The Silhouette - January 30, 2014

The

Silhouette McMASTER UNIVERSITY’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER

Thursday, January 30, 2014 VOL. 84 NO. 20

SEEING RED A McMaster engineering student group, the Redsuits, has been suspended from Welcome Week and campus activities following the leak of depraved songbook lyrics. What does the student body have to say?

Jemma Wolfe Executive Editor Since making national headlines last week, the now-infamous Redsuit “songbook” continues to be a contentious topic of conversation on campus.

On Thursday, Jan. 23, McMaster University announced that it had been made aware of a “highly repugnant” songbook produced by some members of the Redsuits, a faction of the McMaster Engineering Society. Effective immediately, the Redsuits were barred from organizing or participating in any campus events or activities. This sanction includes not being allowed to organize any Welcome Week 2014 activities.

The University learned of the songbook early last week and took action. They notified the MES shortly before posting the public announcement on their news webpage, the Daily News.

The 35-page document, which details the lyrics to 28 songs and chants, contains material that is extremely offensive and, in the case of explicit references to rape, torture, child abuse and physical assault, describes illegal and inhumane activity.

The original document also lists the names of the four students who allegedly compiled it, as well as references to other students and professors; a redacted version without names can be viewed on thesil.ca.

Based on the historic usage of these songs at McMaster and other universities across Canada, the students in question most likely did not write any of the lyrics, but rather put them to paper so that “there will always be a written history of these songs, so that they will, God willing, never be forgotten” as the preface section of the songbook details.

“Sadly, the small number of students within the organization and the Redsuits they wear have now become symbols of intolerance and a sexist mindset that has no place at the University or in our society,” said Ishwar Puri, dean of engineering, in the Daily News release.

In an interview with the Silhouette,

Was Macklemore pandering to the LGBTQ demographic?

PAGE A9

provost and vice-president (academic) David Wilkinson could not comment on whether or not the individuals named in the document will be penalized in any way. “It’s too early to say. What the appropriate approach will be we’ll determine as we go along [with our investigation],” he said.

An external investigator is in the process of being hired, but the University is not willing to divulge further details to protect the integrity of the investigation. However, Wilkinson did identify its direction. “We really want to understand to the best we can what’s really been happening beyond the existence of the book,” he said. “If there are other things that have been going on behind the scenes, what do we need to do, how can we help the student body to make it clear that this kind of behavior isn’t acceptable and how [do we] move on from that?”

Student and community responses to the songbook and the ensuing sanctions have been emotional, to say the least.

To one fourth-year female engineering student, the University’s sanctions do not reflect the Redsuit culture she knows. Speaking on a condition of anonymity, she discussed her frustrations with the shadow this situation has cast on the Redsuits as a whole.

Her experience as a Redsuit has been free of the sexism rampant in the songbook.

“I’ve found that [being part of] Redsuits has only made me feel more equal to my male peers in engineering, not less,” she said.

“I occasionally feel like there is subtle sexism that all women in academia need to fight but in no way is that limited to or caused by engineering,” she continued. “That book is an artifact of a part of the engineering society culture that is long dead.”

Many online reactions to the situation focused on the affect that Welcome Week sanctions will have on incoming first-year engineering students, although the University is reassuring that first-years will not have a sub-par experience.

Wilkinson spoke to the difficulties of this decision. “What we’re talking about here are the actions and behaviours of a small

Fresh food from local sources; a Mac primer PAGE B1

number of people. Some of the Redsuits will think, for example, that they’re all tarred with this brush, which is unfortunate,” he said. “That’s not the intention; that’s not my view.”

The McMaster Students Union supports the University’s current decisions. “Derogatory and degrading chants have no place on this campus,” said MSU president David Campbell in response to the situation.

The MES released a collective statement via their website stating that “this book is not, and has never been, distributed or endorsed by the McMaster Engineering Society. The content unequivocally opposes what the MES represents.” As of press time, the MES had not responded to requests for further comment.

With the investigation in preliminary stages, there remain many unknowns to the situation. “We don’t know if [the songbook is] being used widely, or at all. It simply exists as an extremely bad joke,” said Wilkinson.

His priority moving forwards is to understand the cultural circumstances in which the document was created in the first place.

“How does a subculture - even of a small group of people - how does a subculture develop that enables something like that even to exist? Even if it’s a small group within a faculty, it can be poisonous.” @jemma_wolfe

MORE INSIDE: We’re all responsible A4 The songbook leak A7 Student feedback A7 Critiquing Mac’s response A9 Stop censoring satire A9 Visit thesil.ca to see the songbook

Marauders end volleyball winning streak PAGE B7

An Outkast retrospective

the S ’ T N E D I S E PR E G PA Student Voices & Advocacy: OUSA and the MSU After months of lobbying from the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) and other student advocacy groups, March 2013 marked the introduction of a new provincial tuition policy, as the Ontario government cut back the tuition growth rate of five percent to three percent for most programs. While tuition will continue to rise faster than inflation, the reduction of the growth rate was the first of many OUSA success over 2013/2014, including a more honest fee payment processes and funding towards innovative ways to address mental health.

But the work is never done. Last week OUSA submitted its 2014 Ontario pre-budget submission, entitled Education Works: Envisioning a Fairer Society for Today’s Youth. If you are interested, the submission is featured on OUSA’s website – ousa.ca.

Spencer Graham

The MSU, as a member of OUSA, was highly involved in setting the three priorities that comprise the submission: reallocation of tax credits to upfront grants for low- and middle-income students, new money for work-integrated learning at Ontario universities, and funding for hiring new teaching-stream faculty members across all schools. We’re excited to be able to present these ideas in writing to those who control the province’s funding supply. Additionally, after extensively lobbying MPPs on these three ideas, OUSA presented these recommendations to Ontario’s Standing Committee on Finance.

VP Education vped@msu.mcmaster.ca ext. 24017

In particular, I want to tell you more about the reallocation of tax credits into upfront grants. As many of you know, both tuition tax credits and upfront grants are forms of non-repayable government assistance.

However, there are some major differences between them in terms of how they actually limit student debt.

Tuition tax credits help low and middle-income students very little. When we separate families by income quartile, it becomes painfully obvious that the majority of tax credit dollars end up assisting the students who need it least. This fact is due to informational barriers on the existence of the credits, but more strikingly, students must earn an income while studying to claim a tax credit. This policy ends up placing 42 percent of tax credit money back into the hands of the richest 10 percent of students.

edYOUcation Week found a strong desire for more teaching-stream faculty members:

AVERAGE TAX CREDIT CLAIMED Highest Income Quartile

$2000

Middle-Low Income Quartile

$1300

Middle-High Income Quartile

$1600

Lowest Income Quartile

$520

Ontario must reallocate the $340M currently spent on tax credits into strengthening the upfront grant programs. Grants are proven to target students who need it most – for example, the 30%-off Ontario Tuition Grant could be expanded, both in terms of size and eligibility. Also, the Ontario Student Opportunity Grant caps student debt at $7300/year. This figure needs to the lowered immediately, to prevent students from continuing to graduate with crippling debt-loads.

Traditional faculty spend a large amount of time on adacemic research, whereas teaching-stream faculty focus more on the classroom experience and pedagogical advancement.

In addition to the work we have done with OUSA, the MSU submitted an Ontario pre-budget submission of our own. During our edYOUcation campaign last September, we gathered a wide variety of student concerns regarding the quality of education and the student experience. We took those voices and amplified them by adding arguments, facts and figures around the three most dominant themes. Students want more experiential education and work-integrated learning opportunities, incentives for profs to use innovative classroom practises and more faculty who care how students learn best. Check out our 2014 pre-budget submission at msumcmaster.ca to read more about how the MSU is working to improve access to highquality educational experiences.

With all this talk on budgets, I do want to add one final reminder. Should the 2014 budget not pass in the legislature in the coming months, a spring election will be called. The Liberal government is currently in a minority government situation, meaning Kathleen Wynne’s budget must draw the support of at least one other party. What would an election mean for students? It means we’ll see the parties put together platforms that address Ontario’s most important issues. The MSU and OUSA will use an election to continue to push for a more affordable, accountable accessible and high-quality post-secondary education system.

Faculties overwhemingly utilize the sage-on-stage model:

= % of courses presented in a lecture-based format

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.

www.msumcmaster.ca Spencer Graham VP (Education)

David Campbell President

Anna D’Angela VP (Administration)

Jeff Doucet VP (Finance)

fb.com/MSUMcMaster @MSU_McMaster

Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014

theSil.ca

A3

Continuing MSU Presidential coverage. Votes will be coming Thursday night, Jan. 30 . THESIL.CA

Editors Tyler Welch & Rachel Faber & Tomi Milos Email news@thesil.ca @theSilhouette Phone 905.525.9140 x27117

S

Momentum shifts after MUSC debate Tyler Welch News Editor The MSU presidential debate on Monday, Jan. 27 marked the final opportunity for candidates to publicly present their case to voters and attempt to shift the balance.

No new promises were made, but the tone of the debate was more critical than last week’s debate. While Jacob Brodka and Teddy Saull seemed to be frontrunners in the first debate on Thursday, Jan. 23, some candidates emerged at Monday’s debate as thoughtful and well-spoken contenders, particularly Jyssika Russell.

Russell impressive Of all candidates, Russell looked the most comfortable in front of viewers and, by far, sounded the least scripted.

When asked who they think deserves second place, every candidate, except herself, said that Russell would get their vote if they weren’t running.

Though Russell was personable, she had very little time to answer questions about her own platform and explain to voters why they ought to support it. Most of her time was spent questioning other candidates and handing them a chance to elaborate on their own platforms.

Russell stayed poised as all of the candidates went after the early leaders—Saull and Brodka. While candidates interrogated Saull and Brodka, Russell shone as likeable and fairly unopposed. She closed saying, “I’m asking for your vote if maybe you haven’t felt heard before, if maybe you’ve felt that

ANQI SHEN / ONLINE EDITOR

your lens doesn’t matter. I’m asking for your vote if you’ve ever felt like you needed more support.”

Ali and Wolwowicz improve Israa Ali and Jason Wolwowicz both had their work cut out for them after underwhelming performances in the first debate.

Ali clearly presented herself as the non-status-quo candidate.

She also drew on personal experience while talking to the audience and spoke about being overlooked and underestimated as a Muslim women who wears a hijab.

“It was brought to my attention that, because I wear the hijab, or this head scarf, I’m not as appealing to the student population as the rest of the candidates are, and I may not even win or have a chance,” said Ali. “I am a student just like you and I have struggles just like you.”

Her confidence showed improvement and she referenced her MSU experience more heavily than before.

Wolwowicz was a strong speaking presence in this debate and was able to remain concise.

Wolwowicz presented himself as researched and smart but still held on to his theme of leaving big decisions up to the student body.

“Engaging the student community more is key. Students have fantastic ideas. The MSU really only sees success because of student ideas…Services were implemented because they were student ideas at some point,” said Wolwowicz.

Brodka and Saull staying afloat Saull remained relatively likeable but did not improve much from the first debate and Brodka kept his remarks vague and wordy, trying to keep his reputation as the knowledgeable candidate.

Brodka and Saull politely battled each other for most of the debate, attempting to poke holes in the other’s platforms. Neither

of them was more impressive than the other and they both neglected to opportunity to criticize Russell or make any meaningful pleas to voters.

Brodka attacked Saull’s off-campus security plan, citing redundancies or possible lack of demand.

“I just have a lot of questions about a variety of sub-points… if there’s a demand for this,” said Brodka. “For example, ‘an increased police presence.’ I know the University already pays up to $200,000* on specialized policing surrounding the University, so I just have a lot of questions.”

Saull, again, was critical of Brodka’s freedom credit point, saying it hadn’t been researched properly.

“You had a consultation with a dean, who said it worked. If you call a dean and ask how his pilot project went, I think that that would be a biased sample,” said Saull.

It seemed as though they were each just trying to hold on.

Voting time Online voting opened Tuesday, Jan. 28 at 9 a.m. and will close on Thursday, Jan. 30 at 5 p.m. Students eligible to vote are registered in 18 units or more and should receive a code to vote at mcmaster.simplyvoting.com. @tylerwelch4

Mac downtown centre booted from location Tomi Milos Features Editor McMaster will be forced to relocate its Centre for Continuing Education from its 50 Main St. E. outpost after being told by the city that it must vacate the building by 2015.

The space is known for formerly housing the Wentworth County municipal courthouse and will be reclaimed by the city, which will cough up $32-million to renovate a building they had planned to sell for $5.6 million.

The expensive revamp and changing of the guard is necessary because of overcrowding in John Sopinka Courthouse, just down the street.

Lack of space in the courthouse has forced the City to find a new home for provincial offences offices and courtrooms by August 2017 when they have been asked by the province to pack their bags and leave.

After much debate, it was decided that the City would be best off reclaiming the building which McMaster has been leasing for approximately $180,000 per annum since 2000.

“We can stomp our feet about it all we like, but ultimately what I’m hearing is this is the cheap-

“

SILHOUETTE FILE PHOTO

est option,” said ponents to a Councillor Chad new location is a Collins (Ward 5) “We are certain that the complex move. at a general issues University and the city What we’re trying committee meetto do right now can make arrangements is work with the ing Wed. Jan. 22. to ensure that the Such a move city to gain an poses an “aggresunderstanding as move is handled in an sive timeline” and effective and efficient to their timelines will affect the 200 and try to put way” staff members together a process and 4000 students where we can Gord Arbeau, Director of who make use of move as quickly Public & Community Relations, CCE each year, as possible,” he said Gord Arbeau, McMaster University said.

Director of Public Arbeau was & Community quick to point out Relations at McMaster. that University services will not “Relocating all those combe disrupted as McMaster is close

to announcing a new location, pending final negotiations with the city. He could not specify the nature of the building, but was hopeful that the deal could be finalized in a timely fashion.

“As we finalize plans on this new downtown location, we are certain that the University and the city can make arrangements to ensure that the move is handled in an effective and efficient way,” he said.

With neither of the moves being particularly appealing to either party at this moment, Arbeau says that the university is disappointed they didn’t purchase the building when they had the chance.

“Thinking about the future of the building, our preference had been to purchase it. But that offer expired several months ago,” he said.

McMaster is also building an $84-million downtown health campus, which will play host to the City’s Public Health Services as well as the university’s departments of family medicine, and continuing health sciences education. @tomimilos

Mac unit aims to partner with businesses Amanda Watkins LifeStyle Editor Students can expect to receive a new set of perks as Grand & Toy and Porter Airlines are set to join the ranks of McMaster’s pre-existing community partners.

