The Cord January 10, 2018

THE CORD THE TIE THAT BINDS WILFRID LAURIER UNIVERSITY SINCE 1926

VOLUME 58 ISSUE 16 • JANUARY 10, 2018

WELCOME BACK, GOLDEN HAWKS!

SHEPHERD UPDATES

REFERENDUM QUESTIONS

WHEN REVIEWS ARE ROTTEN

A FLAWED GAMING MODEL

OSBORNE SET TO RETIRE

Important points emerging in TA controversy

SU strikes LSPIRG question from ballot

Tarnishing Lady Bird’s perfect score

The problem with microtransactions

Women’s hockey coach wraps up final year

News, page 4

News, page 6

Arts & Life, page 8

Opinion, page 12

Sports, page 14 TANZEEL SAYANI/CREATIVE DIRECTOR

2 •

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2018

VOCAL CORD

What is the hardest lesson you learned last year?

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The Cord

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PHOTO OF THE WEEK

“Work smart, not hard.”

–Jamie Bradshaw, fourth-year business administration

“To keep focusing after midterms.”

–Ayesha Bhangu, second-year computer science

SADMAN SAKIB RAHMAN/LEAD PHOTOGRAPHER

Anthony Sorrentino was the sole Golden Hawk to make it on the board as they faced off against Ryerson Rams in their first matchup of 2018.

“Time management is very important.”

Do you have a passion for telling stories that matter?

– Latesha Cupid-Douglas, first-year general arts

“You can’t force someone to care and not everyone has the same heart as you do.”

CORD STAFF

What if right here was the first place you got published?

2001: Guitarist and songwriter, Bryan Gregory passes away from a heart attack at 46. Gregory was a founding member of The Cramps.

thecord.ca/volunteer

2016: British singer, songwriter, artist and more, David Bowie passes away from liver cancer at the age of 69.

FEATURES EDITOR Karlis Wilde features@thecord.ca

LEAD REPORTER Erin Abe news@thecord.ca

ARTS & LIFE EDITOR Shyenne MacDonald arts@thecord.ca

LEAD SPORTS REPORTER Abdulhamid Ibrahim sports@thecord.ca

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

OPINION EDITOR Emily Waitson opinion@thecord.ca

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Tanzeel Sayani creative@thecord.ca

SPORTS EDITOR Pranav Desai sports@thecord.ca

WEB DIRECTOR Garrison Oosterhof online@thecord.ca

GRAPHICS EDITOR Alan Li graphics@thecord.ca

NEWS DIRECTOR Safina Husein news@thecord.ca

PHOTO EDITOR Vacant photos@thecord.ca

NEWS EDITOR Jake Watts news@thecord.ca

VIDEO EDITOR Sarah Tyler video@thecord.ca

NEWS EDITOR Nathalie Bouchard news@thecord.ca

WEB ASSISTANT Kate Weber online@thecord.ca

1920: The League of Nations is formed following the events of World War I.

Are you pursuing a career in media?

Compiled by Erin Abe Photos by Luke Sarazin

JANUARY 17, 2017

1863: World’s first subway system opens up in London.

1976: “Convoy” by C.W. McCall is at #1 on the pop charts in the U.S.

–Dianna Cribb, first-year communication studies

NEXT ISSUE

THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JAN. 10

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

CONTRIBUTORS

EDITOR’S CHOICE

Chris Luciantonio Madeline McInnis Thiranga Wijedasa Aaron Hagey Brittany Tenhage Tyler Currie Luke Burrows Nicholas Quintyn Stephanie Saunders Caleb Palmer Victoria Berndt

“Don’t give Lady Bird the bird” by Chris Luciantonio

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

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

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

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

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

2000: AOL announces plans to acquire Time Warner in one of the biggest mergers in history.

for principal photography.

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

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

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

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

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

reply at the earliest time possible.

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

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

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

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

Quote of the week: “Fuckinnnn’.”

- News Editor, Jake Watts, impersonating his colleagues at a previous landscaping job.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2018

News

• 3

NEWS DIRECTOR SAFINA HUSEIN news@thecord.ca

NEWS EDITOR NATHALIE BOUCHARD news@thecord.ca

NEWS EDITOR JAKE WATTS news@thecord.ca

LITERATURE

Emily Urquhart appointed Writer in Residence NICHOLAS QUINTYN CORD NEWS

The Writer in Residence program has been running for five years and is funded through a general endowment from the Edna Staebler estate.

Emily Urquhart has been appointed Wilfrid Laurier University’s Edna Staebler Writer in Residence for the winter 2018 academic term.

Urquhart will be starting her residency on Jan. 15, 2018 and will spend ten weeks at the Waterloo campus and one week at the Brantford campus.

Foremost, I love working with students and helping people write their stories.

-Emily Urquhart, Writer in Residence

“The Writer in Residence program has been running for five years and is funded through a general endowment from the Edna Staebler estate,” Jenny Kerber, English professor at Laurier and Chair of the Edna Staebler Writer in Residence Committee, said.

“The appointment process begins with the university issuing an

-Jenny Kerber, English professor at Laurier

CONTRIBUTED IMAGE

Emily Urquhart was appointed as Laurier’s Edna Staebler Writer in Residence for the winter 2018 academic term.

advertisement which is circulated within the writing community. The committee reviewed all applicants and appointed Urquhart based on her innovation in creative non-fiction.”

Urquhart also happens to work in the same genre as the late Edna Staebler, who founded the Writer in Residence program.

“Urquhart’s book Beyond The Pale combines research in science and folklore with albinism. As a result, personal stories can be made more appealing to a wider audience,” Kerber said.

In addition, Urquhart has an extensive journalism background having obtained a B.A. from

Queen’s University and graduate degrees in folklore from Memorial University.

Urquhart relocated to Kitchener-Waterloo by way of her husband’s appointment as a professor at the University of Waterloo.

Urquhart also noted her admiration for Staebler’s work and her ability to help writers within the Laurier community.

“Foremost, I love working with students and helping people write their stories,” Urquhart said.

A characteristic which will likely serve Urquhart well given the gap in writing mentorship available in the community.

“Most writers resort to having

to complete a master of fine arts program, which is expensive and makes [writing] an impossibility for a lot of people,” Urquhart said.

These residencies are also a good way to expose students and public communities to examples of successful professional writing.

Urquhart hopes to continue her work on a book on the topic of late stage creativity and finish two essays she has been working on.

However, her general goals are to raise awareness of the residency within the Laurier community and to be of service to eager students and community members.

This sentiment was also echoed by professor Jenny Kerber, who

believes that the Writer in Residence program is a rare opportunity for students to have their writing professionally critiqued.

Staebler’s vision for the endowment was that all students would have access to professional writers.

The success of the program has been made possible via the university’s diligence in the fulfillment of that vision.

Urquhart initially just shared the news with her kids to contain any unwanted conversation in the writing and academic communities.

However, as she prepares to formally step into her new role she hopes the position will be filled with dialogue, diverse voices and ethical writing, which is what continues to fuel the demand for creative non-fiction.

TECHNOLOGY competitors to present what they developed at the competition.

“Fake news was one of the main challenges of the event and we were quite drawn to it because it was one of the bigger challenges,” An said.

Together, the team developed “Open Mind” after identifying a need to combat the bias and fake

ALAN LI/GRAPHICS EDITOR

Always keep an “Open Mind” ERIN ABE LEAD REPORTER

A Wilfrid Laurier University student recently helped develop a fake news detecting software at the fifth annual Yale Hackathon (YHack) competition, which took place at Yale University. The hackathon invited students of all skill levels to participate and encouraged teams of four.

“Open Mind” is a free browser plug-in that alerts internet users when they come across biased arti-

cle and fake news, including unreliable publications and websites.

“It is a chrome extension that helps users have a balanced perspective when it comes to politics,” Jeff An, a computer science and business administration double degree student from Wilfrid Laurier University and University of Waterloo, said.

An developed the browser plug-in “Open Mind” with a team of three other students at YHack in early December, 2017. The team is made up of Alex Cui from the California Institute of Technology,

Michael Lopez-Brau from Yale University and Stefan Uddenberg from Yale University.

The browser plug-in, which will be free to users and available for download on Google Chrome, is scheduled to launch in early 2018.

“It will be free, as we are very against the idea of having cost on it. We think this is something that everyone should have access to,” An said.

The plug-in was originally developed for the Fake News challenge at Yale University. YHack was held over a three-day period and invited

As users browse the web it takes a look at the types of articles they are browsing and will alert them when one of those articles has a consistent bias.

-Jeff An, co-creator of “Open Mind”

news that exists in publications today.

The plug-in works by sending alerts to the internet user when they reach a website that consistently publishes bias towards certain topics. Alerts also warn the reader when they come across publications containing fake news.

To do this, “Open Mind” created a large database of known websites

that are constantly publishing inaccurate and biased information.

The plug-in goes even further to suggest alternative articles for the reader on the same topic, although from a different viewpoint. “Open Mind” suggests articles based off of previous articles read to promote a diversity of perspective in readers.

“We noticed that if you only go to one website or one newspaper, the perspective you are exposed to is quite narrow and you don’t come to understand the other side,” An said.

“We thought that was a huge problem when you apply that to a very large population.”

“Open Mind” was developed to assist readers with recognizing bias and encouraging a diverse perspective in the public.

“We wanted to help people get out of that bubble and create a diversity of perspective and we do that by suggesting articles based on the articles already read,” An said.

“Open Mind” hopes to encourage the public to read articles that have different political perspectives and to move away from articles biased towards personal beliefs.

“As users browse the web it takes a look at the types of articles they are browsing and will alert them when one of those articles has a consistent bias.”

