The Cord November 21, 2018

THE CORD THE TIE THAT BINDS WILFRID LAURIER UNIVERSITY SINCE 1926

VOLUME 59 ISSUE 13 • NOVEMBER 21, 2018

A BLAST TO THE PAST Feature, page 8

CEO INSPIRES STUDENTS

STI RATES INCREASE

PUPS COME TO CAMPUS

VICTORIA’S SECRET

INDIGENOUS SISTERS

Owner of Smoke’s speaks to entrepreneurs

Waterloo urges caution amidst rising numbers

Therapy dogs help students’ mental health

The controversy surrounding the fashion show

Johns siblings represent on basketball team

News, page 3

News, page 6

Arts & Life, page 10

Opinion, page 14

Sports, page 16 PHOTO BY SARAH TYLER/VIDEO EDITOR

2 •

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2018

VOCAL CORD What about your childhood makes you nostalgic?

@cordnews

The Cord

@thecord.ca

CordNews

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

“Listening to 2000’s boybands” –Rahma Noushin, fourth-year health sciences

“Getting up early to watch the Cartoon Network and YTV.” –Zain Khan, second-year sociology EVA OU/PHOTO EDITOR

Skye and Hunter, the Johns sisters, both represent the Indigenous community and are players on Laurier’s basketball varsity team.

“Watching any Disney Channel Original movie” –Anna Yuan, first-year BBA

“Playing in the snow.”

–Olivia Schuster, firstyear BBA

GRADUATING IN 2019?

Don’t miss the deadline to be included in the 2019 yearbook & class composite.

Book your graduation photos now at wlusp.com

Compiled by Margaret Russell Photos by Jackie Vang NEXT ISSUE NOVEMBER 28, 2018

ARTS & LIFE EDITOR Michael Oliveri arts@thecord.ca

CORD STAFF

OPINION EDITOR Emily Waitson opinion@thecord.ca

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

SPORTS EDITOR Pranav Desai sports@thecord.ca

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Sadman Sakib Rahman creative@thecord.ca

GRAPHICS EDITOR Kashyap Patel graphics@thecord.ca

WEB DIRECTOR Garrison Oosterhof online@thecord.ca

PHOTO EDITOR Eva Ou photos@thecord.ca

NEWS EDITOR Hayley McGoldrick news@thecord.ca

ONLINE EDITOR Katherine Weber online@thecord.ca

NEWS EDITOR Aaron Hagey news@thecord.ca

VIDEO EDITOR Sarah Tyler video@thecord.ca

FEATURES EDITOR Madeline McInnis features@thecord.ca

LEAD REPORTER Margaret Russell news@thecord.ca

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

CONTRIBUTORS

EDITOR’S CHOICE

Jacob Broz Jennifer Webb Andreas Patsiaouros Diana Edworthy Yana Manevska Rachel Burns

The Johns sisters are proud to be Indigenous

by Pranav Desai

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

reply at the earliest time possible.

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

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

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

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

Quote of the week: “Your Majesty, Sir HcGoldrick returns to the grounds. He appears to be in possessions.”

- Online Editor, Andreas Patsiaouros when asked to take a straight on

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2018

News

• 3 NEWS EDITOR HAYLEY MCGOLDRICK news@thecord.ca

NEWS EDITOR AARON HAGEY news@thecord.ca

BUSINESS

Smolkin’ the competition: CEO speaks to students HAYLEY MCGOLDRICK NEWS EDITOR

On Thursday, Nov. 15, Ryan Smolkin, the founder and CEO of Smoke’s Poutinerie, spoke at the Wilfrid Laurier University Lazaridis School of Business & Economics to kick off their Entrepreneur Speaker Series. Smolkin is not only the founder of a massive company, but also graduated from Laurier’s BBA program in 1995.

During his presentation, he spoke about his company and his plans for world domination in the form of poutine, but also reflected on his time at Laurier and how many of the skills he learned as a businessman came about from his time at the school.

“Time management is the one thing I learned in school. But seriously, in the business program you learn about budgeting and corporate relations and business models.

I mentioned in my presentation that there was no entrepreneurship when I went to Laurier — and it wasn’t a dig, but a high-five to where they are now,” Smolkin said.

“I took a class in my fourth-year, called ‘New Venture Creation’ and that was the only entrepreneur-type class offered at the time, but all those fundamental business skills still help you as an entrepreneur because you still need to know how a business runs.”

The path to poutine did not start right after graduation for Smolkin, as he actually started creating an income for himself while still in his undergrad, as he would buy properties on streets like Albert Street, King Street and Noecker Street to

rent out to students.

“I bought my first property at 181 Albert in my third year, right across from the Peters building where all the work was being done at the time and I crammed as many of my buddies as I could in there to cover rent and expenses at the time,” Smolkin said.

“After graduating I had several properties and the first one I ever flipped was actually on King Street, right near the location of the Smoke’s Poutine that was now there. I turned it into three units with five bedrooms each — so a 15-bedroom total — and made a few millions off that.”

Smolkin also worked in merchandising and branding — without any graphic design experience — and learned the business, working with big name partners

SADMAN SAKIB RAHMAN/CREATIVE DIRECTOR

like Molson in his time selling merchandise to companies.

Though Smolkin attributes his success in part to what he learned in school on fundamental business skills, he also realizes how hard it is for students to walk out of Laurier and into the real world as an entrepreneur.

Smolkin has generously offered to pay 50 per cent of the franchise fees for any students who want to get involved with Smoke’s, as well as 100 per cent of the fees for one lucky student; on top of that, exclusive to this school, one Laurier student will get 100 per cent of their fees covered as well.

“It’s great that you’ve learned all these things in school and you come out of your fourth year with all these ideas as an entrepreneur, but then what? It’s hard to come

out and go to the bank and try and start a business and it’s just impossible, so that’s why I wanted to give back because I know how hard it is,” Smolkin said.

“I wanted to give back to the young entrepreneurs — and especially at Laurier — because you go to the second-best entrepreneurial school in Canada and the best school in the world, you were on it to have me come and speak so I thought why not give this opportunity?”

Sam Haas, the programming and student engagement coordinator for the Schlegel Centre for Entrepreneurship & Social Innovation, helped organize the event and plans to have more entrepreneurial based programming at different levels in the future at Laurier.

“The idea is that we want stu-

dents to be able to engage with people in the community and the alumni who are successful entrepreneurs just to give them someone to aspire to be and who’s done it. It’s also especially amazing when you can see a student who used to be in their shoes be that big,” Haas said.

“We also want to have smaller panel events that will feature entrepreneurs who are closer to the students’ age who are just starting to get big; and we have some coming up like one in January that is just focused on start-up life.

They’re coming from a variety of backgrounds; like going straight into entrepreneurship out of school versus being in the corporate world for three years before they realized they wanted to be an entrepreneur.”

Through programs like the RBC Venture Program, LaunchPad, Sandbox and the ENTR curriculum, the Schlegel Centre offers many initiatives to help young entrepreneurs find their path while still being a student. They want to give them the chance to further their knowledge, with help from notable alumni with events, like the speaker series.

“It’s multi-faceted in the sense that we want to do it in three stages; it’s the big people like Ryan, then it’s the people who are kind of closer to their age but are out of school and we also have current students like those in RBC and Launchpad. Those will be focused on how to build the business but also how they did it while still in school,” Haas said.

CAMPUS CLUBS

ISOW hosts culture event at Laurier AARON HAGEY NEWS EDITOR

On Thursday, Nov. 15, between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m., Laurier’s campus club International Students Overcoming War (ISOW) hosted a Middle Eastern Cultural Evening event to get students participating in and celebrating the various cultures of the Middle East.

Some of the events of the evening included henna and Arabic writing stations, a photo gallery, singers, dancers and complimentary food prepared by members of ISOW. “There was a youth group that came and participated, there was a Dabkeh group, the Levant [that came and performed] ... We had [an] art activity where there was painted rocks and we were able to spell our names and words that we wanted to know how to spell in Arabic,” said Paula Belliveau, director of events and education for ISOW. Dabkeh is an Arab folk dance native to the Levant — a geograph-

ical term associated with the Eastern Mediterranean area, including Israel, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria and Turkey — that combines circle dance and line dancing.

On their Facebook page, the Levant, which operates in the Kitchener-Waterloo area, they promote themselves as “a community dance group, with members of all ages and cultures. We meet weekly to strengthen and share cultural joy through dancing dabkeh!”

Among the food offered at the event included a varied assortment of Eastern Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cultural dishes: Makloubah, Frikeh, Fatoush, Falafel, Hark Osboa, Lahm B Ajeen, Baba Ghnoush, Fatteh, Lentil Soup and Tabouleh.

“Just before [the event] there was a cooking class in Veritas for the graduate students — and we were able to lead that as a Middle Eastern cultural cooking class.

So we prepared [the food] there,” Belliveau said.

One of the main reasons for Thursday’s event was to educate the general Laurier community — it was free and open to the entire student body — on a few of the different and less focalized cultures in the east.

“It was a chance for the students to showcase their Middle Eastern culture, what they grew up with, and share it with the community,” Belliveau said.

ISOW as an organization began in 2013. By 2015, they were able to get a referendum on student tuition to support the furthering of education for Middle Eastern students.

Each semester, Laurier students pay a few extra dollars on their tuition levied towards complete, funded scholarships for these incoming students.

