The Fulcrum - Vol 75 Issue 21

VOL. 75 ISSUE 21

FEBRUARY 26 ,2015

IN THIS ISSUE More than house and home P.4

Students provide tutoring to support the homeless

Hunger strike for missing girls P.6 Student raises awareness of Boko Haram

Investing in the environment P.7

Grant to fund $1.9M of research at U of O

Mixtape music shift P.11 Drake’s new album part of trend of marketing by not marketing

Team has stroke of success P.16

Swimmers have best CIS final in U of O history

Living the dream P.17 Telfer student plays with the Sens

Low score for Nielsen ratings P.22

Why the system is outdated

Experts finally find cancer cause P.23 It’s everything

NEWS

Ottawa youth charged with sexual assault in residence Security: suspect tried to enter 50 residence rooms “This was an unfortunate incident which we’re all still very concerned about, which is why we want to take a step back and (see) what can we do additionally to enhance the safety of students.”

—Michel Guilbeault, director of Housing Services.

The suspect in question entered eight residence rooms, while attempting to enter almost 50 rooms.

Photos: Rémi Yuan

Putting your books to good use

NEWS EDITOR

Nadia Drissi El-Bouzaidi news@thefulcrum.ca (613) 562-5260 Nadia Drissi El-Bouzaidi News Editor

O

ttawa police have charged a youth with one count of sexual assault and one count of break-and-enter after he entered eight rooms in the Stanton residence at the University of Ottawa in the early hours of Feb. 15.

The university’s security apprehended a young man on the fourth floor who matched the description of a known young offender after he tried to enter more than 50 rooms. He was then arrested by police.

The teenager was released from custody on a promise to appear in court “with conditions in place to protect the community,” according to an Ottawa Police Service press release.

The university increased security in the residence for the two nights following the incident.

The suspect, who is under the age of 18, can’t be named because of the Youth Criminal Justice Act. Police did not release

his age or the number of alleged victims, according to the CBC. Gabrielle Read, president of the Resident’s Association of the University of Ottawa, confirmed there was one alleged sexual assault and that the individual in question was registered as a guest by a resident.

Students are required to register guests at the front desk and must follow specific guidelines when signing in someone overnight.

Read said she immediately met with the director of Housing Service, Michel Guilbeault, to discuss what course of action to take.

“This was an unfortunate incident which we’re all still very concerned about, which is why we want to take a step back and (see) what can we do additionally to enhance the safety of students,” said Guilbeault.

“People feel so safe they leave their doors unlocked, which is a good thing on the one hand,” he said. “But there’s certain things that you have to do to protect your own safety and that of your personal belongings.”

They plan to host a meeting

sometime this week where they will ask residents to be diligent in locking their doors and to report any strange activity.

“We will also be asking residents for comments or suggestions on what they find may help them feel more secure in residence,” said Read.

Both Read and Guilbeault maintain the break-in was an isolated incident and that students living on campus are safe.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Ottawa Police Service Sexual Assault/ Child Abuse Section at 613236-1222 ext. 5944 or Crime Stoppers at 613-233-8477.

U of O student project provides school skills for Ottawa’s homeless Savannah Awde Proofreader

Students at the University of Ottawa are taking teaching into their own hands with the launch of a new tutoring program for the homeless.

CAUSE Tutoring provides one-on-one assistance in a variety of subjects to those that may not have the means to acquire tutoring services.

While many Ottawa services for the homeless are geared towards the essential provision of shelter and food, CAUSE hopes to provide skills necessary for long-term success in the workforce.

“It’s really hard if you take a gap in your education to try and get back on board,” said Tina Yuan, member of the board of directors and a third-year public administration and life sciences student at the U of O. Yuan said the program fosters the confidence necessary for those who are homeless to get back on their feet and seek out a job.

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The curriculum’s practical approach teaches not just the basic skills of a subject, but applications to everyday social and economic situations.

“We have a program for writing cover letters and resumes,” said Yuan of their English curriculum, as well as math classes which teach “how to calculate taxes, how to calculate tips, and how to calculate interest.”

The project has been years in the making, stemming back to Yuan’s initial needs assessment conducted at a women’s transitional shelter in Sandy Hill. She found that many women were also attending school while living at the shelter, and that most did not have the means to supplement their learning with a tutor.

As the organization provides ample opportunity for student involvement in its mission, this is a project that has potential to spur change.

It’s a reality that’s “sometimes not known to people in university,” she said.

However, an associate

professor of psychology at the U of O who’s an expert on community psychology, housing, and homelessness said that despite the merits of such a program, there are other factors that need to be addressed. While homelessness is often seen as a result of drug addiction or mental illness, it boils down to a lack of affordable housing and insufficient salaries, he explained.

Many cities in Canada, including Ottawa, are transitioning to a housing-first approach, which is seen by experts as the most effective way to end homelessness.

They then provide the support necessary for the individual to deal with any other issues that contributed to their homelessness.

These programs are shifting funding from shelters and drop-in centres to subsidized housing.

“Some of the risks that they come from shifting money from drop-ins to housing is that even people who are housed who still re-

U of O students Yizhou Situ, left, Onkar Bhanushali, Edwin Aigbojie Okoduwa, Tina Yuan, Stephen Cheung, and Trevor Searle are rallying around a common CAUSE. Photo: Nadia Drissi El-Bouzaidi

main very, very poor might still be ones still using some of the drop-in services,” said Sylvestre.

Support programs like CAUSE are still a vital tool in the fight against homelessness, he said, because they provide homeless people with skills, contacts, and a sense of purpose.

“It’s really hard if you take a gap in your education to try and get back on board.”—Tina Yuan, board member of CAUSE thefulcrum.ca

Impact candidates cite racism as reason for unexpected election results BOA candidate says ‘rampant racism’ influenced her electoral race

Both Naomi Martey, left, and Nicole Desnoyers, right, were disappointed to see students reject the racialized student centre referendum.

Nadia Drissi El-Bouzaidi News Editor

Members of the Impact slate are alleging that racism played a part in the surprising Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (SFUO) results that came in Feb. 13.

Candidates from all three slates were elected to the SFUO executive, the most variety seen since the slate system was introduced two years ago.

Students rejected the referendum on the creation of a racialized student centre, despite all candidates expressing support for the motion.

Naomi Martey, who led the official “yes” committee, was disappointed by the results ,she said, because many students felt it was "imperative to their well-being at the university.”

“Believing racism and ethnic discrimination exist as an everyday part of some students' lives while not in your own is difficult,” said Martey.

“But all we can do is hope that students extend the same kindness around them that they hope to have extended towards themselves.”

However, Nicole Maylor, the vice-president of equity elect who will deal specifically with discrimination on campus, said

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the SFUO will provide “the same resources and support as the racialized student centre would have.”

Nicole Desnoyers, who lost her bid for president to David Gakwerere, said she believes racism played a role in the referendum.

“The election results confirm what I thought: We have a lot of work to do in order to make our campus more inclusive,” she said.

Gakwerere agreed that “there is still a lot of work to do on campus on race relations and race issues.” He also cited “misinterpretations around the referendum question” as a possible reason for results.

Vanessa Dorimain, an Impact candidate who successfully ran unopposed for vice-president of university affairs, said she believes the referendum didn't pass because “students didn't want their tuition raised by a dollar.”

“As if creating a safe space for students who feel discriminated against is not worth less (than) the amount that you would pay for a coffee at Starbucks or Tim Hortons,” she said.

Dorimain said she hasn’t ruled out appealing the referendum question wording to the Elections Committee.

Photos: Rémi Yuan

She said the results of the Board of Administration (BOA) elections are another example of how racism may have influenced the results.

BOA candidate Sakinna Gairey alleges she wasn’t elected because she is a “black Muslim who wears a hijab.”

Gairey ran with Impact as one of three candidates for three available Faculty of Arts seats on the BOA. Both other arts candidates, who are white, were voted in. One of them was a fellow Impact member.

The U of O is “rampantly racist,” according to Gairey. “The elections experience was full of it, and clearly it translated at the voting booth,” she said.

“We were asked by white students if the racialized student centre was for them too, not willing to accept that their privilege in life means that they do not need that centre,” said Gairey, who worked with the “yes” committee in addition to her own campaign.

“Racism doesn't always mean slurs, it can be silent as a stare… we can't complain about the nasty looks and attitudes we receive from people because of our skin colour.”

Gairey said she isn’t sad she lost the election, but is sad to know why.

NEWS | 5

Activist at U of O on hunger strike for kidnapped Nigerian schoolgirls Nine months after #BringBackOurGirls, most girls still missing

U of O Innovations: 3D goggles to treat neural disorders Jasmine van Schouwen Staff Contributor

Aminata Farmo has been on a hunger strike for the missing Nigerian school girls since the beginning of February.

Aleks Kunarac

Staff Contributor Gatineau-based activist and artist Aminata Farmo is on a hunger strike for the month of February. She is running an information booth on campus to raise awareness of the often-overlooked extremist organization Boko Haram.

In May 2014, Boko Haram kidnapped 276 girls from their boarding school in the northeastern town of Chibok. The world demanded the release of the girls, rallying under the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls.

Almost a year later the social media frenzy has died down, but 219 of the girls are still missing.

“Just thinking is not enough,” said Farmo, who has been active in spreading awareness since the masskidnapping. “If we forget about them it’s finished for them.

We’re speaking (for) them because they don’t have a voice.”

After a year of activism that included a 200-km walk from Gatineau to Montreal that spanned six days, she was invited to the U of O by the West-

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ern African Youth Association to spread knowledge about the girls. Farmo said she’s seen a positive response from students.

Farmo was born in Niger and lived there until she was eight years old, when she moved to Canada with her family.

“It could be me,” said Farmo.

“I could be one of (those) girls.”

Farmo will end her hunger strike on the last day of February, but will continue to advocate for the safe return of the Nigerian schoolgirls.

Despite being one of the most brutal extremist organizations in the world, Boko Haram, which means “Western education is forbidden,” has failed to garner the same attention as other organizations in Europe and the Middle East.

Boko Haram used a 10-yearold girl as a suicide bomber, killing 19 people, the day after more than a million people, including 40 world leaders, gathered in Paris to stand in solidarity following the Charlie Hebdo shootings that claimed 17 lives.

“Western political figures were part of this Twitter campaign, which was nice,

Photo: Nadia Drissi El-Bouzaidi

but after a few days of buzz and hype it just disappeared,” said Cédric Jourde, a political science professor at the U of O of the initial support for the return of the Nigerian schoolgirls.

According to Jourde, attacks in Nigeria don’t get as much attention as ones in Paris, partly because “facts are very difficult to gather.”

It’s very difficult for foreign groups to conduct research or to send journalists, and the Nigerian government has not been forthcoming about what they know about Boko Haram, he explained.

“The Nigerian government of course on its part (has been) reluctant … to reveal too much of what’s going on,” he said, which displays “their own incapacity to deal with that situation.”

However, foreign intervention isn’t enough to bring back the girls, according to Jourde.

“The story of Boko Haram really is a Nigerian story, which means that it’s not going to be resolved, there’s not going to be a solution, outside of Nigeria.”

American author Stanley G. Weinbaum was one of the first writers to introduce the idea of virtual reality in his 1935 novel, Pygmalion’s Spectacles.

Eighty years later the fictional technology has found some real-world applications at the University of Ottawa.

The research team includes Dr. Adam Sachs, a member of the Division of Neurosurgery at the University of Ottawa Brain and Mind Research Institute (uOBMRI) and clinician investigator at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, and postdoctoral fellow Chadwick Boulay, an expert in brain-computer interface.

Led by Dr. Sachs, the U of O scientists are using virtual reality goggles to relieve patients suffering from movement-related symptoms of Parkinson’s including rigidity, freezing, slow movements, and tremors.

