One-wheel wonder Unicyclist attracts attention wherever he goes. Page 10 Monday, October 28, 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.
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Buy or Run? Professor’s book tells all about home inspections. Page 12 44th year - NO. 20
Rugby revolution Two Conestoga teams dominate Mohawk and are now playoff bound BY SCOTT DIETRICH
The Conestoga Condors have earned two playoff appear ances, thanks to two teams winning games by a landslide two hours apart. On Oct. 20, Conestoga’s men’s and women’s rugby teams won their final regular season games versus Mohawk College at Rogers Field in Riverside Park in Cambridge. The wins sent the teams into the first round of OCAA playoffs. The women played first and beat Mohawk sound ly by a final score of 58-12. Outstanding efforts came from Amy Simmonds and Megan Copeland Dinan who each scored two tries in the game. Shortly after the men’s team took the field and disman tled Mohawk 93-3. Fourteen different players scored for the men’s squad, including Brandon Innis who scored two tries. Although beating Mohawk, which had the worst record in rugby on the men’s and women’s side, may seem like two easy victories, it should be considered in the context of the whole season. What made the respective wins more special was the fact that they both had the exact same path to the playoffs. Each team lost its first three games of the season, only to come back and run the table winning their
PHOTO BY SCOTT DIETRICH
Conestoga and Mohawk engage In a scrum during the first half of their game on Oct. 20. For more photos see Page 11. final three games. Winning on the same day two hours apart added a magical element to the playoff-securing wins. Women’s head coach Sara Escobar said her team bonded over the adversity that start ed the season, and when they became closer as a team, the wins were not far behind. ‘They worked really hard in getting to know each other,” Escobar said, “It was just a big old rugby family by the end of our third game. Once we did
that the wins started coming.” Escobar also thinks that the schedule they drew for this season was part of the reason for their early sea son struggles. “We played the first-seeded team (Humber College) twice in the first three games. We knew both those games were going to be really tough.” The men also played Humber twice in their first three games. Men’s head coach Kyle O’Neal
said it was important that his team forgot about those loses at the start of the season, and try and forge a new season out of the final three games. “I think any time when you have a rough start it’s good to have a short memory about it,” O’Neal said. “After we went 0-3 we had a new plan. We forgot about those three games, there was nothing good to bring out of it, and we start a new sea son, a three-game season and our plan was to go undefeated.”
There are still other schools that have games yet to play, giving the Condors time to rest before they begin the playoffs. Both coaches said they will be giving their play ers a few days’ off, before they lace up their rugby boots and head back to the field for practice, to get ready for the challenge of the playoffs, which begin this week. The playoff schedule will be released today at www.ocaa. com.
Beer club friends tap into their talent BY BECKY SHEASBY
If you consider yourself a beer connoisseur, or even if you just like the occasion al ale, then you are in luck. A new microbrewery has opened in the heart of St. Jacobs. Block Three Brewery cast open its doors early this September and gave the world its first taste of their handcrafted beer. The idea of a brewery was first discussed by four friends and now co-owners, Bryan Maher, Philip Hipkiss, Graham Spence and Derek Lebert, who would get togeth er once a month to eat food
and drink beer. Soon, “beer club” was born. It wasn’t long after that the men decided it would be cool to make their own beer. They didn’t just stop at the idea of their own brewski, after 10 months of business planning and prepa ration, Block Three Brewery sprung to life. Maher worked at the Wellington Brewery in Guelph for many years before becom ing a blockhead (which the men fondly call themselves and customers). The other co-owners were working as accountants before they decid ed to leave their life of num bers in turn for some hops.
“I’ve been loving it,” Hipkiss said “We’ve been a lot busier; we all eat, sleep and breathe beer. Everyone coming togeth er has been a lot of fun.” The first beers Block Three Brewery made are Sugar Bush Brown, a classic brown ale with a little bit of local maple syrup mixed in, and King Street Saison, a light and crisp Belgian-style ale that has a fruity smooth taste. They have since added new beers such as Blocktoberfest and English Style Pale Ale. “We plan to make seasonal beers and specialty one-off beers from local ingredients,” Lebert said in an article in
The Record. Within the entirely renovated building, you can buy their beer in kegs and litre-sized bottles. They also sell it in growlers, which are milk-jug sized and can be washed and refilled. Local restaurants also have the four blockheads’ beer on tap. “It’s a cool little place,” said Luke Bennewies, a first-timer at the brewery, when asked about his experience. Block Three Brewery is located at 1430 King St. N., St. Jacobs. For more informa tion, check out www.blockthreebrewing.ca/ or follow them on Twitter at @ blockthree.
PHOTO BY BECKY SHEASBY
Philip Hipkiss, one of the owners of Block Three Brewery, welcomed guests to their Blocktoberfest on Oct. 18.
NEWS
Page 2 ♦ SPOKE
Now deep thoughts ... with Conestoga College Random questions answered by random students
What’s the grossest habit that other people do?
