Issue 03

Welcome back

the carillon The University of Regina Students’ Newspaper since 1962

Sept. 6 - 12, 2012 | Volume 55, Issue 3 | carillonregina.com

cover Welcome back to another glorious and fun-filled year of working towards a degree that really matters in the world for a reasonably low tuition cost!

We’re assuming your soul feels like a little girl crying as you embark on a fresh school year.

Hopefully, the first Carillon of the year can provide you with some warm and fuzzies.

the staff editor-in-chief

dietrich neu editor@carillonregina.com business manager shaadie musleh business@carillonregina.com production manager julia dima production@carillonregina.com copy editor michelle jones copyeditor@carillonregina.com news editor taouba khelifa news@carillonregina.com a&c editor paul bogdan aandc@carillonregina.com sports editor autumn mcdowell sports@carillonregina.com op-ed editor edward dodd op-ed@carillonregina.com visual editor arthur ward graphics@carillonregina.com ad manager neil adams advertising@carillonregina.com technical coordinator jonathan hamelin technical@carillonregina.com news writer

a&c writer sports writer photographers olivia mason jordan palmer marc messett

kristen mcewan sophie long kyle leitch braden dupuis

tenielle bogdan emily wright

contributors this week kent peterson todd blyth colton hodichuk jhett folk britton gray kris klein

the paper THE CARILLON BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Dietrich Neu, Kent Peterson, Anna Weber, Waldo (Seriously, where are you?)

227 Riddell Centre University of Regina - 3737 Wascana Parkway Regina, SK, Canada, S4S 0A2 www.carillonregina.com Ph: (306) 586-8867 Fax: (306) 586-7422 Printed by Transcontinental Publishing Inc., Saskatoon

The Carillon welcomes contributions to its pages.

Correspondence can be mailed, e-mailed, 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 then 350 words and may be edited for space, clarity, accuracy and vulgarity.

The Carillon is a wholly autonomous organization with no affiliation with the University of Regina Students’ Union.

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 corporation.

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 bell tower 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 bell tower.

The University never got a bell tower, 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.

arts & culture

news

sustainable eating

4

more bad UR puns

6

Three U of R students are organizing Regina’s first Field 2 Fork Festival. Organizers believe that agriculture and food play a significant role in Saskatchewan specifically, and they are hoping Field 2 Fork will help to preserve food culture in the province.

There was a time when making friends in the real world was a thing, but that time is long past. Thankfully, URconnecting.com will pair random UofR students together and let them get to know each other in the only way we know how: texting.

sports

op-ed

12

riders blow

Remember the days when the Roughriders actually made clutch plays in the fourth quarter to win instead of letting their lead slip through their butterfingers? They started off September with a bang, but the Riders absolutely blew during August.

photos news RPIRG a&c Arthur Ward sports Mike Smith

op-ed Arthur Ward cover Julia Dima

regressive progressives

14

Can the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party be proactive in provincial politics anymore?

Rather than scolding the Sask Party for huge budget cuts, the NDP should be proactively acvocating the expansion of important government run programs.

news

News Editor: Taouba Khelifa news@carillonregina.com the carillon | Sept. 6 - 12, 2012

Dis-Orientating Welcome Week New welcome week event aims to engage students on social issues sophie long news writer The first week of university across Canada means one thing for new students – countless events and seminars to attend while becoming accustomed to the university life. The University of Regina has done the same and this year there is the usual dichotomy of events. First, there are the orientation seminars, which tell new and old students all of the necessary things for surviving at the U of R. Second, there are the welcome week activities organized by URSU that encourage you to relax, have a beer, and pie your professor in the face.

These two types of activities tend to contradict one another.

The orientation seminars give new students sage pieces of advice, warning that texting during class is rude, procrastinating is bad, and that university is much harder than high school. The welcome week parties tell students that the University of Regina is a place for meeting people, having a few drinks, and partying like you’re still in high school.

However, this year there is an alternative that bridges the gap between these two ideas. The

RPIRG

Regina Public Interest Research Group (RPIRG ) is hosting its own Welcome Week events under the name Dis-Orientation. RPIRG has organized two events that balance the fun atmosphere of welcome week with the more somber introduction to university life. These events offer a public forum for discussing social issues, but keep things light.

Halena Seiferling, the events coordinator at RPIRG, explained the reasons behind DisOrientation, saying “Other PIRG’s across Canada already do this event, and it’s a play on words because as opposed to orientation we are just talking about changing up the way you see your school, and the things you can engage in on your university campus, especially in the first week of school.

Students can see other options of what they can get into, and get ideas for what they can get involved in.”

Changing the way students see the university and how it can work for them is the key to DisOrientation. The University of Regina offers several opportunities to engage in exciting and thought-provoking events, but these are often overlooked. DisOrientation focuses on the alternatives available for students.

“I would like for students to see the social and environmental justice opportunities that they can get engaged in here on campus – not that we offer all of those opportunities – but I think it’s a good chance for students to get interested and involved in things even in the first week,” commented Seiferling.

RPIRG’s Dis-Orientation consists of two events: a movie night and a cycling celebration.

“Both events aren’t too radical or anything, but it’s a good way to start the conversation and put these things into people’s minds” Seiferling explained.

The alternative movie night on Thursday September 6 is a double feature of two documentaries. The first is about the privatization of water, which will be followed by a presentation by URSU’s bottle-free water campaign. The second is a movie documenting John Lennon’s quest for peace. Seiferling explained the incentives for students, as well.

“We’re working with resident services, and they’re providing a documentary and fair trade prize pack, and there’ll be popcorn and drinks” she said.

The Cycling Celebration is taking place on Friday September 7, outside the Riddell Center, and aims to build and connect the cycling community on campus.

“There’ll be mechanics there doing workshops throughout the day [and] there’ll be a few different organizations there too,” Seiferling explained. “Also, Regina transit is bringing a bus to demonstrate how to use the bike rack on the front.”

Students will also be able to license their bikes with the city of Regina, and Nature’s Best will have a bike-powered smoothie machine at the event.

“I think URSU does a really fantastic job providing lots of fun things for students to do and getting them excited about the U of R,” Seiferling said. “But [the DisOrientation event] will add on more of a justice focus.”

This year’s first ever DisOrientation will focus on issues that affect Regina on a local and global scale. The event isn’t just about getting ready for class, but it hopes to challenge students to learn and take action while making friends.

For more information on the DisOrientation events students can visit RPIRG’s facebook page.

A Bike Ride Through The City Riding through the city can be dizzying for many people sophie long news writer On Friday, September 7, the Regina Public Interest Research Group (RPIRG) on campus will be hosting a Cycling Celebration as part of their Dis-Orientation Welcome Week activities. The event hopes to open up the conversation on cycling accessibility in Regina, encouraging it as a viable method of transportation – both for protecting the environment and promoting physical activity.

However, with Regina’s small roads, limited bike paths and unstable climate, this can be a struggle for some.

These are all factors that David MacNeil, a university student and member of the Wascana Freewheelers cycling club, has had to deal with. He cycles no matter what the weather, both competitively and recreationally.

One of the biggest issues for MacNeil is the accessibility for cyclists throughout the city.

“Some roads are better than others, and some are best avoided altogether, if possible,” he said.

“My biggest complaint would be roads that have no shoulder at all, and unfortunately the city keeps on building them. After a while you start to find the best routes and little shortcuts.”

Although the city has con-

structed a few bicycle paths around the city, the biggest problem seems to be the lack of these pathways on some streets. Many of the smaller streets in Regina don’t have bike lanes, and this becomes more of a struggle throughout the winter. Even if cyclists have prepared their bikes for the winter months, the streets are not always cleaned, providing little to no space for bikes to fit through.

This is something that Sharla Cote, a Project Engineer at the City of Regina, is aware of.

“The climate definitely plays a role in terms of maintenance,” Cote said. “With the on-street routes, we are lucky in that the streets that there are bike lanes on are, for the most part, higher priority locations for snow maintenance. They tend to be category one and two for snow removal and maintenance, but we’re not quite there in terms of making cycling routes a high priority if they’re not on arterial roads.”

Cyclists in Regina have fewer options in the winter, and unfortunately the city has not been able to find a resolution to this problem.

Aside from limited space in the winter, cyclists like Jeremy Beaurivage, a third-year science student at the University of Regina, finds the pathways quite accessible.

“Regina is a nice sized city with many bike paths and thus [biking] is almost as fast as driv-

ing for the most part,” he said.

However, MacNeil disagrees.

He finds the pathways hard to navigate.

“For people who ride quickly it is easier and more safe to stay on the road,” he said. “The pathways have many turns with obstructed views and 90 degree blind corners. People walking, jogging and with dogs can also do unexpected things, so I try to stay off the path.”

Despite its many benefits, cycling can be dangerous. One Regina resident, Kane Coneghan says he has been hit by a car four times cycling in Regina.

“Twice it was after being waved to cross, always at an intersection” he said.

MacNeil has had problems with this too, saying “The few close calls I've had were the result of driver inattentiveness rather than malice. When riding, you need to keep a very close eye on drivers approaching from the right. Drivers almost universally roll stop signs when making right turns. This has resulted in me getting cut off many times and nearly sideswiped twice. Many drivers also do not stop behind the curb, so it is better to ride closer to the left side of the curb lane.”

MacNeil also explained that several cyclists in Regina use an interactive map to point out problem areas and places that are easier to cycle.

Although drivers aren’t al-

ways aware of cyclists, the city has not taken on the responsibility of educating drivers or cyclists.

“Currently the city does not take on that role. Some cycler organizations take on that education role,” Cote said. “Basically,

“ Some roads are better than others, and some are best avoided altogether, if possible. My biggest complaint would be roads that have no shoulder at all, and unfortunately the city keeps on building them…”

David MacNeil what we offer are traffic bylaws and rules of the road. From time to time, if we implement a new bike way we’ll take the opportunity to say ‘Don’t forget, this is how you use this’, but we mostly leave it up to the community organizations.”

While biking is not always safe or easy, many citizens and students in Regina choose to cycle. RPIRG’s Cycling Celebration aims to encourage cycling as an option for students by organizing free service demos and working with cycling groups.

“The campus has a master plan for the next five years with all these beautiful bike paths all around campus and I hope that’s happening,” said Halena Seiferling, events coordinator at RPIRG. “We need more bike lanes getting here too, but that’s another story.”