The project Dr. Sachs is a specialist in deep brain stimulation, a technology that uses electricity to stimulate parts of the brain to change some of the brain circuitry related to Parkinson’s, thus diminishing the symptoms of the disease.

Patients in Dr. Sachs’ experiment wear 3D goggles and see an image of their hand in virtual reality while researchers record associated neural activity. By changing variables and analyzing the responses to the brain, researchers can understand how these regions of the brain are treating different commands.

Since the symptoms of Parkinson’s change over time, Dr. Sachs sought to develop the virtual reality technology to

respond to changes in brain activity, and adapt stimulation settings as appropriate for each moment in time. To achieve this, the researchers needed a better understanding of the language of the nuclei they were stimulating.

“The brain transforms movement in different reference frames flawlessly, and we want to understand how movements are initiated, how they change reference frames, and ultimately how muscles are controlled to create movements,” said Dr. Sachs.

The researchers also tested whether it’s possible to train patients to control the amount of brain activity.

“There are certain frequencies of activity that become increased during the (Parkinsonian) state and that’s referred to as the beta frequency,” said Dr. Sachs. To answer that question another experiment was modelled in which patients visualize a sphere in the virtual reality environment and are given instructions to try and control the colour of the sphere, something they can only do by changing the level of beta activity.

The result Dr. Sachs’ work with virtual reality technology opens two new doors to treat the symptoms of Parkinson’s.

The first is a deep brain stimulation system that could be adapted to a patient’s brain activity, adapting to varying signals in the brain. The second is a treatment that would help patients learn how to control the activity of the subthalamic nucleus responsible for many adverse side effects associated with Parkinson’s.

What’s next?

Although the research is in its early stages, Dr. Sachs said he’s confident about this area of research by what he’s seeing in the results so far.

“I think that this is a line of scientific inquiry that we want to pursue. If patients can learn to control the brain activity that’s involved in Parkinson’s disease… then the next question is if they do that, do their movements become more smooth? And that’s exactly what we’ll be looking at.”

The next step will be to try to develop a stimulation system using brain biomarkers that would be responsive to the patient’s brain in real time. He also said he believes the brain-computer interface could be further developed to help patients suffering from spinal cord injuries or ALS.

Patients perform motions while wearing the 3D goggles, and researchers analyze the corresponding brain activity. Photo: Alex Lane, CC, flcikr.com

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“In Canada, there are almost what I would call targeted strikes against environmental research, especially at the governmental level.”

—Jules Blais, biology professor at the U of O

Jack Cornett will use the new accelerator mass spectrometer, unveiled in September, in his environmental research.

Photo: Rémi Yuan

U of O scientists get $1.9M for environmental research Projects to address environmental issues from across Canada Lindsay MacMillan Associate News Editor

Three University of Ottawa professors will share a $1.9-million grant from the federal government to support research on environmental risks.

Jules Blais and Vance Trudeau, both from the biology department, and Jack Cornett, from the earth science department, will use the grant for a three-year research project.

The grant, supplied by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), is part of the yearly Strategic Projects Grant competition. Seventy-eight research teams received a combined total of $38 million.

Scientists have previously brought attention to the lack of funding for environmental science research. Last October, the United States-based Union of Concerned Scientists collected 800 signatures for an open letter saying “a rapid decline in fees and funding” for Canadian science makes innovation and communication difficult.

Blais said environmental issues warrant more attention than they currently receive.

“In Canada, there are almost what I would call targeted strikes against environmental research, especially at the government level,” he said, adding that funding cuts to departments like Parks Canada, Environment Canada, and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans have been detrimental to research capacity.

Cornett said environmental research has its ups and downs in terms of financial support, and that these days it’s at a low point.

“The onus is on us scien-

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tists to show why our work is important and why we do it,” he said.

Gold mines in the Northwest Territories Blais will use his $570,000 grant to explore the effects and risks to the environment of gold mines in the Northwest Territories.

His team will focus on the Giant Mine near Yellowknife, which operated from 1948 to 2004 and has lots of arsenic in its vicinity. Arsenic can’t be destroyed once in the environment, so its toxic effects spread increasingly through the ecosystem.

A pilot study showed arsenic distribution within 15 kilometres of the mine exceeds the probable effect levels for protecting aquatic life, as set by the Canadian Council of the Ministers of the Environment. Yellowknife is only six kilometres from the mine.

“People in the Northwest Territories are very attuned to this issue,” said Blais. “We’re trying to understand the longterm fate of this arsenic.”

The study will examine how arsenic leaches and diffuses through the environment, in order to provide recommendations to reduce exposure to the harmful substance.

Oil sands and amphibians Trudeau will examine new methods of determining effects of the oil sands on amphibians and amphipods, which are shrimp-like creatures. Amphibians and amphipods are important to their ecosystems, and act as a measurement on the health of their environment.

Backed by a $609,000 grant, his team will focus on exposure rate and toxicity of

chemicals present in bitumen extraction. By examining the effects of chemicals on the creatures, they can develop guidelines on toxicity and sustainability of the oil sands.

While the oil sands are a boon for the Canadian economy, the effects on the environment are controversial.

Bitumen extraction affects land, water, greenhouse gases, and tailings ponds, so sustainability and monitoring toxicity levels are important.

Finding a needle in a radioactive haystack Cornett will use the accelerator mass spectrometer (AMS) in the new Advanced Research Complex and $756,000 in funding to develop new ways of measuring radionuclides in the environment.

Radionuclides are radioactive particles that can occur naturally or from human activities. Cornett explained that researchers want to measure nuclides to trace environmental processes, measure the age of objects through radiometric dating, and monitoring nuclear plants.

Cornett said the AMS is excellent at sifting through large numbers of atoms.

“The simplest analogy is to imagine standing in a 100-kilometre-square desert with billions of grains of sand, and you have to find the ones coloured blue. The AMS can locate radionuclides, the blue grains, very easily,” he said.

Using the AMS will allow Cornett’s team to measure radioactivity levels in water near nuclear plants. Consulting companies can use this data to inform and improve nuclear energy policies in Canada.

NEWS | 7

News Briefs

City approves OC Transpo fare increase

The City of Ottawa transit commission voted in favour of a 2.5 per cent hike in OC Transpo fares on Feb. 18. According to the Ottawa Citizen, savings in other areas will allow OC Transpo to add more buses to the schedule.

Regular adult monthly passes will go up to $103.25, up from $100.75, while adult single trips will now cost $2.84 using Presto, up from $2.77.

If ratified, the decision won’t come into effect until Canada Day. Kitchissippi Ward Counsellor Jeff Leiper presented the main opposition to

the fare increase, moving two motions.

Leiper said he moved to freeze cash fares because it is more commonly used by those who are less financially stable, such as seniors and students.

Leiper will bring forward a motion to transfer fare increase revenue to property taxes, according to the Ottawa Citizen.

The city also voted to increase U-Pass fees by $5 per semester in a previous meeting, where they also extended the program beyond 2015–16.

—Deborah Sogelola

Wrongfully convicted Ottawa man sues police A man who was imprisoned for more than 31 years after being wrongfully accused of killing an Ottawa firefighter, is now allowed to sue prosecutors and the Ottawa police after the Supreme Court of Canada declined to hear an appeal blocking his suit.

Romeo Phillion is suing for $14 million for negligence and prosecutorial wrongdoing. Phillion was charged with second-degree murder after admitting to killing firefighter Leopold Roy in 1972. Phillion recanted almost immediately, but was sentenced to life in prison.

He is Canada’s longest-serving inmate to have a sentence overturned.

He learned an Ottawa police detective verified an alibi which put Phillion in Trenton at the time of the killing. The alibi was allegedly discredited and had not been given to Phillion’s lawyer. Because of this, Phillion asked his defence lawyer to review the case.

With this new evidence, the Ontario Court of Appeal ordered a new trial in 2009. The Crown withdrew Phillion’s second-degree murder charge, arguing too much time had passed. Since Phillion is in his 70s and suffering from emphysema, the court ruled his case should at least be heard by a jury.

—Jessica Eritou

Quebec conducts review following strip search of student The Quebec government is conducting an independent review of its policy that allows school officials to perform strip searches on students suspected of possessing drugs.

Quebec Education Minister Yves Bolduc, who came under fire for initially defending the policy following the strip search of a 15-year-old girl at a Montreal high school, announced the investigation on Feb. 18.

Bolduc previously said strip searches were appropriate as long as they were done “respectfully,” according to media reports. He also said it was a matter of in-school security.

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The student had sent a text message to a classmate offering to sell him marijuana, which she said was a joke, according to media report. She also said she wasn’t allowed to call her mother before the strip search was conducted.

The school board responded to criticism by saying it was an “exceptional” case and that employees had acted in accordance with established guidelines.

In Nova Scotia the Supreme Court ruled in 1998 that officials had the right to search a male student in order to maintain safety and security on school property.

—Beatrice Au

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National News

Engineering students feel pinch of crude oil price slide Grads always told to ‘strive for oil’ find fewer openings as companies slash spending Rachel Ward

CUP Labour Bureau Chief HALIFAX (CUP) — The drop in oil prices is affecting more than the price at the pump.

Engineering students report fewer job advertisements and reduced co-op programs as a result of company cutbacks. Students who are either months from graduating or looking for their next work placement find options slim.

Dalhousie University chemical engineering student Michelle Otutu said both existing jobs and future prospects are being eliminated quickly. “The jobs that have already been confirmed for a lot of people are also disappearing,” she said.

The drop in crude oil prices is predicted to mark a national loss of $40 billion in profits, according to a Conference Board of Canada report published Feb. 9. Although prices are expected to rise to $60 a barrel from the current $45, that’s still a 40 per cent decline in one year.

Companies are cutting spending, halting construction, and laying off workers, leaving fewer jobs for technical and scientific professionals, said Julie Ades, a senior economist with the conference board’s national forecasting team.

Otutu, who graduates in May, said she’s lucky to have a job lined up. Many of her classmates are in a different situation.

One who was offered a job had it rescinded when the price

of oil dropped, she said. Others are applying to grad school and some, currently looking for work experience co-op placements, have gone home for the semester or enrolled in electives to fill the time.

“People are exploring those options as well and trying to open up the opportunities to those other fields, but it’s kind of tough when all along over four, five years, you’ve been told (to) strive for oil, that’s where you should be,” said Otutu.

One such job for Syncrude Canada Limited, a large oil company, was cancelled after a Dalhousie University student applied. “Due to a re-evaluation of business need, we have had to adjust our workforce requirements and cancel the search to fill this position,” said an email sent to the engineering student.

Syncrude is not alone in cutting back on hiring. Suncor, another major oil and gas company, announced Jan. 13 it would cut $1 billion from capital spending this year. Suncor also plans to lay off 1,000 people. The company posted on its co-op page the following day: “As a result of yesterday’s corporate announcement on Suncor’s accelerated spending reductions we will be postponing our live chat on student opportunities.”

As of Feb. 9, only one job— first announced in September—was posted for engineers on Suncor’s site. For Syncrude, no jobs at all were posted on its

online job bank.

Oil and gas companies are expected to cut back on construction by 24 per cent in 2015, according to Ades. Jobs for technical and scientific professionals, the sector that includes engineers, are “not expected to fare very well,” she said, but more are expected in 2016 as business investment picks up.

This is all on top of a bad year for employment growth in general. 2014 was the second worst year on record in two decades, said Ades. But she said 2015 is expected to see about 1.1 per cent growth in employment, and a bit more the following year.

Students need to know this context, said Otutu, and it’s not being explained in their classes. Many feel “stressed or embarrassed” because they’re expected to graduate with several job offers following the recently high demand for the degree.

“There seems to be a lot of shying away from discussing about the fact that people don’t have jobs right now,” said Otutu. “No one is getting offers. Interviews are really a lot harder to come by. I feel like you still need to have that discussion more openly.”

