March 9, 2016

LAURIER’S PLACE IN THE COSMOS

New astronomy course to be introduced this spring News, page 3

LENA YANG/CREATIVE DIRECTOR, WILL HUANG/PHOTO EDITOR

AN INDIGENOUS DISCUSSION

‘I COULD HAVE DONE BETTER’

IDENTITY IN THE SPOTLIGHT

‘YOU CAN’T SAY THAT’

MOVING UP RANK

Aboriginal initiatives at the forefront

A look at how much grades matter

What does Waterloo’s art identity look like?

Is political correctness bad for discussions?

Football recruiting class ranks high

News, page 5

Features, page 8-9

Arts & Life, page 11

Opinion, page 13

Sports, page 15

2 •

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2016

VOCAL CORD What course would you want offered at Laurier?

@cordnews

The Cord

CordNews

@cordwlusp

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

“A course on the basics of life, like taxes and leases.”

–Melinda Woitzik, secondyear business

JESSICA DIK/LEAD PHOTOGRAPHER

Aboriginal Awareness Week is happening on Laurier’s campus. Pictured is the teepee in the Quad as Wilfrid Laurier’s statue looks on. Irony? Maybe.

The Cord’s new Chief

“A sports media course.”

–Justin Cheema, first-year health sciences

“I would want a life skills class.”

–Jessie Snyder, fourth-year global studies

Congratulations to Features Editor Bethany Bowles, who has been hired as Editor-in-Chief for the 2016-17 year!

Want to be part of Bethany’s team?

Email her at bbowles@thecord.ca

“A P.E. course.”

–Shahzeb Khan, secondyear business

WE ONLY HAVE THREE ISSUES LEFT! “A gymnastics tumbling course.”

–Marta Wilimowski, firstyear psychology Compiled by Maddy Cutts Photos by Jessica Dik NEXT ISSUE: MARCH 16, 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 NEWS EDITOR Kaitlyn Severin kseverin@thecord.ca

GOT A NEWS TIP?

editor@thecord.ca

NEWS EDITOR Erika Ymana eymana@thecord.ca

PHOTO EDITOR Will Huang whuang@thecord.ca

FEATURES EDITOR Bethany Bowles bbowles@thecord.ca

VIDEO EDITOR Brian Phillips bphillips@thecord.ca

ARTS & LIFE EDITOR Zach Guitor zguitor@thecord.ca

LEAD REPORTER Maddy Cutts mcutts@thecord.ca

OPINION EDITOR Mitchell Consky mconsky@thecord.ca

LEAD PHOTOGRAPHER Jessica Dik jdik@thecord.ca

SPORTS EDITOR Drew Yates dyates@thecord.ca

SENIOR COPY EDITOR Caitlyn Sageman csageman@thecord.ca

GRAPHICS EDITOR Fani Hsieh fhsieh@thecord.caW

SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR Kira Gelbard kgelbard@thecord.ca

PHOTO EDITOR Andreas Patsiaouros apatsiaouros@thecord.ca

Bag O’ Crime Location: 345 King St. N. Reported: Monday, February 29, 2016 @ 10:00 p.m.

SCS officers responded to a fire alarm at the student residence where a fire alarm pull station had been activated intentionally without cause. SCS investigated and identified a 19-year old first-year student responsible for the alarm.

The student was arrested and charged pursuant to the Criminal Code of Canada with False Alarm of Fire. Restitution will be sought for the costs associated with the alarm. *Note: SCS has a zero tolerance approach to offences of this nature and anyone found to be responsible will be fully prosecuted.

Location: Library Reported: Monday, February 29, 2016 @ 3:59 p.m.

SCS officers responded to the University Library after receiving a complaint from a staff member about a female that was soliciting students for money. Officers attended and completed a check of the building with negative results.

CCTV cameras will be checked in an attempt to identify the suspect.

Suspect Descriptors: Female, Asian ethnicity, mid-30s, slightly tanned skin tones Location: 232 King St. N. Reported: Thursday, March 3, 2016 @ 12:24 a.m.

A 22-year old female (nonstudent), Brampton resident was issued a Provincial Offence Notice by a SCS officer pursuant to Waterloo’s Public Nuisance By-law for the offence of urination. She had been spotted on CCTV cameras committing the offence on the north side of the building that houses the SCS offices.

CONTRIBUTORS

EDITOR’S CHOICE:

Rebecca Allison Jyott Bhatti Paige Bush Hayley Colussi Justine Falconi Safina Husein Daniel Johnson Alexandra Juraschka Brigitte Kloss Heather McLeod Christian Paron Saheba Segu Aliaa Sidawi Fatima Soomro Jordan Soufian Caroline Spicer Philip Su

Laurier: A space odyssey by Lena Yang

EDITOR’S CHOICE ONLINE: What are the fines? St. Patrick’s Day infographic

by Fani Hsieh

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

Location: Sunview St. Reported: Thursday, March 3, 2016 @ 1:43 p.m.

A SCS officer on mobile patrol discovered some property damage to a Laurier owned building at the dead-end of Sunview St. Waterloo.

Person(s) unknown had jammed a piece of wood through the aluminum siding of a structure housing Physical Resources (Grounds) equipment. There is no CCTV camera footage available. A work order was sent to Physical Resources.

Location: Dr. Alvin Woods Building Reported: Sunday, March 6, 2016 @ 3:32 a.m.

Two female Laurier students were accosted by an unknown male in the Concourse. He appeared to have been under the influence of alcohol/drugs. The girls had been studying at a table where the male sat down and helped himself to some of their takeout food. He was rambling incoherently. He stated he could have sex with any 18-year old whenever he wanted.

No attempt was made to accost the girls physically or threaten them.

He was gone upon the arrival of the attending officer. Photos of the suspect were forwarded to UW and WRPS to assist in a possible identification.

Suspect Descriptors: Male, Caucasian, mid to late twenties, medium build, 185 lbs. 6’, fair complexion, dark brown hair, full beard, wearing a black baseball cap with red logo on the front, black jacket, black shirt, grey pants with pant legs rolled up to mid calf, red socks, black runners and wearing a black backpack.

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: “Can you blame me? Well she’s underage now, you can actually blame me.”

- Creative Director Joshua Awolade about Kim Possible

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2016

News

• 3 NEWS EDITOR KAITLYN SEVERIN kseverin@thecord.ca

NEWS EDITOR ERIKA YMANA eymana@thecord.ca

ACADEMIA

Laurier: A space odyssey PHILIP SU/GRAPHIC ARTIST

Wilfrid Laurier University to introduce new course on space and planetary sciences in the spring LENA YANG CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Wilfrid Laurier University’s department of physics and computer science will be delving a little deeper into astronomy with a new course, PC310B, on space and planetary science starting in the spring.

The course will be an addition to the two astronomy courses that currently exist at Laurier: AS101, an introductory course to the science of astronomy and AS102 which develops and expands upon the content covered in AS101.

PC310B will build on what is covered in AS101 and explore the solar system neighbourhood with more depth and detail.

“This is a course that can be taken by people in all faculties like math, chemistry, physics because it will be light on the side

of mathematics,” explained Ioannis Haranas, an adjunct professor with the department of physics and computer science.

“It’s for everybody, basically, because the prerequisite is astronomy 101, which everybody takes.”

The inspiration for the course came from current students who had expressed a desire for more astronomy courses beyond the two existing ones, as well as prospective students with strong interests in astrophysics.

Haranas contacted Marek Wartak, chair of the department of physics and computer science, who was very supportive and in favour for the creation of a new course.

However, the issue came in creating a course that would not overlap with those offered at the University of Waterloo, which offers a degree in physics and

astronomy.

“The only course we can actually put is something that has to do with planetary and space science,” said Haranas. “First of all, because there’s nothing like this in the vicinity of universities that offer this kind of thing. They stick to theoretical physics, gravity, quantum gravity, that stuff.”

According to Haranas, the new course will cover basic physics, the structural evolution of each planet, small solar system bodies and the formation of the solar system.

The highlight of the course will be space missions to the planets and their respective space crafts.

Students will study the purpose of each space craft and their achievements thus far.

“This is the space era, this is the era of discoveries and all of these planetary missions they’ve sent, for example, recently to Pluto, the

lander which went to the comet — they will have to know these things,” said Haranas.

“Even if I wasn’t a science major, I would be intrigued. I would like to know, otherwise I’d be left out scientifically in the era.”

Although the course is open to all faculties, students looking to register must have completed AS101 or have obtained permission from the department. So far the response has been positive, but Haranas said he would like to see more students.

“It would be imperative that the course now in May succeeds. Once it succeeds now, then it can be offered because people will know it.”

Although Haranas has expressed interest in teaching the course, the assigned professor will depend on the number of students enroled.

Regardless, he is pleased the course has come to fruition.

“Even if I wasn’t a science major I would be intrigued.

I would like to know, otherwise I’d be left out scientifically in the era.”

-Ioannis Haranas, adjunct professor with the department of physics and computer science

“Teaching and doing astronomy and astrophysics is one thing … but lobbying and going through the marketing and all of that — that’s a different experience. And I must say I learned a lot.”

