The Cord April 4, 2018

THE CORD THE TIE THAT BINDS WILFRID LAURIER UNIVERSITY SINCE 1926

1. Daniel Caesar

VOLUME 58 ISSUE 27 • APRIL 4, 2018

2018 IN REVIEW

at Laurier 5. Students’ Union elects a new President 2. The Cord’s favourite study spot (Solarium) 6. Anti-abortion protest and counter-protest

3. Laurier qualifies for Yates Cup 7. SPS now carry Naloxone 4. Nicole Morrison breaks all time scoring record 8. Friendship Bench unveiled outside Wellness Centre

TOP FIVE NEWS

RELATIONSHIPS IN SCHOOL

DANIEL CAESAR

FACEBOOK LEAK

OUTSTANDING ATHLETICS

Reviewing the most breaking news in 2018

The positives and negatives of dating in uni

Freudian fire side sing along at WLU

Users tackle impact of social media scandal

Looking back at the year’s best sports moments

News, page 3

Features, page 14

Arts & Life, page 18

Opinion, page 23

Sports, page 28 TANZEEL SAYANI/ CREATIVE DIRECTOR

2 •

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2018

VOCAL CORD

What is your favourite golden hawk moment of this year?

The Cord

@cordnews

@cordwlusp

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

CordNews THIS DAY IN HISTORY: APRIL 4 1581: Francis Drake knighted by Queen Elizabeth I aboard Golden Hind at Deptford.

1818: Congress decides on the US flag: 13 red and white stripes and 20 stars.

1896: Announcement of gold discovery in Yukon.

“St. Patrick’s Day celebrations on Ezra.”

1968: Civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee.

–Cameron Smith, firstyear communications

1962: Microsoft is founded as a partnership between Bill Gates and Paul Allen.

1979: The U.S. Pioneer 11 became the first spacecraft to visit Saturn.

“Daniel Caesar.”

LIFETOUCH IMAGES

The Cord’s 2017-18 team would like to thank the Laurier community and all of our loyal readers! Be back soon!

–Cameron Bun, firstyear communications

MEET THE CORD’S 2018-19 TEAM EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: SAFINA HUSEIN CREATIVE DIRECTOR: SADMAN SAKIB RAHMAN WEB DIRECTOR: GARRISON OOSTERHOF NEWS EDITOR: HAYLEY MCGOLDRICK FEATURES EDITOR: MADELINE MCINNIS

“St. Patrick’s Day.” –Matt Spanton, second-year environmental studies

1986: Wayne Gretzky sets NHL Record with 213 point.

LEAD SPORTS REPORTER: ABDULHAMID IBRAHIM LEAD PHOTOGRAPHER: LILY PEREZ CORDCAST PRODUCER: BRIELLE HUANG SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR: JAZZMINE GABERT SENIOR COPY EDITOR: SARA BURGESS ONLINE EDITOR: KATE WEBER

ARTS & LIFE EDITOR: MICHAEL OLIVERI OPINION EDITOR: EMILY WAITSON SPORTS EDITOR: PRANAV DESAI GRAPHICS EDITOR: KASHYAP PATEL VIDEO EDITOR: SARAH TYLER LEAD REPORTER: AARON HAGEY LEAD REPORTER: MARGARET RUSSELL

From the Archives: April 4, 1991 “Homecoming.”

–Richard Williams, fourth-year business administration

On April 4, 1991, The Cord reported updates on the construction of the Bricker Residence Building at Wilfrid Laurier University’s Waterloo campus. The article, titled “New building coming along just fine” set a projected completion date for Sept. 1991.

Officials at the time aimed to keep the rent in Bricker Residence below $400 a month.

Compiled by Erin Abe Photos by Sadman Sakib Rahman NEXT ISSUE MAY 23, 2018

CORD STAFF

FEATURES EDITOR Karlis Wilde features@thecord.ca

LEAD REPORTER Erin Abe news@thecord.ca

ARTS & LIFE EDITOR Shyenne MacDonald arts@thecord.ca

LEAD SPORTS REPORTER Abdulhamid Ibrahim sports@thecord.ca

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Kurtis Rideout editor@thecord.ca

OPINION EDITOR Emily Waitson opinion@thecord.ca

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Tanzeel Sayani creative@thecord.ca

SPORTS EDITOR Pranav Desai sports@thecord.ca

WEB DIRECTOR Garrison Oosterhof online@thecord.ca

GRAPHICS EDITOR Alan Li graphics@thecord.ca

NEWS DIRECTOR Safina Husein news@thecord.ca

PHOTO EDITOR Luke Sarazin photos@thecord.ca

NEWS EDITOR Jake Watts news@thecord.ca

VIDEO EDITOR Sarah Tyler video@thecord.ca

NEWS EDITOR Nathalie Bouchard news@thecord.ca

WEB ASSISTANT Kate Weber online@thecord.ca

LEAD PHOTOGRAPHER Sadman Sakib Rahman photos@thecord.ca SENIOR COPY EDITOR Michael Oliveri copyeditor@thecord.ca SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR Danielle Deslauriers socialmedia@thecord.ca

To learn more about the history of The Cord, check out Laurier Archives, where digitized versions dating back to 1926 are available.

“The Laurier Archives is the Library’s research collection of archival papers, rare books, and historic university records.”

CONTRIBUTORS

EDITOR’S CHOICE

Victoria Berndt Sara Burgess Kashyap Patel Caitlyn Lourenco Tyler Currie Margaret Russell Stephanie Saunders Aaron Hagey Josh Goeree Brittany Tenhage Andrew McClelland Evangeline Hunt Manjot Bhullar

“The Academy of Intimacy” by Karlis Wilde

ADVERTISING INQUIRIES All advertising inquiries can be directed to Care Lucas at care.lucas@wlusp.com or 519-884-0710 ext. 3560.

COLOPHON The Cord is the official student newspaper of the Wilfrid Laurier University community.

Started in 1926 as the College Cord, The Cord is an editorially independent newspaper published by Wilfrid Laurier University Student Publications, Waterloo, a corporation without share capital. WLUSP is governed by its board of directors.

Opinions expressed within The Cord are those of the author and do not necessarily refl ect those of the editorial board, The Cord, WLUSP, WLU or CanWeb Printing Inc. All content appearing in The Cord bears the copyright expressly of their creator(s) and may not be used without written consent.

The Cord is created using Macintosh computers running OS X 10.10 using Adobe Creative Cloud. Canon cameras are used

THE LAURIER ARCHIVES for principal photography.

The Cord has been a proud member of the Ontario Press Council since 2006. Any unsatisfied complaints can be sent to the council at info@ontpress.com.

The Cord’s circulation for a normal Wednesday issue is 4,500 copies and enjoys a readership of over 10,000. Cord subscription rates are $20.00 per term for addresses within Canada.

The Cord has been a proud member of the Canadian University Press (CUP) since 2004.

PREAMBLE The Cord will keep faith with its readers by presenting news and expressions of opinions comprehensively, accurately and fairly.

The Cord believes in a balanced and impartial presentation of all relevant facts in a news report, and of all substantial opinions in a matter of controversy.

The staff of The Cord shall uphold all commonly held ethical conventions of journalism. When an error of omission or of commission has occurred, that error shall be acknowledged promptly.

When statements are made that are critical of an individual, or an organization, we shall give those affected the opportunity to

reply at the earliest time possible.

Ethical journalism requires impartiality, and consequently conflicts of interest and the appearance of conflicts of interest will be avoided by all staff.

The only limits of any newspaper are those of the world around it, and so The Cord will attempt to cover its world with a special focus on Wilfrid Laurier University, and the community of Kitchener-Waterloo, and with a special ear to the concerns of the students of Wilfrid Laurier University. Ultimately, The Cord will be bound by neither philosophy nor geography in its mandate.

The Cord has an obligation to foster freedom of the press and freedom of speech. This obligation is best fulfilled when debate and dissent are encouraged, both in the internal workings of the paper, and through The Cord’s contact with the student body.

The Cord will always attempt to do what is right, with fear of neither repercussions, nor retaliation. The purpose of the student press is to act as an agent of social awareness, and so shall conduct the affairs of our newspaper.

Quote of the week: “I just find it sexy when a girl knows where Brockville is ... she has a 613 phone number, that’s really attractive!”

- Web Director Garrison Oosterhof, enlightening us on his dating preferences.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2018

News

• 3 NEWS EDITOR NATHALIE BOUCHARD news@thecord.ca

NEWS DIRECTOR SAFINA HUSEIN news@thecord.ca

NEWS EDITOR JAKE WATTS news@thecord.ca

TOP STORIES IN NEWS Reviewing the most breaking stories at Laurier and around Waterloo in 2018

Mass crowds return to Ezra Avenue This year’s St Patty’s day at Wilfrid Laurier University saw a total of over 22,000 attendees. WRPS handed out over 619 charges, over double the amount from 2017.

The annual street party was a hot topic of discussion in the months prior. WRPS officials spoke out against the party due to dangerous and unsafe environments caused by binge drinking and the number of people in one area; their increased presence did not deter students and attendees.

Grand River Hospital saw 52 students in the ER due to excessive alcohol consumption.

WRPS also intercepted vehicles travelling to Waterloo from Guelph, Scarborough and even as far as New York and other areas across the border.

Safe access zone at Grand River Hospital Grand River Hospital saw themselves enveloped in a wave of controversy earlier this year after they announced their initial decision to refrain from applying for a safe access zone for their Freeport Campus facility.

Earlier in February, The Safe Access to Abortion Services Act came into royal assent in light of increased violence and protests near abortion clinics in Ontario. The Safe Access Zone ultimately established a ban on protesting within a certain vicinity.

The location sees regular anti-abortion protests throughout the year. In their efforts to advocate for the community, SHORE Centre spoke out against GRH’s decision and had private meetings with GRH in order to reiterate patient and community concerns against the protest. As a result, GRH announced they would be applying for the safe zone, which will limit protestors from coming within 150 metres of the building.

Compiled by: Safina Husein, Incoming Editor-In-Chief

Students’ Union President elected Tarique Plummer was elected as Laurier’s Students’ Union president for the 2018-19 term, claiming the position with 52.35 per cent of the vote.

Despite four candidates in the running, only 22 per cent of the student body cast their vote. Plummer experienced a rocky start to the beginning of his tenure as Chair and CGO of the Students’ Union board of directors. He was largely criticized for the issues that arose as a result of the conflict of interest surrounding his candidacy and the elections portfolio.

Being elected, however, proved his dedication to the student body and passion for creating change within Laurier through his elaborate vision for next year.

Campus Controversy Polarizing debates continue to envelop Laurier’s campus this term. In an effort to advocate for freedom of expression, Lindsay Shepherd created a group named Laurier Society for Open Inquiry (LSOI).

The group hosted their first event in a series entitled“Unpopular Opinion Speakers” on March 21 featuring Faith Goldy, who was set to come to campus to speak.

In opposition to the speaker, a group known as the “#NoNazisAtLaurier organizers” assembled a counter protest in the Concourse at the same time of the speech.

Before Goldy’s speech could begin, it was interrupted by a pulled fire alarm which ultimately shut the event down.

Students fight for better mental health The battle for increased mental health services within post-secondary institutions continues on. Students at University of Waterloo protested on March 8 against the lack of services on their campus in response to a student suicide.

Last year, two students died by suicide on UW’s campus within a two-month span. As well, four students died from Suicide at the University of Guelph last academic year. Students at Laurier have also shown concerns despite various initiatives on the forefront, such as the installation of the Friendship Bench.

As a result of said concerns, Laurier’s Dean of Students opened up feedback sessions for students to provide suggestions on how their needs can be better met.

LAYOUT BY: SAFINA HUSEIN, NEWS DIRECTOR PHOTOS BY: TANZEEL SAYANI, CREATIVE DIRECTOR; JAKE WATTS, NEWS EDITOR; NATHALIE BOUCHARD, NEWS EDITOR AND LUKE SARAZIN, PHOTO EDITOR

4 • NEWS

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2018

CRIME

Local high schools see increase in threat messages ERIN ABE LEAD REPORTER

The Waterloo Regional Police Service is investigating five threats to local high schools in the Kitchener-Waterloo region community.

Last week the threats began at Huron Heights Secondary School in Kitchener, when a threatening graffiti message was written on a bathroom stall in the Women’s washroom that a shooting would occur.

The threat was followed by four more similar cases at Cameron Heights Collegiate in Kitchener, Glenview Park Secondary School in Cambridge, and most recently Eastwood Collegiate Institute in Kitchener and Jacob Hespeler Secondary School in Cambridge this week. These similar cases that followed are believed to be copycats following the first threat at Huron Heights.

“In any event, we take it very seriously and we respond and investigate each case very thoroughly,” Cherri Greeno, media relations coordinator for Waterloo Regional Police Service (WRPS) said.