Engineers Canada, the sector’s national organization of regulators, is set to release a comprehension labour market survey of engineering students including an enrolment report and student exit survey in the next few months.

Canada’s crude oil sector is predicted to lose $40 billion in profits this year.

Crisis at UNB law school Investigation uncovered harassment allegations made against dean

The University of New Brunswick’s law school building in Fredericton.

Emma McPhee The Brunswickan

FREDERICTON (CUP) — With the revelation that the teachers’ union at the University of New Brunswick filed allegations of harassment against dean of law Jeremy Levitt on behalf of faculty members, it’s evident that things have yet to slow down in the law school crisis.

Last Tuesday, the CBC revealed that the Association of University of New Brunswick teachers has made unproven allegations of harassment against the dean on behalf of faculty members.

The UNB administration has reached out to an external investigator for help in resolving the recent issues.

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Photo courtesy Tegan Dutton/NAIT Nugget

The university brought in law professor emeritus Neil Gold to interview all parties concerned with the recent issues in the law faculty.

“When we receive allegations of harassment, we treat them seriously. In this case, we’ve asked a highly regarded and experienced individual in Neil Gold to come and interview people involved,” said UNB spokesman David Stonehouse.

Gold will report his findings confidentially to vicepresident academic Tony Secco.

“Once he has those findings, Dr. Secco will determine what action is required to ensure a respectful and collegial work environment at the law school,” said Stonehouse.

Photo by Adam Travis/The Brunswickan

Levitt is also facing allegations of harassment, sexism, and a threat of violence from two former female colleagues at Florida A&M University College of Law. A closed meeting of the senate was requested by student senator and law student Lyle Skinner to review the senate search committee.

Skinner is concerned with the way that the unproven allegation of harassment against Dean Levitt was not uncovered by the independent personnel agency hired to perform Levitt’s background check.

In the meantime, according to acting associate dean of law John Williamson, the law school is functioning as usual.

NEWS | 9

ARTS &CULTURE

A&C EDITOR Jessica Eritou arts@thefulcrum.ca (613) 562-5260

Photo: Adam Gibbard dits: E

Alum leads Ottawa’s V-Day initiative Contributor

W

hen it comes to violence against women, Sandi Stoliar’s experience far outweighs the statistics.

“The numbers are one in three, and I have met in 47 years only one person who hasn’t (been a victim),” says Stoliar, a University of Ottawa alum and producer of this year’s Ottawa showing of The Vagina Monologues on Feb. 20–22.

The show was part of an an-

nual global activist movement called V-Day, which aims to bring attention to the fight to stop violence against women and girls. Ottawa’s events featured sketches from Eve Ensler’s well-known play and a screening of the documentary What I Want My Words To Do To You. Stoliar, who graduated from the U of O in 2000 with a bachelor of arts, has been part of the show for seven years. She’s met participants who have either been abused or have worked in an environment where they have seen it. She says each person brings a different perspective and story to the event.

As assault stories keep appearing in headlines, Stoliar

felt like there was a lack of education and awareness. “In my mind, there was a huge gap in Ottawa last year. Nobody produced V-Day,” she explains. “And, you know, Jian Ghomeshi, Cosby, Dalhousie, Ottawa U.” So, Stoliar took it in her own hands to bring the show to the capital. For her, the subject hits close to home.

“I have been raped, I have been assaulted, I have been abused. That’s my personal connection,” she says.

She says she was always interested in theatre and music.

She first began refining her craft while studying theatre in Montreal, which also proved to be the catalyst for her move

After a gap year, The Vagina Monologues came back to the capital to help various causes involving women.

10 | ARTS & CULTURE

Photo: Adrienne Vicente

lette Kierkus H and: Sara No

Ania Szneps

Mar ta

Sandi Stoliar fights violence against women with The Vagina Monologues

to Ottawa and to later become involved with V-Day. “I left (Montreal) because my teacher told me if I slept with him I could finish the course,” she says.

Helping to organize V-Day has been an emotional and artistic outlet for her to spread awareness while helping out the community, she adds.

When Stoliar signed up to produce this year’s event, she wanted to take it a step above with fundraising. The team raised $50,000 one year, and she aimed to do the same. The proceeds for this year’s show went to the Sexual Assault Support Centre of Ottawa, the Ottawa Rape Crisis Centre, and One Billion Rising Revolution.

Despite the subject matter, there were plenty of light-hearted moments sprinkled throughout the process of creating the show.

“My car is filled with chocolate vaginas. There’s so much laughter, and just insanity,” says Stoliar.

“My favourite part are the women who believed in what I was going for,” she adds. “The team is unbelievable.”

“I left (Montreal) because my teacher told me if I slept with him I could finish the course.”

—Sandi Stoliar

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Prestigious poetry prize for U of O Press Literature award goes to book edited by Ruth Panofsky

The U of O Press continues to gain international attention as it wins one of the highest awards in American publishing.

Photo: Marta Kierkus

Dropping beats without promo to raise record sales

How Drake’s new mixtape represents a shifting trend in the corporate side of the music industry Spencer Murdock Staff Reporter

If you want to make an overnight success of your latest record, maybe don’t tell anyone.

In the music industry, trends are a major factors in an artist’s profits. From a marketing perspective, they can make or break your product.

One of the latest and most notable trends in music today involves artists shunning industry norms by releasing their projects in a surprise format with little to no marketing.

The most noteworthy surprise album came in December 2013, when Beyoncé released her self-titled album to iTunes without any warning or promotion. According to Billboard, the album sold a staggering 80,000 units in the first three hours and was certified platinum only weeks later.

The hype that surrounded the album was essential for R&B and hip-hop as both genres have long struggled with album delays and marketing mishaps.

More recently, Toronto rapper Drake pulled the ultimate power move in February. His short film entitled Jungle surfaced online, sparking rumours of a new project that materialized as a 17-track mixtape called If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late, posted on iTunes later that evening.

Typically speaking, hip-hop mixtapes are free. But with its

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sale on iTunes, If You’re Reading This completes Drake’s four-album contract with Cash Money Records. The surprise release has been interpreted as Drake making a statement in breaking away from his record deal and taking control of his own career.

So far the decision has paid massive dividends. The mixtape sold 535,000 units digitally in less than one week, debuting at the top of charts worldwide. The anti-corporate strategy of self-promotion is effective, given the right artist.

Similarly during New York Fashion Week, Kanye West debuted his fashion line in partnership with Adidas, where he used the platform to premiere the song “Wolves” from his upcoming album.

He later told a New York ra-

Jessica Eritou

Arts & Culture Editor It’s award season in North America, and the University of Ottawa’s publisher of literature has scooped up one of its own.

The University of Ottawa Press won the highly regarded Professional and Scholarly Publishing Division of the Association of American Publishers (PROSE) award for publication in literature.

The deciding work was The Collected Poems of Miriam Waddington, edited by professor Ruth Panofsky of Ryerson University. Panofsky brought Waddington’s work back to print for the first time since 1986, along with previously unpublished poems and translations.

The award is often given to Ivy League-affiliated publishing houses such as the Harvard

University Press, Columbia University Press, and Princeton University Press.

“We were all thrilled. You should have heard us in the office, it was total mayhem,” said U of O Press director Lara Mainville. “We’re all thrilled for Ruth.”

Mainville said she has not seen an achievement with that level of grandeur in her three years at the university.

She said what made the book so distinctive and awardworthy was its controversial tone and play on the female experience. According to the submission statement the publisher sent to PROSE, “Waddington’s poetry has not received the critical attention it warrants.”

Waddington was the first Jewish-Canadian woman to publish poetry in English, while also playing a significant role in modernist Cana-

dian poetry. The collection features poems on intoxicating love, marriage, and motherhood, on dealing with the death of her ex-husband, and on growing old.

Panofsky is a professor of English and specializes in Canadian literature and culture.

Mainville says the reason why she chose to edit Waddington’s book at the U of O Press was because of its reputation and extensive Canadian collection.

“It’s a darn good collection,” said Mainville.

She also gave credit to the tremendous help of the Canadian literature series editor Dean Irvine, who she said whipped the stories into even better shape by giving encouraging feedback.

“He’s been doing an amazing job developing the series,” said Mainville. “Of course, it’s always a team effort.”

“It is so powerful that even if you have an issue with it you don’t have a choice but to grapple with it and to deal with it in some capacity” —Awad Ibrahim

dio station that setting a date for an album is played out and tiresome and instead it will be a surprise. Defying all norms in the music industry of how new music is to be released has in turn become the new norm.

Awad Ibrahim, a professor in the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Education, commented on the shifting relationship between hip-hop and the corporate world.

“It is now seen as something that really needs attention, and it touches big corporation’s pockets as well,” said Ibrahim. “It is so powerful that even if you have an issue with it you don’t have a choice but to grapple with it and to deal with it in some capacity.

It demands respect.”

Judging by the trend’s momentum, fans should expect plenty more surprises.

After much antipication of an album, Drake instead surprised us with a mixtape out of nowhere. Photo: Skeezix1000, CC, Flickr

ARTS & CULTURE | 11

Dan Mangan hits the high road

Artist reflects on his time as a student to now playing shows across the globe Sebastian Maynard The Brunswickan

FREDERICTON (CUP) — About 10 years ago, Dan Mangan was majoring in English at the University of British Columbia. Along with being a student, he would perform at campus and local bars, taking just about anything he could get.

“I remember that feeling of if you had 20 people listening or paying attention it was a miracle,” says Mangan.

Now in 2015, the 31-yearold Mangan and his band Blacksmith are on tour and will stop in Ottawa on Feb. 27 at the National Arts Centre. The tour is in support of their new album Club Meds, the first to have Mangan’s band credited alongside him. Though they have been playing together for some time now, the new album and tour in many ways feel like a rebirth, says Mangan.

“This definitely isn’t a situation where we’re doing this new thing and if you don’t

12 | ARTS & CULTURE

get it, screw you,” he says.

“We’re excited about this new music and we want to help shepherd people toward it.”

That means that some fan favourites such as the catchy, upbeat “Robots” won’t be making an appearance at shows as often as they once were.

As his career has grown since his university days, so has his music. The British Columbia native has won two Juno Awards, been longlisted for the Polaris Music Prize, played at festivals such as Osheaga and Glastonbury, and most recently made the soundtrack for Hector and the Search for Happiness, starring Simon Pegg. His latest album, which came out Jan. 13, is musically and lyrically more complex than anything he has done in the past.

“I actually believe that being distracted from the darkness in life is not a healthy thing and not real happiness. What the record is really about is sort of being honest with ourselves.”

Instead of ignoring the

problems of the world and everyday life, Mangan and Blacksmith have chosen to embrace it. “Finding peace, not through being distracted and sedated, but through acceptance and compassion.”

The band will be on the road until the end of April. For Mangan, this tour is different since he now has a child at home.

But despite what he will be missing in Vancouver, Mangan says he’s excited to perform his new music for fans.

“There are a lot of songs on this record that I am excited to be playing on the regular,” he says.

After modest beginnings at UBC and years of playing all across Canada, Mangan has gone from an artist that felt like he was always associated with having a beard and flannels—he says he can’t remember having worn plaid in five years—to one of the premier artists in Canada.

Dan Mangan + Blacksmith perform Feb. 27 at the National Arts Centre at 7:30 p.m.

“I remember that feeling of if you had 20 people listening or paying attention it was a miracle.” ­—Dan Mangan

Dan Mangan credits the rest of his bandmates, Blacksmith, on his latest international tour stopping in Ottawa.

Photo: Lee Hayden, CC, Flickr

thefulcrum.ca

Social issues worth the applause at Oscars

If nothing else, the Academy Awards got a large audience thinking about some real and important topics Jessica Eritou

Arts & Culture Editor It was painful to watch Neil Patrick Harris host the 87th Academy Awards and miss the mark with his robotic and cringe-worthy script. But audiences were given a little more than expected as winners went up to the podium to give their acceptance speeches: something to think about.