“It helps to sponsor students from the Middle East in attending Laurier; so it covers their tuition, their lodging and the emergency funds that they need [to flourish],” Belliveau said.

SADMAN SAKIB RAHMAN/CREATIVE DIRECTOR

“[Because of my studies] I’ve taken a particular interest in peace and conflict and refugee situations. ISOW aligns with that, with how they’re ... helping students struggling from areas of conflict,” Belliveau said.

As far as planned upcoming events, ISOW will be hosting an MP luncheon sometime by the end of the semester.

The details, as of yet, have not been finalized and are still in the planning stages.

4 • NEWS

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2018

ENTREPRENEUR

Accessible recycling innovator takes first place in competition MARGARET RUSSELL LEAD REPORTER

Earlier this month, Hillary Scanlon, a Wilfrid Laurier University student, achieved first place at the MEDAx conference pitch competition. This conference, which was affiliated with the larger Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA) conference, took place in Indianapolis on Nov. 10.

Scanlon, who is also Laurier’s first-ever Student Social Entrepreneur-in-Residence, received $5,000 for her pitch and the extended honour of being MEDAx’s first pitch competition winner. Scanlon was one of four finalists invited to the conference upon applying to pre-send her pitch to an audience and panel of judges.

“I’ve been working on developing a social enterprise for the past year and a half now,” Scanlon said. “[It] is basically a comprehensive retrofit system that goes on existing waste and recycling containers and it makes them more accessible to people with visual impairments.”

Scanlon’s innovative product consists of tactile rubber floor mats to be placed in front of recycling and waste containers in public areas that make their detection easier for those with visual impairments.

Each tile has a different raised outline of a shape according to the associated waste receptacle: recycling, garbage or composting.

“Often people with visual impairments, we carry around our trash with us all day or we kind of just leave it where we are because it’s almost impossible to find a

waste container — or once you get there, you still have the issue of trying to figure out how to sort it,” Scanlon added.

I’ve been working on developing a social enterprise for the past year and a half now.

-Hillary Scanlon, student & Social Entrepreneur-in-Residence

“This is a system which enables and empowers people with visual impairments to independently and effectively dispose of their waste in public spaces.”

Her business, Sustainability Through an Inclusive Lens, was founded through engagement in Laurier’s social entrepreneurship option in the faculty of arts.

This program is coordinated by assistant professor Edmund Pries, who also accompanied Scanlon to Indianapolis for the recent competition.

MEDAx is a new edition to MEDA’s organization and is a separate conference for entrepreneurs and philanthropists 40 years of age and younger.

“It’s very much a social entrepreneurship based organization that promotes … social entrepreneurial solutions in various parts

of the world,” said Edmund Pries, professor and academic director of C3 Innovation Labs and Social Entrepreneurship coordinator.

“They’re active in over 63 countries and their headquarters are here in Waterloo.”

Scanlon has been the Student Social Entrepreneur-in-Residence since June and has been actively working on campus with peers and faculty.

“Now I’m working with students that are taking SE400, which is the capstone course in social entrepreneurship,” Scanlon said.

“First, it’s a real honour to have this position — and second, it’s also just an excellent way to engage with my peers.”

“I’m hoping that I am able to assist them in navigating through some of the challenges that I experienced while launching my own social enterprise.”

[It] is basically a comprehensive retrofit system ... and it makes [waste and recycling containers] more accessible to people with visual impairments.

-Hillary Scanlon, student & Social Entrepreneur-in-Residence

CONTRIBUTED IMAGE

“Social entrepreneurship comes under the umbrella of C3 Innovation Labs, [a new organization at

Laurier] … C3 stands for campus, city and community,” Pries said.

“We work with experiential learning merged with social innovation and community engagement.”

Scanlon’s business venture has just begun to take off. Sustainability Through an Inclusive Lens has secured more than $40,000 of funding and has begun with the manufacturing of prototypes.

ANNIVERSARY

Foot Patrol celebrates 26 years HAYLEY MCGOLDRICK NEWS EDITOR

NAME/POSITION

Foot Patrol, the volunteer operated service on campus where teams of two are sent out to help safely walk students home, turned 26 this year and held a celebration in the concourse to not only celebrate the success and legacy of the program, but also to inform students and recruit.

“I’m a general volunteer, so I both walk people home once or twice a week, and then I also dispatch, so I answer the phones, direct people and tell them where to go,” said Shaw Langston, one of Foot Patrol’s many volunteers.

Foot Patrol is run fully by volunteers under the Students’ Union and is operated under the Students’ Union vice president of programming & services as well as a coordinator who is hired strictly for Foot Patrol.

Foot Patrol operates on both the Waterloo and Brantford campuses, as safety is a priority at Laurier and many students who have class or co-curricular activities late do not feel safe walking home alone.

“It’s an awesome service, it makes the community feel a whole lot safer, and it serves a lot of auxiliary functions like, for example, whenever anybody is lost, they usually come to us, and we direct them or walk them where they need to go,” Langston said. “Our van program helps commuting students get home safer, so we help people feel safer and therefore enjoy school life more.”

Though any student can apply to be on Foot Patrol, at least one student on duty at all times is first aid trained and they are always equipped with a first aid kit and radio, as they usually are walking people home until around two in the morning and even though they could be found in an unsafe situation themselves, as they selflessly help other students get home.

“I walk students home once a week as well as drive students home in our van service, so students who live more than two kilometres away from campus within Kitchener-Waterloo we drive home from 11 p.m. to two in the morning which is great,” Victoria Bothwell, another Foot Patrol volunteer said.

“I’m also on the Foot Patrol promo team, so I work towards recruiting students and informing first-year as well as upper-year students as to what Foot Patrol is and how they can get home and how they can get involved.”

During the event, Foot Patrol had cupcakes and snacks as well as games to celebrate its birthday, and also had many volunteers at the booth informing students of all the services available like walking or driving home late at night, as well as information on how to get involved.

“I’ve been on Foot Patrol since my first week of first year, so I’ve been on it for two years now. Personally, as a member of the team, it really brings you together, I’m really close friends with the people I work with but it also builds key leadership qualities,” she said.

“You have to be able to talk to the people you’re walking and make them feel safe, as well as helping people build key skills like verbal skills and working with other people so those teamwork skills, and it teaches you to be responsible for other people.”

NEWS • 5

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMEBER 21, 2018 CONSTRUCTION

Region asks for feedback in uptown streetscape survey to the uptown area last Thursday to get additional feedback.

Despite the sudden inclement weather the city has been experiencing, they already have plans to make another attempt to collect responses in the uptown area.

AARON HAGEY NEWS EDITOR

Last week, the region of Waterloo released an online survey asking the city’s residents for their feedback regarding the ongoing uptown streetscape projects, to get a better understanding of the various needs, issues or suggestions for improvement that they might have for the uptown area.

With the first phase of the uptown streetscape project being completed earlier this year, the region is planning to continue with the same type of treatments leading up to University Avenue over the next couple of years. Because of this, they feel that resident and business feedback is crucial in the early planning stages.

The next phase of the project will begin in the spring, in the area between Bridgeport Road and Spring Street. The region currently has plans to meet with the Uptown Waterloo Business Improvement Area (BIA) as well as the City of Waterloo to confirm the timing of the construction. They plan to communicate that timing with the affected businesses early in the new year. “[But] prior to starting this second phase of the project, we wanted to get some feedback from the

The design is relatively new in the region and the province … and we just want to make sure that we’re meeting our design objectives overall.

-Eric Saunderson, senior project manager for Waterloo Region

SAFINA HUSEIN/FILE PHOTO

community about what they like and what may need some improvements. Certainly, we’re open to any suggestions and it would add some value in the next phases of these projects,” said Eric Saunderson, senior project manager of design and construction for the region of Waterloo.

The uptown streetscape project was approved back in 2015 by Regional Council. Since that

time, there has been a substantial amount of public consultation to give the region a better understanding of whether or not they have been or will be — meeting people’s expectations with this construction.

“The design is relatively new in the region and the province … and we just want to make sure that we’re meeting our design objectives overall,” Saunderson said.

“The intent of the design was to create an environment for all modes of transportation. It’s really important to emphasize the fact that we’re trying to create a balance between all of these needs.”

The survey commenced early last week and so far the region has received about 500 feedback responses.

Supplementing this survey were a number of individuals who took

“[But] now that we have that first phase complete, it would be really good to hear from people. So if there’s any way that we can get the word out there and have people engage in the survey, that would be great,” Saunderson said.

“It’s a very short survey, it’s only going to take five to ten minutes.

We’re not asking for any contact information, so it’s completely confidential.”

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6 • NEWS

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2018

SEXUAL EDUCATION

Wrap it up: Rising rates of STIs reported in the Region MARGET RUSSELL LEAD REPORTER

Sexually transmitted infections, notably chlamydia and gonorrhoea, have had an increasingly widespread presence in Kitchener-Waterloo over the past several years. This rise in cases has also been observable through a provincial standpoint and, in Waterloo, is being attributed to a lack of general knowledge and the region’s large student population amidst three post-secondary institutions.

According to statistics recently released by the Region of Waterloo public health department, there were over 1,750 reported cases of chlamydia in 2017, with the majority of these patients being between the ages of 20 and 24. Similarly, the most common ages for reported cases of gonorrhoea fall between 20 and 24, with 370 diagnoses in 2017.

