one on the same street had the same zest and enthusi asm for the holiday. Maybe we would all want to keep the decorations up all year (then that would make us all a little crazy, but it might be charming). However, that isn’t the case so it looks tacky when there are a few
Keila Macpherson
Opinion houses with Christmas wreaths still hanging on their doors and fake pine garland wrapped around their porches in the middle of May. Can you imagine Christmas every day, 365 days a year!? All the overeating, presents every morning and don’t forget the children (siblings, sons or daughters or if you are the child on Christmas)
screaming with excitement ... How could I possibly resist that? Personally, the joy I find in Christmas decorations is short-lived, but appropriate (I’m no Scrooge). I enjoy them when they first come out; the glitter, the sparkling LED lights outlining houses in the dark and the cool tones. Also, I’m a Christmastime baby so I enjoy having the Christmas tree up for my birthday, which is just a few days after; however, decorations shouldn’t be kept up after the first week of January. Once the kids go back to school, please, take down your decorations.
for the world in the 21st century,” Gibbons said. He added the plan will not make Guelph completely selfsustainable at first. However, it will provide the city with the necessary setup to even tually reach that level. Some attempts to conserve energy are already under way. A program run by the Toronto Hydro Corporation is already in place to help reduce energy consumption. Called the “peaksaver” pro gram, it is for all of Ontario and dials back air condi tioners during hot summer
days for brief periods. But this is only being used by three per cent of Guelph Hydro users. Gibbons said people don’t quite understand the “lower cost and higher efficiency of renewable energy.” Guelph city council is cur rently looking to approve the Community Energy Plan. Even if it gets approved, it will still require funding from the OPA. The media relations offi cer with the Ontario Power Authority did not respond to repeated attem pts for comment by press time.
PROVIDING LIGHT i n
th e dar kness
PHOTO BY BRAD COUGHLIN
Jane Pyper, a volunteer with Bracelet of Hope, an AIDS foundation in Guelph, sells candles at a World AIDS Day benefit in the River Run Centre on Dec. 1. The goal was to raise $50,000 for AIDS.
ENTERTAINMENT
Page 6 ♦SPOKE
Monday, January 7,2013
Showcasing the wotCd Festival promotes multiculturalism through music BY WENDY CZAKO-MAH
A Kitchener woman brought the world and all its culture to the city during her second annual Show the World fall festival. The two-day event on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 featured music from around the world with a touch of Canadian culture blended in. As artists from abroad come to Canada and mix with musi cians here, the music takes on a new flare. The purpose of the festival is to give this music a platform, a place to show the blending of cultures while keeping some of its ori gin intact.
"M ost people know of Bollywood dance but they don't know about the classical art forms which are very old." - Isabel Cisterna The idea is the brainchild of Chilean actress Isabel Cisterna, who arrived in Canada 10 years ago as an out-of-work actor. She found the streets looked very different to her from what was being por trayed. The culture of the music was not being seen. It was being blended into «nmAthincr
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Archer mim origin behind. She started writing and ics the sound s h e ’ s performing her own work and eventually became jgk lookknown for her monologues. | | mg This eventually led to Cisterna starting Neruda Productions in 1998, a notfor-profit organization dedi cated to building bridges in the community through music, drama, dance and visual arts. The final day of the 2012 festival featured three per formances. First on stage was Aditi Date, who has been performing since she was three. She learned the for, then art of Indian dance from her mother as they had a technology dance studio back in India. built into elec “Most people know of her Bollywood dance but they tric piano don't know about the classical records and art forms which are very old," r e p e a t s it over Cisterna said. Date has opened her own dance studio in Waterloo. She thinks it is a dying art form and felt the need to teach it. She added she can have a conversation without using words because the dance is a form of sign language. D Eve Archer, originally from Jamaica, was the sec ond performer. She is a master vocalist who mim ics the sounds of various instruments and back ground vocals. By the end of her performance, she had created an entire band just with her voice.