In fact, this started much sooner, when actors walked the red carpet.

After a large backlash from actresses refusing to partake in E! News’ “Mani Cam” during the 2015 SAG Awards, evidently the network opted not to include one during this year’s Academy Awards, although its official reason for taking it out of the program was due to production time restraints.

Actress Reese Witherspoon took a further step by shining light on Amy Poehler’s

#AskHerMore campaign to do away with sexist questions asked by journalists, encouraging them to ask more thought-provoking questions than what designer dress and accessories they are wearing.

When it came to the Oscars ceremony itself, several winners took the stage not only to say thanks, but also to spread a larger message on behalf of others who don’t have the same chance to be heard.

During Patricia Arquette’s acceptance speech for her winning supporting role in Boyhood, the actress focused her time on advocating equal pay rights for women. She explained it was time for men who love women to show stronger support.

After an emotional musical performance by John Legend and Common, the two artists captured the crowd’s attention by commenting on the significance of Martin

Luther King Jr.’s march. As Legend put it, “Selma is now, because the struggle for justice is right now.” He added, “There are more black men under correctional control today than there were under slavery in 1850.” Legend said it is an artist’s duty to reflect the time they live in.

Even after Sean Penn’s awkward green card joke regarding Birdman director Alexandro G. Iñárritu, the director took the majority of his Best Picture acceptance speech to thank Mexico, as well as his fellow immigrants to the United States. Iñárritu then brought the focus to new immigrants, saying he wishes they would be given the same appreciation as previous generations that built the “incredible immigrant nation” known as America.

Although some of us watch these shows purely for escapism, as cable networks showcase privileged

Hollywood executives and actors dressed to the nines cracking jokes for much of the night, there is a new undercurrent of meaningful thought making its way into these awards shows.

Speeches like those at this year’s Oscars forced a mass audience to consider some important sociopolitical issues at a time when they would otherwise only expect to sit on their couches and be entertained. They are small acts in a fight against apathy and cynicism that should earn some applause.

STAFF Contrib utor

Jasmine Van schou wen

Birdman director Alexandro G. Iñárritu spread a message of unity which caught everyone’s attention. Disney (ABC Television Group), CC

Why it’s famous:

Featuring iconic and elaborate dance sequences, An American in Paris brought George Gershwin classics to the silver screen with an exquisite, multitalente d cast.

This film also showcases artists like brilliant pianist Oscar Levant, dance heartthrob Gene Kelly, and the ever-graceful, classically trained dancer Leslie Caron.

Credited with making classical ballet palatable for film audiences, it is a colourful classic worth every minute and every one of its six Academy Award wins.

Why you haven’t seen it: Though this flick made a splash at the Oscars, it has slowly slipped away into abandon, as it was overshadowed by flashier musical movies such as Singing in the Rain.

Why it might be tough to get through : Like many musicals, An American in Paris tends to be a little light on the storyline front. The plot is simplistic at best, so don’t expect an intricate story arc.

Why you should see it anyway: If you like music, dance, and striking cinematography, this movie will not disappoint you in any way. Not only is it touching and delightfully comical, it also features beautifully crafted performances from artists that transformed cinema and influenced generations ahead of them.

Famous lines: Henri Baurel: Be happy! You only find the right woman once.

Adam Cook: That many times?

Fun Facts: • No words are spoken during the last 20 minutes of the film.

• The 17-minut e dance sequenc e at the end took a month to film and cost $500,000.

• Gene Kelly screened The Red Shoes (1948) for the MGM executives to persuade them to finance a dance film, as they weren’t as popular at the time.

Jerry Mulligan: Civilization has a natural resistance to improving itself.

Most of the movies mentioned in Movies You Should Have Seen are available for loan at the Morisset Library! thefulcrum.ca

ARTS & CULTURE | 13

I’m not sure I remember the very first time I experienced racism or discrimination.

It must have happened sometime growing up in Montreal or at some point early on after my family moved to rural Nova Scotia. But one experience in high school stands out whenever I think about how I’m treated as a black man.

I went to École secondaire de Clare in Nova Scotia and represented the better part, if not all, of its black student population during my time there. There was also an English high school nearby that the other black kids in the area attended.

There was tension between the two schools. Both represented specific communities: the English school represented Weymouth, while the French represented Clare and the Acadian shores. On one level, the rivalry was between French and English, but there was also a racial connotation to it.

I was probably in ninth grade. It happened in the locker room prior to a hockey practice. The weekend earlier, one of my schoolmates had been assaulted by two black teens from the English school because he had called one of them a nigger.

Of course the incident was the topic du jour in the locker room, and one of my teammates asked which side I would take. “Are you with us or are you with them?”

Them, of course, didn’t refer to English-speaking people. After that day I became more aware of the racial differences between myself and the majority of the white community I grew up in. I found myself questioning the motive behind people’s actions and words more than I had before.

An unclear divide For me, coming to the University of Ottawa was a drastic change. I went from a school of 260 students to a university of 40,000. I now share a campus and classes with other black men and women. I left a province where minorities represented 5.2 per cent of the province’s population to one where they represented 23 per cent.

It was a welcome change.

In the midst of Black History Month, our student community at the U of O voted against the creation of

a racialized student centre on campus. Creating this centre might have created discussion and brought more awareness about what it means to be a visible minority today. It could also have created a deeper divide and established racial barriers where there were none before.

Though the referendum failed for reasons we can only speculate, it's clear that at least a significant body of students is thinking and talking about race issues on campus. After I came to Ottawa, there were times when I questioned whether my identity was tied to my skin colour. The nice thing about being part of this university is that I’ve come to realize I'm not the only one who’s dealt with these issues and asked the same questions.

Before Ottawa, black on black racism was something I had heard about but never witnessed. For Vanessa Dorimain, vice-president of university affairs elect for the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (SFUO), it was part of her everyday life for 12 years.

At the age of eight, Dorimain moved from Ottawa to Florida, where there was a lot of racial tension, and not all of it black and white. Jamaican vs. Haitian and lightskin vs. dark-skin were two conflicts in which she was regularly involved.

She got into fights on almost a monthly basis because of her heritage and skin colour. Being of Haitian descent, she often found herself in physical altercations with people of Jamaican lineage. Other times, it was because she wasn't dark enough. Being Canadian, she would also be the target of vitriol because some of her classmates felt she “spoke white” and was belittling them when she talked to them.

All of this made Dorimain angry. And she directed that anger toward white people.

“White people were the devil,” she says. “I felt like it was a white supremacy chain. You have the colonizers for instance and they divided all of us. They came to every single country and they instilled their knowledge on us and made us separate. In Florida I thought: This is the reason why these people act like this and this is why we hate each other.”

Today, Dorimain says she's realized her anger at white people was more a product of her environment.

She says she knows that racism still exists not solely because of white people, but because many have internalized the colonization ideology.

Welcome to Canada Coming back to Canada was a transition for Dorimain because she says there was more solidarity between black people on this side of the border.

It was also a change for Justin Serresse, assistant coach of the Gee-Gees men’s basketball team, and David, a fourth-year student who requested the Fulcrum withhold his surname. When Serresse and David came to Canada, they were two of an average 250,000 people who each year become new residents of the country.

Serresse, who has Cameroonian lineage, came from France about a decade ago. David, born in Nigeria, lived in Malaysia, Holland, and Scotland before arriving in the Toronto suburb of Richmond Hill five years ago.

Despite being of the opinion that Canada is still light years ahead of most other parts of the world in terms of dealing with racial discrimination, David says he’s “experienced just as much racism in Canada as anywhere else in the world, including Nigeria.”

Serresse noticed less racial tension in Canada, and says he faced adversity more often for not being able to speak English than because of his skin colour. He says he did witness racism when he came to Sudbury, but it wasn’t towards black people; what shocked him the most was the hate and discrimination dealt to indigenous peoples.

Having gone through Europe, both men say that multiculturalism in Canada is a big factor in calming the racial atmosphere.

“Europe has a different climate towards racism,” says David.

“Europe is the birthplace of democracy and diplomacy, but is structurally still very racist.”

“North America does a better job to encompass all opinions and to challenge the problem.”

Serresse, who only realized that he experienced racism as a youth after being away from France, now feels bitterness thinking of his childhood. He says he was treated like he was part of an inferior class.

Despite understanding these events now, at the time he tried to not pay attention to the prejudice. But it was sometimes impossible to ignore as he began playing basketball in the pro-am circuit.

Moussa Sangaré-Ponce explores the chal other U of O students have had to overcom

Living b

“In northern France, their mindset is very archaic," he says. "They (the fans) made monkey noises.”

Taught or experienced The concept of racism can be taught two ways: either told to you, or by experiencing it firsthand. My father told me about pioneers and icons such as Malcolm X and Nelson Mandela and the struggles they faced. But his words didn’t really resonate until I experienced racism myself.

David’s parents also explained the notion of racism and discrimination to him at a young age, but “they never made it adversary,” he says. They told him: “This is the way it is. It happens sometimes, but you got to rise above that.”

Serresse’s parents never taught him about racism, he says, but there was palpable resentment towards him from his father’s side of the family—his father is from Cameroon—because they felt they were treated unequally and hadn’t received some of the social advantages he had growing up.

Sakinna Gairey, a second-year public relations student at the U of O, says her parents were very conscious of teaching her about racism. But she first remembers becoming “racially aware” at the age of five, when she was called a terrorist in the grocery store following the 9/11 attacks.

Dorimain felt alone when she had to learn about discrimination. Her father tried to paint a pretty picture of the world, telling here all humans are equal, while her mother kept her thoughts on the matter internalized.

She later learned that her father dealt with a lot of hate and tried not to pass it on to his children.

Double standard and white acceptance For many, being black also instils a double standard.

Recent events in the United States such as the widely publicized deaths of Mike Brown, Trayvon Martin, and Eric Garner have suggested there's a double standard in the way black people are perceived by authorities.

Cultural events such as the Grammys and the Oscars have also been accused of snubbing black artistry.

The Academy has come under fire recently for the noticeable lack of diversity in this year’s nominees.

The double standard goes beyond perception: it’s also about time and effort. Some black people may feel that twice as much effort has to be given in order to receive the same rewards that a white person would get. For instance, a study published by the Washington Post shows that a black man with a bachelor’s degree has the same chances of obtaining work as a white male college dropout.

When Maya McDonald learned about racism from her parents, she also learned about this double standard.

She recalls them saying, “While I could be very talented and be able to do so many things, I’ll have to work twice as hard or more to compare to my white friends.”

McDonald, the SFUO's vice-president of equity, says she felt that pressure during her time with the student federation.

“I work with some amazing people, but I feel as though I have to put in extra effort to make my opinions heard,” she says. “A white person could say the exact same thing (I said), and we’re jumping into how can we make it happen.”

White acceptance is a concept that still confuses Vanessa Dorimain. She says many previously ignored or stigmatized cultural items historically attached to being black, such as types of music and dance, are now finding wider social recognition because an influential white person made it OK. Although she’s “not hating them for something we always had," Dorimain says she finds that "white people have to endorse everything sometimes for people to accept it.”

The bias in expectations of black people goes both ways, according to David. “You could underperform and still get promoted because you’re black," he says. "You could over-perform and still get devalued somehow.” On the other hand, Serresse says he never felt these expectations; language was his only barrier.

to racism when witnessing it. David says that when faced with racism, you shouldn’t feel like you have to devolve to its level or feel like you have to responsd.

“You have to rise above that,” he says.

Serresse adds that racism is not only a form of ignorance, but also fear. “Not understanding has an anxious effect (on people)," he says.

McDonald says it’s OK to be uncomfortable when discussing racism because “if they are not uncomfortable, they aren’t understanding.”

