January 6, 2016

THE CORD

THE TIE THAT BINDS WILFRID LAURIER UNIVERSITY SINCE 1926

VOLUME 56 ISSUE 17 JANUARY 6, 2016

Food prices go bananas With food prices expected to increase in 2016, students may have to reevaluate how much they spend on groceries Local, page 6

WILL HUANG/PHOTO EDITOR

ADVOCACY IN THE SPOTLIGHT

TAGGING HATE

BRIGHT PERSPECTIVES

WHO’S YOUR SOURCE?

FIGHTING FOR COVERAGE

Laurier students advocate for education

Why is haterelated graffiti increasing?

Local barber brings old traditions to K-W

Forward thinking clouded by looking back

How do men and women teams compare?

Campus, page 4

Local, page 5

Features, page 8

Opinion, page 13

Sports, page 16

A study done at UW proved open-minded people tend to be more receptive to nonsense on the Internet.

STUDY

How is your bullshit radar?

ERIKA YMANA LOCAL NEWS EDITOR

How good is your bullshit detector?

A psychology study conducted by the University of Waterloo indicates we may not be as good as we think we are at perceiving nonsense.

The study entitled “On the Reception and Detection of Pseudo-Profound Bullshit,” was done in a few experiments involving 300 University of Waterloo undergraduate students as well as online users. In the first ex-

periment, participants rated random phrases generated by a website.

The second experiment took actual tweets from Deepak Chopra, public speaker and promoter of spirituality, and were also rated. While Chopra has a large following with 2.6 million followers on Twitter, he has been criticized for furthering “woo-woo nonsense.”

According to the study, individuals lay on a spectrum of receptiveness to nonsense. Those who are quite receptive to bullshit are lower

JOSHUA AWOLADE/CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Local, page 5

2 •

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2016

VOCAL CORD

@cordnews

The Cord

THE CORD NOMINATED FOR FOUR NATIONAL AWARDS

What is the most you’ve spent on haircut/at a salon?

–Avery Alonzo, firstyear biology and psychology

“$10.”

–Joshua Basil, secondyear psychology

WILL HUANG/PHOTO EDITOR

A woman shares a moment with one of the character at the annual Waterloo Busker Carnival in Waterloo.

The Cord was nominated for four awards at the annual John H. McDonald awards hosted by Canadian University Press.

Photo Editor Will Huang was shortlisted for Photo of the Year (pictured above) and Student Photojournalist of the Year.

The Cord also picked up two nominations for Best in Social Media and Best Website.

–Tiana Benjamin, thirdyear film studies

The winners will be announced January 10, 2016 in Toronto, Ontario.

THECORD.CA

“$200.”

–Lara Baker, fourth-year psychology

–Andy Vo, third-year economics Compiled by Maddy Cutts Photos by Jessica Dik

JANUARY 13, 2016

CORD STAFF EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Shelby Blackley sblackley@thecord.ca CREATIVE DIRECTOR Lena Yang lyang@thecord.ca CREATIVE DIRECTOR Joshua Awolade jawolade@thecord.ca MULTIMEDIA DIRECTOR Mynt Marsellus mmarsellus@thecord.ca

CAMPUS NEWS EDITOR Kaitlyn Severin kseverin@thecord.ca

Location: Bricker Academic Building Reported: Wednesday, December 23, 2015 @ 4:57 a.m.

SCS was notified of some offensive hate/biased graffiti located on a whiteboard in classroom #BA-112 in the academic building. Person(s) unknown using a black marker had written the tag, ‘Genesis 1 23:27 Fuck Chem Nigga.’ The offensive writings were removed by the attending officer. There are no CCTV cameras in this room and no suspects. The Diversity and Equity Office was notified.

Location: Frank C. Peters Building Reported: Wednesday, December 23, 2015 @ 7:36 a.m.

SCS was notified of an odour of smoke in the vicinity of the multi faith prayer room. The attending officer located the actual source in a nearby server room. It was determined that two wires connected to a server were emitting the smoke.

There was no fire. An ITS employee attended and rectified the situation.

Location: Fred Nichols Campus Centre Reported: Sunday, December 27, 2015 @ 2:04 a.m.

SCS located a male and female in the 24-hour Lounge with the female was performing oral sex on the male.

They were identified as Laurier alumnus. The couple were cautioned for their conduct and issued Provincial Offence Notices for violating the Trespass to Property Act – engage in prohibited activity on premises. They were instructed to leave the property and complied.

Location: Frank C. Peters Building Reported: Sunday, December 27, 2015 @ 7:00 p.m.

SCS assisted an employee of Laurier PRISM resources with an inventory concern. A recent check of the laptop rental inventory identified 48 missing units. It is unknown at this time whether the units are lost, stolen or whether the issue is a system error.

Of the 48 units, 20 are equipped with Prey tracking software and three are presently showing in use. The students associated with the Prey reports have been contacted via email and a follow up will be completed upon their return to campus.

“My neighbour cuts it for free.”

NEXT ISSUE:

Bag O’ Crime Location: 200 King St. N. Reported: Monday, December 21, 2015 @ 11:11 a.m.

SCS was notified of some newly unreported graffiti located on an exterior door of the student residence.

Person(s) unknown had carved the lettering, ‘Jew Lover NO’ into the door. There are no CCTV cameras in this area and no suspects. A work order was sent to Physical Resources for removal.

“$15.”

“$250.”

CordNews

@cordwlusp

GRAPHICS EDITOR Vacant

LOCAL NEWS EDITOR Erika Ymana eymana@thecord.ca

PHOTO EDITOR Andreas Patsiaouros apatsiaouros@thecord. ca

FEATURES EDITOR Bethany Bowles bbowles@thecord.ca

PHOTO EDITOR Will Huang whuang@thecord.ca

ARTS & LIFE EDITOR Zach Guitor zguitor@thecord.ca

VIDEO EDITOR Brian Phillips bphillips@thecord.ca

OPINION EDITOR Mitchell Consky mconsky@thecord.ca

LEAD REPORTER Maddy Cutts mcutts@thecord.ca

SPORTS EDITOR Drew Yates dyates@thecord.ca

LEAD PHOTOGRAPHER Jessica Dik jdik@thecord.ca

SENIOR COPY EDITOR Caitlyn Sageman csageman@thecord.ca SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR Kira Gelbard kgelbard@thecord.ca

CONTRIBUTORS Abigail Barrett Mira Busscher Max Chamberlain Samantha Chow Emilia Curcic Nicole Gatchene Fani Hsieh Safina Husein Heather McLeod Don Morgenson Nabiha Noorani Christian Paron Josh Peters Aliaa Sidawi Fatima Soomro Jessi Wood

EDITOR’S CHOICE: Is scholarly credibility holding us back? By Mitchell Consky

EDITOR’S CHOICE ONLINE: The Cord reads mean comments by Brian Phillips

ADVERTISING INQUIRIES All advertising inquiries can be directed to Care Schummer at care.schummer@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 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 6,000 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: “You’re not even straight!”

- Creative Director Lena Yang when Photo Editor Andreas Patsiaouros asked her for a sexy lap dance

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2016

Campus

• 3 CAMPUS NEWS EDITOR KAITLYN SEVERIN kseverin@thecord.ca

FUNDING

ANDREAS PATSIAOUROS/PHOTO EDITOR

Foot Patrol received $1,478 to install winter tires for their vans. The 24-Hour Lounge on the Waterloo campus will receive $17,931 which will go towards replacing chairs and replacing cubicles.

Projects approved for new year 24 Lounge and Foot Patrol among the 11 Waterloo projects approved by the Student Life Levy MADDY CUTTS LEAD REPORTER

Recipients of the latest instalment of Student Life Levy funding for student-enhancement projects were announced at the end of December.

In existence for over 30 years, the Student Life Levy is funded through fees paid by all Wilfrid Laurier University undergraduate students and is used to fund projects on both the Waterloo and Brantford campuses.

Applications for funding can be made by anyone at any point throughout the year, with proposals reviewed in March, July and November.

The latest cycle reviewed 56 applications, with 21 projects receiving funding for a total of $116,439.

Six projects were approved on the Brantford campus, 11 on the Waterloo campus and four projects across

“It’s a way for students to see that they can make an impact on their campus, even if they’re not heavily involved in anything.”

-Colin Aitchison, chair of the Students’ Union board of directors

both locations.

“We look for programs that aren’t offered on campus that students would use, or that just would enhance their life on campus in general,” said Colin Aitchison, chair of the Wilfrid Laurier University Students’ Union board of directors.

The projects approved fall under no single category, spanning from university services to campus clubs

to student-led initiatives.

Foot Patrol received funding for both campuses, with the Waterloo campus van set to receive $1,478 for winter tires and the Brantford campus set to receive a new van. $10,000 was awarded this cycle and an additional $5,000 over the course of four additional SLL cycles.

Funds were additionally awarded towards the U-Desk at both campuses to be put towards their Techshare programs, with $6,023 for Waterloo and $2,370 in Brantford.

Among the recipients were student-run symposiums, with $675 granted towards a Caribbean Students Symposium. $2,500 was given to a conference jointly run by the global studies and religion and culture departments, a portion of which is intended to provide transportation between campuses to encourage Brantford

student attendance.

The largest allotment of funds was for The Purpose Lab, a Waterloo campus project which was approved for $21, 815.

