THE CORD THE TIE THAT BINDS WILFRID LAURIER UNIVERSITY SINCE 1926
VOLUME 59 ISSUE 6 • SEPTEMBER 26, 2018
THE EYES BEHIND THE GOLDEN HAWK Meeting Midas from the inside out Sports, page 16
MENTAL HEALTH KITS
FOUNTAIN PENS
FEAR BY BOB WOODWARD
COMPARING HARDSHIPS
LACROSSE IS LOOKING UP
UW works to reduce student stress & anxiety
Discussing the most popular writing tools
Reviewing a book with an insider look
Having empathy and validating others’ struggles
Hawks hope to reach OUA title after eight years
News, page 3
Feature, page 8
Arts & Life, page 11
Opinion, page 14
Sports, page 16
Laurier’s Library makerspace: A place to create MARGARET RUSSELL LEAD REPORTER
This year, Wilfrid Laurier University implemented the library makerspace: a facility with a purpose to encourage students to engage in hands-on learning and be able to simply create something with the great variety of equipment and materials made available. The Cord sat down with Darin White, the makerspace’s primary coordinator, the library’s communications and cultural programming associate, as well as a
self-identified maker, who is excited to share his passion for making with Laurier through open-space sessions and workshops. “It is primarily a space for making things with your hands — we like to have a really simple mission,” White said. “We just want to get people working on stuff that is beyond the two-dimensional world.” White has been a part of the maker movement for a long time, and has been active in creating and participating in makerspaces within Kitchener-Waterloo. “I helped create KwartzLab,
“We just want to get people working on stuff that is beyond the twodimensional world.” -Darin White, coordinator of the Library makerspace
which is a makerspace in the community, back in 2009. I helped found an event called Maker Expo, which draws thousands of people every year.” “We got our doors open here at the makerspace in January. The first and only tool was a sewing machine that I got from Value Village and I chose the sewing machine very purposefully,” White said. White explains that the sewing machine is something that everyone can learn to use and being able to sew is a skill that everyone can find a purpose for at some point in
their life. The makerspace has now expanded their inventory of mediums with multiple 3D printers, photography equipment, modelling clay, knitting, crocheting and robotics. “We were out at the Get Involved fair talking to a lot of people,” White stated. “We even taught a number of people how to solder.” “The space is mostly an incubator of creation, so you may have a plan and we have the tools to make it happen,” said Alex Vassel, a Laurier student and avid maker. Continued on Page 3.
2 •
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2018
VOCAL CORD What would you make with a 3D printer?
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PHOTO OF THE WEEK
“Skeleton of a hand forming a piano cord.” –Caleb DeGroot-Maggetti, third-year community music
“A working saxaphone.” –James Tordecilla, second-year religion and cultural studies SARAH TYLER/VIDEO EDITIOR
Wilfrid Laurier University’s new makerspace lab has various resources for students to use for free, such as a 3D Printer and other hands on equipment.
“Prosthetic limbs.” –Jenna Matthew, second-year history
“Money.” –Linnea Vaz, fourthyear environmental studies
WANT EXCLUSIVE CONTENT? HEAD ON OVER TO WWW.THECORD.CA TO STAY UP-TO-DATE ON BREAKING NEWS.
Compiled by Margaret Russell Photos by Jackie Vang NEXT ISSUE OCTOBER 3, 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
Joseph DeFilippis Jacob Arand Josh Goeree Brittany Tenhage Jennifer Webb Yana Manevska Victoria Marshall
Midas: The Laurier Mascot from inside out By Pranav Desai
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COLOPHON The Cord is the official student newspaper of the Wilfrid Laurier University community. Started in 1926 as the College Cord, The Cord is an editorially independent newspaper published by Wilfrid Laurier University Student Publications, Waterloo, a corporation without share capital. WLUSP is governed by its board of directors. Opinions expressed within The Cord are those of the author and do not necessarily refl ect those of the editorial board, The Cord, WLUSP, WLU or CanWeb Printing Inc. All content appearing in The Cord bears the copyright expressly of their creator(s) and may not be used without written consent. The Cord is created using Macintosh computers running OS X 10.10 using Adobe Creative Cloud. Canon cameras are used
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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: “I NEED A QUOTE OF THE WEEK.” - Editor-in-Chief, Safina Husein, every single week. ww
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2018
News
• 3 NEWS EDITOR HAYLEY MCGOLDRICK news@thecord.ca
NEWS EDITOR AARON HAGEY news@thecord.ca
CREATIVITY
Take part in “making” culture at library makerspace
SARAH TYLER/VIDEO EDITOR
— COVER The makerspace has an extremely open door policy in which students are encouraged to stop by simply with the desire to create and try new things. As well, White encourages students to share their own skills with other students in an effort to facilitate “meta-making” and growth of the maker-movement. Community involvement for students is something very important to White. In June, he and 15 student volunteers spent a weekend at the Kitchener Auditorium teaching over 500 people how to solder. “You’re making these connections through soldering but you’re
also making a connection with the person you’re teaching,” he said. White is encouraging students to participate in making and exploring new skills, through a variety of workshops. These are provided by Darin himself or many guests from within the community, who are eager to share their skills and interests. “You’re students, but you are also teachers and you are makers,” White added. “Last week we had Deborah MacLatchy, your Laurier President. She came in and she did a workshop in 3D design,” White said. “Earlier in the year we ran a workshop in partnership with Melissa Ireland at the Indigenous
We just want to get people working on stuff that is beyond the two-dimensional world.
-Darin White, primary coordinator of makerspace at WLU
Students’ Centre … they offered a drum making workshop which was fantastic. And they’re coming back
in November for ‘Rock Your Mocs’.” White also took a group of students to Two Smiths, a local black smith’s shop for a makerspace field trip. “If you think about Laurier’s strategic plan, a pillar of that is experiential learning, and the way I interpret that is helping people make stuff,” White added. White mentioned that the makerspace is not currently funded by Laurier: “We’re hoping that we’ve demonstrated through this [past year] the value in this space so that we can continue and expand our mission.” “Your university librarian, Gohar Ashougian, has a vision of the
library as a cultural crossroads … this is a great vision and that’s part of what inspired me to come here: this vision of people from across programs all get together and make stuff … it’s a really great space to meet people,” White said. White also noted his advocacy for student wellness and how he believes that the makerspace has created not only an area in which students can come and create physical things, but also come and genuinely interact with different people. “I was delighted to discover that people will come here and say, ‘ah! I’ve found my people!’,” White added. “That’s a pretty powerful thing.”
AWARDS
Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction announced HAYLEY MCGOLDRICK NEWS EDITOR
The Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction has been announced, and the winner is Pauline Dakin’s Run, Hide, Repeat. A memoir of her childhood, Dakin recalls a time in her life she had not yet come to terms with in this novel. “It recounts my childhood and young adulthood, when there were some odd things going on with the family, and so it was my attempt to come to terms with a lot of those things as an adult, after most of the main characters in the story were gone,” said Dakin. An assistant professor at the University of King’s College School of Journalism in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Dakin has written journalist pieces for many years. She works in broadcasting for CBC Nova Scotia and her first lengthy piece, this novel, had been shortlisted for four different awards, winning the Edna Staebler, and was also one of the Globe and Mail’s Top 100 Books of 2017. “I started off trying to make sense of what had happened. I
EVA OU/PHOTO EDITOR
tried to forget about it for a long time, but you get to a certain age and you feel more of a need to try and make sense of things
that have happened in your life, so that’s what I was doing.” said Dakin. The recipient of the award receives $10,000, and as the award
is nationally recognized, it is a very prestigious honour in Canadian literature. Dakin’s book is based on her real-life experiences, and though the book is a creative piece, she still wanted to ensure the book was unapologetically herself. “I really love that this award is the Canadian award that recognizes creative non-fiction because it’s the genre, obviously the genre I chose to write in, a lot of people said to me ‘Why don’t you write it in fiction?’ but it was important to me that it be rooted in real life, and real stories, but I also love to try and write lyrically and use all of the tools that fiction writers have in terms of setting scenes, dialogue and character development,” she said. Dakin is not only excited to be receiving the award, but also the exposure of her choice storytelling medium and the similarities between Edna Staebler and herself. “It thrills me that those works are honoured and recognized in terms of, as they say true stories well told.” ”Also, Edna Staebler found her success when she was a little bit
further along in life,” she said. “I’m in my 50’s now so here I am also finding some success later in life, so I like that symmetry,” Dakin said. The life of Run, Hide, Repeat does not end with this award however, as the novel will continue to grow into other projects. Yet new ideas are still in the back of Dakin’s mind. “I have a couple of other little projects underway, but I’m not completely finished with Run, Hide, Repeat yet. It’s going to be developed into a limited television series,” Dakin said. “That’s a bit of scoop actually, it hasn’t officially been announced, but it is official. I will be a producer on that project, so I’m still working around the same material here, so I haven’t got a whole ton of time for my new projects, but I will come back to them.” Dakin will be at Laurier on Thursday, Nov. 8 from 3:30-5:00 p.m. as the Edna Stabler award will be presented to her. She will also be conducting a book reading, taking place in the Robert Langen Art Gallery and the library.
