Glorifying graffiti Guelph celebrates the unique art form. Page 2
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
You’re never too old, right? Fred Penner entertains students at Doon. Page 6
G o ld e n g ir l Conestoga Aboriginal student wins boxing world championship in Russia BY SARA HANAFI
Conestoga’s Ashley Nichols battled many fierce opponents on her way to becoming the world champion Muaythai boxer in September. Nichols, an Aboriginal stu dent at the college, along with seven other athletes from across the country, represent ed Canada in St. Petersburg, Russia, at the International Federation of Muaythai Amateur world champion ships. There were around 1,000 other athletes from 108 countries at the event, mak ing it the largest Muaythai tournament ever held out side of its home country of Thailand. “It was a high level tour nament,” Nichols said. “The competitors I faced had a lot of experience.” Nichols competed against nine other countries in her spe cific weight class, including the previous IFMA champion from Russia in the quarterfinals. “Facing Russia in the finals, knowing that she was the 2011 champion, really made me have to focus mentally,” Nichols said. After defeating the Russian, Nichols advanced to the semi finals against Belarus, a match she had been eagerly anticipating. “Belarus is well-known and respected for their team,” she said. “They’re at a really high level.” The win against Belarus brought Nichols to the final round against Germany. “Germany was tough,” she said. “She had a lot of heart and a lot of determination, but I felt I was always one step ahead of her. I was able to intercept and counter her.” Nichols said she saw the German competitor fight prior to their match. “One thing I knew about her was that her boxing was very strong. I would see her move. I would
PHOTO BY SARA HANAFI
Conestoga student Ashley Nichols show s off her m oves after bringing hom e a gold m edal for w inning the 2012 Muaythai boxing world cham pionship in Russia on Sept. 12. She is a m aster of tim e m anagem ent as she balances boxing, training and school work. see her load. I would see her try to put everything into the combination,” she said. “I was able to counter with the high er level technique.” Nichols, who has been prac tising Muaythai for eight years, trained hard for the competition. “I sacrificed a lot,” she said. “I trained almost four hours a day every day doing different aspects of training.” She had to endure weight training, track training, dis tance training, strength and conditioning, sparring and preparation for the actual fight. “It was a lot of work,” Nichols said, but after she won the gold medal she said she was ecstatic. “All my time and efforts and all my experience leading up to that moment paid off.” Chris Kew, Nichols’ coach at the MAS Academy of Martial Arts in Cambridge, said Nichols told him she wanted to be a world champion when
she first met him. “I’ve worked with Ashley for a little over four years. She has devoted four to six hours a day for the last three years working ever closer to a world championship attempt.” Kew said being at the tour nament and hearing Canada’s national anthem was an hon our. “To see our nation’s flag raised and 1,000 lovers of Muaythai from around the world stand and recognize a great Canadian athlete was possibly the best moment in my life.” But it doesn’t stop there for Nichols. Not only did she win the world championship in Muaythai boxing, but 10 days later she won the North American kick-boxing cham pionship, held by the World Association of Kick-boxing Organization in London, Ont. She was also the Athlete of the Year in Cambridge two years in a row, is competing at the Ottawa Brazilian JiuJitsu Open on Oct. 20 and 21,
and was asked to represent Canada in kick-boxing at the Pan Am Games in December. “She is passionate and per sistent,” Kew said. “She came with a fire and determination to succeed.” “Being able to win (the kick boxing championship) and prove that I am versatile and able to step outside of my comfort zone really made me happy,” Nichols said. “I was proud to represent my school, women in sports, Aboriginal people and to represent my country.” On top of all of this, Nichols is a first-year student in the protection, security and investigation program and a graduate of the human ser vices program at Conestoga. “I wasn’t too excited about the championship being dur ing the first two weeks of classes, but I couldn’t turn it down,” Nichols said. “They requested me to represent Canada. How could I say no?” Despite missing the first
weeks of classes, she kept up with her school work and wrote a quiz on her first day back, receiving a mark of 72 per cent. It was proof she had the ability to succeed even though she was away competing. While Nichols has an already busy schedule, she said she likes to have one competition a week and three to four big tournaments dur ing the year. Nichols also teaches a pro gram at the MAS Academy called Ladies Fight Fitness, which empowers women and gives them a comfortable envi ronment to train in. She also said she wants to continue her schooling and eventually work in prevention services specializing in interventions and diversions. But Nichols said Muaythai will always be a part of her and she will continue practising it. “It’s a passion of mine,” Nichols said. “It’s a way of life.”
FEATURE
Page 2 ♦SPOKE
Now deep thoughts ... with Conestoga College Random questions answered by random students
Who is your favourite literary character, and why? “The entire series of female heroes in the Tortall books, because it teaches young read ers that females can be heroes too.” Jaclyn Olano, second-year office administration, executive
Tuesday, October 9 , 2012
Graffiti celebrated BY KRIS MANUEL
It’s always a question wheth er the spray paint spread across a building wall is an act of vandalism or a work of art, whether those illicit writings on a property are a public nuisance or express an important message about social issues. However, for one day at least, graffiti was celebrated as art at Guelph’s very first Graffiti Fest. Sonya Poweska, executive director of the Guelph Arts Council, said it’s important that graffiti artists are recog nized for their work.