Launched as a pilot project in March 2013, the McMaster Partnership Development Unit has spent the last 10 months working to develop multiple collaborations between outside organizations and the McMaster community.

Led by Jeff Giles, director of the Athletics and Recreation department of McMaster Student Affairs, the program was developed as a method of creating more accessible benefits for the campus with organizations that already contribute minor supplies and services to the school.

Although the PDU was originally set to run for a year (ending this upcoming March), with recent successes in partnership development, the project will be running through the summer term until an indefinite date.

“Building relationships and partnerships is not a fast thing... the challenge is to show the partners that it’s good for them and good for us,” said Giles.

As of right now, the unit has developed full partnerships with Bell Mobility, Crowne Plaza, and Active Green and Ross, among others. The PDU also developed the “Maroon App”, which allows students to gain points when attending athletic games that can be used to make purchases with select retailers on campus.

The most recent full partnership, with Bell Mobility, was finalized in November 2013.

“The partnership [with Bell] was originally designed to save our staff and our university money, and then we also threw in the student plan,” added Giles.

“Some people have cell phones that are paid for or partially paid for by the university for business reasons, this particular program gives an extraordinary great deal on cell plans and data plans.”

Although the PDU was initially more rooted in faculty and campus perks, their extended time as a project seems to be making headway for students looking to benefit from campus partnerships. The current Bell-Mac collaboration also gives students a 10 percent discount off of plans on the website.

“I really believe that our university has a very strong brand… and that’s worth something to these companies,” said Giles.

With the upcoming connections to Grand and Toy and Porter Airlines, students can expect to potentially receive preferred purchasing and flying rates, along with the possibility of free tickets for students or staff travelling on behalf of the school. @whatthekins

CANADIAN CAMPUS NEWS Patrick Kim The Silhouette Dal partnership to develop Ocean Studies Centre in Israel

BVC renames business school after $3-million donation

uSask partners with Oxford to offer study abroad program

UoGuelph announces two major renovations

Mount Allison faculty strike suspends all classes

Dalhousie University and Ben-Gurion University in Israel have reached an agreement that will allow the two institutions to combine their oceans expertise and scholarly output. Multiple opportunities for collaboration will be made possible through the agreement, including pure and applied joint research projects, industry research internships in both countries, joint field courses and co-taught courses, as well as major scientific conferences and workshops. The ultimate goal of the agreement is to create an Ocean Studies Centre in Eilat, Israel that will encompass scientific and academic programs from both countries.

Bow Valley College has renamed its business school after Wayne Chiu, a local Calgary philanthropist and founder of Trico Homes, following a $3-million donation.

Now named the Chiu School of Business, the gift is the single largest donation to be received

by BVC. Chiu, a member of the BVC Board of Governors for the past six years, stated his hope that his donation will bring more social entrepreneurship and social innovation to BVC’s business programs, while encouraging lifelong learning.

The University of Saskatchewan has signed a unique partnership agreement with Oxford University’s St Anne’s College that will allow for select students to study at St Anne’s for a full year.

Starting in September 2014, the agreement is the first occasion of a Canadian institution partnering with Oxford. According to a uSask news release, uSask was chosen for its extensive offering of Aboriginal programming and services, “a unique feature of interest to Oxford”. In the future, the expectation is that students from St Anne’s will also have the opportunity to study at uSask for a year.

The University of Guelph has announced that two separate campus buildings will be undergoing large-scale renovations in the near future. The Mitchell Athletics Centre will receive a $45.4-million renovation and expansion that will transform it into a state-of-the-art fitness and recreation complex. MacDonald Hall, the oldest on-campus residence, will also be converted into a new home for the College of Management and Economics.

Scheduled to begin this spring, renovations to the campus residence are expected to cost an estimated $10-million.

The staff and faculty at Mount Allison University have decided to go on strike after failing to reach an agreement with the university administration. Due to the strike, all classes have been suspended until further notice.

The Mount Allison Faculty Association (MAFA), which represents over 200 full-time and part-time academic staff, has stated that the key issues in the dispute are the workload and the need to provide greater support to the core academic mission of the university.

All other services, including the athletic centre and library, will remain in operation during the strike.

Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014

theSil.ca

A4 Executive Editor Jemma Wolfe Email thesil@thesil.ca @theSilhouette Phone 905.525.9140 x22052

S

CAMPUS PLANNING

Finding spaces for places Space issues will be a major priority - and challenge - for 2014

to ottawa. to student rec night being on a tuesday this year. to “timber.”

Jemma Wolfe Executive Editor At Sunday’s SRA meeting, the Women and Gender Equity Centre Committee presented their recent report and discussed the proposal to launch a pilot of the service. The hitch - and the topic of much questioning at the meeting - is that a space still has not been found for the WGEC. How can a service that is entirely based on providing a safe space for women and trans folks on campus be launched, even in pilot form, without a space to operate in?

Unfortunately, on a campus bursting at the seams, the WGEC is not going to find a space easily. Theirs is the story of many campus groups and services that are searching for increas-

ingly elusive spaces on campus to lay down their roots.

When the University looked beyond campus borders to find more space in the form of purchasing 88 Forsyth, community backlash was immediate and intense. With Westdale residents vowing to fight the rezoning of the property, the University may have to shift its prospects from the residential neighbourhood to internal opportunities for redevelopment or to already commercially zoned properties south of Main St. West.

Tired conversations about the need for more campus study space, more beds for first-year students in at-capacity residences, and the severe displacement of the daycare, Muslim Students Association, MACycle and more following the demolition of

Wentworth House also need to be restarted in discussions surrounding these issues.

It’s not a coincidence that many of the MSU presidential hopefuls’ platforms somehow related to issues of space. Israa Ali based her entire campaign on the slogan “creating spaces,” in both figurative and literal senses.

Whoever the next MSU president may be, their biggest priority and toughest challenge will be finding space on campus for the needs of a growing student body on a finite campus. @jemma_wolfe

In reply to various articles published January 23, 2014 online far, because we were the ones who let them take it too far. As student organizations and as a student community we have a responsibility to ensure our campus is inclusive and welcoming to all. Faculty societies of all stripes are the lifeblood of this campus.

In the coming months, I look forward to ensuring that programming by students, for students, continues to be a priority at McMaster.

•

David Campbell, President of the McMaster Students Union

Come again?

They may have been published in previous weeks, but these online pieces deserve a second look

Most popular

Most discussed

Most underrated

NEWS: “Alleged Redsuit songbook extremely violent FULL COPY” by Jemma Wolfe.

First published on Thursday, Jan. 23.

NEWS: “Redsuits Engineering group suspended from Welcome Week, all campus activities” by Jemma Wolfe. First published on Thursday, Jan. 23.

ANDY: “Best movies and albums of 2013, part 2.” First published Wednesday, Jan. 22.

About Us MUSC, Room B110 McMaster University 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4S4 E–Mail: thesil@thesil.ca Facebook.com/ TheMcMasterSilhouette Twitter.com/theSilhouette Production Office (905) 525-9140, extension 27117 Advertising (905) 525-9140, extension 27557 10,000 circulation Published by the McMaster Students Union

Write To Us Letters to the Editor should be 100-300 words and be submitted via email by Tuesday at 12:00 p.m. to be included in that week’s publication.

Legal

The Silhouette welcomes letters to the editor in person at MUSC B110, or by email at thesil@thesil.ca. Please include name, address and telephone number for verification only. We reserve the right to edit, condense or reject letters and opinion articles. Opinions and editorials expressed in The Silhouette are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the editorial board, the publishers, the McMaster Students Union or the University. The Silhouette is an editorially autonomous newspaper published by the McMaster Students Union. The Silhouette Board of Publications acts as an intermediary between the editorial board, the McMaster community and the McMaster Students Union. Grievances regarding The Silhouette may be forwarded in writing to: McMaster Students Union, McMaster University Student Centre, Room 201, L8S 4S4, Attn: The Silhouette Board of Publications. The Board will consider all submissions and make recommendations accordingly.

to satsc. already proud. to security poles. (soon.)

to closing on the house. to not having enough cash to buy that castle in new brunswick. to forgetting to buy more toner. to cords catching fire at basketball shoots.

to my oscars list.

to justin bieber’s mean mug.

to the olympics.

to sochi.

to zines.

to thinspo.

to the buddy burger. yum.

to no more ground beef.

McMaster University’s Student Newspaper

We’re all responsible for a campus culture that made the Redsuit songbook ‘ok’ all of us.

Somehow, in a secluded corner of our campus, there were some people who thought that writing this book was okay, and that is a responsibility we all have to assume. We may not have known specifically about this booklet. But we were all bystanders to a culture that created a space for this to happen, a culture where a few misguided students thought this booklet would make them cool enough for a rep suit.

So let’s not shirk our responsibility. Let’s not point fingers at others saying they were just silly and took it too

to our cirque du soleil backstage tour. that was cool.

to my chapped lips.

The Silhouette

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

In the wake of the University’s decision regarding the McMaster Engineering Society and the redsuits, it’s tempting to reduce this issue to the actions of a misguided few. It’s tempting for the rest of us to think if we’ve never seen the book, or never heard the cheers, that the whole incident has nothing to do with us.

I think it’s time to look at the issue in a different way. I’m willing to bet the authors of that book are nice people; that they were proud McMaster students who would be a pleasure to meet in the halls. But ultimately, this isn’t just about them. This is about

to remembering to go to u.m.

to being banned from eating my a&w on the hsr. what the heck.

Remember to check out our website throughout the week for fresh content daily! We’re no longer Thursday exclusive – we’re your constant source of everything McMaster, every day.

thesil.ca Section Meeting Times News Thursdays @ 3:30 p.m.

Opinions Tuesdays @ 1:30 p.m.

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 @ 12:30 p.m.

Olivia Dorio | Distribution Coordinator thesil@thesil.ca

LifeStyle Thursdays @ 2:30 p.m.

Sandro Giordano | Ad Manager sgiordan@msu.mcmaster.ca

ANDY Wednesdays @ 11:30 a.m.

Video & Multimedia Mondays @ 1:30 p.m.

Photo Fridays @ 1:30 p.m.

Staff Reporters Tobi Abdul Sarah O’Connor Ana Qarri Sophia Topper thesil@thesil.ca

A5

Rachel Faber Assistant News Editor

David Campbell sheds light on role of MSU President

What do you think the priority of the MSU president should be in the coming year?

“Advertising ways of getting involved in the MSU as much as possible, doing more to communicate what we do, trying to save student fees, holding the university really accountable for what they’re doing, or some balance of all those things.”

What do you think the qualities of an MSU president should be?

“Empathy, being able to empathize with lots of different viewpoints and reconcile them, because ultimately you are expected to put together a coherent voice for all the students, but all the students don’t agree. You also have to have the candor to take a stance on something and stand by your values. I think in general a self confidence tempered by a humility [are important].”

What has been the greatest challenge of the job?

“One of the biggest challenges that someone has to face is having a lot of different balls up in the air. You’re managing multimillion-dollar businesses while also being in a role of political leadership, and trying to help foster community on campus. All these different facets are the best part of the job but definitely the most challenging.”

CHECK OUT WWW.MSUMcMASTER.CA/TWELVEIGHTY FOR MORE!

NEWS

CHEAPDRINKS, AMAZINGFOOD, PRICELESSMEMORIES.

Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014

THURS BAR NIGHTS! HOTTEST DJ’S! LOWESTDRINKPRICESINHAMILTON! STUDENTPRICES!

theSil.ca

theSil.ca

Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014

NEWS

A6

FEATURE

Room for more female scientists

Vera Chouinard Vera Chouinard is a professor at the school of Geography and Earth Sciences. whose work applies both science and social science. Her research focuses on processes of marginalization, and specifically on state policy, poverty, violence and inclusivity for people with disability. She has also completed extensive

C ie ar hou Sc e ch h ina s rt Int r Ea Con & ere d – De l ia phy par tme sts nt of Geogra & Soc : Ur ba n s Policy, Policy Struggle

women in science.

Identifying the systemic hindrances faced by female faculty members is the first step in bridging the disparity between men and women in science according

La y ur aP om n a ro Re rker – Ast y & sea g s Depar tment of Physic molo rch s Inter est: Observational Co

research on the experiences in time and space of people with bipolar disorder, female professors with disability in a Canadian context, issues from the perspective of people with disability in Guyana and the challenges of diversity in the Occupy Movement.

Chouinard is grateful to draw inspiration from a passionate network including other professors, graduate students and undergraduates, but she has also experienced several forms of discrimination, due to both her gender and her ability. This discrimination has emerged in forms of professional harassment and also the devaluation of her contributions to academia. These hindrances are a continuing issue, as Chouinard describes how the current protracted shutdown of the elevator, makes access to her office difficult.

In fact, census data shows that intersecting identities, such as race, ability, sexuality and class can increase the barriers for women to become tenured academics. Moreover, the wage gap is even more pronounced for women of colour, which has led universities like McGill, Waterloo and Western to complete pay equity studies and take proactive measures to address these problems.

because of the amount of men occupying senior positions.

Parker thinks that hiring more women to these senior positions is one of the best ways to encourage more undergraduate female students to pursue a career in STEM fields as seeing their peers taking

ra Ve se Re

In terms of gender equality, McMaster is lagging behind the times. Women make up less than a third of McMaster’s tenured faculty, putting the university below the national average. As an institution renowned for its scientific exploits, McMaster employment practices are not as cutting-edge with only 27 percent of engineering faculty and 25 percent of science faculty being female.

We met with four women in science, technology, engineering and math to discuss their research and experiences as women leaders in STEM. These four professors represent only a fraction of McMaster’s female professors but are leaders in a their male-dominated fields. In addition to their academic contributions, these professors serve as inspiring examples for young women contemplating future careers as scientists or engineers. While their experiences as women at McMaster differ, they unanimously agree that female undergraduates in STEM who are passionate about it should consider pursuing graduate studies.

Being the sole female in the department of geography, Chouinard feels that these effects have been augmented at times.

Chouinard urges the upcoming generation of female scientists to embrace collectivity and recognition of the accomplishments of diverse

n qu ces en ce s

Christina Vietinghoff, Mary Kate MacDonald The Silhouette

on significant roles can be inspiring. Parker’s advice to undergraduates is to find a mentor.

“If you’re a female undergraduate interested in STEM, talk to female faculty members and graduates.”

She has found McMaster to be a very supportive environment, but says that governments need to be equally involved.

“It’s great that McMaster has [gender equity] on the radar, but I would like to also see this at the provincial and federal level.”

When asked how she finds working at McMaster, Parker says having a supportive department has meant she’s never felt disadvantaged in any way.