4 • NEWS
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2018
INNOVATION
TEDx comes to Laurier to inspire and encourage Conference brings eight renowned, high-profile speakers to discuss the topic of innovation at WLU MARGARET RUSSELL LEAD REPORTER
On Friday, Sept. 21, TEDxWLU took place at Laurier’s Senate and Board Chamber. This year’s all-day event was independently organized by students and featured nine guest speakers, three TED Library Talks, as well as a networking event in which students and guest speakers had the opportunity to connect. The event’s lead coordinator, Sulay Shah, is a third-year BBA and Computer Science student. Shah utilized his passion for innovation and admiration of TED talks to bring the event back to campus and provide Laurier students with the opportunity to connect with successful innovators, entrepreneurs and motivators. TEDx has been previously brought to Laurier, back in 2011 and 2016 at the Waterloo campus, as well as last year at the Brantford campus. The theme for this year’s TEDxWLU event was innovation, in which each speaker was allotted 15 minutes to share their wisdom and experiences with a young and curious audience. The event’s lineup of guests was successful in providing
I think it went decently this time and I plan to do it again next year … I would like to make it an annual event.
-Sulay Shah, third-year BBA and Computer Science student
SADMAN SAKIB RAHMAN/CREATIVE DIRECTOR
a wide diversity of talks that ranged from mental health awareness to philanthropy. Before lunch, TEDxWLU hosted the CEO of Trufan, Swish Goswami, the CEO of ApplyBoard, Martin Basiri, Keith (Mac Gives) Diaz — a.k.a. “the Modern Monk” and founder of “KickStart Your Work,” Kalyna Miletic. Afterwards, attendees heard from professor of physics and computer science at Laurier and faculty advisor of Women in Science Shohini Ghose, professional consultant and vice president of market-
ing at Lenbrook June Ip, managing director at OCAD University Kevin Morris and former NBA player Carrick Felix. “Almost every single speaker has been hand-picked,” Shah stated. “I gave the team a list to try and reach out to people. The ones who it did work out with, we got together and discussed the event.” Sulay and his team of coordinators had been working hard on getting the event together. Budgeting was crucial to provide the students and guests with lunch, which was catered by Shawarma Plus, and
refreshments including a selection of hot beverages from David’s Tea. TEDx is a program facilitated by TED that allows independent organizers to curate their own TED events. “You basically have to apply to TED and they’ll give you a onetime license that you can reapply for … you have to follow the rules they give you,” Shah said. “The license is free, TED also doesn’t give you any [monetary] support. Some of it’s paid for by ticket sales, and the rest of it is from our own money.”
All of the speakers who were featured at the event volunteered their time to speak and attend the networking event and all seemed eager to connect with our student body. The event offered 100 tickets for sale in which they sold nearly all. Students of Laurier were offered tickets for a discounted price of $20, rather than $30. “I think it went decently this time and I plan to do it again next year. I would like to make it an annual event,” Shah added. “Eventually I would pass on the torch and provide mentorship and connections, but for now I just want to make sure everything goes smoothly.”
RESEARCH
Health Sciences gains their first Scholar-in-Residence HAYLEY MCGOLDRICK NEWS EDITOR
The Faculty of Health Sciences has recently announced that they will be appointing Dr. Neil Arya as their first ever scholar-in-residence. Dr. Arya is a family physician in the Kitchener-Waterloo area, as well as chair of the PEGASUS Global Health Conference and president of the Canadian Physicians for Research and Education in Peace (CPREP). Appointed to the position for two years, the aim of having a scholar-in-residence is to transfer the knowledge and real-world experience Dr. Arya has had to students as well as helping with directed studies. Dr. Arya’s areas of research include the health of marginalized and refugee populations. “The formal roles are more in terms of teaching a directed studies course, so I have seven students who are learning about family medicine around the world. We will try to associate that with health systems’ performance, so this is something that we are doing for the fall,” Arya said. Laurier is not the first institute Dr. Arya has worked at. He has already had experience working at post-secondary institutions, as he is an adjunct professor of Envi-
ronment and Resource studies at the University of Waterloo, an assistant clinical professor in Family Medicine at McMaster University and was a founding director of the Global Health Office at Western University. Arya’s aim at Laurier is not strictly to look at alternative medicines in the world in the global health perspective, but rather the ways that Western medicine and its systems are affected by influxes of refugees from other countries. “I’ve got a few students who are also volunteering with me; we have modules on collected tropical disease that I was involved with developing and so they need to be updated,” Arya said. “I have a book coming out in the next week about health determinants in underserved populations in Canada, so concentrating on indigenous refugees and students will help me doing a web supplement — beyond that we’re looking at relationships overseas, not just in health sciences.” His goal is that with how involved he is with organizations who are developing ways to transform global health systems, his resources will be of use to students who are looking to achieve the same end goal. “Over the last many years, I’ve developed contacts overseas, but
also in Canada with the organizations I work with, and I think that using some of those could be of use. During my time at the Global Health Office at Western University I made some exchange partners there,” said Arya. He also wants to make sure students are equipped with the tools they need when traveling across the world to accomplish these tasks. “It involves a bit more obligation on the students, but it may lead to a richer experience having true partnerships overseas,” said Arya. “I think that right now we have great support from the international office, so I hope to enhance what’s already there.” Although things like alternative medicine do play a role in health and healing overseas, the aim of Dr. Arya and his directed studies students is not only to educate themselves on these topics, but rather to include them in their vision of global health. “Other perspectives on medicine, like in India having homeopathy or Unani, it’s not so much that, although I will be meeting with people in Delhi University, that’s not the specific role to look at,” Arya said. “Many of the students in health sciences may be using me as a connection in the health system.”
JACKIE VANG/LEAD PHOTOGRAPHER
NEWS • 5
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2018 HEALTH AND WELLNESS
EQUALITY
Reflecting on the 2017-18 directors: Part 2 SAFINA HUSEIN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
This story is the second and third parts in a four-part series released by The Cord. For Part One, and the full version of part two and three, please visit www.thecord.ca.
“PASS kits” given to UW students to help combat panic and anxiety EVA OU/PHOTO EDITOR
AARON HAGEY NEWS EDITOR
It’s no surprise to students that mental health and wellness has become a greater priority for schools, as many students are currently or have previously experienced issues, especially regarding not knowing how to deal with mental health emergency situations when they occur. Because of this, for orientation week at the University of Waterloo, first-year students were given an emergency “health kit” to help deal with some of the symptoms associated with panic, anxiety and stress. These PASS kits, which stands for panic, anxiety and stress support, are a “first aid” solution to many of the overwhelming, suffocating and overstimulating feelings that accompany the emotions that many students experience in times of panic or anxiety. These kits come with a series of distractions, which can help one overcome these feelings and include a squeezable stress ball, ear plugs, a sleeping mask, a pack of gum and a deck of 25 flash cards with helpful advice and comments for those experiencing anxiety or stress-related symptoms. Originally circulated in 2015, the kits were created by Tina Chan, a Masters of Science candidate in the School of Public Health and Health Systems at the University of Waterloo. In a 2016 interview with Tina Chan, the St. Paul’s University College GreenHouse Fellows, an affiliate of UW, uncovered some the ambitions that drove her to a business venture that she considered to be rather unexpected. “Like many students, I experienced a lot of stress during my first couple years of university. I saw a lot of my peers drop out of school altogether because of stress. That’s something I think just shouldn’t happen,” Chan said in the press release. “If you have the ability and opportunity to be in higher education, stress should not be a barrier. There are many mental health supports for students in universities, but there are also a number of barriers.” In seeing these issues in others, as well as herself, Chan took it
upon herself to do something about a pervasive issue that affects many students in a way that they either are incapable of or don’t have the information or resources to change.