Unfortunately, Cote at the City of Regina has said that there won’t be any plans for additional development of bike lanes or multi-use pathways in the next few years.

“In the near future we’re holding off,” Cote said. “In 2013, you won’t see anything for on street routes or multi-use pathways, except for maybe multi-use pathways in new neighbourhoods implemented by the developer.”

However, if the discussion on cycling is opened up among students in Regina, there might be some changes to the pathways and safety education. Cyclists at the University of Regina can get more information and share ideas at RPIRG’s Cycling Celebration outside the Riddell Center this Friday.

4

the carillon | Sept. 6 - 12, 2012

news

Rekindling an Old Flame Food festival in Regina tries to reconnect our relationship with food taouba khelifa news editor Food makes the world go round, and Regina is about to find out how. Three local activists and university students – Allison Doan, Kay Niedermayer, and Halena Seiferling – are organizing Regina’s first ever Field 2 Fork Festival: a four day event with a focus on celebrating and educating the community on issues relating to the food system.

The idea for the festival started in the winter semester of 2012 when the three organizers participated in the Arts Cares program offered through the Community Research Unit (CRU) at the University of Regina.

During the February reading break, the students worked with SCIC (Saskatchewan Council for International Cooperation) to plan a conference on issues affecting the global food system. Excited to turn their plan into an actual event, Regina’s Field 2 Fork was born. A sister event to be organized by SCIC called Harvest and Hunger was also established through the work of these three students. Harvest and Hunger will be hosted in Saskatoon in November.

Feild 2 Fork will run from September 19 to September 22.

The event, which will take place in Victoria Park, is open to students, children, and community members alike. Doan says the flexibility of the event to incorporate all ages and lifestyles is an added bonus to educate all.

“The overall goal of this event is to bring community members that are working with and around food and the food system together with the average citizen…and educate them,” she said. “As well as [this, getting] kids involved as young as possible, teaching them about the food they eat and how to be responsible is key to the future of our food system, as they will be the deciding factor to create the change we need to create a food secure world.”

To engage the participants in talking about the various food issues affecting Saskatchewan and the world today, the festival organizers have put together daytime and sunset workshops, activities and panel discussions featuring different experts, voices and organizations working on food issues.

“The Sunset Sessions, which will happen on the evenings of Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, will provide more of that informative side of things,” Seiferling said. “And on Saturday, the workshops are more hands-on to provide people with tangible skills like how to compost, how to preserve their food, or how to grow organically. Together, we hope that these two aspects will create citizens in Regina who want to change the food system, and moreover, who…have the skills to do that.”

Being the first festival of its kind in Regina, Field 2 Fork is more than just an event to celebrate food, or get educated about our food system. For the organizers, Field 2 Fork is about understanding what it means to eat.

RPIRG

“Eating is absolutely the most political act we do, and we do it three times (or more) a day.,” Niedermayer said. “Every time we eat, we send a message to the big players in the industrial food system, telling them that we either subscribe or reject their practices.”

Seiferling agrees.

“Food can be a really easy introductory way to get into talking about [issues]… like the global food trade, additives of genetically modified ingredients that are in our food, the rights of farmers to their land… We can talk about community gardening, or teach people how to compost, and these seem like simple enough little tasks,” she said. “But through this introduction, we can start to get at the deeper issues of the food system, and in this way it’s a really great channel to begin these conversations.”

Events and festivals that explore food issues and the global

food system have been held all over the country, and worldwide.

But, the organizers believe that having this event in Regina has an added significance.

“Historically, food has always been integral to the identity of our province. It continues to be extremely vital for our community to be engaged in the processes of our food system.,” Niedermayer explained. “Agriculture is a crucial aspect of the Saskatchewan culture.”

While many places may have lost their connection with the food they eat, Niedermayer believes Regina is still strongly holding on to its roots.

“I really believe that the people in Regina have not forgotten their connection to the production and consumption of food entirely: it’s so much a part of our culture that it’s hard to erase,” she said.

“Many of us, I believe, have a longing to reclaim food preserving techniques or to understand

“Historically, food has always been integral to the identity of our province. It continues to be extremely vital for our community to be engaged in the processes of our food system. Agriculture is a crucial aspect of the Saskatche-wan culture.”

Kay Niedermayer

our city by-laws and the deeper issues at play.”

But, fixing the broken food system goes beyond merely connecting with the food we cook and eat. To change the system, Seiferling believes we need to understand the system and its problems, and then find solutions and alternatives to the way things are done.

“The goals of [our] food system are not what they should be: providing people with healthy, nutritious food and providing all people with this food,” she said.

“Instead, the goals of this system are making a profit, which usually involves exploiting people’s labour power and exploiting the environment, and in this goal, the system is definitely succeeding.”

The organizers believe that what we need is a system that provides all people in the world

with control over where and how their food is produced. This right to self-determination, where each individual has the right to make the decision of what to eat, what to buy, what to plant, and how to grow it, is the framework for the food system the world needs.

And, the organizers say, everyone has a role to play in creating this food system – from consumers to producers.

“People are very unaware of the power they have as a consumer, if everyone became more conscious of what they eat, [and] where it comes, that alone is enough to make a shift to the sustainable food practices we need,” Doan said.

Niedermayer agrees, adding that becoming conscious of our food choices and changing our food system can be fun as well. “[You should] take time to cook a great meal and share it with friends and family more often,” she said. “Support local farmers that are growing healthy food for our community. Support the Farmers' Market. If you feel inclined, grow a garden in the summer, or some herbs on your window sill. Have conversations with your neighbours, classmates, coworkers. Host a potluck. Our relationship with our food is also so much a relationship with our community and the people that surround us.”

As a reminder, Seiferling adds that understanding the food system is about understanding ourselves, and to start building that relationship “Go be in nature for a while, and see how that makes you feel.

Our food comes from the earth, so maybe we need to remember that we, too, come from the earth.”

the carillon | Sept. 6 - 12, 2012

news

5

Regina’s Talent The Case for Human Rights at Montreal A ten year civil suit battle for justice ends with disappointment

kristen mcewen news writer

Three students of the U of R Media Production and Studies department received the chance to show their work to hundreds of people from around the world.

Iryn Tushabe, Matt Yim and Allan Roeher discovered in July that their fourthyear films were going to screen at the Montreal World Film Festival from August 23 to September 3.

Tushabe’s film “Discovery” screened on August 26 while Yim and Roeher’s film, “April Doesn’t Hurt Here” screened four times, from August 30 to September 3.

Though she was unable to attend the festival, Tushabe was thrilled to have her work screen in Montreal.

“It is quite surreal, actually, because when you make a student project the best you can hope for is that the whole class is in attendance on the day of your screening and then maybe family and friends get to see it too,” Tushabe said. “So to have my film premiere at the Montreal World Festival was very exhilarating both for me and everyone that was involved in making it.”

Yim and Roeher were able to attend the festival in person. They had the opportunity of receiving feedback about their film from complete strangers.

“It’s kind of cool sitting in a theatre in Montreal and having random people coming from around the world ... comment on your film,” Roeher said. “[Friday] night, after the film ... we were walking back to the hotel, someone who was in the audience stopped us and congratulated us on the film, it was really good. That was neat being stopped on the street.”

“April Doesn’t Hurt Here” was in the Focus on World Cinema category at the festival. The short film is “a story about a young couple who are in love and they think they might be pregnant,” Yim said.

“The film is about the emotions you go through when waiting to find out if you could be pregnant as it’s a life changing moment,” he added.

Roeher produced the film and Yim wrote, directed and acted.

Yim and Roeher’s film was also selected as one of 10 Canadian Student films which screened at the Toronto International Film Festival’s ninth annual student showcase. A DVD compilation of the films is set to be released later this year.

Tushabe’s film, “Discovery”, was in the Student Film Component category at the festival. The real time short film follows a gay couple addressing the issue of trust in their relationship.

According to Tushabe, “lingering perfume on one [of the women] sparks a tearful confrontation which ultimately leads to an even stronger bond between the couple.”

Tushabe mentioned that she is from Uganda, a country where homosexuality is illegal.

“I'm fortunate to live in a country where I can even make a film like this,” she said.

“I wouldn't even be allowed to screen my film in Uganda without facing legal action.”

Both films were originally created for the students’ final projects. The films debuted at a public screening on April 27 and 28.

Media Production and Studies department head Mark Wihak said students in the program are encouraged to submit their work in different festivals to reach audiences outside of Saskatchewan.

“As a department, we’re really proud of the work that they’ve done and we’re really happy that they’re showing the initiative to get their work out,” Wihak said.

taouba khelifa news editor

Iryn Tushabe

“It’s a lot of work to make a film and it’s almost as much work to then get the film out to audiences. And it’s great to see Matt and Allan and Iryn taking that step of getting their work to audiences.”

Tushabe, Roeher and Yim also took an extra step in asking for help from professionals in the local film industry.

Both actors in “Discovery” are professional local actors. Tushabe also received advice from a local filmmaker named Robin Schlaht who is a graduate of the film and video production program.

Yim and Roeher recruited the help of Layton Burton, a local professional director of photography.

Around the time “April Doesn’t Hurt Here” was being shot, the Saskatchewan Employment Film Tax Credit was cut.

Though the students’ films were created entirely through volunteer work, the professionals that were working for them were dealing with their own concerns about the future of the local film industry.

“It was really a bittersweet moment because the students had reached out to these professionals and it was really sad - these professionals were in this crisis,” Wihak said.

Although the tax credit cut did not affect the students’ projects, it could affect their future in the Saskatchewan film industry.

“If nothing changes, students will have to leave Saskatchewan to pursue a career in film,” Wihak said. “I’m a graduate of the program myself and when I graduated in 1980 there wasn’t really a film industry. The film industry kind of grew up in the 1990s and early 2000s and it created employment opportunities so people could actually stay in the province and build their careers. And we may be going back to what we were facing in the 1980s.”

Tushabe’s own plans for the future have been somewhat affected by the credit cut.

“Well, due to the recent credit cuts to the film industry in Saskatchewan, it is hard for anyone in the industry to find jobs here,” she said.

“Some really great filmmakers have moved but I can't move just yet because I have two small children. So I'm returning to school this fall to pursue ... journalism and I'm really looking forward to it. I'm hoping that I will be able to combine my passion for journalism and my love of making movies together and that something good will come of the combination.”

Tushabe is also hoping to make a documentary in the near future.

As for the other students, Roeher plans to further his education in England.