What does it mean to be black? I haven’t found an answer to my question, but I did learn that for some, race is a bigger issue than others. Being black is not something that should be defined for you, but something you have to determine yourself.

Back home, I always tried to break away from stereotypes attached to black people because it would help me fit in. Now I realize by doing that I was denying part of who I am.

I try to not think about racial perception, but it's easier said than done. My skin colour does not define me, but it has in many ways shaped who I am.

Racism or ignorance A study done at York University showed that non-black students are not emotionally distressed and are unlikely to respond

llenges he and many e as black Canadians

black

SPORTS

SPORTS EDITOR Sarah Nolette sports@thefulcrum.ca (613) 562-5260

Swimmers make history with national top 10 finishes

Ten Gees have strong finish in CIS championships in Victoria Sarah Nolette Sports Editor

F

or the first time ever, both the men’s and women’s Gee-Gees swimming teams placed in the top 10 at the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) championships amidst competition from about two dozen schools across Canada.

The men’s team finished ninth, the best result the team has ever had in national standings. The women’s team finished 10th overall and was third among Ontario universities.

“I was proud of the great racing the Gee-Gees put forth this weekend, and also proud of the five years of racing I have done over my career,” said fifth-year Eryn Weldon.

“The men’s and women’s team placed in the top 10 with only six girls and four guys— very proud to be a Gee-Gee.” The tournament also marked a first for 10 Gees swimmers who faced an extra challenge at the University of Victoria, competing for the first time in a 50-metre pool instead of their regular 25-metre track.

On the first day, Audrey Prayal-Brown broke the GeeGees record in the 100-metre breaststroke preliminaries, swimming 1:10.48 to qualify for the final. She shaved almost two seconds off her best time to break the record, which had stood since 1994. Prayal-Brown finished 10th in the finals.

16 | SPORTS

Robert Bonomo won a medal for Ottawa during the second day of competition, as he took bronze in the 50-metre butterfly, finishing six onehundredths of a second before the fourth-place finisher. This marks Bonomo’s second career CIS bronze medal, his first being in the 200-metre backstroke just last year.

Weldon finished seventh in both the 200-metre butterfly and the 200-metre breaststroke. This was her best finish in the butterfly at nationals during her career. Weldon ended her Gee-Gees career on Feb. 21, finishing sixth in the 200-metre individual medley.

The 20-time provincial medalist appeared in four “A” finals this season, her personal best.

“Competing in my final CIS championships was a bittersweet moment for me,” said Weldon. “I was excited going into the meet, and ready to race the best in the country.

Overall, I was happy with my performance at nationals this year.”

Finally, first-year Montana Champagne finished sixth in the men’s 200-metre individual medley during the last day of competition. In the morning swim, Champagne broke a Gee-Gees record with a time of 2:02.53.

The hard work from all ten Gee-Gees paid off during the championships, as they excelled and performed well at the national level. The swim team will now enter into their off season training until next October.

Robert Bonomo won a bronze medal for Ottawa during the second day at the CIS championship.

Photos: Marta Kierkus

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“I was just like most Canadian kids growing up dreaming of playing in the NHL. It was kind of like living that dream for a day.” ­—Erik Miksik

Erik Miksik had his reading week made when the Ottawa Senators brought him in for a practice.

Photo by Adam Feibel

Dream comes true for goaltending Telfer student Erik Miksik stopped pucks from the pros at Ottawa Senators practice Adam Feibel Managing Editor

It was a childhood dream come true when Erik Miksik stepped on the ice with the Ottawa Senators over reading week for a little taste of the big leagues.

“It’s exciting,” said the selfprofessed diehard Sens fan. “I was just like most Canadian kids growing up dreaming of playing in the NHL. It was kind of like living that dream for a day.”

The local goaltender filled in between the pipes the morning of Feb. 17 as the NHL team pressed on without its two regular netminders. The Senators are missing Craig Anderson, who injured his hand in a 4-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs in January, and Robin Lehner, who left a Family Day matchup against the Carolina Hurricanes after a scary goalmouth collision with Senators winger Clarke MacArthur late in the second period that gave both players concussions.

That left the struggling Ottawa team with two emergency goalie call-ups: Andrew Hammond of the AHL’s Binghamton Senators hurled in the starter’s block, backed

by Chris Driedger of the

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ECHL’s Evansville Icemen.

But with Driedger travelling from Indiana, it was local boy Miksik that filled the cage at practice.

These days, Miksik studies commerce at the University of Ottawa while playing for beer league teams around town. The 22-year-old Kanata native previously played Junior B for four years, his most recent being with the Arnprior Packers last season.

One year, he played on the same Stittsville Royals roster as Brandon Lee, the son of Senators assistant general manager Randy Lee. Miksik had been asked to come out to practice a couple of times before, but the timing was never right. When he got the invite from Sens goalie coach Rick Wamsley over the study break, he had no reason to pass it up.

“It still feels pretty surreal to me,” said Miksik. “Everything that happened just seems like a blur.”

He didn’t need to pinch himself afterward—not with a good bruise to prove it happened. Miksik had to ice his elbow after taking a hard shot from Jared Cowen. No kidding, considering the 24-year-old defenceman recorded the team’s hardest shot at this year’s All-Star

Skills Competition with a 106.3-mph cannon.

“It’s that much faster and that much more precise,” Miksik said of the elite level. “I hadn’t even played in almost a month leading up to that … so I was simultaneously trying to get back into hockey mode as well as adapting to the level of play.”

Indeed, the Telfer student is at a crossroads. Now too old for the junior leagues and often caught up in his studies, hockey has taken a backseat this season. But Miksik isn’t ready to hang up the pads.

With some luck he could wind up playing in Europe, he said.

Throughout the Senators’ practice, speculation swirled about who this mysterious Miksik was and who would be replacing Lehner for the Senators’ next game against the Montreal Canadiens. And unbeknownst to the lastminute fill-in, a hungry media scrum was waiting in the dressing room.

“That blew me away,” said Miksik. “I didn’t even expect it. I thought it was going to be just some guy filling in at practice, and then all of a sudden it was kind of a big deal too.”

Of course, it was always a big deal for Miksik, who can

The goaltending Telfer student in action with his former Junior B team the Athens Aeros.

Photos courtesy of Erik Miksik

say he spent a day with the pro-leaguers—some fresh out of the farm team like Hammond and fellow call-up Shane Prince, others with all-star prestige like Bobby Ryan and Erik Karlsson—and realized, to a lifelong fan’s surprise, that they’re just normal guys.

“You look up to those guys, but then when you actually get face-to-face with them, they’re just like regular hockey players … It feels comfortable,” said Miksik.

“I was drinking a coffee and watching SportsCentre, and Bobby Ryan walked in and just casually introduced himself, ‘Hi, I’m Bobby,’ and shook my hand. That was a weird moment, a guy like that introducing himself,” he said.

“It’s like that with all the guys.

They’d walk up and introduce themselves, and in my head I’m just like yeah… I know exactly who you are.”

SPORTS | 17

U of O welcomes new athletic director Marc Schryburt

Former teacher, coach, finance administrator joins Gee-Gees community Sarah Nolette Sports Editor

Marc Schryburt wants sports to bring people together on campus. It’s been

his dream for 20 years, and as a longtime football coach and sports program manager, he’s finally become the new Gee-Gees director of Sports Services.

Schryburt has worked in education, coaching, and management for more than 25 years. He began his career as a math and physical education teacher, and for the past five years he’s been the director of finance and administration at the Coaching Association of Canada.

“I’m excited because if you were to ask this question 20 years ago, this is the position I would want,” said Schryburt.

The University of Ottawa’s vice-president of resources Marc Joyal said Schryburt

has earned a fortunate reputation in the sports community, and said he’s confident in his ability to lead the university’s Sports Services.

Sports Services are in the middle of a 10-year plan. They are developing the Gee-Gee program and balancing out recreational sports until 2020.

“I want to make sure I respect the past,” said Schryburt. “Everything that’s done in the past, there is a reason for that.”

For the future, Schryburt hopes to foster a new perspec-

tive by bringing people together through sport, and by being a visible leader on campus.

Schryburt worked six seasons as a football coach for McGill University from 2001 to 2005, and the University of Sherbrooke from 2006 to 2007. He has also been a guest coach for a number of professional teams in the Canadian Football League.

When working at these universities, Schryburt always knew he wanted to be a sports director. He says he wants to take into account

not only varsity sports, but all sports on campus. He said sports bring everyone together in numerous ways.

“It takes a lot of people.

Sports brings people together; it brings staff together and students together.”

Schryburt is enthusiastic about working at a bilingual university and being part of the Gee-Gees action on campus.

“I’m a sports freak. You will see me everywhere,” said Schryburt. “Not because it’s my responsibility to be there, but I enjoy it.”

Women’s volleyball captures silver medal at OUAs Gee-Gees seeded seventh at nationals David Campion-Smith Staff Contributor

The Gee-Gees women’s volleyball team missed out on the gold medal in a heartbreaking final match against the University of Toronto Varsity Blues. The Gees took home the silver medal at the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) championship final on Feb. 21.

They won their opening quarterfinal game against the Ryerson Rams 3-0 and secured their spot in the finals by beating the hosting Guelph Gryphons 3-1 in the semis.

Then the squad lost 3-2 to the Varsity Blues to finish in second place The Gee-Gees were the only team who had beaten Toronto in the OUA regular season. he regular season destroys their unbeatable image,” said third-year middle Sophie Chenail.

Ottawa led for the beginning of the first set, taking advantage of Toronto’s mistakes at the net. But it was Toronto’s attackers that made the difference in the long run, which the GeeGees couldn’t respond to consistently.

18 | SPORTS

Ottawa went on to win the next two sets, only to fall to Toronto in the final two.

“The start of the fourth set was crucial for them in response,” said head coach Lionel Woods.

Left side Myriam English led Ottawa with 19.5 points, while Toronto’s Charlotte Sider scored 19. Both players were named OUA East first team all-stars. Gee-Gees setter Kira Tome was also named the player of the match.

“It could have turned out differently,” said Chenail.

“We didn’t receive as well as we had in previous games.

Another problem was the serving, which was not as aggressive as usual.”

Obviously, it’s never easy to lose, but little mistakes aside, Chenail said she feels the team had a good game and fought well.

Toronto is currently ranked third in the nation, while the U of O is seated at seventh.

Both the Gee-Gees and Varsity Blues will continue on to the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) championships Feb. 23 to March 1, hosted by the U of T. Woods said he thought both teams played up to their

ability during the OUA final, but said he’s excited for a shot at redemption at the CIS tournament.

“I’m thrilled that we both get to go to nationals,” said Woods. “We get to wake up in the morning with a new goal, which is the first round at nationals.”

Ottawa will begin by playing the number two University of Alberta Pandas in the quarterfinal game Thursday Feb. 24 at 8 p.m. Catch the action at cis-sic.tv.

Sabrina Roy digs for the ball during their home game before the OUA championship.

Photos: Marta Kierkus

thefulcrum.ca

Men’s basketball finishes perfect at home Johnny Berhanemeskel adds to legend, scoring 2,000th career point Spencer Murdock staff reporter

The number-two ranked Gee-Gees welcomed the Laurentian Voyageurs to Montpetit in hopes of closing out the regular season with a perfect record on their home floor.

In the early goings of the game, Laurentian hung tight with the Gees and even jumped to an early 23-20 lead after the first half. Once the Ottawa offence settled in, the team pulled away to a comfortable lead. The Gees came away with a dominant 112-73 and finished their season a program best 18-1.

The team was able to integrate various pieces off their

bench, but still the main source of production came from the team’s two graduating co-captains, Johnny Berhanemeskel and Gabriel Gonthier-Dubue.

Midway through the third, Berhanemeskel hit a three to give him 24 points on the night and, more importantly, the 2,000th point in his career. Johnny B became one of only three Gee-Gees to ever hit that mark.