4 • NEWS

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2018

Catching up with the Shepherd Case Shepherd retains a lawyer, fact-finding results released and task force announced SAFINA HUSEIN NEWS DIRECTOR

The polarizing debate between freedom of expression and human rights continues to envelope the Wilfrid Laurier University Waterloo campus almost two months since the situation surrounding Laurier teaching assistant Lindsay Shepherd first occurred.

As a result of the magnitude of controversy within Laurier’s campus, it was announced in Nov. 23, 2017 that Laurier had hired Rob Centa, a partner at Paliare Roland Rosenberg Rothstein LLP, to conduct a fact-finding procedure in order to neutrally gather and assess the facts surrounding the Shepherd incident.

In correspondence, Deborah MacLatchy, president of Laurier, also created a task force in order to further explore issues surrounding freedom of expression.

In early December 2017, Shepherd retained a lawyer in order to protect her legally throughout the fact-finding process.

Howard Levitt, a Toronto-based employment lawyer, offered his services pro bono to Shepherd.

Levitt is a clear advocate for freedom of expression on campuses and has publicly criticized Laurier’s response to Shepherd’s case in the media.

Once Levitt was acquired by Shepherd, he reached out to both Centa and MacLatchy and it became known that there may be no existence of a formal complaint towards Shepherd’s tutorial in question.

“You asked for a copy of the complaint or complaints filed against your client. At this point in my investigation, I do not believe there is a document that contains a ‘complaint’ made about Ms. Shepherd nor is there anything I would describe as a formal complaint under any WLU policy,” wrote Centa to Levitt.

However, Centa also allegedly indicated to Levitt that his investigation was surrounding employment based matters, an important detail which Levitt says was left out of Laurier’s original mandate.

Despite this, Levitt was confident that there were no grounds for termination.

Soon after, Kevin Crowley, director of communications and public affairs at Laurier, released a statement regarding the nature of Centa’s fact-finding report.

“Laurier has engaged an independent fact-finder to establish the facts of the situation. We will need to receive his report before we comment on its findings. Presi-

I believe it is time for some clarity around the events of the past few weeks here at Wilfrid Laurier University ...

-Deborah MacLatchy, president of Laurier in a statement

dent Deborah MacLatchy made an unqualified apology to Lindsay Shepherd on Nov. 21. There is no assumption on the part of the university that Ms. Shepherd did anything wrong. All of the people at the meeting in question were and are employees of the university. Consequently, the independent fact-finding review relates to employment and personnel matters,” the statement read.

On Dec. 18, 2017, Deborah MacLatchy released an in-depth statement surrounding the results of the completed fact-finding procedure.

“I believe it is time for some clarity around the events of the past few weeks here at Wilfrid Laurier University, stemming from the very regrettable meeting that followed the showing of a TVO clip by a teaching assistant (TA) during a tutorial,” the statement began.

According to the fact-finding report, it was confirmed that there was no formal complaint found regarding the incident.

“There were numerous errors in judgement made in the handling of the meeting with Ms. Lindsay Shepherd, the TA of the tutorial in question. In fact, the meeting never should have happened at all.

No formal complaint, nor informal

concern relative to a Laurier policy, was registered about the screening of the video. This was confirmed in the fact-finding report,” the statement read.

According to Maclean’s Magazine, however, a student administrator from the WLU Rainbow Centre allegedly said that the complaint was originally made through the WLU Rainbow Centre.

“Toby Finlay, an administrator at the Rainbow Centre, wouldn’t share the specifics of the conversation due to confidentiality reasons, but adds: ‘It was through us that they made the complaint that led to the situation that blew up in the media,’” as reported by Maclean’s.

The Cord reached out to the WLU Rainbow Centre for further confirmation but they could not give any comments at the time.

Levitt intended on meeting with Shepherd to discuss the contents of MacLatchy’s statement after they both have digested the released information.

However, it is currently unknown as to whether or not Shepherd intends on taking further action.

“My response to what MacLatchy wrote: I suspect [it] has everything to do with public pressure and donor pressure and alumni pressure and little to do with anything else,” Levitt said.

In his own opinion, outside of his representation of Shepherd, Levitt feels there is more to be said than what was included in MacLatchy’s statement.

“It talks about the need to enhance TA training and training and support for TA’s which, implicitly, I find critical.”

In fact, Centa did not interview Shepherd within his fact-finding procedure.

However, he did allegedly speak to the three individuals present in the meeting with Shepherd.

“Given that they didn’t interview her … what new information do they have to make the statements that MacLatchy even made if they were only talking to one side in the argument? That leads me to believe this was merely a public relations memo, which doesn’t go nearly far enough,” Levitt said.

While Levitt personally feels that the three individuals should face

GARRISON OOSTERHOF/WEB DIRECTOR

further consequences, MacLatchy suggested in her statement that further action may be taken internally.

The details surrounding said action being taken in regards to the three individuals present in the meeting will be unknown to the public due to confidentiality reasons.

“I think that their conduct was reprehensible and I don’t see that reflected in the report,” Levitt said.

Furthermore, a group of students at Laurier, called the Trans Justice Collective, have been rallying in seek of an apology to trans people from MacLatchy due to the increase in transphobia present on campus since the situation was publicized.

MacLatchy reiterated in her most recent statement that Laurier has taken steps to create supports for students from the LGBTQ+ community.

“It bears repeating in the current context that Laurier’s support for our lesbian, gay, bi, trans, queer and two-spirited (LGBTQ2S) campus community and transgender people in particular is unwavering. In light of recent events, we have created and communicated additional supports for LGBTQ2S students, faculty and staff, and added measures to improve campus safety,” the statement read.

“Today, we turn the page on a very unfortunate incident. We are here to make sure it does not happen again. We are here to put an

end to the ongoing politicization of this issue,” read the final portion of MacLatchy’s statement.

On Dec. 21, 2017, Laurier released the individuals who were appointed to serve on the task force on freedom of expression.

Faculty members representing the Waterloo campus include Anne-Marie Allison, instructor (contract academic staff ) from the Faculty of Science, Manuel Riemer, associate professor from the Faculty of Science, Anne Wilson, professor from the Faculty of Science and senator, Ali Zaidi, associate professor, Faculty of Arts and Kristiina Montero, associate professor from the Faculty of Education, senator and member of the Board of Governors.

Faculty members representing the Brantford campus include David Haskell, associate professor from the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Marcia Oliver, associate professor, Faculty of Liberal Arts.

Student representation on the task force consists of Kanwar Brar, president and CEO of the Students’ Union, Natalie Gleba, president of the Graduate Student Association and Josh Hortaleza, undergraduate student and senator.

The task force is said to be finished their work by March at which point an open report with recommendations will be released.

The information in this story was originally published online at The Cord on Dec. 8 2017, Dec. 18, 2017 and Dec. 21, 2017.

CLIMATE

Weather brings forth damage KURTIS RIDEOUT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

A quick change in the weather on Monday, Jan. 8 resulted in numerous property damage calls around the Kitchener-Waterloo area.

After a sharp increase in temperature, tenants and employees returning to several residential and commercial buildings in the area — including The Cord’s office at 205 Regina and student apartments on King and Colom-

bia — reported property damage and leakage stemming from burst pipes. Pipes burst when water thaws and resumes flow, becoming obstructed by still-frozen sections of the pipe, which builds pressure.

Over the morning, calls steadily flowed into the Waterloo Regional Police Services current incidents feed, almost all of which appear to be property damage related.

Physical Resources at Laurier recieved numerous calls from across campus, noting that the lack

of faculty and staff present on campus over the break often leads to unchecked or unreported damage in classrooms, campus buildings and student residences.

Similar incidents took place around southern-Ontario, particularly in Ottawa, where, according to CBC, firefighters said they expected calls to flood in as the temperature rose from the minus 20s to the near freezing mark.

This story previously appeared online on The Cord on Jan. 8.

GARRISON OOSTERHOF/WEB DIRECTOR

NEWS • 5

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2018 ONLINE LEARNING

ALAN LI/GRAPHICS EDITOR

Lynda.com open to students STEPHANIE SAUNDERS CORD NEWS

Wilfrid Laurier University has announced that within the coming month, students, faculty and staff will have free, unlimited access to Lynda, an enhanced online learning and education platform purchased by LinkedIn. Lynda offers a vast array of over 5,000 interactive video tutorials

and curated content to help learners acquire new skills and advance their careers.

“Lynda is very important to employees at the university,” Nela Petkovic, chief information officer at Laurier, said. “I know various departments at the university are currently paying for Lynda for their own advancements, but they won’t have to do that anymore; it is going to be free for everybody.”

Topics range from web development and business to software development and design.

All students across Ontario who are enrolled in a post-secondary institution will have free access to Lynda.

The Government of Ontario is behind this initiative as a part of their Career Kick-Start Strategy. It aims to create beneficial opportunities for post-secondary students

to build their resumes and develop job-relevant skills through career-oriented learning experiences.

Lynda contributes to better preparing students for the workforce.

By watching a half hour video, students can discover the latest techniques for finding the right job position for their interests, skills and experience.

Another tutorial illustrates the nuts and bolts of resume formatting, layout and word choice, highlighting approaches to make resumes stand out and encourage hiring managers to take notice. eCampusOntario, a not-forprofit organization funded by the Government of Ontario, was able to ensure the same level of access for faculty, staff and students at publicly funded colleges and universities throughout Ontario. This allows professors to incorporate Lynda’s effective teaching tools in combination with their current teaching strategies, creating a more interactive culture of learning.

Teachers will be able to assign video tutorials and training tools as homework, while reserving class time for concept mastery.

Additionally, Lynda supports the concept of blended classroom learning. Blended learning combines digital media content with traditional face-to-face teaching methodology.

“Professors are eager to look into the blended classroom approach,” Kathryn Carter, Laurier’s associate vice-president: teaching and learning, said.

“Students can learn a technical skill before they get to class, such as Excel formatting and analysis,

and can then apply it within the classroom. It advances their learning more quickly”.