These numbers represent the steady increase overall in cases of sexually transmitted infections from the last five years in this region. Specifically, a 10 per cent increase from 2016 is reported

among the region’s reported cases of chlamydia and a 37 per cent increase from 2016 in reported cases of gonorrhoea.

In contrast to the province, the average per 100,000 people in the last 5 years for chlamydia was 275.3, while Waterloo’s average was 235.9. Additionally, Ontario’s reported cases average per 100,000 people for gonorrhoea was 56.6 in 2017, while Waterloo’s average exceeded that with 65.7.

With this insight, it is assumed that the large student population of Waterloo contributes to the dominant frequency of cases among this age group, as well as the increase in cases.

Jessie Johal, manager of sexual health at the Region of Waterloo’s public health services, stated that there are many reasons why rates are increasing, as well as why these cases are predominantly occurring among 20 to 24-year-olds.

“We attract a lot of 20 to 24-yearolds in the region for post secondary education”, said Johal.

Naturally, having a disproportionately large demographic of

young people can create a large influx in their representation in statistics. This, however, causes concern for the region’s public health department.

“The most common [reason] is having multiple partners and having unprotected sex … people’s understanding may be lacking,” Johal said. “When these cases are reported to us, we do record some of these risk factors.”

It is estimated that 30-35 per cent of the time patients claim to not be using condoms upon becoming infected, according to Johal.

Johal further mentioned that some of these recorded risk factors also include a prevalence of online, anonymous dating websites and apps.

“Condom fatigue” is a term coined to refer to people’s apathy towards becoming infected with an STI. Due to the fact screenings and treatments are available, there is less of a cause for concern from those who engage in unprotected sex and run the risk of receiving an infection.

KASHYAP PATEL/GRAPHICS EDITOR

Public health collects data on sexually transmitted infections in the region on a monthly basis, and it is becoming obvious that this increase will continue. “It is trending towards the similar type of projections that we had in 2017,” Johal said.

The region’s public health department will be focusing on

engagement with the population in response to these statistics.

They are developing strategies in collaboration with Wilfrid Laurier University, University of Waterloo and Conestoga College, as well as other health resources within the community, with the goal of thorough congregation and investigation.

INDIGENOUS EDUCATION

Lucinda House to home Indigenous Students Centre HAYLEY MCGOLDRICK NEWS EDITOR

On Tuesday, Nov. 20, it was announced that the Nadjiwan Kaandossiwin Gamik Indigenous Centre will be moving locations to the Lucinda House, just down the street from its current location on Albert Street.

“We are finding that we are growing and we are not able to meet our space needs, and Jean Becker, our senior advisor of Indigenous initiatives, had been speaking with administration about potentially finding news places,” said Melissa Ireland, the manager of the Indigenous Student Centres at both the Waterloo and Brantford campuses.

“Last year a grant proposal was written to the Lyle S. Hallman foundation, and after it was approved, so we are receiving money from them, and also the Students’ Union kicked in some money and also the GSA to be able to have the budget to renovate the space,” Ireland said.

“It is a heritage building, so we are working with some architects to make that happen.”

Lucinda House is a heritage building that was built in 1818 and gifted to the university in 1994, and its current use is for special events or a residence for guests of the university, and on the odd occasion can be used for summer residence.

“We are working with Two Row Architect - it is a company that is based out of Six Nations, so Ohsweken - we have some Indigenous architects working on the project; we’ve had two meetings so

we’re still in the early days of what it’s going to look like,” Ireland said.

Though the space will be moving down the street, many logistics are going into the renovation of the heritage building to accommodate for students as well as preserve the history in the building, and the name of the centre may be changed as well due to the move in location.

“It will be the Indigenous Students Centre, but we named our space Nadjiwan Kaandossiwin Gamik in a traditional way, so we presented tobacco to an elder to gift us that name to the centre,” Ireland said.

“If we were able to move, we’re not sure if the elder would be okay if we applied that same name to the new space, so we don’t know what it’s going to be named yet.”

The project is set to be completed by Winter 2020 as it will have

We can create an inclusive space for Indigenous students but also a home for Laurier students to come and learn about us.

-Melissa Ireland, manager of the Indigenous Student Centres

about a 12-month renovation period. As the physical construction has not yet been started, there

JACKIE VANG/LEAD PHOTOGRAPHER

is no guarantee as to when the new centre will be open.

The centre not only offers support for Indigenous students at Laurier, gives them a place on campus to embrace who they are and has programming specific to providing a home away from home, they also have an aim for the new centre to be a place for non-Indigenous students and faculty to go to and receive education and exposure.

“A big part of what we do is that from admissions to graduation, we support Indigenous student success; we have an Indigenous admissions policy, we have an Indigenous recruitment and retention officer that goes into

urban and reserve communities and recruits First Nations, Inuit, Metis students to want to come to Laurier,” Ireland said.

“Once they’re here, a big piece of what we do is that at both centres there’s an Indigenous Students support coordinator, and that coordinator works one-on-one with students to make academic plans, personal counselling, advising, cultural piece and student support pieces.”

Student success is a priority for all faculty at Laurier, but many Indigenous students are the first in their families to go to university, and it is their first time moving away from home, so the support the Indigenous Students’ Centre

can give to these students who may be struggling with foreign territory is essential at this institution.

“Students can self-ID on Loris.

Not everybody chooses to self-ID, but we have roughly 500 students at our campuses including Kitchener. Often people think Brantford has more but that’s not the case; there’s about 280-300 students in Waterloo, 120 or so in Brantford and then the remaining are at our Kitchener campus,” Ireland said.

“I really am excited about the project, it’s nice to see that the university is supporting our growth, and that we can create an inclusive space for Indigenous students but also a home for Laurier students to come and learn about us.”

GAMES • 7

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2018

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.

this year. Next year it’ll be different - I promise.

WORD SEARCH

Sincerely, Involved in too damn much Dear Involved in too damn much, This is WLUSP. Good grades do not live under this questionable roof.

Sincerely, Also stuck in the Cord Co-op cycle Dear employees of the Library Second Cup,

Dear Holidays, You’re so close, I can almost taste the Christmas cocktails.

Sincerely, Impatiently waiting for a break

You are all A+ people and you make every trip to the library a little bit better & your optimism is contagious. Keep it up.

Sincerely, Love me some baked goods

Dear Pillsbury Cookies, Dear EVERYONE, Why the fuck do you taste so good?

Stop ruining my fitness plans.

Sincerely, Starting to look a lil’ tubby

Mistletoe by Justin Bieber is the GREATEST Christmas song of all time, Michael Buble is quaking, Mariah is no longer the skinniest pf legends, Nat King WHO?

Dear Safina, Stfu. Pls. Sincerely, The entire ed board Dear Grades, I’m so sorry for what i did to you

SUDOKU

Sincerely, A Belieber Dear Gare, Crumbly Blueberry MUFFIN Sincerely. good as you’re morning

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8 •

FEATU

FEATURES EDITOR/MADELINE MCINNIS/FEATURES@THECORD.CA

taking a time machine to the pa

News Editor, Aaron Hagey, an discuss nostalgia and its Nostalgia; the sentimental reminiscence that goes through your mind when you encounter a piece of your past, is perhaps one of the most powerful and motivating — yet uniquely consuming and volatile — emotions that adults can experience throughout their lives.

There are countless things that can trigger the wistful thoughts that are often brought on by this elusive emotional phenomenon: video games we played, television shows we watched, toys we played with and the music we used to listen. It reminds us of a childhood that has come and gone. Anything in your life that has created a strong connection with a significant or once arbitrary moment from your youth can evoke these nostalgic feelings and associations.

Despite the warm, fuzzy emotions that nostalgia can give us, it often acts as a pair of rose-coloured glasses that retroactively tint the past in an overly-optimistic way. It blurs the unpleasant and the mundane fillers that aren’t as memorable, making us yearn for what seemed like a stress-free, blissful existence that will never be attainable in the same way again.

Much like a daydream, nostalgia serves as a peephole through which we observe memories that seem like an idealized Disney cartoon of the past. It’s a place that has never really existed the way we remember it, except within the boundaries of our minds.

Millennials seem to cling to their pasts with forceful devotion and fierce dedication to the idea that we grew up in the “best” generation. They were born into a world where technology wasn’t nearly as developed as it is now — Windows 95 was the highlight of the internet age at the time and the dial-up tone still rings strong in our ears — and we experienced a joy that feels singular and unmatched to this brief period of time.

Simple pleasures like renting VHS tapes from Blockbuster, painstakingly picking out your five-buck purchase at the Scholastic Book Fair or the surprise of getting a pack of Fruit Gushers in your lunch bag seem like long-forgotten moments in our personal histories that we wasted, because we didn’t appreciate them to the extent that we should have at the time. With the future so murky and uncertain and our paths leading to many unknowns, some of us seem to be in a perpetual state of chasing our youth in order to avoid facing what’s in front of us head-on.

With resurgences of old TV shows, re-releases of once popular snack foods and throwback events that touch on the music and pop culture of decades long past, it’s easy to see how companies are utilizing nostalgia in order to encourage consumers to buy their products.

Brad Davis, associate professor of marketing at the Lazaridis School of Business & Economics at Laurier, focuses on brand strategy and consumer behaviour, looking critically at the kind of tactics that are utilized in order to sway buyers.