Yet, Parker still sees a need for more initiatives to recruit women. “We should have prestigious awards and chairs for women in STEM, having those really high flyer senior positions being filled by women in STEM would create those fantastic role models.”

tralia where she completed her Masters and PhD with a thesis on steelmaking. Dogan is an expert in pyrometallurgy, which involves working with steel at extremely high temperatures. McMaster is lucky to have recruited her to Hamilton, as the department was seeking someone with this specific area of expertise since 2008.

Dogan is the first female faculty member in Materials Science. In her first year at the university, the faculty grew to include two other women. Dogan has found it to be a supportive environment and says that it doesn’t matter if you are a woman, provided you are enthusiastic and driven.

“If you are passionate, doors will open for you”.

Dogan is passionate about her research because of its dynamic nature. Her research has interesting environmental implications for creating more sustainable and less wasteful methods of steel production. Moreover, because of McMaster’s unique industry relationship, Dogan gets to

y istr m e Gow f Ch Res ard – Depar tment o ics earch m Interest: Ion Dyna

work directly with industry members to determine what research is most practical.

She said she has never felt being a woman was a disadvantage even when interacting within the industry, adding that young male researchers face similar scrutiny from those who have been in the field for a long time. Although people are sometimes surprised she is a women expert in steelmaking, she says

Laura Parker

Ne s

lih a

nD

ng eri e in Eng

oga & Res n – Materials Science gy r earc h Interest: Pyrometallu

Neslihan Dogan Neslihan Dogan grew up in Turkey and completed her Bachelors in Chemical Engineering at the Yıldız Technical University in İstanbul. She then moved to Aus-

Gillian Goward hails from the McMaster Chemistry Department and researches ion dynamics.

Using a technique much like that used in MRI, Goward and her research team study the movement of lithium ions and protons in order to enhance electrochemical performance in batteries and fuel cells.

Her research is based on the inorganic, physical and polymer chemistry that undergraduate science students learn in their early careers as chemists or chemical engineers. Goward notes that there are equal numbers of bright and dedicated undergraduate and graduate women in chemistry as there are men.

Gender has not posed a significant barrier in Goward’s experience. While occasionally being the token women on committees, she says it is becoming a less frequent occurrence as more women enter chemistry and the physical sciences. Before deciding whether to pursue a faculty position, she recommends students determine that they are truly passionate about what they

Gil lian

to Chouinard, who notes that the contributions of women to research and pedagogy get insufficient recognition.

While many children are told to reach for the stars, Laura Parker of the Department of Physics and Astronomy is living this dream as an adult. Parker studies the evolution of galaxies as an observational astrophysicist. Her research focuses on the distribution of dark matter in galaxies, and also maps out the distortion caused by distant galaxies.

“I consider myself really lucky… [I] get to address some of the most interesting questions that everyone asks themselves.”

Parker came to McMaster through a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council government program called the University Faculty Awards which aimed to set women and indigenous people for tenure track or tenured positions within science and engineering. The program has since been cancelled, but Parker firmly believes these types of measures are necessary to help overcome the unintended bias hiring committees may have

Gillian Goward

that when they see her curiosity and drive, they quickly overcome their surprise.

Given how much Dogan has accomplished at such a young age, it will be exciting to watch what she gets up to next as the new US Endowed Steel Chair in Sustainable Steel Production at McMaster.

study, learn as much as they can, and see where it takes them.

Although over half of undergraduate scientists are now women, Goward speculates there are two possible reasons why there are still fewer women in chemistry and physical science at higher levels. One is the archaic notion that the nature of women causes them to seek a work-life balance that faculty positions complicate. However, Goward has two children and a husband and explains that it’s possible to make it work. Evidence suggests that because women are more likely to have mid career interruptions (maternity leave), this contributes to the persistent wage gap.

Although according to the Canadian Association of University Teachers data, the gender wage gap amongst academics is actually not as bad as the national average but at the higher levels of academia, the gap between men and women’s salaries increases.

Goward believes another reasons why there are fewer women is because the Ontario curriculum makes it acceptable for young people to become disinterested in math. With physics no longer mandatory, and an accepted distaste for math and physics, undergraduates are unequipped for further studies in the physical science, often seeking refuge in life sciences instead.

Goward encourages men to join the discussion on women in science, seeing that they are equally part of the solution., Goward suggests finding role models, regardless of gender, who have a balance of career and personal life that you wish to emulate; to find fulfillment in every aspect of your life.

Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014

theSil.ca

A7 The ban on Redsuits has resulted in a sea of support and criticism Check it out on A9

Editor Kacper Niburski Email opinions@thesil.ca @theSilhouette Phone 905.525.9140 x27117

S

Editorial Cartoon

Welcome Week’s weakness

Defending the indefensible

KarenWang/GraphicsEditor

Kacper Niburski Opinions Editor I may be the dumbest person on the planet.

Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) I’ll never know for that very reason. All I do know is that what follows below is a bumbling attempt to muster a defence of the indefensible by understanding the Redsuit songbook – why it was made and how it fits into the larger picture.

Maybe I’m drawn to the total destruction and almost disbelief of the situation. Maybe I am just a masochist with a penchant to take on a harder stance than I can handle. Or perhaps because I like to imagine the students who produced the text were very much like myself with silly dreams, who participated in McMaster culture daily, who were educated in some of the same classes I was, and maybe I’m afraid that with these shared experiences, I might one day make the same mistakes they did.

Maybe I’m afraid because I might be those same mistakes all the same.

Whatever the reason, let it be known that what happened is not a sudden resurfacing of antiquated chants long forgotten. There was no ancient map that led to a dusty shelf, no bygone translation of some eroding book found in Thode. Instead, the songs were the culmination of unchecked excess years in the making.

This fact seems to be forgotten in between the almost reactionary and certainly warranted repugnance. Though the lyrics seem to alienate, and isolate, I don’t think that was their intent. Like gladiators bellowing in the ring, they purposefully feed off the extreme, the disgusting, and the savage. The hooting and hollering is meant to strike fear and shock because in sharing in the horror and revulsion of the text, the people singing those same songs have transcended the abhorrence together.

While this seems strange to admit, it must be remembered that the Redsuits work to facilitate the goal of Welcome Week: developing a collective experience between students. These chants, though not all those copied down in the alleged songbook were known to all members, are the extreme perversion of aspirations. They are insulting with a purpose.

For that reason, no apology offered. The ultimate goal is not comfort but to move beyond comfort in some contorted collective camaraderie.

This does not condone the hymns in any way, but it may point to a larger problem of Welcome Week: we are to come together at whatever the cost. More often or not, the cost is decided by those in charge, not by those participating. They do not define what is good or right; it is the others - the apparently wise, mature students - who do, and we, fickle louts at the bottom, are meant to follow their lead.

This divide between one’s perception of what is tolerable and what is not is where the harm results. Part of such a divide is the consequence of Welcome Week being situated in the broader sphere of society. With its over-sexualized tones, its blatant misogyny, its tendencies to idolize the foolish and inane, Welcome Week usually reflects the worst of our gluttony. Pop monstrosities such as Pitbull’s “As Se Eu Tu Pego” or LMFAO’s “Party Rock” croon about sex this and sex on every corner. People yell as a way to instill a forced, artificial excitement. Parties are rampant.

Alcohol flows easily. And with these brutish methods where the younger of us are told that Welcome Week planners know better and isn’t socializing good for you and come on, have a little fun, the cost is collection of blubbering, messy, and insensitive cheers, if they can be called that.

Such a discrepancy between individuals is not good or bad necessarily. Part of me feels as though a one’s comfort zone should be challenged if only to grow in some ways. Of course this is coming from a person who welcomed the Welcome. Yet I can see the discomfort and creeping complications of enjoyment for the sake of it as it is defined by someone else. This gap is further muddled by coexisting under a larger social bubble: McMaster’s Welcome Week is sucked into the vacuum of unmitigated and insensitive cultural mores. Ultimately this is the cause of Welcome Week’s unease, not the result of it, and the consequence is a continually growing, unfiltered chaos. Point and proof: the songbook.

Is there a solution? I don’t know; it’s hard to imagine a social event without being social and without the problems that accompany such an identity. How to draw the line between acceptability becomes blurred too: one person’s minimum is another person’s excess.

Still, acquiescing to the complications is too easy. While we all can voice our disgust and incredulity, this is not enough. Neither is aruging that it is one faculty’s responsibility. It isn’t. If anything, such isolationism is what led to the problem in the first place, and is contrary to Welcome Week’s goal: we are all connected to this place if only for a little while.

If we do not think this way, and if we alienate ourselves to our own trite faculty concerns, nothing will be different in a few years and the Engineering fubar will be the first of many. Instead all of us need to be conscious of the environment around us. We need to be aware of not only our limits, but those of others. And we need to start today.

Unfortunately (or fortunately) I began the article admitting my stupidity, which might be reaffirmed by the article itself. But I like to believe, perhaps in the naivety of not knowing and ignorance and damn fool heartedness, that this ambition is possible. We can be better, this fiasco can sober us up in every sense of the word, and we can work on strengthening a week, a faculty, an entire University that is weakened by its unrestrained mirror to society and its failings.

Why I published the songbook More than one’s personal convictions or moral compass, the issue concerns the whole of McMaster Udoka Okafor The Silhouette We all reach a point in our lives where we are faced with ideological decisions that test our conception of what we strongly believe to be right or wrong. These ideological decisions, though they wander and plummet in the realm of the conceptual, can have very pragmatic consequences. I was faced with such a decision in September, and dare I say, that my view of the ideological and the pragmatic has never been so uniformly synced.

Back in September, I received the engineering chant book from a source that I will not be relaying to the public. My source had come about this chant book, had read it thoroughly and was in complete awe with the content of the book. I was told that there might be a possibility that the chant book itself or some of the chants contained in the chant book were obsolete even though it was compiled as recently as 2010.

My source further warned me of the ghastliness of the content of the chant book. But, no fair warning could have prepared me for what lay within the pages of the chant book. What I thought of as horrid in that moment was in relation to something wholly less vile.

These chants were abhorrence and insecurity personified

and they represented discrimination at its core. The chant book went on to trivialize serious issues such as child abuse, sexual violence, and misogyny - issues that we can all agree deserve our utmost attention, no matter your internal conception of morality.

All of these issues were trivialized under the pretext that they were ‘jokes’. But, no matter how I read the chant book, the fact they were written in ‘jest’ could not somehow alleviate its depravity.

I decided to publish the chant book because I recognized that its content represented bigger issues that we need to address as a community. The issue lay partially in whether the chant book was still in use or not, and this is a question whose answers remain coloured. Although many have categorically denied ever using the chant book, I have received a few messages on my blog that make me think otherwise. A few people have said that on some occasion they have vocalized some of the chants and saw nothing wrong with them. But I will not assume to make what may turn out to be unfair presumptions at this point.

The bigger issue that I recognized was how a community of persons could actually presume to compile such revulsion in jest. What lay at the core of the case was the empathy gaps that seem to exist within persons

of unshared realities and how this gap makes some people feel unsafe. But, when we learn to, as a community, lessen these empathy gaps, until they are virtually irreducible, then we can make our society a better and safe place for everyone.

When we address serious issues such as this in jest, we ought not to simply take our perverse tickle for humour into account, but we ought to consider what people, whose realities are being represented within these ‘jokes’, will think. What you feel is irrelevant insofar as you do not take into account the victims/survivors of those experiences.

I absolutely recognize that the Redsuits as a society have done a lot of good things and nothing anyone says can discount that good. But morality is not a sliding scale. The good things that you have done don’t somehow work against and balance out the harm you have caused, whether intentional or otherwise. Your good and bad interact with each other in ways that can help people understand the type of community you want to be. But, to the extent that they are being judged, your good and bad ought to stand independently.

LYRICISM, A11

FEEDBACK Compiled by Kacper Niburski & Eliza Pope

Was McMaster correct in banning the Redsuits?

“No. They should have spoken with the MES to show inclusivity instead of excluding the largest faculty.”

“Because the material was offensive, they had to address it. But the way it was addressed was marginalizing.”

Prem Kumar, Masters Engineering

Diana Gresku, Arts and Science IV

“Personally I feel they shouldn’t have because the songs were already well known.”

Justin Chang, Commerce II

“No because it prevents incoming first years from having the same experiences others had.”

Mai Wageh, Kinesiology I

“It should have been dealt with privately; the negative media spoils the Redsuits, MES, and Mac in general.”

Muhammad Irfan Jiwa, Chem Bio III

theSil.ca

Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014

OPINIONS

A8

Marriage is not a commercial break The Grammys was not a celebration of various forms of marriage; it was a parade

Kacper Niburski Opinions Editor If pop culture has taught me anything, it’s that nothing screams wedding bells like Madonna dressed up as a kitsch cowboy and singing “Open Your Heart” with a voice that sounds like absolute death.

Two nights ago at the Grammys this nuptial call squawked loudly. After a performance of “Same Love” by Macklemore and Mary Lambert, Queen Latifah officiated the marriage of some 33 same sex and mixed sex couples.

With minimal lighting and the soft humming of a church choir accompanying her, she used the power vested in her “by the State of California… to celebrate love and harmony in every key and colour.”

I’m sure it was supposed to be a display of how marriage is supposed to work. I’m sure that it was supposed to be a call to incite change on conservative

values. And I’m sure that the whole thing was supposed to be so damn beautiful.

But I felt an unsettling feeling gnaw at me as the camera panned from a same sex couple embracing to Macklemore signing to Taylor Swift nodding along to the same sex couple again. The whole shebang felt momentary and fleeting. What I saw was not a celebration; it was entertainment feeding off our animalistic sense of wanting to belong.

Let it be known that nothing takes away from the cherished moment of those couples. Nor can anyone reduce the magnificence of the marriages themselves.

But what occurred was no less a pageantry. The performance was not beautiful for this was not its purpose and meaning. It was a stage, an act, a show. There was a curtain. There was a close. And people clapped during it all.

Everything was too superficial, too overdone. Whether it was the plastic-faced Madonna

belting out some rickety tunes or Queen Latifah's over bearing excitement, throughout the entire closing act I did not see a sense of commemoration for the couples.

They became ancillary to the show almost as though they were just basic props for a set – people who just stood around, waited for a queue, got married, and moved as instructed. I’m sure some even were told that crying looked good for the camera.

