Off-cam pus parking These tips will help keep you safe. Page 3
SPOKE
A LEARNING NEWSROOM FOR JOURNALISM STUDENTS
Man’s new best friend? Elmira resident’s pet duck offers up m any laughs. Page 10
Taking the plunge By JAZLYN SLACK
The sun was warm and shining bright, but it was still a little early in the year for a dip in the pool. Conestoga spent their after noon “freezin for a reason” on Feb. 28. A whopping $12,000 was raised for the Breast Cancer Society of Canada. CSI pro gram communications co-ordi nator, Becky Saba, said “many students have had their lives touched by cancer.” The
Polar
Plunge
usually
raises money for the United Way, however, Movember was such a success for prostate cancer awareness, CSI decid ed to donate to breast cancer research this time around. Due to the mild weather, the event was held on the Sanctuary patio in a pool instead of using the pond as in previous years due to the thin ice. The Polar Plunge has been taking place for more than 15 years at Conestoga.
PHOTO BY JAZLYN SLACK
Michael Smith, a third-year mechanical engineering automotive student, does a flip into the Polar Plunge pool on Feb. 28. See Pages 8 and 9 for additional story and photos.
Conestoga officials recognize the need fo r larger rec centre By ANDREW OMBAN
The students of Conestoga College have done just about everything to get a varsity basketball team other than march to the recreation cen tre with pitchforks and torch es. Their persistence may finally be paying off. The college’s athletics department has had some conversations about the need for a larger facility to accom modate the growing student population. If a new centre was built, varsity basketball te a m s could becom e a reali ty. However, there is work to be done before that can happen. Athletic director, Marlene Ford, knows all too well the desire for basketball among students. “Students come to me every year who want basketball and
have for 10 years. We just don’t have enough gym time available to run the proper amount of practices nor do we have the gym time to host any home games.” The solution, she says, would be to “build a new building. That’s the only way it’s going to happen.” Simple enough. The stu dents want it and the athlet ics department realizes they need it so let’s just build a new facility and expand the school’s varsity horizons. Unfortunately it?s not that e a s y . “It’s not my decision. It has been talked about. The presi dent (John Tibbits) is aware that we do need it. As far as I know, it is going to happen but I can’t tell you if it’s going to happen in three, five or eight years,” Ford said. Paul Osborne, director of
recreation and athletics at Conestoga College, knows the students desire a basketball team and realizes that with the student body having more than tripled since athletics began at the college, it’s time for Conestoga to take a step forward in competing in ath letics. “We started in 1980 and probably had about 2,500 stu dents at that point but now we’re around the 9,000 mark,” said Osborne. “We very much would like to see a n e w building in the future plans and so we think that the timing is good to add that just because of the capac ity that building already has during the day and in the evening.” Osborne also wanted to make sure that everyone knew there would be many more uses students would get
out of the new facility other than just basketball. “The next component of that is to have free gym time for students to just drop in when it’s convenient for them whether it’s for basketball, badminton, volleyball or whatever it might be,” he said. “There’s so many positives with getting a new facility but these things cost a lot of money and it’s not something that you just say ‘today, we’re going to build something new’; you have to figure out where that money’s going to come from.” Should the students expect to pay for the new facility? “I think it’d be a combina tion of things whether it would be college money, com munity money, whether CSI would become involved ... I know they have always had a
health and fitness agenda,” Osborne said. With talks heating up, stu dents will be wondering just how serious they are and when we can expect to hear an announcement regarding the facility. “We’re just at the point where we are starting to look at the possibilities of what could happen in the future and what our future needs might be,” Osborne said. “I am hopeful that some thing is going to happen. I really can’t, put a date on it but, as director of athletics, I am always looking to improve what we have as the college grows and we are now the fastest growing college in Ontario.” He added Tibbits is “very aware and very motivated when it comes to health and wellness for our students.”
NEWS
Page 2 ♦ SPOKE
Now deep thoughts ... with Conestoga College Random questions answered by random students
What band or artist, past or present, would you tour with and why?
“Shakira - I like her per sonality and she speaks five languages.”
Monday, March 5,2012
Students vote yes to U-Pass By ALYSHA MILLER
The majority of the stu dents who voted in the UPass referendum held by Conestoga Students Inc. (CSI) from Jan. 31 to Feb. 3 were in favour of the plan to add a bus pass to tuition fees in 2013. The survey, which was com pleted by 1,356 students, was sent to student email accounts of those enrolled in full-time programs at the Cambridge, Boon and Waterloo campuses.
Now that CSI has student approval they will begin working with Grand River Transit (GRT) to negotiate a contract. In the announcement sent to students after the vote was tallied, CSI states that the vote only permits them to start negotiations, and that a number of surveys are still to come to be sure that students have a chance to give their input as to what they want. The pass is not final, and won’t go through if students vote against it in
the future. So far the plan proposes a $90 fee for all full-time stu dents per semester, which will pay for a GRT bus pass as well as 18,000 more hours of service annually and 10 more buses to service the Cambridge, Doon and Waterloo campuses. Since the pass is still in the works, nothing will be put into place until the fall 2013 semester, so students needing a bus pass this September should still plan on buying one.
Bebo Aldohlm, first-year English as a second language
Helping the cure for heart disease hurry hard By JAKE ROBINSON
“Bob Marley - he was a man before his tim e.”
Christina Panopoloulos, first-year PSW
“Elton John - I’ve been a fan for a lot of years. I respect him and love him because he’s a very energetic guy. ”
Laura Quirk, professor liberal arts
“Eminem - when he performs it makes me feel comfortable because I can relate to him.”
