The Sheaf 15/03/12 - Volume 103 Issue 24

volume 103 • issue 27 • thesheaf.com

Sheaf the

March 15, 2012

The University of Saskatchewan student newspaper since 1912

Dynamic and dazzling: Sun slaps Earth with recent flare.

NASA

Solar flare hits Earth Explosions on sun’s surface knock out U of S radar network DARYL HOFMANN Associate News Editor

Raisa Pezderic/Photo Editor

Calgary defenceman Eric Frere gloves down Derek Hulak’s shot in the first overtime period.

Ward wins it in triple overtime Huskies crowned Canada West champions KEVIN MENZ Sports Editor Brett Ward doesn’t always score goals, but when he does he makes sure they are game winners in triple overtime.

Ward’s shot from the point in the sixth period of the third and deciding game of the Canada West final March 11 at Rutherford Rink found its way through screened University of Calgary Dinos netminder Dustin Butler’s pads and pushed the University of Saskatchewan Huskies to a 2-1 win and their first conference title since 2007.

“I definitely just threw it at the net and didn’t know where it was going,” said a breathless Ward after the 106-minute and 33-second

affair — the longest in Canada West history.

“Thank God it went in.”

The third-year Huskies defenceman only scored one goal throughout the entire regular season but has already tripled that number in this year’s playoffs.

He said that, as a defenceman, he was more focused on preventing the sudden-death winner than he was on scoring it and that being the hero was just a bonus.

“I definitely haven’t scored the winner in a game like this before,” said Ward.

The goal and the 2-1 series win over the Dinos lands Saskatchewan a spot at the University Cup, played March 22-25 in Fredericton, N.B. It’s the Huskies’ first appearance at the national

championship since 2008.

“We have nine or 10 days here, so we’ll definitely celebrate a bit,” said Huskies goaltender Ryan Holfeld. “Then we’ll get back on track before we head out east.”

Holfeld, who stopped 38 of 39 shots in the game, matched Butler save-for-save in the overtime periods and, ultimately, got the best of the Calgary netminder.

While Holfeld highlighted the extra frames with his quick pads, no save was more important than his slide across the crease with only five minutes remaining in the fifth period.

Hockey cont. on

11

A blast of energetic particles from the sun collided with Earth March 8, causing disruptions in all four of the University of Saskatchewan’s SuperDARN radars.

SuperDARN, or Super Dual Auroral Radar Network, is an international system of over 20 radars operating together and looking into the polar regions of the Earth. The U of S controls four SuperDARN radars: one in Saskatoon, one in Prince George, B.C. and two in the arctic.

“All of our radars in the last day or two have been receiving no data, they’ve been blacked out,” Kathryn McWilliams said a day after the network went down. She is a U of S physics professor who analyzes the radar network.

The blackouts were due to the largest solar storm to hit Earth since 2006, McWilliams said. Earlier in the week, a pair of explosions on the sun’s surface sent massive clouds of particles — resembling bubbles — racing outward into space.

“We just happened to be in the path of this thing,” McWilliams said.

As the storm reached Earth, the particles interacted with the upper atmosphere and the magnetic field, leading to reports of auroral activity moving from the North

Pole to Canada and dipping into the northern United States. But McWilliams said the magnetic activity can also result in damaged power grids and cause GPS systems to misalign.

“I believe GPS was probably quite strongly affected,” McWilliams said.

“The communications between [satellites] and the ground have to go through the atmosphere, so when the storm is enhanced, radio waves tend to bend a bit more so your position is off.”

Explosions on the sun, or solar flares, gradually increase in 11-year cycles. At peak level, Earth will absorb two or three solar storms per year. The last peak period was in 2001 or 2002, McWilliams said.

“We should be getting more of these things happening as it has been unusually quiet even though we are getting close to the maximum activity period.”

The SuperDARN radar system allows scientists to capture largescale voltage readings from miles above the surface to examine what happens when solar wind reaches Earth’s atmosphere.

“We’re trying to understand the physics of the coupling between the solar wind, the Earth’s magnetic fields and the upper atmosphere,” said McWilliams. “Unfortunately, this time, because of the operational problems, we couldn't see anything.”

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2• News Editor-in-Chief: Ishmael N. Daro, editor@thesheaf.com Production Manager: Matthew Stefanson, layout@thesheaf.com Senior News Editor: Tannara Yelland, news@thesheaf.com Associate News Editor: Daryl Hofmann, news@thesheaf.com Photography Editor: Raisa Pezderic, photo@thesheaf.com Graphics Editor: Brianna Whitmore, graphics@thesheaf. com

thesheaf.com/news • the sheaf •March 15, 2012

Arts Editor: Aren Bergstrom, arts@thesheaf.com Sports Editor: Kevin Menz, sports@thesheaf.com Opinions Editor: Michael Cuthbertson, opinions@thesheaf. com Copy Editor: Holly Culp, copy@thesheaf.com Web Editor: Bryn Becker, web@thesheaf.com Ad & Business Manager: Shantelle Hrytsak, ads@thesheaf.com

Board of Directors: Victoria Martinez, Andrew Roebuck, Peter Yee, Blair

Office Numbers: General 966-8688 Advertising 966-8688 Editorial 966-8689

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The Sheaf is a non-profit incorporated and studentbody funded by way of a direct levy paid by all partand full-time undergraduate students at the University of Saskatchewan (U of S). Membership in the Society is open to undergraduate students at the U of S, but all members of the U of S community are encouraged to contribute to the newpaper. Opinions expressed in The Sheaf do not necessarily reflect those of The Sheaf Publishing Society Inc. The Sheaf reserves the right to refuse to accept or print any material deemed unfit for publication, as determined by the Editorin-Chief. The Sheaf is published weekly during the academic year and monthly from May through August. The Editor-in-Chief has the right to veto any submission deemed unfit for the Society newspaper.

In determining this, he/she will decide if the article or artwork would be of interest to a significant portion of the Society and benefit the welfare of Sheaf readers. The Sheaf will not publish any racist, sexist, homophobic, or libelous material.

Bert Weichel built his home using straw bales as exterior walls, which he argues is cheap and environmentally-friendly.

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Straw houses cheap, green

U of S lecturer restricted from building within city limits DARYL HOFMANN Associate News Editor Not even the Big Bad Wolf has the lungs to topple this straw house.

Bert Weichel, a University of Saskatchewan geography and environmental studies lecturer, has built himself a home just south-west

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of Saskatoon using straw bale construction. He says humans have been using straw structures for centuries, and that it is a cheap and eco-friendly alternative to conventional building materials.

“It’s pretty straightforward,” said Weichel. “Technologically, they are really simple.”

Weichel began work on the 1,650-square-foot house in the summer of 2006, handled the bulk of the labour himself and has been living there fulltime since 2009 with his wife.

With two floors, an angled, overhanging roof and a sturdy timber frame, it’s almost impossible to tell the outer walls are made of 350 rectangular straw bales.

Blanketing the straw is a double-coat of white lime stucco, layered in excess for added protection against moisture and pests. During the winter, a central wood-burning stove heats the space while two racks of solar tubing on the roof heat water for the house.

The house is even equipped with a no-flush urinal and a composting toilet.

“This is a fancy, expensive version,” Weichel said, “but you could build a basic straw bale house — 1,000 square feet — for probably $50,000.”

Not only is the building material cheap, but Weichel’s utility bill is also far lower than what it would be in a conventionally-built home.

He said he sees real potential in straw bale construction because it is both affordable and simple.

“We need a breakthrough in the cities,” he said. “I would have liked to have built in Saskatoon.”

Currently, bale homes are not permitted within city limits. Ten years ago a city councillor requested a report to establish new guidelines when it comes to building straw bale houses.

According to the decade-old report, the City of Saskatoon is authorized by provincial legislation to administer and enforce the 1995 National Building Code, which does not acknowledge straw bale construction.

Administration recommended that the city not revise its position on the use of straw bale construction.

“This position should remain in place until such time as the National Building Code is re-written to include provisions for straw bale construction or the professional engineering

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industry, as a whole, has embraced the concept and is willing to place their seal on all drawings,” the report reads.

Weichel said it is simply a matter of city officials being “stuck in their ways.”

“It’s a reflection of whether or not a municipality or a city wants to allow creative thinking,” he said. “It’s about conventional approaches being easy to manage.”

Most other major cities in Canada take the same approach, and as a result, the use of straw bale construction in urban centres is practically non-existent.

Rural municipalities, on the other hand, are not usually required to abide by the code and therefore regularly allow straw bale construction.

In the south-central Saskatchewan rural municipality of Craik, for instance, a group of straw bale construction supporters have organized and formed the Craik Sustainable Living Project, which, according to their website, promotes “the use of ecologically sound technologies and ways of living.”

Weichel estimates there are as many as 1,000 straw bale homes across the country and says the technique could be the answer to some of Canada’s housing problems.

He pointed to the housing crisis in some First Nations communities, and suggested they could potentially benefit from adopting the cheap and easy-to-use method. He said straw bale construction can be taught to beginners relatively quickly and many reserves are conveniently surrounded by farm lands that produce straw.

“It takes one year to grow a bale; it takes 100 years to grow a tree,” Weichel said.

News

March 15, 2012 • the sheaf • thesheaf.com/news

•3

U of R students’ union Israel boycott draws fire Sask. MPs condemn Regina students’ “anti-Semitic” vote Natasha Tersigni The Carillon (University of Regina) REGINA (CUP) — The University of Regina Students’ Union is in hot water following its annual general meeting, where students approved a boycott of Israel.

During this year’s AGM, a student took the floor and asked the union to put forward a motion that would support the rights of Palestinians and initiate a boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign against the state of Israel.

The motion passed with a near-unanimous majority.

The BDS campaign is based upon a July 2005 call from over 170 Palestinian organizations in support of a global campaign of boycotts, divestment and sanctions.

“The three main demands of [BDS] are ending colonization and occupation of all Arab-Palestine lands, to grant a full equality to citizens of the state of Israel, and the last demand is to respect the right of return to Palestine refugees, which is a legitimate right according to the UN Resolution 194,” said Yafa Jarrar, organizer of the Students Against Israeli Apartheid chapter at the University of Ottawa, who spoke on the U of R campus March 5.

She added that the BDS campaign is modelled after sanctions used by the antiapartheid movement in South Africa.

“In the 1950s, the African people issued their own Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions and called upon the world to boycott the South African apartheid until there is no more racial discrimination or segregation against black people in South Africa,” said Jarrar.

Days after the motion passed, the Canadian Federation of Jewish Students condemned URSU for adopting a BDS campaign.

“University students, like the majority of Canadians, believe strongly in the cause of peace,” said Emile Scheffel, vice-president external of the CFJS, in a press release.

“It is deeply disappointing that the URSU has chosen to endorse the divisive tactics and hateful rhetoric of the anti-Israel BDS campaign.”

