Hockey with a heart Fundraiser makes dreams come true. Page 3
SPOKE
Getting their kicks Family members excel at judo. Page 7
A LEARNING NEWSROOM FOR JOURNALISM STUDENTS
Student called a young Holmes
CAR FIRE SIMULATION
show cases
Co n e s t o g a
By BRENDAN DALEY
Canadian handyman icon Mike Holmes is a stickler for quality. So when this extraor dinary craftsman pays you a compliment, it means some thing. Not only did he pay Conestoga College student Andrew Petheram a compli ment, he said that Petheram reminded him of a “younger, more motivated version of (himself) at the age of 19.” “He was basically implying that I have the potential to be as successful, or more suc cessful, than him,” said Petheram, now 20 years old. A project and facility man agement student, Petheram
INTERNET PHOTO
Petheram is a true handyman.
had the opportunity to work
beside competitors and celebrity judges in the 2012 season of Canada’s Handyman Challenge, airing on HGTV. At the suggestion of his girl friend and an employer, he applied to be on the show which features Holmes, Scott McGillivray, Bryan Baeumler and Jillian Harris as judges. “Seven thousand people applied for the Toronto inter views,” he said. From there it was narrowed down to 300, 30, 10 and seven. At the age of 12, Petheram was trying to figure out how things worked. Three years later he was taking on larger projects. At the age of 15, when his parents were away, Petheram retiled his bathroom and renovated the kitchen. “I have a passion for work ing with my hands. I like to visually see my work pay off.” Perhaps one of the most interesting challenges came when each of the seven com petitors was given a single sheet of plywood and instruct ed to craft something. Tools in hand, Petheram transformed his sheet into a hose reel. “I wanted to make some thing useful and with moving parts,” he said. Of the seven regional com petitors, Petheram, along with three others from central Canada, were chosen to be on the show. “It was weird because I always watched these people
on TV,” he said, referring to the judges. “It wasn’t that competitive. We really worked with each other. Between competitions some of the more experienced guys would give advice so that we were all on a similar level.” Although Petheram didn’t think he’d make it, when judges began sending com petitors home, he was amongst those still standing. “When you get there, with the cameras in your face, it becomes intimidating.” Petheram recalls an increase in intensity once the competition was narrowed down from the top 12 to six. “You start thinking ‘I could win this thing.’” Petheram made it to the final five before being elimi nated - a giant feat for a 19year-old competing against those double his age. “I’ve never done wallpaper and I’m not great at drywall,” he said, recalling his final challenge. Although he was unable to take the title of Canada’s Handyman, Petheram walked away from the competition with an even greater knowl edge and the support of Canada’s leading names in home renovation. Although he’d love to com pete on the show again, Petheram says he won’t be entering the challenge a sec ond time. “I’m going to let other people have their turn.”
PHOTO BY DEVON SMITH
Paramedic and pre-fire services students attend to victims in a car fire simulation in front of the F-wing during a NaHSSA Conference on March 10. The car fire was part of a series of simulations that highlighted the college’s health science students and innovative technology. See Page 8 for story and more photos.
College taking another virtual step By TIFFANY WILSON
Using government grants, the college is making the move to a community that is accessible anytime, any where. As of September, they are looking to deliver as many student services as possible in a virtual environment, start ing with access to math and literacy tutoring. Mike Dinning, vice-presi dent of student affairs, said he is “jacked up” about the com munity and hopes that it will generate something contem-
I want to create a place where students can con nect with each other, our resources and our experts. - Michele Brannon-Hamilton porary in the eyes of the stu dents. He also said he wants to make life easier for stu dents who want to access
learning services and person al assessments anytime, any where. Michele BrannonHamilton, eLearning consult ant for the Learning Commons and who has been hired to create the virtual community, said communi ties, whether virtual or faceto-face, are an important fac tor in creating an environ ment where students can interact confidently with the college and one another. See LEARNING COMMONS, Page 3
NEWS
Page 2 ♦ SPOKE
Now deep thoughts ... with Conestoga College Random questions answered by random students
W h a t’s y o u r fa v o u rite ce re a l a n d w h y?
“Froot Loops because they taste good.” Melanie Gomes, first-year legal administration
“Cinnamon Toast Crunch. I inhale that stuff and eat like four or five bowls at a tim e” Scott Johnston, third-year business management
“Honey Bunches of Oats because it’s healthy but it’s sweet enough. A delicious treat.” Vanessa Claure, third-year community and criminal justice
Monday, M arch 1 9 ,2 0 1 2
Students help ‘Humanity By ASHLEY WELFORP-COSTELLOE
A good home must be made, not bought, says author Joyce Maynard. This couldn’t be more true for those who volunteer their time building homes for Habitat for Humanity. During study week, a group of 26 students and three faculty members from the architecture construc tion engineering technology program travelled to New Orleans to participate in a Habitat for Humanity build. They were building an entire house for victims of Hurricane Katrina. The proj ect was located in the Carrollton Ward, one of the areas hardest hit by the hur ricane. Randall Hadley, a professor in the program, said they didn’t get to meet the new home owners because they were never on site as they had already fulfilled the sweat equity requirement. He said home owners are required to put in hundreds
of hours of sweat equity. This means that, in addition to a down payment and monthly mortgage payments, home owners must invest hun dreds of hours of their own labour into building their house as well as the houses of others. The money from the home owners’ mortgage payments is used by Habitat for Humanity to build houses for other people. Students also had the opportunity to tour the Make It Right development in the Lower 9th Ward. This is a project of actor Brad Pitt, who after visiting the area in the aftermath of Katrina, was compelled to help correct the situation. He dedicated him self to rebuilding 150 homes and providing them at a reasonable cost to former neighbourhood residents. “There was a lot of inter esting and innovative designs in that area that had been and were in the process of being built,” said Sean Cook, a third-year student in the program.