Waterloo Region curlers were throwing stones to build hearts as solid as rocks on Feb. 17, during the Heart and Stroke Foundation’s 10th annual Curling For Heart Bonspiel at the K-W Granite Club. Although the attendance was lower than previous years, 14 teams participated and raised over $18,000. Over 20 businesses, includ ing Centre in the Square, Dickson Bowl and Reid Chocolates, donated prizes for participants to bid on during a silent auction with all of the proceeds going to the Heart and Stroke Foundation. Participants also enjoyed a free lunch donated by Jay Fencing. Lunch was followed by guest speaker, Paul Schnarr, who had a heart attack in October 2007 while playing
hockey. He talked about his story as well as the impor tance of taking care of your self and the accessibility to defibrillators. “I tell people to change their life habits if they’re not eating healthy or they’re not exercising, it’s good to do a combination of both,” he said. “When you eat, don’t eat big meals at once, eat more smaller meals.” Shortly after his heart attack, Schnarr began mak ing public speaking appear ances on behalf of Emergency Medical Services in an attempt to acquire more defibrillators in public places. “About four years ago there were something like 42 AEDs around. The last count that I got there was 129 so it has really helped,” he said. The tournament was won by the K-W Granite Ladies team, who beat Manulife
Rocks by one point. Megan Lacoursiere, pro gram co-ordinator for Waterloo Region’s Heart and Stroke Foundation, was pleased with the outcome of the event. “We are down in numbers this year but many of our curling teams are returning and they had a great time,” she said. “The volunteer com mittee worked very hard on this event for the last four months and their hard work paid off.” Lacoursiere also said that about 4,300 people in Waterloo Region are hospi talized each year from heart disease and stroke-related conditions. The University of Waterloo also has four research teams which allows most of the money that is raised to stay in the region. To donate to the Heart and Stroke Foundation visit www.he art ands tr oke.com.
Saleh Alhawas, first-year English as a second language
“Chris Lake - I like his work even though I don’t know much about his personality.”
Stefan Vasilijevic, first-year English as a second language
“The Roots - 1like the atmosphere during their live perform ances. Th ey’re viefy easygoing people.”
Zack Hannah, first-year graphic design
Smile Conestoga, you could be our next respondent!
PHOTO BY JAKE ROBINSON
Curlers from around Waterloo Region attended the Heart and Stroke Foundation’s 10th annual Curling For Heart Bonspiel on Feb. 17 at the K-W Granite Club. The teams raised over $18,000 while participating in curling and a silent auction.
NEWS
Monday, March 5,2012
SPOKE ♦Page 3
App design com petition turns heads gramming student Stephen Campbell was part of the After four days of imagina team that designed an app tion, innovation and sleep that would help track you deprivation, the competitors down if you got lost, and he of Conestoga’s 4x4 Challenge talked about some of the were at the mercy of the challenges that his team faced. judges. “It would be working and The challenge ran from 9 a.m., Feb. 21 to 2 p.m., Feb. then we’d add one more thing 24 and was organized by the and then the thing that was chair of engineering and working would break,” he technology, Ignac Kolenko. said. “It was a lot of trial and Kolenko created this competi error but in the end it all tion to give students in the worked.” Campbell’s was one of the electronics engineering, soft ware engineering and infor five teams that had access to facilities in the mation technology programs the a chance to showcase their Communitech Hub in down entrepreneurial and soft- town Kitchener. These teams had access to whiteboard war e/electronics skills. “This has been a dream of space, meeting space and mine, getting students into wireless Internet at the hub. the spirit of entrepreneur- But they also received devices and developer sup ship,” said Kolenko. The challenge was to design port from RIM to help them an application or a device with their projects. Kolenko that would provide a useful was pleased with the compa solution to a common prob ny’s support. “(The students) came in lem. In Kolenko’s words, it “was totally open. You have a with no knowledge of the Blackberry platform and four dream, build it.” And dream they did, with days later came out writing projects ranging from an software for it,” he said. “It iPhone app for Conestoga’s was great.” bookstore to a device that And that knowledge went a would send an alert, by text long way for some of the message, if a farm gate was teams, including the competi tion winners, Brendan left open for too long. There were a total of 10 McFadyen, Chris Sippel, teams who entered and many Colin Wheat and Dylan worked around the clock dur Corriveau. The team won ing the time allotted. $200 for their Grand River Second-year computer pro Transit app, which would By DEVON SMITH
Conestoga spreads its wings By JESSICA MARTIN
Conestoga College is part nering with the Wilfrid Laurier University campus in Brantford to offer more options to students. John Tibbits, president of the college, said there are already some partnerships with the Laurier campus “up the street in the science area,” but the college is going to start pro gramming at the Brantford campus as well. ‘The vision is that we can have a completely integrated post-secondary system where students can come and have a variety of options,” he said at the college’s board of governors meeting on Feb. 27. “The options could include the trades, upgrading or switching between programs and schools. I think this is going to be a unique opportunity.” There will be two Conestoga programs at the Brantford campus to start off with. One will be a post-diploma/postdegree human resource man agement program that is one year and allows a Laurier stu dent in a four-year degree pro-
gram to count it toward one of their years. The college already has an agreement with Laurier on this program and it is offered at the college, however, starting in the fall it will be offered in Brantford as well. The second program to be offered in Brantford will be a two-year general business pro gram which will serve in a multi-dimensional format and could be an entry level pro gram to a Laurier degree. ‘It’s a minor start, but there’s a market and we wanted to make a commitment,” said Tibbits. “Brantford is the fastest growing city in Ontario at this point and I think this is a wonderful experience for us.” He said he hopes to have more of Conestoga’s programs starting up in Brantford a cou ple of years down the road, as long as the growth funding for mula can support the plan. “That’s another issue in itself, but from a strategic point of view, the partnership makes sense,” he said. “And it only takes 25 minutes to get from my office to that campus. It’s very close.”
PHOTOS BY DEVON SMITH
First-year computer program ming student Chris Morris shows what his app can do.