The event featured music from around the world, including African drummer Nii Addico, the Samba Squad and flamencq guitarist and composer Jorge Miguel.
and over after she pushes a pedal. One by one she added several loops consisting of
drums, symbol, background vocals and more, all cre ated by her voice. ‘You have to have a lot of rhythm and you have to be right on beat to make sure the loops tie in togeth er," she said.
T h e f i n a l group was a blend of Indian and
flamenco-style dance per formed by a group of seven. They featured flamenco gui tarist Jorge Miguel, flamenco dancer Lisa La Mantia, and a Kathak dance performed by Tamanna Koovarjee. Cisterna loves world music and was greatly concerned about what happened to it when it was imported. She points out that cultural diversity has led to a blend ing of many cultures' music, a fusion of sorts. What endsup happening is a loss of the original style and culture of that music. The festival is one way to keep it in the forefront. Prior to the festival, Cisterna produced a concert series also called Show the World. Two years ago she decided a year-end festival was needed to encompass all the world music they had showcased over the years. Cisterna used the 2012 fes tival as a pilot for this year’s event, which she hopes will be a four-day festival with an aboriginal theme. The idea is to have a oneprice pass that would cover all four days. This was the reason the 2012 event had a two-day, pay-one-price pass.
Aditi Date performs an Indian dance at the Show the World fall festival, a multicultural event held in downtown Kitchener Nov. 30 to Dec. 1. PHOTOS BY WENDY CZAKO-MAH
D Eve Archer (left) performed at the Show the World fall festival which was founded by artistic director Isabel Cisterna, (right).
NEWS
Monday, January 7,2013
SPOKE ♦ Page 7
A voice for the voiceless BY RYAN GOODYEAR
Chances are if you have driven down Homer Watson Boulevard, past the Grand Valley Institution for Women recently, you have seen Jamie Rushton outside protesting. Rushton was at the site after recent allegations that a correctional facilities officer has been trading drugs and cigarettes for sex. Standing by the side of the road in a pink baseball cap and overalls, Rushton holds a sign in one hand and his dog in the other. “The reason I’m out here is because I heard that there was a male guard here who was suspended for trading tobacco or drugs for sex,” Rushton said. “I watch the staff roll out of here and they are 80 per cent male. I just don’t think a women’s prison should be run by men.” However, Rushton is not just a person off the street; he does have a direct con
nection to the prison. Joanna Rushton, Jamie’s wife, has been serving time inside the Grand Valley Institute for two years, after being con victed for what Jamie calls helping in the proceeds of crime. So it comes as little shock that when Rushton heard the news of the allega tions it struck a chord with him. Both public and media response have been positive said Rushton, who has done interviews with CTV and is working with local university students to help spread aware ness through social media. “There are university students who are pretty involved, social networking wise. They’re busy, they don’t have the time to come out and do this but they have started a Facebook page called The Grand Valley Protest.” As far as commuters who pass him every day go, Rushton said he has been get ting a lot of support, shown
through the honking of horns and people waving, but he doesn’t expect to get it from everyone. “I’m only looking for that one in 100,” he said. Support has also come in the form of Conestoga College student Simone Morrison, who discussed both the alle gations and the protest with Rushton after passing him several times on the way to school. It was after going home and researching the facts behind the whole situa tion that she decided to stand outside the institution and join in the protest. “I had driven by a few times and had seen Jamie out. The one night it was pretty cold so I went and grabbed him a meal from McDonald’s and a coffee and I came down and asked him why he was here. He told me what was going on, and I then asked him what time he was here until, then I went home and researched to see if what he was saying was
PHOTO BY RYAN GOODYEAR :
Jamie Rushton protests outside the Grand Valley Institution for Women after recent allegations that a guard was trading drugs and tobacco for sex.