Industry leaders work together at Lynda to share their expertise and knowledge with others through inspiring content.

The whole idea behind this is that users will be able to access Lynda using their current Laurier network account.

-Nela Petkovic, chief information officer at Laurier

With all of the courses and tutorials being uploaded on a regular basis, Lynda is a unique platform that will help revolutionize professional and personal learning goals both in and out of the classroom.

Single sign-on capabilities provide simple, easy access to the platform. Students will be able to login to Lynda through their mobile and smartphone devices, or through their computers.

“The whole idea behind this is that users will be able to access Lynda using their current Laurier network account”, Petkovic said.

The expected launch date for Lynda is undetermined, but the development is projected to be completed by the end of January 2018.

FUNDING

Waterloo Recreation Complex to get big renovations ERIN ABE LEAD REPORTER

Waterloo city council has approved the $26.6 million renovation of the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex.

The recreation complex is now going forward to the next phase of planning details for construction.

The team has aimed to present the details of the plans to the council in February of 2019 and, pending approval, construction will begin spring of 2019.

Construction of the recreation complex will be a major renovation which will take around two years to complete. The re-opening of the recreation complex is estimated for the spring or summer of 2021.

The next step for the renovation will be to look at the architectural and engineering issues and create blueprints that will guide the construction.

This construction project of the recreation complex includes large structural changes as well as new enhanced additions which reflect the diversity of community members who use the facility.

“Adding a gymnasium or activity court as we call it at the front of the building so at the east side of the building. And that would be for all kinds of sports as well as all kinds of community programs, dance

QIAO LIU/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

classes, and larger community gathering,” Beth Rajnovich, policy and performance analyst for the City of Waterloo, said.

The renovations include an addition of a two-story older adult recreation centre, which will hold programs for seniors. The second floor of this building hopes to hold

a community room and an exercise studio.

“We’re also looking at doing renos to the existing banquet hall at the WRMC it’s called Hauser house. And changing it from being a very big banquet hall to becoming two exercise studios for yoga, aerobics, Zumba et cetera,”

Rajnovich said. “[The area] would be surrounded by a walking track and then also space for people to hang out before classes to make the space usable for folks.”

Other proposed renovations for the building include a program room, kitchen, lounge and recep-

tion area, games and computer rooms and expanding the family change rooms in the swimplex.

“We have gymnasiums out here at Rim Park and they’re extremely well used and we’re quite confident that the gymnasium will provide for access to recreation in the community,” Rajnovich said.

The project is estimated to cost around 26 million-dollars for all three components of the renovation, this final price may be subject to a 20 per cent fluctuation, either lower or higher than the current estimate.

Both adult recreation centres will remain open during the renovation of the WMRC and programs will be integrated after completion.

Selling of these properties is being discussed by the city and council as a portion of the funding for the WMRC funding.

“We think that the new set up with the senior centre is going to provide for a lot more intergenerational activity opportunities to engage with seniors,” Rajnovich said.

Accessibility will also be upgraded to ensure public safety with elevators and a pedestrian bridge from the adult recreation centre to the rest of the complex.

“The community can look forward to a lot of new opportunities,” Rajnovich said.

6 • NEWS

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2018

ELECTIONS

Directors explore topic of referendum questions Students’ Union discusses the incoming candidate questions for the upcoming election season JAKE WATTS NEWS EDITOR

An emergency Board of Directors meeting called in late December reveals that the Wilfrid Laurier University Students’ Union has faced some difficulty in prepping questions for the upcoming referendum.

The Students’ Union elections, which will be held from Jan. 30, 2018 to Feb. 1, 2018, will let Laurier students cast their ballots online to decide on, not just the individuals who will fill the various positions in the Students’ Union, but also whether to approve or reject several referendum questions.

It was these referendum questions that were the primary subject of the emergency board meeting.

Students’ Union director and chair of the elections committee, Muhammad Talha Naeem, explained why the Students’ Union poses referendum questions and what their role is in facilitating the process.

Referendum questions are an opportunity for ... students to have an opportunity to amend and change things around campus ...

-Muhammad Talha Naeem, director of the board and chair of the elections committee

“Referendum questions are an opportunity for the larger student body ... to have an opportunity to amend and change things around campus related to the Students’

The problem was the person who submitted the quesion has not followed the full process.

-Muhammad Talha Naeem, director of the board and chair of the elections committee

MADELINE MCINNIS/FILE PHOTO

Union,” Naeem said.

Naeem noted some examples of initiatives that had their origin with referendum questions, including funding for the Student Life Levy, a scholarship program for international students, as well as the creation of a new fee to support the Brantford Athletic Complex.

“They can pose a question, a request, to the larger student body and 17,000 undergraduate students will vote on it. Anything related to undergraduate students will be there and students vote for it if they like it and if they don’t like it,” Naeem said.

On the matter of which questions are presented for students to vote on, Naeem explained that the Students’ Union’s main role is not to decide which questions to pose, but rather to vet questions to make sure that they are free of legal or technical problems.

“There is a process to it. First,

we make — I made — an appeal personally as chair of elections this year ... I made a request to the larger student body, and marketed to anyone with a referendum question to please come forward, follow this format, submit your question,” Naeem said.

“Once the question is approved, there is a committee that sits, and that committee prepares the questions, compiles them, and goes through those questions and then they are presented to the board,” Naeem said. “Now the board does not approve or disapprove the question based on what kind of impact it will have on students, whether it will make the life of students better or it will make it worse. The job of the board of directors of the Students’ Union is not that.”

“The technical details and legal details, those are what the Board scans … and if the question is free

of legal errors and free of technical errors, then the question is posted on the ballot for the students to decide whether they should approve or disapprove it.”

However, the emergency board meeting on Dec. 19, 2017, which was called to address one of the candidate referendum questions, has shown that this process does not always unfold smoothly.

The question, as stated in the Students’ Union Board of Directors meeting agenda package from Dec. 7, is “Starting in the Fall 2018 school term, and continuing forward until such time decided by a subsequent referendum, the Laurier Students Public Interest Research Group (LSPIRG) fee should be changed to be opt-in as opposed to opt-out.”

LSPIRG, which is described on its website as “an incorporated notfor-profit organization that helps to develop advocacy tools and

avenues for action,” gets a proportion of its funding from a fee that is automatically charged to Laurier students. Students have the option of not paying if they go through the process of opting out.

Initially, the wording of the question was approved by the Students’ Union, but it was brought to the attention of the board that it had not actually been through the proper processes to make it to the ballot.

At the emergency meeting in late December, the board decided to remove the question from consideration because it violated an agreement the Students’ Union has with LSPIRG about how questions are put forward.

The agreement states that before submitting a question regarding the funding of LSPIRG or other campus groups with similar agreements, support from at least five per cent of the student body must be gathered via petition or vote.

“What really happened is that there is a clause that has a longer process [for putting a question regarding LSPIRG funding on the ballot],” Naeem said. “The problem was the person who submitted the question has not followed the full process.”

NEWS • 7

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2018 TECHNOLOGY

What you missed over winter break Minimum wage goes up The province of Ontario, under a liberal majority government, increased the minimum wage, taking effect on Jan. 1, 2018.

The previous amount of minimum wage was 11.60 dollars, according to Ontario.ca. Now the minimum wage is 14 dollars per-hour with the increase. The 14 dollars per-hour minimum wage

increase is only applied to general minimum wage workers.

There is an additional minimum wage increase for students under the age of 18, servers, hunting and fishing guides, as well as homeworkers. Minimum wage is set to increase again on Jan. 1, 2019, to the rate of 15 dollars per-hour.

OHIP+ plan provides new added coverage QIAO LIU/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Laurier students compete in Communitech competition The Design to Win Challenge gives chance to win $5,000 CALEB PALMER CORD NEWS

This January, three students from Wilfrid Laurier University have qualified for the chance to win $5,000 through Communitech’s Design to Win Challenge.

Local non-profit, Communitech, offers two competitions which are open to all Canadian post-secondary students.

The Code to Win Challenge and the Design to Win Challenge.

The final round of the competition takes place from Jan. 19, 2018 to Jan. 20, 2018 in Kitchener and Waterloo.

“The coding challenge is a challenge geared towards engineering students, computer science students [and] essentially anyone who has coding skills,” Melissa Roth, campus engagement coordinator for Communitech. “They have two hours to write the challenge.”

The design challenge is a product and design challenge where they have two hours to design whatever the challenge is.

-Melissa Roth, campus engagement coordinator

“For the coding challenge, students need to know how to code in some kind of [programming] language.”

The code challenge is written with the HackerRanks system, which understands 30 different programming languages.

The Design to Win Challenge is unique due to the fact that it is handwritten on paper instead of

on a computer.

“The design challenge is a product and design challenge where they have two hours to design whatever the challenge is,” Roth said.

“This past fall we did a design challenge around building an app for our community centre for allowing people to book programs and services,” Roth said.

This year, Daniel Moll and Irene Chong, students at Laurier’s Waterloo campus and Joel Schellenberger, a student at Laurier’s Brantford campus, have qualified for the final round of the Design to Win Challenge.

There are two rounds of competition for each challenge. The challenge starts with a preliminary round open to all students, which occurred this past September and October of 2017.

This year, 927 students participated in the preliminary stages.

691 entered the Code to Win Challenge, 236 entered the Design to Win Challenge.

Students from 25 different schools throughout Canada participated in the challenge.

Seven of which were from outside of Ontario.

“For the coding challenge 50 students from all of the students that participate are qualified for the finals, then for the design challenge 25 students qualify,” Roth said.

For both challenges, first place winners receive $5,000.

The second place winners receive $1,000.

“The competition is open to students in their undergrad, doing their masters or Ph.D level and we do see a really big range of students who qualify for the finals,” Roth said.