Scheffel went on: “The condemnation of Israel, and Israel alone, is particularly bizarre given the upheaval and loss of life occurring

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The URSU voted almost unanimously at AGM to boycott Israel, which has enraged student groups and politicians. at the hands of repressive regimes across the region.”

Then, almost a month after the motion was passed, Randy Hoback, Conservative Member of Parliament for Prince Albert, took to the floor in the House of Commons and called for U of R president to condemn the motion being passed.

Hoback called the resolution “one-sided” and “irresponsible."

Another Saskatchewan MP, David Anderson, has since also condemned the students’ union’s resolution. Speaking in Parliament March 5, Anderson said that as a U of R alum, he was disappointed to see his former school “experiencing anti-Semitic activities.”

Despite the backlash both on campus and

off, URSU president Kent Peterson said that the students’ union will fulfill the mandate made by students at the organization’s AGM. Peterson added that it is disappointing to see members of the government attempt to “censor the students’ union.”

“We take our mandate from students so we cannot retract a motion,” Peterson said, “and we will not apologize for what students want.”

U of R President Vianne Timmons was in Montreal when Hoback made his comment, so Peterson spoke with university provost Dave Button to see how the administration would deal with Hoback’s call to decry the motion.

“I talked with Mr. Button and he made it very, very clear that the university has no

intention of condemning a democratically voted-upon motion of the students’ union, because students want that and because the students’ union is a separate legal entity of the University of Regina and they have no say whatsoever over what we do,” Peterson said.

Peterson also added that he will be writing an open letter to Timmons to let her know what the URSU’s stance is on the issue, and to encourage her to ignore Hoback’s comments.

Hoback’s comments were made four days before the start of the U of R’s eighth annual Israeli Apartheid Week, which began on March 5.

Israeli Apartheid Week takes place in 70 other cities around the world.

USSU’s Ferwerda censured for separate incident Complaints about VP started early in school year ISHMAEL N. DARO Editor-in-Chief Complaints about Alex Ferwerda’s workplace behaviour have been accumulating since the first term, as documents leaked to the Sheaf show. This is the second incident to come to light about Ferwerda, the University of Saskatchewan Students’ Union vicepresident student affairs.

As the Sheaf reported March 8, USSU president Scott Hitchings, vice-president Reid Nystuen and vice-president Kelsey Topola filed a joint complaint to the Code of Ethics and Disciplinary Committee of University Students’ Council over Ferwerda’s inappropriate workplace behaviour. The complaint alleged frequent tardiness, absenteeism and, on at least one occasion, unprofessional language toward USSU staff following a poorly-planned event of Ferwerda’s. Although USC sustained the complaint, they decided not to publicize it with a letter to the Sheaf, as the USSU bylaw permits.

An earlier complaint, filed in November of

2011, arose from a meeting between Ferwerda and a student councillor during which he was “unprofessional, disagreeable and impossible to talk to,” according to the councillor. For that incident, the CEDC recommended “an immediate, formal apology” to the councillor, as well as a written report on how Ferwerda felt he could act more professionally in his role as a students’ union executive.

“There have been multiple times in which VP Ferwerda has been argumentative, disparaging, and has lost his temper with coworkers, thereby violating the principles of professionalism the USSU seeks to uphold,” the November CEDC report reads.

As this report was issued in November, knowledge of Ferwerda’s behaviour appears to stretch back to early in his term as VP student affairs.

Ferwerda, when contacted about these fresh allegations of unprofessional behaviour, again declined to comment.

“As before, I am legally obligated to not discuss anything that happens in camera,” he wrote in an email on March 13.

The March 8 students’ council meeting

was dominated by discussion of the Ferwerda affair, with many councillors expressing disappointment that the confidential talks had been leaked to the Sheaf. Former USSU president Chris Stoicheff, who also attended the meeting, focused instead on the Sheaf’s decision to publish the story at all. He suggested the complaints unfairly targeted Ferwerda and that many others associated with the USSU have missed meetings or had arguments with coworkers and were not punished.

When asked if additional reports alleging inappropriate workplace behaviour altered his opinion of Ferwerda, Stoicheff said he was standing firm.

“I can’t address those specific issues but it does seem to be of a pretty petty nature,” said Stoicheff. “Is he showing up to work drunk?

No. Is he showing up to work high or on some illegal substances? As far as I know, no.

Is he involved in fraudulent activity or is he embezzling funds? Those [would be] stories.

But is he disagreeing with councillors and getting into arguments with them? Sure, but I don’t think that’s an issue.”

“

There have been multiple times in which VP Ferwerda has been argumentative, disparaging, and has lost his temper with coworkers, thereby violating the principles of professionalism the USSU seeks to uphold.

CEDC Report November 2011

4• News Suspect turns himself in after quadruple stabbing WLU launches private Facebook

thesheaf.com/news • the Sheaf • March 15, 2012

Stephen Hargreaves The Lance (University of Windsor)

WINDSOR (CUP) — The suspect in a quadruple stabbing on the University of Windsor campus turned himself in to Windsor police on March 11.

Emad Adel Ben-Abdellah, 21, has been taken into custody with pending aggravated assault, assault with a weapon and breach of probation charges. He briefly appeared in Windsor’s Ontario Court of Justice Monday morning. His lawyer requested an “assessment” and a return to court later in the week.

Police could not release specific information about Ben-Abdellah, but did note that according to their sources, he is a former UWindsor student.

“We have a fairly long contact history with this individual,” Sergeant Brett Corey told the Lance on March 10. “He’s a regular for us.”

At 2:20 a.m. on Friday, March 9, Windsor police officers responded to a reported stabbing at the CAW Student Centre. A 23-year-old victim was taken to hospital and treated for life-threatening injuries. He was later reported as being in stable condition.

According to police, an altercation occurred at the door of the Thirsty Scholar Pub. Ben-Abdellah

Elizabeth Dicesare The Cord (Wilfrid Laurier University)

WATERLOO (CUP) — As Facebook continues to expand and inches ever closer to a billion users, the Wilfrid Laurier University Students’ Union is going the other way by making their new social network exclusive to students at the school.

WLUSU was able to create the social network because it came in a package with a new website they purchased in 2011. So far the M. N. Mailk/The Lance website has served as a platform A former UWindor student brutally attacked two groups with a knife outside the campus bar. for WLUSU to advertise events and contests, as well as a place for reportedly brandished a knife and a nearby parking lot. Ben-Abdellah who plans to study mathematics and students to engage with each other. stabbed a 20-year-old man in the then allegedly stabbed the 23-yearstatistics at UWindsor in the fall. “I “It’s been really good to kind of back and next slashed a 19-year-old old man in the right leg and buttock have been to the pub for parties in the man who was also involved in the and swung the knife at a fourth male, past and everyone seemed friendly.… have a platform where [WLUSU] can pull all of [its] content into altercation. Both victims received possibly causing a laceration to the I’ll still come to the university, but one place,” said Ryan Sweeney, non-life-threatening injuries. victim’s right arm. This victim left the this is not what I need to hear today.”

WLUSU’s digital context After stabbing the first two victims, scene prior to the officers’ arrival. coordinator. “It’s one central hub the attacker reportedly ran toward “I’m speechless,” said Loic where students can go and get all a group of people walking through Muhirwa, a high school student our information at once.”

Many aspects of the site are similar to that of other social networks, such as Facebook.

Students can create profiles, upload photos and join groups and depending on students’ colleges.

Ventnor.

ISHMAEL N. DARO on council. discussions.

The last change in this year’s Editor-in-Chief At press time, there were eight Students who self-identified in the To join the private network, USSU election is a quirky one. prospective candidates for the university census as aboriginal or however, users need a university four USSU executive positions: international students will have The names on students’ electronic With voting set for March 28 and email address, explained Sweeney, those additional positions to vote ballots will be arranged randomly 29, the University of Saskatchewan president, vice-president student “and it’s a little more legitimate for. rather than alphabetically, following Students’ Union is preparing for affairs, vice-president academic since it’s actually coming from a successful motion at February’s elections for dozens of positions in and vice-president operations and Given the number of races, [WLUSU], where in terms of special general meeting that argued next year’s USSU executive and finance. the USSU will also reinstate a Facebook it can be anyone posting University Students’ Council.

The College of Dentistry did not former practice of setting up public names that are alphabetically first anything.” computers for students to vote on on ballots would see a boost from In years past, the USSU only have any prospective candidates A “marketplace” feature also by press time. This will likely election days. students simply clicking through the administered the elections for the allows students to advertise rooms screens on PAWS. executive positions, but following necessitate a by-election in the fall.

“We have about 10 locations that for rent and sell used textbooks. we’re going to have computers set So much for Aaron Abraham’s this year’s annual general meeting it After passing academic checks, However, only 4,000 of WLU’s will also assume responsibility for candidates can begin campaigning up in the college buildings, just chances.

12,000 students are actual members March 19. All voting takes place to increase turnout and the visual 23 other positions comprising the of the site. on PAWS over the two election there to remind them,” said USSU various colleges and student groups According to Sweeney, an communications manager Jason on campus that have representatives days, with specific ballots available average of approximately 600 to 800 users log in each day, with the majority of these users being research first-year students. Making the site treatment visible to students has been one of prevention the biggest challenges. early detection By launching it right before www.saskcancer.ca orientation week, many first-years became involved, but getting senior students to interact with the site The Saskatchewan Cancer Agency invites you to consider a career in radiation therapy. has been challenging. Nick Gibson, Radiation therapists are important members of the healthcare team in treating cancer. They president and CEO of WLUSU, plan, deliver and provide treatment and education to people receiving radiation therapy. also explained that the logistics of If you are interested in building a career that combines patient-focused care with leading-edge technology, the Saskatchewan School of Radiation Therapy invites you to the site were challenging during the apply to become a part of this exciting and rewarding field. The next class will begin on early stages of its production.

August 13, 2012.

“How you structure [information] The Saskatchewan School of Radiation Therapy offers selected candidates a 2 year on one site can be totally different Radiation Therapist diploma program. This includes a didactic affiliation with CancerCare Manitoba and Red River College that requires students to attend two four-month terms on another website,” he said. “And in Winnipeg. Clinical competency is attained at the Saskatoon Cancer Centre and the I think there are still adjustments to Allan Blair Cancer Centre in Regina. be made.”

Minimum requirements: Successful completion of 30 credits of undergraduate university Despite these challenges, the site classes including: English – 3 credits, Psychology or Sociology – 6 credits, Physics – 6 credits, Anatomy & Physiology – 6 credits and Statistics – 3 credits. For specific course requirements has beaten expectations. In fact, please visit our website at www.saskcancer.ca/rtschool. students’ union staff were fully Successful applicants will have a good background in the sciences, strong technical prepared for the social network to skills and the ability to work with care and precision. Patience, tolerance as well as be a failure. Most of the attention, strong interpersonal and teamwork skills are important to have. however, has centred on userIf you are interested in applying please submit a resume, a covering letter indicating which clinical site is preferred and original transcripts of post-secondary education, no later uploaded content and not so much than March 30, 2012 to: School of Radiation Therapy, Cheryle Thompson, Human on what the WSULU uploads. As Resources Consultant, Allan Blair Cancer Centre, 4101 Dewdney Avenue, Regina, a result, WLUSU plans to keep the Saskatchewan S4T 7T1 site going, with the hopes that more For more information visit our website at www.saskcancer.ca/rtschool or contact one of the program/site coordinators: Regina: 306-766-2220 Saskatoon: 306-655-2715 students will find it useful.

