THE CORD THE TIE THAT BINDS WILFRID LAURIER UNIVERSITY SINCE 1926
VOLUME 60 ISSUE 9 • OCTOBER 23, 2019
“IT’S A LIBERAL MINORITY!”
Justin Trudeau re-elected as Prime Minister of Canada in federal election News, page 5
BILINGUALISM MATTERS
ALUMNI GIVE BACK
MIDTERM MANAGEMENT
CONFLICTS OF CATHOLICISM
FOOTBALL FALLOUT
Laurier implements new research centre
$800,000 donated to WLU
How to balance your class workload
Coping with religious guilt from education
Golden Hawks disappoint with 22-10 loss
News, page 5
News, page 5
Arts & Life, page 8
Opinion, page 10
Sports, page 12
2 •
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2019
VOCAL CORD
What's an issue that you think politicians should be addressing more actively?
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The Cord
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CordNews THIS DAY IN HISTORY: OCTOBER 23
PHOTO OF THE WEEK
1812: Failed coup against emperor Napoleon. 1814: First plastic surgery is performed (England). 1915: An estimated 25,000 supporters in a women's suffrage march turn out on New York's Fifth Ave, led by Dr. Anna Shaw and Carrie Chapman Catt, founder of the League of Women Voters.
“... Tax breaks and how politicians need to clarify more about what they're talking about in terms of how they support the lower class and tax the wealthy.”
1921: Green Bay Packers play 1st NFL game, 7-6 win over Minneapolis. 1933: John Dillinger and his gang rob Central National Bank, in Greencastle, Indiana. They take $75,000.
– Megan Danbrook, 4th year Bachelor of Music
1935: Mackenzie King is elected as Prime Minister of Canada for the third time. 1941: Walt Disney's animated film Dumbo released.
“Climate change.”
1945: Jackie Robinson signs Montreal Royal contract.
– Jacob Brisley, 2nd year BBA
DARIEN FUNK/PHOTO EDITOR
1958: The smurfs first appear in the story "Johan and Pirlouit" by Belgium cartoonist Peyo. 1964: Future undisputed world heavyweight boxing champion Joe Frazier dominates German Hans Huber for an easy points win and the Olympic heavyweight gold medal in Tokyo.
FROM THE ARCHIVES
"They should talk (and act) more proactively about clean drinking water on Indigenous reserves."
1973: Richard Nixon agrees to turn over White House tape recordings to Judge John Sirica. 1991: Les Miserables opens at Mogador Theatre, Paris.
– Natasha Geeregat, 3rd year psychology
1993: Blue Jays beat Philadelphia Phillies, 8-6 in Game 6 at the SkyDome, Toronto to retain Baseball World Series; Blue Jays infielder Paul Molitor MVP. 1998: Britney Spears releases her debut single "Baby One More Time."
"Refugee support."
2001: Apple releases the iPod.
– Madison Rettinger, 2nd year Health Science Answers and photos compiled by: Sydney MacDonald NEXT ISSUE
FILE PHOTO Students' answers to The Cord Weekly's "Question of the Week" in 1986: How many classes have you missed so far this term?
OPINION EDITOR Jade Hosick opinion@thecord.ca
SENIOR COPY EDITOR Victoria Marshall copyeditor@thecord.ca
CORD STAFF
SPORTS EDITOR Matt Cascagnette sports@thecord.ca
CORDCAST PRODUCER Jade Hosick cordcast@thecord.ca
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Emily Waitson editor@thecord.ca
GRAPHICS EDITOR Jamie Mere graphics@thecord.ca
CREATIVE DIRECTOR Brit Kovacs creative@thecord.ca
PHOTO EDITOR Darien Funk photos@thecord.ca
WEB DIRECTOR Kashyap Patel online@thecord.ca
ONLINE EDITOR Kathleen McCullough online@thecord.ca
NEWS DIRECTOR Hayley McGoldrick news@thecord.ca
VIDEO EDITOR VACANT video@thecord.ca
NEWS EDITOR sophia Cole news@thecord.ca
LEAD REPORTER VACANT news@thecord.ca
ARTS & LIFE EDITOR Alyssa Di Sabatino arts@thecord.ca
LEAD PHOTOGRAPHER Sydney Macdonald photos@thecord.ca
OCTOBER 30, 2019
CONTRIBUTORS
EDITOR’S CHOICE
Jackson Carse Emma McVicar
"Editorial: Discovering the benefit of personal connections." - Kashyap Patel
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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 4,500 copies and enjoys a readership of over 10,000. Cord subscription rates are $20.00 per term for addresses within Canada. The Cord has been a proud member of the Canadian University Press (CUP) since 2004.
PREAMBLE The Cord will keep faith with its readers by presenting news and expressions of opinions comprehensively, accurately and fairly. The Cord believes in a balanced and impartial presentation of all relevant facts in a news report, and of all substantial opinions in a matter of controversy. The staff of The Cord shall uphold all commonly held ethical conventions of journalism. When an error of omission or of commission has occurred, that error shall be acknowledged promptly. When statements are made that are critical of an individual, or
2006: "The Black Parade" third studio album by My Chemical Romance is released.
an organization, we shall give those affected the opportunity to reply at the earliest time possible. Ethical journalism requires impartiality, and consequently conflicts of interest and the appearance of conflicts of interest will be avoided by all staff. The only limits of any newspaper are those of the world around it, and so The Cord will attempt to cover its world with a special focus on Wilfrid Laurier University, and the community of Kitchener-Waterloo, and with a special ear to the concerns of the students of Wilfrid Laurier University. Ultimately, The Cord will be bound by neither philosophy nor geography in its mandate. The Cord has an obligation to foster freedom of the press and freedom of speech. This obligation is best fulfilled when debate and dissent are encouraged, both in the internal workings of the paper, and through The Cord’s contact with the student body. The Cord will always attempt to do what is right, with fear of neither repercussions, nor retaliation. The purpose of the student press is to act as an agent of social awareness, and so shall conduct the affairs of our newspaper.
