the Carillon - H1N1

the staff

editor-in-chief michael chmielewski editor@carillonregina.com business manager shaadie musleh business@carillonregina.com production manager kyle leitch production@carillonregina.com

the carillon The University of Regina Students’ Newspaper Since 1962 January 23 - 29, 2014|Volume 56, Issue 16|carillonregina.com

cover

copy editor michelle jones copyeditor@carillonregina.com news editor

alec salloum

carillonnewseditor@carillonregina.com

a&c editor robyn tocker aandc@carillonregina.com

Unlike the rest of the media (or so it seems), the Carillon is telling you to chill about H1N1.

sports editor autumn mcdowell sports@carillonregina.com op-ed editor farron ager op-ed@carillonregina.com

Paige Kreutzwieser reports on page 6.

visual editor emily wright graphics@carillonregina.com advertising manager neil adams advertising@carillonregina.com technical co-ordinator arthur ward technical@carillonregina.com distro manager staff writer news writer a&c writer sports writer photographers

taylor sockett paige kreutzwieser eman bare destiny kaus brady lang julia dima haley klassen apolline lucyk spencer reid

contributors this week adam gamble, liam fitz-gerald, tatenda chikukwa, laura billett, matt wincherauk, richard jensen, sonia stanger, ravinesh sakaran, dietrich neu

news

a&c

the paper

THE CARILLON BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Michael Chmielewski, Shaadie Musleh, Autumn McDowell, vacant, vacant, vacant, vacant

227 Riddell Center University of Regina - 3737 Wascana Parkway Regina, SK, Canada S4S 0A2

www.carillonregina.com Ph: (306) 586 8867 Printed by Transcontinental Publishing Inc, Saskatoon, SK

The Carillon welcomes contributions.

Correspondence can be mailed, emailed, or dropped off in person. Please include your name, address, and telephone number on all letters to the editor. Only the author’s name, title/position (if applicable) and city will be published. Names may be withheld upon request at the discretion of the Carillon.

Letters should be no more than 350 words, and may be edited for space, clarity, accuracy, and vulgarity. The Carillon is a wholly autonomous organization with no afilliation with the University of Regina Students’ Union.

Daw, puppy!

page 5

Iietarltle.

page 8

So, the city of Moose Jaw is working on some new deals to make sure that sheltered animals aren’t euthanized within five days of being brought to the shelter. Which is good, because I was about to adopt a whole mess of dogs.

Stats Canada released a report that said literacy rates (or lack thereof) can seriously affect one’s future. Apparently, we needed Stats Can to tell us this.

sports

op-ed

Opinions expressed in the pages of the Carillon are expressly those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect those of The Carillon Newspaper Inc. Opinions expressed in advertisements appearing in the Carillon are those of the advertisers, and not necessarily of The Carillon Newspaper Inc. or its staff.

The Carillon is published no less than 11 times each semester during the fall and winter semesters and periodically throughout the summer. The Carillon is published by The Carillon Newspaper Inc, a non-profit organization.

the manifesto

In keeping with our reckless, devil-may-care image, our office has absolutely no concrete information on the Carillon’s formative years readily available. What follows is the story that’s been passed down from editor to editor for over forty years.

In the late 1950s, the University of Regina planned the construction of several new buildings on the campus grounds. One of these proposed buildings was a belltower on the academic green. If you look out on the academic green today, the first thing you’ll notice is that it has absolutely nothing resembling a belltower.

The University never got abelltower, but what it did get was the Carillon, a newspaper that serves as a symbolic bell tower on campus, a loud and clear voice belonging to each and every student.

illegitimi non carborundum.

Who ya got?

page 13

It’s official, the Super Bowl matchup is set. The Denver Broncos vs. the Seattle Seahawks will take centre stage in a date with destiny. Will Manning retire on top? Will Regina boy Jon Ryan get a Super Bowl ring? Only time will tell.

photos

news Emily Wright a&c Haley Klassen sports stateofthebay.wordpress.com op-ed Simon Fuh cover Emily Wright

AK-1919-2013.

page 17

The creator of the world’s most popular rifle died last month. In a letter, Klashnikov expressed his deep regret for creating the world’s most popular killing machine. Dietrich Neu explores technological advancement on page 17.

In other news: Edmonton city officials have begun thinking of alternative ways to keep the city streets clear of snow and ice after corrosive salt opened a hellmouth on Jasper Avenue.

“That was honestly the craziest thing that I’ve ever seen,” reported a shocked hellspawn.

“You’re minding your own business, and suddenly a bunch of hicks are falling on top of you.”

In other other news: the Carillon refuses to do things “the Gateway’s way.”

news

Editor: Alec Salloum news@carillonregina.com the carillon | January 23 - 29, 2014

Would you live here?

Regina’s newest and most controversial new neighbourhood

Emily Wright Imagine being next door to this. Lovely, isn’t it?

adam gamble & alec salloum

contributor & news editor Regina is very much a boomtown at the moment and is thusly expanding exponentially to accommodate the influx of new and returning citizens.

For example, Harbor Landing in the southwest of Regina has been undergoing rigorous development in the past years and is slated to eventually house 10,000 residences.

Harbor Landing offers a relatively safe new development in the city, which cannot be said for all future neighbourhoods.

SomerSet, a new development in north Regina will be precariously perched between the Consumers Co-operative Refinery Limited (CCRL) and the Evraz steel mill. Even more alarming is the proximity of this new development to each perspective industrial site. SomerSet at its extremities will be only 700 meters away from the CCRL while a 1-kilometer buffer will exist between it and Evraz.

Regina Mayor Michael Fougere said on Dec. 29, “Uplands is closer to the refinery than SomerSet would be. So, it’s been approved by the province and the city, and it is a safe development, and until we hear otherwise, it will proceed.”

Does the fact that Uplands is closer to the refinery and has existed since the early-1970s prove Somerset is actually safe?

On Dec. 28, one day before Fougere gave his seemingly legitimate, yet unconvincing corroboration that the neighbourhood is safe, Ward 6 City Councilor Wade Murray spoke on the topic.

“What would it say to the people of Uplands to say, ‘No, we won’t approve something that’s farther away than you are?’” said Murray, in reference to what might have spurred if the city had ignored the province’s approval and not gone ahead with SomerSet. Regardless, this proximity is alarming, considering the recent explosion at the CCRL on Dec. 24. The explosion could be felt across the city and was heard by even more Regina residents. One resident living on 20 Avenue south reported hearing the blast over seven kilometers away.

The refinery has been host to a myriad of issues recently. In 2011 a fire broke out billowing smoke and potentially harmful fumes into Uplands and surrounding areas.

2012 saw two incidents, an explosion in October and another fire in May. Earlier in 2013 another fire was reported.

Also, Dec. 20, 2013, days before the explosion at the refinery crude oil blanketed the surrounding area. Up to 700 feet away oil rained down, covering cars and roads. CCRL is paying for the cleaning but if a residential area were to have been near the refinery the clean up and impact could have been much greater.

All these incidents are potentially catastrophic, considering the sheer volume of petroleum and other flammable, explosive and lethally toxic products at the refinery. Apart from these concerns there also exists the possibility of air born irritants that may be harmful.

Since the blast occurred an investigation was issued into

how and why this happened.

Nearly one month later no conclusive information has been brought to light.

Considering that SomerSet will cover 140 acres of land and house approximately 3000 people, this places several future residents in risk and has been a major point of contention for Evraz, CCRL, and Environment Saskatchewan. Of these three examples, Evraz and CCRL oppose the new development because, in summation, if things are to go wrong, another explosion or fire happens, they will be blamed, not the municipal government.

Environment Saskatchewan has been vocal in its opposition of residential areas being located close to industrial sites. Additionally, when asked what else the department was planning to do Barbra Barootes, Ministry of Environment communications consultant, offered this statement.

“The potential nuisance factors involving air quality considerations potentially affecting Somerset have been reviewed by the Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry of Health and the Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region, and it is understood a caveat will be registered on all properties to inform future landowners of the potential risk of odour and nuisance due to the proximity to the industrial users.

The City of Regina has complied with this recommendation.”

SomerSet may be safe according to Fougere, but as Murray’s statements suggest, the City could already be aware of the health hazards imputed to neighbourhoods – current and future – near Evraz and the refinery like Uplands and SomerSet. In 2012, the Ministry of En-

vironment, in collaboration with the Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region, Ministry of Health and the City of Regina began conducting a monitoring study to collect air quality data from Regina residential neighbourhoods. The study is the first of its kind.

“It will be completed sometime in 2014,” according to Barbara Barootes. The report will consist of monthly-collected data from 18 sites across Regina. The data collected will shed light on the severity of various compounds around each site.

The site closest to SomerSet, located near St. Gregory School, contains nitrogen dioxide, ozone, sulphur dioxide, volatile organic compounds and hydrogen sulphide – all of which are potentially harmful to people’s health. For instance, ozone can produce irritation to the respiratory passages, burning eyes and headaches.

So why is it that the report will be completed and visible to the public after SomerSet has already been given the “OK”? Many speculations can be made.

Jerry Boulanger, 61, who has lived in Uplands for 31 years, says it does not matter if they find any alarming data.

“The wind blows in all directions. If we can smell a forest fire from 150 kilometers away, do you really think that we would be the only ones affected by the air, if there are health hazards?” said Boulanger. “It doesn’t matter [if they find something].

We’re already here.”

In light of the explosion, many citizens have become outraged at the potential new neighbourhood, but as Director

of Planning for the City of Regina Diana Hawryluk explained, their chance to stop it is gone.

“A Concept Plan to support the proposed SomerSet development was approved by City Council on Dec. 16. Through that approval process, the public was provided an opportunity to provide comments or objections directly to Council.”

Aside from this, although the city, province and ultimately the Regina Planning Committee gave the go ahead, there were many who did not; the Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region, Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Environment, Shawn Fraser, Barbara Young, Sharron Bryce and John Findura – all city councilors; and even the Evraz steel mill and CCRL. Their main concerns were the same: the potential noise, odour and aerial pollution from the industrial complexes surrounding SomerSet and the train tracks running adjacent to it.

Despite health concerns and no official air quality testing occurring before the Regina Planning Commission voted on RPC12-82, giving SomerSet the go ahead.

Ultimately SomerSet’s success or failure relies on people actually buying into the neighbourhood. With the caveat being registered and a great deal of public discontent SomerSet may not succeed. However, Mayor Fougere still maintains that he has no concerns towards the new neighbourhood. The coming months and initial development of the property will be a telling time for Regina’s newest and most controversial neighbourhood.

4

the carillon | January 23 - 29, 2014

news

Battle for a bus stop Students who attend the First Nations University are fed up adam gamble contributor

Attending class at the First Nations University of Canada (FNUniv) remains a difficult task for students who take the bus.

Since being built in 2002, FNUniv has never had a bus stop to accommodate its students.

Students either have to catch a bus to the Riddell Centre, Classroom Building or Luther College and walk the remaining distance. The Luther College stop is the closest - 230 meters away from FNUniv. The other stops, however, are on the opposite side of the University of Regina (U of R) campus.

According to FNUniv Communications Director, Rocelle Kooy, “It is difficult to know why a bus stop was never built, considering there have been many changes over the years, including administration.”

Before Kooy became staff at FNUniv in 2012, at least one inquiry had already been made.

During the 2005-2006 school year, Adam Martin, a former Indian fine arts student at FNUniv, spoke to a City of Regina employee about getting a bus stop along First Nations Way, which loops around

FNUniv.

“He was walking around the U of R, handing out pamphlets for the new bus routes they created that year. FNUniv was even in the graphics,” Martin recalled.

“He told me that a city bus would not be able to fit on the road because it’s too narrow.

And even if it could, having a bus stop there would take up valuable time for the current bus routes. These weren’t answers.

They were excuses.”