The police and detectives for WRPS are currently investigating these local threats to determine the author of the message and the validity behind it.

“In each case, notes were written most on bathroom stalls threatening a shooting to occur at the

schools on different dates,” Greeno said.

Cameron Heights was put in a hold and secure position while the police investigated at about 9:40 a.m. last Tuesday.

According to The Record, acting Staff Sgt. Scott Sharpe said there was no immediate threat, but police were at the school for several hours.

In any event, we take it very seriously and we respond and investigate each case very thoroughly.

-Cherri Greeno, media relations coordinator for WRPS

No suspects have been identified yet and police are asking anyone who has information to come forward to police, staff, parents or anonymously through crime stoppers.

“These are threats made against students and young people in our community who are going to school, they’re going to a place to learn and receive an education and they should have the right to do

SHARAN RANA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

that and face an enjoyable environment,” Greeno said. “Whoever is behind these notes, whether it’s a joke at the time, it’s certainly not a joke to [the police], students they share the school with, parents, or the community in general.”

The recent threats have cultivated an environment of fear at all schools and the surrounding community in the KW region.

“It’s not acceptable and it will be investigated and there are serious consequences that could arise from it,” Greeno said.

This is the second threat at Cameron Heights Collegiate this year as another threat occurred in February, when a student male under the age of 18 was caught on video and charged with uttering threats to cause bodily harm or death..

“It’s a significant drain on our police resources because while officers are investigating this that takes time away from other investigations and other emergency calls that may require emergency police assistance,” Greeno said.

Police are asking students who

may have any information to come forward with any information they may have.

“With social media we know that information is circulating, people are talking, and we do think people know who is behind this and we’re asking they come forward to us,” Greeno said. “[Students] can also [report] an anonymous tip through crime stoppers, to somebody they feel comfortable around whether it’s staff, parents or a police officer,” Greeno said.

ALUMNI

Book launch at Laurier JAKE WATTS NEWS EDITOR

On April 3, former Wilfrid Laurier University graduate student Allan Downey came back to campus for the launch party of his new book, The Creator’s Game.

Hosted at Veritas Café, the launch party brought out Laurier students and faculty to hear Downey speak about the book, a history of the game of lacrosse and exploration of its position in Indigenous societies.

“Ultimately, lacrosse has been a big part of my life since I was 10-years-old,” Allan Downey, former Laurier graduate student and current assistant professor in the department of history at McGill University, said.

“I had these two passions, history and lacrosse, as I was growing up. I ended up going on a lacrosse scholarship down to the US for my undergrad,” Downey said.

“And then I just had the opportunity to come back and do graduate work here at Laurier, and what I ended up doing is combining my two interests—history and lacrosse—and started writing a history of lacrosse in my master’s here, and the next year, started that as a PhD project,” Downey said.

And during that time, Downey published extensively on the topic of sport in Indigenous society. This

work caught the attention of Sara Margaret, Laurier master’s student and organizer for the book launch at Laurier.

“My main research is on Indigenous sport,” Margaret said.

“And so when looking through a lot of the work, a lot of the stuff that I found was Allan’s work, because a lot of his stuff is really similar to what I wanted to write about,” Margaret said.

Working with the Indigenous Student Centre as the SAGE (Support Aboriginal Graduate En-

... Indigenous communities have been using this sport to actually articulate their sovereignty and self-determination for hundreds of years.

-Allan Downey, Laurier alum

hancement) Laurier coordinator, Margaret found out that Downey was interested in launching The Creator’s Game, the culmination of this work, at Laurier.

“He really wanted that, so I

kind of took that on as part of my program, as a Laurier alumni, as an Indigenous student, to kind of present that to other graduate students, Indigenous graduate students here at Laurier,” Margaret said.

“It was a really good opportunity to be like, hey, this is what you can do, and not a lot of people see that as an option,” Margaret said.

Downey, whose connection to the game of lacrosse has guided the direction of his life, sees the game as a lens through which we can view the history of Indigenous societies.

“The story behind lacrosse, it’s this incredible story where Indigenous communities have actually—it’s an Indigenous game— Indigenous communities have been using this sport to actually articulate their sovereignty and self-determination for hundreds of years,” Downey said.

“This incredible part of the story that I was able to get to, to have access to, was talking about—not only the cultural significance of the game in Indigenous communities—because it’s an Indigenous game—but also the kind of the political side of lacrosse and how it’s been used to empower Indigenous communities and to act as an articulation of their sovereignty, which is pretty cool.”

JAKE WATTS/NEWS EDITOR

NEWS • 5

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2018 OUTREACH

It’s a very eye-opening experience for volunteers as well as for our executive teams.

-Harleen Brar, co-president of WarmWorkers Laurier

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

WarmWorkers connects with homelessness in Kitchener SAFINA HUSEIN INCOMING EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

On March 29, WarmWorkers Laurier spent the day distributing supplies and necessities to individuals experiencing homelessness in the Waterloo Region.

WarmWorkers is a non-profit organization and registered charity

that was founded three years ago.

Since its founding, the organization has expanded across Ontario.

“WarmWorkers is an initiative focused on conditioning those experiencing homelessness from a cycle of dependency to a self-sufficient independent lifestyle,” Harleen Brar, co-president of WarmWorkers Laurier, said.

“The Laurier chapter supports the initiative of the parent organization by focusing on the Kitchener-Waterloo Region.”

The organization ultimately strives towards accomplishing this conditioning through two stages.

“The first phase is kind of going out into the community doing outreach events, connecting with

individuals in the community and providing them with things like food and essential goods,” Brar said.

“When we do these outreach events we talk to these individuals to see where they’re at with their life and to see if they want to get back into the workforce or what support they need to do so.”

The second phase involves connecting individuals who feel ready to return to the workforce with WarmWorker’s parent organization, which provides housing support, employment workshops, resume building skills and more.

The recent outreach event, which was in collaboration with WarmWorkers Waterloo, the University of Waterloo chapter, took place outside Kitchener City Hall.

The event was unlike the structure of some of WarmWorkers Laurier’s previous outreach events.

For example, in the past, the group would create care packages with different supplies which they would hand out to individuals in the Kitchener community.

“This year, instead of giving items or making care packages and

choosing the items that we put in there to put in there, we wanted them to choose. We got them to come to us,” Brar said.

Prior to the event, WarmWorkers Laurier collected goods and items from the Laurier community, such as toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap, other hygiene products, female hygiene products and more.

In addition, the club had pizza, coffee and other snacks to hand out to individuals who approached their table.

The main purpose of the outreach event, however, was not only to provide supplies. The club also worked to connect with those experiencing homelessness.

“It’s a very eye-opening experience for volunteers as well as for our executive teams. Yes, we fundraise on campus and yes, we talk about these issues, we wanted to spread the message that it’s more than that,” Brar said.

“Having to have that direct connection and contact with those that are experiencing homelessness, they will be able to see how they can help … it’s not just about the items that we give out. It’s about the conversations that we have.”

In fact, Brar noted many individuals facing homelessness didn’t take any supplies — but reaped the benefits of making connections with volunteers and having those conversations.

“Just having conversations would make their day and they tell us [that],” Brar said.

“It’s about how we can make the smallest impact in our own communities which was the big message that we wanted to send to our volunteers as well as those in the community.”

POLITICS

Research centre predicts upcoming election The centre, which includes Laurier professor Barry Kay, looks into the odds for the provincial race MARGARET RUSSELL INCOMING LEAD REPORTER

The Laurier Institute for the Study of Public Opinion and Policy (LISPOP), is a research initiative about the demonstration of public opinion in Canadian legislative policy process.

LISPOP is a research centre at the Wilfrid Laurier University Waterloo campus which focuses on issues pertaining to the use and demonstration of public opinion in Canada’s legislative policy process.

The organization is comprised of professors and doctorates from Laurier and a variety of other Canadian universities and institutions.

LISPOP has recently published seat projections for the upcoming provincial election. Barry Kay, associate professor of political science at Laurier and veteran in this field of study, has conducted four public opinion polls between March 11 and 14, 2018. The outcome from these polls placed the Progressive Conservative Party in the lead with 82 out of 124 seats, a majority government win.

“Prior to the last federal election,

it’s been accurate over the 15 previous elections within four seats per party, per election, on average,” Kay said.

The provincial projection, made

by Kay, is based on data collected from four different forms of public polls; Campaign Research, Ipsos, Leger and The Forum Poll, which collectively gathered opinion about favourable provincial party from 4,300 provincial voters.

“It’s accuracy is less meaningfully tested by public opinion polls because we don’t know, and we will never know, what public opinion really is,” Kay said.

“The only time we really know what public opinion is, is election day itself.”

Kay has been making projections since his time as an undergraduate student in the 1960’s, when he developed his formula to begin making projections for federal elections.

He furthered his study in the 1980’s when he began forming projections for Ontario elections.

His projections are “based on the notion of swing from the previous election to an estimate of the current election,” Kay added.

The only time we really know what public opinion is, is election day itself.

-Barry Kay, associate professor of political science

ALAN LI/GRAPHICS EDITOR

Kay’s “regional swing model” is explained more in-depth in his paper “A Regional Swing Model for Converting Canadian Popular Vote into Parliamentary Seats 19632008,” which is made available through LISPOP’s website.

“I’m reasonably comfortable that [the polls] were accurate,” Kay said.

“What could probably change [the projection] are mistakes by Ford – the current leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of

Ontario.”

“Ford, I believe, is accident prone”.

Kay stresses that these are projections, not predictions. His method of inferencing the fluctuation of public opinion through polls does not intend to predict the future of government, but rather study the immediate representation of public opinion through polls as it concerns elections, both federally and provincially.

“Things could change between today and tomorrow, and they could certainly change over the next two-and-a-half months,” Kay said.

6 • NEWS

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2018

CONSTRUCTION

Iron Horse Trail revamp Trail linking Waterloo and Kitchener receives million dollar renovation towards expanding and lighting the trail ERIN ABE LEAD REPORTER

The Iron Horse Trail will be undergoing an estimated $4.1 million renovation beginning this Spring.

All renovations are expected to be completed by the end of 2019.

The Iron Horse Trail provides a scenic and historical trail connecting the cities of Waterloo and Kitchener along a former railway passage way. The Iron Horse Trail is located between Erb Street West in Waterloo and Ottawa Street in Kitchener.

The upgrade of the trail includes widening of the trail from 2.4 metres to 3.6 metres, added lighting throughout the path and road crossing improvements.

The first phase of the renovations will be the central section which is the most popular section, located between Victoria Street and Queen Street and awarded $1.7 million.

The second phase is on the north section which stretches between Gage Street and Glasgow Street

which will cost around $2.65 million and begin in 2019.

“Construction will begin in the spring of this year and targeting to finish at about July so approximately two to three months of construction for the first part of the central area,” Mark Parris, a landscape architect for Kitchener, said.

It is a primary corridor highly used for local residents of the city and for local residents of the city and it is a very critical corridor ...

-Mark Parris, landscape architect for Kitchener

The upcoming renovations are to upgrade the infrastructure and to bring the trail up to the Iron Horse

Improvement strategy standards that were put forth in 2015.

“It is a primary corridor highly used for local residents of the city and it’s a very critical corridor that connects Uptown Waterloo to Downtown Kitchener and the unionship reflects that too, I would say for that reason it is an important reconstruction project,” Parris said.

The Iron Horse Trail is 5 and a half kilometres and connects Waterloo park to Victoria Park and Uptown Waterloo to Downtown Kitchener.

Improvements proposed will be looking at increasing safety of the trail especially concerning the larger intersections the trail passes through.

Improving signage and pedestrian road crossings is a concern for not only the city but also an improvement trail users have advocated for.

In addition to the Iron Horse Trail there are 12 other trails within the region and 13 including Iron Horse Trail. A few of the trails

SHARAN RANA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

with close proximity to Lauriercampus are the Uptown loop, RIM Park Trails and Laurel Trail.

The trails provide both scenic and metropolitian views for users of the trails.

The upcoming work will be widening the pedestrian island on Queen Street North and improve

the crossing at Victoria Street and West Avenue to make crossing through the intersections safer.

“The [first] completion is just one of the three sections that we’re doing and all of that will be complete by the end of 2019 and the City is very excited for it,” Parris said.

CLIMATE POLITICS

Environmentalist entrepreneur and author presents Tom Rand, Canadian Climate change expert, venture capitalist and entrepreneur talks at laurier STEPHANIE SAUNDERS STAFF WRITER

Tom Rand, Canadian climate change expert, venture capitalist and entrepreneur, delivered a powerful talk at Wilfrid Laurier University’s Waterloo campus last Wednesday, March 28.