PC310B will be taught Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1:30 - 2:50 p.m. at the Waterloo campus. Students are encouraged to register before March 14.

STUDENT SAFETY

Preparing for St. Patrick’s Day With heightened concerns about safety, Laurier and partners work to caution students ahead of March 17 DREW YATES SPORTS EDITOR

The date had been circled since the previous year.

Alana Russell, corporate communications for Waterloo Regional Police Service and her team have been hard at work preparing for the incoming staple on the Wilfrid Laurier University social calendar — St. Patrick Day 2016.

According to Russell, the Waterloo Police started preparing for the next St. Patrick’s Day as soon as the previous year’s event finished.

“We determine in what, if there’s anything we can change, what we would improve, how it’s going to roll out next year. Of course with it being closer to the actual date, we are well within our preparation and we have an operational plan in place that we believe will prove effective in managing the event,” she said.

This year’s installment of St. Patrick’s Day won’t feature the tent party — which was introduced two years ago — however there are various other options students

can partake in if. Anne Anderson, a community pastor, is hosting an alternative dry event at the Seminary called the ‘Shamrock Café’ for the second year.

“It’s just a way that people can do something special, that can be with their friends but not have to worry about safety or security or excess drinking, those kind of things that they might feel uneasy about … there’s not that here, it’s just a fun alternative,” said Anderson.

Wilf’s will be open during regular hours to serve participants and the Turret Nightclub will be open during the evening. Students will have options for activities available for St. Patrick’s Day if they decide to partake, or if they decide to attend class.

And of course, Ezra Avenue waits quietly.

Russell said the amount of officers patrolling Ezra on St. Patrick’s Day will fluctuate — no set number has been decided.

“We don’t have a specific number. Our numbers depend on how many people are within that area,

usually we’ll see more crowds later in the afternoon and then it tapers off around dinner time and then it picks up again for the evening hours,” Russell said.

Olivia Matthews, Wilfrid Laurier University Students’ Union president, said the university is preparing students for St. Patrick’s Day through constant communication.

Students can also expect a message on MyLearningSpace from Leanne Holland Brown, the dean of students, a letter from Max Blouw, Laurier president and social media posts with “Stay Golden” videos from Matthews and the Students’ Union.

In total, the university partners plans to broadcast 17 messages to students.

“I think the biggest thing that the Students’ Union helps with is communication with students around safety,” Matthews said.

“On that day we’re going to do some gendered violence messaging, we’re going to do some safe alcohol consumption messaging.

But we do know that those issues tend to be heightened during the

HEATHER DAVIDSON/FILE PHOTOS

Laurier is prepared for St. Patrick’s Day through constant communication.

day of St. Patrick’s Day.” Matthews also said various members of the Students’ Union, by-law officers, the department of athletics and recreation, WRPS and emergency medical technicians are partaking in a door knocker campaign where they will go around the neighbourhood and side streets, engaging with students and educating them about safety and showing respect.

The Emergency Response Team will be working with Special Constable Services and Foot Patrol will also be available for students to use during the day.

The university has also hired more security officers and will be working with Waterloo Police and Special Constables to make sure the day goes smoothly.

But it’s not just about staying

safe while partying. One of the biggest concerns for Matthews is the increased instances of robberies during the day.

“Lock your doors on that day,” she said.

“Residence students don’t realize that. Students on Ezra don’t recognize that. But if there’s that many people around, and there’s that many guests around, then that’s concerning to us.”

With the priority on safety, Matthews has been working with internal and external committees of the university to ensure a safe experience for students, regardless of whether they decide to partake in St. Patrick’s Day festivities.

“We’re just going to involve working with the university and working with the city to keep students safe,” she said.

4 • NEWS

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2016

RESOURCES

Support available for creative writing Writer-in-residence, Drew Hayden Taylor, is a resource for students and the community ERIKA YMANA NEWS EDITOR

The Edna Staebler Laurier Writerin-residence is a three-month residency program at Wilfrid Laurier University for accomplished Canadian writers.

Drew Hayden Taylor is a fiction writer and playwright and is currently filling the role this year.

In this role, the writer focuses on their work as well as community engagement, which includes holding public talks, workshops and conducting one-on-one sessions with students and beginner writers.

The writer must conduct nine to 12 office hours per week where students can come in and get consultations on their writing.

“For the Edna Staebler Writerin-residence we split it a little differently, it’s 60 per cent their own work and 40 per cent working in the community,” said Tanis MacDonald, associate professor in the department of English and film studies, and chair of the Staebler Writer-in-residence selection committee.

Taylor is currently working on a number of different tasks for his own writing.

His 29th book will be released in October, which is a collection of native-themed science fiction stories.

Taylor has also been commissioned by the National Arts Centre in Ottawa to write a play about Sir John A. MacDonald for the 150th anniversary of Confederation.

“A lot of people think it’s difficult to make a career from the world

“My stories take place in a version of my community, so I think I provided a face of two different communities.”

-Drew Hayden Taylor, writer-in-residence

JESSICA DIK/LEAD PHOTOGRAPHER

Drew Hayden Taylor spent almost 30 years as a writer in the industry and will be releasing his book in October.

of prose and the world of writing and that is, in some cases, true.

But a lot of people have this belief that successful, known writers are dead. I’m out here being a presence,” said Taylor.

Taylor said he is a representative of two communities: the successful writing community and the successful indigenous community.

“My stories take place in a version of my community, so I think I provide a face of two different communities: The aboriginal community and the arts community,” he said.

After spending almost 30 years as a writer in the Canadian industry, Taylor is at Laurier to provide guidance and counsel to students

and community members.

“People can come in who want to explore the world of writing but don’t know how. They can come in and chat, or having taken that first step, have written something, and go, ‘okay I’ve written it, now what do I do,’ ” said Taylor.

James Southworth, a consultant at the Writing Centre, said despite

the fact that the Writing Centre focuses on academic writing, having a different resource that focuses on creative writing is valuable.

“I think it’s great that the Writer-in-residence program is here because it explores creative writing — whether it be fiction, or poetry, whatever it may be, it develops other skills, obviously more creative and often times more imaginative writing skills,” said Southworth.

The Writer-in-residence is a resource and is representative of a successful writer making a living.

This position can relay practicalities such as who to know, who can critique work, how to get paid, etc.

“He’s a wealth of practical advice in terms of the business of being a writer, as well as advice about things like the creative process, how long it takes, and what kind of expectations people should have. I think students in the faculty of arts have taken the most advantage of the fact that he is here … but that doesn’t mean students from other faculties can’t come and see him,” said MacDonald.

“He’s here for the whole community.”

INITIATIVE

Event mixes fine arts with awareness DEO hosts a sexual assault creative demonstration KAITLYN SEVERIN NEWS EDITOR

With Tuesday being International Women’s Day, there was no better time for Wilfrid Laurier University’s Diversity and Equity Office to present their sexual assault creative demonstration Monday in the Concourse at the Waterloo campus.

The event, organized by firstyear global studies student Kamil Ahmed, and Lynn Kane, coordinator of the gendered violence taskforce, featured a contemporary dance routine by Laurier students Linnea White and Sam Yoon. The dancers performed to the Lady Gaga song, “Till It Happens To You,” written for the documentary film ‘The Hunting Ground,” which discusses rape on campus in the United States. The film was screened on the Waterloo campus on February 25 in collaboration with the DEO and Women in Science, and will be filmed Wednesday in Brantford for Laurier Brantford Women’s Centre’s first event.

“We noticed that there was a disconnect between students and people who were behind the cause of sexual assault and rape especially in campuses,” Ahmed said.

“We wanted to bring [awareness of sexual violence] on campus,

but a little bit differently. Usually there’s a speaker, there’s usually a panel. We wanted to get creative and get fine arts involved and use that as a platform of expression.”

Ahmed said he was influenced by those who’ve experienced instances of sexual violence to organize the demonstration. He said what stands out to him about Laurier students and members of the DEO is that it “doesn’t matter if you’re a part of something” — you can still help create change.

“Students especially make things happen when they have ideas in a way that I think other people should watch and take note of,” said Kane.

According to Ahmed, the purpose of the event was to focus on the “It’s On Us” campaign, an initiative to address sexual assault on university and college campuses.

“Regardless of if it’s happened to you or a friend, relative, brother, sister or whatever, it’s on us, the responsibility is on us and it’s time for us to take ownership because it’s happening around us,” Ahmed said.

Other initiatives on campus that continue the conversation of sexual consent and violence revolve around being a “pro-social” bystander. “It’s Never Okay: An Action Plan To Stop Sexual Violence

“It’s all about collaboration, it’s all about innovation and creating change on campus.”

-Lynn Kane, coordinator of the gendered violence taskforce

and Harassment,” was created by the Ontario government to change behaviours that contribute to sexual violence and harassment.

According to Kane, the DEO is also trying to emphasize consent and raise awareness, especially around holidays such as St. Patrick’s Day. “We do ongoing bystander intervention training and we’re working with staff and faculty to provide more information about how they can respond to disclosures of sexual violence,” said Kane.

While Ahmed is not associated with the DEO, he wanted to open up the conversation surrounding sexual violence on university campuses.