While having a bus stop on First Nations Way might impede the tightly-scheduled university bus routes, charter buses drive on it to drop off those taking a tour of FNUniv during the summer months. City buses also take that route to drop off people at the First Nations Pavilion during Mosaic. Then again, there are not as many cars parked along First Nations Way during the summer as there are during the fall and winter.

“Not having a bus stop really frustrates me – especially during the winter,” said Keccia Cook, a social work student at FNUniv. Last year, Cook dropped off a written request at Transit Services. Just like Martin’s efforts, nothing transpired.

Cook, who was in her first

year of studies at FNUniv then, says, “I know it may not be a big deal to some, but there are bus stops all over U of R – and not one at FNU.” Nathan Luhning, City of Regina business development manager, says, “We can’t do any work without the authorization of the administration of the U of R.” “Our standard for service in the city of Regina is to have bus services within 400 meters or less of 90 per cent of residential lots and schools. And the bus stop over by the Luther is a 230-meter walk from FNUniv,” said Luhning.

Nonetheless, as Luhning said, “We have heard the concern, and recognize the walk from that bus stop is quite an open area and there’s not much shelter to the elements right now.“ In the past two and a half years, Luhning says the City of Regina has received three requests to construct a bus stop at FNUniv. One was a formal request from FNUniv, and the other two were done over the phone.

One of these requests was from Brad Bellegarde, FNUniv Student Association vice president of communications. Belle-

garde’s request led to a meeting between Luhning, Nelson Wagner, vice president of facilities management at the U of R and himself respectively one and a half years ago.

“We talked about how the stop by Luther isn’t getting a lot of use and perhaps should be closer to FNUniv, along First Nations Way. That way, it could also serve those staying at the new residence once it is completed. But, that’s as far as we went,” said Wagner.

After CTV News Regina aired a story on the bus stop situation at FNUniv Jan. 8, discussion resumed. Wagner spoke with Lorne Wolfe, director of plant, property and maintenance at FNUniv about the future of a bus stop for the federated college, along University Drive East.

“The west side, especially near or not too far from the cross walk and sidewalk going up to First Nations University,” as Wagner explained, is now a possible location for one.

“We’re considering it for our budget submission for the next fiscal year, which begins in May. But it’s not in there yet, nor is it approved.”

In order for a bus stop to be built there, FNUniv would have

to submit a formal proposal to facilities management.

Wagner says this has never been done since becoming vice president of facilities management in 2006.

Based on urgency and safety, facilities management would then approve it and submit it to the U of R budget committee for a final approval. Their decision is based on the operating grant from the province and what is most needed around campus.

But, would the need for a bus stop be enough? In 2005, Nicole Bear began requesting the U of R and FNUniv build a sidewalk from Luther College to FNUniv. “Every winter, I kept getting stuck in the snow on my way to class at FNUniv,” said Bear, who is dependent on an electric wheelchair to get around.

“It was only when I went to the media in 2009 or 2010 that anything was done. After I appeared on the news on International Day for Persons with Disabilities, the sidewalk between Luther and FNUniv was done within months.”

Perhaps now that the lack of a bus stop at FNUniv has media coverage, one will actually be built.

the carillon | January 23 - 29, 2014

news

5

The Harper-Israel love affair U of R student and professor offer their take eman bare news writer

Canada’s newly appointed ambassador to Israel, Vivian Bercovici, is another bold step for the country’s Conservative government. While Canada’s unwavering support of Israel comes as no surprise, the question being raised is, what does this mean for peace talks?

The appointment came shortly before Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s first visit to the Middle East, where he plans on meeting with both Palestinian and Israeli leaders.

Bercovici is a Toronto-based lawyer, as well as a columnist for the Toronto Star. She is a strong supporter of the Israeli cause, and highly critical of the right to a Palestinian state.

Despite this, Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister, John Baird, stated during a press conference that Bercovici would serve the country well in her new role, many are skeptical as to how critical she will be as the new ambassador.

Questions are being raised amongst Canadian political analysts and politicians alike as to how appropriate Bercovici is for the role. The NDP foreign affairs critic stated in an interview with the National Post, that he questioned whether she was the best person for the role, considering the sensitivity of the issue.

Openly criticizing the Arab and Muslim world in her col-

Eman Bare Jim Farney, professor at the U of R, says current Canadian government is unbalanced in terms of international politics.

umns could cause strain with the Palestinian Authority.

Although appointing someone with a more diplomatic approach, as the new ambassador to Israel would have stirred much less controversy, political science professor Jim Farney suggests that openly supporting Israel is in the best interest of the Conservative Government.

“If you look at some swing ridings in the GTA, the Jewish community represents a swing vote. This is a way for the Conservatives, who have traditionally not done well at all in that community, to signal that they

care.”

But what does this mean for the many Jewish-Canadians who do not support Israel? Farney says they are not the Conservative government’s targets.

“The Jewish people who do not support Israel are unlikely to ever support the Conservatives, and from an electoral perspective, who cares right?”

Debra Schubert, a Canadian woman of Jewish descent, could not agree more. “Her background does not really coincide with working towards a peaceful resolution, especially since she is writing anti-Islamic rhetoric in the newspaper,”

says Debra Schubert is an active member of Students Against Israeli Apartheid.

It is unknown whether Canada is interested in any sort of a peace plan between Palestine and Israel. When asked where Canada stood in terms of illegal Israeli settlements in regions of Palestine, Mr. Baird replied by stating that Canada would not condemn the process, and only support it.

It is these settlements, however, that caused the Palestinian Authority to walk away from the last peace talks. The Palestinian government and international law views these settlements as

being illegal as well as destructive to the Palestinian state.

“Canadian foreign policies usually try to take a more balanced approach,” says Farney.

We do not have the capacity to be Israel’s biggest supporter in terms of funding, but we are certainly their strongest.”

This past year, the European Union, Teachers Union of Ireland as well as the American Student Association all endorsed a boycott of Israel and its illegal settlements. Although the controversy surrounding Israel is growing rapidly in the international community, it seems evident that the Canadian governments’ support is only getting stronger.

As peace talks resume this January, with the help of American Senator John Kerry, it is questionable how successful they will be considering Israel’s recent announcement of settlement expansion. In a conflict where the main issue is a land dispute, expanding illegal settlements does not make peace anymore likely. Additionally, Canada appointing an ambassador that openly discredits the Palestinian government, Palestinians’ right to land and writes biased columns endorsing one government over the other will not help either.

Canada needs to return to its former diplomatic self, and leave their love affair for Israel out of politics.

Stray animals may be in luck in the New Year Moose Jaw Mayor seeks alternative animal rescue service paige kreutzwieser staff writer

The City of Moose Jaw and the Moose Jaw Humane Society (MJHS) have agreed to negotiate new contract terms in the near future.

In the meantime, the MJHS has agreed to continue providing pound-keeping services within the city for 90 days beginning Jan. 1, 2014.

This comes well after the contract between the two parties expired in 2012. The Humane Society and the city have since been working on a monthby-month basis.

The MJHS informed the city that they would terminate their services after Dec. 31, 2013 unless a better deal could be struck.

Cue the small town drama.

Words between Moose Jaw’s City Manager, Matt Noble, and MJHS’s Finance Chair, Dave Field, became public through the Moose Jaw Times Herald and the help of the MJHS Facebook page.

It was fueled by the operating numbers that the MJHS was provided to city - increasing the cost to nearly three times the amount to $386,053.

Emily Wright He loves you, so why don’t you love him? Adopt today.

In an article from the Moose Jaw Times Herald back in September, president of the MJHS board John LaBuick said this amount was what would be required to offer pound-keeping services in the city without profit.

The city administration proposed a $200,000 deal after running its own numbers.

What caused the biggest

uproar amongst Moose Javians was the information exposed that if the city chose to go with a private business instead, the five-day holding bylaw would be in effect. According to the bylaw, animals not rescued within the five-day holding period would be euthanized.

However, Mayor Deb Higgins reassured citizens of Moose Jaw that the city would look to

other organizations to fulfill the role the MJHS provides.

“I know people are upset about the five-day bylaw, but that doesn’t mean the automatic next step will be to put the animal down,” said Higgins in a Times Herald article on Dec 18.

Noble also spoke to the Times Herald and said that seeking alternative rescue services would trump euthanasia.

Field disagreed with the city’s suggestion towards private businesses. “They’re just going to go out and capture the animal and take it to a holding area somewhere, and after five days, they’re going to take that animal and dispose of it,” he told the Times Herald.

A peaceful rally on Dec. 20 was held outside Moose Jaw City Hall to protest the termination of the contract. Dozens of citizens from the city gathered to support the MJHS and to request more transparency of the issue.

“It’s really important to us.

We want clarity,” said Shawna Bonnett, one of the rally’s organizers, to the Times Herald.

Much has calmed down between the two parties as of the New Year. The MJHS has extended their services from a period of Jan. 1 to March 31 to give the animals the services they require and to allow a negotiating period to take place between the humane society and the city.

This extension came when the city’s executive committee voted unanimously in support of extending the MJHS’s pound-keeping contract to allow negotiations to continue.

6

the carillon | January 23 - 29, 2014

news

Flu and H1N1, not causes for alarm

Stay hydrated, watch for symptoms, wash your hands and all will be fine paige kreutzwieser staff writer A vaccine shortage and 12 flu-related deaths in Saskatchewan is no cause for alarm said one University of Regina Faculty of Nursing staff member.

Glenn Donnelly, an associate professor for the faculty, said that although the seasonal flu is extremely contagious, the deaths in Saskatchewan should not be reason to panic.

“The people that have died in Saskatchewan are generally people who had some pre-existing health problems such as HIV or tuberculosis.”

Although these victims had compromised immune systems, Donnelly said everyone should still be cautious.

“The important thing is when you have symptoms stay home.” He suggests frequent hand washing, alcohol cleansers, avoid touching your face, and taking care of your body to help prevent contracting any viruses.

Symptoms Donnelly suggests looking out for were diarrhea and vomiting. “[H1N1] becomes serious when you become really dehydrated. Dehydration is more serious than you think it is. So I think when a person has diar-

Emily Wright Vaccines are on the way!

rhea or vomiting for more than 24 hours they should be seen by a doctor and get hydrated.”

With a shortage in vaccine this season, many people have become anxious. Donnelly said there is an explanation for this shortage.

“They order vaccine based on what they used last year. So when you have several people

in Alberta die, and it’s younger people that died, it got everybody scared and people start showing up to get the vaccine that have never had it in their life so, they ran out very quickly.”

But, if you were vaccinated in previous years, you may be in luck.

“If you got it last year . . .

or in 2009, you may have some protection,” said Donnelly, who added that the basic recommendation is to get it every year.

University students may also be in luck even with the shortage.

“Generally speaking with the seasonal flu, people in their twenties don’t get it [so] badly that they die from it,” explained

Donnelly.

Donnelly acknowledged the media added to the hype.

“The media has made us more aware of [H1N1]. I think the minute you start hearing there are deaths of young people, and we sort of expect there are going to be deaths of elderly people, it scare everybody.”

Donnelly has made an observation in the way our society must adapt to viruses.

“I think there isn’t a flu season anymore. It’s year around.

We have such global travelling…so I think we transmit influenza all the time. I don’t think there is a season that is any worse than the rest.”

He suggested going and getting vaccinated as soon as you can. But count on it being later rather than sooner.

Here in Saskatchewan, the Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region has limited the vaccine to people in high-risk groups. This includes people with pre-existing conditions like diabetes or asthma, as well as young children and pregnant women.

Donnelly laughed when asked where a university student should look to get vaccinated.

“I heard [Thursday] that the health region phone rang busy all day.”

Turmoil in the Central African Republic

Rebel forces continue long standing conflicts with each side vying for eman bare staff writer

It is estimated that approximately one million people have fled the violence that has sieged the Central African Republic (CAR).

