The
Silhouette McMASTER UNIVERSITY’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2013 VOL. 84 NO. 13
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How women are getting into the Movember spirit
More than a hundred students and faculty marched through campus in support of MacPride.
Coming out to MacPride
C/O SARAH JANES
As the major event of the Queer Students Community Centre’s MacPride week, the pride parade took place on campus on Tuesday, Nov. 5 at 2 p.m. The parade began at the Commons building and wound its way through to Mills Plaza where representatives from the LGBTQ+ community spoke about the importance of pride, the week’s events and attendance at the parade as a “coming out” of all sorts. Andrew Pettit, Sports Leagues & Camps Coordinator for McMaster Athletics and Recreation, spoke at the rally. He said, “I think today is a coming out for all of us. When you come to MacPride you have to ask yourself, ‘are people going to think I’m gay, lesbian, bi, transgender?’ And then you ask yourself, ‘does it matter?’ You being here today is a statement that no, it does not; we are people, we’re here together, we’re McMaster.” MacPride continues through Friday, Nov. 8 with different events daily.
PHOTO GALLERY: GO ONLINE TO SEE ADDITIONAL PHOTOS OF THE PARADE & MORE | WWW.THESIL.CA
MSU negotiating summer HSR pass Anqi Shen Online Editor At a Public Works meeting on Nov. 4, MSU president David Campbell and VP (Finance) Jeffrey Doucet briefed councillors on the MSU’s proposed improvements to HSR service. The MSU is exploring options for a summer HSR pass for students, in addition to expanded service on the 51 route. The MSU-HSR agreement expires every three years and is currently under renegotiation. The MSU’s proposed changes would cost roughly $400,000 more, according to the HSR’s estimate. Negotiations are underway regarding how much of the cost would be shouldered by students and how much the City would invest. The results of the negotiation, including potential student fee changes, are expected to go to referendum in January 2014 during the MSU presidential election. Before Campbell and Doucet began their presentation at City Hall on Nov. 4, some committee members questioned whether the MSU should address the committee with negotiations underway. “I just need some clarity on the delegation – are we in negotia-
tions with McMaster?” councillor Powers asked. ”This is very awkward.” “You’re going to have people who are negotiating with the City speak their case in public while binding the City from speaking their case in public,” another councillor said. The meeting’s chair clarified that the committee was only to listen to the presentation and not take action. After the initial confusion, Campbell emphasized that the MSU wanted “to give an update on the work [they are] doing with transit as it relates to retention in the city.” Currently, students pay $126.15 for an eight-month bus pass effective between September and April. Summer students may choose to buy a discounted HSR pass at $71 per month. “Students are very happy with the value of our bus pass… but students have indicated to us that they want to invest more into transit to target enhanced service to the campus during the day as well as summer service. Those are the two issues students want us to work on,” Doucet said. The MSU also proposed that a further discount on summer bus
Med students host LGBTQ+ conference Ana Qarri Staff Reporter
C/O MICHELLE NG
service would give students incentive to stay in Hamilton during the summer and consider staying in the city long-term. When asked about summer student demographics, Doucet said about 6,000 students took summer classes last year, but most were taking just one or two courses. “We see a lot of students getting research-type grants and who are working on campus but might not be in classes,” he added. During the question period, councillors were interested in
whether enhanced service would lead to an increased student presence outside of Westdale. “We think the two main obstacles to students staying around in the summer are jobs and then the difficulty of getting to the jobs,” Campbell said. The MSU will meet with HSR representatives later this week to discuss their proposal submitted in August. @anqi_shen
The LGBTQ Health Interest Group, a forum for McMaster medical students, hosted its first conference on Saturday, Nov. 2. “Guiding Practice: Current Issues in Gender, Sexuality and Health” aimed to educate and raise awareness about barriers and issues in health care experienced by gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer patients. The conference was among the first of its kind hosted by medical school students, and it garnered the interest of well-known professionals and the greater McMaster and LGBTQ+ communities in Hamilton. “There’s a limited amount of LGBTQ+ oriented training in medical school within the curriculum,” said Melissa Bota, one of the organizers and a second-year medical student. On average, a medical school student gets fewer than five hours of training surrounding these issues, and 54.4 per cent of Canadian medical schools provide no training at all. CONFERENCE, A3
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Hot Pot Topic
Urban beekeeping comes to Mac PAGE B1
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Women’s volleyball recruit gives high hopes
Starcraft 2 T.O.
tournament PAGE C4
the S ’ T N E D I S E PR E G PA MSU Celebrates MACPRIDE and Campus Diversity
Anna D’Angela VP Administration vpadmin@msu.mcmaster.ca
ext. 23250
For the second year in a row, I marched in the Pride March on Tuesday November 5th with queer-identified folks and their allies from across campus. This event is only one of the many that are being held this week as part of the annual Mac Pride Week put on by the MSU’s Queer Students Community Centre (QSCC). This is a week to support and celebrate the diversity of gender and sexual identities on our campus and thanks to the work of Jyssika Russell (Coordinator for the QSCC) and her entire team, there are many exciting events open to all students to attend. As a self-identified ally of the LGBTQ+ community, I recognize my privilege as a cisgendered, heterosexual white woman. Similar to the sentiments expressed by Jemma Wolfe, Executive Editor of The Silhouette last week in her editorial “Be an ally during MacPride”, I truly appreciate the opportunities to participate in events such as Mac Pride. This week allows me to recognize and reflect on the privilege that I experience given my sexual identity, my gender and my race.
MSU DIVERSITY SERVICES
This year, I am glad to see that the MSU is working as a whole to do the same. Through various channels and groups in our organization, we are looking for ways to better celebrate and support diversity on our campus. MSU Diversity Services, run by Israa Ali (Director) and Ana Qarri (Assistant Director), continues to host a variety of events, with more plans for next semester. As well, Diversity Services is excellent at forming partnerships with campus groups to showcase the many different experiences of Mac students. Moreover, for the first time, all Part-Time Managers (full-time students who manage an MSU service), members of the Student Representative Assembly (SRA), and MSU Maroons participated in Anti-Oppression Training. The goal of this training is to be able to better represent and deliver services to all members of the MSU. Along with members of the SRA, our services, and the student community, I am part of the Women and Gender Equity Committee (formerly known as the Women and Trans* Centre Committee) to explore the next steps in the creation of a centre to provide a safe space for women and trans* folks on campus. While there are still many details that remain to be addressed, I encourage anyone who is interested in participating in these conversations to join us each week on Fridays from 2:00pm-3:30pm in the MSU Main Office (MUSC 201) to contribute to our meetings. Now, I am not saying that the MSU is the picture of representativeness and diversity. There is always more we can do to help support the diverse voices of all members of the McMaster community. However, we are trying. And I am looking forward to continue working with my peers throughout this year to do so.
Spencer Graham VP (Education)
David Campbell President
Anna D’Angela VP (Administration)
Jeff Doucet VP (Finance)
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
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Editors Julia Redmond & Tyler Welch & Tomi Milos Email news@thesil.ca
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VIDEO: MAC STUDENTS MAKE CAMPUS THESIL.CA THEIR OBSTACLE COURSE
Making cents of the audit MSU financial statements reveal sixfigure surplus for 2012-2013 Doucet acknowledged the need for a plan for the extra money, as recommended by the external auditors. The McMaster Students Union “We need an actual capital has released audits of its financial growth plan. That’s a plan we statements, showing the state of don’t necessarily have right now,” the union’s money from the past he said. academic year. While the organization as The MSU, a multi-million a whole ran a surplus for the dollar organization, is responsiyear, certain services within the ble for maintaining a number of MSU saw a deficit in 2012-13, services and organizations across among them the Emergency First campus, which is done through Response Team, the McMaster the accumulation of student fees dental plan, and Compass Inforfrom each full-time undergrad. It mation Service. collects additional funds through Compass, for example, ran a its businesses, including Union deficit of about $600,000. Market and the Underground. “GO Transit “KPMG has moved to combed Presto cards, through all which is very the financials “We need an actual convenient for of the past students, but twelve months,” capital growth plan. obviously it’s explained MSU That’s a plan we don’t resulted in less VP (Finance) necessarily have right revenue for Jeff Doucet of now” Compass—when the process. we sell tickets at The external Jeff Doucet, McMaster Student Compass we’re auditing firm earning a perwas called in, as Union VP (Finance) centage of revepart of standard nue,” explained procedure, to Doucet. assess the orgaOn the other hand, McMasnization’s financial health. ter’s campus radio station, CFMU, The audits were publicly finished the year with a surplus of released at the end of October $193,785, a significant portion of and were put up for discussion at the organization’s revenue, most a meeting of the Student Repof which comes from a portion of resentative Assembly on Nov. 3. student fees. However, McMaster Representatives took the opporstudents voted in January 2013 to tunity to pick through the details decrease the levy given to CFMU of the reports, asking questions of from $17.45 per student to $12.50, the VP Finance before ultimately which is expected to eliminate the voting to approve the documents. large surplus in future. The MSU finished the 2012The results of the audit are 13 academic year with a surplus publicly available, accessible on of more than $300,000. While this the MSU website. represents only about three per cent of the MSU’s operating bud@juliaeredmond get of $12,235,578, as a registered not-for-profit organization it is meant to be completely revenue neutral.
Restaurant another in a list of failed businesses at location. Decadesold curse could be involved.
Julia Redmond News Editor
Tyler Welch Assistant News Editor
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Ben Barrett-Forrest / Multimedia BEN BARRETT-FORREST / MULTIMEDIA EDITOR
Conference looks to future From A1 “There seems to be a disparity in the general knowledge around terminology and appropriate interactions with colleagues and patients,” said Sarah Macisaac, another organizer. “We thought that this was something that could generate a conversation about what you need to know when not only providing patient care, but also interacting with colleagues who may be out but may not be out.” The conference had an impressive line-up of speakers and workshop hosts, among them Dr. Anne Reid, former Canadian Medical Association president, and El-Farouk Khaki, a renowned immigrant and refugee rights lawyer in Toronto. The first keynote was Dr. Reid’s “Out of the Closet and Into the Box,” which outlined how
labels put on LGBTQ+ patients become harmful during health care provision. Her presentation was followed by a series of two hour-long workshops covering topics such as Queer Parenting, Issues in Transgender Health, HIV counselling and others. Overall, they received great feedback and suggestions from the participants, and the organizers felt that the conference was a success. “We’ve had a couple of contacts already who want to mirror our conference because of paucity of LGBTQ+ focused material in the curriculum, and recognizing that no physician through the extent of their career will have only heterosexual patients,” said MacIsaac. “This is something that everyone has to have competency in
Fire destroys Main Street Crabby Joe’s
to provide great care.” McMaster University has been taking efforts to improve diversity in their medical school through inclusivity and encouraging interactions with LGBTQ+ patients and colleagues. “For a lot of people, it’s not willful ignorance, but discomfort or unfamiliarity so to have that platform for familiarity is really important,” explained Macissac. The Medical school recently appointed Dr. Veltman, a presenter at the conference, as the Diversity & Engagement Chair, whom Macisaac recognized as a “a great liaison between us and the administration.” “Often times the real gaps just come from the generational gap,” added Bota, “they think they’re doing a great job based on what was a diversity issue when
they came through, and McMaster does a good job at being open when it comes to us lobbying new interests.” Bota, MacIsaac and Khanna are confident that the LGBTQ+ Health Interest Group along with Dr. Veltman will continue to host the conference in the future. With issues like “gender dysphoria” still being considered a psychiatric illness in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, advocates of LGBTQ+ health still have a long way to go. “The people on the DSM committees now are 50-60 years old,” said Summeets Khanna on the importance of educating new medical doctors on these issues. “We’re not included in the conversations now, but one day we will be the ones sitting on the boards.”
A fire consumed a local Crabby Joe’s Restaurant in the early hours of the morning on Nov. 1. Area residents report hearing what sounded like an explosion around 2 a.m. that morning. Firefighting crews were called to the scene, 1705 Main St. W, less than 15 minutes later. Upon arrival firefighters initially entered the building to work on fighting the blaze. However, once the roof became unsafe, they were forced to pull out of the building and focus on containing the fire. Shortly after, a large section of the roof over the kitchen collapsed. Firefighters succeeded in preventing the flames from spreading to the building next door, holding a Baskin Robbins store, a World Gym and other businesses. No injuries occurred and the building is believed to have been empty when the fire began. Initial estimates suggest that damage to the property amounts to $500,000. The Ontario Fire Marshall’s Office are investigating the fire and trying to determine the cause of the blaze. Ray Pollard, working for the property’s owner Durndurn Property Management, told The Spectator that it is too soon to begin thinking about the future of the location. A local folk-tale suggests that the fire could have been a result of a curse. According to the legend, a woman who lived in the neighbourhood did not want the property developed and cursed the land where Crabby Joe’s stood. Ever since, no business has been able to last more than a few yearsalways mysteriously closing up shop. Michelle Leitch, an Ancaster resident who group up in Dundas heard about it growing up. “The rumour in high school [graduated in 1992] was that the place was totally jinxed, like nothing would ever survive there and that something was going on,” she said. The location first housed a Ponderosa restaurant and then a Glider’s Bar and Grill, in the 1980s. After that, Tony Baloney, Dimaggio’s, Players and Crabby Joe’s all opened and then closed soon after. “You’d figure the location would be good, and everything starts out awesome,” she said, “but nothing survives. I sure wouldn’t put a business in there.” @TylerWelch4
CANADIAN CAMPUS NEWS Ryle Cameron The Silhouette University of Calgary cashes in to the tune of $25 million
Canadian Business new rankings put York on top
PhD students look to “make right” the system
New and improved BMO simulation lab up and running
Trades receive boost from British Columbia government
Forget the fifth of November; Nov. 4 is a day that will long be remembered by the University of Calgary. Albertan entrepreneur David Werklund donated $25 million to the University. In turn, the school re-named its teaching institution the Werklund School of Education. The donation will augment both current and future teachers’ learning opportunities, and will support uCalgary’s “Eyes High” desire to become one of Canada’s top five research universities by 2016. Werklund has supported the University in the past, helping to establish the Werklund Foundation Centre for Youth Leadership Education.
This year’s rankings for the top MBA program in the country just came in, with York’s Schulich School of Business taking the number one position. Under the rankings, which looked at classroom experience, real-world integration, and salary compared to tuition, HEC Montréal and Concordia University’s John Molson School of Business took second and third spot, respectively, and McMaster’s DeGroote School of Business placed fifth. However, powerhouses like UBC, McGill, and Western refused to provide data for the rankings.