“It’s all about collaboration, it’s all about innovation and creating change on campus.”

REBECCA ALLISON/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

The dancers performed to the Lady Gaga song, “Till It Happens to You.”

NEWS • 5

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2016 FIRST NATIONS

JESSICA DIK/LEAD PHOTOGRAPHER

Events during the week include the raising of a teepee in the Quad, a ‘Drumology’ event and a session addressing the trend of violence against aboriginal women, among many others.

Aboriginal Education Week underway Week-long festivities set to facilitate engagement between community and aboriginal culture MADDY CUTTS LEAD REPORTER

Festivities are underway for Wilfrid Laurier University’s office of aboriginal initiatives’ sixth annual Aboriginal Education Week.

Beginning every year in the first full week of March, Aboriginal Education Week hosts events at both the Waterloo and Brantford campuses to facilitate engagement between the broader school communities and aboriginal culture.

“We get a lot of requests from faculty and community to help with education and we can’t always accommodate those requests because we’re primarily a student service,” said Melissa Ireland, aboriginal student support coordina-

tor for the Waterloo campus.

“We say yes when we can, but this week is a great way to invite and include the campus community and culture.”

Working to broaden student cognizance of the week’s activities, as well as to capture interest and availability in a time when students are busy with academics, are the primary barriers faced by organizers in trying to boost engagement.

“I think unlike February and Black History Month, there’s you know a national degree of knowledge that February is that month.

I think for us, we have national Aboriginal Day in June, and there’s a week in June, but our primary audience isn’t here in the summer

semester,” said Ireland.

“This time of year can be a challenge because everyone’s in their final push of their last semester and trying to get things done, and it’s post-midterms but pre-exams, so we’re competing with a lot of other things for students right now.”

Aboriginal Education Week began in Waterloo on March 5 with Bridging Communities Through Song, a collaborative choir production put on by several local singing groups. Activities continued Monday with the raising of a teepee in the Quad, accompanied by a campaign to increase awareness of the historical and geographic implications of Laurier’s campus, which was followed on Tuesday by

a free traditional lunch and a bus trip to a former residential school.

March 9 will feature ‘Drumology,’ an event held in collaboration with the Diversity and Equity Office to demonstrate drumming in both First Nations and African culture. March 10 has the greatest array of activities, ranging from a session addressing the trend of violence against aboriginal women to a storytelling session on traditional creation stories, a movie screening and a lecture by Laurier’s writerin-residence, Drew Hayden Taylor, all offered free of charge.

On Friday a medicine bag making workshop will be held, after which the week will be concluded with a guest lecture by United Nations activist for Indigenous Peo-

ples Oren Lyons. Though the week is an opportunity for the greater Laurier community to partake in exciting and educational activities, it serves the further purpose of allowing aboriginal students to see their culture present within the Laurier community.

“I think it’s important for our students to feel safe, not just at the aboriginal students centre being who they are, but on the other side of the street, on campus,” said Ireland.

“I think it’s a strength in identity, it’s a time to feel pride of culture and I think that overall it’s a really positive experience to engage with the university and know that Laurier is a safe and welcoming place for indigenous people.”

Love it? Hate it?

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM EVERYONE! Go To: wintercarnival.yourstudentsunion.ca and tell us what you think

6 • GAMES

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2016 DOWN: ACROSS: 1- Bound 1- Ghana’s capital 2- Conspire to commit a 6- Fill to surfeit fraud 10- Greek letters 3- Categorize 14- _____ acid (B vitamin) 4- 1972 Kentucky Derby 15- Pardon me winner ____ Ridge 16- 1996 Tony-winning musical 5- Star of the rotation 17- Yellowish 6- _____ bleu!

19- Approximately 7- Lots 20- Role for Ingrid 8- Dubois’ “talented” 21- Smell ______ group 22- Lend ______ 9- CPR specialist 23- Frat letters 10- Quickly 24- Huge 11- Throughout this docu26- Fit for consumption ment 28- High 12- Demented 29- Friday’s creator 13- Kept for later 30- Land map 18- Mall event 33- Woman who sails a yacht 22- Farm worker 38- Heavy hammer 24- Util. bill 39- Mountain ridge 25- Regarding 42- Begins 27- Feathery wrap 47- Up 30- Sch. Group 48- Aimless 31. Shaq’s alma mater 52- Explosive inits.

32- Leather punch 53- Papal garment 34- Med. care providers 54- Actress Singer 35- Roman god of war 55- Controversial orchard spray 36- Onassis, to pals 56- Type of tomato 37- Young bird 57- Pertaining to emeralds 40- Lease holders 59- Actor Omar 41- Beg 60- _____ avail 42- Future ferns 61- Five: Prefix 43- Moon of Jupiter 62- Cummerbund 63- The Beatles’ “Back in the _____”44- Vagrants 45- Spatter 64- Inner turmoil

Are you a University or College Grad?

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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 can be sent to dearlife@thecord. ca no later than Monday at noon each week.

Dear Armchair critics, If you have so much time to throw shade at the Students Union, why don’t you get off your damn high horse and actually try to change the system yourself.

Sincerely, Unimpressed by the constant complaining Dear Writers at the Cord, You’re not as important as you think you are.

Sincerely, Someone who knows what a joke your paper is

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Dear Laurier, God am I glad I am no longer go there. Instead of working with the students to create a safe environment, they once again are trying to instigate something and have all the blame fall on the students. As someone who has been to Homecoming and St. Pat’s for years, why

46- Foot digit 47- Indian’s home 49- St. _____ fire 50- Bank offerings 51- Miscalculation 55- Yemeni seaport 57- Actor Erwin 58- Student stat

isn’t homecoming getting the same treatment? Does it have something to do with Laurier making money off of the only well attended football game of the year? I have been to every Ezra street party and the claim a riot will ensue is pure hogwash. Laurier is quickly becoming a overly Politically Correct school, not the school I fell in love with.

Every day I am becoming more embarrassed of the school on my degree. We can all thank Dean-NoFun-Mom for this.

Sincerely, Daddy Mac is twice the dean you will ever be Dear My Student(s’) Union, The 2 year old re-brand should not be treated than more than that: a clever to do marketing scheme to improve accessibility (... and income) cooked up by full-time staff and credited to a previous management team. Perhaps, the 43% is frustrated by how forced this “culture-change” is. Cliquey attitude and stigma combined a lack of patience by the clique are probably reinforcing inaccessibility, WLUSU’s non-universal nature, and the encompassing frustration experienced by those outside the bubble.

STFU, or I will keep calling it WLUSU///<30% turnout

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GAMES • 7

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2016

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You don’t have to sit in school to stand among greatness. › Thomas Edison: Relentless Inventiveness Failure is no biggie. Just ask Edison. If he stopped at failure, he would never have moved on to invent a little thing called the light bulb. So if you’ve failed a class somewhere else, or have a scheduling conflict, come on over. You can catch up with our world-recognized online courses, then move on to bigger successes. Talk about a light bulb moment.

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8 •

FEATU

FEATURES EDITOR/BETHANY BOWLES/BBOWLES@THECORD.CA

THE PSYC OF BEING

Features Editor Bethany Bowles put such emphasis on their Setting personal goals is and always will be a major part of being a university student. But not meeting your personal goals is something students face at some time or another.

As an English student, I pride myself in my ability to write well. However, last year, I received my lowest grade ever, a C- on an essay I had put a lot of work into.

I demanded an explanation from my professor and when I received that feedback, I understood why I was given such a low grade and moved on with hopes to do better in the future.

In four years at Wilfrid Laurier University, I have seen several peers having different reactions to receiving poor grades on assignments. Some people laugh it off, some people use it as motivation to work harder on their next assignment and some people let a poor grade alter their outlook entirely.

–Christian Jordan, associate For some students, a poor professor in psychology grade can alter their mood for days; they can be so hard on themselves, causing them to disengage. Stress takes over and they find themselves measuring their self-worth based on a letter grade written in red pen on the top of a test, essay, lab assignment, midterm or exam.

Getting good grades is constantly on students’ minds. They set certain goals for themselves and when these goals are not achieved, their world is seemingly over.

“There is research that looks at the extent of which people base their self esteem on different things, one of them being academic performance,” said Christian Jordan, an associate professor in psychology at Laurier who studies self-esteem, specifically the distinction between fragile and stable self-esteem. He has also done research in narcissism.

“There are individual differences in that, some people are more likely to base their self-esteem on academic performance than others. The evidence indicates that it’s actually detrimental overall for psychological well-being to base your self-esteem through academic performance.”

Jordan explained some people’s self-esteem can rise and fall with how well they’re doing academically. If they’re doing well consistently, their selfesteem isn’t effected. It’s when students don’t do as well that their self-esteem can suffer detrimental consequences.

This is referred to as “contingent self-esteem,” according to Jordan. It’s seen as less stable and more fragile, therefore more susceptible to being affected by a poor grade.

According to Jordan, some people base their self-esteem on more stable facets of their lives like family support or their own personal morality.

"Some amount of evaluation and competition is kind of inherent."

Others base their self-esteem on more unstable aspects of their lives, like academic performance.

