The Fulcrum - Vol 76 Issue 20

VOL. 76 ISSUE 20

feb. 25, 2016

Campus

Station Closing Pg. 5

ELECTIONS 2016

SFUO ELECTIONS

RESULTS

*

ALL THREE REFERENDUMS PASSED

SUMMER U-PASS Yes: 1504 No: 890

STUDENT REFUGEE (WUSC) Yes: 1906 No: 491

HEALTH INSURANCE PLAN Yes: 1758 No: 681

Executive Committee PRESIDENT Roméo Ahimakin – Yes: 1669, No: 503

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VICE PRESIDENT, EQUITY Diyyinah Jamora – 825 Luxi Mathi – 412 Morissa Ellis – 830

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V.P. SERVICES & COMMUNICATIONS Francesco Caruso – 1249 Nelly Nga Nga – 820 VICE PRESIDENT, SOCIAL Chloé Hayes – 1020 Hadi Wess – 1096

VICE PRESIDENT, FINANCE Rizki Rachiq – 1069 Tanner Tallon – 1031

VICE PRESIDENT, UNIVERSITY AFFAIRS Vanessa Dorimain – Yes: 1603 No: 409

Board of Administration ARTS Ama Ouattara – 122 Chloé Madigan – 142 Edouard Tambwe – 94 Erin Chapman – 145 Jocelyn Cadieux – 163 ENGINEERING Iffa Hujaleh – Yes: 151 No: 87 Princejeet Singh Sandhu – Yes: 230 No: 50

This is the face of change.

COMMON LAW Lee Chitty – Yes: 29 No: 3 HEALTH SCIENCES Dahlia Adrien – Yes: 122 No: 27 Maxime Lê – Yes: 123 No: 26

MANAGEMENT Milly Pang – Yes: 118 No: 56 Serge Andersen Bakoussam Yes: 145 No: 52 SCIENCE Fériel Rahmani – 113 Nick Robinson – 175 Paloma Sawaya – 194 Setti Belhouari – 129 SOCIAL SCIENCE Ally Clark – 286 Caylie McKinlay – 385 Iris Wong – 312 Leila Moumouni-Tchouassi – 345 Mikayla Vattiata – 298 Liautaud Philogène – 262 Samuel Schroeder – 134 Sunny Lo – 247 Tony Bui – 301

University of Ottawa Senate

MEDICINE Alexandra Birk-Urovitz – 17 Emile Hashem – 51 Nora Ahmad – 47

COMMON LAW Sarah Quayyum – (acclaimed)

SCIENCE Brittany Love – 199 Setti Belhouari – 134

ARTS Jocelyn Cadieux – (acclaimed)

ENGINEERING Iffa Hujaleh – 94 Jean-Philippe Dubé – 186

Social Science Nicole Maylor – (acclaimed)

HEALTH SCIENCES Eric Chen – (acclaimed)

MANAGEMENT Alejandro Fiszman – (acclaimed)

Apply now FoR FAll 2016!

University of Ottawa Board of Governors

Discover our Graduate Studies:

*These are the unofficial results, and will only be official once the Board of Administration ratifies the results on February 28th, pending any appeals.

• Canon Law • Conflict Studies

• Counselling and Psychotherapy

ustpaul.ca | 223 Main, Ottawa ON 613-236-1393 | 1-800-637-6859

• Public Ethics • Theology

Saint Paul University is the founding college of the University of Ottawa (1848), with which it has been academically federated since 1965.

Carlie Boisvert – 1417

William R. Hume – 6642

www.elections.sfuo.ca SFUO.FEUO

@SFUOElxnFEUO

elections@sfuo.ca | elections.sfuo.ca UCU-309 | 613-562-5800 x2625

This Week

IN THIS ISSUE...

Next stop: 2018 P.5 City to close campus station on April 24th

Fandom of the Opera P.9 U of O students star in campus rendition of Mozart Opera Come a little closer P.12 Take a look at a U of O alumna’s cuddling company Working on your fitness P.16 Is the fitness tracker fad worth cashing into?

Trudeau increases funding to Canada Summer Jobs program P.17 Why the government needs to invest in longer term employment A holiday romance P.20 Can a temporary tryst turn into a long-term relationship?

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NEWS

NEWS EDITOR

Eric Davidson news@thefulcrum.ca (613) 695-0061 @Eric_Davidson93

Campus Station to close before end of April exam period Despite university oposition, OC Transpo proceeds with planned date Jaclyn McRae-Sadik Associate News Editor

T

he City of Ottawa Transit Commission announced that OC Transpo’s Campus Station will close on April 24, three days before the University of Ottawa’s spring exam period ends. The announcement was made on Feb. 17 at city hall.

The Commission announced that the transitway will close between Laurier Avenue and Lees Station— which closed in mid December of 2015—to continue light rail transit (LRT) construction.

Campus Station will close while the uOttawa LRT stop on the Confederation Line is being built.

Daniel Spence, sustainable transportation manager at the university, said that after

much negotiation with the City, the closure will go ahead as planned on April 24.

“From what I understand the university has taken it to the highest levels, which I assume is the mayor’s office,” said Spence of the university’s attempt to delay construction until after the exam period.

He said the reason given by the City was that the cost would be too high, due to the tight timelines the Transit Commission has to maintain.

“Basically it was going to cost millions of dollars to back it off for another week. It was not possible to just back it off three days because OC Transpo never makes service alterations midweek,” said Spence.

In an interview with the Fulcrum during the recent Student Federation of the University of Ottawa elections, incoming and current vice-president of university affairs Vanessa Dorimain said

Campus station will close before the end of exam period.

she anticipated the closure of Campus Station as of one her greatest challenges next year. She said she planned to continue ongoing discussions with the City about the closure’s effects on U of O stu-

dents.

To lessen the impact on commuters, Spence said students can use the OC Transpo travel planner for routes and says it will be updated midMarch to reflect the changes

Photo: Eric Davidson

to the transit system.

Spence also said a bus stop near the intersection of Laurier Avenue and Cumberland Street for buses travelling via King Edward Street will be added to reduce the conges-

tion at Laurier Station.

The Transit Commission’s updated presentation on the LRT construction details the closure, saying most bus services between Laurier Avenue and Lees Station will use Nicholas Street, and routes 85, 95 and 98 will use King Edward Avenue and Laurier Avenue “to maintain good transit connections for Sandy Hill and uOttawa main campus”.

This won’t be the first change in commute for U of O students this school year.

Light rail construction caused the closure of the lower level of Lees station, and transit between Hurdman and Lees was halted. Also, the 18, 85 and 95 had their routes altered.

Detailed information about station closures and route maps are available on the OC Transpo website, in addition to the travel planner. Construction on campus’ LRT stop is scheduled for completion by Fall 2017.

SFUO election results are in, with a couple close calls Former U of O professor eric davidson News Editor

The Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (SFUO) has posted the unofficial results of its executive elections.

Voter turnout totaled 2,556 students, with 7.82 per cent of the undergraduate population coming out to vote, down from 11.47 per cent in the last general election, and 11.6 per cent in 2014.

Roméo Ahimakin, who ran unopposed for president, was elected with 1,669 “yes” votes to 503 “no” votes.

Morissa Ellis received the most votes for vice-president equity with 830. Diyyinah Jamora finished 5 votes behind her with 825, and Luxi Mathi finished third with 412 votes.

Vice-president equity candidate Diyyinah Jamora contested the results, and asked Chief Electoral Officer

thefulcrum.ca

Erin Callary for a recount.

In total, there were three recounts for this position.

Callary said in an email that the recounts did not change the outcome of the race.

Rizki Rachiq narrowly beat out Tanner Tallon for vice-president finance, as Rachiq received 1,069 votes and Tallon received 1,031.

Vanessa Dorimain, the sole candidate for vicepresident university affairs, was elected with 1,603 “yes” votes to 409 “no” votes.

Hadi Wess was elected as vice-president social with 1,096 votes, with Chloé Hayes close behind with 1,020 votes.

Francesco Caruso was elected as vice-president of services and communications with 1,249 votes, while Nelly Nga Nga received 820.

All three referendum questions passed and met quorum, which is 5 per cent of the student population.

The health care ques-

tion passed with 1,504 “yes” votes to 890 “no” votes, the student refugee question passed with 1,906 “yes” votes to 491 “no” votes, and the summer U-Pass question passed with 1,758 “yes” votes.

Seats for the Board of Administration (BOA) and the Board of Governors (BOG) were also filled during the election.

The BOG undergraduate representative position will be filled by Carlie Boisvert, who received 1,417 votes to beat William Hume, who got 664 votes.

The four seats for the Faculty of Arts were filled by Jocelyn Cadieux, Eric Chapman, Chloé Madigan, and Ama Ouattara.

There were three open seats for the Faculty of Engineering, but only two were filled by Iffa Hujaleh, and Princejeet Singh Sandhu.

The one open seat for the Faculty of Law, common law section, was filled by Lee

Chitty.

Of the three seats for the Faculty of Health Sciences, two were filled. Dahlia Adrien got 122 “yes” votes to 27 “no” votes, and Maxime Lê got 123 “yes” votes to 26 “no” votes.

The three seats for the Faculty of Science were filled by Paloma Sawaya, Nick Robinson, and Setti Belhouari.

The five seats for the Faculty of Social Science were filled by Caylie McKinlay, Leila Moumouni-Tchouassi, Iris Wong, Tony Bui, and Mikayla Vattiata.

Only two of the three seats for the Telfer School of Management were filled by Milly Pang, and Serge Andersen Bakoussam. Results will not be official until they are ratified at the next BOA meeting on Feb. 28.

Disclosure: Diyyinah Jamora and Nick Robinson are volunteers at the Fulcrum, and William Hume serves on the Board of Directors.

Rancourt’s appeal in civil suit dismissed by Supreme Court Eric Davidson News Editor

The Supreme Court of Canada has dismissed an appeal by former University of Ottawa professor Denis Rancourt to overturn their decision in the civil suit brought against him by U of O professor Joanne St. Lewis over a racial slur he used in a 2011 blog post.

The post in question referred to St. Lewis as U of O president, Allan Rock’s “house negro.”

St. Lewis sued Rancourt for libel over the offending blog post, and the Supreme Court awarded her $350,000 in damages, after a three-

and-a-half-year legal battle. After the verdict was given on Feb. 18, St. Lewis told the Ottawa Citizen that it felt “fabulous.”

In his appeal, Rancourt claimed that the decision would “take my family home, life savings and pension,” and has asked for donations to the “Denis Rancourt Legal Fund” through his blog.

He also said in his appeal that the lawsuit wouldn’t have happened if the U of O hadn’t funded St. Lewis’ suit. According to the Ontario Civil Liberties Association, Rancourt will appeal the Supreme Court’s decision to the Human Rights Committee of the United Nations.

Denis Rancourt’s appeal was dismissed by The Supreme Court.

Photo: CC, Alfonseca

NEWS | 5

Startup Weekend looks to encourage entrepreneurship at the U of O Event to bring entrepreneurial students together to build unique businesses Eric Davidson News Editor

If you’re a University of Ottawa student who wants to be the next Elon Musk, uOttawa Startup Weekend is the place for you.

Startup Weekend, held Feb. 26–28 in the Desmarais building, is a competition where entrepreneurial students group together to formulate a business idea from start to finish— all by the end of the weekend.

