The Cord March 15 2017

GHOMESHI’S LAWYER

HAVE ANY QUESTIONS?

THE KING OF SHAWARMA

LEFOU OR LEFLOP?

FRITSCH RECOGNIZED

Robitaille cancels keynote in Brantford

The importance of interviewing your interviewer

Syrian refugees open new restaurant

Beauty and the Beast fails gay community

Hockey star awarded most sportsmanlike

News, page 5

Arts & Life, page 8

Arts & Life, page 10

Opinion, page 14

Sports, page 15

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2 •

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15, 2017

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PHOTO OF THE WEEK

“My dad bought me a shirt from the States at Walmart.”

–Amanda Nobile, thirdyear global studies

“Spencers in the mall.”

–Vanessa Richards, third-year global studies

“Shirt from Boathouse, accessories from the Dollar Store.”

–Ashley Kay, third-year communication studies

“Dollar Store because it’s cheap, man.”

–Tegan Pecoskie-Schweir, fourth-year business administration

MARCO PEDRI/LEAD PHOTOGRAPHER

Almost every Tuesday, incoming Radio Laurier Station Manager TJ Mroz brings his dog Maverick by Cord production. Mav is now an honorary “Cordie.”

Letter to the Editor: Student senators not fulfilling expectations Attend a university senate meeting and you’ll notice something missing: the majority of your undergraduate student representatives.

While each of us campaigned for and committed to this role, unfortunately, this important responsibility is not being shared equally. Undergraduate senators have consistently failed to show up or send regrets to senate meetings.

When in attendance, undergraduate senators often contribute little to discussion. As the highest academic governing body at Laurier, the senate depends on the insight of student senators, to attend meetings, ask questions and provide feedback pertaining to important decisions. If we fail to do this, students will not be represented in key academic matters.

There have been numerous critical decisions brought to the senate

MARCH 22, 2017

CORD STAFF

FEATURES EDITOR Mitchell Consky features@thecord.ca

LEAD REPORTER Nathalie Bouchard news@thecord.ca

ARTS & LIFE EDITOR Manjot Bhullar arts@thecord.ca

LEAD SPORTS REPORTER Pranav Desai sports@thecord.ca

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Bethany Bowles editor@thecord.ca

OPINION EDITOR Madeline McInnis opinion@thecord.ca

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Will Huang creative@thecord.ca

SPORTS EDITOR Rob Fifield sports@thecord.ca

WEB DIRECTOR Brian Phillips online@thecord.ca

GRAPHICS EDITOR Fani Hsieh graphics@thecord.ca

SENIOR NEWS EDITOR Kaitlyn Severin news@thecord.ca

PHOTO EDITOR Paige Bush photos@thecord.ca

NEWS EDITOR Safina Husein news@thecord.ca

ONLINE EDITOR Andreas Patsiaouros online@thecord.ca

NEWS EDITOR Shyenne MacDonald news@thecord.ca

VIDEO EDITOR Garrison Oosterhof video@thecord.ca

or even pay attention. Instead, student senators scroll through Facebook and Reddit, throwing their hands up when Dr. Blouw asks for movers and seconders to make it seem like they are paying attention. This is unacceptable behaviour of elected representatives.

We were elected to be the active voice of undergraduate students at the senate, not rubber stamps voting in favour of everything because we haven’t paid attention.

It is time for us all to be held accountable. We call on our fellow students to make sure that their elected representatives take these roles seriously. We represent you, and if we don’t adequately perform our duties as senators, it reflects poorly on the entire undergraduate student body.

- Colin Aitchison & Kanwar Brar, Undergraduate Student Senators

thecord.ca

Compiled by Nathalie Bouchard Photos by Marco Pedri

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this year. From fall Reading Week to the appointment of members of Laurier’s administration, our role is to critically engage with these topics to ensure the student voice is heard. If we are not present for these strategic discussions, we collectively fail and do not live up to the responsibility you have entrusted in us. To say undergraduate senator attendance has been lacklustre would be an understatement. To date, one senator has not been to a single meeting and two senators have failed to send regrets. When three of seven undergraduate senators fail to show up, or provide valid regrets, they demonstrate to the rest of the Senate that they do not take their positions seriously.

Simply showing up is not the only concern. Too often many of us do not engage in discussion

LEAD PHOTOGRAPHER Marco Pedri photos@thecord.ca LEAD PHOTOGRAPHER Emi Zibaei photos@thecord.ca SENIOR COPY EDITOR Christian Paron copyeditor@thecord.ca SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR Brittany Ditizio socialmedia@thecord.ca

CONTRIBUTORS

EDITOR’S CHOICE

Simran Dhaliwal Alan Li Emily Waitson Anthony Zambito Adina Turkonje Brittany Tenhage Liz Zmijak Karlis Wilde Dylan Leonard Erin Abe Jake Watts Qiao Liu Luke Sarazin Victoria Panacci Diane Taylor Mira Busscher Kayla Hegarty Alexandra Juraschka Mary Ferguson

“Criminal past resurfaces in U of G elections” by Nathalie Bouchard “Controversy arises over Brantford keynote speaker” by Kaitlyn Severin

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

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

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

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

for principal photography.

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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

THIS DAY IN HISTORY: MARCH 15 44 BC: Julius Caesar is stabbed to death by Brutus, Cassius and several other Roman senators on the Ides of March in Rome 1493: Christopher Columbus returns to Spain after his first voyage to the New World 1827: University of Toronto is chartered 1939: Hitler occupies Bohemia & Moravia (Czechoslovakia); Slovakia independent 1961: South Africa withdraws from British Commonwealth 1968: LIFE mag calls Jimi Hendrix the “most spectacular guitarist in the world” 1987: The Community Editorion’s Editor-in-Chief Jesse Bauman blessed this world with kindness, intelligence and a great head of hair.

Happy birthday, buddy.

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: “Wait, what grade is she?”

- Lead Photographer Marco Pedri, enquiring about a fellow Laurier student who is DEFINITELY not in high school

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15, 2017

News

• 3 SENIOR NEWS EDITOR KAITLYN SEVERIN news@thecord.ca

NEWS EDITOR SAFINA HUSEIN news@thecord.ca

NEWS EDITOR SHYENNE MACDONALD news@thecord.ca

STUDENT POLITICS

Criminal past resurfaces in U of G elections Sole candidate Jeremiah Rojas was convicted of 39 charges of theft during his time at Laurier

MARCO PEDRI/LEAD PHOTOGRAPHER

NATHALIE BOUCHARD LEAD REPORTER

Before becoming the University of Guelph’s Central Student Association’s (CSA) local affairs commissioner and candidate for president, Jeremiah Rojas was a student at Wilfrid Laurier University, as well as a don at Little House residence and Waterloo College Hall.

During his time as a don, there were multiple break-ins at WCH over the 2012-13 winter break and then break-ins the following year in Little House.

In 2014, Rojas was found to be responsible for the numerous break-ins.

As a don, Rojas was given access to a master key which he allegedly used to break into the student apartments and dorm rooms.

According to reports, in total, Rojas was charged with 39 counts of breaking and entering, 10 counts of mischief to data, five counts of theft under $5,000, four counts of mischief and one count apiece of possession of stolen property over $5,000, as well as trafficking of stolen goods.

Within the investigation, police allegedly found computers, smartphones, tablets and various personal belongings worth approximately $20,000.

Before his time at Laurier, the Peterborough Examiner reported that Rojas pleaded guilty to possession of property obtained by crime in Peterborough in 2010.

After the charges were laid at Laurier, he spent a few months in a mental health clinic and 244 days at the Milton Maplehurst Correctional Complex.

After his release from jail, Rojas transferred to the University of Guelph to finish his degree, as reported by the Toronto Star.

This past week, this three-yearold story has resurfaced, as Rojas ran unopposed in the University of Guelph’s CSA elections.

During his campaign period, fourth-year Guelph student Emily Malcomson posted an article from CTV News Kitchener on the Overheard at Guelph Facebook group.

When asked why she posted the article, Malcomson had a short response.

“I think, plain and simple, I just

wanted students to be informed.

Whether it swayed their decision or not, I just wanted students to know,” Malcomson said.

“I had positive and negative comment[s] both on the actual post and my personal inbox. I did get a lot more messages than anticipated of people explaining their personal stories which backed my reasoning for doing it, as well as people kind of backed him up saying he’s trying to move on.”

Addesse Hail, former Residence Life don at Waterloo College Hall with Rojas, explained that when he first met Rojas at don’s training, he was respected by his peers for being a student leader.

“Jay struck me as someone that was really dependable, kind and warm. He had this phrase he used to use about leadership and being in service to others to live that in his life, so my first impression of him and after working with him of that year was a person of really strong integrity,” Hail said.

Hail allegedly had money stolen by him but never pressed charges against Rojas. Hail wrote an open letter to Rojas in regards to the al-

leged theft and said he just wanted an apology.

“I genuinely wish Jay the best. I just really want closure,” Hail said.

Former first-year residence house council student Jameson De Nucci who is now a fourth-year residence education advisor, spoke of his initial reaction when he heard that Rojas was running for president.