Other projects that received a significant portion of the Student Life Levy’s fund were Cyclefit Enhancements at Waterloo for $18,000 and a multicampus Laurier Roadmap project, which was granted $16,344.

There was additionally $17,931 worth of repairs approved for the 24-Hour Lounge, which will be put toward replacing chairs and maintaining study cubicles.

The fund is available to any projects which enhance student life on campus, provided they are not “for profit” or require funding on an ongoing basis. Projects that include salaries are also rarely approved.

“It’s one of the few ways that students can see what their money

“We look for programs that aren’t offered on campus that students would use...”

-Colin Aitchison, chair of the Students’ Union board of directors

is going towards. Obviously, every student pays into this grant, but any student is able to propose an application and get it approved,” said Aitchison.

“It’s a way for students to see that they can make an impact on their campus, even if they’re not heavily involved in anything.”

The next round of applications will be due in March 2016.

ELECTIONS

Changes made to GSA election process MADDY CUTTS LEAD REPORTER

The Wilfrid Laurier University Graduate Students’ Association’s board of directors have altered the process for how their president and chief executive officer is determined.

Previously, presidential candidates took part in an election held by the GSA. This system will now be coupled by candidates’ applications being reviewed by the board prior to their campaigns.

Following a presentation from current president and CEO Ian Muller, the board has approved a two-year pilot after which the effectiveness of these changes will be evaluated.

The desire to shift the position toward a partially hired one came as a response to the trend displayed at a number of other Canadian institutions.

“Other universities in the province, either they work off of a

hybrid model, which includes both an election and a hiring model, or a lot of associations have actually transitioned into a complete hiring process,” said Natalie Gleba, chair of the GSA board of directors.

The implementation of a board review component to potential candidacy allows for the board to have greater control over ensuring all candidates would prove to be effective presidents.

Board members will now have in place procedures to handle single candidates, allowing the board to reopen the application period if the candidate is found to be unsuitable for presidency.

“There hasn’t been a problem in past years, with previous presidents not being able to fulfill their duties.

We’ve been extremely lucky in having candidates that have been in the best interest of the association,” said Gleba.

“This is really going to ensure

that there’s a policy in place to vet that single candidate should that be the result of the presidential hiring process.”

The new procedures will aid to eliminate the threat of single candidacy, by implementing ongoing support and resources for candidates in the hopes anyone considering the position will not be intimidated by the application process or unsure of how to go about running.

Networking events will additionally be created to help foster a greater relationship between applicants and the board, as well as with the greater member community.

At the conclusion of the two-year pilot, a review will be carried out by the board to assess whether the new procedures have improved their target areas, namely whether the number of candidates has increased, whether potential candidates feel more supported by the board and if members value the increased inter-

JESSICA DIK/LEAD PHOTOGRAPHER

The board of directors will review applications prior to election campaigns.

action with candidates.

“There is going to be a review process to make sure that this is the best way to go about it,” said Gleba. “We feel like if there is more involvement from both parties, the candidates and the membership, then it will be a better system all around.”

The call for presidential candi-

dates was sent out on December 17, with applications due on January 11 and will be followed by an interview period from January 14 to 28.

Candidates will then have a period to campaign leading up to the GSA’s annual general meeting on February 11, where the winner will be announced.

4 • CAMPUS NEWS

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2016

FINANCE

Budget cuts to be announced

EVENTS

Proposed budgets to forecast which Laurier departments will recieve cuts NICOLE GATCHENE STAFF WRITER

Jim Butler, Wilfrid Laurier University’s vice-president of finance and administration, is confident there will be budgets for 2016-17. However, the size of budget cuts is yet to be confirmed. “[Budgets] would still require a four to five per cent cut, but who knows, maybe we’ll look a little bit better, maybe a little bit worse,” said Butler.

In June 2015, the board of governors approved a three per cent cut to the vice-president’s academic budget for the 2015-16 year. Among the university faculties, education received the biggest cut and graduate & post-doctoral studies received the smallest at 37 per cent and 0 per cent respectively.

Additionally, the university cut 22 staff positions and reduced the hours of an additional five jobs to alleviate a projected $25-million deficit in March 2015. January 13 is the deadline for each vice-president to submit their proposed budget, which includes their projected cuts and spending requests. These applications will help Laurier’s finance and administration department forecast budget cuts for the upcoming year.

“We’re definitely not asking for every department to be cut. What we’re looking for right now is what does the university as a whole have to cut in order to balance its budget,” said Butler.

Budget managers have been asked to model what a four to seven

“If we have flat enrolment and additional spending requests to accomodate we’ll have to cut to accomodate those.”

-Jim Butler, vice-president of finance and administration

“What we’re looking for right now is what does the university as a whole have to cut in order to balance its budget.”

-Jim Butler, vice-president of finance and administration

per cent cut would look like, which would then allow each vice-president to determine what cuts they can make to their respective department.

Budget cuts largely depend on the fall 2016 enrolment levels, which will be confirmed in June when university acceptance deadlines pass for high school students. Following the acceptance deadline, a final budget will be submitted for board approval at the end of June. According to Butler, if enrolment levels remain the same in the face of decreasing numbers of high school graduates, Laurier would have a greater share of the university market than last year.

Increased spending requests with a shrinking budget will also influence what cuts are made.

“If we have flat enrolment and additional spending requests to accommodate we’ll have to cut to accommodate those,” Butler explained.

A major factor that has affected Laurier’s budget cuts is provincial government funding. The Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities will fund post-secondary institutions based on enrolment levels and in part, performance envelopes, but does not account for inflation.

“We’re assuming full funding for each student that we get, but that may not necessarily hold because the government has the option to cut that,” said Butler.

“Depending on what gets decided on that spending requests, enrolment and the government grant situation and what they do with tuitions of course in 2017 will make a difference.”

FANI HSIEH/GRAPHIC ARTIST

Students advocate on university issues

Students’ Union to begin Local Advocacy Week on Jan. 18 KAITLYN SEVERIN CAMPUS NEWS EDITOR

The Wilfrid Laurier University Students’ Union will be hosting the fifth annual Local Advocacy Week.

During the week, Laurier students will get the chance to meet with professionals, including members of parliament and members of provincial parliament, to discuss priorities pertaining to students and postsecondary education.

Through the discussions and sessions, students are encouraged to advocate on their own behalf around school issues and change.

“We’re going to be meeting with people from MPs to MPPs, the mayors on both campuses and we try to make it equitable so if we’re meeting with an MP in Brantford and with an MP in Waterloo just to cover our bases in that way,” said Laura Bassett, vice-president of university affairs with the Students’ Union.

According to Bassett, issues which have been discussed throughout the year on campus, such as sexual violence, will be talked about among students and stakeholders in lobby

“It’s a really great way for volunteers to get engaged in meetings that they wouldn’t necessarily have in any other capacity.”

-Laura Bassett, vice-president of university affairs

meetings during this week.

Thus far, around 35 meetings have been scheduled or are in the process of being scheduled.

Students and volunteers will also have the opportunity to meet with 35 stakeholders.

“It’s a really great way for volunteers to get engaged in meetings that they wouldn’t necessarily have in any other capacity,” Bassett said.

During Local Advocacy Week, students and volunteers will benefit from experience in lobbying and advocacy through politicians and speakers.

Students can engage in discussions about what needs to change

with post-secondary education.

“It incorporates what they’re passionate about, so if they see an issue at the university and they’re like I want to fix this but they don’t necessarily know how to go about doing that, we connect them with the right people to get their ideas forward,” said Bassett.

According to Bassett, many successes have come out as a result of the Local Advocacy Week, including more study space for students in the form of new buildings.

Student representatives asked for more space and after advocating for this, it became a priority.

Internal stakeholders will also be attending the event to discuss students’ own issues with the university.

“There’s people on the university campus that we’ll meet with including Dr. Blouw, Leanne Holland Brown […] to advance an internal agenda with them as well,” said Matt McLean, assistant vice-president of university affairs.

The Students’ Union will be running Local Advocacy Week from Monday, January 18 to Friday, January 22.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2016

Local

• 5 LOCAL NEWS EDITOR ERIKA YMANA eymana@thecord.ca

VANDALISM

Analyzing hate in the Region SAFINA HUSEIN STAFF WRITER

There has been an increasing number of reports regarding hate crime and hate graffiti on the Wilfrid Laurier University Waterloo campus in the past month.

Laurier faculty, staff and students have reported various incidents to Special Constables Services — most involving clear anti-Semitic and antiblack graffiti.

Laura Mae Lindo, director of Wilfrid Laurier University’s Diversity and Equity Office, said that the reports of racial discrimination are “not indicative of the campus that we want and we’re going to do everything in our best efforts to make sure that we are mindful of issues of racism on campus.”

Mahejabeen Ebrahim, director of the University of Waterloo’s Equity Office, said they too take racial harassment and discrimination seriously.

“The University of Waterloo is committed to equity and proactively fostering a climate of respect for diverse people,” she said.

Jessie Chen, second-year science student at University of Waterloo, said it is a “huge failure” for society to have these harmful values so

systematically ingrained.

“It’s disgusting that there are people who are comfortable with blatantly perpetuating this kind of hate and prejudice, especially in an era and country that’s suppose to be relatively progressive,” she said.

Lindo explained the importance of approaching incidents of racism with a multi-faceted approach.

Working closely with Special Constable Services, the DEO has made several steps towards supporting students and preventing similar future incidents in the future.