“Saying that somebody’s self-esteem isn’t contingent on academic performance isn’t to say they don’t care about academic performance,” Jordan explained. “They might be really disappointed if they get a bad grade, but it’s not going to have the same impact on how they feel about themselves as a person.”

Shaan Brach, first-year business and communications student explained that he goes into each assignment or exam with a goal he has set for himself.

“I usually compare myself to what I think the average is going to be and try to get above that.”

Recently Brach received a mark he wasn’t too proud of, but his reaction seemed fairly normal and moderate. It was a bonus case for BU121 where he received a one out of 12. It boosted his mark .25 per cent instead of a possible three per cent.

“I was pretty upset when I first got the grade, like how is it possible to get that low of a mark, but then I looked at the rubric and I guess I’m more understanding of where that mark came from.”

Brach explained upon receiving a low grade, he usually responds by partying with friends to get his mind off of it. When the next assignment comes up, he tries to remember how he did poorly in the past and that he cannot afford another low mark.

“The amount of time I’m upset is directly determined by how much time I spent on the [assignment] itself,” he said.

Some people, however, have a harder time disengaging from negative feedback or constructive criticism. This can actually be related to neuroticism, depression, anxiety and introversion, Jordan explained.

“I think you can distinguish between that drive [to succeed] and neuroticism … If it’s your goal and you’re doing well, you’ll feel satisfied or happy that you’re meeting your goal and when you’re not, you’ll be discouraged, but you’ll probably work to do better,” he continued.

“Whereas if you’re staking your self-esteem in that performance and you don’t do well, then often what you’re seeing is there’s a more pronounced reaction to it, but also defensiveness.”

The result of this reaction can be when students lash out against the professor or when they believe a test or assignment was “unfair.” In the end, this behaviour actually prevents learning.

Also, this negative behaviour will most likely follow the student into further aspects of their life, like their career after university.

Language can also have a major impact. An “A plus” carries a more positive connotation than an “A minus,” something Jordan also found interesting.

“Subtle aspects of the environment can prime or cue people to have reactions that they’re not nec-

URES

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2016 • 9

CHOLOGY G GRADED

explores the reasons students r academic performance not ask for transcripts upon applying. Those employers essarily conscious of. It could be that those kinds were looking for well-rounded students who also of associations with positive means good, negative had soft skills, hands on experience, excelled in means bad could make the impact of grades even extracurricular activities as well as maintaining more pronounced,” he said. good grades.

A lot of this can come from the educational sys“To give you an tem as a whole. Students are constantly affected by example, we know for the grading system and can often take away from sure that in roles like the love of education — our self-worth is being accounting, finance, proven by a letter written by a professor on a piece some [informaof paper. tion technology], “I think it’s a necessary evil in the system that business analysis we have. The ideal would be learning for the sake –Lisa Favero, manager of employer of learning and not having to be evaluated,” Jordan type roles, consultrelations and recruitment at Career Centre ing, some sales and said. “We’re living in a society where we need to marketing, employfigure out who’s going to be best suited for grad ers definitely want to school, careers … Some amount of evaluation and see the marks,” Favero explained. “It may be just competition is kind of inherent.” to make sure that they’re looking at people who This evaluation Jordan spoke of is what many have at least a minimum GPA of something. Or it students focus on when it comes to graduating may be that they’re looking for the cream of the with honours and succeeding in order to differcrop or very, very bright people. Those roles may entiate themselves heading into the workplace or be behind closed doors, very analytical; they need grad school. exceptional hard skills to do those roles. Those emBut if we all get a diploma after graduation, why ployers aren’t really looking for that people person does it matter if one person graduates with an 8.0 … they’re the people behind the scenes.”

GPA and someone else graduates with an 11.0?

Favero stressed how important it is to know Mickey Conde, third-year global studies student, what kind of jobs you’re looking for. For people pointed out the flaws in Laurier’s grading system and how this can potentially add stress to students. who are looking for those “behind the scenes, analytical jobs” maybe it is in their best interest to “I don’t really like the grading system, especially aim for high marks. at this university an A+ is like a 92 and up,” Conde She also suggested if said. you get a low mark in Conde also said since an elective, stress how he does not have any "Sometimes our well you did in your core plans to get a higher biggest challenges are or mandatory courses. education after his degree, One bad mark won’t he isn’t overly hard on our biggest learning affect the entirety of your himself to get high marks. success after graduation.

“I know I’m not going to opportunities."

It’s also important to get a masters. I don’t have –Lisa Favero, manager of employer pitch what you have — the money for it,” he said. relations and recruitment at Career Centre articulate your academic “I’m getting this degree background in a way that not for a job, I’m getting it enhances your experimore to expand my horience beyond grades. zons … I really don’t know what I want to do [after That’s why being able to promote yourself efuniversity]; I’ll most likely have to go to college … fectively is so important.

In the sense of getting into college, any university “Sometimes our biggest challenges are our bigdegree is wicked awesome.” gest learning opportunities. Maybe this course was Lisa Favero, manager of employer relations and particularly challenging and you didn’t do well, recruitment at the Career Centre, explained some but you overcame so many huge obstacles and employers actually do look at students’ transcripts where you were at the beginning of the course and before hiring them. where you ended up was a huge progression for Graduating Student Employment Services jobs you in terms of personal and intellectual growth,” that are posted on Navigator, the Career Centre’s Favero explained. job board, are for final year students seeking fullIf you find yourself stressing over your grades, time employment after graduation. Favero said ask yourself: what’s motivating you to do well. Is from August 2015 to February 2016, 40 per cent of it a personal goal or an effort to protect your selfthe roles posted required transcripts with applicaesteem? tions. These jobs, mainly in the business financial “Sometimes our biggest challenges are not necindustries, were looking for students with average essarily the worst thing that can happen to us, but or impressive grades. it’s the way you articulate it.”

Sixty per cent of those jobs posted, however, did

"Those employers aren’t really looking for that people person ..."

GRAPHICS BY WILL HUANG/PHOTO EDITOR

10 •

Arts & Life

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2016 ARTS & LIFE EDITOR ZACH GUITOR zguitor@thecord.ca

CANADIAN IDENTITY

A conversation with author Lawrence Hill

STAND-UP COMEDY

PAIGE BUSH/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Drunk hecklers save the show CONTRIBUTED IMAGE

JYOTT BHATTI CORD ARTS

Most of us have heard of The Book of Negroes, whether the novel or the 11-part miniseries. Its writer, Lawrence Hill, has written 10 books in total; with the most recent — a novel entitled The Illegal — hitting the bookstore shelves here in Canada late last year.

This past Friday, I sat down with Hill for a brief conversation on identity — a topic he discussed that evening during a lecture at St. Jerome’s University on the campus of University of Waterloo. Born of mixed race to a black father and a white mother, both of whom moved to Canada shortly after their marriage and were heavily involved in the civil rights movement of the 1960s, Lawrence is no stranger to the idea of having a different identity amongst a homogenous group.

“I’ve had it for a very long time and I think everyone experiences this at some point in their lives …

I mean, from moving countries down to moving schools,” Hill said when asked about his inspiration to speak about the topic of shifting identity.

An interesting comparison can be drawn to the protagonist of The Illegal, who can’t return to his homeland for fear of prosecution; or to the protagonist of The Book of Negroes, who returns to Africa to

be called a “white woman in black skin.”

And who can’t remember a time they had to move neighbourhoods?

Or go to a new high school, when suddenly the identity they had back at their old school, with their friends and reputation, had been wiped away and they had a clean slate?

Or perhaps they didn’t; perhaps some aspects of their old identity, good or bad, followed them to their new school.

Hill spoke of his time at the University of British Columbia, where race remained the pinnacle and central aspect of his identity.

“They focused largely on my race. I mean, the fact that I was of mixed race, or ‘half-black,’ ” said Hill.

From one end of the country to the next, Hill noted the primary aspect of his identity shifted from race to language when engrossed in the nationalist politics of separatist-era Quebec.

“I went to Laval [University], and suddenly people weren’t addressing my race, they were addressing this fact that I was an ‘Anglais,’ or an English,” Hill explained. “This was during the First Referendum, and so there was a large degree of militantism toward English-speaking Canada in Quebec.”

Friday evening, Hill spoke about comparable topics on a much

“Suddenly people weren’t addressing my race, they were addressing this fact that I was an ‘Anglais,’ or an English.”

-Lawrence Hill, author

broader scale: the shifting Canadian identity from the Stephen Harper era to the Justin Trudeau era. Hill argued that during Harper’s time in office, the Canadian identity shifted from the one we’d come to be used to — one of peace and tolerance — to a new stance of strength and security. With the election of a Liberal government, and with Trudeau at the helm, Hill argued the Canadian identity will likely be, and is probably already in the process of, shifting back to the identity of peace and tolerance.

This doesn’t wipe the slate clean, though. Harper’s goal to make Canada a leader in global security and to strengthen sovereignty as a nation will always be with us, whether in the minds of people who were alive during the long War on Terror or through our history books.

The thing about identity, according to Hill, “once it’s shifted, it can’t shift back.”