USSU prepares for dozens of student council races

School of Radiation Therapy

Opinions •5 USSU leak was a big mistake

March 15, 2012 • the sheaf • thesheaf.com/opinions

All three parties to blame in the Ferwerda affair: the VP, council and the Sheaf STEVEN HEIDEL Once again, students are arguing about the University of Saskatchewan Students’ Union.

The four USSU executive members hold both elected and paid positions. Their salaries are paid through student fees and therefore some accountability measures have been put in place to ensure we’re getting the best bang for our buck. One of these measures is a complaint process, wherein three complaints lead to talks of impeachment. Vice President Student Affairs Alex Ferwerda has received his second complaint, which was approved by council at a March 1 meeting. The reasons cited for this complaint included absenteeism, tardiness and ineffective event planning.

This information came to light in the Sheaf’s March 8 edition, which used anonymous sources to report both the complaint and the decision

by University Students’ Council to not inform students of the matter.

There are three separate parties involved in the affair that need to be addressed: Ferwerda, council and the Sheaf. To quote an old East Indian tale, “Though each was partly in the right, all were in the wrong.”

Former USSU president Chris Stoicheff, who spoke at the March 8 council meeting, said Ferwerda’s infractions weren’t as bad as they were made out. Nobody’s perfect, and Stoicheff made it clear that USSU executives often commit similar infractions as Ferwerda.

However, with two complaints it can be assumed that Ferwerda went beyond mere imperfection. It was the other members of the executive who filed the complaint, after all, and the other executives would not have filed a complaint if they were all doing the same things. Executive members don’t need to be perfect but they certainly need to be good enough to justify to their colleagues that they deserve to be paid from the student purse.

Stoicheff also said the complaint would likely hurt Ferwerda’s image and reputation in the future, especially if the complaints were unfounded. However, if the complaint was indeed unfounded or would have been too severe a blow to his image, council would not have approved it in the first place.

Keep in mind that this matter was discussed in council for almost an hour, with VP Ferwerda present to defend himself. The complaint was ultimately approved by a majority of council members.

Besides, not releasing the full details to the students causes even more damage since most people have the unfortunate tendency to assume the worst.

To me, this is the worst problem that occurred and the one that has been discussed the least: the decision by the council to keep these matters a secret. At the March 8 meeting, a guest stood up and loudly commended the councillor who leaked this information for allowing the students to know

Brianna Whitmore/Graphics Editor

what goes on behind closed doors.

But the councillor who breached confidentiality doesn’t deserve our praise. Rather, blame should have been put on the USC for their decision.

In general, the USSU is a very transparent and accountable organization that tends to run very smoothly. Incidents to this degree are actually quite rare. This precedent of transparency means that in order for information to be withheld, there must be a very, very good reason to do so. Three reasons for withholding the information were provided: to protect Ferwerda’s image and integrity, to protect the image of the USSU and to prevent a loss of trust in the University Students’ Council.

Trying to maintain the trust of students seems like a noble goal.

However, I fail to see how the situation that unfolded was any better. Given the number of players involved, it seemed wrong to assume this information wouldn’t get out in some fashion. Even if it were kept secret, speculation and rumours of what happens in private meetings is often worse than what actually does take place. Distrust of the USSU is now greater because it seems the organization is trying to conceal its mistakes.

Council should always try to be transparent whenever possible.

Granted, there is still need for “in camera” sessions when discussing an issue like this, but the final results of such a discussion should always be made public.

The person who leaked this information should not be regarded in a positive light because they did break laws. The information should have been released, but since it wasn’t, the councillor should not have disrespected the decision of students’ council and the policies that govern it.

All undergraduates are members

of the USSU, and as such inherently agree to its bylaw. There is ample opportunity to change the bylaw, namely through annual general meetings. If one didn’t agree to “in camera” meetings, they could amend the bylaw to prevent such a practice. However, this has not happened, and therefore we as students have to accept that this may sometimes happen regardless of whether we agree.

What the leaker did was wrong, but what about the Sheaf? They did not break any actual rules.

Confidentiality was breached when the information was leaked to the Sheaf, not when it was published. Also, remember that the Sheaf is in no way bound by the same regulations that council must follow. They didn’t break any written rules, but I also don’t agree with how it was covered.

As Stoicheff pointed out, at the beginning of the year the Sheaf decided to reduce its coverage of student politics. However, this reduction should have applied equally in all angles of the coverage. There used to be both positive and negative coverage of the USSU, but the reduction of coverage seem to have focused on reducing the positive USSU coverage while continuing to create stories on all of the USSU’s problems. This incident — as with other sensational USSU stories this year — was covered in great detail whereas new programs and successes of the executive were only mentioned briefly. Overall, this gives a negative light to a generally well-run organization.

As a campus newspaper, the Sheaf has an obligation to cover stories that would not be seen elsewhere, meaning stories that only affect our campus. Yes, student politics is petty, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Student politics is supposed to be a training

ground for individuals to learn what a career in the political realm may be like. Without these petty conflicts they would not gain that experience. And there are certainly much larger, more relevant issues that need discussion, such as

housing, sustainability, the cost of education and so on.

There was a chain of mistakes that caused the situation we are now in and VP Ferwerda, council, and the Sheaf are all partially at fault.

AU BComm student Teang

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6• Opinions

thesheaf.com/opinions • the Sheaf • March 15, 2012

STOP KONY 2012 T

he Internet is perhaps the most beloved of civilization’s most recent doodles. It is a delightfully chaotic but perfectly organic scribble of society’s collective thoughts, and like a six-year-old proudly parading a popsicle-stick sculpture, it is one for which we constantly seek validation. By and large, our pomp and arrogance is well deserved.

But last week something unprecedented happened — and I was left fearing, not admiring, the power of the Internet. I speak, of course, of the Kony 2012 campaign by Invisible Children.

In case you’ve been living under a rock (or a jungle — more on that later), the campaign aims to make Joseph Kony a household name by pressuring celebrities and policy makers

to “take action,” and by plastering his image in every major city in the world through an aggressive guerrilla marketing strategy. The eventual goal of the campaign is Kony’s arrest and trial at the International Criminal Court.

Kony, of course, is head of the Ugandan Lord’s Resistance Army and believed to be responsible for the abduction, murder or enslavement of as many as 30,000 children over the past 30 years.

In the frantic race to be the first to repost, tweet or share the meme du jour, the troubling subtext to the Kony 2012 campaign seemed lost in a misguided cloud of excitement. While the intentions of the nearly countless people who leaped at the opportunity to support Invisible Children’s

mission are noble, good intentions do not make an act just. And if we are willing to contribute financially to a global manhunt that could easily result in an unforeseeable number of deaths, then I think we owe it to ourselves — not to mention the everyday Ugandans who would be most affected by such a campaign — to take a moment to analyze the campaign and its motives.

A Radical Over-Simplication of the Issues

I

n the eyes of Invisible Children, killing Joseph Kony means the end of the LRA, and a boost in the collective conscience of every middle-school American child who skipped piano lessons to be, like, socially aware for the afternoon and stuff.

Except that’s not how it works, ever. Joseph Kony is not the LRA, and although he is undoubtedly personally responsible for a lot of evil, he is also surrounded by many similarly-corrupted individuals who might spill a lot of blood in response to such a campaign. That’s how guerrilla groups work: they are based around an idea (a deranged and perverse one, in this case). And like Invisible Children themselves point out, “There is nothing more powerful than an idea.”

Joseph Kony is a monumental dickhead, and that fact has earned him the number one spot atop the ICC’s list

of the world’s most wanted war criminals. No one disputes that he deserves to be brought to justice.

But reducing the nature of the Ugandan conflict (or any conflict for that matter) into cartoonish terms of “good guys” versus “bad guys” — as co-founder Jason Russell does over the course of the video, so that his toddler son Gavin might better understand the heroic work his dad does — is not only inaccurate, but also dangerous and irresponsible. What Invisible Children is campaigning for is nothing short of a global manhunt, and I find the idea of re-packaging a military intervention in such a sentimental, simplified manner deeply unsettling.

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Opinions

March 15, 2012 • the sheaf • thesheaf.com/opinions

•7

AND START APOLOGIZING TO UGANDANS

by Tomas Borsa Recruitment of Children

F

or all the apparent hatred that Invisible Children’s supporters seem to harbour toward Joseph Kony for his targeting of children, it seems easily forgiven that the organization is itself targeting a very limited and impressionable demographic.

Facebook was the primary means by which the Kony 2012 video was able to spread as quickly as it has, and it is also a domain where users as young as 13 (the minimum age for creating an account) spend an increasing amount of their free time. As Russell put it in an interview with Reuters, “The unique thing about this movement — which is really, really exciting

— is that it’s led by the youth.”

I do not see it as a virtue that Invisible Children has targeted children and youth for their campaign. In fact, I find it quite revolting.

There is a reason that, as a society, we exclude children from the political process — they lack the knowledge necessary to make an informed and free choice, and are vulnerable to coercion and manipulation. And as a result of Invisible Children’s violation of this norm, a child’s pocket money would go toward military action.

“

W

hatever additional adjectives one might care to tack onto it, Kony 2012 is, at the end of the day, a privatelyfunded lobbying effort for the disposal of human life.

Who Is This Really About?

I

gnoring the fact that most North Americans could not even locate Uganda on a map, the willingness that has been shown by the creators and supporters of the Kony 2012 campaign to take credit for the alleged discovery and rescue of “these children,” as Russell puts it, absolutely reeks of an arrogance that Kipling and Rhodes would have smugly clinked teacups over.

Behold, a smattering of typical messages left on one of the many Kony 2012 Facebook pages: “SO proud of our generation right now!”

“This is our time. Let’s show the world what we can accomplish!”

“As soon as I saw this video, I dove in, bought the action kit. I felt human for a moment.”

Invisible Children evidently identified the incredible narcissism of the Facebook generation and decided to turn it against itself. Their website advertises the now sold-out Action Kit — containing an official campaign T-shirt, Kony bracelet, stickers, a button, posters and an action guide — by proclaiming: “People will think you’re an advocate of awesome.”

Similarly, the $10 Kony bracelet is available for purchase online, and is advertised as “the ultimate accessory.” Don’t worry, they’ve got you covered: now you can advertise your charitable nature in the real world as well as the digital one!