Quote of the week: “You know how I feel about fucking minions.” - News Director, Hayley McGoldrick, to former EIC, Safina Husein, about her desired Halloween costume.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2019
News
• 3 NEWS DIRECTOR HAYLEY MCGOLDRICK news@thecord.ca
NEWS EDITOR SOPHIA COLE news@thecord.ca
FEDERAL ELECTION
Liberals win minority government with 157 seats CONTRIBUTED IMAGES
The announcement was made Monday night that Justin Trudeau (middle) would be re-elected. Andrew Scheer (middle-right) and the Conservatives will once more form the Official Opposition. AARON HAGEY PRESIDENT & PUBLISHER
On Monday, Oct. 21, Canadians elected members of the Liberal Party in 157 districts — 46.4 per cent of total seats — securing a minority government for Justin Trudeau and the Liberals in Canada’s forty-third federal election. The Conservative Party of Canada will once again form the Official Opposition, acquiring 121, or 35.8 per cent of the total seats — as well as the majority of the popular vote. The House of Commons, the democratically-elected body of Canadian parliament, which is at the centre of political power and allows for the introduction of governing laws, has a total of 338 seats: a majority government requires a single party to achieve 170 seats in the legislature. In a minority government, the party in power requires the cooperation and support of other parties in order to stay in power, as well as introduce and pass laws. With a minority government, laws may only be passed with enough support to form a majority (170). Without the majority support of a single party, this often leads to stagnation or delay in the legislative process. Opposing members of parliament, in these situations,
have the power to vote against certain laws that the party in power wishes to introduce, or even make a motion of no-confidence against the head of state. Because of this, minority governments tend to be less stable and prone to re-election. Canada has had 14 minority governments in its history. The last minority government in Canada, from 2006-2008 and 2008-2011, was led by Stephen Harper and the Conservatives. It was also one of the longest minority governments in Canadian history. In this case, the Conservatives saw an increase in the size of their party’s power, increasing from 127 seats in 2006 to 143 in 2008. At this time, there were 308 seats in the House of Commons, requiring 154 seats for a majority government. Conversely, since the Liberal government was elected in Canada’s forty-second election in 2015, they have lost 27 seats: from 184 to an unconfirmed 157. As opposed to a majority government, which cycles approximately every four years, a minority government often only lasts two-three years before a re-election is called. This suggests that Trudeau and the Liberals may have less time to fulfill or achieve their platform and party promises than
the last parliament cycle. From a popular vote perspective, the Conservatives secured 6,155,622 votes total, or 34.4 per cent — 239,712 more than the Liberals at 5,915,950, or 33.1 per cent. This number may change as more polls report.
Voter turnout was the highest in the Waterloo riding, with over 73 per cent — almost 63,000 — eligible voters who cast a ballot.
The New Democrats came in third, at approximately 2,849,214, or 15.9 per cent of the votes and 24 seats; the Bloc Québécois followed with 1,376,135, or 7.7 per cent of the votes and 32 seats; and the Green Party finished slightly behind with 1,162,361, or 6.5 per cent of the vote and 3 seats. As well, an independent candidate, Jody Wilson-Raybould, has
secured a re-election and her former seat in the riding of Vancouver Granville, in British Columbia. She received 16,537 votes, or 32.3 per cent, defeating Liberal candidate Taleeb Noormohamed with 13,637 votes, or 26.6 per cent. Despite the relatively small division in popular vote between the Bloc and Greens — just 213774 — it is interesting that the parties finished with drastically differing numbers of seats in the House of Commons: 32 versus 3. However, this is outweighed by the difference between the popular vote and electoral vote of the Liberals and Conservatives, who saw a 36-seat difference despite almost 250,000 fewer votes. In this year’s forty-third election, within the Waterloo Region, five Liberal MPs were re-elected, with a tight finish in Kitchener-Conestoga between Liberal candidate Tim Louis and Conservative candidate Harold Albrecht. In the Kitchener-Conestoga riding, with only five polls remaining to report, it has been unofficially confirmed that Louis (Liberal) has defeated Albrecht (Conservative) by 273 votes: 20,106 to 19,833 — a margin of just 0.5 per cent. Green Party leader Mike Morrice has called his second-place Kitchener Centre finish “historic,”
capturing 26 per cent of the riding’s vote, who finished with 14,215 votes, and beating the Conservatives, who finished with 13,111. Most notably, Maxime Bernier, leader of the People’s Party of Canada, will be losing his seat in Parliament after failing to secure a victory in the riding of Beauce, Quebec — a seat that he has held since 2006. Bernier was defeated by Richard Lehoux, the Conservative candidate, who was elected with 22,817 votes, at 38.6 per cent of the total, over Bernier’s 16,772 votes, at 28.4 per cent of the total. Voter turnout was the highest in the Waterloo riding, with over 73 per cent — almost 63,000 — eligible voters who cast a ballot. Turnout in the other regions varied, from roughly 64 per cent in Cambridge, with over 57,000 voters, to over 68 per cent in Kitchener-Conestoga, with over 50,000 voters. Nationwide, approximately 66 per cent of registered electors turned out to vote — 17,890,264 out of a total of 27,126,166, not including those who registered on election day itself. This does, however, represent a slight drop from the 68.3 per cent — or 17,711,983 — of voters in 2015.
4 • NEWS
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2019
BUSINESS
Laurier hosts second annual international case conference SOPHIA COLE NEWS EDITOR
MATHUSAN SRIMURUGAN/CORD PHOTOGRAPHY
7 King Street North, Waterloo 5 Manitou Drive, Kitchener 1585 Victoria Street N., Kitchener
StagShop.com
This past week, Laurier hosted its second annual Lazaridis Internation Case Conference from Oct. 13 to 19. Teams of students from top schools across the globe gathered to compete in case competitions and experience what the growing Canadian conference had to offer. There were twelve teams in total who competed in the international case competition, including teams from Germany, Australia, Hong Kong, Thailand, Hungary, the Netherlands and the United States of America in addition to a few Canadian teams. “Last year we had 9 schoools and this year we had 12. So we grew by three schools which doesn’t sound like a lot but it changes the dynamic a little bit in terms of the number of cases that are being watched and the rigour of the competition,” said Sofy Carayannopoulos, associate professor at Wilfrid Laurier University and LAZICC faculty advisor. “I’m very happy to say that the schools that were at it this year elevated and reinforced the quality of the competition.” “There’s a lot of coordination and small details that need to be perfectly timed and executed for it to be a seamless experience for the international competitors who attend.” The conference consisted of a variety of both academic and social events, including a trip to Niagara Falls, a networking event, tech talk and social, case competitions, gala dinner and Oktoberfest outing to conclude the week. Sponsors of this year’s conference included big names like TD Canada Trust, Foresters Financial, MARSH, Pearson and Communitech. The case competition component of the conference included both a five hour and 24 hour case competition for the students to compete in, both of which were technologically focused. “I think the reason we were motivated to put a tech emphasis on our cases is first and foremost because technology is the main driver of change in the business environment today,” said Carayannopoulos. “So given how important that is, it can create opportunities, it can create stress, it can create new businesses and new ways of doing business and given how much change is created by one factor I think it’s important to really understand how that factor is impacting organizations.” This year’s winning teams included Simon Fraser University in third place, Mcgill University in second place and the Technical University of Munich as the highest-ranking team.The conference was organized primarily by Laurier students with the help of Carayannopoulos as a faculty advisor. “Who execute it all is the students. We have a student organization who reaches out to sponsors, it was student writers who wrote the cases, students that executed the entire event,” she said. There’s a lot of coordination and small details that need to be perfectly timed and
executed for it to be a seamless experience for the international competitors who attend.” Students involved in the planning process of the conference gain valuable skills that prepare them for role in both organizational and management positions in the business world. The students, international delegates and faculty in attendance all reviewed the event with flying colours. “Right now we are getting emails back from students and delegates that came to the competition and the faculty that supervised them, and even the sponsors, saying this was an amazing experience,” Carayannopoulos said. “The students in particular say-
Who execute it all is the students. We have a student organization who reaches out to sponsors, it was student writers who wrote the cases, students that executed the entire event. -Sofy Carayannopoulos, Faculty Advisor
ing this is going to be the highlight of my undergraduate experience, the faculty saying my students learned so much and have taken so much away from this experience and the sponsors being so impressed with the quality of what they saw at the competition.” A new component was introduced to this year in order to provide local students with the opportunity to experience a high intensity case competition. LAZICC Local allowed both Laurier and University of Waterloo students to complete amongst themselves in the same 24 hour case competition that the international teams tackled. “18 Laurier teams had a parallel experience, did the 24 hour case, the same case that the international students were resolving in that same time period. And we ran a competition with them where they presented to a panel of external judges, with some faculty on those panels as well, and were able to compete against each other and experience the rigours of what an international team would experience if they went abroad,” Carayannopoulos said. “So that was something new, created a lot more work but I think it was a worthwhile experience and opportunity for our students… I’m very happy to say, and these aren’t just my words, the sponsors said the same thing that saw both tracks, that certainly our top teams on the local side could have easily gone head to head with the international students.”