“It’s a fast-paced opportunity to learn what startup life is all about,” said Stephen Daze, entrepreneur-in-residence at the U of O. “It’ll be an opportunity for people to meet others with different skill sets.”

According to Daze, the event features students from many different disciplines. The event’s sign up page lists the main categories as designers, developers (engineers and coders), and non-technical, largely students in business and marketing.

“The reason we created the event was to help facilitate purposeful collisions of people from different faculties who are entrepreneurially inclined,” said Daze.

The students will have an opportunity to pitch their new business ideas to judges, and the top teams are eligible for prizes. The grand prize is $1,000 and an office at Invest Ottawa, a local group that pro-

“It’s a fast-paced opportunity to learn what startup life is all about,”—Stephen Daze, entrepreneur-inresidence at the U of O.

During Startup Weekend, students will compete to build the best business.

vides resources and training to help start new businesses.

There are also $500 prizes for the best business model in categories like “Refugees Resettlement and Integration into Canadian Society” and “Open Source Hardware For Social Change”.

The event can feature all

U of O prof makes light work of new communications technology Associate News Editor

A team of researchers at the University of Ottawa is the first to publish a study showing the first fully reconfigurable photonic integrated signal processor, which was featured in the esteemed journal Nature Photonics.

Professor Jianping Yao, university research chair in microwave photonics at the University of Ottawa, and his team of researchers collaborated with the University of California, Santa Barbara’s (UCSB) Professor Larry Coldren.

Signal processors are used transmit information in real time in almost all electronics, from cell phones and computers, to radar, sensors and much more.

Yao’s photonic integrated signal processor is the next advancement, which can work up to 1,000 times faster than the current electronic signal processors, which Yao describes as mature technol-

6 | NEWS

ogy.

“It’s fully reconfigurable, so that means that we can do different signal processing functions using the same chip and same processor,” said Yao. Yao said the project was a real group effort. The initial concept was proposed at the University of Ottawa, with the research also taking place there as well, and the fabrication was then done at a facility in UCSB. Photonic technology, which transmits using particles of light, is already used in everyday life, like fibre optic communication for the internet, explains Yao. “In the last twenty years because of this fibre communications we have the Internet, you see, we can access anywhere in the world at very high speeds, better because of the fibre optics—that is part of photonics,” he said.

After a University of Ottawa physics professor, Paul Corkum, was a finalist for the Nobel Prize in physics last year, hopes for this new study are high and Yao jokes that

they are “here, ready for celebration” this year.

With the opening of the $70-million Advanced Research Complex in 2014, the university is taking steps towards becoming a frontrunner research university, which Yao says he thinks the university is already doing in the field of photonics with a faculty of around 20 professors, who he describes as “big name professors” who “are known to the international community.”

As for the university’s breakthrough study being put into practical use, it could happen soon for certain industries, like national defence.

Yao said that while the technology needs to be further developed, it can be very useful now in areas where speed is paramount, like national defence.

“The final objective is that they’re used everywhere,” he said.

Yao says he hopes that this technology will be used for practical applications within the next 10 years.

was able to learn new things, and meet some driven individuals who share my passion in startups and entrepreneurship.”

The event also provides networking opportunities, and access to mentors who have extensive experience in startup work, including Filippo Di

Are you a University or College Grad?

New photonics research opens the door for faster communications Jaclyn McRae-Sadik

Photo: CC Startup Stock Photos

types of businesses, including non-profits. One non-profit featured in last year’s event is Go Give-Back, a mobile donation platform, created by Liora Raitblat.

“All in all, it was an incredible experience,” she wrote in a blog post about her time at Startup Weekend last year. “I

Trapani, partners operations manager at Shopify, and Sally Dimachki, program officer at the National Judicial Institute, among others.

“Throughout the weekend, various coaches and mentors stopped by to donate their time,” wrote Raitblat. “Each mentor had an incredible story to tell, and relevant advice to give from their past experiences.”

Ved Petkar, who participated in last year’s Startup Weekend, has gone on to apply his entrepreneurship at Neutun Labs, which makes wearable technology designed to help people who suffer from epileptic seizures. He said the event helped him to realize how much he enjoyed developing businesses from the ground up.

“Before (entrepreneurship) was just something in the background that I wasn’t really considering,” he said. “After going through that and feeling the energy and the lifestyle, I was completely sold.”

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U of O study outlines ‘a road to the smoking endgame’

Research looks at role of economic incentives in decreasing smoking rates brought on by the tax increase.

Sweanor says while using taxes to cut into tobacco companies’ consumer base is helpful, governments need to do more to prevent the companies from making money.

“It’s very hard for anyone else to sell nicotine products,” he said. “Smokers really have no alternative.”

“They keep increasing prices, and since people have nowhere else to go, the vast majority of smokers will pay those slowly increasing prices,” he said.

The answer to this problem, according to the study, is competition. Sweanor suggests that the government encourages substitutes—other goods that consumers will buy in place of cigarettes—to compete with them and drive down prices. A promising substitute the pair suggests is e-cigarettes.

Sweanor said the government can encourage this competitive force by regulating competing products less, subsidizing new technologies, and

eric davidson News Editor

A new study co-authored by a University of Ottawa researcher is advocating for the use of economic incentives to decrease smoking rates in Canada.

David Sweanor, professor at the Faculty of Law at the University of Ottawa, and Dr. Rob Branston, Deputy Director of the Centre for Governance & Regulation in the University of Bath’s School of Management published their study, Big Tobacco, E-cigarettes and a road to the smoking endgame on Feb. 16.

“Cigarette smoking is killing so many people, it’s entirely unnecessary because you could deliver nicotine—the primary reason people smoke—in ways that are massively less hazard-

ous,” said Sweanor.

According to the Canadian Cancer Society, around 37,000 people die each year in Canada from smoking tobacco, and smoking is estimated to be responsible for 30 per cent of cancer deaths, and related to 85 per cent of lung cancer cases.

Sweanor isn’t proposing stopping people from consuming nicotine, but changing the delivery system. “What kills people is the smoke, it isn’t the nicotine in the dosage levels smokers are looking for,” he said.

Sweanor and Branston say the answer is economic incentives.

This concept shouldn’t be new to Canadians, where cigarettes are taxed heavily to raise the price and discourage consumers, especially young

“Cigarette smoking is killing so many people, it’s entirely unnecessary because you could deliver nicotine—the primary reason people smoke—in ways that are massively less hazardous.”—David Sweanor, professor at the Faculty of Law at the University of Ottawa thefulcrum.ca

A new study by a U of O professor details how to use economic incentives to reduce the market share of cigarettes.

buyers. According to the nonprofit Non Smokers Rights Association, the pre-tax price for a carton of 200 cigarettes in Ontario is $33.90, but after taxes are applied—including $59.75 in tobacco-specific taxes—the total price of the carton is $93.66.

But taxing can have unintended consequences, according to Sweanor and Branston.

The more governments tax

cigarettes, the higher the price gets, and a smaller and smaller percentage of the price consumers pay is made up of what the tobacco company charges.

What that means, Sweanor said, is that when taxes are high, the consumers who are still buying cigarettes will see a relatively small increase in the overall price when tobacco companies increase their price,

because the tobacco companies price is a small slice of the overall price once taxes are added.

In essence, he said, at a certain point high taxes on cigarettes make it easier for tobacco companies to raise prices without consumers minding. “It’s really become a licence to print money.”

This can help the companies offset the loss in customers

Photo: Kim Wiens

providing people with better information about alternatives to cigarettes.

“Our recommendation is that we need to do something to do things that erode the profitability of making cigarettes,” said Sweanor, “but also create an incentive for companies to move to far less hazardous products.”

NEWS | 7

National News

UW students create PASS kit to combat panic, anxiety, stress

Students hope to spread ‘first aid kits for mental health’ across Waterloo campuses Lena Yang The Cord

Waterloo (CUP)—First aid kits may be a staple in most institutions, offices and homes, but first aid kits for mental health are sorely missing despite increasing awareness and support for those suffering from mental illnesses.

University of Waterloo students Tina Chan and Alaaddin Sidahmed created the Panic Anxiety and Stress Support (PASS) kit in order to meet this demand. Chan and Sidahmed first conceived the idea for the 2015 Big Ideas Challenge, a pitch competition hosted by the University of Waterloo’s Faculty of Applied Health Sciences.

“We thought… so everyone carried around, or should be carrying around, a first aid kit, but they aren’t carrying around a lot of things that help their mental health. So we decided to roll with that idea and have the mental health first aid kit. After doing further research and getting advice from UW counsellors we put this together,” said Chan.

The kit includes an eye mask, earplugs, a stress ball, flashcards and a card with all of the mental health crisis hotlines. The eye mask and earplugs are meant

to help reduce anxiety when outside influences such as loud roommates are being disruptive, while the stress ball and gum help keep individuals occupied in times of high stress.

The flashcards are a unique feature of the kit. Each card offers tips and exercises like muscle relaxation to help people work through stress and anxiety on their own.

“The flashcards are essentially just different tips and ideas for what you can do,” explained Sidahmed. “They’re condensed because we realized although there is a lot of literature around mental health, most of it is pretty dense.”

The kit was distributed to first-year students in the St. Paul’s University College for a pilot study to help students transitioning from high school to university deal with stress.

“During their times of need when help is unavailable, we offer a glitch-free solution to guide them away from unhealthy work behaviours and toward healthy ones,” Chan explained.

Rather than aiming to replace counselling services or professional assistance, Chan and Sidahmed both hope the kit will be able teach people how to manage and assist their own mental health needs on a day-to-

Photo: Marco Pedri.

day basis by practicing healthy coping mechanisms.

Spreading awareness is also one of the major aims of the PASS kit, as despite continuing efforts to bring the prevalence of mental illness to light, there remains a large stigma around the topic.

“If I’m using the kit and I see you using the kit, we have a common understanding even if we don’t talk a lot. We both know we’re dealing with something or we’re doing our best to get through it,” said Sidahmed.

Although only a handful of first-years at UW were included in the pilot study, Chan and Sidahmed are hoping to expand to Wilfrid Laurier University and the tri-city universities in the future.

“For a lot of institutions it’s definitely becoming an issue they don’t know how to manage maybe because the first solution people come up with is counselling. There is never going to be enough counsellors to meet the demands of students so there has to be something else in that period of time to assist students, and that’s what we’re hoping the kit will do.”

Those wanting to purchase a kit can check out http://mypasskit.com/ or email Tina at tina@mypasskit.com.

Coca-Cola on Concordia campus right on time for Anti-Consumerism Week Michelle Gamage The Concordian

Montreal (CUP)—Coca-Cola was on campus Feb. 17 to give away free sugary cans of pop to students. The vending machine, which was installed around 9 a.m. on the engineering side of the EV building, read “hug me” with the CocaCola logo slapped on the side.

Students walked up to the machine, threw their arms around it—squeezed—and a got a free can of Coke.

Around 20 students gathered to laugh at people’s hugging attempts, capture it on camera and send photos and video to friends.

It’s a marketing campaign with unfortunate timing, according to Concordia Student Union (CSU) Campaigns Coordinator Anastasia Voutou, as it coincides with the CSU’s AntiConsumerism Week.

“Students should be taking a more combative stance against it and saying, ‘no, this isn’t the kind of garbage we want to be putting in our bodies, these aren’t the kind of companies

we want to be supporting with our economic choices,’” said Voutou.

According to Voutou, Concordia has an exclusive beverage contract with Coca-Cola, so she anticipates that marketing tactics like this will be popping up around campus more often.