Condescension At Its Finest

T

he very name “Invisible Children” is a loaded one. To whom were these children invisible, and who has suddenly made them “visible”? The same answer applies to both: a previously preoccupied, primarily North American middle-class youth who have suddenly been awakened to their calling as saviours. Kony 2012 isn’t about collaborating with Ugandans in order to capture Joseph Kony — it’s about doing it for them.

Between co-ordinating the panning shots of American landmarks and college kids dressed in matching T-shirts, it seems Invisible Children just couldn’t find the time to include any Ugandan commentary. Over the course of the 30-minute video, the combined speaking time allotted to Jacob (one of “these children” whose story apparently prompted the launching of the campaign) and his unnamed and equally helpless pals amounts to one minute and 46 seconds.

Beyond the fact that Invisible Children’s entire leadership is composed of self-righteous mzungus,

I grow suspicious of a charity that continually refers to Africans, on the whole, in the most homogenizing and generic terms imaginable. Congo, Uganda, Liberia — whatever, they just like, need our help, or something.

So if not at the heart of the official Kony 2012 campaign, where have the voices of Ugandans been this whole time? Ugandan journalist Rosebell Kagumire took to YouTube almost immediately after the video began to collect hits and summarized her concerns thusly: “If you are showing me as voiceless, as helpless, you have no place telling my story. You shouldn’t be telling my story if you don’t believe that I also have the power to change what is going on.

This video seems to say the power lies in America... and it does not lie with my government and it does not lie with local initiatives on the ground.”

(On the topic of Ugandan voices, you won’t hear any mention of Joseph Koe-nee in Uganda. It is correctly pronounced “Kohn” in Acholi.)

supplied

This Time, It’s Personal

N

ormally, the push to employ military tactics comes from within the military leadership and is met with resistance by all but the most gun-toting, trigger-happy members of the public. This time, however, the situation is reversed. Whatever additional adjectives one might care to tack onto it, Kony 2012 is, at the end of the day, a privately-funded lobbying effort for the disposal of human life.

The whole Kony 2012 campaign brings to mind the short-lived website live-shot.com, which offered the opportunity to hunt animals over the Internet. For a fee, a webcam-mounted rifle could be controlled remotely from the comfort of one’s living room.

Shortly after its launch in 2006 it drew the ire of, well, just about everyone who has any sense of ethics; the main criticism was that it sold a censored and artificial version of an act that ought to be afforded a bit more consideration than the simple click of a button.

The similarities should be fairly self-evident. No matter how many kilometres separate the advocate and the instrument, the outcome is the same, and the responsibility resides with the killer — whether they pulled the trigger themselves or had someone else do it for them. supplied

8• Opinions

thesheaf.com/opinions • the Sheaf • March 15, 2012

LFL foes are missing the point

Is university still relevant?

Alexandra Anderson

Terence Kearns/Flickr

Sexy sports uniforms are not a new concept, especially in women’s sports.

Sexuality has a place in sports, but must be accompanied with respect Desiree Lalonde As a feminist who promotes positive sexuality, I have a particular interest in people’s responses to the Lingerie Football League. Most of my female friends are against the league; they feel that it is degrading to women and ridicules female athletes. When I ask my male friends how they feel about the league, the most common answer is a cautious, “That depends, how do you feel about the league?”

I cannot guarantee that the original purpose of the league wasn’t to objectify women. It probably was, but that is not how I view the league. I appreciate that a woman is sexy without sexualizing her, and I honestly believe that men can too. It is simple: place her value beyond the bedroom. Lingerie football players are hot, but they can also kick your ass.

Sexualization of women by men is a male problem, not a female problem. Rather than telling women that they need to avoid being objectified by covering themselves up and behaving conservatively, we should simply tell men not to objectify us. A society that respects women is not one that makes us hide our bodies and our sexuality, but one that encourages us to embrace and enjoy them.

Sexy sports uniforms are not a new concept, especially in female sports. Volleyball players wear tight booty shorts, beach volleyball is played in bikinis and tennis players wear skirts. It isn’t absent in male sports either: swimmers and divers are in Speedos, sumo wrestlers are essentially in thongs, and ancient Greek Olympians wrestled naked. Some other sports opt for tight or little clothing for performance reasons. Whatever the reason for it, lingerie football does not win the award for most revealing uniform.

Why do we disapprove of sexuality in sports? It might be because of a masculinization of sports. We have a very male-standard view of sports. I consider “masculine” sports to be those with a “goal” system that determines who wins and by how much. They also include, to a lesser extent, sports where whoever is the fastest at something, or whoever can last the longest, is the winner.

Masculine sports are considered to be more legitimate than “feminine” sports, the latter being under-appreciated, especially considering the amount of athleticism they require. Dance, gymnastics and figure skating, as examples, require tremendous athleticism; they are competitive and entertaining. Yet they

are not what comes to mind when we think of sports.

Pole dancing, while still used for sexy entertainment, is a fun way to increase strength and flexibility. You can even compete in it, and the competitions are spectacular to watch. Sexuality in sports doesn’t have to be eliminated, or considered a bad thing. Enjoy the beauty of movement, and the athleticism and passion it takes to create that movement.

To empower women through lingerie football, there needs to be more of a female focus. In addition to female players we need female managers, coaches, announcers and, of course, fans. We have the power to change how males and females perceive lingerie football players by changing our own perceptions of the sport and encouraging a positive attitude toward female athletes.

What it comes down to — and feminists will agree with me — is female choice. Our body, our choice. Women choose to play lingerie football for their own reasons and they have a right to that choice. Preventing them from playing in the Lingerie Football League, or criticizing them for it, is female oppression.

I support all women’s right to choice, even if they choose to do things that I don’t necessarily agree with. Besides, I find aggressive physical contact more problematic in sports than sexuality. So although I do promote the players, you probably won’t find me at any of the games. Football is not my ideal girl-on-girl action.

If you want to talk about opinions, come to the Sheaf office at 1p.m. on Fridays.

Mike will be there, waiting expectantly like a child anxiously waits for his negligent father to come pick him up from soccer practice. opinions@thesheaf.com

March is a nerve-wracking time to be in university. It’s also a time we start thinking about the summer, jobs and real life. How unpleasant.

It makes me wonder, if I can’t get a job after university, is there a point to being here? Is university too removed from real life? Is it irrelevant?

Universities are criticized for being outdated, inapplicable to the real world and fiendishly theoretical. Who cares if you know the difference between Kant and Hume? Who cares if you know all the steps and enzymes of glycolysis?

Nobody, except your professor. Those criticisms are hardly new. They’re also valid.

But for large institutions, modern universities have been surprisingly agile when responding to our need for practical experience. We have internships, co-ops and laboratories to develop industry-related skills, and professors using new technologies to educate us. While we still have theory-based courses, universities are also adapting to the real-world needs of their students.

Modern universities are also criticized for being degree factories. There are too many graduates and the admission standards are too low, the line goes. This has the potential to lower the quality of our education.

But wishing universities would remain exclusively available to the upper-middle classes is an elitist perspective. People from non-traditional backgrounds can now finish university. As the size of the campus body grows, so does the diversity. What’s more educational than that?

Nevertheless, when the student population grows, it becomes more difficult to get a job and more difficult to distinguish between job candidates. University graduates oversaturate the workforce. A university diploma is now almost mandatory in the job market. This is not going to change any time soon.

But a traditional university education was never just about getting a job. It was about learning how to learn. Modern universities do this too, but they do more.

It’s up to us to use universities to prepare ourselves for our future careers. Of course, universities provide us with some necessary tools: electives, clubs, exchange programs and specializations. Through these, we can distinguish ourselves from fellow students by making good choices on how to spend our time here.

Another concern is lowered standards and the tarnished reputation of universities. If a university admits lower-achieving students, it may appear less prestigious. But the tuition those students pay helps fund the university’s student programs. We benefit from additional students.

Alternatively, though, universities could try raising their admissions standards by demanding tougher mandatory courses for each degree.

They could try rejecting the lower-achieving applicants. It would not work, though. When one university rejects its students, another university will be more than willing to benefit from that mistake and fill its own lecture halls.

Education has become a business, and universities need consumers. We shouldn’t blame them for their success.

University is still relevant because it continues to attract consumers. Whether we came here for a job or to become brilliant intellectuals, we drive the machine. Modern universities reflect real life: crowded, diverse and consumer-driven.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing.

A university education is what you want it to be. Take responsibility. University won’t be irrelevant if you don’t let it be.

So why am I in school? I think the advertising worked. Somehow, I believe it will make me a better writer, a better speaker and a better student. While I’m sure most of what I learn won’t be used again, I’m also sure that I’ll get what I came for.

Opinions

March 15, 2012 • the sheaf • thesheaf.com/opinions

•9

Starbucks, Tim Hortons and my conflicted heart Coming to terms with a Starbucks addiction Michael Cuthbertson Opinions Editor If you are a coffee addict you almost certainly call yourself either a Starbucks person or a Tim Hortons person. There is no middle ground. When you’re addicted to caffeine, coffee shop loyalty is like a religious affiliation. To me, saying you like both Starbucks and Tim Hortons is like saying you are a Christian and a Muslim.

Now, as a Starbucks man, I have once or twice been harassed for drinking Starbucks.

In return, I ask people how they can honestly prefer Tim Hortons, given that their coffee is flavourless and maybe one step above the coffee at Chinese restaurants.

This coffee debate is truly remarkable.

Nowhere else in the world of substances do you find such evangelical brand loyalty.

Smokers don’t say to other smokers, “You smoke Canadian Classics? Gross.” And drinkers don’t say to their buddies, “I don’t want your Pilsner. I only drink Gee-Dub damnit!”

On a superficial level, coffee shop loyalty seems to be shaped by two variables: people wanting inexpensive coffee will buy Timmies (the Keystone beer of coffee), and people wanting gourmet coffee will buy Starbucks.

And then some coffee-drinkers boycott Starbucks for moral reasons even they can’t explain. I know “alternative” types who just assume Starbucks is super-evil because they’re huge, and Timmies is only slightly evil because, “Well, it’s Canadian.”

When Starbucks first opened on Broadway, a friend suggested we throw a brick through their window. The thinking was that this would defend the small, helpless coffee shops like the Broadway Roastery.

Why defend the Roastery? Because we held it as fact that when chain stores move in, they offer shoddier products and services than local businesses. Typically, this is true. Starbucks is unusual though; it’s an international chain but it serves a fresh, quality product you’d expect only local businesses would carry.

So I find Starbucks blameless. They’re not Canadian like Timmies. But what am I to do? Choke down the flavourless coffee of Tim Hortons because it affirms my Canadian identity. If Tim Hortons coffee is truly indicative of the Canadian character then I declare Canadians to be a putrid people.

Their shitty coffee aside, I can’t shake the feeling that I’m, at heart, more of a Tim Hortons person than a Starbucks one. There is something elitist about Starbucks. It’s the clientele; it’s all semi-cultured, fashionable people on MacBooks in there. In Tim Hortons, you can be in paint-covered overalls

and still feel comfortable ordering a coffee.