“It’s not just a matter of figuring out who has done it or what is going on. It’s also making sure that you can do things to protect the people that are the target of the hate.”

Some steps the DEO has taken thus far include contacting and providing support to WLU’s Association of Black Students as well as Rabbi Moshe Goldman and the Jewish community.

Lindo also said they will try to instil a long-term plan by hosting a summit in March.

Towards the end of last semester, the DEO offered a Play for Peace, an event at which students could be supported by music therapists, as well as various campus community members who were able to speak

JESSICA DIK/LEAD PHOTOGRAPHER

Vandalism remains to be prevalent in the community while both schools “instil” diverse values on their campuses.

about the specific campus climate which Laurier hopes to uphold.

“It’s a way of working through the unsettling feeling that you have when this kind of stuff is actually happening,” said Lindo.

Amy Rapien, third-year psychology student at Laurier, was shocked to hear about the recent reports.

“I would have hoped or thought that students attending an institution of higher, post-secondary education would be more informed on the adverse effects which using those hateful words have,” Rapien said.

“It saddens me to know that people on our campus think it’s acceptable to use these hurtful words and symbols.”

Lindo offered a possible reason for the sudden increase in these crimes on campus.

She explained when support for survivors and targeted individuals

“When these kinds of things happen, wiping away the graffiti isn’t sufficient.”

-Laura Mae Lindo, director of Wilfrid Laurier University’s Diversity and Equity Office

is provided, those people feel more confident and comfortable to report the incidents they witness or experience.

“There’s something positive in knowing that people feel confident that they can call the Diversity and Equity Office or they can go to Special Constables,” she said.

In contrast, Lindo also specu-

lated that the increasing number of global situations and political figures around the world speaking out in regards to topics surrounding racism may be a potential reason as to rising number of reports on campus.

Whether those words are positive or negative, it provides an open conversation for each individual to take part in, she explained.

“When you start to have a discussion, all sides that are a part of that discussion come out — the good, the bad, and the ugly.”

Lindo also expressed the importance of providing continued support for students and individuals throughout campus — not only the ones targeted by the recent hate, but the wider community as well.

“When these kinds of things happen, wiping away the graffiti isn’t sufficient,” said Lindo.

“That harm is still there.”

FROM COVER

Study says not to be fooled by the Internet –cover in cognitive ability, hold paranormal beliefs and are more likely to endorse alternative medicine.

The study quotes philosopher Frankfurt in defining bullshit as “something that is designed to impress” without containing any meaning of truth.

“Attention and intention are the mechanics of manifestation,” is an example of pseudo-profound bullshit. Profound-sounding phrases like this are scattered all over the Internet.

Gordon Pennycook, lead author of the study and University of Waterloo PhD candidate, said individuals tend to fall under two mechanisms — individuals may be “reflexively

“If you are uncritical, then you are not going to see [bullshit] because you’re just accepting of whatever is coming across as meaningful.”

-Gordon Pennycook, PhD candidate at University of Waterloo

open-minded” in that they come to information in a more open yet uncritical manner, or they may be “reflectively open-minded” which means being open for the sake of learning or critical thinking. The latter tends to apply to people who are

better able to detect nonsense.

The study also presents two observations for those who fall privy to bullshit receptiveness. The first is having a strong bias accepting things as true. This means having too much of an open mind may lead to “in-

flated judgements.” While the other is when people confuse vagueness as profound. Failure to grasp information is deemed as profound.

Pennycook said it depends on the mental state of an individual when faced with validating a piece of information as profound or nonsense.

“The question is how much are you willing to assume that it is profound as opposed to assume that it might not be profound?” he said. “If you adopt a stance where everything might be true, then you are going to naturally think things are true than someone who doesn’t.”

The critical thinker is not as accepting of information and is often unwilling to give a statement or piece of information a chance with-

out proper evaluation.

“If you are uncritical, then you are not going to see [bullshit] because you’re just accepting of whatever is coming across as meaningful. You’re just giving everything a chance when you shouldn’t, or more of a chance than should be given,” Pennycook explained.

The study was originally for psychologists to start looking into bullshit receptivity. But one of the main lessons to grasp from this study is that most people are usually more receptive to nonsense than they realize.

“If you don’t want to be receptive to bullshit, then think about how critical you are about information that you see on the Internet.”

the cord.ca

6 • LOCAL NEWS

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2016

RESETTLEMENT

Local organizations remain optimistic

EXPENSES

The Region settled 200 Syrian refugees in spite of delay ERIKA YMANA LOCAL NEWS EDITOR

With upwards of 200 refugees currently settled in Waterloo Region, local organizations continue to be confident in their system as they await the delayed arrival of thousands more refugees.

The delay was the result of the government taking into account precautionary measures echoed by the public as well as ensuring refugees have a successful transition into their new lives.

Tara Bedard, manager of the Waterloo Region Immigration Partnership, said it’s difficult to declare an overall concrete number as refugees can arrive through two different streams: government or privately sponsored. Government-sponsored refugees tend to take a longer time to process. But as of December 1, 95 government-assisted refugees were settled and privately sponsored refugees in Waterloo Region arrived during the second half of the month.

“Things are moving along; more people have started to arrive in the community. I think quite a few people arrived on the first of January.

The community and [local] organiza-

“But the experience in December shows that it’s possible that they may not meet those numbers.”

-Tara Bedard, manager of Waterloo Region Immigration Partnership

tions are working together to start the settlement process,” she said.

Bedard said the biggest challenge to overcome thus far has been providing permanent and affordable housing.

In addition, the many families who are coming in are larger in size, with seven or more members, making it difficult to find suitable living arrangements.

Lucia Harrison, executive director of the Kitchener-Waterloo Multicultural Centre, reiterated the same issue.

“Generally speaking, one of the biggest issues is going to be finding housing and I think the community’s come together trying to find some innovative answers but it’s always a challenge,” said Harrison.

Other challenges, she mentioned, were the need for medical care and mental health support.

The Kitchener-Waterloo Multicultural Centre is one of many organizations in the Region offering a number of services, such as specialized job searches, pre-employment workshops and interpretation services that will help refugees transition into the workforce.

With the delay, the organization has “boosted” the number of Arabicspeaking interpreters they have on their roster to meet the needs of incoming refugees.

Bedard also mentioned that many barriers present themselves upon initial settlement, such as learning to be independent and accessing services.

“In the long term, I hope they can be assisted to learn the language as quickly as possible so they can be more self-sufficient,” said Bedard.

“In the long term, I hope they can be assisted to learn the language as quickly as possible so they can be more self-sufficient.”

-Tara Bedard, manager of Waterloo Region Immigration Partnership

The Waterloo Region Immigration Partnership is confident with the structure in place with local organizations working together to support resettlement efforts.

With a slow start, many are still motivated to provide excellent care and service.

“You know, it’s only been about a month and a bit into the structure so it’s been settling pretty well,” she said.

“Things were a little bit quiet over the holidays and picking up very quickly and doing whatever they can to support the settlement.”

As for awaiting the arrival of more refugees, predicting the timeline and when everybody can be settled continues to be an “eternal question” as the government continues to screen and accept more refugees.

Bedard said the latest figures she’s seen indicate the government is trying to push resettlement by the end of February.

“But the experience in December shows that it’s possible that they may not meet those numbers,” she said.

“It could take a bit longer to prepare all of these people who are going to arrive in a short period of time, but that’s okay too.”

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JESSI WOOD/GRAPHIC ARTIST

Saving your ‘grocery dollars’ As food prices increase, students must find new ways to save money EMILIA CURCIC STAFF WRITER

With the beginning of a new year, Waterloo Region can expect some changes in the food industry.

The Food Institute at the University of Guelph recently published their annual Food Price Report with their forecast for 2016. Food inflation rates are forecasted to be anywhere between two and four per cent, a much higher rate compared to the previous year’s forecast of 0.3 to 2.4 per cent.

The categories with the highest expected inflation are meats along with fruits and nuts.

Beef and pork prices have seen a consistent rise this past year, in part due to the droughts faced by ranchers in Alberta and Saskatchewan.

2015 noticed a decrease in cattle due to the lack of feed.

According to a survey done by the Food Institute, 62.1 per cent of people surveyed indicated financial reasons as a factor in their reduced consumption of beef. With even higher prices expected for 2016, prime cuts of beef could be among the least affordable meats for Canadian consumers.

“Once again, we expect food inflation in 2016 to exceed the general inflation rate,” said the Food Institute study.

“In dollar terms, we can anticipate based on historical data, the average Canadian household will spend $8,631 on food, of which $2,416 will be outside the household (restaurants).”

Overall food price levels have consistently increased in the past 10 years. Statistics Canada reports a 3.4 per cent increase in food prices from November 2014 to 2015 alone.

When asked about the rising food prices in Waterloo, students are not happy.

“Higher food prices will definitely increase the time needed to plan meals and could make cooking on a student budget that much more difficult,” says third-year Wilfrid Laurier University student Olivia Miotto.

Budgeting for groceries can be a tiring and time consuming process, however there are some ways in which students can limit the impact of food price inflation.

Planning the right day to go grocery shopping can take a significant amount of money off of your

grocery bill many grocery stores in the Kitchener-Waterloo region offer student discount days.

Zehrs and Valu-Mart both offer 10 per cent off your purchase on Tuesdays with a valid student card, while Sobeys offers 10 per cent off on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays with a valid student card.