A number of PhD students within the province of Quebec organized a workshop that highlighted their concerns with the current system of scholarly authorship. The workshop was organized by Association francophone pour le savoir, a not-for-profit organization that promotes the sciences in Quebec and francophone communities across Canada. These concerns ranged from being relegated to the second or third authorship position despite providing the majority of research work, to being unwilling to publish their work that had been rewritten – poorly – by a professor overseeing their work.
Ever wanted to pretend you were the next up-and-coming stock broker? Recent developments at the University of Toronto are looking to make this possible. U of T’s Rotman School of Management just reopened an updated version of its BMO Financial Group Finance Research and Trading Lab, which provides potential traders with an experience similar to the trading floor of the TSX, including information from Reuters and Bloomberg. The lab took over space from old offices and part of a library, and its refurbishment was enabled by a $1.75- million gift from BMO Financial Group.
The trades in British Columbia will receive a one-time boost of $1.8 million dollars from their provincial government. The majority of the money - $1.6 million - will be spent on providing foundational infrastructure in 10 public post-secondary education institutions, which will give basic knowledge and skills of any trade that a student might desire to pursue. The money is sign that the province is taking the training of its young people in trades seriously, especially since the province would like to fill one million jobs in British Columbia by 2020.
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DITORIAL
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Executive Editor Jemma Wolfe Email thesil@thesil.ca Phone 905.525.9140 x22052
to three more weeks.
REMEMBRANCE DAY
Taking time to remember Jemma Wolfe Executive Editor
to discount polish. to the queen’s tea and weekends with my sister. to fried cauliflower.
One of the tensest moments of my first year at McMaster didn’t happen when I was writing exams, or fighting with my roommate, or handing in a late assignment. It happened on Nov. 11 when I was sitting in the basement lecture hall of Togo Salmon. The professor was lecturing straight through the 10:30 a.m. class. When 11:11 a.m. rolled around, the time traditionally reserved as a minute of silence in respect for those affected by war – through combat or collateral, a student raised her hand. “Shouldn’t we stop lecture for a minute right now?” she said, and outlined her case: that would be the most respectful thing to do. There was a long, awkward silence. Then, the professor said no. I don’t remember her reason; it was long and convoluted, and very passionately against recognizing the moment. But then the student argued back, and more students jumped in, until finally, several minutes past the 11:11 a.m. mark, the room lapsed into 60 seconds of awkward silence. While that particular minute was spent more in embarrassed quiet for the uncomfortable circumstances than in thoughtful contemplation, it has come back to me every November since, as I dwell on war and peace, Remembrance Day, poppies, and everything this time represents. The squabbles of that morning seem petty in comparison to what it was like to be on campus in the war-torn days of yesteryear. There was a time on McMas-
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One front-page article from Nov. 3, 1944 warned that the military status of all male students would now be checked, and “every student must have on his person at all times either a postponement, a discharge, or a rejection paper.”
to the glory of imovie and rookie video fun. to hardcore parkour. to my new socks. to summer bus passes and extended transit. to my zen garden. to media partnerships, and fun things to come. to christmas bazaars. ‘tis the season. to forthcoming christmas parties. to movember. here we go. to suits.
A front-page editorial from the Nov. 10, 1939 edition of The Silhouette discussing Armistice Day and the conflict of the day: WWII. ter’s campus when the impact of war was not a once-a-November focus, but rather a daily occurrence. Old Sil headlines from World War II call for blood donors during a European shortage. In desperation, they appealed to women to donate, as men were traditionally the exclusive donor group. One front-page article from Nov. 3, 1944 warned that the military status of all male students would now be checked, and “every student must have on his person at all times either a postponement, a discharge, or a rejection paper.” If it was found that any men were “unable to produce these necessary qualifications, their names will be turned in to N.M.R.A. immediately. Within a few days they will receive their military call-up.” (The N.M.R.A. was the National Resources Mobi-
lization Act, which recorded and policed conscripted Canadians for military service at home and abroad.) The paper from that time period is also peppered with lists of fallen alumni and students. It serves as a sombre reminder for all we take for granted today as students. For the first time in several years, I’ll be in a position to actually attend a Remembrance Day morning ceremony. But if you’re in lecture (and whether or not your professor pauses), at work, at home or elsewhere, I still encourage you to stop what you’re doing for a moment. Not to glorify war but to be thankful for all that we have today, the people we owe that to, and what we want tomorrow to be. @jemma_wolfe
Come again? They may have been published in previous weeks, but these online pieces deserve a second look
Most popular
Most commented
Most underrated
NEWS: “Campus Store pulls offensive costumes after community speaks out” by Julia Redmond. First published on Thursday, Oct. 31.
NEWS: “Police monitoring cyclists in McMaster area” by Anqi Shen. First published on Monday, Oct. 28.
VIDEO: “After office hours with Dr. Guarne” by Stephanie Wan and Anqi Shen. First posted on Wednesday, Oct. 30.
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to the continued earl grey drought. to the november exhaustion. to neglecting my plants. to the red/white poppy debate. to rob ford, crack cocaine, the media frenzy, #TOpoli, etc. to the office house flies. they persist. to procrastinating. to unpaid internships, a.k.a. my probable future. to losing touch. to uncertainty. to finances - personal and professional. to the hint of sour milk around my desk. to the cost of drycleaning.
The Silhouette
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EDITORIAL BOARD Jemma Wolfe | Executive Editor thesil@thesil.ca Scott Hastie | Managing Editor managing@thesil.ca Andrew Terefenko | Production Editor production@thesil.ca Anqi Shen | Online Editor news@thesil.ca Julia Redmond | News Editor news@thesil.ca Tyler Welch | Assistant News Editor news@thesil.ca Tomi Milos | Features Editor news@thesil.ca Sam Godfrey | 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 Emily Scott | Video Editor photo@thesil.ca
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Staff Reporters Tobi Abdul Sarah O’Connor Ana Qarri Sophia Topper thesil@thesil.ca
Job prospects grim for youth Jane Lytvynenko CUP Ottawa Bureau Chief OTTAWA (CUP) - The notion of today’s youth being the “lost generation” is being challenged by a new report from TD Economics. Published Oct. 22, the study focused on the skill mismatch and labour shortages in the market over the last 10 years. It found the picture is not as grim as it has been painted. “The notion of a severe labour market skills mismatch has topped the headlines,” reads the report. “With data in hand, we debunk the notion that Canada is facing an imminent skills crisis. At the same time, there is some evidence of mismatch across certain occupations and provinces, but the sparse, non-time series data prevent us from saying whether the situation today is worse than in years past. The report looked at three key areas: the Canadian labour market over the past 10 years, whether there’s a skills mismatch and what should be done about it. It honed in on areas where there are commonly perceived skills shortages or surpluses, including the trades and arts degrees. “Some have been labelling the current youth generation as the lost generation,” said Sonya Gulati, senior economist at the TD Bank Group who co-authored the report. “For us, while we determined the unemployment rate is higher, part of the reason for that is where we are in the economic cycle.” According to StatsCan, in 2012 the youth unemployment rate was 14.5 per cent compared to 6 per cent for workers aged 25 and up. However, the rate is historically low for those aged 15 to 24 not only in Canada but across the globe.
“Occupations widely thought to be in shortage have recorded considerably lower unemployment rates than their counterparts in the surplus camp,” reads the TD Economics report. “Still, vacancy rates outside of some pockets (e.g., trades) are not significantly higher than the national average. They also have not accelerated over the past few years.” Gulati explained one of such examples is graduates with arts degrees. “What we found in terms of the arts degrees is typically people graduated with a lower labour market outcome in terms of salary and it usually takes them a longer time to get a position, but overtime that difference between specific fields begins to narrow,” she said. The TD Economics report gives a number of recommendations for governments, employers and potential employees. It says job training is not happening at the same rate as it used to be. While the Conservative government’s newly introduced Canada Jobs Grant is a step in the right according to Gulati, more can be done to improve Canada’s job market. “[Employers can] provide incentive to a worker for taking on the job training,” she says. “For instance you may get a tax break if you seek training above and beyond what you already have. You can give employers incentives to make sure the skills workers have are aligned with what the needs of the general labor market are.” Students need to look for prospects before they enter a field of study to make sure they can get employment after graduation. Despite prospects not being as bleak as predicted, both Canada and its citizens should take steps to safeguard their employment.
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Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013
NEWS
FEATURE Where some students see an obstacle, those who practice parkour see an opportunity to propel themselves in an acrobatic fashion. The Silhouette takes a closer look at the craze sweeping across campus.
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VIDEO: SEE PARKOUR IN ACTION WWW.THESIL.CA
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“I enjoy the freedom of being in the air and also how it gets more challenging when you add complexity — whether that’s depth, height, or a drop.”
HUMANS ARE MEANT TO MOVE
Ethan Greenberg, President of McMaster Parkour
YOSEIF HADDAD / PHOTO EDITOR
gifted academically or athletically and quickly grew disenchanted with school and organized sports. When he learned of how his father’s training had improved him The most some McMaster as a person, David realized that students will interact with their he had found something worthsurroundings is when they are while. Along with his cousins, running late for a lecture on the Belle threw away all his other other side of campus. Fuelled by commitments and applied himself a mixture of adrenaline and cafto training in a fashion that feine, they may err on the side of emphasized surpassing obstacles formality and opt for the advenfound in the urban environment turous choice in cutting across the through running, climbing, marshy bog that is the BSB lawn, swinging, vaulting, jumping and not caring if they came out with rolling. their outfit sullied. Others may be Today, parkour enjoys less rash and simply take the stairs widespread popularity. Although two at a time. practitioners normally shirk away One thing remains true in from efforts to turn parkour into all cases: in those few, anxious a competitive sport, as it inhibits minutes spent traversing a sea of the goal of self-development, Red bodies milling around, everyone Bull has taken to holding an event is forced to reconsider an enviin Santorini called “Art of Moronment they’re used to socializtion”, which pits 18 of the world’s ing in as an obstruction to their most adept parkour tracers goal of getting from Point A to against each other. Ryan Doyle, Point B. the “winner” of the first-ever For those looking to experi“Art of Motion” event, insists that ence that thrill again and again those taking part are doing just without the awkwardness of that, saying, “there stepping are no losers.” into class In a bid to late, the better understand McMaster “We’re exploring different the intrigue, The Parkour Silhouette sat Club offers types of movement down with two a more prominent memappropriate by adapting to our bers of the club. means of environment. It’s more Ethan Greenberg being physof a means of promoting is a fourth-year ically active Life Sciences individual expression while not student as well conflicting than a rebellious act.” as club president with school who has been time. Muhammed Aydin, Vice-Presdent training for four The of McMaster Parkour years, while Muclub was hammed Aydin is founded in a second-year Life 2008, capSciences student italizing on the discipline’s steady who acts as vice-president and rise in fame. has been training since before he The movement is widely entered university. considered to have originated in Even at McMaster, where France through the efforts of Daclubs compete with each othvid Belle, who was born in 1973 er for members, the discipline to a Parisian firefighter. Prior to enjoys a steady amount of growth. beginning his career as a fireGreenberg emphasized that the fighter, Belle’s father had busied group maintains a “come when himself in his adolescence at a you want” mentality that means military orphanage by rigorously the number of people at any given training on the obstacle courses meet-up can vary. there. David himself was not very Tomi Milos Features Editor
“
“We have a bunch of people that sign up at the beginning of the year, but don’t show up later on. Sometimes we pick people up off the street just because they’re watching us.” That being said, Ayden highlighted the fact that a core group of “15 to 20 people” exists. Of those diehard members, he noted that “most of them are male” but that they encourage anyone to come out and try their hand. At the moment, there are three girls who round out that core group. For those interested in joining, the group meets on Tuesdays (12:30 p.m.), Thursdays (3:30 p.m.), and Saturdays (3:30 p.m.) outside of the Museum of Art. Though they begin there, Ayden said that they usually branch off and are open to taking their acrobatics anywhere. “Popular spots that we like to frequent include Hamilton Hall, Togo Salmon Hall, Chester New Hall, and the DeGroote School of Business.”