NEWS • 5
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2019 DONATION
Alumni donate $800,000 for new student support services HAYLEY MCGOLDRICK NEWS DIRECTOR
Homecoming weekend saw the announcement of the Wilfrid Laurier University Alumni Association (WLUAA) donating $800,000 to enhance student services for current students at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. The donation was split up into four parts to cover different student services around campus that could use funding. $350,000 of the donation was put towards scholarships for students and $270,000 was to enhance safety for students including public education, counselling, a 24/7 helpline four support and counselling and support for victims of sexual violence. $30,000 will be going towards the makerspace programs at Laurier to enhance student creativity and the final $150,000 will be going to the Nadjiwan Kaandossiwin Gamik Indigenous Student Centre to redevelop a learning and development centre for Indigenous students on the Waterloo campus. “We started working with Mark Gray who is in the major giving area of Laurier, he actually presented about eight different options that were key priorities for the university and we looked at what the impact each opportunity would
have for students, we were also looking for projects that could be implemented fairly quickly,” said Ryan Smith, president of WLUAA. “There was a fairly interesting option of doing something redevelopment of a space in Brantford, but when we looked more closely at it, it looked like something that was still a few years away, but it wasn’t really a shovel ready opportunity.” The WLUAA has donated almost $2 million dollars for projects at Laurier as well as student scholarships since 2009, with partnerships with fellow alumni and revenue from their GradVantages program helping make these donations possible. “It’s fairly consistent with previous donations, in 2015 we pledged $750,000 so we’re a little higher than that this time, the way it works is that we do three year gift agreements, so what we pledged this year will actually be paid to the university over three annual installments,” Smith said. “The way I look at it as an alumnus from Laurier, we had a fantastic experience on campus and a very great education, a lot of that was due to previous generations of donors and donations made many years ago to develop the campus. It’s paying that forward, all of it that we benefitted from we want to make sure that continues.”
WLUAA also puts on events that connect students and alumni alike to network and become mentors and mentees to each other by hearing the stories of fellow graduates to help steer current students in the right direction post-graduation. “I’m really excited to make a
It’s paying it forward, all of it that we benefitted from we want to make sure that also continues. PAIGE BUSH/FILE PHOTO -Ryan Smith, WLUAA president
donation of this size, but we don’t want the alumni association to be seen just as an organization that provides financial support to the university. We want to be heavily involved in all the issues happening on campus and provide a voice for alumni,” Smith said. “Virtually any committee that’s struck on campus, our goal is to be invited and have a voice. Last year when Laurier was revising its strategic plan, we had a member
of our association represent us on that committee, this year there are concerns about Ezra street gatherings so we participate in that, in general we elect three members to the board of governors and senate too.” The alumni association will continue to look at options in the future for ways to help out Laurier at many of the campuses, but for the near future, the funds received will be put to good use to ensure the student experience stays at the top for future generations. “Something that was new to me was the programming for the Indigenous students, we start of
every meeting with a land acknowledgement, that made me want to do more research into what is being done in that area. Right now there are 535 students who self-identify as indigenous, an increase from 2010 where there were only 199,” Smith said. “Being able to provide a space where they can a have a home away from home for them was a great investment. As for the makerspace, we saw how the space was supporting academics through experiential learning as well as other classes that were good for stress relief we were sold the moment we saw it.”
LANGUAGES
Bilingualism Matters opens research centre HAYLEY MCGOLDRICK NEWS DIRECTOR
Laurier has announced that they will be joining a network of many other institutions by launching a Bilingualism Matters research and service centre, located in the newly renovated Frank C. Peters building. Bilingualism Matters currently exists at 26 universities in 14 countries, with Laurier becoming the first Canadian partner in the network that has been around since 2008. They specialize in research on language learning, bilingualism and learning English as a second language. “It’s been a network for over 10 years now and it’s been on my radar ever since I started here in 2007, a year after I started at Laurier it was launched for the first time in Scotland and I was at that launch and really impressed, I’ve known the founding director for many years,” said John Schwieter, professor in the department of languages and literatures and director and principal investigator for Bilingualism Matters at Laurier. “I thought it may be finally time to bring something like that here, it’s been growing over the years and it’s specifically come about because of the demographics of our area, I made some phone calls to the mayor’s office in both Kitchener and Waterloo, the framework
HAYLEY MCGOLDRICK/NEWS DIRECTOR
was there internationally but I had to make sure it was also jiving with the needs of our community and they definitely said yes.” The centre held a launch event on Friday, Oct. 11 to introduce the centre at Laurier as well as give collaborators for the project
and others involved a chance to speak in front of the community to share the research as well as future events that will be held by the centre. “One in every four people speak a language other than English or French as their mother tongue in
the region, so we are recognizing this is a good service to give to the community so we do the research on what the needs are not only in the field but what we need to look at in Waterloo,” Schwieter said. “Waterloo is interested in how bilingualism and identity shape
the lives of citizens here, that down to earth information coming to me is then able to be put into a research project and then put back into society, hopefully we make an impact that goes beyond academic journals.” Founded at the University of Edinburgh in 2008 by professor Antonella Sorace who was one of the speakers at Laurier’s launch event, Bilingualism Matters in Waterloo aims to hold many purposes, including helping families who have newly immigrated to Canada and have trouble understanding and speaking English. “We will constantly be having research projects, anyone in the community as well as students can come in and participate in our research as participants, we will be looking at both people who speak one language from ages zero to 100 and also looking at those who speak tow or more languages in the same age group,” Schwieter said. “We also will be hosting public events, not only held at the university but we will be going into schools, WRDSB connects us with schools, teachers and principals to go into the school to have talks about how to help minority language students; we’ll also host talks on campus about how speaking multiple languages can help cognitive and career opportunities and we’re always looking for volunteers.”