“I heard [about him running for CSA president] from a friend at U of G because they messaged me and asked if I knew Jeremiah. I was aware that he was at U of G … but I didn’t know he’d get involved to the extent that he is now. It seems a little close to home and a bit soon,” De Nucci said.

De Nucci also explained that Rojas was well respected by peers in residence council.

“I was in my first year and as a naive first-year, when you are around a lot of student leaders, you look up to them as the leaders that they are. I thought he was a great guy and well respected and I could see that he was respected by other dons and other students,” De Nucci said.

Rojas created a personal statement on his Facebook account, sharing that he takes responsibility for his past but wants to look into the future.

“I won’t disregard my past, because it plays a role in the present.

I will, however, focus on the future because that’s where I want to go.

A future where every individual is accepted … I am humbled and thankful to continue to call Guelph my home, and Gryphons my family,” said Rojas in his Facebook statement.

On Thursday March 9, the unofficial results of the 2017 CSA general election concluded that Rojas was not voted in as president, as 2,065 students voted no, 1,962 students voted in favour and 423 students declined to vote in the election.

“His campaign claims to be for the students and his past sort of shows that he’s not always for the students,” Malcomson said.

The Cord has reached out to both Rojas and The University of Guelph for a comment but did not receive a response.

-With files from Kaitlyn Severin

Grand Porch Party in uptown Waterloo that will take place this June.

Currently, the City of Waterloo has approximately 15 stories of neighbourly interactions.

Story submissions will be

accepted all year and students are encouraged to submit. The stories will be posted with the Twitter handle @citywaterloo and on the City of Waterloo Facebook page beginning March 15.

COMMUNITY

Connecting #neighbourloos ERIN ABE STAFF WRITER

On March 15, the City of Waterloo will begin a new series of social media posts called #neighbourloo.

The posts will feature stories of neighbourly interactions between residents in Waterloo. The stories will be posted with hopes of inspiring neighbours to connect with one another and allowing neighbourhoods to form a united community. “[The hope is to] encourage people to think in a neighbourhood way and possibly shape the way people might interact with their neighbours,” said Janet Norman, junior policy and research analyst for the City of Waterloo.

The series was created by the

communications team for the City of Waterloo, inspired by public input and concerns from the people of Waterloo.

“A lot of people were saying that they don’t know what is happening across the city,” Norman said, specifically concerning other neighbourhoods. The series aims to address that lack of awareness.

“One of the things that residents said to us was that they liked to hear stories of great things that are happening in neighbourhoods. We should be celebrating our successes,” said Beth Rajnovich, policy and performance analyst and project manager for the neighbourhood strategy of the City of Waterloo.

“As staff, we hear a lot of great things happening in neighbourhoods and we wanted to share

those [stories] with the community.”

The #neighbourloo series’ intent is also to inspire people to reach out to their neighbours and provide people with ideas on how to do that. The stories are meant to give people ideas on what they can do to be respectful neighbours in their own communities. Stories that capture friendly neighbourhood interactions will be featured online, such as a story already submitted that features students who shovel an elderly couple’s driveway every snowfall. “[Posts will focus on] the little neighbourhood interactions between people as well as more formal events or neighbourhood projects,” said Norman.

Another story will focus on the

MARCO PEDRI/LEAD PHOTOGRAPHER

4 • NEWS

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15, 2017

MENTAL HEALTH

GRADUATE STUDENTS’ UNION

Good2Talk creates safe space SAFINA HUSEIN NEWS EDITOR

Good2Talk, a helpline for post-secondary students in Ontario, will be creating a lounge at Wilfrid Laurier University on March 16 and 17 for students to learn more about the resources available to them in a safe, calming environment.

Good2Talk’s outreach coordinator Megan Van Massenhoven explained that Good2Talk is a free and confidential service that is available 24 hours, seven days a week, all year-round.

“Anyone who calls the helpline can get information in French or English about services and supports on their campus or in their local community, like off-campus mental health services. Or they can speak to a counsellor right on the phone,” Van Massenhoven said.

The idea behind creating the lounge on campuses for students is to essentially recreate a similar environment which would mimic the experience of calling Good2Talk.

The lounge, which will run from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in the concourse, will include couches and bean bag chairs, providing a space for students to unwind, relax and

hangout while learning about the services Good2Talk offers.

As well, there will be free giveaways and a masseuse will be present to give free massages for students who stop by.

We feel as though the experience when you call Good2Talk is that you feel a little bit of that pressure taken off.

-Megan Van Massenhoven, Good2Talk outreach coordinator

“We feel as though the experience when you call Good2Talk is that you feel a little bit of that pressure taken off, a little bit of a safe space to talk to somebody about what’s going on,” Van Massenhoven said.

“A lot of people have said you know it reminds them of their living room … that’s exactly what

we’re going for, to make people feel at home and comfortable while learning about, and hopefully accessing, the service when they need it.”

Ultimately, the goal of the lounge is to expose students to the calming environment that they provide, especially if students are currently unaware of Good2Talk’s services.

“We want them to see the lounge and remember that Good2Talk is available to them all the time, even if they don’t need it right now ... they might have a friend who needs help finding a service on campus or needs someone to talk to,” Van Massenhoven said.

As well, Good2Talk may be beneficial for students who need assistance outside of typical hours offered by on-campus mental health services.

“Having that information will be vital down the road when they need to access it,” she said.

“This is the first time we’ve done a big marketing campaign like this where we have something like an event on campus and it’s been really well-received. We would like to bring it to as many campuses as possible.”

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PAIGE BUSH/PHOTO EDITOR

Natalie Gleba was elected as president and CEO at GSA’s general meeting.

GSA elects in their 2017-18 president DYLAN LEONARD STAFF WRITER

On March 8, Wilfrid Laurier University’s Graduate Students’ Association (GSA) hosted its annual general meeting where Natalie Gleba was elected as the new president and CEO for the 2017-18 term.

Gleba will be succeeding Samantha Deeming, current president and CEO, after a transition period that ends on May 1.

The election occurred after a two week campaign period between Gleba and fellow candidate, Michael Johnson.

Both Gleba and Johnson were vetted by a GSA board committee to run as candidates after a two week call for applications based on their leadership experience and vision.

Deeming’s areas of focus during her time as president were advocacy efforts, such as implement-ing better Teaching Assistant (TA) training and improving scholarship opportunities.

“A lot of the things that I came into the term with was focusing on the small improvements we can do, so reaching out to marginalized students, providing better programming to our part-time students as well as students off of campus,” Deeming said.

“Connecting with a larger community of students versus just the typical Waterloo core.”

There were also areas that Deeming didn’t make as much progress as she had set out to.

“We would’ve liked to make a little more progress on our advocacy efforts … a lot of the advoca-cy pieces get started under one term but you’re not necessarily here to see the finished result,” Deeming said.

“It’s a little upsetting but also really rewarding knowing you’ve helped start something and I know the incoming president-elect will take really good care of those initiatives so I’m not concerned.”

Deeming will continue to serve

within the GSA as a member of the board of directors, after she was acclaimed alongside Jeanault Lasnier and Amandeep Singh.

She will also be completing her MSc in integrative biology and will be beginning a PhD in educational leadership and policy.

Gleba noted that this was her second time campaigning for president, after campaigning for the position in 2014.

Gleba has been attending Laurier for nine years: first for a BA in communication studies, an MA in communications studies and now an MBA with a focus on marketing.

“I’ve been involved with the GSA for five years now, so I’ve worked in many different capacities and roles,” Gleba said.

“I feel like I’ve got a lot of knowledge over those years so I know areas in which the organization is very strong in and I also know where those weaknesses lie and where we have still room for improvement.”

“I feel like it’s that next step for me in being involved.”

The first actions for Gleba will include hiring a group of students to help lead the association. “[The goal of the GSA is to] make sure that students are well supported through their graduate student experience,” Gleba said.

“If you were to create an umbrella goal at the end of the day, that’s what we’re here to do.”

Additonally, there were two referendum questions presented at the GSA’s annual general meeting.

One question proposed lowering the PRISM fee for graduate students from $125 to $65 per term.

Another proposed implementing a mandatory fee to the Ontario Graduate Student Alliance (OGSA) of $2.37 per year.

Deeming noted that with the upcoming Provincial election, it would be important for the OGSA to have the resources necessary to lobby for graduate students.

Both of the referendum questions were answered in the affirmative.

NEWS • 5

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15, 2017 EVENTS

Controversy arises over Brantford keynote speaker KAITLYN SEVERIN SENIOR NEWS EDITOR

Keynote speaker for the Wilfrid Laurier Brantford campus Criminology Student Association conference Danielle Robitaille has cancelled her presentation after open dialogue came out about the ethics of her appearance on the Wilfrid Laurier University Brantford campus.

Robitaille stirred up controversy after taking on the role as a defence lawyer for former CBC radio host Jian Ghomeshi who was tried and acquitted for sexual assault in 2014.

The CSA conference, which ran from March 6 to 9 as part of Laurier Brantford’s Research Week, showcases student research and aims to provide educational experiences for the Laurier community.

Robitaille was originally invited to speak to students about her work in the field of law. On March 7, the CSA published a statement saying Robitaille would no longer be presenting at the conference due to the concerns for the safety of her and other conference members.

