The
ONTARIO CHAMPIONS
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The Marauders men’s and women’s volleyball teams have taken gold at the Ontario-wide tournament. Is the rest of Canada prepared? B1
McMASTER UNIVERSITY’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER
Thursday, February 27, 2014 VOL. 84 NO. 23
CRIME
More arrests made in Mac student murder case Jemma Wolfe Executive Editor
FROZEN FACEOFF Engineering students Owen Hempel, Brendan Kaas, Dan Hallatt, Paul Kuyanov and Thomas Dunlop donned their skates and took to the frozen-over Lake McMaster in front of BSB for some afternoon shinny on Wednesday, Feb 26. YOSEIF HADDAD / PHOTO EDITOR
Bike share program coming to Hamilton City getting ready to kick off communal cycling rental initiative Jemma Wolfe Executive Editor Hamilton will soon be home to a bike share program. Starting this summer, a partnership between the City of Hamilton and Social Bicycles will offer 750 bikes at 80 stations across the city. The bicycles will be available to users for a small fee ranging from $3 single-rides to $85 yearlong memberships. Bikes can be reserved using the Social Cyclist smartphone app or by using a keyboard on any of the bicycles. An unlock code then frees the bike, and riders can keep the bicycle for as long as is paid for. Bikes must be returned to one of the 80 hub locations at the end of the allotted time to avoid extra fees. “We’re excited to add this travel choice to our existing range of transportation options to make travelling even more convenient and sustainable,” said Peter Topalovic, Project Manager of Transportation Demand Management with the City of Hamilton. “Bike Share is the fastest growing transportation mode in the world, complementing existing public transit and providing first and last mile connectivity by filling in transit gaps. It’s a healthy, sustainable, and affordable form of public transportation.” Exact implementation dates are currently unknown, with their
Distinguished karate sensei gets his black belt - again PAGE A3
website simply promising to have the program in place “by summer 2014.” The 80 docking station locations are also still to be determined. Members of the public are encouraged to suggest where stations should be by using the app or by sending an email to info@ hamiltonbikeshare.ca. So far, votes have favourited a McMaster location as well as many hotspots near Jackson Square in the downtown core. In introducing a public bike share program, Hamilton is following in the footsteps of other major Canadian and international cities. While bike share programs are a successful staple in European metropolises, Canadian cities have had some difficulty sustaining the systems. Toronto’s bike program, introduced in 2011, went bankrupt in 2013 from underuse, leaving the City to take on the full amount of the cost. In Vancouver, an integrated bike share and helmet rental system is being proposed with its own slew of complications. That program is due to roll out this spring.
MONTHLY
ANNUAL
ANY TIME
$15
$85
$3*
1 HOUR FREE TIME DAILY
1 HOUR FREE TIME DAILY
PAY PER SINGLE RIDE
$5 /HOUR FOR GOING OVER
$5 /HOUR FOR GOING OVER
$6 /HOUR FOR GOING OVER
All plans include a $3 fee for locking the bicycle outside of the designated hub.
*One-time account set-up fee
Above: The three plan structures that the bike share will operate under. Below: A map of proposed bike share locations, zoomed in on the greater McMaster University area.
Tyler Johnson was shot last November during an incident in downtown Hamilton.
@jemma_wolfe
Twitch plays global political controversies PAGE A7
A total of six people have now been charged in connection to last year’s murder of McMaster engingeering student Tyler Johnson. Following raids of several Hamilton residences, police arrested Hamiltonians Chad Davidson, 34, and Joshua Barreira, 25, on Valentine’s Day, and Louis Rebelo, 26, on Feb. 20. The arrests took place several months after the initial arrest of Joshua Barreira’s brother, 19-year-old Brandon Barreira, on Dec. 11, 2013. All four men have been charged with first-degree murder. Two women, Jennifer Dagenais, 28, and Ashley Dore-Davidson, 27, have also been charged with being accessories after the fact. Their connection to the men is unclear at this time. Johnson, a 30-year-old, fourth-year mechanical engineering student, was shot in the chest in the early hours of Saturday, Nov. 30, 2013. At approximately 3 a.m., Johnson was involved in an incident between two groups of men outside of Vida La Pita restaurant near the corner of King Street West and Caroline Street, one block east of Hamilton’s popular bar district, Hess Village. Hamilton police sergeant Paul Hamilton stated last year that the conflict occurring between the two groups “quickly escalated when one man produced a handgun and shot the victim.” Johnson’s body was found in the nearby Tim Hortons parking lot and was pronounced dead at Hamilton General Hospital. Initially, emergency responders thought Johnson had been stabbed and began trying to treat him for stab wounds before realizing that he had been fatally shot in the chest.
Your go-to water bottle buying guide PAGE B7
ANDY makes their Oscar predictions
Surveillance footage from Vida la Pita and Tim Hortons was released to the public in December in an attempt to identify six men who may have had a connection to the case. Hamilton Police detective Dave Oleniuk could not comment on whether or not those arrested are pictured in the videos, but said that they received many informative calls following the release of the surveillance footage. Details about what happened the night of the murder and what motivated the shooting remain unknown. Det. Oleniuk could only confirm that the murder “was not random.” Police are asking anyone with information on Johnson’s death to call Det. Oleniuk of the homicide unit at 905-546-3874. @jemma_wolfe
the S ’ T N E D I S E PR E G PA Life As An SRA Member David Campbell
Nominations for positions on the 2014-2015 Student Representative Assembly close on March 5. Here are a few of the educational, professional, and personal opportunities that come with a position on the SRA.
President president@msu.mcmaster.ca
ext. 23885
I was an SRA member for nearly two and a half years before running for an executive spot in the MSU. There are a ton of skills I learned from the experience that I never would have received in the classroom – an understanding of how lobbying and advocacy works, insight into different forms of corporate governance, how to see a real-world project through from start to finish, and much more. Perhaps what I appreciated most was the opportunity to learn about the McMaster campus beyond my little bubble. In meeting members from other faculties and discussing issues from all around campus, I gained a whole new appreciation for - and perspective on - life here at Mac.
Anna D’Angela
Spencer Graham
Jeff Doucet
VP Administration
VP Education
VP Finance
vpadmin@msu.mcmaster.ca
vped@msu.mcmaster.ca ext. 24017
vpfinance@msu.mcmaster.ca
ext. 23250
I never actually ran for the SRA. Before I got my job, I didn’t really understand what it did for students. What I have learned from the past year is that the SRA is what you make of it. If you work hard, ask questions and participate, it is the channel through which you can make substantial changes to your undergraduate experience and that of your peers. The twice-monthly meetings may be long and there is a lot of procedure involved, but it is one of the most dynamic and rewarding things I have done in my time at Mac. If you want to make student life better at McMaster, I would highly encourage you to run! I certainly wish I had sooner.
As an SRA member, you have a say in everything that the MSU does. Beyond voting on things at meetings, the SRA gives you the opportunity to drive initiatives that directly impact students. As an SRA member, I ran a successful survey that indicated student dissatisfaction with the lack of TA training at McMaster. The survey sparked an interest within the university community and served as a jumping-off point for productive advocacy work in fixing the problem. If you’re interested in how the SRA works to advocate on behalf of students, I encourage you to run. It’s an awesome responsibility.
New CATERING MENU Planning an event on OPTIONS campus? Looking to provide delicious appetizers, Looking for or even a full service something lunch or dinner ata anlittle affordable rate?
different?
If you wish to create your own menu with Our facility provides you with spacious rooms that for large groups, options are more to private spaces for smaller groups and your liking, feel free to can even offer take-out options for contact events anywhereus! on campus. Items
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can be picked up for take-out with a deposit fee for the trays.
We can modify our catering menu for any budget and would love Restaurant Operating Hours: to experiment with Mon, Wed and Fri: 11:00am–8:30pm new and exciting menu Tuesday: 11:00am–11:00pm ideas! Thursday: 11:00am–8:00pm *All events held outside of our regular operating hours will be subject to additional charges
ext. 24109
Often students wonder what they can do as an SRA member. The reality is, as an individual member you can accomplish a lot. Last year as a Social Sciences representative on the SRA, I pushed forward a motion sending the CFMU fee to referendum to be reduced from $17.29 to $12.50. I took issue with the fact that CFMU was running a structural surplus and not providing appropriate value to McMaster students. The referendum passed, and as a result McMaster students now collectively save roughly $100,000 a year in their student fees. This is just one example of the initiatives that you can champion on the SRA that will have a large impact on undergraduate students.
Catering Menu: Option 1: APPETIZER PLATTER 5 Broccoli Cheddar Bites 5 Queso Sticks 5 Chicken Fingers 5 Mozzarella Sticks Kettle Chips (Large) Lattice Fries (Large)
Price: $20.99 per platter Feeds 6 or provides snacks for 10-12 people
Option 2: ECONOPLATTER Kettle Chips and Salsa (Large platter) Nachos with Salsa and Sour Cream (Large platter with tomatoes, green onions, cheese, jalapeños and freshly chopped lettuce)
Price: $50.00 per platter Provides snacks for 40-50 people
Option 3: APPETIZER PARTY FOR 10 OR MORE Kettle Chips and Salsa
Option 5: SANDWICHES AND SALAD *only available for groups of 10 or more Assorted Sandwich Wraps & Salad (mixed green or caesar)
Price: $5.99 per person
Option 6: PENNE PASTA *only available for groups of 20 or more Penne (served with tomato sauce and a slice of garlic bread - one slice of garlic bread per person)
Price: $5.99 per person
DRINKS: Unlimited Pitchers of Pop (only for events hosted inside TwelvEighty)
Price: $1.50 per person Cans of pop: $0.75 per can
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Vegetarian Spring Rolls Meatballs Jalapeño Poppers Vegetable Samosas
Price: $5.50 per person
Option 4: BURGER AND FRIES *only available for groups of 20 or more
Like us on facebook:
1280BarGrill Follow us on twitter:
@MSU_1280
Burgers (served with tomatoes, onions, ketchup and mustard & freshly cooked fries)
Price: $6.50 per person
fb.com/MSUMcMaster @MSU_McMaster
www.msumcmaster.ca
The President’s Page is sponsored by the McMaster Students Union. It is a space used to communicate with the student body about the projects, goals and agenda of the MSU Board of Directors.
Thursday, Feb. 27, 2014
theSil.ca
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MULTIMEDIA: Young artists and entrepreneurs in Hamilton thesil.ca
Editors Tyler Welch & Rachel Faber & Tomi Milos Email news@thesil.ca @theSilhouette Phone 905.525.9140 x27117
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SHIREEN NADIR / THE SILHOUETTE
Sensei honoured for 30 years of teaching (Above) The Sensei stands before his class. (Left) McColl is pictured holding his new belt, with his old belt wrapped around his wait.
SENSEI PHILLIP McCOLL, a seventh dan black belt, has been teaching karate at McMaster for more than 30 years. On Tuesday, Feb. 25, a group of former and current students presented the Sensei with a new, embroidered, black belt that several of the students had gone to Japan to acquire. McColl, who has continuously taught at McMaster since 1983, teaches the Goju Ryu style of karate. McColl has taught thousands of students over the course of his McMaster teaching career, even grading over 60 quality black belt students. His years of karate wore down his original black belt (a tradition in karate) and his students thought a ceremonial belt would be a fitting way to honour their Sensei. McColl runs ultra-marathons (50-100 km) as a hobby. His students have been inspired by his hard work and dedication for decades. One of his former students even named his son after the Sensei. Classes are Monday and Wednesday nights, next to the running track in the David Braley Athletic Centre. Beginner classes are Mondays from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Wednesdays from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. Advanced belts are Mondays from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. and Wednesdays from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m.
ROBERT DA SILVA / THE SILHOUETTE
Why work when your sugar daddy can pay? Website aims to connect young students in need of money with sugar daddies and mamas looking for a youthful and fun companion SeekingArrangement.com does not require a minimum GPA, but it does require the sugar baby be attractive and to pass a background check. Despite this, there are still sites online warnings against sugar daddies that get their side of the bargain and run off before paying his sugar baby. Critics have states it’s worrying that tuition has risen so high that students would rather enter into this type of relationship rather than facing a huge debt for schooling.
Allison Redmond The Caper Times SYDNEY, N.S. (CUP) - Sugar daddies and students seem to be coming together, according to a survey and press release from SeekingArrangement.com. The site, which offers users the opportunity to meet a sugar baby or daddy, states they offer a resourceful new way for young college students to pay back their student loans: by getting someone else to do it. The SeekingArrangement. com release says that from 1990 to the year 2017 tuition prices will have tripled with inflation, leaving students with around $38,000 in debt. “Why hope for financial aid when you can guarantee it with a Sugar Daddy?” Brandon Wade, who is the founder and CEO, is quoted in the release. “Student loans lead to endless debt, which amounts to more than a new graduate can handle. Sugar Scholarships provide real solutions to the problem of student debts.” The site was started by Wade to pair sugar daddies with money to young attractive women who need money. He states the site is not prostitution; when faced with criticism after the UK site launch he told press that the sugar babies were all “intelligent and goal-ori-
Photo provided by seekingarangement.com
ented ladies, while sugar daddies were respectful gentlemen.” Wade markets the site as a dating site. He told the Wall Street Journal that, “I started the website mainly out of frustrations with online dating. I had graduated from MIT and was making six figures, but it was very poor pickings for me. I would write emails [to prospective dates] and get a 1 to 2 percent response rate.” SeekingArrangement.com claims to be the world’s largest sugar daddy site, with over 2.7 million signed up. Out of that, 42 percent, or about one million individuals, are seeking help with tuition. The average “allowance”
of a sugar baby is around $3,000 a month, but this is not the limit. Seeking Arrangement’ commercial states the site is open to attractive women, aged 18 or older, and if they sign up with their university email account they get a free premium membership. The site states they provide photos, detailed profiles and “clear expectations;” all expectations are set out clear at the beginning so there is not a misunderstanding of the relationship. The site sets up the arrangements that they define as, “shorthand for what we call a ‘mutually beneficial arrangement’ or a ‘mutually beneficial relationship.’”
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“Why hope for financial aid when you can guarantee it with a Sugar Daddy?” Brandon Wade, CEO of SeekingArangement.com
Most new sign-ups by Canadian university students:
209 York U 194 U of Guelph 187 U of Alberta 176 Ryerson 131 U of Toronto 122 U of Ottawa 111 Simon Fraser 98 U of Victoria 94 McGill 87 U of Windsor
CANADIAN CAMPUS NEWS Rachel Faber Assistant News Editor CBC survey reveals cheating levels in Canadian universities
Report suggests promising job market for grads
uWaterloo apologizes for private information leak
East Coast schools still dominated by out-of-area students
uAlberta to launch first ever made-in-Alberta satellite
After examining 54 universities, the CBC revealed that approximately 7,000 students were found cheating in the 2011-12 academic year. While these numbers seem high, this represents only one percent of the total Canadian university population. However, this number only includes student who were actually caught and received consequences for cheating. Reportedly there is a large gap between the number of students who are cheating and those who are caught. Fifty percent of the cases were plagiarism, with the remainder caught for inappropriate collaboration and cheating on tests.
