Christmas cheer Cambridge parade celebrates 40 th year. Page 7
Monday, November 26, 2013
SPOKE
A L E A R N I N G N E W S R O O M FOR J O U R N A L I S M S T U D E N T S
Conestoga College, Kitchener, ONT.
CATCHING SOME ZZZs w i t h
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Stachetastic Voyage Movember event raises $3,000. Page 9
43RD YEAR - NO. 26
to n y lee
P H O T O B Y S T E P H A N IE L E F E B V R E
X-rated hypnotist Tony Lee performed at Conestoga College on Nov. 15, placing students under his spell. Lee is popular in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K., performing approximately 160 times a year. For story and more photos, see Page 3.
Conestoga students get to tool around BY KRIS MANUEL
PHOTO BY KRIS MANUEL
Mathieu Lacroix works his way through a welding activity at Waterloo campus’s Fifth Annual Tool and Trades Expo on Nov. 19 for trades and apprentice ship students.
Students sawing a log as fast as they could, hammers pounding and drills drilling were all part of various com petitions in the wood shop at the Waterloo campus. Tool companies, Conestoga College trades and appren ticeship program students and faculty gathered at the Fifth Annual Tool and Trades Expo Nov. 19. Those who took part in the competitions were eligible to win prizes donated by some of the vendors after ballots were drawn at the end of the day. Industry suppliers at the event included DeWalt, Milwaukee, Hilti and Stanley. Ashley Tanner, a first-year construction techniques stu dent who dropped into the
Expo offers hands-on learning event, said students don’t get to use a lot of these tools in class so it’s a great opportuni ty to play with different tools and have the vendors explain how to properly use them. “It’s useful because it gives the students more exposure to different companies and what the different tools can do,” she said. David Orsini, a sales rep from Charles Jones Industrial Limited, helps bring in the vendors and suppliers each year. He said, “We don’t look at it like a sales type of thing, we don’t do any sales on site. It’s just so the students can have some hands-on with the dif ferent tools, they can talk to the various vendors and see
what’s new.” Sasha Tkachenko is one of three event management stu dents who helped plan the event. She said she has never taken part in a tool and trades show before but she was eager to be part of putting together the show. “I saw it as kind of a chal lenge and I’m really excited about it.” Tkachenko also said she was pleased to see the crowds of people who stopped by the event. Doug Lockston, a faculty member in the trades and apprenticeship program in Waterloo who helped co-ordi nate the event, said, “There’s between 400 and 500 stu
dents who will come through here today. A lot of the ven dors are repeat vendors because they know they’ve got a very select crowd that is going to be going out in the industry.” Trades students who came to the event included those going into plumbing, welding, construction and carpentry. Tanner said, “I think this (expo) is a good idea and it’s helpful to students. I would like to see more companies here.” Orsini said he looks forward to the expos in upcoming years. “It’s fabulous. It gets bigger and bigger every year, more and more vendors, more and more enthusiasm to do the show. We get a lot of support from the vendors and it’s very much appreciated.”
NEWS
Page 2 ♦ SPOKE
Monday, November 2 6 ,2 0 1 2
Now deep thoughts
Your morning coffee,
... with Conestoga College
brought to you by machines
Random questions answered by random students
If you could be a contestant on any TV show, which show would you choose and why? “I don’t watch TV but I’d say Who Wants to be a M illionaire?”
ChrSs A llan, second-year community and criminal justice
“Who Wants to be a Millionaire?”
Chris A ukem e, third-year architecture - construction engineering technology
“The Amazing Race because you get to travel around the world.”
Katrina Bail, first-year practical nursing
“Family Feud because I love Steve Harvey and it’s so much fun.” Dawn Dobson, first-year health office administration
BY KEILA MACPHERSON
Rube Goldberg was a car toonist, Pulitzer-prize win ning author and sculptor with a wild imagination for inven tions. According to rubegoldberg. com, he would draw, but never build, contraptions using “an elaborate set of arms, wheels, gears, handles, cups and rods, put in motion by balls, canary cages, pails, boots, bathtubs, paddles and live animals.’' His machines could do sim ple tasks that any human could do, but made them interesting. That’s exactly what Conestoga’s second-year mechanical engineering robot ics and automation students did on Nov. 16. Each team designed their own Rube Goldberg machine with the goal of delivering a doughnut and pouring coffee within 32 seconds and a mini mum of eight stages. “Bonus marks were given for extra stages and for reli ability (number of runs with no assistance),” said instruc tor Henry Kastner. The students built the con traptions using basic materi als they had lying around and some things bought in stores. Dominoes, golf balls and mar bles were some elements used in the devices. The Goldberg Experience Featuring Rube team made theirs out of colourful Kinex pieces. Students would get more bonus marks if the mecha nism would run through the entire process without assis tance from the students three
times in a row. However, only one team had a perfect run after their third try. Facing challenges such as parts wearing out after too many attempts and making it all come together in the end, every team said reliabil ity was their biggest chal lenge. “You have this idea, you build it and it should work, but every single time some thing changes. So making it work every time is the big gest challenge,” said Charles Renauld of The Goldberg Experience Featuring Rube. The teams spent countless hours working on the project.