“Last Friday Ms. Robitaille was informed of organized efforts to disrupt her presentation. Citing concern for group and personal safety, as well as concern over compromises to open and balanced discourse, Ms. Robitaille elected to cancel her speaking engagement for the keynote event,” read a post on the CSA’s official Facebook page.

On March 3, after Robitaille was announced as one of the conference’s keynote speakers, the Advocates for a Student Culture of Consent (ASCC) created a Facebook page entitled “We Believe Survivors: a Call to Action at Laurier Brantford.” The Facebook page was created as a resistance to the conference’s keynote.

“We believe that this event not only decenters this work, but actively challenges the trajectory that Laurier has been creating around

Gendered Violence,” read the group’s Facebook post.

The group also created a letter template for those wanting to voice their concerns to the university administrators and leaders about the impact this event could allegedly create.

Laurier’s sexual violence support advocate Sarah Scanlon provides support and access to resources for survivors and others impacted by sexual and gender-based violence. Also part of the Diversity and Equity Office, Scanlon voiced her concerns about the event and offered support and resources to those who felt impacted by the announcement of the keynote speaker. “[The DEO] understands that she worked alongside lead defence lawyer Marie Henein in the Jian Ghomeshi sexual assault trial and that was included in the conversation that was put out … that was the information that was included and made aware to people,” Scanlon said.

According to Scanlon, the priority of the DEO is to recognize those who have been impacted by gender-based violence and to access support advocacy and resources.

Scanlon noted that regardless if Robitaille attended the conference or not, there was an increase of conversations surrounding sexual assault occurring around the Laurier Brantford campus.

“We knew and witnessed impacts regarding sexual violence and individuals feeling triggered and our priority as the DEO is to promote a culture of caring and sexual ethics on campus,” she said.

In her personal response to the keynote speaker, Scanlon noted that university members must uphold a culture where gender and sexual violence is not tolerated, as noted in the Gender and Sexual Violence Policy. Scanlon also explained that she has witnessed how this event has created different forms of impact for survivors of sexual assault. Her biggest priority now is to ensure survivors are

able to access support centres and resources.

“I think that not just the DEO, but our whole campus needs to work to uphold. I think we need to ensure that there is compassionate responses guided by trauma-informed principles that prioritizes safety, trust, choice, collaboration and empowerment for those who have been impacted by gender-based violence.”

The DEO in Brantford also held a safe space called “We Believe Survivors,” hosted by Sexual Violence Counsellor & Advocate, for individuals who wanted to speak their concerns or reactions in a non-judgmental space.

“We are here to support those who are most impacted by the increase in this conversation throughout our community,” Scanlon said.

Lauren Eisler, dean of the faculty of human and social sciences, explained she became aware of the conversations that arose after speaker Robitaille was announced as the keynote, after she received an email regarding the controversy.

While Eisler noted that she did not have a role in the CSA conference or in their decision-making process, she explained that each year the CSA chooses a speaker based on a current topic surrounding the realm of criminology.

“This year, I think because of the Jian Gomeshi case, I think we might consider it a water-shed moment in trials around sexual assault … the outcome was unexpected to many people and it really drew attention,” Eisler said.

According to Eisler, Robitaille was planning on discussing gender differences and issues within the legal system as a female lawyer.

However, because Robitaille was one of Gomeshi’s defence lawyers, Eisler noted it overshadowed what she was planning on presenting to students.

“We have a number of students who are very interested in going into law and so understandably not only are they interested in

FANI HSIEH/GRAPHICS EDITOR

what kinds of issues will they face practicing law, but I think we really lost the opportunity to ask hard questions about the role of law in our society,” Eisler said.

“From my perspective, we could’ve been asking questions about law based on the concepts of equality so the rule of law that everyone is equal in the eyes of the law and is treated the same [sic] and can you actually have a legal system operate on a rule of law concept when we know there are challenges and not everybody is treated equally in the eyes of the law,” Eisler said.

Eisler said she felt deeply saddened by the events that took place as she believes the university lost an opportunity to engage in debate and dialogue with students.

She said the university was also in the position where they wanted to encourage a dialogue in a way that students would feel safe and supported.

“I also understand that there were a number of students who were very upset by this potential.

However, Laurier has a very strong support network for students who are facing issues and that was activated,” she said.

“I think, ultimately as students, as staff, as faculty, we all want the same thing. We want students to engage in debate and dialogues that have as strong an educational experience that they can.”

The university also released two statements regarding the issues and developments that arose regarding the conference, via email.

The first statement read: “Wilfrid Laurier University upholds the

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principles of free speech and strives to provide an environment in which people engage in critical and respectful dialogue. Because various student groups and associations as well as faculty and staff members may invite speakers to campuses, occasionally there will be speakers at our university who address topics and ideas that are complex, challenging, controversial and at times polarizing.

Supporting the right of speakers to express their opinions on campus does not necessarily imply that the university endorses their ideas. The right to free speech has boundaries and carries with it a responsibility to comply with relevant laws.

Those who wish to exercise their right to freedom of speech at the university are encouraged to do so in a tolerant, civil and respectful manner.”

The second statement read: “When the university became aware of the keynote speaker who had been invited by the Criminology Student Association, in accordance with our gendered violence policy and procedures, we encouraged our staff to ensure that supports were available to individuals who have been impacted by gendered and sexual violence.”

Eisler believes that now is the time to debrief and reflect on the events that took place and think about how the university can move forward.

“I hope going forward that everyone involved can think about and reflect on what happened and how to move forward from it because I think we all have the same goal in mind.”

6 • NEWS

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15, 2017

BUSINESS

Women’s award empowers the international community SHYENNE MACDONALD NEWS EDITOR

On March 8, the Women’s Executive Network announced nominations for Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Awards.

The award will recognize women in leadership roles in Canada. The Women’s Executive Network hopes to inspire current and future generations of women and men.

The Top 100 Awards, which will be open to nominations until May 19, is presented to women in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors.

There are several categories where women are able to be recognized, such as: excelling in business, the public sector, within professional associations, the arts and communications arena, entrepreneurship, as well as future leaders and “trailblazers.”

“The purpose of Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Awards is to both celebrate women leaders and inspire others by recognizing the accomplishments of these winners, creating a network of

support for them and increasing their visibility so that the next generation can see real examples of what’s possible to achieve,” read a statement Women’s Executive Network released to The Cord.

“These awards help to highlight champions within their communities, women who are already doing incredible things in their industries but don’t always receive the recognition they deserve. It’s a way of supporting their hard work and vision, while putting them in the spotlight to become role models for others in their field.”

Past recipients of the award include Margaret Atwood, Roberta Bondar, Arelene Dickinson, Christine Magee, Michaelle Jean, Heather Reisman and Kathleen Taylor.

As well as the award, Women’s Executive Network also announced a scholarship that will be available this year. The scholarship is titled Women’s Executive Network Strength in Diversity Award for New Canadian.

Women’s Executive Network is partnering with Wilfrid Laurier University to assist those pursuing

their post-secondary studies. The scholarship is designed for new arrivals to Canada and will provide $25,000 in awards over five years.

“The city of Waterloo is a growing and [an] innovative place to be right now, attracting many female leaders to its strong economy, including new Canadians. We wanted to partner with Wilfrid Laurier University and create a scholarship/award there for many reasons. The school has long been an integral part of Waterloo with a strong sense of community, and has a reputation for diversity and inclusion, academic excellence and giving back to the community,” the statement read.

“The [Women’s Executive Network] Foundation is critical to the ongoing success of the organization and its mandate to empower young women across the country to pursue their education and advance towards executive roles. This new scholarship is an exciting and important step in advancing that goal to all Canadians,” Sherri Stevens, CEO of Women’s Executive Foundation, said in a press release.

FANI HSIEH/GRAPHICS EDITOR

NEWS • 7

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15, 2017 STUDENT LIFE

Laurier makes first appearance in moot court WLU’s Pre-Law Society attends the Osgoode Cup National Mooting Competition in Toronto.

JAKE WATTS CORD NEWS

A group of Wilfrid Laurier University students assembled by the Laurier Pre-Law Society recently competed in teams of two at The Osgoode Cup National Mooting Competition.

This marked Laurier’s first-ever appearance at the competition and allowed a group of students to both compete on behalf of their school and gain experience in the legal field.

The competition took place at Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto on March 4.

Teams that did well enough moved onto the following day’s competition and vied for a top spot in a field that included students from many colleges and universities in the surrounding region, including students from McGill University, Carleton University and Humber College.

Among those top teams were Laurier’s own Puneet Aujla and Jaaron Pullenayegem who managed to finish within the round of 16.

“Those two put in so much hard work, it is absolutely unbelievable. They have also been to other competitions ... that’s where they have a lot of experience from. I

CONTRIBUTED IMAGE

think that they did much better than anyone thought that they would,” said Aqsa Naveed, director of content and vice-president of internal affairs at the Laurier Pre-Law Society. The moot court competition brought a team of two people in the appellant position against a team of two people in the respondent position.

Each team was given a few minutes to present their side of the given case to a panel of judges, who then decided which team won the round.

This process unfolded in an elimination-style tournament until

a final winner was determined.

“Mock trial is more with a jury or witnesses and is more about cross-examination,” Naveed explained.