What the Grammys showed wasn’t so much a statement on politics as it was a product placement. Marriage became commoditized. It was bought and sold with advertisement time, celebrity status, and common gimmicks: a flash of one star crying, another, then the lights fade, the show is over, and we’re left there on our couches waiting for the next show to start. A commercial break hums a familiar tune in between.

theSil.ca

Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014

OPINIONS

A9

The red sea slams back

SILHOUETTE FILE PHOTO

Censoring satire McMaster’s response is misses the point inappropriate Shane Madill The Silhouette With their hands tied, McMaster University was forced to swiftly punish the Redsuit group for their “intolerance” and “sexist mindset.” The only tragedy of the entire event is the censorship brought on by the fear of retaliation by those who do not understand satire.

The book is crude, rude, and random in its endeavours, but what it contains is an unfiltered perspective on modern dark humour. It contains an embracement of gender roles instilled from generations prior, a willingness to break these definitions with concepts of sexuality, and shock value to smash through any other confining views in all imaginable forms. Though praise is given to Trey Parker and Matt Stone in the form of Emmys for their work on South Park and accolades given to music artists for twisted views of the world, punishment is given to similar hyperbole created by amateurs.

It is up to each individual student whether or not to embrace these open views. These Redsuits are merely one, optional part of the McMaster Engineering Society as a whole. The perception that this type of musical parody must be embraced by all is incorrect. In a Redsuit group containing several members of the larger LGBTQ community of Hamilton, the point of the songbook being about ridiculing conventionally taboo subjects rather than serious consideration is only emphasized further. Creativity can come in all shapes and forms, and this book is a brilliant and disturbing satire and portrayal of the human psyche. In any other situation not so politically correct, this would be considered art by most.

The only mistakes they made were the inability to communicate this with absolutely everyone.

Though this was a differing perspective inside of a larger community, the willingness to accept and embrace these differences between people is a central part of mankind’s resilience, for-

titude, and sense of community.

This is an opportunity to change the mindset of the faculty and students as a whole by allowing open communication. Some were unable to make light of the larger situations that deeply affect some people’s lives, and that’s perfectly fine. Given this knowledge, we as a school will continue to grow closer to one another and embrace their perspective. The appalling nature of the vice-president’s comments stating, “The Redsuit songbook that we have learned about is highly disturbing and is the exact opposite to ev-

“

“Creativity can come in all shapes and forms, and this book is a brilliant and disturbing satire and portrayal of the human psyche.”

erything for which the University stands,” could not be any further from the desired truth and future of this University. I do not wish to feel threatened talking to another faculty’s office members about an issue; I want to promote openness and other outlooks. This university should stand for embracing both the negatives and positives of what make each of us individuals, though in a more controlled manner than this.

This event is being portrayed as a low point in our school’s history when it should be portrayed as having potential. The Redsuits know perfectly well what it feels like to be different and to have a different perspective. I trust all of them to make the right decisions towards a better future.

Alexandra Sproule The Silhouette People tend to grow into the roles that are given to them. Stanley Milgram gave a famous proof of this in his Stanford Prison Experiment. He placed average, mentally healthy students into randomized roles of prisoners and guards and watched them grow into them with alarming and dangerous accuracy, speed and ‘success’ (the experiment was ended early because a ‘prisoner’ had a mental break down).

I bring this up to help explain my deep distress over the University’sresponse to a recently-discovered, shockingly vulgar, Redsuit songbook. On the positive side, the University’s speedy denouncement of this book, as well as their call for an independent investigation, is completely appropriate. It is offensive – even a bit frightening – that the disturbing images in the songbook appear to have been written and repeated

by McMaster students. However, I find it hard to justify the University’s choices to: (1) Fail to consult the associated groups, the McMaster Engineering Society (MES) and Redsuits (2) Disempower and publicly condemn the student leadership in the MES and Redsuits, and (3) Punish and disempower the entire faculty by banning all events involving alcohol (it affects grad celebrations, EngMusical, and clubs and teams trying to attend/compete in events).

The thing is that the engineering songbook in question was not in popular use. Few seem to have even known of its existence.

I find it hard to believe that many engineers would support the violent songs like “S&M Man” (which are receiving so much of the backlash) or wish it to be perceived as part of their culture.

Unfortunately, the University has not given students that option.

The media, faculty comments, and the structure of punishments all send a clear message to all members or observers of Mac

Eng: McMaster engineering is home to an extreme culture of sexism and violence, and it can only be controlled through drastic action. This is an unfair attack that puts anyone wishing to defend engineering culture against those condemning the songbook – an unnecessary division in a student culture that would already denounce the unusual vulgarity of many of the songs in question.

In addition to creating an unnecessary divide between the Faculty and some of its students, the University’s reaction is also deeply disempowering to its students. It dishonours the work of many hard-working, non-sexist, non-violent students who are trying to pursue their passions, nurture their ideas and contribute to their community. This is not an example of working with your students to build a better campus (and a better world). It is an example of unfeeling bureaucratic behaviour that I would hope the University is teaching its students to question, not obey.

It also upsets me that there is evidently a poor trust-relationship between the faculty and its student leaders in the MES and Redsuits. This is something I hope both sides will work to address in the future. The lack of consultation with engineering student leadership seems to imply assumed guilt. This is damaging to a young person’s sense of self-esteem, justice and leadership.

If there had been sufficient trust, I believe the faculty could have seized this upsetting incident as an opportunity to promote leadership, ethical behaviour, and partnership by bringing student leadership into their decision making process from the beginning. This could have kick-started a process in which faculty and students work together to determine what changes McMaster eng culture needs, and how they will be executed. I want to go to a school that is training its students to engage in this kind of process, rather than responding to uncomfortable situations with wild attempts at control through disci-

pline and fear.

Thankfully, there is still time for the University to switch strategies, and I hope they do. I am not sure why this authoritarian track was taken. Perhaps because the lyrics in this songbook do evoke an extremely large emotional reaction – this may not have been a rational decision. Perhaps it comes down to very low Faculty trust in student engineering leadership. Perhaps, the University has taken this as an opportunity to roll out an unrelated agenda. In any case, I would be hard-pressed to be convinced that the means justify the ends. When you act like an unfeeling bureaucracy, you may find yourself growing into the role. And when you treat students like poorly-cultured, untrustworthy children, you may discover you have created exactly that.

“

“In addition to creating an unnecessary divide between the faculty and some of its students, the University’s reaction is also deeply disempowering to its students”

theSil.ca

Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014

OPINIONS

A10

DAILY DOSE

Leading the leaders KAREN WANG / GRAPHICS EDITOR

Kacper Niburski Opinions Editor

ELIzA POPE / PHOTO EDITOR

It is the electorate, not those elected, that have the power to change the MSU Kacper Niburski Opinions Editor When I applied to McMaster, I was told to dress myself up as a leader. “It was what the admissions committees would want in an application,” a guidance counselor stressed to me with a breath held captive by coffee beans and cigarettes.

I was confused at first – I mean, I was a twin who spent much of his life following the footsteps of his brother. Everything I did, I did together. We ranted, discussed, cried, and laughed in tandem.

One day, I started the chuckles; another day he did.

Yet that day as the door closed and another student shuffled in and the raspy, smoke riddled voice croaked again, I heard the same advice repeated. “Be a leader.”

So like everyone else, I followed the leader ideal. Alongside a flurry of overinflated academic successes, ego-boosting extracirculars, and a padded resume where I became anything and everything with the click-clack of a keyboard, I was Kacper Niburski the Revolutionary, the Great, and somehow, the Humble.

To those reading my application, I’m sure that they thought that I was divinity in the flesh. I bet one person nudged another and said, “St. Peter just complained that God was acting like Kacper again.”

Over four years, though, that falsified, motivated teenager charade crumbled under the weight of self-discovery and inevitability of adulthood. No longer did I want to lead if I wasn’t right to lead.

Nor did I felt compelled to at every corner. Without the stress

of responsibility, I could sit at the back, doodle away, and allow my thoughts to travel in places I’d never expect them to.

What I became in this wake was something more important: a follower. Though undersold by universities and employment places, they make the foundation upon which a leader stands. Without them, and without the constant support, enthusiasm, and dialogue they offer, there is no leader for there is no one to lead.

In light of the MSU elections, we must remember our power. For though we are sometimes reduced to a talking board for candidates’ wild pitches, know that we are the reason for the election, not the result of it; we are the ones in control, not the other way around; and we are the change we want to be, not the change forced upon us.

It’s funny.

Despite all I have written, I'm just a collection of sentences.

Some would say you do not know me; you instead know what I have presented to you.

But I don't think this is exactly correct because my personage bleeds through this electronic ink.

I buzz in the words, hum along with the sentences. My experiences ooze through the text, and here in a simple clause you can find the funniest joke I've heard mixed with the worst, the first meal I ever made by myself, and a night in Amsterdam best forgot. There I am in the comma, and in the period too. In this very paragraph, you can find my life distilled down to a time and space between words.

It’s a mouthful, I know, but every day, every hour, and every second, it’s true: one can look at my present portrait - the outward depiction of who I am - built up one word at a time and see an intersection of various lines that are no more distinct than a fart in the wind. I just hope I stink less and taste better.

More often than not, though, my smell lingers in between the naked spaces of my letters. I seem indulgent, self-serving even. I mean – look how much I’m referencing myself already. Besides isn’t writing narcissism at its highest, a conjectural statement of self-assessed worth as though whatever I am clattering away on the keyboard is deserving of being read?

I don’t think so. As far as I know, dear reader, we have never met and I am just a bundle of letters strung together on the instrument of a page. As far as you know, I may be an old man, and carved into my cheekbones is the happiest day of my life and in my smile weighs the saddest night. My knees shake because I have spent much of life working and my lips crack because I have lived by a factory, a factory that has coughed out fumes that have battered my hair into a sandy gray and etched canyons for wrinkles into my forehead. I have the greenest-blue-hazel eyes you have ever seen. I am a brother, a friend, a lover, a sinner, a saint, a teacher, a student, the bravest person and a coward all at the same. I move. I shake. I do, laugh, and feel. I wear hand-knitted sweaters.

Or maybe I’m a young girl stuck battling the millions of in-

direct battles against a patriarchy I cannot fully defeat - at least not alone. My face may be contorted into a smug look, not out of spite, but because the conflicts seem endless. I’ve given up on makeup and my hair swells atop of my head. There’s an elastic band somewhere in there; I’m tired of looking for it. There are more important things to do. There always will be more important things to do.

Or maybe I’m just Kacper: a boy pretending to be a man pretending to be a boy. Maybe I’m just a student stuck toiling around day to day, promising myself this will be the year; it’s gotta’ be the year. And maybe I just have a fitting name because one can fusuallind me thinking about the ghost of my past and wishing I could talk to him, make him laugh and tell him everything will be alright in the end, whenever that is.

But the point is that I don't know you either, reader. Together we are unknown and that's important. All I have to show for myself is this page and all you have are my words and both of us are left with the ink-people born from its conception. What my intent was doesn't matter. The only important fact is that we're wadding through the universe of this piece with its happiness and sadness, its chaos and serenity, its evils, its goods, and everything in between, word by word by word, and we're doing it together.

Because here I am waiting for you to read this sentence, prodding you on to make it to the next, and in between now and then, we get to know each other.

I won’t leave you dawdling with description anymore; I’ll tell you who I am, a question most people forget in the scrum of daily existence. Listen: Kacper is an intersection of personas, minds, states, feelings, ideas, thoughts, conversations, actions, sports teams, foods I liked, people I have hated, people who have hated me, books I’ve read, lessons I’ve learned, chairs I’ve sat on, friends I’ve made and lost, jokes I’ve remembered and forgotten, kisses I’ve planted and received, a mother’s wish, a father’s project, a brother’s mirror, a sister’s envy, a girlfriend’s love, an ex-girlfriend’s distrust, and a whole bunch of things I cannot recall now. To have the audacity to sum it up, I am a clusterfuck.

theSil.ca

Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014

OPINIONS

You do you, whoever that is Discovering yourself means not compromising what you like despite what others may say Shamudi Gunasekera The Silhouette

SILHOUETTE FILE PHOTO

Lyricism at whose cost?

CONTINUED FROM A7 I have been receiving a lot of angry and harassing messages on my blog and hate mail. I can tell that quite a few of you hate my guts, and some of you might even hate me as a person. People have said the most horrid things to me.

They have frustrated my mental composition and left in a constant fear of confrontation, verbal or otherwise. This endured state of trepidation is affecting my ability to focus and it is continually accompanied by sleepless nights.

I try to appear calm and composed but I am neither of those things. However, I will not apologize for doing the right thing and I will not give in to the

fear, irrespective of the personal costs to myself. I do not dance to the tune of intimidation and fear.

I dance to the tune of morality and a search and fight for justice and what I believe to be right.

I have been told that everyone will be better off if the chant book had remained hidden.

Now that I have exposed it, I am responsible for the injustice that follows. But an injustice is not an injustice because it is somehow known and widely propagated.

An injustice can occur whether anyone knows about it or not, and we must all as a community find ways to deal with these issues, whether we care for it or not. Yes, when a tree falls in the forest it does make a sound regardless

of how many people are there to hear it.

I will not be privy to a cover-up especially when I believe accountability and transparency to be one of the greatest virtues. My stance on this issue will remain unchanged irrespective of how much you try to intimidate me and make me feel unsafe. I want to use this opportunity to thank my friends for their support through this ordeal.

Once, when my high school philosophy class was having a discussion, one of my closest friends mentioned that he liked to play video games as a hobby and a girl in my class asked him why he wouldn’t rather go out with his friends. He didn’t reply but I felt that he didn’t like that question very much. What the girl didn’t understand was that his way of connecting with his friends was playing games with them online. Just because her idea of having fun was to go out to clubs with her friends, it didn’t mean that others had to share that same idea. Personally, I despise clubs, but I see why people would consider them to be fun.

Growing up, I never fit in.

I liked to keep to myself. In middle school, I used to read in class while my friends giggled amongst themselves. It was easy for me to drown out the sounds of people talking.

Even now, I don’t really seem to fit in anywhere. I’m tired of being made fun of by others for my taste in music and activities.

For instance, I listen to My Chemical Romance. But that doesn’t give anyone the right to make me feel inferior just because they may not like their music. The fact that they’ve stopped producing music does not matter to me at all. They will always remain a favorite of mine, and no one can make me feel like I should have a “better’ taste in music. It’s just an example of one of the many genres of music that I listen to.

I’m scattered all over the place. A little bit of everything.

That’s what most people are.

It’s just so easy for us to throw people into a category. We go around compulsively labeling people we see. I don’t know why it’s so hard for people to under-

A11

stand that we are all diverse. We are all unique. We can’t be neatly fit into a stereotype.

Here’s the thing: you don’t have to do what everyone else is doing. You don’t have to read John Green. You don’t have to enjoy reading for pleasure to be considered an intelligent individual.

There’s always going to be someone who hates something you love.

