The Cord, Feb. 6, 2019

THE CORD THE TIE THAT BINDS WILFRID LAURIER UNIVERSITY SINCE 1926

VOLUME 59 ISSUE 19 • FEBRUARY 6, 2019

SOW SOARS TO THE TOP Basketball star breaks single season scoring record Sports, page 15

FRANK’S COFFEE HAUS

WATERLOO PRIDE

GROUNDHOG DAY

STIMULANT ABUSE

RECRUITING AT LAURIER

New food services option on campus

Hometown inspires clothing company

Where did the little weather predictors begin

The danger of misusing adderall

The process of finding new golden hawks

News, page 4

News, page 6

Arts & Life, page 13

Opinion, page 13

Sports, page 16 PHOTO BY GARRISON OOSTERHOF/WEB DIRECTOR

2 •

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2019

VOCAL CORD What would your startup be?

@cordnews

The Cord

@thecord.ca

CordNews

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

“Something to do with social entrepreuneurship.”

–Christie Downey, second-year BBA

“Something about providing health resources.”

–Sonaina Chopra, second-year biology/psychology EVA OU/PHOTO EDITOR

“Retail. Probably selling supplements because I already do.”

–Mitchell Mukherjee, first-year communication

“I’d create and market website, like Craiglist.”

–Jeremy Carandang, third-year community music

GOT GRAM? SO DO WE! FOLLOW US: @THECORD.CA

Compiled by Margaret Russell Photos by Jackie Vang NEXT ISSUE FEBRUARY 13, 2019

ARTS & LIFE EDITOR Emily Waitson arts@thecord.ca

CORD STAFF

OPINION EDITOR Alyssa Di Sabatino opinion@thecord.ca

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Safina Husein editor@thecord.ca

SPORTS EDITOR Pranav Desai sports@thecord.ca

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Sadman Sakib Rahman creative@thecord.ca

GRAPHICS EDITOR Kashyap Patel graphics@thecord.ca

WEB DIRECTOR Garrison Oosterhof online@thecord.ca

PHOTO EDITOR Eva Ou photos@thecord.ca

NEWS EDITOR Hayley McGoldrick news@thecord.ca

ONLINE EDITOR Katherine Weber online@thecord.ca

NEWS EDITOR Aaron Hagey news@thecord.ca

VIDEO EDITOR Sarah Tyler video@thecord.ca

FEATURES EDITOR Vacant features@thecord.ca

LEAD REPORTER Margaret Russell news@thecord.ca

LEAD SPORTS REPORTER Abdulhamid Ibrahim sports@thecord.ca LEAD PHOTOGRAPHER Jackie Vang photos@thecord.ca SENIOR COPY EDITOR Sara Burgess copyeditor@thecord.ca SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR Vacant editor@thecord.ca CORDCAST PRODUCER Brielle Huang cordcast@thecord.ca

CONTRIBUTORS

EDITOR’S CHOICE

Joseph DeFilippis Josh Goeree Emma McVicar Diana Edworhty Yana Manevska Rachel Burns Victoria Marshall Jennifer Webb Yitian Cai Dotun Jide

Your February Cordoscopes by Sarah Tyler

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

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

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

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

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

for principal photography.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

reply at the earliest time possible.

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

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

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

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

Quote of the week: “Can we publish the word...Shit?”

- Web Director Garrison Oosterhof to Editor in Chief Safina Husein while submitting a Dear Life.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2019

News

• 3 NEWS EDITOR HAYLEY MCGOLDRICK news@thecord.ca

NEWS EDITOR AARON HAGEY news@thecord.ca

BUSINESS

Startup Laurier hosts eighth entrepreneurial exchange MARGARET RUSSELL LEAD REPORTER

Startup Laurier, Wilfrid Laurier University’s entrepreneurship club on the Waterloo campus, held its eighth annual Entrepreneur Exchange last week on Friday, Feb. 1 at the Vidyard in Kitchener.

The event, an evening of networking, workshops and speakers, provided all Laurier students, as well as students from the University of Waterloo, with the opportunity to get acquainted with the career option of entrepreneurship, engage with professionals and develop some essential business skills.

“What we look to do is inspire students … and give them any resources or support that they may need to be able to take that next step and actually take on their entrepreneurial journey,” said Lauren DeSouza, co-president of the Lazaridis Students’ Society club Startup Laurier. “[W]e bring together all the main resources from the [Kitchener-Waterloo] community in one night.”

The event featured a keynote

JACKIE VANG/LEAD PHOTOGRAPHER

The event featured a keynote panel: Scott Douglas Clary (left), Harp Gahunia (right) and Mallory McKewen (middle)

panel, including presentations from Scott Douglas Clary, member of Forbes’ Business Development Council and head of marketing and business development at Bedrock Affect, Harp Gahunia, vice-president of venture studio operations at TribalScale and

Laurier alumni Mallory McKewen, president and founder of BridesMade.

“We were originally going for a larger keynote, but then as we got closer to the event, what started making more sense to us was that a big keynote can be extremely

valuable, but having a person from each stage of the start-up cycle was most important,” said Charles Binks-Collier, Startup Laurier co-president.

Workshops that ran at the event included “The Perfect Discovery Call,” “Making the Leap from Stu-

dent to Entrepreneur” and “Minimum Viable Product,” which were run by local business professionals eager to share their knowledge and skills with students.

“The turnout was really great,” Binks-Collier said. “We definitely had [at least] one-hundred ticket sales and that included students from [a variety of faculties] … What we sort of realized is that if you look at any typical start-up it’s not just business students, so we really wanted to make sure we had that diversity there.”

Tickets for the event were sold for $10 to Laurier and University of Waterloo students — a discounted price from previous years.

“In the past, they’ve been $20 and the reason we lowered it this year was because … our ultimate goal should be providing value to the students that are coming out.

If, not necessarily, all the prices could be justified, in terms of using the extra money to get a lot of food and such, we realized we could do it for $10 and provide students with the value of [the event] for as cheap as possible.”

ADVOCACY

Protests against Provincial changes, OSAP continues AARON HAGEY NEWS EDITOR

On Feb. 4, students, faculty and more gathered on Wilfrid Laurier University’s Waterloo campus quad in the continued attempt to make the provincial government and other students aware of their concerns regarding the changes made to OSAP and tuition cuts.

The protest featured speakers, posters, hot chocolate and coffee as people collected to discuss their thoughts and raise awareness about how to petition the government to reverse the tuition cuts, re-institute the loan repayment grace period and make changes to ancillary fee adjustments.

Julia Empey, a graduate student in the English and film studies department at Laurier, knows that although her financial situation is in a reliable and stable place, that might not be the same case for the undergraduate students she teaches.

“I’m deeply aware of many of my undergraduate students are relying on the fact that OSAP was going to be helping with grants — or if they’re from a lower income family, they were going to be able to afford education,” Empey said.

“So seeing that anxiety within my students is why — it’s not about me, it’s seeing how it’s impacting the other people that I know and

many of them who I teach.”

As far as affecting change, Empey knows the only way that will happen is if Laurier students come to an understanding about their dissatisfaction with the reforms — and advocate as a collective, unified body.

“It’s not enough to talk to your friends about it … students [have to] realize that we’re not as isolated as we want to think: we have power in numbers,” Empey said. “By coming together, we’re having our voices heard at least — and that’s something.”

Though Empey doesn’t know what will happen in the ensuing months due to the provincial government’s shifting stance on a number of issues, she does know that no change will occur if students stay apathetic or indifferent.