“We do have a lot of first years who participate and there’s a few that made it [to the final round]; it just depends on the individual student.” “[The winners] get to go on some

It’s a really great opportunity for the companies to showcase what they offer to people in terms of their culture.

-Melissa Roth, campus engagement coordinator

tours of our different offices, they get to interview with different companies for post-graduate positions, co-op positions, internships, different stuff like that,” Roth said.

Roth explained that there are various benefits of participating in these competitions, in addition to the cash reward.

Roth also explained that the competition is a good opportunity for students to interact and network with like-minded peers.

“It’s also a really cool challenge because it’s coding under a time constraint. Which a lot of students don’t normally practice,” Roth said.

Many companies expect programmers they hire to do a hands-on, technical interview, Roth explained.

By learning to write code with a time limit, students can benefit in situations where they must display their computer skills quickly.

“I would say that … one of the coolest things that the students really enjoy is getting to meet the company,” Roth said.

“It really opens their eyes to what kinds of experiences they could have in terms of working a co-op position, or as a post-graduate as well.”

“It’s a really great opportunity for the companies to showcase what they offer to people in terms of their culture.”

On Jan. 1, 2018, the Ontario Health Insurance Plan Plus (OHIP+) was launched in Ontario.

OHIP+ is a provincial program that provides drug coverage for those 24-years-old and younger.

More than 4,400 drug products are listed as a part of the Ontario drug benefit program, many of which are are covered through OHIP+.

Some of the drugs covered include oral contraceptives, inhalers,

various insulins, medications to treat mental health conditions and more.

Patients can use the medication coverage checker on the Ontario.ca website to find out if their medication is covered by OHIP+.

This program is automatic if you have an Ontario health card and a valid prescription. Coverage through the program ends on the respected individual’s 25 birthday.

Naloxone kits available According to CBC news Kitchener-Waterloo, both the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University now carry the nasal spray version of Naloxone.

20 officers at the University of Waterloo, 17 at the Waterloo campus of Wilfrid Laurier University and nine at the Brantford campus of Laurier were trained to administer the spray.

Naloxone kits can reverse the negative effects of opioid drug use and possible drug poisoning.

According to The Record, the Region of Waterloo public health and emergency services has reported that from January to September 2016 there have been 529 overdose related calls.

Matthew Grant, spokesperson for UW, explained that this preventative measure is meant to respond to the opioid issue Waterloo is struggling with. “We know universities are not immune to societal problems,” Grant said.

Rallying for Palestine The third of a series of rallies for Palestine was canceled on Sunday, Dec. 30, 2017 due to a severe cold weather warning. The two rallies prior to the canceled one on Dec. 30 both saw significant turnout and response from the general public.

The third rally for Palestine was to be hosted by Waterloo Students

for Palestinian Rights at the Waterloo Town Square.

According to their events page, the rally was meant to respond to the recent actions of the Trump administration’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, as well as the decision to relocate the U.S. embassy.

Murder victim attained Ager Hasan, who was accused of killing his girlfriend Melinda Vasilije in her Kitchener apartment last year, had his first court appearance in Canada on Jan. 8, 2018 according to Global News.

Hasan has been back in Canada since Jan. 5, 2018, and is being escorted by Waterloo Regional Police Services.

His charges include one count of

second-degree murder and three counts of breach of recognizance, according to CBC news Kitchener-Waterloo.

On the day when Hasan allegedly killed Vasilije, he also crossed the Buffalo border into the U.S. Hasan was taken into custody in San Antonio, Texas, after which he was extradited to Canada to face sentencing.

Compiled by News Editor Nathalie Bouchard.

8 •

Arts & Life

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2018 ARTS & LIFE EDITOR SHYENNE MACDONALD arts@thecord.ca

TELEVISION

Reflecting on Black Mirror CONTRIBUTED IMAGE

KURTIS RIDEOUT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

This morning I saw Pizza Hut tweet a picture of their concept for a fully autonomous delivery vehicle.

Shortly after this went out, the official twitter handle for Black Mirror — the much talked about Netflix exclusive which was picked up off of a British television public—access station, sent out a response. “We know how this goes,” the tweet read, rather ominously.

Those who watch the show will instantly recognize the strong resemblance between the Pizza Hut vehicle and another driverless vehicle that appeared on “Crocodile”, the third episode in Black Mirror’s most recent Netflix drop.

The response from Black Mirror’s official handle and, in turn, the fan reaction to that, are both indicative of the — almost — universal acclaim that the show has achieved since becoming a Netflix exclusive. When quickly scrolling through the thread, I see hundreds of fans engaging and interacting in thoughtful ways, not unlike the meaningful interactions I’ve had discussing episodes of the show with my peers.

Even those conversations are easily translatable and digestible in various formats.

That is a big part of why I have come to the conclusion that Black Mirror is one of television’s first completely international offerings — not intrinsically tied to any specific place or time —which adds heavily to the unnerving disconnect from reality the show seems to provide fans. Even when it critiques some of our more disturbing and, frankly, realistic behavioral traits.

The creators of Black Mirror have done a good job of channeling the on-the-nose social commentary that was once packed into every episode of the cold-war era gem The Twilight Zone into a format and structure that strikes a chord with millennial audiences in particular, making for a show that comes off as equal parts wise and bleak. The casting and story telling are phenomenal and diverse; the characters, plot and setting almost force you to detach from your own reality and plug into one that feels oddly familiar, but coldly uncomfortable and distant at the same time.

Making use of a unique set of voices — series four is led by a cast of strong female leads, two of which are women of colour — the show taps into the collective mindset that is wary of technology but still sees its benefits and uses.

Each universe the show sucks you into could be one that is just barely removed from your own, and the

show and its writers do a good job of taking advantage of that feeling — the implication on the show is that some of these ideas aren’t as far fetched as they seem when you are first unpacking them.

On top of all of that, Black Mirror, over and over again, creates these fascinating and mostly dystopian universes that all have their roots in our own reality.

Watching each episode commands you to implore how things got to be the way they did, even if you may never find out. Each universe and landscape that the show creates seems to have barely scratched the surface of concept exploration, and for that reason the show feels like a tease at times. That is not to say that they don’t do each concept justice, it’s more to say that they leave room for the show to grow organically at any chance.

For example, rumors have been circulating that the show’s director has already expressed interest in making Star Trek parody/homage,

“U.S.S. Callister” into a full length series.

Also, quite interestingly, the creators have confirmed a series of short stories and novellas poised to start coming out this year, the first of which is set for a Feb. 20 release.

Hearing this news made perfect sense to me as a fan of the show.

I would say that — having watched the show progress and develop into what it is now — the only real complaint to have is that the episodes often leave you longing for more, which is also characteristically one of the most important aspects of any anthology series.

Black Mirror is essentially like a window into an alternate reality; it’s fun to indulge our fears, but anything more than a peek might be too much too handle.

Fortunately, the show walks that line very closely, allowing for an experience that is equal parts unnerving and comforting, but never quite the same.

for Lady Bird’s near perfect score came about after it had maintained a 100% rating across 195 individually published reviews.

It was unceremoniously knocked off this impressive streak by one opportunistic critic who, in his actions and justification for his review, embodied the worst tendencies of film criticism today.

Cole Smithey, the critic in question who self-publishes on his own website, was none too pleased with Gerwig’s sole effort as director.

Calling it “dramatically flat,” he dwelled incessantly on vague plot details without much context and ended with the abrupt, telling statement: “Lady Bird is far from a perfect film, it’s just not the mumblecore disaster you’d expect.”

Although I do not mean to imply he was somehow not within his right as an author to be underwhelmed by the film in question, his justification for submitting his negative score after the backlash knocked on his door was questionable and blatantly irresponsible.

As he wrote on twitter, he “had to consider whether to cast Lady Bird as Fresh or Rotten in the context of a perfect score” and his negative review was primarily done to stop people from “trumpet[ing] Lady Bird as the all-time best reviewed movie.”

As he filed his negative review then, he expunged any pretense of

integrity and any pretense he was indeed reviewing Lady Bird the film on its singular merits.

Smithey, in an act of what can only be classified as unfiltered ego, ceased reviewing a movie and instead began evaluating the public’s perception of Lady Bird as a “perfect” movie.

perception in a higher regard than their own opinions?

Who is to say he does not grade all films he watches based on how they’ll effect the ridiculous “tomato-meter”?

A film critic’s one prerogative is to be honest with themselves when discussing film.

Smithey was incapable of this basic tenet when he claimed an ethical issue concerning the arbitrary score on an aggregate website.

Even from my position as an amateur film critic far removed from ever getting verification from Rotten Tomatoes, obsessing over the public’s opinion as Smithey does seems counter-productive.

We’ll never get an honest review out of you because you’re filtering your opinion through too many lenses.

Perhaps this incident is just another strike against the website.

Along with the DC and Star Wars fan outrage it sparked earlier this year.

As an aggregate it can only collect reviews, and to be impartial we cannot write with that final tomato score in our heads influencing our critiques.

Smithey had every right to hate Lady Bird on his own terms, but hating them on Rotten Tomatoes scale of quality is dishonest, manipulative and everything that is wrong with film criticism today.

MOVIES

TANZEEL SAYANI/CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Don’t give Lady Bird the bird!

CHRIS LUCIANTONIO STAFF WRITER

Greta Gerwig’s directorial debut Lady Bird was a genuine ode to youthful idealism and formation which touched critics and audi-

ences alike with its scrupulous rendering of teenage coming to age, becoming one of the best reviewed films of last year.

The spirited indie film is currently standing at an extremely uncommon 99% on the review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes and it would surprise you to learn that people are quite incensed by this score.

Despite being a number many a producer would do unspeakable things to achieve, the backlash

What use is there for a film critic who holds the flawed system of Rotten Tomatoes and public perception in a higher regard than their own opinion?