While he understands that most decisions — especially purchases — are emotion based, there are well thought out strategies behind the businesses who are able to tap into that emotion in order to encourage interest in their products. The use of nostalgia as a marketing tool has stayed relatively cyclical because it is

known to work time and time again.

“There’s an appeal to going retro because they know it worked once … There’s a feeling that it’s a little bit safer, creatively. The other side of it is there’s always a nostalgia for the past. The past is always nicer than the future,” Davis said. “[Companies understand that] we look back at the past with kind of with a sense of how things were easier or better than. The past always has a certain appeal to it, so that’s kind of a constant.

That tends to increase on occasion when we are more anxious about where we are now or in the future.”

Nostalgia is, in its most basic form, emotional comfort food for the mind: something which allows us to travel back to a simpler, less complicated and often happier period in our lives. A point in time when we were less burdened by problems like paying rent, passing exams, tending to responsibilities and the weight of a well-balanced life — one that we often wish to return to in moments of reflection.

“Sometimes we kind of [experience] this consumer equivalent of going back to your blankie — going back to those comfort products of things before. We like to retreat back to when we felt safe. There’s a sort of emotional hook to it,” Davis said.

What businesses have difficulty with, however, is finding the balance between historically accurate points in time and the idealized way people tend to look at the past, while still bringing elements into it that suit a modern audience.

“Nobody wants to drive the old Volkswagen Beetle, because [in reality] it was a piece of crap,” Davis said.

“We don’t really want to literally go back to the past, we want to just capture that spirit or that essence of it. So companies will do that — they’ll bring back the shape, the form, the spirit, but with more of the modern amenities [like the Beetle].”

Davis says that one of the factors that drive people to, for example, associate certain brands with childhood memories, is that they are categorized into “family brands,” which are associated with youth — like comfort foods, such as Kraft Dinner.

“We eat them because it evokes feelings of long ago, of mom and dad — where we didn’t have mortgages and we didn’t have other [things] to worry about. You’re not just eating the food, you’re kind of eating that era, that time,” he said.

“The whole notion of the ‘comfort food’ is [that when] you’re depressed … you go back to that kind of stuff because it makes you feel that little bit of escapism, back to when … it was an easier time for you.”

There have been scientific studies done to examine what products create certain links in the minds of consumers, as well as what sections of the brain light up under examination.

“They did neurological tests with Coke and Pepsi and one of the things that they found with Coke is that, when people go to drink it, what lights up is the sense of community. People prefer Coke because it evokes that sense of community and being part of something bigger. When they drink Pepsi, it’s the reward centre, because it’s sweet,” Davis said.

As Coke’s infamous 1971 advertisement jingle warmly sings, “I’d like to buy the world a Coke,” it directly targets the community associations people connect with their brand, which is what seems to separate it from a drink like Pepsi.

One of the other problems with targeted nostalgia marketing is the difficulty that lies in navigating the delicate balance between what Davis refers to as the “generational ownership of certain products or brands,” which can create negative associations for newer generations

URES

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2018 • 9

ast and recapturing CHILDHOOD

nd Opinion Editor, Emily Waitson s impact on daily emotions who aren’t interested in brands that they see as “old.” susceptible to a number of factors: including being open to shifting “Every generation wants to distinguish itself from the one before it self-identity, changing themselves or their brand loyalties and the ... so it’s difficult when you’re trying to appeal to a younger generapresence of higher disposable income. tion [and have] a brand that was kind of owned by a past generation, “Identities are a lot more fluid at that time and a lot of people that defined them,” Davis said. haven’t settled on exactly what core features of their identity they’re “The problem with appealing to a new generation or using an old going to stick with, so it’s a time of transition ... Young adults are often brand is that it was owned by a past generation [like Cadillacs] … going through periods of transition, so they might be turbulent or Brands are very psychological: in that, if you perceive this to be an stressful times … things that tend to happen in young adulthood,” old person’s brand, there’s no way in hell you’re going to sell it to a Wilson said. younger generation,” he said.

One of the potential issues Wilson points out is how, in the age There is a significant amount of psychological science behind the of social media, having everything recorded can leave us grasping phenomena of nostalgia that provides an optimistic, yet cautious, for genuine sentimentality and meaning, especially when creating look into this sensation that can feel almost addictive in nature. worthwhile memories.

Anne Wilson, a psychology professor at Laurier and Fellow of “There’s some research about how, if you spend much of your time the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) Successful interacting by taking images ... that can lead to impoverished memSocieties program, specializes in social psychology and has been ory for the events … you’re kind of imagining it from this third-perstudying the concepts of self and identity over time, especially in the son perspective of ‘how good is this shot gonna look’ as opposed to ways people think about their past selves and how people project actually experiencing all of the positive benefits that you get in the that image into their future. moment,” she said.

Wilson sees nostalgia as a “bittersweet” emotion, one which Though that may seem daunting, she doesn’t want that to limit seems to vary in either the bitterness or sweetness depending on people’s ability to indulge in moments of nostalgic bliss, as one of the the individual. However, research in social psychology has started to common, but false, perceptions of nostalgia is that it isn’t good to live identify how nostalgia can actually serve positive social and emotion- in the past. al functions.

“People who engage in nostalgia are actually not more past-fo“Even though there is this aching or bittersweet aspect to nostalgia cused overall. They can often take this little dip into nostalgia to sometimes, it’s actually associated become more future-focused: with a lot more positive emotions to become more hopeful and for people. People report expeinspired and motivated to riencing nostalgic memories or pursue goals in the future,” remembering things in a nostalgic Wilson said. way especially at times when While we live in a time that they’re feeling bad,” Wilson said. seems to be dually focussed It is during these times of on the simplicity of the past sadness, then, that these memoand the rapid progressiveness ries pop up, acting as a calamine of the future, the occasional lotion to soothe the itch of melanindulgence in the little things choly that is being experienced. that made our respective child“So when we’re experiencing hoods so fond to return to is nostalgic memories, we tend to a comforting emotional tool be pulling out the things that were to use. really meaningful or positive to As long as we strive to live us. Because of that, it allows us in the moment, rather than to have this moment or sense channel too much energy into of feeling connected and often curating the picture-perfect - Brad Davis, Laurier Associate Professor loved and to enhance our feeling memory, nostalgia seems to of meaning and to have all these be the perfect sentimental positive, powerful feelings,” WilBand-Aid. son said.

Don Draper from Mad Men summarized it best: “Nostalgia – it’s As for when we are most vulnerable to these feelings of nostaldelicate but potent … In Greek, nostalgia literally means ‘the pain gia, she believes that the answer to that is more complicated than it from an old wound.’ It’s a twinge in your heart, far more may seem. Instead of occurring most frequently at specific times, it powerful than memory alone ... It’s a time machine. It instead tends to occur throughout our lifespans. goes backwards, and forwards … it takes us to a place “There’s actually a different perspective of research that suggests where we ache to go again ... to a that, as you get older, you’re more likely to look back on your more place where we know we [were] distant past — there’s something called the ‘reminiscence bump’,” loved.”

Wilson said.

“People are much more likely to remember things from their early adulthood and late teens when they get older because that’s the period of identity formation.”

However, when it comes to young adults, nostalgia marketing tends to focus on the younger generations because they are more

we look back at the past with kind of with a sense of how things were easier or better than. The past always has a certain appeal to it, so that’s kind of a constant.

That tends to increase on occasion when we are more anxious about where we are now or in the future.

LAYOUT BY SADMAN SAKIB RAHMAN/CREATIVE DIRECTOR

10 •

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2018

Arts & Life

ARTS & LIFE EDITOR EMILY WAITSON arts@thecord.ca

FASHION

THESE BOOTS ARE MADE FOR WALKING JACKIE VANG/LEAD PHOTOGRAPHER

EMILY WAITSON ARTS AND LIFE EDITOR

Living in Canada with the harsh and unpredictable winters that we are hit with each year, means that having the perfect pair of winter boots to wear through the cold, snow and ice is essential.

Finding boots that don’t leak, slip on ice, fall apart after a year of use or are simply not warm enough, can be quite the task.

Luckily, as a seasoned boot-wearer and self-proclaimed lover of winter fashion, I have narrowed down the best boots to wear to and from campus. Your feet will thank me.

Blundstone Price: $$$ I believe that up until purchas-

ing my pair of Blundstones, my feet had to suffer from subpar footwear in order to truly appreciate the blessing that is this fine Australia-Tasmania craftsmanship.

I have owned these boots for a few weeks now, and in that time the weather has gone from pouring rain and autumn inspired mild-temperatures to full-on JackFrost-nipping-at your-nose winter.

I have walked through puddles, treaded over ice, and built a snowman comfortably while wearing them. They are made from waterproof leather that’s both warm and comfortable and my feet have yet to be anything but bone-dry when I have them on.

Although they are pricey and definitely an investment, you’re paying for quality and durability that should last you season after season.

They’re also not ostentatious or the typical winter-boot style that makes you look like you’re about to go exploring the tundra on a Ski-Doo. They match with basically everything and they’re a simple

staple. There’s a reason why there were three other people in Soft Moc looking to buy their own pair when I was getting mine.

Sorel Price: $$ I have owned multiple pairs of Sorel boots over the years and one word comes to mind when describing them: reliable. They serve their purpose and function as less-expensive boots than a brand like Blundstone.

