the United Way.
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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
Chili cook-off serves up heat Tasty fundraiser supports
m ONDAY,
OCTOBER 2 9 , 2012
CONESTOGA COLLEGE, KITCHENER 0NT,
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Condors clip Grizzlies Win moves team one step closer to playoffs. Page 16
43RD YEAR - NO. 22
Piercing was his calling BY KELSEY HEELEY
When someone is a piercer at a tattoo shop, other people might wonder why they chose that to be their career out of all the job choices there are. Sometimes, being a piercer just happens. That’s how it was for Jesse Villemaire, owner o f and piercer at Thrive Studios in Cambridge. Villemaire was the business type; he even had a business partner at one time. “I really love the business side of things; I had always wanted to open up my own business.” When his best friend at the time received an offer to open up a tattoo shop, he wanted to have a piercer at the studio as well. However, Villemaire didn’t know much about pierc ing at the time. “I only had one piercing in my ear, and I didn’t have much knowledge about it, but he was my best friend and I did not like the position I was in with my job,” said Villemaire. He also said as soon as his partner put the
idea of being a piercer into his head, he couldn’t stop thinking about it. He was intrigued. That was when he decided to look into enrolling in a school for piercing, but he soon discovered that one didn’t exist. Despite being discouraged, he started looking for some one already in the industry who would take him on as an apprentice. He managed to find a pierc er who was ready to leave the industry. “She had all the tools and knowledge and was willing to sell me the equipment and teach me how to pierce,” Villemaire said. Although an apprenticeship is supposed to be roughly a year and a half - his was two weeks. After she sold him her equipment and got her money, she left him high and dry. He said at that point he con sidered quitting, but felt that piercing was a missing link in his life. SEE UNPLANNED CAREER, PAGE 10
PHOTO BY KELSEY HEELEY
Joyce Lee, 16, looks nervous as piercer Deacon Madison pierces her nose for the first time at Tora Tattoo in Waterloo on Oct. 3.
Staff member growing his hair as ALS fundraiser BY JOANNA DITTMER
Imagine suffering from a disease that there is no cure for; one that you know, in the end, will kill you. Amyotrophic lateral sclero sis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is one of these diseases, and one that Bert Last, an audio/visual tech nologist at Conestoga College, knows only too well. His moth er Jeanette died from the dis ease in February 2011. Last decided to never cut his hair until he retires to raise money for and awareness of ALS. Last said his last trim was March 5, 2012. ALS is a rapidly progres sive neuromuscular disease in which nerve cells die and leave voluntary muscles paralyzed. Last said the idea behind growing his hair came from his days in high school. A fellow student was known for his long hair, and then one day he came to school with his head com pletely shaved. That is some thing that everyone remembers.
“When I retire, at least they will remember my presence at the college,” Last said. ALS is diagnosed through an elimination process as the symptoms closely match those of a number of other diseases or neurological disorders such as multiple sclerosis. These symp toms include weakening limbs and slurred or nasally speech. Last said his brother, Gerry, who lives in Washington, D.C, has started a foundation called Blues for ALS, to help raise funds and awareness for the ALS community. Blues for ALS will play for free at any fundraising event as long as the proceeds go to a local ALS organization. Last said he hopes his broth er will be able to come here and play when he cuts his hair at his retirement party. He hopes to get other people interested in doing something like this as well. “Another goal that I have is to get other people involved who want to do the same for charity,” he said, adding that
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Bert Last before he began growing his hair in March. it can be any charity, not just the one he chose. “I’ve talked to a few people and they’re showing interest.” According to ALS.ca, patients suffering from the disease need a lot of support from family. “ALS is a very costly disease (it can cost anywhere between $200,000 and $400,000 over the course of the disease for equip ment and care) and caring for a loved one has a huge financial
PHOTO BY JOANNA DITTMER
Last, an audio-visual technologist at Conestoga College’s Doon campus, is growing his hair to raise awareness and funds for ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. impact on families across the country,” the website states. Donna Snyder, also an audio/visual technician at Conestoga College’s Doon campus, and who also shares an office with Last, supports his endeavour. “I think it’s a really great idea,” she said. Last is excited to see how
his effort unfolds. “It’s about raising awareness. I want to do it until I retire, although I don’t know what the date is yet. It’ll depend on certain things ... maybe in a couple years,” he said. If interested in shaving your head for your own cause, con tact Last at ext. 2264.
NEWS
Page 2 ♦SPOKE
Now deep thoughts ... with Conestoga College Random questions answered by random students
W h at’s the best Halloween costum e yo u ’ve ever seen?
“A Transformer that actually transformed into a place - it was really creative!” Krystal Richards,
first-year interior decorating
“A Rubik’s Cube with shifting pieces because it was functional and she made it herself.” Monica Pawelec,
second-year accounting and auditing
“Johnny Depp in
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - he acted like him all night.”
Taylor Gosnell,
first-year social service worker
“Adult baby, because he wore an adult diaper, went all out, and wasn’t afraid to be himself.”
Hailey Merkt,
first-year broadcast journalism
Monday, October 29,2012
‘Purple Pinkie Project’ comes to Cambridge BY ROB MENDONSA
The Cambridge Winter Hawks took to the ice Oct. 20 sporting “purple pinkies,” and though it didn’t seem to help their game much, as they lost yet another close game at the hands of the Brampton Bombers, it helped educate people on the dangers of polio and the need to eradicate it throughout the Third World. The significance of the “Purple Pinkie Project” is that when children are vaccinated for polio in affected countries, their pinkies are dyed purple to show that they’ve been vac cinated and prevent an acci dental double dosage. For over 27 years, the Rotary Club has been work ing to eradicate this crippling childhood disease, with great success. Last year there were no new reported cases of polio in India, said Hajra Wilson, district chair for Polio Plus. “It’s not just a disease in the Third World, if we don’t eradi cate it in Pakistan and Africa, someone could come with the virus and re-infect us here in Canada,” Wilson said. Dr. Margaret Chan, directorgeneral of the World Health Organization, calls the more than 1.2 million Rotarians tireless partners in the polio eradication effort. “This entire initiative began because of the vision of Rotary International,” Chan said. This is the second year the Winter Hawks have sponsored this event which, according to Annie Knight, spokesper son for the Winter Hawks, is a way to educate people and make them aware of the potential dangers of polio and
its effects on children. “While it would be a great opportunity to try and raise money for the Purple Pinkie Project, Rotary International’s primary role in this event with the Winter Hawks is awareness about the neces sity to eradicate polio in those countries where it remains endemic,” Knight said. Polio is a highly infectious disease caused by a virus. It invades the nervous system and can cause irreversible nerve damage in hours. Though the disease can strike at any age it primarily affects children under five years of age. The disease is spread by person-to-person contact. The virus enters through the mouth and then quickly spreads to the intestines and then sheds into the environ ment through the child’s feces. Since most young children are not yet toilet trained, the dis ease is passed on quite easily by caregivers who don’t not wash properly after changing
the child and who then handle food. There is no cure for polio, only treatment to alleviate the symptoms. However, polio can be pre vented with immunizations if the polio vaccine is given three times over 18 months, begin ning at two months; it almost always protects a child for life. And the cost is as little as 60 cents to protect a child. Polio has been eradicated from 99 per cent of the world; only Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan remain. But Wilson cautions that as long as one child remains infected, there is always a risk of resurgence, putting children around the world in danger of contracting the disease. So even though the Winter Hawks were not victorious on this night, their help in edu cating the public in the world wide fight against polio was far more important than any “W” in the win column could have ever been.