Mohamed Elkaranshawy, a building engineering student, disagreed with Voutou’s stance.

“I think that the idea is pretty cool itself, just hugging the machine and getting a free Coke is awesome. I think (Coca-Cola is) trying to advertise love. The more you show love and passion the more you get free stuff,” Elkaranshawy said.

Nikolas Romero, a Concordia student double majoring in French studies and human relations, sees the marketing campaign for what it is, but still enjoyed getting a free drink.

“It is a way of making publicity (for the company),” said Romero, who says he usually sees these kinds of marketing videos on Facebook. “(But by

hugging) you’re showing love and you’re getting something for free, so that’s a good way to incentivize people to get love, and to show love more often in the wintertime.”

Despite the campaign’s popularity with students, Voutou remains unimpressed with Coca-Cola.

“There are small cooperatives like The Hive, there are non-profits like Café X that we should be supporting instead,” she said, citing several local businesses on the Concordia campus.

“A corporation like Coke doesn’t give a damn about student life so I don’t think they’re organized enough to know what is happening and to make it coincide with AntiConsumerism Week. However I think it is an unfortunate coincidence and it does illustrate the decimation of campus life in academic settings, and the decimation of economic choices in campus settings,” said Voutou.

Concordia security said the machine would be removed Feb. 18.

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A&C EDITOR Allegra Morgado arts@thefulcrum.ca

ARTS&CULTURE New podcast shows art is more than ‘Just Another Gala’ (613) 695-0062 @allietate

U of O alumnae team up for podcast on Ottawa theatre scene “We’re seeing more spaces, we’re seeing more theatre companies, we’re seeing more conversation.”—Kat Fournier, co-host of Just Another Gala and University of Ottawa alumna.

Allegra Morgado arts & culture editor

A

s the CBC sells off their production centres, Canada’s largest print media company buries itself in more debt, and newspapers lay off journalists left and right, covering the arts is one of the last things on most journalists’ minds.

Fortunately, Ottawa theatre writers Kat Fournier and Jessica Ruano are here to fix that— with a podcast.

Fournier and Ruano, both University of Ottawa alumnae and active members in the local theatre scene, premiered their new podcast Just Another Gala on Soundcloud on Feb. 15.

The podcast is a weekly series, releasing new episodes every Monday, and is hoping to give the Capital’s theatre field the coverage it deserves.

“In a lot of professional media you see less and less (arts)

coverage, merged newsrooms, and that kind of thing,” says Fournier. “Jessica and I are both passionate about talking about theatre and the importance of theatre and our community, and having that discussion… and it just came out of that, like a ‘what if?’ kind of scenario.”

Both women are passionate about what they believe is an emerging theatre scene in Ottawa, with theatre series’ like TACTICS popping up in the past few years and the U of O’s theatre department getting new digs at the Ottawa Art Gallery’s new home in 2017, and feel that wider coverage will help inspire more growth in the already growing scene.

“We’re seeing more spaces, we’re seeing more theatre companies, we’re seeing more conversations… there’s this tiny bit of growth that’s happening, and it’s all about catching that growth, and being enthusiastic

Kat Fournier (left) and Jessica Ruano (right) working on the latest episode of Just Another Gala.

Photo: Courtesy of Joshua Marquez Villeneuve.

about it, and really encouraging it,” says Fournier.

Although both Fournier and Ruano come from a print media background, they decided to try their hands at podcasts, as they noticed the rising popularity of the format and felt it would be a good way to attract a wider audience with whom to share their love of local theatre.

Ruano feels that with the extensive amount of print content accessible online people are often sharing articles on social media and reading things quickly, but that podcasts are a more relaxing medium that give you the chance to “let yourself get into it.” “(You can) listen to it while you’re cooking or doing something else. It can become part of your day,” says Ruano.

For those curious about the name of the series, Ruano and Fournier chose it as a

tongue-in-cheek reference to a comment that former Prime Minister Stephen Harper made about government arts funding back in 2008. Harper made a statement saying that “ordinary people” were not interested in funding “rich artists hosting and attending galas,” says Fournier.

“What came out of it, really, was a political movement, and it was a shared movement in the arts community across Canada,” says Fournier. “We were both really inspired by this shared moment in arts history in Canada.”

“And the idea being that like all the plays at work, all the events we go to, all the panels we attend, it’s ‘just another gala’,” said Ruano.

As the podcast grows, Ruano says her and Fournier will be brainstorming new segments and other tactics to cover local theatre, and staking their place as active voices in Ottawa theatre in general. After all, there’s always another gala to cover in the Capital’s blossoming art scene.

Looking for a magical night on campus? Try the opera

U of O Opera Company to perform Mozart’s The Magic Flute ryan pepper

staff contributor Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, or The Magic Flute, first opened in 1791. On March 3, the University Ottawa’s Opera Company will be bringing the over 200-year-old opera to Tabaret Hall, so opera lovers can check it out without using a time machine, or even leaving campus.

The Magic Flute recounts the story of Pamina, daughter of the Queen of the Night, who is abducted by the sorcerer Sarastro, and of Tamino, the prince who goes to save her, and falls in love with her in the process.

“It’s a fairy-tale like story,” says Alyssa Curto, who is in her first year of her master’s in voice performance at the U of O and plays Panima in one

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of the casts.

The opera is presented by the U of O’s school of music, and the cast of the opera are drawn from the school’s opera production class. The production is also double-cast, meaning there are two different crews, so while one group is on stage one night, the other cast is doing all the work backstage. There are also a few theatre students volunteering backstage.

The Magic Flute is one of Mozart’s most popular and accessible operas, and has been performed continually since its debut.

“It’s a really good opera to see if it’s your first time going to an opera because there’s dialogue in it as well, so it’s not singing the entire time,” Curto says.

The dialogue is in English, so you don’t have to worry

about taking any crash courses in German before the opening night. The director, Sandra Graham, is a professor and vocal coach with the faculty.

Graham brought a unique glitzy and flashy vision to the opera, with a slight Egyptian influence, which Curto says will be “visually very pleasing.”

The Magic Flute is often a must-see for anyone with an interest in opera, and the Opera Company’s performance promises to be top-notch.

“The leads are primarily master’s students, just because they’ve had longer training, but there’s a lot of people in the production who are in their undergrad,” says Jordanne Erichsen, a master’s student in vocal performance.

Like the other leads, Erichsen has been singing for nearly a decade. She says the

Terri-Lynn Mictchell, who plays the Queen of the Night in one of the two casts, all done up in her glitzy makeup for the role.

Photo: Courtesy of Alexandria Givens.

main draw of the U of O’s performance is the talent of the singers, as well as the catchy music and classic story.

“It would have been like the pop music of Mozart’s time.

And the characters are the classic stereotype of the villain and the good guy,” says Erichsen.

For the uninitiated, The Magic Flute is an incredible opera to start one’s journey into the art form, but also a well-loved classic that is a must-see for the more seasoned opera-lover.

The performance will be running March 3-6 at Huguette Labelle Hall in Tabaret Hall.

Tickets are $10 at the door for students, and $5.65 if bought in advance on the Eventbrite page. For showtimes and other information, check out the uoCal page at http://www.uocal. uottawa.ca/en/node/11979.

ARTS & Culture | 9

Indigenous Walks takes Ottawa back to its Native roots Walking tour shows Indigenous perspective of Ottawa history scape, and architecture from an Indigenous perspective, particularly addressing social, political, and cultural issues.”

Working with the There’s Room: Ottawa Artists Respond to the Refugee Crisis art exhibition at Gallery 101, which features multiple University of Ottawa alumni, Koebel guided participants through Ottawa’s Little Italy neighbourhood on Feb. 20.

Koebel said that working with the exhibit was “an interesting place for Indigenous Walks” due to her people’s complex “history with immigration” and its displacement of Indigenous people.

“We understand that as human beings we have to provide that sense of safety and space, but it’s hard for us to see our government providing resources when we barely have any ourselves,” said Koebel.

“On the other hand, there are many Indigenous people who have generously welcomed Syrian refugees at the airport with smudge bowl and

diyyinah jamora fulcrum contributor

Although learning about the early history of Ottawa may seem as easy as visiting the Bytown Museum, there are some aspects of history that are too often forgotten. Indigenous Walks, a guided walking tour through downtown Ottawa, is here to pick up where museums leave off.

Indigenous Walks was founded in May 2014 when Jaime Koebel, a Nehiyawak and Cree woman, decided to merge her love for education with her personal experience as an Indigenous person. Koebel takes participants through Parliament Hill and other areas in downtown Ottawa to teach about these locations’ history from an Indigenous perspective.

“I did my own research, walked around the city, found some locations of aboriginal (importance). It was something exciting for me to organize,” said Koebel. “The whole point is to look at the monuments, land-

sage in hand to introduce them and welcome them… so I think that’s another aspect of what it means to be Indigenous, to be on the same level as other human beings.”

The walk had several stops in Little Italy, drawing on the ideas of borders separating people, since artificial lines ignore natural lines. Even modern-day transit served as a reminder of Indigenous history, as Koebel discussed how the O-Train was reminiscent of the first railway system being built in Canada, which represented a growing nation, but also displaced Indigenous people onto reserve lands.

Koebel said it also serves as a reminder of communities coming together and creating connections through their experiences with persecution, adding that escaped Chinese immigrants who came to work on the railroad found refuge with Indigenous people, as well as African Americans escaping slavery.

“There’s a sort of history of

Jaime Koebel stands third from the left amid the participants from Feb. 20’s Indigenous Walks group.

Photo: Courtesy of Rene Price.

Indigenous people being a support for people who have been persecuted because they can relate,” said Koebel.

Along with a culture of leveling with other human beings is the knowledge that women are respected and held highly. The walk also reminded participants about the pressing issue

of missing and murdered Indigenous women, a topic that has become more widely covered in recent years.

Exploring Ottawa through an Indigenous perspective helps bring Indigenous issues to the forefront of Canadian society, as Koebel noted that she has found more and more

people becoming interested in learning about Canada’s Indigenous history.

“With Indigenous Walks I’m happy to be able to create a space where people can come learn and learn at their own preference in a sense that it’s a safe place and they can absorb what they want.”

Boom Box dials in on the real meaning of radio Eric Davidson news editor

Many Canadians, especially young ones, might think that radio is dead, with mega-hit podcast Serial holding the smoking gun. However, the presenters at Boom Box, Farm Radio International’s World Radio Day event, told a very different story.

The event, which took place on Feb. 13, featured a number of distinguished speakers from the world of radio and podcasting—Nora Young from CBC’s Spark, Katie Jensen from CANADALAND and Weird Canada, Kevin Perkins from Farm Radio International, and Piya Chattopadhyay from CBC Radio, who hosted the panel discussion.

The event took place live at the McMillan Agency’s studio in the ByWard Market, and was broadcast on University of Ottawa community radio station CHUO and live-streamed with video online. This multifaceted media use seemed to be representative of the hope that radio will be able to coexist with the recent technological advances that were predicted to destroy.

Over the course of the event, the panelists discussed the rise

of podcasts, both niche and blockbuster, and the growing role radio is playing around the world, especially in developing countries.

“We’re in a luxurious position in the Western world that radio is something that happens and entertains us,” said Chattopadhyay. But in other countries, it can be a lifeline. “How you grow your food, whether a certain threat is growing, that is all disseminated through radio,” said Chattopadhyay.