Students also got a chance to explore the city. On the second day they were treated to a swamp tour where they got to see alligators and other wildlife. But that was n’t all. Cook said the most memorable part of the trip was when he and his class mates toured downtown Bourbon Street during Mardi Gras which Hadley described as “something you have to experience.” On the first day of the build, the Conestoga team challenged the record for the fastest construction of a complete floor. Unfortunately, they missed by 20 minutes. “We aren’t sure which team beat us,” said Cook. “We did n’t know we were close to a record until the end of the day.” By the time they left, the students couldn’t have been more satisfied. “We were all very proud of the work we did,” said Cook. “We were fortunate to be a part of a great experience.”
You’re never too young to make a difference in this world Youth group raises money for many causes
“Lucky Charms because Lucky is so darn cute!”
By DREW LOGAN
Ryan Connell, Student Life programmer
“Cap’n Crunch because it’s simply delicious.” Breanne Hallman, first-year practical nursing
“Cap’n Crunch is the best because it just tastes amazing.” Emily Ogden, first-year practical nursing
Smile Conestoga, you could be our next respondent!
Cambridge Youth Mobilizers is living proof of how young people are able to make a difference. The group was designed for youth ages 14 to 20 by Emma Burger, 15, and Melissa Tran, 16. It has been active since April 2011 and is growing in numbers. On March 10, Cambridge Youth Mobilizers held their second Haven House garage sale, which raised $145. This was more successful than the previous Haven House sale in October which raised $106 for Women’s Crisis Services. The Haven House is a 30bed short-term emergency resident shelter for abused children and women. It is funded by Women’s Crisis Services. The first official project for the Mobilizers was to raise money for Save Japan Dolphins which the group did by collecting money door-
to-door in local neighbour hoods. Since then, Youth Mobilizers has had a movie marathon fundraiser, which raised $106 for the dolphin cause. They also attended an event in Toronto that brought attention to a proposed bylaw banning the sale of shark fin in that city. “Our biggest success was raising $280 at Metro (a gro cery store) bake sale, for the dolphin cause,” said Tran. For more information on Save Japan Dolphins, visit www.savejapandolphins.org. “Since our creation of Mobilizers, we’ve been organ izing group meetings twice a week, and have done tons of other fundraisers for chari ties,” said Burger. On March 19, The Cambridge Youth Mobilizers held Puppy Love Week, dur ing which they collected need ed supplies for the Cambridge Humane Society. “These items include white
paper towels, dry dog and cat food, newspapers, the list goes on,” said Tran. The group is quite diverse and has various members attending different high schools. “We have Mobilizers in lots of high schools and they cre ate awareness and funds within their own school. It’s a great way to get donations for a cause.” Humane Society supplies can also be dropped off at 8 Forestview Dr. in Cambridge. The donations will be sent straight to the Cambridge Humane Society. Burger urges anyone inter ested in the group to visit the website at www.thecambridgeyouthmobilizers.blogsp ot.com and ask to take part in one of their fundraisers. Their mission is to provide youth with “purpose, passion and perseverance.” “The more youth are aware and passionate about social issues, the better our world is going to be,” said Burger.
NEWS
Monday, M arch 1 9 ,2 0 1 2
SPO KE ♦ Page 3
Hockey fundraiser shoots, scores By TORIE ROTH
The Sunshine Foundation is the only national Canadian charity making dreams come true for children with severe physical disabilities or lifethreatening illnesses. To help the charity, the advanced police studies stu dents at Conestoga College held a hockey tournament, barbecue and raffle on March 6, setting a goal of raising $3,000. “Our program wants us to do something for the commu nity since policing is a com munity thing,” said Heidi O’Neil, an advanced police studies student and one of the event co-ordinators. Money was donated in memory of Colleen Holmes’ son, Danny. Holmes is the students’ fitness coach at the college whose son died of can cer. Danny would have turned 19 years old this year. The donation was called the
“Danny Plan,” and is being used to have 80 children flown to Disneyland, making their dream come true. Since there are only 18 stu dents enrolled in the advanced police studies program, stu dents from any program in the school were able to enter a team in the road hockey tour nament and each student paid $10 to participate. “A lot of us joined because we want to be a part of the com munity and help people out. Most of us graduated from police foundations last year and some of us have come from different universities. All 18 of us have really come together to put this event on and I’m real ly proud of all of us,” said Shyanne McGregor, another co-ordinator and advanced police studies student. The charity event raised $2,500, $500 short of its $3,000 goal. However, they expected another $500 to be donated after the event.
PHOTO BY TORIE ROTH
Advanced police studies students Shandi Hemstra (left to right), Heidi O’Neil and Shyanne McGregor co-ordinated a hockey tournament on March 6 to raise money for the Sunshine Foundation.
W&V8.
PHOTO BY TORIE ROTH PHOTO BY MARIANA C. MORALES
Devon Wagner (left) and Scott Hiller, both advanced police studies students, are shown with their fit ness coach, CoHeen Holmes, who lost her son, Danny, to cancer.
Student Matt Allen, who is in the advanced police studies pro gram, is ready to play at the Sunshine Foundation charity event in the rec centre at Conestoga College.