Some worked on it as a group, some were responsible for only one part and the group put it together in the end and some groups only had one or two members. Wesley Thomson and Jonathan Streeter worked on building the project for Team Reggin. They said they spent a total of about 16 hours building their device. “Even after all our hard work it still has a lot of prob lems,” Thomson said. Kastner said for next year’s class, he may make it a requirement to have more “bling” and noises coming from the machines.
PHOTO B Y KEILA M A C PH E R S O N
Wesley Thomson from Team Reggin focuses on properly replacing the dominoes that will fall and trigger the chain reaction on the next level below on his Rube Goldberg coffee-making machine.
“Jeopardy, because I like trivia.”
Grant Bradshaw, second-year industrial mechanic apprenticeship
“Fear Factor or Survivor.”
David Reinhart, first-year professional accounting practice PHOTO BY KEILA MACPHERSON
Smile Conestoga, you could be our next respondent!
Charles Renauld (left to right) and Dan Burke, from the Goldberg Experience Featuring Rube team, watch as teammate Cody Burke tweaks parts of their Rube Goldberg mechanism.
NEWS
Monday, November2 6 ,2 0 1 2
SPOKE ♦ Page 3
The X-rated hypnotist strikes again BY STEPHANIE LEFEBVRE
Have you ever seen a man pretend to be a woman? Or people losing their minds because they think dino saurs are attacking them? Have you seen the genu ine emotion of someone who has just won the lottery and hasn’t told his friends? If you happened to catch the X-rated hypnotist, Tony Lee, on Nov. 15 in the Sanctuary, you can answer yes to these questions. The show at Conestoga College’s Doon campus was sold out, with students stand ing, sitting in chairs and at booths. It was a huge hit, as always, and the money made from the ticket sales was matched and donated to Movember. For many, it was their first time seeing Lee. Others have seen him at previous perfor mances either at Conestoga or other colleges or universi ties. His videos are also post ed online. Ashley Vlasic, a student from Sheridan College, attended the show with a friend. “It was the first time I had ever seen it,” she said. “It was the most hilarious thing I had ever seen.” Vlasic was most shocked by the part of the show where Lee had the hypnotized par ticipants pleasure them selves. Though she would never volunteer, it’s not for lack of bravery. “I’d be the person that if I went on stage, he would tap out.” She was referring to the fact that volunteers who either aren’t susceptible to hypnosis
or fall out of it during the process get a tap from Lee to leave the stage. The hypnotist is well known for his crude brand of hyp nosis where he essentially humiliates participants by making them mime sexual acts as well as suggestive per formances. In the mid-’80s, Lee acciden tally hypnotized his girlfriend at the time. During his perfor mance at Conestoga, he told the story of what he did to fig ure this out. What started as a game ended up as a career for about 28 years.
PHOTO BY STEPHANIE LEFEBVRE
Tony Lee relaxes on a couch in the Den after a couple of hours of performing his hypnotist act in the Sanctuary at Conestoga College’s Doon campus on Nov. 15.
"
The simple rule to it
is, there are no rules. You make up whatever the comfort level is. Different people react different ways." -T o n y Lee “It’s a long time,” he said. Though he doesn’t really have any formal training in hypnosis, he did attend some classes in the ’90s. Still, he said there wasn’t anything in the class that he didn’t already know. And due to the absence of the Internet, there wasn’t a lot of information floating around about it. “The simple rule to it is, there are no rules,” Lee said. “You make up whatever the comfort level is. Different peo ple react different ways.” Lee now performs about 160 times a year, mostly at campuses or areas rich with
students, across Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. He gets the most gratification from the surprise of the different participants. “You never know,” he said. “The reaction’s always differ ent. You’ll take a girl that’s super, super hot and when she has an orgasm it’s like, eep.” He really enjoys how the show affects the volunteers later. ‘Whether they do positive or negative things on stage, it’s all positive because it creates a commonality for people to talk to them,” said Lee. “Their social lives may just flourish.” Lee said his show has won more awards than any Canadian performing artist in history. However, he does prefer his time in the United Kingdom. But mostly because the drinking age is lower. Tony Lee hopes to be able to return to the Doon campus in March 2013 with a whole dif ferent set of tricks.
PHOTO BY STEPHANIE LEFEBVRE
A group of volunteers drive an imaginary sports car they believe they’ve bought with lottery winnings at the sold-out Tony Lee hypnotist show in the Sanctuary.
On Spoke Online (www.spokeonline.com) this week: ■ ■ ■
Prospective students visited Conestoga en masse during the college’s open house Nov. 24. See how Canadians celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Grey Cup. Conestoga gets silly with a Movember-inspired comedy show on Nov. 27.