Students from outside of Laurier attended the event as well, including Laura Mae Lindo, the member of provincial parliament for Kitchener Centre, who connected with protesters and students to address their collective concerns.

Amanda Fitzpatrick, a student from the University of Waterloo, is one of the service coordinators for the Glow Centre for Sexual and Gender Diversity, an LGBTQ service on the UW campus. GLOW offers resources and supports such as educational workshops, community spaces, discussion groups

and safe sex supplies — and support for the lives of queer and trans students.

“We [also] have an incident reporting form, where if students are dealing with homophobia or transphobia on campus we can anonymously deal with the situation,” Fitzpatrick said.

With the changes being made to ancillary fees, giving students the opportunity to opt out of their students’ unions and other “non-essential” determined services on-campus, Fitzpatrick is concerned about compromising the quality of what they offer.

“I’ve been putting in years of effort and unpaid work into running these services and to see people think they aren’t essential and important is really heartbreaking.

[But] as sad as it is, it’s very dangerous and a lot of lives are going to be very damaged because of these changes,” Fitzpatrick said.

“Without having supports from student unions and these services, students are going to be put in a grave amount of danger … We all need to be coming together and oppos[ing] them.”

On Feb. 15, there will also be a one-day province-wide walkout organized at the University of Waterloo, between the Dana Porter Library and Arts Lecture Hall, to bring greater attention to these recent changes.

SARAH TYLER/VIDEO EDITOR

Students gathered in the Laurier quad area to discuss the OSAP changes

4 • NEWS

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2019

PETER’S BUILDING

Frank’s opens to the Laurier community

EVA OU/PHOTO EDITOR

HAYLEY MCGOLDRICK NEWS EDITOR

On Friday, Feb. 1, Laurier Food Services launched their latest initiative of on-campus dining with the opening of Frank’s Coffee Haus, located inside of the newly renovated Peters building.

Frank’s Coffee Haus is one of the many distinct, Laurier-exclusive places to eat on campus; it is joining the family of Veritas, Wilf’s and Byte 75 as one of the places you can only find on Laurier’s Waterloo campus.

“We are excited to now have Frank’s Coffee Haus open to serve the Laurier community. With the new modernized and refreshed Peters Building, our goal was to offer a unique destination within the building to service the students, faculty, staff and visitors on campus,” said Corrie Bird, marketing and communications manager for Laurier Food Services in an email statement.

“The name was created as a ‘nod’ to Frank Peters, Laurier’s

second president. In addition to bringing coffee to the forefront as it is an essential part of student life, we also wanted to touch on the local German roots within the community.”

The name was created as a ‘nod’ to Frank Peters ... we also wanted to touch on the local German roots within the community.

-Corrie Bird, marketing and communications manager for LFS

Frank’s Coffee Haus was opened on the second anniversary of Laurier becoming a fair trade campus, meaning that on campus cafés and restaurants serve 100 per cent certified fair trade coffee.

Before the renovations, the Peters building was home to a second Tim Hortons™ on campus, the first — and now only location — being the store that still exists in the Science building.

“It’s homegrown, so these brands you’ll never find them anywhere else. There’s no other Byte 75 and there is no other Frank’s Coffee Haus, so they are original to Laurier and that is kind of what we want to bring to it — that community feel — to a location,” said Nicolette Tsafantakis, marketing coordinator for Laurier Food Services.

“Tim Hortons™ and Starbucks™ won’t do that — you can find those anywhere — but Byte 75 and Frank’s Coffee Haus are unique to Wilfrid Laurier.”

Frank’s Coffee Haus serves Planet Bean coffee, roasted in downtown Guelph and is not only fair trade certified, but organic. Laurier also offers opportunities to other local coffee shops, like Settlement Co., who have had their coffee served at Byte 75.

“Since we saw the success of Byte 75, we thought why not bring another concept where students are going to be proud to visit the actual location,” Tsafantakis said.

It’s homegrown, so these brands you’ll never find them anywhere else ... that is kind of what we want to bring to it — that community feel.

-Nicolette Tsafantakis, marketing coordinator for LFS

“We’ve made sure to offer the items that Laurier students will love and enjoy and the products that will keep them revisiting.”

The physical design of the new campus eatery was influenced by the renovated Peters building itself,

not just the name.

“There’s a few detail elements you’ll see when you first walk into Frank’s, as we incorporated features architecturally in the building into the design. All the colours of the stairwells in Peters are incorporated into the logo,” she said.

“The staircase I feel like people would recognize is the purple one, that connects the Arts building to Peters, so that purple is actually used in the big Frank’s sign.”

The renovations, which took almost a year to complete, saw the building become more modernized and gives a new space to many services on campus, offering extended spaces to other buildings on campus.

“We also incorporated the lighting in the middle of Peters in behind the logo as well, which is the circle lighting. We’ve taken elements of the actual building to make the logo, originally it was a lot of black and white, but we wondered what we could do to incorporate some colour,” Tsafantakis said.

SAFETY

Crimes target university area AARON HAGEY NEWS EDITOR

A series of unconnected crimes have been targeting residents in the university area in the past week, including a robbery at gunpoint and illegal acts of voyeurism — a Peeping Tom. On Tuesday, Jan. 29, at 9:25 a.m., a man’s wallet, cellphone and car were robbed at gunpoint in the parking lot near his residence on Hemlock Street, just north of University Avenue in front of Wilfrid Laurier University.

Police say that he was confronted by two men and thankfully was

not injured in the process, before they relieved him of his possessions. In particular, it was a 2017, black Mercedes sedan.

Police are still in the process of searching for and identifying a potential suspect of the crime — and encourage anyone with further information to contact Waterloo Regional Police Service at 519-5709777 ext. 6355 or 6340 or CrimeStoppers.

On Sunday, Feb. 3 at 9:21 a.m., the Twitter account “Spotted At Laurier” warned students about a potential threat in the Hickory Street area: “If anyone lives on hickory st

w please be aware that there’s a man going around filming females through the windows late at night,” the tweet said.

Though it cannot be officially confirmed at this time, there have been a series of seemingly connected incidents regarding this crime.

Because of this, if you are living in the Hickory Street West area, it is imperative that you take additional precautions against criminal voyeurism.

Make sure you follow The Cord online for any breaking news or additional updates regarding these stories.

JACKIE VANG/LEAD PHOTOGRAPHER

NEWS • 5

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2019 OPIOD CRISIS

Safe injection sites in the region MARGARET RUSSELL LEAD REPORTER

The Region of Waterloo is in the midst of hosting public consultation sessions regarding proposed supervised consumption sites in Kitchener and Cambridge.

These sessions, which began last week, are being held to open the floor to the public’s questions and concerns regarding several candidates for supervised consumption sites for opioid usage, as part of the region’s action plan to enact harm reduction strategies.

These sessions are being held in both public and invitation-only settings. Invitation-only consultations are arranged for citizens who represent any domain within a 250-metre radius of the candidate sites’ locations. This includes residents as well as representatives from schools, hospitals, public parks and retail businesses in the Kitchener and Cambridge areas.

“It was important to have public sessions, of course for anyone to attend, but also to have sessions that are really for people in very

close proximity to the sites,” said Grace Bermingham, the Region of Waterloo’s manager of harm reduction.

“Their issues may be slightly different from what we might hear from other people.”

The candidate locations being considered by the Region include 115 Water Street North, 150 Duke Street West and 105 Victoria Street North in Kitchener, as well as 150 Main Street in Cambridge.

These locations, all strategically placed in the downtown cores of Kitchener and Cambridge, are only being proposed as potential sites.

Finalized safe consumption site locations will not be confirmed until consultations have been completed and regional council is given the opportunity to convene and review all concerns posed by the public.