“I think one of the wonderful things in the electronic age is that there’s a free publisher out there called the Internet,” said Perkins on the rise of podcasts in recent years. “Very good amateur craftspeople can now have an audience without a radio station.”

The podcast landscape has grown to the point where, in addition to all the individual craftspeople, companies have emerged whose business model is built entirely on podcasts, like CANADALAND in Canada and Gimlet Media in the United States.

“20 years ago, people would bring books, newspapers, magazines on the subway. Now they download podcasts,” said Jensen.

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So, will radio be the victim of a Serial killer? The panel instead suggested that perhaps these hit podcasts aren’t here to replace radio, but to coexist with it.

Perkins said big broadcasters should embrace the changing ways people consume media.

“Public broadcasters have to realize that a lot of their content will be listened to not over air, but (as podcasts) by young adults who are washing the dishes,” he said.

Perkins also said that the learning should go both ways.

“I think one thing that public broadcasting can help podcasting with is journalistic standards,” he said. “That’s been argued out over 75 years in Canada, and I think we’ve got a pretty good set of them.”

The panelists covered a lot of ground in the hour-long event.

According to Claudia Gutierrez, one of the event organizers, that was the idea. She said the goal of the event was getting people talking about the future of audio.

“I hope that people are thinking of radio as a global community,” said Gutierrez. “Radio is such a huge component of people’s lives in other parts of the world.”

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Kanye West • The Life of Pablo | Def Jam/G.O.O.D. Music Spencer Murdock sports editor

Pablo Picasso, Pablo Escobar, Paul the Apostle—which Pablo is Kanye West referring to in the title of his seventh solo album?

In reality, it’s equal parts of each as he crafts his manifesto of his relation to the three Pablos. The brash power of Escobar along with his view of himself as a sullen and misunderstood artist much like Picasso. Finally, he relates to Paul the Apostle being a man amidst constant controversy but whose contributions have been so valuable to the music industry.

With perhaps the greatest string of consecutive albums in any recent artist’s discography, it seems as if West has yet again managed to keep his streak alive. Upon its release, the album was equally as polarizing as two of his prior game changers in 808s & Heartbreak and Yeezus, but this time it’s slightly different.

The peak of the album’s peculiar rollout was a grandiose welcoming party, debuting in front of a sold-out crowd at Madison Square Garden.

The last-minute tweaking of the record is evident— which is mainly because the album actually isn’t fully complete. West tweeted that he intended to “fix” the song “Wolves”, a track that originally debuted a year ago, with contributions from Vic Mensa and Sia traded for a rapping verse from Kanye and a painfully gorgeous outro from the elusive Frank Ocean. Perhaps West will never feel that the album is completely “finished,” but luckily the way it currently stands is pretty damn good.

On The Life of Pablo, there’s just about everything you could expect to hear on a Kanye West album, along with some new tricks for good measure. There are a handful of controversial and cringeworthy lines, boisterous braggadocio, deep introspection,

and of course some good old rhyming over banging beats.

Earlier this month, West tweeted about this being a gospel album, and he wasn’t quite joking. From the opening track, there is a strong religious theme that presents the battling duality of benevolence and temptation towards destructive vices.

The album’s opener “Ultralight Beam” is striking and beautiful, peppered with a backing choir and featuring a verse from Chance the Rapper.

On “Feedback”, Kanye channels the aggression and industrial sound of his prior album to give a shot of energy into the first half of the record.

“Hands up, we just doing what the cops taught us/hands up, hands up, then the cops shot us,” raps West, proving that his days of tossing around socio-political commentary are not far behind him.

West has something to say for the people who miss his

‘old self’ on the satirical interlude “I Love Kanye,” which shows off his razor-sharp wit and self-awareness.

“I hate the new Kanye, the bad mood Kanye/The always rude Kanye, spaz in the news Kanye/ I miss the sweet Kanye, chop up the beats Kanye”.

Similar to the work of Picasso, Kanye’s Pablo is disheveled, chaotic, and oddly beautiful.

“FML” featuring The Weeknd and “Real Friends” are Kanye at his most personal.

It’s the moment when you realize that behind the façade of the egomaniacal superstar, there’s someone that feels and has problems just like everyone else.

The song’s crescendo is the arresting end to the second verse: “What if Mary was in the club, when she met Joseph around hella thugs?/ Cover Nori in lamb’s wool/ We surrounded by the fuckin’ wolves.” The same line is repeated swapping the name of

his two-and-a-half-year old daughter for his newborn son, Saint.

On “No More Parties in LA” West refers to an old version of himself being a “backpack n***a with luxury taste buds,” referring to the pink polowearing, soul sampling cocky college dropout that we all

grew to love.

Above all else, The Life of Pablo proves that Kanye West will always hunt for something different and be forever evolving. Sometimes people may miss the old Kanye, but when the new one makes albums like this, he’s more than welcome to stay.

The Fulcrum picks the Oscars Best Picture

Haven’t kept up with the Oscar nominees? Read our contributors’ take on which film should come out on top Iñárritu for The Revenant is simply out of this world.

The film, which is based off of Michael Punke’s novel The Revenant: A Novel of Revenge, is currently nominated for 12 Oscars, the most of any film at the 88th Academy Awards, and has already won three Golden Globes and five British Academy Film Awards.

The Revenant follows the story of real-life explorer Hugh Glass, and depicts Glass’ search for revenge after he’s been abandoned by his own team. The film is deserving of the Best Picture award not just because of DiCaprio’s superb acting chops, but because watching this movie is a complete sensory experience.

While it is a bit on the longer side, every sec-

have anchored a whole movie, and the “damsels in distress” are as tough and capable as their rescuers. Meanwhile, the titular Max, played by Tom Hardy, remains an enigma, leaving Charlize Theron’s Furiosa as the hero you can’t help rooting for.

I’d be surprised to see such a full-blown action movie—let alone one this smart and inventive—win Best Picture. But Fury Road deserves the honour.

—Madison McSweeney

ond of the movie is riveting from the opening scenes right down to the infamous bear scene.

The movie is an adventure drama that catapults the viewer into a world of raw emotion and beautiful imagery.

Overall the amazing cinematography and riveting performances are enough to make this movie more than well-deserving of the Best Picture award.

—Deborah Sogelola

Room Amongst the usual crowd of blockbuster Best Picture contenders in this year’s Oscars race inconspicuously lies Room, an incredibly poignant Canadian-British film based on the novel of the same name by Emma Donoghue and directed by Lenny Abraham.

Brie Larson’s performance as Ma, a young mother to Jack, portrayed by Jacob Tremblay, is truly harrowing. Cruelly held in a small garden shed with no access to the real world except through a small skylight, the increasingly desperate mother yearns for her and her son’s freedom, especially as Jack grows older and becomes curious as to what exists outside of the small four walls that have constituted his world since birth.

Room is undeniably the most humane, inspiring and emotional film featured on this year’s list. It is packed full of hope and appreciation for the world we take so for granted.

Moreover, it is the only film anchored by a female lead, and done so somewhat brilliantly too. Some have drawn comparisons with the unexpected success of 2005 Best Picture winner, Million Dollar Baby, so here’s hoping that Room can sneak into frontrunner status in a similar fashion and grab the big prize that it thoroughly deserves.

—Alannah Williams

Mad Max: Fury Road Mad Max: Fury Road could have easily been a generic reboot. Instead, writer-director George Miller has brought us an original story distinguished by thorough world-building, superb casting, and anarchic visual flair.

The film features a unique dystopian setting, including a matriarchal biker community, a desert kingdom ruled by a lecherous warlord, and numerous high-octane car chases, gorgeously rendered using practical effects and working vehicles.

However, beneath the bombast lies an intelligent story.

Fury Road fully invests in its supporting characters—brainwashed warboy Nux, played by Nicholas Hoult, has a redemptive arc that could

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The Revenant Leonardo DiCaprio in any movie is sure to be a great cinematic experience. Leonardo DiCaprio teaming up with director Alejandro González

ARTS & Culture | 11

Kyle Darbyson Features Editor

With the cuddle industry on the rise, are Canadians coming around to the idea of paying for non-sexual contact?

Redefining touch

O

n a frigid Monday afternoon I finally came face-to-face with Rachel, a young woman whose services I had purchased online over the weekend.

We met up at an A&W on Hunt Club Road, and one of the first things she asked me was if I had done this sort of thing before, to which I nervously answered, “No.” Once these awkward formalities were out of the way, we walked to her apartment and crawled into a bed that she had set up in her living room.

I paid for 30 minutes, which gave us plenty of time to try out a variety of positions I was curious about, including the “68 1/2” and something called “cherry popsicles.”

After my session was over, Rachel generously made me some tea and I left her apartment feeling a little shady, but relaxed nonetheless.

What I neglected to mention up until this point is that Rachel is a professional cuddler, and all of the positions we performed together were strictly platonic in nature (outlined in a comprehensive document called “The Cuddle Sutra”).

Thanks to the Cuddlery—the company that employs Rachel—this service has been available to Ottawans in an official capacity since January 2015. It began in Vancouver in 2014 and it has expanded to most major Canadian cities since that time.

In fact, businesses like this have been popping up across Canada and the United States over the last couple years, united under a collective objective to alleviate anxiety and loneliness through the power of non-sexual touch.

Despite knowing this going into my cuddle session with Rachel, the whole thing still felt weird. All my life I’ve been told that this kind of intimate contact should be reserved for family members and sexual partners only. But should it be?

Organizations like the Cuddlery are out to challenge that assumption through their business model, which is predicated on the idea that platonic intimacy is something that can be shared between complete strangers.

Professional snuggling throughout the years Even though professional snuggling businesses have only become prominent over the past few years, this kind of service can be traced back to 2004, where relationship expert Reid Mihalko began organizing adult “cuddle parties” in Manhattan.

This idea was later expanded upon sometime around 2008, when Travis Sigley—a former male entertainer from San Francisco—launched what many consider to be the first professional cuddling service called Cuddle Therapy.

Since then more than 20 cuddling businesses have been set up in North America, including organizations native to Canada such as The Cuddle Co and Cuddleme.ca.

There’s even a mobile app called Spoonr available for cuddlers on the go, while those who enjoy more public displays of affection can attend large-scale social events, like last year’s Cuddle Con in Portland, Oregon.

One of Canada’s first professional cuddling services to emerge from this popularity spike is the Cuddlery, founded in

2014 by University of Ottawa graduate Marylen Reid.

Reid’s time studying law at the U of O largely inspired her to launch the Cuddlery, since prepping for midterms and exams far away from her home city of Vancouver left her feeling lonely and mentally strained.

“Like anyone who is stressed out, what I needed was a good cuddle and it was hard to find. I went online to try to find cuddle buddies and… it was not the best way to do it,” she said, referring to dating websites which are designed for, whether intentionally or not, sexual encounters.

“So I was thinking if only such a service existed, I would use it.”

Once Reid graduated from law school in 2013, she started out on a mission to establish a physical intimacy service in Canada where sexual intercourse isn’t implied at the outset.

“When there’s no possibility of sex it’s more relaxing, calming, accepting, and it’s a totally different experience.”

Cuddling 101 Of course, one of the many challenges that Reid ran into once she decided to start up her own paid snuggling business is recruiting employees who possess the right temperament and skill set for the job.

“Last year we had more than 1,300 applications,” she said. “(But) no one was good enough or good by my standards.”

To fix this problem, Reid created her own training program and the screening process for these positions came with a more specific set of requirements.