Reports state that one in five have fled their homes in CAR. Earlier this month President Michel Djotodia stepped down, which left many people hopeful for a more peaceful future.

“Finally we are free! We are going to return home at last,” said Carine Gbegbe, in an interview with the CBC. Gbegbe, 28, had been living in a displacement camp on the southern outskirts of the capital.

After the president stepped down, jubilation broke out in the capital city of Bangui. Many had the same optimistic attitude as Gbegbe, with the expectations of peace at long last. Michel Djotodia was a former rebel leader, before seizing power of the country in 2013.

Pressure had been growing for Djotodia to step down as the country tumbled towards lawlessness and violence.

The former president agreed to resign after violence broke out earlier this month that left over 1,000 people dead.

Prior to stepping down Djotodia received heavy criticism from the international community, particularly from the French President Francois Hol-

Nightstallion Fighting continues into the New Year.

lande.

The biggest concern currently however, is the potential of a power vacuum in the region.

Violence has been ongoing between rebel groups in the region, and the concern is that one of these groups could potentially form a government.

These rebel groups consist primarily of Christian and Muslim militia’s. The fighting and aggression of these militias has escalated in recent months.

“Having new transitional authorities doesn’t automati-

cally equal the end of the violence in CAR but the resignation of Djotodia was a key claim of the anti-balaka (Christian) fighters and of the population as a whole,” stated Thibaud Lesueur, an analyst with International Crisis Group, during a CBC interview.

Although it is unsure what the next step is for the Central African Republic, critics suggest that the first step was the presidents’ resigning.

The landlocked region has seen little peace since it was declared an independent state in

1960. A former French colony, the country has been subjected to the rule of various tyrant Emperors and Prime Ministers.

Although the country is underdeveloped, it has wealth in resources.

So why is the region so impoverished? Asides from violence, poor leadership has impacted the country’s opportunities for development. Since independence, the country has seen eight military coups, and has been home to many dictators.

The most notorious leader was, Jean-Bedel Bokassa, who

rose to power in the 60s, and crowned himself Emperor. He has been accused of both cannibalism and feeding victims to animals in his personal zoo.

Currently, numerous organizations, such as the European Union (EU) and the United Nations, are working frantically to ensure that the pending humanitarian crisis is avoided. In 2013, the majority of humanitarian aid came from the European Union -- approximately $102 million in aid.

Additionally, the EU is also determining a peacekeeping operation, with the intention of supporting the French troops that are already on the ground the CAR. Each country in the European Union is allowed to determine how it supports the peacekeeping mission. Germany for example, will be sending troops to the region.

The peacekeeping mission is expected to last between four to six months. The current interim president, Alexandre-Ferdinand Nguendet, has vowed to commit to ending the violence between the two major rebel groups in the country. He both called on refugees to return to their homeland, and ensured that he would do his best to quell the militia groups.

Although the road to peace is a daunting one, the people of the Central African Republic are optimistic with this new change.

a&c

Editor: Robyn Tocker aandc@carillonregina.com the carillon | January 23 - 29, 2014

Goodbye and good luck We’ll miss you, Buy the Book

Arthur Ward 13th Ave won’t be the same without you, Buy the Book.

liam fitz-gerald contributor At the end of January, the chapter of one business in the Cathedral village will come to an end.

Buy the Book, a small bookstore, is set to close as Chris Prpich and his father pursue other endeavours. For Prpich senior, the new focus in life is a transition back to the farm and for the son the new activity is pursuing his label, 13th Avenue Records.

In personal experience, Buy the Book has been a wonderful place to shop. They have a large selection ranging from science fiction, contemporary fiction, literature as well as books on philosophy, history and religion.

Not only do they have books (and little chalk sketches of bodies like one sees on a crime show), they have a large variety of records as well.

Eighteen years ago, Prpich graduated high school and went into business with his father, starting Yaz’s Sports Memorabilia with a friend who opened up a bookstore and got his elderly cousin to run the bookstore.

Unfortunately, his cousin died a short time later, and Prpich and his father decided to buy the bookstore.

“I was just out of high school and thought it would be a reasonable business for me to do. I didn’t know much about books though. I didn’t really read much,” he says.

Buy the Book opened in an era before big retailers and online delivery dominated the book business in the Queen City. During his time at Buy the Book, Prpich forged a bond with customers in the used book market and found he was “really into recycling.”

“I just learned the business over time and it was complete-

ly by accident that we got into [selling books],” he says.

As the business grew, the times changed, ushering in a new era of Internet purchasing and online delivery. Yet Prpich paid no heed to online delivery and focused on their store.

“For me, when I started, online didn’t exist and I’ve pretended since then that it doesn’t exist. I’ve always looked at online as a second job I never wanted.”

The business never installed debit or credit card machines either. For Prpich, it was about cutting out the banks and keeping the relationship strictly business-customer. Indeed, Prpich points out that business for Buy the Book increased steadily throughout its existence.

Prpich points out that the dying out of small book stores and other small businesses to large retailers like Chapters Indigo is the result of the general public voting with their feet.

Exclusively shopping at large retailers and hoping small businesses stay open by shopping at them occasionally is unrealistic.

“If people prefer online shopping and making purchase at major box stores that’s up to them. It hasn’t had an effect on my store, but this is where it’s going. If people want small businesses to exist, that’s probably where they should put their dollars,” he says.

In discussions with Global Regina, Leslie Charlton, a board member of the Cathedral Business association and owner of Groovy Mama said that, despite the closure of Buy the Book, as well as A la Carte Catering and Roca Jack’s (two other small businesses in the area), owning a small business is still a worthy endeavour. She told Global Regina that consumers “backlash” retailers and turn to small, local

businesses “to keep their money in the city.”

Prpich didn’t necessarily agree with that assessment. If anything the arrival of large retailers polarizes a community with some ultimately shopping at these places rather than small businesses.

“People are of convenience more than anything. It creates polarization among people and certain people decide to do it more and the group that supports small business becomes smaller, but more active,” he says.

He points out that Cathedral businesses have succeeded because they chose to have an identity adding that people support community, not individual businesses.

“The community association took charge in changing the way that this area viewed itself and the village arts festival is a celebration of that and it brought attention across the city to the area.”

Bruce C. Anderson, Director of the Centre for Management Development and a professor who teaches entrepreneurship at the Paul J. Hill School of Business, commented on the relationship between small businesses and community, calling independent business owners “a fabric of the community.”

“Successful communities are basically small towns. The problem with areas like this in a bigger city is that people that live there may work elsewhere and travel elsewhere in the city and because we’re very car focused in this city they may go to Superstore for a product rather than the local fish shop,” he says.

“We need a broader idea of supporting our local business.

Small business if they become big business is wealth creation.

A business that has done well here locally acquires wealth which means they’re donating to their church and local food bank and that wealth gets recycled in their community. That’s the advantage of a local business sector,” Anderson says.

Prpich and his father have been important members of the Cathedral business community.

They were founding members of the Cathedral Business Association.

Some members of the community have expressed their sadness over the loss of Buy the Book. Shelley Patterson, owner of Dessart Sweets, said it was a surprise to hear that Buy the Book was closing but realized that the decision had been in the making for quite some time after all the press releases came out.

On Buy the Book, she says “It’s a pretty big hub especially for music and it’s going to be sad to have that space something different. It’s definitely a loss.”

Prpich commented that certain businesses do a lot of stuff together and talk to each other all the time. He said that for many businesses in the area, the relationship was like a network of people who would be there for each other. The news still shocked local fellow store owners and regular customers.

“Some of them were surprised. You become expectant that businesses that have been around for a while will be there forever. I think they understand how the area has been changing,” Prpich says.

Along with the arrival of online purchases and box stores, some of the changes have been higher rents. While the decision to close was based mostly on wanting to move on to some-

thing new, a story in CJME on the closing of Buy the Book has highlighted that Saskatchewan’s booming economy has not benefited everyone evenly with small businesses facing increased costs.

Anderson discussed increasing costs for small businesses, discussing property taxes in particular.

“The property tax regime is not equal. If we had a building that had a thousand square feet, the property tax that a business would pay on that building versus a residential use is almost two times as much in Saskatchewan.”

Anderson points out that “a blanket policy of property tax” as a way to generate revenue from businesses exists and it not necessarily effective. Indeed, not all businesses are wealthy and some smaller ones struggle under the tax regime and regulatory burdens, noting that statuary deductions and PST and GST add 15 per cent to cost of business for the small business.

He does note that governments are being more responsive to small business rates.

With Buy the Book, Roca Jacks and A la Carte Catering closing up shop, Prpich and Patterson believe that the new properties will be snatched up pretty quickly as there is a large demand for Cathedral property.

However, Buy the Book is still open until the end of January, and Prpich encourages people to come get books while they can.

“We are putting out new stuff every day and everything has to go.”

The week Chris was interviewed books were going for 70 per cent off. The week of this issue of the Carillon they are 80 per cent off. Next week they will be 90 per cent off.

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the carillon | January 23 - 29, 2014

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You go, girls!

Magenta Lane is back tatenda chikukwa contributor

It has been four years since Magneta Lane’s Lexi Valentine, Nadia King and French released their album Gambling with God. The ladies took a much-needed break from the music world after industry executives took advantage of their teenage naiveté in the early years of their career.

The group’s decision to take a hiatus never meant a breaking up of the band but just time to heal and grow.

Now the female indie-alternative trio is back with their long-awaited Witchrock – the title of their EP and genre they characterize their sound to be.

Producers Rick Jackett and James Black of Canadian super group Finger Eleven helped Magneta Lane to confront their feelings about the sour recording deals and improve their song writing.

Valentine, Magneta Lane’s lead vocalist and guitarist says, “They really pushed us to go to

eOne Music Canada These ladies know how to rock.

the next level with the song writing, which is something that no one had ever done before.”

The strangely dark and vulnerable tone of “Burn” really captures the listener’s attention and the bands meaning of “Witchrock”. Its ascending rhythmic tone and vocal depth

communicates Magneta Lanes strength over the music industry and its accompanying music video addresses the media’s need to over sexualize women.

“I’ve always been the kind of person to pick a positive from everything that has been negative in my life and I’m really

great at picking my shit up and just going,” says Valentine.

The girls have used this positive perspective to encourage female empowerment. “Lucky” is an upbeat and cheeky love song about a love triangle, that addresses how women are pitted against each other in love

and in life. Lyrics like, “You say you hate girls but you are those girls that you hate” and “he’s only with you because he can’t be with me” is reminiscent of Alanis Morissette’s “Ironic.”

“Leave The Light On” shows us the band’s vulnerable and romantic side. The song talks about the need for a healthy give and take balance in a relationship. It sounds like a soft rock romantic ballad for today’s modern woman.

“Good For” brings us back to the bands “don’t give a damn attitude.” With a steady base and drumbeat, one is sure to bob their head and get transfixed into this 90s like rock melody.

“We definitely felt really empowered by making this record and even if this was the last record we ever made, it’s like I’m proud of that,” says Valentine.

Magneta Lane will be performing at O’Hanlon’s Irish pub on Jan. 28. Valentine says she and the girls are excited to play in Regina and enjoy a couple of drinks with their fans.

Mixing words and numbers How literacy rates affect our future destiny kaus a&c writer

Good ol’ Statistics Canada recently published a study entitled “Study: Life-path outcomes associated with reading ability.”

The study defines reading literacy as “the ability to understand, use and reflect on written texts, in order to achieve one’s goals, to develop one’s knowledge and potential, and to participate in society.”

Huzzah! Now that we have that definition, we can actually understand what the heck this study is talking about.

The study recounts how it followed individuals from age 15 until age 25 (that’s a whole 10 years of being followed around by stats people). After gathering data, the study then evaluated how these individuals’ reading proficiency at age 15 helped or hindered them when they reached the age of 25.