So go ahead and buy that Panic! At The Disco album. Sing along to One Direction in the solitude of your room while dancing.

Go to that My Chemical Romance concert - actually, you can’t because they’ve disbanded. Do things you like. Listen to bands you like. Read books you enjoy.

You don’t have to pretend to be someone you’re not. You don’t have to pretend to like things that you don’t. You don’t have to adhere to anyone else’s view of what’s good or bad. It doesn’t matter what they think. Do whatever makes you happy. The best thing you can do is be yourself.

“

“I’m scattered all over the place. A little bit of everything. That’s what most people are.”

Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014

theSil.ca

B1 Editors Amanda Watkins & Miranda Babbitt Email lifestyle@thesil.ca silhappens.tumblr.com

Best lattes in town B2

Phone 905.525.9140 x27117

S

Sowing the of

seeds

local food

A look inside the mechanics of Hamilton’s new homegrown grocer, The Mustard Seed Co-Op

AMANDA WATKINS/LIFESTYLE EDITOR

Ana Qarri Staff Reporter Friday, Jan. 24 marked the grand opening of Hamilton’s first community-owned grocery store.

The Mustard Seed, located on 460 York Boulevard, offers an alternative to student favourites like Fortino’s and Metro. Along with typical grocery products, the co-op will focus on selling local and organic food. A user-owned grocery store, The Mustard Seed allows its shoppers to have control over how their grocery store is managed and maintained. To become shareholders, shoppers purchase memberships which are sold per household, but are not mandatory to shop at the coop. Having a membership gives the household voting rights on decisions like where the co-op’s produce is purchased, and the impact that the co-op wants to have on the larger issues.

Co-operative grocery stores were commonplace in the late 1800s until the Second World War. The emergence of capitalism led to fewer co-ops being established and a larger focus on privatized for-profit companies.

The influence of the co-op on bigger private firms can still be identified in branding and marketing techniques often attempting to capitalize on the image of the community member you’re well acquainted with, or the local farmer you can trust. Over the last few decades, there’s been a resurgence of co-ops as community members have begun to recognize the need for healthier food and the importance of supporting locally-owned businesses.

The idea of establishing a co-operative grocery store in Hamilton came to business-owners Emma and Graham Cubitt when they visited one in Vermont, and were convinced that a co-operative could be an equally

successful undertaking in Hamilton.

Emma and Graham had been sitting on the idea of opening a co-op in Hamilton since 2010, and eventually gathered a group of approximately 40 supporters and volunteers to help them in making it a reality. As of Friday, the community-owned store had over 1,250 registered members with the number still increasing.

The Mustard Seed is not only owned by the community, but it was also built by a group of more than 200 volunteers. They painted walls, installed shelves, cleaned floors, and together built Hamilton’s first community-owned and community-made grocery store.

It has a modest size for a store that plans to serve thousands of costumers, but the warm colours and the rural chic interior design give it an open and welcoming vibe.

I visited the store on the second day of its operations. Even though the weather was dismal and I considered not leaving my house, The Mustard Seed was buzzing with costumers, staff members and volunteers.

I was even greeted at the automatic door (which had broken earlier that morning) by a friendly face who had taken on the role of makeshift door-slider. Graham invited me to talk about the collective idea and vision behind The Mustard Seed.

He describes the co-op as a “democratic business model.”

“In other companies, some people purchase more shares so they have more votes,” he explained. “Whereas at co-ops like The Mustard Seed, everyone is given equal shareholder participation and status…Here, we make decisions as a business together,” he added.

“Every year, we’ll have a general meeting, and make a vision of how our co-op operates, how we

The new co-operative grocery store first opened its doors this past Friday. Featuring produce, baked goods and more, their store is run by their helpful staff along with community investors. want to impact our community.”

It’s the direct consumer engagement with the store that makes it an appealing business model in a society where companies are always trying to find ways to “connect” with their buyers.

The Mustard Seed is committed to its customers and its customers are committed to its vision.

The store isn’t only making locally and environmentally-conscious decisions about food. The majority of the resources used to build and maintain the space are equally supportive of Hamilton’s businesses and initiatives. Everything from the staff uniforms to the music played at the store comes from local places and local people.

The Mustard Seed is the perfect place for students to become more engaged with the Hamilton community. It provides opportunities to volunteer for a community organization, as well as be

part of decision-making processes about the well-being and direction of many local initiatives.

The co-op promises to be a great contact point between students and the greater community. Graham stated that he’s already seen some student involvement in the building and opening of the coop, and he would love to see more in the future.

“We’d love for students to be involved, we know they’re only here for a period of time, but volunteering or shopping at the co-op can be a great way to get integrated to the community locally.

We also hope our products will be affordable options for students.”

The Mustard Seed has planted itself in downtown Hamilton at a crucial and almost strategic time in the city’s rebirth. Although Hamilton’s steel-producing years are behind it, the city is slowly transforming into a hub for artists and innovators and support for

Want more food?

I

“[At co-ops] everyone is given equal shareholder participation and status” Graham Cubitt, Business-Owner

local organizations is becoming the norm. In a city that’s redefining itself by encouraging local groups to create local solutions for local people, a grocery store co-op seems like a natural next step, combining collective control over healthy and local food options with Hamilton’s community-driven business models. @anaqarri

5 TIPS FOR HEALTHY EATING (B5)

RESTAURANT REVIEW THE BURNT TONGUE (B6) f the idea of force-feeding yourself Corn Flakes or three-day-old pizza for dinner has you cringing, a new restuarant may be in order. LifeStyle Editor Amanda Watkins tries out one of Hamilton’s most talked about new restaurant, The Burnt Tongue, and reports back with menu recommendations and overall pros and cons. Turn to B6 for more.

“

L

ooking for a way to keep up with your New Year’s health resolutions? Or maybe just trying to improve your diet? Here are five quick and easy tips that will help you maintain a clean diet while keeping up with the rush of a busy schedule. LifeStyle volunteer Julia Busatto shares her tried and true tips on B5.

Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014

theSil.ca

B2

LIFESTYLE

Slush-friendly fashion for every budget!

Brianna Buziak The Silhouette Most would agree that the only good slush is flavoured, in drink form and consumed in the summer months. But until the temperature rises, or until we encounter the infamous April

$$

T-Max Heat Thermal Socks

heat wave, we are stuck with cold, wet, dirty slush. The worst part is figuring out our footwear: do we sacrifice warmth for dryness, or dryness for warmth? Well stay tuned fair reader and find out how with these options you don’t have to sacrifice either.

$ $9.99$10.99

Women’s Classic Knee High Rain Boot

Mark’s Work Warehouse If you want to continue wearing your tried and true wellies throughout winter, add a pair of thermal socks to keep your toes toasty. Available in both men’s and women’s, these are a great addition to any cold weather wear closet.

$39.99 Target

Men’s Arctic Cat Sherbrook Weather Boot

$$

The name says it all. These boots will never go out of style nor will they ever be out of commission. Unless, of course, you move to a desert.

Hunter Boots

Target

$59.99

$$$ Footwear retailers $150

On the pricey side, these boots are meant to keep feet dry throughout the wet months. They are great for treading through slush but not necessarily the warmest. There are many options for fleece socks and insulated liners. Although not as popular, there are also styles for the gentlemen who don’t want to get cold feet.

Being described as being a cold weather boot and having a water resistant construction, we can only assume that this boot will keep men’s feet both dry and warm this winter season.

*

BOOTS IN THE REAL WORLD

r rp *su

ise ,g eo gra ct! e r phica r lly inco

Who’s the most prepared?!

Boy, what you thinking?!

These are OK. Way to go, team player!

Fashion over freezing!

Are you from the arctic? Yuk yuk yuk (Archie reference)

You go girl! These are practical.

theSil.ca

peer-based

health education & resources

Nima Nahiddi SHEC The moment I realized that there was a problem with the idea of “fitspiration” was when I stumbled onto the amusing Buzzfeed article “13 Epic Moments of Drinkspiration.” Fitspiration, a combination of the words fit and inspiration, is a term used on Internet blogs and social media to create a community in which one strives for a fit lifestyle. It is theoretically supposed to be a healthier alternative to the idea of ‘thinspiration’ – working out to become thinner – as it embraces images of toned and bulked up men and women.

Although I had heard about the hashtag fitspiration - or ‘fitspo’ - I never recognized the harm it could do to one’s idea of a healthy body image. The Buzzfeed article, initially hilarious, started to slowly freak me out. It com-

Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014

LIFESTYLE

B3

#Fitspiration: helpful or hurtful?

How does the popular hashtag and trend affect body image and self esteem? bines quotes often attributed to ‘fitspiration’ images with pictures of binge drinking. And the hybrid pictures eerily make complete sense. For example, “obsessed is a word the lazy use to describe the dedicated” could relate as much to alcoholism as it could to a person running that extra mile. The most shocking for me was “CRAWLING is acceptable.

PUKING is acceptable. TEARS are acceptable. PAIN is acceptable. QUITTING is UNACCEPTABLE.” Personally, if I saw someone with any one of these symptoms at the Pulse I would take them straight to the Student Wellness Centre.

Although the idea behind fitspo can sound inspirational, it continues to perpetuate unhealthy philosophies related to one’s health and fitness.

According to the National Eating Disorder Information Centre, 27 percent of Ontario girls 12-18

years old were reported as being engaged in severely problematic food and weight behaviour.

Moreover, Health Canada found that almost 50 percent of girls and almost 20 percent of boys in grade 10 either were on a diet or wanted to lose weight. These images, which are supposed to inspire us, only aggravate the unrealistic body image that is portrayed in the media and which we have come to think of as the norm for beauty. Moreover, by promoting the idea that “quitting is unacceptable,” these images reinforce the idea that anything should be done to achieve this type of toned body. Going to such extremes is often characteristic of many eating disorders and fitness addicts, where your mind is telling you that you must be committed, and that taking drastic measures is acceptable.

The idea of “fitspiration” is further problematic as many of

the individuals in these posters are not only muscular but also thin. It is incredibly difficult for anyone, especially women, to bulk up or become toned without putting on additional weight.

Our bodies need more calories, protein, and fat in order to actually build muscle. Furthermore, striving to have such a body is often extremely unrealistic.

The media, especially socalled “Health” magazines, perpetuates the idea that these types of goals are attainable. If you’ve ever seen the cover of Men’s Health Magazine, you’ll know that you could apparently have a set of 12-pack abs in no time at all. What they leave out when they include the “Henry Cavill Superman Workout” is that the actor was paid for several months to solely workout in preparation for his role. The studios gave him their own special food, a personal trainer to workout with twice a

day, and a nutritionist. And even with all that support, Henry Cavill said it was a horrible routine, and that he was glad to be rid of the experience.

I am not bothered with the idea of being inspired in life to be fit and healthy. The problem is that these images misuse and thus create a new, unhealthy definition of fit. Having a toned, muscular or thin body does not necessarily indicate health. You could actually be overworking your body and causing serious damage to yourself. Pain is the body’s way of telling you something is wrong, not its way of encouraging perseverance. “Puking” is never acceptable when working out. I think it’s time for society to redefine the way we see healthy. We should stop creating unhealthy and unrealistic connotations for words like fit, thin, toned and muscular.

Dear two-faced healthy foods, Jason Woo The Silhouette Who do you think you are? Strutting all up in my face and telling me to change my diet. I know KFC’s Double Down is a death

trap designed to put me to sleep.

This doesn’t mean you need to tell me I should be munching on some celery instead.

Don’t confuse my hate for you as hate for your brother, real healthy food. I know he means

well, which makes him hard to hate, at least until my mom gives me some Diet Coke to drink. The consolation is that bits of him are quite good – like baked fish, oatmeal and honey nut Cheerios.

This doesn’t mean we are best

friends, but we’re definitely pleasant acquaintances.

My real gripe is with you, not-healthy-healthy-foods, or as I like to call you, two-faced healthy scumbag. It’s one thing for me to give up scrumptious sugary goodness for a little less flab on my tummy, but it’s another thing for me to give it up in exchange for the same amount of flab, but with no satisfaction from what I eat.

You know what I’m talking about: cranberry juice, granola bars, premade salads. I should have smelled something fishy when it didn’t taste so different from what I usually consume, but I guess I simply thought you were a decent human being.

And how dare you trick me into paying more for ‘healthy’ foods? There are people out there, myself obviously not included, who genuinely want to get healthy, and instead are deluded by your shady marketing schemes.

Thanks for letting me know that your smoothies are made with real fruit, while handily ignoring the boatload of syrups and dairy products you threw in as well.

Stop throwing words like ‘organic’ and ‘gluten-free’ at us too. They don’t always mean healthy and you know it. At least McDonald’s has the decency to tell me straight up that their fries are deep fried multiple times and with enough preservatives to last a couple months.

I hope you’re content knowing that a bunch of us are happily making PB&Js with reduced-fat peanut butter – blissfully unaware that you just replaced the fat with sugar, salt and empty calories.

Don’t let me see you on campus, because I am not afraid to throw you into my deep fryer.

Sincerely, I-Love-Food

theSil.ca

C/O PUZZLES.ABOUT.COM

DID YOU KNOW? For a housefly’s entire 14-day lifespan, it hums in the key of F.

Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014

LIFESTYLE

Across

Down

1 With 65-Across, the starts of 20-, 26-, 43- and 51 Across taken together 5 Scopes Trial org.

9 Place for scrubs 14 Start of an incantation 15 “Double” facial feature 16 Normandy beach 17 Assault or battery 18 “Please?”

19 React to mold, perhaps 20 Alien abductions, e.g.

23 Command to a plow horse 24 It’s fairly insensitive to shock, fortunately 25 Houston-to-K.C. direction 26 “All kidding aside ...”

32 Menu heading 35 “Au Revoir, ___ Enfants” (1987 film) 36 ___-chef 37 Backspace through 38 Get-up-and-go 39 Ring around the collar, say 40 Chamonix setting 41 Season box holder, e.g.

42 Like a par 5 hole vis- à-vis a par 3 43 Unwelcome sign for a sales rep 46 “Aladdin” prince 47 “Open wide” sound 48 Center of a ball?

51 Magazine opposed to the Cuban trade embargo 57 Old and gray 58 Signs, as a contract 59 Lena of “Chocolat” 60 Composer Bruckner 61 Astringent fruit 62 Word with cut or exchange 63 Dry out, informally 64 Salon acquisitions 65 See 1-Across

1 “Why, of course!”