Students gathered at Laurier’s Lazaridis Hall to listen to Rand address what is explored in his book, Waking the Frog: Solutions for our Climate Change Paralysis; the understanding that society has collectively become paralyzed with fear that we are in a crisis of climate change.

“We have 10 years to turn the ship around and we’re not going to do it by writing tip books on how to lower one’s carbon footprint,” Rand said.

Taking concrete action to lower personal carbon emissions by riding your bike to work and eliminating red meat from your diet are simplistic, everyday things to reduce your impact on the environment that Rand urges.

However, he places much greater emphasis on a more impactful, long-term solution that looks at climate change through a pragmatic, economic and political lens.

“We live in a democracy and we will get action on climate that we demand of our government,” Rand said. .“There is a lack of political engagement. The first thing we need to do is hold every single political

Climate change is an existential question for our civilization and I don’t think that’s an overstatement ...

-Tom Rand, guest speaker at Laurier

CONTRIBUTED IMAGE

party accountable and demand that they take a strong position on climate change.”

“Figuring out ways to provide clean-tech solutions that scale up and compete with fossil fuels is a long-term, wealth-generating notion,” Rand said. “The idea that we think we can commit to a national economic strategy by simply melting and selling tar has enormous risks associated with it.”

When asked what inspired him to work in the sector of sustain-

ability and climate change, Rand replied: “Climate change is an existential question for our civilization and I don’t think that’s an overstatement. If we don’t get it right, everything we take for granted, including the social fabric that allows for a civilized, ongoing economic machine in which we live in relative peace and prosperity, will be broken and I need to do something about it.”

Rand is also the Lead Advisor

at the MaRS Discovery District in downtown Toronto, where he focuses his efforts on new ventures that support renewable energy and energy efficiency.

In addition, Rand established Planet Traveller, North America’s greenest hotel equipped with the latest clean technology including geothermal heating and cooling, solar panels, recyclable hot water and high-efficiency lighting.

“The idea that a hotel is green because there’s a little less water

coming out of a shower head or it serves organic milk is completely irrelevant,” Rand said.

“It’s a distraction from the real game. The real game is carbon.”

Rand’s first published book, Kick the Fossil Fuel Habit: 10 Clean Technologies to Save the World, examines how innovative technologies can bring a clean future, making dirty fossil fuels obsolete.

He is featured in numerous articles in The Globe and Mail, Canadian Business Magazine, Canadian Business Journal and the Toronto Star and has made frequent appearances on CBC’s On the Money network program.

Students for Sustainability, an environmental club at Laurier, coordinated the talk to encourage measures towards climate action.

Their mission aims to foster future leaders of our environment in the surrounding community of Kitchener -Waterloo.

NEWS • 7

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2018 COMMUNITY

SHARAN RANA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Grand River Transit works to improve transportaion AARON HAGEY INCOMING LEAD REPORTER

Grand River Transit (GRT) unveiled nine new ION busses on Monday, March 19 in Cambridge at a special event at Ainslie Street Terminal in an ongoing effort to improve the decline in overall ridership and quality of transportation between Cambridge and Kitchener.

The first stage, part of the new ION bus rapid transit (BRT) service project being introduced to the Waterloo Region, is an introduction to the ongoing Light Rail Transit (LRT) system that is being established between the Tri-City.

The busses, which will be operating on the newly built ION LRT route, will be travelling between Ainslie Street Terminal in Cambridge up to ION Fairway Station in Kitchener once the new platform is finished.

The new busses are part of stage one of the ION LRT project coming to Waterloo Region, beginning service in preparation for stage two, when the BRT system is re-

placed with the LRT. Stage one will also be featuring LRT trains, operating between the Fairway Station and Conestoga Mall in Waterloo, sometime this spring.

“The whole premise is that the ION bus takes you from Ainslie Street from downtown Cambridge and it follows the route all the way up to Fairview mall, where you have a seamless connection with the ION train,” John Cicuttin, manager of transit development for the Region of Waterloo Transit Services said.

Cicuttin is excited for the introduction of the new bus transit system, as he hopes that it will improve ridership between the two cities, encouraging those who normally wouldn’t ride the bus to be drawn in by the new, modern look.

“They’ll be operating randomly in Cambridge so that the Cambridge folks get a taste of how the new bus operates, some of the comfort features and other features [as well],” Cicuttin said.

The new busses will be supported by a wealth of features

not available on the regular GRT models. USB charging stations, wifi, high-back seating, tinted, flush-mounted windows, aluminum wheels, high-visibility white destination signs and special paint scheme consistent with ION light rail vehicles are the main attributes which distinguish these new busses.

“The features are more for comfort — high-backed seats, opportunity to plug in a charger to charge your smartphones, laptops and tablets. We’re testing wi-fi on one of the busses and if it’s successful, we’ll roll it out to the other nine busses,” Cicuttin said.

The busses aren’t the only new innovation to the ION bus routes — the new stops have been updated as well.

The new, larger stops have canopy shelters, benches and extra lighting featuring accessible platform edges with textured surfaces, garbage receptacles and bike racks, passenger information displays with real-time bus arrivals and signal priority for approaching buses, allowing buses to bypass traffic

line-ups at these intersections, with a direct link to LRT when it launches. “[These] ION bus stations that have been built along Hespeler Road are larger, more modern looking [stops],” Cicuttin said. “The investment was significant, so the point of that was to give visibility to the service and make it more comfortable for riders. We know that it is a contributing factor to ridership.”

By creating new stations, like the Cambridge Centre Transit Passenger Facility, newer stops and more modern busses, the hope is to increase the quality of service that the Region of Waterloo public transportation can provide to the Tri-Cities.

“Projects like the new ION buses in Cambridge are key to providing inclusive and innovative public transit, making Waterloo Region a stronger and more sustainable community,” said Bryan May, Member of Parliament for Cambridge in a media release on behalf of the Honourable Amarjeet Sohi, Minister of Infrastructure and

Communities.

There are no current plans to extend the new ION BRT system to Kitchener-Waterloo. For now, these busses are going to remain on the ION LRT route between Cambridge and Kitchener, until stage two of the LRT system, when they will then be transferred to the 200 iXpress route in Cambridge.

“We specifically have focused the ION busses on the ION bus corridor because the intent is to really give it a feel that it is an extension of the ION LRT,” Cicuttin said.

The overhaul to the GRT bus transit system is part of a constant endeavour to improve the overall standard of transportation development in the Region of Waterloo.

Stage one and two of the LRT system, which includes the new ION trains, are expected this spring, but there has been no confirmation as of yet.

“The crux is it’s going to depend on the delivery of all the trains — that is still being finalized,” Cicuttin said. “I think we’ll hear probably within a month or so.”

8 • NEWS

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2018

REVIEWING THE STUDENTS’ UNION BOARD The following reviews are based off of interviews with the Students’ Union Board of Directors to reflect on the year and if they best represented Laurier undergraduate

KANWAR BRAR PRESIDENT & CEO

MUHAMMAD TALHA NAEEM

President and CEO of the Students’ Union Kanwar Brar is considered to be both highly knowledgeable and professional, offering his expertise to the board members on various occasions. Some directors noted that Brar often had to jump in and guide discussions during board meetings — a typical responsibility of the chair. It was a noted lack of board training early on that led to this recurring problem, according to multiple members of the board. Despite this being a recurring problem, Brar’s involvement in meetings decreased over time, which lead to the existence of a more cohesive and productive board. At times it was also noted that Kanwar had to actively encourage board members to hold him accountable.

While Kanwar’s representation at the board table was unanimously praised, some directors questioned his approach to representing the board and the student body at large. It was said by some that his consistent professionalism led to a lack of personal connection between himself and the board. Some directors also criticized Brar’s focus on off-campus advocacy, preferring a more campus-based approach for the role. Some critics noted a lack of on-the-ground student interaction, but ultimately commended Brar’s professionalism and dedication to the role of representing the student body on a larger scale.

Ultimately Brar is proud of the contributions that he has made as president and excited to see some of them come to fruition as they are implemented in the following years. Some achievements that Brar was proud to speak on included advancing The Turret renovation project, chairing the referendum campaign and introducing the “Orientation and Transition 101” fee to help integrate first year students as well as reviewing/updating the Students’ Union’s organizational structure.

Some important highlights of Brar’s tenure as president included responding to conflict and controversy on multiple occasions, advocating for student rights through organizations such as OUSA as well as interacting with various levels of government to vocalize student concerns involving mental health services and landlord/tenant rights.

Ultimately, through the introduction of the Orientation and Transition 101 fee, continuous advocacy efforts, updates to the organization’s strategic and marketing plans as well as his commitment to being transparent and accountable to the board, Brar’s year is one that has been marred with various successes and highlights, some of which have been reactionary and some of which were outlined thoroughly in his platform.

Muhammad Talha Naeem was the recently elected chair of the board and chief governance officer for the board of directors due to Tarique Plummer’s conflict of interest. This was quite an anomaly for the Students’ Union and therefore there was no formal training for Naeem until the election results were finalized.

Naeem was caught off guard by the emergency election but ultimately exceeded his own expectations. Naeem was commended for his efforts by the board unanimously, although many board members noted that his transition into the roll was not ideal due to the circumstances at hand.

Although he stepped into the roll with a lack of

knowledge and experience, he ultimately impressed fellow board members with his adaptability and openness to feed back.

Naeem’s ability to monitor and control discussions at the board table has noticeably improved. Though a lack of communication initially indicated some of his potential weaknesses as chair he was able to act on and apply feedback from the board and finished the year on a strong note.

Naeem will not be returning to the board due to his involvement with the elections process.

With the switch up of the Chair position on the board early this year — where president-elect Tarique Plummer assumed the position of Director and Muhammad Talha Naeem took his place as chair of the board and chief governance officer — Michael Del Bono has been a stable presence in his position of vice-chair of the board.

He has worked to help maintain order at the board table when tensions arose among directors, and strived to maintain a degree of integrity among his

colleagues. While he has been able to execute the responsibilities of his position throughout the year, the stress wrought by those responsibilities began to take its toll toward the end.

Nonetheless, Del Bono proved himself to be a valuable asset to a board characterized at times by strife and disorganization.

Del Bono’s commitment to remaining unbiased and serving the board was noted and commended by multiple directors.

CHAIR OF THE BOARD

MICHAEL DEL BONO VICE CHAIR OF THE BOARD

NEWS • 9

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2018

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Director Emily Rezkalla had a successful year during her tenure on the board of directors as she saw many things she mentioned in her platform come into fruition. A specific area in which Director Rezkalla saw success was her approach to informed advocacy and community engagement, amongst other components.

Since her mid-term review, Director Rezkalla has improved greatly in her understanding of policies and procedures during meetings. As a result, Director Rezkalla has been a confident contributor. She continuously stood up for efforts she felt were important and advocated for the most appropriate policies.

As well, Director Rezkalla is commonly seen coming to meetings prepared, after having fully read the agenda package and meeting minutes.

Despite issues amongst the board, alledgedly surrounding unprofessional behaviour within meetings and gender inequality, Director Rezkalla was a thriving, consistent and dependable member on the board this year.

Although she is graduating and, thus, will not be returning next year, Rezkalla remained one of the most significant contributors on the board.

Zemar Hakim is one of the quieter members at the board table, however, Hakim has shown significant understanding of both policy and procedure when it comes to the Students’ Union bylaws. Hakim has also been one of the few directors who has not been involved with much conflict both inside and outside of the board.

His passion for the board does not go unnoticed although he remains quiet; Hakim has been working with Kawar Brar to learn and understand more about the board. Hakim has become involved with both the ownership linkage, election appeals committee and

student teaching awards.

Ultimately, Hakim has been able to prioritize his biases and bring a level head to the board table which allows him to complete his tasks assigned rather than getting caught up in conflict.

Hakim has shown a commitment to the board through his attendance to board meetings, of which he only missed one.

In addition to his almost perfect attendance record, Hakim has fulfilled his platform by advertising board of director’s membership to second and third-year students.

Director Klaudia Wojtanowski continued to bring dedication and passion throughout the past term.

Her participation on Student Life Levy committees allowed her to make contributions which will have a positive effect on Laurier students even after she has graduated; for example, the Friendship Bench, the new charging stations in the Concourse, the Turret, etc.

Director Wojtanowski is widely known as one of the strongest members on the board due to her thorough knowledge. This knowledge of policies and procedures has allowed her to be one of the most effective directors at the board table. Director Wojtanowski also

clearly puts forth the time and effort to read agenda packages and come prepared to meetings.

Multiple board members have acknowledged the inappropriate behaviour, particularly surrounding gender inequality, that has been targeted at Director Wojtanowski. Despite this, Director Wojtanowski has overcome this obstacle and continued to strive to be a strong director.

Director Wojtanowski will not be returning as a director next year, but will be on the board of governors after being elected with over half of the overall student vote.