" It allows them to explore their creativity and legitimize their art in a really productive community event." - Sonya Poweska
“The Little Prince, because he’s cool.” John Dable, second-year broadcast
“Tyrion Lannister, from the Game of Thrones books, because despite his short comings he has the abil ity to talk himself out of anything. He makes up for what he lacks in strength.” Cameron Orme, second-year business administration, management
“Gandalf, because I like what he believes in. I like his morals and ethics pertaining to life and his teaching ability.” Paul Scott, program co-ordinator, broadcast radio
“Gatsby, from the Great Gatsby, because it’s my favourite classic.”
“I think that it is so often seen as a violent form of art where people are coming and destroying the city,” she said. However, she said she hopes it will make people see graffiti in a different light other than the vandalism aspect. Street artists usually trans form the walls of buildings into their own canvases of spray paint. However, at the Sept. 29 festival spectators were able to watch the artists create their art on boards, which were formerly construc tion site road signs. Poweska said the event is a great opportunity for street artists. “It allows them to explore their creativity and legitimize their art in a really productive community event,” she said. It took hours for most of the artists to complete their pieces. Sounds of aerosol cans being shaken and sprayed were heard throughout the event, and some artists were seen wearing masks to protect
Brittany Johnson, third-year business administration, management
“Anne Shirley, of Anne of Green Gables. She was a kindred spirit when I was a kid and opened me up to the joy of reading.” Kim Denstedt, program co-ordinator, integrated marketing, communications
Smile Conestoga, you could be our next respondent!
PHOTO BY KRIS MANUEL
Graffiti artist Jordan Annette spray paints his design on a board.
PHOTO BY KRIS MANUEL
Jam es McLean, a.k.a Toye, an artist, designer and m usic producer, w orks on his mural on the wall of The Joint Cafe on Cork Street in Guelph for the Graffiti Fest on Sept. 29. themselves from inhaling the fumes. Cork Street in downtown Guelph was closed to traffic so the approximately 20 art ists could create and display their artwork. The Downtown Guelph Business Association put the event together. The wide variety of designs on the boards showed just how differently the artists expressed themselves. Cooper Lang, a graffiti art ist who participated at the event, said he chooses to cre ate graffiti art as a form of therapy. "It’s a freedom of expres sion,” he said. “You’re not locked in with a particular style, you can change it any time you want to, you can be influenced by any one of these people that are painting today and it constantly evolves.” Sam Jewell, events co-ordi nator, credits the owner of the Flour Barrel, a grocery store in downtown Guelph, with the festival idea. He came across a graffiti festival when he was in Melbourne, Australia and thought it was a great idea. Jewell said she received a ton of interest from local art ists but she could only reserve a certain number of boards.
One artist, James Mclean, created a mural on a wall of The Joint Cafe with the help of others. There were also two public boards where visitors could create their own artwork or comments using markers or spray paint. A hip-hop vibe was brought to the street with music, break-dancing and rap performances from the Skeleton Krew. Some mem bers of Guelph Spoken Word also dropped by to present poems that were performed aloud. Graffiti Fest, along with other local events held that weekend, were also part of the Canada-wide celebration of arts and culture called Culture Days, held from Sept. 28 to 30. Hundreds of commu nities participated across the country and held thousands of free events for the public. Lang said he enjoyed Guelph’s artistic event. “I think that this is fantas tic. It’s their first event and it’s a very positive turnout,” he said. “I think there are way too many grey walls in this city. There are a million artists and we should just fill it up and bring some life into this city.”
NEWS
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Shining a new light on The Jane Bond BY JESSICA LANTHIER
In lieu of any dinner plans herself, my good friend Abby accompanied me for food and drinks at The Jane Bond on a rather dull Saturday night. The indie/retro hole-in-thewall off of King Street hap pens to be a vegetarian res taurant in uptown Waterloo. I had heard of it, but never actually knew where it was. Abby has lived in the city her whole life and didn’t even know it existed. After speaking to a wide range of Kitchener-Waterloo acquaintances, I realized that not very many people really know about the elusive Jane Bond. As we walked off King and onto Princess, I’ll admit that I had misgivings. When we walked through the doors, I noticed that I would be sharing the same air with a bunch of people in a very tight space. “Good thing we don’t suffer from claustrophobia,” I mut tered to Abby. We peered around the res taurant and decided on a two-person table next to a brick wall. It was also the only table left. It was actually very comfortable and quaint. The entire atmosphere of the place is cool and quirky, with a lot of art and a lot of colour. We were given our menus and ordered some drinks. I chose the Soho Tini and Abby had her heart set on the Mango Chi Chi Tini, mostly because of the adorable name. They were both mixed perfect
ly and went down smoothly. As a relatively infrequent drinker, I can confidently say that the Soho Tini is a good choice for the delicate palate of those who don’t drink very often. Although I was a little hesitant about the vegetar ian menu at Jane Bond, after reading that they serve items such as quesadilla and ricotta lasagna, I decided that it might be better than expect ed. After quite a long debate, I decided on antojitos and Mediterranean tapenades. Abby ordered crisp tofu frit ters and the “Fat Ass Grilled Cheese.” Although it is not exten sive, the menu at The Jane Bond is reasonably diverse, as dishes range from Mexican to Italian. Prices are fair and nothing is higher than $12. Our server was incredibly friendly. He took the time to share his favorite items and helped us choose what to order, as he knew that we were first-timers. When he noticed that our martinis were getting low, he prompt ly walked back to our table to ask if we wanted more or wanted to try something else (we stuck with our first choices).