I saw a lot of my peers drop out of school altogether because of stress. That’s something I think just shouldn’t happen. -Tina Chan, graduate student at the University of Waterloo
According to their website, PASS has three primary goals in promoting the kit: improve access to evidence-based support tools, add urgency to treating mental trauma and understanding symptoms and spark change in the conversation against mental health discrimination. “I wanted to come up with a way to help students cope better with stress themselves, as well as encouraging them to talk about mental health,” Chan said in the press release. Karen Ostrander, director of the Student Wellness Centre at the Wilfrid Laurier University, is optimistic of the kit’s potential to do good, but maintains a healthy sense of skepticism at its efficacy. “I think it’s certainly an interesting idea. It helps address the issue — it’s certainly a way to show that the institution has an interest in [the students],” Ostrander said. While the PASS kits do provide tools for the immediate relief of anxiety, panic and stress symptoms, they do function — as one might expect from a “first aid kit” — as just a temporary solution. Ostrander is concerned that, although the kits might be helpful for students experiencing these symptoms, she wonders what the follow-up is with regard to accessing on-campus mental health resources. “I’m not exactly sure what’s in there as far as where resources [are],” Ostrander said. “[At Laurier,
we] give stress balls out at orientation, we have our contact information on it. We want to try and direct towards resources and that sort of thing.” “It’s not a bad idea, [but] there needs to be multiple angles to try and connect or let people know that there is help.” Drawing from her own experience working with the university’s Health and Wellness centre, she offers some perspective into the past initiatives the university has tried to implement to get students interested in the conversation. “Years and years ago, we used to try and put together an orientation kit with a variety of information and give to all the first year students. They are inundated with so much information, it was hard to know how much of that got through and how much of that just got thrown in a bag and stuffed at the side of their room,” Ostrander said. “There’s a number of events during orientation week that specifically address mental health, consent, those sorts of things.” Ostrander feels that it is crucial to let students know that “it’s gonna be a stressful time, absolutely. It’s a transition time: their first time away from home, often the first time away from parents, in a strange environment — and acknowledge maybe that stress is normal.” While the university has no immediate plans for these kinds of mental health first aid kits, she is nonetheless adamant that their approach to mental health and wellness is the best for Laurier, for the time being. And although the university doesn’t provide kits like these, she instead reflects on WLU’s efforts to provide a solid foundation and support for any individual who is experiencing mental health issues. “What we’ve tried to do — it’s certainly been an ongoing process — we’ve been doing a number of things over the years, trying to improve our services and improve the connections between our services,” Ostrander said. “We’re constantly looking at other supports that we can try and provide and try to meet demand, we’ve developed a series of psycho-educational workshops that we launched last year and that
have been building in success that we offer a couple times a week … around certain issues that can certainly impact your mental health: self-care and resilience are one of the topics, food and mood, social media and mental health.” Mental health and wellness, as well as being able to deal with the associated problems, have become a priority for universities across the country. Initiatives like PASS and programs at universities like Laurier and Waterloo, are the beginning stages of that conversation being taken more seriously. In the Spring of 2016, the American College Health Association’s National College Health Assessment, a national research survey, reported that “within the last 12 months, students reported the following factors affecting their individual academic performance”: 42.9 per cent of respondents reported stress, 33.1 per cent reported anxiety, 21.9 per cent reported depression and 7.2 per cent reported death of a family member. Additionally, “students reported experiencing the following within
It’s not a bad idea, [but] there needs to be multiple angles to try and connect, or let people know that there is help. -Karen Ostrander, director at the Student Wellness Centre
the last 12 months:” 89.2 per cent experienced feelings that they were “overwhelmed by all [they] had to do,” 87.8 per cent “felt exhausted,” but not from physical activities, 67.8 per cent “felt very lonely” and 61.4 per cent experienced feelings that “things were hopeless.” Mental health issues are not something that students should feel alone in experiencing anymore. In the constantly changing and turbulent world that we are now a part of, there are resources available to reach out to.
For the board of directors, a unit which makes significant decisions for students and on behalf of students, maintaining transparency is a trait the Students’ Union and board of directors commonly discusses and strives towards. Students’ Union’s Facebook live videos, live Twitter updates, as well as meeting minutes are all examples of avenues which students can use to stay informed and hold the board accountable. However, this past year, this accountability seemed to be lacking with regards to the board’s meeting minutes. In particular, some meeting’s minutes this past year were left incomplete for months at a time and, according to various directors, were inconsistent in terms of their accuracy and attention to detail. Ian Muller, director of policy, research and advocacy at the Students’ Union, explained that each meeting’s minutes is to be completed by the secretary, who is hired and employed by the board. Although the secretary is an employee of the collective board, the chair — as representative of the board — works closely with the secretary, monitoring the responsibilities of the secretary. According to Plummer, the inconsistency surrounding meeting minutes first stemmed from the secretary’s resignation last summer. “This is the first time in a long time that we’ve had a board secretary who had resigned. When that board secretary resigned there was a back log of minutes that were supposed to be passed but were never passed,” Plummer said. Plummer noted that the backlog of minutes was from two of the board’s longest meetings which took place over the summer of the 2017-18 year — one of which was five hours and the other which was four hours in length. As a result, the new secretary that was hired in September had a difficult time keeping up with ongoing meetings while catching up on the significant amount of minutes that were still left from the summer months. However, much of this backlog was still left incomplete in Dec. 2017. In fact, the Aug. 11 meeting minutes weren’t released until second semester of the 2017-18 board’s tenure. “The Students’ Union Constitution outlines that minutes of board meetings have to be approved by the board of directors at a subsequent board meeting … not necessarily at the very next meeting, just at a subsequent meeting,” Muller said. Continued online.
6 • GAMES
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2018 WORD SEARCH
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GAMES • 7
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 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 submisions 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.
Sincerely, A sub shouldn’t take 22-minutes Dear Laurier, The movie Monster’s University was more accurate than I had anticipated.
Why have you foresaken my once more? Sincerely, Missed my morning class, again
Sincerely, A new hawk Dear Apollo Cinema,
Dear Waterloo, Sincerely, A big fan of $5 movies
Dear Queer,
Found the love of my life in Uni but still can’t find parking around campus.
Check out Uptown Waterloo! They have a Rainbow Crosswalk!
Sincerely, Perpetually late
Sincerely, Same
Dear Life
Dear Life, The staff at the food court are the most under-trained, under-staffed I’ve ever seen. Do better, Laurier.
The Pros and Cons to working here are; it can be a home for the misfits but they also never leave. Sincerely, Dum Dada Dum
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
Dear Life,
I would like to see more of you, you are all very good.
HeHaheHAheHAhehermHAhermHAhe
Sincerely, I love you all
Sincerely, Kawhi Leonard
Dear Safina,
Dear CH,
I like your hats, SO FETCH.
Lots of hearts. That’s all.
Sincerely, Hatless Wonder
Why can’t I say no? I’m drowning. Sincerely, Overwhelmed
Sincerely, Happy
Dear Hatless Wonder,
Dear Life,
Dear Life, Sincerely, Queer
Dear Dogs,
Dear Life,
You’re doing amazing, sweetie!!!! Can we get some gay crossing signs like they have in Trafalger Square?
learn Dear phone alarm,
Dear Life, Thank you for the cooler weather. I can wear cute clothes and not sweat buckets. Please send a boyfriend next. Sincerely, Cool enough to be your GF Dear Art Faculty, Why is it that in every english, history, or film studies class, there is always at least one socially inept oddity that makes the rest of the class feel uneasy whenever they speak? Sincerely, The quiet kid who just wants to
Our Babcock who ‘art in Toronto. Hall-of-fame will be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy trophy won. Cheering as loud at home as they do at the arena. Give us Nylander our daily point maker and forgive us our doubts, As we forgive us our boudts, As we forgive those that have doubted against us. Lead us not into losing to Buffalo, but deliver us from the first round. For thine is our winnings. The power-play, and the glory. For at least 10 years.
Thx, I’m trying the hat forward-thingy. Sincerely, Hat girl Dear assignments instructions, Can you be just, like, a little more clear? Sincerely, Lost Dear Life, Why does quote of the week exist.
Sincerely, Amen
Sincerely, I want to PDF Page 2
8 •
FEATU
FEATURES EDITOR/MADELINE MCINNIS/FEATURES@THECORD.CA
A Fountain for Y Students and the W
Features Editor Madeline McInnis and Arts and unexpected way to up your grades in When you think of fountain pen users, you probably think of one of two categories: lawyers and politicians who can afford pens that cost thousands of dollars or the oddball novelist who writes exclusively in leather notebooks. Although these stereotypes have their merits, the “writing renaissance,” as this period in writing history is affectionately being called, is actually being brought about by an entirely different demographic: university students. “Whether it’s 18-year-olds going into university or 22-year-olds leaving university, I think there is so much that is coming to them via the internet and all kinds of social media, and I think that the fountain pen is a pleasant change,” said Mano Duggal, owner of Phidon Pens in Cambridge. In the Waterloo region, fountain pens enjoy a considerable following and fan base. You only need to look at the incredibly successful and popular pen shop, Phidon Pens, as well as the great amount of people who share in the same passion for all things writing. Increasingly, students are becoming a larger and larger portion of this group. Phidon is located in Downtown Galt and features enough inks, pens, notebooks and accessories to keep you looking around for hours. The store just celebrated its tenth anniversary in September with celebrations including a sale, calligraphy demonstrations and a ribbon-cutting ceremony with Cambridge Mayor Doug Craig. “Over the years, I’ve given some interviews and the people ask me ‘why pens, why do you sell pens?’ and I always say ‘why not?’” Duggal said. The two of us attended both days of the celebration and there was not a single dull moment. The store was always full of people enjoying everything the store has to offer, as well as all of their special displays and products for the anniversary. Predictably, we were not the only students that stuck around. “I just feel like students have a low budget that they are working with and they’re buying pens and notebooks that are mainly being used for their education, so it’s just a small little break that I offer them,” Duggal explained, in reference to the 10 per cent student discount she offers at her store throughout the year. “I always tease students when they come in and say ‘that’s my contribution to your education!’” Though the teasing is light and kindhearted, Duggal’s sentiments ring truer than she intended in the moment. Countless studies have shown that handwriting notes improves grades, so buying a fountain pen at a discounted price really could be an investment — a serious contribution — to our educations. Though I’m not sure that there’s been any research into the direct correlation between fountain pens and straight A’s, I think it’s safe to say that you’re way more likely to want to write with a smooth, flowing pen than a 30 cent ballpoint. “When I was in college years and years ago, I found that it’s easier to retain information if you write it out. So, when I was studying, I would literally just write out my notes three or four times and it was committed to memory,” said Kata Law, a local artist and owner of Wanderlust Watercolours.