Shawn McEwen, program manager at Desire2Learn, was the keynote speaker on the day of the Conestoga 4x4 Challenge.
help students find the near est bus stop, when the next bus would arrive and if there were any delays. Though there were industry members there to do the judging, it was Kolenko him self who donated the entire prize pool for this inaugural event, and his purpose was clear. “As a computer engineering student at U of Waterloo many years ago, I found that participating in program ming contests, and writing software on the side, gave me a leg up over others who con-
centrated solely on academ ics,” said Kolenko. “Although no guarantees can be offered, it is my belief that these types of opportunities to showcase your strengths can only help you with your future job search.” This particular opportunity didn’t go unnoticed. Shawn McEwen was a judge in the competition as well as the keynote speaker at the show case. He is the program man ager at Desire2Learn, a soft ware company that special izes in educational applica tions. During his presenta
tion, McEwen talked about entrepreneurship, risk tak ing, failure and success, all tying into his own career as a software developer, and he gave credit where credit was due. “This is a unique opportu nity,” he said. “And what you do here does matter out side, when you get there. And I’m never of the school of thought that, as students, you never know what it’s going to be like in the real world. This is actually the real world. What you did this week is phenomenal.”
Stay safe when parking off-site By ANDREW SOULSBY
Drug deals, break and enters, thefts and students avoiding expensive parking permits are some of the things you’ll find at govern ment-owned carpool lots. “It scares me,” said Don Willis, director of Safety and Security Services at Conestoga College, as he explained some of the dan gers of parking off campus. At the beginning of the month, an email sent to every student at Conestoga advised them to remain alert when approaching their cars in these potentially dangerous areas. Willis said these areas are often used by opportunity seekers, knowing the owners of the cars won’t be back until m u c h l a t e r . Although the off campus parking lots are “not my responsibility,” Willis does worry about the students who use them. Through various channels, such as police con stables, Willis has learned of several thefts in these lots including a laptop that was
stolen from a student s car. For Doon and Cambridge campus students who return to their off-campus parked cars at night, the situation is especially precarious. The carpool lot located at Fountain Street and Homer Watson Boulevard has one light, a payphone and a sign warning drivers to park at their own risk. The Ministry of Transportation believes this level of security is sufficient. The MTO “provides free carpool parking lots near dozens of highway interchanges throughout Ontario to serve commuters,” said Emna Dhahak, senior bilingual media liaison officer at the MTO. “The lot located at the Highway 401 and Homer Watson Boulevard In ter change is a very active lot and is equipped with our standard sentinel lighting. There is no charge for use of these unsu pervised lots.” She advised people with information about crimes occurring in these lots to con tact police. However, therein
lies another problem. According to Olaf Heinzel, public affairs co-ordinator at the Waterloo Regional Police Service, incidents at carpool lots “is not a city issue,” because they are owned by the MTO, a provincial body, therefore they are patrolled by the OPP. Const. Barb Kirkness of the Cambridge OPP disagreed. “We don’t do carpool lots,” saying the OPP’s jurisdiction is solely on highways and their respective ramps. “They’re not our responsibili ty " However, Kirkness said they patrol these lots on occa sion and she would “send an email out to the detachment,” asking officers to increase the frequency of these patrols. In September, Willis said he will try to deter students from parking off campus by adver tising the safety of parking at Conestoga, where he says thefts are a rare occurrence. Students are not only paying for parking close to the school, they’re paying for “peace of mind,” he said.
COMMENTARY
Page 4 ‘ SPOKE
Monday, March 5,2012
It’s now or never Students need to stay focused in order to get their diploma By JAZLYN SLACK
For some students, that desired piece of paper is slow ly falling out of reach. Even though graduation is right around the corner, it’s harder than ever to stay motivated. It’s a long way from home and it seems like there’s nothing that could fill the void, and even though being on the home stretch, finding the motivation to get out of bed and hand in assignments is difficult. The good thing is that there is only eight more weeks until summer vacation and, for some, graduation, but what seems to be the hardest thing to do, is getting out of the “so close, yet so far” mind set. Some students are showing signs of seasonal affective disorder or depression. A lot of people would think, ‘Well, just get up and do something about it,” but it’s harder than that. As much as one would like to get up and feel happy and get, out of the house, there’s a weight that keeps you from the “I love life” scenario. The stress of getting your diploma can be overwhelm ing, especially when combined with homesickness. It seems so easy to just give up, but don’t. One and a half years or more of post-secondary education is far too long to just give up on. Failing even one course will guarantee a trip back in the fall and will cost you hun dreds of dollars. If you are feeling depressed or unmotivated, get help, whether it be from your family physician, a doctor on campus or Counselling Services. And talk to your teachers. Tell them how you are feeling, so they know you are struggling and not just lazy. Try not to procrastinate, organize your work into small chunks, keep your nose to the grindstone, meet deadlines and, most of all, stay positive.
The views herein represent the position of the newspa per, not necessarily the author.
Letters are welcome Spoke welcomes letters to the editor. Letters should be signed and include the name and telephone number of the writer. Writers will be contact ed 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 correspon dence to: The Editor, Spoke, 299 Doon Valley Dr., Room 1C30, Kitchener, Ont., N2G4M4
SAD can be debilitating It’s the beginning of March and we have approximately six weeks before the school year ends. You’d think this would motivate students to work harder than they’ve ever had to work before in order to get those assign ments completed on time. However, most students just don’t feel like they have the energy to do any work. They’re burnt out. You’re probably wondering how that’s possible consider ing we’ve just come back from reading week and had three weeks off during the holidays. How can anyone be burnt out after all that time off? It’s a condition known as seasonal affective disorder or SAD for short. SAD is a type of depression that follows a seasonal pattern. For exam ple, a person who is vulnera ble to this disorder may fall into a type of clinical depres sion that may begin in late autumn and last until spring. SAD can be debilitating, preventing those afflicted from functioning normally. It can affect their personal and professional lives, and seri ously limit their potential. It is important for sufferers to learn about the symptoms so they can seek the proper
Ashley WeifordCostelloe
Opinion
treatment. Symptoms can be difficult to diagnose as many of them are similar to those of other types of depression or mood disor ders. Even physical conditions such as thyroid problems can look like depression. Generally, symptoms that recur for at least two consecu tive winters without any other explanation for changes in one’s behaviour can indi cate the presence of SAD. Symptoms include a change in one’s appetite, in particu lar a craving for sweet or starchy foods, weight gain, decreased energy, fatigue, tendency to oversleep, diffi culty concentrating, irritabil ity, avoidance of social situa tions and feelings of anxiety and despair. Symptoms of SAD usually disappear when spring arrives. For some peo ple, this happens suddenly. For others, the effects of SAD gradually dissipate. Research in Ontario sug gests between two per cent and three per cent of the
general population may have SAD. Another 15 per cent have a less severe condition described as the winter blues, which is often mistak en for SAD. SAD may affect some chil dren and teenagers, but it tends to begin in people over the age of 20 and is more common in women. If you suffer from some of the more severe symptoms, you should seek professional help. People with mild symp toms can benefit by spending more time outdoors during the day or arranging their environments so that they receive maximum sunlight. For example, keep curtains open during the day or move furniture so that you can sit near a window. Exercise can also help with the symptoms. Try to build physical activity into your lifestyle before SAD symp toms take hold. Make a habit of taking a daily walk. The increased exposure to sun light can raise your spirits. SAD is not something you have to live with. It can be treated. For more informa tion, you can contact Counselling Services or a community organization such as the Canadian Mental Health Association to find out about different treatments.