“We hired a consulting firm called ICA and they are a wellknown consultation firm based out of Toronto,” Bermingham said.

“They are a third-party consultant and they are in the business of doing facilitation of this nature …

JACKIE VANG/LEAD PHOTOGRAPHER

The proposed injection sites are located in Kitchener, with three candidates for a site and Cambridge with one site.

They’re really about making sure people have the ability to participate in conversations in a way that is safe and sensitive to their needs.”

“They are quite good and specialized in using different approaches that allow people, who may be more or less comfortable speaking in these types of meetings, [to be comfortable] so that everyone feels like they have an opportunity to have their voice

heard,” she added.

Some of the proposed sites have been placed close to sensitive areas, such as schools, churches and parks. It remains consistently important to the Region of Waterloo that these areas be of significant consideration during this process and that the impact of these sites is consciously measured.

“Any site will have advantages and disadvantages in terms

of proximity to different uses,” Bermingham said. “It was very much a consideration, not only of the group who recommended the sites but it’s also something that we have to consider as part of our provincial application for funding.”

“We hope to have the report from the consultant towards the end of the month — and likely, there will be lots of interesting findings,” she added.

CAMPUS EXPANSION

Laurier’s Milton campus still coming soon HAYLEY MCGOLDRICK NEWS EDITOR

“At the Innovation Centre, it’s looking at some existing courses that we currently offer that we can bring to Milton, to at least get the community engaged — and we can start bringing Laurier’s high-quality academic programs to students in Milton.”

Phase two of Laurier’s Milton plan is one that would include developing a new building on over 400 acres of land and would provide the resources necessary for students, like labs and new technology. But for phase one, they have rented out space for student use.

On Monday Jan. 28, 2019, Wilfrid Laurier University released a statement on their website saying that they were still committed to creating a campus in Milton and continuing their commitment to education in the Milton Education Village.

In October of 2018, the Progressive Conservative government of Ontario pulled out the funding of three different collaborative campuses.

We are committed to proceeding with developing a business plan and an academic plan ...

-Deborah Dubenofsky, VP of finance & administration

These were between universities and colleges in Ontario, one being the Wilfrid Laurier University and Conestoga College campus that was planned to happen in Milton.

The campus is set to provide programming in science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics — also known as STEAM — which would bring even more opportunity to students who like the feel and culture of Laurier but may want to

GARRISON OOSTERHOF/WEB DIRECTOR

go into a program like engineering that has not been previously offered.

“We are committed to proceeding with developing a business plan and developing an academic plan, seeing what we can do that reflects Laurier’s objectives, the town’s objectives and also satisfy the government’s objectives,” said Deborah Dubenofsky, the vice-president of finance and administration at Laurier.

Dubenofsky was named the senior project lead for the Milton campus.

Laurier has created a two-phase plan to continue their vision of STEAM education. They will be providing a post-secondary institu-

tion to those in the Milton area, despite the setback that was incurred from the pulling of government funding.

“We can do things in a staged way and we can honour our commitments we’ve made to the town of Milton since 2008 and that of course was to bring post-secondary education. We will be taking advantage of the space that we have that is called the Milton Education Village Innovation Centre,” Dubenofsky said.

“We will look at offering parttime degree and non-degree courses in probably fall of 2019 or winter 2020. Over the longer term at the Milton Education Village, we need to develop a longer-term academic

and business plan.”

Laurier saw the approval of their $90 million project in April of 2018 after a few unaccepted proposals to the government for the project, including attempts in 2014 and 2015.

The approval came only six months before the funding was then cut back, due to the government saying the funding was not feasible as a result of the $15 billion deficit already incurred.

“The commitment to STEAM programming remains Laurier’s objective, that is more suited to the second phase, where you would have a purposefully built building that would have laboratory space and so on,” Dubenofsky said.

We can start bringing Laurier’s high-quality academic programs to students in Milton.

-Deborah Dubenofsky, VP of finance & administration

“The events in October were related to capital funding only, so the cost to deliver existing programming are going to be offset potentially by cost recovery programs to be delivered in Milton again in that first phase,” Dubenofsky said.

“The longer term — the cost of developing the academic plan and the business plan — that still needs to be worked out.”

6 • NEWS

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2019

BUSINESS

Clothing start-up selling a piece of hometown pride AARON HAGEY NEWS EDITOR

An up-and-coming online, local, hometown pride clothing brand, 43x80, has begun selling its merchandise to the general public focusing on the idea of taking a piece of the Kitchener-Waterloo region worldwide.

With an emphasis being put on locally-made and sourced products and clean and simple designs, this “lifestyle brand” business sells clothing from shirts and sweaters, to hats and throw pillows.

They also feature “hometown pride” slogans, such as “Home is KW,” “Kaydoubleyou” and “Uptown Downtown Smalltown.”

The numbers in the company’s name, “43 degrees North by 80 degrees West,” are the geographic, GPS coordinates of Kitchener-Waterloo, meaning the company is making Waterloo region its focal point.

Its logo, which features the phrase “Est. 1973,” refers to the creation of the Regional Municipality of Waterloo. The region was formerly called Waterloo County which was created in 1853.

Though Alli Bearinger, the founder of 43x80, is a newcomer to the business world, she is enthusiastic about creating a sense of

unity in the Kitchener-Waterloo area.

“I wanted to do this for a long time but didn’t know how to go about it. I had all these ideas and I had the creativity, but I didn’t know how to execute it,” Bearinger said.

“There are so many community efforts already, so it’s just an extra thing to make people excited about where they’re from, give people a sense of pride.”

As someone with a lot of pride for her hometown, Bearinger couldn’t help but believe that there were others that felt the same way.

“I wanted to start paving the way for people to join together and show people that KW is on the map and we’re proud of it — and [to] look out [for us],” Bearinger said.

The business officially launched four months ago and has been garnering attention from the regional community within the last two weeks. Currently, their most popular item is the “Uptown Downtown Smalltown” basic t-shirt.

“But now Midtown is coming in, so I have to work with that as well,” Bearinger said.

Like any new enterprise, especially for someone new to business management, Bearinger has run into a number of obstacles while establishing the company, such

CONTRIBUTED IMAGE

as where to source her clothing materials from.

“I wanted to source everything from Kitchener-Waterloo — [be] the only Canadian-made and eco-friendly [product] — but from my price point, it just wasn’t going to happen. In the future, that’s maybe something we can do, but for now, it’s [impractical],” Bearinger said.

Though the company is small, utilizing an online drop-shipping method of retail, she hopes to expand it through collaborations in

the coming years as it gains influence in the area.

“I want to eventually have a store or be featured in stores within the region, have a lot of collaborations and networking, collective thinking and creativity with different companies already formed or future companies in the region,” Bearinger said.

Because there are so few stores of any kind in the region which emphasize the concept of local or regional pride, Bearinger sees 43x80 as an opportunity to feature

important aspects of Kitchener-Waterloo.

“There are always things going on, people to connect with. There are always things to do — and it’s a beautiful part of Canada,” Bearinger said.

“I just don’t like all the negative thoughts around it, so I wanted to have something that would create a positive feeling of pride about where you’re from. Kitchener-Waterloo people are spread out all over the place, so I wanted them to have a connection to home.”

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•

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2019

Arts & Life

ARTS & LIFE EDITOR EMILY WAITSON arts@thecord.ca

YOUR FEBRUARY CORD-OSCOPES

Not-so-psychic Video Editor, Sarah Tyler, is psyched to tell you what’s in your cards for February.

Take her readings lightly, she’s better at video editing than confirming your future.