“I make an effort to go grocery shopping on student discount days, because it adds up to huge savings throughout the semester,” said Miotto.

Sticking to produce that is in season can reduce costs. Foods such as oranges, pears and root vegetables are significantly cheaper than other options during the winter months.

Buying meat in bulk and freezing it for later could also produce significant savings. Two cuts of chicken breast might go for $9.00, while a value package of six or seven might be priced at $25.00. Separating the cuts into Ziploc bags and leaving them in the freezer for later could save you another trip to the grocery store along with a few dollars.

It also helps to be aware of the different prices between grocery stores as well as actively seeking out deals and discounts.

Looking through flyers can help consumers gain perspective on what might be overpriced at certain locations and what might be cheaper at others.

Grocery stores like Loblaws, Zehrs and Valu-Mart offer their PC Plus loyalty card, in which customers can collect points when purchasing certain items.

In return, when customers reach the minimum number of points, they can be redeemed for cash. For example, with PC Plus card, 20,000 points translates to 20 dollars off a purchase.

“I have a loyalty card for PC products, and it’s a great way to get some of your money back without any extra effort,” said Julia Bollefer, third-year Laurier student.

With rising prices, students can also take the opportunity to be creative with their meals. Bollefer has opted for more vegetarian meals with the increasing prices of meat products.

Implementing ways to stretch your dollar at the grocery store could make a big difference in getting through the food price increase this coming year.

AD • 7

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2016

DOOR TO DOOR SHUT TL E

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W W W. I C O N S T U D E N T S . C A

8 •

Features

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2016 FEATURES EDITOR BETHANY BOWLES bbowles@thecord.ca

Features Editor Bethany Bowles talked to local barber, Mitch Bright, about his unique approach to men’s grooming Mitch Bright hated every barber shop he worked at.

After receiving formal training from St. Louis in Kitchener, the 24year old worked at a couple of shops around the tri-cities and Guelph. But none of them seemed to fit.

“I knew what I wanted to do and I knew what shop I wanted, so when this space became available for me, I jumped on it and started doing my own thing.”

And so opened Bright’s shop, admirably named The Bright Barbershop Co. It is located on top of his mother’s salon, Shear Heaven Salon in uptown Waterloo.

The barbershop is small with just

enough room for Bright’s chair, an antique armoire which houses his shears, buzzers and products as well as an array of taxidermy animals such as a large hawk, showcased at the entrance of the shop. Bright’s taste is eclectic, which is evident in both his work as a barber and his own personal style.

As a formal vocalist of a heavy metal band, Bright, covered in tattoos, is not what initially comes to mind when you think of a male hairdresser.

Bright found his beginnings on the road with his heavy metal band, Die Atlantic.

“It started about four or five years

ago … playing in a band and being on tour, it started just for fun. [I would] cut hair on the road,” Bright said. “I really took a liking to it and after a couple years I decided I’m just going to do this full time.”

Despite his stereotypical persona, hair has been second nature to bright since a young age.

“Hair is a very feminine thing, but I grew up around it. My mom’s been doing hair for 30 years, so since the day I was born I’ve been around a hair salon … so I’m just very used to it and I’m very comfortable around it.”

Bright said he found salons to be intimidating for most men.

This may be because men are still stigmatized by society for taking an interest in their outward appearance.

Spending money on hair care products, or even a good haircut, is still traditionally associated with women.

“I kind of decided I wanted to make a dude spot. Barbershops are cool; I was never really too familiar with barbershops, but a barbershop is kind of like a club. It’s kind of like an unspoken club that guys go to, or at least it should be,” Bright said.

Bright thinks his barbershop has created a space in Kitchener-Water-

loo for people who otherwise did not have a comfortable environment to receive a proper haircut.

Bright and his business partner have also started their own line of products called Spearhead. So far, they only make a couple of products including beard oils, soaps and shampoo bars, but Bright’s vision is to one day create accessible products for anyone to purchase anywhere.

“We’re [also] working on formulating pomades. We’re making pretty much anything a girl could buy at Shoppers Drug Mart or a hair salon,

but targeted towards men,” Bright said.

But Spearhead won’t just be limited to hair care products either.

“We’re going to be making stuff like face masks eventually,” Bright said. “I’ve done a face mask before and I don’t really care if people judge me for it. It’s fucking awesome. You feel really good after, so why not do that for men? Why do men need to feel like it’s taking a hit to their masculinity by using a face mask or pampering themselves?”

Bright’s line of products, the aes-

Co. will celebrate its one-year anniversary. Appointments are set up about three to four weeks in advance and business is booming.

Although Bright is clearly good at what he does, the big question still remains: how does a guy who has been cutting hair for only five years go from 150 clients to 2000 clients in just one year?

Half of it is talent, offering excellent customer service, affordable prices and just all around word of mouth. But the other half is Bright’s notable presence on social media.

As a former band member, selfpromotion through social media isn’t new to the 24-year old.

His two main social media outlets are Facebook and Instagram, but as a barber, Instagram seems to work best for sharing photos of his work.

With nearly 7,000 followers, a lot of Bright’s clients discover him through his Instagram page.

“The way I look at it is I have to sell myself. I don’t want to try too hard to sell myself. I’m not just focusing on taking photos of haircuts, I’m basically just showcasing my life,” he said.

While Bright does post photos of haircuts he does, he also posts photos of his dog and his family, making

him seem more approachable and personable online.

“I’m just taking full advantage of it. I don’t pay for any other advertising. I just use social media and it works really well.”

He uses a lot of hashtags and is constantly liking photos from other barbers around the world to give himself exposure. So far it’s working.

Altogether, Bright is making traditional barbering more accessible for a new generation.

As for the future, Bright hopes to expand his space, incorporate more barbers and see Spearhead turn into something much bigger, all of which seem like attainable goals for this motivated young barber.

“

“

thetics of his shop and his attitude as a whole are reviving traditional barbering, while also removing any stigmas that men should feel ashamed for pampering themselves.

Aside from hair, Bright also offers beard trims and shaves. He explained that straight razors offer a closer shave and less irritation than a store-bought razor. Bright explained having someone else shave your facial hair offers not only a more precise shave, but a closer shave, as well.

This week, The Bright Barbershop

HAIR IS A VERY FEMININE THING, BUT I GREW UP AROUND IT ... SINCE THE DAY I WAS BORN I’VE BEEN AROUND A HAIR SALON.

PHOTOS BY WILL HUANG/PHOTO EDITOR

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2016

• 9

Arts & Life

ARTS & LIFE EDITOR ZACH GUITOR zguitor@thecord.ca

NEW EATS IN 2016 FOOD

JESSICA DIK/FILE PHOTO

THE PUB ON KING 77 King Street North, Waterloo

ANDREAS PATSIAOUROS/PHOTO EDITOR

THE BERLIN 45 King Street West, Kitchener

KITCHENER — The culinary exploits of Jonathan Gushue have not gone unnoticed in the tri-city area. As the former executive chef of the luxurious Langdon Hall, Gushue is known to be one of Canada’s most celebrated chefs.

His recent project The Berlin, located in downtown Kitchener, is no exception to the excellence in gourmet he so consistently creates.

Gushue’s dedication to local produce is exemplified in the menu at The Berlin, which is updated every few days with modern perspectives on classic European cuisine.

As my date and I sat down, we were greeted by a friendly wait staff and a basket of freshly baked

SETTLEMENT CO. 23 King Street North, Waterloo

WATERLOO ­— The setting of your next Instagram post just opened in uptown Waterloo and it’s more than just a pretty face.

Settlement Co. rides on the coattails of its third-wave café counterparts with bright, acidic espresso and warm — not scalding hot — milkbased beverages. An antithesis to the bitter, robust standard set by the national heavyweights: Starbucks and Tim Horton’s.

Walking into Settlement Co., you are met with a dainty, eco-chic aesthetic. Fake greenery hangs above in naked grain containers, the barista stares intently as the crema flows from the porta filter, polishes his aerated milk, adjusts his beanie and meticulously ribbons an elegant latte design. A growing line of the acid-wash clad and Gregory Peck

sourdough bread, served with the restaurant’s own chive butter. For appetizers, I opted for the pear salad with fennel, carrots and poppy seeds, which was dressed with buttermilk.

This dish stood out to me as an example of how seasonal and local crops are featured on The Berlin’s menu. The use of winter vegetables and cool flavours made this dish very refreshing and its vibrant colours were contrasted with a heavy sprinkling of poppy seeds.

The standout main dish was the charred beef brisket served with leeks and parsnips. The beef almost melted in my mouth as I sampled my date’s meal and the rich smoky flavours were well complemented by the crunchiness of the grilled parsnips. The presentation was very simple, and there was little garnish to detract from the strong flavours of the brisket. For dessert, we shared the dark chocolate terrine with lavender ice cream, which was as de-

licious as it sounds. The floral notes in the ice cream complemented the richness of the terrine, which was further accented with a touch of salt.

The food was consistently delicious and demonstrated the length of thought put into every dish. The menu at The Berlin gives the impression that every detail of flavour is very deliberately selected to charm the palette of its customers. The restaurant’s decor rivals the quality of the food, as the building’s industrial foundations have been transformed with modern fixtures, ambient lighting and a dark wood floor, creating an intimate ambience perfect for romantic dinners.

The Berlin provides an upscale gourmet experience from the ground up, within a reasonable price range.