On top of using fountain pens for her art, Law also ran the only Pelikan Hub in the Waterloo Region in both 2017 and 2018. Pelikan Hub is an annual global event where pen lovers meet at 6:30 p.m. in their respective timezones all across the world for socializing, networking with other pen users and professionals and trying new products. Cambridge’s Hub was one of the largest in Canada with over 30 participants. Toronto’s attendance was the second largest in the world with over 100 registered guests. It’s pretty safe to say that this is an excited community. And who makes up that community? At Law’s Hub this year in Cambridge, there was a student in a Laurier sweater. There were two University of Waterloo students of note. We personally sat next to a student from Conestoga College who had introduced his mother and sister to fountain pens. There was no shortage of student representation at this international event, that’s for sure, and we were all excited to talk about our experiences in the fountain pen community and compare pens. In particular, the consensus between us students seemed to be that there was a strong connection between thinking about what we wrote and actually remembering it. “It lets people be mindful of what they’re writing ... You have to think about it, you can’t just sit and erase everything,” Law said. The permanency of writing in pen is something that will help come time for exams, but it will also help in actually retaining the information that you learned. You don’t have to have a photographic memory to remember how you wrote something on a page, and something as simple as using a specific colour can help jog your memory when it really counts. That’s all fine and dandy, but you can get that with any pen, not just a fountain pen. So what’s the big draw? The answer lies in the experience of writing itself. Have you ever used a pen so smooth that you don’t want to put it down? It was probably a gel pen or rollerball that just flowed with ink. Picture that feeling every time you write. The experience of a pen with a nice weight in your hand that writes perfectly every time and requires absolutely no effort on your end — all with the added bonus of having infinite colour choices that pre-packaged pens can’t provide: that’s what a fountain pen is. “I think it makes my writing look a lot better and it feels very nice to write with,” said Sarah Szymanski, a fourth year Laurier student. Szymanski recently started writing with a fountain pen for the first time. The biggest drawback from getting a fountain pen, like almost anything in university, is the initial cost. From $6 here at our own bookstore to $975,083.08 on Ebay, the current highest listed amount for a fountain pen, the cost associated with getting into the hobby can be, well, scary. “I feel that, if you get one, it’s always your first [fountain] pen. And you can get a ballpoint for 50 cents, but you’re not going to enjoy the experience of writing, which, if you’re going to be writing that much, you may as well enjoy the experience of it while you’re doing it,” Law said. Having a pleasurable writing experience isn’t the only draw to our favourite inky friends, however. As single-use plastics are becoming more and more taboo, some of us are starting to think twice about the amount of plastic pens we use, and that’s another draw towards something that’s refillable. “It’s really exciting that it’s reusable. When I’m done with the ink, I don’t throw the whole pen out and have to get a new one. I can just refill the ink cartridge and I still get to keep the same really cool pen and use it forever, probably,” Szymanski said. And that’s true, too. If you take good care of your pens, they can
URES
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2018 • 9
Youth: University Writing Renaissance
d Life Editor Michael Oliveri detail the easiest, n university: a fountain pen
I always tease students when they come in and say ‘that’s my contribution to your education!’ - Mano Duggal, Owner of Phidon Pens
outlive you. There’s even dedicated fountain pen enthusiasts who work exclusively with pens from the early 1900s. For us modern fountain pen users, though, there’s always a new thing coming out. Szymanski uses her fountain pen, a Lamy Vista, to take notes during class. This is her first fountain pen, and, coincidentally, Law’s first fountain pen was a Lamy Vista too. But, as any fountain pen user can attest, once you buy one, you have to have more. It’s a hobby that just keeps growing, whether it’s a new ink colour, a new pen every few weeks or just taking the time to refill your pens at the end of a long day. When asked if she would buy another fountain pen, Szymanski said “Yes definitely. Definitely, so I can use ... different colours instead of just switching this one out.” Personally, we write all of our notes in black and add accents, like the date, key terms and headings, in colours. When it comes time for actually studying those notes, we feel like we’re seven steps ahead, actually studying instead of flipping over to Facebook every time I try to read our notes. “I definitely feel that there is a strong need for bringing back pens in the classroom. Definitely, writing is good for you,” Duggal said. Students are creating what has been cited as the so-called writing renaissance, bringing the fountain pen mainstream again. It’s a fact that we have a lot to write and a lot to say. There are few occupations that require so much writing, so now’s the time to really get the most out of your investment into a good pen — or 10. That said, you don’t have to ditch your MacBook and hand in all of your essays in cursive. In fact, that’s probably not advisable at all.
You can find a happy medium between your screen usage and your handwriting, and it’s probably recommended to do both for the best grades possible anyway. “Writing is as old as civilization: I see no reason why [using both fountain pens and computers] shouldn’t go hand in glove,” Duggal said. “But, nonetheless, if [less screen time] means that we’re slowly coming back to a point where people find it interesting and useful to use a fountain pen, I say fantastic. I think it’s great.” Though it probably seems retro and cool to those of us who are using them now, the prestige of the pen never really died — it just got overshadowed by our ballpoints and their availability. However, if you’re looking to be part of an unspoken movement, it’s as simple as handwriting your class notes. Simply, in summary, Law said it best: “Get a fountain pen, they’re awesome.” You don’t have to commit to impulse buying your first pen like we did, though. Chances are that if you see someone using a fountain pen, they’ll want to talk to you about their fountain pen. As long as it’s not a Visconti or a MontBlanc, they might just let you try it, too. “I think the fountain pen community is growing exponentially and pretty much everyone is kind and willing to share their information,” Law encouraged. “If you have any questions, ask someone who has a fountain pen. Just don’t break it when you borrow it.”
LAYOUT BY SADMAN SAKIB RAHMAN/CREATIVE DIRECTOR
10 •
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2018
Arts & Life
ARTS & LIFE EDITOR MICHAEL OLIVERI arts@thecord.ca
DRINK
The delicious options for smoothies in KW EMILY WAITSON OPINION EDITOR
Over the past few years, I’ve grown to love smoothies. I don’t really mind making them for myself if I need to, but when it comes to purchasing my own, it’s best to find the one that’s worth it in terms of taste and price. Smoothies can be expensive depending on where you buy them from, so after a lot of taste testing and experimenting, I’ve narrowed down my favourite places to go to for a post-workout drink. For the sake of consistency, I’ve kept my choices in relatively the same size and flavour range. Booster Juice Regular Mango Hurricane Mangos, strawberries, guava, passion fruit, peach, yogurt. $6.45 Booster Juice is the reigning champion in terms of smoothie selection and will always be my go-to if I’m willing to spend a little extra. Although it isn’t the cheapest on this list, for the size and taste,
it’s certainly worth it. Perfectly blended, creamy and smooth, the Mango Hurricane is just the right tropical drink choice that I’m never disappointed with buying. As well, they have a variety of boosters that you can add to your drink depending on your preference and need, giving it that little extra something that makes you feel like you’re actually consuming something healthy. Yogen Früz Medium Tropical storm No-fat frozen yogurt bar, mango, pineapple, banana, orange juice. $4.95 I love Yogen Früz. A cheaper option than Booster Juice, it does the job and does it well. Although their smoothies aren’t as thick or creamy, they still taste really good and don’t make you feel like you’re drinking blended grass just to get in some vitamins. They make their smoothies with frozen fruit that you can see them using, so you know what’s going into your drink right in front of you. If I’m feeling indulgent, I double up with their frozen yogurt, which is never a bad decision. McDonald’s Medium Strawberry Mango Pineapple Smoothie with yogurt
Self Defence Smoothie $7.99
NICOLE GROSSMAN/CORD PHOTOGRAPHY
Ice, yogurt, real strawberry, pineapple, mango purée. $2.79
Mango, turmeric, pineapple, honey, banana, coconut milk $5.99
Honestly, you can’t go wrong with this price. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that McDonald’s smoothies are pretty good for the amount you pay for them and I’ve consistently bought one each time I go there. Although it won’t balance much out if you’re still getting a Big Mac and fries, it’s a decently healthy option that’s cheap and tasty. I would definitely consider this one to be the most reasonable choice overall in terms of cost and taste.
I’m a big fan of Freshii, but their prices hurt my wallet every time I go there and I have to make sure that what I’m buying is worth it. Their smoothies are fairly reasonable in terms of cost, but their taste isn’t something that I would hand over money for every time I walk in. This particular flavour combo is unique and it definitely won’t be for everyone, but it’s my top choice. It has a zingy taste that wakes you up, so it’s great if you need a bit of a boost in the morning or you’re getting over a cold.