true. So I googled it, found a bunch of stuff on CTV and then I came out the next day, and I’ve been here since,” said Morrison. Both Morrison and Rushton agree that if allegations like these are to be avoided in the future, preventative mea sures need to be taken. For Rushton, hiring more female prison guards would be a large step in the right direc tion. “I think in a women’s facil ity, the guards’ numbers need to be reversed. It needs to be 20 per cent men and 80 per cent women. The 20 per cent of men should be there for those bigger women who do have tempers. And if male guards need to work the front gate to keep other
men out that’s fine, but there shouldn’t be men roaming the halls,” Rushton said. According to an article in the Waterloo Region Record, an in-house investigation has been launched regarding the accusations. Morrison said she is happy to hear that something is being done to determine what truly hap pened. She hopes if a guard is found guilty, he gets more than just a suspension. “They are doing an in-house investigation now, that’s good, but if any of the officers are abusing their power, it’s not OK. They shouldn’t just get a suspension, they should be kicked out.” Grand Valley administra tors couldn’t be reached for comment.
NEWS
Page 8 ♦ SPOKE
Monday, January 7,2013
PHOTOS BY HEATHER HENNERY
Paintings by visually impaired artists were on display at Kitchener City Hall's Berlin Tower last month.
All eyes on art at Kitchener City Hall BY HEATHER KENNERY
Seeing is believing, but if there is no vision how does one create. The.truth is vision is not just about using your eyesight, it is a feeling as well. An emo tion that everyone is capa ble of. In December this theory was on display at the Resight art exhibit in Kitchener City Hall’s Berlin Tower ARTSPACE. The exhibit featured the work of four visually impaired artists, including
Stewart Kenyon. He discov ered his joy of painting and creating art at the CNIB Lake Joe camp. This acces sible recreation camp, which runs from June to August, is for people who are blind or have vision impairment. The art program was start ed by an artists’ collective called Resight. They wanted to get rid of the barriers of the visual arts. Each artist teaches different aspects of the arts to participants. One of the artists who works with the campers at Lake
Joe is Yvonne Felix. She started helping out at the camp last year and has been instrum ental in turning the arts program into five w eeks o f art ses sions. Felix understands the m isconceptions that visu ally impaired people face when creating art. She is an award-winning public and community artist who has vision im pairm ent. After being the first graduate with vision loss to get her degree at the Dundas Valley
K-W SYMPHONY SHINES w i t h
School of Art, Felix knew that she wanted to change the way people viewed art. She creates large scale public installations that people with any disability can “view.” Using multiple mediums to create her art she knows that having a loss of vision doesn’t mean she cannot continue* to create. Advocating for this cause is her passion. “It’s not about seeing with your eyes. It’s about see ing it with your heart and mind,” she said.
Anyone who is blind or visually impaired can also learn how to create art at one of Resight’s art classes or workshops. The collec tive’s artists work one-onone with participants to cre ate quality art. For more inform ation go to www. yvonnefelixartwork.com. Felix said that defining art puts barriers on what you create. “Art is more about the pro cess than the end product; don’t put limitations on cre ating,” she said.
c o n d u c t o r e d w in o u t w a t e r
PHOTOS BY STEPHANIE LEFEBVRE
The Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, conducted by Edwin Outwater, plays the music of Franz Schubert and Gustav Mahler during Edwin and Gustav: An Invitation, on Nov. 30 at the Centre in the Square. Though that particular event ended on Dec. 1, the K-W Symphony has released its schedule for 2013. It will include music from Disney and Bugs Bunny.