EMILY REZKALLA

ZEMAR HAKIM

KLAUDIA WOJTANOWSKI

These reviews were written collaboratively by News Director Safina Husein, News Editor Nathalie Bouchard, News Editor Jake Watts and Editor-in-Chief Kurtis Rideout.

They are based on observations from board meetings and interviews with directors, chair and president.

10 • NEWS

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2018

Director Hassan, who last term proved to be a divisive and polarizing presence on the board, hasn’t been able to affect a significant change to those perceptions.

Where some board members find his contributions to be deep, probing, and constructive, others find them to be counter-productive, harsh, and alienating.

Some have noticed that, after his unsuccessful run for Students’ Union president (only receiving 6% of the vote), he has displayed less interest in his responsibilities as director. Regardless, he has this term

managed perfect attendance to board meetings. He has also contributed within various committees on the board, and outside of the Students’ Union, Hassan has kept himself busy with a multitude of extracurricular activities.

Ultimately, Hassan’s directive style of conducting business at the board table has most likely been a contributing factor to the wanting performance of this year’s board of directors.

Director Roitman, a quieter presence on the Students’ Union board of directors, has maintained cordial relations with her colleagues.

Evading the near omnipresent strife wrought by this year’s factious and conflict-prone board, she has helped accomplish some modest wins. In her role on the student life levy committee, for example, she

helped approve various projects—including the new “Friendship Bench” located outside of the Wellness Centre. This, coupled with perfect attendance to board meetings and two visits to the Brantford campus, have established Roitman as a steady, effective member of the board.

Director Bonnell had a solid year during his tenure as director of the board. Since his mid-term review, Director Bonnell has made more significant contributions and has been a more vocal presence at the table during board meetings.

Director Bonnell has made an evident effort to spend time at Brantford, which has allowed him to embrace the multi-campus aspect of Laurier.

A main success of Director Bonnell’s tenure has been his participation on the Student Life Levy com-

mittee which ultimately allowed him to be involved in making critical decisions, advocate for important projects and draw from his extensive experience.

Director Bonnell will not be returning to the board of directors next year as he is graduating; however, he believes his position as a director has been a valuable experience to his personal self-growth. He hopes to make room to allow a new individual to have the same, beneficial experience.

Director Ricky Liu continued to have great attendance to board meetings in the second semester, having been in person at all but three meetings — which he phoned in to via conference call.

Liu has expressed gratitude for the diverse range of skills and voices that this year’s board has brought to the table. According to Liu, the diverse interests of the

group allowed each to excel in their own right; him specifically with finance related matters. Liu enjoyed working with each director and was excited to be a part of the direct inspection committee for finance.

Overall Liu commended the continued efforts of communication put forth by the team and by newly-elected chair, Talha Naeem.

IDRIS OMAR HASSAN

ILANA ROITMAN

KEVIN BONNELL

RICKY LIU

NEWS • 11

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2018

TARIQUE PLUMMER

Students’ Union President-elect Tarique Plummer had what can only be summed up as an unconventional year on the Students’ Union board of directors.

Beginning his term as the chair and CGO of the board, Plummer’s campaign aspirations for the 201819 school year served to complicate several board proceedings early on, which led to some conflict at the board table and ultimately resulted in a controversial motion to silence the gallery in favour of moving the discussion forward.

Plummer’s decision to run for president was criticized by various board members who accused him of withholding his true intentions for the upcoming year.

Despite some resistance from the board, Plummer moved forward with his campaign and, due to an obvious conflict of interest, was forced to pass the responsibility of chairing the elections portfolio on to

director Talha Naeem.

In the months following the campaign process, the election of Plummer meant that he could no longer serve as chair and CGO and therefore his responsibilities were again passed on to director Talha Naeem who was voted chair in an emergency election.

After stepping down from his role as chair and CGO, Plummer fell back into the role of director but simultaneously worked to mentor director Naeem as he stepped into his new role. Despite taking a step back, Plummer made a continuous effort to be an accessible and useful resource for fellow board members.

Ultimately, Plummer’s actions this year served at times to divide the board, and his decision to run for president heavily impacted his ability to fulfill all the duties and responsibilities required of the chair and CGO.

Joseph Small is a third-year Economics student and maintained the position of acting chair during former chair Tarique Plummer during his Students’ Union presidency campaign.

One of Small’s significant strengths as a director is his professional decorum at the board table. Small has been able to effectively communicate his concerns to the board in a productive manner which showcases his ability to read and understand meeting packages.

In addition to this knowledge about meetings, Small has a significant understanding of policy and proce-

dure. Small wishes that he could do more about the board cooperating as a team but unfortunately his efforts fell short due to lack of response from board members.

Next year, Small is looking forward to continuing his relationships with undergraduate students in different capacities aside from the board of directors: Small will be working with the board of governors and the department of residence as an education advisor in the upcoming fall semester.

Director Momita Paul’s contributions were noted to have waned in the second half of her term.

Though her attendance to meetings remained consistent throughout the year, some directors expressed surprise at her lack of enthusiasm despite her obvious

capabilities and the benefits she brought to the table as a director.

Paul was contacted by The Cord to conduct her end-of-term review but did not respond to interview inquiry.

JOSEPH SMALL

MOUMITA PAUL

These reviews were written collaboratively by News Director Safina Husein, News Editor Nathalie Bouchard, News Editor Jake Watts and Editor-in-Chief Kurtis Rideout.

They are based on observations from board meetings and interviews with directors, chair and president.

12 • PHOTO SPREAD

LAYOUT BY TANZEEL SAYANI/CREATIVE DIRECTOR

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2018

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2018

PHOTO SPREAD • 13

PHOTOS BY TANZEEL SAYANI, LUKE SARAZIN, ERIN ABE, GARRISON OOSTERHOF , KURTIS RIDEOUT

14 •

FEATU

FEATURES EDITOR/KARLIS WILDE/FEATURES@THECORD.CA

NEWSFLASH: BIODIVERSITY IN UNIVERSITY MAKES HORN Features Editor Karlis Wilde examines the func efficacy and durability of college relationshi

Features Editor Karlis Wilde exa durability of colle In 2007, Kate Middleton and Prince William ended their relationship after nearly four years in the spotlight. The BBC reported on this end of an era, claiming that the breakup was due to the grounding and locale of their relationship.

William and Kate were university sweethearts.

As per the article’s author, university relationships are often crushed when the members leave their school setting behind and move on with their lives. William and Kate — backed up with psychological examinations and anecdotal support — are then used as a firm suggestion that university relationships do not work.

There are valid points for this suggestion, but there are also equally valid points to the contrary. Are romantic relationships within the university setting a positive and enriching thing, or are they emotional land mines that young students are not prepared for and should avoid like the plague?

Like much in life, there really isn’t a simple answer.

THE GOOD A relationship can be a healthy, positive thing at any point in life, and a large portion of that is based on how they centre and ground people. If there’s one thing that many young students desire most in their lives, it’s some form of grounding.

“Relationships are very central to our feelings of happiness and often help to shape our identity,” Anne Wilson, a professor of psychology at Laurier said.

“University students are at a stage where identity formation is a really important part of their lives, so relationships can play a big role in that.”

Even more than that, human beings are hungry for intimacy, especially so early in life. Inundated with Hollywood ideals of romance and sexuality, young minds are constantly on the search for young bodies — and souls — with which to connect.

Justin Cavallo, a Laurier psychology professor with a focus on close relationships and self-esteem, saw two big predictors toward attraction in general that seemed to be significantly apparent within campus interactions.

The first was similarity. When people find that they have things in common, whether interests, beliefs or something else entirely, it tends to ignite a spark between them.

The second predictor was even more rudimentary: proximity.

And the combination of both of those predictors practically define the campus experience.

“University’s really unique in that you’re surrounded by — perhaps more than any other time in your life — people who are highly similar to you,” Cavallo said. “It makes sense that there’s an

active period of time where there’s a lot of relationships forming.”

Simply put, university settings tend to encourage the environments and methods by which people end up finding love and developing relationships. And people within those settings are hungry for that kind of attachment.

The school is almost like a natural breeding ground.

But there are also significant detractors within the university experience — features that may have torpedoed many a prospective forever-love — that need to be considered.

THE BAD University relationships have a certain tendency to deteriorate, and much of that is based on the culture that surrounds them. In the current era, an increasingly more casual air blows through the young-adult approach to sexuality, where both hookup culture and classical romantic ideals battle to set the standard in young, developing minds.

This has occurred because of a great deal of social developments: women are more independent than they were in previous generations, which creates less of an imperative for them to pair off while young, if at all. People in general are not forced to invest themselves and their lives in one another as much and are able to participate in society — especially in university — as individuals.

That can certainly be seen as a good thing. But that — and the no-rush ideal that can turn the university relationship into more of a ‘testing ground’ — can also make intimate connections so much easier to destroy.

“In university, a lot of times people know that they’re in relationships that may not last forever,” Wilson said. “And often relationships are less deeply interdependent, so you might not have moved in with a partner and joined resources — sharing a bank account, all those things.”

“In that way, if a relationship encounters a challenge or an infidelity, a betrayal, it can be really painful — its almost always really painful in the short term — but it can often be a piece of information that helps you to decide if this is a relationship you want to keep having.”

That flexibility can also contribute to the failure of many different relationships during the university context. Coming from a similar mindset, Cavallo broke down how environment can not only construct a relationship but how it can contribute to its tenability.

URES

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2018 • 15

NY KIDS THIRSTY ction, ips

amines the function, efficacy and ege relationships “What determines whether you stay with someone or whether you want to leave them is firstly how happy you are with that relationship,” he said. “And what we typically think as laypeople is, if you’re happy, you’re going to stay with your partner. But that’s not the only thing that matters.”

Cavallo spoke about mutual ‘investments’ — whether those are social networks, shared mortgages, pensions, children or something else altogether — and how they impact the difficulty of ending a relationship.

In addition, having a sea of available alternatives can make one’s link to their partner seem that much less important.

“If they perceive that they can do better elsewhere, either in another relationship or just being single is a more attractive option for them than being with a partner, then that’s going to lessen commitment,” Cavallo said.

These types of attitudes can lead to cheating, often because investments in a particular partner are made to seem more tenuous and less binding.

To show this, Cavallo cited the details of a 1999 study surrounding young people and infidelity while on vacation for spring break.

Following their vacation, up to 70 per cent of the survey participants admitted to some form of cheating.

While much of that was merely ‘emotional cheating’, 41 per cent of the respondents reported having physically cheated on their partner — a result that is 17 per cent above the midpoint.

Environmental factors are then enormous variables that contribute to the survival or destruction of university relationships. Like vegetarianism tends to die in the line at McDonalds, so do enormous temptations rip apart college sweethearts.

And why not? After all, if there’s ever a time when ruining your relationship for selfish reasons is an okay thing to do, it’s certainly better when there’s so much less to lose and so much less damage that one can inflict on their partner’s life.

AND THE … EVERYTHING ELSE If there’s a reason that university relationships are bound to change, it’s because of their evolutionary nature. School itself is a transitionary period of life, and there are ways that that transition can be used for different purposes.

A university relationship might be casual and unbinding,

because people during that phase may still be trying to find themselves in the world. That sort of finding is often done through hot and heavy soul-searching with other like-minded people in their orbit.

But at the same time, a partner in young life can act as an anchor and a weight; they can be a support unit with whom a person can adapt and evolve through social symbiosis. A partner can be an excellent and very healthy assistance to a person’s development.

While there are certainly classical ideas of monogamous relationships, the world is constantly in a state of flux, and that might make it more difficult to entirely qualify how much university relationships at large will continue to change into the future.

“People are getting married later in life and people are choosing to stay single even later in life,” Wilson said. “The notion is no longer for many people that you can’t be happy unless you’re in a romantic relationship.”

There isn’t a consistent narrative, although this idea of being happy and alone is more common now than ever. And yet, between addictions to dating apps and hopping from bed to bed and relationship to relationship, do people feel this way?

Or are they just telling themselves that they do?

Within stuffy classrooms, over coffees in the concourse, following late, liquor-soaked nights at Pub on King, authentic relationships can both develop and dissolve on campus.

The BBC article I mentioned at the beginning of this piece is interesting because it really gives us a contextualized lens into how we construct our media and our conversations around these topics. The answers aren’t clear, and they can only really become clear when we pick a side and attempt to defend it using cherry-picked portions of the evidence.

Prince William and Kate Middleton’s relationship may have suffered back in 2007 from stepping outside of their usual setting; at the very least, it almost certainly changed. But it is only through the lens of history that we can objectively determine relationships and our narratives concerning them.

University sets up lifelong relationships just as it tears them down. There is no right or wrong, there is only what there is. As things continue to change, as ideas of monogamy adapt to fit the modern trends in the real world, the university relationship will either proliferate or dissipate in its long-term development.