“You’re looking for a lot of different criteria, like non-judgemental, the faculty of being able to care, and genuine care for other people, even strangers. And, of course, the cuddling skills.”

One of the candidates who met all these requirements is Rachel Molloy (the cuddler I hired), who performs these sessions two to four times a month, in addition to her other gigs as a model, actress, dancer, author, lab technician, and flower shop employee.

After going through Reid’s vigorous training program, Molloy is now equipped with a number of cozy moves in her arsenal, including an especially effective “cuddly massage” that almost put me to sleep right on the spot.

“I find when clients get nervous then it’s just easier to say ‘would you like to try the cuddly massage?’ and it helps relax them a little bit, which is what you want from a session.”

While Molloy is not worried about inviting strangers into her home for these intimate encounters, she admits that certain security measures must be taken to ensure her safety.

“There’s a meeting beforehand to kind of get to know each other. You can meet as many times as you want before the actual session, but you can usually sense (the client’s character) pretty quickly.”

She also discloses the very important fact that “Every cuddler has a right to say ‘no’, even before they accept a client.”

Additionally, as per company policy, each cuddle session is video-taped to guarantee that there is no misconduct on the part of both participants. The recording is later deleted after it is reviewed by the cuddler. Security measures like this are

not universal for all cuddling companies, but businesses like the Cuddlery would like to establish video recording as an industry standard.

But despite having to take these serious precautionary measures, Molloy still believes that this whole process is worth it in the end, since it helps her clients abate unpleasant emotions that she knows all too well.

“For me personally, I understand that kind of loneliness, moving to a new city and not knowing anyone,” she said, having just moved to Ottawa back in August.

“They don’t have to feel like they need to be alone. Because when I see people being alone and kind of stuck in that cycle it just gets worse.”

A hug a day…

The health benefits of cuddling that Molloy hints at aren’t just based on some arbitrary, incalculable sense of “feeling good” or not. It’s actually backed up by science.

“Cuddling releases oxytocin in the brain,” said Reid, referring to a hormone that scientists have tied to the lowering of blood pressure, reducing depression, and relieving stress. “So it has been proven that cuddling is fostering well-being.”

Molloy also chimes in by saying that these benefits also apply to a broader social context.

“Touch is so essential in how we communicate. It’s a skill you need for networking, you know? And people are starting to realize that to get back in touch with this is essential if you want to advance in a career, or a social life.”

On the flip side of the spectrum, according to the Touch Institutes at the University of Miami, someone who lacks intimate contact in their lives (especially at a young age) is at risk of delayed development in areas such as weight gain, motor skills, and cognitive skills.

Unfortunately, more Canadians than ever might be susceptible to these drawbacks.

According to 2011 census figures, 27.6 per cent of the population chooses to live alone, a number that is more than double the single occupancy rate from 1971.

This increasingly isolated existence is exacerbated by the fact that, in Western society at least, intimate physical touch between strangers is heavily frowned upon. This is particularly true for men, a social stigma that is fueled by equal parts homophobia and sex offender concerns.

Sadly, Reid remarks that this attitude manages to manifest itself in the clients they receive, many of whom are “still ashamed to get such a service.”

This cultural sheepishness surrounding professional cuddling is unfortunate, especially since the diverse clientele that the Cuddlery receives seems to indicate that this service is needed for Canadians from all walks of life.

“There’s the person that is too busy, for example a business man. There are women who have given up on online dating because it’s crap. There are people who are in pain because they found out that they have a terminal disease, or they’ve lost their wife or their husband,” said Reid.

“One type of client we’re proud to serve is people with disabilities that are having difficulty going out of their house, or wom-

en who have been sexually abused and they have to learn how to touch again.”

Fifty Shades of Intimacy Still, despite the numerous health advantages, the cuddling industry’s close proximity to the sex trade—in that they both monetize physical touch—might be too much for some Canadians to accept.

Molloy experiences these kinds of sentiments first-hand whenever she tells anybody about her part-time job.

“Either they ask questions or they’re afraid to ask questions,” she said. “The people that do make comments, there’s a lot of ‘Oh, I can’t see myself paying for that service.’”

With that being said, some of these comparisons between the cuddle industry and the sex trade are definitely justified.

After all, U of O law professor Christine Bruckert—who has been researching the sex trade for more than two decades— points out that a lot of people who solicit prostitution don’t do it just for the sake of intercourse.

“There’s all sorts of different kinds of touch that people are anxious to have and aren’t finding in their lives or through other channels. And sex is one of those, but other kinds of contact are as well.”

“And sex workers will tell you that they spend a lot of time talking and cuddling and doing what’s called the ‘girlfriend” experience’ or the ‘boyfriend experience.’”

However, Bruckert believes that the sex trade’s thematic overlap with paid snuggling isn’t an inherently bad thing.

“I think it’s just a spectrum of different kinds of intimacy you can purchase and I suppose someone who’s buying a cuddling service very explicitly does not want to have sexual contact. So I see it more along that line as part of a continuum of emotional, intimate, sexual services that are now being offered in a commercial context.”

Cozying up to the masses While Reid definitely wants to expand the scope of her business in the future, she believes that their primary focus should be on education and training.

“Our next challenge for the Cuddlery is really to educate people who are wanting high-quality cuddling. A lot of people are not aware that there is such a thing,” she said. “So what we want is more education (and) training for people to become better cuddlers.”

Whether or not this strategy will allow this industry to go mainstream is anyone’s guess.

As it stands, in a time when Canadians are becoming increasingly isolated because of chosen living conditions and advances in mobile technology, the paid snuggling business remains a viable market for those who crave, but are in short supply of, human contact.

And if you’re still one of those people who are hesitant to share close proximity with a random man or woman, Reid believes that this mental barrier can be broken down with a simple change of perspective.

“I think that with my job I (finally) understood the meaning of intimacy, and it’s not sharing your life with someone as girlfriend or boyfriend. It’s willing to be honest and vulnerable with someone.”

“When there’s no possibility of sex it’s more relaxing, calming, accepting, and it’s a totally different experience.”— Marylen Reid, founder of the Cuddlery.

SPORTS

SPORTS EDITOR Spencer Murdock sports@thefulcrum.ca

@SpencerMurdock @FulcrumSports

Gee-Gees final homestand produces two solid wins Seniors shine in last regular season games at Montpetit Hall Spencer Murdock Sports Editor

W

hile students at the University of Ottawa enjoyed their final days of reading week, the Gee-Gees men’s basketball team geared up for an emotional weekend at Montpetit Hall.

Coming to town to battle the Gees were the Waterloo Warriors and Laurier Golden Hawks on Feb. 19 and 20, respectively.

Both opponents have had their fair share of struggles in the season, and after the GeeGees suffered their second loss of the season to the McMaster Marauders, followed by a too-close-for-comfort win over Brock, they looked determined to come out on top.

The second night against Laurier was the more inspired affair. In light of senior’s night, the Gee-Gees’ starting lineup reflected the occasion. The team started all of the players being honoured for their time in garnet and grey, including Zach Traer who is not a mainstay in the team’s lineup.

Traer has spent his career for the team being the player to give everything in practice and work at improving his teammates as well as boosting morale. His hard work culminated with getting the ball in his hands seconds into the game and draining a threepointer. After an eruption from the crowd and the bench, the following Gee-Gees offensive possession he spotted up and drained another three.

The heartwarming start to the game also kicked off a flurry of scoring from the Gee-Gees in their first 100plus point performance of the regular season. Laurier fought the Gees hard and were able to capitalize at times, but the offensive pressure displayed by Ottawa was far too much for the Golden Hawks in the 10979 win.

The team’s four seniors—

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Caleb Agada drives on two Laurier defenders in the team’s final regular season home win.

Mike L’Africain, Vikas Gill, Mehdi Tihani, and Traer—all carried the Gee-Gees to victory. The four accounted for 53 of the team’s points in the game, led by L’Africain with 24.

For L’Africain, the night was extra special as he tallied his 380th assist in a Gee-Gees uniform, which was enough to pass Josh Gibson-Bascombe on the all-time list at the U of O. “It’s my favourite stat for sure,” said L’Africain. “It’s a perfect one for me to get.

These guys want me to be successful and vice versa, so it makes it easy because everyone is unselfish.”

“There’s no better feeling, especially getting one off Mike to help him on his special night with the assists record,” said Traer on his back-to-back threes to open the game. “It was easy to step back and take a different role, and I’m fine

“It was easy to step back and take a different role, and I’m fine with that because I know I’m part of this family as much as anyone else on this team.”— Zach Traer, Gee-Gees forward.

with that because I know I’m part of this family as much as anyone else on this team.”

Although the night was about the veteran players on the roster, the younger Mackenzie Morrison also continued to solidify his role among the talented squad.

In 14 minutes, Morrison had 11 points, five rebounds, and an assist. The second-year forward has seen his roll increase and is looking to take the next step with the team.

“My team’s been super supportive putting me in positions to succeed,” said Morrison. “I’m just doing whatever I can to help this team eventually hopefully win a national championship.”

The previous night, the team was able to exercise their bench in a 85-60 win over the Waterloo Warriors Behind point guard Mike L’Africain, the team stormed

Photo: Marta Kierkus

ahead to a 40-29 lead at halftime, and continued to pull away in the second half.

For the first time this season, the Gee-Gees put a lineup consisting of all first- and second-year players on the floor.

Calvin Epistola ran the point, Brandon Robinson, Mackenzie Morrison, and Malik Turrenne were on the wing, with Andrew DeGroot manning the post.

“We have a long season left,” said Derouin. “We have to get these guys some minutes.

Guys like Mackenzie Morrison and Brandon Robinson are a big part of us going as far as we can.”

L’Africain was the leading scorer on the night with 24, followed by Caleb Agada with 17.

Following a Northern Ontario roadstand next weekend

on Feb. 26 and 27, the Gee-Gees will enter the playoffs in pursuit of a national title. If you ask the players how they feel about this next step, they’ll tell you that they are more ready than ever.

“We’re a machine and this is what we’re built for,” said L’Africain. “We’re getting better everyday and there’s one thing you don’t want to make us—and that’s hungry.”

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Women’s hoops streaking into playoffs

15-2 record keeps playoff expectations higher than ever after wins on seniors weekend David Agbaire Proofreader

The University of Ottawa Gee-Gees women’s basketball team was in full force this weekend as they hosted the Waterloo Warriors and the Laurier Golden Hawks in their final home games of the regular season.

Both teams put up an admirable fight, however the Gees were able to vanquish any real threat to their dominance as the team collected their third and fourth straight wins, improving their record to an impressive 15-2.

The wins also mean that the Gees sit atop the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) North division standings, top of the OUA overall standings, and hold the sixth-place ranking in the country.

The weekend was also significant for the team as it marked seniors night, where the Gees celebrated three of their graduating players, forwards Kellie Ring, Catherine Traer, and Krista Van Slingerland.

The first game of the weekend was an encounter against the Waterloo Warriors on Feb. 19.

Despite being tied 21-21 early in the second quarter, the Gees mounted an offensive rally and tightened up on defence to secure a comfortable 75-51 win.

Ring was instrumental for the Gees with her performance, netting the game-high

21 points, nine rebounds, and three assists which helped solidify Ottawa’s 20-point lead in much of the second half.

“I’m taking it one game at a time and finishing on a high,” said Ring about seeing her GeeGees career come to a close.

“The group of girls every year is amazing and it’s like a second family.”