Learning Commons going online in September ♦From Page 1
She also realized while work ing with students in person that there are a lot of students who could not get to the col lege, or the Learning Commons only offered one appointment per week, where the student wanted more. This motivated Brannon-Hamilton to get the construction of the community started. “I want to create a place where students can connect with each other, our resources and our experts in an interac
tive way. We have a website where students can get infor mation, but cannot contribute. So I want it to be engaging and interactive,” she said. Dinning said he thinks stu dents embrace the concept as they never turn their comput ers off. For example, students go from their computers to their iPhone to their iPads. “Students want to do things when students want to do them,” he said. As an example, he said some students from the nursing program wanted to get help
with APA formatting and it took two weeks for them to get an appointment. “We cannot be doing that,” he said. “We want to put it online and we want to put it now.” Brannon-Hamilton said there will always be students who will need the face-to-face help and will not be interested in the virtual community, but then there will be students who will not do face-to-face and would be interested in the online access. Miranda Kluka, a first-year personal service worker, never
really thought about using the Learning Commons as a resource because she has never really needed that department’s services, but by making the community online and interactive she said it will increase the chances of her try ing the community out. “Anything that is online, I am more likely to use it,” she said. From now until September, students are encouraged to pro vide input throughout the whole process, from design to trial implementation, said Brannon-
Hamilton. They hope to have a production and promotion stu dent and web production stu dent to assist in building the brand for the community. Brannon-Hamilton said the main idea behind the virtual community is to give students choices, adding they will not be replacing the great servic es that they have now. The college just wants to add to the college experience, she said. “We think this is going to be a home run. This is our next big one,” said Dinning.
COMMENTARY
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Study is worth bragging about BY WILLIAM WITCZAK
Conestoga officials should be bursting with pride and students no longer have to worry about people making fun of them for going to Conestoga College, thanks to a new study. Economist Larry Smith released the study results March 5, which showed that almost 50 per cent of the local adult population has participated in educa tion or training programs at Conestoga. It also found that: ■ 64.6 per cent of Conestoga graduates live in the local area, defined as Waterloo Region, Guelph and Stratford. ■ These 53,887 graduates represent 10.7 per cent of the local adult population. ■ 2,155 Conestoga graduates are business owners. ■ Since 1990, 197,299 unique individuals were students of Conestoga’s Continuing Education courses. ■ At least 30,000 individuals have received customized training from Conestoga at over 500 employers. ■ The annual employment income of Conestoga grad uates is at least $1 billion, and therefore the economic contribution to their employers and to the community exceeds $1 billion each year. The numbers show the huge effect that the college has had on the community. And there is no sign of it slow ing down. Many people used to think when the word college was uttered it referred to some second rate school for people who couldn’t get into university, something that was almost an embarrassment. But now that opinion is changing, not just for this college but for every college in Canada. The practical skills that are being learned here provide real world jobs. We doubt our university counterparts could match these results. Sure, Conestoga may not have the same “degree” of reputation, but the fact that the college now offers full-fledged degrees among its many varied pro grams goes miles to improve its reputation. The fact that the college is still set to grow is some thing that all of us can be proud of. Now, whenever we say that we are currently enrolled at Conestoga, the first thought that will run through people’s minds won’t be “Poor you,” but more likely “Good for you. And, “I went there too!” The views herein represent the position of the newspa per, not necessarily the author.
L e tte rs a re w e lc o m e Spoke welcomes letters to the editor. Letters should be signed and include the name and tele phone number of the writer. Writers will be contacted for verification. No unsigned letters will be published. Letters should be no longer
than 500 words. Spoke reserves the right to edit any letter for publication. Address correspondence to: The Editor, Spoke, 299 Doon Valley Dr., Room 1C30, Kitchener, Ont., N2G 4M4
" I f we can send people to the wrong polling stations, I'm totally thinking we can rip them o ff with online poker!"
Youth-on-youth crime increasing We are all targets of crime in an age when expensive mobile computers are as common as wristwatches used to be only a decade ago. In fact, just 60 years ago only the most prosperous governments in the world could afford computers and they were a thousand times more expensive, bigger and slower than the most com mon of smart phones today. Try and wrap your head around that, just for a minute. Now, think about the people who typically use smart phones and how they use them. Introduce alcohol and a poorly lit street at night and you have put yourself into the shoes of the criminals who are behind opportunistic and predatory crimes. In two separate instances during the early morning hours of Feb. 10 in the Northdale neighbourhood of Waterloo, a neighbourhood that has been branded the sometimes comical but also sometimes very real nickname of student ghetto, a man wearing all black used a handgun to hold up two 20-
Andrew Soulsby Opinion year-old males and robbed them of their phones and other belongings. In both cases, the victims were unable to report the crimes right away, making an investigation and arrest diffi cult.
Incidents of this type tend to escalate during school breaks and holidays. - Waterloo Regional Police Services advisory
In response, Waterloo Regional Police Services issued a public advisory on Feb. 21 urging young people to be more aware of their sur roundings while walking at night. According to the adviso
ry, “incidents of this type tend to escalate during school breaks and holidays.” Police believe an increased use of alcohol during these periods causes people to be drunk and unaware of their surroundings. The advisory also said investigations have revealed “that some robberies occurred after the location of house parties and social gath erings were posted on social media.” It is safe to assume, then, these crimes are primarily youth-on-youth and illuminate the ongoing battle between the haves and the have-nots. Those whose parents can’t afford to supply their kids with the latest and greatest in technology find themselves on the outskirts of parties where the affluent drink and stum ble out with earbuds in place and the latest touch-screen super computer in their pock ets. The wristwatch status sym bols of yesterday have been replaced by the Galaxy Nexus, the iPhone and the Blackberry Bold 9900 and have left our youth as walking targets with money sign halos above their heads.
SPOKE IS P U B L I S H E D A N D P R O D U C E D W E E K L Y B Y T H E J 0 U R N A L I S M S T U D E N T S O F C O N E S T O G A C O L L E G E Editor: Karen Haynes Assignment Editors: Bradley Zorgdrager and Jazlyn Slack Advertising Managers: Alexandria Deer and Torie Roth Spoke Online Editors: Tiffany Wilson, Brendan
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The views and opinions expressed in this newspaper do not necessarily reflect the views of Conestoga College. Spoke shall not be liable for any damages arising out of errors in advertising beyond the amount paid for the space. Letters to the editor are subject to acceptance or rejection and should be clearly written or typed; a MS Word file would be helpful. Letters must not contain any libellous statements.