“Whereas moot court is just you have seven minutes to explain to the judge why your appeal should be heard or whether it should be dismissed instead.”

“So the basic rules of the competition is, essentially the appellant goes first, always, and the respondent goes after,” said Emily Rezkalla, a fourth-year political science student and vice-president of external relations at the Laurier

Pre-Law Society.

“Essentially, all our teams have to prepare for both sides. You don’t know whether or not you are going to be the appellant or the respondent until right before the round.”

“It’s very formal. You address the judges as justices, you have to submit your arguments, it’s all about the formality and the composure and advocacy all in one,” Rezkalla explained.

For many students interested in going to law school, mooting competitions like the one at Osgoode provide an opportunity to get a taste of what they can expect

should they decide to enroll.

“It’s actually a part of the curriculum in law school and a lot of undergraduate schools don’t have moot court, and to have that experience and to actually place is just such a great way to brand yourself to a school and show that you took one step ahead to get that experience beforehand,” said Rezkalla.

Given that it was the first time students from Laurier had assembled a moot court team, many of those involved didn’t know what to expect.

“It was way more of a learning experience than I thought it would be. I didn’t think that [the judges] were going to give us feedback after every single round,” Rezkalla said.

“I think it was just such a great growing experience when it comes to public speaking.”

After their recent showing at Osgoode, Naveed and Rezkalla were excited at the prospect of assembling students from Laurier to attend future mooting competitions as well as competitions throughout Canada.

“We’re going to more than just Osgoode. This year it was just that one competition. Next year we’re looking to go to [competitions at] McGill and the University of Toronto, as well,” Naveed said.

HISTORY

A Victorian peep-show offered at Wilfrid Laurier

The Peep-show is located on the first floor of the library NATHALIE BOUCHARD LEAD REPORTER

Amy Milne-Smith, a history professor at Wilfrid Laurier University, has created an innovative project using marshmallow Peeps in order to depict 19th century Victorian scandals.

“The Peeps are just a way to engage with the historical material without having to have artistic ability,” Milne-Smith said.

“I didn’t want them to waste time — making elaborate art displays — I’m more interested in them doing research about their topics.”

“The marshmallow Peeps are cheap and they’re silly,” MilneSmith said.

“It’s a third-year history course called Crime, Sex and Scandal in Victorian England.”

“It’s a course that’s open to third-year [history] majors and non-majors, which is another benefit of doing a non-traditional assignment, because doing a research essay with no preparation might be daunting. I’ve always had the project and the course always does fill, the project is often not an attraction but is put off when they

first hear about it because it’s more than anticipated because there is art involved,” Milne-Smith said.

The Peeps are just a way to engage with the historical material without having to have artistic ability -Amy Milne-Smith, history professor

The Peep-show is just one part of a multi-stage assignment. Over the years, an interactive online portion of the assignment was using a blog post, an addition that made the project more dynamic and interactive.

“Over the course of the year [students] work on the same project, which is investigating one crime and scandalous event,” she said. “[The students] start by writing a blog post and they post on a website where you learn how to

sum up a case briefly and in an engaging way.” “[Students] also learned with this portion of the assignment with working with WordPress, blogs and present their research online which is a really useful skill going forward for our grads.”

There is no prerequisite for taking the course. Milne-Smith has had students from various disciplines participate. It is designed for individuals who want to learn the content.

“I know this past year I have had students from history which you would expect and English and [communication studies] students,” she said.

“I do design [the course] to make [it accessible] to anyone who is interested in learning about the Victorians and their rather strange ways,” Milne-Smith said.

The course itself has ultimately opened the eyes of those who took the course. In the Victorian era, they had their own version of a celebrity press which depicted various scandalous events happening in that era. “[Students] get an insight into what makes the Victorian era unique and not so boring.”

EMI ZIBAEI/LEAD PHOTOGRAPHER

Amy Milne-Smith is the creator of the scandal focused marshmallow show.

8 •

Arts & Life

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15, 2017 ARTS & LIFE EDITOR MANJOT BHULLAR arts@thecord.ca

EMPLOYMENT

Interviewing tips for new job seekers

“What do you like about working here?”

This is a really good way to see if your potential employer is happy at their job. Working for someone who hates where they work is never fun and can create a toxic working environment. If they struggle to answer this one, that may be a red flag. Also, if their answer is personally motivated, like “there

are a lot of women in leadership positions here” vs. motivated by business such as “we make sales targets every year,” that could be telling as to what the goals of the company are.

“Does this company ensure that women and those of visible minorities are given equal opportunities?”

If this is important to you, ask!

For me, the idea of working for a company that does not support equal opportunities for everyone isn’t ideal. I believe that workplaces should be held accountable for their hiring practices and if you do identify as female or as a visible minority, chances are you want to work somewhere that will allow you to succeed and advance.

“How high is turnover?”

When I’m in an interview, I like to hear about the employees that have been working there for 10+ years because that usually means that the employees are happy and are getting paid fairly, with the assumption that they are getting raises. If the average employee only stays for two years, then something fishy is going on.

“Do you support free pizza Fridays?”

Okay, so maybe don’t ask this one, but it was worth a shot.

Don’t let the promise of Dean’s Honours fade because of one New Venture member who’d rather hit up Phil’s than do their part.

You’ll have more of a regret looking at your grades than you would taking 30 seconds of courage to tell your group members to smarten

up.

Despite how long it feels, the semester is only 12 weeks and you’re not going to be stuck with these people forever.

Power through and make the best of your situation, but don’t let shitty things happen to you either.

BETHANY BOWLES EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

As the summer months approach, many students are scheduling job interview after job interview, in hopes of finding either summer or post-graduate employment.

As much as we are trained in high school and even university to sell ourselves in job interviews, there are times when we are faceto-face with a future employer and we just draw a blank.

Coming from someone who currently has 19 students working for her, I have seen some great interviews and some not so great interviews.

The most common flop that I see students make is at the very end of the interview, when the potential employer asks, “so, do you have any questions for me?” and the applicant replies with, “nope, I don’t think so.”

When you’re in a job interview, remember that it’s your job to interview them just as much as they are interviewing you.

VICTORIA PANACCI/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

You don’t want to accept a position and find out later that it wasn’t a good fit.

How your potential employer answers your own questions can be really telling of the environment they foster.

So how should you turn the tables when asked, “do you have any questions for me?”

“What kind of traits are you

looking for in an employee, both professionally and personally?”

This is a really good one that can show how hard your potential employer will push you or if they leave any room for fun or personal connections in the work place.

Listen to their answer and see if you fit — or if their idea of an ideal employee fits the kind of employee you want to be.

COLLABORATION

Are two brains really better than one?

MADELINE MCINNIS OPINION EDITOR

By far, the two scariest words in the English language are “group project.”

The excuse I was always given in high school for making these collaborative nightmares mandatory was that it would give us preparation for the “real world” of employment, where we’d have to work with other people to reach a collective goal.

That’s pretty difficult to see when you’re stuck with a bunch of unreliable people who don’t care what happens either way at the end of this “goal.”

I’d like to hope that this changes when we get to graduate programs and the world of employment, but at least through my undergraduate career, I’ve been forced to work with some entirely questionable people.

So what happens then? You’re stuck with them for at least a por-

tion of your mark, so you have to make it count somehow.

I find one of the easiest ways to work with the people you don’t get along with is to divide responsibilities from the get-go.

If everyone knows what they’re supposed to be doing, there should be less interaction between all parties.

If you’re the bossy, controlling type like me, another thing that can work is to hover. Send excessive messages to make sure that things are coming along well and people are actually doing their work.

The more you stay in contact, the less feasible an “I forgot” excuse is going to be.

If you’re placed in a group with someone you already have issues with, professors are usually willing to accommodate as long as you let them know right away and have some kind of valid qualm.

Again, as several articles in the past have stressed, professors are not your enemies. They should not be intimidating and you shouldn’t be afraid to approach them with your concerns.

They’ve been hired for a reason and you should always take advantage of the services that they

provide.

Despite all the proactive gestures, sometimes (and oftentimes), the work ends up falling on one person anyway.

In that case, don’t be afraid to let the professor, or whoever is grading, know who actually did the work on the project.

At the end of the day, these people don’t have to be your friends.

They’re your partners. and if we’re to be treating this like preparation to the world of employment we should do exactly that.

If you didn’t do the work for a job, you wouldn’t get paid. If you’re not going to do the work in a class group project, you shouldn’t get the credit.

That’s certainly not going to make you any friends, but I wouldn’t want to be friends with someone who’s unmotivated and manipulative anyway.

If they’re not going to put in the work to get the grades, they’re likely not going to put in the effort to have a proper friendship either.

Be unapologetically bossy.

It just means that you’re trying to seize control of your own situation and there is nothing wrong with that.

QIAO LIU/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

ARTS & LIFE • 9

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15, 2017 HYGIENE

A clean slate for Spring proper place, while special event tidying is a major life changing event. If you try to declutter a little every day you will be decluttering forever, so before you even start, you need to make a dedication to changing your living space.

LIZ ZMIJAK STAFF WRITER

Students have an incredibly hard time staying organized and managing their belongings, from free pens given out in the concourse, to water bottles from O-Week and ticket stubs from 12 Barz; students are the ultimate hoarders.