It took about 15 minutes for our appetizers to arrive. They were, as our friendly waiter insisted, absolutely delicious. The tapenades were thick and not too salty, as many tapenades turn out to be. The pita chips were fresh and crispy. Abby also enjoyed her tofu fritters, commenting on how fresh and well balanced the brie tasted. When our second courses arrived, we were both almost full from our appetizers. The antojitos are perfect little bite-sized tortilla rolls stuffed with cream cheese, peppers and jalapenos. They are divine with sour cream and salsa. The balance of the cream cheese with the jalape nos makes for a subtle hint of spice. Abby also thoroughly enjoyed her grilled cheese and said it was the perfect taste of fall, thanks to the appleflavoured cheese. The Jane Bond is cozy, but it’s a little too tight. If it were any busier, we probably wouldn’t have been seated for a while. However, it would have been well worth the wait. After my first experience, all of my doubts were completely mollified and I relearned the timeless lesson on not judging a book by its cover. Although The Jane Bond isn’t a new restaurant, it is off-the-map. However, it is worth finding because it is the perfect place to relax and enjoy some funky-flavored drinks and non-typical veg etarian pub food.
videos On Spoke Online (www.spokeonline.com) this week: ■ Learn about new ballroom dance classes in K-W. ■ Watch Oktoberfest kick off with the tapping of the keg. ■ Get prepared for Halloween by finding out what costumes are popular this year? ■ Learn where international students can eat in the K-W area. ■ Videographer Mark Fitzgerald covers intramural teams and their ongoing tournament. ■ Find out what kind of services are provided at Conestoga’s Counselling Services. a Stigma was the topic of discussion during Mental Health Week at the University of Waterloo.
SPOKE ♦Page 3
OUT FOR A FALL STROLL
PHOTO BY JESSICA LANTHIER
A young couple, Nicole Classm an, 19, and Jeff Belfour, 23, enjoy an autum n day strolling with their dog Bentley on Sept. 30 in Kinsm en Participark.
COMMENTARY
Page 4 ♦SPOKE
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Cyclists should be given option BY CALEIOH MCLELLANP
In rush-hour traffic, and without the protection of air bags and seatbelts, cyclists have the dangerous task of making their way to and from work as a “vehicle.” That is because, under the Highway Traffic Act of Ontario, a bicycle is defined as a “vehicle, with the same rights and responsibilities as a motorist.” Yet with motor vehicle drivers checking their morning emails, especially at a time of day when road rage is at its peak, even the most experienced cyclist is unable to ensure his own safety. Cyclists, therefore, should be given the option to ride on the sidewalk without penalty if there are no bike lanes available. Longtime Kitchener triathlete, Steve Whigham, has been hit by two vehicles that turned in front of him. “Drivers too often are too distracted to be focused on everything around them,” Whigham said. “Their smart phones, cigarettes and coffees keep them very busy.” While Whigham still prefers to train and ride on the roads due to the speeds he goes, the roads are far too unsafe for cyclists who are less confident riding so close to cars. According to Paige Desmond’s article in the Waterloo Region Record on Sept. 12, “the number of collisions involving cyclists in Waterloo Region is at a five-year low, down to 104.” But 104 is still too high a number, especially when many of these collisions could have been prevented. According to Constable Kulraj Sehra of the Waterloo Regional Police Service, the most common type of acci dent involving cyclists is space limitation. “Cyclists have to be doubly aware,” said Sehra, adding that they also need to take the obvious safety precau tions such as wearing bright clothing and helmets. But bright clothing and helmets are not enough, because while there is a law to prevent drivers from talk ing on the phone, there are no laws to stop road rage and eliminate blind spots. “I would like wider paved shoulders,” said Whigham. ‘It would make it safer for us.” The easy answer to this debate, then, should be just that: create more bike lanes. But, unfortunately, space limitations and cost prevent this from happening. Therefore, allow cyclists to use sidewalks that have limited foot traffic, and ban them from heavily populated ones. Cyclists would appreciate this, and so would drivers. The views herein represent the position of the newspa per, not necessarily the author.
Letters are w elcom e 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.
Distracted drivers put cyclists at risk every day.
The dying art of conversation There was a time long, long ago when silence was filled with the sounds of chatter, laughter and conversation ... Actually, it wasn’t more than 10 to 15 years ago. So, what happened? Now silence is filled by the electronic tones of Blackberry Messenger pings and the glass tone of the iPhone. Technology has many advantages, and I admit to being attached to my iPhone, but texting has ruined the way people have face-to-face, substantial conversations. Texting is quick, to the point and convenient, but at social gatherings it can interfere with important human con tact. I was at a friend’s party for her son’s second birthday and kids of all ages were there. My 16-year-old sister was standing by the refreshment table when a kid half her age started talking to her. I watched as she smiled awkwardly, nodded and said very little. After the kid left, my sister came up to me and said, “Oh my gosh. I don’t even know how to talk to someone anymore!” Texting lacks a depth and understanding that comes from face-to-face interac-
Keila MacPherson Opinion
tion. According to James Borg’s book, Persuasion: Body Language, non-verbal cues are a big part of communica tion.