COMMENTARY
Monday, M arch 1 9 ,2 0 1 2
SOAKING UP THE SUNSHINE
Menzingers’ ‘Impossible Past’ leads to promising future After making the move from small independent label, Red Scare Industries, to one of the biggest inde pendent labels around, Epitaph, four guys from the Liberty Bell state, have proven there are more things to love from Scranton, Pa., than just NBC’s The Office. The Menzingers’ third fulllength album, On The Impossible Past, is a depress ing, apologetic love letter to the lives they lived as teenagers and young adults. Reminiscing about drugged and dazed nights on tracks such as Sun Hotel, while offering up relatable memories of past loves on the track Casey, allows the
PHOTO BY KAREN HAYNES
Erik Ball, a first-year bio-technology student, soaks up the sun beside Conestoga’s pond on March 13. Ball appreciates the spring temperatures as he reads the Waterloo Region Record in a T-shirt and sunglasses.
Abolish bigotry The mainstream acceptance of tattoos and other body modifications is not at an acceptable level. Sure, many employers would feign acceptance, but when push comes to shove - as it often does in today’s competitive job market - it seems they’d hire a “clean” individual to protect their image over a tattooed one who could improve their productivity. That the objection is made by many individuals who would claim acceptance of others’ beliefs and choices is even more disturbing. Though religious freedom - a personal choice as opposed to a predetermined genetic trait such as race or gender - is protected in The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, personal expres sion through tattoos is not. The days of tattoos being exclusive to sailors and crim inals are long over. The slick imagery and suburban locale of many tattoo shops is the perfect comparison to the art form’s overall move from underground criminals to everyday Joes. So why does the world at large refuse to budge on their collective consciousness on this unique and indelible art form? Simply put, the answer is fear - fear of change. Though the logical reasons have long since been abol ished, employment of a visi bly tattooed individual (in a visible position) remains an
Bradley Zorgdrager
Opinion anomaly. As the old adage goes, one should be innocent until proven guilty, but when it comes to being tattooed, it seems the inverse is true — you’re guilty until proven innocent. The world needs an openminded and courageous com pany, led by a like-minded individual, to open their doors to modified individuals, in order to prove their “inno cence” or more appropriately, ability. Tattooed individuals are no less capable than their vir gin-skinned counterparts. Personally, I find many of the heavily tattooed individu als I know to be more intelli gent and accepting than oth ers. As the workforce is replaced by younger individ uals who didn’t grow up dur ing a time of hostility toward tattoos, hopefully they are more accepted, though a quicker change would be ideal. Though gradually fading, as tattoos do, the stigma associated with the art form is still present, and that needs to change.
SPO KE ♦ Page 5
Sarah Shaw
Opinion band to ride a line between the good and bad of growing up in the middle of nowhere. Chamberlain Waits, their sophomore album which Punk News chose as 2010’s best punk album of the year, resulted in great expectations. With any move to a larger label comes the pressure to produce an album of not just quality recordings, but of
increased song writing and instrumental talent. Travelling to Chicago to record at Atlas Studios with Matt Allison (who has previ ously recorded albums by Alkaline Trio and The Lawrence Arms), allowed The Menzingers to showcase their progression, not just in advanced guitar rhythm, but sonically and vocally. But most importantly, lead vocalist Tom May proves that his unique ability to perpetu ate a sound of sorrow, while still remaining hopeful, plays a crucial part in setting the tone for what should be another contender for punk rock album of the year.
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FEATURE
SPOKE ♦ Page 7
A friendly
fighting
family
Mark Burgess (right) demonstrates a judo throw on wife, Robyn, in front of their daughter Monika at the Asahi Judo Club in Kitchener. All three have black belts. By RYAN HORNE
Monika Burgess throws her mother to the mat at the club.
PHOTOS BY RYAN HORNE
Members of the Asahi Judo Club perform some relaxing stretches before their training session. The club has 176 members.
Attention all -muggers and thieves. If you ever see the Burgess family walking down a dark alley, you’d be wise to steer clear before you find yourself face down on the pavement. They may look nice (and they are), but they’re also masters of the art of judo. And they’re all mem bers of the Asahi Judo Club located in Kitchener. It all starts at the top with the president and father, Mark, who happens to be the most prolific judoka of the family with a third-degree black belt. Wife Robyn, a sec ond-degree black belt, works full time at the K-W Gymnastics Club just a few steps away from Asahi. Monika, 16, a first-degree black belt, and Cameron, a 15-year-old brown belt, are the kids of the family who love the sport just as much as their parents. “I always joke that ‘a family that fights together, stays together,”’ said Robyn. “We do so much as a family and a lot of people who have teenagers don’t have that lux ury.” Mark has been involved with the club since 1984 when he started out as a stu dent in his teens and stopped fighting com peti tively in 2005. He said his kids’ interest in the sport is genuine and it came without
any pushing or prodding from him or Robyn. “We didn’t ask our kids if they wanted to go to church on Sundays either, they just do,” said Mark. Mark finds it difficult some times to wear both the father hat and the coach hat when it comes to his two kids. “It’s tough because when you’re dad and when you’re coach sometimes the kids don’t have a chance to get a lazy day,” he said. “It’s both the most difficult and most rewarding thing I’ve ever done.” Monika is skyrocketing up the junior judo ranks as she won silver and a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Championships in Cardiff, Wales last January. She could have easily won gold if not for a bum shoulder which she injured in an awkward fall early in the final match of the over 20 division. “The best I’ve ever done was seventh, so I was kind of proud of myself,” said Monika, who has aspirations to compete for Canada in either the 2016 or 2020 Summer Olympics. “It’s easi er for me because no one real ly knows me in those tourna ments so I feel like I do bet ter.” Cameron will be competing at a higher level when he turns 16. Monika, who started fight ing at age three, said she
can’t remember a time when judo wasn’t a part of her life. When the kids were young, the family used to sit in their hot tub and quiz each other about throws and different judo moves. Judo has always come home with the family. Whether it’s watching a live stream on the Internet of an important judo competition halfway around the world or teaching one last move before bed, judo is 24/7 in the Burgess household. “If he (Mark) figures out something cool, he’ll show us in the living room,” said Monika. It seems that all the Burgess family vacations turn into judo competitions. The family has had the privi lege of travelling to Ukraine, Germany, Wales, Mexico, Iceland, Portugal and Morocco all for judo. The Asahi Judo Club has been in Kitchener since 1967 and received a certificate of thanks from the City of Kitchener in 2007 for 40 years of contribution to the growth of parks and recre ation in Ontario. The club is one of the largest in Canada and currently has 176 mem bers. Mark has seen groups come through the club in stages. Some will head off to college and a new fleet of fighters will enter. “I want everybody who comes here to reach their genetic potential,” said Mark.