This restaurant is a fantastic place to bring that special someone for an unforgettable night.

impersonators waits patiently, weaving between the high tables and set against a wall of modern abstractions.

The clean and minimal menu hangs high from industrial chain.

And it all feels very deliberate.

Settlement’s mantra isn’t coffee — it’s aesthetic, and they do a hell of a good job.

The menu features the greatest hits — coffee, lattes, cappuccinos — but where Settlement Co. stands in clear contrast to the other third-wavers is with its “Toast Bar.” Customers have a wide selection of locally baked breads and can outfit their toast with spreads, in-house made cream cheese or with fresh veggies.

It’s a refreshing response to the unnecessarily niche and obscure food choices polluting many cafés.

The coffee at Settlement Co. is good, but it’s not for everyone. Some will say the coffee is too light or the milk isn’t hot enough, but this is all in line with third-wave trends. The generic, young coffee aficionado will tell you most coffee is over-roasted

and thus the tasting notes of the bean are lost in the burnt rubble.

Settlement Co.’s technique is certainly not mainstream, but they will continue to line patrons out the door for their beautiful yet flawed store design.

Beyond the smoke and mirrors of polyethylene leaves and wood grain is a dreadfully cramped and awkward seating area in the back half of the store. Look right and you’ll see a spacious seating area outfitted with square tables for two. But immediately to the left lies a two-level bench concept that attempts to fit the communal narrative of modern cafés, but in practice fares comparably to awkward high school bleachers. The benches feature small, square desks that are meant for your beverage or meal, but given the desks are situated below the knee, every sip or bite calls for hyperextension.

In case of injury, Settlement Co. ought to have an osteopath or attorney on site at all times.

-Max Chamberlain

-Zach Guitor

WATERLOO — I didn’t expect much going into The Pub On King, but walking away with a full belly and some money in my pocket, I can’t say I was disappointed.

Once known as Fox & Fiddle, The Pub On King offers up a walletfriendly menu and a reasonable beer list. Similar to El Furniture Warehouse in Toronto, The Pub On King has a fixed-price menu where every single item is only $5.95, with addons ranging from $1 to $2.

The menu consists mostly of standard pub items such as fish and chips, burgers, wings and nachos, along with more unique dishes like the Sheppard’s pie bites. My date and I stuck to the classics. For under $20, we shared a burger and fries, fish and chips and a plate of nachos. Now, the portion sizes aren’t huge, but you really can’t go wrong with that price.

The burger recalled the classic McDonald’s quarter-pounder, with a bland, meaty savour that only frozen beef can achieve. Tossed alongside a modest serving of fries and you’ve got a sizeable meal without the sizeable cheque. A would-be forgettable burger experience will ingrain itself

in the memories of poor students across Waterloo.

The fish and chips fared comparably to the burger. The batter was bronzed and crisp, while the ambiguous white fish flaked nicely.

Sure, it wasn’t the best fish and chips I’ve ever had — hell it wouldn’t crack my top 20 — but I can hardly complain at that price point.

The sheepish serving of nachos remained the sole disappointment of the meal. I mean they tasted fine and all, but the portion-size paled in satisfaction to other dishes. Skip these if you’re aiming to get the most value for your money.

The atmosphere at The Pub On King was surprisingly balanced and inviting. Upon hearing of the infamous “Foxy Tuesdays,” I anticipated blaring EDM and a tantamount of slurred proclamations for shots.

The main falter of the restaurant is the price for a pitcher of domestic beer. A pitcher of Canadian or Budweiser can be around $18.25, an outrageous price for a common brew.

But considering the cheap prices for food, it was expected something needed to make up for it.

The Pub has plenty of comfortable seating areas, and TVs strewn generously around the venue, making this the go-to spot for grabbing pints and watching the game in 2016.

-Zach Guitor

JESSICA DIK/LEAD PHOTOGRAPHER

10 • ARTS & LIFE

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2016

GUIDE

SATIRE

Resolutions for the lazy

IS IT TIME TO GET MY SHIT TOGETHER? START HERE:

DID YOU FAIL ANY EXAMS?

YES

N0

I RESPECT THAT

WERE THERE ANY EXTENUATING CIRCUMTANCES?

ON A SCALE OF 1 TO PIZZA, HOW UNHEALTHY IS YOUR DIET?

YES, AND I’D RATHER NOT TALK ABOUT IT

NAH, I NEED TO GET MY SHIT TOGETHER

MANIAC

UHHH, 5?

(GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER)

KALE

KALE CHIPS OR THE REAL SHIT?

DRINK OF CHOICE. FANI HSIEH/GRAPHIC ARTIST

CHIPS

THA REALEST

THAT SHIT AIN’T REAL

$2.25 SHOTS @ PHIL’S

MAX BLOUW’S POLO SWEAT

WHAT’S THE KEY TO SUCCESS? djkhaled305

GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER

“WATER”

THE CORD

KEEP DOING YOU

WORDS BY ZACH GUITOR

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NOMINATION DEADLINES Faculty/School Dean January

CTIE February

DREW YATES SPORTS EDITOR

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for your whole life, you’ve probably heard of the “New Year’s resolution,” where people avow to adopt new habits to improve their lives.

You’ve probably also realized how difficult it is to keep a New Year’s resolution, or to even make a good one.

Don’t worry — I’ve prepared a nifty guide for you to follow that will guarantee you success among all the failures.

First of all, skip the gym membership — you’ll spend all of your time bumping elbows with other “resolutioners,” fighting for the leg press to get in your monthly workout.

First of all, skip the gym membership — you’ll spend all of your time bumping elbows with other “resolutioners.”

Everybody gets a gym membership in their spur-of-the-moment realization that they want to better themselves, but a time-starved student has more important things to do. Leave the membership to all the other go-getters and carve your own path. Besides, five minutes of trudging through snow up to your knees should be enough to keep you in shape.

Instead, start using the money you received over the holidays for something more beneficial: food. And what better place to start than your local McDonald’s for that Big Mac you’ve been craving since Christmas.

They’re open 24 hours a day for a reason.

If that doesn’t suit your fancy, there are tons of other fast food establishments nearby that can satisfy your cravings. Besides, going to the grocery store is too much of a hassle, especially in the dead of winter when it’s -30 degrees and you can’t see 10 feet in front of you.

You’d also want to get a head start on your classes, so arriving at least 45 minutes late to every lecture will guarantee the professor will get to know you by name. After all, professors tend to give good grades to students who make a lasting impression.

Arriving 45 minutes late to every lecture will guarantee the professor will get to know you by name.

Don’t bother showing up to the midterms though, the 2016 version of you simply has no time to write them. Instead, get your exams deferred so you can procrastinate as much as possible until the final exam, which will give you enough time to pester your classmates for the lecture material for all the notes you can’t be bothered to take.

Don’t forget to get your priorities straight and go out every single night — a social butterfly like you needs to keep yourself educated in the party scene, and with the next cohort of students celebrating their rise to legality, what better time to check out the local bar scene? After all, Waterloo isn’t a university town for nothing.

Whether you want to stay low-key and hang out with a few friends, invite your entire floor out for a night of drinks or if you’re just drunk and looking for a good time, Waterloo has a bar for that. After all, going out every night keeps you in the loop of all the happenings in university culture.

So now that you’ve doubled the “freshman 15” goal, built up an incredible alcohol tolerance and set your academic career on fire in only a months’ time, it seems fitting to watch as your entire life crumbles right in front of you. But no need to freak out just yet. After all, university is a four-year project — or however long you want it to be — and you have plenty of time to figure out your plan for the rest of your university career.

Academic probation is not the end of the world and you have more than enough time to make the same mistakes all over again. You aren’t supposed to have your act together.

GAMES • 11`

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2016

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, should be no longer than 100 words and must be addressed to your life. Submissions are not edited. Submissions can be sent to dearlife@thecord.ca no later than Monday at noon each week.

Dear Life, So, according to my profs, I’m supposed to put in at least three hours of studying a week for each hour I’m in class. It’s like a vigorous full time job, they say, but I can’t remember the last time I worked 60+ hours a week at a job. But don’t forget to get enough sleep, exercise, socialize and participate in campus activities! Oh, and I should probably go grocery shopping and find time to cook. I just need to work eight hours a day, every day, and then put in an extra six hours somewhere, at the very least.

And who needs a real job to pay for university? Not us! We have a vigorous full time job already.

Sincerely, I don’t get overtime Dear Golden Hawks, I know this semester may have been difficult for some of you. But keep your head up, whatever is going on in your life, it will get better. I promise. Because you matter, and the work you do matters and someone notices.

Sincerely, Fellow Golden Hawk <3

Dear Life, I don’t want to be a full functioning adult going to work every day and doing real work things and stuff.

Sincerely, I DON’T WANNA BE TOLD TO GROW UPPPPPP Dear Star Wars, I am in love with Rey and I thank you for her continued presence in future films.

Sincerely, I didn’t fall asleep during the movie because of her Dear Water Bottles, The way you contain water for portable use is so admirable … the way you selflessly sacrifice your life to serve those who need to transport water for daily use is just … you are a gift.

Sincerely, Thirsty fella Dear Life, Apparently it is inappropriate to refer to your room as your masterbatorium when leaving the table at Christmas Dinner Sincerely, flicked beans were not on the menu Dear Life, People are dumb. They need to be less dumb.