2 Jungle menace 3 You might wait for it at a stoplight 4 “Fiddlesticks!”

5 Dialect coaches teach them 6 Monastery music 7 “The Mod Squad” role 8 Shop steward, briefly 9 World’s third-largest island 10 Release 11 Mane area 12 Mother of Chaz Bono 13 Brinker of children’s lit 21 Exercise on the keys 22 Aussie colleges 26 Low man at the Met 27 Nicholas Gage best seller 28 On drugs 29 Something to break into 30 Race in a chute 31 River in a 1914 battle 32 Rapper Combs a k a Diddy 33 Alice’s chronicler 34 Swimmers do them 38 Conscientious objector 39 “Tiny Bubbles” singer 41 Adidas competitor 42 Is a go-between 44 Adam’s apple site 45 Add later 48 ___ Lama 49 Magazine jobs 50 Dice, slangily 51 2000 election scrap 52 Skye of “Say Anything ...”

53 Intl. commerce pact replaced by the W.T.O. 54 Suffix with buck 55 “To Live and Die ___” 56 What’s expected

B4

theSil.ca

Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014

LIFESTYLE

B5

A BUSY BEE’S GUIDE TO STAYING HEALTHY Julia Busatto The Silhouette

Plan your day This may seem like a no brainer, but take 10 minutes out of your day either in the morning or the night before to make a food plan. If you use a planner or day journal, write in the times where you think you will want to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner. (Don’t forget to include snack times too!)

This will not only regulate a food schedule, but help you make time to eat healthy. Also, if possible, allow yourself time to make meals in advance.

Tupperware is a student’s best friend. On Monday nights I know I have five hours of class with a 40-minute break. Since I don’t have time to go home, I plan to bring leftover pasta or a sandwich.

Quick healthy snacks No matter how long you plan to be out for, always have a piece of fruit or a healthy nut or protein bar with you. Eating fairly frequently, specifically every three hours, will help you maintain your blood sugar and decrease over-eating at mealtime. Other grab-and-go snacks like yogurt and cheese can be easily tucked in your purse or backpack.

The night before put the snacks you plan to bring tomorrow in the same place at home, so on the rush out the door in the morning they are easily available.

Smart dining out Although we try hard, we always end up grabbing a meal out every so often, especially when we are busy. Restaurants realize our desire to eat healthy, and offer many healthy options. When eating out, look for words like steamed, baked, poached, roasted, broiled or grilled. Do your best to avoid foods with the words fried, crispy, pan-fried, sautéed or stuffed which are good indications that the foods are high in unhealthy fats.

Eating healthy doesn’t have to take a significant chunk out of your day. If you plan ahead, which us Marauders should be professionals at by now, maintaining a healthy diet while busy can be an easy task.

Stay hydrated I cannot stress enough how important it is to drink frequently throughout the day. Often you may feel hungry when you are dehydrated, causing you to overeat. Carry a portable water bottle around with you throughout the day, which will also help you refrain from drinking juice and pop, which are high in sugars and caffeine.

Take supplements No matter how good your diet may be, it is incredibly difficult to have a perfect nutritional profile. A good quality multivitamin/mineral is a must-have, along with probiotic supplementation. Every person is different and needs a different supplementation plan to stay healthy.

Vitamins are a quick and easy way to get nutrients you may be missing in your diet, or do not have time to consume.

B U S Y BEES C A N BE HEA L T HY BEES T OO!

theSil.ca

Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014

RESTAURANT REVIEW

LIFESTYLE

B6

RECIPE

The Burnt Tongue

Vegan-friendly

taco soup Amanda Watkins LifeStyle Editor If you’re longing for the flavours of the summer months but are too fearful of the cold to venture towards the barbeque, this hybrid recipe combines the best of warm

10 Cannon Street East

weather tastes and cold weather coping strategies. Let this taco soup warm the cockles of your heart and reminisce on the ghosts of summers past. @whatthekins

Ingredients Amanda Watkins LifeStyle Editor Sneakily hidden behind craft stores and mini-marts sits one of Hamilton’s newest novelty food hotspots. Sandwiched between two of the city’s busiest streets, James North and Cannon East, is the new gourmet soup advocate, The Burnt Tongue.

The Burnt Tongue has been up and running since September of last year, selling a variety of homemade soups alongside fries and burgers. Located in the Hammer’s cultural hotspot and primary Artcrawl location, the restaurant has been well received in the high-traffic area (a Twitter search of their name will bring up songs of their praise from an already devoted following).

I headed to the restaurant with a friend on a day when their rotational menu included macaroni and cheese, cabbage roll soup, and sausage and sauerkraut soup. She ordered the cabbage roll, and I had the sauerkraut (size small, $6.50). Moderately priced, the soups were served quickly and cleanly from their friendly staff.

The cabbage roll soup had an even ratio of meat to vegetables, featuring a mix of peppers, beef, and naturally, cabbage. Flavourful and filling, my friend, whose Ukrainian heritage had her closely examining the variation of her country’s classic, gave the dish a stamp of approval.

The sausage and sauerkraut was equally as tasty, with a hearty mix of meat and veggies and a surprisingly large size for the “small”. It was like eating a highclass Willy Dog in a bowl (which is a good thing).

Much like their soup portions, their small fries was equally as generous and was enough for the two of us to share. Overall, I didn’t have any complaints about their food, and would definitely go back again, especially during these cold winter months. But forewarning, bring a scarf if you’re heading over. They’re located in an older city building and it can be a bit chilly even indoors.

• • • •

In addition to quality food, the restaurant also sells quirky sodas from small companies, featuring flavours like cotton candy alongside other classics. Their clean and stylish branding make them stand out on the street, even though they’re tucked away and a bit hard to find for Hamilton novices. They also have a great social media presence, making it easy to find out their rotating daily menu which they post to Twitter and Instagram every morning.

Contrary to their name that makes them sound too hot to handle, The Burnt Tongue is actually one of Hamilton’s coolest new food sensations.

• • • • • •

Roughly 3 tbsp olive oil 1/3 of a yellow onion 1 red or yellow bell pepper 2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (you can find these in your canned food aisle; they look super gross, but are delicious) A pinch of cumin Salt and pepper to taste 1 ½ cups vegetable stock 1 can black beans (or bean medley, up to you), rinsed ½ avocado Corn chips or corn tortilla

Directions 1. In a medium-sized pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat.

2. Finely chop the onion and bell pepper, and sauté in the oil; season with cumin, salt and pepper.

3. Once the onions have softened add in the chopped chipotle peppers 4. Now add in the stock and rinsed beans and continue to cook until warmed through.

5. Top with avocado and corn chips (or panfry your own corn tortillas cut in small strips). Serves 2.

@whatthekins

C/O SIMPLYRECIPES.COM

theSil.ca

Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014

B7

Women’s volleyball crushes a crucial double-header weekend

Editors Laura Sinclair & Alexandra Reilly

Track drops personal best’s in McGill

B9

Email sports@thesil.ca @SilSports

B8

Phone 905.525.9140 x27117

S

Win streak hits a wall The Marauders’ 14-game winning streak met a decisive end at the hands of the Waterloo Warriors, but their season is far from over

Marauders’ Jori Mantha takes a moment to collect himself during the three-set shutout versus the Guelph Gryphons, following the loss against Waterloo.

YOSEIF HADDAD / PHOTO EDITOR

Laura Sinclair Sports Editor The Waterloo Warriors have always been a team that has managed to give the Marauders a run for their money, and on Friday night in the PAC Gym in Waterloo, they finally came out of the contest with a win.

“Waterloo did exactly what we should have done and kept going. They took the fourth set, along with a boat-load of momentum, and at that stage it was like trying to stop an avalanche,” said Coach Dave Preston.

The Marauders best set of the match was the third set that saw them easily take it with a score of 25-13, which Preston credited to their defence.

“Our transition game was good, our blocking structure was good, I thought our defence in the third set might have been our best

defensive set yet.”

After the third set, the Marauders began to let off a little bit, which ended up costing them the game.

The fourth set saw Mac give up a 20-16 lead, as they hopelessly watched the Warriors score nine of the next 11 points.

“It all started with us getting a little too soft at the back court, and a little too soft at the net. You can’t do that, not at the level that we want to play,” said Preston.

Preston and the Marauders have taken the Warrior comeback in the fourth set as a valuable lesson of what not to do going forward; they now know that they cannot lift their foot off the pedal and coast to win.

The Marauders had 48 hours to recover from their first loss, and in this time span Preston had a lot of time to work with the athletes and talk to them on ways

in which they can improve.

“It’s really important to deal with the pieces, not the team, and all of my focus, all of my communication, all of my messaging was towards the individuals,” said Preston.

In his meetings with the players, he reinforced three questions: who are we, what do we do, and how do we do it.

The Marauders were able to respond to their loss on Sunday against the Guelph Gryphons, where they played exceptionally well and swept the match, 3-0.

Although the Marauders cannot erase the loss from their record, they have used it as a lesson for the future, and a sign of things to build upon for the remainder of the season.

“We’ve learned to handle winning very, very well. I now know that we can handle losing, very, very well as well. That’s not a

lesson thankfully that we have to learn often, but it’s an important lesson,” said Preston.

Despite the loss, the Marauders are still sitting first overall in the OUA, and still have the best record in Canada of 15-1.

They won’t forget the loss— it’s a part of their season.

But Preston knows that his team will recover and react appropriately to it.

“I think the loss is part of our season. I think that failing to address it would be a mistake. So we’re going to react to it but not over-react. It’s part of making us who we are.”

The Marauders will look to keep their winning mentality alive next weekend in Kingston, Ont., where they will play against the RMC Palladins and the Queen’s Gaels. @Lsinkky

GAME RECAP McMaster SET | K | E | TA | K% 1 2 3 4 5

17 16 11 11 7

5 3 3 7 1

36 30 17 36 14

33.3 43.3 47.1 11.1 42.9

Waterloo SET | K | E | TA | K% 1 2 3 4 5

18 17 8 12 8

3 3 6 6 0

33 33 27 32 13

45.5 42.4 7.4 18.8 61.5

theSil.ca

SPORTS

Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014

B8

Mac posts personal bests at McGill

c/o pete self

Laura Sinclair Sports Editor The Marauders track team travelled to the largest meet of the season last weekend at McGill University, where the majority of the team was able to run to some personal best times.

Among the top performances came from Maddy McDonald, whose time of 9:43 in the 3000 m has officially qualified her for the CIS track and field championships.

McDonald - who sat out the indoor season last year due to her commitment to the world junior cross country team - ran a great first race, and followed the coaches’ strategy to a tee.

“I knew once the gun went off, she’s a competitor, so she’s going to compete,” said head coach Paula Schnurr.

“I told her that you don’t need to be leading but you need to be in the pack, and just off the back of the pack if that’s more comfortable,” added Schnurr.

“The first 2 kilometres will probably be pretty comfortable and pretty relaxed and then you’ll need to do work in the last kilometre. And that’s what she did.”

The weekend served as a training weekend for McDonald, as her main focus will be the Valentine Invitational in Boston on Feb. 8, where she will try to better her time to just under 9:40.

In the men’s 3000 m, Taylor Forbes, Jordan Bierema, Austen Forbes and Taylor Reid all ran very similar times, but were split up into different heats.

This was a result of athletes from other universities being entered in the race with unrealistic

seed times, so the majority of the Marauder men had to do most of the work leading for the majority of their races.

“I think we seeded our guys with realistic seed times, unfortunately some people were seeded faster than they should have been.

So, unfortunately for Forbes he was the best in his race so he ended up leading, and the same thing happened with Bierema in the next section,” said Schnurr.

Forbes led his heat with an 8:33, and Bierema led his heat right after with an 8:35. Austen Forbes finished right after Bierema with a time of 8:36, and Taylor Reid was not too far behind running to a time of 8:39.

Captain Blair Morgan was far off from his best time, running an 8:47 3000 m, compared to his 8:29 that he ran a couple weeks before. He will be looking to run extremely fast in Boston at the Valentine Invitational in a couple of weeks.

Gabe Ghiglione led his heat with an 8:50, and not too far behind was Paul Rochus who ran a personal best time of 8:54.

For the Forbes twins along with Taylor Reid, this will be one of their last track races, as they have to do some additional training for their triathlon season this summer that they do not want to be injured for.

“We focused on running a couple of indoor races and not really key on running OUA’s, it’s unfortunate for us and our team, but I think what is really important for them is that they are good for cross country and that they’re ready to go for the summer,” said Schnurr.

In the men’s 600 m race,

Schnurr was very impressed with Brandon Huzevka, who finished the race with a personal best time of 1:22. Jeff Mah and fourth year Greg Hitchon also reached personal best with times of 1:23, and 1:24 respectively.

In the women’s 1500 m, Chelsea Mackinnon and Maddy McDonald finished neck and neck with a time of 4:45.

Both Mackinnon and McDonald were hoping to run faster, but Mackinnon is just getting into racing again after a year of injury problems, and McDonald was tired from her CIS-qualifying 3000 m run the night before.

Mackinnon will look to run the 1000 m at the Valentine Invitational.

Also in the 1500 m, Kaitlyn Pansegrau ran to a personal best time of 4:51, and fellow second year Raquel Burgess ran to a personal best time in the 3000 m of 10:27.

These are two huge personal best times that Schnurr credits to

their consistency in training over the last year.

In the men’s 1500 m, there were a number of personal best times and great individual races from Taylor Forbes, who ran a 3:56 while once again leading the entire race.

Rookie Patrick Deane and Jeff Tweedle ran to a time of 4:01 in the same event, while Blair Morgan and Luke Charbonneau both ran to a time of 4:03.

Deane was impressive in his first 1500 m of the season, and coach Schnurr is both surprised and pleased with his performance, especially as a rookie, as he is still adjusting to the pressures of firstyear university.

“I’m a little surprised, but he is very talented, he works so hard, he’s extremely committed, he seems to be making it work with school and living in res and keeping up with his training,” said Schnurr, “I’m excited for his university career because I know right now he could probably run

under four minutes, that’s his goal this season.”

Every week, the Marauders hand out a “Kick of the Week” jacket to two of the athletes that had the best kick, or best performance.

Maddy McDonald won the Kick of the Week jacket for the women’s team, and Brandon Huzevka won the jacket for the men’s team.

The Marauders will look to keep the momentum rolling this coming weekend at the York Invitational, and the following weekend at the prestigious Valentine Invitational in Boston. @Lsinkky

theSil.ca

SPORTS

Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014

B9

Women’s volleyball crushes double-header

YOSEIF HADDAD / PHOTO EDITOR

Tobi Abdul Staff Reporter The McMaster women’s volleyball team clinched their fourth and fifth straight wins over the past weekend.

Despite a rocky start to the 2013-2014 season, the Marauders are now within four points of the top spot in the OUA West conference and show no signs of slowing down.