The Gees’ shifted lineup has seemingly clicked these past games. With Vikas Gill coming off the bench rather than starting, he has led the bench production with 18 points alongside Matt Plunkett’s 16.

“I feel like we are back to play-

ing our style,” said head coach James Derouin. “We got everybody involved, some freshmen in that played great this weekend, so we’re in good shape heading into the playoffs.”

With the win, the team clinched the number-one seed in the provincial Wilson Cup playoffs and the right to host the Final Four at Montpetit Hall. This is the first year with the new system that has the top-seeded team hosting the playoffs.

“It’s a great way to go out as a senior,” said Gonthier-Dubue.

“It was our first goal to host the Final Four and so we just have to get the job done next week.”

Derouin also expressed the

unique chance the Gee-Gees have to win back-to-back conference championships, and do it on their home floor.

“Obviously it’s a huge opportunity for our school to showcase our basketball program and our sports programs. I’m an Ottawa guy and to be at home and host it here is incredible,” said Derouin.

“The guys are excited about it, we play really well here at home and shoot the ball extremely well, and we like that advantage trying to go to nationals. We’re absolutely pumped about it.”

The OUA playoffs will take place on Feb. 28 at Montpetit Hall. Provided the Gees fend off the rest of their competition, they will look to compete for the number-one seed in the CIS Final Eight in Toronto starting in March.

“It’s a great way to go out as a senior. It was our first goal to host the Final Four and so we just have to get the job done next week.”

—Gabriel GonthierDubue

Emotional night as Gees host breast cancer benefit Jen Stoqua shines in record-breaking performances leading into playoffs Spencer Murdock staff reporter

The women’s basketball team had extra motivation to play hard at the Shoot for the Cure fundraiser game this year.

Each season, the Gee-Gees take part in hosting a staple in Canadian University Sport (CIS), the Shoot for the Cure fundraiser for breast cancer awareness and research.

The games by design are always played between the GeeGees and the Laurentian University Voyageurs, as a special bond exists between the two basketball programs.

Gee-Gees head coach Andy Sparks says it’s always an emotional night when the schools meet as they commemorate the life of Carolyn Sturgess.

The native of Ottawa became a star at Laurentian while her sister was a star at the University of Ottawa, and her brother went on to become the current head coach of the Voyageurs.

Sturgess lost her fight with breast cancer in 2009, but the teams keep her memory alive with the game every season.

Emotions were running higher this year as Sparks shared the story of his sister-in-law’s fight with breast cancer in a moving

address to the crowd post-game.

“It’s one of the times in the year that you think back every year about someone who had an impact on you. That has lost their life, or went through stuff. It kind of puts things into perspective,” said Sparks.

He thought highly of Carolyn, as a basektball player and as a person. “Her mom and sister come every year and it means a lot to the basketball community,” added Sparks.

The Gee-Gees made efficient use of the pink ball as they sprung to an 86-43 victory over the Voyageurs.

The Gees turned to senior Jen Stoqua after her recordbreaking performance downing 10 three-pointers in the previous night’s 91-33 victory over Nipissing. Holding a freshly-inked record for the most threes in a single game for the Gee-Gees, Stoqua went back to work shooting another nine for the night to bring her weekend total to 19.

Laurentian played the GeeGees close in the early goings, but as the garnet and grey defence clamped down, the Voyageurs surrendered multiple runs to lock in the Gee-Gees’ win.

“I think we’re peaking where we wanted to peak,” said Stoqua.

Julia Soriano and Stephanie McDonald setting up the play for the Gee-Gees.

thefulcrum.ca

“We wanted to go out with a bang and we certainly did that.

Having it be my senior weekend you want to come out and leave something on the floor that people will remember and luckily it worked out for that.”

As for the run into the playoffs, the team is excited to close out the regular season on top and they look forward to a run in the playoffs.

“We’re heading in the right direction. This weekend was the start of that and we’ll look to continue in our first playoff game,” said Stoqua.

With the win, the GeeGees clinched the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) North division title. The team hosts a playoff game on Feb. 25. in hopes of moving on to Windsor for the OUA Final Four where they could earn a berth in the CIS Final Eight in Quebec City.

Photos: Marta Kierkus

Johnny Berhanemeskel driving hard to the net for his team.

Photos: Marta Kierkus

SPORTS | 19

OPINIONS

OPINIONS EDITOR Kyle Darbyson

opinions@thefulcrum.ca (613) 562-5260

A new day for student politics

Real change may be on the horizon for the U of O student union Graham Gould Maule

T

Contributor

o the surprise of many, it looks like change might finally be coming to the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (SFUO).

The final results of the recent general election showed a refreshingly diverse student union for the 2015–16 school year, with the new SFUO comprising multiple political slates: Here for Us took the positions of president and vice-president of equity, Impact won finance and university affairs, and ABC took social.

Unlike previous years when the vast majority of

SFUO members were on the same page about every topic, having execs with different political viewpoints can open up discussions and encompass a wider variety of ideas.

Some might suggest these conflicting ideologies could result in political gridlock and inaction, and they’re not wrong. However, this will have to be weighed against the idea that there is now a stronger possibility that the kind of irresponsible motions and campaigns of the past year can be stopped before they get out of hand.

Only time will tell if this shift in the campus political landscape is good or bad, but it would be quite difficult to do any worse than this year. The

Only time will tell if this shift in the campus political landscape is good or bad, but it would be quite difficult to do any worse than this year. current administration has been plagued by scandals like vaguely racist campaigns, expensive misplaced fireworks, and an embarrassing tuition protest during the opening of our new Advanced Research

Voter turnout for the 2015 SFUO general election was 11.47 per cent.

Complex.

One would think that after these and many other mishaps the student body would have resorted to voting along uniform party lines out of apathy.

As it turns out, students are finally ready for something different.

Still, one of the most confusing aspects about this recent election is that despite the amount of noticeable

change, the number of people who came out to vote was virtually identical to last year.

Both had a voter turnout of around 11 per cent.

It’s possible that this is due to a generational change in which older voters have moved on and the younger ones have decided to act. Or the student body could have simply got sick of the current administration and wanted to wipe the slate clean.

Photo: Marta Kierkus

In either case, I hope this is the beginning of a new era within our school, and that the new student union works towards forming connections within the student body and administration, instead of creating rifts as we have seen in the past.

Perhaps with the right people in power, the apathy felt by so many will dissipate and students can be proud of their union.

Why the anti-vaccine movement kills

One in five Ontarians siding with ignorance and pseudo-science Charlotte McMurtry Contributor

Reportedly, one in five Ontarians believe that vaccines have a causal relationship with autism. Photo: Jeremy Gathany, CC, Wikimedia Commons.

These anti-vaxxers also don’t realize the danger of not vaccinating oneself or one’s children far outweighs the danger of any hypothetical birth defects attached to getting inoculated.

20 | OPINIONS

A recent outbreak of measles in Canada and the United States has sadly reenergized the anti-vaccine movement. This unfortunate reality is highlighted in a recent survey conducted

by Mainstreet Technologies, which finds that 20 per cent of Ontarians believe that the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine has a causal relationship with autism.

This vehement movement can be traced back to a study published in 1998 by Andrew Wakefield, which suggested that the vaccine was connected to a regressive developmental disorder. Not only was the article ultimately retracted, having been tarnished by allegations of fraud and refuted by several accredited medical organizations, but Wakefield was also eventually stripped of his medical licence in 2010.

So why do so many people

continue to give credence to this illegitimate theory in 2015? Why do so many people refuse to vaccinate themselves and their children at the risk of their personal health and safety?

A lot of this has to do with the fact that a few key celebrities have latched onto Wakefield’s theories and used their position of influence to keep his unfunded theories alive. Figures like Jenny McCarthy, Alicia Silverstone, and Robert Kennedy Jr. have all been particularly reckless about spreading this kind of misguided rhetoric to the general public.

Because of this, many people still think the reason for the increase in diagnoses of autism is the MMR vaccine. But in reality, extensive research into the disorder has simply allowed doctors to recognize more and more cases of autism.

What’s really infuriating about this movement is that its followers are not even

willing to do their homework.

For every article like Wakefield’s, there are hundreds more refuting all claims of connections of any sort between the MMR vaccine and autism. Maybe if these people took the time to conduct real research, instead of just soliciting advice from Internet comments, their confusion could be assuaged.

This research would tell them that autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder, for which there are multiple plausible causes such as genetics and environmental factors. None of these causes include vaccines.

These anti-vaxxers also don’t realize the danger of not vaccinating oneself or one’s children far outweighs the danger of any hypothetical birth defects attached to getting inoculated. Without the protection of modern medical science, our herd immunity to diseases like mumps and whooping cough—some previously considered eradicated,

at least for some time in North America—could drop. As a result, anyone too young to have been vaccinated, or anyone with a compromised immune system, could be exposed and infected. This is especially dangerous in countries like Canada, where immunization is not mandatory.

The measles is a deadly virus that should not be taken lightly. In 2013, the world saw 96,000 deaths associated with the disease—mostly originating from African and West Pacific regions—which very well could have been avoided.

Instead of reacting rationally to this medical reality, it seems like the fraudulent claims of a disgraced doctor and a few airheaded celebrities are starting to take hold.

This kind of thinking in the 21st century is abhorrent and backwards, and the individuals who perpetuate this ignorance need to be held accountable for the potential harm they could cause.

thefulcrum.ca

Should we punish the parents of obese children?

According to Statistics Canada, almost one in three Canadian youth are overweight.

Photo: Robert Lawton CC (Wikimedia Commons)

New ‘fat tax’ may mean well, but it will only make things worse Alexei Kazakov Contributor

While it’s encouraging to see that some government officials are taking people’s health seriously, lawmakers can shoot themselves in the foot with misguided legislation.

Puerto Rico has recently proposed a new law that aims to tackle childhood obesity, an issue it has been struggling with for quite some time.

This United States territory reports a 30 per cent childhood obesity rate, one of the highest in the country. In order to combat this, the proposed law would charge education officials with identifying obese children and reporting them to Puerto Rico’s health department. Monthly checkups would be done, and if the parents were unable

to get their child down to a healthy weight in time they would be fined.

At first glance, this new law seems like the right kind of “tough love” legislation that could help get a handle on a pervasive public health risk. This is especially appealing for a country like Canada, where childhood obesity hovers at around 31 per cent. In the past, provincial governments and nationwide health organizations have even flirted with the idea of instituting a similarly punitive tax on junk food.

But while this kind of legislation undoubtedly means well, it has one fatal flaw: It fails to consider the correlation between obesity and poverty.

In developed nations like Canada and the United States, obesity is rapidly becoming

a “disease of the poor.” After all, healthy food is more expensive than junk food, and it costs more to enrol a child in sports programs than to have them sit in front of the TV. A “fat tax” would only succeed in penalizing households who can’t afford the extra expense of paying a fine, further perpetuating the cycle of poverty that’s contributed to the obesity epidemic in the first place.

If any government really wants to help reduce obesity, there are much better solutions than a financially punitive “fat tax.” In fact, this health issue could be helped somewhat with the assistance of government subsidies.

For example, a subsidy on healthy foods would enable families that are otherwise unable to provide a balanced diet for themselves to improve their dietary situation. Sub-

sidies for children’s exercise programs, like sports teams and other active after-school programs, would help families give their children something more to do than stare at a TV screen all evening. To tie it all together, special government initiatives aimed at educating children and their parents on healthy living could make sure these subsidies don’t go unused.

This is just one way of looking at the problem, and there’s no one-size-fits-all solution to the obesity epidemic in counties like Canada and the United States. However, a “fat tax” doesn’t seem to be one of those solutions.

All things considered, this kind of legislation, while coming from a good place of genuine concern, has the potential to produce the opposite of the desired effect.