“Biting their nails.”
Mike Saleh,
second-year broadcast - radio
Monday, October 28,2013
Having fun with words BY CALUE WRIGGLESWORTH
“Their” or “there?” “Its” or “it’s?” Grammar can be confusing at times and often frustrating for students. To help, Conestoga’s Learning Commons held a Grammar Day. The event took place on Oct. 18 in the hall way across from Tim Hortons. Students and faculty had the chance to par ticipate in some small grammar quizzes where they were tested on such things as their spell ing and punctuation. “Grammar Day is a chance to have fun with words, because often people are over whelmed by the notion of grammar,” said Lynn Gresham, the co-ordinator of the writing service at the college. After taking the quizzes, participants were able to enter ballots into a draw for the chance to win Tim Hortons’ coupons. Everyone who filled out a quiz was also given a chocolate for participating.
Grammar Day takes place at the school twice a year. Last year was the first year for the event, and it was so successful it was made a biannual event. “It was very successful (last year),” Gresham said. “We were surprised by how successful it was. We thought we would just have a small event and we were swamped, which was just fabulous. We were rushing around making ballots at the last minute because we didn’t have enough. It was great fun.” Grammar Day will take place again in the winter term. In the meantime, students are encouraged to take advantage of the Learning Commons. The department offers free academic assis tance in math, writing, peer skills and other learning skills. The Learning Commons is located near Tim Hortons. It is open Monday to Thursday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. from September to April.
“Coughing and sneezing into their hands.”
Colin Lebold,
third-year accounting
Picking their nose,
Travis MacKinnon,
first-year software engineering
“Loud breathing.” PHOTO BY CALLIE WRIGGLESWORTH
Hope Smith-Bos,
Kyle Archibola, a second-year recreational and leisure services student, fills out a grammar quiz to test his knowledge and hopefully win some prizes. Grammar Day took place at Conestoga on Oct. 18, and will happen again next semester.
third-year business administration management
Picking anything. Rachel Kuschmierz,
third-year nursing
Biting their nails,
Lauren Weiler,
first-year journalism - broadcast
Smile Conestoga, you could be our next respondent!
NEWS
Monday, October 28 ,2013
SPOKE ♦ Page 3
Fest Hall Nooner has DrinkSmart message BY JODY ANDERSON
There were polka renditions of songs such as Journey’s D on’t Stop Believing, there was beer and there were a bunch of green hats at the Fest Hall Nooner that took place in the Sanctuary on Oct. 17. Plenty of people showed up and got themselves a drink and a free hat while tak ing in the polka band The Ziffles, cover versions of var ious hits. Randy Dicknoether, a Conestoga first-year elec tronics engineering techni cian student, was one of four band members. Rosiel Tang, a third-year marketing student, observed some of the people stopping by the Sanctuary and noted there were a lot of visitors. 'Yeah, a lot (of people) excit ed about the hats,” Tang said. She said her personal favou rite part of the Fest Hall Nooner was the dancing. “The chicken dancing, always,” Tang said smiling.
Jessica Gaeca, also a thirdyear marketing student, said her favourite part was the music, which the rest of the people in the Sanctuary seemed to be enjoying too. “The music is really good,” Gaeca said excitedly. The person handing out hats during all of this was Nathan Shinkar. He works for DrinkSmart Inc. and the hats had a DrinkSmart pin on them. Shinkar said the turnout was great and explained DrinkSmart’s message. “We’re not saying don’t drink. We’re just saying drink responsibly, have a good time. Maybe just cut back on those last few drinks. If you drink responsibly you actually have a better time, save yourself a little bit of money and save yourself those embarrassing stories.” He added there is a contest to give away $1,000 toward tuition at www.goingoutonight.ca. The draw for the tuition prize is on Nov. 14.
PHOTO BY JODY ANDERSON
Nathan Shinkar grabs some hats from a bag and puts them on display at the Fest Hall Nooner in the Sanctuary, Oct. 17. The event also featured the band, The Ziffles.
$4,000 grant available to help students gain experience BY KELSEY DUNBAR
A grant of $4,000 is avail able to students who wish to gain experience working in small- to mid-sized compa nies abroad. The Global Edge Program works with students and helps them make interna tional connections. Taylor Petrie, co-ordinator of the program at Conestoga College, has been busy mar keting it and actively recruit ing for the spring term. In previous semesters Conestoga has sent two female students to Ecuador for work terms. Breanna Hartwick, a thirdyear international business management student, wrote in a report about her experi ence: When planning for the trip I had no idea what to expect. I hadn’t even met my employ er yet! I had researched the company prior to my phone interview and I had an idea of what the business would be like, but all my expectations were exceeded once I arrived. The Ontario Global Edge grant of up to $4,000 is to ensure that the students will not have to pay for their trav els out of their own pockets. The work placements are six to 18 weeks and the students can apply to any job in any country abroad. One require ment is that the country is safe to travel to. All countries
are researched online at the Canadian government travel website, www.travel.gc.ca, to ensure travelling is safe for the students.