Page 8 ♦ SPOKE
PHOTOS BY DEVON SMITH
SPOKE ♦ Page 9
BLOOD, SWEAT AND FIRE By DEVON SMITH
With lifelike wounds and car fires, live birthing and a cold water res cue, the eighth annual NaHSSA Conference kept everyone on the edge of their gurneys. NaHSSA, that is, the National Health Sciences Students’ Association, brought the conference to Conestoga in collaboration with the Waterloo Interprofessional Healthcare Student Collaborative (WIHSC). The conference was held over the weekend of March 9 and had approximately 130 health sciences students from across the province learning about technology and inno vation in healthcare. They did so through speakers, clinics and live simulations. Conestoga had the honour of being the first college ever to host the con ference, which NaHSSA president Andrea Guidolin said is quite an achievement. “This is the first time it’s hosted by a college as opposed to a university,” she said. “It’s amazing that they’re so well established. That they have great attendance and great student representation, but also that they’re able to host it on campus and have such great events for our students.” And great events there were. A
presentation by professor and acclaimed speaker Dr. Brian Little was followed by live simulations of a car fire, a cold water rescue in the pond, smoke inhalation and a birth. There were clinics, seminars and presentations throughout the week end teaching students about every thing from post-traumatic stress to how to create lifelike wounds with makeup. Level 3 B.ScN student Candace McLay was one of the nurses who delivered the baby in the live birth simulation. “It feels real when you’re in it,” she said. “My heart was beating and I was getting flushed, so my adrena line was pumping even though I knew what was happening. It felt real.” It’s no wonder that it felt real when the acting “mother” of the child, level 3 B.ScN student Madelaine Deitner, took her role so seriously. “I actually got really into it and was hyperventilating and I think I could have almost passed out, but we stopped it before that,” she laughed. “In the end, mom and baby were fine and it was a good experi ence.” The spectators of this particular simulation watched the event on a TV screen in another room, bringing
to light the conference’s technology theme. Not only were there cameras set up in the maternity ward, but the presence of a high-tech remote control newborn named Todd (short for toddler) drove the point home. In addition to technology and inno vation, the conference put an emphasis on collaboration between the different branches of health services, such as the one between paramedics and firefighters. This relationship was clearly illustrated by the car fire and cold water rescue exercises which had everyone work ing together to save victims. WIHSC community liaison, confer ence co-chair and Conestoga gradu ate Aaron Dolson knows the impor tance of these kinds of exercises. “They give you an opportunity to get an understanding of the differ ences in the languages,” he said. “How some of the things that you do at the scene can impact, not only the care that the paramedics give, but the care further on down the line.” Dolson was pleased with the turnout and said that he got a lot of positive feedback from the students. “I think the students will take a sense of pride in their college away from it,” he said. “I think being the first college to host this event in the eight years that it’s been happening speaks highly of our school.”
Below left: Paramedic and pre-fire services students attend to victims during a car fire simulation just outside the F-wing during the NaHSSA Conference. Two photos below right: Students tried their hands at creating lifelike wounds at one of the clinics offered during the NaHSSA Conference.
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STUDENT LIFE
Monday, M arch 1 9 ,2 0 1 2
CONESTOGA COLLEGE STUDENTS a r e
busy bees
PHOTO BY KAREN HAYNES
The Den has been open since Feb. 27. Renovations to Conestoga Students Inc.’s lounge, formally known as the Upper Sanctuary, included building four smaller rooms housing a total of five TVs. With a valid student card, students can rent popular gaming sys tems such as PS3, Xbox and the Wii free of charge.
PHOTO BY KAREN HAYNES
Students hosted a carnival on March 13 to raise money for Marillac Place, an organization that provides safe shelter for mothers between 16 and 25 years of age. The carnival ran in the lower atrium at the Doon campus, and included a variety of games including a bean bag toss, coin toss and a lollipop pull.
Above, James Morrison (left to right) and Nikola Reinis, both first-year business foundations students, and Katrina Singh, a first-year visual merchandising student, enjoy The Den on March 13. Morrison and Singh are CSI service leaders and reg ularly supervise The Den, rent ing video games and playing music.
Above, Ron E (left) and Jeff Eaton, both third-year business administration marketing students, prepare for the carnival. Eaton holds an oversized baby bottle, which was later used to collect the event’s proceeds.