I"’m afraid the future generations will become totally socially incompetent." - Keila Macpherson Although emoticons and punctuation give some con text, the message can still be misinterpreted by the reader. This can result in unneces sary misunderstandings in a relationship. Text messaging is also a great way to ignore people. Although it gives parents peace of mind when their kids go out, it also gives the recipi ent the ability to ignore the
sender whenever they like, and maybe never respond. Imagine having a conversa tion with someone and they intentionally tune out, get up and walk away. Or when you’re hanging out with a group of friends and three out of four of you have your heads down and fingers tapping away, check ing Facebook or texting when someone is trying to talk. I was born at a time when cellphones were used for call ing on the go; literally mobile phones. Texting was rare and kids played outside and with their friends, not on their parents’ phones or tablets. I often see babies in carts at the store or in their strollers playing with these electron ics. With such advances in technology over the last 10 years, what will people, espe cially children, of the future learn? What kind of atti tude will they have toward other people? If they aren’t taught, to some degree, to detach from these devices, I’m afraid future generations will become totally socially incompetent. I say we turn off our cell phones instead of tuning out the people around us.
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NEWS
Tuesday, October 9,2012
SPOKE ♦PageS
A love and lifetime of creating costumes BY KRISTIN MILAN!
From sewing and crocheting to tailoring and designing her own clothes, former Conestoga College student Sabrina Scalarini does it all. Costume designing has been a part of her life for 14 years and she doesn’t plan on stop ping anytime soon. She is a junior estimator/project co ordinator at a construction company for now but plans on pursuing costume design full time in the future. “I don’t see myself doing it (her construction job) in 10 years. Whereas, sewing and the costume making and mak ing wedding dresses, I can see myself doing that until I’m old and can’t see anymore.” When she was 10, she moved to Legnano, Italy with her fam ily. Her dad had relatives there and he found a good-paying job. During their six years there, Scalarini began working with clothing. Her grandma was a seamstress and tailor. Her aunts did a little bit of every thing and began teaching her what they knew. Her mom also had a cleaning business and brought home clothes to iron. Scalarini began her first parttime job - ironing. While in Italy, she also devel oped a passion for Manga, the Japanese version of a comic book. She would spend money she earned at her part-time job on them. She loved the costumes that the characters wore. “They would defy logic and the law of physics but they still looked really cool.” Around this time, she also developed a love for drawing.
“It was my starting point and gave me the basis I needed to get where I am now.” The school system in Italy required the students to decide on a career by eighth grade. There was no high school. Scalarini wanted to go to an art school but it was too far away so instead, she studied book keeping and economics. Scalarini and her family moved back to Kitchener when she was 16 because her mother was diagnosed with diabetes and thought it was best to get the treatment back home to avoid the language barrier. Scalarini went straight into Grade 12. She had already fin ished many required courses, so she signed up for some class es including art, piano, archi tectural design and fashion. In fashion 101, she earned a 99 per cent. Her teacher said she lost the 1 per cent because she was absent when she had pneumonia. After the fashion class, she read fashion books to teach herself certain tech niques. Her motivation to begin cos tume designing was her love for Halloween and her struggle to find affordable clothing that fit properly. Plus size clothing prices were extremely high so she decided to start making her own. She also loved get ting dressed up and wanted to make the costumes. Since she loved the cos tume design in The Matrix, she ordered one of the jack ets online from the movie and made alterations to it. She loved the jacket so much that she wore it in the winter despite freezing temperatures. “It was totally worth it because no one had that jacket.
PHOTO BY KRISTIN MILANI
Sabrina Scalarini spends som e tim e outside on Sept. 20 having fun with the stuffed Avengers she m ade. It was completely my jacket.” Not only does she design and make Halloween costumes for herself and others, she also makes them for anime/comic conventions. She has attended about 20 of them. This past August, she sold stuffed versions of the char acters from the Avengers and they were a big seller. She has been to many con ventions because she loves the atmosphere of them. She said they have a different energy and vibe. One of her most challeng ing tasks to date was fixing a wedding dress that required
extensive repair. This was only two weeks before the wedding. Meanwhile, she was working full-time. After finishing her shift, she would go straight to working on the dress. She eventually finished, leaving the bride extremely happy. After fixing the dress, she realized that it was something she wanted to do for a living but felt too inexperienced to run her own costume-designing business. Instead, she played it safe and went to school for architecture and construction at Conestoga. However, Scalarini got her business licence in 2012 and
opened Ice Phoenix Art. She offers everything from illustra tions and paintings, to custom clothing, alterations, beaded jewelry, polymer clay charms, personalized murals, tattoo designs and portraits. “I want to be that person who helps you look good in your clothing. I don’t have to be some high fashion designer.” Scalarini’s friend, Jaclyn Olano, is very fond of her work and said her designs are extremely well thought out. “It is wonderful that someone is able to create an amazing look from nothing other than fabric.”