PHOTO BY ROB MENDONSA
Hajra Wilson paints a “purple pinkie” at the Winter Hawks game in Cambridge on Oct. 20.
“A dead prom queen because it looked really realistic and scary.”
Leah Robischaud,
second-year business marketing
“ Dog the Bounty Hunter because he went all out and kind of looked like him.” Dom inique Rischel,
second-year executive office administration PHOTO BY ROB MENDONSA
Smile Conestoga, you could be our next respondent!
Wilson (left) and the Cambridge Winter Hawks proudly display their “purple pinkies.”
NEWS
Monday, October2 9 , 2012
SPOKE ♦Page 3
CSI launches awareness website They hope it increases student involvement at the college BY WESLEY BUTLER
If you want to buy or sell textbooks, ask questions or check out the latest events at the college, then take a look at Conestoga Students Inc.’s awareness website. The site, which has been up since last year, went through a revamp this school year, giv ing students insight into what CSI is all about. They can also get information about activi ties CSI is holding and min utes from meetings. “Since students are moving online, we’re posting a lot of our information digitally,” said Ciara Byrne, president
of CSI. “We’ve moved to a new social media-type site, so stu dents could access it at 2 a.m. if they wanted to.” Throughout the past cou ple of years, students have created several groups per taining to Conestoga College on Facebook. The idea of the website was to blend all of them together, by providing a platform where students can share ideas, get information on clubs, buy and sell text books and carpool with other students. CSI has seen the number of students using the website increase from when it first started. This year, approx
imately 2,300 students are using it on a regular basis. “The students are getting more engaged,” said Byrne. “This past month and a half alone, we saw more students getting involved in our activi ties.” It was difficult for CSI to utilize the website entirely last year because every thing was still new to them. But this year, CSI has got ten their bearings and are seeing the number of stu dents signing up continu ing to rise by the hundreds. They believe that social media will help in piquing students’ interests.
among students. The website is run by the web development company SquareCrop, and costs CSI $300 a month to maintain. The company specializes in websites for student services. “When there’s something big that we need done, they’ll do it,” said Byrne. “We have graphic designers and other people who take care of the layout and other esthetics.” To visit the CSI awareness website and to get more infor mation about it, go to www. conestogastudents.com.
Byrne said she expects to see its traffic go up even more within the next few years, because she hopes by then the site’s capabilities will be utilized completely, making more students want to join it and become involved in the college’s events and activities. Rebecca Saba, program and communications co-ordinator of CSI, oversees the website and is responsible for making sure the events schedule is upto-date and posting answers to students’ questions. Saba also hopes it becomes popular
PHOTO BY WESLEY BUTLER
Ciara Byrne, president of Conestoga Students Inc., shows off CSI’s awareness website. She anticipates it will make more students want to get involved in CSI activities.
!€■
videos
On Spoke Online (www.spokeonline.com) this week: ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
Cambridge Pizza Pizza teams up with Sick Kids to offer Slices for Smiles. Come and see how the United Way is getting into the Halloween spirit. Learn how to make pottery at Play with Clay in Guelph. View a Treasures of China exhibit. Check out the Tri-city Roller Derby’s Tri-city Thunder as they compete in their final game of the season. Find out how you can raise awareness for diabetes by donating old clothes. Take a look at the world premiere of James Cameron’s Avatar: The Exhibit at The Museum. Find out how you can stay safe this Halloween.
COMMENTARY
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Monday, October 29,2012
No easy answers BY WHITNEY SOUTH
In the weeks since 15-year-old Amanda Todd took her own life, a public outcry calling for justice has brought focus once again to the problem of bullying and its impact on teenagers across Canada. According to the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), suicide is the second-leading cause of death among teenagers. Car accidents are the first. Many blame teen suicide on changing hormones, pass ing even serious attempts off as nothing but adolescent cries for attention. BullyingCanada.ca, a national anti-bullying organiza tion, states a study published in the medical Journal of Pediatrics found about one in seven Canadian children aged 11 to 16 are victims of bullying. Bullying has been around for as long as anyone can remember. From sibling rivalry to workplace harass ment, being bullied is something that most people have experienced at least once in their lives. In the wake of the Todd tragedy, the Canadian gov ernment is stepping in and taking action against what many believe to be a growing threat to the country’s young population. Spearheaded by Quebec MP Dany Morin, the House of Commons will be introducing a motion proposing a study of the scope of bullying in Canada and calling for more funding and support for organizations involved with anti-bullying campaigns. Bullying is not considered an offence under the Criminal Code of Canada; however, many elements of it are, includ ing assault, uttering threats and criminal harassment. The study should also look at mental health and its role relating to suicide. Saying that bullying causes teen suicide is like blam ing the tragedy at Columbine on violent video games. Studies indicate that more than 90 per cent of suicide victims have a diagnosable psychiatric illness. A frighten ing statistic, society needs to realize that these conditions are serious and not something to be swept under the rug. In this day and age, suicide is something people still don’t talk about. But when a tragedy such as Todd’s is thrown into the spotlight, people are quick to point fin gers and place blame. According to the CMHA, only one out of every five Canadian children who need mental health assistance receives it. If we keep ignoring the fact that mental illness is the key cause of teen suicide, we risk losing more lives every day. The views herein represent the position of the newspa per, not necessarily the author.
Letters are welcome Spoke welcomes letters to the editor. Letters should be signed and include the name and telephone number of the writer. Writers will be contact ed for verification. No unsigned letters will be published. Letters should be no longer
than 500 words. Spoke reserves the right to edit any letter for publication. Email letters to: www.spokeonline.com with the subject line “Letter to the Editor,” or bring them to Room 1C30 at the Doon campus.
Strangers blasting music and talking your ear o ff can ruin your bus ride.