Realizing his position as a film critic verified by Rotten Tomatoes gave him power — small, insignificant but, nevertheless, readily exploitable power — Smithey explicitly took advantage of the opportunity to use his review to shape the public discourse Rotten Tomatoes generates in his preference.

What use is there for a film critic who holds the flawed system of Rotten Tomatoes and public

ARTS & LIFE • 9

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2018 LIFESTYLE

Improving the new year by improving yourself I’ve heard it was for many of my peers as well. If a mess is what we are going to have, we can at least be prepared for it. Start a bullet journal, or map out your months in advance.

Take the time to read your syllabi. Make sure you have enough time for all the activities you want to do, but also leave some time for yourself just to be yourself.

MADELINE MCINNIS STAFF WRITER

New Year, new me, right?

Whether you’re for or against New Year’s resolutions, the beginning of 2018 represents a fresh start and an opportunity to become a better more authentic you.

I, for one, have never been into the big New Year’s plan things, but there are some habits that I’ve been meaning to pick up and now’s the perfect time.

If you’re looking for the perfect thing to pick up or start doing, here are some of my personal goals for the upcoming year to help jolt your imagination.

Pet more dogs Even if you’re not the type for big resolutions, I’m sure we can all agree on this one.

Dogs are heaven-sent and we all need more of them in our lives.

Another more creative reason to pet dogs is to be able to ask for things.

I would usually rather do something myself than ask someone to go out of their way for me, even if

ALAN LI/GRAPHICS EDITOR

it’s something simple.

By asking people if you can pet their dogs, you’re breaking that cycle, and you can get a pretty sweet reward for it too.

Track your food The cliché is hitting the gym and getting fit, right? Something even easier is just to pay attention to when you’re eating. Just in the first few days of tracking it this year, I notice that the days I skip meals my mental health is much worse.

By noticing these trends, I can adjust accordingly — even if it’s just the granola bar I threw in my bag before going to a meeting this morning.

I’ve also started a list on my fridge of the expiry dates on every-

thing. Wasting food is so 2017.

Say yes more often I have always been the type to hoard my money unless there is a sale, or I need to use it.

This year, I’m going to start saying yes to more opportunities.

This doesn’t mean you should be living beyond your means, but don’t be afraid of new experiences either. If you’ve been dreaming about something and the cost is the only thing holding you back, maybe it’s just time to take that leap. Save for a rainy day, but don’t waste all the sunny ones while you’re at it.

Say no more often At the same time, saying no is

just as important. This year, I’m focusing on not being pressured into things I don’t want to do. No excuses, no lies.

Just an honest no.

Do what is important for you.

If that means skipping the four dollar coffee with your friends and putting it into a plane ticket, say no to that coffee. If it means passing up “an amazing opportunity” someone offers you because you don’t think you’ll like it, pass it up.

2018 is the year of positivity, and if it’s not going to help you achieve your goals or appreciate yourself, say no.

Plan, plan, plan Life is busy. Last semester was an absolute mess for me, and

Take a chance Remember that everything doesn’t have to be calculated. Plan, yes, but this year I also want to take more risks. There are always going to be hiccups. There are always going to be things that go wrong.

That shouldn’t stop us from going after the things we want to do anyway. This year, don’t let the fear rule the actions.

Breathe, count to five and take a leap of faith. Get out of your comfort zone and the unknown won’t be so scary.

Your “new me” doesn’t have to be — and shouldn’t be — an entirely new person.

Just work some new habits into your old routine and be the best version of yourself you can be. It’s never too late to make a new resolution, either.

Each day is a new start and a new opportunity to meet and surpass your goals.

POPULAR CULTURE

The truth of children in comics An exploration of why young super-heroes are being killed and what it implies about the comic book industry

THIRANGA WIJEDASA CORD ARTS

Comic books have impacted the lives of many readers — especially in the age of super hero movies.

This is because almost every big block-buster film is focused on an all-powerful being trying to find their place in the world while saving it.

Despite this, the entertainment industry has greatly ignored child super heroes, ultimately leaving them within the pages of comics where they’re subjected to extreme abuse and violence.

The two major super-hero comic book companies — Marvel and DC — are the most infamous mainly due to how popular they are.

However, where Marvel has been hesitant to go too far with the abuse and violence the child super-heroes are subjected to, DC hasn’t held back. Characters such as Barbara Gordon, Tim Drake, Stephanie Brown and Damian Wayne have all been victims of traumatic events and occasionally death. But that’s just to name a few.

Let’s not forget Jason Todd, aka Red Hood.

He suffered a particularly brutal death at the hands of the Joker before any other child had been killed in a comic. We can’t ignore the glaring issue with child super-heroes. T he murdering of these children can be interpreted as normalizing child abuse. But yet, they are an integral part of the comic book universe.

Characters such as Robin, Kid Flash, Ms. Marvel or Prodigy have entire fan-bases devoted to their characters. People who read comics are stereotypically depicted as being socially awkward and introverted people. Although it’s not entirely accurate, it could explain why people who are less social connect so much to these child super-heroes.

It’s easier to learn the back-story of an individual, understand the characters emotions and feelings during a crisis or event, and to get to know them through their relationships with others.

But, most importantly, as a character evolves — especially child characters whose complex experiences the reader can empathize with as they evolve over time with them — often times the most mundane things that the character experiences, such as Peter Parker being bullied in high school, are experiences we all have.

Although, generally, we have no

secret identity or ability to climb on any ceiling, the connections can still been made. When a child super-hero does die, however, the fan-bases devoted to them go into overdrive. At the same time comic book review sites start criticizing or praising the steps taken by the creators to reach this moment.

Meanwhile, the comic book companies are churning out comics entirely devoted to all those related to the now dead child. They continue the character’s arc ‘’In Memoriam’’ issues so their profits keep increasing in the process.

As you can see I know a little bit about this process, I’ve mourned for my fair share of child heroes.

One of my favourite super-heroes is Damian Wayne.

Although he is recognized as a spoiled and violent child, he tries to change his behaviour and repair his relationship with his father.

It’s what kept me reading. And so when the boy died, it was devastating to say the least.

Thus, I read deeper and deeper into the comics — finding out who wrote it and how was fascinating.

The months after his death led to promises of the return of Robin, with anticipation causing increased sales for comic book readers. Child super-heroes may be an integral part of the universe, but maybe it’s time to stop creating them just to kill them off later.

ALAN LI/GRAPHICS EDITOR

10 • GAMES

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

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

Dear Life, Why am I already stressed when the term has barely started? Is it the far too short break or a dread that I will soon be overwhelmed just like past terms?

Sincerely, Stressed 3rd Year Dear Life, Why B? Why? Sincerely, Big Red B emoji Dear Nat, thanks for all your help! You were an amazing help during my dumpster fire of a night!

Sincerely, Crying artfully Dear Koda, enjoy your wired jaw. Now you’re one step closer to the terminator than you ever thought you’d be Sincerely, shania twain Dear Life, Professionalism is dead.

Sincerely, Annoyed Dear Leafs It’s time to start playing like an elite hockey team. When we come back from the break it will be a crucible. There are some good teams coming up but they are beatable if we have the mindset of a winning team.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2018 Dear Life Roses are read Violets are blew I like to spell and read too Sincerely, Mr. Heffalump

Baby, I’m dancing in the dark with you between my arms Barefoot on the grass, listening to our favorite song When you said you looked a mess, I whispered underneath my breath But you heard it, darling, you look perfect tonight Sincerely, Perfect Dear Life, Can you feel the love tonight?

The peace the evening brings?

The world, for once, in perfect harmony with all it’s living things.

Sincerely, Rafiki Dear Life, Is it worth the 25+ years behind bars for first degree murder?

Sincerely, Genuinely Curious Dear Life, Everybody makes mistakes Everybody has those days One, two, three, four!

Everybody makes mistakes Everybody has those days Everybody knows what I’m talkin’ ‘bout Everybody gets that way Everybody knows what I’m talkin’ ‘bout Everybody gets that way Sincerely, Nobody’s Perfect Dear election candidates, As the Student’s Union elections approach, please remember that student government is not a pop-

Dear Life, I found a love, for me.

Sincerely, Perfect Dear Life,

Sincerely, William Wallace

Dear Life, Like a river flows Surely to the sea Darling, so it goes Some things are meant to be

Dear Life,

Sincerely, Maple Leaf

Aye, fight and you may die. Run, and you’ll live... at least a while.

And dying in your beds, many years from now, would you be willin’ to trade ALL the days, from this day to that, for one chance, just one chance, to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they’ll never take...

OUR FREEDOM!

Sincerely, Laurier alum who still supports The Cord

ularity contest. Representing the student body is a huge responsibility; it’s more than just a “cool addition” to your resume. It involves knowledge about policy and representation. Electing students who are running for the wrong reasons can seriously impact the student experience; it can even impact people’s jobs.

Think before you run, and please, think before you vote.

Sincerely, YA Dear Life, I would rather eat a Tide Pod right now.

Sincerely, Tired Dear Life, Wise men say Only fools rush in But I can’t help falling in love with you Sincerely, Elvis Dear Life, Two weeks and I still got the same old jeans on Never got a girl when I need one Sincerely, Peepers Dear Life, I realize what it means to make that type of commitment but I never hesitated to jump feet first, head first into the abyss your coronas Sincerely, #wild Dear Life, Why is waterloo’s snow removal service so not aight?

Did you know I pulled someone out of a snowbank the other day in my jeep?

My hometown is a lil bit better than us.

Sincerely, Lazereyes

SUDOKU

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2018

• 11

Editorial

OPINION EDITOR EMILY WAITSON opinion@thecord.ca

Note: Update on torn papers That being said, this is a topic that is important to us, and we feel that our silence is not ideal in light of such an inflammatory incident, but our main priority is currently to respect the wishes of the university and the privacy of the individual(s) potentially involved in the incidents.