Freshii Recoverii Smoothie
The Golden Mean Wellness Shoppe & Healthcare Clinic
Even though it’s the most expensive smoothie on the list, I really like this hidden little gem of a wellness store in Downtown Kitchener. The staff who work there are lovely, the store is beautiful and they have a wide variety of health products and other services available as well as their smoothies. This one is packed with vitamin C, has quite the kick and is designed to boost your immune system — which is perfect for flu season. I would recommend this choice if you’re fighting off a bug or you feel one coming on and you’re willing to pay a little extra to give your body some added TLC. Overall, each of these smoothie places is a respectable choice — they each have different pros and cons that make them more desirable depending on your order of preference. Booster Juice is great due to their taste and location right across the street from the university and McDonald’s has budget friendly options that don’t completely sacrifice taste and quality. When in doubt though, you can’t go wrong with making your own smoothie at home — the key is having fresh ingredients on hand and a powerful blender.
FILM
Are you still watching? The Package JACOB ARAND CORD ARTS
Have you ever been scrolling though Netflix and see something that makes you go “Hmm, I wonder if that’s any good,” but then you just end up rewatching The Office for the fifteenth time? Well that’s what I’m here for. Not the part about The Office, but to tell you if things on Netflix are actually worth your time. Up first we have a movie called The Package, although it is sometimes stylized as just an eggplant emoji. The Package is a movie about a group of teenagers who decide that they are going to hike deep into the woods and get insanely drunk in order to celebrate spring break. All is well until one of these teenagers suffers an accident that costs him his penis. The rest of the movie follows the remaining friends as they rush to get the penis back to its rightful owner. So right off the bat I’m sure you can tell that The Package isn’t going to win any awards, nor do I think it tried to. The movie is terribly low-brow. You can’t write a movie featuring a severed penis and not have it filled to the brim with toilet humour of the lowest caliber. Now I’m no snob when it comes
to comedy, but there is a limit. After about the twentieth dick joke I start to wonder if life has anything more to offer. In the case of The Package, it did not. But the low-brow comedy doesn’t stop with innuendos, because The Package utilizes every opportunity to try and gross out the audience by having the characters do various things with the severed member. I was going to list a few of the actions that are portrayed in the movie, but I realized that as soon as I do that I’m no better than the group of twelve year-olds that apparently ran the writers room. Now it isn’t all bad, I have to admit. The Package does have a few moments that got a laugh out of me. Well, it was more like a chuckle, and I could count all of those moments on one hand, but the point still stands. The highlight of this movie in my opinion is the acting. In spite of a script that is just terrible, the actors featured in The Package actually have some pretty impressive talent in terms of comedy. Whenever The Package would illicit a chuckle from me it would never be because of the joke itself, but because of the delivery. It was almost like these actors knew how
dumb this movie was, and instead of trying to play it straight they had some fun with it, and this really shines through in the final product. But unfortunately this isn’t enough to save the film. The Package has its story completely set up in the first 25 minutes, and then it has seemingly its entire story finished at the 45 minute mark; this is half-way through the movie. Already it felt like I had been watching The Package for at least 90 minutes, so imagine my surprise when what I thought was the resolution of the film was yet another complication. The Package just doesn’t know when to stop. It always tries to squeeze one more joke or comedic scenario out of this already tired story, and frankly it’s exhausting. Overall, The Package exists in kind of a weird place. It tries to be a raunchy teen comedy but gets preoccupied with grotesque jokes that just make you uncomfortable. When the comedy is taken out of the equation of this movie you are left with absolutely nothing but a desire for it to end quickly. But honestly that desire is there even with the comedy. So is The Package worth watching? No. Just stick with The Office for now.
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ARTS & LIFE • 11
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2018 REVIEW
New Woodward book breaks down Trump White House As easy a read as it is, the depth that Woodward goes into and the language and personal opinions given by sources makes it a hard book to put down.
JOSH GOEREE STAFF WRITER
Under Donald Trump’s presidency, there have been a number of highly publicized books going against the Republican president. But Bob Woodward’s new book Fear: Trump in the White House may be the most in-depth one yet. Bob Woodward is an associate editor at The Washington Post and is famously known for covering the Watergate scandal with Carl Bernstein that would eventually lead to Richard Nixon resigning in 1974. He is a two time Pulitzer prize winner for his work on Watergate and, in 2003, for his reporting on the 9/11 attacks. He is also the author/co-author of 18 other books about various other presidents from various sides of the political spectrum. The book itself, at 357 pages excluding acknowledgements, source notes and an index, is a very easy read. Woodward writes in a way that one can easily follow along with. At first, it was a little hard to follow along as he likes to jump to different points in times on whatever topic the chapter is covering, but he gets his point across very clearly and accurately. While the
EVA OU/PHOTO EDITOR
book has 42 chapters, they are very short and sweet. They can range from four pages to 20, averaging 10 pages per chapter. It is possible for Woodward to use quotes and exact examples through a journalistic practice called “deep background.” This practice is used to protect the identity of sources so that they are not harmed due to the nature of the information given. As easy a read as it is, the depth that Woodward goes into and the language and personal opinions given by sources makes it a hard book to put down. It is one thing to see those close to the U.S. president say one thing on TV, but it is another thing to hear the personal opinions of them in this book.
The main stream media covered some of the most shocking things like having documents taken from Trump’s desk, to him wanting world leaders assassinated, to his lawyer telling him to not testify in the Russia investigation. What really caught my eye was that his staff had to repeatedly explain to him why he couldn’t do something. At one point the meetings were described as “groundhog day-like” and that the same arguments had to be explained and debated over and over again. It keeps hitting home the point that Trump is not suitable for the office of president and seems to behave like a child. There have been a lot of critics of authors who write books against Trump saying that this might be another “hit piece” against the U.S.
president. Some others include Unhinged by Omarosa, Fire and Fury by Michael Wolff, and The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump by Brandy Lee. But Bob Woodward’s Fear is different. It is noted in the beginning of the book that it is “drawn from hundreds of hours of interviews with firsthand participants and witnesses to these events.” He even notes that he has personal and government documents, meeting notes and tape recordings of most of the interviews he did. In terms of reliability compared to other books, Woodward’s could be seen as one of the most trustworthy. Excluding his record in journalism, Pulitzer prizes, and unbiased writing against other presidents
like Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, there are other books that are questionable. Both Michael Wolff and Omarosa have creditability issues in their books Fire and Fury and Unhinged. The former having multiple spelling errors and fact-checking problems, and the latter also having some fact-checking errors and a history of being an unreliable source. The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump is a series of essays from highly established individuals in the field of psychology include opinions based on their experience and interpretation of his public displays. Overall, it is worth the read. Regardless of your political views, as the midterms in the U.S. approaches it might be a good idea to see just how bad the turmoil in the White House really is without having to worry about the bias of the author.
RELATIONSHIPS
Great home date night ideas cant other. Build a blanket fort
MADELINE MCINNIS FEATURES EDITOR
As the weather starts to turn and your cash supply starts to get a little dry, dinner dates and walks in the park might not cut it any more. The start of autumn doesn’t have to mean a dreary end to your relationship, though! Whether you’re trying to save money or you just don’t feel like seeing other people today, there are still plenty of things you can do without leaving the comfort of your apartment. Bake something impossible If you’ve seen Nailed It on Netflix, you’ll know what I’m talking about here. Endless laughs and entertainment, right? You don’t need to be particularly skilled, and the goal isn’t perfection. Imagine doing that with your best friend! Blindly pick a Pinterest recipe and try your best to recreate it. If it turns out, fantastic! You can update your Instagram. If it doesn’t, you’ll probably just pee yourself laughing along the way and make lots of happy memories with your signifi-
Remember those times when you’d get a fitted sheet and stretch it across some chairs and flip over the couch cushions for support? The best part about being an adult is that you no longer have to say that building forts is just for kids. This date night idea is particularly useful, as you probably already have all of the necessary elements hanging around. And even if you just use it to Netflix and chill when you’re done making it, it’s still something special for you and your partner to do together. Plan a trip Statistically speaking, the most successful first-date conversation is one on travel. This doesn’t have to stop! Even if you never intend to take this trip, planning ahead for something like this can show a lot about your partner, like what they value in the world. It’ll also spark conversations about their past experiences. Where have they been before, and what funny stories do they have about it? You’ll never know if the topic doesn’t come up! Who knows, you might even walk away with something you’re both looking forward to and something you
can save up for together. Perfecting your favourite hot beverage Who can make a killer coffee? How about cocoa, who makes the better liquid luxury? What’s the perfect ratio of cinnamon to apple in a cider? If it’s a particularly cold day, this might be the time to find out! If no one in the relationship is particularly confident about their recipe, look them up on the internet and choose the wildest ones to try. On top of that, flavour syrups, like the ones you can find at your favourite coffee shop, can be bought for a relatively cheap price at Winners. Nothing beats a homemade London Fog! Surprise Movie You pick a number and so does your partner. Head onto Netflix and go down the number of sections you picked, scroll through that category, and pick the number of the movie that your partner picked. Whether you end up with an Oscar Award winning drama or a horrible indie comedy, it’ll take away from the bickering over what to watch, and there’s no blame on anyone if it’s not your taste. Give it a fair shot for at least the amount
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of time it takes for your pizza to arrive. Arts and Crafts Remember back to childhood where you could make your mom a Santa Claus head where the eyes are facing two different directions and she would love it because it was personal? Your partner should be the same!