6 • GAMES
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2019
SUDOKU
MAZE
COLOURING
Dear Life
Dear Life is your opportunity to write a letter to your life, allowing you to vent your anger with life’s little frustrations in a completely public forum. Dear Life, Miley Cyrus, why you gotta be so ridiculous? Seriously, next time think about what you say before you talk about queer identities. Sincerely, Disappointed Dear Life,
Em, I know I tell you this every week but thank you for being the glue that holds this team together. I am so lucky to call you my boss but more importantly my friend. You make my Tuesday brighter.
Sincerely, HM Dear Life, “Blood alone moves the wheels of history! Have you ever asked yourselves in an hour of meditation, which everyone finds during the day,how long we have been striving for greatness? Not only the years we’ve been at war, the war of work, but from the moment as a child when we realized that the world could be conquered. It has been a lifetime struggle. A never-ending fight. I say to you, and you will understand that it is a privilege to fight! We are warriors! Salesmen of north-eastern Pennsylvania, I ask you once more: Rise and be worthy of this historical hour! No revolution is worth anything unless it can defend itself! Some
people will tell you salesman is a bad word. They’ll conjure up images of used car dealers and door to door charlatans. This is our duty: to change their perception. I say salesmen... and women of the world unite! We must never acquiesce for it is together, TOGETHER, THAT WE PREVAIL! We must never cede control of the motherland! For it is together that we prevail!” Sincerely, Beets Dear Life, When Kanye said “We on a galaxy that haters cannot visit/That’s my reality so get off my Scott Disick,” I really felt that. Sincerely, The One
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2019
Arts & Life
• 7 ARTS & LIFE EDITOR ALYSSA DI SABATINO arts@thecord.ca
MUSIC
Harry Styles releases a new pop-influenced single HAYLEY MCGOLDRICK NEWS DIRECTOR
Harry Styles has returned to the music scene after a two-year hiatus with a new song as he dropped the single “Lights Up” last Friday. Styles’ debut solo album was known for its alternative-indie sound that had influences of John Mayer, Pink Floyd, Coldplay and The Rolling Stones all in one, a contrary to the boy band hits he had been putting out for the first half of the decade with boy band One Direction. Though a complete contrast to the work of the band that includes a discography of “What Makes You Beautiful” and “One Thing”, Styles’ latest track is a much more pop heavy influence than any of the songs on his previous album. Fans have speculated that the song is an anthem for those in the LGBTQ2+ community, as many have thought Styles himself is bi-sexual, though he has never ex-
plicitly said it, but the song’s lines are vague enough to be interpreted as such. The song’s pre-chorus sings “All the lights couldn’t put out the dark, running through my heart, lights up and they know who you are, do you know who you are?” which many listeners have inferred means that although Styles may have been unsure of who he was in the past, when the lights are up he is confident in who he is. The chorus follows up by saying “Step into the light, so bright sometimes, I’m not ever going back” which again, is alluding to being confident in who one is as a person, regardless of being in the spotlight or falsely accused of relationships or sexuality. Styles has had a lot of criticism in the spotlight due to many fans of the boy band One Direction assuming he was in a relationship with fellow band mate Louis Tomlinson, though both parties had denied it many times and Tomlinson has been with on-again, off-again girlfriend Eleanor Calder since 2011. Back to the music, the heavy pop influence of “Lights Up” came as a shock for some fans after such
an unmatched debut album with a sound that was unlike no other, with many who listened to the self-titled release calling themselves fans despite never liking any of the music of One Direction. Styles himself has mentioned many times that his tenure in One Direction was absolutely wonderful and that he never felt pressured or uncomfortable in the music they were making, the complete opposite of what ex-member Zayn Malik said after his departure that slowly led to the hiatus of the group. Referring back to the song, the lyrical breakdown is actually very simplistic with the verses singing “What do you mean, I’m sorry by the way” with the second half changing each verse before turning into the pre-chorus. The song, though just under three minutes, has already made an impact on the industry due to Styles ability to match heavy pop synths with vague lyrics that make listeners question the actual meaning of the song. “Lights Up” is a complete turnaround from his debut single “Sign of the Times”, and has listeners itching for more content as they look to see what the second install-
CONTRIBUTED IMAGE
ment of Styles’ solo career has in
store for them.
uation to a story and body of work that’s already strong enough on its own. Watching El Camino felt like sitting down to binge an extended episode of Breaking Bad. It’s pieced together with flashbacks that give the audience a balance of nostalgia and brief visits from beloved fan favourites like Mike and it’s paced carefully, without seeming rushed. And if this was an excuse to showcase the range and depth of Aaron Paul’s acting abilities, then the creators truly succeeded. The story is carried by a character who was never the central focus of the television series and it’s done so effortlessly. Jesse is equally as heartbreaking and funny as he was throughout the show and he’s developed over the course of the movie so that his immaturity slowly ebbs further and further away, but pieces of his charming innocence remain — like the brief moment where he’s holding a beetle, a direct callback to the season two episode “Peekaboo,” where a similar moment occurs. And as much as I originally despised villains Walter White and Todd Alquist, revisiting them felt natural and needed for the closure of Jesse’s character and to fill in the gaps that the series left when it originally ended. Todd is an antagonist who is unsettling in almost every possible way, and his unnerving amicability and overall demeanour are more evident than ever before. He’s a stark contrast in comparison to Jesse, whose ever conflicted attempt at retaining his own
humanity is constantly something that he struggles with. This is a dark moment that’s addressed when Jesse is forced to help Todd with disposing the body of his murdered cleaning lady — he casually removes the belt around her neck and puts it back on his pants, acting as though it was a completely normal thing to do. While Todd added needed context to the storyline, Walt’s brief reappearance onscreen isn’t overindulgent, and it’s timed so that his doesn’t, at least to me, seem like a cheap attempt at fan service. He isn’t copping his Heisenberg drug king persona — he’s the tightly wound, awkward Walter White that’s really hidden underneath, which is why it works so well. The scene provides some of the emotional padding that the movie needs — and it’s executed brilliantly by both actors. My biggest hesitation and stress going into this movie was that I was expecting Jesse to die — it would have felt like such a waste for his suffering and struggle to be for nothing. Thankfully, El Camino concludes on a quietly poignant note with a flashback to a moment he shared with his deceased girlfriend Jane, and he’s given a sendoff that completes his journey in the most gratifying way possible — he finally has the ability to start over. While this film doesn’t do anything particularly groundbreaking like Breaking Bad managed to do during its run, it’s a quietly successful extension of the franchise that’s worth the watch for any fan of the series.