Moms can’t compete in Miss Oktoberfest pageant The Miss Oktoberfest pag eant has been a long-running tradition that dates back as long as the festival itself. A competition represent ing the best of our city’s German heritage, contestants are judged on their winning smiles, positive attitudes and unwavering moral fiber. Or in a nutshell, no moms allowed. Rule number 2 of the Miss Oktoberfest pageant states that the contestant must be single. This is understand able, however, it’s the pag eant’s definition of single that’s the problem. Under the pageant’s guide lines, being a single woman means never having been married, had a marriage annulled or had a child. Hang on a minute. In order to be considered single you can never have had a child? Thirty years ago, most chil dren were born to first-time married parents, parents
Whitney South Opinion who had never previously lived together. Today, almost as many children are born into two-parent families but, increasingly, their parents are not married. No longer are young girls sent off to homes for unmar ried pregnant women to have babies, only to return with the story that they were visiting their aunt up north. Single mothers make up a large part of today’s society. The Miss Oktoberfest pag eant was initiated in 1969 with the winner going on to be Kitchener-Waterloo’s con testant in the Miss Canada pageant. Governed by a select
board of directors, little has changed regarding the rules with the exception of stricter zoning requiring all partic ipants to reside within an 80-kilometre radius of the Kitchener area. According to the official Oktoberfest website, Miss O represents a part of our city’s German heritage and helps to carry on a heart-warming tradition of the festival. The site goes on to describe the winning contestant as a vital part of the celebration, which sparks national and interna tional interest in the com munity. Revered as one of the most popular and favourite attrac tions of the festival, thousands turn out to see Miss O not only during Oktoberfest but other events during the year including the Thanksgiving parade. There is no reason why a single unwed mother could not uphold these expec
tations. This is 2012 and times are changing. People are choosing different lifestyles based on their own needs and the needs of their families. A woman who has a child is no less capable of being Miss O than one who has never been a mother. In fact, the maturity, patience and love that it takes to raise a baby are things that should be cel ebrated rather than scorned, whether she is married or not. In a time when living com mon-law has all but replaced the tradition of marriage, rules that no longer represent the norm need to be changed. Women around the world are realizing that having a child out of wedlock is no longer something to be ashamed of. According to Statistics Canada, a census taken in 2007 showed that commonlaw couples made up 15.5 per cent of families, while 20 years ago they only repre
sented 7.2 per cent. In 2008, 15,570 women between the ages of 15 and 19 had babies. For about 13 per cent of these mothers, this was their sec ond pregnancy. Single moms, many of them young and unmarried, bring up thousands of chil dren every year in this coun try. Often having to balance school, work and raising a child, these young women take on life with a determi nation that few possess. In a society obsessed with quick fixes and selfish agendas, they have made the ultimate sacrifice and put the needs of another human being above their own. Regardless of all this, a group of stodgy Concordia Club board members continue to hold up out-of-touch views on morality. If a single mom wants to be a beauty queen, I say give her a chance.
NEWS
Page 6 ♦SPOKE
Tuesday, October 9 , 2012
A man without a plan BY RYAN BOWMAN
While most of the audi ence members weren’t even born when Fred Penner first crawled through the log that would help define a generation, they greeted him with an applause that left the Atrium in Conestoga College’s Student Life Centre trembling. Penner, who emerged from behind a big black curtain with a battered green gui tar case in hand and a smile plastered across his bearded face, was visiting the college’s Doon campus to speak and perform at the fifth anniver sary of the school’s Respect Campaign on Sept. 26. While a lot has changed in the 27 years since the icon ic musician and children’s entertainer made his debut on CBC’s Fred Penner’s Place, he said his message has remained the same. “I don’t play to one particu lar time,” said the 65-year-old Penner. “It’s all about con nectivity and positivity and love and co-operation and understanding and respect. It’s about the value of the human spirit.” It’s a sentiment both col lege president John Tibbits and Student Life program mer Ryan Connell touched on in the ceremony’s opening speeches. “The start of intelligence is to understand people,” Tibbits said, stressing the importance of tolerance and acceptance within a learning environ ment. “Every interaction you have with someone else gives you the opportunity to make a difference, the opportunity to be the difference,” added Connell, who was instrumen tal in launching Conestoga’s Respect Campaign in 2007.