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NEWS
Monday, March 5,2012
SPOKE ♦ Page 5
Cambridge couple aboard Costa Concordia Recall time spent on ill-fated cruise ship four months prior to wreckage By BRENDAN DALEY
When Glen and Debbi Drinkwater decided to end their three-week European vacation with a cruise, they hadn’t realized they’d be among the last to step aboard the Costa Concordia. When the vessel ran aground in mid-January, the incident made headlines worldwide. However, video coverage of the submerged vessel hit home for this Cambridge couple. Four months ago, Debbi and Glen roamed those same halls, sat in that same dining room and conversed with those same crew members. The memories are still vivid. “I remember the one waiter who was missing. He was extremely pleasant and very accommodating,” said Debbi, recalling her encounters with the crew.
Four months later, the man’s photo was broadcast on television as one of those missing. “I had this surreal feeling knowing I was there (last year). I never thought this could happen.” She also recalls seeing another man briefly during her time spent on the Costa Concordia. Described as a seemingly arrogant man, dressed in a captain’s uni form, Debbi recalls a beauti ful woman on his arm at all times. Casually strolling along the deck and dining in the dining room, they could tell that Francesco Schettino —captain during the Jan. 13 collision “expected respect.” According to Debbi, rightfully so. “The ports that this huge liner visited were crowded with other cruise ships as well as commercial vessels.
The captain manoeuvred our ship with ease into these small spaces.”
Perhaps because of his obvious skill he thought he could safely pull off a showmanship. - Debbi Drinkwater A retired fire captain, among the first things Glen Drinkwater did after board ing the ship was establish an appropriate escape route. The couple went as far as counting the number of doors from their room to the nearest exit. “If the lights went out, we could feel around for the doors and navigate through the halls.” Nearly 24 hours after
departing from harbour, the Drinkwaters were given a lifeboat drill, a safety meas ure required of cruise lines. “I thought they could have given us the drill a little soon er,” said Debbi. After all, “we had already been at sea for a day.” According to the Drinkwaters, this wasn’t the only safety issue. “It was very difficult to understand the Italian announcements” - an appar ent problem in emergency sit uations. “The passengers know nothing when there is a problem. The crew is told not to alert us.” The Drinkwaters’ vacation ended with the couple step ping off the majestic ship onto the port and returning home safely. As they watched the story unravel, their own trip seem ing like yesterday, Debbi and
Glen couldn’t help but feel uneasy. Their mental photo graphs of a pleasant holiday have been overwritten with images of tragedy and misfor tune. Debbi says the recorded con versation between the coast guard and captain was “unbe lievable.” “I never met a captain who would abandon distressed passengers,” she said. “Perhaps because of his obvi ous skill he thought he could safely pull off a showman ship.” “He was a knowledgeable captain who made an error in judgment,” Glen added. “We both think he had moral obli gation to make sure his pas sengers and crew were safely off the vessel.” Of the 3,229 passengers and 1,023 crew members, all but 32 were rescued or made it to shore safely.
Page 6 ♦SPOKE
Calling all entrepreneurs said. The Waterloo Region Small The Waterloo Region Small Business Centre is located in Business Centre is accepting Kitchener City Hall, with applications for their other locations in Waterloo and Cambridge. They help Summer Company program. If you are a student between entrepreneurs and small the ages of 15 and 29 and are business owners develop their interested in starting up a current or new businesses. The centre provides services business or learning more about business, you could be including seminars, business registration assistance, mar eligible for this program. The Summer Company ket research assistance and 2012 program provides one-on-one consultation and hands-on experience from advice. The seminars in March local community business Finding and leaders who provide coaching include and mentoring to assist stu Researching Your Market on 8, and Young dents with their goal of creat March Entrepreneurs Start-up ing a business. It is sponsored by the Financing on March 12, and provincial government and Income Tax for the Business enables students to start and Owner on March 15. These information sessions are usu run their own business. “If you are looking for an ally held two to three times a exciting business opportunity week with sometimes more to be your own boss this sum than one session a day. Another opportunity for mer, Summer Company is for you,” said Chris Farrell, man aspiring business owners is ager of the Waterloo Region the Canadian Youth Board Foundation (CYBF) which Small Business Centre. young entrepreLast year the program had assists 24 participants including uni neurs, aged 18 to 34, with versity, college and high t urning a business idea into a reality. school students. Eligible dents can also receive a n Business people have the award of up to $3,000 to star t opportunity to be educated in creating a business plan, up their own business. challenges, The deadline to apply is overcoming May 7, and everyone is financing, mentoring and encouraged to apply early u sin g online business since spaces are limited. For resources. CYBF has invested information, visit the website, in snore than 4,900 young www.ontario.ca/summercom- Canadians who have created s u c c e s s fu l businesses that pany. “Not only do you get to run have produced more than your own business, you will 19, 4 3 0 j o b s starting as a gain valuable entrepreneurial national charity in 1996. To learn more about CYBF, skills and funding to make your idea a reality,” Farrell visit www.cybf.ca By MARIANA C. MORALES
NEWS
Monday, March 5,2012
FEATURE
Monday, March 5,2012
THEMUSEUM
offers cultural content By TORIE ROTH
Nine years ago, THEMUSEUM, on 10 King St. W in Kitchener, came to be. It was initially called the Waterloo Regional Children’s Museum, but underwent a name change in 2010. Previously, it was a depart ment store called Goudies. But it had been 20 years since fur niture, clothing and other goods lined the floors and shelves. Instead, the building has sat empty and boarded up. Eventually, the community came together to make a change. “It was partially young fam ilies wanting to have a place for children but it was also the development of technolo gy companies such as RIM, with the desire to learn,” said David Marskell, CEO of THEMUSEUM. “So, they wanted to have cultural things for their workers (to do) when they moved to this communi ty ” The community raised $17 million during a capital cam paign to create the building standing today. People gave what they could, which ranged from $5 to $1 million. Million-dollar donations were made by at least four RIM employees. Currently, feature exhibits include “Arena” The Hockey Exhibition, which is a collab orative and engaging show on the science, history and art of Canada’s much-loved pastime. It is on until May 3. Just a few of the permanent exhibitions include: ■ Topspot, a colourful area designed for children up to four years old, so they can show their creativity. ■ Construction Alley, where children can create a maze or fort using colour flags.