While this kind of legislation undoubtedly means well, it has one fatal flaw: It fails to consider the correlation between obesity and poverty. thefulcrum.ca

OPINIONS | 21

It’s time to retire Nielsen ratings

The TV audience measurement system is old and inaccurate Sarah Maya Bhola Contributor

Why are we still using Nielsen ratings? The quantitative data method used to measure the size of TV audiences is more than 60 years old and its age is really starting to show.

Nielsen television ratings are measured purely on the “first-run” viewership numbers (Nielsen measures American families and Canadian families separately). TV executives then use these ratings as the basis for the sale of air time to advertisers, which basically means that a program’s inherent value is determined by its initial run on broadcast television.

This system might have been an accurate representation of a standard TV audience back in an age before the Internet. But today, the number of people watching television in a non-traditional fashion is growing, and that means the Nielsen system is becoming increasingly irrelevant.

Exclusive web series, streaming sites, and digital video recorders (DVRs) all exist now. These formats are wildly successful and have resulted in some mighty impressive technical and artistic innovations in how we watch TV. Streaming services like Netflix and Amazon have produced award-winning original series like Orange is the New Black, House of Cards, and Transparent.

Furthermore, torrent and illegal streaming sites have cultivated rabid fan bases through introducing viewers to shows that were previously inaccessible, like programs that are not currently airing in your country of residence.

But for many TV executives, these new formats simply don’t exist, since they do not offer them any opportunity for traditional advertising. Instead of investigating or even embracing these new avenues for television distribution, many execs continue to rely on the Nielsen rating system, which gives them a totally skewed idea of what audiences are watching.

For example, according to this ancient system, the most popular scripted show of the last two years is NCIS, a generic police procedural that has a median viewer age of 61.

22 | OPINIONS

Because of this, time and time again, critically acclaimed shows with loyal fan bases get cancelled because they don’t adhere to the same tired, creatively-bankrupt television formulas that have proven to be “popular” in the past. So rather than getting another season of fan favourites like Enlisted or Happy Endings, we are treated to another round of American Idol, since it is usually a Nielsen ratings juggernaut.

Thankfully, some networks have realized this and have started to instill their own audience measurement systems. HBO and FX have implemented a three-to-seven-day data collection system, meaning they wait to take into account DVR and streaming when calculating their ratings.

It’s no wonder these networks have cultivated arguably the most talked about and critically acclaimed programming line-up in the current television landscape: they’re putting their money behind properties that people under 60 want to see.

Nielsen ratings shouldn’t be holding our television rep-

In an age of streaming video and DVRs, more and more students are neglecting to watch TV programs during their original broadcast.

Photo: Rémi Yuan

ertoire hostage. Network and advertising executives need to wake up and realize the world of television has moved on since the days of I Love Lucy.

Today, the number of people watching television in a non-traditional fashion is growing, and that means the Nielsen system is becoming increasingly irrelevant. thefulcrum.ca

Everything causes cancer, experts say

Recent report finds link between deadly disease and all things Raghad Sheikh-Khalil Staff Contri butor Health Canada has taken the issue of disease prevention to a whole new level.

In response to growing concern about nationwide cancer rates, the federal department has issued its latest in a string of warnings about what actually causes cancer.

In a 500-page report titled “Staying Safe in a Cancerous World,” scientists have found an intrinsic link between cancer and literally every food, activity, and any other thing known to humanity.

“Recent studies suggest that known causes of cancer, including genetic factors, diet and exercise, tobacco usage, and exposure to chemicals and radiation are not sufficient in explaining every single cancer diagnosis,” reads the report.

“Thus, the only logical conclusion to draw is that everything else is also the cause.”

The publication is split into 100 chapters, two of which are entirely dedicated to the dangers of sitting down, deemed the second most dangerous human activity, shortly behind standing up.

The remaining chapters follow suit, outlining every other

activity that “may or may not” be carcinogenic. As it turns out, 99.9 per cent of activities fall into the “may” category.

Included near the top of the list is “interaction with people,” since “fellow human beings have proven to be a guaranteed source of carcinogens,” according to the report.

As a follow-up to this report, the federal government is already planning to implement several new laws designed to help reduce cancer-inducing activities. This new batch of legislation would impose fines on sneezing in public spaces, and could potentially hand out jail time to anyone who double-dips their food.

The report has also caused widespread public panic across the country.

Adam Blazer, president of the Ottawa Public District School Board, is concerned about the report and how it will impact elementary school education.

“I just don’t know what to do anymore… We’ve already banned open windows, fruits and vegetables, and chairs, but

(This report) leaves absolutely no room for any more speculation on what actually causes cancer.”

—Andrew Masterson, contributor for WebMD

A recent report from Health Canada finds an undeniable link between eating food and getting cancer.

Photo: Rémi Yuan.

how can we ban people from coming to school?” Blazer said.

“I thought homeschooling my children would be the solution, but that would still leave them exposed to me.”

However, many Canadians consider this to be a step in the right direction. In light of re-

cent debates on controversial food items such as apples and oranges, some are thankful for the clarity and guidelines that have now been set in place.

“This report is a win for public health and safety,” said Andrew Masterson, a contributor for WebMD. “It leaves abso-

lutely no room for any more speculation on what actually causes cancer.”

In the now very likely case of a cancer diagnosis, Masterson said most Canadians can at least find comfort in the fact that it could have been caused by literally anything.

Science confirms Netflix saves lives Watching TV, eating junk food is the best way to stay disease-free h

n-Smit

Campio David

Staff Contri butor

Experts recommend that children undergo Netflix and junk food binges to fend off measles infections. Photo: Rémi Yuan.

thefulcrum.ca

The Society for Eating and Television (SEAT) has released new research showing that binge-watching Netflix while eating junk food is the best way to prevent a number of known physical ailments.

“The combined effects of relaxing and eating fatty foods are the best things possible for the body,” said SEAT spokesperson Alan Thompson. “In fact, we are under good authority to say that this dieting method can decrease the risk of stroke, increase blood flow, and it can even lead to a natural immunization against measles.”

In light of this news, Netflix—being the most popular streaming service amongst Canadian youth—is now scrambling to add more original programming to its lineup.

“Now, we at Netflix feel that

it is our moral imperative to have more TV shows,” said Rick Smith, head of Netflix programming. “We are performing a public service and are keeping people healthy in the process”.

This dieting method is so bold and revolutionary that members of Canada’s own anti-vaccination movement are even using it to further their own political goals.

“This just goes to show you that modern medicine is a complete joke,” said Sandra Bolton, a head of a local antivaxxer group. “Vaccines are useless and the best way to produce immunity to measles is through force-feeding your children chocolate and Orange is the New Black.”

On campus, many students are in good spirits, since online TV streaming and bad eating habits are already the cornerstone of the modern university experience.

“It just feels so good to know that all that time I spent watching House of Cards and eating chips I wasn’t being lazy. I was actually improving my health,” said Doug Darb, a third-year communications student. “Now I can just throw that new gym membership I got in the garbage.”

“Knowing about this, I really need to start watching what I eat,” said Alicia Hershel, a second-year Telfer student.

“I mean, maybe 24 cookies in a sitting isn’t enough to keep me fit.”

“I just wish streaming services like Netflix had been around for people of my generation,” said professor Erin Peoples, who teaches health sciences at the University of Ottawa. “There’s no telling now how many people could be at risk because we haven’t had enough exposure to its natural healing properties.”

“All that time I spent watching House of Cards and eating chips I wasn't being lazy. I was actually improving my health.”

—Doug Darb, communications student THE TOMATO | 23

DISTRACTIONS

Dear Di

Dear Di,

I came back from the winter reading week, and I haven’t had any action for a while now (yes, my celibacy was going on a few weeks pre-reading week).

While getting it on with a guy this week, I experienced the most painful sex ever. Like awful, gasping sex that had no pleasure involved. I don’t know if it was because I hadn’t slept with anyone for a while or what, but my vagina was not a happy camper. What gives? Am I destined to be in pain for the rest of my sexual prime?

—Hitting a Sore Spot

Dear HSS,

That does sound painful! Before anything else, I want to say that if you’re experiencing pain like that during sex, it’s A-OK to tell your partner (be it a boyfriend, girlfriend, or nostrings-attached person) that you need to stop.

Sex is supposed to be mutually pleasurable for all parties involved and if there’s something getting in the way of your enjoyment, call it game, set, and match. It’s a must that you and your partner both respect your body. Besides, if you are both so inclined there are plenty of other ways to safely (and for you, more enjoyably) experiment with pleasuring each other.

Now, in terms of your pain problem, there are a bunch of potential reasons. It isn’t uncommon for women to experience tightening of the vagina when it hasn’t been used for a little while, just like any other muscle. That’s all the more reason to take it slow and easy at the beginning. Sometimes anxiety and stress can also cause you to be a little tense down south.

If your partner was slightly oversized, or you didn’t have the foreplay you needed, this may have also presented some problems.

If this is an ongoing problem that you start noticing in your sex life, it’s definitely a good idea to go see the doc. They may be able to get down to the potential medical problems associated with your vaginal tightness and give you other options for ensuring your next time in the saddle is smooth and swimmingly splendid.

Love, Di

24 | DISTRACTIONS

Dear Di,

I think I broke my penis.

This sounds absolutely ridiculous, and I know there are no bones in my boner, but when pumping into my partner, I missed and hit their pubic bone instead. There was this awful cracking sound, and I have been in extreme pain down there ever since. Shed your light, sex goddess—I need to be back in action!

—Between a Bone and a Hard Place

FEATURES EDITOR Jesse Colautti

features@thefulcrum.ca (613) 562-5260

Dear BBHP,

You’re right: While there are no bones in your penis, it is possible—but rare—to break some of your precious member(although here’s a fun fact for you: all other placental mammals, like chimps, do indeed have a bone in their boner, as you so eloquently put it).

Remember your good old sex-ed high school classes learning about the penile anatomy?

The shaft of the penis has two spongey tissue layers, the inner layer being the corpora cavernosa. This layer contains the nerves that are responsible for relaxing the surrounding penile muscles and allowing blood to pour into this layer. Meanwhile, the outer layer of tissue, the tunica albuginea, keeps the blood from escaping, and maintains your stiff and rigid rod.

So while your erect penis may feel rock-hard, you have to remember that it is still flesh and blood.

In your case, you may have experienced a penile fracture, which happens when your hard-on is heartily thrust against another hard and less flexible object, like a partner’s pubic bone. The membrane around the inner layer can tear, causing a cracking sound, loss of erection, pain, and (possibly) a bent penis.

If it continues to bother you, I encourage you to see a doctor: Penile fractures are pretty serious and should be treated as soon as possible.

Sometimes they may require surgery to repair the surrounding tissue, which is responsible not only for erection and ejaculation, but also for urination. After all, you don’t want this to stand in the way of the pleasure that your penis can bring to you and others!

Love, Di

thefulcrum.ca

Feb.26 to MAR.21 2015

THRYLLABUS

Thursday, Feb. 26

Monday, Mar. 2

Trevor Ferguson on the Art of Writing, Good Companions Centre — 6:30 p.m.

Mindfulness Workshop, UCU — 11:30 a.m.

The Agonist, Ritual Nightclub — 7:30 p.m.

Comedian Jeremy Hotz begins his 4 day run at Yuk Yuk’s

A Most Violent Year begins playing at the Mayfair Theatre

Big Eyes begins playing at the Bytowne Cinema

French Film Festival begins on campus

Friday, Feb. 27 Study and Go Abroad Fair, Ottawa Convention Centre — 2 p.m.

Amanda Cottreau, Bryce Jardine & Derek Harrison, Café Nostalgica — 7 p.m.

Dan Mangan + Blacksmith with Hayden, National Arts Centre — 7:30 p.m.

SHAMELESS, Babylon Club — 10:30 p.m.