COMMENTARY
Page 4 ♦ S POKE
Monday, November 2 6 ,2 0 1 2
Grade dispute goes to court BY BRAD COUGHLIN
It’s that time of year again; desks are cluttered with coffee cups, bank accounts burdened by overdue fees, students are frantic and teachers are stocked up on red marking pens. As the fall semester comes to a close, exams and summative projects cause students stress. Students need to remember these challenges, including multi-tasking, are all part of the learning process. Instructors are there to help, not to hurt, and most are fair in their grading. That said, there’s always the exception to the rule. At least, that’s what one Concordia University student believes. He is currently involved in a lawsuit with his political science professor over grades. The student, William Groombridge, believes the professor is only allowed to give out so many A grades, so his A- was lowered to a B+. According to a CTV News article, Groombridge hired a lawyer to send a letter asking for reimbursement of the $342 he paid for the course, which was ignored. So, he filed a lawsuit. Conestoga College students need not worry about such situations here —teachers grade all work and give it the mark it deserves. Although the difference between a B+ and an A- is not that much, the recorded mark should be what the student’s work was initally graded at. In Groomb ridge’s case that didn’t happen, but it still isn’t worth suing over. Most employers are look ing for a certificate, diploma or degree and, for the most part, marks will never be questioned in a job interview. If a Conestoga College student is profoundly unhappy with his or her grade, there is a student appeal process in place to handle disputes in a timely, fair and impartial manner. Students are advised to first discuss their grievance with the instructor, and then with the program chair. If still unsatisfied, students can request a formal appeal be heard by an appeal panel. The college goes so far as to prohibit reprisals or threats of reprisal against students who have raised concerns under this procedure. This is as it should be. The classroom should be a place of trust and suc cess, not disputes and controversy. The views herein represent the position o f 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. Email letters to: www.spokeonline.com with the subject line “Letter to the Editor,” or bring them to Room 1C30 at the Doon campus.
Roundabouts are unnecessary Intersections with stop lights are becoming a thing of the past, as roundabouts take their place. According to a report released by the Region of Waterloo in November 2011, 17 round abouts have been built on regional roads. Six have been built in Cambridge, eight in Kitchener, two in Waterloo and one in Woolwich. I don’t see the point of roundabouts, because they just lead to driver confusion. A few years back, I couldn’t help but notice two women driving into the roundabout at and Conestoga boulevards. They drove around it once, but didn’t enter a street. I fig ured they were just lost, or had trouble exiting because of congestion. I saw them drive around three more times, and flailing their arms inside their car. They were obviously becoming frustrated, and would have rather driven through a controlled intersection. The region tries to rec tify this by creating videos instructing drivers on how they should approach a roundabout. These don’t
Wesley Butler
Opinion
help, because drivers think, when viewing these, that new rules are being added to something already com plicated. Roundabouts are sup posed to keep traffic flow ing at all times. When you approach one, you’re expected to yield to other drivers already in it. If the way is clear, and there are no pedestrians in the crosswalk, then you can drive through it, and exit at the street you want. But I’ve found this isn’t hap pening. At the roundabout at Dickie Settlement Road and Fountain Street, driv ers don’t yield to others, but instead take it as a free-for-all. According to the region’s roundabouts website (www. regionofwaterloo.ca), round abouts reduce accidents, manage increased traffic demand and help improve air
quality by eliminating unnec essary stops and idling. However, roundabouts aren’t controlled by any thing. Instead, drivers only have each other to rely on, a concept that has plenty of disadvantages. My problem with them is just that —there’s nei ther stop signs nor traffic lights. With uncontrolled intersections, the risk of accidents could increase due to a lack of driver edu cation and they aren’t good for drivers who have had their licences for years, because they are used to controlled intersections. If traffic is supposed to flow continuously, then drivers also have to adjust to shorter gaps in a roundabout when the flow increases throughout the day, increasing the risk of accidents. I know roundabouts are often considered beneficial, and some people find them better to drive through than controlled intersec tions. But, when you have to rely on drivers to be con siderate of each other and follow the rules, I think you are asking for trouble.
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NEWS
Monday, November 2 6 ,2 0 1 2
SPOKE ♦ Page 5
Help your parents in this digital age Technology: its use has become second nature practically embedded in our brains - and without it, we would be lost. Fiddling with smartphones, updating multiple social media sites at once and exploring the vast wonders of YouTube are daily activities we don’t think twice about doing. As a member of Generation Y, otherwise known as the technology generation, I (shamefully) admit I’ve pulled out my cellphone during awkward conversa tions between friends and mindlessly scrolled through Facebook or Tumblr. I didn’t even realize what I was doing until a friend pointed out that I had no idea what
Sarah Hanafi O p in io n
was just said. We have mastered the art of avoiding humiliating autocorrected words and never fall victim to the flashing pop-up ads that claim we are visitor number one mil lion. But, there are still some people who aren’t as techno logically advanced. Our parents. Now don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of parents out there who are proficient with modern technology.