PHOTO BY ELISSA DEN HOED
Crowning Achievements is the name of the structure built by Conestoga students for Canstruction, an annual building competition using cans of food, which are donated to The Food Bank of Waterloo Region at the end of the event. Crowning Achievements won first place for structural ingenuity. Since the first Canstruction event took place in New York in 1993, it has collectively raised over 125,000 pounds of food which has helped over 26,500 people.
PHOTO BY WILLIAM WITCZAK
English as a second language student Maryam Morshedi happily gets her blood pressure tested at Conestoga College’s Doon cam pus in the front foyer on March 9.
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ENTERTAINMENT
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Say Anything’s new album a gem After listening to the majority of music that has been released during this era of the DJ, it’s always refresh ing to hear music led by pow erful guitars and witty lyrics. Say Anything’s Anarchy, My Dear, which was released on March 13, brings you through a transition of typi cal Say Anything songs although typical isn’t always a bad thing. The album touches on every aspect of the band that fans love including meaningful lyrics, jaunty melodies and superb musicianship. Burn A Miracle, which is the first single off the album, goes into a chorus which fea tures a distorted vocal effect on Max Bemis’s voice. As he sings “burn a miracle,” he slurs the line to appear as if he’s saying “burn America.” Bemis shows great maturi ty with the album and has the ability to connect to fans with his usual comical but outspoken lyrics. Admit It Again is a great sequel to their song Admit It!!! which appeared on their album ...Is a Real Boy. The continuation keeps its origi nal fast-pace punk vibe and angst-ridden lyrics which make it easy for fans to con nect because of the simplicity of the song’s message - stay
Jake Robinson Opinion
true to yourself. Peace Out is a unique song compared to today’s usual style of music. The guitar work and vocal melody mimic the style of medieval music. Although the song goes into a cliche Say Anything chorus, it remains fresh with an unorthodox, yet impressive, guitar solo entering the second verse. As the song concludes with the choppy playing style of a piano it is evident that it is one of the stronger tracks off the album. The impressive thing about Say Anything is their ability to effectively genre hop from song to song. After Peace Out they jump into Overbiter which is one of the more mainstream songs that the album features. The pulsing piano and drum beat mimics a tasteful rendition of many current top 40 songs. The album’s title track, Anarchy, My Dear, is a beau tiful ballad, although, unlike most love songs, this is writ-
ten to the idea of anarchy, not a person. The song begins with a snare roll replicating as if the band was marching off to war. Bemis sings in a huskyraspy tone as an acoustic gui tar frequently trades off from playing chords to riffs. The track is put together with a lot of effort and hidden instrumental gems —the cho rus features a harmonica that is mixed well behind the other instruments but is effective in sparking a mourning emotion to the song. It eventually reaches a tasteful turn-around leading into a spectacular guitar solo. The band concludes the album with The Stephen Hawking which wraps up the album appropriately. The song flows from a slow intro into a raw-punk middle sec tion before slowing down again and concluding with a melodic outro. The movement of the song demonstrates the band’s great ability as com posers as members combined what could be three different songs into one. Every Say Anything album has its own unique identity the identity of this one is their growth in musicianship as well as maintaining their ability to strike a variety of emotions with listeners.
ENTERTAINMENT
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M ass Effect 3 is an effective conclusion The galaxy is at war against an ancient race of machines. These machines have wiped out intergalactic civilization countless times in the past. That’s the plot in Mass Effect 3, a video game made by the Canadian devel oper Bioware for the Xbox 360 (reviewed), the PlayStation 3 and the PC. The game starts with Earth under attack by the reapers (the ancient race of machines,) and you have to build alliances with other races in the galaxy to take Earth back and defeat the reapers. As the other races are also fighting the reapers, and they have disagreements
Ben Stoddard Opinion
with each other, this is no simple task. You play as Commander Shepard, a soldier for the Human Alliance military. You choose whether Shepard is male or female and his/her appearance. Throughout the game, you make tough choic es that affect who helps humanity. If you’ve played Mass Effect
2, you can load your saved game and keep all the choic es you made in the previous game(s) as well. For those who don’t, the game re writes itself to ease you into the experience. The different choices lead to so many variables as to how the story can play out. Can you unite a race with the robots they created and later had to leave their home world after failing to destroy them? Will you focus on try ing to keep as many people alive as possible or on ruth lessly attacking the enemy regardless of the cost? While none of these directly affect gameplay, they will affect
how ready you are to take on the reapers and it’s actually possible to lose this war if you don’t play it correctly. The game has three play modes: RPG, Action and Story. RPG plays just like the previous games did. Action mode turns the game into an action epic by remov ing your story choices. Story mode makes the game very easy for those who only want the game’s story. The graphics are excellent on the Xbox 360 version with detailed and atmospheric locations. The music and sound are both top of the line. The animation, while not flawless, expresses characters’ emotions very well. Occasional animation cause heads to turn further than they should or characters become invisible during con versations. Otherwise, the presentation is almost perfect. The voice acting is univer sally strong. It features Martin Sheen, Keith David, Carrie-Ann Moss and Seth Green among many others. Female Shepard in particu lar is excellently portrayed by the veteran voice actor Jennifer Hale. The story is epic but still has room for smaller moments between different characters. It is full of emo tional moments, from selfsacrifices and worlds falling, to races gaining hope that they haven’t had in cen turies. The final battle in the game might actually be the most epic scene ever created in any form of fiction. It’s halfway between Star Trek and Star Wars, yet it’s
unique enough to feel like its own franchise. The plot twists are surprising yet believable. The game’s end ing is neat in concept and will make you think, but it isn’t explained in the best way. Where the game truly shines is the journey and the characters within. The gameplay is at least comparable to the best Third Person Shooter games. Enemy AI is smarter, weapons are more varied and you have more freedom of movement. You can customize weapons with different attachments on weapon benches. Even your class abil ities are more customizable each can be evolved in multi ple ways. The only problem is that the A button does way too much for its own good. The Kinect support gives you voice commands that allow you to use abilities, switch weapons and lead your squad. This feature is implemented very well and proves that Kinect has poten tial. Mass Effect 3 is a massive success. From its excellent production quality to its deep story, this game match es the best sci-fi franchises in depth and in some ways, tops them. It eases new players into the experience while rewarding veterans of the series. While it’s not quite as good as Mass Effect 2 thanks to the animation glitches and an ending that could have been executed better, it’s a satisfying con clusion to this epic trilogy that started five years ago. I rate it 9.8 out of 10.