Aquarius (Jan. 20 – Feb. 18) You have an urge to give back this month! You’ll want to share the love over Valentine’s Day by donating money and goods to those in need and your generosity won’t go unnoticed. People will be thankful for your caring heart and sweet things will come your way later in February. Stay humble and use your passion to keep making the world a better place!

Pisces (Feb. 19 – March 20) Valentine’s Day will help you realize where you stand with a certain someone. Stay positive and be open to changing your expectations! They might want to test new limits or slow down and the waters will be a little rocky. However, there will be smooth sailing at the end of the month, so keep up your excitement!

Aries (March 21 – Apr. 19) Heading into spring break season, you’re feeling bold and fierce!

Whether it’s booking a last-minute flight to go hiking in the mountains or asking a cutie to a nice dinner, you’re ready and unafraid to get out there. Try on that bright swimsuit and enjoy the world around you.

Taurus (Apr. 20 – May 20) Take time this month to relax and soothe your soul. You’ve been working hard this semester and you deserve to stay in and have some time for yourself. For Valentine’s Day, keep it low-key and develop genuine connections with those who matter most.

Gemini (May 21 – June 20) You might be feeling like you have fallen behind and are looking to catch up with your own busy life.

Grab some discount chocolates on Feb. 15 and enjoy the boost of sugar to get you fired up and ready to work. Use the time over reading week to your advantage to ensure March will be a breeze!

Cancer (June 21 – Jul. 22) This Valentine’s Day you know exactly how to treat your special someone. Whether you are as single as a Pringle this year and get to spoil yourself or you have a boo, it’ll be a day to remember for the sweet details you plan. Be careful though! Stick to your budget or else your reading week plans may fall apart.

Leo (Jul. 23 – Aug. 22) This month you’re ready to try something new! Try out a cooking class and learn some new techniques. It’ll be a perfect date for Valentine’s Day or use Family Day to master an old family recipe.

Learning will be a big part of your February, so be open to gaining some new insight!

Virgo (Aug. 23 – Sept. 22) You are planning to spend a lot of time with friends this month and cannot wait to execute all your adventurous ideas. If one of your besties bails, don’t be so hard on them. They still love you and just have their own issues to take care of first. Be sure to find coupons to help everyone afford the excitement!

Libra (Sept. 23 – Oct. 22) February is a month of new connections for you. Think about networking to score the best job where you will be able to advance your skills and maybe meet someone to develop a close personal relationship with. Try looking for a living and/or working environment that will create harmony in your life.

Scorpio (Oct. 23 – Nov. 21) In conversations and the bedroom, this month will be full of desire for intimacy. You want to develop closer connections to those around you and take time to reflect on who you share your world with.

Grab a cup of hot chocolate at a local café and check-in with those you love deeply.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22 – Dec. 21) On Valentine’s Day, you want to show those you care about just how much you love them. Showing your loyalty, you will give them exactly what you know they need. Be sure to indulge in some self-love and let your creativity thrive over spring break!

Capricorn (Dec. 22 – Jan. 19) You’ve been holding back so far this year, so allow yourself to go exploring at a local all-you-can-eat restaurant while you have some extra time on the reading week.

LAYOUT BY SAFINA HUSEIN/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, GRAPHICS BY KASHYAP PATEL

7

8 •

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2019

ANDERS PERFORMS AT THE TURRET

EVA OU/PHOTO EDITOR

ALYSSA DI SABATINO OPINION EDITOR

Shortly after 9 p.m. on Jan. 31, the doors of the Turret opened and the gradually growing line was let inside, all eager to see DJ duo Mixed Mercy, and Anders, hosted by the A-Team. The number of times I’ve frequented the Turret are few, only having ever been there for academic reasons, but the space was expectedly transformed.

The far right wall held the stage and an LED screen which was used to visually engage the audience throughout the night. The table on the stage featured a simple setup of a turntable and a couple of laptops.

By the time Anders showed up, the turntable was cleared, leaving only the laptops behind. There was a spot directly across the stage

where fans could pick up Anders’ merchandise throughout the night.

At around 9:30, local DJ group Mixed Mercy, comprised of Junaid and SummerKnocks, began their set in front of a small crowd of maybe 30 listeners. Throughout their set, they used their sense of humour to poke fun at the small crowd size.

Regardless, they did a good job of engaging the crowd with popular songs and getting us to clap along with the music. At one point they invited an audience member on stage, who, at her own expense, amused the crowd with her dance moves for the length of one song.

Because the Turret was so empty, their set felt sort of like showing up to the club a little too early and standing around as you wait for the dance-floor to fill in. But despite the small turnout, they did a good job of engaging the slowly growing crowd and I found myself and other audience members singing along to some of the songs they played.

Shortly after their set finished, Anders made his appearance on the stage, in front of a crowd that had grown closer to 100 in size.

Regardless, they did a good job of engaging the crowd with popular songs and getting us to clap along with the music.

The venue, which had the potential to fit around 200 people, was less than full, likely due to the extreme weather that evening. But I found that this created a more intimate and engaging concert experience.

Red, pink, and blue strobe lights bounced around the room,

giving off the impression that one was looking through a pair of 3D glasses. Having never listened to Anders before, I was pleasantly surprised when he came onstage to one of his more popular songs, “Diamonds.” The conventional trap beats enabled him to bring a lot of energy to the crowd, captivating his audience from the get-go.

While much of his musical influence seemed to centre around RnB music, the second song on the setlist, “Press It Up”, seemed to be heavily rap inspired. The fluidity of his sound made for a balanced setlist. Listening to his songs after the concert, I definitely notice how Anders’ stage presence influenced the ways that I digested his music in the moment.

He jumped into the barricades during his song “The Wall,” which put the crowd into a frenzy; an action I would not have expected if I had listened to the song prior to the concert. Jumping into the barricades led to problems with his microphone for the rest of his set,

but this did nothing to subdue his performance, and he continued to get as close to the audience as possible, which worked to enthral the largely female crowd.

As the set progressed he slowed it down, with melodious and sensual songs such as “With or Without,” and “December.”

I found his sound to be comparable to The Weeknd’s album Trilogy, especially with songs like “On My Way,” due to the slow, hypnotizing beats and indulgent lyrics.

If I were to describe his sound, I would say it’s like a crossover of 6lack and The Weeknd, especially so in his first EP 669. But from attending the concert, it’s clear to me that he has grown into his own sound as his discography expands.

My personal music preferences definitely made Anders’ music that much more appealing to me, as I tend to listen to hip hop and RnB inspired music the most.

Despite the reduced turnout and small venue, Anders delivered a dynamic and entertaining show.

ARTS & LIFE • 9

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2019 CELEBRATIONS

THE HISTORY OF GROUNDHOG DAY SAFINA HUSEIN EDITOR IN CHIEF

This past weekend I celebrated my birthday on Feb. 2. Although it was exciting celebrating with the important people in my life, I have to admit that my birthday seems quite insignificant in comparison to the little weather-predicting animals that come out of their dens and into the spotlight each year on the same day.

You might even say my birthday was overshadowed by little groundhogs all over. Ha. Each year on Groundhog Day, groundhogs are said to leave their dens and look for their shadow. If they are said to see their shadow, we are stuck with another six weeks of winter. However, if they don’t see their shadow, then the tradition states that spring will come early.

This seemingly odd tradition is often followed and believed by many; however, seeing as I share my special day with these furry friends, I thought it would be interesting to look into where the

time-honoured tradition was first established.