■ And the Plasma Ball. Touch it and watch the ener gy try to escape through your hands. When the Waterloo Regional Children’s Museum first opened, their mission statement was “a place where art and technology meet to stimulate creativity and to motivate learning.” It was a place were visitors could apply their artistic imagina tions to reveal the unexpect ed, unconventional, and even incongruous possibilities of technology. THEMUSEUM’s mission today is “to scan the globe for fresh cultural content and use it to stage experiences that stimulate transforma tive connections for their audiences.” “I would like it to become a premier cultural destination appealing to a broader demo graphic both by age and geo graphically and it to become sustainable,” Marskell said. He was the director of mar keting at the Canadian
SPOKE ♦Page 7
PHOTO BY TORIE ROTH
Children and their families on Family Day weekend enjoyed The Hockey Exhibition and other family activities.
National Exhibition while the campaign was being held. He was contacted by a search firm that was responsible for replacing the CEO of THEMUSEUM. They asked him if he was interested and eventu ally made him an offer, which he accepted. He has been the CEO for five years, and moved to Kitchener from west Toronto after commuting back and forth for a year. As of this year, Marskell is now teaching an event plan ning course for the public relations program at Conestoga. “I got to know some people at Conestoga, one of them being Mark Derro,” Marskell said. “One day we were chatting and it just came up. From his perspective, I have the experi ence and from mine, I thought it would be fun and a good time in my career to give back to a school that has always been so helpful to THEMUSEUM.”
STUDENT LIFE
Page 8 ♦ SPOKE
Monday, March 5,2012
PHOTOS BY JAZLYN SLACK
Participants plunged to raise money for the Breast Cancer Society of Canada during Conestoga Students Inc.’s annual Polar Plunge on Feb. 28. Jumpers dressed up in costume and raised a total of $12,000. People who hammed it up included: Matt Martin (top right), a third-year mechanical engineering automotive student, and Jeremy Schoonderwoerd and Joshua Villemure (below), both second-year architecture - project and facility management students. Tara Kropf and Steph Krulick (bottom photo), both third-year business and adminis tration marketing students, sold raf fle tickets at the event.
F reezin’
rof aeason R Polar Plunge participants raise $12,000 for Breast Cancer Society of Canada
B y ALYSHA MILLER
The $12,000 raised in this year’s Polar Plunge on Feb. 28 helped warm up the shiv ering participants - along with free soup, hot chocolate and energy drinks. “When something hits so close to home it makes you do crazy things,” said Jessica Froll, a first-year general arts and science student. The crazy things she was refer ring to was dressing in a ladybug costume and jumping into an icy swimming pool filled w ithfrezzingcoldw ater to raise money and awareness for breast cancer research. And she wasn’t the only one; almost 50 people leaped, dove or backflipped into the pool to support this year's Conestoga Students Inc: Polar Plunge. Jodie Devries and Jessica Shott, both first-year early childhood education students,
kept their minds off the jump they were about to make by competing in a dance-off held by the campus radio station, 88.3 CJIQ. Both were sup porting the cause on behalf of their grandmothers who bat tled breast cancer.
We're saving boobies one loonie at a time! - Steph Krulick and Tara Kropf
First-year general arts and science student, Pandora Foster, also knows the dis ease all too well after it claimed a family member. “My aunt died from breast cancer. I’m all for breast can cer awareness and research,” she said.
She made sure to show her enthusiasm — and prepared ness — for the plunge with a sparkly blue diving mask and snorkel to complete her already colourful outfit. Other participants just wanted a thrill. Brittany Frank, Becky Dallner and Hala Qutteineh, all financial planning students, were jumping to relieve some of their midterm stress in addi tion to supporting the cause. More money was raised beyond the fundraising done by participants through a raf fle for HockeyFest tickets. People who donated $1 for breast cancer research received a ticket. “We’re saving boobies one loonie at a time!” said Steph Krulick and Tara Kropf, both third-year business adm inistration marketing students, who were selling the tickets.
Monday, March 5,2012
STUDENT LIFE
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PHOTO BY ALYSHA MILLER
A polar plunge participant takes a moment to celebrate after com pleting his jum p despite the chilly conditions.
PHOTOS BY JAZLYN SLACK
Jumpers took the plunge in 2 C weather. A pool was used instead of the pond because the recent warm weather meant the ice was n’t thick enough to walk on.
