January 5, 2012
volume 103 • issue 18 • thesheaf.com
Sheaf the
The University of Saskatchewan student newspaper since 1912
Health
New microchip makes disease screening easier.
Culture
Shopping malls showcase the worst of humanity.
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Research
How a computer game can help in studying genes.
Film
Fincher’s Dragon Tattoo is a worthy adaptation.
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Huskies
Gaming
At mid-season, hockey teams looking great.
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What to look expect for video games in 2012. Page 12
U of S appoints first female president Ilene Busch-Vishniac, McMaster provost, named ninth U of S president ISHMAEL N. DARO Editor-in-Chief Although members of the search committee knew the identity of the next University of Saskatchewan president for about a month, few others in Convocation Hall on Dec. 19 knew the name Ilene BuschVishniac. A slight woman of about five-footfive, Busch-Vishniac stood at the microphone after being introduced and seemed immediately at home addressing the campus she will soon lead. “I marvel that a one-time music student from Philadelphia has somehow managed to navigate a winding path ending up here as the president of the University of Saskatchewan,” Busch-Vishniac said. Busch-Vishniac was born in Philadelphia, Penn. on Jan. 28, 1955. She attended the University of Rochester, originally to study piano, but she did not want to commit her life to it. “Alas, I have only modest musical talent and eventually, my willingness to keep working to become merely average waned,” she wrote in an email. After her first year, she switched her major to mathematics and physics. She later earned master’s and doctoral degrees in mechanical engineering at MIT, focusing on acoustics. Her studies led her to develop tools for noise reduction for such things as highway sound barriers and telephone conference calls. She holds 11 U.S. patents, with about 40 patents to her name internationally. In 1982, Busch-Vishniac joined the faculty of the University of Texas at Austin as an engineering professor. In 1998, she became the dean of engineering at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. She is currently provost and vice-president academic of McMaster University in Hamilton, a job she has held since 2007.
Q
uestions facing university
“
I never thought I would be a university president, never thought I would end up in Saskatchewan, but I’m certainly delighted that’s where I am.”
In the words of the new U of S President
Growth of the province
“T
here are only two universities in the province. How do you accommodate that growth?”
Increasing Although ending up in Saskatoon was clearly not something she had planned, Busch-Vishniac said leaving the United States seemed like an obvious choice. “I’m not surprised at all that at some point my husband and I decided it would be good to leave the United States,” she said. “Things have not gone well there and we’re quite happy — delighted — to be in Canada and have become quite ardent supporters of this nation.” Her husband Ethan Vishniac is a physics and astronomy professor, as well as editor of The Astrophysical Journal. Asked to explain why she felt the U.S. was in decline, Busch-Vishniac was surprisingly frank. “I think American society has become very insular. It has always been, in my lifetime, very racist,” she said. “It has become very
aboriginal engagement
“W
Raisa Pezderic/Photo Editor
Busch-Vishniac addresses her new university for the first time. xenophobic, much more so recently than it used to be. So the principles upon which that nation were founded have been lost in the muddle whereas they are much more accurately reflected here in Canada.” Busch-Vishniac has applied to become a full Canadian citizen and, coincidentally, her term as president of the U of S begins on Canada Day. Busch-Vishniac will be the first woman to hold the office, replacing Peter MacKinnon after 13 years as president. After such a long time with MacKinnon at the helm, and “since there’s obviously not a crisis,” she
says she will take her time getting to know the school, as well as its students, faculty and staff. But she also says her outsider’s perspective will help. “I have grown up with the system in the States, I have worked with the system in Ontario. So instead of simply doing things because that’s the way we do it, I will have the opportunity to say, ‘Yes, that may be the way you’ve done it but have you thought about why you do it and are there alternatives that might make sense?’ ”
e’ve tended to try to make others behave as we would wish they behave. It’s time to step back and instead say, ‘What are the root causes of these differences and how might we change what we do educationally?’ “
Re-imagining
postsecondary education
“I
f there were no constraints, what do we think the ideal postsecondary experience should look like and how would we get there from where we are now?”
Another election cycle begins American primaries are long, but necessary ISHMAEL N. DARO Editor-in-Chief They say that in politics, a year is a lifetime. This certainly seems true every four years when the United States goes through a presidential election. Although the year has just begun, and the election isn’t until Nov. 6, Democrats and Republicans have been eyeing the 2012 election almost since Barack Obama took the last
one. As a result of this perpetual campaigning, politicians in both major parties shirk actually making hard choices and governing their country, focusing instead on shortterm rhetorical victories and getting the best talking points on TV. But as tiresome as the U.S. presidential campaigns can get, there is a silver lining. Starting with the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 3, Americans will have an ongoing discussion about where their country is headed
and what to do about it for the better part of a year. During that time, the state-by-state primary system lets many regular voters hear candidates’ ideas and more directly affect the process. This is a far cry from how party nominations used to be won — the proverbial smoke-filled room of elites choosing a candidate behind closed doors. The modern primary system arose in the 1970s largely as a response to the influence of
insiders. The primaries and caucuses allow for some surprises too. Think back to the little-known senator from Illinois whose long, gruelling campaign ultimately led him to the White House against much better-known opponents. Indeed, had it been up to the two parties’ elites, the 2008 contest would have been between Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani. Other successful candidates who came from behind through
successful primary campaigns include Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. This year’s Republican contest has been particularly interesting, given that all the GOP candidates had varying levels of support throughout the last year.
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Primaries cont. on