" In the end they are an ambassador of the col lege and the program; we want to make sure they fit all the requirements." - Taylor Petrie There is two ways to apply to the Global Edge program. Petrie said the students are encouraged to find job list ings abroad and make their own international connec tions. However, students may also apply to jobs, posted by Petrie on the My Careers co-op and careers database on the Conestoga website. “An ideal candidate would be a student who has previously travelled abroad or has their own international connections and speaks the language of where they would like to trav el ... In the end they are an ambassador of the college and the program; we want to make sure they fit all the require ments,” Petrie said. The time spent abroad can count toward a co-op place ment if one is needed to grad uate. It may also be used as a
way to gain work experience for a resume. Before departure the stu dents selected to travel must complete the Going Global: pre-departure training pro vided by Conestoga College. The international support ser vices officer, Janet Parrish, will meet with the students and provide them with train ing on what to do when they arrive, how to be safe, water diseases, how to get health insurance before they leave, health travel tips and much more. “It is a way to keep track of the students and where they are going and keep them as safe as possible while they are abroad,” Parrish said. When the travelling stu dents return home they are required to make three pre sentations about their trav els. One must be external, possibly to the K-W Chamber of Commerce, and two inter nal. One can be either in a class or a booth set up in the halls of the college and one must be in a meeting with soon-to-be travelling students and other Global Edge staff. This program is very com petitive. If a student is not chosen to travel the first time he or she applies, Petrie encourages them to try again in the following term after strengthening their interna tional connections.
COMMENTARY
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Monday, October 28, 2013
Digital age the lazy age BY BRUCE CHESSELL
It seems that in this day and age everything has been streamlined for people. With a couple of clicks of a but ton you can access a world of information thanks to the Internet. Now you can even have the power of a full computer in the palm of your hand with smart phones. But is all of this making us lazier? A study from Columbia University found that people are less likely to remember what they read online, but they could tell you where they read it. Other research done by U.S. psychologist Tracy Alloway was conducted and outlined on www.psychologytoday.com. The study determined if someone was an “active” user of technol ogy or a “passive” user, by using a questionnaire that reflected his or her interactions with different Internet forums such as Facebook or Twitter. The study found that digital technology does change the way your brain works, but the change is not necessarily a bad thing. According to the study an active user of technology is better at processing information in parallel, meaning that they can quickly adjust to a change in an informa tion stream and pick up on what they need to do about it. This is in contrast to a passive user of technology who can successfully take in information bit by bit at a time. So how does this affect us in our day-to-day lives? According to Alloway’s study, being an active user is much better than being a passive user in the modern era of technology. “In a modern workplace where multi tasking is standard, technology can give us an edge. The old school way of remembering facts and informa tion is not necessary. With Google at our fingertips, we don’t need to,” she says in her study. On the otherhand, the Internet may be hindering us. Aside from Google and having information constantly at our command, the Internet also offers us the ability to get whatever we want whenever we want. Sites such as Amazon and eBay offer us everything we desire and deliver it too. And after we can even order a pizza off of Pizza Pizza’s website. So the Internet may not make our minds lazy, but it is making us physically lazy. We don’t even have to go to a store to shop anymore. So the answer to, does the Internet make us lazier, is a yes and no. Our brains have become more active, being able to process an abundance of information more quickly and efficiently, but we never have to leave our computer desks because we can have anything we want delivered right to us. To right this wrong, the next time we order a pizza online we should do it the old way and get out of the house. The views herein represent the position of the newspa per, not necessarily the author.
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W h a t are we teaching young girls when Halloween costumes and adult novelty shoo costumes are the same.