This study measured reading proficiency on a scale of one to five with one being the lowest level of reading proficiency and five being the highest. According to Statistics Canada, in the end, “the study found a clear relationship between levels of proficiency in reading at the age of 15 and highest level of educational attainment a decade later.”

Sweet. This is nice and all, but nowhere in the study does anyone state whether or not this relationship was a cause and effect relationship. Without that information, I can only gather that this study is simply a correlation, not a causation.

Let me clarify. Though a student’s high reading proficiency

Haley Klassen Stats don’t always have the answer, folks.

at age 15 may line up (correlate) with post-secondary education at age 25, that high reading proficiency alone did not cause that student to go to post-secondary education.

With all that jazz cleared up, the study states that “young people who had higher levels of proficiency in reading at the age of 15 had higher levels of educational attainment and income by the time they were 25 than youth with lower proficiency in reading.”

I take issue with this statement because, to me, it gives the impression that students who had a higher reading pro-

ficiency at 15 are better than those who had a lower one just because they went on to achieve higher education and a higher income.

If students read at a high level and want to go on to University and make loads of money afterwards, because that’s where they find their happiness, then power to them!

But, what if students with a lower reading level don’t want to go on to higher education, not because of their reading proficiency, but because they want to travel?

In my opinion, if students are happy travelling the world, working at McDonald’s, or work-

ing in retail for the rest of their lives then by all means they should do just that. A high reading proficiency, post-secondary education, and higher income does not make one person better than another.

Well that was a solid little rant, but definitely a rant that can be backed up by the University of Regina’s own Education Professor Ron Folk.

“I think job satisfaction is important regardless of salary.”

Boom. Well said.

Folk also didn’t find the results of the study’s correlation unexpected due to the necessity of reading ability in further education.

“Reading ability is very important in the overall education of students,” says Folk. “Those proficient in reading are more likely to pursue their learning to a higher level.”

Folk makes a good point here that supports the fact that this study presents correlative data, not causation data. While those who are more proficient in reading are more likely to pursue higher education, not all of them do.

How do teachers help students on a lower reading level raise their reading proficiency?

Folk suggests the provision of more individual help and support to all students, smaller class sizes, and more resources available to help support the teachers.

Even with these resources in place, some students may still remain at a lower reading level.

Folk makes a bold statement: “I don’t know if all students would be able to achieve the highest level.”

I wholeheartedly agree with this point. As an Education student, I have learned that students all learn at different levels and read at different levels.

While some students may be able to achieve the highest level of reading proficiency (for example a five on a five-point scale), other students may not because their highest level of achievement may be a three.

Yes, they will have improved from a one to a three, but they may never reach a five.

Does that matter? No. If they reach that three and that’s as high as they can get, then I say good on them because for them that’s amazing.

the carillon | January 23 - 29, 2014

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9

A heart-warming hilarity Becky’s New Car drives onto the stage destiny kaus a&c writer

Well, the Globe Theatre is at it again! From Jan. 22 to Feb. 9, the Globe presents Becky’s New Car. Directed by Valerie Ann Pearson, this play is filled with exactly what people want: comedy, heart, and interaction.

The play focuses around Walter Flood (played by Allan Morgan), a widowed millionaire who meets an utterly attractive woman named Becky Foster (played by Tracey Ferencz).

Walter stumbles upon Becky by complete chance and begins to pursue her, thinking that she is widowed like him. But wow is he ever wrong. Dang. He mistakes her for a widow, while she’s actually already married.

Oh the drama! And oh the hilarity that ensues.

Allan Morgan, who has been acting professionally for 30 years, delights in this comedic play. He says, “It makes [the audience] laugh a lot! It’s a very

Robyn Tocker Actors Tony Munch, Neil Foster, and Nathan Howe get down to business.

funny play.”

But, the play isn’t just a bunch of giggles, laughs, and smiles. According to Morgan, “There are some very touching elements to it.”

I mean, let me be real. How can a play with two lovers not have touching moments, even

if it is freaking hilarious? In my opinion, hilarity + heart-warming = awesome.

As for the character of Walter Flood, he seems to me to have a perfect balance between a rather quirky dude and a caring, genuine individual.

Morgan describes his char-

acter Walter as a loopy, widowed millionaire who has inherited his fortune from his father and now owns a billboard business that brings in a wack load of money.

How on earth a billboard business can make millions, I have no idea, but, atta boy, Walter, for making it happen.

Despite his fortune, which also includes a helicopter, a house by the sea, and really nice clothes (no big deal), Walter is not a detailed man and, as Morgan says, “He is incapable of picking gifts for people.”

This little fact makes me chuckle. Who struggles with picking out gifts? Walter. What a guy. Sadly though, his lack of skill in this department is because he always used to rely on his wife to pick out gifts and she has since passed away. My heart sincerely goes out to this character. And, I think the audience members’ hearts will too even amidst all the comedy.

“He’s got a great big heart,” Morgan says, “and he understands where he is in his

life and he understands what’s missing in his life.”

Just as the audience is bound to interact emotionally with Becky’s New Car, they will have the opportunity to interact on a much deeper level. No, the characters will not pull up members of the audience onto the stage and expect them to act.

Literally, one of my worst nightmares.

Instead, Morgan says that “the lead actress who plays Becky, Tracy Ferencz…her character has a rapport with the audience. In fact, she talks to the audience all the time as if they’re there.”

I think this rocks because this level of interaction enhances the live theatre experience.

Overall, Morgan sums up the play in one of Walter Flood’s lines: “My life has become the story of a group of people I’ve met by chance and the things we give together.”

So, here’s to chance, romance, and laughing off your pants.

We <3 you

Sidney York comes to Regina robyn tocker a&c editor

How do you jump from classical music to indie pop? Quite easy according to Krista Wodelet, one part of the female duo Sidney York.

“We both just got to a place in classical music. We wanted to play our own music.”

Both members of the band have master’s degrees in classical music, so they certainly know their stuff when it comes to that genre. But like Wodelet said, when the music calls, you have to follow.

From an early age, Wodelet has been playing music. She started with the piano then just kept on moving up.

“In junior high, I joined the band program and ended up playing bassoon because I couldn’t make a noise on any brass instrument and I didn’t want to pay anything high, so bassoon was the default.”

Sidney York was formed by happenstance. Wodelet’s sister, who worked as an airline attendant at the time, met Brandi Sidoryk at work. Sidoryk, who was also an attendant, mentioned to her co-worker how she was looking for a member to be a part of her band. Particularly, she wanted a bassoonist, which is exactly what Wodelet happened to be. Go figure!

From there, the ladies started playing together and in 2011 they put out their first album titled Apocalyptic Radio Cynic.

While the album was a success, the ladies decided to try something different. They began to write the music more collaboratively, making their music more a part of the two of them instead

of just one.

Wodelet describes the three year reprieve as an intense period of rebuilding.

“We spent three years doing a lot of writing and playing together. We experimented with sound. The collaborative writing process was new to the both of us, too.”

What seems to some as a hiatus, Wodelet says was really active from the band’s perspective. Their new record <3s (Hearts) is something both ladies are excited to have finally released.

“We want to let people know what we’ve been up to.”

This new album isn’t like one you’d typically find on iTunes. For starters, the EPs will only have two songs each, and there will be a total of five released. Wodelet says this new way of releasing their music is a fun way to get their music out there.

“The traditional model of just releasing a CD doesn’t necessarily make that much sense anymore because people are consuming music digitally.”

She says if anyone is going to purchase a physical album, they’re going to buy vinyl. That’s another neat thing Sidney York is doing – if you don’t want to digitally download their music, you can order vinyl copies.

Along with the EPs, the ladies are collaborating with a graphic artist in Calgary who will do a poster that goes along with every song on the EPs. The EPs will be released two songs at a time which will give the group a chance to do the whole description model instead of just putting out the whole thing and being done with it.

the Carillon: better than sex since 1962

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the carillon | January 23 - 29, 2014

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The Fiddlers Four Regina hosts A Fiddle Feast robyn tocker a&c editor

Fiddling isn’t the first thing I picture when I think of Canada, but amongst its enthusiasts, the instrument and those who play them are Canada’s pride and joy. Because of this, there are many fiddling camps across the country, even two here in Saskatchewan.

Shivering Strings Camp brings fiddlers from inside and outside the province up to Saskatoon for two weekends of fiddling fun. In between those two weekends, the mentors who teach at the camp perform at various schools.

This year, Catherine Sproule and a team of fiddler enthusiasts are putting together A Fiddle Feast to be held in Regina on Jan. 30. Those performing include the talented Troy MacGillivray, J.J. Guy, Karrnnel Sawitsky, and Gordon Stobbe.

“It’s a super star show of fiddlers and I think for the people who know who these players are, they are looking forward to the event,” says Sproule.

One of the interesting things about the show is the fiddlers performing won’t rehearse beforehand like other musicians typically do. She says it’s because fiddle music is a shared repertoire. Gordon Stobbe, a Saskatchewan fiddler living in Toronto, agrees.

“When we do a show to-

Marlene York Gordon Stobbe’s passion for the fiddle is obvious.

gether, there’s no talk of a rehearsal. We’ve played together so many times in so many ways we can do a quality show without scratching our heads.”

Stobbe has been playing with various instruments since he first picked up a guitar. Fiddling found him by accident.

While collecting instruments, Stobbe came across an old fiddle in a music store. After paying all of $10 for the instrument, he took it home, put on a tune that had a fiddle part in it, and taught himself.

“I fooled around on the fiddle and discovered something really special about this instru-

ment,” says Stobbe.

Not only does he fiddle, but he writes books for fiddlers.

Stobbe has published 20 books, his latest having come out just last week. He admits people seem to think that, because he wrote the books, he knows everything and having him at their camps is the best thing.

“Eventually I became the guy who we falsely put lots of faith in.”

Either way, Stobbe isn’t complaining about spending his summers touring Western Canadian fiddling camps. He’s grateful people want to learn and finds himself fortunate to

call them their mentor. He has taught at camps in British Columbia, Yellowknife, and Whitehorse just to name a few.

Because of these camps, Stobbe criss crosses paths with the other fiddlers performing at the feast. Both Stobbe and Sproule agree the collection of fiddlers and accompanists (Jake Charron and Daniel Koulack) are Canada’s greatest.

“These aren’t part time people who are chartered accountants…They’re full time musicians,” says Stobbe.

“In Regina I’ve got five or six women promoting the event because they love these guys,”

says Sproule.

She chose Regina as the location for the first (hopefully annual) Fiddle Feast because of the way the tours are going.

Some of the fiddlers are doing shows down in the southern part of the province before the camps. Sproule says they aren’t selling advanced tickets, but because of past sold out occasions, she has no doubt it will be a full house. The reputation these fiddlers hold knows no bounds.

Sproule says that, although a couple years ago there were shows similar to this one in Saskatoon, there haven’t been exact replicas of A Fiddle Feast before. Professional groups of fiddlers go around and there are rehearsed tours that people go on.

“This kind of cornucopia is not common, especially the unrehearsed element of it,” says Sproule. “There’s a kind of excitement of the off-the-cuff performance.”

Sproule says she started Shivering Strings in Saskatchewan and A Fiddle Feast because “there’s not enough fiddling in the world.” She calls the instrument totally Canadian.

“It really represents the bringing together of different styles and cultures which makes it uniquely Canadian in its own way.”

A Fiddle Feast will be held at the Regina Unitarian Centre starting at 7:30 p.m.

Lending artistic opportunity Get creative with the Dunlop laura billett contributor

The Dunlop Art Gallery at the Regina Public Library’s central branch is in its second year of an interactive and exciting art exhibit, the Art Bound Books Project. Inspired by The Sketchbook Library in Brooklyn, New York, the concept is simple, yet intriguing. Participants use their library card to borrow a blank sketchbook from the library, and are then given the freedom to fill it, paint it, mold it, and do whatever they wish to transfigure the book into a work of art.