Sincerely, Dumbasses.

Dear Adele, I never want to hear your song again.

Sincerely, Hello, it’s me, I’ve been wondering if after all these years you’d like to leave

THERE’S PLENTY MORE ONLINE thecord.ca

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We’re looking for 175+ dynamic staff to join our team!

VISIT

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12 •

Editorial

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2016 OPINION EDITOR MITCHELL CONSKY mconsky@thecord.ca

Gender should not play a role in athlete recognition Through broadcasted interviews, media coverage, athlete marketing and general speculation, there is an undeniable division between the reception of male and female sports.

On the global stage, men seem to constantly be stealing the spotlight while female athletes are often overlooked and disregarded in the roaring thunder of competitive sport.

Does this divide derive from gender generalizations? Does it come from a marketing appeal? Or is the world’s overarching interest for male athletes a mere result of overpowering performance?

At Wilfrid Laurier University, we too have an unbalanced appreciation for male and female sports.

When it comes to selling out University Stadium on Homecoming or stacking the stands during basketball games, men’s teams tend to be the go-to.

As a media organization, we too are guilty of supplying more coverage to male teams than their female counterparts.

But this truth does not pay tribute to the incredible efforts of the women athletes and their honourable success as Golden Hawks.

Year after year at Laurier, women’s teams rapidly excel, often more

so than their male counterparts.

Women’s basketball was nationally ranked last season for their exceptional performance while women’s hockey and women’s soccer have been consistent contenders at the national level.

The list of accomplishments goes on.

Female athletes continue to perform above standards at all levels — beyond the scope of our university — but they are being under-appreciated with minimal audiences and media attention.

Considering men’s hockey can barely make it into the playoffs, men’s basketball’s lack of defence often prevents them from making it out of the round robin and consistent disappointments on the gridiron, field and court, recognition has not always given where it is due.

One gender is not “better at sports” than the other. But this one-sided attention creates an uneven playing field that needs to be changed.

The global stage should make changes that can be replicated at the university level and proper appreciation for all genders and all athletes should be given. Gender shouldn’t be a barrier to observing excellence.

Liberal’s unsurprising failure to complete the impossible After abandoning their original campaign promise of bringing in 25,000 Syrian refugees, the Liberal government reduced this goal to bringing in the more plausible aim of 10,000 before the start of January. Well, another promise stands broken as Canada’s Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister, John McCallum, publically announced Thursday that just over 6,000 refugees arrived towards the end of 2015.

The Liberal government is doing everything they can to maintain their promise — despite how unrealistic it initially was. As quoted in an article published by The Globe and Mail, Mr. McCallum said the following: “I would say we largely met our promises. We identified 25,000 as committed. We have fully processed over 10,000 by the end of the year, as promised. We will certainly deliver 25,000 refugees by the end of February. The only discrepancy is a delay of two weeks in welcoming the first 10,000 refugees to our shores.”

The process of bringing in refugees is meticulous. It is no easy fix — there is no easy stamp of a passport granting each Syrian

entrance through a teleportation portal. There are forms that need to be approved, interviews that need to be held, backgrounds that need to be monitored and details that need to be carefully assessed before long flights are scheduled. Perhaps this demanding process was overlooked amongst the party’s initial promises.

However, the fact they are doing everything they can and taking notable steps towards making their fairy tale a reality should at least reassure Canadians the Liberal word is not being forgotten.

Justin Trudeau is a visionary — an innovative mind that steps out of the restricted box of political boundaries Stephen Harper rested in for 10 years. He is willing to take bold actions, even promise unlikely goals, to carry out the vision he was elected for. The refugee settlement is a work in progress with current achievements that are actually impressive on the grand scale of realism.

Overall, Canada’s new prime minister should not be shunned for failing to sprinkle pixie dust — he should be shunned for thinking he’s Peter Pan.

These unsigned editorials are based off informal discussions and then agreed upon by the majority of The Cord’s editorial board, including the Editor-inChief and Opinion Editor. The arguments made may reference any facts that have been made available through interviews, documents or other sources.

The views presented do not necessarily reflect those of The Cord’s volunteers, staff or WLUSP.

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

WLUSP ADMINISTRATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS CHAIR Bryan Stephens VICE-CHAIR Abdiasis Issa DIRECTOR Rafey Sattar DIRECTOR John Pehar

DIRECTOR Tom Lillo

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PRESIDENT Bryan Stephens president@wlusp. com FINANCE MANAGER Randy Moore randy@rcmbrooks. com ADVERTISING MANAGER Caroline Schummer care.schummer@ wlusp.com

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Lakyn Barton lakyn.barton@ wlusp.com HR MANAGER/ CORPORATE SECRETARY Emily Crump hr@wlusp.com

JOSHUA AWOLADE/CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Silencing negativity Ignoring the voice that says you are not good enough

DREW YATES SPORTS EDITOR

It was the last time I heard her voice.

It was June of 2014. I was six months into becoming financially independent and I remember being on the cusp of losing everything. My phone was about to be disconnected, I had barely enough cash to make rent for the next month and bills were piling on.

A job was on its way — I was hired to work at a fast food restaurant, but wasn’t starting until the next month.

The shallow amount of money I accumulated at my last job nearly dissipated. And the job wasn’t coming quick enough.

So, in a moment of weakness, I asked for help — and paid for it.

During the call I apologized for “being a dick” even though I felt I was in the right the entire time. If I were to survive, I had to put my pride behind me and ask for help.

So I did. I apologized for becoming financially independent.

I said I could have handled the situation better, that I was stubborn and didn’t know she was trying to help me.The result was 30 minutes of mental abuse that left my brain scarred. I was called an alcoholic and an asshole, among other hurtful things. That I would never live up to anything and I wouldn’t last a month being financially on my own,

and here I was calling her. That I was probably working some fast food joint trying to make ends meet.

That I wasn’t considered to be her son anymore and that I was a failure.

Finally, after asking what my motivations were, I told her to “have a good night” and I hung up the phone. In retrospect, she needed that. She needed that closure to get everything off her chest for the six months since our last confrontation.

But the repercussions that occurred afterwards — the counselling sessions, the psychiatrist appointment, the diagnosis, left scars that haven’t healed, even a year and a half later.They say time heals everything, but I’m still waiting.

I feel like I’m split into two versions — the logical, more adjusted side that can see through the illusions, and the irrational, drastic side jumping from both extremes and heightening my emotions to believe it’s either one side or the other. Very happy versus very sad without much in between.

You either love the people in your life or you absolutely despise them — it flips like a light switch. I can’t help but watch when my mind and I come together as one when it believes something so much that it becomes real. It’s overwhelming, to say the least. Fighting with mental health is like waging a war on yourself that never ends and has no survivors.

There are only small victories and adjustments while the enemy finds out what works versus what makes it worse. I jump from one extreme to the other in a snap of a finger in an attempt to control my emo-

No matter what the voice in your head tells you, it’s important to not let it define who you are.

tions. I struggle to adapt and silence the voice that tells me everything I shouldn’t believe.

For me, it’s a constant battle between reality and fantasy. A battle that requires seeing through the smoke and mirrors to deter the voice on the other end speaking to my shattered self-esteem.

The voice that came as a result of all the inflicted scars. The voice that resonates loudly in times of depression or when I’m overwhelmed.

No matter what the voice in your head tells you, it’s important to not let it define who you are. It comes in many forms, and blocking the voice is a process that requires mental strength and resillience to relinquish. Some can rid of it completely, while others resort to dealing with it by trying to quiet its whispers.The voice in my head made a home and never left. The voice that constantly tells me I’m never going to live up to anything and that I should give up.

The voice that misdirects me and constantly tells me I’m a failure.

It’s the voice on the other end of the line.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2016

Opinion

• 13 OPINION EDITOR MITCHELL CONSKY mconsky@thecord.ca

Is scholarly credibility holding us back?

MITCHELL CONSKY OPINION EDITOR

A while back, I was having a standard philosophical conversation with my roommates. No, we weren’t all baked out of our ovens. Most of us were completely sober.

Like many philosophical conversations go, the arguments spiraled from one topic to another in a vortex of linked ideas. One second we were talking about what defines consciousness, the next we were talking about if computer software can have what constitutes as a level of “thinking.” Finally we were off debating the essence of free will. Nothing a bunch of university students haven’t discussed at the end of a Thursday night with a few empty pizza boxes crowded around the couch.

As the clock hit four and the thought of waking up for classes was non-existent, we realized a flaw in the system of academics.

First, the typical question surfaced: “Is humanity innately good?”

Relax — I’m not going to be addressing this widely considered question, and this won’t be turning into some glorified philosophy lecture either.

After registering the question, instead of immediately drawing my own thought, I did what academics have trained students to do whenever asked a provoking question: I delved into the pool of my education.

“Well, it depends on what ‘good’ is,” I said. “You would have to consider what morality falls under. Are we talking Bentham’s theory of utilitarianism? Kant’s theory of deontology? Aristotle’s ideas of responsibility and achieving ultimate happiness, blah blah blah.”

Here’s the problem with my response.

Through the pressures of academics, we have been trained to think through the lenses of other minds.

Obviously our thought process is limited to what we are capable of perceiving — in order to develop knowledge, it needs to be acquired through being exposed to current facts. But students are conditioned to articulate theories, internalize what those theories represent and then intuitively jump to conclusions on the trampoline of information available.