According to James Skidmore, director for the Waterloo Centre for German Studies, Groundhog Day originated in western Pennsylvania. The tradition was likely influenced by Pennsylvania Dutch people who were descendants of German speakers.

“In Germany, or in Germany-speaking Europe, especially in Catholic parts of that area, the second of February was an important day,” Skidmore said.

From the Middle Ages up until the twentieth century, Feb. 2 marked a feast day in the church, indicating the presentation of Jesus in the Temple. There was a Jewish purification law for mothers which took place for 40 days after a boy was born.

As such, if you count 40 days from Christmas, this day, known as Candlemas or the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, would fall on Feb. 2. The feast day began to be associated with various rhymes which translated to “If it’s sunny

and clear on Candlemas, it will be a long winter. But if it is stormy and snowy, spring is on its way.”

“If the badger is sunning itself in Candlemas week, he’ll spend the next six weeks in his sett [burrow],” the rhyme continues.

With Candlemas, many people also began thinking about spring and beginning a new agricultural year. The marking of the new agricultural year meant individuals could begin working in fields and new farm labourer contracts would be negotiated between owners.

“I guess, for whatever reason, people started thinking that if it was nice on Feb. 2 and the weather was mild, that meant there would be more winter and not to be fooled — there’s more winter coming,” Skidmore said.

“But if the weather was not very good that meant that spring would come early. It’s counterintuitive but that’s how people kind of viewed it.”

With this, those living in German-speaking Europe would keep an eye-out for badgers, indicating

that the weather was warm enough for them to leave their den.

“In Europe, badgers which were fairly common animals. In certain [areas] where Feb. 2 was viewed with this kind of interest, if you’d see badgers coming out of their dens at that time then you might think that’s a sign of spring … it’s warming up,” However, this origin story for Groundhog Day ultimately had to adapt when it came from Europe to America.

“It’s the same idea; badgers aren’t common here but groundhogs are, so I think it has kind of transferred over to that animal, if you will,” Skidmore said.

And thus, the tradition began in which individuals gather around known groundhogs for the annual weather prognostication. But what is it about these little groundhogs and their weather predictions that has kept the tradition alive and prevalent to this day?

Skidmore attributes the longlived ritual’s prevalence in today’s society to the media and marketing

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efforts.

“I kind of think it’s a media thing and the media has kept it going. I also think places like Punxsutawny really play it up for tourist reasons,” he said.

In Gobbler’s Knob — located in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania — a famous little groundhog named Phil had thousands of visitors. This year, he didn’t disappoint — the little guy predicted an early spring with no shadow to be seen.

Punxsutawney Phil has been giving weather reports on Feb. 2 since 1887. But his job as “the seer of seers” — or so his fans call him — is year-round. Tourists make their way to Punxsutawney throughout all the seasons to see the groundhog and his wife, allegedly named Phyllis.

In this way, Groundhog day has largely become a marketing tool for various cities and towns.

Various reports state that Phil’s weather prognostication has only been accurate 39 per cent of the time; however, that clearly hasn’t shown to turn fans away.

10 • GAMES

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2019

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

All submissions to Dear Life are anonymous, should be no longer than 100 words and must be addressed to your life. Submissions can be sent to dearlife@thecord. ca no later than Monday at noon each week.

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SUDOKU Sincerely, What am I

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You need to be stripped of your aux abilities.

Dear Life, Dear life’s are a great opportunity to shade people and I have no idea why more people don’t use it as a platform for their cutting creative and critical comments Sincerely, The C Word Dear “The C Word”

Dear Shawarma Plus,

That’s what Twitter is for!

We love your fries.

Sincerely, A very concerned Instagram

Sincerely, DJ MC Goldie Dear Gingersnap, I’m sorry if I’ve been a bit of a grump this week, but I am so excited for Valentine’s Day so I can give you the proper spoiling you deserve. I love you and you are the star shine that will get me through this stressful semester.

Sincerely, B Dear Cord Staff,

Dear “A Very concerned Instagram”

Dear Life, Psssshhht!

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Sincerely, MyShittySpace Dear Gare,

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Sincerely, Mayley HcGoldrick

Dear “Reddit Saiddit”

Please stay in your lane.

You just want to steal content for your boring platform!

Bless you for listening to my madness.

Sincerely, Please delete all the videos please and THANKS.

Sincerely, Reddit Saiddit

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GAMES • 11

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• 12

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2019

Editorial

OPINION EDITOR ALYSSA DI SABATINO opinion@thecord.ca

Editor’s Note:

EDITORIAL CARTOON

Career vs. Morals question on a frequent basis.

But in thinking about morals and careers, there are so many jobs that put those values into question.

What about those working within the tobacco industry? Insurance companies who profit off of accidents? Companies that pollute the environment to operate?

Jobs and careers can be immoral on a multitude of levels. To me, I believe it’s how you deal with the situation or career you’re in that makes or breaks your ability to remain true to your morals when in a career that puts ethics into question.

For example, I believe that using this platform I’ve been given to make some sort of positive change is the reason this job is so meaningful to me.

It’s tricky and challenging and not always easy to remain objective when discussing topics that are close to me or when writing about subjects for which I have strong feelings.

For me, the most meaningful stories I’ve written have been topics surrounding marginalized voices and publicizing their experiences.

In this way, my job may present a challenging moral compass — however, it also presents an opportunity to use this platform to do good and to give voices to people who may otherwise may not have them while remaining objective myself.

Although I have remained objective on topics important to me, I think that the morals my job requires me to uphold doesn’t necessarily define my personal values and, with that, acquiring a job which presents a moral challenge ultimately presents an opportunity to make positive change.

SAFINA HUSEIN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

The other day I was having a conversation with my significant other surrounding morals within your career.

Our discussion made me reflect on what values I uphold within my job and how the decisions I make at work might define me as a person.

As a journalist and — in particular — a news reporter, remaining unbiased and remaining objective despite personal opinions and beliefs is essential.

Throughout my four years working within the news section of this paper, I’ve never questioned this — after all, being objective is essentially the mandate of journalism.

I’ve written about a plethora of topics and various controversial concepts. I’ve written about female representation and sexism in the workplace. I’ve written about pro-choice protests and discussed LGBTQ+ rights.

With all of these topics, I’ve never considered or thought twice about reporting on these objectively. But in the wise words of Emily Dickinson: “Saying nothing … sometimes says the most.”

Although my objective reporting upholds journalistic ethics, does remaining objective in certain scenarios uphold my personal morals?

Although I wouldn’t necessarily think that my job as an editor and reporter goes against my morals on a daily basis, it certainly brings the topic of morals and ethics into

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Your parents deserve your time KATHERINE WEBER ONLINE EDITOR

I’m not one to frequently talk about my personal life publicly, but for this editorial I really wanted to dab into to something that I hold very close to my heart.

My family was never your typical Toronto family. I had a dad who stayed at home for work and a mom who was the business woman of the house.

My dad was the one that would do the school drop-offs and I always remember him being one of the only dads there.

It really instilled in me the idea of breaking stereotypes from a young age, and showed me that because I was a woman, I still had the opportunity to do whatever I wanted — this was a normal image of mine.

Growing up, I was probably the biggest daddy’s girl ever. This was something that changed fast as I grew into a woman and followed the cliché of talking about my girl problems to only my mom.

This has definitely changed the relationship with my dad, but to make up for some lost time I have

recently been trying my best to go out and take photos with him and go record shopping as we are both really big into shooting film and have a really similar music taste.

Thanks for passing that on to me, dad!

Being in my third year of university I have come to realize how important it is to call or text your parents to check in on them.

My dad used to work in the film industry and has helped to make some really cool movies. To this day, I really look up to him for giving me my creative side.