They can be very warm, especially if you buy a pair that is particularly cozy with a faux-fur lining (the canvas pairs don’t have as much warmth), and they’re a good choice if you need to walk through snowy areas to get where you’re going.

I’m not overly in love with how they look, but because they have so many style options available, you can definitely find the kind that best suits you.

A plus for this polar bear embellished brand is that they have

I personally love the working-man aesthetic of Timbs. The only unfortunate thing about them is that they can look clunky and overwhelming on smaller-sized female feet. That point aside though, they are highly-rated across the internet when you read reviews about them, and their signature look is paired with long-lasting quality.

They do come in different colours other than their commonly-associated tan/beige, and they’re a reliable option if you spend a lot of time outside in the cold and snow.

They’re made from waterproof leather and are lace-ups, so the likelihood of getting your feet wet while wearing them is slim.

The problem with finding a reliable pair of winter boots is that the best ones will likely cost you more than $100. The quality of what you’re buying is typically dependent on the price, and the materials they’re made out of will reflect that.

The keys to winter-wear shopping are reading reviews online, looking for exactly what you want (warmth, durability, faux-leather, waterproof, etc.) and trying them on to make sure they fit you properly. It may sound obvious, but there’s no point in spending money on boots that are too small, too big or are simply uncomfortable to wear. Just because we’re in university, shouldn’t mean that we don’t care about our arch support.

Once you bring your purchase home, make sure you actually take care of your boots. They’re not invincible, no matter how good they may be. Conditioning the leather, using a weather-protectant spray and swapping out the laces when they’re frayed will help your boots walk the miles they were designed

nities feel safe.

“I knew of the program, and I knew Clementine’s temperament and behaviour, I knew she would fit right in. She loves the attention, and she’s calm, she has all the characteristics they were looking for, she just happens to be a rescue also,” Elliot said.

Some of the dogs were distracted by the food provided by the Career Centre, but for the most part, they laid on the floor patiently for the hour duration of the event. Martin Luther University College also has a “Chilling With Dogs” event every Wednesday from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. with dogs brought in from the

vegan styles available that are highly-rated and hold positive reviews on websites like Amazon, which definitely makes narrowing down the right pair easier to do.

Timberland Price: $$

MENTAL HEALTH

Therapy dogs bring joy to campus HAYLEY MCGOLDRICK NEWS EDITOR

At Laurier, it’s not uncommon to see a service dog in training on campus or even see people in your building about to take their dog on a walk.

It seems like Laurier has an infatuation with the four-legged friends that is unlike any other.

Dog therapy has become increasingly popular within academic institutions, but the question is whether these dogs are actually of use to help people or are just an excuse to play with animals on campus.

On Friday, Nov. 16, the Career Centre held a “Destress with Dogs” event during their usual 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. drop-in hours, giving students an opportunity to play with the animals as well as ask questions at the Career Centre.

Deborah Elliot, one of the volunteers with St. John’s Ambulance Therapy Dogs, worked with her own dog Clementine for the event

and brings her to many different places such as retirement homes and community living events.

“They’re tested for demeanour, they go through 10 visits that are supervised to make sure they’ll fit into the program the way [St. John’s] hopes they will, and then they go. Clementine has been visiting in a nursing home since June,” Elliot said.

The description of the event was catered towards bringing people to the Career Centre for resume help and to look at their other services, but the dogs stole the show as four volunteers and their dogs were surrounded by students lovingly petting the animals.

“It’s been on my retirement bucket list to get her doing this; she started in June and did her 10 visits. Now that she’s finished that, when these events become available, we can sign up to attend them and so she has been going to a lot of campus things. She has been to UW a number of times, and she’s at Conestoga next week,” Elliot said.

Though getting dogs on campus may seem like a ploy to get students out to events since most students love hanging with the pets, the dogs that are brought out must go through training to be certified in order to attend events with students, elders and others, and aren’t just any old dog brought from home.

“She goes to a retirement home once a week on Tuesday afternoons, so that’s her regular schedule. We pick up these other events when they’re available. She gets a lot out of it, and the students love her. The retirement homes get great pleasure, she has people waiting for her on Tuesday afternoons,” Elliot said.

Students get a de-stressing factor out of the visits with the dogs, but for other communities, they may get comfort or safety out of them.

As many older participants may suffer from diseases like Alzheimer’s where things become unfamiliar and scary as their memory fades.The dogs help these commu-

YITIAN CAI/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

ARTS & LIFE • 11

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2018 HEALTH

NICOLE GROSSMAN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

‘Tis the season for cold and flu EMILY WAITSON ARTS AND LIFE EDITOR

Cold and flu season is upon us once again. With it comes the annual period where offices are filled with the sounds of sneezing and coughing, hospitals are packed with patients — and people, especially university students, underestimate the dangers associated with influenza.

On Tuesday, Nov. 13, Laurier hosted a public talk that focused

on the flu, how to avoid it and how to look after yourself if you do get sick.

The talk featured experts on the subject including Vivienne Vance, a nutrition expert and associate professor in Laurier’s Health Sciences program, Breanne Cuddington, a Laurier Health Sciences instructor, Stephanie DeWitte-Orr, an immunology expert and Laurier associate professor of Health Sciences and Biology and Kristy Wright, a registered nurse and manager of infectious disease control with the Region of Waterloo Public Health.

Educating the public — especially the younger demographic of

university and high school-aged people — is essential in working towards preventing the spread of influenza.

The talk began with Vivienne Vance, who highlighted the importance of proper nutrition and physical activity in order to adequately support our immune systems.

Washing your hands, as well as not touching your face, are two key ways to protect yourself even further if you already follow a balanced diet and have a regular exercise routine covered.

If you do get the flu despite your best efforts, the main thing you can do for yourself is rest, in order to allow your body to recover.

There are over the counter medications that are designed to help manage symptoms like a sore throat, but beyond that, eat foods that you can tolerate and stay at home while you get better.

A major takeaway from the lecture was preaching the simple practice of not being an inconsiderate asshole.

If you’re sick, don’t go to work or class just to spread your germs around to other people.

Influenza can travel up to two meters and live on surfaces for as long as 72 hours, so you may not think anyone can catch it from you if you’re being “careful,” but that’s likely not the case.

Young adults seem to be the latest group of flu vaccine naysayers and skeptics, standing by the idea that they never get sick and don’t need one anyway or they just don’t have enough time to set aside to get one.

People like myself, who are immunocompromised, are at a higher risk of getting the flu from those who choose not to get the vaccine. It’s simple: more people who get vaccinated will result in fewer people getting sick, so fewer viruses will be spread, resulting in “herd immunity.”

As Stephanie DeWitte-Orr stated several times, “the flu is a bugger.”

And that’s putting it lightly.

Thousands of people die in Canada each year from the flu and university students, in particular, are considered a high-risk population.

We’re surrounded by hundreds of other students every day in lectures, on campus, in the dining hall, at the library.

We’re in close proximity to countless people and their germs and the ease through which we can

pass on viruses is something we almost never think about.

This is where the flu vaccine comes in. It uses an inactivated flu virus — it’s dead, it doesn’t make you sick and the chances of any complications occurring from it are very rare — which triggers the response of memory cells which should kick in if the actual virus is contracted and the immune system recognizes it.

If you’re sick, don’t go to work or class just to spread your germs around to other people.

There are multiple places to get vaccinated this flu season: from the Health and Wellness Centre and local pharmacies to your family doctor’s office.

Even though we’ve hit the period where we’re all constantly stressed and busy with work, exams and endless to-do lists, it’s always important to look after ourselves in the process.

Simple things that have been nattered at you your whole life like eating right, washing your hands and getting enough sleep, can be what keeps you from ending up in the hospital.

But if you do get sick, do everyone a favour and stay home.

HOLIDAY MARKETS

St. Jacobs Sparkles market shines KATE WEBER ONLINE EDITOR

From Thursday, Nov. 15 to Sunday, Nov. 18 the St. Jacob’s Sparkles market was held.

Attendees were able to get into the holiday spirit with their annual magical event taking over the entire main street.

About a 14-minute drive from the Laurier campus, this event was not one to miss.

My condolences if you did, there is always next year!

While attending the festivities, I was filled with endless joy.

Living in Toronto, I have been a long-time supporter of the Distillery Districts Christmas Market, which made my expectations for St. Jacobs very high.

Let me just say that my expectations were nowhere near disappointment, making the cold weather a little less cold.

Since leaving, I can confirm that I have only been listening to Christmas music on repeat.

Decorations and lights put a sense of magic in the air.

Being more of a secluded farm community, St. Jacobs was a perfect location for the market. For the duration of the market, the free activities were endless.

Some activities included Victorian carollers, horse-drawn trolley rides and a visit with Santa Claus.

Many shops had lots of promotions for the duration of the market, including a storefront that I was in absolute awe of.

Some activities included Victorian carollers, horse-drawn trolley rides and a visit with Santa Claus.

This is a good way to support your local community and get your holiday shopping started early to beat the rush.

Promotions included all types of holiday-themed items which made

for special and unique gifts that you can’t find anywhere else.

I decided to try out the Burn Barrel and I considered going back for seconds, but unfortunately it was only while supplies lasted.

The crisp taste of the cider hit the spot on a chilly day and helped me to stay warm while I walked around.