But people will always be searching for something that they project in other people: whether that’s sex and love, hopes and dreams, meaning and happiness.

For now, former university sweethearts William and Kate are married with kids. And it is really only the reality that can concretely and objectively craft the present narrative.

TANZEEL SAYANI/CREATIVE DIRECTOR

16 •

Arts & Life

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2018 ARTS & LIFE EDITOR SHYENNE MACDONALD arts@thecord.ca

A YEAR IN REVIEW Outgoing Arts & Life editor Shyenne MacDonald recaps the best volunteer stories of the year

This year has been, in a word, a whirlwind. Full of ups and downs, it has been a learning experience for everyone involved in The Cord. But through it all it has been my wholehearted belief that none of it would have been possible without volunteers. If you’re unaware, volunterism is one of the top values within WLUSP — that’s Wilfrid Laurier University Student Publication for those out of the loop. Each week the writers for Arts & Life managed to contributed amazing work that made me proud to be called the editor. I’ve had the honour of watching my favourite writers grow into amazing and confident people and for that I will be eternally grateful. While I wasn’t able to include all the articles I loved, I was able to choose three articles that deserve special recognition. So, without further ado and without me getting any more sentimental on you, here are my favourite Arts & Life articles of the year! Hope you enjoy, because I sure did!

The best burrito at Laurier You’re hungry, I’m hungry, we’re all hungry. Completely understanable, it’s exam season. Which is why in these trying times comfort food becomes essential. Staff writer Dominic Asselin took it upon himself to find the best burrito in Waterloo — well, at least around

the Laurier campus. He had dutifully ranked each burrito joint on taste, price and of course, if they charged for guac.

Some places he explored were Mucho Burrito, Fat Bastard Burrito, Burrito Boyz, Holy Guacamole and even Freshii’s.

To be or not to be? That’s the question staff writer Tyler Currie explored in his article “Finance or Fufillment? That is the question”. In this thought envoking piece Currie explores whether it’s better to persue a life of finacial stability or emotional fuffillment as he begins

to path out the rest of his life.

He links the monsters of our childhood to the monsters of our adulthood and asks us what is better.

Ultimately, the answer is for you to decide, but check out the article to see his own conclusion.

If you regularly read the Arts & Life section then undoudtedly you’ve seen the name of frequent writer Evangeline Hunt.

When Guys We F@#ked, a popular femenist podcast, came to Laurier Hunt was eager to cover it.

In her article she explores the good, the bad and the ugly that these women bring out when discussing gender norms, stereotypes, societal expectations and how we challenge both of these things every day.

Finance versus fufillment

Guys We F@#ked at Laurier

PHOTOS BY: LUKE SARAZIN GRAPHIC BY: ALAN LI

ARTS & LIFE • 17

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2018 MUSIC

BadBadNotGood...but great!

KATE WEBER INCOMING WEB EDITOR

On March 28, I had the opportunity to see BadBadNotGood live at Maxwell’s.

The Toronto based band is taking your parents’ boring old jazz music and serving you with a fresh genre you never thought you could be into as much as you are now.

I had very high hopes for this concert as I attended Osheaga last summer while they were struggling to keep their performance afloat due to the harsh rain conditions.

Being unable to play their desired set, they opted to cover “Mask Off”

by Future and it was ludicrously amazing and probably the first time I really started to like them.

A jazz band covering rap you ask?

Yes! Absolutely yes, this is what they owe their stardom to.

On top of receiving many roaring reviews from artists such as Tyler the Creator, Frank Ocean and Ghostface Killah, the Toronto natives are reinventing the idea of a jazz band. After seeing them in concert I have gained the utmost respect for them. Jazz is such a limited, niche market that breaking through in this industry can be difficult, yet they are currently on top of their game.

Going into the event I was expecting the crowd to be empty as every single one of my friends and their friends’ friends were overtly fangirling that Daniel Caesar was coming to Laurier.

A big shoutout to BadBadNotGood for their ticket sales; Maxwell’s advertised this event at being over 80 per cent sold out.

I am always one to be excited to see who the opening acts are at a show and I can confidently say that there are some openers I have seen in the past that I still listen to this day. Standing on the

KATE WEBER/INCOMING WEB EDITOR

Corner promptly came out with high energy, making me profoundly interested in what they had to offer with all the instruments they brought out.

Their music style was a mix of many genres and demonstrated that there wasn’t an instrument they weren’t able to play. At times I often found myself comparing them to the Beastie Boys with their eclectic underground New York rap. However, their playful beats and overlap of sound had me also comparing them to Alt-J a few

cinating about each individual member completing a solo and watching the other members instantly show a face of complete satisfaction.

This shows that they truly love what they do and I have so much respect for that.

At times I did in fact find myself to be a little bored; this was actually my first all-instrumental concert.

To get the crowd going, the members of the band took to the front of the stage and lightly pranced around flailing their

times; the UK natives who are popular for their hallucinatory style. Have I confused you on their style yet?

If you are looking for a brand new style of music I would highly recommend giving them a listen.

Their sound complemented BadBadNotGood perfectly due to the complexity of their instrumental rhythm and was a perfect band to help the crowd get ready.

When BadBadNotGood came on they set the mood by lighting incense and I was purely in my element.

I could close my eyes and I was practically transported back to Kensington Market in Toronto.

They opened with “Speaking Gently”; a personal favourite of mine, and they kept a confident and cool poise to them the entire set.

There was something so fas-

arms in the air encouraging the crowd to follow their motions.

It was as if an instant connection became evident.

The crowd got way more into it and, ultimately, a mosh bit was born.

Never would I have thought that I would be in the midst of a mosh pit at a jazz concert, but let me tell you, I loved every second of it!

There was something so gratifying about being in a room where absolutely no one cared what was going on or what they were doing.

If you ever have the opportunity to see BadBadNotGood in concert I would highly recommend it.

And even if jazz music isn’t your preferred genre, I would highly recommend giving them a try, or at least checking out their diverse set of collaborations with rappers.

18 • ARTS & LIFE

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2018

MUSIC

A Freudian fireside sing-a-long SADMAN SAKIB RAHMAN/INCOMING CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Cord Alumn Manjot Bhullar attended and wrote about the Daniel Caesar concert at Laurier Walking out of the first concert I’ve experienced in the Theatre Auditorium, I left perplexed as to why this hadn’t always been the go-to venue for on-campus concerts.

It has all the capabilities to provide a true concert experience without the GO transit fare needed to funnel into Toronto, regardless of whether or not it’s capacity may overwhelm the clout of artists we have historically booked. Tonight was different.

Awaiting opener Blaise Moore, there was little expectation of what this artist may gift concert-goers.

It wasn’t until a few songs in that I began to believe in her art, and her vibe.

Pointed lyrics set to consistent R&B beats, her set flowed as one strong fire she fueled again and again eliciting cheers and applause from the audience.

Past the loose waves, pleather pants and grande Starbucks mystery drinks, it was undeniable that, as the set continued, the audience was so clearly being drawn further and further into her charm and raw emotion.

This intrusion into her emotions

Caesar glided on stage to his sophomore-album closing track, “Freudian”, to an audience who knew every word...

felt like it would be better served diluted, but that would not have left such a lasting impression.

The sole thing her set lacked was some synchronism between the lighting and the music, but perhaps that luxury was solely reserved for main acts. Exit Blaise Moore, stage left.

The stage was prepped for a coffeehouse concert — complete with Persian rugs, tungsten lamps and an array of live instruments.

This was undoubtedly for Daniel Caesar.

After a few misfires, the inward

focus of overhead lighting towards the stage and the fog machines pushing out more mystery than before, it was finally time to welcome the man of the evening.

Caesar glided on stage to his sophomore-album closing track, “Freudian”, to an audience who knew every word, and would continue to for the entirety of the show.

When performing a smudging ritual, it’s impossible not to illicit responses questioning what the herb really is and this night was no different. Before going onto perform his most streamed track, “Best Part”, Caesar smudged the stage with a sage stick and set the tone for night.

It was chum in the water for anyone questioning if his live shows live up to the hype for him to have sold out five consecutive nights in Toronto.

If you weren’t already cozy, you were now. When a sound check goes well, it’s translated clearly and there was no doubt that everyone from his band to the lighting guys were hitting every queue.

Moving from the media pit to the

Having just come off his Oceanic tour, and winning big at the 2018 Juno Awards, Caesar thanked the crowd for fueling his energy...

back of the crowd, it was apparent how much every audience member wanted to be there.

It didn’t matter where in the crowd you stood, Caesar’s soothing voice found and lulled you to a perfect slumber.

And the tungsten lamps, like the dying embers of a camp fire, surrounded Caesar with a dim glow and held your attention as if you might miss something at any moment. With Daniel Caesar, it’s evident that his art is intended to speak for and to represent him without necessarily putting a face

to the music.

This is evident based on his social media presence, album art, and during the concert it was no different — even if you were looking right at the stage you were transfixed on the aura around him, the energy spilling off the stage.

Having just come off his Oceanic tour, and winning big at the 2018 Juno Awards, Caesar thanked the crowd for fueling his energy as he recovered from three different time zones.

If he was feeling low, it was not apparent as he completed his set with Freudian album favourites, “Fall Down” and “Blessed”.

Some audience members exited the venue, not expecting the crowd’s encore chants to be heard, however Caesar rejoined concert goers to perform Get You with the help of his guitarist stepping in as a pseudo-Kali Uchis.

And as peacefully as he joined us on stage, he departed leaving smiles on everyone’s faces — even larger ones on those who weren’t able to grab tickets to his five-night residency at Danforth Music Hall this past December.

ARTS & LIFE • 19

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2018 TRAVEL

Saying goodbye EVANGELINE HUNT STAFF WRITER

As this academic year draws to a close and the majority of us are filled with relief, my feelings are a little different.

I have spent the last eight months of a year abroad here at Wilfrid Laurier University. Now that I am preparing to move back home to England, I’m not really sure how I feel about leaving.

Trying to summarise my year abroad in one article would be near impossible, so instead I will offer a few pieces of advice and some reflections on this year in the hope that it might help some of you decide whether to study abroad or not, or provide some suggestions for when you get there.

I think it is very easy for people to say “just go for it” when they are advising on studying abroad, but it is definitely not for everyone, and it is a decision that needs a serious amount of thought put into it.

I would describe myself as a person of average confidence who wouldn’t usually have many difficulties meeting new people, but

studying abroad was the first time I felt truly out of my comfort zone when it came to socializing.

Foolishly, I was expecting everybody I met to be keen to make the effort to be friends. Of course, this wasn’t the case — most students at Laurier are already in solid friend groups — especially considering I was taking all third-year classes.

Getting a part-time job at Wilf’s in my second semester helped me substantially socially, and I recommend this to anyone who is studying abroad. Not only does it help fund weekends away that I wouldn’t be able to do otherwise, but a part-time job gives you loads of new friends, especially if you work for your Students’ Union where you know you’ll be working with students.

With that being said, moving to a new place where you know no one can have its perks. It allows you to be brave and put yourself out there in ways that you might not have done at home.

I came on my year abroad with a faint idea that I was interested in writing and working in the media.

I’m finishing it as a writer for The Cord with a personal blog of my own, neither of which I had the confidence to persue while I was at home — mostly for fear of not being good enough.

You really have the opportunity

ALAN LI/OUTGOING GRAPHICS EDITOR

to try something new when you have nothing to lose. I am so grateful to Laurier and my year abroad for enabling me to do new things that have led to some really incredible memories and achievements.

As a Laurier student, you have the opportunity to go to sixty-nine universities in twenty-six different countries to study abroad for either a single semester or a full academic year.

That is a lot of choice. Personally, I enjoyed my second semester here substantially more than my first, probably because I felt more settled — and because of this I always suggest to people to consider doing the full year.

I am a student at the University of Birmingham in England and I would urge you to consider looking

at my school if you are thinking about going abroad. Birmingham is the second biggest city in the UK and has so much to offer, catering to all types of people.

One of my favourite things about the city of Birmingham is the very real and down-to-earth vibe that it has.

It feels like it’s full people who work hard and dream big. One of my favourite places to go on the weekend is the Digbeth Dining Club.

It’s a multitude of street food venders that come together with various music and arts groups in the local community, and there are different vendors there every week.

It’s definitely worth checking out if you’re studying at UoB. I can confidently say that

studying abroad has been the hardest thing I have ever done, but at the same time I am so pleased that I have done it, and would urge everyone to consider doing it themselves. I moved to Canada when I was 21 and thought I knew everything about who I was and what the world had to offer me.

How wrong I was.

Although the deadline to apply to study abroad in the fall has passed, you can still apply to study in the following Winter 2019 semester — the deadline is Friday June 29, and you can find all the details on the Laurier website.