I was a mix between a tomboy and a fun-loving, outgoing, creative child — much of which I owe to being an only child.

They enrolled me in a countless number of after school programs, sewing classes and sports, allowing me to pursue my happiness ever

since I was young.

Being an only child allowed me to develop a strong sense of independence, and my parents stood behind me the entire time while I was finding who I was and told me to chase after what made me happy.

Besides some ups and downs, my relationship with my parents has been very strong — which is something I will die grateful for, as many of my close friends haven’t had this opportunity.

Being in my third year of university I have come to realize how important it is to call or text your parents to check in on them.

A few friends of mine and I were talking the other week about how at the age of almost 21 this is something that is expected of us, which never was prior in our lives.

Since this conversation, I have really tried to make an effort around my busy schedule to text both my parents more, to show more appreciation for what they do for me.

While away at university, it is really hard to not get caught up in your new found love of independence, and it becomes easy to hide away in your room with friends for months on end.

Even if you didn’t read this article I’m really not offended. Just do me one favour: love your parents, they kinda gave you life!

• 13

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2019

Opinion

OPINION EDITOR ALYSSA DI SABATINO opinion@thecord.ca

Stimulant abuse creates problems for people with ADHD symptoms from previously abusing stimulants and developing a dependence.

Unfortunately, this leads to many students who actually need to use a stimulant in order to be successful in school, either being denied access to stimulant medication or having to go through intensive, expensive testing in order to verify their illness.

DIANA EDWORTHY OPINION COLUMNIST

When we discuss ADHD, the image that comes to mind is often a young child in elementary school who cannot sit still, distracts those around them and does poorly in their academics.

In reality, ADHD isn’t just something that affects hyper sixyear-olds, but also university students and working professionals.

Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) affects about six per cent of children and four per cent of adults in Canada every year.

While the average age of diagnosis and the beginning of treatment is seven, many who are afflicted with ADHD are not diagnosed until much later in life. When a student is diagnosed with ADHD in university, it becomes incredibly difficult for them to get proper treatment due to the ever-growing university culture of stimulant prescription drug abuse.

Oftentimes when we hear about Adderall, it is in the context of university students using the drug to finish a last-minute paper, cram for an upcoming exam or even to get high and party.

Adderall is one of the strongest prescription stimulants on the market, and is only prescribed to those with severe cases of ADHD. The drug is intended to help people, particularly students, be able

For a university student with limited time and seemingly unlimited work to complete, Adderall, a “smart drug,” may seem like the perfect solution.

CONTRIBUTED IMAGE

to focus and pay attention to their work because they are unable to do this on their own without medication.

When university students choose to abuse prescription stimulants like Adderall, they are causing harm both to themselves and those who genuinely need access to these drugs.

For a university student with limited time and seemingly unlimited work to complete, Adderall, a “smart drug,” may seem like the perfect solution. Being an ADHD medication, Adderall increases focus and decreases the user’s desire to eat and sleep.

Most people who are abusing Adderall and similar prescription stimulants likely do not realize

the harm that they are potentially causing to themselves and others.

Adderall is a Schedule II Controlled Substance, meaning that the drug has a high potential for addiction and dependence.

Since it is an amphetamine, the addictive properties of Adderall are similar to that of cocaine. Using Adderall when one does not have ADHD can quickly cause the user to build a dependence and develop ADHD-like symptoms of being unable to focus without the drug.

This often leads to the user to continue abusing Adderall and other stimulants because they become unable to focus or function without it.

The user will need to start taking a higher dosage in order to feel the

same effects, putting their mental and physical health at risk. Large dosages of stimulants can cause seizures, heart attacks or even sudden death.

In addition to being potentially harmful to the user, stimulant abuse on university campuses can make it incredibly difficult for students with an ADHD diagnosis to get their necessary prescription.

Many doctors tend to be suspicious, and rightfully so, that the student who is requesting a stimulant prescription is either going to abuse the prescription, or sell it to be abused by someone else.

If a student had not been diagnosed with ADHD as a child, there is the potential that they could have developed ADHD like

A student who truly has severe ADHD will struggle significantly in school without their medication.

Prescription stimulant medication is what allows these students to be able to focus in lectures, focus on their homework and readings and complete assignments on time.

Those who abuse these medications are creating a difficult road block for these students to have to overcome in order to get the medication that they need.

Considering the harm that can be caused to oneself and to their peers, students should be opting for better time management and study habits rather than stimulant abuse.

day, we’ll look at them and realize they’re a lot older than we thought.

There is limited time we have with the people who brought us into the world, and we should be spending a lot more time sharing stories with them, spending quality time together and communicating our goals and dreams to one an-

other, listening wisely to the advice they may have.

As we become busier with university life, it’s important to remember what really matters.

Everything starts and ends with family. We should take the time to give those members the love they deserve.

Don’t forget familial relationships

EMMA MCVICAR STAFF WRITER

At university, there is huge excitement about being independent.

Whether you’re an international student or a local commuter, it’s an all new adventure for time-management, self-motivation and responsibility.

Many of us find that university can be quite demanding in terms of workload and social life. Keeping up with projects and friend drama while remembering to buy groceries sometimes feels like a circus act of juggling. Even at home students may find themselves locked away, bent over a dimly lit desk all night, trying to finish the last paragraph of that paper due all too soon.

It’s so exciting to make new relationships, but in the commotion of university it’s important to remember the ones back home.

Through high school, my parents were my greatest adversaries. They told me when to be home, their opinions on who I should date and punished me for misbehaving (like I was some sort of child). I thought they were out to ruin my social life.

My relationship with them rapidly changed coming into university.

It’s so exciting to make new relationships, but in the commotion of university, it’s important to remember the ones back home.

At the same time we’re aging into our 20s, we realize that we’ve come to be the age our parents were when they started making the vitally important decisions they used to lecture us about, and that

the whole time they nagged us, they were just looking out for us.

Being in our 20s is the perfect time to use our parents as a resource of knowledge. They’ve seen a lot more than we have and have valuable information that can help us develop our careers, networking choices or simply make choices with more open eyes.

Parents are parents, but more importantly, they’re people. There comes a time when they don’t know anymore than we do on certain subjects. Maybe we can even educate them on some things. But it’s that vital communication that allows us to befriend our parents and have a deep respect for them as our lifelong caretakers.

Parents will never stop looking out for us. It’s our job to look after them. Take the time this week to give your parents or caregivers a call, letting them know how much you care for them, ask them about their day. It will mean more to them than you think.

While projects, nights out and social events never stop, it’s important to remember this. While we age, so do our parents. One

KASHYAP PATEL/GRAPHICS EDITOR

14 • OPINION

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2019

MAGA is symbolic of violence ALYSSA DI SABATINO OPINION EDITOR

Empire actor Jussie Smollett was attacked in a hate crime against him in Chicago last Tuesday, by two men wearing “Make America Great Again,” or MAGA, hats.

The two men called him racist and homophobic slurs after identifying him as the character Jamal Lyon from Empire. In the show, Lyon faces adversity within his community for being a gay musician. Smollett himself is an activist and member of the LGBTQ+ community.

His attackers poured chemical substances on him, put a noose around his neck and ultimately hospitalized him.

Because the attack is still being investigated, police are calling it a “potential” hate crime. But it would be hard to deny that this attack wasn’t a racially motivated or homophobic act, especially because of the slurs directed at Smollett before he was attacked.

The use of the noose in the attack too-closely reflects lynching symbolism. Historically, these were used to murder and intimidate black civil rights activists for hundreds of years.