Some people make riding the bus hell Anyone who frequently relies on public transporta tion will tell you that buses suck. Not because of rude driv ers, schedule deviations or buses breaking down, but because of the people who ride them. I consider myself an aver age person with average expectations of appropriate human conduct. It should go without saying that behav iours such as touching a per fect stranger or sharing your personal life with them are not acceptable. It should go without say ing, but the more I ride the bus, the more I realize that it needs to be said. If I am riding the bus I do not want to be touched, talked to, hit on, forced to lis ten to your horrible music or assaulted by your odour. Is it too much to ask that all five of my senses be given their own personal space? I have found that there are five main types of offenders. My least favourite of the five types is “the talker.” They sit down next to you and assume this gives them licence to ramble on about anything, from their alienJesus novel-in-progress (seri ously, she wanted me to edit it,) to their nasty divorce and
Jessica Rediker
Opinion custody battles. I understand that people need to vent and fill the silence, but unless you’re making small talk about the weather, you’re saying too much. Breaking the personal sound barrier is one thing, but “the toucher” takes con tact to a physical level. When I am sitting next to you I am not an armrest, a scratching post or a holder for your mittens. A woman once used the minimal space between my leg and hers to forcefully wedge in her mit tens. When I crossed my legs and the mittens fell, she shot me the rudest glare, as if we had an unspoken agreement that I was to stay perfectly still. Doing everything short of touching, thankfully, “the creep” stares down his target for several minutes before approaching to subject her to various icebreakers. I’ve heard everything from the typical “you look nice,” to the stalker-like “where do
you live,” to the extremely forward “be my girlfriend.” When I see someone move from me to another person, I can’t help but feel like some times people ride the bus specifically to pick up a date. What happened to the good old days when riding a bus was just about getting from point A to point B? Not only is the bus a collec tion of possible soulmates, but on occasion it is a nightclub. The invention of head phones seems to have been forgotten by today’s youth. “The boom box” boards the bus blasting Lil’ Wayne’s latest hit from his cell phone. According to the rules of Grand River Transit, playing music is prohibited. It is on a sign on the bus. Why it is so hard for teenagers’ to obey this rule, is beyond me. The last of my top five, is probably the most frequently experienced. “The stench” is a person who smells like a com bination of the worst smells possible; cigarette smoke, alcohol, sweat, garbage, onions and human waste. Maybe I take the bus too often or I have a tolerant demeanour, but I don’t feel anyone deserves to be sub jected to any of the afore mentioned behaviours.
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NEWS
Monday, October 29,2012
SPOKE ♦Page 5
It’s time for a change BY KRISTIN MILANI
With October being Bullying Awareness Month, it’s time to reflect on the issue and work at putting an end to it. Teenagers such as Amanda Todd are being remembered this month for taking their lives as a result of bullying. I, myself, have been bul lied in the past. Although we learn to not care about what other people think, when you’re young and feel alone it’s difficult to think that way. The day it all began I was sitting in my elemen tary school classroom during lunch. Other students decided to draw on the chalkboard for fun. After a few minutes I looked up to see that the word albino was written. The student who wrote it then told the class that I was albino because of my pale skin. I was hurt and very embar rassed. Things escalated from that point on. I ended up being the centre of many cruel jokes. Although I wasn’t completely alone and had my family and best friend to lean on, it still felt awful and I wanted more than anything to have friends. I was so desperate for acceptance that I invited my biggest bully to my birthday party. Inviting her was my biggest mistake. It was a few weeks before my party and the girl started being nice to me and even called me her friend. My mom told me not to invite her because she knew what the girl had put me through. I didn’t listen unfortunately. She came to my party and wasn’t being nice at all. She tried to convince the other girls to do mean things to me while I was sleeping. The next Monday, I walked up to her to say hi and she ended up telling me that she was pretending to be my friend to get to my party. Each time someone did something mean to me, I would walk away in tears. I rarely defended myself. I came home crying every day, but even there I was victim ized. Even after getting away from the bullies at school, I would go on the computer and then face cyber-bullying on MSN. I was late almost every day for school, partly because I didn’t want to go. Every time I would walk in the class, everyone looked at me and made sounds of disap pointment. I spent recess and lunch being verbally harassed. Rumours were often started about me as well.
PHOTO BY KRISTEN MILANI
Many people have written love on their wrists to promote suicide awareness. Since October is Bullying Awareness Month and people sometimes take their own lives as a result, this way of showing support could be seen more often. Although I was rarely phys ically hurt by other students, the words impacted me in a way that made life feel worth less. When you’re 12 years old, you don’t feel like life will ever get better. I pictured myself being hated for the rest of my life. Since the teachers and prin cipals at the school didn’t step in to help, my parents decid ed to transfer me to another school. It was hard to leave my best friend behind but I knew I had to go. Right away my life began getting better, although I still had problems fitting in and finding friends. It wasn’t until high school that the issues really went away. Something that has helped me cope since the bul lying is to pity the people who did it. Bullies have to live with the fact that they made someone’s life miser able. They can’t take it back. Being the victim is tough but it’s a good feeling to look back and know that I wasn’t cruel to others. Due to being bullied, I devel oped severe insecurity and anxiety. It still affects my life to this day. In some severe cases of bullying, some people have even developed posttraumatic stress disorder and many become suicidal. Some even take their own lives. Your younger years are sup
posed to be easy and carefree. However, in today’s world there are too many children and teens who dread each
day. Bullying Awareness Month helps bring attention to this escalating problem. But much more needs to be
done at schools, by students themselves and by lawmak ers. No one should be bullied to death.
NEWS
Page 6 ♦SPOKE
Monday, October 2 9 , 2012
Winner crowned at chili cook-off BY CALEIGH MCLELLAND
Conestoga’s first chili cook off raised $255 in support of the college’s 2012 United Way Campaign. Individuals and groups each submitted a pot of chili on Oct. 22 to be judged by hun gry members of the Conestoga community. In total, 20 very unique chilies were available for tasting, from beef and pork to elk and vegetarian. There was also chili made with venison, moose, turkey and even a chili made with beef, cocoa and beer. “I was looking for a combina tion of spices and meat,” said taste tester Rosie Hessian. “The organic chili had a really interesting taste, and the elk
and venison had a really neat flavour, too.” Pots were labelled with the type of chili and information about the ingredients used. Each chili was also labelled with a heat factor sign, so that judges knew what to expect before taking a bite.