Going on exchange taught me to be confident in my abilities and gave me courage to try new things.

Maybe it can do the same for you.

There is only one way to find out.

Thanks for a great year,

Good Luck on Exams!

Driven by Students @LaurierStudentsUnion

@students_union

@wilfsrestaurantbar

@yourstudentsunion

@students_union

@wilfspub

@WilfsPub

YOUR STUDENTS UNION.CA

20 • GAMES

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2018

Dear Life Dear Life is your opportunity to write a letter to your life, allowing you to vent your anger with life’s little frustrations in a completely public forum.

All submissions to Dear Life are anonymous and therefore do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Cord or WLUSP. They should be no longer than 100 words and must be addressed to your life. Submissions can be sent to dearlife@thecord.ca no later than Monday at noon each week.

Dear protesters, Don’t cuss at people just because they respectfully disagree with you.

We aren’t nazi’s or violent. Don’t hate your fellow students, just the way you feel unsafe so do we to express our opinion respectfully when you have antifa standing by your side.

Sincerely, not a nazi

Sincerely, sd4l

Dear Life,

Dear Copy Editor volunteers,

Why do so many university students take it as an assumption that their university has a duty to offer them extensive mental health support services? Why hasn’t this assumption been more openly questioned?

It should be.

Thank you for your many months of help. I couldnt have done this without you.

the most memorable year of my life Sincerely,: Kate W Dear Life,

Sincerely, Friedrich

Dear Life,

An ending is just a new beginning.

The world is made of fire. The earth is flat. Shoes are hard feet. Walls are doors to the unknown. Windows can be doors if you’re small enough.

Dogs are big rats - except poodles.

They’re just rats.

Shout out to Sal Khan. You helped me learn math.

Sincerely, DJ Khaled

Sincerely, A nerd

Dear Life,

Sincerely, A proud Copy Editor

Working with you has been the most positive experience of my life. I have learned more about navigating interpersonal relationships on the periphery of The Cord than I ever have elsewhere. Don’t forget about me cause I will damn sure never forget about any of you. PS I love my mom and dad and my wonderful partner.

Dear Life, Please don’t make me leave Laurier. I am not ready.

Sincerely, Scared and Spirited

Dear Laurier, The culture has shifted

Do you know who I am?

Every time I go to sleep and I dream, I am a wall door flea potato.

Sincerely, I Could Be the G.O.D.

Sincerely, Supreme

Dear Cordies,

Shoutout to the cord for giving me

Thanks for keeping my Tuesday

SUDOKU

Explore over 150 km of trails Find out more on & 60 km of bike lanes. waterloo.ca/students pingstreet

Sincerely, Stoked to see what next year will bring

Dear Life,

Dear The Cord 2017-18 Staff,

CityWaterloo

nights filled with lots of laughs. I’m so lucky to be a part of this publication and to work with all of you.

get the free app

Sincerely, Am sakib Dear Kurtis, You’re the best boss I ever had.

Sincerely, See you in Toronto

GAMES • 21

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2018 WORD SEARCH

ABROAD BADBADNOTGOOD BETTINA BOARD CAESER CORD ION LACROSSE RAND RELATIONSHIPS SIMON SPORTS TRAILERPARKBOYS TRAILS WARMWORKERS

Free Apartment for MANDARIN SPEAKERS

Free apartment for Mandarin speaker in exchange for teaching 2 yr old Mandarin plus some child care, light household duties.

Offering Full Private apartment.

Contact: Melanie.Blass@gmail.com

22 •

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2018

Editorial

OPINION EDITOR EMILY WAITSON opinion@thecord.ca

Editor’s Note: April 3 urged me to apply to this role, up to this very moment, my support network has grown exponentially and that is what I am most thankful for.

Whether it’s the consistency, urgency and attention to detail that Safina, Nathalie, Jake and Erin brought to the news team, or the innovative methods that Garrison, Kate, Dani and Sarah used to enhance our social media presence, I was proud to watch the team grow and develop into what it is now.

I watched Tanzeel hone his skills as a graphic designer the same way I watched Abdul progress from being a sports writer to a more well rounded journalist.

I saw Maddie put together one of my personal favourite covers of the whole year on a last minute run to the Paul Martin Centre.

I was constantly impressed by the story telling abilities of writers like Shy and Karlis, who produced better content than I could have on my own in a million years.

Luke blew me away with his dedication and earned the nickname “the terminator” whether he likes it or not.

Sadman, incredible talent aside, has earned the title of resident “cool kid” at The Cord, with a close runner-up being Kate.

The only thing that impressed me about Alan more than his ability to craft beautiful graphics was his ability to eat more food than any other human I know — mostly veggies too!

Michael is such a likable dude and his ability to motivate people has me excitedly looking forward to what he accomplishes in the future.

And finally, last, but definitely not least, Emily, who, among other things, touched my heart with her passionate opinion pieces about cartoons – all of which were consistently submitted and edited on time.

If I had more space I would continue on and commemorate everything that the administration has done for me here at WLUSP or I would list off the many fantastic volunteers that contributed to our paper’s success on a weekly basis — just know that there are too many to name, and all of them are equally important.

Oh, and I almost forgot, Pranav is fuckin’ awesome and I don’t even need to go into more detail on that.

KURTIS RIDEOUT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

It’s April 3 right now and that means that tomorrow will mark the publication of my final issue as Editor-in-Chief of The Cord.

Admittedly, I’ve put off writing this for as long as possible, but we are getting ready to print soon so it’s now or never.

Typically, I have a well of nonsensical anecdotes that I tap into for inspiration when I craft my editor’s notes, but I am finding myself, for the first time all year, drawing a blank.

As Laurier’s official campus newspaper, The Cord’s ability to report objectively and effectively was put to the test time and time again and, looking back on everything, all I can say is that I am proud of everything that has been accomplished by The Cord’s 2017-18 editorial board.

As a transplant from the Brantford campus, I would like to think that my stint as Editor-in-Chief for The Cord is marred by two things: my background and expertise in journalism acquired through my studies in Laurier’s journalism program, and my adjustment to the culture of Laurier’s Waterloo campus.

My first few months here constituted an intense learning curve.

The culture on campus in Waterloo is noticeably different than the culture in Brantford, and that’s something that, despite all of my efforts, served to alienate me at times. Despite some of the hurdles that I encountered — I may have stepped on the Hawk, not going to lie — I only have my team to thank for making me feel at home.

While it’s hard to imagine someone following in my footsteps from The Sputnik in Brantford all the way to The Cord in Waterloo, I am proud to have helped bridge the gap between campuses for Wilfrid Laurier University Student Publications (WLUSP).

With that being said I could have accomplished nothing without the help of my peers, my coworkers and the admin at WLUSP. From the day that Taylor Berzins — WLUSP’s former HR manager —

THE CORD IS PUBLISHED BY WILFRID LAURIER UNIVERSITY STUDENT PUBLICATIONS 205 REGINA ST. N., WATERLOO

WLUSP ADMINISTRATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS CHAIR Andreas Patsiaouros VICE-CHAIR Lisa Irimescu DIRECTOR Alan Li DIRECTOR Benjamin Cooke

DIRECTOR/CORPORATE SECRETARY Noa Salamon

PRESIDENT Andreas Patsiaouros president@wlusp.com

DIRECTOR Hayley H.G. Watson

FINANCE MANAGER Randy Moore randy@rcmbrooks. com

DIRECTOR Rosalind Horne TREASURER John Pehar

ADVERTISING MANAGER Caroline Lucas care.lucas@wlusp. com

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Lakyn Barton lakyn.barton@wlusp. com HR MANAGER Paige Bush hr@wlusp.com

ALAN LI/GRAPHICS EDITOR

Experiences with The Cord TANZEEL SAYANI OUTGOING CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Before I start, here is a little background: I lived in India for 18 years before I moved to Canada.

To say these two cultures are different would be an understatement.

It’s a completely different world.

Coming to university is a unique experience where you are completely on your own, surrounded by thousands of people you don’t know.

Also, you now have the freedom to completely manage your daily schedule, whereas up until high school, most of your day was preplanned by someone else. It can be hard to stay motivated amidst all the unconditional freedom you now have.

As a photography enthusiast, I could not wait to explore the opportunities university would present.

After a little research I found The Cord and the chance to have my work published in a newspaper was not one I was going to miss

out on.

It was quite intimidating at first; photography was just something I did and posted on Instagram more-or-less anonymously. The first game I covered was soccer and it just happened to be raining. The photos did not turn out the way I wanted but that’s how I began my work with The Cord.

As my second year working with The Cord draws to an end, the most apt way I can think to describe it is “It was a rollercoaster”.

I worked as a volunteer for the first year, where it was mostly like an assignment based position. It gave me something to really look forward to after spending weeks swamped in school work.

Over this period, I made some great memories covering games and events and experiencing the sheer energy of being in the middle of a football team after a win or behind the bench at a basketball game after a massive dunk.

After gaining enough knowledge working for the newspaper I decided to apply for Photo Editor.

This is where things got real: this is a job which I had to do every week and it involved going through thousands of photos and making decisions about all the photos that volunteers and staff members shoot.

Running a department with all

the talent people bring gave me a better understanding of what it means to lead a team. Halfway through this year I was hired as Creative Director. This is a job that put me right in the middle of everything and taught me what it truly means to work for a newspaper.

Having to work with so many people with different visions and opinions about things, as well as dealing with the standard bit of office drama — which comes with all jobs — gave me a real world perspective of what holding a job means. After all, this was my first real job.

Working for The Cord, you have a purpose every week and you learn to manage time well. You also learn how to work with different people and use the idea of synergy.

Being able to deal with problems at one in the morning teaches you more than you are able to appreciate in the moment.

After reflecting on these two years and remembering how many times I was overwhelmed and stressed I can now say that I know how to handle situations like that better than I once did.

While there are always things I wish I had done differently, on a macro scale I’m more than happy with how things have gone and I would not change a thing.

• 23

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2018

Opinion

OPINION EDITOR EMILY WAITSON opinion@thecord.ca

Facebook and the Cambridge Analytica scandal AARON HAGEY INCOMING LEAD REPORTER

Since early last week, media coverage of the data breach that occurred at Cambridge Analytica (CA) has exploded due to a discovery that personal information from more than 50 million Facebook user accounts had been utilized for questionable means.

Cambridge Analytica, a data mining and analysis company, has been targeted for criminal investigation regarding the extent of their involvement in both the presidential election and Brexit referendum.

The breach came about because Aleksandr Kogan, creator of an app called “thisisyourdigitallife,” allowed the use of the app by CA for data collection. However, this permission was apparently given on the basis that it would be used for academic purposes only, not marketing.

While roughly 270,000 people consented to allow collection of their Facebook information through this app, the unexpected aspect of this was that friends of those people had their data collected as well — without consent.

Among data analysis companies like CA, the main goal is to provide complex psychological profiling through an evaluation of various elements. This is most often provided to other companies who want to understand or target a

MADELINE MCINNIS/INCOMING FEATURES EDITOR

specific demographic of consumer better.

For CA, this meant compiling the data from Facebook “likes” into a political profile, which could then be used by political organizations to specifically target people that have a particular vulnerability to that style of targeted marketing.

Normally, data mining isn’t as concerning as the most recent breach has been made out to be — the extent of user data collection tends to be used primarily for marketing.

At worst, what this often means is ending up with weirdly accurate targeted ads on your Facebook feed.

An ad with a shirt that says “Walk away — this freedom-loving forklift operator born in December has anger issues and a serious dislike for stupid people” is a lot less threatening than the thought that your data has been used to persuade others into voting a particular way.

What has made this such a problematic breach of trust has been the implications of its use.

For example, both the Brexit and Trump elections were — for many people — an unexpected conclusion. Because of how close they were — Brexit voting was 51.89 per cent to leave, 48.11 per cent to remain — there has been consistent

speculation that tampering was involved in both cases.

Instances like the CA breach lend credence to the idea that companies like this are utilizing user information and data mining unethically to influence the outcomes of important events such as these.

Although in advertising this isn’t an immoral practice, as the goal is to maintain a competitive business edge over others, it certainly is in politics.

Lobbying and its issues with unethical persuasion or corruption are already a prevalent issue in the current political climate and data analysis companies like CA only

exacerbate the problem.

This issue has prompted many people to join the #DeleteFacebook movement, encouraging themselves and others to delete many of their social media accounts — specifically Facebook — to protest the actions of these large corporations. While this is an admirable goal, I don’t believe that in this age of information it’s entirely feasible.

While a significant amount of the blame rests on companies like Cambridge Analytica, who used the data of millions of Facebook users unethically and to questionable ends, a lot of it also rests on those who participated. This is by no means victim-blaming — we’ve all agreed to click on or download something without reading the fine print involved, ignoring what information they want access to or the data they will collect.