SAHEBA SEGU CORD ARTS

Taking the time out to watch Tim Heidecker and Neil Hamburger was the only joke on my Thursday night.

Prior to the event, I had done some research on both comedians and kept an open mind on my way to the venue — giving them the benefit of the doubt of being better live. Upon reaching the venue, I found myself waiting for some time before the show even began.

In order to make time go a little faster, eavesdropping was a viable solution. I also did this to get a gauge for the crowd in the dark, smoky room. Overall, it seemed to be a pretty laidback atmosphere of recent university graduates sprinkled with married couples.

As for topics of conversation, none seemed to be about the comedians themselves.

Eventually, the show began, the crowd seemed a little tipsy and I desperately wished I was too.

Over the two hours that followed, I would have rather written a physics exam than have sat and listened to nonsensical “jokes.”

First on stage was Tim Heidecker, stumbling out and intentionally dropping the mic as if he were trying to catch water.

The act began with Heidecker making shallow jokes about Waterloo, Canada and the names

of audience members. What else is new?

In the latter half of the show, he went over marital problems, which really only felt like a way for him to vent out his frustrations. Also, an uncreative way to swear.

As for the crowd, I was sitting right beside the real MVPs: the hecklers.

Drunkenly echoing Heidecker, this added some entertainment value to the show. For the most part of the evening, Heidecker’s only reaction to this was unsurprisingly yelling an uncreative combination of profanity.

Barely smirking, I was really hoping the second act would be a little better. I was sadly mistaken.

For the second act, Neil Hamburger graced the audience with his “knock knock” jokes. Yes, you read that correctly. A show intended for a crowd over 19 years of age incorporated “knock knock” jokes.

The majority of Hamburger’s content seemed like teenage angst — jokes directed towards the same people in the entertainment industry. In a nutshell, the act found ways to insult the same four people through the same set up: “Why did Ozzy Osbourne bite the head off a chicken? Because his wife was a bad cook.”

The evening eventually came to an end and approximately 70 per cent of the crowd seemed to enjoy themselves, but I had a hard time wrapping my head around people paying $30 for a ticket. Leaving the event with barely a chuckle, I was happy to have ended my night with a slice of pizza.

ARTS & LIFE • 11

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2016 MENTAL HEALTH

Combatting burnout Identify the signs before it’s too late JORDAN SOUFIAN STAFF WRITER

The first time someone told me to take care of my mental health, I just nodded slowly.

Soon after, I learned the important distinction between mental illness and mental health, the latter being something of which we can all take control of and care for.

Mental health is the balancing act of managing all aspects of your life; from the social and economic to the mental and physical components.

When this balance skews out of order, you may experience feelings of being overwhelmed, deficiency in motivation or even the desire to withdraw from all social connections.

These can be common symptoms for a whole host of complications, but in the spirit of nearing the end of midterm season, let’s discuss burnout.

Recent evidence has suggested that burnout is diagnostically related to depression, but do note that depression exists within the field of mental illness while burnout is a concern of mental health.

Burnout can be defined as the feeling of physical, mental and/or emotional exhaustion as a result of excessive stress and frustration.

Recognizing burnout seems to be something that requires a great

deal of introspection, especially for students.

“If students are starting to feel a lack of motivation, the first step is to engage in inward-reflection,” explained Elizabeth Flynn-Dastoor, a PhD candidate at Wilfrid Laurier University.

In particular, understanding what activities or studies engage your interest can be a critical first step to avoiding burnout. When it comes to academics, FlynnDastoor believes it is essential to acknowledge feelings of dissatisfaction with your program. This acknowledgement can help prevent monotony and disengagement from tasks — two of the many causes of burnout for university students.

In the long run, disliking your field of study may be a good indication that you may also be dissatisfied with employment in the field.

However, it is also important to recognize the particular aspects of the academics that you don’t enjoy and evaluate its significance relative to the program as a whole.

Unless you plan to use your degree in ethno-cultural silos to land your dream job as a fishmonger in North Korea, it’s unrealistic to expect that you’ll enjoy all aspects of your job.

Every job has its own specific frustrations and rewards, but we’re

FANI HSIEH/GRAPHICS EDITOR

all unemployed university students, so we shouldn’t be expected to know that.

An aforementioned symptom of burnout — detachment from social activity — was emphasized by both Flynn-Dastoor and Laurier professor of organizational behaviour Greg Irving as being a serious symptom to avoid when combatting burnout.

They emphasized that building and developing meaningful connections with other people is central to creating a strong support system and sense of fulfillment to help overcome burnout.

Further, Flynn-Dastoor stressed the importance of diversifying social experiences in helping to prevent an impending slump.

This is to emphasize the importance of making meaningful connections with other people and “doing something that brings enjoyment without any other

expectations.”

Finding a healthy alternative to mix into your six-day clubbing routine can be beneficial for rekindling your motivation and ability to manage physical and mental exhaustion.

Flynn-Dastoor narrows the success of mitigating the risk of burnout to “be intentional and thoughtful” about our approach to both academic and non-academic pursuits.

She suggested putting a conscious effort towards “nurturing all aspects of oneself, mind and body” through various activities. Keeping a journal of the activities’ benefits or hindrances to your well-being is crucial.

A short walk in nature for some could be as euphoric as tackling the Wounded Peacock yoga pose, so long as it is “practiced on a regular basis, and sustained as a habit,” as recommended by Flynn-

Dastoor.

When experiencing burnout, Irving outlined that “withdrawing from people is likely the biggest mistake you can make.” Our social connections can be pivotal to championing the phenomenon.

Effective channels such as open conversation with friends, family and professionals can help reduce the effect of burnout.

There are many online resources to learn more about mental health, one of which is Jack.org, an organization which is striving to destigmatize mental health for young people by encouraging students to take control of their mental wellbeing.

Understanding the distinction between mental illness and mental health is important, and it starts with recognizing that one in five Canadians have mental illness, but five in five people have mental health.

COMMUNITY ARTS

Waterloo faces a cultural identity crisis ZACH GUITOR ARTS & LIFE EDITOR

“Waterloo’s culture community is fragmented,” reads the Waterloo Culture Plan: A Catalyst For Culture 2014-2024, a comprehensive report developed by the City of Waterloo.

The culture plan outlines a decade’s worth of initiatives aimed at shaping the city’s growing artistic and cultural identity. But it seems Waterloo is facing an identity crisis.

In consideration of Waterloo’s co-existence as a university, family, multicultural and technology hub, it remains difficult to distill the city’s cultural identity to singularity.

While this may signal a diverse and bustling culture, it also indicates missed opportunities for rich cross-collaboration and potential feelings of detachment for some community stakeholders.

Astero Kalogeropoulos, the manager of arts, culture, festivals and events on the City of Waterloo’s economic development team, maintained that increased accessibility is a “top priority.”

The team proposed $10,000 of its $607,000 economic development budget to arts and culture programming, such as workshops and public events.

These events will serve to ensure that all community stakeholders have the opportunity to enrich themselves in the city’s arts and culture, no matter their cultural background or socioeconomic status.

“Technology couldn’t exist without the arts.”

-Astero Kalogeropoulos, manager of arts, culture, festivals and events at the City of Waterloo

FANI HSIEH/GRAPHICS EDITOR

“We don’t do donors, all of our efforts are taxpayer funded,” said Kalogeropoulos.

“That’s why we feel it’s so important to increase that access. These are programs and services that are really important.”

To attract community members to the city’s core, the team launched Final Fridays, a monthly event hosted in uptown Waterloo that features live music, cuisine and art exhibits. Whilst enriching community members in culture, the initiative also serves to assist local businesses suffering from increased light rail transit construction in the area.

While many initiatives are hosted in the city’s core to highlight uptown Waterloo as a “cultural hub,” the economic development team wants to emphasize that culture exists and thrives outside of the “mom and pop shops” of uptown.

The We Are Waterloo Portrait Project, a year-long initiative in conjunction with the Waterloo sesquicentennial, aims to highlight the diverse community and talent in the city.

The project differentiates itself from others by hosting events in a multitude of locations around the city to ensure a diversity of identities are highlighted.

As Kalogeropoulos put it, the city must “bring people together and start conversations” for culture to thrive.

Waterloo is a booming tech hub, with new startups springing up consistently thanks to incubators such as the Accelerator Centre. As the City of Waterloo veers closer to an identity indebted to technology, what does this mean for the arts?

“We don’t differentiate a lot between arts and technology,” said Kalogeropoulos. “Technology couldn’t exist without the arts.”

To bridge the gap between technology, academic institutions and the growing autonomous bodies

of cultural significance, the City of Waterloo plans to host a culture summit.

The bi-annual summit will provide a structured opportunity for groups that wouldn’t otherwise collaborate to start a dialogue on the cultural identity and planning of the city.

Between the liberal use of economic development buzzwords such as “cultural hub” and “cultural enrichment,” it’s apparent the intention is there, but the city’s activities remain vague.

“It’s about growing the capacity of the community,” Kalogeropoulos explained. Culture in and of itself is a living and breathing organism that can’t be solely cultivated through craft workshops or sausage festivals.