" It’s all about the flavour." -Andrea McManus And while most people were too full (or too afraid) to sample every kind of chili, Andrea McManus managed to try them all. “I thought they were all
good in the end, but there was one I remember most,” said McManus. “It’s all about the flavour.” There was a minimum donation of $5 at the door, which got judges unlimited chili, as well as buns, cake and refreshments. In the end, Ann Vignault’s southwestern beef chili won her the Ladle of Distinction. Megan Gurton and Jillian Grant’s team, Chili Chili Bang Bang, took first runnerup. “It’s a fun and different way to get involved and interact with employees,” said Grant. “Plus I like a little competi tion.” Conestoga’s chili cook-off was one of the many events that contributed to the col
lege’s United Way fundrais ing campaign. Other events included Employee “Bingo for Baskets” and last week employees began their Pledge Card Campaign, which, according to Jennifer Lowes, member of the college’s United Way employee organizing commit tee, brings in the most funds. This year staff and students are hoping to raise $50,000 by the end of the two-week campaign, which kicked off on Oct. 17. For more in form a tion about the KitchenerWaterloo United Way, or for other ways to donate to the organization once Conestoga’s campaign fin ishes this week, visit www. united-way-kw.org.
SPICE IT UP All you need to know about chili: ■ Latino women, called “Chili Queens,” served the dish over open fires in San Antonio’s plazas ■ To bean or not to bean? In Texas chili never includes beans! ■ Popular additions include: • green peppers • garlic • cumin or chipotle • onions or mushrooms • corn • chocolate • tequila or beer • brown sugar
PHOTO BY CALEIGH MCLELLAND
Rosie Hessian (right) gets a ladle of organic chili, one of the many options at Conestoga College’s chili cook-off in support of the United Way, on Oct. 22. Variations included venison, elk and vegetarian.
ENTERTAINMENT
Monday, October 29,2012
SPOKE ♦Page 7
Film fest has glitz and glamour BY WENDY CZAKO-MAH
As dozens of patrons entered Empire Theatre on Oct. 20, they had puzzled looks on their faces. Why were people standing around with camer as? The answer soon became apparent as a white SUV slowly crept up to the front entrance. A door opened and an unfamiliar woman stepped out. She then opened the rear door and as she stepped back the reason was clear. It was Susan Sarandon. The actress was in town as part of the Grand River Film Festival (GRFF), which cele brated its sixth year. Waterloo Region and international film makers of short- and full-length films debuted their movies from Oct. 16-21 in- several theatres throughout the region. “The festival has grown not only regionally, but beyond here,” said Jennifer Bedford, who has been involved with GRFF since 2009. Sarandon was in attendance as a guest of the festival and also to support the film, Robot and Frank, in which she has a role. “I’m really happy to be somewhere where The Rocky Horror Picture Show is consid ered a classic, ’ Sarandon said. “I love hockey so I always feel comfortable here, but I’ve never been this far outside of Toronto, even though I’ve worked in Montreal and even Winnipeg,” she said. She was quick to point out it’s Frank Langella who is the star of Robot and Frank and that she plays a small part in a sweet story that has a sur prise ending. The film, said Sarandon, “was made on no money and it’s done surprisingly well by a first-time director (Jake Schreir). It’s really great that you have a festival because
this is where a lot of people get their films seen. When people like it, it makes people want to trust that they’re good and show them (the films) in other places, especially your documentaries.” Robot and Frank is a story of a retired man living on his own, who refuses to go into a retirement home. His son, played by James Marsden, brings him a robot-caregiver that is supposed to keep him active, healthy and help stim ulate his brain by routine and physical activity. The festival featured a num ber of other films including The Entrepreneur, a non-fictional film detailing the jour ney of Malcolm Bricklin. Bricklin, an automotive entre preneur best known for his selfnamed automobile company, also successfully introduced several foreign cars in large vol umes to the American public. The film is directed by son, Jonathan Bricklin. Both father and son were in Kitchener for the showing, and a number of the Bricklin cars were dis played outside the theatre. Another film, titled Stories We Tell, by Toronto-born Sarah Polley, was shown. It is Polley’s first feature-length documentary. According to David Terry, GRFF’s vice-chair and direc tor of marketing, in the future more GRFF-sponsored events will be held between the actu al festivals, increasing con tact with the community. “We have to determine exactly what shape, size and flavour they will be, but we do intend to reach out and bring our name and festival into all levels and all parts of the local community,” Terry said. GRFF board members are especially proud of how much they have accomplished this year as a board.
PHOTO BY WENDY CZAKO-MAH
Actress Susan Sarandon attended the Grand River Film Festival (GRFF) Oct. 20 to view the film, Robot and Frank, which she had a small part in. She talked to the audience before the screening. “Numerous people have con tributed to the success of the festival. Our programming committee did an astonishing job of social media, which is a bit over my head at my vin tage,” said Terry. He added there were many factors and many people who made this year one to be most proud of as the festival moves to another level. “We have a belief that we need to offer a broad range of culturally, socially and enter tainment-type movies to our community, and to stimulate the community’s interest in the art of movie-making from all angles. We want to be known and want to contrib ute to film-making and the presentation of movies in all their forms and flavours.” The featured screening and best moment, according to Terry, was the screening of Greenwich Village, a feature-
PHOTO BY WENDY CZAKO-MAH
Empire Theatre was host to the sixth annual GRFF. Lined up out front were several Bricklin cars, which advertised the film, The Entrepreneur, a documentary on automobile entrepreneur Malcolm Bricklin. length documentary about the music scene that contributed to political, social and cultural changes of a generation. “The best is for someone
like me who can relate to those years and music. It was a part of my life. I will be wal lowing in feelings of nostal gia,” Terry said.
Festival fulfils a community need BY WENDY CZAKO-MAH
The halls buzzed with antic ipation as staff and Grand River Film Festival (GRFF) volunteers ran around fever ishly, making sure everything was ready for the big day. Held at Kitchener’s Empire Theatre from Oct. 16 to 21, the festival is Waterloo Region’s contribution to the film industry. The event, which is in its sixth year, came out of a desire to showcase local talent and niche films, something several people in the community felt was miss ing. Through its diversity, the region has a lot to offer. One of the people responsible for the buzz is David Terry,
GRFF’s vice-chair and direc tor of marketing. He said the festival started out as an idea and within that same year, that idea became a reality. The festival has been moving forward ever since. It show cases a broad range of films in several different categories and genres for all ages. “We’re modest and unas suming, but we want to be known and we want to con tribute to the art of film-mak ing and the presentation of movies in all their forms and flavours. “Film-making is part viewing films and is part of any com munity. There is a very active film-making community in the Region of Waterloo. Many of
David Terry, GRFF’s vice-chair and director of marketing, says this region has a very active film-making community. these filmmakers do not have local outlets for their movies. “The screening tonight (Oct. 20) of Greenwich Village, Music That Defines
a Generation is significant in that regard because the director, Lori Archibald, is a Waterloo native and as such I think and hope she would have a few words to say tonight (Oct. 20). She did at the opening, about the impor tance of your local community when you produce a movie of interest and importance, and we are the local community in Laura Archibald’s case.” Terry said there were many factors that made the festival a success, especially this year as many great things fell into place. However, he said it’s still a learning experience. “Things aren’t always per fect, but that doesn’t mean they’re bad.”