The Council of Ontario Universities recently suggested that university graduates have good odds of finding employment in their desired fields, contrary to popular belief. In the past ten years there has been an overall increase of university graduates of 53 percent. Data from Statistics Canada and the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities both reported that graduates have the highest employment and earning success over any other group in the last ten years. In 2012 unemployment rates were only around 6 percent for both university and college graduates.
The University of Waterloo recently had an accidental release of the personal information of applicants and references. The information included student numbers, prior education institutions, GPAs, standardized test scores, and programs. The VP of External Relations claimed that this was not a computer hacking problem but simply an administrative error by the university. The information of 56,000 applicants and 18,000 application references were leaked. The university has since corrected the problem and issued apologies to all who were affected.
The Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission recently showed that of 70,433 students, many are out of province or international students. The number of Maritime residents that have enrolled in local universities has decreased by 12 percent in the past ten years. The number of other Canadians enrolling has increased by 28 percent and the increase of international students has doubled. Enrollment numbers differ over the Maritime Provinces, with the overall number of students in total remaining fairly steady across the area.
The University of Alberta is currently raising money to fund a satellite, which will cost $60,000. The university is collaborating with a crowdfunding platoform called USEED, which also supports funsraising for a number of other post secondray institutions. The satellite will be the first ever to be made in Alberta, and will be launched into space in 2015 along with 49 other satellites. The funding is intended to allow people to donate what they feel they can afford through the funding initiative, and become involved in student initiatives and campus projects.
Thursday, Feb. 27, 2014
theSil.ca
A4 Executive Editor Jemma Wolfe Email thesil@thesil.ca @theSilhouette Phone 905.525.9140 x22052
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TECHNOLOGY
Putting the ‘vice’ in devices With love and obsession comes heartbreak and betrayal - even over technology
to ottawa, and the friends it harbours. to sales sales sales. to pinkman. to swedish meatballs. to last-minute takeout orders. to reading week. phew. to the oscars. to pangaea. to the extra space. to sleeping in. to gold.
YOSEIF HADDAD / PHOTO EDITOR
to surveillance and spyware and security, oh my! to crunchy chicken balls. to when the downs outweigh the ups. to my mixed feelings about the olympics. to the greyhound rest stop near kingston. to hangovers. to the politics of figure skating. to the price of lip balm.
to chunk five.
to people who don’t like shawarma.
to bass. cheers, up there.
to the price of real estate.
The Silhouette Jemma Wolfe Executive Editor My standout favourite of this year’s Academy Awards best picture nominees is Her. It’s a witty, poetic look at relationships that, at the beginning, has viewers marveling at how futuristic director Spike Jonze’s world is, and at the end, has viewers realize that this world is actually our world right now. It’s both beautiful and scary to see that the main character’s love for technology – in the form of his sultry-voiced operating system – is not much different than our love for tech products today. And just as Joaquin Phoenix’s high-waisted hipster character discovers, our reliance, infatuation and enthrallment with our devices can come back to bite us. One such related story is Apple’s recent security shortcoming. Apple users are in a global flap right now over potential security breaches due to rogue coding that allows any average hacker access to all information transmitted on iOS devices (pre-emergen-
cy-software update), be them phones or computers. It’s a major mistake for a company known to strive for perfection and who sells their products based on the life they make possible. Apple doesn’t sell products, they sell a technology-integrated lifestyle. That’s what makes the betrayalof-sorts all the more devastating. We trust, protect, share secrets to and document our lives through these devices; when something goes wrong, it feels like being cheated on in the bizarre relationship we’ve formed. Our phones are now extensions of ourselves – for better or for worse. When they’re misplaced, forgotten, broken or stolen, the loss is real. I know a guy who plays a running game with his group of friends when they go out to dinner. Everyone puts their phones in the middle of the table and the first person who cannot resist checking their phone and reaches to retrieve it, must buy an appetizer for the group. He says it never takes long for someone to crumble. The developer who released the
game app Flappy Bird is on the same page. He pulled his simple, frustrating game from the market a few weeks ago and was met by a wave of anger and fury from those reputedly addicted to playing it. Phones and tablets with the game already installed were suddenly being auctioned online for thousands of dollars. The saddest part, is that they sold. Which brings us back to Her. No other film from the nominees list so succinctly captures the wonder and danger of our world today in such originality, feeling and depth. This Sunday, we’ll see if the Academy agrees. Of course, our devices are not as human as the OS in Her, nor will they leave us of their own volition any time soon. Rather, as we collectively become more and more reliant on our devices, feeding them increasing amounts of private, confidential and dangerous information, perhaps it is we who should consider leaving them. @jemma_wolfe
Come again? They may have been published in previous weeks, but these online pieces deserve a second look
Most popular
Most underrated
Most discussed
SPORTS: “At the height of greatness” by Laura Sinclair. First published on Wednesday, Feb. 12.
ANDY: The special edition “zine” themed issue, by Bahar Orang, Cooper Long and contributors. Published in print on Thursday, Feb. 13.
OPINION: “McMaster’s punishment of the Redsuits is hypocritical” by Wade Genders. First published Wednesday, Feb. 5.
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EDITORIAL BOARD Jemma Wolfe | Executive Editor thesil@thesil.ca Sam Godfrey | Managing Editor managing@thesil.ca Andrew Terefenko | Production Editor production@thesil.ca Anqi Shen | Online Editor news@thesil.ca Tyler Welch | News Editor news@thesil.ca Rachel Faber | Assistant News Editor news@thesil.ca Tomi Milos | Features Editor news@thesil.ca Kacper Niburski | Opinions Editor opinions@thesil.ca Laura Sinclair | Sports Editor sports@thesil.ca Alexandra Reilly | Assistant Sports Editor sports@thesil.ca Amanda Watkins | LifeStyle Editor lifestyle@thesil.ca Miranda Babbitt | Assistant LifeStyle Editor lifestyle@thesil.ca Bahar Orang | ANDY Editor andy@thesil.ca Cooper Long | Assistant ANDY Editor andy@thesil.ca Yoseif Haddad | Photo Editor photo@thesil.ca Eliza Pope | Assistant Photo Editor photo@thesil.ca Ben Barrett-Forrest | Multimedia Editor photo@thesil.ca Karen Wang | Graphics Editor production@thesil.ca Colin Haskin | Video Editor photo@thesil.ca
Sports Thursdays @ 2:30 p.m.
Olivia Dorio | Distribution Coordinator thesil@thesil.ca
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Staff Reporters Tobi Abdul Sarah O’Connor Ana Qarri Sophia Topper thesil@thesil.ca
TwelvEighty curtain wall more than a pipe dream a permanent fixture that can be pulled out and pulled back,” she said. The drape walls will also have TwelvEighty has been approved built-in noise insulation, which for a new $7,000 permanent will help TwelvEighty expand its drape system, with the goal of catering service, which recently improving its dining and catering released its latest menu. services. According to Doucet, The SRA passed the motion this will “address the awkward brought forth by VP (Finance) dynamic that there is at Jeffrey Doucet with a near TwelvEighty right now when unanimous vote on Feb. 9. The there is a catered event operating proposal involves a permanent during restaurant hours.” installation of a retractable “The lack of a physical barrier pipe and drape system that will ruins the intimacy of the catered separate the restaurant from the event, and more importantly, it open dance floor. allows sound to travel from the Kaley Stuart, TwelvEighty’s restaurant to the catered event,” Service Manager, said that this he said will be the largest addition to While the TwelvEighty drape walls will since she took be pulled back the reigns of the for club nights restaurant. “We’re “This will address the and other social events held at pretty excited awkward dynamic... TwelvEighty, about it, because when we’re open when there is a catered the drapes as a restaurant event operating during are otherwise expected to we can just keep become a that area divided restaurant hours.” permanent and make the Jeffrey Doucet, MSU Viceaddition to restaurant feel the setting of less massive,” she President (Finance) the restaurant. said. Drawing from the The cost use of similar drapes at previous is expected to cover both the events, Doucet stated, “We have purchase of the drapes as well received very positive feedback as the installation being done by about how it looks.” AVTEK. The drapes will be black In addition to providing and will employ roller gliders to a more intimate setting for retract quickly and allow staff to events, Stuart also described the set up and take away the drapes possibility of the space becoming easily. a casual study and eating location Campus events at for students to use. TwelvEighty currently require “Once the area is sealed off, drapes to be manually set up then the rest of the week it can be to partition the event from the used for pretty much anything… restaurant. Stuart explained that The more people we get in and each event requires anywhere out of our doors, the more useful from six to eight hours to set up we are to the student population.” the partitions. The drape wall is planned to “Instead of us paying the be installed by the end of March. wages for somebody to come in and put the pipe and drape up every single time, it will be Patrick Kim The Silhouette
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Thursday, Feb. 27, 2014
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Thursday, Feb. 27, 2014
NEWS
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Kiwi Wearables on the move A McMaster grad is making waves as part of a wearable technology startup Tomi Milos Features Editor AS the sun hits your slitted eyes and lifts you out of a dream you had very much been enjoying, your espresso machine suddenly sputters to life and has a cup ready before you’ve even brushed your teeth. After your daily dose of caffeine, you head to the gym where the calories you burn are kept track of without any work on your part. Finally, a custom motion gesture relieves your curiosity as to what song is playing at the supermarket by activating your smartphone’s Shazam app in a matter of seconds. These are just some of the features the Kiwi Move sports in a promotional YouTube video released in early January. But Ashley Beattie believes that the brief clip just skims the surface of the device’s capabilities. The 32 year-old DeGroote alumnus envisions a bright future for the miniscule piece of wearable technology that his startup, Kiwi Wearables, recently displayed at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The small trapezoid shaped product drew rapturous acclaim from PC Magazine, who dubbed it the “most underrated product” shown at the renowned event that hosted industry heavyweights like Sony, LG and Samsung. UPON completing his Bachelor of Commerce at McMaster in 2004, Beattie took on a sales position at a large consumer technology company. Looking to freshen up his skillset and try a different route, Beattie attained his MBA through DeGroote’s accelerated program in 2007 before joining the Canadian Naval Reserve. Moving up the ranks — as well as to cities like Toronto, Ottawa, and Quebec City — Beattie obtained a position as projects manager. After finishing one of his contracts, Beattie launched a social network strategy company that admittedly “didn’t really work out.” The reason the startup tanked was Beattie’s inability to code. To remedy that, Beattie enrolled himself in an intensive course at Toronto’s Bitmaker Labs in the summer of 2012. “It was a challenge. You’re coding a lot. But if you write ten thousand lines of code, you’re good. It’s like that ten thousand hours rule, you may not be excellent but you’ll definitely be able to do it,” he said. One thing led to another and he found himself participating in a hackathon competition called AngelHack in Toronto with a group of four others last year. In a marathon nineteen-hour session, they created a device that could warn its wearers of an oncoming heart attack. Beattie says the group recognized the chemistry they shared and quickly came together outside the competition as Kiwi Wearables. Their natural first step was to try and improve their AngelHack device, but they quickly ran into a wall when they realized a medical gadget like theirs would have to clear a lot of regulations before it could hit the market. They quickly scrapped that
plan and focussed their attention on producing a more broadly useable piece of wearable technology. WEIGHING one ounce and barely wider than a die, the Kiwi Move fits that bill to a tee. Though miniscule, the device packs a punch. With 2GB of storage, it is filled with six sensors (accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer, barometer, thermometer). To connect to the Internet and smartphones, the Kiwi Move boasts Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The battery life is also impressive, clocking in at five days. Beattie says the current Kiwi Move available for pre-order on their site has gone through as many as five or six different iterations. In this regard, he says input from industry peers and consumers alike has been invaluable. To illustrate his point, Beattie pulls out his iPhone on which he has stored some photos of the previous models. He laughingly points out an early mock-up, which resembles a clunky computer mouse, and another that looks like a cigarette lighter. “We still had to ask people whether they liked these designs or not. You’ll get lucky sometimes by building the right thing for the right person, but that doesn’t always happen. You’re best off going onto the street and asking people what they think.” Although they happily took advice, Beattie says the design elements were limited by their goal of creating an unobtrusive device. “Our theory was to make it as small as possible so that you could fit it onto your collar, and also wear it inconspicuously because no one wants to be wearing a big gangly thing.” In response to fragmented opinions from consumers as to how they would like to use the device, the Kiwi Wearables team developed a unique foundation for the initial six apps that shall come with the Move: Insights, Gestures, Sound, Lock, and Move. Revolving around the notion of “when/do” the device will respond to certain triggers with a reaction. For instance: when you leave your house, the device can be triggered to keep track of the amount of steps you take until you return. The initial capabilities may seem mundane enough, but the fact that they are all contained within one device is ground breaking. “It is up to us and the developer community to fill in that ‘do’ side because the ‘when’ is prefixed to being device-centric…Then it can become something you could use for anything,” said Beattie. From the very get-go of their July launch, the apps shall be available for both iOS and An-
droid. Beattie stressed the importance of the Move being compatible with both Apple and Google devices. “The developer community is divided between each…if you make [the app] as widespread as possible, you can satisfy a really large number of people. While there are intricacies to both which makes it harder or easier to do either, it’s in your best interests to at least have it in your plan to be able to support both.” Asked if he and his team envisioned a target demographic when building the Move, Beattie said, “When we first started marketing our product, we thought our ideal customer was between twenty-five and thirty-five, technologically-adept, and an early-adopting kind of person. And that has largely persisted.” But Beattie also added that while the demographic may remain small, they all have various uses for the device. As the July launch steadily approaches, Beattie says that while he and his team aren’t setting their sights too far ahead, their line of work puts a premium on looking to the future. “Every startup will have a challenge. You have always got to be delivering in the present and also working on the thing that people want in a year. Otherwise, what’s going to happen is that you will grown your company and because there are other companies doing what you’re doing, you will take a stumble. You have to constantly innovate.” Though the July launch has their full attention, Beattie also added they were building a set of functionalities that will help developers build more apps than is standard to avoid being eclipsed by other companies. Beattie also added they have no plans of taking off from their Toronto headquarters to California, citing the burgeoning ecosystem developing around wearable technology in the GTA. “The GTA is where you want to be for wearables out of anywhere else in the world. In Toronto, there are six amazing wearable technology companies and we all play off each other. As our tide rises in Toronto, there’ll be people who will be coming here because the cost of living in Silicone Valley is hideous.”
C/O ASHLEY BEATTIE
The Kiwi Wearables team in their Toronto Headquarters.
C/O ASHLEY BEATTIE
Ashley Beattie with the Kiwi Move.