KURTIS RIDEOUT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

On Nov. 22, shortly after copies of The Cord were distributed across campus, it was brought to the attention of the editorial board that hundreds of issues were being ripped in half and placed back on stands across campus.

The event coincided with our coverage of the controversy surrounding Lindsay Shepherd and therefore ties between the two situations were immediately drawn by students on campus and numerous people online.

Amidst the controversy, The Cord asked that people avoided from speculating or drawing conclusions as to what motivated the perpetrator(s) of the incident and would like to thank those who have respected our wishes.

While our goal and focus in this situation is to be transparent and open with the student body, we must respect the processes in place...

In correspondance with The Cord, Dwayne Taylor, associate director: student conduct, explained that the Dean of Students Office is still in the process of collecting all available information on the incident and will move forward accordingly when the time is right.

In the event that the incident was perpetrated by a Wilfrid Laurier University student, the school’s non-academic code of conduct will be used to address the situation.

Essentially, Dean of Students Office is still in the process of investigating, and will respond accordingly once their investigation has been completed.

While our goal and focus in this situation is to be transparent and open with the student body, we must respect the processes in place and continue in our efforts to avoid speculation.

The Cord will continue in its correspondence with the Dean of Students Office and publish details as soon as they can be made available to us and to the student body at large.

In the event that the incident was perpetrated by a Wilfrid Laurier University student, the school’s non-academic code of conduct will be used to address the situation

As mentioned in a previous note, The Cord has reason to believe that the motivations behind these actions were unrelated to the incident involving Lindsay Shepherd, but has refrained from publishing any follow up information regarding the incident due to an investigation that is still ongoing.

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

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

DIRECTOR/CORPORATE SECRETARY Noa Salamon

PRESIDENT Andreas Patsiaouros president@wlusp.com

DIRECTOR Hayley H.G. Watson

FINANCE MANAGER Randy Moore randy@rcmbrooks. com

DIRECTOR Rosalind Horne TREASURER John Pehar

ADVERTISING MANAGER Caroline Lucas care.lucas@wlusp. com

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Lakyn Barton lakyn.barton@wlusp. com HR MANAGER Paige Bush hr@wlusp.com WEB MANAGER Sam Nabi sam.nabi@wlusp.com

ALAN LI/GRAPHICS EDITOR

Celebs shouldn’t be president KARLIS WILDE FEATURES EDITOR

Following Oprah Winfrey’s powerful Cecil B. DeMille speech Sunday night, the internet exploded with affirmation of a much-whispered spark about the future of the Democratic party: Oprah for President, 2020.

In doing this, celebrities and citizens alike have suddenly gathered under the delicious banner of celebrity in order to perfectly replicated the Trump-brand of politics — but with a partisan inversion.

This opposition would make sense if it was Trump’s Republican views that made him such an unpopular president.

But these political biases and goals merely reflect alternative values, and to say that they disqualify him from office is blinded and misguided.

Trump’s real and biggest problem is that he is decidedly not a politician and — despite having the resources — has no idea how to pilot a country in order to achieve his bullet-point list of objectives.

Oprah, too, carries the same lack of qualifications for the job — the liberally minded are simply rally-

ing behind her because her values match their own.

This tends to be the age of legacy politics, where brand recognition has dominated the conversation: Trudeau, Trump, Clinton all these names have existed in the public consciousness for so many years.

But it is important to dispense with the familiar in order to actually advance the future of the world.

What about the other prospective candidates?

If pre-existing visibility were the only thing that mattered for the role throughout history, Barack Obama would have certainly been passed over in 2008 for the much more well-known celebrity figure of Hillary Clinton.

The question of ‘if not her, then who’ spoken from the Facebook walls of Canadian citizens is at best misguided and at worst idiotic.

The figures that should be elevated to leadership status are the ones who have performed great works in support of values within their own communities: people like Kamala Harris, or Cory Booker, or Elizabeth Warren — perhaps the three most obvious choices for the leadership — because their political pursuits have been for the good of the country, not for the purposes of building a brand.

This work should then be rewarded by American voters with the platform to perform a similar function on much larger scale.

There’s a reason that they call it public service, and recognition needs to be placed on the fact that public service wasn’t designed to be a desirable task.

When George Washington was offered leadership of the newly defined America, he didn’t really want it — he would have preferred to live his life and support his family at Mount Vernon.

He ultimately took it because he had a responsibility and an obligation.

The presidency is, in the modern era, viewed as some kind of trophy, when it really isn’t.

It’s a job tasked with enormous responsibility and unthinkable pressure.

It’s an unconscionable role that must regularly make decisions that directly affect the very lives of people all around the world, decisions that must sometimes directly end lives.

“I know that person” is how high school student politics works; it isn’t how the national and international fate of the world and its countries are decided.

Winfrey’s speech, chock full of moral platitudes, was a beautiful thing, but supporting the political path of a non-politician thanks to the celebrity of daytime television is dangerous and is exactly what has led to the current antagonistic, disenfranchised and volatile state of America today.

12 •

Opinion

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2018 OPINION EDITOR EMILY WAITSON opinion@thecord.ca

Microtransactions in video games are deceptive

edent which will undoubtedly be mirrored in the future.

The reason why EA as a company is dealing with so much resentment is because of their official response to the system.

They claimed that “the intent is to provide players with a sense of pride and accomplishment for unlocking different heroes.”

This blatant fabrication has been deconstructed and evaluated extensively in the past months and has been revealed to be a thinly-veiled excuse.

I believe that microtransactions and loot boxes are more than just a black and white problem.

I don’t think that they are inherently evil, or good.

I do, however, think that they must be very carefully curated for their respective gaming audiences.

I think that gamers — especially those in the growing casual player base — are particularly vulnerable to these manipulative practices.

There are many other games

which utilize loot boxes and microtransactions both well and poorly.

I have never had any particular issue with those that focus on aesthetic or cosmetic purchases, such as games like Overwatch, which

allow character customization.

I feel that what bridges the boundary of what can be considered acceptable in gaming, how-

ever, is when in-game purchases are used to obtain something that makes the game easier to be played.

I understand that, with the growing crowd of casual and mobile gamers, there are simply times when you may not have the same amount of time to invest into a particular experience as others.

However, you still feel entitled to the same level of satisfaction in playing a game that they do.

That being said, the design of these games — I’m looking at you, League of Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Hearthstone, NBA 2K18 and Evolve — has been intentionally woven to encourage gamers to sidestep the annoying aspects of playing parts of the game — or making it outright impossible — in favour of simply purchasing them.

I feel that if they’re going to keep this monetization model ethical moving forward, developers need to either label their games in the same manner that the ethical gambling committees do.

Or, keep the unlock method behind either a paywall or a grind wall, but not both.

I’m all for a solidly designed game providing a cosmetic improvement to the experience at the cost of a couple extra dollars.

The premium, in my opinion, is paid when the game is purchased and as such the entire game should be included in that.

If the “extras” and “goodies” are conditional, it should be equal for everyone, not just those who can afford to bypass it.

play Parker and Sony entered into a deal with Marvel to reboot Spider-Man. According to the Sony contract, Parker had to be heterosexual and white.

This contract was apparently in place during the Garfield films as well, but Garfield admitted to not being made aware of this.

I don’t know about other superhero film fans, but this certainly dims my excitement for Tom Holland’s Spider-Man films.

This is not to say that giving Parker a black love interest in

the newer films isn’t important enough, as I think it’s very important.This is also not to say that Andrew Garfield was fired simply because he wanted his character to have a male love interest.

There were many factors at play, such as Garfield’s age and the difficulty Marvel would have had integrating Garfield into their Cinematic Universe.

I do, however, hope that it gives some people pause when they champion Marvel’s diversity efforts. Marvel has taken many

opportunities to celebrate racial diversity, but is unwilling to give one of their iconic characters a boyfriend.

On top of Spider-Man needing to be contractually heterosexual, he also needs to stay white, which is a step in the wrong direction if one wants to be a champion of diversity.

It isn’t bad to be excited about Tom Holland’s take on Spider-Man, it’s just good to remember why he was cast for the role to begin with.

AARON HAGEY STAFF WRITER

One of the most popular and recent monetization models in gaming, from mobile apps to multi-million dollar company titles, has been microtransactions and loot boxes.

The immense success of these small-scale virtual and in-game purchases has skyrocketed with the paralleled marketability of so called “free-to-play” games — most commonly seen in mobile app games.

Many of these games, which have become associated with the negative expression “pay-to-win,” or “freemium,” are in the precarious position of offering a noteworthy improvement to the quality of a game.

They do so with the associated purchase of additional elements outside of the traditional gaming format.

In November 2017, following the launch of EA’s Battlefront II, the main flaw in the microtransaction business model became more widely transparent and criticized.

The deceptive implementation of gambling mechanics — as seen in loot boxes, which give a pseudo-to-completely-random payout of virtual items — has gained national recognition. The unethicality of subjecting consumers to gam-

ALAN LI/GRAPHICS EDITOR

bling mechanics in casual gaming has gained significant scrutiny.

The glaring problem with the game is simple. The players of the game who invested a significant number of hours — many reports claim that it required up to 40 hours of playing to unlock a single virtual character to play — were on the same level as those who bypassed this system by paying up to hundreds of dollars in virtual loot boxes.

What is most controversial about this is the fact that additional purchases, on top of the $60-80 being paid for the product — for what is supposed to be a AAA title and a “full game”— allow players to detour the intentionally fabricated cycle of endless and monotonous grinding, in what is supposed to be a “fun” gaming experience.

Games like Battlefront II, which allow players to essentially pay exorbitant amounts for a better gaming experience.