The sense of community the festivities offered was inspiring — it’s nice to see such a busy crowd in an area which does not typically drive lots of traffic given its secluded location.

A place for children, families and adults finding their inner-child made for a memorable time.

No matter what festivities you and your family celebrate over the holiday season, it was still a perfect event to attend to alleviate the stress that this time of the year can bring.

Unfortunately, the festivities have wrapped up for another year by the time you will be reading this article.

However, I suggest attending this next year if you have the chance as it is a long-standing tradition.

If you are still interested in checking out St.Jacobs, decorations will continue to be up and will still be worth your trip.

EVA OU/PHOTO EDITOR

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2018

12 •

Editorial

OPINION EDITOR ALYSSA DI SABATINO opinion@thecord.ca

Editor’s Note: Class participation should given a certain sense of understanding, even by professors in a classroom setting.

For me, the publication that I run 24/7 is still running when I’m in class. Sometimes my staff have questions. Sometimes there is breaking news. And sometimes a story (or a few) falls through on a Tuesday morning and deciding on new stories just can’t wait until I’m out of class.

For me, being able to quickly respond to my staff and deal with issues at work while I’m in class is essential. In this way, dealing with non-school related topics in class instead of paying attention is my decision.

Of course, I empathize with professors — especially those teaching smaller classes with few students — who struggle to get their classes to participate.

In specific, class participation and engaging discussions enhance a student’s understanding of the text being studied.

However, for a lot of students, being called out in class or being forced to participate can induce feeling of anxiety and unease.

In fact, many of my friends have told me they were skipping a certain class because the last time they were there, their professor was calling on random students in order to encourage participation.

For professors who are dealing with students who are late, or disruptive, or who are talking during a lecture, I get their reasoning behind asking students in the middle of a lecture to be respectful.

However, for students who are choosing to be present in a class to gain attendance marks but choose to allow social media, or other work to distract them, then I believe that’s their choice.

Students who opt to pay less attention in class may struggle more with their midterms or final exams, but ultimately, they get the final decision in how they choose to utilize their time, and education.

SAFINA HUSEIN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Last week, I was sitting in one of my english classes and was startled by my professor abruptly stopping her point in the lecture to clap her hands and call my name, asking that I “stop daydreaming.”

I was so taken aback by the comment that I ended up spending most of the class — not paying attention — and thinking about why my professor chose to call me out and, in general, whether or not I felt it was acceptable for professors to do so.

To me personally, being called out in class when I was genuinely paying attention but maybe not making direct eye contact was both embarrassing and frustrating. It also put me on edge for the entire rest of the class, making me work to go out of my way to make my professor believe I was paying attention.

Although I didn’t have any excuse not to pay attention other than having an awful head cold that made focusing a little more difficult, my prof’s decision to call me out made me uncomfortable.

If my professor felt I wasn’t paying attention and wanted to address my lack of participation, they could have done so after class or via email afterwards instead of publicly shaming me.

Students, like every other person, have things going on in their personal lives. And despite best attempts to put personal matters aside in order to focus on work or school, sometimes things occupy our minds more on some days.

I think that most people are understanding when their coworker or colleague is distracted or less productive in a workplace due to issues or things happening in one’s personal life.

In the same way, students

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EDITORIAL CARTOON

KASHYAP PATEL/GRAPHICS EDITOR

Being respectful on social media

ALYSSA DI SABATINO OPINION EDITOR

There are countless vehicles for online expression in our age. Be it Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Reddit etc., there is no shortage of spaces where people can express themselves in any way they see fit.

It seems that when people are not physically present with others, they feel as though they have a right to be as uncivilized as possible. But social media civility is just as important, if not more important, as civility in any other social setting.

We’ve all been told the expression “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” So why do people stop applying this when it comes to the internet?

Insulting people online under the guise of “free speech” says more about you than it does about the victim of the insults. Being a “savage” has no real meaning beyond its cyber insinuations, and having an online platform based on being as verbally ruthless as possible is not as cool as you may think.

Social media makes it really easy to be as “brutally honest” as possible, with few penalties. But what makes people feel that the internet is a free-for-all place to say whatever they want devoid of consequences?

It’s likely the anonymity and the ability to hide behind a screen that allows people to be bolder online than in real life.

The feeling of anonymity that accompanies social media allows for people to feel less accountable for their actions. But anonymity is relative in this sense. Everyone knows that once you post something online, it stays there forever. Even if you feel like you can hide behind your screen, it’s not impossible for your past posts to be dug up and brought to light once again.

In online spaces, as well as in real life, there will always be bullies. Although the line for cyber bullying seems to be blurred at times, the best way to handle it is often to disengage from the conversation.

You’ve probably seen it before, someone posts a seemingly innocent post on a Youtube video, and fifty replies later all hell breaks loose and people are calling each other names left and right. It’s so ridiculous to witness, and it doesn’t even seem worth it. This would be an example of a time when the best solution would be

for the commenters to disengage as best as possible from the original post.

If someone is antagonizing you online, don’t play into their game.

There’s no shame in deleting your comment, or blocking someone online if you would feel better for doing it.

Presenting your opinions in a controlled and intelligent manner is a far better method of communication than angrily keyboard smashing at the Facebook comment above yours.

Every internet user has a choice on how they wish to represent themselves. If you absolutely want to be that person that just hates on everyone else online, that’s your perogative. But being a responsible internet user means engaging in respectful and controlled conversations, regardless of if you disagree with the next person or not.

The internet isn’t always a bad place. It allows for a broader and more diverse range of voices to be heard. Anonymity even has its advantages, as it allows for people to express their opinions more freely without fear — which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

That’s the whole point of the opinion section if you ask me. It allows for me, and other volunteers, to express our opinions on relevant issues in an articulate and respectful manner.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2018

Opinion

• 13 OPINION EDITOR ALYSSA DI SABATINO opinion@thecord.ca

Movie sequels ruin the legacy of television shows

Gilligan made the right choice when he decided to develop upon “criminal” lawyer Saul Goodman’s character when he launched the spinoff Better Call Saul. Capturing the attorney’s beginnings, the spinoff allows viewers to learn more about a fan favourite character and, as a prequel, better insulates Breaking Bad from any negative responses.

In Breaking Bad, Jesse was last seen driving away from the compound of an Aryan gang where he was held prisoner. Taking the audi-

ence past this point incurs the risk of detracting from Jesse’s character.

A film featuring him will open a new character arc which could conflict with what fans remember from Breaking Bad. Jesse’s fate is similar to Tony Soprano’s in that the audience isn’t exactly clear on what has become of them after the credits roll. This type of ambiguity is not bad and is worth preserving.

As one Breaking Bad prequel already exists, the Breaking Bad universe should not be expanded further.

Take the Star Wars franchise, for example. Future projects have been scrapped because producers are aware that the market for Star Wars content has become overly saturated. It can be argued that this saturation has somewhat compromised the perception of the original films.

The same can be said for any expansion of the Breaking Bad universe. Even though audience demand might exist for new related content, it might not be the best course to pursue.

Right now, Jesse exists in all fans’ minds in different situations and scenarios. Definite answers to his fate are not necessary as our imaginations might do the most justice for his legacy.

harder for him to initiate an executive order, as it would directly violate the constitution. Overall, there is no legal precedent that would allow for Trump to change the entrenched constitution with executive order alone.

This doesn’t change the fact that although the chances of his proposal happening are very low, it has still sparked fear in some citizens, and approval in others.

From immigrant detention centres to ramped up deportation threats, Trump’s proposal to end birthright citizenship is another one of his attempts to deter people from entering the United States undocumented.

It’s as though he is attempting to do everything in his power to bring back the fears around immigration that he has so strongly been enforcing.

Originally, he announced this proposal during his own 2016 election campaign. He made his most recent announcement of the proposal right before the American midterm elections, which points to the fact that he is mostly using this rhetoric as a political tool.

When Trump announced his proposal to eliminate birthright citizenship, he stated that the U.S. is “the only country in the world where a person comes in, has a baby, and the baby is essentially a citizen...” But this is factually incorrect, as there are 34 countries with birthright citizenship policies, Canada included.

Most people consider one of the defining traits of settler-colonial countries to be easily accessible

citizenship.

Denying birthright citizenship has more negative implications than positive. By accepting immigrants into a country, it works to encourage those immigrants to fully integrate into the country in which they’ve entered.

There is evidence for negative implications in countries that do not have birthright citizenship.

Countries like Belgium, who do not have birthright citizenship, have poorly integrated populations, which creates further disparities and marginalization.

His proposal would likely work against its intent anyway. By denying birthright citizenship to children, Trump would essentially be making it harder to deport them, as it’s likely that no country would claim them as their own citizen.

People with birthright citizenship often have little to no ties to their “home” country. Even if it were logically possible to “send them back” to said country, they would likely be in an economically worse state than they would be in America.

There is no logical reason for Trump to try and repeal birthright citizenship, and his attempt to instil fear in the American population under the guise of security is thinly veiled.

The fact of the matter is that denying birthright citizenship would work against its intents; Trump’s attempt to defy the constitution and instil an executive order would be a direct violation of the constitution itself. No one is above the law, not even the president.

JACOB BROZ STAFF WRITER

Some things are better left to the imagination.

When the screen cut to black at the end of The Sopranos, many were confused. Was Tony okay?