Beattie was lavish in his praise of the students that Canada is producing. “You have Waterloo, U of T, and don’t discount McMaster who has produced a lot of grads who have done some amazing things. There is so much talent in this area that if you’re leaving [for the Valley] you’re not doing it because there isn’t potential here.” To those hesitant to take the jump into the entrepreneurial waters, Beattie offers a piece of wisdom: “Startups aren’t always fun, but they’re always exciting.” @tomimilos
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5 6 BEN BARRETT-FORREST / MULTIMEDIA EDITOR
Thursday, Feb. 27, 2014
theSil.ca
A7 Philosophy is dead in 140 characters. A9
Editor Kacper Niburski Email opinions@thesil.ca @theSilhouette Phone 905.525.9140 x27117
S
Free IQ test
The benefits of being stupid
Editorial Cartoon Kacper Niburski / Opinions Editor Andrew Terefenko / Production Editor Karen Wang / Graphics Editor
Kacper Niburski Opinions Editor I’m an idiot. I know, I know. You already knew that, dear reader. My articles are your proof. So is this sentence. And so is this one just because of the repetition. But I need to say things many times to understand them, and among the many things I reiterate is that I’m oblivious to my own stupidity. I mention my intellectual ineptitude because the whole world looks as if it has gotten up in a hurry and I’m just here type, type, typing away. Look: did you hear about that whole Ukraine situation? What about that riots in Venezuela? And don’t get me started talking about Syria. Seriously. Don’t. It would be a very short conversation. Let’s not get it twisted. I’ve tried to understand. Really, I have. In between this show and that, in between my own bumbling work and pretending I don’t have any, I’ve tiptoed on the issues. Whole minutes have been dedicated to appreciating the gravity of the kerfuffles. I’ve read opposing viewpoints. I’ve tried to probe the discontent. And I’ve tried to use what I’ve learned in university to contextualize the numerous worldwide problems, but I found myself referring to a textbook for help. In the meantime, killings happened. Lines blurred. People exchanged blame. And in just a matter of hours after I lifted my nose from a theory that might just solve everything because it did so on this one test, the black and white bled into the grey. In each revolution, riot, and dispute, the simple causes that led to an ostensibly justifiable and morally correct stance compounded into something incredibly complex and unsettling. Aren’t the majority of the Ukrainian protestors part of the Svoboda party, a Neo-Nazi-propaganda machine? Aren’t the rebels in Syria massacring average civilians and blaming it on the Assad regime in order to incite military assistance? Why are the Venezuelans revolting against the supposedly injust government when it is the petrodollar that has caused the corruption, and isn’t their inequity a prerequisite of the capitalist model of having oil-rich wealthy elite, and doesn’t this very same model lead to my own comfort, and isn’t it their arduous labour for penance that helps keep my gas costs low, and did I just cause deaths in Venezuela? Before one can understand the volatile situations, they reach flashpoint, and whoosh there they goes. The circumstances change. Lives are lost. And nothing remains the same. So you go back to grindstone, trying to understand a state that seems so alien yet is on the same world as yours, that seems so inexplicably intricate yet is being lived out on a daily basis somewhere else. And just as you get close, when you think you can understand the whole snafu, whoosh – there it goes again. So back you go. Whoosh. Back. Whoosh. Back and whoosh again. Most of us give up in this ever-increasing whirlwind of misunderstanding. And even if we don’t and we keep trudging through the mud, things almost never become clean. Corruption blooms from corruption. The positions of power that led to injustice are filled with new titles and new problems. The model of governance is abused without complete oversight, something an average citizen cannot possibly ensure with their busy lives. And the multitudes of people, all different and all vying for unique goals and hopes, are still unhappy whatever the situation. Maybe this cycle unavoidable. It’s hard enough for five people to agree on where to eat, so what hope does any movement, however seemingly good it sounds, have with millions of different people with different ideologies and different experiences and different aspirations? The answer may be too dark, too unsettling, and so we avoid it by craving simplicity. We digest easy content like stories on Miley Cyrus or Kim Kardashian. The fact that those names mean something in the first place serves as evidence enough. But this insipid lifestyle of the useless of the use is accessible and simple. Anyone can participate with these mediums. Anyone can watch it, enjoy it, and relax with it. It starts off small – a few magazines here. A few videos there. Then our indolence grows as we laugh harder and follow more intently and oh did you see what she was wearing and I need to buy those shoes and oh my god like who does she think she is, Chloe, and we begin to melt away as complicated individuals. As a whole, we become vapid and superficial because we observe those that are vapid and superficial. And then just as a commercial fires off about a burger or we’re chasing some car or did you read that tweet by Justin Bieber, we realize we are bored of the real and substantial issues. We can’t be bothered to care. They are too complex. And besides, the show is coming on and we don’t want to miss it. That is why it easier to say that we are stupid, that we can’t understand, and to dress up an article in inadequacies, uncertainties, and reductionist statements than it is to actually say an opinion on some issue. We don’t want to be wrong because it is easier to be right about things that don’t matter. I can sit here, write about nothing at all, and wonder where the time went instead. But then again, I’m just an idiot. I’m not sure about anything really. Even this. And this. And this. And so on.
Policy for the Stone Age McMaster has a responsibility to divest from fossil fuels but the University is forgoing it for economic reasons Madeline Lawler The Silhouette The other day, I was daydreaming and pondering the state of the world and the future outcome of its people, as one is wont to do. I asked myself, “How have we lived on a planet for so long and provided it with the burden of the industrial revolution?” We have acted harmoniously with the world prior to this time period, only taking what we needed. Now the Earth just seems to accept our toxic behaviour without kicking us off the planet. Or has it clued in and begun to retaliate? One of the main activities we partake in as a species, which causes so much destruction, is pumping out oil and gas as if there is no tomorrow. The federal government has created the narrative that in order for the Canadian economy to thrive, we need to continue to produce these polluting by-products. Yet, there seems to be a catch for the acts behind their smoke and mirrors. A major impact of burning fossil fuels is climate change, which affects each and every one of us, no matter what social class we exhibit. This is an issue which is happening not in future, but as of right now. I don’t think people fully understand the ramifications of this problem. They simply believe that science and technology will create a solution for us to continue to live the way we do. However, with seven billion people on this planet, our
current lifestyle is a major part of the destruction at hand. Without addressing this, we are left with band-aid solutions. Some climate scientists say that the global temperature can rise up to a maximum of two degrees Celsius before catastrophic climate change effects occur. This temperature limit is equivalent to keeping our carbon emitting activity to the maximum of 565 gigatons (565,000,000,000 tons) of carbon. Fossil fuel companies have 2,795 gigatons in their reserves and are ready to just burn them for profit. This number is five times higher than the previously mentioned maximum. As we have continued to burn fossil fuels, impacts have become immediate. In July 2006, the major heat wave in North America resulted in 140 deaths, including some with working air conditioners. During 2011 and 2012, major weather events, including storms, floods and fires, have cost up to $188 billion in damages. These are just two of the major events that have occurred largely as a result of the lifestyle habits from first world countries. Our lifestyle practices are considered as necessities when they are actually luxuries and conveniences we have gotten used to. With our society structured around fossil fuels – a risky and expensive way for us to live the high life – events like the examples above will become common place, making our world a potentially unliveable place for everyone. Our food and
drinking water – the real necessities for us to live – will become scarce resources for our growing population. As important as it is to strengthen our economy, it is essential to divert from an oil based economy that is a large cause of the destruction and devastation of our home. Institutions like McMaster have the fiduciary responsibility or the requirement to care for the assets and rights of its students. This duty gives students opportunities to begin a career and life for themselves. What trumps this duty is the moral responsibility that institutions have for our future, as well as future generations and our planet, which gives us the ability to live. Before the impacts of climate change worsen exponentially, it is necessary for us to make the economic shift away from investing in fossil fuels. McMaster needs to divest from fossil fuels. Why not be ahead of the game and declare right now that it is unacceptable to be investing in such an irresponsible industry with no long term future?
FEEDBACK Compiled by Kacper Niburski & Eliza Pope
Can you point to Ukraine on a map?
Pointed to Czech Republic.
Ayesha Javed, Life Sciences I
Pointed to Belarus.
David Liang, Arts and Science IV
Pointed to Latvia.
Ashkan Javidan, Health Sciences V
Pointed to Slovenia.
Valentina Vitale, Humanities I
Pointed to United Arab Emirates.
Shannon Fraser, Sociology IV
theSil.ca
Thursday, Feb. 27, 2014
OPINIONS
A8
f s t a o e l t r e e a i v s ll lo v o L Gregory Wygoni The Silhouette
Should you fall in love during your undergrad? Such a question could extend to the generalization of whether one should fall in love at all. The argument goes as follows that when you fall (or rise) in love, you will do incredible things. You will become happiest you have ever been. You will share yourself with your partner. And you become a better person because they are better themselves. Contrarily, s you realize they don’t love you, they break your heart, you become phlegmatic and desensitized, and love – that feeling of happiness and satisfaction that you could be better because of someone else – is thrown out the window. Love, then, becomes a question of uncertainty and fear. ‘What if it doesn’t work’ brings with it vulnerabilities and insecurities. You see the end. You see sadness. But oh, what if it did? What if it worked and we were in love indeed! Such arguments do not necessarily apply to the undergraduate young adult though. Albeit it difficult to define a reason to attend undergrad at all (paying thousands of dollars for something contained in a Wikipedia article is hard to economically support), it is an important time for someone to develop individually and to realize what they want to do.
Love brings with it uncertainties and worries, but these vulnerabilities pale in comparsion to the happiness another person can make you feel with just a smile or a laugh.
During undergrad, a person often becomes whole in their messy transition to adulthood. It allows time for reflection to better understand themselves. Yet when one inhales the airs of love, they suddenly become enwrapped in another person. Their concerns and priorities are at times put aside to serve someone else. And though this teaches the person admirable qualities of selflessness, most relationships do not last. The person becomes happy for a while, and then the relationship fizzles out or becomes a heart-ache. And here in this gnawing absence lies the question: is it better to end the heartache and the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to? And I reply no. When you are young, you are malleable, and the growth you can receive with someone, if they are truly right, is immeasurable. If they break your heart, or you theirs, there is much time left to rebuild and restructure. Even better, during undergrad there is little to rebuild, besides perhaps your beerpong table or your GPA. Perhaps the strongest argument for support of love in your undergrad is that it may work, and look how happy you can be.
Virginity does not need to be cured Sex need not be heteronormatively defined, and doing so invalidates and shames the sexual experiences of some people
JOY SANTIAGO / THE SILHOUETTE
Ana Qarri Staff Reporter Have you ever asked someone if they’re a virgin? I have, and in hindsight, I have a really hard time justifying why. Why did I feel the need to know if someone identified as a “virgin”? Why was this essential information necessary to help carry me forward in my daily life? Why did I care? The short answer is that I didn’t. The long answer is that I didn’t know I didn’t care. I thought I cared. I thought the notion of virginity was legitimate and important and a great indicator of someone’s sexual experience (because you should definitely inquire about that)!
Different people have differing opinions around virginity, whether being a virgin is a good thing or a bad thing, a respectable thing or an immoral thing, a choice or a responsibility. The majority of people have some sort of opinion about virginity even if that opinion is “I don’t give a rat’s ass.” The notion of virginity is often talked about in social circles, most of the time in extremely problematic ways. Even the people that “don’t care” are contributing to the larger problem that the notion of virginity has created with their indifference. Virginity is an outdated concept rooted in myths and sexism and heteronormativity. It has perpetuated a culture of inequality
and exclusivity that we’re trying to leave behind. Somewhere along the way, virginity became a concept used to shame girls for their sexual lives. It implied that having sex was a life-changing experience, a loss of innocence and purity. The concept has contributed to centuries of oppression against women and has been used to justify innumerable instances of violence. It has perpetuated the idea that women’s bodies aren’t their own and has been used to constantly police them. It’s essential to address the main myth associated with virginity for people assigned female at birth. Unfortunately for the famous euphemism, there ain’t no cherry to pop. Vaginal penetra-
tion doesn’t fully tear the hymen as this deceptive phrase would lead you to believe. Yes, you’ve been deceived your whole life, but that’s okay. Take comfort in the fact that this isn’t the only thing our society has lied to you about. Hymens are as diverse as people – they come in different thicknesses and levels of elasticity, as well as different sizes of openings. Sometimes vaginal penetration just makes the opening a little bigger and sometimes it doesn’t. The idea that we can physically tell whether someone is a virgin by examining them physically is, therefore, anatomically inaccurate. Anatomy aside though, as the concept of virginity was sustained by these false facts and a deeply engrained misogyny in a patriar-
chal society, it is now serving to sustain these outdates ideas even though our society’s moral progress is to a better place (for the most part). We’re becoming more accepting of queer communities – or, at the very least, we tolerate them – and we try to create spaces where people who have been oppressed feel safer. Virginity is a concept that very blatantly promotes the very opposite of that. Discussions around queer sexuality have complicated our definitions of sex, exposing some undeniable flaws with our notion of virginity. Queer people might not have sex or even think of sex the way a heterosexual, gender-conforming couple does. A queer person might not identify a “virgin,” but in a heteronormative context, they would be. These invalidations of sexual experiences can be harmful and pose serious threats to our ultimate goal of universal inclusivity. It can be difficult for queer people to even know how to categorize themselves in the first place, creating unnecessary confusion around a concept with a history of oppression. Virginity places too much importance on having or lacking a sexual life. It pushes some people to the outside and it oppresses others inside. It creates problematic links between virginity and masculinity, or virginity and gender inequity. The notion of virginity promotes values of a society that our society no longer aims to resemble. It is clinging on to an oppressive past, to lack of sex positivity and education, and it’s about time we left it behind.
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“Virginity is an outdated concept rooted in myths and sexism and heteronormativity”
Thursday, Feb. 27, 2014
theSil.ca
OPINIONS
A9
#2Bnot2B #life #blessed Documenting our lives on social media has become a brain-dead habit Bianca Caramento The Silhouette There exists an age-old philosophical problem. It goes like this: “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” The question asks
us if reality exists, regardless of whether or not someone is there to perceive it. Instead of unleashing my inner philosophy nerd, I’d like to draw a parallel between this classic thought experiment and our current society. That being
said, I encourage you to look up the forest debate, if mind-blowing philosophy suits your fancy. In the digital age, it is common to share our lives online, as a means of connecting with friends, family, and so forth. Whether this is done through
rants for our opinions, statuses for our relationships, or photos for demonstration, social media outlets like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram make this form of sharing possible. Some might say we have developed a need to broadcast our lives through these
colour page!
media outlets.We take photos of our meals, vacations, outings, and the occasional good hair day. But why? To show just how clean we eat, how cultured we are, how much fun we have with our friends, or as outlets for vanity? It seems we post our lives online to validate whatever aspect of ourselves we deem fit. Whether Facebook shows it or not, that hangout was still fun, that meal was still gourmet, and that exotic scenery still took your breath away. So why depend on others’ recognition of those experiences to fully appreciate them? Contrary to the tree in an empty forest, most of us would concede that the reality of our existence is not threatened if we aren’t plugged into social media. However, I suppose this was not meant to be a philosophical problem, as much as a social critique. Perhaps critique is too strong a word; observation is more like it. I have noted the growing tendency to divulge our lives via social media. This being the case, I don’t think there is anything necessarily wrong with sharing our thoughts and experiences with others on the worldwide web, so long as we do not depend on the recognition of others to validate our unique reality in this crowded forest called ‘life’.