This sets a very dangerous prec-

This blatant fabrication has been deconstructed and evaluated extensively in the past months and has been revealed to be a thinly-veiled excuse.

No to Spider-Man BRITTANY TENHAGE STAFF WRITER

Film and TV franchises get rebooted all the time and that’s nothing new. Cast changes, licensing exchanges, 20-years-later, all of that.

It can be very exciting to see your favourite television series or film franchise being rebooted. But sometimes we don’t care; sometimes we’re disappointed.

One that people are generally very excited about is the Spider-Man reboot — after Marvel granted Sony the opportunity to reboot Spider-Man within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We’ve seen Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield in the role and now we get to see Tom Holland try his hand at playing the iconic superhero.

Many Marvel comic book fans and cinematic fans are thrilled that Peter Parker is joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The question is, should they be?

The obvious answer is yes. It’s al-

ways exciting when you’re a fan of something and it gets rebooted in a big way. I’m certainly not going to try and take that away from some people.

However, when you look into the reasons why Sony gained the rights to reboot Spider-Man, the excitement can wane a little bit.

During the promotional tour and convention appearances of Andrew Garfield after The Amazing Spider-Man 2, he was extremely vocal about his desire for Peter to be bisexual in the following films.

Parker’s main female love interest had been killed off in the previous film. Garfield believed that to be the perfect opportunity to give Parker a male love interest.

Garfield first expressed his desire for Parker to have a male love interest in a July 2013 interview and in an interview with The Amazing Spider-Man director James Webb, who appeared to know about Garfield’s desire.

In response to this, at San Diego Comic Con 2013, Stan Lee stated that he didn’t know about this and that Garfield’s comments were “out of left field.”

After this, Andrew Garfield was let go from his contract to

TANZEEL SAYANI/CREATIVE DIRECTOR

OPINION • 13

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2018

MADELINE MCINNIS/GRAPHIC ARTIST

Picking your political pals MADELINE MCINNIS STAFF WRITER

Have you ever had that person in your friend group that you really just can’t stand?

Everything they say seems to be

on your last nerve and you have to be really patient just to hang out with them?

I got news; they’re not your friend.

Especially with everything that’s going on across the world right now; we live in a very polarized society.

It seems that everyone is pro-immigration or anti-immigration, pro-choice or anti-choice, pro-European Union or anti-European

Union.

There seems to be no middle ground, unless you don’t take a side at all and stay totally objective.

That’s fine, really. These are all really big issues that deserve to be fought passionately over.

There deserves to be debate and there should be discourse around them. I don’t think I could ever be friends with someone who doesn’t respect the proper pronouns of trans people, for example.

My worldview tells me that their lives and experiences are more important than what I was taught in school and what has been done in the past regarding pronouns.

Sometimes finding middle ground just isn’t possible.

If you believe really strongly in something, you’re probably not going to budge from that viewpoint, especially at this stage of your life and especially not because someone else thinks you’re wrong.

And if we’re on total opposite sides, you might just be that friend that grinds my gears.

I will listen to you if your opinion is different from mine. I will be as professional as I can be with you.

I will engage with you and I will respect your right to have that opinion.

That’s the beauty of living in a country like Canada.

That said, I don’t have to go out of my way to spend time with you, either.

I don’t owe anyone my free time that I don’t enjoy being around.

I don’t have to engage with the things that anger me when I’m trying to relax.

At the end of the day, if your world view is different than mine, we can’t be real friends.

Acquaintances? Buddies? Sure.

But if we’re on opposite sides of the table, we won’t get along enough to be friends.

It’s just that simple.

People’s political opinions — from political leaders to hot-button issues — are their worldview. They are a reflection of what you believe in and what your priorities are in life.

I’m not going to change my opinions and I doubt you will either. We can agree to disagree, but we don’t have to get along either.

Sitting in a seminar room and discussing Donald Trump with classmates is way different than inviting someone over for dinner and one of you starting an argument

over him while eating a big ol’ plate of lasagna.

We should be discussing these topics with people who are not like ourselves, absolutely.

I don’t think I could ever be friends with someone who doesn’t respect the proper pronouns of trans people, for example.

That’s the only way that we can start to understand other perspectives. But I can understand you and still think your point of view is wrong.

I don’t have to bring that into my down time. I don’t think I could ever be friends with someone who doesn’t respect the proper pronouns of trans people, for example.

My worldview tells me that their lives and experiences are more important than what I was taught in school and what has been done in the past regarding pronouns.

In the same way, I doubt someone with anti-abortion views would be willing to be my true friend either because I believe so strongly in the other side of the debate.

Our paradigms are so different from each other that I don’t know how we could get along on a level beyond the superficial.

I will read your voices in the comments sections, I will have a debate with you when the time is right. But I won’t be expecting an invite to your party, and I hope you’re not expecting one from me either.

Feeling the rush of doing good deeds for others TYLER CURRIE STAFF WRITER

The only reason I do nice things for others is so I can feel the rush of the “good deed.”

There’s no better feeling than rolling up my sleeves and helping someone in need as a way of indulging myself with that precious influx of endorphins when I hear the words “thank you” or “I appreciate that.”

I used to think the only way I could attain that warm and fuzzy feeling that comes with helping others was to be absurdly wealthy.

That’s why I’ve always fantasized about having seemingly infinite funds and graciously using my fortune to help people in need.

Given unlimited access to funds, I would strive to feed my self-righteous cravings by becoming the so-called “Batman of finance.”

In these fantasies, I’d anonymously buy out wealthy pharmaceutical companies and make

medications dirt cheap.

I’d overhear people talking of their financial woes in bars or coffee shops and pay off their mortgages, you know, just because.

I’d send anonymous donations to amazing organizations who allocate their funds toward the betterment of the world.

Anything to confirm to myself that I really am a good person or help me bask in my own selfless altruism.

I’ve come to realize that, as an average student who doesn’t just have no money, but in fact, has negative money — making a positive change to someone’s day doesn’t require a fat wallet, but, instead, a fat heart.

I made this discovery one day while walking through the hallways of Wilfrid Laurier when a kind stranger shot me a quick smile as they walked by.

Up until that point I’d been having a bad day. Yet, that small gesture of kindness reminded me that there are friendly strangers in the world who care about the well-being of others.

It was a nice feeling and that person probably doesn’t even realize that they had put a positive

spin on my lousy day — which, in my opinion, is quite a waste of a good deed.

I used to think the only way I could attain that warm and fuzzy feeling that comes with helping others was to be absurdly wealthy.

This small act made me realize that anyone can be a mediocre Batman. A simple smile at a stranger, holding the door open for someone, telling a loved one something you appreciate about them, or going out of your way to donate blood are examples of spreading realistic levels of positivity.

You’re making the world a tiny bit better for those around you.

But more importantly, they are great ways of feeling the sweet,

TANZEEL SAYANI/CREATIVE DIRECTOR

sweet rush of the good deed.

My advice for those trying to treat themselves by being nice to others is to simply indulge yourself whenever you can.

You’ll feel great if you smile at someone because you made their day slightly better. You’ll get a rush if you notice someone has dropped their papers and you stop to help

pick them up.

You can keep the feeling of the good deed going all day by simply putting in the effort of positivity.

The cost of living selflessly is a hefty one, but one that’s always worth it in the end for that luscious feeling of satisfaction.

So give being selfless a try sometime, you deserve it.

14 •

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2018

Sports

SPORTS EDITOR PRANAV DESAI sports@thecord.ca

WOMEN’S HOCKEY

Rick Osborne announces retirement PRANAV DESAI SPORTS EDITOR

The Wilfrid Laurier women’s hockey head coach, Rick Osborne, has announced his retirement after an extraordinary 15-year career.

Osborne will continue the 2017-18 season behind the Hawks’ bench and will retire at the end of the year.

For Osborne, retirement is something that he had been contemplating since the conclusion of last year.

“What I was looking for is [that] the kids that were coming in at the beginning of last year and this year, were kids that I wouldn’t be able to see out the door,” he said.

“I had such fond memories of bringing players in and then seeing them get ready to take on the world. Once December came, I just started thinking that transitioning to a new coach might be the right thing to do.”

Coach Osborne admitted that the retirement decision was not easy for him.

“It was a difficult decision. I think it was mainly prompted due to my five grandchildren, four who play hockey themselves now,” he said.“ The bottom line was that I didn’t want to miss those years of them growing up playing and I wanted to spend more time watching them.”

Achievements have been at the center of attention for Rick Osborne over the course of his career.

After joining Laurier as the women’s hockey head coach during the 2003-04 season, Osborne led the Hawks to seven straight OUA championships.

In the 2004-05 season, Osborne engineered the only national title winning campaign in Laurier’s history, as the Hawks beat Alberta in the CIS Championship final.

Coach Osborne’s impact on Laurier athletics, however, has been much bigger than his list of achievements.

“He played a big part in making Laurier not just an attractive women’s hockey program, but an attractive women’s athletic program [overall],” Peter Baxter, director of athletics and recreation, said.

“He fit the philosophy of building a student athlete academically, athletically and leadership wise.

That’s been the hallmark of Laurier athletics.”

Osborne got the very best out of his players year after year, as evidenced by the 42 OUA All Star awards and the 37 CIS Academic All-Canadian awards that have been received by his players during his time as Laurier head coach.

“Laurier wasn’t really known as a women’s sports school when I first came here. Back in 1998 when I came, we decided to invest in women’s coaching,” Baxter said.

“Rick came from a national team program because he was a scout in Eastern Ontario for Team Canada.

His record of achievements speaks for itself.”

Women’s athletics at Laurier has taken off ever since the arrival of Osborne, as the success of the women’s hockey team has been contagious.

“The success of his team helped with our women’s lacrosse team, with our [women’s] basketball becoming very competitive at a national level, our [women’s] soccer team and so forth,” Baxter said.