TELEVISION
CONTRIBUTED IMAGE
El Camino is a successful spin-off
EMILY WAITSON EDITOR IN-CHIEF
This article contains spoilers for Breaking Bad and El Camino I firmly believe that Breaking Bad ended on an incredible — if not
perfect — note. Jesse Pinkman, the emotionally damaged little criminal with a heart stronger than any of the bullshit he was put through finally escaping and driving off with nothing but presumed freedom ahead of him? Yeah, bitch. It wasn’t absolutely imperative for me to know what happened to my favourite Breaking Bad character after those closing credits stopped rolling, but I certainly
enjoyed the ride that El Camino took me on once again. Writer and director Vince Gilligan led viewers down a familiar path with this Netflix release, revisiting Jesse right where he left off after the season finale. My biggest piece of praise for this movie is that it never felt like it was trying to outshine the series it came from. It wasn’t attempting to be bigger and better — it’s merely a contin-
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2019
• 8 ARTS & LIFE THANKSGIVING
JAMIE MERE/GRAPHICS EDITOR
Returning home for the holidays JACKSON CARSE STAFF WRITER
Reading week consists of little reading and productivity. I can confidently say I haven’t even considered academia since early October. Who has time for studying when you’re shoveling turkey down your gullet anyways? Reading week is a time to spend with family, a time to get just a little too drunk in front of your mother to the point of uncomfortability. Everyone needs a break so what better way of doing so than overeating and sleeping fifteen hours
a day? Maybe you’re a cynic, boycotting the festivities while you spend your entire week finishing the newest season of The Good Place. Maybe your grandmothers lost her prowess of the culinary arts and neglects the preparation of a turkey. You pick away at the few warm spots of the defrosted lasagna she’s undercooked as she explains her struggles and sufferings with eczema one last time. Or maybe your Thanksgiving was somewhat like mine. Maybe your mother picks you up from school. After an uncomfort-
able drive of her passively asking if you’ve contracted any STIs, you return to your childhood home. Your room is never as you left it. While vacant, your room quickly turns into storage; now home to excess kitchen supplies, a handful of loose tools and puzzles no one intends to complete. It’s evident the last person to sleep in this bed was not you. You don’t necessarily mind but wish someone would have taken it upon themselves to remove the Rorschach stains littering your bedspread. Your brother takes it upon him-
self to inhabit your empty closet as his own personal vault. Since you’ve left home, your younger sibling has been forced to succumb to increased surveillance from your panopticon mother. Upon returning home you discover the family has adopted a new dog. Other than his tendencies to nip at your dangling extremities, he’s tolerable. He lacks basic behaviour skills and has clearly been neglected basic training. It proves difficult to walk or communicate with the dog due to most of his primary commands being in German. A simple stroll down the street becomes a self-inflicted bilingual exam. You discover he’s oblivious to the term ‘stop’ as he tugs his leash towards oncoming traffic. This dog, ignorant to your dialect, now relying on your ability to loosely translate canine jargon from German to keep him alive slightly terrifies you. “Halt”, you guess as the dog takes a seat on the lip of the curb. Thanksgiving at your mother’s is brief and forced. You keep your mouth full at all times in an attempt to avoid conversing with your mother’s boyfriend. You ignore his infantile remarks denouncing homosexuality knowing that any objection is bound to lead to an argument. He mutters slurs about the recent immigration policies of both Canada and Germany in his native tongue, broadening the dog’s vocabulary. He’s told you not to feed
the dog which only ensures he’ll be feasting on turkey and stuffing between legs the entire meal. Thanksgiving with your father’s family is a whole other ballgame. Instead of four people huddled around a bowl of untouched coleslaw making small talk, playing ignorant to the vulgar rantings of a German man, this is an army. Or maybe your thanksgiving was nothing like mine. Maybe your returning home was amicable, full of nostalgia and welcoming hugs. Maybe your family shared stories of your youth, exchanging comforting sentiments of pride and affection. Or maybe your family withholds backhanded passive-aggression, leaving genuine feelings up for interpretation. Maybe your family has snakes and toddlers leisurely coexisting in the same room. Maybe you got too drunk in front of your parents and told them about the time you lost your virginity. Regardless of how you survive the holidays, you only get so many. You only spend so much time with these people. So, instead of wasting your time binge watching Grey’s Anatomy or scrolling through Tinder claiming you’re “only there for dog pics lol,” make an effort with your family. Prioritize the temporary. Have a beer with your dad, watch that terrible Amy Schumer special with your mom. And excruciating as it may be, try and teach your dog some damn English.
RESOURCES
Improve your time management skills on campus ALYSSA DI SABATINO ARTS & LIFE EDITOR
Midterm season is in full-gear and with all the assignments, essays and midterms due this week, it’s not always easy to stay on top of things. Although reading week has just passed, you might feel as though you didn’t get enough work done, if any. Academics are easily the largest cause of stress for students, but whether you’re in your first year or fourth year, it’s never too late to master arguably the most important skill: time management. If you feel like your time management could use some improvement, you can head over to the Teaching & Learning Commons, located on the 2nd floor of the Peters Building for study skills and course support. There, you will be able to speak with staff (by appointment) about various study strategies, and perhaps most importantly, time management skills. “We’re a team that has three different units that are a part of one. So, there’s our transition and learning services which is the traditional study skills team, there’s the math and stats skills support centre, and our writing services. So, between all of those, together we make up student success,” said Lindsay Lawrence, manager for transition and learning services. Other academic success services include peer-led course support held on a weekly basis, wherein
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students work in groups to review difficult course material. “The big focus for us is just helping students upgrade their study skills. We recognize that students have a lot of study skills, it doesn’t always feel like it at the time, but when they want to just improve their efficiency or their level of understanding or whatever, then we just help upgrade the skills,” said Lawrence. Self-regulating your academics and assignments can seem intimidating and while giving yourself
enough time to properly prepare for a test sounds simple enough, without refined time management skills, it can be overwhelming to know what and what not to prioritize first. Luckily, time management can be as easy as three simple steps. “The big three components when it comes to time management is having a long term plan — so knowing everything that’s due, kind of ‘big-picture’, throughout the term. Following a weekly schedule so that you know every week you
have a plan for how you’re going to get everything done, and then a daily to-do list or a task list of what you need to get done every day,” said Lawrence. “So it starts big and then it works down. Every day there needs to be something on that list that you’re able to check off so that you’re moving forward, getting to the end of the week and not adding a whole bunch of extra things that you need to do but haven’t accomplished… that’s where it snowballs really quickly, when students get behind
because they’re leaving it to the last minute.” Simply put, the biggest component towards successful time management is having an outline of what you need to get done. “Time management is big, it’s not the same for every person and we don’t have one sort of package to say, ‘if you do this you can manage your time and everything will be great.’ A lot of what we do is help students figure out what’s the best time management system for them.” Lawrence said. Whether it be on your laptop or on an agenda in front of you, finding a system that works for you and that you can stick to is the ultimate goal. Starting this year, students have the option to earn their Academic Skills Certificate (ASK), by attending eight workshops and study sessions. When completed, the certificate can be entered on your Laurier Experience Record. The first workshop, “Mastering Time Management” is being hosted on Oct 24, in BA209 at 2:30 p.m. “All students are here because they want to be successful, so starting to focus on developing those time management skills helps students be successful in all other areas. Then you can start to improve reading strategies, and critical thinking or writing strategies when you’ve given yourself time to do that appropriately, so I think it’s really the foundation for being a successful university student,” said Lawrence.