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“Most of us would concede that the reality of our existence is not threatened if we aren’t plugged into social media.”
KAREN WANG / GRAPHICS EDITOR JOY SANTIAGO / THE SILHOUETTE
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theSil.ca
Thursday, Feb. 27, 2014
OPINIONS
A10
Words that I never could say Spoken word can be a great outlet for an introvert to express themselves Tobi Abdul Staff Reporter If you put me in a group of five people I didn’t know, my anxiety would shoot through the roof and I’d be in a panic. But if you put me on stage in front of fifty people and asked me to bare my soul, I wouldn’t hesitate. Being someone who usually prefers to be alone, having a passion for spoken word doesn’t make much sense. But here I am, competing a few times a month in poetry slams in Hamilton and Toronto, standing in front of other people and asking them to assign a numerical value to how I share my thoughts, my feelings and my fears. The nerves don’t go away. Before each performance I feel like I’m going to throw up, my hands shake, a million things other than the poem run through
my head and I fear terrific failure. The first time I performed my poetry out loud was at a high school literary coffeehouse complete with black tablecloths, tea lights, and about seventy people. My knees shook so much that I thought I was literally going to fall. My voice wavered and I stared down at my paper the entire time, but as soon as I was done, the auditorium erupted into applause and in that moment, I fell in love with performing. As soon I get on the stage, for those few minutes, I become someone else, someone more confident, less aware of my surroundings. It’s not so much that I have to overcome my introversion in order to perform spoken word, it’s that my passion for it is so big it feels impossible not to. Even though people are literally judging me, the reception somehow validates me. Lets me
know that I’ve just told people the inner workings of my brain and they dig it. That’s not to say that I only perform poetry for validation. It’s just an added bonus. The main reason why I compete in poetry slams and perform spoken word is to release. Spoken word is a rare format because you get to express yourself without anticipating a response. It’s a one-way conversation that is received with applauses, ovations, cheers and high scores (for the most part). When I feel anything, whether it be happy or sad or angry, I write a poem. When I get up in front of people and say the poem, it’s as if I’ve just released all the feelings I’ve been holding in. Before I knew what an introvert was, I just thought I was a weird kid who was destined to be alone. I didn’t realize that it was normal to be exhausted by
people. Even when you don’t try to, you’re constantly putting on a show for people. From putting on clothes, to brushing your hair, to showering, to looking presentable, it’s all for other people. Of course, I don’t go around dishevelled, dirty and naked when I am alone, but you put in an effort to look presentable for the public. Beyond that, everything that you say has to be socially appropriate and you have to censor yourself slightly depending on your environment. When I felt like people wouldn’t understand the words I had to say, I would listen to or read other people’s words for reassurance in some semblance of unity. When I heard a spoken-word poem for the first time, it was as if the feelings I got when I listened to a song and the ones I got when I read a good monologue came together. Since then, I haven’t been able to get enough of it. Having a passion for something outside my comfort zone but discovering that I’m pretty good
at it forced me to come out of my shell. There’s one moment during every performance when I look into the audience and they’re looking at me with admiration that I realize I’m doing exactly what I was meant to do. I still prefer to spend time alone, but every day I step out because I have to in order to keep doing what I love. I keep writing in hopes that one day there will be an awkward teenage kid who thinks they’re weird and my words will help them realize they aren’t. I hate being judged, I usually hate being the centre of attention and I hate putting on shows for people but yet I spend most of my time writing so that I can put on a show for people, be the center of attention and get judged. Ironic. But I wouldn’t have it any other way. When you discover your passion, you may have to step outside of your comfort zone to pursue it but I can guarantee that it will be worth it.
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theSil.ca
Thursday, Feb. 27, 2014
OPINIONS
A11
We’re all going, eventually
SILHOUETTE FILE PHOTO
Kacper Niburski Opinions Editor In a few moments of time, I will no longer be here. It may be minutes. It may be 74.5 years. But before I know exactly what’s happening, I will be dead. I don’t mean to state the obvious fact of life, but it’s a forgotten truth when inundated with the busy lives that we insist on living. We eat. We sleep. We do, we act, we feel. We try to kill time so it stops killing us. But the moments still tick, and the events still tock, and like a kiss, the lips will one day leave.
In these final instances, we’ll be breathless and we’ll have to inhale the emptiness, but there will be nothing left to inhale with. The fire in our lungs will have gone out, and we’ll have faded in the darkness with it. Let’s just hope that when this occurs, smoke wisps through the air, for it will signal how hard we tried to live. I say all this because yesterday, I learned of a family friend who passed away. She was 63. She had brown eyes. She always greeted me with a candy, even when I tried to stop eating them. I think back on her and the experiences we shared, and I
wonder what I would of said had I known that she was going to die three days ago. What would’ve I said differently? Would I tell her I will miss her? Would I warn her of what’s coming and demand that she to do everything to stop it? Or would I grab her hand, sit her down, and wait there with her as she told me about this night or that day or how hard she laughed at this one joke. And would I laugh with her? I’m not sure. But this is not about my opinion or me. More often than not, the former is worthless and the latter couldn’t give a shit about the former anyways.
Perhaps this is especially true in a fleeting world where we all are going. Inevitably, we are all stuck on a building that is burning from the bottom up. Instead, I would like to hear what she would say in that creaky, worn voice. I imagine it would be something this, with the conversation bouncing around in her house with its florid walls and its cheap teacups and those pictures of her daughters in Poland. It would be a sunny day, I hope. “Kacper.” “Yes?” “Don’t cry.” “I’ll try.”
“Do that always.” “I’ll try.” “Thank you.” “Thank you as well.” And then she’d smile and I’d try to smile back and we’d sit there, waiting for whatever life had in store. I’d comment that the tea was good. She’d say the bag was left in too long for any practical use. And I’d say, No, no. It’s fine just the way it is. It’s delicious.
McMaster Philanthropy
Multimedia Festival As part of McMaster University’s new Philanthropy Website project, University Advancement is inviting members of the McMaster community to create videos that help publicize the impact and influence of philanthropy in McMaster’s past and present. The winning creations will be available on the new Philanthropy at McMaster website and will play in rotation on a number of video screens located on campus. The contest is open to all students, staff, faculty, alumni and friends of McMaster.
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Winning submissions receive a $250 Gift Card of their choice and an invitation to the McMaster Philanthropy Launch. Overall winner receives an additional $250 Gift Card.
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theSil.ca
Thursday, Feb. 27, 2014
B1 Swim team wades into Canadian top four
B2
Editors Laura Sinclair & Alexandra Reilly Email sports@thesil.ca @SilSports Phone 905.525.9140 x27117
S VOLLEYBALL
Marauders fend off final four The men and women are getting ready to go national, Ontario trophies in hand
as the Mustangs always manage to fight hard until the very end of every match against them. In their two match-ups this season, the Mustangs have taken the Marauders to five sets. In this particular match, however, the Marauders were able to hold off the Mustangs to four sets (25-16, 21-25, 25-19, 25-15), and win the match, to capture their second consecutive OUA Championship title. In order to peak for the Laura Sinclair tournament, Coach Preston has Sports Editor outlined a strict training regimen for the team to follow, which saw The McMaster Marauders have them ramp up their training in had hardly any time to let their the week before the OUA ChamOUA Championship win sink in. pionships, before winding it down Just a couple of days after the week of the championships. their big win against Western - a The Maroon and Grey will game they took to four sets- the now coast into the CIS ChamMaroon and Grey boarded a pionships, and will have had the flight to Calgary, where they will opportunity to practice in the Jack prepare to battle in the biggest Simpson Gym at the University of tournament of Calgary for a their season, couple of days and possibly before their their lives. first game on McMaster “The CIS Championships Feb. 27. is currently The other is sure to be a battle ranked No. 1 teams that will overall in the be competing that Mac will rise to the CIS, and in for a national occasion for.” the national championchampionship ship include tournament the Alberta that takes Golden Bears, place Feb. 27 - March 1. They will the Trinity Western Spartans, The attempt to live up to expectations, Calgary Dino’s, The Dalhousie Tiand come back to McMaster Unigers, Montreal Carabins, Western versity victorious. Mustangs, and Laval Rouge et Or The Marauders will attempt - a team that the Marauders are to keep their momentum from the very familiar with from last year’s OUA Championships, which saw CIS Championships, that saw the Maroon and Grey face some them win the final match against fierce playoff competition in both the Maroon and Grey to take the the Ryerson Rams and Western national title. Mustangs. After a successful season that In the semi-final game saw the Marauders work excepagainst the Rams, the Maraudtionally hard to come out on top, ers got off to a slow start in the the CIS Championships is sure first set, but made up for it in to be a battle that Mac will rise to the remainder of the set and the the occasion for. match. They took the match easily The first match will take place in three sets (25-22, 25-19, 25-10). Feb. 27 at 8 p.m. Mountain time. The OUA final was a different story. The Marauders and Western @Lsinkky Mustangs have an intense rivalry,
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TOP: The men celebrate their finals win over Western. ABOVE: The women raise their arms in victory after coming out of the Ottawa finals unscathed. LEFT: Tyson Alexander puts on a strong defense in the semifinal vs Ryerson. RIGHT: Windsor crumbles under the women’s relentless offence. BOTTOM: The OUA All-Stars take a breather after all is said and done, including two of our own. PHOTOS BY YOSEIF HADDAD / PHOTO EDITOR
theSil.ca
SPORTS
Thursday, Feb. 27, 2014
B2
Marauders make a splash at Nationals
C/O MARTIN BAZYL
Alexandra Reilly Assistant Sports Editor Since 1978 there have only been three teams to record a Men’s National Championship title. This past weekend, the McMaster swim team set a new record amongst the rankings placing fourth among the elite three school’s only one spot behind UBC, Toronto and Calgary which took the top spots. In a competition housing more than 28 teams from across the country, McMaster placed amongst the most elite schools in the nation and Head Coach Andrew Cole could not be more proud of his young team. “It’s pretty exciting, to finish off the season on such a high note,” Cole said. “McMaster swimming has a wonderful history of athletes competing on an international level,” he added.
“For us to finally be competitive on the national stage where were pushing against some of the top team’s in the country is great.” With some Olympians competing over the weekend and going home empty handed, McMaster was proud to have 21 of their 25 swimmers score big for the maroon and grey. McMaster’s own Cameron Bailey gave McMaster a medal in the competition being the first man to break the two minute barrier in the 200 individual medley and also played a huge role in the success of McMaster’s 4x100 m medley relay which helped McMaster place fourth in the competition and eighth overall for the all-time fastest performance in the country. This year it was a strong Marauder force which broke records in the 4x50 m medley relay as a team consisting of Eric Anderson, Konrad Bald, Mohamed Eldah
and veteran Matthew Vogelzang grabbed the fastest time in Canada, and the fourth fastest all-time performance in Canadian history. The women also impressed as they took the third spot in Canada winning the Ontario Championships by more then three seconds thanks to the commending efforts of Kieren Liew, Alex Vanommen, Sarah Taylor and Emily Fung. Bald also grabbed a bronze in the 50 m breast stroke coming just two weeks after he won gold in the 50 m and 100 m events and a silver in the 200 m at the Ontario Championships. Rookie sensation Eric Anderson had an outstanding performance over weekend, swimming a lifetime- best performance in all of his events. After taking some time off from swimming and transferring from the University of Denver Anderson surprised everyone by breaking his own per-
sonal bests on the season despite being absent from swimming for a number of years. With many firsts coming for McMaster and many names dropped as key members of the weekend’s success there is one swimmer in particular that really stood out to Coach Cole. “From an improvement perspective a first year by the name of Martyn Siek really stands out to me,” said Cole. “He had an outstanding year and his improvements since our start in the fall were un-parallel.” With growth and development shown from Martyn Siek over the course of the season, Coach Cole has a strong team of veterans to thank for everything they bring to the table for the rookies. “I think really we had a very young team and even some athletes who had incredible experience behind them who helped to teach the younger one’s how to compete at this level was something that was critical,” said Cole. “A guy like Martyn took an interest in what they were teaching and learning and had noticeably the greatest improvement. It was really an effort across the board from every member on the team to get these kind of results.” To round out the stellar team combined performance was the men’s 4x100 m freestyle relay event. Cameron Bailey, Eric Anderson, Marc Muise and Matt Vogelzang all swam to 50 second or less splits making it the fourth fastest time in the country to date. With a successful season coming to a close, Coach Cole knows it’s all about the athlete’s who are willing to go the extra mile that is going to be a key factor in the team’s future success. “This upcoming year is going to come down to who is going to do the best job,” said Cole. “In the coming week’s we have the Commonwealth games trial and then we have the Summer National Championships in
July in Saskatoon and it’s really going to come down to who is going to step up to the plate and who is really going to commit to performances at these events,” he added. “From this we will hopefully be able to catapult on to even better performances next year.” Whenever a coach experiences an underdog season victory, it is important for them to evaluate the ups and downs in order to pinpoint the elements that made their unit successful. Coach Cole is aware that with every positive there will be negative’s and that perseverance is the key to any team’s success. “As with any sport you’re going to have highlights and challenges and its one thing to feel great when you’re on top but the key element to any successful athlete or team whether its at an OUA level, provincial level, city level or the Olympics is perseverance,” said Cole. “As an athlete you really have to be mentally tough and it’s about belief and perseverance. If we’re going to be successful and truly challenging some of the very best in the country and in the world we have to continue to push that envelope.” @Miss_AReilly
theSil.ca
SPORTS
Thursday, Feb. 27, 2014
B3
Marauders take gold at OUAs The women are off to the CIS Championships in Regina after bringing their A-game to the OUA Championships in Toronto, where they fought hard to come home victorious
C/O MARTIN BAZYL
Tobi Abdul Staff Reporter As a young team whose starting line-up consists of four first year players, the Marauders had a lot to prove this season and were arguably the underdogs of the final four. “We had a plan all season and that plan was to be the best in the province,” said Head Coach Tim Louks. “From a probability point of view do I think we had all the right pieces? I think that’s what the season flushed out. In our ranks, we could floor a team that could compete with anyone. You can’t guarantee the outcome in wins and losses but you can certainly continue to evolve as a team playing the game,” he added. Despite an impressive pre-season, a rocky start to the season landed the Marauders in the bottom half of the OUA West conference and they had a long way to climb to finish in the top spots, let alone get to the OUA finals. “I always knew that our team had the potential to make it to the OUA finals,” said first year Joanna Jedrzejewska who put up an
impressive 16 points in Saturday’s semi-final against the Blues. “Individually we have lots of talent but in order to make it far as a team we would need to work fluidly as a system,” she added. After a battle for the leg up, the Marauders eventually took the lead of 1-0 after a gruelling set ending in 35-33. The battle continued into the second set, where the Marauders had an early lead of 11-8 and seemed to be keeping up with the momentum. McMaster’s momentum started to dwindle, giving the Blues the opportunity to fight back and take a 20-19 lead, which they kept up, eventually taking the set 25-23 to tie the match 1-1. McMaster took a 10-point streak in the second set, leading16-10 at the technical timeout. McMaster continued to outplay Toronto and eventually took a lead of 2-1 after winning the set 25-15. The momentum of the third set continued into the fourth as McMaster played sharply and accurately, forcing two timeouts from the Blues. Sharp serving and kills from the Marauders allowed them to maintain their lead, winning the
set 25-18 and taking the match 3-1, securing their spot in the OUA finals and the CIS championships. First year rookie Sophie Bukovec who led the team with 32 points. The Marauders had secured their spot, but wanted to win OUA gold against the Ottawa Gee-Gees to secure a good seeding in the championships. “We knew the final was going to be a great match. We had played Ottawa twice and won and lost,” said rookie Carly Heath. Both Ottawa and McMaster had secured a spot in the CIS national championships but the Marauders didn’t slow down. The Marauders were confident after their win against Toronto and took an early lead of 16-9 at the technical timeout. Ottawa’s attempt to close the gap fell short and McMaster took the first set 25-20. Ottawa then took an early lead in the second set, but a substitution changed the momentum of the Marauder’s game and allowed them to jump ahead to a 9-8 lead. “We require different people at different times to step into the mix and do something,” said
Coach Louks. The match then showed a lot of back and forth before the Marauders had a few point breaks, leading 16-13 at the technical timeout. The Marauders took the lead after the timeout, but Ottawa fought back to tie the set at 22-22 before the Marauders pushed ahead, making a strategic kill and eventually taking the set 25-22 and the match 2-0. A stretch of bad passing by the Marauders allowed Ottawa to jump to a big lead of 18-22 before the Marauders hit their stride and Ottawa made many passing mistakes. The Marauders played solid defense and strategic offense and claimed the OUA title for the second time in Marauder history by winning the third set 25-22 and the match 3-0. “Our men’s team came out and supported us and we took control right from the start and that didn’t change throughout the match. I knew from the first set that we were going to win the game because we came out hard right away. Those first few points were crucial and once we got on a run we took control and our confidence just kept improving,” said Heath. The Marauders are preparing to travel to Regina for the CIS national championships Feb. 28 to March 2. “We were steady and we fought but precision wise, there’s a lot more there. We’re getting a chance to test that with no expectation on us in the national volleyball level,” said Louks. This OUA championship was Louks’ second provincial win as a coach. “It’s nice when a plan comes together. I don’t know that I would say it was expected in September. About half way through, in December, they started to believe a little more. They continued to build those inter-player and interpersonal pieces. It’s not coaches, it comes down to players,” said Louks.