I was always told that the beauty in a relationship comes from when you can be completely silent together and still feel comfortable. This is a perfect opportunity to test that with your partner. Whether you’re wondrous at watercolour or a genius with a glue gun, making something with your partner can be such a rewarding experience, and you’ll both walk away with a physical reminder of each other.
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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2018
Editorial
OPINION EDITOR EMILY WAITSON opinion@thecord.ca
Editor’s Note: Sexism in the workplace wouldn’t make any impact large enough to make a change. But this is what makes me feel that being able to write this story is even more important — within the media, it’s important now more than ever to tell stories surrounding concepts like sexism, inequality, and more. The main thing, however, that stemmed from releasing part one, was the acknowledgement that sexism is present in all types of workplaces. In the past month, I’ve received comments from friends, family, and readers indicating that they could relate to the experiences of the women on the board last year. Although I could never be sure as to whether or not the experiences this story has shared will make any sort of change, this story, at least to me, means opening up a single conversation about sexism.
SAFINA HUSEIN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
With this issue comes the release of parts two and three of a four-part series I’ve been working on since last April. The investigative series surrounds the 2017-18 Laurier Students’ Union board of directors. In sum, part one explores allegations of sexism and gender inequity that was present amongst the board and, specifically, during board meetings throughout the year. In conjunction, parts two and three discuss other dysfunctions seen by board members that were disclosed to The Cord. Since releasing the first-part of the series at the end of this past August, I’ve had the opportunity to reflect on the feedback I’ve been given and really think about what writing this story means to me. Since working for The Cord, I’ve been privileged to have a platform to share my work and my writing — a concept which always seems so unfathomable to all of us who aspire to have our work published or to have a career in any writing field. However, despite having this platform on which I can share my thoughts every week, I’m seldom presented with a genuine opportunity to tell a story or to share the experiences of different people in a way that could potentially make a difference or make a positive change. Opening up to the media can be a scary concept. If the roles were reversed, I too would be nervous to open up about vulnerable topics to someone who could then take those stories and share them in a way that’s out of my control. I’m lucky that the two individuals who spoke out about their experiences trusted me enough to share the entirety of their stories — without that trust, this series
The main thing, however, that stemmed from releasing part one, was the acknowledgement that sexism is present in all types of workplaces. KASHYAP PATEL/GRAPHICS EDITOR
However, there is so much more to be done. Sexism is everywhere. I am lucky to work for an organization that values diversity and is accepting of everyone. I work in a place where there are strong females and clear representation — even so, my workplace has not been exempt from sexism 100 per cent of the time. As a woman I’ve felt as though my opinions weren’t as important as those belonging to the male’s in the room from time to time. I know I’m not alone in my workplace and in every workplace. It’s a pattern that we need to accept, that we need to discuss, and that we need to address.
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WLUSP ADMINISTRATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS
DIRECTOR Vacant
CHAIR Terrence Mroz
DIRECTOR Rosalind Horne
VICE-CHAIR Shyenne MacDonald
DIRECTOR H.G. Watson
DIRECTOR Maiya Mistry
TREASURER Garrison Oosterhof
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PRESIDENT Terrence Mroz president@wlusp.com FINANCE MANAGER Randy Moore randy@rcmbrooks. com ADVERTISING MANAGER
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Experiential learning in dating GARRISON OOSTERHOF WEB DIRECTOR
For the first time in a long time, I’m seeking casual experiences with new people instead of a serious long term relationship. In the process of doing so, I started reading articles about dating and meeting new people. Out of all the articles I’ve read from magazines targeted at men and women, I’ve come to the conclusion that people are attracted to an experience. Whether your experience of someone is an adventure, a relaxing hangout or anything in-between; everyone values the experience of being with someone as much, or as more, as the appearance of that person. I began seeing myself as an experience that I can shape and alter and that perspective was drastically different from thinking I just need to ‘be myself.’ I started to consider what a person would experience when they met me for the first time. With this perspective of being an experience, I realized that I have the ability to try to be better than the laid back approach
of just being myself. I know I’m not able to act naturally because there is apprehension and stress when I meet new people. I decided that I needed to take a new perspective on how I present myself. It’s important to remember that communication is a two ways street; you aren’t just meeting someone else, they are
I began seeing myself as an experience that I can shape and alter and that perspective was drastically different ...
also meeting you. For example, your motivation for fitness might be to boost your own health or it could be to look better naked. One perspective means you’re working out to feel impressive and the other means you’re working out to impress someone else And, in my opinion, neither are wrong. Like your physical ability and appearance, the experience that you offer is something you can improve and polish.
I want to stress that this mentality is nothing to do with lying about yourself or about who you are. Like a resume, I am suggesting to think about presenting yourself in the best way possible and seeing yourself from the perspective of your significant other is a good way to do that. In actuality this could mean having answers prepared for the typical first date conversations like what’s your favourite music or favourite movie? What do you like to do in your free time? Knowing what you want to say and having reasons for your decisions is a great way to show you are an interesting person and that spending more time with you won’t be boring. This is a temporary practice that I’ve found helped with the first time I met someone. With time, the stress fades away and my personality takes over. It takes effort to develop who you are or how people experience you but that effort is absolutely worth it. Sometimes that effort is best spent on doing something for yourself and achieving what you want to achieve. But if you are looking for more success when meeting new people or even growing current friendships, it will help to think about what their experience of you will be.
• 13
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2018
Opinion
OPINION EDITOR EMILY WAITSON opinion@thecord.ca
The Emmys are losing their appeal with audiences #MeToo and Time’s Up movements: established comedians with repartee and well-executed humour, without being unnecessarily offensive or controversial for the sake of giving rich people a feeling of tabooed superiority.
AARON HAGEY NEWS EDITOR
Last week, the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards aired, paying tribute to some of the most influential and talented creative endeavours in prime-time television from June 2017 to Sept. 2018. If you are, like myself, wondering how you missed it, then you’d be in the same boat as a number of people. This year’s Emmys were the least-watched in its history, garnering only 10.2 million U.S. viewers — a greater than ten per cent drop in its viewership from last year. Its rating amongst its key demographic, adults aged 18 to 49, dropped as well, down four per cent to 2.4. The Emmys this year were co-hosted by Michael Che and Colin Jost, co-head writers and anchors on Saturday Night Live’s “Weekend Update.” Their opening remarks to the program touched on topics like the #MeToo and Time’s Up movement, Nazis, racism and diversity in television. Reactions to the jokes were as mixed as the jokes themselves, but being controversial in nature, they definitely received assorted approval from the audience. When discussing shows that were cancelled and subsequently picked up by different networks, such as Brooklyn Nine Nine — cancelled by
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Fox and picked up by NBC — and Last Man Standing — cancelled by ABC and picked up by Fox — they then touched on Roseanne: “Roseanne was cancelled by herself, but picked up by white nationalists!” Mild applause and laughter was then quickly followed by the statement that “she’s had a tough year.” The joke in the introduction that went over best with the crowd was easily Jost’s comment on the issue of diversity in television, when he noted that in response to upcoming diverse programming, “It’s gonna get balanced out by an allwhite reboot of Atlanta called 15 Miles Outside of Atlanta — and it focuses on white women who call the police on the cast of Atlanta.” Their show focussed on how much the awards — and television — have changed in the past 70 years, especially in regard to how important the shift towards promoting racial diversity and varied content in mainstream media has
been. Television is arguably the most dominating form of consumable media. With the help of streaming juggernauts such as Netflix, Hulu, HBO, Amazon Prime — and even Youtube TV, watching mass amounts of high-quality entertainment is easier than ever. You would not have gathered this from the Emmys, however — and especially not a celebration of its 70th consecutive year of running. Instead, it would have seemed as though a pair of C-list celebrities were hosting an event that neither really cared for. Jost himself noted, in an interview with the Los Angeles Times, that with regard to shows like the Emmys, “Most of the time they’re way too self-serious and focused on things that 99 per cent of the country doesn’t care about. At the end of the day, it’s adults getting trophies.” The fact that so little excitement was built around a poorly-execut-
ed awards show exhibits something indicative of the time we’re living in. Diversity, though it was joked about by the hosts, is still a very serious issue that needs to be given more than just a passing, awkwardly handled series of jokes aimed at the cultural elite of a nation. The fact that Sandra Oh, known best for her role as Dr. Cristina Yang from ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy, was the first woman of Asian descent to be nominated for best lead actress in a drama series — for her work on Killing Eve — is a startling enough realization. These issues of representation are something that Hollywood elites like to pretend they are seriously considering, but prove in situations like this that they are no more than a facade — a Band-Aid measure to say “look at all the good we’re doing for ‘them’!” Hosts like Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are those that need to be emphasized in a time like the
Instead, it would have seemed as though a pair of C-list celebrities were hosting an event that neither really cared for.