What happened to Halloween? This Thursday, many students will be enjoying Halloween as they do every year; watching horror movies, eating candy and dressing up in costumes for parties with friends. But for some, this yearly celebration of spooks and scares is slowly becoming no more than a passing thought - an event to remember fond ly but rarely take part in. It seems like society is slow ly moving on from Halloween, partly because the mention of any holiday brings the baggage of controversy and conflict. For example, most elemen tary schools across Canada no longer allow their students to celebrate Halloween dur ing school hours —instead, they celebrate “Black and Orange Day,” which is simi lar to Halloween but tries to remove some of the more troublesome aspects of the popular holiday. Some of these schools have banned wearing costumes, but encourage students to wear black and orange, while others will only allow stu dents to dress up as certain things - no ghosts, goblins or ghouls. Some schools no
Spencer Beebe
Opinion
longer allow candy because it can cause health problems. No mention of death, spirits or Halloween culture of any kind is allowed because it could offend or scare some one. Is this really necessary? Do we need to sacrifice another enjoyable event to politi cal correctness? It’s taking the fun and mystery out of Halloween in favour of a bor ing, sanitized, meaningless mess. “Happy black and orange autumn festival” just doesn’t have the same ring as “Happy Halloween.” To many people, myself included, Halloween was one of the best days of the year. You would go to school dressed as your favourite character and spend hours that night travelling around the neighbourhood with friends trick-or-treating for candy. I think that ignoring
or changing holidays is a poor way to teach diversity, and just fosters ignorance about other people’s cultures; this goes equally for Halloween and any other holiday, reli gious or not. Instead of pre tending a day doesn’t exist, why don’t we devote time in school to teach kids about other people’s cultural heri tage and holidays? Now, don’t get me wrong, I know that there are people who choose not to celebrate Halloween, whether by faith or personal preference, and I understand and respect that. However, consider for a moment that people don’t try to change the names or ideals of other holidays. You wouldn’t call Christmas “red and green day,” or Hanukkah “candle week,” or Ramadan “fasting month,” would you? Of course not, because it would be disrespectful and there is so much more to those holidays than simple stereotypes and colours. Just like there’s so much more to Halloween than just black and orange. Spooky salutations, Conestoga! Have a happy, haunting and horror-filled Halloween.
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FEATURE
Monday, October 28,2013
SPOKE ♦ Page 5
Actors and actresses dress up for the Halloween Haunt at Canada’s Wonderland, hoping to scare the bejeebers out of people.
and phonos b&
Bandi
V is it W o n d e rla n d , if y o u d a re If you still enjoy Halloween, but are too old to trick-ortreat, Canada’s Wonderland is for you. Halloween Haunt, formerly known as Fearfest, puts on quite a show every year. It is Canada’s largest haunt ed theme park, with over 300 monsters, 10 maze attractions, three uniquely themed scare areas and three live shows every half hour. The park is open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays in October and also Halloween night. The grounds of Canada’s Wonderland are transformed, with the regular music and atmosphere being changed to thematic music, eerie lighting and actors dressed as mon sters designed to come from nowhere and scare you. One regular attendee, Kelly Mondy, said she really enjoys the fact that there is some thing for the older kids to do on Halloween night if they choose to do so. “I love the fact that it feels like you are never too old to enjoy Halloween. I love the scary music, the mazes, the actors - everything. I just love the whole park.” Not everyone happens to enjoy the park though. “I have mixed feelings on the haunt. True, the roaming actors are really cool but when you are in the actual attrac tion, it is always super busy and when you hear someone
else scream it alerts you that something is coming up. It kind of ruins the surprise,” said Alyshia Edlefsen, a firstyear visual merchandising student at Conestoga College. Some of the mazes include The Asylum, Sci-Fi House, Terror of London, Clowns at Midnight, Club Blood and CornStalkers. For those who don’t enjoy mazes though, never fear, some of the major rides such as Leviathan and Behemoth are still open for you to enjoy. Don’t think you can just use regular season passes to get into Halloween Haunt though. Canada’s Wonderland has tickets that are specific for the haunt. I would advise that you purchase your tickets online and print them from home as opposed to standing in line at Wonderland and purchas ing them there. It can save you anywhere from $10-$23 depending o n . what type of pass you get. Halloween Haunt is open this weekend from 7 p.m. until 12 a.m. For those who want to stay closer to home, Bingemans has its Screampark open right up to and including Halloween night, from 7 p.m. until 12 a.m. Last year 1,115 people didn’t make it through one of the haunted houses, chickening out.
The park features more than 300 monsters, 10 maze attrac tions, three uniquely themed scare areas and three live shows every half hour.
NEWS
Monday, October 28,2013
SPOKE ♦ Page 7 »
Next generation discovers Conestoga College fair introduces new opportunities to high schoolers BY GREG STAMPER
The hallways of Conestoga had some eager, yet unfa miliar faces touring around campus two weeks ago. On Oct. 17 Conestoga College’s Doon campus played host to an Ontario College Fair which saw high school students from all over south western Ontario come to the college to meet with and talk to representatives from not only Conestoga, but from 24 other colleges in Ontario. The recreation centre was home to a wide variety of booths featuring Conestoga’s program instructors and a select few students from each area of study, while the E-wing housed the booths from other schools. “In my opinion our commu nity benefits from having all the colleges here once a year and we benefit from being exposed to other communi ties,” said Paul Osborne, exec utive director of marketing, recruitment, corporate com munications and athletics at Conestoga College. “Let’s face it, people in Ottawa or Sault Ste. Marie likely won’t drive here for an open house but can get impor
tant questions answered on the spot from a Conestoga representative in their city.” The college fair gives potential students a first hand look into what is offered and can help stu dents come to a decision about what program and school is the right choice for them. However, many students who attend the fair, such as Raul Boue from Our Lady of Lourdes High School in Guelph, already have their choice made and just come for the experi ence. “I want to be a millwright because I did a co-op and I liked it. Conestoga has the best program in all of Ontario and I want to get into that.” The choice to attend college over university continues to grow in popularity due to a number of factors, all of which play in the college system’s favour. "(College offers) a wide range of program options, it is cost effective and employers are looking for college gradu ates because they are ready to work," said Tiffany Good, marketing and event co-ordi nator for OntarioColleges.ca. From a student’s perspec
PHOTO BY GREG STAMPER
Prospective Conestoga College students and parents flock around the Conestoga information table during the Ontario College Fair held on Oct. 17 at the Doon campus. tive, the choice to attend col lege over university is simpler. "It is easier to get into col lege," said Brooke Howley from Glendale High School in Tillsonburg. As the college fair displayed,
there are many different choices available to students. While that may be true, Vicki Noels-Cornish, liaison officer for Conestoga College, pro motes Conestoga as the place to be.