Connell said he was thrilled to land Penner as a keynote speaker because of the posi tive impact he’s had on so many of the college’s current students, about 100 of whom attended the anniversary cel ebration. “The lessons he was able to instil in a generation are things we are trying to pro mote to our student com munity through the Respect Campaign,” Connell said. “He encompasses the qualities of respect, kindness, sincerity and generosity that we, as people, should all be aspiring towards.” Despite the positive mes sage of Penner’s music, how ever, the circumstances which spawned his career were any thing but. While he grew up surrounded by music, influ enced by everything from classical to opera to the folk movement of the ’60s, it wasn’t until the deaths of his younger sister and his father, about a year apart, that he considered a career in music. “I was sort of a man stand ing out in his field, waiting for something to help me fig ure out where this path was going to go,” Penner said. “I started thinking, ‘What is it in this world that has given me any kind of really positive sensation of understanding and love and creativity? The answer was music.” It wasn’t long before Penner’s decision to follow his dreams paid off. In 1972, shortly after forming a band, he was offered $75 to play three shows at a downtown hotel in Winnipeg, Man. While he began to etch out a career for himself, Penner said he preferred to focus on the present and never looked much beyond his next gig. “I never had a long-term plan,” he said. “That’s part of
PHOTO BY RYAN BOWMAN
Fred Penner signs an autograph for a fan at C onestoga’s fifth anniversary celebration of the college’s Respect Cam paign Sept. 26. this insanity.” It was this lack of planning, Penner said, that opened the door to the next major turning point in his life. One night, after a show in Winnipeg, a local doctor and his wife approached Penner and asked him if he’d ever considered making a record. When he told them he hadn’t, they told him they loved his music and offered him a blank cheque to do so. “And $8,000 later, The Cat Came Back was revealed,” said Penner of his debut album. Taking risks would become a common theme in Penner’s life; shortly after the release and relative success of The Cat Came Back, CBC contact ed him and asked if he was interested in starting a televi
sion series. The next thing he knew, Fred Penner’s Place, a show which would span 13 years and almost 1,000 epi sodes, was born. Penner said he recognizes the show as not only a launch ing pad for his career, but also as a platform for him to continue promoting positivity. “That first generation was the foundation of the work. There is very much a circular pattern, but at the same time it’s progressing,” said Penner, adding that he is currently the busiest he’s been in years. As for why his message has remained relevant all this time later, as evidenced by his increasing demand to speak at universities and colleges across the country, Penner said it’s because of its basic but universal appeal.
“My material is not about saving the trees, saving the ocean, saving the whales. It’s about saving the human being. Make the human as strong as they possibly can be so they make the right deci sions in regards to the uni verse,” Penner said. “We’re all in this together.” It is a message Connell hopes got through to the stu dents at Conestoga. “Fred shared many stories about making an impact in children’s lives, and I think everyone is able to make that same difference in any one’s life, child or other wise,” Connell said. “I hope people walked away with the insight that we can never underestim ate the im por tance we can have in some body’s life.”
Choices galore at Sanctuary Cafeteria BY ROB MENPONSA
Students at Doon campus, who are looking for a little more variety in their cafete ria menu, might want to try a little known place in the A-Wing called the Sanctuary, which has revamped its menu this year in hopes of drawing in new customers. The new “Sizzler Menu” includes such items as a crispy chicken burger, south west chicken wrap, burgers and fries, nachos and even a Halal burger (a 100 per cent beef burger made from a cow that is killed to meet strict Muslim dietary guidelines). Along with the extensive
Sizzler Menu, Pizza Pizza has expanded its menu this year to include Italian sandwiches such as meatball and veal, as well as chicken wings. All these changes were designed to bring a greater variety and draw in students who want something dif ferent from the food in the main cafeteria, said Pernell Richards, operations man ager at Chartwells Cafeteria Services, which manages all the food services on campus. “CSI asked us to offer more variety, so we have tried to offer something for everyone,” Richards said. Also available during the week is an extensive break
fast menu, which includes the traditional bacon and eggs, and students can come in and have anything off that menu at any time during the day. According to Wendy Phillips, food services supervisor at the Sanctuary Cafeteria, there are also specials throughout the week, such as Thursdays which are “$2 days,” where a different food item is sold for $2 each week. “On Tuesdays, as well as the bar being open and serving beer, we offer a “sample day” where students can come in and sample a different item off the menu each week,” said Phillips. The stage at the Sanctuary
is also home to live entertain ment three days out of five, so that students can not only have a good meal but have a good laugh or hear some good music during their lunch or break. “We have gotten a real good response from students, the only problem we’re facing right now is a lot of them didn’t even know we were here,” Richards said. Students, when asked about the food, found the variety was good, but that it was suf fering from the same problem as the main cafeteria, which is the high cost, especially with students being on a lim ited budget. “The food was good and I
liked the variety, but it’s a bit expensive, you can’t really afford to eat here all the time,” said Evan Perez, a first-year student in graphic design at Conestoga. Putting the cost aside, the Sanctuary Cafeteria has made every effort, along with CSI, to have a little something for everyone. “We want students to make suggestions on things they would like to see on the menu and we will make every effort to accommodate them,” said Richards. The Sanctuary Cafeteria is open Monday to Thursday, 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Tuesday, October 9,2012
ENTERTAINMENT
Sm iles w ere shining just as bright as the sun at the Fair in the Square Festival at W aterloo To w n Square on Sept. 30. Clockwise from left, Sophie LeBlanc tries her skills at the Fun with Clay stand, presented by the W aterloo Potters’ W orkshop. Ciaran Myers sm iles broadly as part of his act as a m im e. Breanne Cram from Bre Creative face painters paints a pair of colour ful w ings on Cara Loft’s face, even though she claim s to be too old for it. Th e Starlite Steel D rum Band w elcom es everyon e to the festival with their music.