Often, it seems we are forced to conform to the system of credibility, where we believe the only way to have trust in our own thinking is to pull out a quote in a textbook that supports the claim. Is this wrong?

I believe the greatest ideas derive from a level of theorist exploration — considering multiple academic arguments and then concluding with your own interpretation, essentially keeping you on track while aboard your train of thought.

Some of the greatest academic ideas are driven forward with the vehicle of academic discussion.

So are we wrong to dismiss thoughts that do not carry some scholarly credibility?

Before getting lost in the search of other philosophers, I intend to say this: “Out of all the theories, I think

FANI HSIEH/GRAPHIC ARTIST

I agree with Aristotle and Bentham the most, but I also understand some components of Kant’s deontology in terms of applying consequence to a universal scale.”

But this response continues to feed the problem.

Yes, I am saying what I think and the theories aren’t speaking entirely for me, but I’m not rocketing my thinking without the launching pad of long-gone philosophers who’ve spent their entire drunken lives stressing about the debate I had been having with my roommates over one night.

The structure for an argument, at least according to my philosophy textbook, is as follows: claim, logical premise and conclusion.

Society has a level of expecta-

tion when it comes to this form of argumentation. We need sources to back up our claim, we need real life examples to support our logic and we need pre-existing theories to calculate our conclusion.

As the Opinion Editor of The Cord, I am continuously exposed to what makes a piece well-argued and which ones use vague generalizations to support some foggy outlook.

Naturally, as society demands, the best argument comes from personal experience with the interpretation of one or more secondary sources.

However, does the need for credibility in every scholarly essay, exam and project limit our level of thinking to what has already been thought?

Is the need to academically source our logic diluting what we are trying

to say?

Are our minds constricted to this demand of academic evidence to the point where we are holding ourselves back?

Or is the inclusion of other theories simply cooking our claims into something that can be easier digested by those of the academic community?

Every claim needs some source.

That’s just how logic works. Whether the source is scholarly, based on experience or even just some general intuition, you need to have a basis of understanding to link one idea to another.

But the conditioned need for academic credibility should neither compromise nor invade the inception of a thought.

Sometimes a realization can break through the realm of what is supported and it should never be shutdown just because there’s no dead guy backing it up in a textbook.

Simply put, while pondering the world’s toughest questions, we shouldn’t only be looking backwards while attempting to accelerate forward.

Assessing the rear-view mirror is important, but we must also remember to keep our eyes on the road ahead.

And for those of you who are still itching for some respected theorist to jump into my claim in order to nod your head with the slightest trace of agreement, I’ll leave you with this: “The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge, but imagination,” — a quote by Albert Einstein.

According to my sources, that guy’s fairly credible.

14 • OPINION

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2016

Gun violence: a public health issue?

DON MORGENSON COMMUNITY CONTRIBUTOR

Daily, threats of nuclear war, bioterrorism, Ebola and other diseases are very real in our world, but most Americans are apparently unaware of another disease of epidemic proportions.

This epidemic is firearms and guns that have aspects which make a disease metaphor appropriate.

Accepting this fact, the United States Center for Disease Control collected vital data regarding gun violence some time back — that is until the government took its funding away, thanks to pressure exerted by the anti-gun control groups.

More recent events make discussions about guns an absolute necessity: 353 mass shootings occured in America within the recent 336 days.

And even with the recent horror in California, according to the New York Times, Black Friday gun sales left the FBI processing 185,345 firearm background checks, the most ever in a single day.

With so many guns in homes along quiet residential streets of the United States, it comes as no surprise that some see gun violence as a crisis in public health.

With any disease, the first look is at the “presenting symptoms.” Since the mid-1960s, more than a million Americans have died from firearm suicides, homicides and accidental injuries. By comparison, in a year where more than 30,000 Americans died by gunfire, the number in Germany was 1,164.

Here in Canada the number was 1,034. In Australia — 391. In England and Wales it was 211 and in Japan, the total was 83.

Such a “cluster analysis” is startling. And how does this “disease” spread?

Gun manufacturers pursue greater technological innovation and profits have increased the lethality of firearms. American gun merchants produce about 4.2 million new guns per year, the most popular being the “pocket rocket” pistol, “palm-sized for easy concealment.”

The Chicago Tribune recently estimated the number of “pocket rockets” found at crime scenes nationwide has tripled in the past few years.

And while other potentially lethal products are regulated, firearms are not.

Figures of gun sales are rarely given to the public and gun manufacturers are exempt by federal law from standard health and safety regulations, which are routinely applied to many other consumer products considered “dangerous” by the public. Estimates suggest that 10 or

more children die from gun-related incidents every day in America. The CDC once analyzed firearms-related deaths in 26 countries, for children under the age of 15 and reported 86 per cent of all firearm deaths of children occurred in the United States.

Were any of us to think of gun violence as a viral, fungal, or bacterial infection — killing any of the world’s children — there would likely be a huge outcry. The gun lobbyists love to cite the second US Constitutional Amendment as a smokescreen hiding such embarrassing facts. A gun kept at home, supposedly in self-defence, is 22 times more likely to be used to kill a family member or friend than an intruder. The presence of a gun in the home triples the risk of homicide and increases the risk of suicide five-fold.

Epidemiology is the study of a specific disease — its symptoms, its distribution in a population, possible causes, always in hopes of finding a “cure.” Current, consistent and credible data are at the heart of epidemiology.

Dr. William Osler, one of the giants of modern medicine proposed using preventive medicine to fight serious public health threats such as typhus, malaria and yellow fever.

The tools Dr. Osler urged were education, organization and cooperation among all concerned groups.

These same tools must be used to remove the public health threat of gun violence from wider society.

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With an estimated 270 million civilian-owned guns, the US is out of control.

Healing with new resolutions ABIGAIL BARRETT OPINION COLUMNIST

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The Danish author Soren Kierkegaard once said, “Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards.”

As we move forward in the new year, there is no harm reflecting on our past mistakes in order to make amends for the future.

2015 proved an eventful year, one to which many can attest to struggles and pain.

Sadly, it did not come as a surprise that after the Paris attacks in November, the world was once again in disarray.

An episode of pain and struggle was repeated, but this time the world looked through a different window.

Thousands were grieving and showing condolences and sympathies in numerous ways.

Facebook peaked its usage by allowing users to change their Facebook profile pictures with France’s national flag.

The trending hashtag on Twitter and Instagram was #PrayforParis.

Social media was more than present throughout this time of fear.

As much as I’d love to point out that these were far more commercial spikes than they were humanitarian, I must refrain from making this about business.

Instead, let’s look at what had spawned from the dreadful attacks that shook the world in more ways than one and how we don’t just move past it, but how we heal from it.

While thousands of people worldwide extended their deepest condolences and sympathies, others watched and murmured about the

Let us move towards a world where no one pain is greater and treated as more important than another.

alleged racist ideals behind it.

The remainder watched and scolded them in disdain on the basis that it happens every day elsewhere in places like Beirut and Syria.

I read an article by Safi Omali and I could not have said it better, so I won’t.

Omali said, “Instead of being conflict or war mongers or preservalists let us be harbingers of change, agents of healing.”

Let us move towards a world where no one pain is greater and treated as more important than another.

Let us look within ourselves to be the hope for the future, to dwell not on selfishness and past experiences, but to want to make the world better, by being our best selves.

Not comparing with contempt the pain that others feel, not weighing our setbacks against another’s but by helping each other to heal for the future.

It is up to us to be the agents of healing. Left opened, a wound easily turns into a sore.

We all have been scarred by different experiences, we all hurt but let us choose healing.

So as you make your new year’s resolutions, instead of focusing solely on materialistic things, remember the simple things they taught us in kindergarten — be kind, be respectful, be polite and love one another.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2016

Sports

• 15 SPORTS EDITOR DREW YATES dyates@thecord.ca

FOOTBALL

The benefits of a policy for recruiting WILL HUANG/FILE PHOTO

JOSH PETERS STAFF WRITER

Canadian university football has always been the inferior little brother to its southern neighbour.

In the NCAA, the stage is brighter, schools are bigger and opportunities are greater. If a recruit has exceptional talent, they usually won’t find themselves on a gridiron north of the border. So when a top prospect walks away from a Division One school and heads north to the Canadian Interuniverity Sport league, it starts to turn some heads.

At the end of the 2014-15 season, the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds men’s football team had won just eight games in a combined three seasons.

But in the 2015 season, the Thunderbirds won the Vanier Cup with an 11-2 record.

The Thunderbirds were led by the stellar play of former Penn State University quarterback, Michael O’Connor.

After the season’s conclusions, details began to emerge regarding the circumstances that led O’Connor to make the decision to join the Thunderbirds. It was clear the Thunderbirds took advantage of the CIS’s self-policing, vague and unclear recruiting policy.

Without explicitly breaking any recruiting violations, UBC was able to take O’Connor to a Seattle Seahawks game — his favorite team — and arrange a dinner with NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon.

O’Connor was also given a job at the Aquilini Investment Group, a financial services company whose president is a UBC alumni, who has also previously given donations to the football program. This also did

not break any rules set by the CIS. These actions gave reason for the league and its head coaches to review its recruiting policy and as of this past December, began to impose stricter regulations. These ensure preferential treatment is not given to recruits with regards to employment and wages, among other rules.

Wilfrid Laurier University football coach Michael Faulds is glad to see the rules starting to come into effect.