The fifth seeded Marauders take on Laval , led by a new coach, in the first CIS round. McMaster has an opportunity to prove themselves without their opponents having an idea of the team’s abilities. “We have to address some of the tactical stuff that Laval is going to through at us. Good or bad, there’s a lot left to be seen. It’s kind of exciting. Who knows what this weekend will bring,” said Louks. The Marauders turned the season around and played with a cohesiveness that allowed them to be one collective unit both on and off the court. “Knowing the people you play with impacts the outcome of a game a lot more than I thought it would. We really bonded after our trip to Florida and we only lost one game after that,” said middle Maicee Sorenson. For Coach Louks, he has some very important things he hopes the team will take away from this season. “I think it’s a humanistic thing. It’s tolerance, it’s diversity, it’s being unique, it’s collaboration. It’s everything that sport is supposed to do to be a microcosm of life. But that gets lost, it gets muddled all the time. People say ‘I want to play, it’s for me’, but this game sometimes is a little unforgiving. You’re in, you’re out.” Louks added that, “I’ve got some inspirational women doing things on a team level that I’m awed by. You may not see the court the entire two hours but you’re an important part of the team. That’s a hard lesson to learn.” The Marauder women will travel to the CIS championships hoping to put all they have learned this season into practice. @toe_bee
Mac basketball down to the wire Scott Hastie The Silhouette
YOSEIF HADDAD/PHOTO EDITOR
All it takes is one. The McMaster Marauders will likely only need one victory in this weekend’s OUA Final Four to secure a berth in the CIS Final 8 national tournament. Taylor Black, the team’s leading scorer and rebounder, does not care about getting one win, though. He wants two. “We aren’t coming here to just qualify for nationals. We are coming to win [the Wilson Cup]” said Black, in an interview on Feb. 25. Now, that is not a guarantee that is so often seen in professional sports before a key game. It’s a representation of what this team believes they are capable of. The first game for the Maroon and Grey is against the Ottawa Gee-Gees – the team that handed Mac their worst loss of the year. The teams’ lone regular season match-up was a 15-point win Ottawa win in the Burridge Gym. These are different teams though. McMaster has clearly progressed as the season has gone on – winning games by huge margins, getting a balance of scoring and holding potent scorers to paltry stat lines. On the flip side, the Gee-Gees have a different look than the team Mac saw in November. Terry Thomas is a fourth-year forward playing in his first season as a Gee-Gee after transferring from St. Francis Xavier, and he has transformed the Ottawa offence. He is shooting the most field goals per game, shoots 45.2 per cent on five three-point attempts a game and is second on the team in rebounds per game. Black gave Thomas credit and called him a “difference-maker,” for the Gee-Gees, but also said that Mac has some difference-makers of their own. He pointed to the athletic defenders McMaster has, and how they can
disrupt Thomas’s game. “I don’t know if there is anyone who has been in Thomas’ face like Aaron Redpath will be, and I don’t think [Thomas] has seen athletic defenders like Leon Alexander and Rohan Boney,” said Black. McMaster’s head coach Amos Connolly has clearly defined what the Marauders need to do to grab a spot in the Wilson Cup Final. Against a team with the second best offensive rating in the country, they cannot come out flat. “It is the difference between winning and losing,” said Connolly. “Against Western, our guys came out flat. We can’t afford to do that with Ottawa.” The advantage that McMaster has is on the defensive end, according to Mac’s bench boss. He says that they have “really tightened up” guarding their basket, and pointed to the rotation of perimeter defenders as a key factor for the game. Connolly is confident in his team and thinks the game will be close throughout. Mac let the game slip away in the fourth quarter in the regular season tilt, but played Ottawa tight until that point. The winner of the game will move on to the Wilson Cup Final and will play the winner of the Carleton and Windsor match-up. The finalists will qualify for the Final 8. Should Carleton beat Windsor, the team that takes third place will get a spot in the national tournament because the Ravens are the host school. Carleton and Windsor play at 6 p.m. on Feb. 28, and McMaster plays Ottawa at 8 p.m. All Wilson Cup games will be aired on Sportsnet360. @Scott1Hastie
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theSil.ca
SPORTS
Thursday, Feb. 27, 2014
B5
Mac track finishes with a bang
C/O PETE SELF
Laura Sinclair Sports Editor Although the majority of the Marauder track team did not post personal best times, the team still did exceptionally well at the OUA Championship meet, with great results and races being posted in every distance. In the 1000 m, women’s captain Chelsea Mackinnon ran while suffering from a minor concussion that she did not tell Coach Schnurr about. “She probably shouldn’t have run the 1000 based on how she was feeling, and we didn’t do much all week based on some symptoms she was having but she felt she was okay to race on the Friday,” said Schnurr. In the first three laps, Mackinnon looked great, but in the final two laps, she told Coach Schnurr after the race that she was not feeling like she could perform to her best potential. Despite her setback, Mackinnon still ran to a great time of
2:59- 8 seconds off of her personal best time of 2:51. Due to her symptoms, she decided to not run the 1500 m the next day. In the men’s 1000 m race, Jeff Tweedle had great race, running in the fastest heat in the highly competitive race, and running to a time of 2:31. “The 1000 was probably one of the toughest events to run this year, in terms of the quality of athletes. It was a great learning experience for him and I think he realized he can compete with the best,” said Schnurr. Teammate Eric Barry ran to a personal best time of 2:32 in the same distance. In the men’s 4x800 m relay, Eric Barry, Jeff Tweedle, Brandon Huzevka and Patrick Deane all ran well and were happy with their performance and overall time of 7:58. In the women’s 3000 m, the Marauders lone CIS qualifier Maddy McDonald - had an off day, running to a time of 10:04.
The Junior Pan Am Games silver medalist luckily managed to run the CIS standard at previous meets at McGill and Boston University, with her time of 9:34 at the meet in Boston getting her to be ranked fifth overall. “She was really disappointed and she doesn’t want to end the season that way, so she’s determined to turn things around, and I think she will,” said Schnurr. In the same race, Raquel Burgess ran to a 12-second personal best time in the event, finishing race at a time of 10:12 which was no easy task for the second-year runner. “The last three laps she looked like she was struggling, but she was a tough competitor and she stuck with it, and it ended up working out,” said Schnurr. Grad student Kierstin Myers also ran to a personal best time of 10:18 in the same event. In the men’s 3000 m, captain Blair Morgan ran to a time of 8:42, while Gabe Ghiglione almost tied his personal best time,
finishing the race with a time of 8:46. “Gabe ran really tough, he’s a kid that just responds really well to when it gets hard and sticks with it, so I think he’s pleased, I think he was hoping to run faster, but I can’t complain in what he did,” said Schnurr. In the men’s 600 m on the Saturday, Brandon Huzevka had an amazing performance, being in the second heat, and running to a personal best time of 1:21, which was faster than two runners in the fastest heat. “He’s just proving to himself that he can compete with some of the best in Ontario,” said Schnurr. Greg Hitchon also did well in the same event, finishing second overall in his section with a time of 1:23. “He ran with confidence and he got to the front, and was willing to set the pace, and run hard, and he just got out-kicked in the end, so he was really pleased,” said Schnurr. In the 4x400 m, the men’s
team comprised of Richard Noel, Jeff Mah, Greg Hitchon and Brandon Huzevka finished off the meet well with a time of 3:24. Overall, Schnurr was pleased with the performances at the OUA Championships, although the majority of the Marauders did not run their best time. “It was a learning experience for a few athletes - so it’s always good to come away with that although it didn’t go as well as you may have hoped, you learn from it and I think a few people did,” said Schnurr. Next up for the Marauders track team will be a well-deserved break, for all athletes except for Maddy McDonald, who will be gearing up to run the 3000 m at the CIS Championships in Edmonton on March 7. @Lsinkky
Tweedle Turning Heads Jeff Tweedle has proved himself over the past year, going from not even qualifying for the OUA meet, to being a top-ten contender in the province
YOSEIF HADDAD / SENIOR PHOTO EDITOR
Tomi Milos Features Editor At the beginning of his second season with McMaster’s track team, Jeff Tweedle taped a piece of paper with the time “2:29.99” scrawled across it to his wall. It was the time he hoped to achieve in the 1k by the season’s end. “After running 2:38 in the 1k last year, my goal this season was just to break 2:30. That would have been an indication that I was progressing to where I wanted to be.” To his own astonishment, the second-year Civil Engineering student has already managed to surpass that goal. The nineteen year-old went to high school at Stoney Creek’s Cardinal Newman where he played volleyball and badminton
in addition to cross-country and track. Though he went on to win cross-country and track MVP in his final two years, Tweedle wasn’t immediately sure that running was his primary sport. “I didn’t really consider it to be my main focus for most of high school, but I started to consider it as such during my senior year when my times started to pick up.” The catalyst for his improvement appeared at the 2011 GHAC track championships. After a tough 3000m race in which he fought through an illness to place sixth, Tweedle was approached by Patti Moore of Hamilton Olympic Track Club to see if he was interested in joining the team. Moore had been carefully watching his steady progress and thought he could benefit from a
more intensive regime. “Although track is an individual sport, I think almost all high school runners want to run with a group. And there are huge early benefits from organized training and running alongside other kids who run well,” said Moore. Moore added that although training with the likes of Guelph’s Adam Rowles, Conestoga College’s Liam Smith, and McMaster’s own Paul Kolb was beneficial, Tweedle’s “successes are his own and well-earned.” After a good preseason with HOC, 2012 was Tweedle’s best year yet. He coasted to the OFSAA cross-country finals in Ottawa and ran personal bests in the 1500 and 800 at South Regionals. Coming to the end of his second-year at McMaster, Tweedle has been through his fair share of adversity while retaining the same work ethic he had in high school. Despite a solid tryout in 2012, Tweedle fell just short of meeting the cross-country team standard 6-kilometer time, but was allowed to train with them. Instead of wallowing in disappointment or joining in the Welcome Week debauchery, Tweedle dusted himself off and ran his way onto the track team just a few days later. That kind of resiliency has come to define Tweedle’s athletic career, with his ability to seize opportunities quickly becoming apparent. This year, Tweedle has been able to balance rigorous academic obligations with a busy training and racing schedule to sublime results. But Tweedle says he wouldn’t be able to keep it up without the support that his teammates and coaches offer him in maintaining a balance. “They’re really good with working around my schedule to
help me with my training. I owe a lot of credit to the other guys who have been able to push me in workouts which has been a big reason why I’ve improved quite a bit.” Tweedle started the year off with a bang at Windsor’s Can-Am meet, running a 2:35.19 in his first 1000m race of the season on Jan 10. For some perspective, that was a three-second improvement on his previous personal best of 2:38.55. Things only went up from there. He posted a 2:31.71 in the same distance at Western’s Don Wright meet only a week later. Tweedle ran yet another personal best at the McGill Team Challenge the following week, almost breaking the four-minute barrier in the 1500m with a time of 4:01.71. With the times he had been logging, Tweedle was a virtual shoo-in on the trip to Boston for the highly-competitive Valentine Invitational. With the perfect storm of a fast heat and a loud crowd, Tweedle was able to harness the adrenaline and absolutely shatter his personal best with a time of 2:27.71. With that time putting him at second on McMaster’s all-time list and propelling him to 11 in the provincial rankings, Tweedle appeared to be on the verge of making a splash at the OUA’s at York University on Feb 21. But being unknowingly placed into the second heat proved to fluster Tweedle. Although the group was littered with speed demons like Windsor’s Alex Ullman and Guelph’s Yves Sikubwabo, the race was a slow — by their lofty standards — tactical affair that was controlled by a large pack. As most of the runners had already achieved the CIS standard of 2:24.99 earlier in the season,
they were reluctant to risk injury. Unable to circumvent the large throng, Tweedle attempted to bide his time at the back of the pack but unfortunately did not have the legs to make a big kick during the bell lap. That said, his time of 2:31.14 proved to be McMaster’s best that day. Although disappointed at being unable to improve upon his Boston time, Tweedle is looking forward to what the outdoor summer season brings as well as time to read John L. Parker’s Again To Carthage, the sequel to the cult classic Once A Runner — he had been bringing the latter to meets for good luck. His goal for his third season at McMaster is to achieve the CIS standard time for the 1K.