There are probably quite a few whom I daresay are bet ter with these gadgets than their BBM-obsessed teenage daughters. However, I recently sat down with my mother after she upgraded her brick-like flip phone for a slick new BlackBerry to try and teach her how to use it. After approximately 35 minutes, and having not gotten any further than how to add a contact, she threw her arms in the air and declared the phone an arch nemesis. If your parent calls you to ask if you got her email, or you have to explain that a screenshot does not involve a camera, then you might just understand what I’m talking
Where have all the flowers gone? Remembrance Day is over, and so is the weeklong show ings of war movies and his tory specials, but while many people are quite content to move on to prepare for the Christmas rush, I am stuck with one giant question, where have all the poppies gone? And what happens to them? A couple of years ago, shortly after Remembrance Day, I started noticing gar bage cans and sidewalks lit tered with forgotten poppies. The symbol is eternal and important to me and, in my opinion, should be something worn year-round and not just one month out of the year. So when I see discarded poppies in trash cans and gutters it irritates me. The poppy is a symbol of remembering those who fought and died for our free dom and when you throw it out it’s like you no longer care, that is, until next year’s Remembrance Day rolls
recycling boxes in the same places that poppy dona tion boxes are left and wait for people to drop off any Ryan unwanted, unused or found Goodyear poppies. While not everyone Opinion is going to take advantage of this, some will, and some symbols of hope will be pre served. If this caught on, around. instead of mass producing With people around the world trying to do everything new poppies for next year we could put the money saved as “green” as possible you into things that truly honour think we would have some sort of system where we could the memory of our soldiers such as veteran funding and drop poppies off in a box for assisted living, and helping recycling. We recycle cans and cups, papers and plastics, those who have just returned from battle with injuries or so why not poppies? They mental health issues. serve an important purpose Until a program starts, and it’s not like we only have Remembrance Day once every please hold on to yours. Think of what it represents couple of years. It would cer and what it means when you tainly save money consider throw it away. Put it in a safe ing we wouldn’t have to be spot and wait for next year or manufacturing new ones on a consistent basis and money leave it on your jacket. You can still donate to the poppy would still be donated. The premise of this is pain campaign in 2013, you just won’t need a poppy. fully simple - leave poppy
about. There’s nothing wrong with being technologically impaired. Sometimes our devices get the best of us, and sometimes technology advances so fast we simply can’t keep up. I can recall several occa sions where I’ve been at the breaking point and someone has had to sit me down and explain the inner workings of T-9 texting (and thank goodness that is out of date, because I still wouldn’t be able to send a simple greeting). The problem is that we are living in a world where being computer knowledge able and staying up-to-date is absolutely essential, and if you are one of the mil
lions of people who wouldn’t describe themselves as such, take the time to learn. There is no shame in admitting to being technologically chal lenged, and now is the time to speak up. It will only get more confusing, and the only way to get help is to talk about it. So listen up all you techsawy youth: don’t get frus trated if your parents don’t know the difference between an iPod and an iPhone. Offer some insight and advice. After all, they spent a lot of time and patience teaching you new things at some point in your life. And who knows? Maybe one day your children will need to explain their newest gadgets to you.
FEATURE
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Monday, November 2 6 ,2 0 1 2
Celebrating a diverse w orld Conestoga students are educated while having fun during Cultural Diversity Week BY MIKE VI ELM A
“When we are celebrating cultural diversity it gives the expectation that we are a wel coming environment,” said Ryan Connell, Student Life programmer. Conestoga’s Cultural Diversity Week was held from Nov. 12 to 16 and featured the colours and smells of many world cultures. Everyday there were numerous displays that showcased different countries ranging from Saudi Arabia and Portugal to China and Nigeria. The displays includ ed posters featuring various information and facts about a country, some traditional food or beverages and even some activities that related to that region. Students could chow down on Portuguese pastries, German Werther’s candies, Arabic dates and various other treats. There were opportunities to learn or practise Arabic at the Saudi Arabian station, horoscopes were read at the Chinese booth and there were chances to Gangnam Style, a Korean pop-culture dance, at the South Korean display. Almost every display had something to draw students in and keep them involved and interested. Some displays had games and activities to attract peo ple. Ravikumar Patel, a firstyear marketing student and vice-president of the South Asian Students Club, partici pated in the week’s festivities
with a booth set up on Nov. 16 where students could get henna tattoos drawn on their arms and hands. Henna is used to dye skin, hair, fingernails, leather and wool in India, mostly during festivals and celebrations. Patel said he loves being able to share his roots and heritage with other students. “I’m really excited about this week. We really feel proud to let other students know about our own countries.” Even the Respect Campaign had a display set up with var ious games to participate in. Their big hit was the Respect Wheel. Students could spin the wheel which would stop on the name of a continent. The stu dent would then try to answer questions about that specific area. Students who answered correctly were entered in a draw for a chance to win a gift bag from the Bookstore. Connell said the wheel was a great way to start a dis cussion with students and to get them thinking about other cultures. He also said it was a good way of getting students to check out the other dis plays featuring the various countries because they were already somewhat interested. “The whole point of the Respect Campaign is we want to provide education on the diversity of the students who go to Conestoga and how important it is to be aware of the diversity,” Connell said. He added Cultural Diversity Week allows the learning process to be fun, interest
ing and educational all at the same time. It brings the col lege community together as a whole and makes people more comfortable to be themselves. The South Asian Students Club is run in a similar way. “Most of the club members are international students, so they don’t have any family here. So that’s why we do par ties, so people can get to know each other and feel more com fortable living here,” Patel said. The club hosted a Diwali celebration party on Nov. 7 in the Sanctuary. Diwali is known as the festival of lights and is a five-day Hindu fes tival. All students were welcome to partake in a night of danc ing, eating and enjoying oth ers’ company. There were about 200 people in atten dance. Patel plans to host anoth er similar event in second semester. He said more peo ple usually come out to the second party because they heard how amazing the first one was from other students. Connell said, “They (South Asian Students Club) are a very inclusive group. So, even if you’re not South Asian, they are very welcoming of students from other cultures to come into their group and learn more.” “We’re definitely making positive strides where stu dents feel safe to come out and share who they are and be proud of it,” Connell said. The next Cultural Diversity Week will be held from Feb. 25 to March 1, 2013.