FEATURE
Life with a quack and a waddle
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By JESSICA MARTIN
A large bull mastiff struts up to the feathered creature, so close their faces are almost touching. The bird isn’t intimi dated and doesn’t waddle away. Instead, they stare at each other in silence, each weighing the strength of their competition. The dog inches closer. Closer. And whack! The duck winds her neck back and smacks him in the snout. Although domesticated and at most times well behaved, Ferdy is a household pet that stands her ground. Alex Fisher said raising the duck is enter taining and he never knows what’s going to happen. However, one thing he can always guarantee is the reac tion he will receive from people when they first find out about the most recent addition to his collection of animals. “They either do one of two things,” he said. ‘They’ll look at me like I’m crazy, or they think it’s the coolest thing ever.” Perched on the couch in the Fisher family living room in Elmira, Ferdy fluffs her feath ers, cuddles under Fisher’s arm and quietly quacks with contentment. When Fisher gets up to grab a glass of water, she follows closely behind him, waddling in the diaper Fisher ordered from
South Carolina off of a Diapers for Ducks website. “She’s pretty much a dog as far as I’m concerned,” he said laughing. “She doesn’t respond to her name but we’re working on that.” Although Fisher has always loved animals and has many pets roaming the house, he was not planning on ever domesticating a duck. Thanks to one of his high school friends, nine months ago he added the new, cuddly friend to his collection. “At school we had been talk ing about how cool it would be to have a duck,” he said. “Then one day my friend walks up to me and holds out this little ball of fluff ” At first, he wasn’t sure what to do with the duckling and thought he would eventually have to take it to a farm, but then “it turned really docile and really friendly so (he) kept it.” The more attention his fami ly gave Ferdy, the friendlier she became. They soon fell in love with the animal “full of personality,” and since she was “easily one of the cheapest ani mals to take care of,” they couldn’t le t her go. Fisher said he paid $15 for a 50-pound bag of duck feed which lasted about seven months. Unlike most ducks, Ferdy gets to watch movies, go to church and ride along in the
passenger seat of Fisher’s Nissan X-Trail. “She loves to go for car rides. She’ll just sit there and stare out the window. It’s the weird est thing ever,” he said. “I’ll pull up to a red light and some one else will pull up beside me and they’ll look at us. Then they look away, then look again. Then they’ll point us out to the other people in their car.” Although Fisher has had Ferdy for months, it wasn’t until a couple of weeks ago he found out that “Ferdinand was a Ferdinette.” One day he walked out to the little nest box in the backyard and noticed an egg was lying there. “It actually works out because my dad is allergic to chicken eggs, but duck eggs are fine,” he said. “They taste exactly the same they’re just a little smaller because Ferdy’s still pretty young.” Fisher said he’s not the only one with a pet duck. One of his friends also owns a feathered friend and they often joke about going on duck dates. However, Ferdy isn’t too fond of females. “I’m not sure if it’s something hormonal but she gets all nerv ous and quacky around girls,” he said. “My mom included.” Lucky for him, his mom has no problem with having a duck indoors. With a park in their
PHOTOS BY JESSICA MARTIN
Ferdy (right) has her own room in a shed (left) at the back of the property. Fisher found out ‘Ferdinand was a Ferdinette’ a couple of weeks ago when he discovered an egg in her nest box.
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Monday, March 5,2012
PHOTO BY JESSICA MARTIN
Alex Fisher was never planning on owning a duck, but when his friend handed him a little ball of fluff nine months ago, he couldn’t say no. Ferdy turned out to be really docile and friendly and his parents had no objection.
backyard, a little shed with a nest box for Ferdy to sleep in and neighbours who “absolute ly love her,” raising the bird
has yet to be a problem. “Goes to show you can domesticate anything,” said Fisher.
Monday, March 5,2012
ENTERTAINMENT
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Cheap Girls release new album Every once in a while a record comes out that show cases undeniable talent — a record that makes your skin crawl with emotion, making you want to cry tears of joy and sorrow all at the same time. Cheap Girls’ new gem, Giant Orange, offers you that type of experience. Produced by Tom Gabel of the Gainesville, Fla. punk band, Against Me!, the album showcases examples of a blend of hard and blues rock genius that allows fans to hear impeccable timing, well-penned lyrics and a full heart and soul effort. The original recording con tains 10 tracks with an addi tional bonus track on the first thousand released, and
Sarah Shaw
Opinion
features classic rock and roll sounds. With low-fi guitar throughout many songs, fans are given an interesting acoustic break, four tracks in on Cored to Empty. Referencing iconic punk legends, Social Distortion, on the upbeat, fast track, If You Can’t Swim, allows for blaz ing guitar riffs from start to finish. The album’s bonus track, Dim Lights, allows fans to hear the band’s softer and more complex approach
to music making, with a country/folk feel, which is broken up by a strong drum solo part of the way in, and dark rhythmic sounds throughout. Cheap Girls puts forth an effort that is often missing in many new releases among the underground landscape, which feature quickly pro duced and recorded material. Giant Orange, the third full-length album by three boys from Lansing, Mich., stays true to their unique blend of hollow, haunting vocals and bluesy post-hardcore sound. And it’s a very reassuring example that will remind fans of the greatly underrated punk-rock scene, which is still producing new and inventive creations.