To avoid legal disputes should an injury occur, members are required to sign a waiver that exempts the club from any blame for an injury. “It’s a policy we maintain because it’s a physically active sport.” But because the group preaches a safety-first approach and makes sure novices take their time in progressing to more advanced moves, they say that injuries are extremely rare. One of those cases occurred as a result of a complete newcomer rashly attempting to emulate Greenberg who was doing backflips off the wall in the gymnastics gym. “This member wasn’t really familiar with parkour technique and couldn’t even do a standing backflip, while what I was doing was more complicated. The former member went for it recklessly and opened up in mid-flight which stopped their rotation and caused them to land on their head.” The member in question suffered vertebrae fractures, but has since recovered. With this in mind, Greenberg again emphasized that they do not encourage anyone to attempt a difficult move that they aren’t physically ready for. “The worst injuries we get now are just little cuts and bruises,” he said. Occasionally, the club will opt for a “change of scenery” and head to downtown Hamilton where they spend some time at Jackson Square and attract the attention of some who would like to join. Although parkour necessitates training in public space, Greenberg and Ayden stressed that it differs from sports like skateboarding where skater wax besmirches public monuments as it concerns itself with keeping the practicing environment in good shape. In their experience, they have rarely been asked to pick up their things and move. Asked what parkour means to them and what in turn made them join, Greenberg and Ayden had similar responses. Greenberg
said, “First of all, it’s very fun and can sometimes help in real-life situations. For example, one of our members is training to be a police officer and the physical and mental skills he develops through parkour are very applicable to that job. I enjoy the freedom of being in the air and also how it gets more challenging when you add complexity — whether that’s depth, height, or a drop.” Ayden followed by saying, “Personally, I gravitated towards the self-improvement aspect. Other sports didn’t really interest me as much because I wanted to train for myself. I feel more confident and safer knowing that I could use my newly developed skills if I were ever to be in a precarious situation like being mugged, for example.” Academically, both maintain that parkour has helped them hone their time management skills. They’ve seen the hyper-efficiency learned from parkour help them juggle their busy courseloads. Ayden said that the ability to transcend barriers that is the backbone of parkour translates well to schoolwork, because the knowledge that he can scale walls assists him when confronted with a metaphorical wall of sorts like a tough assignment. At the end of the day, both were reluctant to consider parkour a counter-cultural movement. “[It is] essentially re-establishing something that we all should have,” said Ayden. “Humans are meant to move, but we set up constricting rules that tell us how to move. We’re exploring different types of movement by adapting to our environment. It’s more of a means of promoting individual expression than a rebellious act.” @tomimilos
O
Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013
theSil.ca
PINIONS
A7 Editor Sam Godfrey
Weigh in on body image
A8
Email opinions@thesil.ca Phone 905.525.9140 x27117 Opinions on opinions
A9
Yesterday, I spent an hour staring at a tree. Sophia Topper Staff Reporter It was beautiful. The sky was blue, the brick was red, the grass was green and the tree was so, so, gold. I remembered sitting on the scratchy carpet in Mrs. Nordahl’s grade one class, learning about why trees change colour in the fall. As autumn days are cut to darkness and fall is cut to winter, the green pigments flood out, extraneous without the light that feeds them. Gold is the colour of death. But as we extoll upon fall’s fiery beauty, we might ask why we find it so. The reds and yellows splattering our campus are omens of winter, and a symbol of vanishing vitality. They are the tree’s last words, and their parting gift before a barren darkness. As I stood next to Bates residence
staring up at this incredible tree, I wondered why we don’t revel in spring the same way. Sure, everyone loves spring, the blissful rebirth after a harsh winter, but we don’t savour it. We keep looking ahead to summer. Fall is different because it’s ephemeral. We know it won’t last. We don’t like what comes next. The leaves remind us how little time we have left. Fall inspires people to do things: go for one last hike before it gets icy, wear your sandals one last time, roast around one last bonfire, eat one last bowl of squash soup and live as much as possible before frigidity sets in and we all retreat to tunnels and dorms. It was a bit of a shock to come inside and open up a magazine to a spread on anti-aging creams, serums and cleansers. Society doesn’t find beauty in wrinkles and grey hairs, but they’re no different from gold and red leaves. When a woman looks in the mirror
and spots her first wrinkle, the tired trope calls for a catastrophic melt down. She looks in the mirror and curses all the things that caused it. All those afternoons sunbathing on the lawn, those blissful cigarette study breaks, the late nights imbibing with friends, she stares in the mirror and wishes she could take them all back. Is it really worth it to lose all those joyful moments for a less flawed face? When a man spots his first grey hair, he doesn’t celebrate the fact he lived long enough to earn one, he worries that he has lost his looks. He fears he looks old, tired, like his grandfather. If a tree could see its leaves, how would it feel? Would it rejoice in its new beauty, or fear their imminent loss? We dislike signs of age in ourselves because they
remind us of how much time we have left, but rather than plan how to spend it most people plan how to keep it from showing. What if grey hair and wrinkles were treated like fall, inspiring us to really carpe diem this time, instead of feeding into the $114 billion anti-aging industry. Couldn’t that money be better spent making the most of our own personal autumns? I know that a bunch of college students who won’t be facing this anytime soon may not be the best people to make this plea to, but it starts with you. Next time you see your grandmother, try to appreciate the silver in her hair like you appreciate the gold in the leaves. If you’re lucky, that’ll be you some day. It can be beautiful too. KAREN WANG / GRAPHICS EDITOR
FEEDBACK Do you call people out for using discriminatory language?
Em Kwissa explains why she eliminates certain words from her vocabulary. SLURRED, A8
“I kind of just ignore it. If people want to do that, I’m not going to be a part of it.”
“Yes, I hate that. My best friend came out to me a few years ago. I get really defensive.”
Matthew, Theatre & Film & Communication Studies II
Morgan, Humanities I
“Sometimes. It depends if I know the person.”
Tyshan, Religious Studies and Sociology IV
theSil.ca
Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013
Sticks and stones
OPINIONS
A8
Words have meaning. You can’t just potato alligator dishwasher.
Em Kwissa The Silhouette I distinctly remember the last time I ever used the word “faggot.” I was sitting in my friend’s car outside my mother’s house. As he pulled up into the driveway to drop me off he saw out his window, on the ledge beside my mother’s driveway, the big globs of wax that lay baking in the sun. He asked me who had put all that wax there, and I told him that it had been someone I knew in grade school, and he had done it many years ago but the wax had baked and frozen and baked and frozen and never gone away. Matter-of-factly, I called that boy a faggot. My friend turned to me
with one eyebrow raised in a gesture of disbelief. “Um, hello?” he said. He didn’t have to say anything more. A few months previously, I had found out that my friend was gay. I hadn’t intended to use the word as a slur. I didn’t mean to say that the boy who’d waxed the ledge outside my mother’s house was gay or that gay people were bad. In the school where I grew up, the word “faggot” was tossed around as a gratuitous insult. I liked it for the guttural sound of it, like “maggot.” There was a strength in the way it rolled off my tongue. But the hurt on my friend’s face, the way he looked at me like he couldn’t believe what I had just said, changed everything about my perception of that word. I explained to him what I had meant, and he told me it didn’t matter. The intentions behind our words rarely matter more than their consequences. I was in grade nine. I have never used the word since. In subsequent years, there are a number of words
that I have chosen to remove from my vocabulary, and while I wouldn’t impose my rules for my language on other people, I have yet to hear an argument convincing enough to bring such words back into my life. For many years, my mother used the word “retard,” no matter how I insisted that it was hurtful. She told me that it was a word from her childhood, and that she didn’t mean it the way people heard it. It wasn’t until her friend’s disabled son started being called by that name in school, until her own son was identified with a learning disability, that the word started to trickle out of her mouth less and less. Many times I have heard the argument that culture has taken words like “faggot” and “retard” and changed them to mean something different, much in the way that “literally” no longer means literally. This is an interesting argument, but the intuition that rises in response is that the change in the meaning of the word “literally” is not used to hurt people. Today, a friend of mine stated that while he still throws the word “faggot” around occasionally, he only does it with people he knows, and who he knows won’t be offended. He censors himself much in the same way that I censor myself when I’m around his mother. I don’t say “fuck” around my friends’ parents, though you
can bet I’ll sprinkle it liberally throughout my sentences when in more relaxed company. Another interesting argument. My counter-argument is this: People who are offended by the word “fuck” are not a minority that has been systematically oppressed. These people have not had their rights taken away and they are not at a higher risk of violence than other people. The word “fuck” offends them because it is crude, not because it is being used to marginalize and belittle them. The word “faggot,” on the other hand, comes from a place that has made it so that there are still parts of the world in which two people who love each other aren’t allowed to get married, among the least harmful results. It comes from a system that has designated a certain minority as lesser than. It was created by that system to keep those people in their place. One cannot be certain that no one in present company will be offended by that word. You don’t know which of your friends are closeted or have friends who are. You don’t know which of your friends has a learning disability or knows someone who does. Which is more important – to be hip to the lingo or to do no harm? If anyone has an argument adequately formed to convince me that one can use such words without supporting the systems of oppression from which they are born, please, let
me know. It took a lot of training for me to remove certain words from my vocabulary (I still find myself having the urge to call someone a “pussy” when they can’t kick a soccer ball), and it would be a lot less work to be able to throw words around without really needing to mean them. Until then, I continue pruning my language, difficult though it is, because there are a fuck-ton of people out there who have to deal with way worse shit than I do, and the least I can do as their ally is the work it takes not to use the same language as the people who treat them like dirt. Making the conscious effort to improve your language in order to reflect how you actually feel about the world isn’t something that’s actually very difficult. In fact, if it’s something you see as hard, you should probably consider yourself lucky that you haven’t had harder things to deal with.
theSil.ca
Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013
OPINIONS
A9
Try to not be an asshole Sam Godfrey Opinions Editor I guess you could say I’m pretty edgy. I have a leather jacket, sometimes lick peanut butter off the knife and one time I almost got a facial piercing. But I wasn’t always this rebellious. Oh no, there was a period wherein I was, if you can believe it, pretty straight edge. Did my civic duty as a small town inhabitant, stayed quiet, kept my nose clean. My curfew was self-imposed for “before dark,” despite the fact that my parents insisted I could (should?) stay out longer. I participated for a few years of Scouting, and got a pretty respectable amount of badges: selling cookies, setting up tents, learning about the virtues of chastity. You know, the regular stuff. I had a personal
code that I adhered to, and not even my closest, coolest friends could persuade me to bend those rules. One of those rules was that I definitely did not drink. As a hockey player in a boring town attending a public school, my sober statute was an anomaly. For the better part of high school, Monday chatter in the hallways would surround how drunk everyone had gotten at the party on Friday and/or Saturday. I would usually be sitting on the floor in front of my locker, skimming through The Globe or talking with a classmate about last night’s homework. Some days I would be going through a math problem with a dry erase marker on my locker (I was totally that kid). I kept my mouth shut and smiling face to my party-happy schoolmates, nodding and laughing at the appropriate moments. But once my fellow nerds and I
were left to our own devices, faces of amusement turned to scorn. We criticized their binge drinking, their drug use and their parents’ negligence. We used self-assured tones and condescending language. Standing on our moral high ground, I felt a sense of superiority. What an asshole. The superiority was totally fabricated by conflating my personal decisions with the moral ideal; being secure in my own choices went hand-in-hand with putting down those of others. And not only that, but broadcasting my distain to people I knew would agree. Having an opinion, no matter how secure you are in it, does not mean dismissing others’. It doesn’t invalidate your opinion if you ac-
cept those of others, open-minded and without judgement. As long as a person is respecting themselves and those around them, their other decisions are really just tangential. Dismissing the choices of others, talking about them condescendingly, feeling better about yourself because you made certain different choices, doesn’t make you a confident, secure person. It makes you disrespectful. I’m not saying that you can’t talk about your opinions - this section wouldn’t exist without you doing just that – but don’t do it to
put down others or lift yourself up. Do it because you’re passionate about something, because you enjoy a healthy, respectful debate, because talking things through helps clear things up in your mind. Do it because your opinions matter to you, and are part of who you are. And I would hope that who you are is not an asshole. @samwisegodfrey
Interpersonal or internet? Erin Manax The Silhouette It’s not often one can walk past a young adult who is not holding a cell phone or sitting near a computer. As T.S. Eliot once said, “distracted from distraction by distraction.” Social media is ruining communication skills, fostering inactivity and negatively consuming time in the lives of today’s youth. In the past decade, networks such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram and more have risen in popularity, and are taking over the lives of young people. The use of these social networking sites promotes an easy way to communicate without having to deal with face-to-face contact. Although it may seem like a fast and simple way to interact, it is causing more harm than good. People can say whatever they want and not be held accountable because they are safely hidden behind their computer or phone. Cyber-bullying has become a crucial issue in today’s society with serious cases that are resulting in young individuals - like Felicia Garcia and Amanda Todd - taking their lives. With so many ways to talk
online, it is not necessary for youth to head into the real world and practice communication skills. Making appointments or meeting with people has an increased intimidation factor because of the lack of face-toface communication that young people experience. It can cause discomfort and anxiety when they have to meet someone faceto-face because that’s not what they’re used to. About 15 years ago, on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, parks would be filled with teens and their friends tossing a football or throwing a Frisbee. In this era, with the amount of networks available to them on a computer, youth don’t have to leave their house to socialize or even see their friends. Skype, FaceTime and video chats allow a convenience of being with friends with no need for any physical activity. It is even possible to play video games with friends through connections in headsets and microphones. This is not beneficial towards the promotion of leading an active and healthy lifestyle. Most users check these social networks on a daily basis. It is a time-consuming distraction that makes accomplishing goals or finishing homework very diffi-
cult. Sitting in class with a laptop open, the prof ’s lecture is boring so Facebook and Twitter are right there to help kill time until class is dismissed. With so much convenience and easy access, it is hard for teens to refuse. Some teens claim to spend time on these networks out of boredom, and others don’t have any justification. Minute by minute, they eat away at the lives of young people. Although society is being steered in the direction of social networking, it is not necessarily the right one. What does this mean for children who are 10 years old and are already fully engaged in social media? How can it be expected of them to know any different? The world is wrapped around social networks and more and more people are signing up for them out of fear of being left out, or not feeling included. In Charles Leadbeater’s book, We Think: the Power of Mass Creativity, he puts forth the idea “you are what you share.” It is interesting to look at today’s youth and see how much of their lives are broadcasted on these sites. As a result of this, they lack good communication skills, fall short in physical activity and waste precious time. Life is too short; go outside and talk to people.
theSil.ca
Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013
OPINIONS
“
I don’t use it now, and if (when) it’s eventually legal, I still won’t. It’s just something that doesn’t personally appeal to me. But from the eyes of someone who doesn’t use marijuana, I still think it’s well past the time to decriminalize and legalize.
A10
It’s time to legalize mary jane
C/O KATHERINE HO
Cody Grioat The Sputnik BRANTFORD (CUP) — I’m not going to take the time to bounce around the topic. I think it’s about time marijuana was legalized in Canada. To be quite honest, I don’t see why it isn’t yet. I’ve never personally smoked (or otherwise ingested) marijuana, but I’m still firm in my belief that it should be decriminalized and legalized. Nice and simply, here’s why I think we’re past due on a revised weed bill. We’re in debt. Big time, as a country. According to a wonderful website called Debt Clock that helps figure out a rough image of a country’s federal debt, we’re at about $17,500 in the red, per person. Keep in mind we have 34 million people in Canada. We may not be as bad as other countries, but do the math; we’re in the hole. Now, I’m not saying that national legalization of weed will solve our financial problems, but at the same time it would
do a lot to aid in it. In Ontario, according to a smoker’s rights advocacy group, Ontario cigarette prices (for a carton of 200) was around $30.35 in 2003. In my opinion, that’s crazy enough. Then you figure out that a whopping $20.66 of that price is the multiple taxes from the provincial or federal government. Now you see how we could use legalized weed to our advantage. The taxes alone on legalized weed could easily be a multimillion dollar industry, if sold the same way we’ve been distributing alcohol and cigarettes for decades. In my eyes, it’s an amazing business move. There’s a whole other argument related to money saving in the sense of not needing police to “waste money” enforcing it anymore, but I’d argue that point in a separate article. Marijuana is not lethal, meaning, you will not die as a direct result of smoking or otherwise ingesting weed. I’d say it becomes a pretty reliable fact when the Government of Cana-
da “Healthy Canadians” website clearly states the non-lethality of it, right under the many shortterm effects (among them, spontaneous laughter, how scary) and above the list of long-term effects. I noticed something on the page dedicated to tobacco that quite frankly pissed me off: the effects of tobacco aren’t listed, that is, not unless you scroll down to the bottom of the page and find a separate link directing you there. Once you read and compare, you see that tobacco effects are in fact much worse, in a shorter amount of time, too. Don’t get me wrong, marijuana can be bad. It can lead to (as our government website tells us); impaired shortterm memory, psychosis, mild paranoia, anxiety or panic in the short-term. In the long-term, you could experience enhanced chances of schizophrenia, breathing problems, or cognitive impairment. Now, on that hidden tobacco page? Smokers can experience problems with their heart and
blood vessels, certain types of cancers, lung and respiratory problems, menstrual problems, fertility problems, premature delivery, having a low birth weight baby, erectile dysfunction and premature death. I don’t smoke tobacco either, but if I had to choose between a cigarette and a joint, based on what my own government is telling me? I know what I’d be grabbing. Time for a fun fact. When same-gendered marriage became legal in Canada, straight people were not forced to marry someone of the same gender. After abortion became legal in Canada, our nation still had numerous women giving live birth. Odd, isn’t it? Tobacco is legal, but I’ve never smoked in my life. Alcohol is legal, and guess what, people drink. But some don’t. The thing that ties all of these together? Possibly controversial laws, that you don’t have to take part in if you don’t want to (or, in the case of same-gendered married, it may simply not be something that
effects you on a personal level). Just like if weed was legal, you wouldn’t have to smoke it if you didn’t want to, as with alcohol or tobacco; if weed was legal, you would have to follow laws related to it, just as with alcohol or tobacco. Of course, it probably wouldn’t be a perfect system. Many would abuse it, we’d probably still have illegal dealers, and underage users. Laws should be enforced stating that only certain businesses could sell it and to individuals of certain age groups. If using, there should be limits on what you could be doing afterwards (and for a certain time afterwards), enforced as with drinking and driving, and in overly public places with children. I don’t use it now, and if (when) it’s eventually legal, I still won’t. It’s just something that doesn’t personally appeal to me. But from the eyes of someone who doesn’t use marijuana, I still think it’s well past the time to decriminalize and legalize.