Escobar: Paradise Lost begins playing at the Bytowne Cinema

Saturday, Feb. 28

MUSIC arts Sports

Panel Discussion: Art and Memory in Lebanon, Carleton University Art Gallery — 2 p.m.

Free

OUA Men’s Basketball Playoffs, Montpetit Gym — 7 p.m.

Bry Webb, National Arts Centre — 7:30 p.m.

thefulcrum.ca

Etiquette Dinner, Desmarais Building Room 4101 — 6 p.m.

Early registration required, $30 for students.

Video Games Live, National Arts Centre — 7:30 p.m.

Trivia Night, Hintonburg Public House — 9 p.m.

Teams of 2-4, $5 per player.

Monday, Mar. 9 The Politics of Language in Education in African States, Faculty of Social Sciences Building — 12 p.m.

Tuesday, Mar. 3

Thursday, Mar. 12

Identity and the Construction of National Security, Faculty of Social Sciences Building — 12 p.m.

Cake, Bytowne Cinema — 6:40 p.m.

Wednesday, Mar. 4

Punk Cover Night, House of TARG — 9 p.m.

Thinking Globally, Created Locally, Mayfair Theatre — 7 p.m.

Friday, Mar. 13

Saturday, Mar. 14

Thursday, Mar. 5

The Steadies, Heart & Crown — 8 p.m.

Writing and Publishing in the Digital Age, Simard Hall, Room 125 — 2:30 p.m.

Electric Pow Wow, Babylon Club — 10 p.m.

Aqua Alta, Zaphod Beeblebrox — 8 p.m.

Thursday, Mar. 19

Friday, Mar. 6

The Naughty Bits Book Club, Venus Envy — 7:30 p.m.

The Cuckoo, Morisset Hall, Room 256 — 7 p.m.

Free movie screening organized by the Eastern European Studies Research Group.

Free gathering to discuss the best of Venus Envy’s guides, fiction, and erotica.

Friday, Mar. 20

Young Frankenstein, Centrepoint Theatre — 7:30 p.m.

The Royal Streets, Weird with Cats, The Brook, Zaphod Beeblebrox — 8 p.m.

The Room, Mayfair Theatre — 11 p.m.

Rich Aucoin, Ritual Nightclub — 10 p.m.

Saturday, Mar. 21

Saturday, Mar. 7

DIGICOM Ottawa | How to Be Heard in a Digital World, Algonquin College — 1 p.m.

Sunday, Mar. 1 Brew-ha-ha: Music and Comedy Open Mic, Raw Sugar Cafe — 7:30 p.m.

Thinking

Free for everyone, check www.uottawa.ca/ communitylife for listings.

Sunday, Mar. 8

The YA-YA’s (Rolling Stones Cover Nite), House of TARG — 9 p.m.

The best bad movie you’ll ever see. Don’t forget to bring your spoons.

FUN

Free for all students.

Elliot Brood w/ The Wilderness of Manitoba, Ritual Nightclub — 9 p.m.

O-Town Showdown: Vintage Swing Soiree, Glebe Community Centre — 8 p.m.

Seminar and networking event for those interested in working with social media, $30 for students.

Live music, swing dance lessons, competitions and performances. $20 for students.

DISTRACTIONS | 25

LETTER TO THE EDITOR I want to be good at something I came to the University of Ottawa for a future. I wasn’t certain what that future would be, but in grade 12 I was sure I could make one. I had almost failed grade 11 biology, so a future in sciences wasn’t in the cards. I was no better at math. But I had skill, I had been writing short stories since I was 13 and had a few published in a youth magazine. As a photographer I’d exhibited my work in local shows, and had even hosted a successful art show. My marks in the humanities and arts were good enough to gain me early acceptance to every school I applied. And so I ran off to pursue a degree in political science.

Now I’m in my third year, and somewhere along the way it all got lost. My grades are still good and sit around the low 80s. That keeps the family from worrying. But that future I had run so certainly towards three years ago seems a youthful pipedream based on only ignorance and small town glories. I keep the writing and the photography up. Friends seek out my photography skills, and I’ve written three novels in my spare time. But I feel now, I fear now, that I am not good at something, at anything. I am a fine writer, even a fine scholar, but I am not truly good at any. At least I do not feel it. I have no reason to think otherwise. My grades are fine, but I could never get a job in academia. My photography, while enjoyable, does not stand out, and my writing… well honestly, that’s my last hope.

This might not seem a problem to you. I know I could get a desk job somewhere, a cubicle and a pension, but that terrifies me. It seems such a vapid existence I would just rather slit my wrists.

It’s a first-world problem, but the first world doesn’t want me anymore. Honestly, I would do anything for my life to have meaning, for me to have a future. I’ll pose naked, jump from a bridge, pimp out my mind and body till there’s nothing left for you; if I have to.

People say suicide attempts are begging for attention. Well, then give them some bloody attention, because if that’s the only way they see left to get it…

I don’t want to be rich or famous. I don’t want girls, boys, sex, or drugs, and I certainly don’t want to be ‘special.’ I just want to be good at something. I feel like I will end up hating my life, and that terrifies me. I have hated each job I’ve had, be it in a cubicle or stacking shelves. I’ve had frequent panic attacks at each, and I can’t live a life like that. That’s all I want, to feel like I’m making a difference somehow, and to not have panic attacks.

But usually I keep all of this to myself. A few friends get to see small parts of all this anxiety. Mostly I just let them continue being wrapped up in their own fears and dramas. So why send this to the editor of the school newspaper? Because lately, more and more my friends’ fears have come to resemble mine, and I want to tell them it will be OK. I want to explain that they’ve futures of promise doing something they love. I can’t. Instead, I can send this email to the editor, and hope my friends read it, and hope other people in caverns like mine read it. But ‘read it’ is not really what I mean, no, I hope you feel better for it. I hope you know in this suffering you are not unique.

Anonymously submitted to the Fulcrum Editor’s note: If you are feeling anxious, depressed, or just need someone to talk to, please don’t hesitate to talk with someone at the University of Ottawa’s Health Services — there are a number of ways they can support you. You can book an appointment with the U of O’s Health Services through their website or by calling (613) 564-3950.

If you want to speak with someone immediately, you can call Crisis Line Ottawa (613) 722-6914 or 1-866-996-0991, Ottawa Mental Health Crisis Line (613) 722-6914, or the Ottawa Distress Centre (613) 238-3311.

26 |

thefulcrum.ca

EDITORIAL

Volume 75, Issue 21, February 26, 2015 Shovelling since 1942 (feels like it anyway).

Phone: (613) 562-5261 | Fax: (613) 562-5259 631 King Edward Ave. Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5 Recycle this or we’ll salt you.

Minority impact

staff

Sabrina “Snowburst” Nemis Editor-in-Chief editor@thefulcum.ca Adam “Hoarfrost” Ashby Gibbard Production Manager production@thefulcrum.ca Adam “Dendrites” Feibel Managing Editor content@thefulcrum.ca Marta “Graupel” Kierkus Visual Editor visual@thefulcrum.ca Nadia “Polycrystal” Drissi El-Bouzaidi News Editor news@thefulcrum.ca Jessica “Blizzard” Eritou Arts & Culture Editor arts@thefulcrum.ca Jesse “Thundersnow” Colautti Features Editor features@thefulcrum.ca Sarah “Flurry” Nolette Sports Editor sports@thefulcrum.ca Kyle “Squall” Darbyson Opinions Editor opinions@thefulcrum.ca Spencer “Drift” Van Dyk Online Editor online@thefulcrum.ca Spencer “Rimed” Murdock Staff Reporter Remi “Snowpack” Yuan Staff Photographer Lindsay “Needles” MacMillan Associate News Editor Moussa “Firn” Sangaré-Ponce Associate Online Editor Annalise “Neve” Mathers Associate Features Editor Savannah “Seasonal” Awde Staff Proofreader Chantale “Perennial” Streeting Webmaster Deidre “Powder” Butters Ad Manager ads@thefulcrum.ca Andrew “Sleet” Hawley General Manager manager@thefulcrum.ca

Contributors L. A. “Storm” Bonte Brennan “Cornice” Bova Beatrice “Champagne” Au Aleks “Megadunes” Kunarac Jasmine “Penitentes” van Schouwen Deborah “Ripple marks” Sogelola Ania “Sastrugi” Szneps David “Barchan” Campion-Smith Raghad “Bridge” Sheikh Khalil Graham “Roller” Gould Maule Charlotte “Sun cup” McMurtry Sarah “Watermelon” Maya Bhola Alexei “Yukimarimo” Kazakov

Cover art Adam ASHBY Gibbard & Marta Kierkus

thefulcrum.ca

L

ast year, the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (SFUO) played musical chairs by having all but one executive member return. The proposal to form general assemblies passed, although it didn’t pass the first time it was put to a vote. This year, representatives from all three slates were voted in and the proposed racialized student centre didn’t pass.

Each year students are accused of being apathetic.

Voter turnout was just over 10 per cent this year, about the same as last year. Many students appear to be happy to just pay their fees and go to class—they don’t care how their money is managed.

But as Benjamin Disraeli said, history is made by those who show up. If you want to win an election, you don’t need that many people to swing the vote. And this year, the Impact slate, led by current vice-president of services and communications Nicole Desnoyers, didn’t get quite enough people to win across the board.

Members of the Impact slate have blamed the failure of the racialized student centre on racism. They’ve also suggested that some of their candidates who did not win, like Sakinna Gairey, who ran

unopposed for an arts Board of Administration seat, also lost due to racist sentiment.

We are not suggesting that racism does not exist on campus--racism is in many ways upheld by the systemic inequality present in postcolonial society, and the University of Ottawa is not immune to that.

Rather than expecting that a large contingent of students on campus were so motivated by their racist beliefs that they went out of their way to vote down people of colour, we should consider something much simpler.

The current administration has failed to engage the most active students on campus and the Impact slate was led by a member of this administration. It’s likely that many of the same students voted this year as last year, given that voter turnout is nearly the same. And those active students are not happy.

The Facebook group SFUO Does Not Represent me is anti-current-SFUO and antiImpact. The members are active, engaged, and knowledgeable about student politics. They have about 1,000 members, and given low voter turnout, this isn’t an insignificant number (it’s more than was needed to meet quorum at the general

assembly in November, for example). They would have voted for any non-Impact member and against any Impact candidate running unopposed.

of equity elect, will make a priority of providing resources and support to racialized students, even if there isn’t a specific centre to do this through.

Further, while she was not running, Ikram Hamoud has alienated the vice-president socials from the various faculties this year by not engaging with them. They even launched an attempt to have her impeached. This cannot have done those associated with Hamoud, as Desnoyers and the rest of Impact are, any favours. The vp socials are active in campus politics, as well as being influential with the rest of the executive members and students in their faculties. Their motivation to vote non-Impact seems less about racism, and more about avoiding the mistakes of this year.

However, the election results were not an uncomplicated example of rampant racism on campus. There were many reasons for students to vote against Impact candidates and the Impactassociated racialized student centre.

Many students simply don’t want to have their fees increased. The SFUO has staged protests against the university administration’s proposed tuition increases, but they have proposed two added services this year, in turn working toward increasing the fees students have to pay.

Issues of racism on campus still need to be addressed and it’s reassuring to hear that Nicole Maylor, vice-president

Next year won’t automatically be better, either. Change can be good or it can just bring a new set of problems. The diversity of opinion and experience could be a good thing next year, if all of these people can manage to work together.

If the SFUO finds it can’t help racialized students as well as they require, they can always try to pass the centre again--it worked for the general assemblies last year.

Voter turnout didn’t improve this year, but change happened anyway. With the federal election imminent, the impact of even a small number of people getting engaged is important to note. It’s important to engage people, and it’s important to listen to what your constituents are saying. Especially if what they’re saying is that they disagree with you.

EDITORIAL | 27