Monday, January 7,2013
NEWS
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Education key to legalizing cannabis the cannabis that helped me get off them. They’re talking The sweet scent wafted about the gateway that can through the air as you head nabis is to hard drugs - it’s ed downstairs at the Toronto the black market that’s the Public Library on Nov. 29. gateway. The drug dealers The smell lead to a room are the gateway, not so much where people who enjoy using the cannabis itself.” cannabis discussed the plant. He also uses cannabis to On Nov. 6, residents in two relieve a number of his mala U.S. states voted to relax its dies. “I suffer from irritable bowel, drug laws and legalize the recreational use of the drug. from constant vomiting, I have In Colorado, the state now hepatitis C and I have severe allows the growth of up to six arthritis in my knees. I don’t take any painkillers or any plants for personal use. However, Canada got tough thing, all I take is cannabis.” He said Treating Yourself er on its drug laws. Coming into effect that same day, is an international magazine growing six plants could result “for patients by patients.” in a minimum of six months “It’s not about money, it’s in jail, according to the Safe about educating,” he said. “It’s about being in the Streets and Communities Act, Bill C-10. mainstream media without To promote legalization, Ted being censored, getting true Smith, author of Hempology information out there from 101, held several cannabis doctors.” Ben Reaburn, co-owner of conventions across eastern Canada, including a stop in The Vapor Social, a lounge in Toronto, also spoke at the Toronto. These events, like Smith’s event. The vapor lounge spe book, educated people about cializes in glassware, vaporiz ers and other cannabis-relat the cannabis sativa plant. His book includes scientific ed materials. He said it’s also a place for studies on cannabis as medi cine, its industrial uses and people to get together or meet others. its history. “The biggest thing I was Smith, currently living in Victoria, B.C., is a former grad hoping for in the opening of Wilfrid Laurier University. of The Vapor Lounge is to He moved from Ontario to bring legitimacy to the whole British Columbia where he thing. We’re not just a bunch attended a hempology meet of dumb stoners; we’re not just sitting around playing ing in Vancouver. “I learned about the poten video games all day or skat tial uses of hemp, for clothing, ing around town on our long fuel, plastics and paints, to a boards,” he said. “But the people who have vast array of potential indus maybe never had a conver trial applications,” he said. Publisher of Treating sation with anyone or never Yourself magazine, Marco had an experience with (can Renda also spoke at the event. nabis), they’re looking at it He said, “Hemp has a lot through what the media sug of uses, for food, construc gests, what they see on the tion, and it’s better than con Internet and what they see crete. In Europe they’re doing in Pineapple Express and foundations and building full Cheech and Chong and all that kind of stuff.” homes out of hemp.” Renda said educating people One brand-name product dis tributed in the UK, Tradical® about cannabis’s medical uses Hempcrete®, is a construction helps change people’s view product made out of hemp shiv on it. and a lime-based binder. “Let’s face it, there’s been According to the construction these rah-rah-rah, we’re-hereproduct’s website, “Hemp is the we’re-high-get-used-to-it kind second fastest-growing crop of rallies for decades and it really hasn’t opened the doors,” plant on Earth after bamboo.” It also said hemp shiv, the he said. “If (medical-cannabis) woody core of the hemp plant, is used for its “mechanical patients were allowed to strength, durability, sound dedicate a percentage of and thermal insulation, and our growth (of cannabis) to exceptionally high carbon research, we’d be so much further ahead. But we’re not capture.” Before Renda created the allowed to share; we’re not allowed to help one another. magazine, he was a junkie. He said at 12 years of age, So the only way I see out of he started smoking canna all of this is straight 100 per bis before moving onto harder cent legalization and the only way to legalization is to get drugs. However, he said, “I’ve been out there and educate people weaning off hard drugs for about the benefits. Eliminate 13 years and it was really the propaganda.” BY KRIS MANUEL
PHOTO BY KRIS MANUEL
Ted Smith, author of Hempology 101, speaks at Toronto’s cannabis convention on Nov. 29 at the Downsview Public Library. The event was held across eastern Canada to educate people about cannabis.
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KEEPING THOSE IN NEED WARM T H IS
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W IN T E R S E A S O N
PHOTO BY WESLEY BUTLER
Canadian furniture and home accent retailer, Urban Barn, held a Blanket the Country in Warmth event, where, for a $5 donation, customers could donate a new fleece blanket supplied by the store to a homeless shelter in their community. The company hoped their initiative would provide 8,000 blankets to those in need. The event ran in all 41 Urban Barn retail locations in Canada’s five most westerly provinces. Above, Andre Trundel (from left), Holly Land and Ashiey Tuttle stand by a display of fleece blankets at the Cambridge store located at 60 Pinebush Rd.
DANCING
T H E N IG H T A W A Y
PHOTO BY HEATHER HENNERY
Dancers from the Fred Astaire Dance Studio amazed the crowd at the Jewellery, Fashion and Gift Show, at Kitchener City Hall on Dec. 2.
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