It’s incredibly easy to be ignorant of what other companies may be doing with your private information — and for some that may be okay.

But not everyone is comfortable with it and that is something we need to be more conscious of. #DeleteFacebook may be an optimistic movement boycotting social media companies, shedding light on many of their deceptive business practices, but we need to remember that — in many cases — we gave it right to them. In an era of convenience, it’s incredibly easy to forget what we are giving up for it.

It’s summed up best by Andrew Lewis, “If you are not paying for it, you’re not the customer; you’re the product being sold.”

Farewell, Mr. Lahey JOSH GOEREE STAFF WRITER

On Friday, season twelve of the Canadian classic comedy Trailer Park Boys was released on Netflix.

The show follows the adventures of Ricky, Julian and Bubbles who live in the fictional Sunnyvale Trailer Park in Dartmouth Nova Scotia. Since its premiere in 2001, the show has made twelve seasons, three feature films and a handful of TV and Netflix specials.

This new season sees the boys realize that they can’t go around breaking the law anymore because they are getting older. They attempt to go straight by setting up legitimate businesses and getting jobs, but bad habits manage to interfere with those plans.

Overall, I liked this season a lot. I have been a fan of the show since I was in grade seven and it was good to see that the show can come up with good original ideas and still

manage to go back to its roots. This season had two characters from earlier seasons return for recurring and main roles: Kandy, Julian’s first girlfriend from season one and Gary, the mall security manager that hasn’t made an appearance since season five.

There are plenty of references to past seasons, one liners and heartwarming scenes that hardcore Trailer Park Boys fans will appreciate. But there is one reason why this season will be more special than others before it — it is the last season with John Dunsworth, who plays the character Mr. Lahey.

John Dunsworth died in October 2017 from a “short and unexpected illness” according to his daughter Sarah Dunsworth, who plays “Sarah” on the show, in a statement to the CBC. The twelfth season did not expect to be the final season for Mr. Lahey as it began filming in June and ended in August.

The first assumption on what he died from would be from heavy drinking. While he played a drunk trailer park supervisor on the show, Dunsworth did not actually

CONTRIBUTED IMAGE

drink a lot in real life. In an interview with John Doyle of The Globe and Mail in 2013, he admitted that he did not actually drink in real life and any kind of drunk behaviour on camera or on stage was faked.

The death of Dunsworth is the third departure of a character due to the actor dying. The other two were Brian Huggins, who played the recurring character “Shitty Bill” and Richard Collins, who played Philadelphia Collins, the owner of “The Dirty Burger” in 2013.

However, this is the most influential departure of a character since Lucy DeCoutere, who played Lucy and Jonathan Torrens, who plays “J-Roc,” in 2016.

What makes this different from other major character departures is that Mr. Lahey is one of the most

iconic characters on the show.

There may be other “bad guys” on the show, but Mr. Lahey and Randy have been the only ones to match Ricky, Julian and Bubbles in terms of extreme behaviour, fan likeability and chemistry on the show.

Having been a fan of the show for a long time, I think it’ll be really hard to have it continue on without Mr. Lahey. It wouldn’t be the first time that a show lost popularity after a main character left. For example, That 70’s Show didn’t last long after Eric (Topher Grace) and Kelso (Ashton Kutcher) left after season seven and midway through season eight respectively.

While this may have happened, this season did not disappoint, even if Mr. Lahey will no longer be on the show.

At the end of the final episode, there was a dedication to Dunsworth and a clip of him explaining how the best and most valuable currency of all is gratitude. And as if the clip couldn’t get perfect enough, he finished it off by saying “When you’re dead, you’re dead. But you’re not quite so dead if you contribute something.”

Well John, you did contribute something. You inspired and entertained millions of people and help put Canadian comedy on the map on a global stage. You may not be with us anymore, but you will live on forever in our hearts as one of the best characters on a Canadian TV show.

Thank you for the memories and the laughs and may you rest in peace.

24 • OPINION

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2018

KASH PATEL/INCOMING GRAPHICS EDITOR

Looking back as a first-year student MARGARET RUSSEL INCOMING LEAD REPORTER

As finals quickly approach, I find myself in a daze of reflection.

One year ago today, I was merely a graduating senior trying to prepare myself for an unprecedented series of events.

No degree of survival guides or pro-tips could have provided me the tool-belt that’s essential in making it out of university unscathed — this resilience is all on you and it’s definitely a process of learning.

I came into my first semester expecting a decent period in which everything and everyone would allow me to get comfortable — I was mistaken.

This transition did allow me, however, to be real with myself — get organized, get busy and get to the library, at a space other than

One year ago today, I was merely a graduating senior trying to prepare myself for an unprecedented series of events.

my own.

What stood out to me is the blatant sense of anonymity on campus.

Amidst Laurier’s nearly 18,000 students, you’re a small fish in a big body of rough waters.

This was one of the greatest gifts university has given me and not simply because I favour an introverted lifestyle, but because it integrated me into a life that isn’t going to reward for doing the bare minimum.

Namelessness taught me how

important it is to, first and foremost, exceed your own personal expectations.

Academics, extracurriculars and personal fulfilment are all one in the same — if you are not wearing your potential on your sleeve, you can’t expect opportunities to fall into your lap.

While filling out my wall calendar every week, I would the take an archetypal moment to dread my class workload, then proceed to plan my life around my extra curricular commitments.

Rather than feeling burdened, there’s something truly satisfying about feeling like every minute of your time is worth something.

And without the pressure behind taking my next steps, I doubt that I would feel as obligated to use every spare minute I have for my personal betterment.

Beyond providing a fruitful resume, the time and energy being dedicated to meetings and events will serve you by helping you foster a strong work ethic that you can bring into the workforce.

The one piece of advice I will

Namelessness taught me how important it is to, first and foremost, exceed your own personal expectations.

offer to any future or continuing post-secondary student is to get involved.

Do yourself a favour and take your learning out of the lecture hall — I promise that you’ll learn just as much, if not more and it won’t cost you tuition.

My first year taught me the importance of pushing myself to do better every day. Maybe that 6.0 GPA will cut it, but do I really want to be mediocre? No, I want to surprise myself every day and be a part of something bigger than

myself.

But with all this preaching, it’s still important to recognize the value of taking your foot off the gas occasionally.

You aren’t a car that can conveniently make a pit stop at the gas station to replenish your fuel.

As much as you may drink copious amounts of coffee to compensate, we all need to respect our limits, take time for self-care and not feel guilty about it either for that matter.

And while the pressure might be on for your deadlines in class, there’s no need to feel as if life carries the weight of a deadline as well.

Although I’m only one year down, I can already feel the experience slipping away from me. Make it count.

No one expects you to have all the answers.

Even if they do, don’t allow those expectations to be your determining factor of success.

Allow yourself to grow from your own cultivation and I promise you, you’ll surprise yourself every day.

OPINION • 25

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2018

Why we need the movie Love, Simon BRITTANY TENHAGE STAFF WRITER

For the past few weeks, I’ve seen articles and various social media posts debating whether or not the film Love, Simon is a necessity.

Titles such as “Do we need Love, Simon?” or “Do teens need gay films?” are scattered across my social media timeline. I’ve seen countless cis-gendered intellectuals discuss whether or not the film is necessary.

Love, Simon is a rare mainstream romantic comedy about a gay teen.

Most films about LGBTQ+ individuals are indie produced, hard to get your hands on and/or Oscar bait. They’re often sad and difficult to watch.

Love, Simon is a breath of fresh air. It’s funny, a little campy, easy to watch and ultimately it has a happy ending.

So why are people downplaying the importance of this film and acting like it isn’t needed?

It’s true, we are oversaturated with mindless romantic comedies and we’ve probably all seen too many in our lifetimes. Yet, you

CONTRIBUTED IMAGE

rarely see articles about whether or not we need the latest Reese Witherspoon rom-com.

We do need films like Love, Simon and these articles prove this to be true. They are so rare, and there are many young LGBTQ+ individuals who crave the media representing them.

The gay teen protagonist has a happy ending. The reactions to him and his sexuality are ultimately positive. Films and stories about

LGBTQ+ individuals are rare and important.

Representation matters.

People are even coming out because of this film. They see it with their parents or their friends and the reactions of the people with them encourage them and make them feel safer about their identities.

One of the main actors, Keiynan Lonsdale, publicly came out as bisexual because of his involvement

Sports and their influence ANDREW MCLELLAND STAFF WRITER

Sports are a way for the toughest, most talented, fastest members of our society to claim superiority in various athletic competitions.

Over the years though, sports have come to gain large popularity and have ultimately started affecting countries’ policy decisions.

Looking back through history, sports have been a method for countries to try to express their dominance in the international community, as well as expand their influence.

Sports have also come to have political effects through the media, as it is a platform through which athletes can express their views to millions of people. Sports have long been used to assert a country’s dominance in the international community. During the rise of the Nazi regime in Germany, Germany hosted the 1936 Summer Olympics.

This was largely to show off the new technology that German scientists had been developing and it was the first Olympics to ever be broadcasted on television. The Berlin Olympics were also used to show the superiority of German athletes at the time, as they won the most medals, beating the second place United States by over 30.

During the Cold War, foreign

policy became expressed on ice.

At the height of the Cold War, the U.S and the Soviet Union played each other during the 1980 Winter Olympics. This game became viewed as a Cold War on ice, instead of just a normal hockey game.

Sports have also come to have political effects through the media, as it is a platform through which athletes can express their views...

These countries had been on the verge of war for years and their rivalry was being broadcasted to the public through hockey. With the U.S winning, a lot of Americans believed this was representative of the fact that they would end the Cold War in victory.

Sports have become such a recognized form of expressing dominance internationally, that North Korea has actually used it to manipulate its people. Various videos have made their way out of North Korea, showing the North Koreans winning the FIFA World Cup and various Olympic events that they did not even participate in.

Kim Jong-Un has begun to use sports to manipulate people into believing that they are far superior than the rest of the international community. Sports these days have now also come to largely affect politics through the media.

When Donald Trump tried to implement his notorious Travel Ban, a lot of athletes were affected and used their platform to express their discontent and opposition to the policy. NBA players like Thon Maker were affected, and came out in the media in opposition of Donald Trump. As millions of people watch the NBA, it brought awareness to some of the issues with the Travel Ban. Likewise, the NFL has been recently used as a platform for athletes to express their discontent with various court rulings, support for the #blacklivesmatter campaign, as well as opposition against Donald Trump’s presidency, by taking knees during the national anthem.

NFL players also chose to raise awareness for various organizations this year, through the “My Cause, My Cleats” campaign.

Each player chose their own cause and wore cleats designed to bring awareness to different issues.

Although sports are mostly viewed as basic athletic competitions, there are larger implications on the international community and politics in general.

They can be used as a way for countries to try and establish dominance, a way to hash out rivalries without military action, or even just as a platform for athletes to express their political beliefs.

with the film. The director, a gay man who’s been out for 20+ years, cried after seeing the final cut — because even he needed to see it.

Artsy films like Carol or Call Me

By Your Name are important for the community. They represent the LGBTQ+ community too. However, the difference with a film like Love, Simon is that it’s meant for just anyone to watch.

It’s easy to access, in theatres all over the place. The trailer for it is

regularly aired on mainstream TV channels.

Another important thing about Love, Simon is that the protagonist isn’t a stereotype. He’s a unique character that is wholly recognized. He feels like any character from a teen film with the exception of his sexual orientation.

The reason these things are so important is because LGBTQ+ individuals deserve to see themselves as mainstream and accessible.

Not Oscar-worthy, depressing, artsy, or part of a subculture, but ultimately just normal.

The people seeing this film in theatres are just regular people who want to enjoy themselves by watching a film.

The film isn’t about the experience, cinematography, colour palette, score, or anything else that draws people in to see other LGBTQ+ movies. The film is just a regular story about a gay boy being happy.

If it’s normal, why are we, the LGBTQ+ community, freaking out about it?

Well, because we’ve never had something like this. There is such a severe lack of representation for LGBTQ+ people in film that we crave films like Love, Simon. We need and deserve films that tell our stories as normal and enjoyable.

We need this movie.

26 •

Sports

WEDNESDAY APRIL 4, 2018 SPORTS EDITOR PRANAV DESAI sports@thecord.ca

AWARDS

Emily Ferguson is the Outstanding Woman of Laurier SAFINA HUSEIN INCOMING EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

On March 28, 2018, Emily Ferguson was announced as the recipient of the coveted Outstanding Women of Laurier (OWL) award.

The OWL award is given out annually to a female Laurier student who embodies unprecedented athletic and academic achievement while exemplifying a commitment to leadership within the Laurier community.