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ENTERTAINMENT
Chiddy Bang is just plain ham and eggs
Monday, March 5,2012
William Witczak
Opinion
Chiddy Bang’s long awaited debut album has finally hit the shelves, and although it isn’t as good as some of their earlier, rawer work, it’s still worth a listen if you want something original to get the party started. For those who aren’t famil iar with them, Chiddy Bang is comprised of Chidera “Chiddy’ Anamege and Noah “Xaphoon Jones” Beresin who mix genres with hip hop and alternative sampling being a big component of their music. This makes their music the type you’d pre-drink to or you’d find at clubs — high energy music to get people moving. Chiddy Bang’s strength on past releases was their abili ty to combine samples from other songs (popular or not) with Chiddy’s humorous rapping styles and this holds true with their new album. The best songs are the ones where samples are featured heavily, with Mind Your Manners (feat. Icona Pop) and Happening being stand outs. It’s where they don’t use heavy sampling that the album falls apart. Various songs on the album just feel generic, with the beats and rapping sounding like something you’ve heard a thousand times before. Chiddy is a good rapper; it’s just that a lot of it when he’s on his own just sounds uno riginal. It’s rather unfortu nate, since about half of the music on the album is inno vative and original. It leaves a very uneven feeling, as opposed to their early mix tapes, which got the attention of such rappers as Kayne West and Jay-Z, that were solid all the way through. On the whole when Chiddy Bang is at its best, it’s really upbeat party music that will get everyone hopping up and down to the beat of the music. It’s just unfortunate that only half are worth listening to. For a debut album it’s a good effort, but, unfortunate ly, all the money that was put into the recording didn’t seem to make it better as a lot of their mix tapes record ed very cheaply are of a much better quality. It’s still worth checking out, but maybe pass on buying the whole album and just buy a couple of their singles instead, or better yet, check out some of their earlier mix tapes. I give the album 3 out of 5
Kart your way NEWS
Monday, March 5,2012
By DREW LOGAN
You don’t need a licence to steer your way to victory with Nintendo’s Wii entertainment system game, Mario Kart Wii. The eighth game in the series offers the same com patibilities as past Mario Kart games, such as Mario Kart for the Nintendo 64. In fact, the game offers a blast from the past by revealing that it uses race levels from multiple previous versions of Mario Kart as well as new ones. This means you can enjoy the old feel of the Super Nintendo Mario Kart racetrack, such as Super Mario Circuit 3 (SNES Circuit 3) on a Wii Remote. This could be a disappoint ment to some as this game is not full of completely new material. The gaming modes are the same as previous ver sions as well. But the Wii Remote is a bonus. To use it you simply steer it like a wheel. By hold ing the Wii Remote vertical, you hold the acceleration but ton down and steer as you would a car. This immediately provides gamers with a new enticing video game that both provokes and challenges play ers to keep driving.
Let’s not forget the steering wheel you can use with the Wii Remote to better immerse the gamer into the driving experi ence that is known as Mario Kart. There are other ways to drive if steering is too difficult. This game is compatible with other controllers such as a Nunchuk with the remote and the Nintendo GameCube con troller. And the one-player mode isn’t easy like other Nintendo Wii games. There are harsh time trials for each course that you are required to beat. Most of the trials were created by the Nintendo staff themselves. Racing against time trials or playing competitive modes offers the choice of karts and bikes in this game. The more you race, the more you will unlock things. “Grand Prix” mode offers a hefty challenge with speed of races ranging from 50cc (easi est) to 150cc (hardest). Unlocking of characters requires gradual completion of all challenges, including over coming a grading system set in each individual race. And who says you want to be a cartoon character? In Mario Kart Wii you can be who you want to, as it allows you to use
to victory
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INTERNET PHOTO
In Mario Kart you can race at home against your friends or race online against hundreds of people from around the world. Choose from 24 different characters and 36 different vehicles.
your custom-made Mii charac ter on the Wii channel. This means you could drive as yourself or anyone else you’ve created a profile as on your Mii Channel, found on the Wii home menu. Nintendo steps outside the box with their Wifi capability with this game, allowing you to play with people around the
world. With over 28 million copies sold, it’d be hard to not find someone playing online at any given time of day. Unfortunately, not everyone online will be using the same remotes, and it is easy to see that players using a GameCube controller will not find as much challenge as when using a Wii Remote, as
the remote requires much more mastery. All in all, Mario Kart Wii is the second best-selling game, next to the infamous Wii Sports, for a reason. The inte gration of the Wii Remote pro vides a great addition to any gamer who is looking for some thing both bold and relatively new.
Gam es Exchange sells classics and rarities By BEN STOPPARD
Independent movie and game stores are becoming scarce as chain stores and downloading services take over the market. Yet there is still no experience like walking into a store and holding rare titles and beloved classics. Games Exchange has been in the used game market for over 20 years. Based in down town Kitchener near the bus terminal, they buy and sell games for pretty much every game system ever released. From modern systems such as the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii to classic consoles such as the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis, you can always find games from every well-known game system since the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES.) Every now and then, they have a bunch of Atari games available as well. “We take used games for pretty much everything,” Stephen Ciokan, a manager at the store, said. You can often find well-
known games such as Ninja Gaiden Black or Killzone 2, but it’s the rare titles that fly off the shelf. “Recently we had Earthbound, it’s not extreme ly rare, but it’s a highly sought after game for the Super Nintendo. It’s worth $100; we sold it in days.” Occasionally they will receive rare game consoles as well. “About a year ago we had a Panasonic 3DO.” The 3DO was Panasonic’s attempt at entering the video game mar ket. It was cancelled one year after it released, with only two million units sold. When you walk into the store, you’re immediately sur rounded by racks of used games. The store counter, straight ahead, has several TVs and working game con soles set up so you can test games before you buy them. The store wall on the right is covered with PlayStation 2 games (the PlayStation 2 is still the top-selling home con sole ever.) Most of the store’s classic games are to the left.
The store is decorated with old game posters and maga zine pages. Behind the count er there are shelves full of game and system boxes. There is a display case to the left of the front counter that holds any rare games or systems in the store, includ ing an R.O.B. accessory for the NES, which is usually holding a portable game sys tem or a rare game in its hands (R.O.B. is a robot that is virtually useless.) It also usually houses the unboxed games for the NES, SNESl and the Sega Genesis. Beyond trading used games, Games Exchange will replace batteries for cartridge-based games (you need a working battery to save your game progress.) They’re , al s o involved in the communi t y sometimes donating to chari ty or hiring high school stu dents for co-op credits. To learn more, or to see what used games are avail PHOTO BY BEN STODDARD able, visit www .gamesexR.O.B., a robot accessory, is holding the first Star Wars game ever change.ca. The store is at 91 released for a home game console. Both are for sale at Games Queen St. S. Kitchener (519Exchange in downtown Kitchener. 745-3832.)