Even I feel out of place when I enter Starbucks in the morning with my long wet hair, baggy eyes and grouchy expression.

And yet, the rest of the line at Starbucks is unnaturally perky and presentable. They haven’t even gotten a coffee yet and already they’re saying, “Oh! Oh! Could I just have a smidgen of whipped cream? With a sprinkle of cinnamon! Oh yes — that’s just perfect — thank you so kindly, dear.”

The Arts Tunnel Timmies is a different scene. I am among my brothers and sisters there. That lineup is pretty much just students who look half-dead, anxiously awaiting their fix. And I think, yes, this is where I belong.

In Vancouver, there are three Starbucks shops at the corner of Robson and Thurlow.

The city is infested with Starbucks.

Meanwhile, go to any small town in the prairies and you’re hard-pressed to find one coffee shop that isn’t a Tim Hortons.

There is something intuitively right about this arrangement. Starbucks just personifies Vancouver people, and Tim Hortons

“

What am I to do?

Choke down the flavourless coffee of Tim Hortons because it affirms my Canadian identity. If Tim Hortons coffee is truly indicative of the Canadian character then I declare Canadians to be a putrid

Brianna Whitmore/Graphics Editor

personifies the prairie farm crowd.

I can’t picture farmers discussing the weather amidst the jazz-music and prepackaged wall art of Starbucks. Nor can I picture a Timmies filled with rail-thin, American Apparel-outfitted indie rockers.

And even though I’m addicted to Starbucks, I feel a greater affinity with those farmers than the indie rock kids. Yet this doesn’t compel me to start drinking a lesser coffee.

It’s stupid to assume going to Starbucks automatically makes you pretentious. I mean, yeah, Jesus probably would have drunk Tim Hortons, but who knows? Either way, until Tim Hortons stops selling swill I won’t change a thing.

I will continue neglecting my plain, humble lover, the Double-Double — and stick to my high-maintenance vixen, the Grande Bold.

10•Sports

thesheaf.com/sports • the sheaf • March 15, 2012

Women’s basketball headed to nationals

Regular season record pays off for wild card selection COLE GUENTER A hard-fought game right to the final buzzer ended somberly for many of the Huskies women’s basketball players following their 62-66 loss to the Brock University Badgers Friday, March 9 in the first game of the Canadian Interuniversity Sport Women’s Basketball West Regional Tournament.

The fifth-year players, whose eligibility to play basketball extinguishes at the end of this year, left the court visibly upset because they had undoubtedly just lost the last game they would ever play in front of a home crowd. The loss put their hopes of making it to the Canadian Interuniversity Sport Final 8 Championship tournament in the hands of other teams.

“It is definitely a tough way to go out. To lose on your home court in your last game is not something you wish upon anyone,” said Huskies head coach Lisa Thomaidis regarding her fifth-year players. “We were hoping to be playing here [Saturday] night, and that is not going to happen now.

It’s unfortunate, but hopefully we get to move on and play next week.”

The Dogs were forced to put all their hopes of continuing on receiving the wild card berth

into the Final 8 tournament. The selection for the wild card position contained 11 different criteria, but favour is often given to the highest nationally ranked team that doesn’t qualify for the tournament through the regional or conference qualifiers. In order for the Huskies to have become a likely candidate for the position they needed the University of Regina Cougars and the University of Windsor Lancers to make it through their respective tournaments.

The Huskies were seeded one spot higher than Brock, but the statistics for the teams looked like mirror images of each other prior to the game. The Huskies sported a 15-5 regular season record, while Brock had a 15-7 record.

In addition, both teams also won the bronze in their respective conference championships a week prior to this tournament.

The game tempo was high and the ball moved up and down the court for the entire game. By the end of the first quarter the score was tied at 16, thanks to a lastsecond three-point basket from the Dogs' Kiera Lyons. The lead changed 10 times in the opening half alone, but neither team would give up more than a five-point spread before storming back and levelling the match. The teams finished the half knotted with 28

points apiece.

Coming out of the locker room, it seemed Brock was able to make better use of their chances early and went on an 8-2 point run to start the second half. It turned out to be the difference maker in the game as the third quarter was the only one in which the teams did not tie in scoring.

The Badgers led 51-47 heading into the final frame.

The Huskies closed the gap to one point with three-and-a-half minutes left in the game, but that is as close as they would get.

Badgers forward Nicole Rosenkranz led Brock with 18 points in the match and seven rebounds in only 26 minutes of play.

Following that game, Regina defeated the fourth-seeded Concordia Stingers. Jumping to an early lead, the Cougars scored eight points in the first two minutes before slowing down the pace.

Regina led by 13 points at the half and kept that margin very consistent throughout the second half of play. They eventually won by a score of 73-60.

Women’s Basketball cont. on

13

Raisa Pezderic/Photo Editor

Katie Miyazaki puts up a shot against the Brock Badgers.

Stop by for a coffee.

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We’re at the corner of 8th and Preston, in the Grosvenor Park Centre. Our grand opening is Saturday, March 24 from 9 to 3. Stop by and say hello.

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12-02-23 2:54 PM

Sports

March 15, 2012 • the sheaf • thesheaf.com/sports

Hockey

cont. from

•11

1

Calgary’s Dylan Hood beat Huskies captain Kyle Ross to the corner of the ice after a Dino player dumped the puck deep into Saskatchewan’s zone. Hood emerged with the puck and fed it to a wide-open Teegan Moore, who was streaking in from the blue line and fired the puck at the gaping cage. Holfeld lunged across the crease and caught the puck in his mid-section, keeping the game notched at one.

“Obviously you don’t want to be the guy to let in the last goal,” said Holfeld, praising Butler’s performance at the other end of the ice.

“Butler made a lot of big saves.

Hats off to him. He kept them in it for a lot of the game.”

Butler’s performance, which saw him turn away 40 of the 42 shots he faced, was highlighted by a diving save early in the second overtime period.

After the Huskies’ Kyle Bortis muscled his way out of the corner, he back-handed a shot from just above the goal line off Butler’s pad.

The puck bounced across the slot and onto the back of Canada West regular season scoring leader Derek Hulak’s stick. Hulak chipped the puck towards the empty goal but Butler managed to leap across the

A relieved Huskies squad celebrates its Canada West banner win after the longest game in conference history. crease and knock the puck down just before it crossed the line.

Calgary, who jumped off to a phenomenal start that kept the Huskies without a shot for the first 10 minutes of the game, opened the scoring only 1:56 into the first period after the Dinos line of Tyler Fiddler, Walker Wintoneak

and Kevin King capitalized on a botched Saskatchewan breakout attempt.

The trio fired a series of shots towards Holfeld before Fiddler finally banged in one of the many rebounds.

The Huskies’ Chris Durand and Matthew Spafford, who were on the

ice for Calgary’s first goal, made up for Saskatchewan’s turnover midway through the second period.

With only seven seconds remaining on a Saskatchewan power play, Durand carried the puck down the side boards and into the Dinos’ zone. He fired a long back-hand pass across the slot to

Huskie Athletics

Spafford, who had cut in from the opposite side of the ice. The rookie Spafford held the puck for only a second before firing a shot from his back-hand just over top of Butler’s right pad.

It was Spafford’s third goal of the post-season.

12• Sports

thesheaf.com/sports • the Sheaf • March 15, 2012

eep them on your Radar

U of S students would love second opportunity at Brier

Richard Marjan/The StarPhoenix

Tyler Lang guides a shot as Team Alberta watches patiently.

KEVIN MENZ Sports Editor

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Tyler Lang and Mike Armstrong know that stepping out of the limelight to pick up the books will be difficult.

The pair put their university careers on hold last week in order to compete for Team Saskatchewan at the Tim Hortons Brier in Saskatoon.

While both Lang and Armstrong were disappointed with Saskatchewan’s 3-8 record and inability to qualify for playoffs, the two students said that they would put school on the backburner again if it meant a second opportunity to represent their province.

“If we have the opportunity and we are fortunate enough to get back here, I know we’ll come back stronger with more experience and we’ll know definitely what to expect,” said Lang, a third-year kinesiology student at the University of Saskatchewan. “I can do school any time. This might be a oncein-a-lifetime thing and you have to make sure you have no regrets leaving this.”

“Wins and losses, they mean nothing,” added fourth-year biology student Armstrong. “The things you learn along the way, the life lessons you take away and the curling lessons you take away are so priceless.”

After starting the tournament with a 2-1 record, Saskatchewan dropped seven straight games before its final match on Thursday, March 8 against Brad Jacobs’ Northern Ontario squad.

Saskatchewan did not qualify for the playoff rounds that were played Friday through Sunday.

Armstrong, Saskatchewan’s lead, said that even though the team knew they were out of playoffs going into the game against Jacobs, they still wanted to win in front of the homeprovince fans — which they did.

“It was a good way to finish it in front of the crowd,” he said.

“They’ve been so supportive all week. We were just really happy to show our appreciation for them coming out every game and supporting us the whole way.”

Saskatchewan’s final match was highlighted by its tense last shot in which Jacobs was forced to catch the button after Saskatchewan skip Scott Manners hid a stone behind a guard just inside the four-foot circle.

Jacobs missed his shot and the crowd roared with excitement.

“It was super nice to actually catch a break finally because we played a great game,” said Lang, adding that he will never forget the excitement of the crowd throughout the entire weekend.

“It’s going to feel weird going back to playing in the club setting because you just don’t have that crowd.”

The team’s third said the highlight of his tournament came when he made a hit-and-roll while playing Kevin Koe’s Alberta team.

“It’s probably the loudest the crowd got for me. It was just a surreal feeling.”

Sports

March 15, 2012 • the sheaf • thesheaf.com/sports

Britnell defends CIS gold

•13

Carleton wins eighth men’s basketball title in 10 years

Nick Pearce/Canadian Interuniversity Sport

JUSTIN FAUTEUX CUP Sports Bureau Chief

file photo Raisa Pezderic/Photo Editor

Lane Britnell pole vaulting at the Canada West championships earlier this season.

KEVIN MENZ Sports Editor Lane Britnell captured his second consecutive national gold medal March 10 at the Canadian Interuniversity Sport track and field championships in Winnipeg.

The University of Saskatchewan Huskies pole vaulter cleared 4.95 metres to beat out University of Western Ontario Mustang Matt Diston’s 4.90-metre vault and notch his third national medal in as many years competing.

The height fell well short of his personal-best of 5.15 metres, however, as well as the 5.03-metre vault he recorded two weeks ago at the Canada West championships.

It was the Huskies’ third gold medal of the weekend.

Third-year pentathlete Keegan Sharp upset University of Ottawa Gee-Gee Mark Chenery by 35 points in the first day of competition on March 8 after a late burst in the 1,000-metre competition pushed him passed Chenery and solidified

Women’s Basketball cont. from

10

The West Regional Final game was played the following day between Regina and Brock. Fortunately for the Huskies, Regina was able to fend off the Badgers. Brock managed to stay close for the first quarter, but soon after the Cougars regained their dominance and went on to win 85-62.