“Our location is very key being smack dab in the middle of southwestern Ontario, with lots of industry (in the region) and approximately 120 programs (at the school); there is some thing for everyone,” she said.
NEWS
Page 8 ♦ SPOKE
Monday, October 28,2013
It’s a K-W food fight BY LAURIE SNELL
Kitchener-Waterloo is giv ing back in more weighs than one with the Great Canadian Food Fight. With cans clink ing, noodles shaking and boxes hitting the scales, the Food Bank of Waterloo Region had 48 hours to bring in more pounds of foods than the food banks of Victoria, Prince Albert, Regina and Halifax — with one national goal in mind. “Why are we doing this,” Ruth Friendship-Keller, com munity partnerships manager at the Food Bank of Waterloo Region, said to a room full of volunteers. “So no one goes hungry,” the room full of students, workers, volunteers, business people and organizers said in unison. The Great Canadian Food Fight is set up so that thou sands of individuals who access food bank services will benefit, even though only one region wins the heavyweight title of highest contributor. This is the second time our local food bank has partici pated, with a total weigh-in of over 135,000 lbs. in the first year. Slightly underweight in comparison to last year, this year K itchener-W aterloo received 118,059 lbs. in dona tions, coming in second place overall. However, it was far behind the winner, the Regina Food Bank, which collected a whopping 294,834 lbs., for a national total of 599,815 lbs. The success of the Great Canadian Food Fight will allow the Food Bank of Waterloo Region to feed the e area for the next six weeks. Donations often decline during non-peak seasons such as late spring and sum mer, because students are out of school and charitable drives tend to target those in need during the holidays, rather than year-round. With Thanksgiving over and Halloween approaching, tim ing could not have been better. “You see this up and down of donations coming in, and in the meantime ... we’re still distributing 20,000 lbs.plus of non-perishable food every week. We need this big fall influx to keep going,” Friendship-Keller said. Running from Oct. 17 to 19, the Great Canadian Food Fight provided the opportu nity to be a part of, engage in and give back to the com munity - as a volunteer, donor, organizer or recipient. “We had 2,400 volunteers last year. You can’t move four million lbs. of food (each
year) without volunteers,” Friendship-Keller said. Every donation, whether it was a few cans or boxes of non-perishable goods from an individual, or large, bulk orders from corporations, was weighed upon receipt at the 50 Alpine Crt. warehouse and added to the total weigh-in. While accepting donations is easy, it is the sorting of non perishables that requires a lot of attention to detail. “The community donations that come in - they are all sorts of things. When you do a food drive you don’t just collect one item, you get a huge assort ment,” Friendship-Keller said. With sorting and donations ending at 6 p.m. on Oct. 19, it was all about competitive sort ing with half-hour sessions per competition on Oct. 18. Tape ripping, mumbling questions to one anoth er about where things go, cardboard draped all over the tables, cheering, chant ing, carts rolling and pump trucks bringing thousands of pounds of food in for teams to sort, the Corporate Food Sort Challenge came in six waves on day two. Teams such as the Boardwalk Angels, Team Smorgasbord, K itchener Rangers, Conestoga Packing Pros, Eastwood Collegiate Institute’s Youth in Action, the Forest Heights Trojan Torches and six other teams, vied for a few titles. Prizes were awarded for the fastest food sorters, top fundraiser, best dressed, best team name and most spirited. The 12 teams began the Sort Challenge with the initial rundown on how to sort with volunteer co-ordinator, Rose Tanyi. “Part of the food sort ing process is not only put ting things in the correct cat egories, but making sure that we’re doing quality control (so) that it’s all safe food going out,” Tanyi said, explain ing that damaged, exposed product or expired goods are immediately thrown into the trash. After hearing the extensive list of sorting rules and cate gories of foods, the volunteers, both educated and amused, learned that there are far too many types of beans on the market. Retaining that infor mation was essential to their speed in the competition, and that knowledge was put to the test after a quick tour of the facility. “We rely on community donations, but we also rely on corporate donations,” Friendship-Keller said, as she led the groups through the warehouse, revealing a
PHOTOS BY LAURIE SNELL