The use of lynches seems like some torture tool from the past — a racist and bigoted past. But it’s clear that these intimidation tactics are still being used, and they are

still sending the same violent messages.

Obviously because the attack is still being investigated, a verdict of the motivations cannot yet be determined. But to say that this attack was not a hate crime is to erase centuries of violence against black Americans and LGBTQ+ individuals.

This isn’t the only case of lynching symbolism in America recently. In 2018, two black men from Oklahoma were lynched by a white family. The was ultimately not deemed to be racially motivated by investigators, but it would be ineffectual to deny the role of the noose in the crime.

And this is not the only homophobic attack either, not by far.

According to the FBI’s 2017 hate crime statistics, 1130 out of 7175 hate crimes were based around sexual orientation. This doesn’t account for the crimes that weren’t reported.

The point is, Jussie Smollett’s attack is not a one-off case. Being both a black man and an LGBTQ+ member, the chances of this attack being hatefully motivated are high.

The same report that identified which hate crimes were sexual orientation-based also reported that hate crimes have increased by 17 per cent from the previous year.

If it’s possible to conclude that lynching symbolism is representative of centuries of racism and degradation against black populations, I would say it’s also possible to conclude that MAGA hats represent something much more sinister as well.

The role of the MAGA hats worn

by Smollett’s attackers should not be downplayed.

The attackers allegedly yelled “This is MAGA country” while committing their assault — a reference to Trump’s campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again.”

Trump himself has a history of condoning violence in his campaigns. In 2017, he was reported to have encouraged police to be violent with potential offenders, saying, “when you see these thugs … please don’t be too nice.” He has also promoted violence against those who protested his presidential campaign, saying he’d defend anyone who hurt his protesters in court.

The hate and discrimination that has been incited in recent years seems to have made once-hidden racists and bigots much bolder in their actions. The guise of “making America great” has been cultivating racism.

It’s not just a matter of “opinion” or “picking sides.” Claiming allegiance with MAGA has become synonymous with violence, intimidation and oppression.

It goes without saying that no one should have to fear for their life because of their sexuality or their skin colour. Smollett has not yet fully healed, but this past Sunday he was set to perform at his first show since the attack.

In a statement that day he said, “These types of cowardly attacks are happening to my sisters, brothers and non-gender conforming siblings daily. I am not and should not be looked upon as an isolated incident.”

He went on to say that hate can

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only be stopped “with the people that believe in love.” He told the crowd that now is the time to be “blacker and gayer.”

Smollett’s belief that, in order to stop evil and violence, allies and minority individuals must work

together to further prevent hatred from festering is, in my opinion, the most viable solution.

What better way to combat hate and destruction than by standing tall and persevering despite all odds.

The glorification of psychopathy on television is harmful

JOSH GOEREE STAFF WRITER

When I went to Cuba over the Christmas break, I read a book called The Devil’s Defender by John Henry Browne. He was one of many lawyers who represented Ted Bundy in the 70s and 80s.

In the book, he describes what it was like to represent Bundy and goes into a lot of detail that no one ever knew. After I finished it, I thought I wouldn’t have to think about Ted Bundy for a long time.

That is until Netflix came out with Conversations with a killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes.

It seems to me that psychopathy has become a real big social trend in terms of entertainment in the last few months.

On Netflix alone there’s You, The Ted Bundy Tapes, Serial Killer with Piers Morgan and Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened that all have been released in the last few months.

Just a couple weeks ago the trailer for Extremely Wicked, Shocking Evil and Vile, the biopic of Ted Bundy starring Zac Efron as the notorious serial killer, was

KASHYAP PATEL/GRAPHICS EDITOR

released.

In some ways, I’ve noticed that the idea of psychopathy has been overly glorified as a trend. While it is a very interesting topic, I don’t think it’s really being taken seriously.

On Twitter, you’ll see tweets chirping the FBI for hunting Bundy down, how the main character from You shows that men can never be trusted, to the idea that Billy McFarland, the guy in charge of the doomed Fyre Festival, is a

sociopath.

Just looking at the trailer for Extremely Wicked, the mood in it seems kind of playful and romantic. They have the heart-throb Zac Efron playing Ted Bundy and they show how he loves his girlfriend Liz and how much of a father figure he is. Meanwhile, he’s the most notorious serial killer of all time and a true psychopath.

If Bundy were alive today, he would be loving the attention he’s receiving because that’s what he

fed off during his public trials in the 70’s.

This is not to say that the shows and documentaries are not interesting, because they are. As a psychology major with a criminology minor, Ted Bundy is my favourite serial killer to study. His case is one of the most interesting in the world and one of the most famous. But no one really seems to see how dangerous of a monster he really was.

The documentary did an ex-

cellent job showing his dark side, but there were details that were missing that show how dark he really was. For example, in The Devil’s Defender, Browne says that Bundy told him he killed over 100 women and a man; way more than the reported 35.

In the biography documentary on him, they explain that he was led to believe his mother was actually his sister for the first 20 years of his life. He would find out the truth after his girlfriend broke up with him right before he went on his murderous rampage.

I also found it clever that Netflix released The Ted Bundy Tapes on Jan. 24, the 30-year anniversary of his execution in Florida.

As much as I love psychopathy, this is not a good social trend. Not only are people going to be accusing everyone and their brother of being psychopaths, but there is also room for people to start copying what they saw.

I bet that in the next year, there will be copycat crimes of Ted Bundy in the US. There will be someone pretending to be injured and they lure young women to their cars and kill them.

There seemed to be a spike in school shootings after it was over reported by the news. Just imagine what could happen when serial killers are over reported and seen as entertainment.

• 15

WEDNESDAY,FEBRUARY 6, 2019

Sports

SPORTS EDITOR PRANAV DESAI sports@thecord.ca

ALUMNI

WALTER TYCHNOWICZ/CONTRIBUTED IMAGE

Boateng earns huge payday HAYLEY MCGOLDRICK NEWS EDITOR

Ranked as the number one national free agent by the Canadian Football League (CFL) as their free agency opening approaches on

Tuesday, Feb. 12, Laurier alumni Kwaku Boateng received a contract extension by his current team, the Edmonton Eskimos, on Friday, Feb. 1.

Boateng was given a contract extension through 2020 with a

$50,000 signing bonus as well as $175,000 in salary, with another $30,000 coming in 2020 on top of his wages to give a $380,000 total for his contract.

This is the largest jump in salary for a Canadian on an entry level

deal in the CFL. “It’s a good feeling, it’s obviously nice to stay with the team I was lucky enough to be drafted by, I like the organization and I like the fans, they welcomed me with open arms, so it wasn’t a tough decision for me to sign that piece of paper,” Boateng said.

Avoiding a sophomore slump, Boateng over doubled his sacks this season with nine, tallying only four in his rookie season.

He also improved his defensive tackle stats as he made 26, a jump from 21 in 2017. He also was in two less games in 2018, playing in 18 his rookie season and only 16 this year.

Drafted 41 overall in the 2017 CFL draft, Boateng has quickly become one of the top defensive ends in the league, ranking sixth in the entire league for defensive sacks despite missing out on two games this season, no surprise as he holds Laurier’s all-time sack record.

“I’ve always been a very competitive individual, and I think [getting drafted late] just sparked something within me, and it forced me to really play, I had this chip on my shoulder and I’m going to play with that for the rest of my career,” Boateng said.

“Even with all of the success in my career that’s still in the back of my mind, yes things could have gone a lot smoother earlier in my career but that’s how life is, that’s my path, and it’s gotten me here

thus far.”