The books can be cut, have objects of other media added to them, have pages taken out, be made sculptural; they can be filled and reconfigured however the artist desires. The creative options are limited solely by the need for the library bar code to be visible and by a size restriction as they are displayed in a book case. There are some themes that are suggested to encourage some sort of continuity within one book. However, they are not constricting, rather are broadly interpretable themes such as “The Dream Machine,” “Grab Bag,” and “Myself.”

Wendy Peart, Curator of

Education and Community Outreach, is excited about the project because of how accessible and unrestrictive the project is.

People have total artistic freedom with the books, and anyone with a library card is encouraged to participate. Individuals or groups can create a book, and even classrooms have submitted a collective work.

Peart explains that the goal of the project is to have anybody and everybody participate in making art. Too often, people shrug off their own artistic abilities as not good enough or worthwhile, but Peart hopes to encourage people to partake.

The Art Bound Books Project provides an opportunity for people to explore their own artistic expression. People who would never consider themselves to be an artist have a chance to create a work of art that is respected and on display for the community to appreciate.

The response to the project has been good thus far. The books on display are incredible, and it is encouraging to see the creativity and commitment of the participants. One artist painted every single page and added fold-outs to reveal a thought or quote. The artists

Gerda Osteneck Folds and Stiches, detail, sketchbook, 2013

have really devoted themselves to the project.

“Sometimes, the things that come in the sketchbook are really personal, based on things that people have gone through in their life,” says Peart.

Participants have one year from the time they sign out

the sketchbook to complete it, then must return the transformed book to the gallery where it is catalogued into the library. Once completed and catalogued, the books are not available to be signed out of the library, rather are put on display as part of the Dunlop Art

Gallery’s permanent collection.

They are shelved in an antique bookcase in the resource centre of the gallery where people are encouraged to come, sit in the comfortable armchairs, and flip through the art books.

The library is the perfect technical resource to help coordinate this type of project as it makes it easily accessible by all.

Even if you aren’t in the city and able to drop by the Dunlop Art Gallery, you can email Peart with your library card number and address, and you will be mailed a sketchbook to fill and transform as you please. The project is not even limited to Saskatchewan residents.

“I’ve had people from Alberta [participate]. In special occasions I will send it outside of the province,” says Peart. “We encourage to have people from all over the place to partake in this. We have even had professional artists do it. Some of our exhibiting artists that have come and had their shows in the gallery will leave with a sketchbook.”

The variety of books completed to date is extensive, and Peart is excited to see the project grow as it continues indefinitely.

sports

Editor: Autumn McDowell sports@carillonregina.com the carillon | January 23 - 29, 2014

Spencer Reid It bothers me when players miss free throws.

ROUNDTABLE taylor sockett, brady lang, matt wincherauk, kyle leitch, michael chmielewski

The Regina Pats are currently in the midst of a stellar season and sit fifth in the Eastern Conference. Could this be a Memorial Cup team?

With the Super Bowl quickly approaching many football fans are jumping on other team’s bandwagons. Which team are you supporting until the end?

The Cougar women’s basketball team is currently on an eleven-game winning streak.

How long can they keep the streak alive?

Sockett: No this is the Pats were talking about; give them some time they’ll be falling apart shortly. With plenty of games left to play I wouldn’t be buying the champagne just yet.

Sockett: The Broncos are going to thrash the Seahawks. I’m looking forward to Peyton Manning embarrassing Richard “the best corner in the league” Sherman. But seriously Manning is just too good.

better than Madden

Sockett: I think it will keep going till they lose.

Lang: The team is on a roll and at the CIS level, momentum is everything. The ladies have been very good for the past few years and I believe the sky is the limit for the club.

Wincherauk: I don’t see it ending for a while. Looking down the Cougars schedule, the next loss I can see happening, is when they play the Calgary Dinos, so I’ll say that they get a split when they play.

Leitch: I wish the women’s basketball team an Undertaker-at-Wrestlemania-like streak (21-0, for those of you too cool to admit you’re still into pro wrestling).

Chmielewski: I guess the best, and standard, advice is to take it one game at a time and all that. What might work better is to look back on the last eleven wins and try to dominate the next team even more.

Lang: The Pats are a very streaky team and are very unpredictable. They now have Klimchuk coming back from injury, and like I said before, the team is unpredictable. Anything can happen in the WHL. Wincherauk: I’m afraid I don’t pay much attention to the Pats, but I’d be hesitant right now.

For right now, no, let’s give it a little while longer.

Leitch: So I had to look this up.

Apparently, a team from Regina has won the Memorial Cup four times. The Roughriders have won the Grey Cup four times. I think it’s a part of the contract of every professional sports team in Saskatchewan; no one can out-championship the Roughriders. Long story short, no.

Chmielewski: Let’s hope so, although a stellar season doesn’t translate as success in the playoffs. All that matters is getting to the playoffs, and from there, in my opinion; it’s a level playing field. I think they might have a shot.

Lang: Sadly, my Niners couldn’t pull it out against those damn Seahawks. I think myself and Carillon Business Manager Shaadie Musleh will have a tough time watching Russell Wilson play in East Rutherford instead of Collin Kaepernick..

Wincherauk: I cheer for the Patriots, Patriots and Patriots.

If you’ve ever spoken with me, you know that Tom Brady is football Jesus. My heart tells me Patriots, and I’ll leave it at that.

Leitch: The Vikings didn’t make it (again), so I don’t give a damn.

I’m usually in the Super Bowl for the commercials, anyway.

Chmielewski: Well, I’m an Eagles fan, so that ain’t happening. But if I were to pick my favourite? It’s Tom Brady and the Patriots. And boy was I wrong.

The Pats may as well have not shown up. Broncos take it, then.

Team Canada’s Olympic hockey roster was announced last week. Who was left off of the roster that you feel most de-

serves a spot on the squad?

Sockett: Claude Giroux, despite him playing for my despised Flyers, Giroux is one of the best players in the league. That, combined with the fact that he’s an excellent skater, should have punched his ticket for Sochi, I don’t know what Stevie Y. was thinking.

Lang: Easy answer is Marty St. Louis, but my answer is Jarome Iginla. I know he’s older but really, no love for Iggy…

Wincherauk: It has to be tough to leave someone like Marty St. Louis off the Olympic roster.

Been around forever, and I’m sure he was one of the big time leaders on the team. He’s one of the biggest snubs.

Leitch: Wladimir Klitschko. I think if Canada sucks at hockey now, we need to bite the bullet, and hire some boxing heavyweight champion of the worldclass enforcers.

Chmielewski: Apparently Don Cherry is pissed that Brent Seabrook and Martin St.Louis didn’t make the cut. Good.

I think anything Don Cherry thinks Team Canada should do is a bad idea, and they should do the opposite.

Former UFC middle-weight champ Anderson Silva recently got his leg broken in disturbing and disgusting fashion.

He claims that he will be back

in the octagon. What do you think?

Sockett: There are two ways that Silva could be back in the octagon, one as the pre-match entertainment, the incredible rubber leg guy. Or two, and my personal favorite, Silva could apply to be one of the ring girls.

Lang: I still can’t watch that video and I believe that after a gruesome injury like that, there is no way Silva will be back.

Wincherauk: Retire Spider.

You’ve had a great career, but this is devastating, and I’m not sure his heart was going to be in it very much longer anyway.

We might see one final match to show he made it back, but that will be it, and it certainly won’t be for that Middleweight championship.

Leitch: I think he’ll be back in the Octagon in much the same way that Chuck Liddell is. Anderson Silva will make cameo appearances as a relic of the bygone era to scare the shit out of younger fighters.

Chmielewski: I wonder if he’s worked out a special deal with Metamucil or some other such product for senior citizens. Face it dude, your career is over. I really hope he doesn’t try fighting again. It’ll be a pathetic way to end an amazing career. Don’t be Brett Favre.

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the carillon | January 23 - 29, 2014

sports

Back to the mat

Car accident leaves Cougars wrestler out of the game brady lang sports writer

It’s been a long road back, but first-year Cougars wrestler Reza Mosallat is ecstatic to be back wrestling.

There was a time in Mosallat’s life when he didn’t think he would be able to get back to the thing he loves to do the most, wrestling. A little over 17 months ago, Mosallat was involved in a very serious car crash that fractured seven of his bones while breaking another, seriously threatening his wrestling career.

“I was getting off of a fifteen-hour shift when I was involved in the accident,” said Mosallat. “My car flipped seven times, I hit two poles and of the 12 air bags in my car not a single one went off; I was lucky to be alive. I had seven of my bones fractured, with my collarbone being the only bone broken.”

“The minute the car started to lose control, all I was thinking is ‘this is not normal, the car is going to flip’ I put myself back in the seat, I had my shoes and a bunch of other stuff in the back of my car and everything was flying around my car and hitting the roof. I had my eyes barely open and was knocked out for several seconds. All I can remember is my car going sideto-side and back-to-back. It was

carillonregina.com This isn’t Reza, rookies don’t get pictures.

the hardest impact I’ve had in my life, never been slammed quite like that.”

Mosallat, the product of Tehran, Iran, is just in his firstyear of wrestling at the University of Regina and started wrestling seven years before he was involved in his accident.

Mosallat said that the accident pushed him back into continuing on with his education.

“I was wrestling on the side for the past seven years with a

few high school teams and club teams in Winnipeg,” said Mosallat. “I started working right after high school and [the accident] really pushed me back into getting an education and continue on with my wrestling career.

“The recovery [from the accident] was very long and a tough process,” Mosallat said regarding his recovery. “I’m still recovering from it today and even after I’ve had my two sur-

geries to help repair my collarbone, I still have yet to have my final surgery on my collarbone.”

Mosallat finished second in his weight class at the U of R Invitational on the weekend of Jan. 12. Even though Mosallat finished second in his first tournament in nearly two years, he was still not satisfied with the way he finished.

“My expectations were to finish on top in the tournament.

Being a little bit older and ma-

ture, I was really expecting to come in first place,” he said.

“Going in with that frame of mind wasn’t the best. It’s not a matter of thinking I can be at that level, that won’t get you first place. Training hard will get you first place.”

Mosallat’s wrestling isn’t the only thing he’s brought to the University. He is also the creator of Reza Entertainment, which has brought numerous events to the Owl such as Fright Night and the ABC Too Cool for School events.

“Reza Entertainment was something I created when I moved to Regina,” he said. “I was involved in many events in Manitoba, but decided to go on my own once I got to Regina. I started it for the students at the University, giving them some live entertainment. I’m getting help from a lot of the University students as well with things such as marketing and promoting around the University. So far we’ve had two pretty good events and there will be more to come.”

Mosallat’s work ethic and drive to be the best will make him a huge force to be reckoned with in the future at the University of Regina. He will just continue to improve as the season wears on and he is definitely an athlete to watch in Cougar Athletics.

Possible rule change Is it fair that the host team gets an automatic berth? paige kreutzwieser staff writer

Hosting a national championship can be a hard task.

Alison Fisher, Program Assistant for the University of Regina Recreation Services, knows that all too well.

The U of R curling teams will be playing host to the Canadian Interuniversity Sports (CIS) national championships this March and Fisher is involved in organizing the event.

“It’s hard in it’s an extra thing added into your job description,” she said. “But at the same time we have a really good support system through our organizing committee, so a lot of the work falls to them.”

Despite the heavy schedule this year, Fisher said she is enjoying her time.

“It allows me to give back to the students that I work with everyday,” Fisher said. “And it’s a great opportunity for them.”

That “opportunity” is the CIS rule, which allows the host team an automatic berth into the championships.