Yim also plans to start a new project in the future.

“The idea is to make something else but I don’t have anything ready to go yet,” he said. “With how well we’ve done with this film, this summer’s been kind of jumping from project to project and not really having time to sit down and start something new yet.”

Reuters

Rachel Corrie was killed while blocking a bulldozer from demolishing Palestinian homes After a 10 year civil suit battle, Israeli courts ruled on Tuesday August 28 that the Israeli army was not at fault for the death of American activist Rachel Corrie.

Corrie, who was 23 years old when she died, was a human rights activist for Palestinian rights. In 2003, Corrie left her home in Washington State for Rafah in Southern Gaza to join in the ground work of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM). Along with other activists in this group, Corrie worked to stop the Israeli army from demolishing Palestinian homes and destroying farms and land around the area.

On March 16, 2003 Corrie stood outside of a Palestinian family’s home in the Gaza Strip, wearing an orange high-visibility jacket, speaking into a megaphone, and blocking the path of an Israeli military bulldozer from carrying out a demolition.

Corrie was killed when the bulldozer approached the home and drove over her body.

The court has cleared the military from any responsibility for the death. Judge Oded Gershon, who gave the final verdict on the case, concluded that he rejected the lawsuit because there was no justification to demand the hold the state accountable for Corrie’s death.

“I reached the conclusion that there was no negligence on the part of the bulldozer drive…The deceased put herself into a dangerous situation, she stood in front of a giant bulldozer in a place where the operator could not see her…Her death is a result of an accident she brought upon herself,” said Gershon.

Corrie’s parents have been fighting to bring justice for their daughter since she had been killed. The Corries had only requested a symbolic $1 in damages and legal expense for the civil case, stressing that the purpose of the lawsuit was larger than compensation. Instead, the case was about understanding what happened to their daughter, and exposing the injustices of a corrupt system. Tuesday’s verdict left the

family very upset.

“We are…deeply saddened and deeply troubled by what we heard…from [Gershon]…I believe this was a bad day – not only for our family but for human rights, the rule of law, and also for the country of Israel,” said Corrie’s mother, Cindy.

Despite a verdict being reached, Corrie’s case has highlighted Israel’s grave breaches of human rights and the impunity enjoyed by the military forces.

Tom Dale, a British activist who stood only 30 feet away when Corrie was crushed shared the feeling of disappointment upon hearing the verdict, but was not shocked with the results.

“There wasn’t a great deal of surprise, unfortunately, about [the] verdict…Those of us who follow events in Israel and Palestine are aware that day-in and dayout...things are carried out by the Israeli army which ought to lead to the conviction of soldiers, but which doesn’t,” he said.

Along with the disappointed voices of Corrie’s family, friends, and human rights activists, Corrie’s family lawyer, Hussein Abu Hussein, has also accused the court of allowing impunity over accountability in the military.

“We knew…that it would be an uphill battle to find truth and justice, but we are convinced that this verdict not only distorts the strong evidence presented in court, but also contradicts fundamental principles of international law with regard to protection of human rights,” said Abu Hussein.

“In denying justice in Rachel Corrie's killing, this verdict is part of a systemic failure to hold the Israeli military accountable for continuing violations of basic human rights. Rachel…was killed while non-violently protesting home demolitions and injustice in Gaza and [the] court has given its stamp of approval to flawed and illegal practices that failed to protect civilian life.”

a&c Welcome Week

A&C Editor: Paul Boddan aandc@carillonregina.com the carillon | Sept. 6 - 12, 2012

New U of R-based social media outlet launches

URconnecting.com brings connectivity, more bad UR puns to university

Ah, Welcome Week.

Nothing says college experience like going day-drunk to class, or not going at all because watching live music and getting free food is way better.

Here’s a list of the remaining activities to fool you into thinking that this year is going to be fun and totally not a hellish mess come mid-November.

Thursday, September 6 10:30 AM Extended Orientation: Finding a Balance - ED 193 11:30 AM URSU Vendor Fair - Academic Green 11:30 AM URSU Concert on the Green - Academic Green 11:30 AM Pie Your Prof Academic Green

Arthur Ward

paul bogdan 11:30 AM URSU Charity BBQ - Academic Green 12:00 PM Beer Gardens Academic Green 1:30 PM Extended Orientation: Library Tour - Archer Library 7:00 PM RPIRG Alternative Movie Night RIC Theatre Friday, September 7 8:00 AM Presidents’ Pancake Breakfast Riddell Theatre 11:00 AM UR International’s Global Showcase - Gym 3 11:00 AM RPIRG Cycling Celebration - Riddell Centre Front Lawn 11:00 AM KHSS Beach Volleyball Tournament KHSS Courts 11:30 AM URSU Super Charity BBQ - Academic Green 12:00 PM Beer Gardens Academic Green 8:30 PM Movies on the Green - Academic Green

a&c editor Have you ever thought that you need to meet more of your fellow school mates, but you are just too shy and/or apathetic to actually go out of your way and talk to people? Well, now you can reach out and connect with other University of Regina students where you’re most comfortable: from behind your phone.

URconnecting.com matches you to a random U of R student and lets you text them. All you need to do is sign up with a valid @uregina.ca email account, and after the obligatory a/s/m (age, sex, major), you are on your way to booty calling and text bombing other U of R students.

“It didn’t seem like it’d be too hard to make, and I thought it could be kind of fun for students, like first year students and stuff like that to kind of meet people,” said creator Jordan Howlett.

URconnecting gained attention when Howlett, a fourth-year computer science major here at the U of R, posted a link to Reddit on September 2. This isn’t the first University of Regina-based social media outlet that Howlett has created, as last fall he launched the short-lived URhotURnot.org.

To get started, users sign up with their University of Regina Webmail account, and a confirmation email is sent there shortly thereafter and prompts you for your phone number, but reassures you that “no one else will ever see it” as all texts are redirected to a third party’s phone and forwarded to you. The only informa-

tion your texting partner sees is your age, sex, and area of study.

“I don’t give out anyone’s names or anything, so if they want to take that and be like, ‘Here’s my actual number if you want to text me’,” said Howlett.

Because of the website’s figurative and literal youth, it is experiencing some growing pangs.

“I’m hoping to get a few users right away to work out the bugs and stuff because it’s really hard to debug it because I have to be able to have phones texting each other ... hopefully I can get some people to try it out and report back with anything that goes wrong,” said Howlett.

And, at time of print, the site was still seemingly full of bugs that need to be fixed, mainly with getting the whole thing started.

After some tinkering around though, I was able to connect with a partner.

My excitement was shortlived though, as after a friendly

“ Hopefully, it can withstand the load or whatever for the amount of people who view it. I think it could be cool,” he said. “First-year students could meet people that way easily.”

Jordan Howlett

“ahoy”, I was sent a return message saying, “Everyone else is currently talking. You will be alerted when someone comes available!”

I was paired up with someone else, but after I told them I worked at the Carillon, my partner left the conversation, possibly still sore about The Hate Issue.

I did eventually get paired up with someone willing to chat briefly though. The anonymous fourth-year film student felt safe to meet up in the real world with someone they met on here “because it requires a U of R [sic] email to sign up” and that “[w]ith the right marketing and promotion [URconnecting] could take off”.

The anonymous texter signed off shortly thereafter, and I was then paired with Mike Clory, a fourth-year marketing student.

Clory said he joined URconnecting “[t]o meet new people around the university that I likely would not have had a chance to meet otherwise. You never know who you’ll get along with! Plus it’s a really cool idea”.

Despite past breaches of security with University of Regina websites in previous years, Howlett doesn’t feel concerned with the security of URconnecting.com.

“All passwords are going to be hashed and everything, so they’re pretty secure. If they got into my database right now, their [phone] numbers will be hashed with the password as well, so if you got into the database, you wouldn’t see them in clear text,” Howlett said. “Hopefully, it’ll be okay ... I’m not expecting anyone here will be hacking into it.”

Howlett is hoping that with the increase in student traffic to the university once classes begin will also include a corresponding increase in traffic to URconnecting.

“Hopefully, it can withstand the load or whatever for the amount of people who view it. I think it could be cool,” he said.

“First-year students could meet people that way easily.”

If the social media outlet gains enough popularity, Howlett is looking to expand it with more features.

“If it got popular enough, I have some things -- I’d like to add some features and stuff that’d be interesting,” he said. “We’ll see if it gets there.”

His ideas for expansion include being able to request to speak with students from specific faculties, or even specific classes.

“It would be nice to be able to specify who you want to talk to, like I want to talk to a random engineering student,” he said. “I think it’d be neat if you were in class and you could hashtag CS310 and you’d join a group conversation with everyone in that class and text each other.”

Right now, though, this isn’t quite reasonable, as “it doesn’t make too much sense because there’s only a few people on it.”

Maybe once things pick up, Howlett can integrate Facetime into URconnecting and things can really get like ChatRoulette.

Everyone knows watching random classmates masturbate is way better than watching random strangers.

the carillon | Sept. 6 - 12, 2012

Picked last in indie music class

a&c

Spare some change? i’m not angry kyle leitch arts writer

muzak and lyrics paul bodgan arts editor CBC’s R3-30 podcast put out a list of the top Canadian indie songs of summer on the R3-30 Fun Club Facebook page, where people voted on a list of songs, and the top ten were played on the podcast. The list was filled with great tunes, but unsurprisingly, new music from Regina was absent.

Given that Regina is now a prominent, high-profile Canadian city (I mean, we are getting a new football stadium after all), the folks at CBC surely couldn’t have forgotten or skipped over Regina while compiling the list of the best new indie music.

But, the fact that Regina may have been overlooked doesn’t mean that there was no awesome new music coming from the queen city.

Quite the opposite is true, actually.

Numerous artists from Regina released new material this summer, be it a single, EP, or full-length. Here’s a list of some of the highlights from Regina music this summer, and can go to our website, you carillonregina.com, to check out the songs.

“I Could Tell You I’m Sorry” - Rah Rah Beginning the “Best of Regina: Summer 2012” playlist is new Rah Rah. I don’t really think I need to say more.

“Last Request” - Royal Red Brigade Proof that 6/8 time was meant for more than ballads and swing tunes. Royal Red Brigade’s debut LP definitely finishes strong with this track.

“Brawlers” - Belle Plaine and the Lazy MKs That last bit wasn’t to say that slow country songs in 6/8 are a bad thing, and aside from being a good ol’ country tune, this drunkenly slow ballad tells the story of a Lazy MKs bar fight in small town Saskatchewan.