“Everyone should strive to be as good as they can be, but there’s got to be some set of guidelines,” he said.

“I think that’s what these recruiting rules are trying to do, is put a set of guidelines that everyone can abide to, no matter how big or small your football budget is, no matter how many coaches you have — there’s some guidelines that everyone can follow.”

Faulds also recognized how diffi-

cult it was to get all coaches on board with the regulations and realizes that it is impossible to please everyone.

“27 head coaches supported it and obviously you can tell by how many drafts there were that there was a lot of deliberating, going over every single rule. It’d be false for anyone to say that they agree to 100 per cent of the rules,” he explained. “I think that we all recognized that it’s good for the sport.”

Another aim of the regulations to come will target alumni donations. One of the largest reasons for the lack of parity in the CIS has been the level of alumni donations given to football programs across the country. Those with larger alumni backings have come to dominate the game, while smaller schools tend to lose out.

As a smaller school look to compete, Faulds believes alumni are

vital to helping the Golden Hawks’ football program grow.

“I would say here at Laurier it is crucial to have alumni support.

That’s why we do the golf tournaments, that’s why we do the Laurier football corporate dinner. We’re obviously one of the smaller schools that plays football in Ontario, but we’ve got a strong tradition and a winning tradition,” he said.

As the league continues to sort out its policies, Faulds looks forward to one of his best recruiting classes in years — and it didn’t cost him any Seahawks tickets.

“2015 was by far the best we’ve had in a while so we’re looking to keep that momentum into 2016,” Fauld said.

“We’ve had nine or 10 outstanding commits so far and it should close out what should be just as good if not better recruiting class here.”

16 • SPORTS

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2016

EQUALITY

HOCKEY

All-star status WLU alum makes CWHL roster

Closing the gap between men’s and women’s sports SHELBY BLACKLEY EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

When Peter Baxter came to Wilfrid Laurier University in 1998, the institution was a football school.

Funds, time and dedication were put entirely to build the men’s football program. It wasn’t because the department of athletics and recreation weren’t trying; it was because football was where the money was.

But when Baxter was hired, he wanted to dedicate himself to the entire program — and all genders for excellence in sport.

“We needed to compete on other levels,” Baxter said. “We started off in those days to hire a full-time coach and athletic director, and [a women’s basketball coach] … and then we hired Peter Campbell, the men’s [basketball] coach because we wanted to compete in basketball.”

Why basketball? You could find interest in the community.

And then came hockey — both men’s and women’s teams began to evolve as Baxter continued building the Golden Hawk program. Changes to the facility were made because the women’s locker room was a third of the size of the men’s locker room, and resources weren’t the same.

“To me, they are just atWomhletes.

They are all student-athletes and they are all high-performance athletes, and I didn’t want to distinguish between a football athlete and a swimmer, or a female hockey player and a male hockey player,” Baxter said. “They are two different teams, but I want to make sure they are treated equitably through.”

Fast forward to today and the Laurier program has an equal amount of men’s and women’s varsity sports with seven teams each and four co-ed programs. But the level of performance, marketing, funding and outcomes can vary based on gender.

In its history, Laurier has 67 provincial championships and 13 national championships. Women’s teams have won seven of those 13 national banners. But in recent years, since Baxter joined, women have excelled past their male counterparts, claiming 32 provincial or national championships compared to 12 from men’s varsity teams.

“Part of the success of the women’s program is that our vision of the program is to make sure that, if we’re going to offer an excellent program, be it male or female, that we’re going to offer it at the highest level that we can,” Baxter said.

But funding continues to be skewed. According to the Canadian Interuniversity Sport athletic financial awards report, Laurier provided 287 student-athletes with an athletic scholarship. 57 per cent of those who received an award were male athletes, while 43 per cent of women athletes received scholarships.

Additionally, because of the size and money needed to run the program, football continues to be the largest portion of a varsity budget.

Overall in the CIS, 1581 studentathletes participating in football

LENA YANG/CREATIVE DIRECTOR

received a scholarship, amounting to approximately $2,416,235 of the total $15,981,189 given to student-athletes at member institutions.

So what are the differences that the audience or marketers see in the women’s and men’s game that may make one favourable over the other?

Paul Falco, head coach of the women’s basketball team at Laurier, has coached both men’s and women’s basketball at the university level. He said he hasn’t found a huge difference in the coaching styles aside from men being bigger, faster and stronger. But in terms of style of play, both games are very similar.

To Falco, women catching up to their male counterparts is an irrelevant term.

“I don’t believe the women’s game is competing against the men’s game,” he said. “The women’s game is a solid product and there is currently a lot of interest in Canada around basketball … the future is bright for the sport in this country, for both the men’s and women’s game.”

Rick Osborne, head coach of the women’s hockey team since 2003, said a lot of it could do with the size and strength of the teams the audience are watching. The physicality of the game is different between men’s and women’s hockey — shots are harder and players are bigger in men’s hockey, which makes it hard to compare.

“The fans love the size, speed

and physicality of the men’s game,” Osborne said. “A women’s game looks good from ice level when two good teams are playing, but from up top in a large venue, it can look slow because of the size.”

“There are fans of the women’s game, but smaller in quantity.”

Fans, and ergo interest, also come from media coverage. A study done by the University of Southern California in June 2015 found coverage of women’s sports has barely budged in a quarter-century in the United States despite dramatic increases in the number of women participating in different levels of sports. Los Angeles-based network affiliates devote only 3.2 per cent of airtime to women’s sports, down from five per cent in 1989. The same can be said about Canadian news.

“A very small percentage … a very solid, small percentage of any coverage is of women’s sport. It’s all male.

Very male dominated,” Baxter said.

“We need more coverage in women’s sport. We need an entire generation watching the sport, playing, building up to it.”

This challenge continues to be one of the main issues women’s teams deal with. The Silhouette, McMaster University’s student newspaper, critiqued their own coverage from Sept.

2014 to Feb. 5, 2015. They published 43 articles on men’s teams, 20 on women’s and seven on “mixed” or both genders.

Between May 2014 and April

2015, The Cord published 61 stories about men’s teams, 42 stories about women’s and nine stories including both genders.

“I think one of the challenges we’ve had, even in the the entire university sport [community] is getting university sport out there,” Baxter said.

“It’s the best kept secret of entertainment … We’ve got to do our part to engage, but there’s got to be just as much coverage on it.”

Osborne feels there is “great support” at Laurier for student-athletes and administration and coaches feel good about that.

But from a coach’s perspective, the support needs to be leveraged with a focus on student-athlete performance as well.

Baxter, Falco and Osborne agreed Laurier has the ability to produce “world class athletes,” but it needs the resources for both men and women to continue to grow.

“World class athletes and successful teams will have no trouble adding value to the department and the university and that is how we ‘catch up’ and stay relative, especially in challenging budget times,” Osborne said.

And above all, it’s important for Laurier to maintain a competitive level for its women’s teams.

“The main thing is that we can compete,” Baxter said.

-With files from Killian Cuppage and Drew Yates

DREW YATES SPORTS EDITOR

Candice Styles, Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawk women’s hockey alumna and current defender on the Brampton Thunder, was selected among her teammates to play in the Canadian Women’s Hockey League all-star game, which will take place in Toronto later this month.

Styles played for the Golden Hawks for five seasons before moving into the CWHL and playing her first season with the Brampton Thunder before she became one of 34 highcalibre athletes to participate in the second annual CWHL all-star game.

“I’m still speechless about it. I was amazed. I’m speechless and I’m honoured to be a part of this and especially my teammates involved,” Styles said.

“It’s just an honour to be part of the 34 selected.”

While at Laurier, Styles collected a ton of accolades, including three Ontario University Athletics championship banners and multiple Canadian Interuniversity Sport all-star nominations, including first-team, secondteam and the all-rookie team.

According to Styles, it was difficult to rank playing in the all-star game next to her many other accolades because it was such a huge honour to play with her teammates.

Women’s hockey bench boss Rick Osborne at Laurier had his eye on Styles and was grateful she chose Laurier over all of the other offers she had on the table both in and out of the country.

According to Osborne, Styles was an asset due to her flexibility and ability to play both forward and defence.

“It was important to me because of her skill set, and number two she was always flexible. I was always able to recruit the absolute best players when she was with me, because she could play forward or D. She was willing to play the position,” he said.

“So we recruited her.”

According to Osborne, Styles lightened her training in her second and third year before picking up momentum again going into her final two years.

He was impressed about Styles’ motivation to continue training after Laurier to make it to the CWHL. “It was not easy for her to train as hard as she did. Doing what she did in years four and five, and doing what she’s doing in the CWHL, that is really good on Candice because that is not an easy regimen and now she’s trying to do the job, do the training at that level is amazing,” he said.

Osborne recalled that during playoff time, opponents knew to focus in on her because she liked to carry the puck often, which contributed to her growth as a player as she learned how to be a team player.

Ultimately, incorporating a more team-focused game benefited Styles in her fourth year, when she reached the highest pinnacle of Laurier awards when she became the 2014 recipient of the President’s Award, given to the most outstanding athletic performance from two athletes, male and female, over the year.

“She went through a lot of things that she had to do to be a good team player also, and she lasted five years and really went out of here on top of awards with the President’s award.

Making a world-class athlete in our process,” Osborne said.

“When you have a player with that real talent, it’s going to be a waste if you don’t get the best out of them.”