Fisher thinks it’s a great thing for the home team.

“It’s a great reason for people to bid [on hosting],” she said. “But it’s also a great reward for all the work we do to see our teams compete.”

Fisher also mentioned the

Arthur Ward Championship fans are the best fans.

advantage it gives the committee to selling the event at the local level.

“In hosting the Brier or the Scotties you think ‘Oh, I hope Saskatchewan does well,’ so you can sell seats to the playoffs,” Fisher said. “Where this way our teams are there.. which if they weren’t it would make selling that championship to the community a lot harder.”

The athletes tend to feel the same way.

Skip of the U of R women’s curling team, Lorraine Schnei-

der, enjoys the fact her team is able to play in this year’s CIS championship.

“It’s finally our turn,” she said. “We finally get a spot for sure. So, we got into Westerns knowing we already have a spot.”

It is not uncommon that host teams earn their way into the championship. Take the Cougar women’s basketball team last year who hosted the national championship, but still made it there through their success during the season.

Third-year post for the

women’s basketball team, Alyssia Kajati has opinions on both sides of the debate.

In her first year as a Cougar, it was a new format she was exposed to.

“Every other sports team I had been on, you had to always win your way to nationals,” Said Kajati who admits that she is a little more indifferent to the idea. “It would be terrible hosting nationals and the home team not being in the running.

The fan base wouldn’t be as abundant and I don’t really think it would be as fun.”

Schneider also knows the down side to this as well.

Last year’s curling championship was hosted by Thompson River, and although Schneider deemed them as a decent team she still sees the unfairness.

“It’s hard because there are super good teams in CIS, and then there are teams that are just in it for fun,” Schneider explained. “If people that are in it for fun get to go anyway, you know that those top two spots are going to be taken by the best teams anyways, it does limit who can qualify.”

From a committee standpoint, allowing the host team an automatic berth can be beneficial, and for many of the home teams it can be an encouraging bonus.

“It’s a great second chance [if you didn’t win your way there], and that’s the great thing about sports. Personally, I like being the underdog. It motivates me that much more to try my best,” said Kajati.

Although the idea of the host team getting the automatic berth can be upsetting to those who don’t make it, Kajati has some good advice.

“If you were counting on the very last spot to get to nationals then I suppose you should have won more games in the year to ensure that spot.”

the carillon | January 23 - 29, 2014

sports

13

Cougar cubs growing up too fast Rookie Ryan Delwo has a promising future matt wincherauk contributor

Making the jump from high school basketball to the university level is always difficult, but former Sheldon-Williams Spartan Ryan Delwo is embracing the challenge and making the most of his opportunities.

Although it is a big jump from high school ball to the pressure of playing for a CIS university team and going up against some of the toughest competition in Canada, Delwo is handling it in stride.

“University basketball has been a different experience than other levels of basketball,” Delwo said. “You must get better every day because every other team in the league is doing the same. This is the first time I’m playing many of the opponents, so it makes preparing that much more important. We all have grown together and everyone helps each other out when we need it.”

It is always an adventure trying to acclimate to something new, and Delwo has done a good job so far of learning on the fly. Despite being a first year player, Head Coach Steve Burrows has relied on Delwo for important minutes off the bench

Haley Klassen Ryan Delwo, everyone.

and for some three-point prowess. He is averaging six points a game, but also shooting a phenomenal 41 per cent from beyond the arc.

For teammate Brendan Hebert, one of the leaders on the team, he had some high praise for Delwo and other younger

players like Travis Sylvestre, but Delwo was quick to give praise back to the veteran.

“Hebert leads by example,” Delwo stated. “He gives it his all and tries to help everyone out along the way. He is kind of the guy that you want to be like down the line in a university bas-

ketball career. He really controls the game well and hits the key shots when we need them.”

It is that leadership and ability that will help get this Cougars team over the hump, and make them a more competitive team not only this year, but in years to come, even after He-

bert has moved on.

The Cougars are just 3-15, and have been battling a season-long struggle to string wins, and consistent games together, but this should be looked at as a learning experience for the rookie.

“We knew that this season was going to bring some struggles and that made us come together through those times and grow as a team and individuals on and off the court,” Delwo said. “Because we have had so many close games, it brings hope to the rest of the season by cleaning up the little things in order to get those close games done.”

Frustratingly close losses can be hard on a team, especially one as young as the Cougars, but the players are mentally tough and have the right mindset. Instead of crumbling after a big loss, they come together as a team, focus on the next game, and move on.

It might not be the easiest transition into university sports, with a young and underachieving team, but Delwo is meeting the challenges head on, and that attitude will bolster him and the team for the rest of this season and in the coming years.

Confessions of a 49ers fan From devestation to predictions brady lang sports writer

I’m writing this article with a very heavy heart this evening.

It’s hard to come to terms with the fact that my Niners are now out of the playoffs. After last year’s disappointing loss to the Baltimore Ravens in the Super Bowl, the 49ers were given an opportunity to redeem themselves in this year’s playoffs, but did fall short against the Seattle Seahawks.

Speaking of those very same Seattle Seahawks, they breezed through the regular season as the NFC’s top seed and finished the campaign with a record of 13-3. The Seahawks boast the best defence in the NFL and after a 23-17 win at home against San Francisco; they will be headed to New York to play Peyton Manning’s Denver Broncos in the big show.

The terrifying defence that the Seahawks possess will try to stop the best offense in NFL history in Manning’s Broncos who are highlighted by star receivers Wes Welker, Demaryius Thomas, and Eric Decker along with tailback Knowshon Moreno. The team has thrown for over 5500 passing yards – Manning’s 5477 yards set the NFL single-season passing record.

Those same Broncos defeated Tom Brady and his New England Patriots last Sunday by a score of 26-16 to book their

stateofthebay.wordpress.com He scares me.

tickets to the Super Bowl as champions of the AFC. After a 13-3 season, Denver came into the postseason as the AFC’s top seed yet one could argue that the Broncos were not the definitive favourites to take home the Lombardi trophy at the end of this season.

The uncertainty came from the critics of Manning and his inability to win in the playoffs.

Manning’s career playoff record is now 10-11 after the win against New England on Sunday and he will look to improve

his record to 11-11 in two weeks time against Seattle.

Brady’s Patriots came within just 10 points of doing the unthinkable, clinching a birth in the Super Bowl. After the roughest offseason in team history, everyone wrote the Patriots off. The Pats lost Welker, tight end Rob Gronkowski was injured much of the season, and fellow tight end Aaron Hernandez was convicted of murder. In spite of all the losses, the Patriots managed to sign former St. Louis Rams receiver Danny Admendola to

somewhat fill the void of Welker’s absence. The receiver ended up 633-yards receiving while Welker finished with just 648.

The turn around that the Patriots have made is actually extremely impressive. Losing three of their top offensive players and still making the playoffs this year is something owner Robert Kraft should be extremely proud of.

With all that aside, it is the Seahawks – lead by quarterback Russell Wilson – and the Broncos – led by quarterback Peyton Manning – who will be against one another on Feb. 2 in East Rutherford for the Super Bowl.

With uncertainty about Manning’s future in the NFL swirling, we could very well see the final chapter in his historic career on Super Bowl Sunday. If this is his final game, we know that he is definitely going out on top regardless of the result in Super Bowl XLVII. I think that it is a given that this Super Bowl will definitely be entertaining. You have the high power offense of the Denver Broncos attacking the stingy defence of the Seattle Seahawks, and it promises to be a wild game from start to finish.

If I was to predict the outcome – like I have in the past with the World Series – I’d have to go with the Denver Broncos as my pick to raise the Lombardi trophy on Super Bowl Sunday.

Peyton Manning, a champion again.

Next week, the Carillon predicts Super Bowl XLVIII with a game of Madden 25.

14

the carillon | January 23 - 29, 2014

sports

Everything wrong with everything McMorris & McMorris is it kyle leitch production manager

Like, omg. It, like, totally, finally happened. There was, like, something so groady on TV that, like, I got…what’s the opposite of smart?

So, like, I’ve been eating this rank smelling tuna and drinking this swan’s blood to get my cognitive capacity past the point that’s usually reserved for the most brain-dead jackanapes! Hallelujah! It looks like my strict intelligential diet has paid off! Now I can cut McMorris & McMorris into ribbons, as it so properly deserves.

The show focuses on the brothers McMorris, Craig and Mark, whom we are all supposed to revere as the shiny golden gods of “extreme” sports. Hey, assclowns! You know what’s more impressive than sliding down a hill on an oblong airbrushed cookie sheet? Literally everything else on the whole damn planet, that’s what. I’ve talked to five-year-olds who are better spoken and more engaging than these two bronzed monkeys.

So, the two bastard offspring of Shawn White and an Oompa-Loompa try to bro up every “wacky” situation that the writers of the show imagine the brothers getting into. From

xgames.espn.go.com Party on, Mark.

doing nothing in a car, to doing nothing in the sea, to pissing around on a snow hill, to causing property damage, there’s nothing that Mark and Craig Mc-White-Loompa won’t do for fifteen fucking minutes of fame.

As if it wasn’t bad enough that these two jabronis are the next in a long list of people that get a nationally syndicated television show for doing bugger all and being arrogant shits about it, we also get cameo appear-

ances from URSU’s own “right, honourable” Mitch Simpson.

Honestly, for as much as he adds to the show, the role of Mitch Simpson could have been played by a cucumber. Actually, a casting like that would have added some desperately needed variety to the show. There’s nothing quite like watching Mitch struggle to read the crayon-scribbled cue cards that are being held just out of sight of the camera for him.

The fact that these two have a television show actually speaks to a broader problem with the world. MTV wouldn’t have this kind of a show (nor renew the prick) if they knew that people wouldn’t watch it. Hundreds upon thousands of people crowd in front of their TVs like it’s a museum exhibit and watch with reverent awe as the McMorris brothers do stupid shit, The ‘Human Thumb’ Mama June blows the ass trumpet

in church, and Phil Robertson spews hateful anti-gay rhetoric.

The problem isn’t necessarily with McMorris & McMorris.

The problem is with everyone else. Since I don’t have the ample time, energy, or lung capacity to shout at everyone else, though, a review like this will have to do. To add fuel to what has now become the raging hate fire, last production night, I had to read an article championing the antics of these two morons as “realistic television.”

I honestly don’t know why I expected more from the children of a Minister from the Saskatchewan Party. I think I’m misplacing my idealism, again.

What’s worse, is that these goons keep bringing up their prairie roots, like they’re trying to drag the whole province down with them. My heritage as a person from Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada has been cheapened.

For one of the promo commercials on their god-awful website, one of the McMorris brothers says that, “We won’t be talented and incredibly good looking forever.”

Here’s hoping that you don’t fall off of your snowboard and knock your teeth in, kid.

And Carpe YOLO makes No. Fucking. Sense!

Screw Flanders, and screw McMorris & McMorris!

Olympic dreams?

Notable players get snubbed from Team Canada what the puck? autumn mcdowell sports editor

The golden roster has been set, but a few invites were noticeably lost in the mail.

With just 15 days until the Sochi Olympics are officially underway, many Canadians are busy preparing their Captain Crosby signs and practicing their offensive yet hilarious chants to mentally break down opponents, but a few other fans are loudly stewing that their favourite players won’t be making the trip.

While narrowing down the list of top Canadian hockey players is like asking John Tortorella to control himself – impossible to say the least – it’s safe to say that no one will ever be completely happy, including myself.

While the eventual official roster was quite close to my projected one, a few names were missing, most importantly NHL 13 cover boy Claude Giroux and assist-specialist Martin St. Louis.

Hailing from my arch nemesis’ team, the Philadelphia Flyers, Giroux currently leads his team with 44 points in 49 games, including 23 points in the last 18 games. But, despite these impressive stats, hot point streak and swift skating he was not invited to wear the maple

proicehockey.about.com Bring back the old jerseys. From, everyone.

leaf on his sweater.