Ultimately, the reason why awards shows like the Emmys are beginning to die is the same reason that a lot of long-running events are. As our options to be entertained grow, so too do the number of distractions we have available from shows like the Emmys. Unlike ten years ago, when network television was the only way to watch it, people no longer need to feel compelled to sit through the entire event to understand what happened. What shows like the Emmys reduced to, is a showcase of a self-congratulating, drawn-out, not-so-memorable moments, that at the very least becomes rife with problematic jokes aimed at issues that most of them will never have to come face-to-face with.
TV shows aren’t as original JOSH GOEREE STAFF WRITER
I was watching TV last week, procrastinating doing homework, when I saw a commercial for the upcoming Magnum P.I. remake. It stars Jay Hernandez as the lead role and kicked-off this past Monday. I have two problems with this. First, Jay Hernandez can’t even grow a moustache. In the preview he has a little bit of scruff, but Tom Selleck’s hall of fame lip toupee would immediately put that to shame. Second, haven’t we had enough remakes of TV shows from the 80s already? Just in the last two years, there’ve been remakes of Lethal Weapon, MacGyver and now Magnum P.I. I do not understand what it is about Hollywood’s nostalgia with action shows and movies from the 80s. The thing with remakes these days is that it’s either the prequel to the original series, or a full-on redo of the original show. But to me, it
seems lacking. It doesn’t really show much creativity to redo something that someone has done before that was successful. Back in the 80s, shows like MacGyver and Magnum P.I. would get massive followings and became popular because they were original ideas. The shows, at the time, were fresh and had some new hook or angle. Remakes today are just taking the same characters, with new actors and new stories. It’s not a new idea. And most of the time, it’s not as good as the original. On IMDB, the new MacGyver with Lucas Till is rated at a 5.1/10 while the original 1985 version with Richard Dean Anderson is rated at a 7.7/10 and has become a cult classic for 80s shows. Also, if shows that are remakes are supposed to be prequels, like MacGyver, there are some storylines and character aspects that do not match up with the original show. Like the changing of Pete Thornton from male to female or that MacGyver was always a secret agent. For good television, it is much better to come up with new ideas
and shows. Look at the Emmys this year: all of the nominees for best drama or comedy series were all original shows. The Americans, Game of Thrones, The Handmaid’s Tale, This is Us, Atlanta, Black-ish and Curb Your Enthusiasm just to name a few. Even in Canada, some shows that have cult followings were original. Letterkenny and Trailer Park Boys being two of the most popular. While there are some who believe that a fresh modern take on an old classic show is a good idea, it really doesn’t show much originality and is kind of lazy. As a writer, I love making up new stories with characters and giving them their own story, traits and relationships. The process of coming up with these things is fun and exciting. And if the story is good enough, it will become a cult classic. It is much better to create something from scratch than to recreate something that was already great and done once. Plus, it wouldn’t kill Jay Hernandez to at least try to grow a moustache.
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Respecting others’ disabilities BRITTANY TENHAGE STAFF WRITER
My grandma is 83 years-old and has very severe arthritis in her joints. What this means for me is that whenever I take her places, I have to keep her disability in mind. If there’s an accessible space available and she has her pass with her, that’s where we park. Occasionally, she exits the car first and I’m left sitting in the car for a bit. I also sometimes wait in the car while she shops. A lot of people see me in the accessible space by myself and make very rude assumptions. I have actually been harassed by people by my car and heard comments such as “you don’t look very disabled!” and “so now entitled millennials are taking accessible spots away from actual disabled people?” Sometimes I ignore these people and sometimes I mention that the pass isn’t actually for me, it’s for my grandmother. However, that begs the question — why do people feel entitled to know information about other’s
disabilities? It is nobody’s business whether or not you need the space you’re parked in. If one has a pass for accessible parking, it means they need it. This isn’t limited to parking spaces either, it includes any accessibility service. Learning centres, jobs, etc. — people will always wonder why we need these things. At the root of this issue, I think, are able-bodied people wanting the special services that disabled people need to use. Able-bodied people want to park as close to the grocery store as possible, they want the same jobs that disabled people have, they want a private room to write their exam in, etc. I’ve asked people why they have such a problem with this and they cite that it isn’t “fair.” What isn’t “fair,” is to approach someone who has a perfectly valid accessible pass on their dashboard and tell them they don’t deserve to park there. It’s also not fair to assume that you know anything about someone else’s abilities just by looking at them. Many disabilities are invisible. My grandmother needs to be close to the grocery store because every step for her is painful. She also needs to be that close
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because she has multiple artificial joints and if she falls, she could damage them. If you looked at her, that might not be obvious. It does not mean that she needs the parking spot any less. However, I should not need to explain that to an able-bodied person who wants my parking spot. I shouldn’t even have to explain it to another disabled person who wants my parking spot. What a person needs to make their life accessible is not anyone else’s business. You wouldn’t get angry at someone for parking in a normal spot that’s closer to the store than yours, even if they look more physically fit than you. So it shouldn’t be any different for accessible spaces. People’s disabilities are their own business. Whether or not you are able-bodied or disabled, you are not entitled to information about other people’s disabilities and what help they need and do not need. Unless it is offered, you should not be asking or making judgments about their disability. If you, as an able-bodied person, ever find yourself complaining about a person “not looking disabled,” don’t do it. They are, and it isn’t up to you to determine that fact.
KASHYAP PATEL/GRAPHICS EDITOR
You shouldn’t compete with other people’s suffering models for how much worse it could be, only devalues a person’s feelings and exemplifies the self obsession we tend to have about being the top of everything — even if it’s hardship.
EMILY WAITSON OPINION EDITOR
A trend I’ve been annoyed with recently is the tendency some people have to compare their suffering to others. I think it’s always important to acknowledge the validity and the severity of other people’s struggles — especially if your own are particularly difficult to deal with — and I’ve never understood the need some people have to rise above everyone else on the scale of human suffering. Compassion and empathy are two things that are delicate and difficult to balance at times, but they’re fundamentally important in recognizing the problems other human beings are experiencing.
It shouldn’t be a tall order to accept that while you may have gone through challenging times in your life yourself, other people have too.
My boyfriend has Crohn’s disease — which means that he
Whose worst is worse is not a train of thought that should be operated on when confronted with these issues.
KASHYAP PATEL/GRAPHICS EDITOR
experiences random, sometimes consistent symptoms that leave him drained, weak and completely incapable of doing anything else except staying home and resting. But because people cannot feel his pain or see it happening like an open wound right in front of them, they fail to exhibit any concept of understanding and sometimes refuse to extend him any shred of sympathy, belittling him in the process. He has been treated like he’s ruined an outing because he had to go home early, brushed off for having “a little stomach ache” or given a list of ridiculous suggestions as to how he can fix his problems in order to not spoil the fun for
everyone else. I have Type 1 Diabetes, which I have gotten into the habit of quietly dealing with in private whenever I need to in order to avoid unnecessary comments — when I’m not able to hide it, however, I become an inconvenience or someone to write off because what I’m going through “could be worse.” We both have autoimmune diseases, but this weird social comparison contest isn’t just limited to people like us. I’ve had friends who have had terrible period pain and couldn’t go out for a night, but are treated like they were the killers of fun because of it — and by other women, no less.
The fact of the matter is, unless you have experienced exactly what that particular person is going through, you have no right to judge them for what hardship they’re experiencing. It shouldn’t be a tall order to accept that while you may have gone through challenging times in your life yourself, other people have too. I don’t really know when it became an olympic sport to compete in, but this need to chime in that you’re more tired, more depressed or just struggling more in general as a method to shame someone out of feeling a certain way, isn’t going to achieve anything except making yourself look like a dick. Using others (and yourself ) as
I, like every other person in this world, have experienced pain. But it would hardly be my place to look down my nose at someone because they’re hurting in a way that I don’t understand or seems frivolous to me because I’ve had it “worse.” Our existence shouldn’t be based solely on competing and comparing ourselves with each other, especially when it comes down to having understanding and warmth towards fellow human beings. Whose worst is worse is not a train of thought that should be operated on when confronted with these issues. Finding perspective in moments where you may not have all of the insight you think you do is invaluable and much needed, to say the least.
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Sports
SPORTS EDITOR PRANAV DESAI sports@thecord.ca
CLUBS
Rising horse riders MADELINE MCINNIS FEATURES EDITOR
This Sunday, Sept. 30, the Laurier equestrian team will be competing in their first competition of the year. The show, hosted by the University of Waterloo, will take place at Findaway Equestrian Services in Baden, about a 20-minute drive from campus. “We compete on the OCEA, which is a competitive circuit for all of the universities and colleges in Ontario. We compete against [the other institutions] in hunter-jumpers,” said Kirsten Cle, co-captain of this year’s team with Shannon Walter. The team will be competing in several different divisions at each show. Divisions are determined by the height of the jumps and are typically sectioned by the experience and confidence of the rider. Confidence is a key factor when it comes to the equestrian team in particular because, on top of not knowing what their human competition will look like from other universities and colleges, the riders don’t know anything about the horses they will be competing on. “What we do is catch-riding. It’s a horse that [the rider] has never been on before, we’re not allowed to warm them up or anything,” said Walter.