The following night, the Gees-Gees had a much closer tilt with a lightning quick Laurier Golden Hawks team.

Coming into the match, the Golden Hawks were highly ranked in multiple offensive and defensive categories and the game lived up to its potential as a high-octane encounter.

The Gee-Gees were able to overcome Laurier’s fluid ball movement and perimeter shooting as they secured a 6964 win at home.

It was a close game as the teams traded leads throughout the first half, but the Gees once again employed lockdown defence to seal the game.

The Gees’ deadly three point shooting was led by point guard Julia Soriano, who is third in three-point percentage in the OUA. Soriano scored 19 points, hitting an impressive five of her seven long-range shots in the game.

Gees top scorer Catherine Traer led the scoring on the night logging 22 points and seven rebounds, including two threes of her own.

Traer hasn’t had an easy ride

The Gee-Gees are coming together as a unit at the right time.

in university. After being one of the top recruits out of high school, she ran into injury issues that cost her parts of every year and the entirety of one.

This season, Traer is the team’s leading scorer and a veteran presence as they look to make a deep playoff push.

“It feels good to win on seniors night,” said Traer. “We knew Laurier would be a tough matchup and without Lemoine in the lineup it was tough to adjust on offence and defence.

It feels amazing to get the win and suck it up tonight, I’m happy I’m graduating with two other amazing players.”

Traer’s brother Zach was also celebrating his seniors night with the men’s basketball team and he shared how he felt about Catherine’s performance.

“I’m really proud of my sister,” said Traer, who contributed six points to his team’s win.

“She’s had a tough time with injuries, she just got back from another one. I wish her the best

Photo: Marta Kierkus

and to keep performing.”

After the game Gee-Gees head coach Andy Sparks delivered a speech recognizing his three graduating players.

It was a particularly memorable night for Krista Van Slingerland, who began the year sidelined with a concussion but recovered admirably to become a true force for the Gees this season. She’s spent the last two years in garnet and grey after transferring from Carleton. She has also cemented her off-the-

court legacy as founder of the Student Athlete Mental Health Initiative, a nationwide mental health in athletics awareness program.

After the bittersweet night, the Gee-Gees will be in place to host a quarterfinal playoff game and potentially the OUA Final Four in three weeks.

Rounding off the regular season for the Gees are a pair of road games against Nipissing and Laurentian on Feb. 26 and 27.

Women’s hockey splits regular season closing weekend

Games end in shootouts, with win over #2 Montreal, loss to Ravens Spencer Murdock Sports Editor

The ninth-ranked Gee-Gees women’s hockey team has had their best season in recent history, which came to a close last weekend with games against conference foes Montreal and Carleton.

The team played their final matchup against nationally ranked competition when they welcomed the second-ranked Montreal Carabins to the Minto Sports Complex on Feb. 19.

The Carabins stormed out of the gates, finding the back of the net on two shots early in the first period.

A trademark of this GeeGees team this season has been their ability to fight back when

behind. They stayed true to form when Vickie Lemire capitalized on a powerplay in the final minutes of the first to get the Gees on the board.

Shortly after, the Gee-Gees scored again as Véronik Samson’s goal tied the game at two.

Minutes later, Montreal regrouped and retook the lead, one that would be secure until the final seconds of the game.

During a scoreless third period, the outlook appeared to be grim for the Gee-Gees. With 44 seconds left on the clock, CarolAnn Upshall jumped on a rebound from Carabins goaltender and fired it home to tie the game and send it to overtime.

After a scoreless overtime period, the teams prepared for a shootout. Cindy Laurin and

With 44 seconds left on the clock, Carol-Ann Upshall jumped on a rebound from Carabins goaltender and fired it home to tie the game and send it to overtime.

Gee-Gees teamates celebrate the tying goal against Montreal. Photo: Marta Kierkus

Mélodie Bouchard both scored for the Gee-Gees in the shootout and propelled the team to the 4-3 victory in their final home game of the regular season.

On Feb. 21, the Gees travelled across the city to take on the Carleton Ravens in the reg-

ular season finale.

There was no scoring in the first period, however both offensive sides were kick-started in the second.

The Ravens and Gee-Gees traded back-and-forth goals, resulting in a 2-2 tie heading into the final frame.

Upshall improved upon her impressive scoring record this season with a go-ahead goal for the Gees in the third. Minutes later, the Ravens tied the game up and it would stay knotted through the end of regulation and overtime.

For the second time in the weekend, the Gee-Gees went into a shootout. The teams went on to battle through an exhausting 14 rounds of the shootout before Carleton scored the winner.

The loss doesn’t heavily af-

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fect the Gee-Gees, as they finish with an 11-6-3 record on the year.

The team finished third in the conference, and will advance to a “best 2-of-3” series with the nationally thirdranked McGill Martlets, a team they’ve found some success against, tallying a 2-2-1 record against them this season.

The series gets underway on Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. in Montreal, before the teams head to the Minto Sports Complex on Feb. 27 also at 7 p.m.

Sports | 15

Are fitness trackers doing as much good as we think?

FitBits and other wrist trackers have underlying issues that should be addressed David Agbaire Proofreader

A healthy lifestyle, much like most things in life, is all about balance—watching what you eat, how much you exercise, and what kinds of harmful elements, chemicals, or conditions you expose yourself to.

Much of mainstream culture has been pervaded with the importance that physical health can have on people, and as a result there is more interest than ever in being fit.

Companies have sought to capitalize on this, and as technology advances more new gadgets are designed for use by fitness junkies everywhere, in pursuit of that perfect biological balance.

That being said, it would be wise for those about to jump into the world of fitness gadgets to tread lightly, as there are some notable shortcomings to fitness trackers such as FitBit that aren’t regularly discussed.

The tracker’s ability to transmit valuable data to companies

for use or sale is a little-known feature that raises questions about consumer data protection.

“Fitness trackers are a fairly new technology and we don’t have many regulations right now,” Andrew Hilts, a researcher at the University of Toronto, told CBC News. “We found cases where your data is being sent and you might not be aware, and there’s no apparent reason why it’s being sent.”

Hilts also points out that the wristwear monitors location, which could be a safety risk and can provide useless or false data to a user.

Another issue is the psychological dependence that people can have on their fitness trackers. Often trackers give out ambiguous data with little context and little interpretation.

Brandyn Martineau, a senior sprinter on the Gee-Gees track and field team, doesn’t use fitness trackers and doesn’t intend to. “(You’re) less focused,” said

Martineau. “(Fitness trackers) take away from your workout if you’re constantly checking them.”

There is also a concern with just how accurate some of these machines are, in that they might be giving off a false sense of achievement by under or overestimating its measurements.

This doesn’t mean that fitness trackers are inherently bad things however, as Martineau notes that “some people have no self-motivation and it could be used as a tool to push them.”

However, Martineau said that “old school” fitness methods might still be the most successful for beginners.

“Starting off for beginners, the best way will always be to train with another person over following a machine or a program alone. You can learn more from them, build off of them, receive positive reinforcement, constructive criticism, the list goes on.”

It seems that the cons of fitness trackers may outway their pros.

Trackers can provide information that perhaps wouldn’t be measurable by a workout partner, such as heart rate and calories burned, but unless you are a high-level athlete or a health aficionado then the data received from these devices can

Photo: Marta Kierkus

seem abstract and irrelevant.

The most important thing to remember when working out is that it’s more of a feeling process than a thinking one—trust your body and the signals it’s giving you.

Make sure you’re getting a

comprehensive and focused workout in, and try not to stress over not hitting your optimal BPM for the day.

Try putting the FitBit down for a little and feel things out for yourself—it might be better in the long run.

Gee-Gees swimmers have stellar performance at OUA finals

Prayal-Brown, Bonomo, and Champagne all medal for team in conference finals Spencer Murdock Sports Editor

The Gee-Gees swimming teams travelled to London, ON to participate in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) conference championships held at Western.

The nationally sixthranked Gee-Gees men’s team had a stellar weekend led, by Montana Champagne and Robert Bonomo.

The women’s squad also performed admirably, setting many personal bests while Audrey Prayal-Brown led the team to the podium multiple times.

On Feb. 11, the first day of competition, Bonomo led all Gee-Gee swimmers as he captured two medals for the team.

He swam the 100m backstroke in 55.07 seconds to capture the bronze medal. He followed this with a blazing 22.58 time in the 50m freestyle, earning the silver.

On the second day, in women’s action, Audrey

16 | SPORTS

EVENT MANAGEMENT Gee-Gees swimmers look strong heading into nationals.

Prayal-Brown’s work paid off big time for the Gees as she shattered the OUA record on her way to a gold medal in the 100m backstroke with a time of 1:09.62.

For the men, Champagne stormed away with a silver medal in the 200m individual medley.

Bonomo followed up his huge first day with a silver medal in the 200m backstroke with a time of 1:58.96, only 70 milliseconds from the gold.

On the final day of competition, it was business as

POSTGRADUATE CERTIFICATE

Photo: Grace Chung

usual for Champagne and Prayal-Brown as they captured silver medals in the 400m individual medley and the 50m backstroke, respectively.

Both teams will hope to keep up their impressive performances as they travel to Quebec City from Feb. 25-27 to compete in the national finals.

With the strong season Gee-Gees swimmers have had in the pool this year, it would be no surprise for them to find the podium at Laval.

From trade shows to weddings to cultural festivals, this program offers the unique skills you will need to launch your career as an event coordinator, special events organizer, account representative, corporate meeting planner and many other exciting career options.

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OPINIONS Summer jobs program puts bandOPINIONS EDITOR David Campion-Smith

opinions@thefulcrum.ca (613) 695-0062 @davidcs96

aid on youth unemployment crisis

Increase in funding means more jobs, but still no solutions beyond summer David Campion-Smith Opinions Editor

E

arlier this month Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that the government will be doubling its funding for the Canada Summer Jobs Program.

Expanding this program is good news for students, and a much-needed recognition of the fact that the current job market isn’t cutting it for Millenials. While a summer job is welcome news for most college students in Canada, more needs to be done to provide long term, meaningful employment, post-graduation.

With a youth unemployment rate double the rate for

the rest of the population and an average student debt of $27,000 upon graduation students need increased access to these jobs.

The program currently helps non-profit groups, government branches and small businesses pay the salaries of students aged 15-30 who are planning on returning to school in the fall.

The summer jobs program created 34,000 jobs last year according to the CBC, and with this latest funding increase it could bump that up to 70,000 this year.

Many of the organizations that provide placements for participants are small business or non-profit groups with strained resources, these are all places where the additional resources of a long term em-

ployee would help greatly, so there are benefits for both sides in extending the length of the program.

The expansion of this program is a positive tool that can be used to help combat the increasingly high levels of student debt.

Young adults are working during the whole year, meaning that the need for employment doesn’t end when fall rolls around. There are few reasons the project can’t be extended to the other nine months of the year.

If the summer jobs program functioned more as a co-op system with longer terms it would not only give students money, but also give them better work experience, and more substantial career opportunities.

Spending more time with a

The government’s pledge to increase funding to Canada the summer job program could create 70,000 jobs in 2016.

Photo: Kim Wiens.

company would give students more time to develop a pro-

fessional network and allow them to perform meaningful,

long term activities instead of just office busy work.