Did the man in the Members Only jacket take a shot at him?

The artistic choice to leave the fate of Tony Soprano open to interpretation helped to secure the legacy of the show.

In many ways, The Sopranos was an extremely experimental show, and the way David Chase, the show’s creator, decided to end it attests to that fact.

What would have become of the show’s legacy had David Chase decided to create a Soprano’s movie that was set to take place following the scene in the diner?

It would likely have focused on Tony’s upcoming legal problems and the fallout caused by his war with New York.

More likely, however, it would have tarnished the show’s legacy and distracted from the innovative

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ending crafted by Chase.

I think Chase is smart enough to acknowledge this. He didn’t work tirelessly to spin a unique narrative to have it weakened by an unnecessary plot continuation.

Although he has decided to expand The Sopranos universe with a film, he has opted to do so by creating a prequel — a choice better suited to protecting the integrity of the show.

When The Sopranos ended, it can be argued that Breaking Bad, a show about a science teacher

turned meth kingpin, took its place as TVs biggest show.

It was recently announced that Breaking Bad’s creator, Vince Gilligan, has begun development on a film featuring Jesse Pinkman, Walter’s sidekick, and his transition back to a normal life after being imprisoned as a meth slave.

Don’t get me wrong, I will most likely watch this movie on opening day as I am a huge Breaking Bad fan. However, a Jesse Pinkman movie is not the most appropriate artistic choice.

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Trump is wrong about birthrights ALYSSA DI SABATINO OPINION EDITOR

America’s fourteenth constitutional amendment reads: “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, are citizens of the United States.” This means that birthright citizenship is granted to any person born in the United States, regardless of their parentage.

It extends to children of both documented and undocumented

immigrants who now reside in the United States.

The idea of birthright citizenship is highly contested, especially among right-wing politicians.

Trump has recently proposed his plan to end birthright citizenship, which falls in line with his strict immigration rhetoric that he was, and still is, enforcing.

Birthright citizenship became constitutionally entrenched in 1868. Prior to, birth within the U.S. could grant citizenship to everyone except enslaved persons. In 1866, citizenship was granted to all former slaves, and two years later, the fourteenth amendment became constitutional.

Many are calling Trump’s proposal to end birthright citizen unconstitutional. Usually, the constitution can only be changed through an amendment, which is a lengthy process.

But Trump has stated that he wishes to issue an executive order, a process that only the president can initiate. This means that the president gets executive authority to enforce a law or manage the resources in his countries’ benefit.

One example of a time where Trump used executive authority was when he banned citizens from muslim majority countries from entering the United States.

But this time, it would be much

14 • OPINION

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2018

Corporations aren’t obligated to be inclusive DIANA EDWORTHY OPINION COLUMNIST

Every fall, when the lineup of models for the annual Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show is announced, there is an outcry of anger as the company continues to exclude plus-sized models. Following the filming of this year’s show, in response to the public upset, Ed Razek, a marketing executive, made a statement explicitly saying that Victoria’s Secret has no interest in casting transgender or plus-sized women in the show.

As a result, there has been an overwhelming amount of backlash and complaints made towards the company and the CEO, Jan Singer, has stepped down from her position.

Many people have taken to social media to call out the brand and further try to entice them into using a more diverse modelling range. However, these pleas with the company are ultimately naïve

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and unlikely to make any real change in the industry.

For a long time, modelling has put a strong focus on tall, thin, and traditionally “beautiful” women. The standard slim build of a supermodel is actually valued for its ability to emulate the way that clothing would look on a hanger,

rather than representing what the average woman would look like in the clothes. However, in recent years, many brands have begun to feature women of all shapes and sizes in order to be more representative of what the average woman looks like.

Lingerie companies like Rihan-

na’s Savage x Fenty and Aerie have been very progressive in terms of inclusivity in underwear models.

Nonetheless, after over two decades of Victoria’s Secret Fashion Shows and 30 years of selling lingerie, Victoria’s Secret has chosen to stick to their roots and continue to exclusively feature women of one standard body type.

What a lot of people don’t consider when they’re trying to push Victoria’s Secret in what seems to be the right direction of inclusivity and body positivity, is that the company has very specific branding that they are unlikely to stray from.

Their models are some of the highest paid in the world because they only want to feature the tall, stereotypically good-looking women with a body type that is unachievable for the vast majority of women.

They have built their brand entirely on sex appeal and a lingerie fantasy, and for many years that was a great sales tactic for them.

However, in recent years they’ve seen a steady decrease in sales as women have begun to shift from wanting sexy lingerie they see on skinny models to wanting comfortable, practical underwear that is advertised by models who look a lot more like themselves. In 2018 alone, L Brands, the parent company of Victoria’s Secret, has seen their shares drop by 41 per cent, largely due to the decrease in sales by VS. For the most part in the fashion industry, modelling was never meant to be a profession that is inclusive and representative of all body types. Models are cast to represent a standard of beauty that a company wants associated with their brand, in order to make people, especially women, feel like they will be more like the models, and therefore more beautiful, if they buy the clothing that they are wearing.

Many brands choose to offer a very limited size range simply because they only want a certain type of customer buying their products.

The CEO of Abercrombie/Hollister Co. has made public statements that they don’t carry sizes larger than a large for women and an extra large for men because they don’t want fat people wearing their clothes. Brandy Melville has grown

an entire chain only selling clothing in one small size. Even some of the largest cosmetics companies continuously release products in a shade range that really only caters to white women.

The reality of the situation is that companies have no obligation or moral responsibility that requires them to be inclusive of different body types, ethnicities, or transgender people.

They have every right to choose to use tiny models and limit the products they sell so that only a certain demographic can use them. Angrily tweeting that Victoria’s Secret is fat-phobic just isn’t going to change the fact that Victoria’s Secret simply does not care to include plus-sized women.

They don’t offer plus-sized clothing and are probably more likely to let themselves go bankrupt than sacrifice the image of fantasy and sex appeal that they have built their brand upon. They aren’t going to offer the coveted “angel” title and extravagant wings to just anyone.

Models are paid to be models because of a combination of things. First and foremost, they’ve most likely won the genetic lottery in terms of height and metabolism.

They are willing to train like athletes and give up carbs and dairy in order to stay in peak physical condition. Oftentimes, they’ve had some kind of work done — like a nose job or fillers.

For the most part in the fashion industry, modelling was never meant to be a profession that is inclusive and representative of all body types.

Increasingly, models are being cast purely for their name and the level of fame they already have, with some of the biggest models in the world right now being the Hadid sisters and Kendall Jenner.

Brands aren’t trying to be representative or even realistic of what women look like, they really just want their brand to be associated with people that are physically elite so that their product seems more unique and valuable.

This isn’t to say that the way the modelling industry is run is right or admirable in any way, it’s just the reality of what is happening.

Instead of wasting your breath trying to make a brand change, simply spend your money elsewhere. Brands like Victoria’s Secret have no obligation or interest to change and be more representative, so stop glorifying them to be the ones who need to pave the way for inclusivity in the industry in order for change to happen. A brand’s definition of beauty does not need to be your definition of beauty and the longer people rely on seeing models who look like them in order to feel beautiful, the longer they’re going to be ultimately disappointed.

• 15

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2018

Sports

SPORTS EDITOR PRANAV DESAI sports@thecord.ca

RECREATION happened during this past summer when Lauren MacBean reached out to Laurier recreation for this great cause.

The winning teams from that competition will be picked to compete in the Special Olympics Youth Games in Toronto in May. -Stefanie Kubacki, Laurier intramurals program coordinator

CHRIS MEHAK/CONTRIBUTED IMAGE

Uniting Special Olympics athletes PRANAV DESAI SPORTS EDITOR

Wilfrid Laurier University student Lauren MacBean is responsible

for creating the Special Olympics Unified Partner Program here at Laurier.

This program is a partnership between the university and Special

Olympics Ontario. It brings Special Olympics athletes together and it gives them an opportunity to play basketball every week.

The inception of the program

“The partnership was brought up to us by Lauren [MacBean]. She reached out to us and her initial idea was to host a one-day tournament, which is something that we are hoping to do in March by co-hosting it with the University of Waterloo,” Stefanie Kubacki, Laurier Intramurals and Instructional Programs coordinator, said.

“The winning teams from that competition will be picked to compete in the Special Olympics Youth Games in Toronto in May.” “That was Lauren’s initial ask but unfortunately with our constraints on our facilities, we decided to co-host with Waterloo — and that’s something we are still planning. So instead, with the

program that we already run with intramurals, we decided why not just let a team play regularly,” she added.

The Unified Partner Program has now become a regular part of the Intramurals program at Laurier.

On Mondays, the Special Olympics athletes get together with their Unified Program teammates (usually students at Laurier).

“The Unified Program works as a one-to-one relationship. For each Special Olympics athlete, there is also a Unified Program athlete playing. They just play intermingled during the games. Usually it’s three Special Olympics athletes and two Unified athletes. They show up every Monday and play basketball,” Kubacki said.

Although this partnership has only recently gotten off the ground, it is something that Laurier Recreation hopes to continue in the future.

“We have all the Unified Athletes for next semester. It is something we want to continue on in the winter semester. As long as we have the interest from the Special Olympics athletes and the Unified Program athletes, we would like to continue this in the years to come as well,” Kubacki said.