NEWS
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Auto show revs consumers
Monday, March 5,2012
up
Hybrid vehicles and vintage cars draw crowds By ALYSHA MILLER
The Canadian International Auto Show was held on Feb. 25 and 26 to massive crowds eager to take a peek at the new innovations in automo tive technology —or to get out of the house after Friday’s snowstorm calmed down. The event, held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in Toronto’s down town core, featured every thing from a two-room dis play of a collection of Triumph cars from through out the company’s history to the latest in electric car technology. Kids and adults alike had the chance to open the doors and climb inside every vehicle imaginable. The lineup for the Smart Car proved that seeing them on the road has a lot of people curious about what it’s like to be behind the wheel of one of the tiny auto mobiles. Businesses selling every thing from rims and window tinting to remote-control hel icopters had booths set up to advertise their products and services. Mothers Against Drunk Driving also had a small booth tucked into a corner between rooms with a picture wall covered with the
faces of victims over the past decade. A police officer handed out ribbons to passersby and reminded those who stopped to call 911 if they suspect an impaired driver. The Eco-Drive Showcase was one of the main features of this year’s show and focused on the future of the automotive industry. As fuel prices rise and the public becomes more environmental ly conscious, car companies are coming up with a variety of ideas to adapt to these trends. Hybrid cars dotted the entire show, with compa nies advertising not only the features of their vehicles, but the workings of the plug-in charging cables that accom pany them. The 2012 Cruise Nationals brought together a collection of rare vehicles that had attendees shooting lots of photos. Judging by the time it took to park and to navigate the crowds around some of the displays, the Canadian International Auto Show was ai huge success. And for good reason, with more peo ple trying to prolong the life of our planet, there is a lot of interest in the goings-on in the automotive industry.
PHOTO BY ALYSHA MILLER
People from all over Ontario and beyond attended the International Canadian Auto Show on Feb. 25 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre to see everything the automotive industry has to offer, includ ing race cars.
FEATURE
Monday, March 5,2012
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BakingMemories By TIFFANY WILSON
As participants waited patiently in classroom A at the Waterloo Region Museum, thoughts of doubt ran through some of their heads, as they scanned the room and saw that there were no ingredients, bowls or even a bread maker, just empty tables and chairs. How can we possibly make bread in here, was the ques tion on everyone’s mind. However, upon arrival, workshop leader, Amy Bradley, told everyone that they would be making and baking the three types of bread during the workshop in the Peter Martin House, located just behind the new museum in the Doon
Heritage Village. It was a
know the difference between scolded milk and scalded milk?” she asked. When there their way down a narrow was little response from the snowplowed path and stepped participants, she went on to into the 1914 home where it explain that scolded is when was cold yet comforting. The the milk is boiled and scalded room had a table covered with is when the milk is almost to wax paper, a bench that if you a boil. sat on one edge, it would tip Once everyone had washed over like a see-saw and aarm w ood-firedoverm disburs,inge noughheattow the their hands, it was time to prep the first loaf called entire wheat and flour bread. This was the historic recipe room up. O n c e s e a t e d Bradley handed out three from the Fannie Farmer 1896 bread recipes - entire wheat Cook Book. and flour bread, corn bread Next step: combining ingre and chocolate bread. dients into a large bowl. According to the recipe, While gathering utensils and ingredients, Bradley began “(You) add sweetgning and the workshop by teaching how salt to milk, cool, land when lukewarm add dissolved yeast to read a historic recipe. “Our first ingredient is 2 C cake a n d flour; beat well, of scalded milk. Does anyone cover and let rise to double its bulk.” Sound complicated? Not to participant Joanne Tfjksenpflug, as she compared watching her grandmother bake bread to watching it being done at the workshop. “It is wonderful to see how easy it is to make. It doesn’t seem so bad,” she said. In saying this, the addition of each ingredient, the stir ring and kneading was circu lated around the table. Meaning, while one person poured 2% cups of white flour into the bowl, the next person would be “beating” the dough with their hands and so on. Annie Legge, a passionate bread maker and participant, perceived bread baking as an art, but said it’s also thera peutic. “If you are in a horrible mood
Amy Bradley, leader of the workshop, prepares the bread for eat ing by cutting it into slices for the participants who attended a baking bread workshop.
ip;-'
8| yf"
PHOTOS BY TIFFANY WILSON
Annie Legge mixes the softened butter, sugar and eggs needed to start making the dough for a famous com bread from a recipe which can be found on CanadlanyYlng.com.
and want to get out aggres chocolate filled the room, sion, make bread,” she said. taste buds of the participants Bradley also said she releas began to wat e r Bradley es her aggression while checked to see if the bread kneading for the standard was ready to cut by turning three to five minutes as it is a the loaf upside down and key part in the rising of the knocking on the bottom, lis bread before it is put into the tening for a hollow sound. wood-fired oven. The loaf was ready. Meanwhile, Christine As Bradley slowly sliced the Treichel, another workshop freshly baked loaf into pieces, participant and avid bread the aromas tickled the noses maker, decided to partake in of the participants like the the workshop to experience tastes of the breads tickled other recipes and techniques. their insides. Raspberry and “My kids are worried that I strawberry jams were pre might come home with new pared as spreads and water recipes and ruin the ones I was in the kettle for a nice already bake,” she said. cup of tea. However, one of the breads After all the laughter and that could possibly win the hard work, the group of nine hearts of children would be gathered around the table and the chocolate bread, full of enjoyed critiquing each type of cocoa and pieces of chocolate. bread while they sipped on It is a wonderful bread that their warm beverage. would serve well with tea or In the end, the participants at breakfast, said Bradley. left the Peter Martin House When the smells of beer with knowledge, smiles and (smell from the yeast) and full stomachs.
In a matter of 15 minutes, this chocolate bread made from yeast, cocoa powder, bittersweet chocolate and flour rose enough to be glazed over with a teaspoon of water and a sprinkle of sugar.
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Monday, March 5,2012