Possibly my favourite player in the NHL, Tampa Bay Lightning’s St. Louis, who currently has 50 points in 50 games was also left off of the roster, but his teammate who recently suffered

a broken tibia was left on. This comes as a general snub from Lightning’s General Manager Steve Yzerman, who just happens to be the Executive Director for Team Canada.

If anyone knows the playing

Narrowing down the list of top Canadian hockey players is like asking John Tortorella to control himself – impossible to say the least.

style of St. Louis, it’s Yzerman, but the decision was made to keep the 38-year-old from playing in the Olympics. Perhaps his age played a factor, but that didn’t keep Scott Neidermayer from captaining the team in 2010 at the age of 36.

But mere days after being told he wasn’t invited to the party, St. Louis showed just what type of player he is and notched four goals in a single game, causing more than just Yzerman to question his presence, or lack thereof on Team Canada.

There is perhaps only one player that has been in the dis-

cussion of every hockey fans conversation this week, Regina born player Chris Kunitz. The odd thing about Kunitz is that he actually made the team, and people are not happy about it.

Forward for the Pittsburgh Penguins, it is widely a consensus that Kunitz merely made the team as Crosby’s puppet. Sure the chemistry between the two is what caused him to eventually be named a member, but would he be there without Crosby? I doubt it.

It’s not to say that Kunitz isn’t a good hockey player. His 49 points in 48 games are quick to hush up the critics, but out of the 24 goals that he has scored this year, how many of them were easy tap-ins to Crosby’s magical set up?

Other players that fans are whining about that will be absent from Team Canada are Mr. 5.4 Jordan Eberle and one of Edmonton’s only good players Taylor Hall.

However, while fans are bitching, they need to realize that Crosby, John Tavares and Steven Stamkos also didn’t make the Olympic team on their first attempt.

At this point, these two Edmonton boys will be lucky enough to see a regular season win in the month of February, let alone an Olympic gold medal.

op-ed

Editor: Farron Ager op-ed@carillonregina.com the carillon | January 23 - 29, 2014

Sweater split This phrase has been garnering much attention in the news lately due to a girl at Balcarres Community School, the high school I graduated from in June of 2013.

I don’t think that there could be anyone else out there who could actually understand Balcarres Community School other than a former student.

The demographics of the school are about 65% Aboriginal students while the Caucasian population at the school is much in the minority. The thing about Balcarres Community School is that we are a very tight-knit group. All races are put together and students and staff are very comfortable with each other, yet this report from the media construed what the school has been preaching and practicing for many years: working together.

Personally, I’ve seen these sweaters around school daily in the last two years. It really never bothered me, but I knew that other students didn’t exactly agree with the wording on the sweaters. “Thank an Indian” was the phrase that set everyone off.

First of all, Indian is a derogatory term and I don’t believe it should have been used on the sweater, yet the context of the phrase wouldn’t have made the same impact if the sweaters sported “Thank an Aboriginal.”

To further the point, the sweater wearer in question said “[w]e were taught Indians were on this land first, so why are people offended?” to CBC in an interview.

The treaties have also been

The clientele at the school is very mixed, yet Balcarres Community School has been able to look past differences in recent years and begin to work together, seeing through colour rather than judging based on race or ethnicity.

Balcarres Community School has done wonders for their students in recent memory with really setting a standard as the school that doesn’t see colour and works together as equals. In the past few years, the students in the school have done numerous projects including writing a book, interviewing and creating posters for positive Aboriginal role models within the community, and, this year, introducing a book on treaties written by the students.

I’ve seen firsthand what has gone on in this school and it killed me hearing all of the negative talk coming from my old school in the past week. It has upset me and this story has blown up just because of the context of that very same story. Take it from someone that knows: this isn’t who the school really is. Are we really going to be split apart because of something a sweater says?

Farron Ager

understood to say that the land

So, what sparked the sweater

The student was told she

was to be equally shared, not

that garnered all of the atten-

could not wear the sweater at

owned outright by either side.

tion and controversy last week?

school anymore.

So, what sparked the sweater that garnered all of the attention and controversy last week? The student was told she could not wear the sweater at school anymore.

brady lang sports writer

Bringing back the board game I was at a friend’s house, teaching them how to play a board game I picked up roughly six months ago, “Betrayal at House on the Hill”. Essentially, the game has six players exploring a haunted house, uncovering tiles until some bad mojo goes down and someone is revealed to be the haunter, the antagonist trying to kill off the remaining players. With fifty different scenarios, the game has an incredible replay value with which even many modern video games would find difficult to compete.

One of the people at the table exclaimed that he tried to buy a copy of the game for himself, but it was sold out everywhere. I mean, everywhere.

And anywhere that does have it is selling it at extortionate prices. At the time of printing, I found two vendors who are attempting to sell the game, $50 when I picked it up, for double the price. My jaw figuratively hit the floor. Why the steep price?

Surely to goodness the game didn’t sell so terribly that they stopped production of it altogether, leaving whoever was fortunate to have a copy to sit on a

small fortune.

It was then that someone pointed out to me that the game was featured on the popular Youtube video series Tabletop, hosted by Wil Wheaton, about three months ago. The series revolves around Wheaton and a gamut of individuals playing an equally wide variety of board games. When it’s described as “Celebrity Poker meets Dinner for Five, where interesting people got together for tabletop games,” it’s not hard to see why the show has been received fairly well.

In watching their two-part play-though of Betrayal, I began to entertain the notion that maybe people were actually starting to take an interest in this game.

A quick visit to my local comic book shop revealed to me that it was, in fact, sold out, but also a promise that more would be on the way after they’re finished being produced.

I don’t think I was ever so excited for out-of-stock product before.

If you had told me a few years ago if I were a) going to be playing board games on a

LordoftheBoard

regular basis and b) that board games would get the amount of attention that they have now, I would have laughed at you quite liberally for some time. And, yet, look at where we are now.

For me, this is a truly phenomenal thing to see: people

actually pulling themselves away from television screens and computer monitors to sit around with a group of their friends/associates/what-haveyou to be social and, more importantly, to have fun.

Nowadays, I regularly find myself playing one board game

or another on a weekly basis.

The best part is that there are also plenty of outlets and avenues for prospective players to explore. The SaskGames.com website offers people a chance to see what events are happening around the province, many of which are happy to welcome new players. The other awesome bit? There are really board games to suit every kind of person. I can guarantee you that, due to the expansive variety of board games out there, you’ll find at least one you like. If you can’t find a single game you like, then you can write some hate mail to me.

So give board games a chance if you haven’t already, and see what you’ve been missing out on. I still have my video games, sure, but they can always wait another night if a couple people want to have an evening of board games.

farron ager op-ed editor

16

the carillon | January 23 - 29, 2014

op-ed

Is anybody listening?

Neil Young has stirred up an incredible storm of talk and rhetoric with his four-concert tour across Canada. The amazing amount of TV time, column space, and radio rants generated by four little concerts has been filled with opinions from just about every aspect you could conceive of in the debate about oilsands, economic development, and the role of celebrities in social issues. Yet, I would rather call your attention to a simple detail that has been virtually ignored in all the major media: The name of the tour is “Honour the Treaties.”

Why this title? It comes down to a rather frightening part of the entire situation that should be bothering more than just the Indigenous people who live near the Athabasca oil sands. It comes down to how corporations, and the governments who are meant to regulate and protect its citizens, deal with the duty to consult. Duty to consult is more than just making sure everyone gets a fat cheque if something inconveniences them. The duty to consult is to make sure everyone who is directly affected by any project is a part of the decision making process, and let’s be honest,

ignored. The government, and the people it allows to develop its resources, are meant to be in partnership with the First Nations when it develops these resources.

This isn’t about if or when resources are developed, it’s the manner in which they are developed. It’s a matter of realigning perspectives and making sure that all the partners that were involved in the creation of Canada benefit from the resources we are all supposed to share.

Instead the government allows corporations to run roughshod over any and all partners for their own profit. The lawsuit to stop the development is not about refusing oil sands usage, instead it is about ensuring that all benefits and problems are shared by all the partners, including the wider Canadian public.

Matthew Harris

that is not how corporations go about it. When you look at the legal suit to stop the development, it’s pretty obvious that the developer came in, made lots of big promises about money and prosperity, then said ‘Like it and get paid, don’t like it and suffer anyways because we’re going to do it.’ This is the crux

of the problem that the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation has brought forward in their legal opposition to the oil sands development.

And that’s not to mention the fact that a part of the treaties lays out how the government of Canada was meant to lay aside the money it received as a part

Big Brother State To those who value a reasonable expectation of privacy, these words ought to scare the hell out of you; “no expectation of privacy.”

This is what the U.S. State Department has said to individuals planning to attend the upcoming Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia. Two prominent Russian journalists have revealed that the upcoming games will possess the most intensive surveillance measures ever seen at the Olympics. These measures include Deep Packet Inspection technology that will be installed on WiFi networks at Sochi, allowing Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) to have total access to communications. Other measures include monitor drones and closed circuit televisions.

Of course, creeping surveillance should be contextualized with recent events in Russia. On Dec. 29 and 30, 2013, the city of Volgograd was rocked by two despicable and horrendous acts of terrorism that killed 34 people and injured dozens more. The perpetrators appear to have been motivated by Doku Umarov, leader of the Caucasian Emirate, which seeks the establishment of an Islamic state in the Caucasus. Indeed, terrorism has been problematic in Russia, since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

While the slaughter of civilians and acts of terrorism are vile and there is a context for heightened security, great care should be taken so the rights of individuals are not trampled by an intrusive state security apparatus. At Sochi, WiFi and communications networks must have surveillance software built into them so the FSB can intercept emails and monitor key words of people with any WiFi device at Sochi. Not only that, but they’re storing the data for three years. The US state depart-

ment has warned business people that trade secrets could be compromised.

Gay rights activists should prepare to be pulled aside by FSB thugs.

It’s easy to promote security in times of uncertainty and times of constant imminent threats. What’s not easy is asking when security measures become too invasive and when we start to scale back. It’s worrisome because it’s not just Russia upping surveillance.

Edward Snowden fled the U.S. and received asylum (ironically) in Russia. In 2012, many Canadians had a row with the Tories over “lawful access” provisions that would allow law enforcement to eavesdrop on Canadians Internet usage.

Why is this problematic? How can there be change and critical discussions in society if an entire apparatus is monitoring communications? Some souls may be brave enough to speak out, but many will be scared silent. Why speak out if a government or an employer can cut off your livelihood for holding a certain political view or advocating different economic views? A discussion about increasing security and its consequences are long overdue, both in Russia and in North America.

liam fitz-gerald contributor

of resource development to pay for the promises, mostly broken, that lay within the same treaties.

The secession of the land was meant to create a partnership between First Nations and the Crown that both would benefit from. That is the one issue, the issue central to the whole name of the tour, which is being

richard jensen contributor

Plus-sized bullshit Two weeks ago, Cosmopolitan magazine posted a link on their Facebook page to a photo shoot of Australian supermodel Robyn Lawley, whom they referred to as “sexy,” but also as “plus-size.” What followed was an outpouring of indignation

by Facebook users, who took umbrage with the term, leaving hundreds of comments chiding the magazine for labeling Lawley, a healthy size ten, as “plus-size.”

Clearly realizing their misstep, the magazine has consequently removed both the post and article, and a more recent piece describes the model as “the obviously not ‘plus-size’ Lawely in all her curvy gorgeousness.”

I wish I could say that I believed that this shift was for morally upstanding reasons rather than financial ones, but the fact that it took thousands of indignant commenters to make Cosmo realise the problem with the designation of “plussize” indicates that there is still a way to go in discourse around body acceptance and the female body.