It is within the volume, effort and nationalism of autonomous community members and groups to shape a community culture.

The city provides the canvas — and a few broad strokes — but it is by diverse collaboration, cohabitation and widespread inclusion that Waterloo’s artistic and cultural identity will thrive.

12 •

Editorial

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2016 OPINION EDITOR MITCHELL CONSKY mconsky@thecord.ca

Selling your confidence is the key to the job search Carrying communication skills, demonstrating leadership ability, exemplifying ambition with strong work ethic and collaboration capability are all traits employers look for when hiring.

Your transcript may be considered, but your résumé will be meticulously analyzed for position compatibility.

As important as it may be for us to perform to our greatest potential academically, a dedication to lecture content will not give you the hands-on experience to set you apart from a tall pile of other job applicants. But a repertoire of extra-curricular involvement, work experience, social engagement and community volunteering certainly will.

While some students sit down with eyes glued to textbooks, they will never stand out. Beyond a firm handshake, how you present yourself all comes down to what you have to present.

What sets us apart besides marks?

With all the stressful desperation for students to excel academically, it’s easy for them to question the relevance of their grades in terms of acquiring a career.

The equation has been embedded in our understanding through every grade, essay and final examination: good marks equal good jobs, and good jobs equal good money.

It’s the simplest system we know — the North American doorway to a future of prosperous success and happiness.But how much of this is true?

Unfortunately, there are more factors that complicate the simplicity of this widely recognized equation. When it comes down to interviews and networking, your grades will only take you so far.

Experience is perhaps the most important selling point that will separate the best student from the best job candidate.

Safety should be the focus of St. Paddy’s, not reputation Bookstore still sells Golden Hawk emblazoned drinking material.

It causes us to question what the school is really trying to prevent by stopping the distribution of St. Patrick’s Day related products.

If this is an attempt to minimize the party culture at Laurier, why sell other drinking-explicit commodities?

We’re fairly confident that shot glasses and flasks are not merely used as bedroom wall decoration.

What is so “academically focused” about purple and yellow streamers?

Laurier administration shouldn’t embrace St. Patrick’s Day, but they do need to accept the fact that, whether or not it is in the best interest of the community, the yearly city-wide festivity is undoubtedly a part of university culture at Laurier.

Instead of trying to create the illusion that St. Patrick’s Day is not condoned by the university — which should be evident at an academic institution — the focus should be towards informing students about safety and promoting safe activities, events and services. available at all times.

As students prepare for the upcoming festivities of March 17, there has been a fan on the flame of controversy regarding the day of public celebration.

Wilfrid Laurier University’s administration has been at the head of this controversy after being quoted as trying to cancel St. Patrick’s Day, arguably one of the biggest days on the drinking calendar.

Their intentions should not be to disregard the holiday at all costs, but rather to ensure that this day is as safe as possible. However, this year, there were other plans on the administration’s agenda.

Banning St. Patrick’s Day merchandise in the Laurier Bookstore — in attempts to “boycott” the holiday and promote an academicfirst mentality — is no way to minimize the amount of traffic on Ezra Avenue.

When asked about why the Laurier administration decided to stop the distribution of any St. Patrick’s Day accessories, they explained the Bookstore is a “universityoperated facility and their focus is on academics.”

But ironically enough, the

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.

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

DIRECTOR Tom Lillo

DIRECTOR Angela Foster DIRECTOR Fred Kuntz DIRECTOR Gary Doyle

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

Why we pop the bubble KIRA GELBARD SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR

Growing up, I was always accustomed to the same social pattern.

Whether I moved to a new school, a new camp or a new place, I always found myself trapped in a bubble.

Everyone I know has grown up together for 18 years — trapped in the walls of the bubble, unable to escape.

Living in my community, I have become a witness to watching people lose their individual identity only to fall victim to the social pressures to fit in and feel “accepted.”

No matter where I go, I see this pattern occur over and over again.

This desperation for acceptance frustrates me.

In actuality, what guidelines determine whether someone is accepted or not?

Is it the latest materialistic trend that makes someone feel fulfilled?

Is it how many likes someone gets on their Instagram?

Why do people feel the constant need to experience this social comfort, when they are restricting themselves from interacting with their external environment?

It’s all because of the bubble: a safe place, but not a safe haven.

People rely on this bubble to feel social acceptance from their peers — to be surrounded by influential figures in their life for years onward.

I am a witness of the broken bubble — and I promise, for once something broken is an amazing sight.

As young adults, our society is constantly faced with toxic social pressures of who to be.

No matter if you are 19 or 40-years old, society is constantly going to hit you with these curve balls to follow this trend, buy this product or be friends with this type of person.

How can people shy away from these pressures and truly identify with what makes them feel unique?

It is important to be able to separate yourself from the surrounded air-tight pressure of this bubble in order to cultivate your own individualized identity.

Otherwise you lose the fight to be your true self.

For years this lust to foster my creative void was suppressed by my peers and my environment. Everyone behaved in a way in which society told them to.

I fell victim to this solicited practice as I cashed out on the latest trend or tried to climb the ladder of popularity.

But at the end of the day I was never fulfilled, nor were my peers.

Today, almost every single person I grew up with transported this bubble to university. Joining

the same clubs, being friends with the same people, living their life the same way. In turn becoming a carbon copy of one another.

Together they stick, growing older in age, but not wiser with maturity.

I am a witness to the broken bubble — and I promise, for once something broken is an amazing sight.

Being able to identify as one of the 17,000 individuals who make up this student body is an incredibly interesting concept to be a part of.

All students come from different communities, religions and cultural backgrounds.

As one of the pieces of this interconnected puzzle of diversity, I have been able to develop myself and truly identify my needs and my interests.

I am not saying to forget everything you learned from the people you surrounded yourself with growing up.

Sure, embrace your cultural values, delve into your religion, love the people you are with.

But also be curious about the external experiences you could be living by encountering new cultures, different religions and even meeting unique people.

It’s time everyone lifts their heads and embraces what’s around them.

Otherwise we will regress and never truly settle into our own selves. To honestly feel the ability to identify “this is me, and I am proud of who I am.”

It’s time you pop your bubble and realize what has been in front of you this whole time — trust me, it’s beautiful.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2016

• 13

Opinion

OPINION EDITOR MITCHELL CONSKY mconsky@thecord.ca

The priorities of civil discussion Evaluating discussions of human progress with tolerance, diversity and equality: When do concerns of offending people and political correctness dilute dialogue over societal issues?

Acceptance and cohesion can only really exist when we have an open dialogue instead of immediately shutting down anything that is questionable.

FARAZ IFTEKHARUDDIN OPINION COLUMNIST

In a world where New York City schools try to ban the word “dinosaur” because it may offend people who do not believe in evolution, where we spend hours and days arguing whether snowman should be called a snowperson instead of worrying about more dyer concerns to humanity like global warming or global poverty, it may be safe to argue that political correctness, if these examples even constitute, has gotten out of hand.

Firstly, I am immensely proud of how far humanity has come in becoming sensitive to issues and concerns pertaining to race, gender, disabilities, class and many more.

We have no doubt developed into a more conscious and inclusive society.

Where I feel issues arise is when we take the goodness of political correctness and twist it into a tool with which we instantly misjudge people and give them certain labels, take words out of context and make unfair conclusions, spending more time on finding the wrongs in society instead of figuring out

GRAPHIC BY JOSHUA AWOLADE/CREATIVE DIRECTOR, CONTRIBUTED IMAGE

how it can be improved.

In times like these, overboard political correctness actually has a counter productive impact to the betterment of society.

What once started as an effort not to offend others in an accepting way has, at times, spiraled into an effort to scrutinize every action, utterance and conflict infringing on the very right to freedom of

expression.

Once again, the latter refers to the ludicrous of the overboard political correctness police.

Oftentimes, these political correctness officers fail to address the underlying problems that evoke certain statements, views or actions.

Consequently, fundamental issues are not addressed but sup-

pressed or violently dismissed.

This is not progress. This is not how we develop.

Acceptance and cohesion can only really exist when we have an open dialogue instead of immediately shutting down anything that is questionable.

We cannot have an impact on people’s hearts and minds by shutting them up or labelling them as

the “bully.”

But we can carry a positive impact by talking to them, reasoning with them and educating them to become socially aware.

If political correctness is a system whereby we have developed into a more accepting and inclusive society, I feel it is only right that it does not become a system which illegitimately judges others, tries to find the faults in people and indeed divides us instead of bringing us closer.

There are important issues concerning all of humanity that need discussion rather than trivial arguments on whether Ariana Grande’s outfit was sexist, whether manbuns should just be called buns or snowmen should be renamed to snowpeople.

Dialogue is always necessary and problems should be prioritized.

Reviving the “trip or die” mentality Why the banning of an old camp saying threatens the versatility of language in modern day

MITCHELL CONSKY OPINION EDITOR

Growing up at summer camp, there was a saying: “Trip or die.”

Whenever we built a fire, “Trip or die.” Whenever we finished a portage with a canoe crushing our shoulders, “Trip or die.” Whenever we paddled a lake, ate a good meal, looked up at the stars, took an afternoon nap, we would always say, “Trip or die.”