“Close Your Eyes, My Lovely” - Snake River The shimmering, reverb soaked guitars paired with Chris Sleightholm’s dry baritone vocals are just about enough to make a tumbleweed materialize in front of you.

“Don’t Be Cruel” - Devon Floyd Devon Floyd’s lyrics may not always be the cheeriest, but I’ll be damned if you’re not smiling when the chorus melody kicks in.

“In Memoriam” - Indigo Joseph Admittedly, I’ve found myself indifferent to most Indigo Joseph songs, but “In Memoriam” has a simple chord progression that really sticks with you and is definitely the most interesting Indigo Joseph song I’ve come across.

“Soiled Hands” - These Estates This technically was released this past February, but the actual release show wasn’t until this summer, so I’m counting it -especially since guitarist John Cameron basically physically assaulted an audience member with his guitar during the noise solo at the release show.

“Ex-Staffer” - Architects and Builders Closing the playlist is now defunct Architects and Builders who released their final album, The Joy of Cooking, this past August. This song probably could be swapped with anything off of The Joy of Cooking, but what’s not to love about political songs that are as catchy as they are pissed-off?

Arthur Ward

Last year, a rather innocuous petition put out by the Fine Arts Students Association (FASA) began circulating around campus. The question the petition posed was rather simple: would you, the undersigned, support a fee of twenty-five cents per student to help cover the costs of theatre productions at the university to keep them free for students? FASA has since secured the necessary number of sig-

natures necessary to hold an official referendum this fall, and what was once a harmless little hypothetical question now has the potential to set a dangerous precedent, not only at the University of Regina, but potentially in universities across Canada.

The referendum suggests an increase of twenty-five cents to student fees. This pittance is not, however, the heart of the issue.

Historically speaking, the theatre department has been one of the first to face departmental cutbacks over the past decade or so, and many students use these productions as a part of their final evaluation.

It is also not a far leap to assume that, with the funding cuts to universities promised by the Harper government, the Fine Arts’ already razor-thin budget will be reduced to nothing.

The crux of the referendum is that students are being asked to foot the bill of an underfunded department. The university has a responsibility to the students who choose to attend their institution to provide their faculty with the money sufficient for them to finish their degree programs.

The fact that the university has turned to the student’s union to essentially panhandle for supplementary funds where they have been intentionally withheld is ludicrous.

Jesse Miller, a second-year arts education student said, “I agree that we should fund the arts. I have theatre friends, and I think it’s just stupid that when budget cuts come, the fine arts are always the first to

7

face them.”

What is most troubling about an already disconcerting situation is that there seems to be no other alternative. If no action had been taken by the students’ union, the theatre department would have had no choice but to charge students to partake in university productions. These new costs would inevitably have deterred the students who would ordinarily come to these shows and, in time, it could have meant the death of the theatre department as we know it.

If indeed this motion is passed, and the quarter levy is placed on students, this opens a Pandora’s Box that the administration of this university is unlikely ready to face. This could very well be the first step in allowing every other faculty that feels hard done by to plead to the university for more funding. Not only could this trend spread like wildfire across campus, but it a successful ruling in this situation could set the standard for normative behaviour on campuses across the country.

Whether these concerns are valid or not yet remains to be determined; however, if the results of the petition are indicative of impending judgements, then things are about to change at the University of Regina.

Financial business is going to be handled very differently indeed, and it is very unlikely that such matters will ever be looked at the same way again.

8

the carillon | Sept. 6 - 12, 1012

a&c

ARTS ROUNDTABLE paul bogdan, edward dodd, colton hordichuk, julia dima this weeks roundtable What are you looking forward to the most about Welcome Week?

Hordichuck: Honestly, just getting back into the groove of school. The fourmonth summer sounds so enticing once April hits, but I find once I get into August that I get extremely lazy and do nothing. School’s a great way of keeping my work ethic at somewhat of a medium.

Dodd: I am actually most looking forward to the disorientation week set up by RPIRG; especially their movie night on Thursday. If you want the real university experience, it's probably good to get involved in some serious issues and RPIRG is the place to start.

Dima: Mostly watching first-years awkwardly dance alone on the green when they have the concerts. It's really precious.

Bogdan: Aside from the stock Welcome Week things (drinking, live music), regular social interaction.

Working as a freelancer all summer was nice, but you can only talk to yourself so much before you go insane.

What’s something you wish someone told you during your

first Welcome Week?

Hordichuck: Don’t worry about being new, and being confused about where your classes are. I actually tell most of the new university students this. Most students who have already been at the university for a few years don’t know who’s new and who’s not.

Plus, going into my 3rd year, I still can’t find half of my classes!

Dodd: I honestly wish I was told that the Carillon is super approachable and that I can write for them.

Even if you feel a little out-ofyour-league, it's a great way to meet awesome people and do important work at the university.

Dima: To skip orientation. I was such a keener.

Bogdan: You will not detriment yourself by skipping all your classes and watching concerts on the green and drinking beer all afternoon.

Do you buy your textbooks from the bookstore, or how do you go about getting them, if at all?

Hordichuck: I only buy my textbooks if I need them. If I need them, then you bet that I buy them from the bookstore! I just find that I spend so much money on textbooks, only to never read the vast majority of them.

Dodd: Last year I tried buying my books piecemeal from Amazon and the bookstore (whichever had the cheaper price) and saving something like thirty dollars, but this year I was far too lazy and just bought everything at the bookstore. And after waiting all semester for one of my textbooks from Amazon, I figured it was better to just get them this time from the bookstore.

Dima: Used Regina and Kijiji first, then I compare prices on Amazon, then I look at abebooks.ca, and then I finally give up and go to the bookstore. I am as cheap as hell.

Bogdan: I wish I could say I was smart and searched for the best price as I’m both very cheap and very broke, but I’m unfortunately lazier than I am cheap/broke, so I get them from the bookstore.

What is the easiest elective you’d recommend?

Hordichuck: For arts students, I’d recommend anything with a history background. History, anthropology, or classics, in my opinion. All of this stuff is essentially memorization, so there are no concepts or anything that should overwhelm students other than the odd essay or two.

Dodd: The easiest elective I've taken by far was Philosophy 100. It was a

Arthur Ward

great overview of Western philosophy, and if you have a creative mind and are willing to suspend the collective hallucination we call "reality" you can get really good grades for writing ridiculous things.

Dima: I don't want to say because I feel like it'd be discrediting profs, but (cough)art100(cough).

Bogdan: English 251. It’s a persuasive writing class. Take it in the spring because the workload is easy, and you get to learn how to become really good at arguing. Your friends might like you less because of it though.

What is one class you’d never recommend to anyone?

Hordichuck: You know, all of my classes that I’ve taken have been pretty interesting and I have nothing bad to say about them. I struggled with my language classes and my one economics, so if I had to pick a class it would be any one of

those.

Dodd: I would never recommend the From the Quarks to the Cosmos Physics class to anyone. While it was incredibly interesting when I could follow it, a lot of the time there were huge formulas on the screen and I had no clue what was going on. I suppose that is a lot like the real quantum physics experience - never knowing what is going on but still trying to figure it out.

Dima: Any class that RateMyProf doesn't confirm won't kill you. I've heard horror stories, but I'm prepared as fuck every year.

Bogdan: Music 121/122. Both are ear training courses which are super useful, but I really suck at sight reading music, let alone sight singing something. Most universities spread the ear-training requirements over four courses, but at the U of R you get to do everything in two courses.

the carillon | Sept. 6 - 12, 2012

a&c

9

Case of the munchies The Carillon looks at the best places to eat on campus kyle leitch arts writer Well, it’s that time of year, again: the campus comes back to life, bustling with students running late to class, professors mishandling technology, and the promise of not eating that grotesque facsimile of food that was served at the gas station beside your high school. Yes, whatever leftover money you have from books and student loans is burning a hole in your pocket, and you’ve got a case of the munchies. The “freshman fifteen” is an inevitability, so why not let the Carillon help you along on your journey to self-loathing?

With two locations at the university, it’s not difficult to make it to a Henderson’s Cafe. The “main” location is in the Riddell Center situated between the multipurpose room and the Fifth Parallel Gallery. The main draw of Henderson’s—besides some damn tasty soup—is their sandwiches. Henderson’s gives you a choice of bread, meat, and a list of veggies and condiments that may rival the near-by Subway, and asks you to turn your imagination loose. For about ten dollars, you can combine your Frankenstein sandwich with soup and a drink, making Henderson’s one of the most inexpensive and potentially healthy food choices on campus.

Soup and sandwich is great for lunch and beyond, but the university also has some relatively decent breakfast options that

Arthur Ward

FYI, this is just our editor-in-chief’s lunch. He eats like a horse. aren’t from Tim Horton’s. Fast Break is fit snugly in between the Education Building and the Kinesiology Building. Their big draw is in their name: they tend to be quicker than most made-to-order restaurants. They feature a wide range of items for your dining needs, but their pièce de résistance is their breakfast menu.

They serve breakfast sandwiches that best McDonald’s hockey puck breakfasts in every regard.

Fast Break also makes a delicious

music reviews

little breakfast platter composed of bacon, eggs, and toast. These offerings make sure that you don’t feel like you’re too far away from home, even early in the mornings!

Again, you can build a great breakfast meal here for around ten dollars.

These food offerings are all fine and well, but no food on campus can compare to that which is served in our very own friendly neighbourhood pub, The Owl. For the pittance of ten dollars (exclud-

Robert Palmer, and more, Fifteen is full of opportunities to hear some of James’s signature vocals and guitar playing on his new cuts such as the rootsy, Rolling Stones-esq, “Stone Faith”, or “I’m Diggin,” which will have your foot tapping until the three and-a-half minute jam is over.

But James isn’t all about the loud, fast rock n’ roll, as proven on “Love For Life” - a song that will really make you pay attention to the sentimental lyric work that will possibly remind you of that special someone in your life. Cue the awes.

Front to back, Colin James’s Fifteen does not disappoint. In fact, he leaves you wanting more, because with every song comes a resurrected memory that is relatable, and that’s what all music is about.

Colin James Fifteen EMI Known as a trifecta of talent for playing guitar, singing, and songwriting, Regina, Saskatchewan blues protege, Colin James, reminds us all that the genre which started a lot of the music we hear today is far from gone with his fifteenth studio album, adequately titled Fifteen.