With every year it seems like more “stuff ” is accumulated and less stuff is discarded. Although decluttering may seem like a daunting task, clearing your living space can lead to mental clarity and peace of mind. If you’re struggling to declutter your life, here are a few tips and tricks to make your spring cleaning a success.

Make decluttering an event; Don’t do it every day!

There are two types of cleaning: “every day tidying” and “special event tidying.” Every day tidying is simply putting things in their

Discard miscellaneous items We all have those random items laying around in the back of our drawers or at the bottom of our bags. Get rid of them all! These items can include: Kinder egg toys, receipts, unused pens, lanyards, makeup samples, unidentified cords, broken objects, magazines, books we’ve never read and any novelty items like promotional calendars, post-it notes from your best friend’s dad’s work and those stupid cell phone screen cleaners.

If you don’t use it, toss it.

Only keep what brings you joy A great rule of thumb to use when deciding what to discard is to ask yourself, “if your house were on fire would you grab this item/would you be sad to lose it?”

When you hold the item, does it make you happy? And be honest with yourself. You can’t honestly

say that starring at a pile of unread books, a pile or random paper or a sock with a hole in it brings you joy and stirs your heart. Only keep the things that speak to you.

Don’t forget to declutter your schedule and digital life People often don’t realize a cluttered calendar and digital life not only slow your devices down but are a source of stress as well.

Reconsider your schedule and try to reduce your commitments; whether civic, religious, friends or hobbies, make sure all the things you are committed to really bring you joy and are of value.

Reconsider your schedule and create a routine. Instead of doing a little laundry several times a week, do it all at once. A life without structure is a life of chaos.

Don’t forget to organize your digital life, this includes decluttering your desktop from random saved images and documents.

Organize using folders and delete what you don’t need anymore.

Don’t be that person with 11 tabs open in their browser. Next, tack your email. Delete useless emails and unsubscribe to all the sites

QIAO LIU/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

you don’t actually need otherwise you’ll be spending more time deleting emails than reading. Say no to notifications on your phone and delete everyone from your social media who are not of value

or bring you joy.

Spring cleaning is a good opportunity to throw out the physical trash you accumulate in your life, but it’s also a good time to let go of that emotional trash, too.

Your input matters!

Come out and join the conversation on how we can decide on a short list of alternatives for the future of managing biosolids in the Region

For more information visit regionofwaterloo.ca/biosolids

The Future of Biosolids in Waterloo Region

Three Exciting Events – Three Great Opportunities to Participate!

March 23, Cambridge City Hall Open House: 6PM 6PM-9PM 9PM David Waltner-Toews Talk: 7PM

GUEST SPEAKER

David Waltner-Toews

March 28, Waterloo Region Museum Open House: 6PM-9PM

Open House

April 12, Waterloo Memorial Rec Complex Open House: 6PM-9PM Water Brothers Talk: 7PM

GUEST SPEAKERS

Award-Winning Author of ‘The Origin of Feces’

Meet Our Team & Get Free Admission to

The Water Brothers

Tyrannosaurs: Meet the Family

Award-Winning Documentary Film Makers and Hosts of the Popular Eco-Adventure Series on TVO

Attend for a chance to win a copy of ‘The Origin of Feces’!

Attend for a chance to win a Rain Barrel!

Attend for a chance to win TVO’s ‘The Water Brothers’ on DVD!

10 •

ARTS & LIFE

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15, 2017

RESTAURANT

TRISTAN RENAUD/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Self-proclaimed royalty KARLIS WILDE STAFF WRITER

It wasn’t long ago that shawarma barely existed in the public consciousness — it was a rarity, divergent from the fast-food culinary staples of Subway and McDonalds.

In the 2012 film The Avengers, a protagonist humorously admitted he had no idea what shawarma was — a then fairly common con-

ception that set up for an amusing final scene of superheroes silently snacking on pitas.

Including local favourite Mozy’s, Lazeez and Shawerma Plus, the community around Wilfrid Laurier University is now stocked with more shawarma options than Starbucks or Tim Hortons.

But that hardly seemed a deterrent to restaurateur Mohammed Roumia, who recently opened the

latest local hotspot for the classic Middle-Eastern dish. His endeavour, Shawarma Royale, is located in the plaza at 258 King St N. “I was doing some volunteering work for the new [Syrian] refugees at the Howard Johnson [Hotel],” said Roumia. “And I met a couple chefs there. They were ambitious people — they didn’t want to sit and collect money from the government.”

Roumia explained that these chefs needed the financial assistance to start up the restaurant and he was eager to partner with them.

“And I [filled that role] and it worked. And these guys are really, really good. They make amazing food.”

While an ethical basis for opening a restaurant is an excellent thing, social endeavours rarely constitute a viable business model.

Luckily, Roumia felt totally confident in the recipe his chefs have brought to the business. “[This recipe] is the original way — it’s the way we prepared it back home,” he said.

He espoused absolute confidence in the new, small space that added quality to the authenticity.

“Our chicken is grade A. The preparation is different,” he said.

“The taste is different.”

Despite practical concerns, Roumia appears to be totally sure of the restaurant. The menu boasts royale chicken, falafel and lamb on Fridays and Sundays.

They also offer pieces of broasted chicken, a pressure cooked style of fried chicken, served with fries or salad.

With a uniquely Syrian take on the dish, directly transposed from Damascus origins, Royale’s wraps are served on pita or marouk bread with traditional toppings like tahini

and pickles.

Roumia believes that the authenticity of the restaurant, coupled with the high quality of the food, is more than enough to set his restaurant apart.

The shawarma places around me are not really shawarma places ... I truly have no competition in the area.

-Mohammed Roumia, owner of Shawarma Royale

He believes that Shawarma Royale truly performs a necessary role as the only authentic shawarma in the area — and that that should be enough to lure in the student crowd looking for something a bit different.

“The shawarma places around me are not really shawarma places,” he said. “They’re like, quote “shawarma wannabes.””

“We keep it real, we keep it original … I truly have no competition in the area.”

LATE NIGHT BITES

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Moving away from home for university can be exciting, however there seems to always be something missing — whether that be familiar faces, or familiar foods.

Such is the exact motivation behind the creation of The Roll Joint – a new, student run restaurant that operates on Friday and Saturday nights from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m.

“It was last summer, all of us get hungry at night and look for food, but don’t want to go out and even if you do, there aren’t many places open,” said Natun Dasgupta, co-founder of The Roll Joint.

After completing his undergrad at the University of Waterloo, Dasgupta, along with several other friends decided to fill the void of Indian street food felt by many students and the surrounding community.

“Getting a location was really hard, that was one of the main challenges in the beginning,” said Dasgupta. Now set up at 70 Dumart Place in Kitchener, The Roll Joint rents out a kitchen from a Caribbean bakery which only operates during the day.

A roll consists of a dough bread base with an egg cracked on top, topped off with either tofu or chicken and vegetables. Another customer favourite is their masala fries which are flavoured with their own concoction of traditional Indian spices.

The restaurant, in its first year of operation, has already been expanding its food options, having recently introduced a paneer roll for vegetarian customers. This past winter it was unfortunate — the restaurant wasn’t able to satiate the palettes of many students as weather conditions prohibited their delivery men from being on the roads.

“Since we only operate two days a week, we don’t want to waste any food. We’d rather sell less than waste food [sic]. We get enough [ingredients] for the day, but most days we have so many orders that we sell 130 rolls by 1:00,” said Dasgupta.

Having started with the minimum investment required, the founders wanted to gauge the response from the community before considering expanding their operations. Its success has prompted the restaurant to look into the possibility of operating a food truck in the summer months.

The contributing factor to their success is perhaps attributed to their delivery option, which is free for an order of just two rolls, in contrast to the large order minimums required by other restaurants.

This isn’t, however, the end of the road for The Roll Joint. The restaurant hopes to gain a larger footing within the community and in the future, would like to see the business operate out of its own building.

GAMES • 11

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15, 2017 WORD SEARCH

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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.

Dear Life, I always told myself “make every year your favourite” but I kinda liked being 19.

Sincerely, Twenty Dear Shyenne, You are so strong and you inspire me. I hope you are as happy as you deserve to be!

Sincerely, Positive vibes Dear Manjot, Your positivity and great attitude are infectious. I hope your week gets better and everything works out in your favour!

Sincerely, Positive vibes To the guy who commented on the Fallon article, “The Cord likes to post opinions as facts.” Commented on an opinion

article. Wow. Heathens. How dare you write opinions in the opinion section. Change it to the facts section. This is fake news.

Sincerely, Thanks for the laugh Dear Life, Eating things you know will make you sick because it tastes good.