It was a motto embedded in the culture of our experience — words we lived by whenever we faced obstacles, but managed to push through.

It provoked a mentality of empowerment while immersed in the uplifting beauty of nature.

Last summer, with a new director coming into camp and a new world of liabilities pressing in at every corner of society, the saying was suddenly forced under the rug.

After a recent phone call with the current director regarding a discussion of my return this summer to take out some canoe trips, he mentioned that the “trip or die” mentality was considered a “red flag.”

He discussed the mental health

Surrendering our understanding is the first way to lose grasp of our belief.

of campers and how the words could suggest alternative meanings that could be seen in a more negative light.

Sure, I get it.

We live in a society where another person’s thoughts are our worst nightmare.

“Trip or die” derives from the saying “live or die.” It does not suggest you must actually grab a paddle or die, but rather that tripping is a way of life. One where we can appreciate nature, learn to never give up and stay open-minded in any situation that storms our way.

It’s a saying about making the worst of situations seen to be the best of opportunities, as simple as saying “water is wet,” or “fire is hot.”

They are words intended to spark motivation in campers and make them believe there is nothing they cannot accomplish.

It’s a phrase that can turn any rainy day sunny, any fire-cooked stir-fry into a gourmet five-star meal and make a sunset glowing lake the most satisfying sight the eye could see.

The words can make a neverending portage suddenly seem possible, and could turn fear into thundering inspiration.

The “trip or die” mentality transcends the twisting bigotry that tackles our modern world.

In a society where words can change meaning at any second, surrendering our understanding is the first way to lose grasp of our belief.

Giving in to the expectations of every overactive liability prevents our own thoughts from surfacing and derails the expectations of ourselves.

In struggles to make everyone happy, we are making nobody happy at all.

Why is this disregard for an old camp saying such a big deal?

Because in times where everything said can be taken so literally, we are threatening the versatility of language — we are conforming to a system that replaces meaning for what we know with what others may assume. Fear of assumption has vacuumed our tongues. And it’s about damn time we resist the suction preventing us from chanting what we believe.

“TRIP OR DIE.”

FANI HSIEH/GRAPHICS EDITOR

14 • OPINION

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2016

Growth with Asperger’s A big sister’s role is to help overcome family challenges

HANNAH NARDUZZI OPINION COLUMNIST

Many say the eldest child paves the way for their younger siblings.

They tend to be protective and caring because they are the first of the children in their family to experience puberty, high school and other trying situations.

Often painted as leaders in their family, the eldest may feel it is their personal obligation to help siblings who will soon follow in their footsteps.

Though the “journey” varies from person to person based on a number of different factors, my brother’s circumstances were quite different from mine and other people who I grew up with.

I am the oldest of three, with a sister who is two years younger and a brother who is six years younger.

My brother, Joseph, was diagnosed before the age of six with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), Asperger’s syndrome and tics.

Impeding his abilities to cope with stress, work, school and social situations, Joseph’s path was new for everyone.

Though he had and continues to have numerous resources and a network of support, my brother will always need to actively work

His brain is wired in incredible ways and each day brings new challenges.

on the social, educational and personal aspects of his life.

Imagine having a Harley Davidson motor for a brain with breaks similar to a tricycle’s.

Now pair that with the natural inability to recognize complex emotion in others like empathy or frustration, also with occasional muscle spasms which you cannot control.

His brain is wired in incredible ways and each day brings new challenges.

I would like to clear the air and share that simply because Joseph is in a separate category cognitively, this does not excuse him from certain treatments or experiences in his day to day existence.

Tension within the family, projects in school, taking part in extracurricular activities and ignorant children are just a few of Joseph’s many obstacles.

He tends to avoid situations that may be stressful or spontaneous; it’s much easier for him to handle a situation if he knows the outcome.

A number of “Aspie” children are

quite fond of video games because of their ability to control reality as well as the games visually stimulating graphics.

In a video game, if he hits ‘Command A’ very quickly while holding down button ‘B,’ then a series of unexpected yet controlled reactions will occur.

He knows what is expected and can learn how to master it.

I spoke to Joseph about his feelings toward autism and Aspergers in mainstream society.

His views, from the point of a 13-year-old, are quite insightful.

He said, “I feel as though people these days are very culturally insensitive, more than ever, and in being that way the idea of Autism being common knowledge is a lot more uncommon.”

It is clear there is a disconnect between society and the whole culture surrounding autism and its supporters.

This can lead to an air of insensitivity.

When he speaks about being “culturally insensitive,” that is in relation to the lack of mainstream awareness.

Although I do not like to admit it, creating a lasting and positive relationship with my brother was tougher than one might expect.

There was a long period where his character was still developing and I was not the most sympathetic towards him, even with my depth of understanding.

I saw the impacts his behaviour had on my loved ones — my younger sister in particular — and

CONTRIBUTED IMAGE

Joseph Narduzzi, Hannah’s brother, is now 13-years-old going on 14.

I was not too forgiving in a few situations.

Growth happens on both ends, and it took a few years for myself to be able to truly relate to him. The state of our relationship now is the best it has ever been. He has overcome many obstacles, personally and socially, and I have as well.

The role of being a big sister is an important part of my life.

And despite any challenges, I’ll continue being the best role model I could be, teaching people that being different isn’t a problem.

Growth happens on both ends, and it took a few years for myself to truly relate to him.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2016

Sports

• 15 SPORTS EDITOR DREW YATES dyates@thecord.ca

RECRUITING

WILL HUANG/FILE PHOTO

After a stellar 2015-16 campaign, the Wilfrid Laurier football team reaps the benefits of gaining the interest of many high-calibre recruits looking to further their football careers in university.

Laurier football recruiting class impresses Hawks sixth in average per player and ninth in recruiting, according to Canada Football Chat DANIEL JOHNSON STAFF WRITER

After making it to the semifinals in 2015 after beating the McMaster Marauders in the quarter-final, the Wilfrid Laurier men’s football team has made huge strides in their recruiting.

According to Canada Football Chat, Laurier ranked ninth in recruiting total and sixth in average per player recruit. CFC bases their rankings off a score interval for each player within the CFC Top 100 rankings list. Each player is given a certain amount of points.

Depending on the amount of recruits to a school that have confirmed, and the amount that are listed on the top 100, the ranking for each team can vary.

Peter Baxter, the director of

athletics and recreation at Laurier had this to say regarding the placement.

“I think it speaks actually to the calibre of coaching that we have,” Baxter said. “With Mike Faulds as our head coach, who’s brought our team on the rise in just three short years and we made playoffs, we beat [McMaster], that helps a lot with recruiting. “ Baxter stressed the football staff as a major unit in the high ranking among top-Canadian teams such as Laval University and the University of British Columbia.

Baxter mentioned assistant head coach and defensive coordinator Ron VanMoerkerke, who he said has put a lot of young men as well as student-athletes into the Canadian Football League.

Baxter also gives credit to

Dwayne Cameron, the special teams coordinator and recruiting coordinator. The Golden Hawks’ philosophy is to invest in people, and that winning is not simply the end score when the whistle blows, but the broader achievements of the players’ lives.

“You start with good coaches, they invest in good student-athletes, and from there we get better and we win,” said Baxter.

To Faulds, Laurier’s rank allows them to compete with bigger schools and more established programs. Two years removed from a 1-7 season, with growth still in the works for the team, the new recruits see it as a big sell — the school is on the rise and they want to be a part of it.

“I think recruits are really seeing the progress we’ve made over

“You start with good coaches, they invest in good student-athletes, and from there we get better and we win.”

-Peter Baxter, director of athletics and recreation

the last few years. We’ve come a long way since that 1-7 season a few years ago, winning the playoff game this past year, making it to the [Ontario University Athletics] semifinals,” Faulds said.

But the surrounding systems for athletes are just as important.

Baxter said that statistics shows the student-athletes’ graduation rate is

higher than non-athletes and that measure at a university is the most important because their degrees will take them a lot further than their athletic field. But that doesn’t diminish what they are going to learn on the field.

“There is no better incubator than learning the spectrum of emotion, how to deal with failure, how to deal with adversity, how to deal with success and some people don’t know how to deal with success and that is what sport can teach you,” he said. “Every time you play, there’s a result at the end of the day and then you got to go back at it. You either won or you lost.

“Even if you won and lost, you got to go back at it the next game because there’s no such thing as a rearview mirror in football.”

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

First round exit Hawks playoff run ended by Lancers DREW YATES SPORTS EDITOR

To end their season, the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks lost to the No. 10 Windsor Lancers in single digits. With a 82-76 loss to their conference rivals, the Hawks were eliminated from the Ontario University Athletics playoffs.

The Hawks were in it all throughout the game — they held a narrow two-point lead after third-year Sarah Dillon nailed a three-pointer in the dying seconds of the first half to take a 42-40 lead.

But they couldn’t upset the fivetime defending Canadian Interuniversity Sport champions, and Windsor eventually caught up in the end due to poor execution on Laurier’s part.

“We had a little bit of trouble stopping them and keeping them off our boards, and then in the fourth quarter we struggled defensively and it ended up being the difference,” head coach Paul Falco said.