ENTERTAINMENT
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S P O K E ‘ Page 13
Laughter is the best medicine By MARIANA C. MORALES
Brent Butt, famous for his Canadian hit show Corner Gas, was welcomed with deafening applause at the Uptown Waterloo Comedy Festival on March 8. He suggested Kitchener and Waterloo become one and call itself “Kitchen-Water.” INTERNET PHOTOS
Chris Gibbs is a British-born comedian and was the host for the evening. With his British accent, he said that he can’t tell the difference between an American accent and Canadian accent.
Todd Allen has made appear ances on the Comedy Network and has a one-man show, Who the Hell is Todd Alien? Growing up in Victoria, B.C., he calls his family tree “the family cactus because there are tons of pricks.”
Nile Seguin, from Ottawa, has appeared at the Just For Laughs Festival and has written for shows such as This Hour Has 22 Minutes. With his large afro, he joked, “I’m not cool enough for this hair! Don’t I look like I know something about music?”
Rob Pue won the 28th annual San Francisco International Comedy Competition in 2003. He recommended the audience not watch the news. “Even good news is bad news. Like Dave won $65 million in the lottery. (Who cares about) Dave!”
Full bladders were not rec ommended at the third annual Uptown Waterloo Comedy Festival. Famous Canadian comedi ans such as Brent Butt and Debra DiGiovanni took the stage to perform stand-up com edy and laughed while the world laughed with them at several locations in Waterloo from March 8 to 12. The festival began three years ago thanks to executive producer, Phil LeConte, who believed his hometown of Waterloo needed a comedy fes tival. On March 8, the Opening Night Festival Gala was held at First United Church in Waterloo. It featured six hilar ious comedians including Brent Butt. When asked about being nervous before perform ing, Butt said, “For me, this is the only part of the day that makes sense. The rest of the day, I don't know what I’m doing.” Originally from the small town of Tisdale, Sask., Butt has gone on to great fame, appearing in various produc tions including episodes of The Kids in The Hall and The XFiles. In 2004, he created the Canadian hit Corner Gas where he had several roles including creator, writer, exec utive producer and director. This was his third time in Waterloo. He was suggesting that Kitchener and Waterloo become one and call itself “Kitchen-Water.” Chris Gibbs, a British-born comedian was the host for the evening and introduced each act as well as sharing his comedic experiences compar ing Americans to the English. He said he is always asked if he can “turn off’ his accent but that would imply that he had been talking wrong his whole life. He can, however, sound
PHOTO BY MARIANA C. MORALES
Sean Cullen is an energetic man who is known for his improvisation and mixing it with his musical talent. He interacted with the audience and they joined him in his songs.
The Uptown Waterloo Comedy Festival was held on March 8 to 12 featuring various Canadian comedians. On the opening night of March 8, the event was held at First United Church in Waterloo.
like most Americans. Can he tell the difference between an American and a Canadian accent? With his British accent he said, “No, sorry you all sound the same!” Gibbs, as well as most of the other comedians, found it strange to perform mature jokes in a church setting. He said he felt as if he was going to get struck by a bolt of light ning. Another comedian joking about the setting was Todd Allen from Victoria, B.C., who has appeared on The Late Late Show on CBS, the Comedy Network and the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal. He enjoys the sound of laughter from the audience. “I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t get tingly inside. That’s the reason I do it, for that sound. I really like it.” He grew up in Victoria where his family tree lives or what he calls “the family cactus because there are tons of pricks.” Continuing on the mocking Americans theme, he said he moved to the United States in 2008 when the economy was not in good shape. When cross ing the border, he said he showed his papers and the bor der official told him arrogantly that he was just another Canadian coming to steal American jobs. The punch line to the joke was when Allen said, "With all due respect sir, what jobs?” The next comedian to take the stage was from Ottawa. Nile Seguin has appeared at the Just For Laughs Festival and Winnipeg Comedy Festival and is a regular on-air contributor for CBC Radio. The laughs continued as comedian Rob Pue took the stage. He won the 28th Annual San Francisco International Comedy Competition in 2003 and appeared as a regular on the MTV series Punk’d. He is
an energetic and sociable comedian and is known for expressing life as it is without leaving any detail out. One of his jokes included his experience crossing the border from Alberta to Montana on a bus where he received a quiz in which the first question was, ‘Are you a terrorist?’ “If I was a terrorist, I wouldn’t want the bomb to blow in southern Canada, no one would care,” he quipped. Sean Cullen is an eccentric man who is known for combin ing his talent in music and improvisation. From Peterborough, he has appeared frequently on CBC’s Royal Canadian Air Farce. Cullen interacted with the audience and was able to make everyone laugh with his improvisation. He commented on how he dislikes the police response time in Toronto. “Last night, a werewolf attacked me on my lawn so I shot him in the chest killing him instantly. Then I phoned the police saying there’s a werewolf on my lawn dead, hurry. Ten minutes goes by, 15 minutes, then 20 minutes. They show up like half-anhour later and what did they see? A naked man dead on my lawn. If you had been here 25 minutes ago, he would’ve been covered in hair and fangs. So I was charged with murder.” In addition to making resi dents laugh, the event sup ported the Food Bank of Waterloo Region, raising over $1,400 and over 700 lbs of food. Overall, the shows were suc cessful as volunteer Brytni Tregunna, who is also a visual merchandising student at Conestoga College, said that most shows were sold out. “The guys have put so much effort into the show this year with the Gala Night as well as the festival and it was well worth it!”