McMaster traveled to Waterloo to take on the Warriors Jan. 24 in a gruelling match that ended 3-2, for the Marauders.

“It’s always a little tough when you’re away but we’re going to play our best,” said Coach Louks in anticipation of the match.

The Marauders started the match off strong with a kill percentage of 31 in the first set.

The Marauders clearly outplayed the Warriors, who had a kill percentage of only 11. McMaster took the first set 25-16 and was hoping that it would set the tone for the rest of the match.

However, McMaster played a very poor second set, having a negative kill percentage which led to the Warriors taking the second set 25-15 and tying the match at one apiece.

The third set saw a battle between the Warriors and the Marauders but the Marauders fell just two points shy, giving the Warriors a 2-1 advantage.

The Marauders played the fourth set with a gusto needed if they were going to win this game.

The Marauders played excellent defence, ending the set with a kill percentage of 34, while the Warriors evened out at zero percent.

The Marauders took the set 25-19, evening out the match and

bringing it to a fifth set to 15.

The Marauders took the lead in the short, final set, wanting to keep their winning streak going and ensure them the best possible chance for playoffs.

The offense was consistent all game, and the match winning kill was delivered by Joanna Jedrzejewska to end the set 15-10 and the match 3-2.

The Marauders were able to work together as one unit in order to take this win over Waterloo.

However, at the start of the season, the Marauders lacked a cohesion that was evident in their games and resulted in more losses than wins.

“Our team is very young, which makes for a great future but for a lot of these girls, it’s their first time playing at university level,” said Louks.

As the season progressed, the Marauders learned how to play as a collective unit and used each player’s strengths to put points on the board and win matches.

“The biggest difference from the start of the season to now would probably be getting to know and playing with new people. As the season has gone by we have been able to gel and play as one team,” said Maicee Sorenson, this week’s Pita Pit Athlete of the Week.

The teamwork spoke for itself during the Waterloo game as three players, Sophie Bukovec, Mira Krunic, and Sorenson, broke double digits.

“Our trip to Florida really helped us come together. We learned a lot about one another.

We learned to trust ourselves and each other on and off the court which brought back our confidence that we had during preseason,” said Krunic.

The Marauders played against

Guelph at home Jan. 26 and they were aware that they had to beat Guelph if they wanted the best chance at ending the regular season in the top spot.

The Marauders had played Guelph earlier in the season and had lost 1-3, but were determined to play together this time. “[We’re] wanting to win for each other not just for ourselves,” said Bukovec, who was a key player in the Guelph game.

If the Marauders were worried, they did not show it.

“Our mentality going into each game is to be better than the last game. We know that we can’t predetermine outcome, but we can focus on the things we can control, such as things we work on in practice, in order to make us better,” said Krunic.

The Marauders took the lead in the first set, but a timeout called by Guelph at 19-15 Marauders threatened their focus as the Gryphons tied the set 23-23.

The Marauders fought hard for their next two points, able to take the first set of the match and set the tone for the rest of the game.

“I find that we are getting into an offensive rhythm that has translated into our defence,” said Bukovec.

This rhythm continued into the second set, which was a battle the entire game.

The Gryphons had a slight lead at the technical time out, but McMaster fought hard, getting a slight lead before the set was tied 24-24 and forced to go into extra points.

Despite best attempts to have an edge over Guelph, the Marauders lost the set 26-28.

The Marauders entered the third set with an early lead and maintained this lead the entire

set, outplaying Guelph and winning the set 25-19.

Wanting to end the game in four, the Marauders fought back against Guelph’s early lead of 10-7.

Playing smart offensively and defensively, the Marauders led at the technical timeout and continued this momentum, despite Guelph getting within one point at 23-22.

A timeout called by McMaster provided the pep talk needed to score the last two points and take the match 3-1.

The Marauders are in good standings, but with four games left, it is critical that they keep up their winning streak.

“To keep the streak going we just need to have confidence in our ability as a team to perform at its best at all times. Working through adversity should become easier as we continue to develop as a team,” said Bukovec.

“At this point in the season we focus on reciprocating what we have learned in order to en-

sure our success,” said Sorenson.

The Marauders take on Royal Military College Friday Jan. 31 and Queen’s on Feb. 1. @toe_bee

theSil.ca

SPORTS

Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014

B10

Wrestling tackles tough weekend McMaster wrestling had a big weekend as they took to the Ontario Junior Championship and the Queen’s Open

RECAP WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL OUA EAST

OUA WEST W | L | PTS

TORONTO YORK OTTAWA RYERSON QUEEN’S RMC NIPISSING

12 12 12 11 9 4 0

3 3 3 4 6 11 15

24 24 24 22 18 8 0

W | L | PTS GUELPH MCMASTER WINDSOR BROCK LAKEHEAD WESTERN WATERLOO

12 10 8 6 4 3 3

5 5 7 10 10 12 12

24 20 16 12 8 6 6

C/0 MICHAEL P. HALL

Sarah O’Connor Staff Reporter McMaster’s wrestling team was busy this past weekend taking part in two high-stake competitions.

On Jan. 25 the team participated in the Ontario Junior Championships where Monica Wood (48 kg) finished a strong third and will advance to the National Junior Championships scheduled for March of this year.

“I love getting time on the mat with strong competitors,” said second-year wrestler Monica Wood.

She expressed excitement about her upcoming trip to nationals but knows there is a lot of work to be done before that, “I am quite excited to compete to my best ability and prepare in every way I can. I can definitely feel the intensity in practice rising and

the extra workouts have definitely helped in practice and in my matches.”

“Nationals is just around the corner and I know that the schedule that our coach has the team on will definitely prepare my team mates and myself ready to compete,” said Wood.

On Jan. 26 the wrestling team competed at the Queens Open and brought home gold thanks to the efforts of Chris Garneau in the 68 kg class.

Erica D’Angelo finished in third place as well, but lost a critical match to last year’s Brock University CIS champion.

“I feel we performed well, our team has been training hard and really upping the strength and conditioning workouts which showed this weekend,” said D’Angelo.

“I placed silver,” added D’Angelo, “which is a real accomplish-

ment for me since this is my third tournament back since my concussion. I feel confident that we are going to do well at the western open this weekend, and OUAS which are Feb 15.”

Coach Nick Cipriano expressed great pride in his team and sees great achievements in their future.

“We are very pleased thus far how our season is unfolding.

While at present, we have a couple of key players out of our line-up because they are nurturing injuries, we are optimistic that they will be back in full force for our championships,” said Cipriano.

“If everyone is healthy, we’ll be in terrific shape.”

MEN’S BASKETBALL OUA EAST

OUA WEST W | L | PTS

CARLETON OTTAWA RYERSON LAURENTIAN YORK QUEEN’S TORONTO ALGOMA

16 14 13 10 8 7 4 4

0 2 3 6 8 9 12 12

32 28 26 20 16 14 8 8

W | L | PTS 13 11 7 6 6 5 2 2

MCMASTER WINDSOR LAURIER WESTERN LAKEHEAD GUELPH BROCK WATERLOO

3 5 9 10 10 11 14 14

26 22 14 12 12 10 4 4

@notsarahconnor

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL OUA EAST

OUA WEST W | L | PTS

CARLETON OTTAWA QUEEN’S TORONTO RYERSON YORK LAURENTIAN ALGOMA

12 11 10 8 5 5 4 0

4 5 6 8 11 11 12 16

24 22 20 16 10 10 8 0

W | L | PTS WINDSOR LAURIER WESTERN MCMASTER LAKEHEAD BROCK GUELPH WATERLOO

15 13 11 10 8 8 6 2

1 3 5 6 8 8 10 14

30 26 22 20 16 16 12 4

SPORTS

Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014

theSil.ca

B11

Taking Thunder Bay by storm The Marauders are gearing up to play a double header against Lakehead this weekend. Are they ready?

Team Offensive Rating: 103 - Rank in CIS: 7 of 45 Team Defensive Rating: 88 - Rank in CIS: 4 of 45

TAYLOR BLACK “PER” CIS RANK: 13 of 282 DEFENSIVE REBOUNDING: 19% 25 of 282

ADAM PRESUTTI ASSIST RATE RANK: 22% - 19 of 282

NATHAN PELECH EFFECTIVE FIELD GOAL: 54% 58 of 282

11 Previous season records vs Lakehead

9

wins losses 6

6 3 2

1

1

2010-11

2011-12

stats courtesy

PHOTOS BY YOSEIF HADDAD / PHOTO EDITOR

2012-13

rob pettapiece

2013-14

NEW date

A whole new way to earn Introducing the PC Plus rewards program.

FEB. 3-5 place

STUDENT CENTRE F INE ART hours

F ANTASY

MON. 9AM

WILDLIF E

last day

TM

It lets you earn points toward dollars off your grocery bill. Joining is quick, easy and free.

GIANT-SIZED POSTERS

WED. 5PM

MUSIC F RAMES & HANGERS

PHOTOGRAPHY

There are so many ways to earn points • Personalized online offers • In-store offers • Flyer offers • Bonus offers

Just pick up a free card in-store

1000S OF POSTERS

TH E

POSTER SA LE

1579 Main St. West (at Rifle Range Rd.) We’re open 8am-10pm 7 days a week!

Visit pcplus.ca

®/TM The trademarks and logos displayed are trademarks of Loblaws Inc. All rights reserved. ©2013 Loblaws Inc.

F ILM

SPORTS

Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014

theSil.ca

B12

Marauders gain more than a win After a close victory over the Western Mustangs, the McMaster women’s basketball team has gained some fourth quarter confidence

YOSEIF HADDAD / PHOTO EDITOR

Scott Hastie The Silhouette The narrative about McMaster’s inability to finish in the fourth quarter is beginning to unravel.

With 43 seconds left, Vanessa Bonomo drove left, stepped back and knocked down a mid-range jumper.

The shot put the McMaster Marauders up 59-57 – its first fourth quarter lead of the game.

McMaster’s opponent – the Western Mustangs – were leading in the standings by two games going into the Jan. 25 match-up.

Bonomo’s shot forced the Mustangs to foul, and with two offensive rebounds from Rachael Holmes, the Marauders had buried a capable opponent in a fourth quarter.

It was the itch Mac could not stretch but finally, they had.

“I knew I was going to have to put up a quick three or drive to the net, and it was a lucky shot for me,” said Bonomo.

“I don’t really use the stepback to often, so I was surprised

to see it go down.”

After that fourth quarter, the fifth-year point guard believes the victory will have a trickle-down effect.

She says the team looks different than it has earlier in this season, and thinks that change is here to stay.

“It was huge for our confidence, it looked like everyone was catching the ball looking to score,” said the co-captain.

Now, Mac heads to Thunder Bay, Ont., to take on the Lakehead Thunderwolves in a double-header.

The games offer a chance for McMaster to create some separation between them, Brock and Lakehead.

At 10-6, the Marauders own a respectable record and the appreciation from coaches around the CIS, receiving votes yet again for the weekly top-ten poll.

Including exhibition play, McMaster stacks up well against the rest of the country, sitting at ninth in the CIS Blog’s Simple Ranking System – a figure that encompasses a team’s margin of victory and quality of opponents, while also weighing more recent games more heavily.

But despite all those positives, they only have a one-game lead over Brock (with a game in hand) and a two-game lead over Lakehead.

A sweep of the Wolves is ideal, given the road ahead. McMaster has to play Brock at home, Windsor in Windsor, Laurier at home and Waterloo at home to finish out the season post-Thunder Bay, and Mac is 2-2 against those opponents. A home playoff game is a stated team goal and well within their reach.

It’s also favourable because McMaster is 5-2 at home, compared to 5-4 on the road.

“We knew once we dropped that game to Guelph and that game to Laurier, we had to winout the season,” said Bonomo.

In order to accomplish that, McMaster will need to keep playing defence with the intensity they have all year in order to get there.

Through sixteen games, only Windsor has allowed fewer points against in the OUA West. Mac’s offence has been strong also, as they sit in third for points for in the entire Ontario conference.

It is possible that the fourth quarter against Western was an anomaly, but it is looking unlikely.

The Marauder’s good fortunes should continue, as long as Milligan continues to play at an All-Canadian level and Boiago maintains her efficient scoring to go along with her high usage.

Against the Mustangs, Mac looked sure of themselves all through the final ten minutes.

That confidence should be a stain that will be hard to wipe off. @scott1hastie

McMaster figure skating lands in the top 10 After six podium finishes, the McMaster figure skating squad ended off the weekend with a brand new record

Alexandra Reilly Assistant Sports Editor It was a big weekend for the McMaster figure skating squad who had six podium finishes and placed fifth overall in the annual Ontario University Athletics Winter Invitational held on Jan. 27 in London, Ont. The McMaster figure skating team will now continue on in their journey to an OUA Championship as their results from this weekend’s competition improve their ranking from their previous competition results, which they acquired in November of last year.

Receiving points in almost every category, the Marauders finished with the most podium finishes and the highest total score in the team’s history.

The first event of the day saw the team get in a positive flow as C/O SUSAN SIERADZSKI

the duo of Riley Allison and Marissa Bradley placed McMaster on the board with their first points of the day.

Allison and Bradley continued to impress placing third in the Intermediate Similar.

In the next event the Dance Fours team consisting of Melissa Sieradzski- Jones, Savannah Colameco, Behan Pulla and Julie-Anne Mendoza placed second in their first season debut.

A second pairs team also received a podium finish when Emily Steif and Emily Buddo placed second in the Junior Silver pairs event.

The second day of competition showed no signs of the Marauders faultering as Jennifer Pattem started off the day with a second place finish in the Short program event. Pettem continued to be a strong staple in McMas-

ter’s success along with partner Alexandra Kourjounakis who had a second place finish in the Gold Creative Dance event.

That event would mark two second place finishes for Jennifer Pettem in the OUA Winter Invitational.

To finish off the successful weekend for the Marauders, Ryley Goodhand placed third in the Open Solo Dance event, bringing McMaster’s final team standings to a record high 51 points.

The Marauders will continue on the competition train moving onto the OUA Championships in February hosted in Toronto by Ryerson University. @Miss_AReilly

Thursday, Jan. 30, 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: Shane Madill, Michael Gallagher, Todd S. Galllows, Josh Ruf

Cover: Bahar Orang

coming up in the hammer the casbah •jan 31 •feb 1 •feb 2 •feb 3

| | | |

the lounge send-off party lady in black bands for boobs megan bonnell + emilie mover

homegrown hamilton

music

•jan 31 | lowlands •feb 2 | darin martin •feb 6 | songwriter circle

this ain't hollywood •jan 31 | gentleman spectres •feb 1 | biblical •feb 5 | jack of heart

club absinthe •feb 2 | silverstein •mar 7 | abandon all ships

C3

editorial C4 C5

OutKast C6

zines C7

mini reviews C8

dana swarbrick

bay city music hall

theatre

•feb 1 | hello beautiful •feb 11 | ridley bent + del barber

the pearl

THE COVER STORY

•until feb 1 | la ronde

art gallery of hamilton •until feb 9

art

theSil.ca

•until feb 9

| the painter pictured: french nineteenth century paintings and portrait photographs | a play on nature: joseph calleja & viktor tinkl

hamilton artists inc.