A Nigerian student dances to music during Cultural Diversity Week on Nov. 16.
PHOTOS BY MIKE VIELMA
Saeko Kosugi (left) and Oscar Moncada dance the salsa in front of their combined display promoting Japan and Colombia.
Edera Dituri gets her hand tat tooed with henna, a flowering plant used to dye skin and hair.
A student puts a keffiyeh, a traditional Saudi Arabian headdress, on his head and enjoys the comments from passing students.
NEWS
Monday, November 2 6 , 2 0 12
SPOKE ♦ Pag e 7
PHOTO BY WENDY CZAKO-MAH
Floats, clowns and gingerbread men prepare for the start of the 40th annual Cambridge Santa Claus Parade, Nov. 17. Santa even made an appearance.
It’s official, countdown to Christmas has begun BY WENDY CZAKO-MAH
’Twas the month before Christmas and people lined the streets. With blankets and lawn chairs and all kinds of hot drinks. They settled in, knowing St. Nicholas would soon be there. Despite the cold weather and nip in the air. Cambridge officially began its countdown to Christmas on Nov. 17. Thousands of Cambridge residents and people from
surrounding cities came out to watch the 40th annual Santa Claus parade. Although it didn’t officially get underway until 6 p.m., police officers arrived early to direct shoppers as they left the nearby shopping mall, closing off the parade route to traffic. The parade ran approxi mately three kilometres along Hespeler Road, starting at Dunbar Road and ending at Langs Drive. Some of the participants and their families celebrated Christmas twice that day,
enjoying company parties earlier. Jan Fletcher, who has been a participant in the parade for the last five years, rode on her company’s float, which had a Grinch theme. She said it takes Collaborative Structures employees a cou ple of days to prepare their display for the parade. “We had our kids’ Christmas party at the office today and the kids got all Who’d-up for the event afterwards,” said Fletcher, referring to the parade.
Parades get mixed reviews BY MARK FITZGERALD
With Christmas just around the corner we are starting to see the uprising of parade floats, marching bands and the jolly old man himself who only comes around once a year. Every November and December the parades come without fail and there is always a crowd. But are the number of spectators grow ing? Do people still care about parades? And do we have too many? Parades already held this year had less than ideal “Christmasy” weather. Citizens of Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo all have mixed thoughts on the Christmas parades in the region. The overall consensus is that they are great for kids, but cities are holding them far too early and it ruins the
spirit of Christmas. Daniel Lawson, of Kitchener, said he still comes to the parades for his kids because it is an important part of grow ing up. He also believes that the parades are a bit too long and drawn out. “Seeing Santa ride around is great, and that’s all the kids really want to see,” Lawson said. Cheryl Francis, of Waterloo, said she thinks the unusually warm weather doesn’t help the parade in any way. She said the city should push the event back to December to at least have a chance of snow to give it a more “seasonal and festive feel.” “I remember when it would snow at some parades, and those were the ones I loved the most,” Francis said. Stephen Cabeldu, of
Cambridge, said there are far too many parades in the area and that the cities should just have one big parade. He thinks that it is a waste of money because they are all so similar. He added combin ing them makes more sense as well because there should only be one Santa Claus. “It doesn’t make sense why each little region has their own parade. Sure, it’s nice to have something local, but we could just have one huge parade and get it over with,” Cabeldu said. Some people think that they hold the parades so early to get people in the Christmas spirit which means they will start their holiday shopping earlier. Everyone agreed that the parades are great for chil dren, but they could fine-tune the event itself.
The Cambridge Santa Claus parade is one of the few parades in Ontario that operates after dark, giving an extra glow to the event thanks to the many twinkling lights that adorn the floats. As well, for the past 10 years, this is one of the few parades to have a Mrs. Claus. Peter Knoop of Priority Mechanical spent a couple of weekends building his com pany’s float and even went to Bronner’s Christmas store in Michigan to get the reindeer. The float also featured a tin
man Santa made from HVAC parts. “This is our very first year in t h e p a r a d e . We did the Kitchener parade this morn ing,” said Knoop. For many spectators, sit ting on the parade route was not their preferred choice. Instead, they set up their chairs on Langs Drive around 5:30 p.m. This gave them an added bonus of see ing floats arrive as well as finishing. You could say double the fun.
NEWS
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Monday, November 2 6 ,2 0 1 2
Amateurs and pros create stunning cakes BY HEATHER KENNERY
PHOTO B Y HEATHER KENNERY
April Julian stands by her Wizard of Oz wedding cake which she made for a cake competition held by Icing inspirations in Kitchener on Nov. 18.