Annie Nguyen pulls a canned good from the bottom of a donation box in the Sort Challenge on Oct. 18 in Kitchener. very precise method to what appears to be canned-food madness. Maggie Leirsch, 22, a team member of the Conestoga Packing Pros, was excited about helping the cause and engaging in the community. “I work at Conestoga and they asked me if I wanted to do it, and of course I said sure,” Leirsch said, taking the com petition very seriously, with black war paint on her cheeks. “I’ve been with the food bank for four years,” team leader Michael Moore said. “There are some strange foods that go through here ... but the point is to have fun and enjoy your challenge.” The food bank sees everything from jel lied eel to canned bacon. Most of the competitors sorted about 1,400-1,600 lbs. of food, with the exception of Team Smorgasbord, who sped through 2,504 lbs. of non-per ishable goods. The Kitchener Rangers sifted 1,510 lbs., Conestoga Packing Pros sort ed 1,465 lbs. and Eastwood Collegiate Youth in Action flew through 1,852 lbs. of goods. The Kitchener Rangers and Economical Insurance acted as co-title sponsors to the Great Canadian Food Fight Corporate Sort Challenge. Investors Group Financial Services, Boardwalk Rental Communities and Conestoga Farm Fresh Pork were addi tional sponsors to this suc cessful drive. In a media release, Wendy
Maggie Leirsch, 22, strategically packs food as part of the Great Canadian Food Fight Corporate Food Sort Challenge. Campbell, executive director of the food bank, explained how advantageous this pro gram is for all of Canada. “We heard stories from donors about why they supported the Great Canadian Food Fight. Some had received help in the past. Some knew a‘ neighbour who had needed help to get
over a rough time. Many felt that helping others is sim ply the right thing to do ... the beautiful thing about this competition is that we all win when no one goes hungry,” Campbell said. To volunteer, donate, or co ordinate a food drive, visit www.foodbank.ca.
NEWS
Monday, October 28,2013
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Egging on innovative young minds Go ENG Girl workshops target tech savvy girls in Grades 7 to 10 BY LAURIE SNELL
Save your eggs - that was the message to a room full of young women at the Go ENG Girl event on Oct. 19. The workshop was created to inspire young women to stay in school and follow their passion and curiosity for engineering. However, above and beyond the usual preaching to stay in school, the girls quite liter ally had to save their whole, uncooked eggs from a twostorey fall using their wellcrafted, impact-proof designs. Go ENG Girl, presented by the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers, began with Karen Cain, chair of the engineering and information technology program, welcom ing the parents and partici pants. “If you’re the type of person who thinks ‘hey, I can fix that,’ then engineering might be for you,” Cain said. The workshop is targeted toward young girls in Grades 7 to 10, to get them excit ed about potential careers in engineering - a field that is male-dominated. With handson activities, parent sessions, student exhibits, tours, alumni and guest speakers, the girls had the opportunity to explore the many ways in which engi neering shapes our world and how they can get involved. Julia Biedermann, execu tive dean of the School of Engineering and Information Tech and School of Trades and Apprenticeships at Conestoga College, was the guest speaker Saturday morning. Shifting from an aspiring dentist to suc cessful engineer, Beidermann’s
journey into engineering did not begin until midway through university, when she realized she was taking the exact same courses in a science program as her male counterparts in engi neering programs were. “There was no mention of engineer ing whatsoever,” Biedermann said, reflecting on the lack of guidance from her high school counsellor. “I was a keener, but a different kind of keener ... I (finally) found something I really liked and I went with it.” Part of the reason why the gender ratio in engineering is so disproportionate is the lack of direction that female students receive, and Go ENG Girl is looking to change that. The ulti mate goal is that generations from now there will be far more women in the field, to provide an equal balance of perspective on the multitude of products engineers design. “There were no women engineers to look up to ... (and) engineering is so broad - there’s so much you can do with it,” Biedermann said. However, young girls are often directed toward careers such as nursing that are tradition ally more female-dominated, despite having an interest in math, sciences and technology. By introducing these pro grams and career paths to Grades 7 to 10, the girls can make significant educational decisions - such as high school electives or college and univer sity applications - with a full awareness of all opportuni ties. “It really is a great career with so many opportunities,” Biedermann said. Biedermann and Cain explained the different routes
PHOTO BY LAURIE SNELL
Three Go ENG Girl participants drop an egg from the second storey of Conestoga's Cambridge campus to the main floor on Oct. 19. the prospective students could take, from industrial to civil engineering - and everything in between. While parents stayed behind to hear more about the programs and prerequisites, the Go ENG girls were led to the caf eteria for the hands-on portion of the workshop, led by engineer ing professor Nancy Nelson. “We need safe transport of eggs from point A to point B,” Nelson said, adding that the distance from point A (the sec ond floor) to point B (a small red circle on the ground floor) involved dropping the egg, rath er than walking it down the
PHOTO BY LAURIE SNELL
Volunteer Adam Bridgman acts as a salesman to a group of prospective female engineers during a hands-on project during Go ENG Girl.