Politics should be everyone’s game Jeffrey Doucet MSU Vice President (Finance) As many stirring campaigns have tried to address, the intersection of young people and politics is not at a high point. In the last two federal elections, voter turnout amongst 18-24 year olds has hovered around 40 per cent, which I think is pretty pathetic. But while
this is an issue frequently addressed, what is lesser-discussed but equally problematic is the harmful role that youth can play when they do engage in politics. You would think that youth who are engaged in the political process would be the solution, but I think they are not. Young partisans – youth who are strong supporters of one political party – are
making politics toxic, and driving their peers away from the political process. Canadians are frustrated with political parties that simplify complex problems, painting their opponents as incompetent individuals with bad intentions. We are frustrated because we are an educated population, and election slogans that read, “my opponent is the worst” don’t motivate educated people to vote. These poor tactics are driving young people away from the voting booth, and young partisans deserve to shoulder some blame. To be fair, young partisans are not the root of this problem, but they aid and abet as they deliver the party message to the public. Youth do not design
election platforms or campaign strategies, but they mobilize them. Youth are the volunteers that work tirelessly during election campaigns, knocking on doors, passing out flyers, and delivering the message to the voter. This is where these young people are failing their peers; they aren’t pushing back against political authority. We are the most educated generation ever. We are receiving world-class education that teaches us to think critically and challenge the status quo. We know that answers to complex problems are not often simple solutions that can be broken down into 140 characters, or 15-second sound bites. Yet, while well intentioned,
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far too many of my peers’ involvement with the political process is merely to follow marching orders rather than to contribute critically and effectively to the party of their choosing. This kind of engagement with our political system is damaging and has led to a parliament where criticizing your leader in public is seen as a sign of weakness, rather than an act of courage. I think it is fair to say that the political leaders of all three leading parties in Canada are pushing forward policy that does not capture the intelligence and thought of their young political volunteers. Canadian politics are in a sorry state, and Canadians will continue to not show up at the ballot box until our youth hold political parties to a higher standard. Let’s push back against the assumption in Canadian politics that if you sign up for a political party, you support every single decision made by political leadership. Advocate based on issues that are important to you, and let’s push to make political parties a reflection of our generation.
theSil.ca
Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013
OPINIONS
A11
A weighty
entreatment
Edward Lawlor The Silhouette “You need to eat more.” As a tall, lanky teenager I have heard this one time too many. I have been openly criticized for my weight by peers, co-workers and even teachers. Today, there aren’t many people who would approach their overweight peers, co-workers or students and tell them to “hit the gym,” or “lay off the fries.” So why is it acceptable to tell someone they are not allowed to be thin? It seems that this age of self-love and size acceptance has left out one demographic: skinny people. Now, before you angrily turn the page and curse the media for trying to tell you that “thin is in,” please read on. I do not represent any media entities. I am a sole person, trying to plead my case. It is no secret that the media often portrays only one body type as being ideal, and in doing so leaves everyone else feeling physically inadequate. In light of this unfair portrayal, many have spoken out against it. However, some have misdirected their dissatisfaction at thin people. One need only search “skinny hate” on the internet to observe this. Often people who find themselves struggling with their weight will direct their unhappiness towards the thin individual. These same people will even go so far as to say “being thin is unattractive” or “I’d rather have curves than have people see my bones.” While these statements might have the
intention to target the media, they in fact do more damage to those who are thin. It seems almost counter-intuitive, doesn’t it? In an attempt to reject the preference of one body type over another, they have done the exact opposite. Now, I am not oblivious to the sad reality of eating disorders such as bulimia and anorexia. They are awful afflictions, which no one should have to suffer through. But, there does exist a third reality: some of us are born thin. Whether it be hyper-active metabolisms, genes or simply fate, there exist humans who eat normally, but find it hard to gain weight. We should not be shamed for our naturally slender physique, the same way no one should be shamed for their naturally full-bodied physique. Furthermore, the proverbial grass is not much greener here on the thin side of things. There are drawbacks attached to every body type, and ectomorphs are no exception. People often associate a lean figure with weakness, so it may come as no surprise that slender children and teens encounter bullying. I remember being made fun of for my weight (or lack thereof), throughout elementary and high school. Being called scrawny, bony and lanky subtly prompted me to wear long sleeves and pants constantly. I would refuse to leave my home without a sweater on, even in the summer heat for fear of being ridiculed. Shopping for clothes can be almost as discouraging, when pants won’t stay up and
every outfit makes you look like a toddler playing dress-up. And being told by others that your gaunt frame is reflective of poor health is always disheartening. To be clear, I am not scrounging for sympathy by stating the aforementioned facts. If they represent the peak of my bodily setbacks, I should count myself as fortunate. Nonetheless, it should be made known that being thin is not always beneficial. I am not looking to spark a war against people who are not thin: I only wish to inform. Everyone has at one point had issues with their body, whether they be skinny, portly, lanky, curvy or somewhere in the middle. Truth be told, there is nothing wrong with being naturally thin – some of us just are. Conversely, there is nothing wrong with being naturally full-bodied either – some of us just are. Keeping this in mind, let us celebrate body types from every point of the spectrum, not just our end.
C/O JESSIE LU
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CRO -SWAGNON Archaeologists unear th first fossil evidence of popped collarbones B3
THURSDAY NOVEMBER 7, 2013
HAMILTON SPECULATOR THE
MAKING A KILLING IN THE UNMARKED WHITE VAN INDUSTRY SINCE 1934
LOCAL
Ancaster reports total absence of minorities A4
On klout nine McMaster student announces 2014-2015 MSU presidency, cites social media presence
WORLD
A spokesman they can’t afford We have too much respect as an industry to allow such a corrupt man to be our representative to the people.”
JOHN FROM WESTDALE
Cocaine Farmer
Rob Ford, pictured here looking extremely happy, is probably thinking about crack.
Crack cocaine corporations deny any association with Ford; do not want negative association with his image TIBERIUS SLICK Stoned Speculator
Ms. Fawkes (artist’s rendering)
Food truck craze in decline; Lunch limos are next big thing C4
SCANADAL
Has a Twitter Account
It’s the season for reason, as we begin again with the MSU presidential campaign cycle. Cleopatra Fawkes, Speculator editor-in-chief and president of the Society of Altruistic yet Somehow Selfish students (SASS), announced her candidacy to an atrium packed wall to wall with supportive oxygen. Fawkes, who has had no previous political experience, is being criticized for this shortcoming, but her retort is anything but inkonsequential. “I have the highest Klout score of anyone I know. Eighteen baby! That’s double digits for all you uneducated illiterati,” said Fawkes in an unscheduled, unwanted press conference. Though this announcement comes months before the regular campaigning season, Fawkes is determined to not let the opportunity pass her by. “I already told all my Facebook friends to vote for me, so this election is pretty much already in the bag.”
FOOD
127,083 people die of natural causes A3
In a move of unprecedented integrity, the cocaine industry has decided to distance itself from any association with controversial Toronto Mayor Rob Ford. “We have too much respect as an industry to allow such a corrupt man to be our representative to the people,” said one cocaine farmer.
Ford was not available for comment but was overheard by a fellow councillor to be “cursing the loss of those sponsorship dollars that bought me that sweet, sweet sugar.” The public relations department for heroin has approached Ford, requesting him as the face of their product, in light of their brand’s recent slump alongside booming cocaine and crystal meth sales.
Mayor Ford’s brother, Doug, later contacted the department, offering his personage for the project, but was met with a sternly-worded rejection letter that read, “If we wanted our project to fade into obscurity then we would just have reached out to Trudeau.” In other news, some pretty serious shit is happening on the west coast but we’d rather cash in our ticket on this media hype train.
Corrections
SHIT HASTINGS Dean-staster Coverage
WEATHER HIGH: 23° C LOW: GRIM REALIZATION THAT IN A FEW BILLION YEARS ALL HUMAN ACCOMPLISHMENTS WILL BE BUT POCK MARKS ON A SCORCHED GRANITE SPHERE
Taste the Rainbow
SPECU
Shit Hastings markets his new brown candy: Shittles, only to learn they taste like poo by sheer chance. see ONLINE
BOB PARTY
ADMITS TO ROCKING
A Deane for the rest of us
President Deane will be dedicated to his new mission of patching up students’ personal lives.
I mean, really? I’ve probably accidently inhaled more crack walking through Scarborough than Rob has seen in his life.”
The President has gone native. Patrick Deane, President of McMaster University, has committed himself to a new mission of compassion, hoping to improve the lives of individual Mac students through life advice. “Just yesterday I helped Jessica Parlor deal with her recent break-up with Tom Renney. She wanted closure but what she needed was a shoulder to cry on, and this one is rent-free,” said Deane. The President has made himself available for all sorts of obstacles that students may encounter in life: relationships, bff drama, bro code violations and even more practical help such as helping move your furniture. “No couch is too big, no problem is too small for my time. I’m a lean, mean Deane machine.” DEANEY BOPPERS A3
SHIT IS A-N-A-N-A-S D1
ADAM, EVE & STEVE: THE FIRST
GREEK FAX D4
DEVIL’S THREESOME A3
IF ESSAYS ARE A BOURGEOIS
JOKES ON EWE: STAND-UP
INVENTION DOES THAT
COMEDY FOR SHEEPLE B2
MAKE MY POOR GRADES A
JOSS-WHORD H3
SOCIALIST STATEMENT G3
Feel like another brick in the wall? Writer’s block got you down?
Distract yourself with any number of worldly vices and stop making excuses! Disclaimer: The Hamilton Speculator is a work of satire and fiction and should not under any circumstances be taken seriously. Unless you’re into that sort of thing. Then do what you want. I’m not your dad.
Last week we erraneously referred to the student body as “lazy,” when we meant to imply they actually do nothing to advance their own interests, not little. Paul Tokes is not a “rotten sack of half-assed cunts,” despite evidence to the contrary. Africa is, in fact, not a country but a continent. A continent of equally unimportant, arid and inhospitable countries that miraculously house life. The Speculator is not, nor will ever be, a supporter of the socialist movement. The proletariat work for us, and they shouldn’t forget it.
PER ISSUE: Ten ounces of crack rock/ dust, whatever kids do nowadays.
INCL. HST, PST where applicable.
L
theSil.ca
Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013
IFESTYLE
B1
Editors Amanda Watkins & Miranda Babbitt
Threadcount
B2 Scarf Personalities
B6
Email lifestyle@thesil.ca Phone 905.525.9140 x27117
The month of facial hair funsies from the perspective of a “Mo Sista” Amanda Watkins LifeStyle Editor For most of the year, I’m pretty content with the fact that I can’t grow facial hair. And then November rolls around. Movember. It’s a term we’ve all come to know and anticipate as it marks the one time of year when a bearded man stands for personal health and awareness. With a small-scale start in 2003, a group of “Mo Bros” in Melbourne, Australia decided to grow out their facial hair to spread the word about men’s health. Now coined as Movember, a clever portmanteau of Moustache and November, what was once a small Aussie event is now an international campaign devoted to raising funds and awareness for prostate cancer research. In 2012, the campaign officially included 29 participating countries, with over one million registered participants through
their online charitable network. The campaign is widely popular across the Hamilton and McMaster communities especially with the “McMO’sters” network that has been active and running for the last two years. Participating students are encouraged to officially register online and join the pre-existing McMaster team. Now let’s get back to me growing facial hair. As much as the event directly caters to the abilities of men on campus, female students are also encouraged to join in on the fun by raising money on behalf of a specific person or team taking part in the facial hair festivities. And although taking part in Movember as a woman is equally as beneficial to the cause, it just isn’t as fun. There are several campaigns that revolve around female-oriented causes, but none seem to have the gender pride pull that Movember offers to its gentleman participants. Although worthy
commitments and campaigns, none seem to offer the same overt publicity and gimmicky excitement that bring together men during Movember. I appreciate the work that all charitable organizations put forward with their campaigns, but wearing a somewhat sexualized “I love boobies” bracelet just isn’t the same as bonding with my “Mo Bros” over a natural facial accessory. I’m a little jealous that men have the opportunity to so openly show something that unites their gender, while women have to hide any explicit features that define their femininity. In an attempt to find a campaign that could have the same thrilling and hairy effects of Movember, Armpits for August was started up in the UK as a way to raise money and awareness for Polycystic Ovary Syndrome research. Similarly, the “No Shave November” idea promotes similar trends for women while support-
ing a variety of charities. Although both of these events were built on the same principle as Movember, the event isn’t as well received or popular due to the stigma around female body hair. Although Movember supports a great cause and has earned a well-deserved amount of support and praise, I really wish there was a way for women to support their gender in a fun and inclusive way. This November, I’ll sport the endearing title of a “Mo Sista” to support those growing for the cause. And to be honest, I will probably be unknowingly taking part in No Shave November. Girls may not be having as much fun, but at least we’re growing in the right direction.