When it comes to the quality of films, Terry said one word can describe them: “extraor dinary.” These movies are not made for the mainstream, but they are indeed important. “Docum entary movies inform us as human beings; they expose different aspects of the world that we live in, in a way that is unique to the director, which means it becomes unique to the audi ence,” he said. Terry hopes the festival’s continued success will encour age directors to approach them and ask that their films be screened at GRFF. “I think the festival in the next five years will establish itself as a focal point in this region.”
SPORTS
Page 8 ♦SPOKE Roller Derby picks up speed
Monday, October2 9 , 2012
STORY AND PHOTOS BY LINDSAY TESSIER It was a doubleheader of pain, glam and fishnets at the New Hamburg arena on Oct. 20. Fans braved the rain to watch the Tri-City Thunder take on Queen City’s Lake Effect Furies in a fast, hard hitting game of roller derby. The audience cheered as women sporting four-wheeled skates, fluorescent shorts and tattered tights raced around an oval track taped onto the concrete floor. Tri-City Thunder won the game by a narrow margin of 179-163. The night began with an exhibition bout between TriCity’s “Kitties” and Niagara Roller Girls’ “Puppies,” two “fresh meat” teams made up of newer derby girls. The Kitties dominated the match, winning 85-15. Proceeds raised during the game went to support the K-W Humane Society. By the end of the evening, one thing was clear: this wasn’t your everyday sport ing event. The Tri-City Roller Girls (TCRG) is a full-contact, flat-track roller derby league located in KitchenerWaterloo. Since its inception in 2008, the league has grown to house three local teams, a travel team that competes internationally and another travel team in the works. Roller derby is an exhilarat ing, fast-paced sport that is experiencing a revival. It’s one of the fastest growing wom en’s sports in the world with over 1,000 leagues across the globe and it’s not hard to see why. It has all the elements that make a sport watchable: entertainment, competition and a little bit of violence. No longer relying on the staged theatrics of 1970’s derby - this derby is pure grit and athleticism. That means all the hits, blocks and spills you see on the track are real and unscripted. The rules of derby are fairly simple. A roller derby bout consists of two 30-minute periods played between two teams. The periods are bro ken up into two-minute jams. Each team has five skaters on the track during a jam: one jammer (differentiated from the other players by two stars on her helmet), three blockers and a pivot. Blockers and piv ots take off from the pivot line on the first whistle, signalling the start of the jam. They skate in a tight pack with the goal of stopping the opposing jammer while making a path for their own jammer to get
Tri-City Thunder players get revved up before their game against Queen City’s Lake Effect Furies at the New Hamburg arena on Oct. 20. through. On the second whistle both jammers race to catch up to the pack. The first jammer to get through the pack becomes the lead jammer and may call off the jam at any time before the two minutes are up. After the initial lap through the pack jammers score points for each opposing skater they pass legally. The team with the most points at the end of the game is the winner. Roller derby players come from all walks of life. They are students, mothers, social workers, lawyers, office work ers, volunteers and pretty much everything in between. The thing they all have in common? They are completely hooked on derby. Leigh Wylde knows all too well how addictive derby can be. Under the name Leighzzie Borden, Wylde divides her time between her league team, the Venus Fly Tramps, and the travelling team, the Tri-City Thunder. After watching her first game, Wylde decided “I’m going to do that,” then bought her entire derby package the very next day. “I ordered it all,” she laughs. “Skates, hel met, everything.” She’s played for four years now and says what she loves more than anything else about the sport is the bond she shares with her team mates. “We all have so much love for each other. It’s all so much fun - the practices, the games and just doing it all together.” She also enjoys being involved in the league’s train ing committee. “I love watching girls start
fresh and watching them progress,” Wylde says. “We had the fresh meat game today and my heart was just racing. The girls were awesome. They were amaz ing.” The growth of the league, and perhaps the sport in gen eral, can be attributed to its do-it-yourself attitude and caring, tight-knit community. Grace Bermingham, who plays for the Total Knockouts and the Tri-City Thunder under the pseudonym Ova’Kill, says the camarade rie between players is what makes derby unique. “I have never experienced such teamwork as that I’ve experienced as a derby play er,” says the mother of two. “There’s something about this sport that brings out the best in people and, I think, in women in particular because it flies in the face of what you might think of as a feminist or what you might think of as a cutesy sport or whatever.” That camaraderie even extends to the opposing team. “We’re all doing this because we love it,” says Bermingham. “I think that when you get a bunch of girls together who are doing this purely because they love it and because it makes them feel strong and because they want to win, then there’s no hard feelings. I mean, you might have a few hard feelings at the time but they’re gone as soon as the game’s over.” Tri-City Kitties player Suzanne Noble, a.k.a. Coyote Convict, agrees. “We’re all friends on the team and you know, off the track, that team that lost, we’ll still drink beers with
Tri-City Kitties players Liv'UnDeadGirl (left) and Coyote Convict take a break from celebrating their victory over Niagara Roller Girls’ Puppies to pose for the camera. them later,” she says. Bermingham says another amazing thing about derby is the amount of strength she now feels in her body. “The training is very intense - it’s three days a week - and I practise up to eight hours a week. As a result, my cardio’s good, I’m strong and I have done things that I never thought I could do.” “Every day there’s new chal lenges,” says Liv’UnDeadGirl, a Tri-City Kitties player who joined the league last April.
“But I think that’s what attracts us to it.” “There’s always something new to learn, something new to get better at,” she contin ues. “We challenge ourselves every day. If we mess some thing up one day, we’re going to work twice as hard the next day to make sure we don’t do it again. We kick our own butts.” She’s speaking both figura tively and literally. “We don’t have gym mem berships,” she jokes. “We just do this.”
Monday, October 2 9 ,2012
SPORTS
SPOKE ♦Page 9
iiiiil! liiilil
There’s always lots of action in the pack. Players jostle for position during the Tri-City Thunder vs. Queen City Lake Effect Furies game at the New Hamburg arena on Oct. 20.
Photos by Lindsay Tessier A bo ve left, T ri-C ity T h u n d e r pla yer K o nk y races q u ick ly aroun d th e tra ck d u rin g th e bout. A bo ve right, ro ller d erb y ref eree Ju le s and R e gu la tio n s k ee ps a clo se eye on the ga m e . R ight, p la yers p rep are fo r the sta rt of a ja m . Far right, p la yers w a it fo r th e ga m e to begin.