The Windsor Lancers won the East

his first-place 3,846 points in the pentathlon.

Fourth-year Lincoln Crooks added to Sharp’s success on the second day of competition after clearing 2.04 metres in the high jump and capturing his first-ever CIS gold medal.

The three first-place performances, along with Cossy Nachilobe’s bronze in the triple jump, underlined the Huskies men’s eighth-place team finish.

Saskatchewan’s women’s team — despite lacking a gold medal winner — just missed the podium after landing fifth of the 21 competing schools.

The Canada West’s female track athlete of the year Sharai Siemens won a silver medal for the Huskies in the 300-metre run and, along with teammates Morgan Sawatzky, Amanda Banks and Katrin Ritchie, finished second in the 4x400-metre relay.

Siemens, alongside Sawatzky, Ritchie and Veronika Smits, put up the best time in the 4x200-metre

race but were disqualified after protest from the University of Windsor Lancers. The judges ruled that Ritchie had impeded a Lancer racer’s lane, causing the racer to fall.

Jodi Souter, who was the only other Huskies woman to medal, brought home bronze in the 3,000-metre race.

Souter was honoured by the CIS prior to the championship with the Student-Athlete Community Service Award for her strong work both on and off the track.

The four-time CIS academic allCanadian and agriculture graduate student from Pleasantdale, Sask. volunteers for the Canadian Cancer Society, the Huskie Athletics Council and helps motivate adolescent girls to strive for success with the Go Girl program.

Souter, a fifth-year, also competes on the Huskies cross-country team.

Regional title, ensuring their spot in the national tournament. This, in combination with the Regina win, led to the Dogs being announced as the selection for the wild card position.

The announcement made March 11 marks the fifth-straight year the women have reached the prestigious tournament.

“It is definitely a sigh of relief,” expressed Huskies captain Katie Miyazaki after finding out her team received the coveted wild card spot and would continue their hunt for a CIS championship.

“The odds were in our favour after the [Regina and Brock] game, and the selection is a reflection of [the] entire year we have had and our success.”

The Huskies will go into the CIS Final 8 tournament seeded sixth.

They will play against the thirdseeded Ottawa Gee-Gees in the opening round.

Ottawa boasts a 19-3 regular season record and have gone 4-1 in playoffs thus far. The tournament will be played March 17-19 in Calgary with the gold medal match scheduled for Monday, March 19.

HALIFAX (CUP) — The name plates on the W.P. McGee Trophy are starting to get a little repetitive.

For the second year in a row and the eighth time in the past 10 years, the Carleton Ravens claimed the McGee trophy as the Canadian Interuniversity Sport men's basketball champs.

Sunday's title-winning victory — an 86-77 win over the Alberta Golden Bears — ties Carleton with the Victoria Vikings for the most national championships in CIS men's basketball history.

"I have two years left, and I want two more," said Carleton's Tyson Hinz.

“It feels great,” added Ravens second-year standout Phil Scrubb about the second-straight championship win. “This was our goal since the start of the season.”

While Scrubb was the star of this season for the Ravens, it was Hinz — who just happens to be last year's CIS player of the year — who stole the show in the CIS final, racking up

20 points and game MVP honours.

Scrubb led the way for Carleton with a game-high 26 points, followed by Hinz's 20 and Willy Manigat, who had 14.

Alberta's Daniel Ferguson wasn't far behind Scrubb with 25 points.

"It was definitely our best allaround effort of the weekend,” said Carleton head coach Dave Smart, who won his record fifth CIS coach of the year award. “We defended really well early on and it set the tone.”

The win capped a second consecutive perfect season for the Ravens, who finished the 2011-12 campaign with a 34-0 record against CIS competition.

“It’s a different thing scouting them on tape than playing them,” said Alberta head coach Greg Francis. “Dave [Smart] has set the gold standard for CIS men’s basketball programs. It’s a great thing to chase after.”

— With files from Canadian Interuniversity Sport

Wickenheiser leads Calgary to first CIS women’s hockey championship ATTA ALMASI & JUSTIN FAUTEUX Canadian University Press Hayley Wickenheiser's three Olympic gold medals just got some more company.

The superstar of women's hockey, now a second-year kinesiology student at the University of Calgary, can add a Canadian Interuniversity Sport gold medal to her alreadypacked trophy case after her Calgary Dinos downed the Montreal Carabins 5-1 at the University of Alberta's Clare Drake Arena March 11 to claim the national championship.

Wickenheiser, who was named CIS player of the year as a first-year player in 2010-11, had two goals and two assists in the final and was named the Dinos' player of the game. She also finished tied with Montreal's Josianne Legault for the most tournament points with five.

This comes after a season in which Wickenheiser racked up 40 points in just 15 games played.

The win for Calgary marks the first ever CIS title in school history, while for Montreal it was their first time medalling at a national tournament since starting up as a CIS program three years ago.

Dinos goaltender Amanda Tapp, who was named tournament MVP after allowing only three goals in the entire tournament, stopped 27 of Montreal's 28 shots to solidify the win for Calgary.

Calgary and Montreal entered the game with identical 2-0 records through round-robin play.

The No. 3 Dinos topped defending champion McGill and host Alberta, while the sixth-ranked Carabins tallied upsets over No. 1 Laurier and No. 4 Prince Edward Island.

The teams played toe-to-toe throughout the first period until Wickenheiser scored a short-handed goal with just over four minutes remaining in the first period to give Calgary a 1-0 edge.

A few minutes later, Wickenheiser was at it again, putting another shot past Carabin netminder Rachel Oulette to extend the Dinos lead to 2-0 after the opening frame.

Coming out of the first intermission re-energized, the Carabins were able to outshoot the Dinos 11-8 and got two more man advantages. A tipped shot by Calgary forward Jenna Smith in the dying seconds of the period, however, didn’t help Montreal’s cause as it put Calgary up 3-0 going into the final period.

In the third period, the Dinos made it a four-goal lead early in the frame when Russian forward Iya Gavrilova blasted a shot past Oulette after a Wickenheiser face-off win in the Carabins’ end. Montreal would make things interesting with a powerplay goal off the stick of Élizabeth Mantha, but a fifth goal for Calgary by Elana Lovell four minutes after the Carabins’ goal sealed the deal.

—With files from Canadian Interuniversity Sport

14•Arts

thesheaf.com/arts • the sheaf • March 15, 2012

Rick Miller does Shakespeare as The Simpsons MacHomer is full of funny impersonations AREN BERGSTROM Arts Editor

A kind of MTV-generation thinking pervades MacHomer. It’s thinking that says to make classic art (like the plays of Shakespeare) relatable to modern audiences, you should throw in some pop-culture references and, voila, you have an easily digestible version ready for the masses to consume.

It seems that Canadian comedian and stage performer Rick Miller subscribes to this sort of thinking, and he really runs with it in MacHomer, a shortened version of Macbeth in which every character is performed as a member of The Simpsons.

Rick Miller does the show entirely himself.

It runs 75 minutes and remains roughly 85 per cent Shakespeare, with plenty of Simpsons references peppered in for the show’s fans. It started out as a sketch that Miller incorporated into his stand-up routine in 1994, but soon grew beyond the confines of the routine and turned into a show of its own. Although Miller has been performing MacHomer since 1995, the show still maintains a stand-up vibe.

The biggest attraction here is the vast retinue of voices Miller puts to use. He uses around 50 different voices throughout the show, mostly from The Simpsons, and while some have only hints of the character in them, many impersonations are eerily accurate.

Almost everyone knows the plot of Macbeth, but for anyone who somehow skipped Grade 11 English class, I’ll briefly refresh your memory. Macbeth (MacHomer here) is a Scottish lord who some witches foretell will become king. When MacHomer hears this, he schemes with his wife, kills the king and becomes king himself. But as the body count piles up, MacHomer’s sanity and control of the kingdom begin to slip, spelling certain doom for the tragic hero.

Miller’s Homer Simpson impersonation is at the heart of the play and unfortunately it is his weakest voice. Perhaps no one has ever told Miller that his impersonation only vaguely resembles the beloved alcoholic patriarch of the Simpsons family, or maybe his voice is incapable of capturing the oafish roundness that Dan Castellaneta gives Homer.

Whatever the reason, Miller’s Homer is only OK — better than what the ordinary person can accomplish, but by no means dead-on — and since a majority of the play focuses on MacHomer, too much of the show falls flat.

Luckily, many of his other impersonations are very impressive. His Marge Simpson is creepily accurate — in fact, all his female voices are strangely spot-on. His Barney Gumble and Ned Flanders are also very good.

Anne of Green Gables comes to STM Natahna Bargen

Rick Miller proves to be a man of a thousand voices.

There are a lot of bit cameos by favourite Simpsons characters that work nicely, partially because the lines are so short and partially because the characters fit nicely into the play’s roles. The fact that Miller can jump so seamlessly from one character to another is astounding. This guy’s energy level must be through the roof.

There are a few songs interspersed throughout the show (seemingly for no reason). The show even ends with a musical extravaganza that has no connection to Shakespeare, but luckily, the song may be the funniest part of the entire show, ending it on a high note.

Only two things share the stage with Miller throughout the course of the play: a large television backdrop displays animated versions of the various settings of the play (the Simpsons’ house becomes MacHomer’s castle, etc.) and a smaller television set, with a

Michael Cooper

camera set-up feeding onto the larger screen, is his only prop. This smaller TV often works as the witches’ cauldron and also allows Miller to ingeniously incorporate puppets into the show.

If you’re a Simpsons fan, you’ll appreciate MacHomer. It may feel a little too much like a comedy sketch and some of the impersonations don’t work, but it’s a funny show and the brief running time makes sure the gimmick doesn’t get old.

One thing is certain: it’s definitely not your typical outing at the theatre.

“Anne is loved for her spirit, energy and imagination. She approaches life how other people wish they could.”

This glowing character sketch is given by Linnea Bargen, who plays the lead role of Anne in the upcoming Newman Players version of Anne of Green Gables, opening March 14 at 7 p.m. in the Fr. O’Donnell Auditorium.

“One of the challenges of directing a stage adaptation of such a well-known story is that people invariably compare it with the novel,” said director Richard Medernach. “While this script is faithful to the original story, it is not the novel and it is not the movie.”

Adapted for the stage by Peter DeLaurier and originally penned by Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables is a Canadian classic and continues to affect readers the world over.

“The story of Anne of Green Gables is a comingof-age story that rings as true today as it did a century ago,” said Medernach. “It speaks about the human condition, about wanting to be loved and having a home. Everyone wants to belong somewhere.”

What has perhaps made the story of Anne so timeless is that it speaks to people of all generations and walks of life. Kathleen MacLean, who plays Anne’s best friend Diana, “completely identifies” with Anne and all her antics. Similarly Linda Huard, who plays Ruby, says what connects her to the story is that “Anne just seems real, and her spirit is awesome.”