“
“I’m a little jealous that men have the opportunity to so openly show something that unites their gender, while women have to hide any explicit features that define their femininity.”
@whatthekins
FACIAL HAIR HALL OF FAME
Charlie Chaplin
Salvador Dali
Freddie Mercury
Tom Selleck
Colonel Sanders
1889-1977
1904-1989
1946- 1991
1945- still alive!
1890-1980
With a 75-year career in film, his iconic facial hair will not be soon forgotten.
His surrealist work was well accompanied by his surrealist ‘stache.
Show your support.
Any leading man should have a quality leading moustache.
BE AN ALLY!
Maybe the real crime is what secrets are lying beneath that ‘stache.
His moustache is just as delicious as his chicken.
Cut out and sport this ‘stache.
Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013
theSil.ca
LIFESTYLE
B2
Emma Hale
Fourth-Year, Studio Arts Program Do you find dressing for winter hard? I don’t. Dressing for winter is my favourite thing. I love wearing knits, fur, tights... layering is so much fun. Do you think your education in the arts mirrors your fashion choices? I think art is very sculptural in nature, and you have to think about everything fitting together. You are essentially a piece of art in how you choose to dress. What’s inspiring your winter fashion? Top-heavy shapes. Think triangles, with smaller features on the bottom. I almost love looking like a homeless person, but not really. ELIZA POPE / ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR
INSIDEOUT
Beekeeping at McMaster The Hamilton Urban Beekeepers are bringing the honey to campus Jamie Mudrick The Silhouette
C/O MARK LEE
NOV. 13 - 15 STUDENT CENTRE
Wed. 9am Fri. at 5pm
“There are always challenges with raising bees in an urban setting,” says Brandi Lee Macdonald, one of the co-founders of the Hamilton Urban Beekeepers. Raising bees takes years of dedication, yet this group is somehow able to do this in a parking lot beside a helicopter pad here at McMaster. Along with Macdonald, Amina Suhrwardy is the second co-founder of the Hamilton Urban Beekeepers, an initiative that began in late 2012. The hope is that people will understand the basics of honeybee biology, have discussions, and raise sustainable living awareness. “[It] is a great network for people to become connected with each other,” said MacDonald. This past summer was the first season for the bees. The beekeepers invited people from campus and throughout the Hamilton community to visit the hives. They put on demonstrations, such as hive building, teaching people the components of a beehive, and harvesting honey. Since there was only one hive during this inaugural summer, there was not an abundance of honey, but they were still able to sell out during October’s Sustainability Day on campus. MacDonald and Suhrwardy met through the Ontario Public Interest Research Group at McMaster. OPIRG has funded this working group, and awarded them the annual Public Interest Grant, which helped to propel this initiative to fruition. In addition to providing funding, OPIRG helps with the Hamilton Urban Beekeepers outreach program, as well as assisting them when hosting events and finding guest speakers. The Academic Science Fund through the McMaster Science Society also funds the project. Some of the great contributors to this working group are students from McMaster’s new Sustainable Future program. Mark Lee, Mark Westerink, Nashwa Khan and Anna Iwanicki are part of the Sustainable Future program and they aid with the outreach of the group, through Twitter, a blog, knowledge of ur-
ban beekeeping through information boards. The beekeeping program is also going to be helping McMaster departments with the assistance of Biology professor, Dr. Marvin Gunderman, and Psychology professor, Dr. Reuven Dukas. These professors use the beehive to educate their students about bees and pollinators. Guelph University has a formal Apiculture, or beekeeping, program with a research center. The Hamilton Urban Beekeepers is more informal than Guelph’s program, since the spatial limitation of its current location will prevent it from exceeding a maximum of five beehives. The purpose of the program is not to maximize honey production, nor is it meant to teach people about how to become beekeepers, as this takes years to accomplish. Instead, it is about keeping healthy bees and teaching people about the necessity of bees in our ecosystem. Communicating the importance of sustainable living is another function of the beekeeping program. A challenge that the program faces is connecting the way in which people spend their money and how that affects beekeeping. When you buy food from certain places, you either support good farming or bad farming. Becoming aware of what you can do to support your local community and not support the use of detrimental items, like pesticides, is very important. As Brandi said, “it’s about how you spend your money,” something that people rarely consider when purchasing an item as simple as honey. The Hamilton Urban Beekeepers will be hosting a luncheon event on Thursday, Nov. 14 at 12:30 p.m. in room 230 in the McMaster University Student Center. Free Fair Trade coffee and tea will be provided by OPIRG. These events will be happening weekly throughout November and December.
Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013
theSil.ca
SEXandthe STEELCITY Jennifer Bacher The Silhouette For the past week I have had the pleasure of trying out a dating app called Tinder. Tinder uses your Facebook information along with your location to match you with potential people in your location. It shows your likes and five chosen photos from Facebook along with your age. Users can then set the minimum and maximum age, gender and the maximum radial distance away from their potential matches.
LIFESTYLE
Tinder: Apply yourself Reviewing this “dating” app, for the better and for the worse After the initial set up, you are then matched with people in your area and a simple “swipe” game of what is essentially “hot or not” begins. A match is made when both parties swipe a yes to each other, after which you are then allowed to chat with that person. What happens from there is up to you. At first I was taken back from the over simplicity and vanity of Tinder but essentially this is what happens in any bar, club or party. You judge a person on their looks first, and if you say you don’t,
you’re just lying to yourself. Is it right? No, but it’s the truth. You “check out” first and if you like what you see, you go over and talk. If they do not return the attention, it’s over. This is exactly what Tinder is without the awkward denial.
s o d
n i T
o d in
T d
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Don’t use a selfie in a bathroom, at the gym, shirtless, or really in general. You’re not a 16-year-old girl.
Don’t post a picture of you and a group of 10 people, how am I supposed to know who you are?
Never swipe yes to an ex or your friends’ exes. Just don’t!
Don’t fall for the trick of swiping yes to someone posing with their grandparents, parents, or younger siblings. It’s a trap.
Make the maximum age no higher then 30 otherwise you can get some very creepy older men. But hey, whatever floats your boat…
Use your common sense and be safe. It is the Internet and there are some creeps out there.
Every mile will be worth my while Long-distance relationships and how to make them work Lavinia Tofan SHEC A relationship requires trust, communication, honesty and patience. A long-distance relationship requires a triple dose of all of the above. I used to be a strong supporter of such relationships, believing that when there’s a will, there’s a way. Lately, I have been discouraged by seeing those around me fall into the unforgiving traps set out by the distance that separates partners. Being in fourth year and not knowing where I will be in the next two years, the possibility of
having to be far away from my significant other is very real. Yet I still believe long distance relationships can and do work, if both parties put in the required effort. Usually it is the case that one person moves away while the other stays at home. This in and of itself is an extreme obstacle, and I don’t know which end I would prefer to be on. If you are close to home, you have the comfort of your friends and most likely family. That being said, it is very difficult not knowing what type of environment your significant other is in. What is his or her new life like and how can you fit in it? Being the one who is going away can be exciting and terrifying at
the same time. Your only source of comfort until you make new friends will be electronic renditions of your partner, friends and family. And once you start to make new friends, how do you balance the demanding requirements of a budding friendship with those of your girlfriend or boyfriend? Probably the most difficult aspect of long-distance relationships is the lack of physical contact with your loved one. Physical intimacy is usually an extremely important part of a loving relationship, and losing that can make you feel like you have lost a special connection. Jealousy leads to the demise
To the colour grey, Sophia Topper Staff Reporter From the pavement to the clouds, you’re everywhere these days. I know it’s November, I’m not asking for blue skies and green grass, but at least a couple different hues would be nice. When I stare off into the horizon, it’s the same the whole way up. Don’t get me wrong, grey can be striking. If there was some nice charcoal, maybe some dove grey and a few blue-tinged tones this could be beautiful, like a black and white movie. But grey, if you aren’t going to throw a couple other shades in there, it’ll be up to the other colours to step it up. I can find beauty in your multitude, but not in your monochrome. It’s one thing if you’re going
B3
to take over the outdoors, but could you please stay off me? I know you’re a great neutral and everything, but Eyore is not a good look for me. The other day I took off my sweater and realized I was wearing grey from head to toe, shoes to scarf. That’s the problem grey: you’re too easy. You are the epitome of earth tones, you go with everything in my closet, and you even go with yourself. Grey, you trap me. I look outside, and I don’t feel like trying. You don’t inspire me to find something great to wear today, or even just something good. You make me sad. So I don’t try. I go back to the basics and throw something on and look in the mirror and realize, you got inside. When I’m wearing all grey, I feel
grey. Colours have the power to affect our mood, but none so strongly as grey. Everyone gives all the credit to red, making bulls charge and cars stop, or to yellow, reminding us of sunny mornings and kid’s birthdays. But grey doesn’t provoke emotion, it erases it. Grey is light in the absence of colour. Grey can’t make up its mind, and isn’t even trying to. Passion, even anger or sadness, is preferable to the numb muffle of grey. Dear Grey, you can have the outdoors. You can wash over the sidewalks and skies, tinting trees and climbing up buildings. But please, get out of my head. Yours Truly, Eyore no more
of many relationships but it is especially prevalent in long-distance relationships. Your partner will be spending a lot of time with people you do not know and when you are so far away this can be very difficult to deal with. In order to make a long-distance relationship work it is important to first and foremost be true to yourself. Are you the type of person who requires face-toface communication and physical contact to feel connected to someone? If so, then maybe this sort of relationship will not work for you. Working on a long-distance relationship is hard but it is infinitely more difficult when
peer-based
health education & resources
only one person is putting in an effort. Both partners need to agree on the boundaries of the relationship, and this needs to be discussed before the separation. It is important to always try to make time for your partner and include each other in all your activities as much as possible. A long distance relationship requires consistent communication between partners. In the end it is most important to be honest and trusting. If you feel that the relationship is a lot harder than you expected, share your concerns with your significant other.
Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013
theSil.ca
LIFESTYLE
B5
Bringing the coffeeshop to you Music for your ears
Miranda Babbitt Assistant LifeStyle Editor There is no greater dream than to saunter into a café and warmly greet my friends behind the counter with the words, “The regular, please.” Maybe accompanied with a knowing smile, or a sincerely friendly wink (only possible in coffee shops apparently), or even a flailing hand as they are instinctively aware of my midterm schedule and my need for a cappuccino, as soon as possible. Regardless, most students just don’t have the funds to continue dropping five bucks on a drink, or have the time to sacrifice bussing
off campus only to find it’s busy, thus forcing one to lose their dignity while desperately loitering around the front door, overtly keen on gaining a seat. So here’s to every coffee shop lover out there: how to recreate the perfect coffee shop environment in your very own dorm. No need to step out your door, and no need to creep people out while staring at their seat as if it were your own.
The instinctive allure towards a coffee shop is the warm drinks that come along with it. Always perfectly made, and somehow so much more soothing than the average cup of Joe you can get from Centro or Tim Hortons on campus. But, of course, one is not always born with the talents of a barista who has had literal training towards serving you perfection. Happy mug example:
Urban Outfitters - $24
Your room:
The music, man. Something about the music played in coffee shops can make you feel so much less like a bogged down college student with a pile of work that may or may not be excruciatingly boring to you and more like a British writer whose fingers just seemed to type a whole novel for them.
Generally speaking, the most productive of coffee shops don’t blast the Top 40 for its British writers as inspiration, but rather, a medley of soft tunes that set an atmosphere not quite as starkly quiet as the sixth floor of Mills and not as rowdy as the second. Let’s think Ben Howard and Sigur Ros. Your own room wins again over a coffee shop in that you can tailor your own playlist to the work at hand. Don’t want any lyrics? Well instead of appearing rather high maintenance and requesting the baristas to change the station for you and you only, you can just switch up the tunes yourself.
@mirandababbitt
A soothing drink or two The coffeeshop:
The coffeeshop:
Your room: There are two essential staples you must invest in to have any hopes of replicating the classic coffee shop taste. One: a milk frother to whip up the thickest of foam for a latté. I can’t say how many times I use mine a week (well, seven) and how many times I greet my roommates as if I were a Cheshire cat a result. Two: your happy mug. Everyone needs a mug that seems to fit only in your hands, made just for you, and that’s where your dorm/bedroom wins over a coffee shop. Scoot on over to Anthropologie or Urban Outfitters (or anywhere else closer to you – Starbucks is offering some gloriously festive numbers now) and invest in two or three really happy mugs.
Tumblr goodie: playlist awaits! silhappens.tumblr.com
A blazer and slippers
Slippers can always be worn at home!
The coffeeshop:
Your room:
The third most pivotal aspect of a coffee shop in forcing productivity is the peer pressure to work. The peer pressure to be working seriously on anything at all, other than your Facebook profile, YouTube’s “Watch Later” playlist, or your apparent duty to scroll through Tumblr. The minute your browser opens one of those bad boys, say goodbye to your carefully crafted “cool, British writer” façade. Because everyone aspires to that, right?
The easiest way to slip into the nasty habit of procrastinating before you even start work is feeling as though you are wrapped up in your bed still, by which I mean, sweatpants, your pajama top, and your fuzziest slippers. But that sounds fantastic, right? Well, not if you want to maintain that coffee shop vibe. Unless you’ve discovered a pajamas coffee shop (email me immediately upon discovery). Instead, opt for an outfit you would indeed wear out to your favourite café. Points again to your room, though, because nobody will chastise you if you happen to slip into your favourite pair of slippers once dressed.
Urban Outfitters - $16
Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013
theSil.ca
BUTTERNUT SQUASH CASSEROLE RECIPE
B6
LIFESTYLE
KNOW YOUR SQUASH
With squash season in full swing, use this guide to decode your grocery needs
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DIRECTIONS
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2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced 2 tablespoons olive oil 3 garlic cloves, crushed 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon pepper 1/2 cup melted butter or margarine 3 1/2 pounds of butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes 1/3 cup parmesan cheese
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With those cold days just around the corner and the final push until exam time, why not take a break and treat yourself to a little autumn specialty. I was first introduced to this recipe this past Thanksgiving and it was with-
o Als
out a doubt, a huge hit with my family and friends. It wasn’t long after I received the recipe from my aunt, and I was at the grocery store buying the ingredients and cooking up a storm!