PHOTOS BY STEP H AN IE LEFEBVRE
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ENTERTAINMENT
Tuesday, Octobers), 2012
Cambrtbge gets! a ‘®astis’ of H>cotlanb
Ann and Cam pbell Blair cloutie (cloth) dum pling em ployee at McDougall yet tim e-consum ing the
PHOTOS BY KEILA MACPHERSON
Bagpiper Patrick Plante from Guelph spent the day at the Taste of Scotland event at McDougall Cottage on Sept. 29. It featured Plante as well as the Cam bridge & District Pipe Band (right). Guests w ere w elcom e to try traditional Scottish foods such as haggis and a variety of Scottish cheeses and desserts.
(left to right), and Rosalie Sm ith try with w hiskey sauce while Anna Totzke, an Cottage in Cam bridge, explains how easy dessert can be to m ake.
NEWS
Tuesday, October 9 ,2012
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Design students big winners Odds were against them at the Design Student Charrette Awards BY JESSICA REPIKER
In a competition where the odds were stacked against them, two Conestoga College students took home first prize. Heather Schaefer and Nitika Oberoi, second-year bachelor of interior design (BID) students, beat out eight other teams at the Design Student Charrette Awards at the annual IIDEX show in Toronto on Sept. 20. IIDEX is Canada’s largest national design and archi tecture exhibition and con ference, which features not only exhibits, but a chance for students to showcase their skill in a design com petition. Each team had to design a lobby for a residential space
located at Ontario Place, incorporating a “live, work and play” theme. The teams had 3.5 hours to come up with their designs, which had to meet specific criteria, before they had to present it to the judges. The teams consisted of two interior design students from one school, as well as a landscape architecture student and an architec ture student from different schools. At least, that’s how the teams were supposed to be set up. The architecture stu dent for Schaefer and Oberoi’s team never showed up. This was only one of the dis advantages the team faced. In addition to being down a member, their team lacked
the experience of the other teams. Conestoga College was the only school to send two sec ond-year students, as opposed to the third-year and fourthyear students on all of the other teams. The BID program was only launched in the fall of 2011 at Conestoga, making secondyear students the only eligible competitors from Conestoga this year. Overcoming these obstacles made the victory all the sweet er for the students, who will split the $1,000 prize between themselves and their fellow teammate, Justine Demelis of Guelph. “It was such a great accom plishment because we went into it thinking we weren’t
CSI banks big bucks BY STEPHANIE LEFEBVRE
Every year, students at Conestoga College pay their tuition. But every year they also have to pay student fees, which are built into that cost. So where does every stu dents’ contribution go? Conestoga Students Inc. uses some of that money to contribute to the college in various ways. They hold $2 breakfasts, they make frosh week happen and fund the Tuesday pub nights. However, at the CSI month ly meeting on Sept. 26, mem bers of the board of directors were told they had a $ 1.8-million surplus. During the 2011/2012 CSI audit review, Tim Sutherland, an auditor from BDO Canada, said the increase was a result of the approximately 800 unexpected students register ing this year.
Sutherland said CSI should be careful with their numbers so as not to pique the inter est of the Canada Revenue Agency. CSI running a sur plus for too long could cause them to lose their not-forprofit status. However, Sutherland also said CSI should have about a year’s worth of expenditures in reserve before they even consider changing their bud get too drastically. Janie Renwick, general manager of CSI, said they couldn’t have known about the increase in students. “It’s hard for us each year to pick a number,” she said about the amount of students. “The college won’t give us a definite number.” Renwick said they would do a budget review in November, basing their budget off of the new number of students. However, the members of the board had many ideas
on how to manage the sur plus. One idea was to keep the pub open more often, but the cost of security and the liquor licence was a factor. The one idea that caught everyone’s attention was to lower the cost of student fees, but Sutherland said that’s a hard game to play. Not only would they upset graduates, but should something change in the near future, having to increase student fees would only cause chaos. Instead, Sutherland sug gested putting the money into larger projects around the col lege in smaller payments over the course of a few years in order to decrease the surplus, give back to the college and still maintain a positive bal ance. Ciara Byrne, president of CSI, agreed and said a bulk of the money will most likely go to the recreation centre.
going to win at all,” said Oberoi, adding she felt very nervous going into the com petition. “We were just going to show up and see what would happen and get the most out of it that we could,” said Schaefer, adding she had no expectation of even placing at the event, let alone win ning. However, it wasn’t a mat ter of just showing up and winning. There were a lot of strict criteria the team had to adhere to when they cre ated their space, and a lot of creative thinking went into their idea. “We pulled out maps and we looked at the layout of it and we got our inspira tion from sailboats that you
see on Lake Ontario,” said Schaeffer, whose team incor porated nautical-inspired shapes and elements into their design, as well as sus tainable materials and the idea of bringing the outdoors inside. “Blurring the line between nature and city, trying to mesh city and nature and people,” was the main concept accord ing to Schaefer and the team did that by including water elements inside the lobby and cascading outdoors right down to the lake, to encourage peo ple to follow their eyes and visit the lakefront. The win is an obvious accomplishment for the new program, but what did it mean to the team? “Confidence,” Oberoi said.