Now, whether James is playing original material or covering songs from the likes of John Lennon,

colton hordichuk contributor

ing tax), you can procure yourself the Holy Grail of sandwiches. The Owl’s clubhouse sandwich is the most amazing food item that is sold on campus, hands down. The marble rye bread is barely able to contain the mile-high pile of turkey, capicola and pancetta that, to quote from the menu, “gives your mouth a real workout.” I could write an entire article dedicated solely to The Owl’s clubhouse sandwich, but that would probably never make it to print.

And there you have it, folks: the certified and official campus eats choices of yours truly. As you’ve just read, you can fashion yourself some pretty solid meals for around the ten dollar mark. I haven’t, however, touched on every restaurant on campus. The rest are for you to discover on your own. Happy eating.

csm a n a d a i n f e d e r a t o i n o f s t u d e n t s a s k a t c h e w a n s t u d e n t s c o a t i l o n c i h a e a j l c k s o n m o v e i a l y t o n u n d e r fi r e t h a t s p e e c h s t e p h e n h a r p e r c a n a d a i n e e l c t o i n t w t i e r t i u n e s k a n y e w e s t a lad y g a g an tp -aa n irsd ao um totu na e ru ectse se so iatln f g h a n s i t a t s e e b o l i h h cd a r e b a n k r u p t c y s w e a t e r v e s t h p i s t e r hear an album oro watch av o u c h e b a g s t h o s e a s s h e l s w h o g i e y o u t c i k e t s w h e n y o u p a r k n i t h e w r o n g p a l c e o n c a m p u s a t l h n i g s c a p t i a s i l t g a y show that you love more m c a n a d a i n f e d e r a t o i n o f s t u d e n tssm a s k a t c h e w a n s t u d e n t s c o a t i l o n c i h a e a j l c k s o n m o v e i a l y t o n u n d e r fi r e t h a t s p e e c h s t e p h e n h a r p e r c a n a than anything?

Or hate with d a i n e e l c t o i n t w t i e r t i u n e s k a n y e w e s t a la d y g a g a t p a n i a u t o t u n e r e c e s s o i n f g h a n s i t a n t a s e r s d o m e b a o l i u t s h e a t l hr the fury of a million fiery cd a r e b a n k r u p t c y s w e a t e r v e s t h p i s t e o u c h e b a g s t h o s e a s s h o e l s w h o g v i e y o u t c i k e t s w h e n y o u p a r k n i t h e w r o n g p a l c e o n c a m p u a t l h n i g s c a p t i a s i l t g a y hells?

Write as review for the m a r a i g e a n d a f a h 1 n 1 m c i h a e a j l c k sso n m o v e i a l y t o n u n d e fi r r e t h a s t p e e c h te p h e n h a r p e r c a n a d a i n e e l c t o i n t w t i Carillon! ta e r t i u n e s k a n y e w e s t a l d y g a g a t p a n i u tm otue ne re co eu ssto isn aefg h acn sirte an ta sn erk sd o b a l i h a t l h a b a rtw u tsce y s w e a t e v r e s h t p i s t e d r o u c h e b a g s Email hp oh a s s h o e l s w h o g v i e y o u t c i k e t s e n y o u p a r k n i t h e w r o n g p a l c e o n c a m p u s a t l h n i g s c a p t i a s i l t g a y m a r aandc@carillonregina.com ra ijcg a e a n d a f a a r a i g e a n d a f a h 1 n 1 m c i h a e l k s o n m o v e i a l y t o n u n d e r fi r e t h a t stp p e e c h s t e p h e n h a r p e r c a n a d a i n e e l c o ia nn tiw t i e t i r u n e s k a n y e w e s a l t d y g a g a t a u t o t u n e r e c e s s o i n a f g h a n s i t a n trtu a s e r s d o m e b a o l i u t s h e a t l h c a r e b a n k p t c y s w e a t e v r e s h t p i s t e d r o u c h e b a g s h o s e a s s h o e l s w h o g v i e y o u t c i k e t s w h e n y o u p a r k n i t h e w r o n g p a l c e o a igscaptiasiltgaymarra in gce am ndp afu asatlhn

sports

Sports Editor: Autumn McDowell sports@carillonregina.com the carillon | Sept. 6 - 12, 2012

ROUNDTABLE Someone should tell L.A. that they won the Stanley Cup this year

thepuckstopshere30.blogspot.com

most of these dudes look excited, one or two look terrifyingly maniacal. Hockey, man...

Braden Dupuis, Jhett Folk, Colton Hordichuk, Kris Klein this weeks roundtable

What was your favourite sports moment from summer 2012?

Braden Dupuis: The Olympics include like 2,000 great moments over the course of two weeks, many of which are totally inspiring and uplifting. Those aren’t my favourite moments. The best sports moments from the summer involved the internet making a hilarious massacre of the 2012 games through fails, photoshops and outright twitter mockery.

Never change, internet.

Jhett Folk: My favourite sports moment of the summer would have to be the Canucks signing of Cory Schneider. Of course, I’m a little biased here because I am a Vancouver fan, but I thought it was a rather momentous signing this off-season. The league could very well be seeing another face (Schneider) competing for a Vezina in the coming season.

Colton Hordichuk: Hands down, the Los Angeles Kings winning the Stanley Cup – if I can count this as a summer moment. The first eighth place seed to ever win the cup, Jonathon Quick with an outstanding post-season performance in net and Dustin Brown rising up as a captain after all of the trade rumors circulating around him, and many other story lines.

This team really earned their name engraved on that trophy.

Kris Klein: Favorite sports moment of the summer has to be the

Syracuse Bulldogs beating Matt Strueby and his team for the D division ASHL championship. I would like to thank all of the five fans that came out this season...

Do you think Rams quarterback Marc Mueller will be able to bounce back this year after missing last season due to a shoulder injury?

Dupuis: I predict M & M will bounce back like it’s nobody’s business. In his final year of CIS competition, he’ll channel grandpa Lancaster and break every record known to man. Or get injured in the first game, whatever.

Folk: He’s got an opportunity to not only be a ‘come out of nowhere’ star in the CIS, but also to make his team a ‘come out of nowhere’ squad. His play will strongly dictate the outcome of the Rams season this year, so if he can come out strong, the Rams could be one hell of a team to be reckoned with. As far as my opinion goes on whether he can pull it off or not, well I’d have to say I’m more than sure he can bring his A game this year.

Hordichuk: Remaining optimistic here. Any athlete can bounce back from an injury. In relation, although I’m no Marc Mueller, I dislocated my shoulder playing hockey two years ago, and this year I’ve made a full comeback, and I’m nowhere near as tough as he is. So hell, why can’t he, right?

Klein: From my understanding, this is the year the Rams need to make some noise in the CIS with most of their starters leaving after

this season. To be honest, he can’t play much worse than Durant is at this point, so he should be fine.

The Regina Red Sox have won back-to-back WMLB championships, did you follow the team at all this season?

Dupuis: Being away from Regina for the past nine months means no, I sure didn’t. And even if I had been around, I doubt I would have. Baseball isn’t my thing.

Aren’t 90 per cent of their starters from the States or something?

Never mind, I don’t care.

Folk: Unfortunately, I did not follow them. I’m originally from Weyburn, Saskatchewan, and after the end of second semester last year, I went back for the summer.

It is not that the Red Sox story does not intrigue me, but if I were to follow a team in the WMLB, it would be my Weyburn Beavers.

Hordichuk: Not as much as I should have, but more than other years. I’m really going to focus on following as much local sports as I possibly can this year, especially the Red Sox. Plus, I heard the hot dogs at the games are so amazing, they even announce it on the intercom. Mmmmm, beer and hot dogs. Why can’t the Red Sox be playing now? I’d go to the games just for supper.

Klein: Well I would like to thank my job at Coca Cola for not letting me go to any games this year.

“Open Happiness,” my ass. I’m going to open up a can of whoop ass and burn that place to the ground.

Who should be held accountable for the Riders dismal August?

Dupuis: The other teams. How dare they come into games against the Riders and have the nerve to play football for 60 full minutes?

Don’t they know that when one team is winning with ten minutes left, football courtesy dictates that the other team forfeit? Goddamn savages.

Folk: I’m not the type of guy to point fingers at one specific guy.

However, I am the type of guy to point fingers if multiple people are at fault. Darian Durant has been an absolute non-factor on the field. Receivers such as Getzlaf have made a habit of dropping passes. Don’t even get me started on the defense. There’s a lot of holes in that team and I think it’s that point in the season where the Riders either need to put up or shut up.

Hordichuk: I think people forget that we’re a young team with a whole new staff. It’s a learning process. It’s that simple. In sports, there’s ups and downs. Here’s our down; now it’s time to learn how to rise up to the occasion.

Klein: Offence for sure. When you only have two guys on offence that can make plays (Sheets and Dressler), it’s pretty hard to score points. Some might say, “What about Getzalf? He’s a good receiver!” And I say to that: the guy couldn’t catch a beach ball.

Seriously, versus Calgary, I saw a 10 year old take off his Getzalf jersey and throw it into the stands after Butterfingers dropped another ball.

With the threat of an NHL lockout looming, how will you spend your winter?

Dupuis: Honestly, waiting to hear if there will be another lockout is like waiting for your STI results. You really want to know the answer, but you’re not optimistic about what that answer’s going to be. In all seriousness, I’ll pass the time by destroying the competition in EA’s NHL 13, and carrying my Habs to cup 25 (cause they sure as hell aren’t going to do it in real life).

Folk: Four simple words: The National Football League. Last season for me was a wash as a Colts fan, due to an injured Manning. Since then, we’ve gained one of the most coveted prospects in all of football. I will be keeping a close eye on my Colts as well as our new QB Andrew Luck, all winter long.

Hordichuk: As mentioned earlier in the roundtable, I’ll be playing hockey myself. Also, if there’s no NHL, I’ll definitely be following the NFL a whole lot closer this year than previous years. I just can’t go without watching sports!

Klein: Well considering Gary Bettman’s bargaining is softer than McDowell’s promise to follow up on bets, I’d say the season is fucked. That’s right, McDowell, you still owe me shots for when the Flyers booted out the Pens! So, this winter I have decided to take up hunting and go find Bettman if there is a lock out. Who’s with me?

the carillon | Sept. 6 - 12, 2012

sports 11

Play ball The women’s softball club plays host to the National championships

Mike Smith

autumn mcdowell sports editor Every team’s goal is to win a National championship, but when the tournament is in your own backyard, the drive for a medal is even greater.