• 9
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2019
Editorial
OPINION EDITOR Jade Hosick opinion@thecord.ca
Editors Note: Casting an informed vote EMILY WAITSON EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
After voting in a federal election for the second time in my life on Monday, I walked away from the polling station with a different feeling than I had back in 2015. I have always “cared” about politics, the state of our country and the world we live in, to an extent — meaning that I didn’t put as much thought and dedication into understanding the nuances of what the big picture of voting really meant for me at the time, I just did it. And, hey, I guess that’s better than not doing it at all. But then Donald Trump was elected president of the United States in 2016 — something I never thought would happen, ever — and I started to pay attention more to the issues that were going on around me and what was affecting people who were dealing with their own, very relevant, struggles. In this process of trying to further educate myself on the happenings of the world and our dying planet, I realized that for someone who had once considered herself to be reasonably educated on these topics — I really wasn’t. I’ve been privileged, in many ways, to be willfully ignorant about many aspects of world news — it’s always given me anxiety, and it still does, to try and stay informed about everything all at once, so it was easier to overlook those things for that reason. But that’s an entitled way to deal with it, and even though there is a crushing amount of dread that can go along with learning and educating yourself about the realities happening to so many disenfranchised people and places. I can’t just turn my head away and pretend it all doesn’t exist because I choose not to see it. I think it’s common for the overwhelming amount of issues our planet is facing to make people who don’t directly have to cope with them everyday uncomfortable.
However, there are tangible things, however small they may be, that can be done in order to be more conscious of what’s going on around you. Follow newspapers who write stories in ways that you find digestible and applicable to your reading preferences — they don’t have to be thousands of words long. Follow accounts on social media, listen to podcasts and watch videos with people who discuss politics and news in ways that you enjoy listening to and engaging with — Philip DeFranco and Hasan Piker being personal favourites of mine. Look into ways that you can address the issues you care about — I’m becoming, slowly but surely, more and more aware of how my habits are affecting the planet, for example, and this has drastically shifted my perspective on environmentalism over the past few months especially. I don’t like to think that my choices have had negative implications on the place I call home, on the wildlife and animals I claim to love and respect, but that’s part of becoming a better, more well-informed individual. During this election season, I took the time to read through the platforms of candidates as thoroughly as I could. I watched the debate, I looked into the issues that I cared about most and made note of the areas I believed each person was lacking in — climate change, healthcare and Indigenous rights being large factors in my decision making. I bounced between three different parties in the end, and while I wasn’t one hundred per cent certain about my choice until the day I went to vote, I am completely confident in who I chose to mark an “x” beside on my ballot. Regardless of the party you voted for, it’s important that you did it to begin with if you were able to do so. I’ve heard so many conversations and discussions about our country’s political climate and what the “right” choice was to make, and I hope that with the high voter turnout for Waterloo, that educated decision making and being aware of what’s happening in our world will become a continuing trend.
THE CORD IS PUBLISHED BY WILFRID LAURIER UNIVERSITY STUDENT PUBLICATIONS
WLUSP ADMINISTRATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS
DIRECTOR Emily Crump
CHAIR Aaron Hagey
TREASURER Kashyap Patel
VICE-CHAIR Alyssa Di Sabatino DIRECTOR Arshy Mann DIRECTOR Rosalind Horne
PRESIDENT Aaron Waitson president@wlusp.com FINANCE MANAGER Randy Moore randy@rcmbrooks. com ADVERTISING MANAGER Kurtis Rideout kurtis.rideout@wlusp. com
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Lakyn Barton lakyn.barton@wlusp. com HR MANAGER Maneesha Suresh hr@wlusp.com
EDITORIAL CARTOON
JAMIE MERE/GRAPHICS EDITOR
Editorial: Discovering the benefits of personal connections KASHYAP PATEL WEB DIRECTOR
It has recently come to my attention that other people, even strangers, are in fact worth the effort of getting to know. Throughout my life I’ve developed an appreciation of the peace that comes from being alone. There’s so much less chaos when the only person in your environment is yourself. It’s also made me supremely comfortable in my own mind and skin. I have standards for myself, and meeting them is all the validation I need. My lifestyle is predicated on the belief that we are whole without the presence of others, and I stand by that. But it had never crossed my mind that being a whole person may not be the best we can do. I started volunteering for the Cord in March 2018 because I was bored, and figured the weekly contributions would give me something to do as I recovered from the kidney transplant surgery I had had that January. I had no intention whatsoever of making friends, not out of misanthropy, but because I didn’t feel the need
to. But as the weeks went on, I started to go to look forward to the copy editing sessions. I enjoyed the conversations in that lounge, and meeting the other members of the team when they sometimes came
Sometimes it feels like I have no interests in common with them, but I’m reminded that thats possibly the best part.
up there to work. I came to appreciate their different styles of humour, perspectives and interests. That didn’t change when I took a position on the team, and though it sometimes feels like I have no interests in common with them, but I’m reminded that that’s possibly the best part. They have experiences that I could not possibly have had because of the differences in our interests and personalities, just as I have experiences that they could
not have had. I have benefited from my relationships with others, whether that is as friends or as strangers, and not just because human interaction is necessary for our well being. We live life through the filter of our own biases. We can explore outside those biases and take on other perspectives, reducing the filter’s intensity. Thus, we start seeing more of what is than what we think there is. But we are all limited, simply because we can’t explore every possibility or know of every opinion. Forming connections with people has helped me to see things in ways I wouldn’t have been able to on my own. Everyone has different beliefs concerning what’s important in life, about how we ought to approach work and pleasure, and every other question you could possibly ask. Considering those beliefs and perspectives reduces our filter more. It’s helped me refine the way I live life and make decisions. I submit that the importance of relationships with others is not that we wouldn’t be complete without them, but that they make us better than we can be on our own. We are each other’s whetstones, and we sharpen one another through conflict and bonding. On our own, we can be whole. With others, we can be more.