“We did a lot of things well. It’s just too bad we didn’t execute in the fourth quarter.”

Laurier finished the season with a 9-11 record.

In some ways, Falco said he wasn’t surprised the Hawks were close to .500 this season because

they lost some big pieces in Samantha Jacobs, Lee Anna Osei and Whitney Ellenor, who all graduated last year, and then losing their two tallest pieces in Melissa Pare and Alex Spadaro due to injury.

This left the Hawks undersized and forced them to play some small ball and adjust their playing style to accommodate.

Falco said he liked how the Hawks became a tough team to guard in that they were able to stretch out their opponents with strong outside shooting.

He also liked their transition game — it was something they set out to do at the start of the season.

But as for improving, they knew that rebounding would need some work.

Falco said one of the ways to address it is to get a little more size on the team and make sure it’s a priority every possession.

As the offseason approaches, Falco hopes the Hawks focus on their strength and conditioning, as it’s such a big factor in basketball today.

“Athletes are stronger and faster than they’ve ever been. If our girls can come back 10 to 15 per cent stronger and ready to endure the long season then that’s really going to set us up for the next year,” he said.

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16 • SPORTS

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2016

WOMEN’S HOCKEY

Will over the skill Laurier can’t overcome top-seeded Gryphons in semifinal SHELBY BLACKLEY EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Peter Baxter sits at the top row of the stands behind the Wilfrid Laurier women’s hockey team bench.

He switches between having his arms sternly crossed and his hands gripped tightly together. Tensely, the director of athletics and recreation watches what could be his daughter, Haley Baxter’s last game.

With 3:39 left in the first period, the Hawks strike first against the Guelph Gryphons. Co-captain and fifth-year Blair Connelly capitalizes on a beautiful feed. A wave of relief flushes over Peter Baxter’s face.

It’s 1-0.

But the stress never lets up. In what could only be described as an all out war, the Hawks battle the top-seeded Gryphons, holding on to that one-goal lead. With every opportunity, every hit, every penalty, the Hawks are influenced by emotion.

The third period comes and as the clock ticks away, the Hawks are closer and closer to a one-goal win. But Guelph isn’t ranked the top team in the country for no reason. With just under eight minutes, they solve third-year goaltender Amanda Smith to send the game to overtime.

The Hawks are masters at overtime. They played every game in their first playoff series against the Toronto Varsity Blues with a few extra frames, so it’s second nature

“Thank you for taking a chance on me.”

-Defender Haley Baxter to head coach Rick Osborne

to them.

But it just wasn’t in the cards.

Eight minutes into overtime, a tired, beat up Laurier team saw their hopes of a second series upset come to an end when Kaitlin Lowy beat Smith to give Guelph the 2-1 victory, and the series sweep.

And behind the bench, where he had been all game, Peter Baxter stands up with the rest of the Laurier parents and claps as the Hawks left the ice one last time for the 2015-16 season.

“It was difficult out there tonight,” said head coach Rick Osborne after the game. “We hung in there and gave ourselves a chance to win both games. We obviously weren’t the strongest team on the ice but we were pretty close, especially when it came to compete level. I thought we were pretty close to a 1-0 win.”

A team that was evidently fighting for their lives fought in the best way that Laurier knows how

— speed, finesse, guts and a whole lot of shot blocking. And for a team that preaches the fact the will must exceed the skill, the will is what carried them through the season.

They didn’t have an outright top scorer. They didn’t really have that go-to person. The Hawks juggled between goaltenders and lost more games in regulation than they have in history. But the will was always there.

And despite being swept in the series, and tears flowing from every players’ eyes, bench boss Osborne was far from upset. As each player came out from the locker room for their cool down, he stopped them, one-by-one, to say thank you for their hard work.

He stopped every rookie player to commend them on an outstanding first season with the Hawks.

When Haley Baxter came out, she hugged Osborne.

“Thank you for taking a chance on me,” she said. A player that was at one point just supposed to be a healthy scratch, Baxter became so much more to this team.

“Baxter and Connelly have been rocks on the defence for three, four years,” Osborne said after the game. “They have left it all on the ice every playoff run.”

Baxter, Connelly, Robyn Degagne, Jessie Hurrell and Erika Kiviaho, a whole line of experience — almost 700 games worth — left their hearts on the ice in their last season in the purple and gold.

WILL HUANG/PHOTO EDITOR

Dollee Meigs plays the puck in the Hawks 2-1 loss to the Guelph Gryphons.

“We’ve got some really good recruits coming in [for next year], but there’s nobody … that can replace those girls,” Osborne said.

A red-eyed Connelly, who won two Ontario University Athletics championships over her five-year tenure, had nothing but kind words for those who helped shape her women’s hockey experience.

“The past five years have been incredible,” added Connelly on her playing experience with the Hawks. “I’ve played with some great leaders and some great team-

mates. I couldn’t have asked for a better group every year that I’ve played here and it’s been an honour to be a Laurier Golden Hawk and I’ll never forget my experience here.”

Now, with 2015-16 behind them, Osborne and his coaching staff head back to the drawing board.

And although his daughter won’t be on the ice next season, you can expect the Laurier athletic director to be right where he usually is, arms sternly crossed or hands tightly gripped.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Saying goodbye to the end of an era Peter Campbell, Will Coulthard and Garrison Thomas all had their Laurier career end Wednesday DREW YATES SPORTS EDITOR

Hold yourself accountable.

That’s the last piece of advice head coach Peter Campbell of the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks would give Laurier.

The men’s basketball team was eliminated from the Ontario University Athletics playoffs last Wednesday night 98-80 against the Brock Badgers in the first round, marking the end of an era — not only for graduating seniors Will Coulthard and Garrison Thomas, but it was also Campbell's final game coaching the team.

The bench boss has officially finished his 31-year career as a head coach and is heading into retirement.

"Every year at this time you get to the point where you know, today, tomorrow is your final game and you don't want it to be," he said. "There's only one team that wants their final game to be their final game and that's the team that wins the national championship.

So for 31 years I've been terrorized by 'This could be your last game,’ it's a motivating factor every time."

"But it's over, it's like oh man, it's strange but you kind of go into a depression for a little bit. It's been ripped away from you."

The Hawks did a lot of things Campbell liked during the playoff game against Brock — the team was outrebounded badly during their last meeting and in the first quarter the Hawks held their own.

The Badgers built their team around offensive rebounding, and

“... It’s strange but you kind of go into a depression for a little bit. It’s been ripped away from you.”

-Peter Campbell, men’s basketball head coach

CONTRIBUTED IMAGE

Will Coulthard guards a Brock attacker in Laurier’s 98-80 loss to the Badgers, eliminating them from the playoffs.

the Hawks held them to only three offensive rebounds after the first quarter and trailed by only seven points by the end of the first half.

But the Hawks were never truly out of the game as third-year Matt Chesson scored seven quick points to get Laurier back in it with the Badgers. It was only in the fourth quarter Brock started to pull away and soon the Hawks were just trying to play it out.

Campbell said at the beginning of the year the Hawks had a chance of making it to the Final Four, and could win the OUA West conference, but as the guys started to play, he realized that the team wasn't gelling the way he was hoping. So he re-evaluated — if they could get to the game on Wednes-

day, it could be considered “a good year” for Laurier.

But what also needs to be considered is how competitive basketball is in Ontario. Three of the top teams in Canada are from Ontario — the McMaster Marauders are fifth, and the Badgers sit as the eighth best team in Canada.

"And they're legitimately where they sit. Nobody's overrated," he said. "In fact, Mac maybe could be fourth."

The season could also be thought of as a farewell tour for Campbell, as he made his final visits to the gyms he coached in and against opponents for the last 31 years. Some of his most memorable moments were the home game against the Western Mustangs

when they were struggling and Mustangs forward Greg Morrow was punishing them — the Hawks did some things that they hadn't been doing and turned it around and played hard to tie it and won it in overtime.

There’s also the match against the Guelph Gryphons when Owen Coulthard had a nearly perfect game until he shot the ball while he was falling down, and the game against the Waterloo Warriors because it was nicely paced and there wasn't a lot of pressure.

And of course, the game against the Laurentian Voyageurs when he was given a jersey by head coach Shawn Swords and Paul Hurley of the Voyageurs men's and women's basketball teams in Campbell's

final visit to Ben Avery gym — a place he spent a large amount of his career.

"I didn't want all the hooplah that came about, but that one I have to admit I looked forward to and the boys giving me a jersey from Laurentian and, a jersey that I started," he said. "And we played so well. So well."

As Campbell prepares himself to retire, he wishes to leave one last piece of advice — not just with the team, but with the entire community at Wilfrid Laurier. And that's to hold yourself accountable.

"Know yourself. Know your strengths. Know your weaknesses.

Work on your strengths and attack your weaknesses. And then the most important thing is hold yourself accountable. Stop deflecting criticism. Stop deflecting responsibility. Grasp it. Because that's the only way you're going to get to be great," he said. "That's the only way you're going to be able to reach your potential and get to be as good as you can possibly be.

And I don't think anybody holds themselves accountable anymore.

I think that's too bad."