After missing out on the National championships for the first time in the past four years last season, the University of Regina women’s softball club is anxious to get back into a top contender position.

Last season, the team graduated its two main pitchers and was admittedly immersed into a bit of a rebuilding year. Although the team did not finish as strongly as they did in 2010 –where they finished second to the University of Saskatchewan – head coach Mike Smith was still pleased with the young team’s progress.

“Actually it was a good year and lots of those first year players are back this year but we only have seven players coming back so we’re even younger than we were last year,” Smith said. “We recruited a couple of first-years that are really good and really strong. Last year we had a great year, but we just didn’t do very well at the playoffs. We lost two games against teams that we have never lost to [during the regular season].

“Last year was last year, but the season was still great. It was a development year for pitchers, and it will be again this year. [The players] are almost all first and

second year university students.

There are only five out of 20 that are not.”

While the team may have to deal with the trials and triumphs of having numerous rookies on the roster once again, Smith is confident that the team will continue to get better, especially on the mound.

“We have one returning pitcher, she was young last year, Stephanie Horsley, and she went home and worked all summer to get better. From what I have seen so far, she has done very well,” said Smith, who is returning for his eighth year with the squad.

“We actually have six pitchers, so we have lots of them, but we don’t have a number one. We don’t have that big veteran pitcher. They are all first- and second-years.”

When asking a University coach what their goals are for the season, the response you will almost always hear is “we want to get to the playoffs, and then go from there. We believe we can win a National championship.”

Of course, this statement will be made no matter how good or terrible the team is.

But, with the added pressure of playing hosts to Nationals – which are slated for Oct. 5-8 – Smith believes that the team has the opportunity to have a very special season.

“Obviously you can say that you do not have an achievement goal, but we are hosting the National championships. We want to be competitive for a medal at Nationals, and that

means you have to be top three,” Smith offered. “It will take us all year to get there. In previous years we were the favourites to win a medal going into the season, but this year it will take all year to get ready for that. Because we do have such young pitching, we won’t be the favourites by any means, but my hope is to win a medal.”

Before any members of the women’s softball club start drawing up designs for their championship rings, Smith has another goal for his team: improvement.

“As far as goals for the team, a big goal would be to make sure that we are better next year than we are now, because we are so young that if we don’t get better it’s kind of ‘which way are we going,’ so that is a big goal,” he said. “I hope that we are better this year than we were last year. I am pretty confident that we will be. We should be back in the top couple of teams in our league where we belong, and then we are going to try and take a run at

Nationals.”

While the job of hosting Nationals can be incredibly exciting, Smith knows that there will have to be a lot of work put into making sure the tournament is a success.

“It will be a lot of work but this is only the fifth Nationals, and our team has attended three of them. This will be our fourth,” Smith said. “Last year was the only year that we didn’t attend because we went to a tournament in Texas. I am excited. It will be a lot of work for all of us, most of the work is still to come but we are looking forward to it.”

Many of the campus teams and clubs often have a difficult time getting large crowds – or realistically, any size crowd – out to see them play, but Smith believes that the softball club will have to look outside of the University community if they are to pack the stands come Nationals.

“We rely more on the softball community (for fans) than we do on the University,” Smith said. “I

think that is the same problem that many other teams have is trying to get students out.

[Nationals] are on a long weekend, Thanksgiving, so a lot of students aren’t here but we want to try and come up with something for students to come out.

“Our main focus is to make sure that our softball community in Saskatchewan come, that is who we will target as much as students but there is a lot of staff here [on campus] that do support us. From the president who has been to our games, to various faculty staff members. We only get the one home weekend in early September and then we are not back [in Regina] until Nationals.

You cross your fingers for good weather, and go from there.”

The softball club will continue on their journey to the cup this Saturday when Lethbridge, SAIT, and Calgary are in town to take on the Cougars at Kaplan Field.

“ We are hosting the National championships, we want to be competitive for a medal at Nationals, and that means you have to be top three. It will take us all year to get there, in previous years we were the favourites to win a medal going into the season but this year it will take all year to get ready for that.”

Mike Smith

cd ae nrfi ad a i n f e d e r a t o i n o f s t u d e n t s a s k a t c h e w a n s t u d e n t s c o a t i l o n m c i h a e a j l c k s o n m o v e i a l y t o n u n r e t h a t s p e e c h s t e p h e n h a r p e r c a n a d a i n e e l c t o i n t w t i e r t i u n e s k a n y e w e s t a l d y g a g a t p a n i a u t o just the carillon has autumn mcdowell to thank that the sports section isn’t ttg u n e r e c e s s o i n a f g h a n s i t a n t a s e r s d o m e b a o l i u t s h e a t l h c a r e b a n k r u p t c y s w e a t e v r e s h t p i s t e d r o u c h e b a g s ha oysm eascsa hn o e ld sw h o g v iraaeto y o utfscitk ed tse w h esn y o u p a rkn iatitle tn hse w ro n g p a ltilo ce o nca m p u ssthing” a tlh n im gsco av p tia asy ilta a i n f e d e i n o u n t s a k a t c h e w t u d e n t s c o a n m c i h a e a j l c k o n e i l a picture of football player with the “sport guy did sport ta o n u n d e r fi r e t h a t s p e e c h s t e p h e n h a r p e r c a n a d a i n e e l c t o i n t w t i e r t i u n e s k a n y e w e s t a l d y g a g a t p a n i u t o t u n e r e c e s s o i n a f g h a n s i t a n t a s e r s d o m e b a o l i u t s h e a t l h c a r e b a n k r u p t c y s w e a t e r v e s t h p i s t e r ...Since 1962 d o u c h e b a g s t h o s e a s s h o e l s w h o g v i e y o u t c i k e t s w h e n y o u p a r k n i t h e w r o n g p a l c e o n c a m p u s atlhn igscaptiasiltgaymara igeandafah1n1mcihaea jlcksonmove ia lytonunderfirethatspeech

the carillon | Sept. 6 - 12, 2012

12 sports

Move over vets

Rookie Molly Wade-Cummings plans to make the most of her first year on the court autumn mcdowell sports editor The future of the University of Regina women’s volleyball team just got brighter.

Molly Wade-Cummings, a standout student-athlete from Sheldon-Williams Collegiate, was faced with many decisions when she stepped off of the court as a member of the Spartans for the last time.

While it was obvious to everyone who had witnessed her abilities that she would undoubtedly play volleyball at the next level, the question on everyone’s mind was: where?

“I chose to come to the University of Regina because not only is it close to home, but I have become familiar with it over the years,” said rookie middle, WadeCummings. “My two older brothers both came to U of R. They were involved with lots of the activities around the school and both had very positive experiences so that definitely had a big impact on my decision.”

The biggest concern for most first year student-athletes is the added pressure of balancing school and athletics, a task that Wade-Cummings feels she is more than ready to tackle.

“I’ve been balancing school and volleyball all my life,” said Wade-Cummings, who has been involved with the Cougars Volleyball Club for a few years.

“The key is being time-oriented.

marc messett

It’s not easy, but you have to be able to manage your time effectively and know how much of your schedule should be dedicated to school assignments and studying, and how much of it will be filled with practices and training.

“Being involved in sports and extracurricular activities in high school has been a big help in developing my organizational skills, which I’m going to be counting on this year. University will be slightly different because the expectations of both my coaches and teachers will increase, and I’ll have to learn how to cope with that.”

With the school year already underway and the volleyball regular season fast approaching, Wade-Cummings has many goals

for her first year of University.

“My goal for school this year is to just have fun,” said a positive Wade-Cummings. “Of course I want to work hard and maintain a good average, but I also want to become familiar with the university environment, make new friends and meet new people. I want to avoid becoming the “stressed out college student” as much as I can, and I want to find the time for not only school and volleyball, but for a bit of a social life as well.

“On the volleyball court, I want to focus on really improving and solidifying my skills.

Playing at this caliber can be a little overwhelming because you’re taking so much feedback from several coaches and teammates on how to do even the most basic

things, like passing and setting.

It’s great because you realize how much you can improve on a skill just by fixing one small technicality, and each and every day is a new learning experience. I want to start the season with an open mind, build relationships with my teammates and really take advantage of this great opportunity that I’ve had the privilege of being involved in.”

In order to live up to fans and teammates expectations of being able to add depth at middle and also add strength to the team’s defensive game, a large part of Wade-Cummings summer was spent preparing for this season, both physically and mentally.

“When I first agreed to play for the Cougars one of my main concerns was being able to phys-

ically keep up with the speed of the game as I knew it would be significantly faster,” she said.

“Thankfully we were given a physical training program to help us improve our cardio, jump height and strength, forcing us to become gym-rats and workout every day. The more I trained the more I saw results, and when we did our physical testing at the end of the summer it was very relieving to see that my overall fitness level had greatly increased and I could now keep up with many of the returning players. “[Our head coach Melanie Sanford] also recommended that we read the book Mindset by Carol Dweck over the summer to help us mentally prepare for the upcoming season. Volleyball is a sport that requires a ton of mental toughness in practices, matches and tournaments. When things get tough you have to be able to persevere, and it isn’t easy to get over that hump especially when you are entering a new environment. I definitely think that playing for the Cougars will be one of the most challenging things I’ve committed myself to and being mentally ready will be important.”

Fans will get a chance to see Wade-Cumming suit up for the first time as a member of the Cougars volleyball team during the 2012 University of Regina Invitational which will run Sept.

21-23.

Riders suck, kinda

August was not a favourable month for Roughriders fans braden dupuis sports writer To paraphrase Morgan Freeman in that shitty VISA commercial from a couple years back, “Sports love hurts.”

Investing valuable time, money and passion into a sports franchise only to see your team fall short of winning the big one year after year is borderline masochistic. Do we, the fans, endure the crushing sting of defeat?

Or is it all about the pursuit of the prize?

Living in Saskatchewan, I’ve grown used to the punishment.

The real abuse started shortly after we renewed our vows with the team back in 2007 after we came away with a Grey Cup championship. The wedding between the team and it’s fans was nothing short of perfect – good drinks, good friends, and a massive, three-tiered green and white cake – as far as I remember anyways, I was pretty drunk.

Anyways, since that great wedding, everything has started to fall apart. Two last-minute Grey Cup losses and a bottom-of-thebarrel finish later, and this relationship is damn near on the rocks.