“When we get on, we’re not allowed to touch the reins or anything. They walk us into the ring, and we just have to jump the course.” That might not seem so hard if you’ve ever been on a single trail ride before or if you’ve never competed on horseback, but it can be incredibly intimidating to control a horse you’ve had no experience with, especially at high speeds.
The horses we’re on have more attitude. They’re more athletic and can do a lot more than trail riding horses.
-Kirsten Cle, Laurier equestrian team co-captain
“The horses we’re on have more attitude. They’re more athletic and can do a lot more than trail riding horses,” Cle said. It’s looking to be an exciting year for the team, as they begin this week for a long stretch ahead of them. There is no particular season for equestrian events, and shows run
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on weekends throughout the year. “We have seven shows this season and then finals at Palgrave,” Walter explained. Each show takes place at a different venue across Ontario and is hosted by a different equestrian team. Laurier’s show will take place on Jan. 13 2019 at MJM
Equestrian outside of Hamilton. On top of taking regular weekly lessons to practice for their shows, the team can often be found at socials or fundraising for other activities for their members. Though positions on the team for this year have been decided, general members are invited to
join in on weekly lessons, regardless of their previous experience. General members are also invited to participate in the team’s social events throughout the year and to help the competitive riders at the shows. “We’re always looking for help at our shows,” Cle said.
After a 12 play, 72 yard touchdown drive halfway through the first quarter though, McMaster would catch a big break. Letting the ball hit the turf on a punt, Kurleigh Gittens Jr. got out-hustled by Marauder linebacker Jayden Lawson who hit the ball out of bounds to get his team the ball back at the Laurier 23-yard line. Following that, it would take three plays for the Marauders to capitalize, as running back Jordan Lyons would close the drive with a two yard run into the end-zone to tie the game. In the second, after a Nathan Mesher punt that was only returned to their own 9-yard line, the Marauders were forced to take a safety as Laurier held them to just one yard on the possession. Following the safety, the Golden Hawks would march on an eight play, 75-yard drive that would be ended off with a strong catch by Brentyn Hall in the right corner of the end-zone, ripping the ball away from the defender’s hands, followed by a stare down only suited for such a play. Down 16-7, McMaster refused to go into halftime without any momentum, as they would close the half with a 78 yard touchdown drive of their own to make it 16-14. The momentum never made its way back to Laurier, as the Ma-
rauders turned up the heat on the defensive end, stifling the Golden Hawks’ air attack, picking off two passes and forcing costly mistakes. One mistake Laurier couldn’t recover from was Tristan Arndt’s interception under duress that would be returned for six from 12 yards out by defensive back Mitch Garland. Nathan Mesher missing his 43-yard attempt wide left with less than a minute to go, down 21-19, would close the game. “I thought our defence played outstanding. The offence took a step back. Our offence didn’t play up to par,” Faulds said. Finding themselves outside of the playoff race halfway through the year, every game will count for the 2-2 Golden Hawks starting with their homecoming game against the Guelph Gryphons next Saturday. “This is a playoff game. Playoffs have started. We’re still in September, you like to think that the playoffs don’t begin until the end of October but the reality is we cannot afford to go 2-3,” Faulds said. “We’re in a rut right now and it’s about digging ourselves out of it. We’re in a position now where we can’t afford to lose another football game and that’s the urgency we need to have as we prepare for Guelph.”
FOOTBALL
GARRISON OOSTERHOF/FILE PHOTO
Golden Hawks enter slump ABDULHAMID IBRAHIM LEAD SPORTS REPORTER
Drop one game late to a rival? Fine. Two games in a row? Now that’s a different story. Following a loss to the Waterloo Warriors after being outscored 17-3 in the fourth quarter, the Laurier Golden Hawks had another game slip through their fingers to
McMaster in a sloppy 21-20 loss in Hamilton. “Well I just find the last two games, the opponent played well but I will say I feel like those are two games we should have won. Reality is, we had a 12-point lead against Waterloo and we had a 9-point lead against McMaster and in both games, we didn’t find a way to win the football game,” coach
Faulds said. “They hurt even more because of how close they were, losing two games by a combined three points. It stings.” Starting out smooth, the Golden Hawks didn’t have too many issues moving the ball, thanks in large part to their run game led by fourth year Mississauga native, Levondre Gordon.
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RECREATION
Midas: The Laurier mascot from the inside out tion where it’s been so hot to the point of exhaustion though,” he explained. If you’ve seen Midas at a game this year, or even if you’re planning to go to a varsity game in the future, he’ll definitely catch your attention at some point with his activity on the sidelines.
PRANAV DESAI SPORTS EDITOR
The tremendous amount of hard work that athletes put into their job on a day-to-day has always been well documented, but one of the things that I’ve always wondered about when watching sports is how much effort goes into being a mascot. So when I recently got to meet the man behind the Golden Hawk mascot suit, I finally got the answers to those questions. Since the identity of this person cannot be revealed, I will refer to him as Midas, which is the official name of the Laurier mascot, although most people know him as “The Hawk.” “I’ve always been a dancer and I’ve always liked performing for people, and this was a great opportunity to do that and to wear the Laurier jersey and represent the school,” Midas said when asked about why he decided to become the mascot. The Laurier athletics department were looking for a new face behind the mascot suit so Midas has only been in action for a total of five times so far. But the interaction with children has made Midas’ transition much easier. “The easiest part is interacting with kids. The kids love “The Hawk” for the most part and they end up getting pictures and they love running up to me. The hardest part is walking up the stairs [on the stands], but I’m making the best of the situation,” he said.
I’ve always been a dancer and I’ve always liked performing for people, and this was a great opportunity to do that ... -Midas, The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks mascot
SADMAN SAKIB RAHMAN/CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Although going up and down the stairs in the Hawk suit definitely seems like a difficult task, I’ve always thought that the toughest part about being a mascot is dealing with the heat.
It’s hard enough running around in the summer in a t-shirt and shorts, but being in full sized mascot suit is an entirely different beast. Luckily for Midas, though, it
hasn’t been a huge issue so far. “The hotter it is outside, the hotter you will be inside [the suit]. You’re always hot regardless, but it’s just a matter of how extreme it is. I’ve never been in a situa-
However, those activities aren’t just a fun pastime; Midas has to prep before each game, just like the athletes on the field. “It’s almost like preparing for an actual game as if I was one of the players. I like listening to music, warming up, always stretching, staying hydrated and eating a decent meal before. It’s pretty much the same routine you would do if you were an athlete.” It’s definitely not easy being “The Hawk” but Midas has made it look easy so far and his energy on the sideline should improve the already impressive home field advantage for all the Laurier sports teams.
WOMEN’S LACROSSE
Hawks ready to get back on top JOSEPH DEFILIPPIS STAFF WRITER
After reeling off of five consecutive wins to open up the 2018 season, the women’s lacrosse team was handed their first defeat of the year to Western on Sunday morning. In game one of the weekend action, the Hawks fell behind early to the Mustangs, who held a 2-2 record coming into the game. Despite Laurier being heavy favorites, Western was able to limit the Golden Hawk offence to a season low eight goals, on route to the win.
We have a fair number of returning athletes who have progressed over the years and we got a good batch of first years. -Lynn Orth, Laurier women’s lacrosse head coach
SADMAN SAKIB RAHMAN/CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Hungry for a strong come-back
performance after seeing their undefeated run come to an end, Laurier dominated Brock in game two of the weekend, picking up a 15-3 victory. Overall, the Golden Hawks’ 6-1 record at the midway point in the season is the best start that the women have had since 2008, when the team posted a 12-0 regular season record. Head coach Lynn Orth spoke about what factors have helped the team put together an extremely successful first half. “We have a fair number of returning athletes who have progressed over the years and we got a good batch of first years.” “[Overall], they get along as a team,” Orth mentioned. “So there is no discord in terms of the team, which is really helpful. They are very happy to be together.” Orth, who is in her twentieth season of coaching the women’s lacrosse team, talked about the expectations for the team going forward. “Your goal is always to win a championship. [We want] to build our skills and build our game throughout the season, so that when we get to OUA finals we are the best that we can be.” During her tenure as coach, Orth
has won eight OUA championships, cementing herself as one of the most well decorated coaches that Laurier has ever seen. However, the last championship that the women’s team had was back in 2010, which was also the last year that the team reached an OUA final.
Your goal is always to win a championship. [We want] to build our skills and build our game throughout the season ... -Lynn Orth, Laurier women’s lacrosse head coach
After a tough bronze medal loss to end last season, the Hawks are definitely eager to finish with a better result this year. Holding second place in the province with six games left certainly puts Laurier in a position to finish as a top seed and make a run at the OUA title.