To my mind, the designation of “plus-size” is a troubling one. The official definition refers to any model who is anything above a size 8. The disparity between this and the real-life bodies of human women doesn’t need to be remarked upon; it’s clearly delusional. Even just the chosen word, “plus,” suggests that there is more to a such a woman than she ought to, that she is taking up more space than she has right to. It sends a message to the women of the world. It reinforces the parameters of a very limited, even tyrannical, beauty ideal and marginalizes anyone who falls outside of them. It doesn’t matter that bodies are diverse; if you’re pearshaped, or busty, or have meaty thighs, you’re “plus-size.” You’re other.

Furthermore, many Facebook users were quick to point out that Lawley was beautiful, and not fat, because natural-

ly she could not be the former if she were the latter. The deeply engrained correlation between size and beauty, and therefore value, shows itself in the subtleties of the language we use in discussing these issues. The haste for Cosmo to point out that Lawley isn’t fat shows us how fat continues to be a dirty word. What thing worse, we’re reminded, is there for a woman to be?

Much of the responsibility falls with the media. A magazine, like Cosmo, that publishes articles such as “Why the Thigh Gap Obsession Needs to Stop Immediately,” but also devotes entire sections reminding readers about ways in which their bodies are wrong and ways to alter, shape and fix them, ties a woman’s value to her size every day.

But the responsibility also lies with the individual, and the way we perceive and interact with one another’s bodies. Perhaps it’s time that that the term “plussize” is eradicated altogether, for everyone’s sake.

sonia stanger contributor

the carillon | January 23 - 29, 2014

op-ed

17

Smarten up!

Julia Dima

How many hours do you spend on your phone a day? If you say under eight hours, then you are apparently not “the average Canadian.”

According to a recent poll of 2,058 Canadians, respondents spent an average of 7.9 hours a

day on their smart phones.

But what significance does this really have? Who cares that the average Canadian spends roughly eight hours a day glued to their screens?

Well, here are a couple reasons:

Do you not remember your mother ever telling you your eyes would burn out if you stared at the TV for too long? Ok, your eyes may not have burned out yet, but never say never.

Need another reason why this time allotment is a bad idea? Well, have you ever heard of carpal tunnel?

On a more serious note: when people complain that children of today aren’t creative and need to have more imagination how about we start setting a better example? Before you blame the innocent, know that you may actually be the pot calling the kettle black.

This statistic should also send huge warning signs to employers. When someone is spending roughly the equivalent of an average workday on their phones, you may want to review your work protocols.

What worries me the most is the danger factor. People walking down the hallways with their heads down are a huge safety hazard and, sadly, from time to time I am one of them.

What I cannot tolerate is people not focusing behind the wheel.

If this survey by Harris-Decima is correct in saying 42 per cent of the respondents admitted to keeping their phone within reach for 90 to 100 percent of the day, that means only half of smart phone users are watching the road.

I didn’t always care this way, but one look at the United Kingdom PSA Texting While Driving ad would probably change your mind as well.

I’m not asking everyone to get rid of his or her phone, but I am asking for you to take a second and realize how much you use it.

Our world functions on instant communication, and it is hard to not have your devices with you – but your relationships will thank you.

If we learned to communicate with voice instead of text, if we learned to focus on where we are walking and not on our screens, if we spent less time on our smart phones and more time in person with people than this world might be a more creative place.

A final thought to let you think about: when was the last time you cleaned your phone’s screen? Let that one sink in.

paige kreutzwieser staff writer

It’s only the Golden Globes So, the 71st Annual Golden Globes just aired last Sunday, and man was I ecstatic to see Matthew McConaughey win Best Dramatic Film Actor for his portrayal of Ron Woodruf, a homophobic and racist electrician who is zealous in his efforts to find unconventional treatments after being diagnosed as H.I.V positive, in the movie Dallas Buyers Club. Jared Leto bagged the movie a double when he won Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Rayon, an AIDS positive transgender woman that strikes an unlikely partnership with Woodruff.

Both actors truly deserved those awards. Matthew McConaughey supposedly lost a whopping 45 pounds for the role of Woodruff. Hats off to Mr. McConaughey for not only pushing method acting to its limits, but also producing a mind blowing

performance of a powerless man fighting the bitter perils of his mortality. Jared Leto also underwent minor body modification, waxing, which wasn’t received well by critics for pointing that out during his acceptance speech. Jared Leto, was accused of being homophobic.

In Jared Leto’s defense I felt that he was extremely nervous and unprepared, he clearly was winging it. Besides, why would an actor take the role of a transgender person, if he were homophobic?

12 Years a Slave, on the other hand, deservedly won the biggest honor of the night by winning Best Motion Picture (Drama). However, I was disappointed to see Lupita N’yongo not winning Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role.

Breaking Bad also bagged a

double at the globes by winning Best Television Series and also for Bryan Cranston’s earth-shattering characterization of Walter White, the high school teacher turned Meth Kingpin. Robin Wright won best performance by an actress in a television series for her unflinching role as Clair Underwood, the wife of a powerful U.S congressman in the show House of Cards.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine surprised many by winning Best Television Series (Comedy or Musical) and Andy Samberg winning Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series (Comedy or Musical). It might have just been beginners luck for Brooklyn Nine-Nine because I swear Jim Parsons from the Big Bang Theory and the show Modern Family stood a fighting chance for those awards.

Last but not least, I felt that

Zach Almond

Jon Voight from Ray Donovan robbed Corey Stoll from the House of Cards of his Golden Globe as Stoll executed a mesmerizing depiction of an alcoholic congressman. However, it’s only the Golden Globes, and I quote Ricky Gervais, “The Gold-

en Globes is just like the Oscars, just without the esteem.” Man, I missed Ricky Gervais hosting the Globes; I hope they call him back one last time.

Every new spacefaring rocket is an example of “how advanced society is.” What about our ability to use technology responsibly? To think responsibly?

Where does that fit into how advanced our society is?

Kalashnikov was blindsided by guilt because he envisioned glorious Soviet troops using the AK-47 to defend his homeland; what he got was child soldiers, genocide, and Call of Duty. Einstein envisioned relativity, he got the atomic bomb.

I’m not arguing against technological innovation. Indeed, technology is the only solution to many of our most challenging problems, but even the most “advanced” nations are still rife with homophobia, racism, sexism, and classism. In terms of age, these ideas are medieval.

When was the last time you used a medieval piece of tech-

nology?

Conversely, almost everyone in the world could be found guilty of engaging in the aforementioned “medieval thoughts.” Many people still murder, rape, exclude, bomb, fight, yell, and judge.

We are a race poisoned by archaic thoughts, clutching the triggers of nuclear weapons.

This needs to change. We need to include gains in morality, ethics, empathy, and human understanding in our perceptions of an advancing society.

It’s unacceptable to create technology that has the potential to destroy the world, only to regret it after the Earth begins to burn.

We need to take a break on the gadgets, and start advancing our people.

ravinesh sakaran contributor

Advanced Thinking

Simon Fuh

Mikhail Kalashnikov, the creator of the infamous AK-47 assault rifle, died last month.

The AK-47 was one of the most culturally significant weapons in history. It’s the choice of guerrilla fighters and trained soldiers the world over, it’s remarkably light, rarely jams, and can cost as little as $200 in mar-

kets like Africa and the Middle East.

The gun is so simple, children can learn to assemble, shoot, and clean it in under one hour. The average 12-year-old can carry it, even while extremely fatigued.

Over 100 million AK-47s are in use today. Droves of military

analysts speculate it has killed more people than any weapon on Earth.

In a letter published by Russian daily Izvestia, Kalashnikov seemed tortured by regret.

“The pain on my soul is unbearable,” he wrote. “If my assault rifle took people’s lives, it means that I … am responsible for people’s deaths.”

He never intended for his gun to end up in the hands of children, he invented it as a “weapon to protect the Soviet Union.”

He was likely motivated by the thrill of creating the best machine he could, and he was handsomely praised for his achievement by Soviet politicians.

This illustrates a problem in our global society: we blindly drool over advancing technology, and gloss over our moral and ethical deficiencies.

dietrich neu contributor

humour

the carillon | January 23 - 29, 2014

What shall we do with an English Major Sung to the tune of Drunken Sailor

CHORUS

An excerpt from Drinking Songs of the Academy

Write all over your first edition (x3) In between his classes!

What shall we do with an English Major? (x3) In between his classes?

CHORUS

CHORUS: Way hay and loud he rages (x3) In between his classes!

Say that administration’s fine and dandy (x3) In between his classes!

CHORUS

Promise him a job in communications (x3) In between his classes!

That’s what we do with an English Major (x3) In between his classes!

CHORUS Spell everything you can all wrongly (x3) In between his classes!

CHORUS Always leave your modifiers dangling (x3) In between his classes!

Gustav Dore

CHORUS

CHORUS

CHORUS

Always switch up your tenses in writing (x3) In between his classes!

Tell him how much you really hate Shakespeare (x3) In between his classes!

Use Wikipedia as your own sources (x3) In between his classes!

farron ager

headmaster of the academy

Shit the Carillon says More actual conversations from your friendly neighbourhood newspaper fucked.

You better be careful of what you say, otherwise you’re going to get punched in the head by a tall girl.

Of course I got “randomly” selected to be frisked at the airport.

A Belgian bar in the Edmonton airport?! Fuckin’ A. You snore.

No I don’t. I had my head between my pillows all night.

I don’t feel like my life has been enriched for now knowing that fact.

Give a man a fish and you will feed him for a day. Give a man a poisoned fish and you will feed him for a lifetime.

The problems you have pale in comparison the problems you caused me.

I’m pretty sure they’ve got a picture of you up in that shop because of the story you just told me.

I didn’t know you could draw, Farron.

Neither did I. Replacing my boots was the best thing I did in Edmonton.

Just sayin’.

What’s up with the creepy guy in those terrible songs like Friday, Thanksgiving, and Chinese Food, who just parties with clearly preteens. Shouldn’t law enforcement be on that?

I think the Iron Sheik will make a great addition to the office.

Gustav Dore

Once again, production night plagues us all like that last bout of syphilis we can never seem to shake. And, once again, all we need to do is to have one of our editors take notes of the conversations that go on behind closed doors in the wee hours of the morning. Enjoy our verbal masturbation with “Shit the Carillon says”: Regarding the slippery slope of adding truck nuts to your pickup:

“This is how dicks get onto trucks.”

Sometimes this place feels reputable with the CBC running in the background. CBC I-Team!

On generating content for the issue: You give me a ruler, a pack of crayons, and a laundry marker and I give you art!

I need another drink. From my time in Edmonton for NASH,

I’m pretty sure my body is conditioned to expect liquor every 8 hours.

“So some newspaper in the prairies wrote an article responding to another article. I didn’t get it.

Why did it make the CUP wire” – Someone in Edmonton.

That was our paper.

On smoking habits: I used to make Hitchens look like a nonsmoker.

One staff member: Denny’s was a great idea!

Another staff member: Denny’s was an awful idea!

Reading a pizza menu: Campania tomato sauce, fior-dilatte, Italian ham, and crushed pineapple. That’s a goddamn Hawaiian pizza. That’s just like calling your bacon twicesmoked or your waffles thrice-

I will break you so bad that none of the king’s horses, nor the king’s men, nor Humpty fucking Dumpty, the grandmaster of all fuck-ups, will be able to put you back together again.

the staff

graphics THE CARILLON SELLS OUT! Pictured below, the Carillonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s editor-in-chief with right-wing political pundit Ezra Levant.* Below that, the immediate response from the Carillonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dear readership. *Mr. Chmielewski would like to point out that, although this was a fun photo op, his views, nor the views of the Carillon have changed.

Editor: Emily Wright graphics@carillonregina.com the carillon | January 23 - 29, 2014

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the carillon | January 23 - 29, 2014