Breaking
Dawn
Confectionery creations were lined up against the walls at Icing Inspirations, a local shop that sells every thing one would need to become a master cake deco rator. However, they weren’t the designs of Chrissie Boon, the store’s owner, but rather entries in her third annual cake competition. The Nov. 18 event had cake to sample, live demonstrations, draws and more than 50 cakes on display. The cakes were submitted by two very different types of people, but all of them share the same passion for sugar. It was hard to tell the differ ence just by looking at the cakes from afar that some were done by professionals who do this on a daily basis and others were done by regu lar people who have taken up a very time-consuming hobby. Though the shop was abuzz with people staring at the stacks of cakes, the cake designers were all staring at the prizes and shiny medals that were awarded at the end of the day. The event was not just about cake. Donations were collect ed for Nutrition for Learning, a charitable organization that helps feed kids while at school in Waterloo Region. Since 1997 they have provid ed healthy meals containing up to four of the food groups, to elementary and high school students. Statistics show that students who are well fed and
eat a balanced breakfast on but for now it is just a dream. average become more focused “Since I was little I have while in class and receive bet always loved art and baking. ter grades. The students are I would pretend I was bak also less likely to bully or ing all the time by putting have behavioural problems. towels into my mother’s cake Community development pans and putting them in the officer, Brian Banks, knows oven,” said Julian. that Nutrition for Learning is Her cake was inspired by the changing how students work Wizard of Oz and Steampunk at school. designs. Steampunk focus “At K.C.I. I have seen a es on gears and mechanics, change in the kids, how which inspired Julian to cre they interact at school ate Tin Man and Dorothy and how it has decreased “wedding characters.” the need for disciplinary “I loved the quote at the end action,” he said. of the movie when the Tin Banks said when talking Man watched Dorothy leave to students, their teachers Oz and he says “Now I know and youth care workers, all I have a heart.” Because agree that these programs are his heart was breaking, that’s essential and are happy they when I knew they would be exist. the perfect couple to make an Everyone was full at the imaginary wedding cake for,” cake competition too. After Julian said. devouring the sweet treats Winning first place and the and all of the oohs and aahs people’s choice award in the turned into silence, the ver faux food cake category was dict was in and the winners Linda Gebara who designed of the three different cat a gravity-defying cake that egories - fairytale wedding looked like a salad was being cakes done by hobbyists and tossed by floating utensils. professionals and faux food Gebara has won this prize cakes — were ready to be three years in a row and con announced. siders herself lucky to win Boon, who also owns Too again. Nice to Slice, a cake deco The first place prize for a rating business, judged the fairytale wedding cake done entries along with celebrity by a professional was award judges Courtney Clark and ed to Martha Zacharias. This Kendon Smith who own their was her third time entering own cake decorating business, the contest but first time win Cake Nouveau. ning a medal. She runs her Winning the people’s choice own company, Every Occasion award and first place in the Cakes, but still found the hobbyist category was April time to put 12 hours of work Julian, who said she would into her interpretation of a love to design cakes full-time Tangled wedding cake.
2wists t and turns toward a fan favou
BY JOANNA DITTMER
It was the perfect end to an era. For Twihard fans Breaking Dawn Part 2 had the ending they were hoping for. Bill Condon, the Oscarwinning director and direc tor of parts one and two of the final instalment of the saga, did the Twilight series justice. In the second part of Breaking Dawn, Bella, por trayed by Kristin Stewart, is finally a newborn vampire. She is stronger than ever, a lot less fragile and more co ordinated than she has been at any point in her life. She is expecting to live forever next to her new husband Edward Cullen, played by Robert Pattinson, and their newborn daughter, Renesmee, played by Mackenzie F03/; but forever didn’t last as long as she’d hoped. The Volturi, the corrupt vampire government, has
P H O T O B Y JO A N N A DBTTMER
People began lining up at Empire Theatres Kitchener to see the fourth instalment of the Twilight Saga, Breaking Dawn Part 2 at 3 p.m. for the 10 p,m. showing on Nov. 15. been informed that the Cullens may have commit ted one of the most serious crimes possible - creating an immortal child. So, the Volturi gather their army and head off to kill the Cullens and anyone who knows of their crime. Luckily for the Cullens, they have Alice - a vampire with prem g nit ion. Knowing there will be a fight is no secret but the Cullens don’t want that.
They begin looking for “wit nesses” - people to defend the fact that Renesmee really is a growing child with blood run ning through her veins - in hope of avoiding a confronta tion. The final instalment shows Bella’s transforma tion from a naive teenager to a protective mother. Bella has grown immensely since the beginning of the saga, and many viewers are say
ing that this is the best act ing Stewart has done in the whole series. It also allows viewers to see Pattinson portray Edward in a new light, as a father. Whenever Renesmee enters the room, Edward’s eyes light up and a smile spreads across his face. For Twihards, this is a new side of Edward. The movie stays true to the book, which was written by
IN T ER N ET P H O T O
The Twilight saga series has grossed $2.8 billion to date.