Kayla MacIntosh The Silhouette
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C/O VANCITY ALLIE/ FLICKR COMMONS
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Brianna Buziak The Silhouette
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1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F 2. In a large bowl, mix the parsley, oil, garlic, salt, pepper and melted butter or margarine 3. Peel and cut butternut squash into 1-inch cubes and add to large bowl 4. Transfer contents of the large bowl into an ungreased shallow casserole dish 5. Bake, uncovered for 45-55 minutes depending on desired tenderness
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Making 4-5 servings, this recipe is perfect for those cold evenings, family get-togethers, or even a potluck dinner with roommates and friends. Depending on personal preference, you can make many variations of this recipe. Try adding mixed nuts or rolled oats for a great mix of textures.
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What your scarf REALLY* tells people *Accurate for 3/10 people, but possible for 10/10 people. Good odds.
Miranda Babbitt Assistant LifeStyle Editor
Sending those boho vibes
Picking up on a “parisian” glow
The classic boho scarf. This is the type of gal who will have a small novel of travel stories and is most likely waiting until you suggest grabbing a dark Americano in any independent coffee shop. Don’t suggest Starbucks, unless you’re prepared to back yo’ ass with how corrupt their profits are. This girl will probably greet you in French, even if she doesn’t know a word of it beyond, “Allo!” The tightly tied bow suggests a desire for control in her life, and so her term reports are most likely sprinkled with as many 11’s and 12’s as her single donut she indulges after ballet class.
$2
9.95
16.95
Wrapping yourself in culture
nO
Fo rev er 21 - $15.80
M-$
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Urb a
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Try on a different personality! (Or just a cool scarf.)
Bundled up with giggles
Oh, the sophistication. The culture is strong with this one. She will be more than pleased to share with you how the symphony went last night. In fact, her relaxed demeanor is only complimented by her scarf, and she would love a saunter through the courtyard of Divinity College. Bunny ears! She always has a little joke up her sleeve, just fitting for her quirky choice in scarf style. Don’t ever underestimate her quick wit, even if she does enjoy reading her Sunday horoscope, simply for the “irony” of it.
@mirandababbitt
YOSEIF HADDAD / SENIOR PHOTO EDITOR
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theSil.ca
B7
Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013
PORTS
Editors Laura Sinclair & Alexandra Reilly Email sports@thesil.ca
@silsports
Phone 905.525.9140 x27117
Women’s Basketball
Men’s Volleyball B10
B12
Marauder football comes to early end “ Alexandra Reilly Assistant Sports Editor
With the Marauders 2013 football season coming to an end this past weekend on Nov. 2 in London, Ont. the McMaster Marauders have lost a bit more than just their hopes of a playoff run. The Marauders also say farewell to some of the best players this football program has ever seen. Players that helped lead the McMaster Marauders to the school’s first ever Vanier Cup win and two consecutive Yates Cup wins in 2011 and 2012. Matt Sewell, Mike DiCroce, Mike Daly and Joey Cupdio are some key Marauder names that we will not be seeing on the roster for next season as their years of eligibility in the football program have expired. It’s more than just the success these players have had that will be missed, but the memories and teammates they will leave behind
which is proving to be the hardest part of the thought of graduating for these fifth year all-stars. “The best part of it all for me were the bonds that were made with my friends and brothers, the guys you go to war with are at your side through good times and bad,” said graduating wide receiver Mike DiCroce. “Those bonds are the ones that last forever,” he added. “I know we made history at Mac and we made our stamp across the country that we are the best.” It’s not hard to understand why these Marauders can look back on their careers and know that they took their school and their football program to a whole other level. The 2011 season will remain a highlight for the graduating Marauder players and CFL hopefuls. “The best memory is definitely the whole 2011 season where we went from zero to hero,” DiCroce said.
“We hit our lowest point as a team and later as an underdog (and a team doubted by many) went on to hit our highest point as a team, successfully silencing the critics.” These graduating Marauders can still look towards hopeful athletic careers with Mike Daly drafted by the city’s own Hamilton Tiger-Cats, DiCroce going 29th overall to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Joey Cupido with another budding athletic career taking place alongside his football one. Cupido is also a dedicated member of the Calgary Mammoth National Lacrosse League team when he isn’t lacing up for the Maroon and Grey. Although is will be difficult saying good-bye to some McMaster OUA All-stars, the Maroon contingent still possess many positives for the 2014 season and seasons to come. McMaster kicker and key component of the Vanier Cup win
Tyler Crapigna returns for another year of Marauder football for the 2014 season. The Marauders also added three rookies to the Ontario University Football All- Rookie list with the likes of Daniel Vandervoort, Mark Mackie and Nicholas Firlit who all put up impressive numbers this season for McMaster. The spotlight on the McMaster Marauders has not gone off yet. With a budding season in the works for the men in maroon, McMaster fans can certainly expect returning quarterback Marshall Ferguson to lead his team to another playoff spot once again, and maybe even helping the Marauders to continue on to another stint in the Yates playoff game.
“We hit our lowest point as a team and later as an underdog (and a team doubted by many) went on to hit our highest point as a team, successfully silencing the critics.” Mike DiCroce, wide receiver for the McMaster football team
@Miss_AReilly
C/0 RICHARD ZAZULAK
Men’s basketball upsets Rams Scott Hastie Managing Editor Don’t call it an upset; they’ve been here for years. McMaster took down the No. 4 ranked Ryerson Rams, 74-64 to earn one of the most important victories the program has seen since defeating Windsor in the 2012 playoffs. The reason it’s not an upset though, is because this is exactly what the team is capable of. “We definitely thought they were a beatable team,” said Nathan Pelech, a fifth-year forward. And McMaster backed that belief out of the gate, finishing the first quarter up 21-18 – capped off with a Pelech buzzer-beating three. McMaster would “weather the storm” Ryerson threw at them in the, as the fifth-year put it, and then put on a fourth quarter run behind seven straight Joe Rocca points. An important note about the victory was who made up the minutes. Taylor Black had two fouls with 3:41 left in the first quarter, forcing him to sit until half. Nathan McCarthy did not play either game this weekend as he recovers from a concussion. After beating the No. 4 Rams by a double-digit margin, McMaster looked ahead to the weekly CIS rankings to see where, and if, they would fall among them. The Marauders received votes, but not enough to put them in the top-ten. Some players were surprised, but the veteran Pelech understands that it’s still early. “Coming off a big win like that, you’d like to have some recognition. If we have two good weekends in a row, that will speak for itself,” said Pelech, who also pointed to an up-and-down preseason that. Head coach Amos Connolly told the team after the game that he was “proud of them and happy for them”.
“I think the guys saw what happens when you work hard. As a team, they played with a confidence level and a trust in each other,” said Connolly. “It was a well-deserved win.” What particularly stood out to the coaching staff was the defense. Aaron Best, a player who averaged 15.3 points per game in 2012-13 and lit McMaster up for 34 points, was held to five points. Jahmal Jones, another Ram with offensive gifts, scored 18 points on 6-15 field goal shooting but turned the ball over seven times. “We had a couple periods of time where we kept [Ryerson] virtually scoreless. That’s what I’m happiest with – holding his team to 64,” said Connolly. McMaster gave the home crowd a glimpse into the ceiling of this game. They played tough and remained calm when Ryerson made their inevitable runs. Leon Alexander put the clamps down on defense while getting under the Rams’ skin – including forcing an ejection of Yannick Walcott by playing physical in the paint. Following the game, the team’s spirits were high. The Monday practice was not the best effort, but the team rebounded the following day after realizing how far they have to go. This weekend, McMaster takes on a team that received more votes than them for the top-ten but also did not qualify for the rankings in the Laurentian Voyageurs. The Vees have opened the season 2-0 and have not missed a beat after losing Manny Pasquale. After the trip to Sudbury, Ont., they’ll head to Sault Ste. Marie to play the Algoma Thunderbirds. Despite it being their first weekend in OUA conference competition, Algoma earned a low-scoring victory over the Waterloo Warriors.
They lost to Laurier, putting them at 1-1. The interlock periods have increased importance as they battle with ranked Windsor for top spot in the OUA West. Starting out 2-0 was ideal, but now Mac looks to go 4-0. If there we see a similar performance to the Ryerson match, an undefeated record is entirely possible. @Scott1Hastie
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“I think the guys saw what happens when you work hard. As a team they played with a confidence level and a trust in each other.” Amos Connolly, head coach of McMaster men’s basketball team
SCORING LEADERS YOUSEIF HADDAD / SENIOR PHOTO EDITOR
#10
#10
#25
TAYLOR BLACK
TAYLOR BLACK
ADAM PRESUTTI
PPG: 20.0
RPG: 8.0
AST/G: 5.0
SPORTS
Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013
theSil.ca
B8
All eyes are on Bukovec
The former beach volleyball player hits it big, quickly becoming a key part of the Marauders squad Alexandra Reilly Assistant Sports Editor
The former beach volleyball star has had no issues adjusting to playing on the courts of McMaster, quickly becoming a key member of the squad. YOSEIF HADDAD / SENIOR PHOTO EDITOR
The McMaster women’s volleyball team has a lot to look forward to this season. Although their season hasn’t kicked off the way they would have hoped, the women’s volleyball team had an outstanding preseason run, not to mention the fact they landed recruit Sophie Bukovec. The former beach volleyball player has represented Canada in both the U19 and U21 championships and has now committed to play a little closer to home. The Etobicoke, Ont. native began her volleyball journey at age 11 becoming truly committed to the sport in her grade nine year. Standing at a towering 6”1’ it’s no surprise that Sophie decided to play volleyball instead of soccer, a sport she was originally committed to. “I started out playing soccer actually,” Bukovec said. “But I soon figured out I was too tall for the sport.” With playing volleyball for McMaster being a new thing for the first year, her form and ability to read the game shows that her adjustment from beach to court volleyball has not been a difficult task. “Beach is very independent,” Bukovec said. “You’re kind of on your own and have your own responsibilities but in court it’s kind of more shared because there are so many more people on the court.” “I really like the team feeling and the girls are amazing,” she added. Her commitment to the McMaster volleyball team she says was not a hard decision and it was the community feel that made it
an easy decision. “Mac was the only Canadian school I was looking at. I was also looking at Columbia University in the States, I was looking at Indiana, I looked at Michigan State, I looked at Syracuse and those were my top choices,” said the first- year. “I didn’t even get to see any of the girls play before I committed here I just met [head coach] Tim and some of the girls, I didn’t even see any of the facilities I just committed.” So far her experience with the McMaster Marauders volleyball squad has been one she cherishes, commending the community feeling that McMaster encompasses. “McMaster is such a home, its such a family community,” she said. “I have a really bad shoulder and physio has been taking care of me like I’m their own child.” With the ability to travel to Greece and Portugal for world championships, Bukovec was the youngest Canadian women’s volleyball player ever to play on the women’s world tour event, which took place in Thailand last year. “It was amazing just getting to play next to Olympians and girls that just play on tour,” Bukovec said. “Just getting the chance to travel was amazing.” With volleyball being a main part of her life and something that she has been committed to for over five years, Bukovec is hoping to gain a social aspect when it comes to getting to know her teammates and others at McMaster who play the sport. “I have always been very independent and volleyball has always been my life, so I have never really ever gotten a social aspect of anything because I have been so competitive.”
“I hope to gain a social aspect in terms of knowing the girls on my team and even the guys team, and even different sports teams in general.” With hopes for an improvement this season and the chance to capture an OUA title, Bukovec along with the women’s volleyball squad hope to maintain momentum and continue to work together to achieve success. @Miss_AReilly
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“I have always been very independent and volleyball has always been my life, so I have never really gotten a social aspect of anything because I have been so competitive.” Sophie Bukovec, first-year recruit for women’s volleyball
SPORTS
Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013
theSil.ca
B9
Darlington’s decision
The accomplished running star had a full-ride scholarship lined up in the States, but passed it up for McMaster’s cross country program.
c/o pete self
Laura Sinclair Sports Editor Connor Darlington was prepared to go far away for university. His plan all along was to get a full-ride scholarship from a good school in the United States, and to run with some of the best collegiate runners in North America in the NCAA. This was something that was not out of reach for him, as he was always a stand-out runner in high school, winning numerous OFSAA medals, and qualifying for the Canadian junior cross country team as an 18-year old. “For the most part throughout high school, I was thinking of going to the States,” said Darlington. Darlington had offers from Southern Utah University, Uni-
versity of Missouri, University of Mississippi, Liberty University, and Iona College. He ended up getting a full-ride scholarship with Iona College, and signed there, as he felt like the school was a good fit for him. “Iona was my top choice. I signed there confidently, expecting to go the States. And it was only two months later that I decided maybe Canada is right for me.” For Darlington, it was not the coaches, or the college itself that was the problem. He simply just did not know if going to the States on a full-ride scholarship was the right choice for him. “I did an official visit. It was great. I loved the school, the coaches were good. I think a big fear amongst Canadians going to the states is that you are going to
get a coach who is pretty intense, they will break you down, but these coaches were very good, and very prepared to work with me.” But Darlington is the type of runner that has suffered from several injuries in the past, and was hoping to be able to receive individual attention from the coaches. This is hard to come by in the States, where exceptionally talented athletes come in numbers. It wasn’t all about the pressure for Darlington. At the end of the day, it came down to his injury problems in the past, and the expectations that go along with a full-ride scholarship that made him look more seriously at Canadian schools. “In a full-ride, there is an expectation that you perform and train and give them the results as an investment in the athlete and in the school. There is a little bit of pressure. I wasn’t too concerned about the pressure, but I knew that I am the type of runner that needs individual attention and I have had a past of injuries before. I wanted to make sure I was in an environment that would not have me injured and gave me some freedom to do what I need to do. That is a big concern for the [United States].” The running program at McMaster turned out to be the best fit for Darlington, as he knew that he would have the freedom to train how he wanted, would receive great coaching from Rory Sneyd, Paula Schnurr and Pete Self, and at the same time, would not run into the kind of injury problems that he feels he may have suffered in the States. “Going into first year, I wasn’t 100 percent healthy. In the time, I have been able to overcome [injuries] and take the steps that I need to be healthy. Right now, I am probably 95 per cent healthy,
only small things, which is pretty good as far as injuries go.” Other than the individual attention, a huge part of Darlington’s decision to come to McMaster was the fact that he started to gear his training towards triathlons, and knew that there were facilities here that could help him with this. He also had teammates from triathlon-training that were on the Marauders cross country and track team, and convinced him to come. “The only reason I started to change was because I started to cross-train more and I got interested in triathlons, that led me to look at Canadian options because triathlons are bigger, as far as University goes, in Canada than it is in the States. That made me start to look more locally this side of the border,” said Darlington. “The thing that made me come to McMaster is definitely the combination of having the coaches and also the triathlon teammates which would be easily accessible at McMaster. I was on the fence between running and triathlons and I knew it had the combination of good running coaches and the right facilities to train for triathlons” added Darlington. He also liked the fact that there was not a lot of risk involved with his decision to come to McMaster, compared with his decision to go to the States. “It was the best of both worlds with low risk. Going to the [United States] you have more risk involved, as money is on the line,” added Darlington. With the addition of Darlington on the roster, the Marauders have been able to shock some people, winning their first OUA medal in years. Darlington feels as though this is a sign of things to come for the future of the men’s running team at McMaster.