NEWS
Page 10 ♦ SPOKE
Monday, October 29, 2012
Unplanned career pays off Waterloo piercer says, 'I feel like piercing chooses individuals’ ♦ FROM PAGE 1
Villem aire said, “I really liked piercing and h elp ing people as well as the experience o f w orking one on one with som ebody and then m aking them happy afterwards. Everybody that left after I pierced them was excited. Even the jew elry made them feel good about them selves. That quick interaction within a h alf hour felt am azing.” D eterm ined to becom e a better piercer, Villem aire w ent on the Internet and found body piercers who had put their w ork up online and found ones close to him hoping he could learn from them. He went to each piercer close to him and got a piercing, all the w hile asking them ques tions. “I took little bits o f inform ation and made my own apprenticeship out of it.” Now, decade later, Villemaire owns Thrive Studios, is still piercing and loving it. D eacon M adison didn’t plan on being a piercer at Tora Tattoo w hen he was studying science and psy chology at W ilfrid Laurier U n iversity. His original plan w as to be a high school science teacher, but he w as one year shy o f his degree w hen he dropped out to pierce full time. “I feel like piercing chooses
individuals,” said Madison. “ S om ew here, som eone just flipped a switch and then the train just kind of jum ped the tracks a little bit and I started working counter at a tattoo shop in Owen Sound,” he added. He said while w orking there, the previous piercer decided to leave and he got offered an apprenticeship. “Literally at the right place, at the right time,” he said. Madison still went to uni versity M onday to Friday and did his apprenticeship in Owen Sound on Friday afternoons and evenings and all day Saturday. He’d go back to W aterloo on Sundays to do laundry and return to classes, repeating the cycle for the next two years. After dropping out of uni versity, he moved to Owen Sound to work full time, but ended up moving back to Waterloo a year later, in 2004, to work at Tora Tattoo. “I didn’t know that 10 plus years ago that this w ould be the th in g I ended up doing. It’s like som eone saying, ‘H ey m an, w ant to learn how to change a tire?’ Yes. W hy w ou ldn ’t you w ant to learn a new sk ill? T he o p p o rtu n ity that you don’t take can be the one that you w onder about. Be a yes m an and ju st ju m p on it,” M adison said.
PHOTO BY KELSEY HEELEY
Joyce Lee, 16, cringes as Tora Tattoo’s piercer, Deacon Madison, puts a needle through her nose on Oct. 3.
NEWS
Monday, October 2 9 , 2012
RUNNING WHILE t h e y
s t il l c a n
SPOKE ♦Page 11
THEY WERE SURE TO GET TIRED AT THIS HALLOWEEN FUNDRAISER
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PHOTO BY KRIS MANUEL PHOTO BY MIKE VIELMA
First-year police foundations students do their mid-term running in the early morning chill at Doon campus, Oct. 22.
A team, called Troglodytes, flips a tire, which weighs 600 pounds, during CrossFit, Kitchener’s Halloween-themed street competition that helped raise money for a CrossFit program at Manitolin Secondary School. CrossFit is a core strength and conditioning program.
Page 12 ♦ SPOKE
NEWS
Monday, October 29,2012
Free movies means free fun Event raises funds for Starlight Children’s Foundation BY ASHLEY CURRIE
The crowds were huge as people gathered on Oct. 20 to participate in the second annual Cineplex National Community Day in support of the Starlight Children’s Foundation. The event included free movies and specially dis counted concession items, such as regular-sized drinks and popcorn, and select varieties of candy for $2 each. All of the proceeds from these items went to the Starlight foundation, a national, non-profit orga nization that strives to improve the quality of life for seriously ill children and their families. They provide entertainm ent, education and other family activities to help these children cope with the pain, fear and iso lation of an illness. Over 125 Cineplex the atres in cities across Canada hosted their own community day to help raise money for Starlight. Movies being offered var ied by location but included How to Train Your Dragon, Transformers - Dark of the Moon, Puss in Boots, Rung Fu Panda 2, Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol and Hugo. There was also other enter tainment for the kids. For a $2 donation children at the Galaxy Cinemas’ Guelph loca tion could get their face paint ed or have a balloon animal made for them by a clown. There was also a table where guests could make a donation and write their name on a
star to be posted on the wall. Sharon Roberts of Guelph is a mom of four small children. “This is great for the kids,” she said. “It’s hard to take four kids out but since the movies are free it’s awesome. I don’t mind paying for the balloons and stuff when I know all the money is going to charity.” Cineplex theatres also exclu sively sell the Starlight Pin for $2 each; 100 per cent of proceeds from these go to the Starlight foundation. Pins are typically sold in September and October. Mariana Schenkel is a Galaxy Cinemas Guelph employee and a first-year early childhood education student at Conestoga College. She said, “Community day helped extremely with our pin sales. Each day we try to sell pins to help the Starlight foundation. Hopefully next year we do just as well.” The Guelph theatre had already sold over 1,000 prior to com munity day. As of Spoke’s deadline, national numbers had not yet been tabulated, but Galaxy Cinemas Guelph alone had an attendance of over 1,200 guests. If each of these guests made at least one $2 donation that would be over $2,400 raised, and according to staff at the event many guests made multiple donations. “Community day was an awesome success,” said Schenkel. “It was nice coming into my shift and seeing all those children laughing and running around with balloon animals.”
PHOTO BY ASHLEY CURRIE
Haley (left) and Carly show off their balloon animals at Cineplex Community Day in Guelph on Oct. 20. The event included free movies and specially discounted concession items.
PHOTO BY ASHLEY CURRIE
Children gathered to receive balloon animals at Cineplex Community Day.
NEWS
Monday, October 29.2012
SPOKE ♦Page 13
Foiling the Freshman 15 BY STEPHANIE LEFEBVRE
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Nisa Burns, 21, wrote a cook book called Kitchenability 101 (below), for students, making it easier for them to cook.