Sincerely, Crummy, but yummy Dear Life, As a Laurier Alumni, I didn’t get the memo that you needed to be a first-year student or an environmentalist to order take-out food from Wilfs or be taxed $0.50/ takeout meal because you don’t own an eco-container. I learned that lesson this past weekend at Laurier’s March break Open House. From what I’ve researched all first-year students in residence get a free eco-container and are also tax exempt (full 13% HST) on all purchases at the dining hall, the Terrace and any other business that sells prepared food on campus including Wilfs if they purchase it using their Meal Plan Flex Dollars or through the Value Plan option with their OneCard — so effectively they are already receiving a discount by avoiding taxes. However, what about the students not in first-year, Laurier Alumni, Laurier employees, Grad students and visitors to the campus — we are all stuck with the bill for Laurier’s

inequitable environmental policy which is just another cash grab. A cash grab that is not ethically and openly advertised amongst the university’s businesses, I might add. How about just applying this Green fee or enforcing this socialist system to the students paying for meals with their OneCard who were already given a free eco-container and don’t pay their fare share of taxes to the CRA. Municipal Governments throughout Canada gave up on enforcing $0.05 plastic bag fees because the public knew it was a cash grab and not effective environmental policy.

Some major retailers to this day continue the practice because charging $0.05/bag is very profitable. Environmentalism fails when the private sector takes advantage of government policy to further pad their pockets at the public’s expense.

Sincerely, The BS Detective Dear Life, Thanks for the great article on pollinators and I applaud Laurier’s belated efforts to help them ... however aren’t these the same folks (Sustainability Office) that ripped up the best stand of butterfly bushes (beside Veritas) I have ever seen, that were always full off bees and butterflies, to plant some sad looking lettuce and basil last year to supply ‘fresh produce’ to the restaurant?

ARE YOU FOLLOWING US ON TWITTER? WHY NOT? @cordnews @cordsports @cordarts Whose brilliant idea was that?

Doing some back pedaling now, are we?

Sincerely, One step forward and two steps back Dear Fellow Students, If you live outside of residence,

your building can’t make you register guests, or limit how many people you have over (beyond reason.) If your building is feeling like res, look at your lease, it’s probably illegal.

Sincerely, Know your rights

12 •

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15, 2017

Editorial

OPINION EDITOR MADELINE MCINNIS opinion@thecord.ca

Thrill found in escape rooms is similar to horror movies movie in real life.

We like escape rooms for the same reason that we like horror, thriller or sci-fi films.

They seem so unlikely and we are fascinated by how we would react in high-stress situations, without actually putting ourselves in real-life high-stress situations.

We enjoy the ability to be in danger in a completely controlled and safe environment. We know we can get out and we can have help, but we still have the thrill of the scenario. It’s also a test of wit.

The point is to come together as a team in a constructive space.

But, without enough information before going in, escape rooms can be really scary for people who have had real experiences without being able to get free.

It can be fun to have the storyline, but it needs to be clear what we’re getting into.

With abduction and home invasions being the harsh reality for too many people, why do we enjoy emulating that in escape rooms?

As the rooms are getting more and more popular, we have to ask ourselves why it’s entertaining to trap ourselves in a room with a clock ticking down, while we scramble to find a way out.

Horror escape rooms have also been popular. Like the common haunted house, escape rooms are putting this idea to the next level by incorporating horror and the mystery of cracking a code to set yourself free.

Escape rooms are beginning to be categorized like movies. Themes can vary from horror, fantasy, spy or otherwise.

The common theme, however, is that to the average person, they appear to be far from reality.

Escape rooms are like a horror

Ghosting Snapchat: the stress of real time social media Snapchat is a constant game of staying on top of what everyone in your life is doing.

Consent is also a huge factor with Snapchat.

Because it only lasts up to ten seconds, it’s seen as funny to send unflattering and hurtful photos.

The rules of photo consent don’t seem to apply.

It can be funny when everyone is in on the joke, but it can get unhealthy very quickly.

Just look to Dani Mathers, the Playboy model who snapped a naked elderly woman last July.

These fleeting images can cause huge damage when used improperly — and who knows where they actually go after they “disappear.”

We all have a love-hate relationship with Snapchat, but it’s always important to use it in a safe and healthy way.

If it’s getting to you, don’t be afraid to give it the ghost.

You know that feeling of hearing about all of your friends having fun at a party that you weren’t invited to?

In real time, we call that feeling Snapchat.

The popular app Snapchat has become a psychological game.

We’ll post photos to our stories with the intention for a specific person to see it, then obsess over if they have. Then, we have to outdo other people’s stories.

If we’re feeling shitty about ourselves after watching our friends out partying, we try to counteract it with something great in our lives as well, whether we feel it or not.

Though this is true of every social media, it seems especially prevalent in Snapchat.

Maybe it’s the promise of reality that comes from live photos and video. Maybe it’s the time sensitivity of being able to reply.

No matter what, it seems that

These unsigned editorials are based off informal discussions and then agreed upon by the majority of The Cord’s editorial board, including the Editor-in-Chief and Opinion Editor. The arguments made may reference any facts that have been made available through interviews, documents or other sources. The views presented do not necessarily reflect those of The Cord’s volunteers, staff or WLUSP.

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

WLUSP ADMINISTRATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS

DIRECTOR Matt Burley

CHAIR Meghan Roach

TREASURER John Pehar

VICE-CHAIR Abdiasis Issa DIRECTOR Maddy Cutts DIRECTOR Mynt Marsellus

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

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

FANI HSIEH/GRAPHICS EDITOR

Different ways to learn MITCHELL CONSKY FEATURES EDITOR

According to American journalist Megan McArdle in her book The Up Side of Down, there are two types of learners: growth learners and fixed learners.

Quite simply, a growth learner is someone that accepts difficulty and prospers despite failure.

A fixed learner has been conditioned to believe that knowledge is set, that you are either capable or incapable, gifted or cursed, in the face of challenges.

Both rely on chosen mindsets and it is possible for learners to migrate to different categories circumstantially.

For instance, I always used to consider myself technologically illiterate.

When it came to navigating through standard computer software, I constantly preferred sticking to the usual, ‘fixed’ excuse: computers and I don’t get along.

Sometimes I went as far as believing that there was some pre-existing curse between me and tech — a reason why I once accidentally deleted the The Cord’s Dropbox account containing a week’s content.

I allowed myself to fall into an inflexible mindset, obscuring the

potential of learning and leaving me completely incompetent with standard computer tools. That all changed when I started taking the advanced video editing course this semester.

At this point, my passion for videography outweighed my fear of failure. My desire to gain the usable skills to supplement my writing kept me fighting through every technical frustration — and believe me, there were a lot.

Learning to conduct node compositions and navigating a virtual camera through a 3D virtualized space on a special effects software known as Blackmagic: Fusion 8, is something I’d never think possible for me.

Eventually, I realized that once I push through the ridicule of failure, once I ignore the countless hours of what seems to be a stagnant waste of time, once I turn off the fixed ideals of this being out of my element, things start to click.

Apparently, no matter the challenge, our brains are capable of learning. Fixed learners could become growth learners with the right dose of determination. It just might require a little more work.

If someone says from an early age “I’m terrible at math,” that person won’t be a mathematical physicist anytime soon.

But if someone accepts the possibility of improvement, development suddenly becomes possible; growth becomes granted.

McArdle also went on to explain a concept dubbed “self-handicap-

ping” while learning. This defines those who assume failure because of a fixed mindset and therefore set themselves up for disaster in order to attribute their lack of success to something else besides their ability.

Self-handicapping is the easy solution for escaping fears that fixed learners are taunted by: the possibility that they don’t have what it takes.

Students are so afraid of not being as smart as they believe they can be, that they’d rather set themselves up for failure than admit they aren’t innately brilliant.

If they do end up passing the upcoming exam, they could always say they would’ve done better had they just studied more.

It’s a defence mechanism that keeps their views of themselves in check and avoids the threat of failure in their innate abilities.

University students are conditioned to see learning in different ways. Our grading system represents our performance. But our failures don’t need to prohibit our progression.

When it comes to acquiring knowledge, accepting that the possibilities are endless, that our minds are not limited by capability, that nothing needs to be out of bounds, will bring us to new heights of achievement, removing the blindfolds that keep us cozily on our asses.

Accepting that we can fail, that we must fail, is essential for unlocking our potential.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15, 2017

• 13

Opinion Lawmaker’s remarks dismissing women OPINION EDITOR MADELINE MCINNIS opinion@thecord.ca

Polish EU politician’s comments about females are unfounded, untrue and downright disgusting

ADINA TURKONJE OPINION COLUMNIST

Just days away from International Women’s Day, Polish EU Lawmaker Janusz Korwin-Mikke, stood up in the EU parliament to voice his opinions on the wage gap between men and women.

He told legislature, “Of course women must earn less than men because they are weaker, they are smaller, they are less intelligent; they must earn less, that’s all.”

His sentence echoed, the seriousness in his voice was too authoritative and he had a smirk on his face.

It seemed he thought he had accomplished so much more in one statement than women had in years.

His argument is a slap in the face to women who have helped the world advance more than this man could ever imagine.

Has he forgot about Marie Curie, a Polish-born French chemist and physicist?

She’s a woman who developed the theory of radioactivity, discovered polonium and radium, founded techniques for isolating radioactive isotopes and using them in the treatment of neoplasms.

The list of influential women is much longer than I can write. These women are a small handful of the women who have contributed to the world.

DIANE TAYLOR/CORD PHOTOGRAPHY

She developed mobile radiography units to supply x-ray services to field hospitals.

Outside of Europe, black women who worked for NASA were called “human computers.”

Mary Jackson was the first black female engineer in NASA in 1958.