“The general trend is that fast teams usually attract faster recruits. I am hoping that with our success this year, we will be able to attract even more recruits,” Darlington said. As for the team currently, Darlington feels as though they too will improve even more so than they have already, because of their youth. “As far as the team goes, we are a young team, most of our guys are in their second or third eligibility year with the exception of a couple…I think that we can recruit more talent. That has been the case with the Guelph team as well, they have created a power house and they attract more runners. I think [McMaster] will do that as well.” Before Darlington thinks about the possibilities of next season, however, this season still isn’t over yet. The Marauders men’s team will look to capture their first CIS medal in a very long time this weekend, In London Ont. at the CIS Championships. This is a race that Darlington feels he is prepared for. “I have never been as excited about a team medal as I have been for this race because I think that it is a genuine possibility,” said Darlington. “I am hoping to land in the Top 15 and hopefully that bodes well for our team to follow up with a couple low scores. I think we can get a medal.” As for his decision to stay and compete in Canada, as opposed to the United States, Darlington could not be happier with it. “Sometimes I think about the alternatives, as I am sure everyone does. But I think staying in Canada was the best fit for me.” @Lsinkky
RECAP WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL OUA EAST
OUA WEST W | L | PTS
YORK RYERSON TORONTO OTTAWA QUEEN’S RMC NIPISSING
5 4 3 3 2 0 0
0 2 2 1 1 3 5
10 8 6 6 4 0 0
W | L | PTS 4 3 3 2 2 1 0
WINDSOR WATERLOO GUELPH LAKEHEAD BROCK MCMASTER WESTERN
2 2 2 2 3 3 4
8 6 6 4 4 2 0
MEN’S BASKETBALL OUA EAST
OUA WEST W | L | T | PTS
QUEEN’S CARLETON LAURENTIAN OTTAWA RYERSON TORONTO ALGOMA YORK
2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1
0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4 4 4 4 2 2 2 2
W | L | T | PTS MCMASTER LAKEHEAD LAURIER WATERLOO WINDSOR BROCK WESTERN GUELPH
2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
0 1 1 2 2 2 2 2
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4 2 2 0 0 0 0 0
MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
OUA
OUA WEST W | L | PTS
YORK WATERLOO RYERSON MCMASTER WESTERN GUELPH QUEEN’S TORONTO WINDSOR RMC NIPISSING
4 4 3 3 3 2 2 1 1 0 0
2 1 1 0 1 4 0 3 3 2 6
8 8 6 6 6 4 4 2 2 0 0
W | L | PTS BROCK MCMASTER LAURIER WATERLOO WESTERN WINDSOR LAKEHEAD GUELPH
2 2 2 1 1 1 1 0
0 0 0 1 1 1 1 2
4 4 4 2 2 2 2 0
theSil.ca
SPORTS
Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013
B10
Men’s volleyball record remains perfect McMaster straight-setted the Varsity Blues, bringing their winning streak to three are not coasting in that regard,” “It is not a lack, it is a added Preston. development. We cannot do stage All of this hard work and four, until we have done stages training has paid off so far, as one, two and three. We have one, the Marauders have been able two and three in place now. We to maintain a steady three game can start to move on to stage winning streak, with their most four and then we can do it faster, recent win coming against the which is stage five” added Preston. Toronto Varsity Blues – which In the game against was one that they took quite easily the Toronto Varsity Blues, in three sets. the Marauders were able to This is something that Coach demonstrate their dominance, Preston says he is happy with, but with Jayson McCarthy standing not fully satisfied with. These are out as the player of the game, two terms that Preston finds to with 12 points for the Marauders, be completely different from one converting seven of 15 hitting another. attempts and “I think we adding two are happy with service aces, where we are, two solo blocks are we satisfied and two block “We are trying to build with where we assists. capacity, or what I call are? No. There This is ‘building a bigger tank’ is a difference something there. I don’t that Preston with sports specific know if we knows is a movement and proper truly ever will combination of be because natural talent, work-to-rest ratio.” there is always hard work and going to be determination. Dave Preston, men’s volleyball something “The stuff head coach more. Say that he has you win a been working championship, hard at is his well then we will want two.” blocking and his serving. What “There is always going to be people saw on Saturday afternoon bigger, faster and stronger,” said was a result of him putting in Preston. probably 18 months of hard Preston also feels as though work…He has some God-given the team needs to not get caught natural talent and we are very in a trap of playing just good blessed and thankful that he is enough to beat the other team. a Marauder. But, he works his He wants the team to play to their tail off at certain things too” said best potential all of the time. Preston. “The biggest thing that I am Preston, McCarthy and the on [the team] about is trying not Marauders will try and bring their to let them do what they can get talent to the game against the away with. Can we get away with Ryerson Rams, where they will be playing at this level to beat this up against powerful hitter Robert team? That is a trap we do not Wojcik, who Preston believes will want to get into. We want to play be a force to be reckoned with. at our absolute best as often as “Robert Wojcik is a load. possible, as long as possible.” He was on Team Ontario with a This is why the Marauders number of our guys this summer, are currently working on their and he’s similar to Jayson endurance, so they can win not McCarthy. He’s big, he’s strong, just the first and second set, but he’s fast, he’s dynamic, and he maintain this power to win the carries that Ryerson team. They’ve third, fourth and fifth sets as well, got a lot of other pieces around not allowing the team they are him, but we’re talking about one facing to make a comeback. of the eighth ranked teams in the Preston thinks that in order country. These guys are great.” for the Marauders to pull out a Preston and his No. 2 clean, and close-to-perfect win, ranked team are up for whatever they need to concentrate on challenge Robert Wojcik and the communication. Rams may bring, however, and “What we are working are excited to play against a team on right now is making better that Preston knows will bring decisions at the time that they their best game to the Burridge need to be made, communicating Gym this Friday night at 8:00 p.m. those decisions to each other and “We don’t want to win then executing the game plan that because everyone else is a little bit is designed around that decision,” worse than us. We expect them to said Preston. be on top of their game on Friday, There is not a lack of no doubt about it. And we will be communication with the team; too.” but he feels as though it can be developed further to make the @Lsinkky Marauders close to perfect.
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Head Coach Dave Preston has a lot to be happy about as his men’s team now sit with a 3-0 record to start off the season. YOSEIF HADDAD / PHOTO EDITOR
Laura Sinclair Sports Editor Before the Marauders get on the court, and ready to go for a match, they do a lot of off-court training- which means speed, agility, and quickness work, which all takes place in several of McMaster’s facilities. “We are trying to build capacity, or what I call
“building a bigger tank” with sports specific movement and proper work-to-rest ratio. “Without going into tremendous detail, we do a lot of circuit work, a lot of SAQ [speed, agility, quickness] work and we are working on some reaction stuff,” said head coach Dave Preston. The Marauders do not get
much of a break in that regard, as they train regularly five times a week, with two days a week on the court, and two days a week on the indoor track. “Two days a week on the track, two days a week on court, five days a week practice and usually two matches. We are building [training] in pretty good; we are efficient with our time. We
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Starting November 4th, bring new unwrapped toys for children up to 12 years of age to any of our drop off locations. You can also donate a toy through our online toy catalogue at www.citykidz.ca/toys For more information, to make a donation or to volunteer your time please call 905.544.3996 or visit www.citykidz.ca/christmas
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SPORTS
Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013
theSil.ca
B12
Mac rips off two big wins William Lou The Silhouette
yoseif haddad/photo editor
The McMaster women’s basketball team is off to a hot start to the season with a pair of victories in last week’s matchups versus the Toronto Varsity Blues and the Ryerson Rams. The Marauders dominated both sides of the ball in last Friday’s win over the Varsity Blues. The Blues fought hard early, jumping out to an 8-7 lead at one point, but McMaster turned the game into a blowout with an 11-0 run to end the first. Mac stretched their lead to 35-19 by the half and the game ended with a final score of 70-35 in favor of the Marauders. On offense, the inside-out tandem of Hailey Milligan and Danielle Boiago combined for 34 points and 20 rebounds while point guard Vanessa Bonomo chipped in with 8 assists. The overall team defense was extremely solid as they held the Varsity Blues to 26% shooting from the field, while also forcing a whopping 24 turnovers. On the following night, McMaster played host to the Ryerson Rams. Coming off a deflating 38-point loss against the No. 7 ranked Brock Badgers, the Rams looked for redemption against the Marauders, but it was not to be. Led once again by Milligan and Boiago, McMaster earned a hard-fought 66-42 victory over the Rams. The Marauders struggled to start the game as the Rams surged out to a 15-11 lead after the first, but Mac’s tenacious defense car-
ried them the rest of the way, limiting Ryerson to 27 points scored over their last three quarters. McMaster forced the Rams into committing 36 turnovers and they outrebounded their opponent by 24 to ensnare their second victory. Through two games, McMaster’s strength has clearly been its superb defense. By forcing their opponents into taking tough shots and creating turnovers, the Marauders have only allowed 38.5 points scored per game which is the lowest total in the OUA. Offensively, they have been carried by shooting guard Boiago and power forward Milligan. Boiago’s scoring from the wing notably with her three-point shooting (43 percent) has opened up the floor for teammate Hailey Milligan, who is routinely facing double and even triple-teams. The dynamic duo is averaging a combined 35.5 points per game. McMaster will travel to Sudbury, Ont. on Nov. 9 to take on the Laurentian Voyageurs who are 1-1 on the season. The following night, Mac will take on the newest member of the OUA – the Algoma Thunderbirds. The Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. squad is 0-2.
Fall sports at a glance
C/O RICHARD ZAZULAK
yoseif haddad
eliza pope
eliza pope
/ photo editor
/ assistant photo editor
/ assistant photo editor
C/O FRASER CALDWELL
C/O ROBERT DASILVA
C/O ROBERT DASILVA
theSil.ca
Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013
ANDY E-mail: andy@thesil.ca
Assistant Editor: Cooper Long
Phone: (905)•525•9140 ext 27117
Contributors: Shane Madill, Michael Gallagher, Palika Kohli
coming up in the hammer •nov 7 •nov 8 •nov 9
octa#grape frankie payne the matinee
this ain’t hollywood •nov 11 •nov 13 •nov 22
future islands cherie currie lee reed
i kissed a girl
robinson memorial theatre •nov 7-16
a midsummer night's dream
C4 C5
starcraft &
burlington art centre •nov 20 •nov 25
writer talk wayne johnson writer talk chris hadfield
mcmaster art gallery
•nov 8
•until jan. 25 voyager exhibition •until dec. 14 homeland exhibition
absinthe •nov 9
Cover: Bahar Orang
C3
hamilton place soul motivaters
Senior Editor: Bahar Orang
Meeting Time: Tuesdays @ 5:30 p.m.
ndex the casbah
C2
C6
snapshot: a poem
C7 alice munro C8
ill scarlett
dickin' around "I never miss a chance to have sex or appear on television." - gore vidal
THE COVER STORY For too long now I've been craving raisin bran, so I woke early one morning and biked to the store to buy a box. I excitedly poured the cereal into my bowl, and to my amazement, this was what I found. OMNOMNOM.
artistry &humanity
theSil.ca
ANDY
Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013
C3
EDITORIAL
maybe stop dancing, perhaps start listening (if you want), but please do: katy’s kiss of konfusion Bahar Orang ANDY Editor I remember when I was sixteen years old, I heard “I Kissed a Girl” on the radio for the first time. As I danced around my room, I felt confused. Katy Perry sings, “I kissed a girl and I liked it, I hope my boyfriend don’t mind it.” Katy’s voice was a little raspy, a little deep. It could potentially pass as a male’s voice. I tried to piece together this love triangle between the singer, the boyfriend, and the girl who had been kissed. I instinctively tried to neatly fit the song into a heteronormative storyline. I eventually gave up and thought, maybe I’m missing something. Maybe I’ve heard the lyrics wrong. Maybe it’s like that time I thought Wyclef was singing, “she make a man wanna see spandex” to Shakira, when he was actually singing, “she make a man wanna speak Spanish.” Looking back now, well – what in the actual fuck? The fact that I had a very liberal family, that I was quite open-minded, that I hated when people said, “that’s so gay,” that I had gone to the Toronto pride parade since I was a little girl – none of this meant anything in that moment of truth when the song came on. I did not resist, nor was I even aware of, the sheer oppressiveness of heteronormative culture that still permeates pop music. I can now recognize this grossly problematic oversight on my part, but I am no less confused about “I Kissed a Girl.”
On the one hand, it does offer something alternative to the love stories of mainstream music. Most of the he’s sing about the she’s and most of the she’s sing about the he’s. And even when people do covers of different songs, they’ll be thoroughly committed to every last note of the original song – except for those pesky pronouns. They’ll adjust them so that the he’s and the she’s still “match up.” But the song describes an extremely sexualized encounter. It is sensual and erotic and focused entirely on her lips and her soft skin and her cherry chap stick. There is no depth, she even admits that she doesn’t know her name and it doesn’t even matter. She describes their kiss as wrong and naughty and dirty. Was this just Katy’s attempt to tantalize a male fantasy? Does this then just perpetuate the eroticization or exoticisation of queer relationships? Was it just an attention stunt on Katy’s part? And yet – can we ignore or discount the broad and blurred spectrum of human sexuality? Maybe Katy simply does prefer a long-term relationship with her boyfriend, and just likes feeling up other girls. Should we deny her the right to feel this way and express this perspective? Is it helpful in a broader cultural context that eliminates, and subjugates queer identities? Or does the song just propagate stereotypes? And does it make any difference that the song is fun and catchy and I still like dancing around to it in my room? And if we move away from the content
of the lyrics – what about the singer? A white, presumably “straight,” Katy Perry playfully singing about a lesbian experience – is that okay? And to that end – what position do I have in this discourse, as someone who has never kissed a girl – do I have any position at all? This idea of who can speak for whom only gets more complicated as we move forwards a few years in the pop music timeline and think about Macklemore. I firmly believe that “Same Love” is a beautiful song and I find it more moving every time I listen to it, but it still begs the question: what does it mean to have three white people (Amy lambert, Macklemore, and Ryan Lewis) – two of whom are straight – be the voice and the rallying point of gay rights in hip-hop? Is it unfair that white people get mainstream recognition for talking about homophobia in hip-hop, when queer hip-hop artists of colour are routinely ignored? And all that being said, is it still nonetheless helpful that these ideas are actually present in the billboard charts? Maybe all these things can be true at the same time. Maybe we can answer ‘yes’ to all these questions even when the answers directly contradict each other. Either way, I’m still waiting for a pop song that somehow manages to address all these issues. @baharoh
the
big
tickle who should play rob in the rob ford movie? LIZ POPE / PHOTO EDITOR BAHAR ORANG / ANDY EDITOR
Liz P. “Amanda Bynes.”