That brings us to this season.

What started out as the most promising sign of life in years – a

riderville.com

even though we suck, our fans are still unreal

young, passionate head coach, Cory Chamblin, leading the Riders to a 3-0 start – has quickly collapsed into another round of drunk, angry callers who throw the blame around on 620 CKRM’s Roughrider roundtable following every game.

The easiest target to point the finger at is, of course, Roughrider quarterback Darian Durant.

After a flawless three-game start to the season, Durrant has since thrown the ball away eight

times and can’t seem to find a receiver to save his life.

Game after game he gets sacked mercilessly – thanks, Oline – and bears the brunt of the Saskatchewan commentariat as well.

But I still believe in ole’ Double D. To me, Durant been as solid a quarterback as you could ask for in his three-and-a-half years starting in Saskatchewan.

Year after year, he’s given us a

shot to win – well except for maybe last year, when his passing yards and TD’s dipped below 4,000 and 20 for the first time, respectively.

But here’s the thing – football is, first and foremost, a team game. If those receivers aren’t open, or are prematurely eyeing the endzone (looking at you, Weston Dressler), or injured , the Riders won’t win. The same goes for a solid O-line and a rock solid defence.

To win, you need them all.

And if not Durant, then who?

Is backup quarterback Drew Willy going to lead us back to the promised land? Probably not.

With that argument, the drunken ramblings of the angry Roughrider “faithful” take new aim – the head coach.

No, I don’t think Chamblin should be fired. From what I can see the guy is a young, passionate and knowledgeable coach. The losing cannot be pinned on him.

He’s doing the best he can with what he’s got, and aside from one or two questionable calls I feel he has been a great coach.

Stringing together a couple wins will almost certainly re-ignite the fire under this fledgling team, and that should make it easier for Chamblin to rally the troops once again.

Last year’s mid-season sacking of former head coach Greg Marshall looked like a godsend after a short-lived string of victories, until it all came crashing back to earth with a league-worst record of 5-13.

So, die-hards, take a deep breath and put down the phone.

There is still time to right this reeling ship.

And yeah, sports love hurts, but the punishment endured only makes the eventual triumph that much sweeter.

the carillon | Sept. 6 - 12, 2012

sports 13

Please God no Hockey fans worst fears are close to reality what the puck? autumn mcdowell sports editor While most people were lucky enough to enjoy a stress-free summer holiday, often spending their days frolicking in the water or walking along the beach holding hands with someone they met at the bar the night before, I was not so lucky.

With the threat of a National Hockey League lockout looming, I was sitting in front of my computer anxiously awaiting the announcement that would seal the fate of my beloved NHL for the 2012-13 season.

Hockey fans may remember – or rather, wish to forget – that back in 2004 the NHL, led by commissioner and general idiot Gary Bettman, was forced to cancel an entire season of play due to unresolved issues between the league and the it’s players association.

A bargaining agreement was finally reached in July 2005 after what was the longest winter of my life and also the longest work stoppage in sports history. The world rejoiced as fans once again had high quality hockey and inadequate refereeing taking place in their living rooms.

Fast forward eight years later and hockey fans are yet again stuck in the fetal position as the 2005 agreement between the two

www.vancouversun.com

With this idiot in charge of the NHL’s fate, it never had a chance.

parties has expired. New issues between the NHL and the NHLPA have surfaced and history looks as if it will repeat itself.

The central issue that is currently dividing the two groups is of course, money. Essentially, the NHL thinks that they are paying out too much and the players think that they deserve the same if not more money than they are currently being paid because they have to deal with the grueling job of playing hockey by day and getting as much tail as they want by night.

As of press time, the NHL and NHLPA have suspended any further discussions and have no plans for any future meetings.

With a lockout deadline set for Sept. 15, it seems as though hockey fans will be forced to once again endure an entire season without the best league in the world.

Unfortunately, with the almost-certain lockout quickly approaching, I am now forced to contemplate what the hell I am going to do with myself through the most depressing and coldest

months of the year. Thank God Vancouver Canucks fans taught me that if you don’t get the outcome that you want, the only option that you have is to riot in the streets.

So, my basic plan is that after I get past the rioting stage of grief, most likely I will move into the acceptance stage where this lockout will force me to obsessively turn my attention to the NHL’s farm leagues such as the American Hockey League. I may even have to jump onto the overseas bandwagon and start reli-

giously watching the Kontinental Hockey League.

Fans and current NHL players are not the only ones being dramatically affected by the lockout; junior players – athletes that would normally make that jump to the show this season – are taking the news quite hard.

Instead of turning professional this year – due mostly to the trickle-down effect – highly skilled junior players will be forced to stay in the Canadian Hockey League system for at least one more year.

The only upside to this is that Regina Pats fans could have the pleasure of seeing standouts like Jordan Weal and Colton Jobke play another year with the Blue and White. While I would like to see the duo fulfill their dreams of playing pro hockey, the selfish side of me secretly hopes there is a lockout so that they are forced to stay in Regina. I’m sorry, but having these two players on the roster instantly makes the Pats contenders, and I want a championship, God dammit.

Once the NHL lockout becomes official, I will probably move on and find a new hockey league to criticize, but there will be a ten minute period there where I will be inconsolable.

NCAA moves north Simon Fraser University joins NCAA as the first non-American school david dyck The Peak (Simon Fraser University)

BURNABY (CUP) — The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has conditionally approved Simon Fraser University (SFU) for membership. This will make SFU the first Canadian school to be accepted in the century-old organization.

While SFU has been a member for the past three years, the decision was made recently to grant an exception to SFU’s lack of U.S. accreditation in order to compete in the post-season. This gives SFU the chance to win an NCAA national – now international – championship.

“It’s the culmination of a total campus commitment from President Petter to Tim Rahilly to everyone you can think of, to become the first international school to join the NCAA,” SFU’s athletic director, Milt Richards, told The Peak. “It’s a tribute to Simon Fraser; if we weren’t such a great university academically, this wouldn’t happen.

“To make a long story short, the president’s council [the policy makers for Division Two] had a meeting,” Richards explained.

“They discussed it and basically said, ‘Here’s what we’re going to do for Simon Fraser: as long as you’re a candidate for accredita-

Mark Burnham/The Peak

Apparently SFU can excel in academics, athletics, and partying tion,’ which we are, ‘as long as you’re accredited by your country’s accreditation, we’ll waive the bylaw that says you have to be accredited by a U.S. accreditation.’”

While Canada has no accreditation agencies similar to those in the U.S., SFU’s membership in the Association of Colleges and

Universities of Canada (AUCC) has served as an acceptable replacement. The AUCC is a lobby group that represents over 90 universities nationally.

Meanwhile, SFU is currently still in the process of gaining U.S. accreditation with the Northwest Commission on Colleges and

Universities (NWCCU). It is projected that SFU will not earn full accreditation until 2017.

Richards made it clear that despite being in the NCAA, SFU teams will still compete against their Canadian rivals.

“We would not have enough games and contests and matches

if we only played U.S. schools, and we are a Canadian institution, and we’re proud of being in Canada,” said Richards.

Richards explained that the process for joining NCAA’s Division Two – the only division that has voted to allow international institutions to join – takes three years. In the first two years, the candidate institution is ineligible for championships.

He stated that last year’s men’s soccer, women’s basketball, track and field athletes, swimming, and wrestling all would have had good chances to be in the NCAA nationals, but were ineligible. “Softball would have made it the way they finished the season,” said Richards.

“When you have a really competitive program and you tell a student athlete that they can’t compete in championships? You hate to talk about negative recruiting, but you know other people talked about that; well, that’s now been removed. That’s a big deal.”

“I’m ecstatic for the whole department, we definitely have some very strong teams,” said volleyball head coach Lisa Sulatycki. “You look at the men’s soccer team last year, who didn’t get their chance, and now they’re going to have their chance to do that.”

op-ed

Op-Ed Editor: Edward Dodd op-ed@carillonregina.com the carillon | Sept. 6 - 12, 2012

opinion

Who’s progressive?

What constitutes a progressive political party?

This question is a difficult one to answer in today’s political climate. In Saskatchewan, the New Democratic Party likes to portray itself as progressive and the Saskatchewan Party as conservative. The Sask. Party, on the other hand, portrays itself as progressive and the NDP as lunatic radicals with no brains.

But with the current debates going on around university funding, royalties, and any number of other major issues facing people in Saskatchewan, it’s not really a true portrayal of what the parties are actually doing. If you look at who is driving the political debate, it’s not the supposedly progressive forces on the left of the spectrum. It’s the supposedly conservative forces on the right of the spectrum that are making the change and driving the “progress” while the NDP is left playing catch-up.

Don’t get me wrong though; calling the Sask. Party a progressive a force in Saskatchewan is not accurate in the least. It is actually a regressive party that labels its backwards policies as progressive. They talk about building the future of Saskatchewan by eliminating most of the social programs and regulations that were gained over the last several decades. They have a vision for what our province can be, and as noxious as that vision is, they sell it really well.

The NDP’s response has not been terribly proactive. In many cases, the platform that the NDP runs on is a protection of the status quo in reaction to threats posed by the Sask. Party. The NDP, with its determination to protect the many things that the progressive movement has gained over the last century, becomes a small-c conservative force in the political discourse – always advocating keeping things how they are and only proceeding after careful review of all the facts.

The status quo is certainly comfortable for many people in Saskatchewan, but sometimes when people are looking for change, they will take the only change offered to them regardless of if it is good or bad. In the last provincial election, aside from Dwain Lingenfelter being a black-hole for charisma, the NDP had huge difficulty presenting a positive vision of the province, being forced to argue on a few lacklustre policy points about a tuition freeze while they did more research into university funding and a stop-gap rent control plan that would only modestly help the housing crisis Saskatchewan is currently experiencing.

Am I suggesting that we should not look at all the facts when we advocate change? Not at all; the best policies are going to be informed by a lot of research. But anyone looking to make positive change to our province needs to act confidently, unencumbered by mountains of facts, figures, and huge amounts of caution. They need to speak and act decisively and proactively so that the political battle is held on a field of their own choosing, not on the battlefield chosen by their political opponents.

And sometimes, parties need to advocate for things not because they are totally logical, but because they are the right thing to do. There’s no government profit to be made in providing universal healthcare, but we as a society do it because it’s wrong to let someone die if they don’t

julia dima

have enough money to pay for medical services. SaskTel was created by the government to provide telephone service to the scattered small towns of our sparsely-populated province because no service provider would invest the huge amounts of capital required to build a functioning phone infrastructure, but we did it anyway because providing a quick means of communication between people was the right thing to do.