She was instrumental to NASA’s greater visibility. Jackson worked alongside men in several NASA di-

visions such as the subsonic-transonic aerodynamics division, the compressibility research division, full-scale research division and the high-speed aerodynamics division.

Katherine Johnson, another black American woman, advanced the United States further into their journey into space with her perfect calculations.

She played an important role in the success of the Apollo moon landing program.

Dorothy Vaughan was the first

CONTRIBUTED IMAGE

Advocate unjustly behind bars Sentenced for activism, Leopoldo Lopez needs recognition

ANTHONY ZAMBITO OPINION COLUMNIST

One day after U.S. President Donald Trump called for his release, The Venezuelan Supreme Court decided to uphold Leopoldo Lopez’s fourteen-year prison sentence.

For those of you who have never heard of him, Leopoldo Lopez is currently being held in a Caracas jail for crimes that he didn’t commit.

As a founding member of

Venezuela’s strongest opposition party, the father of two continues to be a vocal advocate against the totalitarian nature of the ruling Chavistas.

He first made his way onto the political scene in 1992 when he cofounded the Justice First civil association. At the time, activists like Lopez were concerned with the blatant deterioration of Venezuela’s judicial system under the rule of then-president Carlos Andres Perez.

For those who are not aware, Perez ordered the Venezuelan military to shoot at crowds of protestors in 1989 as a means of purging his opposition.

His actions resulted in the deaths of an estimated 2,000 peo-

ple and was the inspiration for two violent, yet unsuccessful, coups led

by Colonel Hugo Chavez and his indoctrinated supporters.

Lopez’s first political victory came in the year 2000 when he was elected mayor of Chacao, a municipal district located inside the capital city of Caracas. He spent his first term investing in public infrastructure, opening sporting facilities and building schools.

In addition to this, he would continue to be an avid critic of the Venezuelan government, now under control of Hugo Chavez.

His efforts came at the dismay of the Chavez administration, who barred Lopez from retaining political office in 2006, following the end of his second term as mayor.

black woman to supervise a staff for NASA at the Langley Research Center in Virginia.

In that staff, she was directly supervising men.

These women made incredible advancements for the NASA team in the United States, while working alongside other men with the same positions.

And there are, of course, women who have made significant impact on the lives of today. Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani activist for

The Chavez regime cited allegations of corruption and nepotism on the part of Leopoldo Lopez, but a ruling from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights determined these charges to be completely fabricated.

Lopez then decided to launch a presidential bid in 2011, even though the Chavez administration refused to accept the international court’s ruling.

Though he would eventually back out of the next presidential race in 2012 to support his political ally, Henrique Capriles, Lopez was now one of Venezuela’s most popular politicians and continued working tirelessly to build support for Venezuela’s opposition movement.

His advocacy efforts would climax in 2014, when a series of protests and political demonstrations began in response to the country’s high levels of urban violence, inflation and chronic shortages of basic goods.

Lopez used this as an opportunity to call on citizens to peacefully protest the late Chavez’s presidential successor, Nicolas Maduro.

The Maduro administration responded by violently suppressing the protests, illegally arresting protestors and encouraging his own followers to torture participants.

These efforts did little to deter the protestors, so Maduro decided to issue a warrant for Lopez’s arrest. The vague charges included conspiracy and terrorism.

It was at this moment when Leopoldo Lopez revealed to the world

female education.

Many know her for receiving the Nobel Prize. Yes, Korwin-Mikke, there is a female that is intelligent and brave enough to stand up for what she believes in.

We also can’t forget Iratxe Garcia Perez , the member of European parliament for Spain, who stood up for herself after Korwin-Mikke voiced his opinions.

Her final words came before she sat back down, “Now I think I need to defend European women from people like you.”

It seems like EU parliament agrees. As of Tuesday afternoon, Korwin-Mikke was suspended from his position due to the comments he made about women.

The list of influential women is much longer than I can write.

These women are a small handful of the many women who have contributed to the world. The strong female is in every female.

All women have potential in this world to strive beyond social criticism, to pick up boulders placed in their path and to inspire, whether it is another woman or a man.

You women are strong, intelligent — beyond small.

Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

his love for his home country. The inspirational leader refused to flee and decided to turn himself in with thousands of protestors at his side.

Lopez was tried and convicted in a judicial process that many people claim to be a farce.

He is said to be living in inhumane conditions and has since been barred access to his lawyers and his family. It was only in the last week he was able to see his wife at all.

He is said to be living in inhumane conditions and has since been barred access to his lawyers and his family. It was only in the last week he was able to see his wife at all.

Lopez’s safety can’t be guaranteed under these conditions. His wife, Lilian Tintori, continues to advocate for his release, but the Maduro administration refuses to take her seriously.

Lopez sought to enlighten the international community to the atrocities being committed in Venezuela. Now more than ever, the international community needs to come together to recognize Leopoldo for the hero that he is.

14 • OPINION

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15, 2017

Making the Fool of LGBTQ+ Beauty and the Beast’s representation of LeFou is poor

BRITTANY TENHAGE OPINION COLUMNIST

Disney recently announced that its newest release, Beauty and the Beast, is going to feature a gay subplot.

Scrolling through my Facebook feed, I saw cries of “Why?” and “I’m boycotting this movie!” from the conservative community, but, I also saw an outcry from the LGBTQ+ community.

You see, LeFou translates to “The Fool.” This gay character is literally “The Fool” of the movie.

LeFou is also going to be the only gay character — his love interest, Gaston, will not be. This means that we will not be getting a healthy, same-sex relationship on screen.

Not only is it unhealthy that LeFou’s love is unrequited, as Gaston is straight, Gaston is also an extremely toxic person.

It’s an extremely unhealthy representation of a gay person.

The film had an opportunity to portray a healthy same-sex relationship, but, from what has been released, they will not be expanding on his feelings past Gaston.

This is not friendly represen-

tation; it’s representation, but it doesn’t count for much.

Being gay is being equated with stupidity, however subtly. This is not as progressive as Disney thinks.

Disney is making a move to represent and include a marginalized community, but a move this big requires more forethought to the reaction from the community.

In order to represent a community properly, it must be consulted and considered. To represent them as a single character in a movie isn’t enough.

In order to represent a community properly, it must be consulted and considered. To represent them as a single character in a movie isn’t enough.

There are so many white, straight princes and princesses in Disney movies.

Belle is intelligent, white and straight. Gaston is kind of stupid, white and straight. The Beast is intelligent, white and straight.

Most of the Disney princesses, in other films, are white and straight.

Even people of colour represented in Disney films are straight.

Disney films tend to do a good job when they decide to represent minority communities; consider Mulan, Aladdin, Princess and the Frog and Moana.

They are all beautiful representations of cultures outside of white heteronormativity and the animators are actively trying to properly represent the cultures they’re portraying.

Even when they do a movie with no relationship at all, they do a good job.

Moana had no representation of any relationship and there is no mention in the story of her getting married or having romantic interest.

It isn’t an argument on Disney being good at the representations they show. When they try, they’re normally quite good at it.

That’s why this failing attempt is so shocking — it’s like they’re not even properly trying.

It’s an offensive and poor attempt at representing the LGBTQ+ community and we can only hope that their next attempt won’t fall flat like this.

Straight people get their Disney happy endings, so why is the LGBTQ+ community stuck with a questioning lone man in a relatively small role?

SIMRAN DHALIWAL/GRAPHIC ARTIST

Family is not a requirement for a healthy life The phrase “blood is thicker than water” doesn’t hold its weight; letting go can put you at ease

EMILY WAITSON STAFF WRITER

There’s a commonly used phrase that always irks me whenever I hear it: “blood is thicker than water.”

It’s thrown around in movies and on TV shows as a humbling way to teach values about familial bonds.

In real life, it’s often utilized as a backhanded form of misplaced guilt.

Proverbs like this tend to be bullshit anyway, but the actual meaning behind it has been completely blurred into something entirely different than its original intent.

This philosophical nugget of false wisdom that’s been flaunted as a bad tattoo on the hairy back of one too many means the exact opposite of what most people assume.

It doesn’t take much internet digging to discover that the original words of this phrase were actually “the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb.”

Referring to literal blood spilled by soldiers on battlefields and the blood mixed through “blood cov-

MARCO PEDRI/LEAD PHOTOGRAPHER

enants,” these words make more sense when read the way they were intended.

This hard core, ViggoMortensen-actually-breaking-histoe-in-a-Lord-of-the-Rings-scene stuff basically implies the reverse of what we’ve come to accept the definition to be: that friendships are stronger than family.

Family is portrayed to be the glimmering beacon of light that

will be at the end of every tunnel waiting for you, regardless of how they treat you.

I personally recognize the privilege I have as someone who is very close to my own family. Our relationships have been built on a foundation of trust, respect and love that has always been present.

However, I have been the direct witness of familial bonds that are entirely unlike my own; that aren’t

so much like The Waltons but more reminiscent of the unsettling dynamics demonstrated by the destructive parents on Riverdale.

Friends and close loved ones have been my eye-opener into lives that are continually made more miserable because of the seemingly inescapable genepool they share with the people directly responsible for the turmoil they’re forced to endure.

We’re led to believe that we have to accept all levels of treatment, from kind of shitty to really bad, if it involves family.