North American ratings systems deserve failing grade Movie ratings focus too much on sex, rather than violence David Campion-Smith Opinions Editor

The latest Marvel release, Deadpool, broke several records for R-rated movies, including highest grossing opening weekend for an R-rated movie. With the release of such a successful movie, that wears its R rating as comfortably as Deadpool wears red spandex, it’s the perfect time to talk about the problems with movie ratings.

But more specifically, the inherent penalties the rating system in the United States assigns to movies that feature sex and foul language, while taking a casual stance toward violence.

The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) sets ratings for all the movies that are shown or released in

A successful R-rated superhero movie might be weird, but it’s not nearly as strange as the movie rating system itself.

Image: CC Corporate Colour, Edits Kim Wiens.

America. Canadian ratings are decided by provincial authorities, but much of the same criteria are applied nationwide.

The scale in America is G, PG, PG-13, R, and a rarely used NC-17. Canada uses a G, PG, 14A, 18A, and R. The Canadian

system allows for greater distinction between certain aspects of movies, with 14A and 18A routinely being given to movies rated R in the U.S. Having two tiers at the higher end allows for a greater distinction between movies. Love Actually,

for example, was rated R by the MPAA but only a 14A by many groups in Canada.

Without that extra level to differentiate, Love Actually gets stuck with the same rating as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Saw, but for entirely differ-

ent reasons.

Rating movies on the upper end of the scale because of sexual content ignores the impact that violence and other dark themes can have on people.

Children especially are at risk of seeing violence as natural and being desensitized to it according to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

Movies like Taken and The Dark Knight were both rated PG-13 by the MPAA, even though the themes of their movies were much darker.

Love Actually’s themes of love, togetherness and holiday magic are apparently a worse influence than Taken’s all-out, whatever it takes, ends-justifythe-means vengeance.

Doesn’t it make sense for a rating system to give higher warnings for violence than for

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a natural, often non-malicious human activity?

Many other countries already operate quite happily under a different system. The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) will deem a movie suitable for all ages if it shows kissing and brief nudity—criteria that would be assigned at least a PG, if not a PG-13, in North America.

Movie ratings are important as they should provide an accurate representation of the content, so parents can make informed decisions about what their children watch.

However, acts of violence towards others should not be more accessible to viewers than media that features the human body and one of its many natural functions. What kind of message would that send to viewers?

OPINIONS | 17

Heckle Campus Station closure, why can’t they put it off another few days?

Natasha Lomonossoff Fulcrum Contributor

On Feb. 10 it was announced by OC Transpo that effective April 24, the transitway between Laurier and Lees, which includes Campus Station, will be closed temporarily due to construction on the new light rail transit (LRT) system. This wouldn’t be too much of an issue, if it weren’t for the fact that final exams end on April 27.

The problem isn’t with the LRT itself, but rather with the ham-fisted way in which the City has gone about preparing for and carrying out the construction. This closure couldn’t come at a more inopportune time—those who are unfortunate enough to have an exam on or after April 24

will now have to face the extra hurdle of figuring out an alternate travel route to and from campus.

The closure of Campus Station is unfortunately just the latest example of what little regard the City and OC Transpo give to the needs of student commuters.

Back in December 2015, the reduction of service at Lees Station, coupled with the earlier closure of the transitway between Blair and Hurdman, caused inconveniences and frustration for students due to the increased travel time between campus and the east end.

But students coming from the west end are no better off, as the closure between Tunney’s Pasture and LeBreton

Flats has increased travel time in that direction as well. The City insists these closures are necessary to ensure that LRT construction is completed on time for 2018.

The closure of Campus Station at the end of April does students no favours by adding further inconvenience and stress to what is already a stressful time. Students who have exams held at the south end of campus, for example, will no longer have a straightforward way to get there.

The construction which is taking place on the campus itself already acts as a hindrance for students trying to get from one point to another, and with the closure of Campus Station mobility around the university’s main campus will become further restricted.

While the City has a construction schedule to stick to, have they really taken the time to think about what impact this closure will have on students, let alone other commuters?

The last thing that anyone needs the day before their exam is an impromptu announcement that Campus Station is closed and to be left to

Illustration: Kim Wiens

scramble for a back-up plan.

The City needs to more carefully examine the impact

which transitway closures and construction has on commuters, especially students, in

order for there to be disruptions and inconveniences in the future.

American election shouldn’t affect us much, but the TPP will David Campion-Smith Opinions Editor

With all of the attention given to the American circus election, many Canadians are under the impression that this election could have massive consequences for us. While it’s certainly a story that’s equal parts interesting and terrifying, what really has implications in this election for Canada is the recently signed Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal.

Despite any campaign talk of building a wall on the Canada-U.S. border, the strong relationship between Canada and the U.S. is something that is going to be very hard for any president to change. We’re the world’s largest trading partners, with a U.S. $1.4 trillion trade and investment relationship, something that won’t be changing in the near future.

What will have a strong impact on Canada is the TPP trade deal. This trade deal involves 12 countries bordering on the Pacific Ocean who, upon ratifying the deal, agree to either remove or strongly limit their tariffs on a large amount of goods and services.

This would create a free trade area that encompasses 40 per

18 | OPINIONS

cent of the world’s economic activity.

Free trade is an important issue and it’s a good thing that we’re getting another free trade deal with such a large section of the world, especially such a broad range of countries. Free trade may cost some jobs but it can create a situation that will more efficiently allocate the resources of the countries involved, since each will fill the markets that no one else can.

Canada signed the TPP on Feb. 4, but it still has to ratify it by a vote in Parliament, that should pass since it’s a liberal majority house. Not all Canadians are supporters of the partnership and dairy farmers protested in downtown Ottawa last fall, worried about what impacts the deal will have for them as tariffs on dairy products from other countries will fall.

There have also been concerns about the backroom nature of some of the negotiations and whether the public’s best interest is really being protected. That’s a valid concern and the public should have had a better idea of what was being negotiated. However giving Canadian business

better access to these markets allows them to increase sales, make more money and then hire more Canadian workers.

It’s too early to really tell what the impact of the TPP will be, since many of the tariff reductions in other countries are taking place gradually over the next several years, and in some cases even decades.

Essentially this deal would create a larger version of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), with more countries involved in different marketplaces. When it was proposed, NAFTA, was met with considerable pushback and protest, yet has proved to bring greater economic integration and prosperity for the countries involved.

Since NAFTA’s passing in 1993 Canada has 4.7 million new jobs according to the Council on Foreign Relations. There are many, mostly in the U.S. who blame NAFTA for the loss of low skilled jobs, although that appears to have been a speeding up of a preexisting trend, not the creation of a new one.

In an increasing globalized age where the need for trade is increasing, it makes the most sense to keep it as free and accessible as possible.

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Ontario’s new recycling law is a step in the right direction

Proposed bill cuts down on landfill waste, frees up government funds David Campion-Smith Opinions Editor

The Waste-Free Ontario Act is an excellent step forward in dealing with a world that is increasingly seeing the effects of environmental degradation. The proposed law, currently under public consultation, would shift the cost of recycling products that currently go into the black or blue boxes onto the companies that make these goods. Instead of the costs for recycling bins being shared between cities and companies the entire amount would now be paid by those making the products.

Forcing companies to foot the bill is an excellent way to decrease the amount of waste being produced, since those

who can control the amount of waste in their products are now the ones being affected by the environmental costs of it. By penalizing companies for producing large amounts of scrap material, companies have an incentive to reduce waste, and create more durable products.

Ontario currently adds eight million tonnes of waste to its landfills each and every year, and this new law can help keep products that don’t belong there out.

Companies should be thinking about their entire product life span and focus on creating products that can be used over and over again.

Many businesses already perform life-cycle analysis to

examine how they can make their products more efficient to use and produce, which has led to SC Johnson changing how they make some of their products.

Businesses should be striving toward that level of efficiency and awareness, and there’s no reason that we can’t achieve that. With the wider recognition of the importance of recycling and current procedures to recycle we can expand those procedures to keep more of our waste out of landfills.

The new changes could also cut costs for the cash-strapped province.

Minister of the Environment and Climate Change Glen Murray said the bill could save up to $115 mil-

According to the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, this proposed bill could save us $115 million a year.

Photo: Kim Wiens

lion a year should it be passed.

So if the environmental aspect isn’t a good enough reason to support this law, then

maybe increasing efficiency in allocation of government funds is. Whichever issue you believe to be a higher priority,

one thing is clear—the WasteFree Ontario Act is a necessary step for our government to take.

University admits it’s trying to make life more difficult for students David Campion-Smith Opinions Editor Shortly after the news that campus station would close for the last three days of exams came a not-so-shocking announcement from university administration. In a press conference about the closure the university admitted they have been actively trying to make students’ lives miserable and more difficult for the past few

years as part of a pilot project.

“We just wanted to make students’ lives more difficult by throwing as many obstacles as possible in their way, so that we can produce the best students possible,” said president Allan Rock.

The surprise decision was followed by the news that other policies to be implemented on campus, which the university claims are part of their “Student Obstacles” program.

Some of the changes will include eliminating the sale of caffeinated beverages on campus, putting snow chains up outside of all buildings so that students can only enter and exit through one door, and intentionally creating ice patches throughout campus for students to slip on.

“We believe it’s our job to create the strongest, most well-rounded students possible, and sometimes that means

making life as difficult for you all as we can,” said Rock.

Students who frequent the campus libraries were dismayed to discover this past week that the new program requires that loud music is played constantly on all floors.

“If I wanted to be surrounded by noise when I study, I’d just go to the fifth floor,” said second-year English student Gunther Murdock. “Now its like that on every floor.”

“Students have long suspected that making students’ lives more difficult was part of the university’s unofficial mandate—why else would Rabaska be so hard to use and what else could explain the near-constant uoZone crashes? This just confirms what we’ve all been thinking,” said third-year chemistry student Rachel Crawford, shortly before slipping on a patch of ice.

The university has also

begun randomly turning the power on and off throughout buildings on campus, just to keep students on their feet, and focused on more important things than charging laptops at school.

“Yes, the power thing affects staff as well as students.

Why would you even be asking me that?” said one angry professor in SITE, just before ducking into his office to turn on a small generator.

Photo: Eric Davidson.

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THE TOMATo | 19

DISTRACTIONS

features@thefulcrum.ca (613) 695-0062 @KyleDarbyson

Dear Di

Dear Di,

Dear Di,

After almost four years of not seeing and old on-again-off-again high school hook up, we met up and had sex over the Christmas holidays. Regardless of our relationship status, or lack thereof, after this chance encounter I can’t get her out of my mind and I want more of her. She’s not the first woman I’ve been with, so what exactly is going on here, and what should I do about it?

-Old Flame

I have a cuckolding fetish that I haven’t disclosed to my girlfriend yet. But lately I’ve been having a lot of arousing dreams about her being with other men. I really want to live out this fantasy, but I’m not sure how she will react. So, how common are these fetishes and are women even into it?

-One Flew Over The Cuckolded Nest Dear OFOTCN,

Dear OF, It’s normal and totally okay to feel intense emotions after rekindling a connection.

Have you talked to her about what you’re feeling? Sometimes taking the risk of sharing how you feel can be better than always wondering “what if”. And perhaps she’s been thinking about you too.

I know it can be frightening to tell someone they’ve been on your mind, but if we never take risks because we’re afraid of how someone will react we’re closing ourselves off from a lot of possibilities, right? See what she is feeling after that night.

Give her a call and tell her you’ve been thinking about her. If she isn’t feeling the same way, it’s better to know so that you can move on with your life.