Rather than advocating that the Sask. Party doesn’t make huge and damaging cuts to all the programs we enjoy in this province, it might be a better course of action to proactively advocate for an expansion of those programs, even outside the election cycle. Before the government has the opportunity to cut funding to university programs, the NDP should be advocating that that university funding be increased even more. Instead of advocating that the government freeze tuition, the NDP should be demanding that tuition be eliminated entirely. Maybe those things

won’t be deemed feasible, but they are the right things to do and they will put the people that advocate the opposite on the defensive.

This is by no means a phenomenon isolated in Saskatchewan. At the federal level, the most radical force out there is not the NDP, but the Conservatives. We can only hope that with the NDP electing a new leader soon provincially and the federal NDP having the largest seat count in their history, they will break the chains of prudence and actually become the progressive force they claim to be. But I am not going to hold my breath.

edward dodd op-ed editor

Letter to the Editor First of all I would like to welcome all new students to the University of Regina, and I would like to say welcome back to all returning students. I hope everybody had a wonderful and safe summer, and I wish everybody a successful academic year ahead.

I am writing today about the University of Regina Students’ Union (URSU). Specifically, I am writing about the importance for students to become engaged with their students’ union, support its endeavors, and respect those who were elected to represent us.

The students’ union has a long history of producing former presidents who don’t know how to let go. If fact, one needn’t look very hard to spot ex-presidents lurking the hallways of this university, occasionally inserting themselves into the operations of URSU in a negative way. As a former URSU president I have consciously worked to avoid that phenomenon, and decided instead to do what I always have: be positive about our students’ union and work hard to make our university even better.

Of course, constructive criticism is important – indeed it is necessary – to have a healthy students’ union and an engaged student body. But trust, support, and active citizenship are also important. Even though I may ideologically disagree with some of our elected student representatives, I respect URSU as an institution too much to ever be needlessly negative towards it. I encourage all students to do the same. I ask that you volunteer during

URSU events, submit ideas for campaigns, utilize URSU’s services, and every once in a while call, email, or visit the URSU executive, board, and staff and thank them for the hard work they do.

The exciting thing about being involved with your students’ union is that you don’t have to wait. There is a by-election happening later this month that will fill a number of vacant positions – including the position of URSU President. This is your chance to put forward ideas, challenge the status quo, and make a difference at your university. As a student you are entitled to vote and run. I hope you’ll do both.

kent peterson contributor

the carillon | Sept. 6 - 12, 2012

op-ed 15

Do your duty

On September 25 and 26, a referendum will be held to instate a $0.25 levy onto your student fees, all of which will go directly to the theatre department in order to keep university productions free of admission to students, but also to ensure that the department is providing an education that is up to standard.

A strong theatre education program in Regina is a prerequisite for the growth of actual culture here in Regina and across the province. Without a strong theatre education program, the survival of the theatre community in Regina (be it the Globe, Combat Improv, Golden Apple Theatre, or what have you) becomes increasingly difficult to sustain, let alone grow, and subsequently underfunding of the Theatre department at our university is detrimental to the cultural community of Regina.

Notwithstanding, the University of Regina’s theatre education program – and correspondingly, Regina’s theatre community – cannot be reliant on the students at the university to fund it.

The ballot may suggest otherwise, but the referendum is asking more than a “yes” or “no” question; it’s asking whether students are the ones who’ll grab the cheque when the university can’t afford or refuses to pay it.. This is not a question of whether you care about the theatre department or its students. This referendum is a question of whether you’ll stand complacent with the continual financial degradation of this university.

Voting “no” does not mean you don’t care about the theatre department or its students. Voting “no” means you will not stand accountable to provide a bailout. The idea that students should be asked to foot the bill of an underfunded department is preposterous. If a department’s budget cannot provide an adequate education for its students it is the university, not the individual department, that is failing its students. The money needs to come from elsewhere.

So, if the University of Regina cannot afford to provide its students with a quality education, increasing the provincial government’s post-secondary education spending is imperative. The only way the theatre department can continue providing for its students – nay, exist at all – is if post-secondary education spending is increased.

Yes, the theatre department could charge admission to its productions and be more self-sustaining, but the department has seen its budget reduced by $23,173 between 2005 and 2012. When a department’s budget is reduced by over a third, claiming the ability to maintain the same quality of education becomes difficult.

Moreover, I’m sure this is not the only

Arthur Ward

department that’s seen its budget reduced over the past few years. Thus, if the outcome of the referendum is “yes”, what’s to say any of the other departments who’ve faced budget cuts (pardon me, Vice President Administration Dave Button, “small discretionary budget impacts”) from instating similar levies via referendums? A “yes” outcome of the referendum suggests students are completely fine with bearing the burden when the government fails to meet the needs of students and culture in this province.

The students here shouldn’t be pressuring their peers to help out an underfunded department – no matter how small the sum in question. The students and administration here need to be pressuring politicians to increase funding to the university not only to maintain a high standard of education, but to maintain and grow actual culture in our province.

Students shouldn’t be paying the bills of the university.

paul bogdan arts editor

Fund yourself

The University of Regina is a hotbed of student apathy when it comes time to head to the polls. However, there is a referendum question this fall that should pique interest and discussion around the campus. The Fine Arts Students’ Association (FASA) has managed to place a question on the ballot asking if you support “a $0.25 fee per student to cover the cost of theatre productions for all University of Regina students.”

This should raise two questions in your mind. Primarily, how is it possible that a non-Fine Arts student should have to be asked to directly pay for Fine Arts students’ education? Subsequently, what kind of precedent will this set for years to come?

Let us begin with the numbers. Given current enrolment numbers, we can determine that FASA is asking for around $3000. With 440 students in Fine Arts, if those students were to cover their own demand it would be a marginal $6.81 increase per student.

Why must we all share the burden of increased performance costs or decreased Administration funding, whichever the case may be?

I have a better idea. I was recently made aware that there is no admission charged to attend any production at the university. As per the theatre department’s website, at full capacity their two theatres hold a combined total of 590 people. In the last theatre season, four plays were produced. Let’s imagine each play was seen by 590 people. If all

those people paid a minimal $2 admission, FASA would raise $4720 and tuition would not need to increase one penny.

However, we wouldn’t want to burden our guests, would we? Let’s not forget the numerous shows that the Music department puts on or the galleries offered by the Visual Arts students. Clearly, there are ways to raise the needed funds without increasing the tuition of every student that isn’t being graded on their performance within the production, recital or display.

Regardless of my math literacy, we should examine the potential fallout if such a disastrous referendum question passes. The first question is why was official funding cut from the program? Could it be the fact that while Business Administration had 1481 students, Arts had 2114 students and Education had 1424 students while the Faculty of Fine Arts had only 440 students enrolled last semester? Potentially.

That fact leads nicely into the next discussion point: should we subsidize under-populated faculties to ensure they don’t see an increased cost for such specialized programs? Continuing down the slippery slope that is subsidization without growth, if the Administration decides to further reduce its investment in the Fine Arts due to continued disinterest in the discipline, should we forget a referendum and simply increase our one quarter by two quarters, ten quarters or, even, one hundred quarters every year to meet the “need” of the program? After all, it is only a few quarters, right?

No. University, as much as it is around to help young minds grow and affect positive change in the world, is a stepping stone for people to gain desirable employment.

By forcing the cost of a program that lost funding due to underutilization onto the entire student body is short-sighted and irresponsible. It won’t be long before we are subsidizing other faculties that have also lost the will to creatively stretch a tight budget. On Sept. 25 and 26, make a stand.

Demand that the University of Regina and each faculty it governs to be fiscally responsible. Demand that your institution live within its means and that the Fine Arts faculty do the same. Do not let the dollar value fool you; do not let the financial burden fall on our shoulders. This will only be the beginning. Vote no and demand better.

todd blyth contributor

Whose boobs are they, anyway?

Breasts. In western culture, they seem to be the most sexually captivating object of heterosexual desire. Male-targeted magazines are filled with images of women in bikini tops and lacy bras, their breasts pushed up to create a perfectly round set of twins to enjoy.

Heterosexual men seem to have a fascination with breasts more than most parts of the female form. Some schools of psychology say this has connections to biologically innate concepts of motherhood and fertil-

ity. However, there seems to be a lot more comfort with breasts in settings where they are not physically acting out the motherhood role they have: breastfeeding.

Biologically, breastfeeding is completely natural and for most mammals, necessary for healthy growth. Culturally, it has become taboo for a number of reasons, perhaps similar to the reasons menstruation is meant to be kept discreet and taboo.

Women are free to have natural bodily reactions, so long as they do it where men

“ When a woman’s body is softened and represented in the media as an object of heterosexual male desire, it is safe.

When a woman controls her own body to be powerful, strong, and life-giving, it isn’t sexy. It’s threatening.”

don’t have to see it.

Why are these natural phenomena that represent the biological powers of a woman’s body such uncomfortable issues in western society? Maybe for the same reasons why women who weight-lift or run are now facing the possibility of requiring hormone therapy to level out high testosterone if they want to compete internationally as women. When a woman’s body is softened and represented in the media as an object of heterosexual male desire, it is safe. When a woman controls her own body to be powerful, strong, and life-giving, it isn’t sexy. It’s threatening.

In the mouth of an infant, breasts become powerful life-giving representations of strength and femininity. For women to have strength and control over their physical forms creates a threat to the ideals of patriarchy, wherein women are physically expressing that they maintain a power that men cannot take away from them.

Patriarchy feels it can take away a woman’s ability to make an equal wage, her choice to abort a pregnancy, her perception of what makes her look pretty, to suit its cause. In the same vein, patriarchal advertisers have actively tried to remove the need for breastfeeding by developing artificial powders and bottles to replace the woman, while encouraging the sale of push-up bras.

So, the next time you are breastfeeding in public, as your little one is twirling their little fingers through your hair, flip that tiny little middle finger up, and don’t be ashamed.

julia dima production manager

16 advertisement

the carillon | Sept. 6 - 12, 2012

Do you like journalism? And the Carillon? And potentially getting free snacks once a month?

We still have 2 spots to fill on our board of directors, and any student is eligible to apply for the position.

Send an email to our editor-in-chief at editor@carillonregina.com if you are interested.