Even as his illustrious career comes to an end, coach Osborne mentioned that it’s important for his team to finish the 2017-18 season on a strong note.

“I’m really counting on our players to finish strong this year. It will be up to the new coach to decide how he wants to approach the path forward. I think I need to let go when the end of April comes. I’m going to move on and make sure that the environment is set up for the new coach to be successful.”

It’s been a tough year for the Wilfrid Laurier women’s hockey team, as they currently hold a 1-1-9-2 re-

GARRISON OOSTERHOF/WEB DIRECTOR

Rick Osborne (left) during a game against Brock on Nov. 23, 2017.

cord in the OUA. But it’s important to remember that this is still a very young team that is currently going through a rebuilding phase.

Coach Osborne’s exit is simply the next step in this rebuilding process and although the Hawks will miss everything that Osborne brought to the table, sometimes a change at the head coach position is exactly what a team full of youngsters needs.

Osborne’s time with the Golden Hawks is coming to a conclusion, however, he pointed out that he’s

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not done with hockey quite yet.

“There may be some opportunities back closer to where I live. I helped mentor a couple of coaches the last couple of years.

I would just have to balance it around and make equal time for all of my grandchildren rather than just latch onto one particular job.

I might do some consulting,” he said.

“There’s a number of things I might do. It just depends on how soon I think I’m ready for another challenge.”

Work with the city waterloo.ca/students

SPORTS • 15

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2017 MEN’S HOCKEY and being effective with the puck.

“It just starts with skating and competing and working hard and you’ve got to have that or nothing else works,” Puhalski said.

It just starts with skating and competing and working hard and you’ve got to have that or nothing else works.

-Greg Puhalski, Laurier men’s hockey head coach

SADMAN SAKIB RAHMAN/LEAD PHOTOGRAPHER

Rebounding from a tough loss LUKE BURROWS CORD SPORTS

The Wilfrid Laurier University men’s hockey team were battered by the Ryerson Rams on Friday night, losing their opening game of 2018 by a score of 7-1.

A back and forth first period featured one goal apiece, with Laurier’s Anthony Sorrentino notching his sixth of the season on a clean tic-tac-toe power play cycle. This

goal would be the only that Laurier would score, as Ryerson would take command for the remainder of the game.

The Golden Hawks slipped out of reach in the second period, a period that featured only six Laurier shots and a power play that failed to gain momentum.

With Ryerson out skating, out working and out muscling the Golden Hawks, Laurier would find themselves in a two-goal deficit at

the beginning of the third period.

Ryerson would find the back of the net four more times, to take the game by a final score of 7-1.

“Tonight’s game was a real malfunction for everything for us,” head coach Greg Puhalski said, post-game.

“We weren’t moving our feet, we weren’t skating very well … nothing tonight was very good for us.”

Coach Puhalski spoke to capitalizing on chances when they come,

“We’ve got to have the puck in the opponent’s zone and when you do that you force them to work.”

Golden Hawk goalie Chris Festarini played the full 60 minutes, stopping 33 of Ryerson’s 40 shots.

Laurier on the other hand managed 11 less with 29 shots.

Regarding special teams, Laurier was one-for-two on the power play and killed off the only Ryerson man-advantage.

Most of the Rams’ goals came from in tight to Festarini, but coach Puhalski pointed at another aspect of the game for the lopsided score.

“The puck was on their stick,” Puhalski said. “Ryerson had the

puck I would say 50 minutes of the 60-minute game.”

When asked if there was anything he liked from his team tonight, Puhalski was quite frank: “Nothing.”

This game was only the second home-ice loss for Laurier all season, where they now settle to an 8-2-0 record.

On the road, they fare much worse, recording only three wins in 13 road games.

The Golden Hawks had — at this point — been outscored by a total of 11-2 in their past two games, against York and Ryerson.

Following the game on Friday, Laurier remained in fourth place in the west with just one point ahead of Brock University, but also just one point behind York University with a game in hand.

However, the Hawks were able to bounce back on the second night of a back-to-back, as they beat the Waterloo Warriors on Saturday by a final score of 3-2.

The Hawks overcame their crosstown rivals in what was a thriller.

Danny Hanlon, Will Cook and Jeremy Pullara all got on the score sheet for Laurier.

It was a much needed win for the Golden Hawks, who now hold a conference record of 11-5-2.

The Hawks will look to carry this momentum and continue winning next weekend, as they will hit the road to take on the Windsor Lancers in a double header.

16 • SPORTS

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2018

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Hawks split double header to open 2018 ABDULHAMID IBRAHIM LEAD SPORTS REPORTER

themselves and everybody contributed on the glass, on defense, in scoring and all of that stuff, and Windsor is a good team.”

A clean start to the New Year was not in the cards for the Wilfrid Laurier University men’s basketball team.

Losing to the Mustangs 78-76 on a buzzer beating layup is not so much the ideal way anyone would like to enter the second half of a season.

On the second night of back to back games, however, they went up against the Windsor Lancers, looking to break their five-game losing streak.

The Lancers got busy to begin the game as they started out with a 6-0 run straight out of the gates and led 17-8 three minutes in.

I’m hoping that tonight is the first step towards this next semester where every game, we’re trying to establish our culture.

-Justin Serresse, Laurier men’s basketball head coach

That quickly changed as Laurier regained their footing, going on a 12-0 run in the three minutes following. The Hawks closed out the first quarter with a score of 28-23,

I was very proud of Kokko being able to do that, trusting his teammates, trusting the offense coming to him.

-Justin Serresse, Laurier men’s basketball head coach

SADMAN SAKIB RAHMAN/LEAD PHOTOGRAPHER

pulling ahead even more.

The second quarter was played closely by both sides as they were both shooting the ball well from the field and from three.

Laurier, behind Tevaun Kokko — who scored 16 in the first half off the bench — managed to go up 12 at one point.

Windsor, still playing it close, kept the lead between five and 10 points, but had a hard time closing the gap due as their shooting gradually fell off.

Going into halftime, the score

was 53-45.

In the third quarter, the game continued this way for Laurier as Windsor seemed to hit a wall and was incapable of breaking the lead down to anything less than five points.

With so many players contributing on both ends of the floor and showing their versatility, Laurier looked like the team many have expected them to be.

Entering the fourth quarter down nine, the Lancers slowly cut into Laurier’s lead and, at the 4:37

mark, they pulled ahead. From there, every possession was a battle on both ends of the court.

Tevaun Kokko once again caught fire, scoring 12 points in the last 4:22, helping Laurier pull out a hard fought 98-91 win.

“I’m hoping that tonight is the first step towards this next semester where every game, we’re trying to establish our culture — our style of basketball,” head coach Justin Serresse said.

“I’m proud of how they played as a team, they didn’t get down on

not pull ahead once after Windsor tied it at 10-10 in the first quarter.

Regardless of Nicole Morrison’s big night, scoring 25 points — 14 in the second half alone — Windsor proved too much on that night, winning the rebounding battle 47-25 and 13-2 on second chance points.

Lancer forward, Emily Prevost also played a big part in the win, putting up 30 points and 12 rebounds.

“Defense is always something we need to really stress and really work on in order for us to win,” Morrison said of the back-to-back losses.

In a battle of star players, Kokko took this one over Mike Rocca of Windsor.

Rocca had 25 points to go along with 10 rebounds and six assists, while Kokko scored a career-high 30 points off the bench in a winning effort.

“I didn’t think he was in a right mindset yesterday and that’s why he didn’t start. But today, he came in and you know, he scored 30 points,” Serresse said.

“He was very efficient … he was aggressive playing his style of basketball but yet still playing with the flow of the offense.”

“I was very proud of Kokko being able to do that, trusting his teammates, trusting the offense coming to him,” coach Serresse said of the second-year guard.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Defensive struggles ABDULHAMID IBRAHIM LEAD SPORTS REPORTER

Coming off of a 69-49 loss at Western Friday night, in their first game of 2018, the Wilfrid Laurier University women’s basketball team were looking to bounce back in a matchup against the Windsor Lancers the next day.

Ultimately, the team fell short, posting a final score of 71-60.

The Hawks held their own in the first few minutes of the first quarter, managing to start out with a 10-7 lead.

What happened next changed the dynamic of the game; the Lancers went on a 15-0 run in the last five minutes to close out the quarter.

In the second quarter, the Golden Hawks managed to pick up their play, especially on offense.

Finding a little bit of rhythm, they scored 19 points in the quarter, nearly doubling their total from the first.

Unfortunately for the Hawks, they also gave up 19 points to the Lancers. Going into halftime, the Lancers were still up 12 with a score of 41.

Throughout the third quarter, the Lancers progressively increased their lead, at one point

being up 22 points.

With the game having gone out of hand, it seemed like Windsor had managed to put the nail in the coffin.

In the final frame, Laurier found their rhythm and a comeback attempt was made.

With less than a minute left, the Hawks cut the lead down to seven from 19.

Then, with less than 30 seconds left — after being forced to foul — the lead only increased and the Lancers closed the game out with a score of 71-60.

“Easily, it was our energy,” head coach Paul Falco said, looking to make sense of the back-to-back losses.

“Yesterday, for some reason we had very little energy. I thought today, as the game went on we got a little more comfortable with their physical style,” he said.

“I thought we stepped up and matched their physicality and we played extremely hard.”

Ultimately, Falco noted that the team was not able to capitalize on some of the opportunities they needed in order to excel against a team like Windsor.

Windsor’s huge first and third quarters played a big part in their insurmountable lead as Laurier did

SADMAN SAKIB RAHMAN/LEAD PHOTOGRAPHER

“I think offensively, we play well as a team but defensively we’re just trying to get our bearings and kind of learn how to play hard for the entire 24-second shot clock.”

Up next for the Golden Hawks will be a matchup against the Guelph Gryphons on Jan. 10 in Guelph.