Jas V. “Chris Farley.”
Mitchell L. “Gary Busey.”
Sammy G. “Lindsay Lohan.”
Lucas C. “Stephen Harper.”
theSil.ca
Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013
ANDY
StarCraft fans swarm Toronto
two year review
Despite its growing popularity, few people I ask are familiar with the term “e-sports” and the community that surrounds it. Talk of “professional gaming” sounds like nonsense to many, and is brushed aside without a second thought. However, when the Korean pro-gamer Baek Dong Jun, better known by his in-game ID “Dear” took home $40,000 at the recent 2013 StarCraft II World Championship Series in Toronto, I’m sure he felt quite the opposite. Competing for $160,000 in prize money, 16 players from around the world met up in Toronto on Oct. 25-27 to play StarCraft II – a real-time strategy game produced by the game developer Blizzard. With them came 4,000 enthusiastic fans, looking to see who the best player in the world was. To put it into perspective, the combined tournament earnings of
Who are the top Canadian earners in StarCraft II ) e-sports? ( NUMBERS TO DATE
the top 50 most successful players totals nearly six-million dollars, with the highest paid player having amassed $406,788 so far. Even more impressive, according to the CEO of Blizzard, Mike Morhaime, the current global viewership of StarCraft II as of Apr. 2013 has exceeded the viewership of the NHL. These numbers probably seem unreasonably high to those doubting the legitimacy of the game itself, but top players know it requires intense dedication. “It’s basically like a job,” says Chris Loranger, a successful Canadian pro-gamer known by his ID “HuK” in the StarCraft II community. “I’ll play eight to twelve hours a day on the days I’m practising, which is about 300 days a year.” So what makes StarCraft II interesting to watch? To fans of traditional sports, the concept of watching a video game must seem confusing. To help those interested, I sat down with Sean “Day [9]” Plott, arguably the game’s most successful personality to ask him why someone should check out
Sasha “Scarlett” Hostyn •••
StarCraft II and e-sports. Plott is known for hosting his own online show “The Day [9] Daily,” and has been recognized by Forbes as one of the “Top 30 under 30,” alongside other notable celebrities, including Jennifer Lawrence and Donald Glover. “Ever been into football? – Like American football where I’m from? – It’s really exciting and fun, as you get into it with your favourite team or region. After you watch the exciting play, you can’t do it yourself, because you need to get a full team together. Games are something where you can hop on immediately and try it yourself,” says Plott. This kind of accessibility has led to almost four million people playing StarCraft II, with a significant portion tuning in to watch the fast-paced real-time strategy
game. If you’re interested in delving into StarCraft II and e-sports, the World Championship Grand Finals will be streamed online at on Nov. 8-9 with players competing for a massive $250,000 prize pool.
“[Like football] It’s really exciting and fun, as you get into it with your favourite team or region.”
SEAN “DAY 9” PLOTT, STARCRAFT CASTER
ANDY speaks to professional gamers at the 2013 StarCraft II World Championship Series Michael Gallagher The Silhouette
Evaluating the YouTube Original Channel Initiative, two years later Shane Madill The Silhouette
redbull views last week: 14, 938, 394 http://www.youtube.com/redbull 8:36
WWEFanNation views last week: 11, 494, 237 http://www.youtube.com/wwefannation 1:43
Howcast
Chris “HuK” Loranger •••
views last week: 6, 232, 659 http://www.youtube.com/howcast 7:08
$89,775
MondoMedia
$61,480
views last week: 4, 812, 174 http://www.youtube.com/mondomedia 3:33
vice views last week: 3, 980, 818 http://www.youtube.com/vice
Payam “TT1” Toghyan •••
$17,625
C4 & C5
9:29
*Data from Ad Age’s YouTube Original Channel Tracker
In Oct. 2011, the YouTube Original Channel Initiative was created and resulted in a substantial number of celebrities and regular people alike seeking a piece of the $100 million investment pie. Designed to kick start Google TV, these channels either created entirely new brands, or allowed established content creators to expand outwards in an effort to gain more viewers and advertising revenue. YouTube doubled down on their gamble a year later and offered another $200 million stimulus to the program by giving chosen channels an additional investment. However, a few things went wrong. The initiative was a relative failure, as the vast majority of channels were unable to recuperate the initial investment. This concept of large-scale investing also began to alienate the more amateur core that made up the vast majority of YouTube videomakers, and demonstrated a polarizing focus on a television-like format, as opposed to than the conventional viral video approach. The second round of investment was more intensely focused, and cut the initial 160 channels down to around 60, leaving many content creators behind. The ones that did manage to break through and add a respectable amount of viewers tended to be established brands rather than new channles. Examples of these well-known brands include the WWE, Red Bull, Mondo Media,
The Onion, ESPN’s Grantland and Pitchfork. Larger name celebrities that joined the initial wave, including Shaquille O’Neal, Tony Hawk, Madonna and Amy Poehler, have mostly moved on from the experment. These people either returned to their respective media careers, receive a small amount of views relative to their public status, or no longer release many videos. YouTube has since switched over to smaller grants to those who already have experience in online videos, demonstrating that they have learned from their mistakes. The site has tended to work best when channel content is not forced, but develops and grows over a period of time (with the occasional phenomenon here and there). If content creators show consistency in their craft, they can always apply for the YouTube Partner Program, which offers programs to help uploaders monetize their work and expand their audience. What has changed for the common viewer over the past two years as a result of the Original Channel Initiative? Not a lot. Besides the influx of videos around the time of the initiatives, and the lingering presence of established brands, only some original content emerged. Yet, the lessons learned from this Initiative, an often overlooked aspect of the Internet’s short history, show how truly unique modern media is and how carefully it must be managed in order to satisfy its users.
theSil.ca
Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013
snapshots pt. 1 by: nimra khan
How do I know that I exist. right now, in this moment That the long exposure of pictures burned into my mind won’t fade as I try desperately to take as many snapshots of great moments while burning as many heart-shattering moments as possible The kaleidoscope of hopes, dreams, and fears that come rushing back when I close my eyes, So I hold my breath and reach out and grab hold of as many memories as possible that make up me to remind myself: don’t be afraid of living
ANDY
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theSil.ca
Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013
ANDY
a closer look at Canada’s first female winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature Mike Roy The Argosy SACKVILLE (CUP) – Alice Munro was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature this past October by the Swedish Academy this year as a “master of the modern short story.” She is the thirteenth woman to receive the award, along with being the second Canadian after expatriate Saul Bellow received the same prize in 1976. Every year, the Nobel Prize for Literature is awarded to an author of any country that demonstrates an excellence in the field of written works, be it fiction or non-fiction. Munro is no newcomer to the realm of literature, as she has carefully produced fourteen collections of her work over several decades, penning hundreds of short stories. Her literature normally focuses on the themes of female identity, such as the coming-of-age tales in Lives of Girls and Women, or the struggles in middle-aged life in Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage. Munro was born in Wingham, Ontario, a small community located in the southwest part of the province in Huron County. This environment has served as fodder for her stories, which commonly deal with rural locations similar to her hometown. She studied English and journalism at the University of Western Ontario, where she met her first husband, James Munro. She has been a past recipient of the Governor General’s Literary Award on three occasions and the Giller Book Prize in 1998 and 2004. As a Canadian woman author, Munro represents a cultural shift for those who still think in the same vein as Gilmour. Literature in today’s world is not simply the study of the same famed authors found in
textbooks for centuries, but the incorporation of writing from all backgrounds in all time periods. Her win is not only personal, but demonstrates the quality and talent that can be ignored by biased views of inequality. Furthermore, it places Canada in the spotlight of noteworthy North American literature. While our country has the same wealth of talent as our neighbours to the south, we do not have the same means to publicize and promote our literature on the same scale. Munro being recognized on an international level will not only garner attention to her works, but to those of all Canadians. Earlier this year, Munro announced her retirement from writing, which could only be capped off with this magnificent honour of the Nobel Prize in Literature. While she cannot attend the reception ceremony due to her health, she is still humble and thankful for the recognition. There is truly no better way to end the career of a magnificent author, who has shaped the Canadian literature landscape, than this.
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theSil.ca
ANDY
Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013
C8
artistry, humanity, and everything that’s left
Kacper Niburski The Silhouette To the surprise of no one at all, I nearly failed grade eight art. I could pretend that I was one of the greats denied critical fame with avant-garde masterpieces, but I won’t. I think back to the artwork I submitted over the years and I remember them as bubbling masterworks of creative fervor and passion – whatever the heck that means. But this is just an abstraction of the past, where time makes complex situations simple and memories into ideals. What they were, and what they will always be, are the deranged scribbles of a young boy whose brain moved faster than his hand, whose reality was a diluted failure to capture his imagination, and whose artwork was the result of grand ideas that lacked consistency and practise. In short, I got a D. Maybe I’m still trying to justify the mark. I don’t think so, however. I am very aware that I’ll never be a great artist. I am no Van Gogh; two attached ears give me away. I’ll add that I’m not Picasso either – my best attempt at stenciling a life portrait looks less like a caricature and more like a blunderbuss to the face would. Yet despite lacking the
panache necessary to paint or to draw, somehow and for some reason I am given the chance to comment on art as a whole. With no more weight than a feather, I can brutally, unrelentingly, dimwittingly, shamelessly vocalize all my qualms about a given piece. We all can. That is not to say my, or your, opinion is worth a flying fuck, of course. In a cacophony of voices, I’d hope a voice as selfindulgent, prone to misspellings, and ridiculously exhaustive as mine would drown at the first instance. But it is as though by just being human, by just breathing, eating, and shitting like the animals we tend to grown into, I can judge all things human. It is a metaphysical assertion at best. No more than some innate predisposition guaranteed the day we are born, even though everyone else we know was born once, we find our judgment. Whether it be in the tomes of literary jargon, academic highfalutin, or those who believe that by tilting one’s head to look at a painting ruins the “regal elegance” of the whole piece, we criticize the world and its fruits as if we own both. For the record, fuck those people. I’m sorry for such a vulgarity, and I should probably elaborate, so I will. Listen: fuck us humans. We’re no more entitled to judge art, books, or anything for that matter. We aren’t experts on anything. We aren’t even amateurs. We are all just chewing on broken glass while staring into the neverending abyss, hoping, praying, to
make sense of it all. Sure. We can read. We can write. But that doesn’t mean diddlysquat in a Universe, a World, a damn bedroom that is so much more complex than we can imagine. We are not the Rulers of the Universe, even though we can type that we are. Instead, as humans, we are worse than diseases because at least a disease looks after its own kind. But some hope at an egalitarian diatribe is not what I’m trying to get at; rather, by suggesting humanity’s limitation in judging art – a limitation that is both found and originating from our own birth – I am attempting to determine what makes great art. Undoubtedly my pieces in elementary school were far from it. As is this writing. But there seems to be some general consensus that such and such by so and so is great art. Maybe it is. Who the hell am I to say different? But maybe in the same line of thought it isn’t. Maybe works are no longer reviewed but revered, and simply the name suggests an unquestioning greatness. Of course, I am not implying that Shakespeare, Michelangelo, Mozart, and the like aren’t great. To be honest, showing those three artist alone to an alien race would be enough to make it look like we were bragging. What I am saying, though, is that there comes a point when our paragons are accepted simply for being paragons. Certainly I can say that Shakespeare was a twat that forced his plots and character foibles and didn’t damn near mean the things we attribute to him, but would I be right? Most likely not. Nor would any ex-
pression of my most outlandish statements about a given work be merited. I’m a nincompoop, and even that may be an insult to nincompoops. Yet even though such works are unperturbed from any of the foolish and poorly worded assaults I could muster, are they still great? And if so, what makes them great? I think there is no simple answer, and I won’t dissolve the discussion into some vague abstraction about human values and potential and the works. God knows I do that enough. Instead, I’ll admit that great works differ by great margins and great people will have greatly different opinions on the matter. There will never be a sliver of agreement, and that is something you can agree on, dear reader. But at the same time, great art is great for the same reason it is created: because we are human, and in between two milestones that are no more in our control than anything else, we feel, we need, and we die trying to digest an overwhelming amount of information in such a short amount of time. Most of us are lucky if we can even find a matching pair of socks in the morning. For this reason, I purport that art is not know for its artistry, but for its humanity. A great piece – whether written, drawn, sung, or whatever else it could be – will not simply move you. A fart moves you, for heaven sakes. Rather, a great piece of artwork will make you close your eyes and imagine that you were having breakfast with the author of the piece and they just told you a funny joke and oh how you both shared in the laughter and they decided to make a day of it and they told you why they
painted this and that and why they didn’t paint that and this and why both really don’t matter anyways. In the little time that you’re drawn into the microcosm of their work, you’re convinced the two of you are friends, author and audience, much longer than your gaze will last. I have been lucky enough to have a handful of such occasions in my lifetime. The first time was with Kurt Vonnegut. Since then, I have drank with Heller, laughed with Bradbury, cried with Dostoyevsky, triumphed with Dante, entered hyperspace with Card, died with Camus, questioned with Burgess, danced with Bach, wallowed with Kafka, hummed with Chopin, wondered with Sagan, loved with Orang, and more. I have spent the few moments I could control with a lifetime of people who devoted themselves to something greater than themselves, and in that pursuit, became themselves a greater thing than they originally intended. That is great art. It is a feeling like one’s time isn’t wasted despite living in a Universe that is as much as a hysterical accident as we are.