10 •
Opinion
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2019 OPINION EDITOR JADE HOSICK opinion@thecord.ca
CONTRIBUTED IMAGE
Some televsion shows just need to come to an end ALYSSA DI SABATINO ARTS AND LIFE EDITOR
Earlier this month, season ten of the zombie apocalypse series, The
Walking Dead, debuted on AMC. The show also recently announced that it’s being renewed for season eleven. Since it premiered for the first time in 2010, The Walking Dead has been one of the most popular cable television shows of all time. Season five marked the shows
peak with over 16 million viewers. Now, the season ten premiere barely had 4 million. It’s worth noting that I’m a hugefan of all things zombie related, specifically The Walking Dead. I’ve read the graphic novels and I’ve played all The Walking Dead video games several times over.
I even have a Funko Pop of Rick Grimes (the nerdiest thing I will ever admit to). Needless to say, I’m a verifiable fan. Despite my dedication, I really want to express how much I think the show should just end already. In fact, I don’t think any show is justified in having ten seasons worth of content. The longer this show drags on, the more I lose interest — and I’m definitely not the only one. At one point, The Walking Dead had more viewers than Game of Thrones, but the first episode of season ten marked the all-time debut low for the show, with views dropping by over 34 per cent since it first premiered. Somehow though, the show is still technically considered the top-rated cable TV show among adults, aged 18-54, which speaks to the cult-ish following the show has amassed. It’s my belief that the story should determine the amount of seasons, not the other way around. There’s only so much zombie fighting and Negan-induced terror I can bear to watch before it just becomes cyclical. Although I recognize that in a story with such an expandable universe, other forms of stories and plotlines can and should be explored. For example, The Walking Dead franchise also has one mini-series and one spin off series, with anoth-
er one set to release in Spring 2020. But after a certain point, it just starts to feel like a money-grab. Specifically so, since AMC started selling AMC Premiere for $5 a month, which grants subscribers early access to episodes. Trying to squeeze extra dollars out of a show that should’ve ended two or three seasons ago seems like a fundamental issue in a lot of North American TV series. Many shows don’t have storylines that justify over ten seasons worth of broadcasting. For example, Supernatural and Grey’s Anatomy (sorry, but it’s true). Obviously networks need to make money from the shows they stream, but after a point it becomes blatantly obvious that content is being written because they need to fulfill a contract. Instead of ending on a high note, so many shows become oversaturated with plots that diverge so far from the original storyline that it just diminishes the quality of the series. But how do you even end a show that is older than some of the newest cast members? Series endings often fall short of viewers’ expectations because the plots are so drawn out that they’re almost not closable. For me, I’m just going to keep sticking to shows with no more than three or four seasons. I’m also going to finish watching The Walking Dead, but I’ll probably gripe about it the whole way.
Catholic guilt is real, and it’s a problem JADE HOSICK OPINION EDITOR
“If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.” Genesis 4:7 From kindergarten until high school, I received a Catholic education. I took required religion classes where I learned how Jesus died for my sins, I wore a uniform everyday, I listened to the daily prayer reflection on the announcements from the chaplen and essentially was taught how to be a devout Catholic. Now, this article is not one where I plan on trash talking Catholic education — I actually think I got a really good education from my school, but I do think that the environment surrounding Catholic education is harmful to students. Part of my grade ten final assignment for my religion class was to write a letter to a “confused teenager.” This teenager was struggling with deciding whether to take the “next step” with her boyfriend in
their relationship. I got a 60 per cent on this help letter because I expressed to the girl that it was her body and, therefore, if she felt comfortable enough with her boyfriend it is her decision to make, and no one else’s. Now i was a very good student in high school, i got good grades and strived to do well in school. So a 60 per cent was a grade that i was not just going to accept without knowing how i got it. I asked my teacher after the project was done why I lost marks and my teacher expressed to me that it was specifically because I did not mention the fact that God wishes for people to remain abstinent until marriage. This idea was instilled into my mind for as long as I could remember. In a sense, I was taught that my body wasn’t just my body but God’s body. Looking back at that, it used to make me feel so uncomfortable in my own skin – ask anyone I went to high school with. Since starting university, I have grown to be more comfortable with my body being my own, but the idea of starting a relationship is starting to scare me more. I get very anxious when I hook up with people because I have been taught that my body is for one man and one man only. But I’m trying to get better at truly
JAMIE MERE/GRAPHICS EDITOR
believing that my body is mine and I can decide for myself what I wish to do with it. The oddest thing about this for me is that my parents never forced religion onto me, if anything they always wanted me to be exposed to all walks of life. I have the scary thought God will be disappointed in all of my life choices. I always thought the teachings were pretty good as well. I mean the main message of Christianity or the golden rule was
to treat others the way you wish to be treated, something that i still live by to this day. I think that since religion was tied into my education messed me up a bit. For example, when I lost marks for that one project mentioned earlier it subliminally taught me that in order to be perfect and get good grades I had to agree with every single one of God’s teachings. But there are a lot of things mentioned in the Bible that I don’t
necessarily agree with. Like how when Adam and Eve ate the apple Eve was condemned to a life of survitude to Adam. I think that Catholic school is honestly a great thing, it taught me valuable lessons that I still use to this day. But I think marking children on more subjective viewpoints really does not help them in any way. All it really did for me was make me a super anxious and guilt ridden person.
OPINION • 11
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2019
CONTRIBUTED IMAGE
Queen’s university ralies against derogatory note JADE HOSICK OPINION EDITOR
On Oct. 10, 2019 a note was found taped to the wall of a fourthfloor residence common room at Queen’s University. This floor is a floor designated to Indigenous students and allies of the community. The floor houses roughly 50 students. This note used extremely derogatory and violent language directly targeted towards Indigenous students and the LGBTQ+ community. This comes months after another act of hate where anti-Semitic slogans were spray painted across the campus. Patrick Deane, the university’s principal and vice-chancellor
released a statement after stating that, “It was a cowardly violation of human rights and the dignity of individuals, and sought to intimidate and foster hate toward, and fear in, Indigenous and queer-identified members of our Queen’s family.” This note is currently under a police investigation and more information is being waited on and it is also not the first contact that these students have had with the anonymous writers. Within the note, there is a reference to Oct. 9, when the floor had flags and posters stolen from them, and how, since the students told their don, they will pay the price. Many students who lived on the floor had expressed how traumatizing the experience was, and rightly so. They make note that while they still have a sense of security in their rooms, going to and from class makes them scared as they have no idea who on campus left the note. While security has increased
around the Chown Hall residence building, there is still the issue of people entering the building. Unlike other Queen’s residences all you need to have access to the entire hall is to enter the front door. Other residences have a separate key for each floor only accessible by those who reside on the floor. This is an easy fix to allow for just that little bit more protection for the students within the building. Now although this event could be seen as a tactic to make these individuals feel as though they are not welcome within the walls of Queens, the university community has actually worked to make the students impacted by the note feel more connected to Queen’s. On Friday Oct. 17, 2019 the Four Directions Indigenous Student’s Centre held a march in solidarity for the group. Other activities also took place on campus to show support for the community, things such as chalk messages which express the
University is supposed to be your home for however long you are there for and people should not be scared of violence within their home.
support for the community. When I heard about this incident, I was disgusted and honestly I still am. I have never understood how people could have so much hate in their hearts towards another group of people. Especially when this group of people lived on land that was taken from them from our ancestors, and
Canada has such an intense history of hurting these people (causing intergenerational trauma onto the community). I was at Queen’s this past weekend for their homecoming festivities and I noted a lot of signs that said things along the lines of ‘welcome home.’ University is supposed to be your home for however long you are there for and people should not be scared of violence within their home. University is a time where you experience life and all the good that it has to offer, and these students are being exposed to hateful words from people they might see on a daily basis. I stand with the students of Chown Four and will continue to express my support for the Indigenous community. No one deserves to have these things directed towards them, and we need to move into a world where this hatred is no more.