The one-day tournament co-hosted by Laurier and the University of Waterloo is planned for March and it looks to be a fantastic opportunity for Special Olympics athletes, thanks to a great idea from a Laurier student.

MEN’S RUGBY

A great ending to a great career ABDULHAMID IBRAHIM LEAD SPORTS REPORTER

It has been a long journey and history has been made.

The Wilfrid Laurier University Golden Hawks men’s Rugby squad captured their first ever OUA medal winning bronze in a 17-6 victory over crosstown rivals, Waterloo Warriors.

A year after losing to the McMaster Marauders in the bronze medal game, the Hawks managed to pull through and avenge that loss in 2018.

“Our goal was obviously winning a medal. Everybody wants gold but you’ve got to settle for what’s realistic. We had a great game against Queen’s and against Guelph. We thought we should’ve been in the gold medal game but we said, look, it’s all over now. Ylou can’t say let’s be in the gold medal game when you haven’t won so let’s win the bronze and prove something,” Andrew Quattrin, fifth-year hooker, said.

After going down 6-0 after the first half, Quattrin lived out the mantra, “big time players make big time plays in big time moments.”

With 10 minutes left in the game, Quattrin went on to score the game-winning try and then added another one to ice the game with

about five minutes left. For his performance, he was also named IG Wealth Management Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Peak Performer for the period ending Nov. 11, 2018.

... without a team, you can’t win anything.

They’re probably 80 per cent of all the awards I’ve accomplished.

-Andrew Quattrin, Laurier men’s varsity rugby player

“That game was crazy. We had a pretty emotional film session before that where a couple vets said their final goodbyes and their careers are done. Some of them won’t actually play rugby ever again. That final game with them was dedicated to them, nobody else. Whoever’s ending their careers, that’s their game, so it meant a lot to win that game. It’s for all of us.”

Make no mistake, this stuff isn’t

new to Quattrin when it comes to showing out.

A four-time OUA all-star (in his first four years), he was also the 2017 OUA MVP. In addition to that, he’s also Laurier’s first and currently only men’s rugby player to be OUA MVP. “A lot of it has been my teammates just helping me and just working as a unit. I’ve been the one to get the acknowledgement so I’m grateful for it but without a team, you can’t win anything. They’re probably 80 per cent of all the awards I’ve accomplished. They’re backbones for me,” Quattrin said.

So it was only fair that in his final game as a Golden Hawk and the only year he missed making the OUA all-star team, he made history once more and proved a point as to why his name will be etched in the history books.

Having been a part of coach Ian McLeod’s first recruiting class, they have gone from being 3-5 in 2014 and 2015, to 2-6 in 2016, to playing in the bronze medal game two years in a row.

With the journey coming to a close for Quattrin and his class, it has been quite the ride as he now looks to the opportunities that await him in the sport of rugby with goals of representing Canada on the senior level.

EVA OU/PHOTO EDITOR

16 • SPORTS

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2018

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

The Johns sisters are proud to be Indigenous PRANAV DESAI SPORTS EDITOR

There are a large number of Indigenous students here at Laurier and two of those students happen to be sisters on the Golden Hawk women’s basketball team.

Skye and Hunter Johns are two forwards on what is a very young and talented women’s basketball roster. Although Skye finished her Master’s degree last year, she decided to come back for one more year for a simple reason: to play basketball with her sister.

“I already have my Master’s [degree] and I knew that [Hunter] got in the basketball team so I came back and got into a different program, basically just to play basketball. It’s way more fun to play with my sister,” she said.

Although this is Hunter’s first year with the Hawks, she is no stranger to post-secondary varsity basketball as she has already spent three years playing basketball for Mohawk College. Hunter has been a massive addition to the team, already contributing with 41 points and 14 assists through eight games.

The Johns sisters are not only extremely important for Laurier’s basketball team, but they are also a crucial part of the Indigenous community at Laurier.

“It’s empowering [to represent the Indigenous community] and I feel proud. I like that there’s an Indigenous presence. In school, we learn about Indigenous people and their history, but we don’t learn about how Indigenous people are living today,” Skye said.

“It’s nice to just say ‘Here are two Indigenous athletes who exist.’ I like representing the Indigenous community and [letting people know] that these are what Indigenous people are like: they are just like everyone else. Obviously we have different cultures, but we’re still here and we look like everyone else.”

Hunter added that being a part of the Indigenous community is

the 2018 season, the Golden Hawks have an overall record of 2-6.

It’s been a tough start to the season for the team, but the players recognize what they need to do in order to improve. “[It’s about] doing all the little things well and keep doing them well. Little things like boxing out every single possession, every single shot. Once we can do the basic things well without hesitation, everything will come together,” Hunter said.

My culture is everything; I am my culture before I am a basketball player. It keeps me connected in that way.

-Hunter Johns, Laurier varsity women’s basketball forward

EVA OU/PHOTO EDITOR

her identity.

“Being Indigenous and playing post-secondary basketball is all part of my identity. My culture is everything; I am my culture before I am a basketball player. It keeps me connected in that way,” she said.

“Being able to bring my culture into the game is cool. Not many Indigenous people are given the opportunity to play at the level we’re playing at and to get the education that we’re getting.”

It was Laurier’s “Embrace Your

Culture” night on Nov. 10 and despite the Hawks’ loss to the Ryerson Rams, it was a night to remember for everyone. The team decided to take a knee during the pre-game national anthem in order to raise awareness about the missing Indigenous women epidemic currently taking place in Canada.

“We get to teach our teammates [about our culture]. A lot of our girls don’t know about Indigenous culture and how we are today.

Just by being there, we get to stop stereotypes from happening and

we get correct and inform people.

We took a knee when the anthem was playing on ‘Embrace Your Culture’ night just to raise awareness for missing Indigenous women in Canada,” Skye said.

“It’s injustice to our people and to get our team [to become] passionate about it is huge. I remember some of the girls telling me how they felt like they were standing up for something. It’s cool in that way just to let people know that we’re still here.”

Through eight games so far in

“Obviously we don’t have the greatest record right now, but we know that we have a lot to improve on. We realize that we need to start practicing harder and not take things for granted. We are also a young team,” Skye said.

“It’s been nice to see how everyone plays and who brings what to the table. We also don’t have a full bench yet, so I think we should be more on the same page in the second half of the season,” she concluded.

The Hawks record should continue to improve as their schedule eases up during the second half the season and as the team starts to mesh together. Skye and Hunter are not only a pair of talented basketball players for the Golden Hawks, it is evident that they are also great role models for the Indigenous community and the student body as a whole at Laurier.

HOCKEY

Golden Hawks looking to turn season around PRANAV DESAI SPORTS EDITOR

It has been an up and down season so far for both the men’s and women’s Laurier hockey teams.

The men’s team lost a few veterans at the end of last year and it seems like their leadership was certainly being missed by the Hawks, at least at the start of the season.

The Hawks got off to a slow start with an 0-4 record, but ever since that fourth loss to the Carleton Ravens, the team has shifted into another gear.

Since that 0-4 start, the Hawks’ record has been a very respectable 5-4, bringing their overall record to 5-8.

But this is a team that is seemingly on the rise.

The defence and goaltending

have gradually improved, and that has been the key behind the Hawks’ turnaround.

With the Hawks losing both of their goaltenders from last year, rookie Tyler Fassl has had to step up and become the starting goaltender for the purple and gold.

It hasn’t been easy for Fassl, but his play has clearly improved game after game.

In terms of statistics, the numbers look similar to last year for the Hawks, as it is Brandon Robinson leading the team in points once again.

It’s been a tougher start for the women’s team under new head coach Kelly Paton.

The team’s level of play, however, has been steadily improving even if their record doesn’t show it.

Similar to the men’s team, the Hawks got off to a rough 0-4 start,

but they have been clawing their way to some impressive victories since then.

The Hawks picked up their first victory under Paton in Windsor on Nov. 3 by a score of 3-0, and then they won a thriller against the Warriors in the “Battle of Waterloo” on Nov. 9 by a score of 3-2.

The Hawks’ record is now 2-6-1 and although many fans would want to see a better win percentage, it’s important to realize that this is still a young team under a new head coach, coming off 5-16-3 season.

Realistically, fans should hope to see growth and development within this talented roster, and so far in 2018, you can make a case that this team has taken a lot of steps in the right direction.

The veterans Kaitlyn Hatzes and Madison MacCulloch have led

the way offensively, and they will need to continue to play at a high level in order for the Hawks to keep winning games.

Realistically, fans should hope to see growth and development within this talented roster ...

The women’s team will take on the Queen’s Gaels in their next game on Friday at the Waterloo Recreation Complex at 7:00 p.m.

Both the women’s and men’s hockey teams suffered difficult losses over the weekend.The men lost against York in a hard fought battle. The Hawks tied the game up at 3-3 heading into the third and final period, but the Lions proved to be too much as they put the Hawks away with a clutch go-ahead goal.

The women’s team lost against the University of Toronto on Sunday by a final score of 1-4.The Varsity Blues simply outmatched the Hawks and put on an offensive showcase.

For the men, it’s the “Battle of Waterloo” next as they will face the Warriors in Laurier’s annual “School Day Game” on Wednesday at the Kitchener Auditorium. Puck drop is set for 11:00 a.m. There are plenty of games left in the season for both teams to turn things around.