This year marked the 13th year of the annual event. “[Winning is] just the cherry on top … being nominated in itself was fantastic and just being named to the roster of Outstanding Women at Laurier … I'm still kind of in shock,” Ferguson said.

Ferguson is a third-year kinesiology and physical education major on Laurier’s lacrosse team.

Ferguson was named an OUA first-team all-star at the end of Laurier’s lacrosse team’s season, who ultimately qualified for the OUA bronze medal game this year.

In addition to her commitment to Laurier Athletics, Ferguson is a lacrosse and ringette community coach.

“Putting on the purple and gold and putting on the jersey is my favourite thing. From a young age, my coach taught me to respect the jersey. And now being a Laurier Golden Hawk, I know what that means,” Ferguson said.

“Every time you walk in, all eyes are on you because you're a Golden Hawk and you're proud to be a Golden Hawk.”

In her acceptance speech, Ferguson noted her excitement in being able to follow suit in Jacky

SADMAN SAKIB RAHMAN/INCOMING CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Emily Ferguson (second from the right) is the winner of the Oustanding Woman of Laurier award

Normandeau’s footsteps. Normandeau, who served as a mentor and role model to Ferguson since she was in first-year, was the recipient of the eleventh annual OWL award in 2016 and a dual-sport Laurier athlete.

“It’s amazing. She was my role model from first-year and she was my athlete-academic coach in study hall. Being able to follow in her footsteps a little bit … it’s incredible,” Ferguson said.

The annual, prestigious night celebrating female athletes in the Laurier community was attended by various guests, including Dave Jaworsky, mayor of Waterloo, Bardish Chagger, Minister of

Small Business and Tourism and Waterloo MP, Deborah MacLatchy, president of Laurier and Susan Cook-Scheerer, 10-year emcee of the event, amongst others.

The event also featured keynote speaker Georgia Simmerling, a three-time, multi-sport Olympic athlete. Simmerling took to the stage at the event still on crutches from a major fall she took just prior to the Pyeongchang 2018 Olympics, which she was set to attend.

Simmerling broke both of her legs during a ski-cross competition, keeping her from attending the Olympics and competing with her team.

Despite Simmerling’s various

setbacks, she described how her athlete mentality continued to allow her to persevere and strive towards her passion.

“The significance of this event is similar to the significance of the message that was shared by [Simmerling]; that winning doesn’t always come with the medal. But people are winning every single day because of the work that they're doing,” Chagger said.

Simmerling also noted the importance of standing by fellow female colleagues and teammates.

Even while injured, Simmerling described the support and encouragement she and her teammates continued to share with one

another.

“How amazing is it that we have a person that spoke to us tonight who went to the Olympics in Canada — a proud Canadian — who this time around, was watching the Olympics on TV, so proud of her teammates having won,” Chagger said.

"The fact that they continue to stay in touch and that it’s not about competing against each other, but also about the friendships that are formed and the way that we’re able to strengthen each other, which I thought was quite important to hear and to be reminded about.”

As advice to other female athletes, Simmerling said an important component is to be confident in your own abilities.

“Now is the time,” Simmerling said.

“There needs to be more women leaders in the world of athletics and in the world of business and I think events like this are the perfect example of creating that next era, if you will. It’s very, very important.”

“Stay focused and let the haters hate and follow your passion.

Don’t let other people put you down,” she said.

Chagger also echoed Simmerling’s message, conveying the importance of encompassing oneself with positivity and determination.

"It’s important to surround yourself with good people [in order] to really have confidence in yourself,” Chagger said.

“There’s always people rooting for you. But the most important person that needs to have your back is yourself. We have to confidence in ourselves and I think that spoke to [Simmerling’s] message.”

VIOLATION

Boucher to serve one year suspension for doping offense PRANAV DESAI RETURNING SPORTS EDITOR

CONTRIBUTED IMAGE

Wilfrid Laurier University’s middle-distance and cross-country runner Bettina Boucher has been handed a one-year suspension for violating doping regulations.

On March 28, 2018, the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) announced that there was ephedrine, a stimulant that can boost a runner’s capabilities, found in Boucher’s urine in January after a tournament in Windsor.

Although the use of a certain amount of ephedrine is allowed in competitions, Boucher’s use exceeded the maximum of ten micrograms per milliliter.

However, the CCES also discovered that the drug use was connected with a medical condition, it

was not performance related.

The original suspension for Boucher was a two-year ban, but it was reduced to one year due to the fact that this is Boucher’s first suspension, and also because she is not an international or national athlete.

“Each athlete is educated on what they take now. In this instance, due to the circumstances, the CCES took into account the information [Bettina] provided and that reduced her suspension based on her situation. Nonetheless we support the CCES’ decision,” Peter Baxter, director of athletics at Laurier, said.

Boucher’s suspension will now last until Feb. 3, 2019, which means that she will miss most of the major track and field tournaments for the Hawks next year.

“Bettina has taken full responsibility for what she put into her body.

There were some other circumstances in and around it. We’re providing support to her based on her situation. It’s something she’ll learn from and move on,” Baxter added.

Bettina Boucher had an impressive 2018 season for the Golden Hawks. Boucher exceeded all expectations at the cross-country OUA championships, finishing twelfth in the individual standings, while also being named a second-team all-star.

Bettina Boucher was a big part of the Hawks cross-country and middle-distance teams in the 2017-18 season and it will be interesting to see how the Hawks will perform without their best runner next year.

SPORTS • 27

WEDNESDAY APRIL 4, 2018 ALUMNI

Life after university sports for the Hawks ABDULHAMID IBRAHIM RETURNING LEAD SPORTS REPORTER

Lives of student athletes can be quite misconstrued in society.

This is especially the case when it comes to the goals they have, their aspirations and what lies ahead of them. When you consider the type of commitment they put into their respective sports and teams, it can be quite hard to imagine that some student-athletes may have dreams and aspirations outside of professional sports.

It can be easy for one to assume that, since one performed well in university athletics, they will logically progress on to the next platform or league.

This does not always happen to be the case though. All student athletes, even the ones who perform at the highest of levels, have other

passions and other goals. They may even see a different path for themselves after graduation.

When you put so much time and effort to one thing it definitely makes it tough when it comes to an end.

-Nicole Morrison, Former Laurier women’s basketball player

After making the choice not to go professional following a legendary five-year career on the women’s basketball team, superstar FILE PHOTO/WILL HUANG

FILE PHOTO/TANZEEL SAYANI

Golden Hawk Hannah Morrison has turned her aim towards the Ontario Provincial Police force.

“I definitely had different goals. I never really thought about playing pro until this past year just because I have never thought of myself as being good enough to ever play in the pro leagues, but I kind of talked to my coach a little bit about it,” Morrison said.

“Since I do have my British passport, I’d have the opportunity to play in England. So I did kind of take a look at that but for me it was never really an option until this year.”

Having involved herself in multiple different types of competition such as powerlifting, CrossFit, and even soccer this past summer, Morrison was never one to limit herself to one sport. On the other hand, life after basketball will be different for her.

“When you put so much time and effort to one thing it definitely makes it tough when it comes to an end. I would like to stay involved in basketball somehow.”

With decisions still to be made, Morrison is taking it day by day, but you can expect her to find the next thing that fuels her competi-

Be a Pilot!

tive fire sooner rather than later.

On the other side of things, there are also the athletes who may not have initially planned to be a professional athlete.

They may have come across the idea by circumstance, but they had the belief and ability in them to make it happen, finding a balance in preparation and planning for various possible outcomes.

Former Laurier Golden Hawk, Kwaku Boateng, now defensive end for the Edmonton Eskimos in the CFL, did exactly that.

Putting emphasis on the student portion of ‘student athlete’, Boateng was able to excel both on and off the field during his time in the purple and gold. He has been blessed with the ability to balance and prioritize to his own personal benefit.

“While you’re in school, you have to be a lot more disciplined when you’re a student athlete, just because you’re trying to take care of two different aspirations. My job was to perform in both aspects, athletically and academically,” Boateng said.

While there is a case to be made with some student-athletes not having as much of a focus on a

backup plan — some may tell you there is no need for one — Boateng’s thinking was quite a bit different as far as the way he went about his business.

“I didn’t really have a goal of ‘oh just using my degree to carry out the rest of my life’. It was more so, ‘whichever takes charge first, I’ll take that,’ so in this case that’s football, [it] came knocking right away, so I took that,” Boateng said.

“I could always go and become a financial analyst or become a financial advisor with my degree, I can do that any age.

When it comes to football and playing professional sports in general, you’re really limited in the amount of years that you could play,” he said.

“I didn’t go into school with the plan of using football to be my career but I definitely felt like I could make that balance happen.”

While the choice seemed to be obvious for Boateng when the time came for that decision, it may not be for others.

With time to spare once school is done, life turns out to be different for these student athletes once they graduate, just like the paths they eventually choose to take.

Unique. Adventure. Excitement.

Integrated Airline Transportation Pilot Program

Who is it for?

• Graduates from ANY university or college program • International students seeking a fast, but comprehensive route to airline flying Full-time 18-month program, includes the following: • 750 classroom ground school hours • 205 aircraft flying hours • 50+ simulator training hours (fixed base)

Apply today! Program begins January 14, 2019

WWFC’s program is approved by Transport Canada and approved as vocational programs under the Private Career Colleges Act, 2005 (#105919).

Visit wwfc.ca/integrated-atp or call 519-648-2213 for more information

28 • SPORTS

WEDNESDAY APRIL 4, 2018

REVIEWING THE YEAR IN SPORTS Sports Editor Pranav Desai looks at the best moments from Laurier athletics in 2017-18

WOMEN’S CURLING It was a great end to the year for Laurier athletics as the Wilfrid Laurier University women’s curling team took home their tenth OUA championship to cap off a great year. Beating some tough teams on their title run, the Hawks proved that their championship victory was no fluke. Although the Hawks couldn’t follow up the OUA title with their fifth national championship, their impressive showing is still something to build on and with a young core, this team is only going to get better in the future.

ALUMNI The 2017-18 academic year was another one where Laurier alumni continued to soar.

Former Laurier curlers John Morris and Brent Laing lived their Olympic dream and represented Canada at the highest level in Pyeongchang. Jessica Platt made history by coming out as the first transgender player in the Canadian Women’s Hockey League.

Nakas Onyeka and Kwaku Boateng continued to grow and improve as football players in the CFL. While Boateng racked up four sacks and 21 tackles in his first year, Onyeka was a part of the Grey Cup winning Toronto Argonauts. These were just a few amongst the many former Hawks who continued to make Laurier proud even after graduation.

KURLEIGH GITTENS JR Another great year for the Laurier football team came to an end at the hands of their rival, the Western Mustangs, in this year’s Yates Cup matchup. The Hawks simply couldn’t hold up against the power run offense of the Mustangs and although the loss was disappointing, there were numerous bright spots for the Hawks this year, none brighter than Kurleigh Gittens Jr. He won the OUA MVP award, becoming only the fifth Laurier player ever to do so. The third-year receiver put up some monster numbers and his seemingly telepathic connection with quarterback Michael Knevel was on full display throughout the year.

NICOLE MORRISON Nicole Morrison broke records and made history on her way out. In her final year with the Hawks, Morrison took hold of the top spot as Laurier’s all-time leading scorer.

Morrison was the unquestionable leader of the women’s basketball team and she was the perfect role model for the rest of the players. Although Morrison led the Hawks to the playoffs, they fell short in the first round against Lakehead. However, it’s important to realize that Morrison not only had an outstanding year with the Hawks, she had an outstanding Laurier career.

MEN’S RUGBY It was a special year for the Wilfrid Laurier University men’s rugby team. The Hawks recorded their first playoff victory in modern team history. Even after a year of multiple key players getting injured, the Hawks found a different way to overcome every challenge they faced. Head coach Ian McLeod instilled a never say die attitude in this team and it showed every time they took the field. The Hawks ran into the Queen’s Gaels in the playoffs, who were undeniably the best team in the OUA this year. Although the Hawks lost, they fought hard like they did all year. It’ll be interesting to see how far this team can go next year.

JASMINE RAINES Perhaps the most impressive individual performance for Laurier this year came from swimmer Jasmine Raines. In her second year on the team, Raines repeated as the 200-metre breaststroke champion at the OUA championships, while also winning silver in 100-metre breaststroke competition. Raines then followed up an incredible provincial campaign with a bronze medal at the U-Sports Championships. She became the first swimmer in 13 years to win a medal at the nationals for Laurier.

LAYOUT BY: PRANAV DESAI/SPORTS EDITOR PHOTOS BY: TANZEEL SAYANI/CREATIVE DIRECTOR GARRISON OOSTERHOF/WEB DIRECTOR, SADMAN SAKIB RAHMAN/LEAD PHOTOGRAPHER, CHRIS TANOUYE, CONTRIBUTED IMAGE