flight of stairs. Before the girls began, Nelson explained the engineer ing design process —ask, imag ine, plan, create and improve - before they could split off into teams of two or three. The teams were each given pretend money with a value of $25, and were told to make each egg’s protector as small and costeffective as possible - elements of real world engineering and business planning. With volunteer Adam Bridgman acting as both bank er and salesman of the lim ited resources - such as pencils, paper, tissues, cardboard tubes, tape and string - the prospec tive students were also given a time limit of less than one hour. Huron Heights Secondary School student, Macy Asher, said her parents are strongly encouraging her to get into engineering. “My mom was at the school and she saw the sign and was like, T signed you up,’ and now I’m here,” Asher said. The 15-year-old, who hopes to start her engineer ing career at the University of Waterloo and later transfer to Conestoga College, found the Go ENG Girl event to be a lot of fun. “It was really informa tive,” Asher said. “It’s actually amazing how few eggs cracked (or broke) ... this is great,” engineer ing professor Jane Carr said excitedly, after each team took their turn dropping eggs in the main lobby. Carr, one of the few female engineer ing professors at Conestoga College, attended the event to represent the student
group she oversees - Women in Trades and Technology (WITT), a supportive and educational group for current female engineering students.
iIf you’re the type of person who thinks, ‘hey, I can fix that,’ then engineering might be for you. M - Karen Cain, chair of engineering and info, tech Also on hand to provide information for parents and prospective students was Teresa Lee, employer rela tions consultant at Conestoga College, who works directly with engineering students in finding co-op placements. “We do have a lot of sup portive services offered for when you’re in the program,” Lee said, adding that there are multiple benefits of co-op terms, such as networking, income, work experience and the ability to remain engaged in the Conestoga community. For more information on Go ENG Girl, visit www.conestogacommunity.ca/goenggirl. Female students currently at Conestoga who are inter- *+ ested in joining WITT, can find more information on the Women in Technology and Trades (WITT) Conestoga College Facebook page, which * lists upcoming meetings, events and discussions.
NEWS
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Monday, October 28,2013
The wheel deal BY HAILEY MERKT
Matt Corbett takes popping a wheelie to a whole new level, seeing he only has one wheel to ride with. Corbett is a first-year archi tecture construction engineer ing technology student at the Conestoga College Cambridge campus and has recently started a unicycle club. Corbett’s original intent for the club was to round up a good group of unicyclists to wheel around town. He soon realized, however, that there was a lack of unicycle enthu siasts within the college com munity, so the club quickly turned into a teaching group of Corbett’s many random tal ents. The Unicycle Club is now an open group that meets weekly to learn how to ride, juggle and solve Rubik’s Cubes. Not all at once, of course. “No unicycle purchase required,” Corbett said. “I supply it all.” Five years ago, the 15-yearold Corbett had a childhood friend who had decided to uni-
cycle as a hobby. “It sounded fun ... so I fig ured I’d give it a go.” Just as someone learning how to ride a bike would usu ally need training wheels or a steady hand to hold the back of his/her seat, unicyclists usually need a railing or wall. However, Corbett was taught to “just get on and go for it.” “I learned the worst way possible,” he joked. He was taught to steady himself using a door frame and when ready, to cycle out into the open air. Two weeks later, after some bloodshed and bruises, he was able to trundle his first 200 metres. Today a unicycle is a means of transportation for Corbett. “One time I went to the store to pick up my grocer ies on my unicycle ... got my milk and bread ... came out of the store, hopped on my unicycle and a car pulled over. A woman hopped out of the vehicle, came up to me and said, ‘Sorry, I’m not stalking you or anything but I’ve seen you ride your unicycle before
and I was wondering if you could teach my son." Corbett said riding a uni cycle around town results in a lot of positive attention and has advantages. Store manag ers and security guards have warmly welcomed him to ride about their stores, despite the obnoxious-sized no rollerblade or bicycle signs clearly posted upon entering. For anyone interested in taking up the sport/activity, unicycle prices range depend ing on the quality. Bike shops don’t typically carry them see ing it’s more of a niche market. Most people purchase them new or used off the Internet. Contact Matt Corbett at m attcorbett93@hotm ail. com if you are interested in attending a meeting of The Unicycle Club. You can wear whatever helps you feel comfortable and safe even if that means a bubble wrap body suit. “When others are smiling at you because you are doing PHOTO BY HAILEY MERKT something completely ran dom, it puts a smile on your Matt Corbett balances on his unicycle with just one foot on a pedal face,” Corbett said. and one hand on the seat.