A new cookbook has made it easier for students to cook for themselves. On Oct. 15, Nisa Burns, 21, from Virginia Beach, Va., released a cook book catering to students and their accommodations. It’s called Kitchenability 101. In the book, Burns tells a tale of how to become friends with your kitchen, whether it be a dorm room toaster oven or a cramped apartment kitchen. After studying cookbooks for a year, Burns realized that there wasn’t anything specifi cally for students. “Nobody had hit the nail on the head,” said Burns. She said parents assume that they’ve given their chil dren enough information and guidance about how to take care of themselves, but when they move out and try to cook, they find that they can’t. It was then that Burns started her endeavour. About three years ago, she approached an editor with the idea. She shocked her, being 19, and the editor told Burns to get some recipes together and call her in a year. So a year later, after saving $1,600, she returned to her
dream of being a published author. This year, she graduated from the Art Institute of Virginia Beach’s culinary pro gram. Though she lived in an apartment and had a wellequipped kitchen, Burns noticed her friends in smaller living quarters couldn’t cook. With the nickname of Mother Goose, she started to create recipes for her friends and she learned along with them. “I wanted to utilize my culi nary degree and help students adapt to their surrounding and their cooking space,” said Burns. “I had a full-fledged kitchen, but I wanted to know that someone else who didn’t could do the same recipe that I’m cooking.” Burns said that was her goal and her mission. She started to post her recipes on a blog and figured it would make a really good book. In Kitchenability 101, Burns offers healthier alternatives to cafeteria and fast food, although she didn’t include the nutritional information. “I didn’t do it because I just knew that the demographic that I’m writing for doesn’t care,” she said. Burns also said it’s more
important to give them the option for healthy eating than bombarding them with nutri tional facts. Her idea was to just give them a taste. In the book, there are also a few recipes that most people wouldn’t need a recipe for, such as Peanut Butter and Jelly and Cheese Toast. “Isn’t that funny?” She asked. “I did that for my own humour.” She also figured when peo ple go pick up a cookbook they assume that they can’t make anything and when they find that one recipe that they have the ability to make, that’s what sells them. Burns’ publicist, Stephanie Ridge, agreed with that state ment and has been with Burns for the last six months. “Nisa’s whole message is that you don’t have to have a big fancy kitchen or have a hugely stocked pantry,” said Ridge. “You can use very lit tle ingredients and very little appliances to come up with healthy, quick meals.” Using strategies such as college dorm demonstrations and book signings, Ridge was comfortable with the sales so far. Both her and Burns were very pleased with the media attention as well. Through
local and college newspapers, Burns has been able to con nect with a larger audience. One event in particular was at a bakery, doing a dem onstration in front of an audience full of mothers and grandmothers. “Each one of them couldn’t resist buying a copy or two as Christmas gifts for the col lege student in their family,” Ridge said. She also said if she had had the option of a book like this in college, it could’ve saved her from eating bad food and opened her eyes to using fresh ingredients over frozen or canned. Nowadays, students are more health conscious and being made aware of healthy eating at the beginning of adulthood can promote a good life-long habit and avoid the Freshman 15. Kitchenability 101 is current ly available through Amazon for $16.56.
NISA’S FAVOURITES ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
Lemon Cilantro Chicken Pizza Mediterranean Pasta Nutella French Toast Banana Cinnamon Waffle
NEWS
Page 14 ♦SPOKE
Volunteers to the rescue BY CASSIE TULECKI
Every year Conestoga College hosts a career fair to help high school students get information, and get a bet ter idea of what is offered at colleges across the province. However, most people don’t realize that it takes a lot of staff and students to organize the event and ensure it runs smoothly. In order to help visitors feel at ease and be well informed, volunteers helped make the transition from the various educational booths stressfree. Groups of high school stu dents and their families were guided from the rec centre where the majority of Conestoga’s booths were located, to the main Doon campus where 23 other col leges had booths. The day also featured cam pus tours. Students from the general arts and science program helped out at the event. Each student is required to take the student success course in their first year, and being that they too are try ing to figure out their career paths and goals, it made them the perfect volunteer candi dates. Ever since 2007 the
first-year students have been asked to volunteer two hours of their time at the fair. Deborah Cox, who teaches the Strategies for Student Success course, co-ordinates this volunteer effort. “The project is a win-win for all, and the applied learning results are immeasurable,” she said. The students are required to do a lot more work than just show up and help greet guests; they also have pre planning sessions, and write a reflection that talks about their experience. “To see the students embrace the opportunity and enjoy the art of giving back is very empowering,” said Cox. The students involved took their positions seriously as they answered any and all questions asked by parents and potential future stu dents. College representatives at the booths were approachable and were more than willing to answer any questions about the programs they offered. The volunteers also put par ents’ worries at ease and gave them an idea of what college life is really like and what they can expect for their child as they hopefully head off to college.
PHOTO BY CASSIE TULECKI
Students in the general arts and science program lent a helping hand during the annual Career Fair at Conestoga College Oct. 18. From left to right are volunteers Devin Yantzi, Shannon Hamilton, Cole Pellett and Nate Westerdyk.
Monday, October 29,2012
FLU SHOTS - GET THEM WHILE YOU CAN
PHOTO BY DYLAN DACOSTA
Mackenzie Maillet, a student in Conestoga’s practical nursing program, gets her flu shot administered at the Health Services office at the Doon campus on Oct. 23. Students who missed the clinic can still get their flu shot if they visit the office.
Music makes world go round BY MIKE VIELMA
Music is a big part of most people’s lives and sometimes it can help shape us. It helps us learn and opens our minds. A post-secondary school is a perfect spot for music lovers to get their local music fix. A lot of universities have pubs or lounges on campus where local musicians can showcase their talent. Michael Hanson, a sec ond-year police foundations student at Conestoga, said, “Local performances would be very entertaining, especially on breaks. You would get to sit down, unwind and relax with your classmates.” Dylan Creed, a first-year music major at the University of Guelph, has a weekly unpaid gig at The Bullring on the Guelph campus. He plays there every Monday afternoon from 2 to 3 p.m. in between his classes. Creed said, “Every time I went in there (The Bullring) they typically had good music being played, so I wanted to be a part of that. “When I walk into lectures of 600 people I have like two or three people each time say that they saw me at The Bullring and that I was ter rific.”
Creed is a unique musi cian. He plays many different genres very well and incorpo rates a variety of instruments. He plays the bass, drums, harmonica, piano and uku lele and he sings. However, he spends most of his time practising the acoustic guitar, which he is able to play in a very rare way. “Some songs I play I use both my hands, so I can’t hold the guitar,” Creed said. This is a technique where the guitarist plays the chords with one hand and the mel ody with the other, so two parts are played at the same time. When Creed creates music, it is usually folk. He appreci ates folk for a lot of different reasons. “I like playing folk because it’s technical and it sounds really good. It’s all about the emotion - it’s either really up or really low - it’s mellow, but it’s still happy,” said Creed, who uses that formula when he creates his own original music. Hanson said he has a lot of interest in a variety of genres, as long as it keeps his foot tapping. “I would want to hear some thing creative and fresh. Not the same old modern day
mainstream crap,” Hanson said. Creed, who has written and produced two Extended Plays, loves when he gets to perform in front of an audience. “The feeling when you actu ally play a show is just so unreal. It’s just a different feeling,” he said. Creed also plays guitar in common areas and lounges throughout his residence. He often plays popular song requests that passing stu dents ask him to play. He loves the comments he receives. “It’s really nice to get positive feedback and to actually know people like my music,” he said. Hanson said if he heard good things about the per formers, it would just make him want to go and see the performance even more. Creed is enrolled in an online music history course, a musicianship course, psy chology, anthropology and French, which is his minor. “I pretty much am playing music all the time. Like when I’m not in class, I’m playing the guitar,” he said. Creed is available to follow on twitter, @dylantcreed and he also has a Youtube page, w w w .you tu be.com /dylan tcreed.