NEWS
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Getting connected BY MARK FITZGERALD
Conestoga College is look ing to make deeper connec tions with its alumni through the new Conestoga Net Community. The online site will even tually allow alumni to have their own profiles that they can update regularly, com municate with the college, receive newsletters and spe cific updates, register for events, and make and track online donations. Tim Tribe, director of devel opment, and Louise Williams, development research officer, have been heading the cre ation of this completely inhouse program. Their goal is to create an efficient self-sus taining way to stay connected and build relationships with alumni. Net Community is still under development, but is being designed with room to grow. “We can see the potential,” said Tribe, adding that it is important to find out “what the alumni really want” out of the program, and then try
THESE STUDENTS TAKE t h e i r
Tuesday, October 9,2012
s t u d ie s s e r io u s l y
to implement those features. The program is also a way to maintain a social media pres ence, but specifically gear the experience toward Conestoga alumni. One of the features they would like to add later on would be a community mes sage board. They said the key to this would be making it selfsufficient and self-monitor ing, because Net Community as a whole is meant to free up staff. They are also looking into e-cards, a digital greet ing card. They said they are looking to perfect each feature they are working on right now before they move onto bigger things. “We could rush out the door with it. We want to create value,” said Williams. She also said it is important to find out what is of value to alumni. Conestoga Net Community is expected to be fully released in the new year, with hopes of having alum PHOTO BY MARK FITZGERALD ni updating their profiles on the site as early as Conestoga College’s Library Resource Centre at the Doon cam pus is already jam -packed with busy students only a few w eeks into the sem ester. November.
FEATURE
Tuesday, October 9,2012
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Join the ukulele revolution BY LINDSAY TESSIER
From music stores to YouTube videos and televi sion commercials, the ukulele is taking the world by storm. Once considered to be lit tle more than a novelty gift or tourist cliche, the ukule le has been making inroads into popular culture for a few years now. Jim Beloff, a leading pub lisher of ukulele songbooks and a major promoter of the cheery, four-stringed instru ment, says he has been watch ing the uke’s steady rise in popularity for years. “The ukulele is the iPhone of musical instruments,” says Beloff. “Small, light and easy to learn and use, it encour ages creativity.” Local businesses have also noticed an increase in cus tomers asking about ukuleles. “Ukuleles have definitely become more popular,” says John Granger, salesman at Long and McQuade in Guelph. “In the past two years our sales of ukuleles has increased dramatically.” Granger says low prices are another factor in the instru ment’s rising popularity. “We have ukuleles that start at $30 and go up from there. If you’re looking at a guitar that’s $200 ... it’s an easy decision to make.” High-end ukuleles made of solid hardwoods such as mahogany or koa from Hawaii can cost more than $ 1, 000.
The ukulele’s first wave of popularity began during the First World War, when the instrument was demonstrated
to swallow,
at the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco. The second wave occurred in the 1950s, courtesy of TV and radio star Arthur Godfrey, who played the ukulele reg ularly on his show Arthur Godfrey and His Ukulele. Godfrey-endorsed instruction books and ukuleles sold mil lions. Most recently, the pintsized instrument has been popularized by artists as diverse as Eddie Vedder, Jason Mraz, Dave Grohl, Taylor Swift and punk-cab aret singer Amanda Palmer. Actor Zooey Deschanel played one on Saturday Night Live. It’s even been featured on Glee.
"The ukelele is the iPhone of musical instruments. Small, light and easy to learn and use." — Jim Beloff But it is the Internet that has been instrumental in the ukulele’s resurgence, says Nicholas Russell, profes sional musician and ukulele instructor at Folkway Music in Guelph. “Over the last 10 years any one with a computer has been able to not only hear audio recordings of other styles of music but also to see real videos of even the remote regions of the world,” Russell
says. “In regards to the uke, the renaissance really start ed happening when Israel Kamakawio’ole from Hawaii became a worldwide sensa tion through new media out lets like YouTube.” Ukulele virtuoso Jake Shim abukuro, already popular in Hawaii, became an overnight success with his rendition of George Harrison’s While My Guitar Gently Weeps, which has gar nered over 10 million views on YouTube. Russell began playing the ukulele as an extension of the guitar. “I love playing it and it brings out different aspects of my musicianship,” he says. “I don’t treat it like a guitar, because to me, it is more rhythmic and meant to accompany a voice.” One reason for the ukulele’s mass appeal is that, with its four strings - as opposed to the guitar’s six — it’s easy to learn and play. With only a few chords under your belt you are well on your way to being able to play most mod ern pop songs. Add to that the ukulele’s portability, versatility and low price point, and it starts to become clear why more people are picking them up. Lastly, ukuleles just make you feel good. “There is something innate ly fun about playing the uke,” says Russell. All these factors add up to the ultimate instrument for cash-strapped students: cheap, easy to learn, portable and fun.
FIVE BEST UKELELE SONGS AND COVERS ■ Ukulele Anthem by Amanda Palmer ■ While my Guitar Gently Weeps rendition by Jake Shimabukuro ■ Somewhere Over the Rainbow rendition by Israel Kamakawio’ole ■ Hallelujah rendition by Jeff Buckley ■ I'm Yours by Jason Mraz!
PHOTO BY LINDSAY TESSIER
Ukuleles range in price from $30 for an entry level m odel (left) to m ore than $1,000 for high-end ukes.
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