Stephanie Meyer, apart from a surprise twist near the end, which adds a lot more action and left diehard Twihards in shock. This series will go down in history as one of the biggest grossing sagas of all time. To date, it has earned $2.8 bil lion.
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Six inspiring men raise thousands at moustache bash BY JESSICA LANTHIER
The Stachetastic Voyage set sail on their journey to put an end to prostate can cer. In mid-October, Tim and Darren Milani, Kyle Riley, Matt Giilk, Braeden Price and Rob Danieli created The Stachetastic Voyage, a Movember fundraiser to spread awareness and raise money for prostate cancer research. The six inspiring men orga nized an event at Edelweiss Tavern on Nov. 17 in Kitchener to gather friends, family and residents of the tri-city area for live music from Jo Panic, raffles, prizes and fun. Many Kitchener-Waterloo businesses donated the raffle prizes, which included a 16G iPod Touch, gift bas kets, headphones, a photo shoot certificate, restaurant gift cards, two DVD players and a wine chiller. For one week, TD Bank hosted a book drive and donated the proceeds to The Stachetastic Voyage and a local cafe sold moustache cookies to fundraise for the team as well. With a $10,000 goal, the group had raised approxi mately $2,400 prior to the event and made an impres sive $3,000 at the moustache bash. Danieli, who is an employ ee at Toyota, was original ly growing a moustache to earn $100 from a friend at work, but after talking to the other members of the team, they all decided to try
A FAIR
for the big bucks. “At the beginning of the month I was thinking we could maybe just get $500 in donations and that would be nice, but we managed to pull in way more than that,” he said. Price, who is a second-year criminal justice student at Conestoga College, said he always donated money to the cause, but knew he wanted to do something big ger and better this year. “We originally thought we just wanted to raise $1,000, but we had that amount before November even start ed.” “We decided to make it a big party and really make a splash,” he said. Although none of the members of the team have been personally affected by pros tate cancer, they were all on board with creating a fund raiser right away. Darren Milani, a journey man for Innovative Interiors in Waterloo and the captain of the team, said the guys thought Movember was just a month to grow a funny mous tache and donate money to cancer research. However, after they researched the rea son behind Movember, they learned just how many men and families are affected by prostate cancer and how deadly it really is. It was then that they knew it was some thing worth fighting for. “We want to reproduce and women want to have babies but prostate cancer can potentially prevent one in six men from doing so,” Milani said.
F U N D R A IS E R
PHOTO BY SARA HANAFI
Conestoga College had a book fair on Nov. 19. Jenn Gurton, an employee at the college, worked the stand from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. All proceeds went to the Conestoga Day Care.
PHOTO BY JESSICA LANTHIER
Members of The Stachetastic Voyage, (back row, left to right) Tim Milani, Kyle Riley, Darren Milani and Matt Giilk, and front, left to right, Braeden Price and Rob Danieli, show off their T-shirts at their fundraiser at the Edelweiss Tavern in Kitchener on Nov. 17.
According to Milani, the hardest part of organiz ing the event was attracting guests and supporters. “You would think with all the social networking, cell phones and media it would be easy to get friends and family to a charity event with a live band, DJ and prizes,” he said. “Not the case.” He thinks with all of the new technology, it’s easier to avoid things because of the lack of face-to-face interac tion. But even though it was a challenge, the guys are all on
board to do it again next year. Danieli thinks the experi ence was rewarding and gives them a feeling of self-worth. “I can definitely see it being an annual thing,” he said. “It was a great learning experience and next year will be bigger and better,” Milani said. Although the guys are more than happy to raise money for cancer research, a big part of Movember is actually grow ing a moustache and some of them don’t particularly care for it.
PROMOTING
“Personally, it drives me crazy,” Price said. Danieli isn’t a fan of having the extra hair, but knows it’s for a great cause. “Doing it for one month of the year isn’t a big deal,” he said. As for Milani, he can thank his Italian heritage for mak ing growing a moustache easy. “It comes easy for me fortu nately,” he said. “But I don’t think I’m suited for it. Dec. 1 will come and when it does, I’m shaving!”
P E T A D O P T IO N
PHOTO BY MARK FITZGERALD
Students (from left to right) Raphe St. Pierre, Won Yeol Kim, Scott McGiniey, Ashley Du Toit and Katherine Chapman promoted pet adoption to Conestoga students on behalf of the Kitchener and Cambridge Humane Society on Nov. 19.