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“I owe a lot of credit to the other guys who have been able to push me in workouts which has been a big reason why I’ve improved quite a bit” Jeff Tweedle, runner on the Marauder track team
@tomimilos
Personal Credits Notice
If you received a Common Experience Payment, you could get $3,000 in Personal Credits for educational programs and services. The Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement. The healing continues. Since 2007, almost 80,000 former students have received a Common Experience Payment (“CEP”) as part of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement. CEP recipients are now eligible to receive non-cash Personal Credits of up to $3,000, for either themselves or certain family members, for educational programs and services.
the terms and conditions. Personal Credits of multiple CEP recipients can be combined to support a group learning activity. How can I get Personal Credits? Each CEP recipient will be mailed an Acknowledgement Form. If you do not receive an Acknowledgement Form by the end of January 2014, please call 1-866-343-1858. Completed Acknowledgement Forms should be returned as soon as possible and must be postmarked no later than October 31, 2014.
What are Personal Credits? Personal Credits may be used for a wide range of educational programs and services, including those provided by universities, colleges, trade or How do I redeem my Personal Credits? training schools, Indigenous Institutions of Once approved, you will be sent a Higher Learning, or which relate to literacy personalized Redemption Form for each or trades, as well as programs and services individual using Personal Credits at each educational entity or related to Aboriginal identities, histories, CEP recipients have the option of group. Once the Form cultures or languages. sharing their Personal Credits with is received, provide it to the educational certain family members, such as: How much are entity or group listed. • Spouses Personal Credits? • Children The educational entity Adequate funds are • Grandchildren • Siblings or group must then available for each CEP complete and mail back recipient to receive up to $3,000 in Personal the Redemption Form postmarked no later Credits, depending on your approved than December 1, 2014. educational expenses. Which educational entities and groups are included? A list of approved educational entities and groups has been jointly developed by Canada, the Assembly of First Nations and Inuit representatives. If an educational entity or group is not on the list, please consult the website for more information. Will I receive a cheque? No. Cheques will be issued directly to the educational entity or group providing the service. Who can use Personal Credits? CEP recipients can use the full amount themselves or give part or all of their Personal Credits to certain family members such as a spouse, child, grandchild or sibling, as defined in
What happens to unused Personal Credits? The value of unused Personal Credits will be transferred to the National Indian Brotherhood Trust Fund and Inuvialuit Education Foundation for educational programs. For more information, including how Personal Credits can be redeemed by certain family members of CEP recipients that are deceased, visit www.residentialschoolsettlement.ca or call 1-866-343-1858. The IRS Crisis Line (1-866-925-4419) provides immediate and culturally appropriate counselling support to former students who are experiencing distress.
1-866-343-1858 • www.residentialschoolsettlement.ca
theSil.ca
Thursday, Feb. 27, 2014
B7 Editors Amanda Watkins & Miranda Babbitt Email lifestyle@thesil.ca silhappens.tumblr.com
B12
Phone 905.525.9140 x27117
S
Home sweet Hamilton Assistant LifeStyle Editor, Miranda Babbitt, moved from Vancouver to attend McMaster. Here are her tips for making a home away from home.
up, and fuels each return to BC with a renewed recognition of the totally applicable clichéd, “Home is where the heart is.” Speaking from personal experience, I’ll leave you with some tips on what worked for me in tackling homesickness and finding love for a place far from home. Miranda Babbitt Assistant LifeStyle Editor Up until my last year of high school, I had always imagined my upcoming trips to my university campus to be a pleasant ritual of a ten-minute car ride, give or take the time to brew a cup of tea, orient myself with the local headlines or some other blissful sounding way to start my morning – like a sun salutation in an all white yoga suit. But the imagined ritual that I once expected turned into a four-hour flight across the country, with five bags of luggage and quietly weeping parents in tow. Home is now a three-hour time difference away and has left me with a vocabulary of apparently province-specific words, like “pinner” (something small and meager) and “LG” (stands for “little girl”; a young person who dresses like an adult). Ah, yes. It is the beautiful land of British Columbia that greets me every winter break, the odd reading week and each summer. It will always be my one and only home. And yet, how can it be? A home is a place of safety and comfort and can extend beyond the walls of your residence. It’s a place where once foreign landmarks, be it a touristy statue or that mailbox on the corner of your street, have distinct memories engraved into their structures. It’s a place complete with relationships that leave you feeling loved and respected. AMANDA WATKINS / LIFESTYLE EDITOR
By this logic, Hamilton has been a place I can call home since only a few months into first year. I remember arriving back home for winter break and saying to my family, “That jail-cell-sized dorm of mine is just like home already.” First there was the string of defensive remarks contesting how I could even have our home and “jail cell” in the same sentence, but then came an instinctive understanding from my parents who’ve also found a sense of home in spots all over B.C. and Ontario. Finding a home takes time though, no matter where you are. The beginning of first year can feel as though you’re getting suited up for a new life so quickly you haven’t had time to let them know that one foot is bigger than the other and you won’t be able to fit now and this whole thing is just not going to work and put me back on that plane. But then life slows down again. And one day you’ll wake up realizing that this city is the perfect fit for you, hugging you just like home did. Okay, once in a blue moon does it happen that dreamily. Yes, some people may have experienced a transition as dreamy as waking up and considering what’s around them home overnight, but others had to work for it. I had to work for it. And I feel as though most people do too. But today Hamilton has opened my eyes to a home I never once imagined growing
1. Explore your city as much as you can, and as soon as you can. Knowing the quirks and secret gems of a city you once viewed as nothing but a foreign land of different fast food chains is both liberating and adventurous. It’s as though you share a personal relationship with the city itself. Sharing your favourite spots with a visiting friend or family solidifies this notion, as you guide them through art galleries and coffee shops unique to your new home. 2. Make wherever you rest your head at night look like a place you could call home, even if it doesn’t feel that way just yet. Even though my dorm may have always looked like a jail-cell to my parents, and likely yours as well with those white brick walls and grimy window, a dorm can feel like a cozy little sanctuary. And it should feel this way! (See B8 for some ideas on how this can be achieved.) 3. Try calling your family on the way to class if your phone plan permits. Those ten-minute phone calls can fit in an impressive amount of catching up and are key to feeling as though you’re not simply building a new life and forgetting who’s thinking about you from back home. Make sure to slip your home address to a few family and friends too, because, you never know, they might decide to brighten your day with a little package of bath
salts and chocolates. 4. Visit a friend’s home nearby. Sometimes just going through the motions of living in a family home can provide a comforting sense of positivity that you’re not that far off from going home again, or allow you to appreciate the quirks of what makes your house back home. Even if it’s not your own, clean bathrooms, home-cooked meals, and fresh sheets can drill themselves into your psyche that you are cared for. 5. When the holidays come around but you can’t make your way back home, an empty house can appear to be the perfect place to catch up on some sweet, much needed rest. But don’t overestimate the amount of alone time you’re able to handle. I once made the mistake of choosing to spend Thanksgiving on my own rather than visiting a friend’s house, only to very quickly realize that the images of myself singing and baking cupcakes were meant to be replaced with a suddenly echoing house and creaks in spots I thought were uninhabited (re: attic). After recognizing that I am no ghost buster, my sleeps were blissfully uninterrupted by paranormal activity at a friend’s house nearby. @mirandababbitt
Thursday, Feb. 27, 2014
theSil.ca
Dorm et swe dorm
FAMILY PHOTOS
A RUG OR TWO
B8
LIFESTYLE
Make your dorm feel just like home! Miranda Babbitt Assistant LifeStyle Editor
A REAL LIGHT
CLASSIC CUP
10
$ rs, e t ap Ch
tters, $34 Urban Outfi
It might be the fact that my toes are #blessed every morning they roll out of bed, feelin’ like they’re in toe paradise with that sheep rug heaven, but I think rugs are the most pivotally homey addition you can make.
@mirandababbitt
LET’S GET QUIZZICAL Which Lake McMaster winter sport suits your personality? 1) What is your choice snack food? a. Celery b. Potato Chips c. Chocolate Pretzels d. Plain sugar 2) Favourite Instagram filter? a. X-Pro II b. Valencia c. Hudson d. Kelvin
You can’t have a fireplace (surprise!), but you can add some seriously needed warmth with the right lighting. Consider buying a floorlamp because, let’s be real, no human being can function normally with the fluorescent lights often installed in dorm rooms.
A mug that makes you happy is a staple for any home, so don’t feel you need to stick to the paper cups you get from MUSC all the time (as convenient as they are to defrost our hands on the way to class).
SUDOKU SIMPLY
Family photos put the “family” in “jail cell.” And there’s nothing quite like seeing some precious photos of family grace those white brick walls.
IKEA, $30
4) Best zoo animal? a. Lion b. Monkey c. Panda d. Platypus 5) Best peanut butter? a. Low-fat b. Smooth c. Nutella... d. Crunchy
M.A.S.H.
3) Best boy band? a. Beastie Boys b. One Direction c. The Backstreet Boys d. 98 Degrees
Mostly A’s// Hockey: Ambitious and athletic, you’re a one-stop-shop for energy and muscle mass. People are drawn to your exciting demeanour and drive to live. But careful not to raise your stick to high, or you’re bound to knock out a few friends with your power. Mostly B’s// Skating: You’re pretty cool. You like having fun and drinking hot cocoa by the firepace on chilly winter evenings. The world enjoys your cuddly approach to life, but sometimes you disppear into the sidelines. Mostly C’s// Ice Canoe: You may be insane. But all the best people are. Keep doing you and living life to the fullest. I love you. Mostly D’s// Laying on the ice, motionless: You are insane. But in a wonderful, eccentric, coloruful way. You are Luna Lovegood incarnate, and a hero to many. Just be careful that your mild craziness doesn’t scare too many away.
POSTGRADUATE CERTIFICATE THIS PROGRAM OFFERS A CLEAR PATHWAY TO CAREERS IN THE LUCRATIVE FINANCIAL PLANNING INDUSTRY. IT PROVIDES STUDENTS WITH A BROAD RANGE OF FINANCIAL, BUSINESS AND SOFT SKILLS, PLUS THE OPPORTUNITY TO EARN THE LICENCES AND DESIGNATIONS THAT EMPLOYERS ARE LOOKING FOR.
APPLY NOW!
POSTGRADUATE CERTIFICATES business.humber.ca/postgrad
AT ITS VERY BEST
STUDENT ACCESSIBILITY SERVICES NOTIFICATION TO STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES FOR APRIL 2014 FINAL EXAM ACCOMMODATIONS All newly identified or returning students with a disability MUST attend an appointment with a Disability Coordinator before March 28, 2014 in order to receive final exam accommodations for April 2014. For more information, please contact STUDENT ACCESSIBILITY SERVICES (SAS) by phone: 905-525-9140 x 20302; or, in person at: MUSC (Student Centre) B-107; or by email at: sas@mcmaster.ca
Thursday, Feb. 27, 2014
theSil.ca
LIFESTYLE
The prodigal sun
peer-based
Springtime may have vanished for a while, but the prodigal sun returns. Make sure you’re protected against UV rays and melanoma. prevention measures and early detection are important. One of the most common methods of skin protection from the harmful rays of the sun is the application of sunscreen. When looking for a sunscreen it is important to choose one that is broad spectrum (protects against both UVA and UVB sun rays), is over 30 SPF and is water resistant. Sunscreen must be applied every two hours and after swimming or high amounts of sweating. While it is important to wear sunscreen at all times, there are other precautions one can take to protect against the sun. This includes spending as much time as possible in the shade, covering skin with clothing, wearing sunglasses and hats and avoiding the sun during the noon hours when it is the strongest. Melanoma has high rates of survival if it is discovered early. It is important to be familiar with your body and be on the lookout for any changes. In men, melanoma is commonly found on the head, neck and back whereas in women it is most often found on the back or lower legs. That being said, melanoma can be found anywhere on the body.
Lavinia Tofan SHEC With springtime looming just around the corner, many of you may be getting ready to escape from the frozen landscape we call home to a place with sunnier skies and warm waters. But before you do so, it is important to take all the necessary precautions in protecting your skin. This will not only protect you from uncomfortable sunburn, but also from possible serious consequences later on. In 2007 it was estimated that 1 in 63 men and 1 in 79 women will develop melanoma in their lifetime. Melanoma is a cancer that is commonly found in individuals aged 15-29. It is one of the seven most frequently occurring cancers in Canada and the rates of melanoma have tripled in the past 30 years and are continuing to grow. Melanoma is the cancer of melanocytes, which are the cells in our bodies responsible for the pigmentation change of our skin when it is exposed to UV radiation. This is a particularly dangerous form of skin cancer because it can spread to the lymph nodes and other areas of the body. Early
B10
health education & resources
When checking your body it is important to keep in mind the ABCDE’s of melanoma: A for Asymmetry – One side of the mole is different from the other B for Border – The border of the mole may be uneven. C for Colour – The mole may not be a uniform colour; it is commonly black but can be white, gray, blue or lacking colour. D for Diameter – The mole is bigger than 6mm. E for Evolution – The most important, checking previous moles for changes and be aware of new moles. In our society, having suntanned skin has been linked to beauty. In reality, suntanned skin is considered to be damaged skin. It is wonderful to enjoy the sun and it also has benefits for us, but it is important to always be safe. One blistering sunburn can double your chances for developing melanoma. Take this into consideration in your everyday life during all seasons.
AMANDA WATKINS / LIFESTYLE EDITOR
Bottles with style & glass Reduce your ecological footprint with style. Glass water bottles are where it’s at. BPA stands for Bisphenol A, a chemical that’s been linked to cancer and heart disease. The problem with the bottles that tout the fact that they’re “BPA free” is that no industry regulations exist for companies to meet before they can slap the label on their products. Unlined aluminum bottles like those made by Kleen Kanteen may be truly BPA free and easily cleanable, but they leave your H2O with a distinctly metallic taste that’s far from refreshing. A safe alternative that combines quality craftsmanship and portability is the glass bottle. Although they vastly outstrip their plastic, stainless steel, and aluminum cousins, glass bottles offer both superior taste and aesthetic design. Acknowledging that glass isn’t the most durable of materials even for a sure-handed individual let alone a klutz, most manufacturers have wised up and added protective silicone cases that only add to the eye-catching appeal of their products. As a bonus, glass is dishwasher-approved and allows you to store other liquids like juice or milk in them without fear that their odour will linger long after they’ve been consumed (shoutout to that Kanye tweet: “Room service uuuuugh! I hate when I order fruit and I can taste the other food they cut with the same knife.”)