Medernach said the play itself has been a positive choice for the Newman Players as it has many female roles and often there are “more females auditioning than males, so it’s nice to have a script that allows those talented actresses a chance to shine.”

Many of the actresses who came out for the parts came not only for their love of drama, but also because of their love for the Anne of Green Gables books.

The story’s overall message comes across differently to each person who experiences it.

Michael De Jong, who plays Anne’s adoptive father Matthew, and Graham Schmitz, who plays Anne’s love interest Gilbert, both believe that the story’s message is to encourage people to use their imagination and embrace their originality.

Whether you’re filled with nostalgia at the mention of Anne or are new to this Canadian classic, this story of an outspoken, redheaded orphan who finds a home on Prince Edward Island is sure to continue to warm hearts and inspire people to reach their full potential, just as Anne does.

MacHomer plays at Persephone Theatre until March 21.

Anne of Green Gables plays at 7 p.m. at the Fr. O’Donnell Auditorium at STM from March 14-17, and March 18 at 2 p.m.

956-7777 FOR RESERVATIONS

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Arts

March 15, 2012 • the sheaf • thesheaf.com/arts

•15

Woody Harrelson is the ultimate bad cop Oren Moverman’s Rampart is a frustrating, complex drama NICHOLAS KINDRACHUK

Is it possible for a man to be entirely evil?

In many ways this is the question that director Oren Moverman poses in Rampart. It is a question that I still find myself unable to answer. Woody Harrelson’s intense portrayal of corrupt LAPD officer and Vietnam War veteran David Brown does not make it easy to come up with an answer.

Brown is hard-headed. In many situations it would be easy to say that he is misunderstood, but Moverman wants it to be clear that this man does not deserve that assessment. Brown shows from the beginning of the film that chaos and brutality are what he enjoys about his job. He feels no remorse when it comes to his ruthlessness and it leads to him doing incredibly idiotic things on the job. Brown has no redeeming qualities and is utterly frustrating to watch on the job.

The film is set in 1999 Los Angeles during a large scandal involving the Rampart police department. It’s summer time, making it feel like the sun is beating down on you and adding to the tension of simply watching Harrelson’s performance.

Brown has two children and two failed marriages, except his ex-wives are sisters (Anne Heche and Cynthia Nixon). He attempts to keep himself in their lives by living in the back of their house and consistently making a fool of himself by showing his ignorance about modern society. This is the one instance where the film is able to make him feel human, though it does not last very long.

As the film progresses, Brown finds himself in serious trouble after beating an innocent man to near death for hitting his car and attempting to flee. He is repeatedly backed into corners, but makes everyone around him believe that he is more than able to squirm his way out of it. He becomes paranoid, thinking that everyone around him is a spy, possibly from his time spent in Vietnam.

Of course, brutal and violent acts are

David Brown (Woody Harrelson) is a scumbag and LAPD police officer. As if those are mutually exclusive. nothing new to Brown — not only from being in the war. His nickname on the force is “Date Rape Dave,” which he got from allegedly killing a rapist who was found not guilty.

Brown gives hints that he can transform, that he can be a better person and change his racist, bigoted, sexist ways. However, time and again he goes full circle to show that he is completely one-dimensional. It is difficult to watch such an irredeemably-bad man do his job and react to the situations he is put in. It is even worse to have him as the protagonist when it’s so damn frustrating to watch.

This is also what makes it compelling.

The unbelievable ugliness of Brown and how ignorant he is to it all is astounding. It’s impressive how the movie walks the line of being absorbing and making you want to slam your head against a wall.

The film is paced in a very deliberate way intending to show that Brown is truly an evil man in every respect. His love for his family is misguided and his influence causes them lots of hardship. The wives and women in his life all quickly find out that he thinks nothing of them, that they are only there to fill his needs.

He proves himself to be a totally hollow and heartless human being who learns nothing

Supplied

from the wrongs he so clearly commits.

Rampart is a powerful character study that frustrates just as much as it intrigues, while it searches to find even an ounce of decency within its protagonist.

Rampart is currently playing at the Roxy Theatre.

Game of Thrones returning to the small screen HBO’s popular fantasy drama continues with 10-episode season

COLIN GIBBINGS Winter is coming all over again this spring.

HBO’s hit series Game of Thrones, based on the fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, is finally coming back April 1.

Fans are as stoked as the fires on the Wall, the 300-mile fortification that runs along the northern border of Game of Thrones’ world, the Seven Kingdoms. Expectations are bound to be high after last season’s shocking twist in the second-to-last episode and the alltoo-awesome twist in the final moments of the season finale. (Is it really too early for spoilers?)

The second season will focus on what is known as the War of Five Kings and many of the characters from the last season are forced into new struggles and alliances as they quest for control of the land. Fan favourite Tyrion Lannister, played by Peter Dinklage (fresh off Emmy and Golden Globe wins for his performance), is thrust into a new position by his father that comes with great power, great responsibility and great risk. As well, Jon Snow (Kit Harington) will face new perils in the frigid north as he and his band of brothers known as the Night’s Watch brave the unexplored world above the Wall.

Meanwhile, across the sea, Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) and her new pets begin a journey to find followers and an army

Supplied

Theon Greyjoy (Alfie Allen) has his heart set on greatness in Season Two. to carry herself to Westeros and the Iron Throne that is her birthright.

As the quest to rule the Seven Kingdoms ramps up during the second season, new characters from the novels will make their way onto the show. These include Stephen Dillane as Stannis Baratheon, brother of the former king Robert Baratheon, who seeks the throne for himself, claiming that, as his

brother held “no true-born heirs,” the throne is his. He is aided by his powerful sorceress Melisandre. Other characters familiar to fans of the novel who will make their way into the story include Davos Seaworth, known as the Onion Knight, and the family Greyjoy, who are brought into the war through their relation to Theon Greyjoy, a ward to the Starks in Season One.

So far, advertising has focused on the idea of power and how “it’s a trick, a shadow on the wall.” With much of the focus on Tyrion Lannister, it’s possible he is being moved into lead position, at least for this season. As well, the advertisers have been careful to make good use of the line “anyone can be killed.”

Fans of the books know that in this series, no one is safe.

The show received some mild controversy over the killing-off of a big-name actor last season, leaving many feeling that their emotional investment was for nothing. It was a creative risk (though it also occurs in the books), but it paid off with high ratings and numerous accolades. Still, many viewers felt cheated and threatened to never watch the show again. So, if you haven’t watched the first season yet, consider yourself warned.

Producers have decided to stick to a 10-episode format for the season, keeping costs down. This could be a wise move as high costs did a number on HBO’s earlier series Rome. That show’s cancellation was a tragic episode in television history, as it had so much potential. Hopefully Game of Thrones doesn’t suffer the same fate.

However, given the overwhelmingly positive critical and fan response to the first season, Game of Thrones is bound to stick around for another few years.

16• arts

thesheaf.com/arts • the Sheaf • March 15, 2012

Wii owners, rejoice!

Xenoblade Chronicles finally coming to North America CATHERINE NYGREN

It has been a long time since the Wii received a good game. Since its release, the Wii has generally been the despair of Nintendo fans as the gaming giant turned its attention to the casual gamer market.

Sure, Wii Sports was fun for a little while, but when you can breeze through a game in a few hours it makes you yearn for the good old days of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

Nintendo, however, is finally getting its act together and releasing the highly-anticipated Xenoblade Chronicles. Originally, North America was not to get the game due to the apparent lack of desire in the North American market for Japanese RPGs. However, when an interview revealing this decision was released, fans took action and a fan campaign to get Xenoblade and several other JRPGs released here was established. Happily, thanks to demand and high sales in Europe, gamers can get their hands on Xenoblade on April 6.

Xenoblade’s story is both familiar and refreshingly new. The hero is (of course) an orphan who happens to be the only one capable of wielding a mythical weapon of untold power, and when the baddies attack, he decides to take action. However, rather than forcing the player to stick to the linear storyline that is so often the bane of JRPGs, the player has at least the illusion of freedom, able to explore a vast world and complete a massive number of side-quests.

Players have roughly 60 hours of gameplay to delve into, with both predictable and unseen plot twists; characters you thought would never die are suddenly killed off.

Mixing turn-based and real-time strategies,

Xenoblade Chronicles features the kind of beautiful art design we’ve come to expect from JRPGs. the battle system is remarkably fun. As auto attacks are relatively weak, actions called “talent arts” are used as soon as their timed gauges fill up from each successful auto-attack.

Each character has a subset of talents and each talent has a different effect that, when combined with those of other characters’, can create an attack similar to the way individual instruments come together in an orchestra.

The Monado, however, provides the most innovative part of the system. This powerful weapon can reveal future actions to its wielder in the middle of battle, allowing the player to adjust strategy accordingly. Now that you know

what’s going to happen, should you heal? Boost with a shield? Or just try to kill the enemy ASAP? Visually, Xenoblade does as much as possible. The game world, inexplicably, happens to be two giant robots locked in eternal battle and now frozen — and apparently inhabitable. You can visit places like Bionis’ Knee where, if you look up, you can see giant arms looming. Gaze into the distance and you might just catch a glimpse of the dark Mechonis through the fog. Vistas are gorgeous, environments are carefully embellished and the art design is superb; however, the Wii just can’t

hold up to the power of the Xbox 360 or PS3 in terms of visual quality.

One of the greatest things about the game is that it can be as in-depth as you want. Dedicate hours to finishing every side quest, crafting the best gems and getting high affinities with every character or just power through the story — the choice is up to you.

The Wii may be on its deathbed as far as new releases go, but if you own one, don’t miss out on one of the best games of the Wii’s lacklustre career. You’ll regret it if you don’t.

Winston’s Shamrock Shaker This St. Patrick’s Day Saskatoon’s Biggest and Best St. Patrick’s Day Party!

Three Places to Party at Winston’s !

5 IRISH TAPS Guinness Stout Smithwick’s Ale

Kilkenny Cream Ale

●

Harp Lager

●

Celtic Cocktails

SPECIALTY POURS • • • • •

Crown Floats Half n’Half Black n’Tans Black n’Black Black Shandy

Winston’s Pub Churchill’s Underground Pub Rembrandt’s for Overflow! ●

Caffery’s Irish Ale

Shamrock Martini’s Irish Coffee Irish Depth Charge Dirty Leprechaun Shooter Jameson Irish Whisky Bushmills Irish Whisky

• Black Velvet • Black n’Brown

All Night Long!

Winston’s Irish Dancers!

Winston’s Bagpiper Crew!

Irish Fare Churchill’s Irish Nacho’s Guinness Burger

Irish Stew Guinness Wings Irish Whiskey Bread Pudding

Supplied

March 15, 2012 • the sheaf • thesheaf.com/arts

Spring Fashion What to wear to get in the fashion of the season KIMBERELY HARTWIG

As the snow continues to melt and the puddles continue to grow, it’s time to put away the parkas, toques and gloves to make room for shorts, skirts and dresses. Of course the most essential item for this puddlejumping season is a pair of rain boots, but there are endless items to pair them with.