12 •
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2019
Sports
SPORTS EDITOR MARK CASCAGNETTE sports@thecord.ca
MENS TEAM
Men’s Football season to end with “disappointing” loss MARK CASCAGNETTE SPORTS EDITOR
The University of Laurier’s men’s football team had their season come to an end early Friday afternoon following a 22-10 defeat against the Carleton Ravens. In what was Laurier’s annual “School Day” game, the Golden Hawks had great support with over 4,200 people cheering them on, many of which were elementary school kids. Despite both the Ravens and Golden Hawks starting 1-3 to begin their season, the two met on Friday both controlling their playoff destiny. The winner was guaranteed a spot in the 2019 Yates Cup Playoffs, while the loser, they were most likely playing in their last game of the season. For Laurier, three straight wins after their Sept. 21st bye had them coming into last Friday with an enormous amount of momentum. Part of the win streak included
FILE PHOTO
two blowout wins against Queens and Windsor as well as a thrilling overtime victory last week against Waterloo. The Ravens also came into the matchup with momentum as they were coming off of a 35-30 upset win last week against the 6-2 McMaster Marauders. For most of the first half, it was a defensive battle, Laurier’s top ranked rushing offense and star player Levondre Gordon could not get anything going, as the Ravens defense caused havoc. After a defensive safety in the first quarter, a stalled drive in the second. resulted in a 12-yard field goal and the Ravens held a 5-0 lead. However, as Laurier was moving down the field near the end of the first half, quarterback Connor Carusello’s pass was intercepted by Danny McWhirter and taking back 52 yards for a defensive touchdown. One of three interceptions on the day for eventual OUA
football defensive player of the week, Danny McWhirter. Laurier’s offense who had scored over 50 points in all three of the games during their win streak, and averaged over 30 points per game this season, still could not advance the ball on the Ravens tough third ranked defense. The Hawks were facing an uphill battle entering the fourth and final quarter down 15-0. “It’s disappointing we didn’t do more on offense, we had a few too many penalties and some uncharacteristic mistakes, but their defense made it really tough on us,” men’s head football coach Michael Faulds said after the game. To the Hawks’ advantage, their defense played stellar throughout the game, relying on the crowd, and keeping hope alive for the Hawks. “I feel bad for the defense, they played outstanding and well enough for the team to win” Coach Faulds stated, while adding
that their defense shut down the opposing Ravens offense. After a field goal and a quick change of possession at the beginning of the fourth, Laurier’s offense finally found a big play, when Carusello hit receiver Brentyn Hall over the middle of the field on a slant and he took it 71 yards to the end zone, cutting the Ravens lead to five. Following another defensive stop, the Hawks had one final chance and the ball with three minutes left. “Let’s go guys, stay committed, 17-15 final score,” Coach Faulds emphatically said on the sideline down by five, before the offense took the field. However, for the Hawks it wasn’t meant to be, as their season was put to an end following a final interception by Ravens defensive back Danny McWirther. A late touchdown by Carleton sealed the game and clinched their spot in the playoffs. Both the Ravens and Hawks
will finish their season with a 4-4 record, part of a three way tie with Waterloo for 5th place in the OUA. For Laurier, they will miss the post-season as the tiebreaker in head to head point differential favoured Waterloo and Carleton and due to that the season and career for many of the Laurier guys have come to an end. Asked about the resilience of the team, Coach Faulds said, “It’s disappointing today as we had a chance to solodify a playoff spot and didnt, but I’m super proud of our guys, it’s a tough group, they were put in a tough position after starting 1-3, our team was battle tough and they didn’t fold.” For the Hawks they will miss the playoffs for the second straight season and look towards a long offseason. The Ravens, meanwhile are looking ahead to their first-round playoff matchup this Saturday, October the 26th, on the road against Guelph.
CROSS COUNTRY
Laurie runs wild for Laurier at Bayfront Open OLIVIA JONES CORD ALUMN
A first place finish at the Marauder Bayfront Open on Oct. 11 has Wilfrid Laurier University’s women’s cross country runner, Lizzy Laurie, striding toward another promising performance on the same course. This Saturday the McMaster Marauders will host the 2019 Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Cross Country Championship in Hamilton, where Laurie is hoping to repeat her success on the Bayfront course. “Honestly I was pretty shocked [about the win]. I was honestly not expecting that to happen,”
said Laurie of her well-deserved winning performance. Laurie’s first place accomplishment comes with an impressive time of 28:35.4 and the honor of being named Laurier Hawk Shop’s ‘Athlete of the Week’ for the third time this season. When you watch Laurie race it is hard to believe that she is only six months back from experiencing a season ending injury in October of last year, which kept her from running until April of this year. “I was pretty scared because this was the course my stress fracture happened on last year, and I was really nervous driving there but I was pretty excited. I hadn’t been
feeling any pain in my leg at all and I was really excited to hopefully try to place. I definitely was not expecting [to win].” Golden Hawk’s men and women’s cross-country Head Coach, Ian Clancy, had a lot to say about the fourth-year athlete and her season thus far. “She has worked really hard in the last three years. She’s just running at a new level. Confident in her abilities, but also has trained really hard and consistently smart as well.” Laurie’s self-proclaimed “comeback season” is undoubtedly filled with grit, leadership, and highhopes. She has placed within the
top five at all three races competed this season, and her goal for the OUA championship race is to place within the top 14 to result in being named an OUA All-Star. Stepping onto a familiar ground has Laurie and her teammates feeling prepared this season in knowing how to run the championship course. “We spent a lot of time going over the course, knowing the ins and outs. It really helps. I think it does significantly. So hopefully [Laurie] is ready both physical and psychologically to race at her highest level on Saturday,” shared Coach Clancy on the opportunity to run the championship course
two weeks prior. Hopefully the early familiarity will bring about a competitive edge and a boost of confidence as the Golden Hawk men and women go stride to stride against the heated competition in the OUA. Despite any outcome this race is monumental in Laurie’s career as she runs her final provincial championship race for the Golden Hawks Cross Country team. “The fact that I’m in fourth year now and this is my last one is kind of scary so I’m just really hoping that everything goes well and that we can make it to nationals because I would love to be able to go out with a bang.”