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Radio show hosts do lots of prep BY KELSEY HEELEY
Being a radio show host is more than just showing up before your show starts and talking between songs - there are hours of work to be done beforehand. Craig Fee, the host of The Craig Fee Show on Dave FM, said he has to be up and work ing hours before his show starts. “I have to do tons of prep before my show. I’m up pretty early in the morning, usually around five or six. It’s not work just for work though, I have two kids in school and two not in school yet, so I end up getting up when the two youngest decide.” When he does get down to business, he said it’s a lot of browsing on websites that interest him and check ing social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook. He has to find interesting facts that interest him, but also news that will be of interest to the listeners. Dave FM is a rock station that caters to Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge residents. They play a lot of music from the ’70s and ’80s and some from the ’60s, so the
audience tends to be older and doesn’t care as much about the latest celebrity gossip. They care more about what’s the latest news on bands and relevant news that affects them everyday, Fee said. Fee may be a radio show host now, but that wasn’t his original career goal. His plan was to be a commenta tor for the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks. After going to school for civil engineering and leav ing because he wasn’t inter ested in it, Fee tried a few other programs while work ing at Western University’s radio station and learning the trade. “I slowly migrated from doing sports to news and then having my own show,” Fee said. “I realized that my side hobby was something I could make a living out of.” So he decided to go to Humber College for broadcast radio and 19 years later he still enjoys it. “It doesn’t feel like work to me, you can have fun with it,” he said. Fee isn’t the only one up early for news research. Devine Drive show host, Mike Devine, is also up pretty early browsing social media sites
trying to find the latest news for his audience. “I’m up at about 8 a.m. I’m all over the Internet and listen to the morning news.” Devine’s show is on Kitchener’s 91.5 The Beat which is a Top 40 station. They tend to have a younger target audience, so most of the news and stories he talks about are light and easygoing. With the younger audience, they tend to be more interest ed in listening to the music, so there aren’t long breaks between the tunes. Media had always interest ed Devine. His career goal was to be a music producer or artist manager, but he ended up gravitating toward playing the music instead of produc ing. “It was a fixation on radio and broadcast.” His background was musicoriented. Devine was even a DJ, playing for young crowds at roller rinks. That was the only way to be seen and become known because YouTube didn’t exist. Devine has now been in the industry for 22 years. “I like playing the Top 40 format. It’s more fast pace, more of a challenge,” he said.
PHOTO BY KELSEY HEELEY
Craig Fee plays the next song on his show, The Craig Fee Show, on 107.5 Dave FM.
Media producers discuss their business BY WESLEY BUTLER
Media production is about always striving for success, but occasionally dealing with failure. It is how people deal with failure that determines their success. That was one of the many pieces of advice given during the Media Producers Group’s For the Love of It panel dis cussion at Conestoga College on Nov. 16. Students from the journalism broadcast, broad cast television, videography, and integrated marketing communications programs were invited. The panel consisted of Carol Ann Whalen and Rob Currie from C to C Productions, Peter Shannon, founder of Memory Tree, Von Darnell, president of Huckleberry Film Studios, Paul and Paula Campsall from MetaMedia, and Tom Knowlton, a freelance broad caster. Whalen and Currie’s pro duction company keeps track of the latest tech gadgets being used by producers, and tries to incorporate them into their work. Paul Campsall always want ed to own his own company, and was able to do so when he met Paula, his partner, who worked in a genetics lab most of her career.
Peter Shannon worked at CTV until he was laid off, and started Memory Tree as a result. He has hired 15 full time employees to date. Von Darnell didn’t want to work in an office, so she found a hobby in broadcasting, and decided to start Huckleberry Film Studios. Tom Knowlton started his career as a teacher, and had an interest in music and media. This led him to freelance television work in Kitchener. The panel advised students to look at their failures as lessons, and said that they will always lead to future success. “They (failures) don’t get easier over time, because you stay in business by keep ing your clients happy,” said Shannon. “But it’s also about deadlines. If you’re not good at meeting them, then you need to start.” Students seeking job oppor tunities in media production were advised to stick with their passion, because they will become noticed by some one who needs them. “It’s a good idea to have a website displaying your work,” said Paul Campsall. “When a new cameraman wants to work with us, we always search him up on the
Internet. Employers will look you up online when you want to work for them.” The panel went on to discuss the advantages of students working for an independent production company over tele vision stations. Whalen said it’s easier to approach an independent company for a job rather than apply at a station. When her company was doing a flash mob at Conestoga Mall
several years ago, a man approached them and asked if he could help. He was able to capture the event from dif ferent angles, and impressed Whalen and the rest of the company, who offered him a job immediately. “We have yet to post a job online at Huckleberry Film Studios,” said Darnell. “People always come to us for work, and if we think they’re good at what they do, they get
hired.” Shannon reminded students that upon graduating, they may struggle at the begin ning, and may have to do work for free in order to be noticed. “The business is growing, and there’s room for every one,” he said. “No matter what you’re working on, make it your best work. It’s impor tant to improve yourself every step of the way.”
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NEWS KITCHENER RANGERS
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r a c k u p a n o t h e r w in
PHOTO BY STEPHANIE LEFEBVRE
Tobias Rieder of the Rangers skates toward the puck as Erie Otters player Jimmy McDowell tries to beat him to the punch during a game played at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium on Nov. 16. The Rangers won 3-1.
THUNDERSTRUCK, condors miss playoffs
PHOTO BY JESSICA LANTHIER
The Conestoga Condors played their final game of the season against the Algonquin Thunder at Riverside Park in Cambridge earlier this month. The Condors were defeated by the Thunder 36-32 after an intense overtime game, eliminating them from the playoffs.
EERIE FOG
h an g s
over the region
PHOTO BY WENDY CZAKO-MAH
Waterloo Region residents awoke to a blanket of fog on Nov. 19. It made driving dangerous and caused several accidents in > Kitchener.
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