NEWS
Monday, October2 9 , 2012
SPOKE ♦Page 15
Left: Young entre preneur, Isis Vella, prepares to crunch into one of the creepy confections she cre ated for sale at the Scare Fair in Elora, Oct. 20.
Below and right: Zolton the Adequate performs at the event, ingesting things that shouldn’t be ingested.
PHOTO BY WHITNEY SOUTH
PHOTO BY BRAD COUGHLIN
PHOTO BY WHITNEY SOUTH
PHOTO BY BRAD COUGHLIN
Kelley Kefalas carves an elaborate jack-o-lantern at the fair. The intricate work takes special carving tools and an eye for detail. A number of local artists showed off their carving skills. PHOTO BY WHITNEY SOUTH
SPORTS
Page 16 ♦ SPOKE
Monday, October 29,2012
Condors clip Grizzlies 19-13 BY RYAN BOWMAN
In the early afternoon hours of Oct. 21, the piercing scream of a whistle sliced through the chilly autumn air at Riverside Park in Cambridge. To the 15 sweatsoaked young men on the east side of the field it was the sound of opportunity squandered; to those on the west side it was the sweet sound of music. In a match littered with penalties and turnovers, Conestoga’s varsity men’s rugby squad was the more consistent of two inconsis tent teams and held on by the skin of their talons to defeat Georgian College 19-13. “It was a little sloppy,” Condors head coach Kyle O’ N eill a d m itted after the game, “but we got the w in .” Bittersweet as it may have tasted, the victory had a note of redemption for the Condors, who blew a lead against the Grizzlies earlier this season. On Sept. 23, Conestoga was leading 10-3 at the half only to allow Georgian to tie the game with less than five min utes remaining. Like the Western Division rivals’ first meeting, the rematch was a hard-fought defensive battle. Neither team was able to move the ball much beyond mid-field until the Condors opened the scoring with a try in the
13th minute Georgian responded nine minutes later with a try of their own and the teams
went back to slugging it out in the trenches. Conestoga scored again minutes before halftime and took a 12-8 lead into the break. The Grizzlies cut the lead to 12-11 early in the second half and dominated the scrums until Conestoga’s Greg Dawkins broke free and crossed the goal line in the 65th minute. Over the course of the final 15 minutes, Georgian advanced the ball deep into Conestoga territory sev eral times. Unlike the ear lier meeting, however, the Condors’ defence was able to keep them out of the end zone. Before the game, Conestoga captain Shane Rafferty said finishing strong has been the team’s Achilles heel all sea son. “If there’s one thing I could say about our play, it’s that we need to close games out. Too many times this season we’ve taken that momentary sigh of relief when we have the lead.” “We let them back in the game last time,” O’Neill said. “Today was a true test of how we’ve progressed through the season so far.” According to O’Neill, who began assisting with the sideline duties last season and took over as head coach this year, the team’s defence was a big reason for the win in the rematch. “Our defence was great today,” O’Neill said. “We were trapped deep in our own end how many times? And we were able to drive them back each time.”
PHOTO BY RYAN BOWMAN
Greg Dawkins (left), inside centre for the Conestoga Condors, stiff-arms an opponent from the Georgian Grizzlies on Oct. 21 at Riverside Park in Cambridge. The Condors won the game 19-13. O’Neill said James Halyk, who played outside centre, was also instrumental in the team’s win. “He’s more of a quiet lead er,” O’Neill said of the former Georgian Grizzly. “He won’t be a guy to get up and yell at everyone, but he’ll make the big hit or the big run at the right time.” The win, their second in a row after a lopsided
109-0 loss to league-lead ing Hum ber, revived Conestoga’s hopes of finish ing second in their division. A win against Mohawk next week will not only vault them ahead of Georgian in the standings, but also secure them a home playoff game in November. While the Condors defeated the winless Mountaineers earlier this season, Rafferty
said they can’t take their final opponent of the regu lar season for granted. “The game against Mohawk is the only thing we’re think ing about,” Rafferty said. “Teams make the mistake looking past a team and we can’t afford to do that.” “We’re in the driver’s seat,” O’Neill added. “It’s up to us to finish this season strong and go into the playoffs on a high.”
Fastball team has up and down season BY DYLAN PACOSTA
It was a year of missed opportunities for Conestoga’s women’s fastball team, as their season came to an end with a disappointing 13-0 loss against Humber College on Oct. 13. The Condors finished with a record of only four wins to their 11 losses, although the season got off to a good start. The opening game for Conestoga was against St. Clair College on Sept. 11, and although they lost by a score of 3-0, coach Rick Proud, who has been with the team for eight years, still had much to be optimistic about at that point. “We were missing two start ers and had a player injured,”
he said. “But we still came away with only a 3-0 loss and we were able to keep them off the scoreboard for four innings.” His optimism was merited after that loss the team played two tightly contested games against Mohawk College, both of which Conestoga won by a single run. This was followed by a loss against Humber and then a 12-1 win against Seneca College. This left the Condors with a winning record, and the group’s morale was high. “The morale was pretty pos itive,” said Proud. “We had a couple of players this year who were good cheerleaders and kept everyone positive and upbeat.” The season then took a
turn for the worse - a fourgame losing streak was final ly ended by a 4-2 win over Mohawk, but this couldn’t stop the team’s slump. Two consecutive losses against Durham College were followed by a particularly painful one-run loss for the team to Seneca which meant they could no longer make the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association Championship. “The girls looked a little tight and anxious,” said Proud, indicating that the potential to make it into the playoffs had the team dis tracted. The team had defeated Seneca once earlier in the season, and the defeat was one that really hurt the play ers.
“I think we were all a little overconfident,” said Maggy Calvert, a second-year player who is currently enrolled in Conestoga’s business admin istration marketing co-op pro gram. “We were under a lot of pressure and exhausted to say the least.” Two losses, both to Humber, followed the heartbreaking loss to Seneca and brought an end to a roller-coaster season for the Condors. “I believe focus had a lot to do with our random per formances,” said Proud. “Fastball is such a short sea son and we need everyone on board for every game and practice.” Despite the challenging sea son, Calvert thinks the girls made progress as a team
throughout the course of the year. “I love baseball, it’s my pas sion and I love the girls I play with,” she said. “This year our team felt like an actual team, not just like girls playing baseball on the same field.” Varsity sports are a way into provincial and national championships, and Proud wants a more committed approach from some of his players next season so they can try to qualify for these championships. “There were a few games, especially the last weekend, where we were missing play ers,” he said. “If we can get more commitment and play good fundamental softball then I think we can do a lot better.”