•until mar 1 | Corinne Duchesne, Peter Horvath and Anna Torma

“I don’t understand anything about the ballet; all I know is that during the intervals the ballerinas stink like horses.”

- Anton Chekov

theSil.ca

ANDY

Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014

C3

EDITORIAL

A double whammy of thoughts on the Grammys Bahar Orang ANDY Editor So far, there have been two couples in my life that have made the strongest cases for marriage: my parents, and Beyoncé and Jay-Z. The former has been an ongoing persuasion since as long as I can remember, where I grew up watching two people as they brought out the best in each other. The latter, however, were almost as swaying in a matter of moments and in a midst of smoke at the Grammys three

nights ago. Although it’s true that what they offered was still part of their public image (it was on a stage after all), it was nonetheless a product I might someday be willing to buy.

They sang Beyoncé’s “Drunk in Love,” which is essentially an anthem for their fantastic and enthralling sex life. And their performance was definitely sexy – but also fun, playful, and showed a partnership that seemed adventurous and exciting and powerful. Rarely do we see a portrayal of marriage in this light. It’s often about settling down, slowing Cooper Long ANDY Editor

I, for one, welcome our new robot overlords

At this year’s Grammy Awards, the only thing bigger than Pharrell Williams’ hat was the social media backlash. I didn’t watch the whole ceremony, but I was frequently checking in through Facebook, and amid the deluge of posts about the awards’ outrageous irrelevancy, one in particular caught my attention.

Aside from some grammatical polish, the comment was essentially as follows: “The music industry has changed, it’s not the 1970s anymore.” A few others

down, reorganizing priorities so you are no longer at the top, having kids, getting a mortgage, staying home from work – being responsible and respectable and wearing white.

Although there’s nothing wrong with any of those decisions, none of it seems particularly appealing to me. I found it refreshing to watch a performance celebrating marriage for the professional, sexual, and creative fulfillment it can offer. @baharoh

The Beyoncé Awards got off to a strong start

echoed this sentiment, although names have been withheld to protect the innocent.

Such golden-age thinking should be familiar to anyone who has ever watched a Pink Floyd video on YouTube. Of course, the obvious rebuttal is that a lot of uninspiring music was also popular in the 70s. Over time, the chaff gets forgotten.

But this commenter’s paean to the music industry of yesteryear became especially ironic at the end of the evening, when the biggest award went to an album that sounds, for the most part, like it was recorded in 1979.

Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories won Album of the Year, and the helmeted duo shared the honour with a host of collaborators who rose to prominence four decades ago.

Before Nile Rodgers’ infectious strumming on “Get Lucky” made that song the official anthem of H&M change rooms worldwide, it could be heard on 70s disco chart-toppers by Chic and Sister Sledge.

Giorgio Moroder, in turn, was used to working with machines well before the robots recruited him. His synthesized backing tracks for Donna Sum-

mer laid the groundwork for electronic dance music in the mid-70s.

It is almost certainly true that the Grammys are irrelevant and pointless, although everybody who made this complaint online while simultaneously watching the telecast kind of undermined themselves.

But the stance that the awards somehow demonstrate the music industry’s fall from grace seems wrongheaded, especially in the year of the robots. @coop_long

the

big

tickle what would your award statue look like?

LIZ POPE /ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR

Erica H.

Daryl L.

Ameema S.

Fraser L.

Lisa L.

“Queen Bey”

“A twisted rectangular prism”

“A jar of nutella”

“A human head”

“A torch”

theSil.ca

Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014

ANDY

OUTKAST RETRO SPEC TIVE Shane Madill The Silhouette Launched from the small town of East Point, Atlanta, André “André 3000” Benjamin and Antwan “Big Boi” Patton have released five studio albums as OutKast, with almost every one changing the face of hip hop.

As the duo prepare to reunite and tour more than 40 festivals this summer, it is a fitting time to look back on this remarkable discography.

Their first album, Southernplaylisticadillacmuzik (1994) consisted of soul and funk influences in the production, below the lyricism about coming of age topics and urban life.

At the time, some responded negatively to the album, due to the stark deviation from past genre conventions, and to the west coast versus east coast rivalry of the 90s.

However, this album expanded the range of hip hop to incorporate different influences and more emotional lyricism, and it is now considered to be a classic in southern hip hop.

The events after this album resulted in a maturation that would greatly influence of OutKast’s subsequent work.

Confidence from their first

large tour gave them a real sense of the influence that their music had on people.

Big Boi also saw the birth of his first child, whereas André experienced the end of a twoyear relationship and underwent lifestyle changes that included sobriety and vegetarianism.

Their follow-up album, entitled ATLiens (1996), reflected this personal growth and resulted in the creation of another classic.

It was more laid-back than Southernplaylisticadillacmuzik, and took influences from dub and reggae, but persisted in conveying the group’s ever-developing perspectives on life.

Though their first two albums gave a voice to the south and essentially established the entire subgenre of southern hip hop, the group somehow managed to top their previous efforts with 1998’s Aquemini.

Their lyrical and production skills increased, and this album represented a total package of 90s hip hop from any region.

Their first real mainstream hit, however, came off of 2000’s Stankonia. “Ms. Jackson” became their first single to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100.

The group also began tobroaden their style even further,

C4 & C5

five things you probably didn’t know about outkast

with André transitioning to his modern melodic style of vocals, and influences from drum and bass and rock starting to appear.

Speakerboxxx/The Love Below (2004) remains the only pure hip hop album to receive the Grammy for Album of the Year, even though it was basically two solo albums by Big Boi and André, packaged together under the OutKast name.

Unfortunately, 2006’s Idlewild marks the one low point in the groups’ discography.

Accompanied by a musical movie starring the two, the album and film were considered merely average and unfocused.

Though there were high-points, it contained too much filler and not enough substance; this is especially true relative to any of their previous work.

While never officially breaking up, the two decided to go their separate ways to explore their own styles and skills with solo work.

They have not officially released any new OutKast material together since 2006.

With the group about to embark on a major tour in celebration of Southernplaylisticadillacmuzik’s 20th anniversary, however, hopefully that will soon change.

“But I am a lover of all kinds of art. And I just can’t stick to one thing. I guess I could if I made myself, but I’d always be looking the other way, for other things.”

- Andre (1994)

1. Andre played every instrument on “Hey Ya” except for the bass.

2. They planned to sell dope to get studio money, but were signed at age 17 to LaFace instead.

3. Andre 3000 claims to have had his heart broken twice.

4. In high school, Andre taught Big Boi how to roll his first joint.

5. Big Boi had a 3.68 GPA and planned on studying Child Psychology at NYU before his rapping career took off.

theSil.ca

ANDY

Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014

C6

zines on the brain mad pride uses an old medium to spread a new message

Michael Gallagher The Silhouette Mental health has been a very personal issue for me for a while.

Having lost my cousin to suicide in 2010, the importance of recognizing symptoms, accessing help and support, and finding treatment can quite literally be the difference in saving someone’s life. While awareness has grown, there is still much change to be made going forward.

Mad Pride Hamilton is looking to be a part of that change.

The organization was formed by self-identifying “mad” people (as in madness). The group wants to create a community for those with mental health disabilities that will decrease isolation, and increase support.

Having finished their first open mic event in July, their next project, a self-made zine containing art, poetry, and personal stories, looks to explore the creativity of those involved even further. “We have lots of artistic people in our community that don’t have a place to show our work, and this was a place to do that,” said Alise, one of the organizers of the project.

The choice to use a zine itself was very fitting, as self-published zines have a long history of combating social justice issues, such as those created by punks during the 70s, and they became even more prominent during the Riot Grrrl movement of the 90s.

To Mad Pride Hamilton, the zine is more than just a medium with a political history however. Alise spoke about the challenges in accessibility that often comes with digital media. She explained, “Most of our community isn’t digital, and hasn’t gone digital because of poverty, or maybe because they were institutionalized for a long time, or didn’t grow up with the kind of education we had…some simply might not have developed the skills to use the technology, the way a lot of students at McMaster have and because of that, in order to reach all areas of our community there needs to be print versions available.”

These kinds of accessibility issues raise questions about the efficiency of McMaster’s own mental health services. When I asked about their thoughts on student wellness, one of their biggest concerns was financial: “I

think they are trying really hard with the resources they have from who I’ve talked to. A lot of it comes down to no money,” said Andrew. “There are counsellors you can see, and a lot of them are really great…they offer group therapies and a ton of great stuff, but at the end of the day my next appointment with my counsellor is 4 weeks from now and that is long. I’m on a CBT waiting list and right now I’m being told to wait 5 months minimum. Those kinds of issues come from lack of funds and staff.”

Money aside, one of the greatest issues they believe is choice of language. The organization’s decision to reclaim words like “mad” and “crazy” reflects a greater political agenda. “People have been doing this for hundreds of years, taking words and making them mean different things,” said Alise. “Similar to the LGBTQ communities who have been reclaiming queer and other kinds of words, our community has been reclaiming words as a kind of political statement.”

More importantly, Alise believes the term “stigma” is detrimental. She said, “I think we need to change the language we

are using. I think when people talk about stigma they often don’t actually know what they are talking about and they talk very vaguely,” said Alise. “It’s not just stigma, it’s discrimination. When we talk about discrimination on other grounds, like discrimination related to sex, sexuality, gender, race, we talk about it as discrimination, so why are we talking about it as stigma in terms of mental health? I think that is because people don’t think it actually is discrimination, and it is. It’s not just about healthcare, or individual conversations with people, it impacts people’s lives in all areas, limiting what options are available to you.”

It is these kinds of questions the Mad Pride Hamilton zine challenges and explores. The group hopes to release another issue in April and is open to anyone, regardless of their history.

C/O THIS IS INSANE LIFE

watch out for andy’s luv zine - coming feb. 13

theSil.ca REEL SHORT REVIEWS

JACK REACHER

A fairly competent potboiler with some entertaining moments.

But I’ll probably forget I watched it in 24 hours.

Director: Christopher McQuarrie Box Office: $80,033,643 (gross) Budget: $60,000,000

ANDY

Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014

C7

By THADDEUS AWOTUNDE THE SILHOUETTE

AMERICAN HUSTLE

THE DIRTIES

HELLO HERMAN

An overrated ode to Scorsese. A lot of work and emphasis seems to be put on hair and makeup.

There are some moments of brilliance, but it’s all very hammy. Jennifer Lawrence’s character was grating by design. Overall, this gets a lot right, but its story isn’t anything that hasn’t been seen before. It doesn’t seem to have that much to say by the end.

Very bold Canadian film about two film geeks who decide to take their project in a very dark direction. It’s an impactful work on a small budget.

A found footage film with a very clever and metafictive twist. What’s most surprising is that as a film about bullying and school shooting, it’s still packed with humorous punches.

Too busy spending its time being preachy and pretentious to be remotely interesting. It tried to say a lot, maybe too much, and of the too much that was said, most was too obvious. It just evoked way more eye rolls than thoughts.

This little film has a pretty clever sci-fi concept that actually gets handled with some sharp execution here and there. But some aspects are a tad undercooked, especially the acting.

Director: David O. Russell Box Office: $127,494,359 (gross) Budget: $40,000,000

Director: Matt Johnson Filmed in: Toronto, Ontario Budget: $10,000 CDN

Director: Michelle Danner Box Office: $5,985 (gross) Budget: $1,500,000

Director: Dennis Iliadis Premiered at: SXSW festival Screenplay: Bill Gullo

+1

theSil.ca

ANDY

Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014

C8

Student by day, musician by night Dana Swarbrick builds her musical career with a headlining gig

TED BUCK/MY SHOT IN THE DARK

Josh Ruf The Silhouette Headlining one’s own show is no small accomplishment, but a couple of weeks ago Dana Swarbrick did just that.

“It was quite the challenge,” Swarbrick said of her Jan. 14 performance at the Casbah, marking another step forward in Swarbrick’s small-but-growing musical career.

Swarbrick’s story begins with her aspiring to sing with the high school vocal jazz group Bluesettes & Co. Despite being the only grade nine accepted into the group, it was not as though her vocal abilities did not sprout overnight.

“I did not have a very good voice [then],” Swarbrick said. “I

owe everything to that group in and silly jokes. “Being part of a terms of where I get my voice, group of people that love music because of all the practice.” She and that perform together does a would perform with that group huge thing for your confidence,” throughout high school. she said. “I encourage everyone Despite all this experience, to find something they are paspeople are still often surprised sionate about and get involved.”

by Swarbrick’s age. “People often Swarbirck found many such find out that I’m nineteen, they opportunities for involvement are appalled, probably because at McMaster, where she is also of my confidence,” said a psychology and social cogniSwarbrick. tion major. “Last year I If you’ve just did a lot of coffee seen houses on camSwarbrick pus” Swarbrick “It was live, you’ll said. “I joined everything I was know she MacBEAT and learning about. Playing makes I fell in love music with a group the stage with that her own club.” She’s fosters social cohesion” with her not exagcountgerating, she’s DANA SWARBRICK less puns married to it

on Facebook.

The group meets Thursdays in MUSC and just jams. “It was cool because it was everything I was learning about, playing music with a group fosters social cohesion,” she said.

Swarbrick’s first paid gig, in early September, was also an exercise in social cohesion.

“I got $20 for opening for my friends, Boy With an Atlas,” said Swarbrick. “I think it was a pretty good show, so good in fact that the guy who manages the Casbah, Brodie, tracked me down a couple months later on Facebook, and sent me a message saying: ‘Hey I saw you open for Boy With an Atlas, do you want to open for Hannah Georges?’” Swarbrick was ecstatic.

When asked how she was

approached to headline a show, Swarbrick credited her “huge support system at McMaster.”

A venue only allows someone to headline a show if enough people will attend; the impressive numbers that Swarbrick brought to Hannah Georges showed she had not only the talent, but the support as well.

“I was so filled with love, and all the support was amazing that night,” she said, looking back on her first headlining gig.

Swarbrick recently released her first EP, called Fireflies and Starlight, and is continuing to play small venues around Hamilton. She will open for The Treble at the Casbah on Feb. 11.