Already making a name for himself just two years into the league, Boateng has been invited to work out with National Football League teams like the New York Jets, Los Angeles Chargers, and New York Giants. Despite the attention, Boateng is focused on his current squad, not a potential future.

“If that opportunity presents itself once again once this contract is over then I’ll dip into it, but right now I’m focussing on winning Grey Cups and winning championships with the Eskimos,” Boateng said.

Boateng had the most sacks for any Canadian defender during the 2018 season, proving that homegrown talent is thriving in the CFL, receiving the Eskimo’s Most Outstanding Canadian Player award for his accomplishments, all the more reason for him to receive his massive contract from the Eskimos.

“It feels rewarding, the best part about it is that it shows that hard work really pays off, patience is a virtue and it’s something that I think is lost sometimes. If something fails at first, many people want to quit, so for me it means something more than just the dollar value,” Boateng said.

“It’s kind of the principle and the symbol of it just shows that it doesn’t really matter where you start, it only really matters where you’re going and where you end up.”

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Ali Sow breaks scoring record ABDULHAMID IBRAHIM LEAD SPORTS REPORTER

ISAAK WONG/CORD PHOTOGRAPHY

There are 39 seconds left. Ali Sow is bringing the ball up for Laurier.

Windsor is clinging onto an 84-82 lead after Lancers guard Chris Poloniato got blocked at the rim by Kemel Archer.

Sow goes to the right wing, he gets a switch of defenders after a Kemel Archer screen.

Poloniato creeps towards Sow from the left wing, leaving fifth year guard Chuder Teny all alone.

Sow quickly makes the swing pass to Teny seeing Poloniato coming over and Teny calls game hitting a wide open trey to make it 85-84.

The crowd along with Laurier’s bench erupts! Laurier went on to win.

“Ali finding him was the thing we talked about the whole season.

If they cheat the strong side, let’s swing it for shots. You see James Harden do that, you see a lot NBA players do that. We’re trying to attack certain players, they’re loading up, a swing pass can make a big difference. To have the clarity to make that play down the stretch was crazy,” coach Serresse said.

Ali Sow has been making big plays all year for the number nine Laurier Golden Hawks.

He is the second leading scorer

in the country at 27 points per game, making him the lead guy in his second year.

His scoring prowess has led him onto the path to smashing the single season scoring record at Laurier previously held by Kale Harrison with 466 points in 2010-2011.

“It feels good. That kind of individual accomplishment is really cool to think about after the season, but right now I’m more focused on the team and how we’re playing and I’m really excited about how the team’s playing and our future towards the playoffs,” Sow said.

Since breaking the record against the Waterloo Warriors on Jan. 25, he has continued the tear he’s been on.

Against Western, he scored 17 straight points in the three-minute and 10 seconds stretch between the end of the third quarter and beginning of the fourth quarter.

He went on to finish with 32 points, with 22 scored in the second half.

“First half, I’m usually looking to find the flow of the game, find the pace of the game, see what the defence is giving me, see how they’re playing me. In the second half, I knew we were kind of struggling, especially in both games, Western and today [Windsor],” Sow said.

“I just thought I had to be more

aggressive and put more pressure on the defence. It turned out in our favour, I was able to score a bit and once I made a couple, they were loading up on me, so I was able to find my teammates as well.”

Against Windsor, it was much of the same as he scored 20 points in the second half, leading the charge to a comeback victory.

He finished with 30 points, five rebounds and six assists, with the final assist coming on the game-winner from Teny who finished the game 18 points off the bench.

“I thought Ali, for me, that was his most complete game offensively, in terms of the passing and scoring and then Chuder just icing the game there was big,” coach Serresse stated.

While being in a great position sitting as the number one seed in the OUA West at 15-5, they still do have the pressure of winning every game from here on out to claim home court in the West.

With the Brock Badgers breathing down their neck just a game behind them and owning the tiebreaker, the ball is in the Hawks’ court when it comes to their destiny.

Next up will be the red hot Lakehead Thunderwolves who will be coming for back-to-back matchups in Waterloo.

16 • SPORTS

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2019

FOOTBALL

GARRISON OOSTERHOF/FILE PHOTO

An in-depth look at Laurier’s recruiting process JOSEPH DEFILIPPIS STAFF WRITER

For high school athletes in the United States, the first Wednesday in February is a day that they all have circled on their calendars each and every year.

That day is National Signing Day, where hopeful-collegiate athletes sign letters of commitment to their respective NCAA schools.This day is met with massive media coverage and fanfare, as college sports fans are introduced to the new crop of recruits that will be proudly wearing their school’s colours going forward. Up here, north of the border, university sports recruiting is a little more unique.

“The challenge we have in Canada as a football program with recruiting is that there is no exact signing day,” men’s football head coach Michael Faulds said.

“It makes it super challenging not having an exact timeline. Anywhere from Sept. 1 of the previous year, until we open training camp [in] August, we can have guys commit to our program.”

Not having a National Signing Day means that Canadian recruiting draws nowhere near the media attention that it does in the U.S., which leads to very few university sports’ fans having a real understanding of what truly goes into recruiting.

“There are a lot of things that come into play. First and foremost, they have to be good students.

They have to be able to get into whatever program [they apply for].”

“Then obviously we are looking for football athletic ability, then one of the most common things you really look for is just good character young men.”

“I always say that every single year we lose roughly 25 per cent of the locker room, and every single year, 25 per cent of that locker room is [replaced by] new recruits.

So very quickly you can have a positive impact in terms of character and culture, or just as equally, if you pick a couple bad apples, you could negatively affect the culture.”

In terms of actually finding the recruits that will sign on with Laurier, coach Faulds mentioned that

the Canadian university football system, specifically in the province of Ontario, poses many challenges.

“Kids these days have so many options. We’re one of 27 football playing schools in Canada; one of 11 just in the province of Ontario.”

“If you look at some provinces, like Alberta, they only have the University of Alberta and the University of Calgary, so only two teams that play football in that province, for all of those high school players.” “[In] Ontario, sure we have the largest population but we have to divide that amongst eleven teams.

So recruiting here is very competitive.”

Due in part because of the competitiveness of recruiting, and partly due to preference, coach Faulds noted that Laurier usually has one of the smaller recruiting classes in the OUA each year.

“I would say 100 to 150 people we identify and then as you start to go through the recruiting process, kind of narrow that down to 25 to 30 guys.”

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over the 10 other football programs in the province, and to ensure that the limited recruits they sign are the best of the best, Laurier has a unique process they use to attract players.

First and foremost, they have to be good students. They have to be able to get into whatever program [they apply for].

-Michael Faulds, Laurier men’s varsity football team head coach

“We usually have quite a few touch points. The first thing is an identification process, where our team of coaches and scouts need to see the player play. Then once we’ve identified a player that we want, we usually set them up with a game day visit in the fall, during

their senior season.”

“If the interest is there, and say we are one of their top five schools that they are looking at, we’ll bring them on campus for a visit.”

“We try to include their parents or family members, if possible, [with] a huge emphasis looking at the academics, looking at residence, looking at dining hall, all that stuff.”

“The one thing we actually don’t do a ton of, is talk X’s and O’s. Ultimately what we tell most [recruits] is if we are to win a Vanier Cup, we’re going to play [at most] twelve football games.”

“So 353 days, they are going to wake up here on campus at Laurier and there is no football game. If they solely made a decision just based on football, it would be extremely silly.”

Although the entire recruiting process is not easy, Faulds says that he is always up for the challenge. “[It’s] kind of a fun game in itself.

Everyone’s looking for something different, everyone is evaluated differently, everyone commits at a different time.”

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