Slender Man is lurking around Conestoga BY STEPH SMITH
Do you feel a tingle on the back of your neck? If so, it may be because you are being hunted by the mys terious creature that has been lurking around. I n fact, being hunted is exactly what will happen if you participate in the Conestoga Residence and Conference Centre’s unique game of manhunt on Oct. 29. The game Slender is being organized by the Residence House Council and will be taking place from 8 to 10 p.m. Named after the original 2012 computer video game, Slender adds a twist to the traditional game of manhunt. In the video game, the objec tive is to locate and collect eight pages that are hidden in various areas of the forest, all the while avoiding Slender Man. Slender Man is a “fakeloric” paranormal being that has the ability to teleport. It is described as very tall and "thin, with unnaturally long arms. It also has a white, featureless head and wears a black suit. The Slender Man is known to abduct children. “The goal of the game is to find eight pages while trying not to get caught by Slender
Man himself,” said Sydney Thain, the council member organizing the event, in an email. “This takes the idea to a whole new level instead of just your basic manhunt.” During the game, players will be working solo. The game itself will be run flag football style in order to tell
who has been caught and who is still in the game. “The ultimate goal of the game is to collect all eight pages with at least one flag left,” Thain said. The event, which is free, will only be open to students living in residence. Complimentary Gatorade will be served.
INTERNET PHOTO
This photo manipulation shows Slender Man, a ‘fakeloric’ paranor mal being by artist Kreature-im Spiegel, amongst trees.
Monday, October 28,2013
SPORTS
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Photos by Scott Dietrich Left, Mike Sullivan of Conestoga dodges Matt Cookson of Mohawk College during a men’s rugby game at Riverside Park in Cambridge on Oct. 20. Conestoga won the game by a lopsided margin of 93-3.
Condors make playoffs
Members of Conestoga’s women’s rugby team take down a Mohawk player during the second half of their game at Riverside Park.
Players from Conestoga and Mohawk battle for a line-ln throw. Conestoga won the game 58-12, clinching a playoff berth in the process.
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NEWS
Monday, October 28,2013
Buy or Run? Bruce tells all BY AARON CRECES
Bruce McClure is a regis tered home inspector, and has been for 15 years. He’s also been the co-ordinator for the home inspection program at Conestoga College for the past 10 years. And he has been the national president of home inspectors in Canada. His passion, however, is one crudely portrayed by TV pro grams and misunderstood by much of the public, injustices which prompted him to write a book that exposes the hid den truths of the industry. “I started to joke about it four years ago,” McClure says. “But last fall, after hearing about the government mak ing regulations about what makes a home inspector qual ified and going to a TV per sonality for advice, I went straight home, sat down, and that’s what I’ve done for the last 10 months.” McClure is a driven man, and you can gather that from the way he carries himself. A man of average height with slightly greying hair and stark blue eyes, he fidgeted in his chair as if it pained him to stay still. His demeanour is of one used to dealing with peo ple; an inviting smile and a smooth tone force you to relax and speak leisurely, knowing there is no intimidation. He spoke about his book, entitled Buy or Run, with great excitement and justified confidence. McClure said buy ers don’t know enough about what really happens in the home selling and buying pro cess, so he intends to educate people from a home inspec tor’s point of view. “People have pre-conceived ideas,” McClure said. “They think that what they see on TV is what a real home inspection is, but it’s not.”
tion entails. “You could go to Staples tonight, print a business card, and tomorrow you’re a home inspector,” McClure said. His book also explores some of the shady tactics that real tors, as well as home inspec tors, will use in order to make the sale. Oftentimes realtors will have a particular home inspector in their pocket and will blacklist inspectors who refuse to turn a blind eye to blatant flaws, making for unhappy home owners. “What a lot of people don’t understand is that when it comes to picking a home inspector, it’s the realtor that picks the home inspector,” McClure said. “Most times the realtor is going to favour a home inspector who isn’t going to say anything, who’s going to turn a blind eye to things. McClure practically glowed with energy as he spoke of the prestigious names who have proofread his coup de grace, yet, despite his obvious ela tion, his demeanour remained humble. He stressed again the educational purposes of Buy or Run as opposed to any fame or recognition it would bring him. “The book was proof read by an ex-president of the American Association of Home Inspectors, the current president of the Canadian association and the Ontario association,” McClure said, grinning as he did so. “The book is being promoted heav ily through the U.S. and Canada. “It’s not a case of writing a book to say I wrote a book. It’s PHOTO BY AARON CRECES to make the public aware.” A home inspector, a realtor and now an author, Bruce McClure poses with his new book, Buy or Run, Buy or Run will be avail at Conestoga College's Doon campus on Oct. 15. able in both eBook and print formats. For more informa Buy or Run, published Oct. inspection business; misin by those who call themselves tion on Bruce McClure and 23, deals with popular mis formation delivered by TV home inspectors without actu his book, you can visit www. conceptions about the home programs, and perpetuated ally knowing what an inspec brucemcclurerhi.com/.