As we get older, we tend to forget that we have the option, the free will and the right to cut ties with the people who treat us poorly, even if they’re related to us.

Someone I care deeply about has gone through the process of realizing the kindness they truly deserve as a person and that they had never gotten it at home.

They’ve pulled away from their biological family, despite the guilt that’s been issued against them because of it, with the knowledge that they’ve made the right decision.

Funnily enough, they’re far happier now than they ever were before.

They’re surrounded by people who genuinely care about them and show it, a concept which seemed unattainable to them before.

Life (at least for most of us) isn’t like a mafia movie where the ties you have amongst your “family” mean the most.

Tony Soprano isn’t blowing cigar smoke in your face with the looming threat that if you decide to leave the family and pursue a different path, he’ll break your legs with a golf club.

As we get older, we tend to forget that we have the option, the free will and the right to cut ties with the people who treat us poorly, even if they are related to us.

I watch too much HBO, but you get the point.

Sometimes, the people who give us the most in our lives aren’t the ones who brought us into this world.

They’re the ones we meet who have no other connection to us other than the fact that they were meant for a greater purpose: to show us how worthy we really are.

• 15

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15, 2017

Sports

SPORTS EDITOR ROB FIFIELD sports@thecord.ca

MEN’S HOCKEY

Disappointing end to a solid season Forward Andrew Fritsch awarded most sportsmanlike player of the OUA West division PRANAV DESAI LEAD SPORTS REPORTER

Everyone wants to do better than they did in the year before. That goes for the team and personal stuff too.

It was a heartbreaking end to what was a very successful season for the Laurier men’s hockey team.

The Hawks lost a do-or-die game three at home in overtime against the Windsor Lancers.

However, this shouldn’t distract the team or the fans from the success that the Hawks achieved this season.

The Hawks improved their record from last year and looked simply unstoppable at times throughout the season.

A big factor behind the Hawks’ success this year was the play of third-year right winger and NHL drafted forward, Andrew Fritsch.

Fritsch was recently awarded the Most Sportsmanlike award for the West division, after taking only one penalty last season.

-Andrew Fritsch, forward

After you take a couple of days off after the season, I think you reflect on the year. The season was a pretty big success.

-Andrew Fritsch, forward

“After you take a couple of days off after the season, I think you reflect on the year. The season was a pretty big success. Overall, it’s something to build on. Next year, we’re going to have to do better and I think it’ll be disappointing if we don’t move past the first round,” he said.

TANZEEL SAYANI/FILE PHOTO

Things won’t be easier for the Hawks next year, as four of their players will be graduating this spring.

This will obviously create some holes in the locker room and on the ice in terms of leadership.

Fritsch mentioned that there are players graduating every year and this situation is something that the Hawks should be able to overcome.

“Every year, there’s guys graduating, we’re fortunate that it’s only

four for us this year. They were a pretty big part of our season this year, but we’re confident in our guys that are still here,” he said.

“We still have a lot of good players and I’m sure there will be a lot of guys coming in who could help as well. Overall, I don’t think we’re too worried, but guys are going to have to step up.”

Fritsch was arguably the Hawks best player this year. He led the team in assists, points and game

winning goals.

Fritsch, however, did not do anything different in terms of preparation, he was just confident in his abilities.

“I don’t think I did anything different this year. I’ve put up points throughout my career. I think I just got back to being confident. I also had great line-mates that helped me succeed, especially on the power play. Overall, I was confident in my abilities and that’s what led to

me having a pretty good year.”

Even though the season’s conclusion left a sour taste in everyone’s mouth, the fact that the Hawks made the playoffs and clinched home ice will further increase the pressure on the team next year.

Anything less than a playoff appearance will be a disappointment, especially for the fans.

Fritsch added that this applies to the team’s mentality as well.

“Everybody wants to do better than they did in the year before.

That goes for the team and personal stuff too.

If we don’t go past the first round next year, I think it will be a disappointment. But as I always say, you don’t want to look too far ahead. You want to go game by game, practice by practice.”

With characters like Fritsch on the team, the Hawks should be able to thrive and succeed under pressure.

The expectation of making the playoffs again next year is very fair and with the way the team is improving, the sky is truly the limit for the Golden Hawks come next season.

“If we pick up where we left off this year, we’ll be fine,” Fritsch concluded.

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16 • SPORTS

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15, 2017

PROFILE

Laurier’s budding star ZACH SAVLOV CORD SPORTS

For a women’s hockey program that has experienced so much success in the past thirteen years, a season such as this past one seems uncharacteristic.

There was a big difference in the training and the speed I had to do coming from junior to the OUA because it is a lot faster and a lot more physical.

-Emily Woodhouse, forward

Since head coach Rick Osborne first stepped behind the Laurier bench in 2003, the team has won an astounding nine OUA titles, including a stretch of seven in a row from the 2003-04 season through the 2009-10 season. The team also took home a CIS championship in the 2004-05 season as national champions.

With only three wins in 24 games in the 2016-17 campaign, all Laurier can do is look to the future.

That future being one that looks very bright if the play of one rookie continues.

First-year forward Emily Woodhouse was a beacon of hope for the

Golden Hawks this past season, leading the way with a team leading ten goals and twelve points.

Her standout play led to her being named to the OUA All-Rookie Team this past week.

Hailing from St. Marys, Ontario, Woodhouse credits the team’s veteran group of players for helping to make her adjustment to the OUA as successful as it was.

“There was a big difference in the training and the speed I had to do coming from junior to the OUA because it is a lot faster and a lot more physical [sic],” said Woodhouse.

“The fourth-years … they really showed me how to do things, how the team worked together and what it’s like to train hard. They won a [OUA] championship together in their first year so they are teaching us rookies how to do it.”

Woodhouse’s scoring accounted for over one-third of the Hawk’s total goals (10 of 28) in the season, meaning that she needs to come back in the fall ready to lead the team’s offence, a responsibility she cannot take lightly.

She said that her and the team are putting a lot of effort into their off-season training, to make themselves stronger and ready for a return to the playoffs.

“I think we’ll be a lot better next year. We’re changing things up, we’re working out more, doing more stuff to build our endurance so we’re not tired in those third period games because when we lose it, we usually lose it in the third.”

The kinesiology student also

plays with a lot of grit on the ice, leading the team in penalty minutes and finishing top five in the OUA with thirty-six.

“I like to protect my players; if there’s a bad hit I like to protect them. Most of my penalties came from when I was protecting my goalie.”

Woodhouse credits her linemates as a large part of her success.

“I would say I had the right line chemistry in my line. We knew where to find each other, knew where to pass, they really set me up for all of my goals,” she said.

I would say I had the right line chemistry in my line. We knew where to find each other, ... they really set me up for all of my goals.

-Emily Woodhouse, forward

In the first year of her Golden Hawks career, Woodhouse’s play has put the OUA on notice and a future selection as a First Team All Star is more than possible if she continues to build on her success from this season.

Her development will be a large part of the next few seasons for Laurier hockey.

MARCO PEDRI/LEAD PHOTOGRAPHER

FOOTBALL

On the road to CFL regional combine

Arkarakas, Calver, Calverley, Golding and Reddy are headed to the Toronto showcase this Friday ROB FIFIELD SPORTS EDITOR

Five Laurier football players will be celebrating their St. Patrick’s day at the CFL regional combine in Toronto.

Marcus Arkarakas, Brandon Calver, Taylor Calverley, Brett Golding and Chris Reddy will be taking part in this year’s edition, hoping to impress the CFL scouts and earn an invitation to the national camp in Regina, Saskatchewan.

Laurier head football coach Michael Faulds explained how three Laurier players already have their invitation to the national camp.

“There are limited invites to the national combine every year … and we have three of our players going: Kwaku Boateng, Nakas Onyeka and Jalen Price.”

Faulds spoke about what an amazing opportunity this event is for players trying to make it to the next level.

“The regional combine is a way for CFL coaches and scouts to see other talented players. With only 100 or so going to the national

The regional combine is a way for the CFL coaches and scouts to see other talented players.

-Michael Faulds, head coach

TANZEEL SAYANI/FILE PHOTO

The Hawks charge the line at kickoff during a game at home against the Guelph Gryphons on October 14.

combine, there’s many more great players across the country than just that.”

Faulds made clear that all of the players who received invites to the regional camp are very well deserving of this honour.

“It’s an exciting group. Marcus Arkarakas, is a receiver for us who’s been a good leader for us. Brandon Calver, a linebacker who was at the [East West Bowl] last year.

One of our toughest players, Taylor Calverley, who’s been a defensive

back for us, he’s an unbelievable athlete. Then there’s our two offensive linemen Brett Golding and Chris Reddy. Brett had an injury last year but both of them have been instrumental in us having one of the top rushing attacks in

the country each year,” Faulds said.

In what is an electrifying time for Laurier football, three more players were also named to this year’s edition of the East West Bowl in Quebec City.

Godfrey Onyeka, Isaiah Guzylak-Messam and Rashari Henry will play for the west at the week long event May 8-13.

It’s an exciting time for these players and Laurier football as they try to make it to the next level.

“It’s a good solid five guys going and we’re excited to see how they do,” Faulds said.