Tomi Milos Features Editor So, 2014 is almost two months old and you’ve managed to stick to your new year’s resolutions for the most part. You’ve been a regular at The Pulse (where you’ve spent more time admiring others’ physiques than improving your own), you’ve cut down on the fast food (other than that one time you wandered into McDonald’s in a drunken stupor), and you’ve stopped using Snapchat long enough to finish your readings. But are you hydrating properly? By now, the eight cups of water per day rule has become ingrained in our consciousness. But recent findings suggest that merely eight may not be enough. Instead, men should be drinking thirteen cups (three litres) per day, while women should be consuming nine cups (2.2 litres). Drinking the prescribed amount holds a plethora of health benefits. Water assists the digestive system, keeps your skin clear by flushing out toxins, eases metabolization, and keeps energy levels up. While it may seem inconsequential, the vessel you hold your water in it can render the rewards you reap for quenching your thirst invalid. That plastic Nestle bottle you’ve been reusing? Better off in the recycling bin. Same with that so-called “BPA free” one you bought under the impression that it was a step up from the ones that got recalled in 2008.
2
4 Camelbak eddy Glass ($33)
Takeya Modern Glass Water Bottle ($16) Size: 16oz or 18oz Made in: glass in Japan, silicone and cap in China Different colours: Black Mist, Ice Green, Ice Pink, Ice Blue, Natural Removable sleeve: Yes, but discouraged by company Where to buy: amazon.ca, shop. terra20.com
Size: 24oz (700ml) Made in: France and China Different colours: Charcoal, Purple, Aqua, Lime Removable sleeve: Yes Where to buy: amazon.ca, ogc.ca Camelbak’s offering is probably the most gym-friendly of the bunch. The bottle’s valve and straw combo means no spillage and no tipping back your head to drink. Available in four colours, the eddy is an easy choice for the more active person.
These beautiful bottles share Apple’s clean sense of minimalism and are just a joy to look at. Disclaimer: We wouldn’t condone placing one next to your Macbook because they’re as tall and slim as a runway model and liable to get knocked over. The cap is easy to twist off.
3
CHOOSE YOUR CERTIFICATE ADVERTISING – MEDIA MANAGEMENT
@tomimilos
ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION
Tomi’s top t’ermoses 1 bkr ($28-$38) Size: 500ml or 1L Made in: San Francisco Removable sleeve: Yes Different colours: Almost too many Where to buy: mybkr.com, polkadotpond.ca, tweedandhickory.com, Holt Renfrew (in store) A short and squat bottle with an intentionally small mouth opening adorned by a solid carrying hook. The fact that it fits in your hand perfectly and that Emmy Rossum can regularly be seen toting one is all the reassurance you need.
EVENT MANAGEMENT
Bamboo Bottle ($30) Size: 17oz (500ml) Made in: China Different colours: No Removable sleeve: Yes Where to buy: jesscrunchyshop. com, amazon.com, shop.gessato. com True to its name, the Bamboo bottle is encased in a sleeve made of a panda’s favourite snack. The green accents may not be to everyone’s tastes, but they really let the world know you’re making an environmentally conscious decision. The bevy of parts may not be fun to clean, but that’s the price you have to pay for not contributing to landfills.
FASHION MANAGEMENT & PROMOTIONS FINANCIAL PLANNING GLOBAL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT MARKETING MANAGEMENT PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
APPLY NOW!
POSTGRADUATE CERTIFICATES business.humber.ca/postgrad
AT ITS VERY BEST
Wall of Debt: Breaking Down Financial Barriers
Monday: MUSC Tuesday: Mills Lobby Wednesday: Thode Library Thursday: BSB Lobby Friday: MUSC
discover what services are currently being offered by MSU services and clubs, as well as university service and off-campus organizations.
When February 24-28, 2014
The MSU is one of 24 student organizations that make up the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA). Through its member-driven structure and grassroots approach, CASA’s mission is to advocate for students using policy development and research, awareness campaigns, government relations, and partnerships with other stakeholders. Click here for more information about CASA.
We will be taking pictures and videos of students sharing their #TodayIFeel stories. Come dropby, say hello and share your story.
Debt is a major problem for Canadian students. The majority of Canadian graduates take on some degree of student debt, owing an average of $24,000 for a four-year degree. Thousands of university and college students have to rely on federal, provincial, and highinterest private loans to finance their education – setting students back when starting our careers and making major family decisions. It’s tough enough to get your foot in the door for a job without having to make a $275 loan repayment every month. Help us reduce student debt and make sure that every willing and qualified student is able to access postsecondary education without going deep into the hole. The Wall of Debt is a message to our federal and provincial governments. Help us highlight the difficulties that students and graduates are facing when burdened with student debt. By supporting the campaign at McMaster, you send the message that up-front, needs-based, non-repayable grants must be made available for students who need it. With your help, students will have a more effective, wellorganized push for financial assistance improvements Sign up online at www.wallofdebt.ca, and spread awareness by dedicating your profile picture, or tweeting your debt story using #WallOfDebt. Fast Facts: More than one third of upper year students will graduate with over $20,000 in debt. Those with debt are less likely to own a home, have savings, or investments. The more non-repayable financial assistance a student gets, the better their chances of completing a degree are. Over 1 in 4 students are very concerned that they will not have enough funds to complete their program of student. Up-front grants introduced in 2009 reduced the average perstudent loan by $461 in 2012. From February 24th to 28th, MSU Advocacy will be situated around campus throughout the week to give students the opportunity to sign a brick with the amount of debt they will incur once they graduate. These bricks will be compiled and stacked to physically display the wall of debt students will face.
Friday, February 28th:
Spencer Graham Vice President (Education) vped@msu.mcmaster.ca 905-525-9140 ext. 24017
From 10:30am to 2:30pm we will be hosting the MSU Mental Health Showcase in the Student Center Atrium. In this Showcase, various MSU services and clubs, university services and organizations will have displays and volunteers present. Student will be able to interact and discover what resources are available to them. We will also be displaying all of the footage and images that we have collected throughout the week.
#TodayIFeel Tackling Student Mental Health
We want to thank Mood Disorders Society of Canada and Student Affairs for all their help and contribution to making this campaign a success.
For more information, please contact:
When February 24-28, 2014 #TodayIFeel is an MSU social media campaign that aims to provide a forum for frank and open conversations surrounding mental health. Centered on the hashtag #TodayIFeel, students will share their thoughts, feelings, and stories on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. What do you do when you need to make yourself feel better? Where do you go for help? Who can you talk to? Mental health issues are complex, meaning that they require complex solutions. Direct support and intervention must be provided by high-quality services, the student experience must be reformed to reduce undue stress on those who are in difficult situations, and attitudes must change to reduce stigma associated with mental illness. Join the conversation to ensure that every student has the help they need. Examples of tweets include “#TodayIFeel depressed. Going to talk to someone at Student Wellness Center” “#TodayIFeel great after talking to my friends” “#TodayIFeel energized after going to the gym!” Throughout the week we will be hosting different events for students: All week long: Starting from 10:30am to 2:30pm we will be having a table set-up in the club tables near Starbucks in the Student Center. Come by and grab resources and information regarding mental health and
How do you feel today?
OSAP Repayment Information SessionMD When February 27, 2014 from 10:30AM until 02:00PM Where MDCL 3023 There will be two OSAP repayment information sessions on February 27th. Drop into either, the first at 10:30am or the second beginning at 1:00pm.
Pangaea Multicultural Event Tickets will be available at Compass until Feb 28th! Date of event: March 2, 2014 Location: 2nd and 3rd floor of the Student Centre Time of event: 10:30am-7:00pm Hosted by: Pangaea General admission ticket: $10.00 (tax included) *This event is open to everyone Ticket includes: - All access to cultural pavilions in the student centre - Access to performances - 1 entry in raffle prize draw - 1 beverage Performances include: - Performances prepared by students of each cultural group - Cultural dances - Cultural bands - Fashion - Tradition *1st performance:12:00-1:45 *2nd performance: 3:15-5:00 Please note, the 1st and 2nd performances are different from one another Compass is NOT handling performer discount tickets. Performers can pick up their discount tickets at the event at the registration table If you have any further questions, please contact mac.pangaea@gmail.com
Monster Truck When March 01, 2014 from 08:00PM until 11:30PM
Visit sfas.mcmaster.ca for more information.
Where TwelvEighty
Blood Donor Clinic
MSU Campus Events and CFMU are excited to announce that Hamilton’s own Monster Truck will be taking the TwelvEighty stage on March 1! Monster Truck has been garnering massive success in the Canadian rock industry in recent years. With their powerful sound and commanding stage presence, this concert will be like nothing that has ever been seen in TwelvEighty before! With successful EP and album releases and numerous sold out shows under their belts, Monster Truck have gathered a strong following of dedicated fans throughout Canada.
When February 27, 2014 from 11:00AM until 05:00PM Where CIBC Hall (3rd Floor MUSC) 115 donors are needed at each McMaster University blood donor clinic! If you keep just 1 resolution this year, make it to save a life. Book your appointment to donate online at www.blood.ca or by calling 1 888 2 DONATE (1-888-236-8283). On average 40 people miss their scheduled appointment to donate at this clinic. Please make every effort to keep your appointment so Canadian Blood Services can maintain an adequate blood supply for hospital patients in need.
Doors: 9:00 PM Admission: Tickets are $15.00 for students (all ages)/ $20.00 for guests (19+) and will be available at Compass
theSil.ca
Thursday, Feb. 27, 2014
LIFESTYLE
B12
Jennifer Bacher Third-year Communication Studies & Multimedia
WHO ARE YOU WEARING? Jacket- Super Dry @ The Bay Blouse- H&M Jeans- H&M Boots- Hunter FAVOURITE DESSERT FOOD? Tiramisu. FAVOURITE DISNEY MOVIE? Sleeping Beauty. Classic!
YOSEIF HADDAD / PHOTO EDITOR
“Where can I shop Fair Trade?” Purchase your goods with the globe in mind. These Fair Trade Hamilton hotspots offer everything from coffee to quirky creations.
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For ar t
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of
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For fo o
Sarah O’Connor The Silhouette
.. d.
Homegrown Hamilton
Ten Thousand Villages
The Quirky Crocodile
Fair Trade coffee is probably the first thing people associate with the term, “fair trade”. While there are many places around McMaster that sell Fair Trade coffee (such as Union Market and My Dog Joe), it’s nice to explore the city a bit more and experience the downtown core. Homegrown Hamilton freshly roasts their coffee right in front of you using only Fair Trade and organic beans from around the world. They offer a variety of coffee flavours as well as snacks for you to enjoy. The café-by-day, bar-by-night, offers weekly live entertainment from local and non-local artists.
Celebrating its 68th anniversary as the largest Fair Trade retailer in North America, Ten Thousand Villages is definitely the most interesting of the shops because everything it sells is fair trade: coffee and tea, jewelry, and food items from India, Bangladesh and many other places. Additionally, Ten Thousand Villages sells a variety of fair trade chocolate and spices for cooking− a great way to spice up ramen noodles or a way to liven up dessert!
The Quirky Crocodile is a brand-new store to Hamilton that opened its doors on Feb.1. As well as selling fair trade coffee and tea, The Quirky Crocodile also sells gorgeous Fair Trade metal wall art from Haiti. The wall art is unique as it is recycled from steel oil drums and made with a hammer and chisel. The Quirky Crocodile also sells bamboo wind chimes, decorative masks, and products made by local artists such as hats, mittens, and sock animals.
27 King William Street Phone: (905) 777-8102
162 Locke Street South Phone: (905) 522-1626
600 Upper Wellington Street Phone: (905) 387-0404
Complimentary Roll up the Rims These may actually be better than free fruit explosion muffins.
theSil.ca
Thursday, Feb. 27, 2014
ANDY E-mail: andy@thesil.ca
C2
Senior Editor: Bahar Orang
Meeting Time: Tuesdays @ 5:30 p.m.
Assistant Editor: Cooper Long
Phone: (905)•525•9140 ext 27117
Contributors: Thaddeus Awotunde, Tomi Milos, Shane Madill
Cover: Liz Pope
coming up in the hammer the casbah •feb. 27 •mar. 1 •mar. 2 •mar. 5
| monkley cascade | funkhaus | dead leaf echo | y108 comedy roast
homegrown hamiltonmusic
•feb. 28 | kira may •mar. 1 | the safety collective
POSTGRADUATE CERTIFICATE FROM MEDIA PLANNING AND
this ain't hollywood •feb. 28 •mar. 1 •mar. 2 •mar. 4
| jeremy fisher | gone gorilla | tom bowes | hello cat piano
C3
C4 C5
C6
C7
club absinthe
MANAGEMENT TO ACCOUNT COORDINATION AND SALES,
•feb. 27 •mar. 1 •mar. 2 •mar. 7
THIS PROGRAM OFFERS THE UNIQUE SKILLS YOU WILL NEED TO LAUNCH YOUR CAREER AS ACCOUNT COORDINATOR,
cinema
MEDIA SALES REPRESENTATIVE, MEDIA BUYER, MEDIA PLANNER, AND MANY OTHER EXCITING
| sam cash & the romantic dogs | distance between | riff faff | abandon all ships
C8
westdale theatre • until mar. 6 | the monuments men • until mar. 6 | the past
CAREER OPTIONS.
mcmaster museum
art
APPLY NOW!
POSTGRADUATE CERTIFICATES business.humber.ca/postgrad
AT ITS VERY BEST
oscar picks
•until may 3 | margaret watkins: domestic symphonies •until mar 29 | jon w. ford: house not a home •until mar 29 | françois dallegret: beyond the bubble •ongoing | antiquities •apr. 8 - 26 | chiasmata: summa 2014, graduating art student exhibition
john ford robocop
album reviews MMT + short story contest
theSil.ca
EDITORIAL
ANDY
Thursday, Feb. 27, 2014
outguess ANDY at the Oscars
C3
Clip and fill out this Oscars guide to see if you can outguess the ANDY editors. Our picks to win are in pink.
the
big
tickle if you won an Oscar, who would you thank first? LIZ POPE /ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR KACPER NIBURSKI /OPINIONS EDITOR
Alex V.
Sam S.
Daniel N.
Ashly C.
Hannah S.