Or you can wait until you see her again and pay attention to how your body and heart react. If you have that indescribable feeling when she’s close, then there is something there that you need to acknowledge and communicate to her.

As for the ambiguity in your relationship status, I want you to know that it doesn’t mean your experience with this person was worth any less because you weren’t “official”. It’s clear that you deeply care about her.

It’s also important to consider what you want. Do you want something more causal (which is perfectly lovely) or do you want more commitment? Either way, whatever you decide, it’s important that you communicate and identify where you stand.

Besides, life is short and you don’t want to be living with regrets into your old age.

I wish you all the best!

Love, Di To get all your sexy and saucy questions answered, email Di at deardi@thefulcrum.ca ;) 20 | DISTRACTIONS

FEATURES EDITOR Kyle Darbyson

Actually, cuckolding is a more common fetish than most people know and it has definitely been growing in popularity.

To some people it may seem strange that you would want to watch your partner have sex with another man, but it is rooted in the principles of sadomasochism (S&M).

For many men with a cuckold fetish, they derive masochistic pleasure from the shame and degradation they experience watching their partner cheat on them. For women, the appeal lies in the sadistic pleasure of dominating your husband by having sex with another man. It also has the added bonus of voyeurism (watching others have sex) for men and exhibitionism (being watched by others) for women. It is, in essence, an emotional form of S&M. Of course, it can be difficult to bring this up with you partner, but having the discussion can open a lot of doors for sexual exploration.

Cuckolding can be an acquired taste though. Some women may feel guilty for even considering sleeping with another man, so sometimes it’s best to do a test run. Watching some cuckolding porn together can be a great way to see if you both find it arousing.

In the end, this particular fetish can be a fun adventure for both parties involved. Just make sure to communicate and establish all the rules beforehand.

Love, Di Popular sex fetishes for adventurous couples 1. BDSM—50 Shades of Grey and other BDSM-themed films like Secretary have helped this fetish explode in popularity. This includes experimenting with hot wax, handcuffs, and restraining your partner in different and creative ways.

2. Role-playing—Acting out sex stories, something along the lines of a cop and prisoner scene, or a rich gentlemen and house keeper scenario.

3. Quicksand—This new fetish involves recreating your favourite quicksand scenes from films for the purposes of sexual gratification.

4. Voyeurism—Deriving sexual pleasure from secretly watching others have sex.

5. Spankophiles—A lust for old-school spanking!

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Feb. 26 to mar. 3, 2015

THRYLLABUS

MUSIC arts Sports FUN Thinking

Friday, Feb. 26

Lasers for Life (laser tag event), profits will go directly to Relay for Life, Laser Quest Ottawa—6 p.m.

SFUO Black History Month Gala, featuring author Janet Mock, free admission for students, Tabaret Hall—6:30 p.m.

Nature Nocturne: Rare Gem, Canadian Museum of Nature—8 p.m.

Wonder Geeks Activate (Third-iversary show), local artists, live video gaming and music, Zaphod Beeblebrox—8 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 27

Ottawa 67’s vs. London Knights, TD Place—1 p.m.

Sunday, Feb. 28

Mirrors with Memory: Daguerreotypes from Library and Archives Canada, last day for exhibition, National Gallery of Canada—10 a.m.

Jesus Loves a Crazy Horny Feminist, book launch and comedy show, Absolute Comedy—1:30 p.m.

Disney on Ice (Celebrates 100 years of Magic), Canadian Tire Centre, last day—3 p.m.

Eddie and Quincy Bullen: Dueling Pianos, part of TD Bank 2016 Black History Month series, Cathedral Hall— 7 p.m.

88th Academy Awards Live Telecast, Mayfair Theatre—8:30 p.m.

Star Trek: The Ultimate Voyage, live symphonic concert experiences, music from various Star Trek movies and TV series, National Arts Centre—7:30 p.m.

Monday, Feb. 29

Hamlet Goes Business (Finnish film noir), Shakespeare 400, Bytowne Cinema—8:40 p.m.

Tuesday, Mar. 1

Ottawa Senators vs. St. Louis Blues, Canadian Tire Centre—7:30 p.m.

Open Mic TUNESday Night, free admission, LIVE! on Elgin—8:15 p.m.

Stevie Starr-the world’s only professional regurgitator, Algonquin Commons Theatre—9 p.m.

Wednesday, Mar. 2

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (stage adaptation), Ottawa Little Theatre—7:30 p.m.

Thursday, Mar. 3

Ottawa Senators vs.

Tampa Bay Lighting, Canadian Tire Centre—7:30 p.m.

Butcher (by Nicolas Billon), opening day, Great Canadian Theatre Company—8 p.m.

Wintersleep, Ritual Nightclub—9 p.m.

80’s Dance Party with DJ Remi Royale, House of TARG—9 p.m.

thefulcrum.ca

DISTRACTIONS | 21

By Levin C. Handy (per http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cwpbh.04326) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

You don’t have to sit in school to stand among greatness.

› Thomas Edison: The world’s most extraordinary failure never gave up.

Thank goodness.

22 | LETTERS

open. online. everywhere. go.athabascau.ca/online-courses

thefulcrum.ca

EDITORIAL Volume 76, Issue 20, Feb. 25, 2016 Unable to feel our faces since 1942.

Phone: (613) 695-0061 | Fax: (613) 695-9006 631 King Edward Ave. Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5 Recycle this paper or we’ll give the Grammy to Taylor Swift.

Nadia “Hey Rosetta!” Drissi ElBouzaidi Editor-in-Chief editor@thefulcrum.ca Devin “Neil Young” Orsini Production Manager production@thefulcrum.ca Savannah “Arcade Fire” Awde Managing Editor content@thefulcrum.ca Eric “Tokyo Police Club” Davidson News Editor news@thefulcrum.ca Allegra “Avril Lavigne” Morgado Arts & Culture Editor arts@thefulcrum.ca Spencer “Drake” Murdock Sports Editor, Rap Correspondent sports@thefulcrum.ca Kyle “Wolverine” Darbyson Features Editor features@thefulcrum.ca David “Arkells” Campion-Smith Opinions Editor opinions@thefulcrum.ca Reine “Hollerado” Tejares Webmaster online@thefulcrum.ca Kim “The Weeknd” Wiens Visual Editor visual@thefulcrum.ca Jaclyn “Shania Twain” McRae-Sadik Associate News Editor associate.news@thefulcrum.ca Marta “July Talk” Kierkus Staff Photographer photographer@thefulcrum.ca Zach “Zolas” Verret Multimedia Coordinator multimedia@thefulcrum.ca Nicole “Leonard Cohen” Rutkowski Associate Features Editor associate.features@thefulcrum.ca David “City and Colour” Agbaire Proofreader Dayne “Mother Mother” Moyer General Manager & Advertising Rep manager@thefulcrum.ca ads@thefulcrum.ca

Contributors

Rémi “K’naan” Yuan Maitland “Sheepdogs” Shaheen Diyyinah “Rush” Jamora Catherine “Feist” Frasch Madison “Said The Whale” McSweeney Deborah “Sam Roberts” Sogelola Alannah “Wintersleep” Williams Janoah “Joni Mitchell” Willsie Feodor “Tegan and Sara” P-S Ryan “Reynolds” Pepper Graham “Gosling” Robertson Natasha “McAdams” Lomonossoff

Board of Directors

Mackenzie “Metric” Gray, President board@thefulcrum.ca Simon “Bryan Adams” Gollish, Vice-President Katelyn “Carly Rae Jepsen” Murray, Chief of Staff Jonathan “Tragically Hip” Rausseo, University Rep Lindsay “Michael Bublé” MacMillan, Fulcrum Staff Benjamin “Billy Talent” Miller, Student Rep Carolyn “Alanis Morissette” Mutis Student Rep William “Celine Dion” Hume, Student Rep Cover: Reine Tejares

If you’re reading this, Canadian industry isn’t supporting its artists

T

he 2016 Grammys have come and gone, and with it a slew of Canadian nominees. The Weeknd led the pack of Canadian performers with seven nominations, while Drake, Justin Beiber, Shawn Mendes, and Alessia Cara were also nominated.

While Canadian names have graced the Grammy stage sporadically, from Joni to Leonard to Nelly to Shania to Avril, never has there been such a strong showing of maple leaf talent.

However, not only do the five Canadians at the Grammys this year all hail from the Greater Toronto Area, they’ve all signed to major American labels ahead of their breakthrough in North American markets.

“When you play in that mainstream, mega-media, big-radio world, I think you need a U.S. record company on board, that’s what history has shown us,” said entertainment lawyer Chris Taylor to the CBC, referencing past successes of U.S.signed Canadian singers like Nelly Furtado and Alanis Morissette. He said the money and connections of U.S. labels have trumped their Canadian counterparts when it comes to discovering Canadian talent with global potential.

Opportunities for Canadian musicians are limited to those who have the finances to take a shot in larger American cities.

The recent spotlight on Canadian talent could help to provide a more stable pipeline to the big leagues.

In a few weeks it will be the turn of Canadian film stars to steal the show at the Oscars. While Rachel McAdams is the only Canadian nominated for an Oscar, several other Canadian names have made a strong showing of late, including Ryan Reynolds of Deadpool fame, and Ryan Gosling.

However like their musical counterparts, Canadian actors, directors, and film buffs in general need to head south of the 49th parallel to find employment. “In recent months there has been talk about how TV is enjoying a so-called ‘Golden Age.’ And a lamentation that Canada doesn’t seem to be a part of that,” wrote D.K. Latta in a November 2015 Huffington Post Canada op-ed.

Quick could you name five Canadian TV shows on the air right now?

Their lead actors? Their creators?

Latta lays part of the blame of a lack of quality Canadian TV programming on a lack of quality critics, who perpetuate the only option for talented Canadian kids is to move as

thefulcrum.ca

Drake, one of the world’s most famous rappers, lost the 2012 Album of the Year Juno to Michael Buble’s Christmas album.

soon as possible.

“But more than a few times I’ve read pieces by supposedly intelligent critics who insist only hacks stay in Canada because anyone of talent would move to Hollywood. These commentators don’t want Canadian film and TV to be better -- they want it to die out entirely.”

Not only are we slipping behind in producing our own talent, we can hardly recognize them properly.

The Junos, the annual awards that recognize Canadian talent are structured in a way that Michael Bublé’s Christmas album took home the Album of the Year award in 2012. Nine of the 42 awards are based on sales figures, including Album of the Year,

which means Christmas took home the top prize while Drake’s Take Care was left in the dust.

As for movies, can you even name the Canadian equivalent of the Oscars? (For the record, it used to be the Genies but now it’s the Canadian Screen Awards.)

While it’s obvious it has the talent, Canada can also have the industry to support it, with the amount of major series and films that have filmed in Hollywood North.

In fact British Columbia had the third largest production centre for film and television after New York and Los Angeles in 2010. While its dropped off in the rankings since then, it still rakes in over a $1 billion

Photo: CC,The Come Up Show

per year.

It’s important for Canadian kids to find support at home, especially when they’re young, inexperienced, and can’t quite afford a cross-continent move to follow their dreams.

While Canada’s most famous export Drake has found success worldwide as a rapper, it was Degrassi that first helped him make a name for himself.

Now more than ever Canadian musicians and actors are becoming household names south of the border, and many are already garnering attention in the form of Grammys and Oscars. However with the current lack of support and industry in Canada, our biggest stars couldn’t care less if they got a Genie or Juno.

EDITORIAL | 23

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