NEWS
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Go Green! L o o k fo r the follow in g G reen W e e k even ts being h eld by C SI and the college th is w eek : TODAY Coffee: Free mugs, tea and coffee are being given away for students to promote reusable mugs and to cut down on “ cup waste.” 9 a.m.-12 p.m.; E-wing, near Door 6. Run by CSI. W aste audit: An audit of the cafe teria waste will be done and it will be prop erly separated for recycling. 12 p.m.; Lower Atrium. Run by Jana Vodicka (Environmental Co-ordinator). TUESDAY Dus ticket event: Two hundred free bus tickets will be given away to pro mote riding the bus. As well, an info booth will be set up to display features of the new Hybrid buses. 11 a.m. -1 p.m.; Outside CSI; run by CSI. Evening Presentation: Organic B ackyards To RSVP, email Jana Vodicka, Environmental Co-ordinator, (jvodicka@conestogac.on.ca). Space is limited. 7-9:30 p.m. W EDNESDAY Everyone W ear Green: Students, faculty and staff are encouraged to wear green today. Chartwells: Chartwells is featuring a special Green Week menu. Vendors: Vendors will be on campus to promote Green Week, including Ontario Hydro and the Ontario Seeds Company. 10 a.m-2 p.m.; Hallway in Upper Atrium. Run by CSI and Jana Vodicka. Thursday Presentation by George Kouronis from Angry Planet Storm Chaser: Event includes a question and answer period. 12-1:30 p.m. in the Sanctuary. Run by CSI.
Friday Student Life: Booths will be set up in the hallway and CSI will be giving awa) green cotlon candy. 10-1 p.m.; Upper Sanctuary. Run by Student Life and CSI. Aboriginal Services: An elders presentation will be held. 10-11:30 a.m.; Lower atrium.
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Battle brews at the Bean Conestoga management students to host battle of the bands Conestoga College’s event management students will be hosting a battle of the bands at The Little Bean Coffee Bar on Saturday, March 31 from 6:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. The event will showcase a variety of talented young artists battling it out for prizes. The grand prize is a gig at a major KOI music festival venue courtesy of Cory Crossman at ARC Clothing, five hours of studio time cour
tesy of Nick Iden of Brixton Music, and a professional photo shoot done by photogra pher John Jameson. Each team participating will receive a T-shirt package donated by Cory Crossman at ARC Clothing. All proceeds from the Battle at the Bean will go to Lutherwood Children’s Mental Health programs. Lutherwood assists children and their fam ilies who are coping with men
tal health challenges. They provide counselling services and interventions and also operate a youth shelter. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased by emailing battleatthebean@ hotm ail.com , following them on Twitter @battleatthebean, giving them a “Like” on Facebook: Battle at the Bean, or by visiting The Little Bean Coffee Bar at Unit B l, 417 King St. W. in Kitchener.
STUDENT LIFE
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FREE UP YOUR TIME w i t h
f r e e s e r v ic e s
WHAT IN THE WORLD is
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g o in g o n a t c o n e s t o g a
?
PHOTO BY SARAH SHAW
Scott Siegors, a second-year administrative marketing student, takes advantage of the free services offered at the CSI desk. Students can access laminating machines, paper binders and photocopiers. The self-serve area is open MondayThursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Friday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Daylight time effects student productivity By ALYSHA MILLER
Believe it or not, there is a Top 10 list of sleep-deprived careers. Those professionals would be especially hard hit last week due to the time change. According to a Feb. 27 arti cle in Business News Daily, home health aides and lawyers topped the list of the tired, followed by police offi cers, physicians, economists, social workers, computer pro grammers, financial analysts, plant operators and secre taries. A, study led by Dr. Lance Ferris, assistant professor of management and organiza tion in Penn State’s Smeal College of Business, suggests that the Monday following a daylight time change, people lose an average of 40 minutes of sleep. This makes the Monday that follows an espe cially unproductive day at work. The study found that employees spend more time than usual surfing the web for entertainment on Mondays following the change to daylight time. The research in the study was based on information from Google searches over six years.
One experiment gave sleepdeprived subjects a task to perform on a computer, dur ing which they spent an aver age of 8.4 more minutes searching for unrelated entertainment subjects per hour of sleep lost the night before. So how did Conestoga stu dents handle the change? “I’m tired,” said Sayanna Lopez, a graduate of Conestoga’s marketing pro gram, who was on campus visiting a friend. “I’m defi nitely more tired than usual.” “One hour of sleep is a big loss to me,” said Diego Brito, a first-year software engi neering student, laughing through a yawn. And it is, according to the study. Researchers wrote, “In the push for high productivi ty, managers and organiza tions may cut into the sleep of employees by requiring longer work hours. This may promote vicious cycles of lost sleep, resulting in less time spent working, which could result in more frantic pushes for extended work time.” Overall, though, it’s impor tant to be present for work or school-related shifts; it’s also important to sleep enough so that time is well spent.
PHOTO BY BRADLEY ZORGDRAGER
Sivabalasingam Kajanthan (left) and Melissa Gallant, both first-year social service management students, dress as a mummy and Cleopatra respectively for a world cul tures presentation at Conestoga College on March 9.
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Monday, March 19,2012