My parents
God
Parents
Mom
My grandparents
theSil.ca
Bahar Orang ANDY Editor There is no complete metaphor to express the loveliness and complexity that is John Ford’s House not a Home. The works do not announce, proclaim or insist. Instead, they quietly draw you into a world where broken lighters matter, where dirty little shoes are beautiful, and where chess pawns hold together entire structures. It’s a playpen for the imagination, a bed for sharing dreams and nightmares, a garden where discarded bits can grow again. It’s a mouth where “iloveyou” and “imissyou” can live, a mended human heart where blood cells and memories are stored. It’s a poem for things close enough to touch, but not quite close enough to hold. I came to the exhibition in a restless mood, tired and anxious from all the noise and business around me. But when I walked into the dimly lit room, everything suddenly shifted and I felt somehow suspended. I had stepped into a slightly different realm, and I was both far away from and intimately connected to the works. The exhibition comprises three house-shaped vitrines that form a row across the middle of a large room. Each glass case is held together by a thin wooden frame and contains innumerable little objects. There are toy trains, toy airplanes, winding railroad tracks, playing cards, pulleys, ramps, a doll’s plastic thigh, maps, twine, tiny pictures of people, stickers, and stuffed cloth in the shape of hands and feet. In each “house,” the pieces create a complex architecture that resembles a small child’s
elaborate science experiment, or an enormous toy factory, or the internal machinery of a fantastical music instrument. The various parts are essentially bits of garbage, but they are placed as if they serve a specific purpose or fulfilled a particular, almost mechanical, function. They become valuable, as thought the whole thing might fall apart if a single object is removed. The parts work together and create a story. Perhaps that story is a symbol for a complicated family structure, or maybe it is a microcosm for the entire universe – in all its gorgeous order but ultimate meaninglessness. There is a dreamlike quality to the art, and the contraptions could be the hardworking hearts of stars drifting in a night sky. I was immediately drawn to the installations at the centre of the room, but then felt disoriented as I looked for the title of each work. After some searching, I noticed the titles written on the floor, at the foot of the art piece. I took this as a clue, and thus noticed the writing on the walls. There is a strong contrast between the vitrines filled with objects and the empty space of the room. I was moved to make use of this space and go from wall to wall, collecting information about the pieces. This process creates a compelling connection between looking into the glass walls of the “houses” and looking outwards at the opaque walls of the gallery room. And I couldn’t help but wonder, who was peering into my room? Who was watching me and noticing my world and wondering how to make sense of it all?
Thursday, Feb. 27, 2014
The words on the walls seemed faint in the darkness of the room, and I felt as if I was looking at a material with writing that only appeared under certain lights at certain angles. So when I uncovered those writings, I was intrigued by the analysis they offered, but disappointed that they were not more ambiguous or peculiar. The works are expressive enough to convey powerful meanings, and the experience may have been more profound if I had attached only my own words to my experience with the works. The art calls for contemplation, slow reading, and careful observation (while also being playful in its game of how many different parts can you find?). The work requires viewers to walk around the “houses,” to unearth little treasures and to then try and assemble all those puzzle pieces. While the writing on the wall is poetic, the transparency of the information detracts from the work’s evocative subtlety. Ford uses objects that make direct references, but then arranges them such that the relationships are more ambiguous. For example, the toy train raises ideas about nostalgia, childhood, and how we collect memories by collecting items (and effectively compiling garbage). But the train travels through a tunnel of key chains and around a mountain of lighters. The reason for this curious architecture is unclear, and alludes to subjective metaphors. Ford is therefore able to pull from the obscurity of abstraction while also pointing to far more specific concepts. This proved to be a very effective technique, and as a
ANDY
viewer I was guided towards certain interpretations, but I was also able to claim personal ownership over those ideas. And for me, the most coherent and moving narrative is about the fragility of human relationships. The glass cases look incredibly delicate, like they might shatter if you came too close. The wooden frames look quite brittle, like they might splinter and break if a gust of wind somehow swept into the gallery. I was unsettled by such vulnerability, and wondered whether the living, feeling human body is equally helpless and susceptible to damage. The “houses” seem so unclothed, so exposed – is it this nakedness that makes them in danger of breaking? Is such nudity unsafe for humans? Is it honesty, authenticity, and the revealing of our inner thoughts, dreams, and secret collections of toy trains what makes us fragile? How might we draw the curtains while also forming intimate relationships? Does reaching out and making contact require a potentially heartbreaking vulnerability? As I walked around, I kept returning to the name – House not a Home. “Home” implies warmth, love, and relationships. “House” suggests construction, stoicism, and cold hard bricks. Why were these naked things houses, but not homes? What makes a house not a home? Was my world a house and not a home? How to build a home? The exhibition was safe and soothing, but also unnerving. I remembered the tenderness and shelter of my childhood, but was troubled and challenged by the dirtiness of the pieces and my almost intrusive
gaze into the private space of a “house”. How to reconcile the desire for closeness with the fear of falling apart? How to accept that while memories and relationships can be meaningful and fulfilling, they also sometimes create an insufferable nostalgia and a vast emptiness? In an age of globalization and in a world where technology both connects and disconnects us from one another, these are important questions and ideas to consider. It will become increasingly important to explore the nature of human relationships and to articulate the things that bring us and hold us together. Moreover, this work challenges concepts of consumerism and asks us to take notice of the little things, and to reevaluate their worth. This too is an idea that our contemporary culture needs to understand, unpack, and allow into our collective consciousness. Ford attempts to “connect viewers to small things in order to gain in our understanding of what it is to be human.” He hopes to offer “a sense of wonder and the potential for shared experience, for selfreflecting, imagining, creating, and telling stories.” The exhibition was successful on both accounts, and was able to utter certain longings and melancholies that we all must feel but can rarely express. The artworks are cathartic in this way, and while they are sweet and sentimental they also evoke a homesickness – a lovesickness – a loneliness that likely connects us all. @baharoh
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A HOME
a new exhibition by John W. Ford at the McMaster Museum of Art
theSil.ca
ANDY
Thursday, Feb. 27, 2014
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a crime against the original Thaddeus Awotunde The Silhouette
RoboCop Director: José Padilha The new RoboCop is sleeker and faster than the 1987 original, but it’s not even nearly as effective. Where the original was a multilayered satire infused with over-the-top action, intense gore, and pitch black humour, this one is mostly a modern day action film with a few jabs at post 9/11 American foreign policy. In this version, Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman) is a clean cop who ends up in a fatal accident planned by corrupt cops in cahoots with an arms dealer. OmniCorp is being run by Raymond Sellars (Michael Keaton), a Steve Jobsesque CEO who funds the creation of RoboCop as a sort of PR stunt to put a human face behind the robot enforcers to convince Americans that robots patrolling their ground is a good idea. What follows is pretty straightforward. RoboCop has to deal with the desire to remain human and be connected to his family, Dr. Norton (Gary Oldman) deals with the moral implications of manipulating life that is still partially organic, and Samuel L. Jackson puts on a Fox News host
impression. Everything is just alright. The action is all familiar and not too different from any other mid-tier blockbuster or big budget videogame. Though the violence is fairly tame, and RoboCop is only allowed to carry a taser. Most of the dialogue is middling, without much wit, profundity, or nastiness (especially compared to the original). Where the original had memorable villains such as vicious crime lord Clarence Boddiker and ruthless businessman Dick
Jones, this one was lacking. The criminal in charge of RoboCop’s demise barely had any screen time or dialogue of note – he’s underwhelming overall. The most notable image of this film is seeing the remains of Alex Murphy when not in his suit. A fun aside is the fact that this was filmed in Hamilton and it’s possible to spot a few Hamilton locations in the film. Like another modernized Verhoeven remake Total Recall, this one didn’t seem to do too well in the box office, which
means that there may be no more sequels. All that being said, the film is still better than what I had anticipated. Even though I feel it was an unnecessary remake, it is a welcome addition to a series of films that had fallen so far down that it was barely functional. It took a dip in quality when RoboCop 2 came out, and RoboCop 3 was the point of no return. They transformed a series that prided itself on gritty crime violence and comedic social criticism to something that simply aspired to sell toys to elementary school students. And then of course there was the made for TV Canadian Miniseries RoboCop Prime Directives – the less that gets said about that one, the better. In the end, the new RoboCop gets a pass just because the bar had been set so low by everything that followed Paul Verhoeven’s side-splitting classic.
all um reviews theSil.ca
Tomi Milos Features Editors
St. Vincent Artist: St. Vincent St. Vincent’s eponymous record is both her most personal and her best yet. Abandoning a tendency for grandiose instrumentation that she may have picked up as a member of Sufjan Stevens’ orchestra-like backing band, Annie Clark strips away the dense arrangements that littered her first two albums in her fourth solo effort to date. Notoriously protective of her privacy, Clark’s “Rattlesnake” seems a step in a more open direction for the 31-year-old musician. While the jittery synths might inspire nervous foottapping, the story that Clark
proceeds to paint is more likely to induce laughter. The lyrics recount when Clark, ambling through the secluded landscape of a friend’s West Texas ranch on a beautiful day, shed her clothes in a bid to get closer to nature. Becoming aware of a sound she had taken for the wind, Clark turned and saw a rattlesnake. As she told The Guardian, “I took off running and when I got home had a shot of tequila.” The frantic guitar solo captures the sheer terror of the episode and is a delightful hint at what comes next. Morbidly titled “Birth In Reverse” was the first single to be released, and for good reason. After some more humouristic imagery — “Oh what an ordinary day/take out the garbage, masturbate” — Clark reminds listeners that she’s the queen of everything and is not meant to be fucked with. The ensu-
“Clark reminds listeners that she is the queen of everything and is not meant to be fucked with.''
Thursday, Feb. 27, 2014
ANDY
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ing scuzzy guitar wizardry is downright nasty and it’s great to see her following in the vein of her wild 2012 Record Store Day releases “Krokodil” and “Grot.” “Prince Johnny” was the last track to be released prior to the album, and stands out as the most musically and thematically interesting of the trio. Less abrasive than its precursors, the regal track is one that brings listeners back to wasting summer days drifting in someone’s backyard pool. As it progresses through a dense maze of caustic bass and drum pads, Clark’s tender vocals woo the listener into a trance only to jerk them out of blissful reverie with a heavily distorted barrage of guitar. The rest of the album doesn’t disappoint, with the same facemelting goodness found in tracks like “Regret” and “Every Tear Disappears.”
Shane Madill The Silhouette
Oxymoron Artist: Schoolboy Q Hip Hop has changed a lot over the last 20 years. The deaths of Tupac and Biggie in 1996 and 1997 created a void in the industry. While this allowed the influence of southern hip-hop to grow, primarily through OutKast, there was still a vacuum. This was eventually occupied by two divisions: artists such as DMX and Eminem, who attempted to emulate the emotion of Tupac, and more pop-influenced rappers, such as Jay-Z and 50 Cent, who represented the looser flow of Biggie Smalls. In the background, however, another small group was rising. These were more socially conscious rappers who attempted to break away from prior notions of
hip-hop with modern production and a wider variety of lyricism. With Kanye West’s Graduation defeating 50 Cent’s Curtis in sales in 2007, the dominance of gangsta rap was symbolically ended, opening the door to an entirely new generation of rappers. J. Cole, Drake, Wiz Khalifa, and Lupe Fiasco are just a few examples. Groups such as the A$AP crew and Odd Future, in turn, provide some throwbacks to earlier rap influences. The evolution continues with artists such as Pusha T, Danny Brown, and Kendrick providing introspective lyrics influenced by time on the streets, while still being relatively accessible, not in terms of radio-readiness, but in terms of content and messages. Schoolboy Q is obviously influenced by this newest evolution, while also having fully internalized his gangsta rap label. But he does not quite reach the level of his peers. In an interview leading up to the album’s release,
Schoolboy Q stated, “The oxymoron in this album is that I’m doing all this bad to do good for my daughter. That’s why I’m robbin’. That’s why I’m stealin’.” He is successful for the most part. Tracks focused on his lifestyle, such as “Los Awesome,” complement his more introspective feelings on tracks like “Prescription/Oxymoron.” However, these inward-looking moments are few relative to the more radio-friendly ‘bitches, money, and weed’ tropes. While the production and Schoolboy Q’s overall flow is good, the lyrics can be extremely spotty. This does not help the theme of the album as these lapses are unintentional, purposeless, and unfortunately feel like filler. The overall message is muddled, and while still a great album to enjoy in individual pieces or songs, it simply cannot reach the level of more focused recent albums by other artists. This is not the complete album Schoolboy Q seems capable of.
theSil.ca
Thursday, Feb. 27, 2014
Bahar Orang ANDY Editor
In my four years here, the McMaster Musical Theatre has consistently offered creative, exciting, and moving adaptations. Each year, the performances have been a full body experience; a delight for the eyes, the ears, and the heart. This year, with a lovely rendition of Fiddler on the Roof, is no different. With great poignance and craft, MMT tells the tale of Tevye, the father of five daughters, and his attempts to maintain his family and Jewish religious traditions while outside influences and times of change encroach upon their lives. Throughout the musical, the cast and crew skillfully unfold layer upon layer of the many relationships in the play, and reveal the complex and curious nature of the many different bonds that hold us together, and sometimes tear us apart. The story takes place in the little fictional village of Anatevka against the backdrop of Tsarist Russia, circa 1905. It is a place where a promising marriage will determine a girl’s future happiness and security. Those marriages are decided upon by the families, with nudges from the matchmaker, requests from the wife, and the final decision made by the father. Of Tevye’s five daughters, the three eldest, in their own unique and honest ways, resist this tradition. And the result is a sophisticated and unpredictable vision of love – one that is constantly shifting, changing, and challenging accepted ideas. Can you love someone who’s dirt poor? Yes, because he’s your childhood friend. Can you love a political radical who finds all your customs and tra-
ditions outdated? Yes, because you have a unique intellectual connection. Can you love someone who’s outside your family’s faith – a faith that they have built their entire world around? Yes, because he likes books and you can talk about books together. Can you love someone you met for the first time on your wedding day? Yes, because you’ve shared a life with them for twenty-five years. But this was not only a narrative of romantic love, because the most powerful bonds are the ones between family members. Jordan HallinWilliamson is a kind, lovable, and patient Tevye, and he reveals the character’s vulnerabilities with both originality and thoughtfulness. Concetta Roche is an incredibly strong, but loving Golde, and creates a memorable portrait of a mother torn between the conflicting hopes she has for her daughters. In one particularly touching number, husband and wife shyly sing to each other about their quiet, but long-lasting love. Both sing beautifully, and together present a relationship that this is tired, but still sweet. Other memorable aspects include the many facial expressions and hilarious lines from Yente (or the “matchmaker,” played by Lauren Tignanelli ) the palpable chemistry between the sisters, a dim stage lit up by candles, and the gorgeous sounds from both the live orchestra and the fiddler himself. Shows continue on February 26, 27th, 28th, and March 1st at Robinson Memorial Theatre. @baharoh
ANDY
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