Accessories are the easiest way to add some spring into an outfit and are also easy on the wallet. In addition to rain boots, classic white sneakers and sandals go great with the warmer temperatures, and light scarves are an easy way to ward off a sudden cold breeze.

With the days getting longer and the sky getting brighter, it’s finally time to change out of the dark and dreary colours of winter. Spring is the perfect time to add some colour to your wardrobe and the colour palette for this year is especially bright. A bright bag is an easy way to add a pop of colour to an otherwise bland outfit and long strings of beads are an easy way to add texture.

The most eye-catching hues for the season are tangerine, Kelly green, citron yellow and coral pink.

On the more subdued side, pastel shades are a softer way to add a little pop to an outfit.

For the colour-shy, white is a refreshing change and will look great with the spring flowers — just make sure to watch out for grass stains when lounging in the Bowl.

After spending months bundled up in endless layers nothing is a greater celebration of spring than wearing as few as possible. Dresses are the perfect mix of classroom-appropriate and date-ready fun. Hemlines and sleeve lengths have also gotten longer with midi dresses and long-sleeved dresses providing the perfect transition between freezing and scorching temperatures. Eyelet and lace are no longer reserved for Sunday brunch but look both classic and young.

Spring prints often draw inspiration from the flora of the season but now inspiration is also coming from the fauna. Floral prints are always a safe bet for spring, but for a change a bird print is a great alternative. Another great way to wear prints in an unexpected way is to move them south. For the more adventurous, printed pants are a fresh take on the classic spring floral.

They may sound bizarre at first but they are a great way to deviate from the jeans that take over campus at this time of year.

Spring is a transitional season, which means it’s not time to abandon a coat just yet. There’s nothing better than a trench coat for singin’ in the rain and since they now come in many different prints and colours, there’s no reason not to invest in this classic. The perfectly broken-in jean jacket is another great option for those chilly mornings, and a nude leather jacket is an easy way to bring a winter staple into a warmer season. Oversized blazers are another option and always make you look ready to hit the books for finals, even if studying is the last thing on your mind.

On and off

arts

•17

the runway

Spring runway fashion is full of old trends reinvented NADIA TSEONA Fashion is innovation — therefore, it is constantly changing, evolving and often reinventing itself. A style that is popular one day and gone the next is not lost forever. Something you thought was lost can re-emerge on a runway and come back stronger than before.

This spring season is really no exception. For the 2012 spring season you can see all the oldies that you may have once loved and forgotten return and reign.

Behold: the return of the midriff.

The ’90s loved to show them off, from cropped tees to tube tops, and now they have come back with a vengeance and a touch of class that was overlooked in the first round. You can see midriffs shining on the runways of Dolce & Gabanna and Miu Miu as well as Emilio Pucci and Acne. The only difference this time is that sophistication is taken into account, pairing midriff tops with pencil skirts and flowing pieces rather than pleather miniskirts or worse. Since it is spring and this particular trend seems to have improved on itself, I say why not? It is getting warm outside after all.

Another blast from the past to notice this season is the return of the deco-flapper look. Most popular in the ’20s, this look has always been around but this spring it’s showing its face in many designers’ collections. From glitzy gowns to flapper cocktail dresses reminiscent of the prohibition/speakeasy days, these dresses are fun, funky and probably here for a while.

The flapper look, consisting of sequins, beads and fringes, is one that should be kept on hand for special occasions or Friday nights. Designers like Armani, Chloe, Ralph Lauren and Gucci have incorporated this style into their shows this season and since spring is the time for rebirth and rejuvenation, dresses that make you want to dance seem just about right. When studying is over and finals are behind us, grabbing a cocktail and donning a strappy dress is a great way to celebrate.

A trend that may be strange for some and very appealing to others is the overwhelming incorporation of sports attire this season, seen in some of the most prestigious fashion houses. Sports attire seemingly doesn’t mesh with regal wear, and yet the biggest fashion houses have somehow worked it into the fabric of the fanciest clothing this season. Floral hoodies, parachute-strap dresses and sleek track pants have been seen from demure designers such as Stella McCartney, Bottega Veneta and Michael Kors.

This trend is not for everyone but it is a fun way to play with pieces that once hung in your closet and would never be seen together — opposites attracting, yin and yang, whatever you want to call it. A casual spin on an otherwise fancy outfit is great for the summer months ahead and can easily be taken from day to night and back again.

Fashion has very few rules in this day and age and today’s trends are proof that you don’t have to match colours, fabrics or hold your breath (corsets!) to look chic.

This spring there will be a wide variety of styles to look at and try out, and since fashion is always changing, it’s best to try them sooner rather than later. Who knows?

Scrunchies and fanny packs could rear their ugly heads and, dare I say, be worn again.

illustration: Samantha Braun

18• Comics

thesheaf.com• the Sheaf • March 15, 2012

Across

1- Bit 5- Not fem.

9- Exclamation to express sorrow 13- Diamonds, e.g.

14- Coniferous tree 15- Having wealth 16- Air 18- Choir member 19- Places of contest 20- Remedial 22- Gives up 23- Capital of Afghanistan 24- Queue after Q 26- Advantage 31- Black gold 34- Jazz singer Anita 37- Baseball manager Joe 38- Make urban 42- Fire43- Killed 44- Deity 45- Perform major surgery 47- Rich soil 50- Equipped

53 - sil-based sauce 57- Abroad 61- SAT giver 62- Verne captain 63- Business of a publisher 65- Some Ivy Leaguers 66- Advantage 67- Designer Schiaparelli 68- Doing nothing 69- Devices for fishing 70- Observed

Down

1- Designer Mizrahi 2- Bizarre 3- Measured with a watch 4- Yom Kippur observer 5- _ -jongg 6- Betel palm 7- Rub vigorously 8- Winged child 9- I smell _ !

10- Taylor of “Mystic Pizza” 11- When Hamlet dies 12- Foot covering 14- CD forerunners 17- Back talk 21- Prince Valiant’s wife 23- Acclaim 25- Best 27- Darlin’ 28- Not a dup.

29- Rice-shaped pasta 30- Give eats

31- Actor Epps 32- Able was _ ...

33- Former Fords 35- 100% 36- Give up 39- Fish eggs 40- Killer whales 41- Snake eyes 46- Boring tool 48- Galoots 49- Interlocks 51- Pale bluish purple 52- Convocation of witches 54- Subway turner 55- Keyed up 56- Church instrument 57- Dedicated to the _ Love 58- South African grassland 59- Pianist Gilels 60- Ascended, flower 61- “... _ the cows come home” 64- Fleur-de- _

Puzzle provided by BestCrosswords.com. Used with permission. For a daily electronic crossword, go to thesheaf.com/crossword.

smbc-comics.net

DAVID I. BERGEN

UPCOMING EVENTS

®

Launching Bible Teaching Meditations in Christian Theology, Book 1 Tuesday, March 20, 7:30 PM

JOHN LEAKE

Reading & Signing Cold A Long Time: An Alpine Mystery Thursday, March 22, 7:30 PM

The Sheaf will host a candidates’ forum for the USSU executive elections.

The debate will take place on Thurs.

Mar 22 in Louis’ Pub at 4 p.m.

The candidates for all four USSU executive positions will be quizzed

by Sheaf staff and members of the student body.

Oh, and you can get shitfaced drunk. xkcd.org

run March 15, 12.indd 1

03/04/12 3:12:11 PM

Misc

March 15, 2012 • the sheaf • thesheaf.com

CAMPUS CHAT

What do you most look forward to doing after finals?

“Going to Jamaica.”

Ryan Kucheran

“Go to San Diego, go to the lake.”

Mike Gadzella

Fake News of the Week Groundbreaking

•19

psychology

studies state the obvious

A team of psychologists at Harvard University have spent millions of research dollars proving a number of things everybody already kind of figured out on their own.

Lead researcher Jennifer Phillips says their most astonishing find was that people experience greater levels of sadness after a bad breakup, as well as during periods of extreme illness.

“Using fMRI scans and self-report surveys, we compared the levels of sadness in people with thriving romantic lives to individuals who were on their death beds or got dumped in the past week,” said Phillips. “To our great surprise, the latter group showed more severe, and more frequent instances of sadness.”

Despite the seminal nature of these studies, some ignorant critics (who probably don’t even have psychology degrees) are questioning the need for this research.

“I ain’t got no college diploma,” admitted

53-year-old auto mechanic Hank Wiggins, “but the way I sees it, psychologists take common sense, put it in their lab and pretend they discovered things a six-year-old already knows.”

Nevertheless the studies are expected to send shockwaves through society. Phillips points out that one study, establishing a causal link between alcohol abuse and shitty parenting, could save thousands of families from ruin.

“Now that we’ve established this link we can make things better,” she argued. “We can quote this study to impressionable psychology students as evidence of our field’s legitimacy.”

But the researchers say this greatest study is yet to come: “We’re going to do a crossanalysis of all our studies, with the hope of establishing the following: That getting dumped, falling ill, and being raised by shitty parents lead to greater sadness than experiencing any of these problems on their own.”

“Your mom!”

“David Whiteway’s mom.”

David Whiteway

Jelena Misevski

Latecomer

in

NDP

race likely

to be next party leader

Although the convention to choose the next federal NDP leader takes place in mere days, the race has been thrown into disarray by the entry of a new candidate.

Little is known about Jack McLayton, but the affable 61-year-old from Toronto has invigorated the NDP base before the March 24 leadership convention.

“There’s something really likable about Jack,” said party member Ingrid Grover. “His blue eyes, his friendly moustache — heck, even that cane he uses all just make me trust him for some reason.”

Still, despite rave reviews from the party faithful, some critics argue that McLayton’s seeming absence from the political scene between 1950 and 2011 disqualify him from running the Official Opposition.

“This McLayton character just smells fishy to me,” former frontrunner Brian Topp told reporters Monday as the momentum behind his own bid was fast disappearing. “He claims to have been a Toronto city councillor

for almost two decades before jumping into federal politics and leading a party to its bestever result in 2011, but I dare any of you to find evidence of that.”

Other leadership hopefuls have similarly accused McLayton of misrepresenting his past.

“The man is a hoodwinker,” commented Quebec MP Thomas Mulcair in a press conference Monday. “He comes out of nowhere with a Bolivian birth certificate and a fake moustache over his real moustache and expects no one to bat an eye.”

McLayton could not be reached for comment, but a campaign spokesperson reaffirmed the candidate’s authenticity.

“McLayton is the man to lead the NDP,” said Barb Ferguson. “There is nothing suspicious about his past or his behaviour.

He is simply a shockingly familiar individual with a very complete knowledge of NDP politics. Any suggestions that he isn’t who he says he is, or that he faked his death seven months ago for insurance money, are very irresponsible.”

*No purchase necessary

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20•

thesheaf.com/advertise • the Sheaf • March 15, 2012