The Silhouette - November 1

There’s the

JOURNEY BACK TO THE VANIER

Wi-Fi

As the defending national champions of university football, the Marauders will look to begin their playoff run this Saturday against the Western Mustangs at Ron Joyce Stadium See B6

Mac looks to invest $100,000 in wireless Internet project See A3

The Silhouette www.thesil.ca

MCMASTER UNIVERSITY’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER

Thursday, November 1, 2012

EST. 1930

When there’s shooting in the street, don’t go near the window.

Vol. 83, No. 13

What Integrity means to us

In the second part of a series on the progress of Patrick Deane’s “Forward With Integrity” initiatives, the Sil explores how a “class-free week” and community-based learning could enhance McMaster’s overall student experience Aissa Boodhoo-Leegsma

that flexibility so students can get to where they want to go, in different ways.”

Denburg mentioned that the goal is to eventually guarantee 100 per cent student particiSenior News Editor pation. She noted that the faculties have been receptive to the idea of a class-free week with Campus is often viewed as a community of its own. But Forward with Integrity (FWI) urged supplementary and possibly accredited activities outside of the classroom. the campus to look outside McMaster to understand what constitutes our commitment to com“We want to have this week, want you to step back, think about how could you use a week? munity.

What do you want to experience in that week and how would it enhance your learning…and Campus has been abuzz with various initiatives that seek to enhance our internal, local and what skills might it enhance?” said Denburg. global engagement. The Community Engagement (CE) Task Force Report noted the need for reciprocity in community partnership, fostering bilateral and mutually beneficial relationships Where McMaster Stands between McMaster and community agencies.

McMaster has been increasingly more involved in the community, with events such as Specific initiatives mentioned in the report include establishing a community opportuni- MacServe, providing opportunities for thousands of students and staff. However, long-term ties infoshare database, a network of community champions and a possible CE course. exposure and involvement in the community has not been an institutional priority at Mac. Mary Koziol, Assistant to the President, Special Community Initiatives, explained that Student experience in the community through flexible learning community engagement is a slow-moving and long-term process, because of the need to both The Student Experience Task Force (discussed in last week’s FWI feature article) also pro- protect the University’s brand and to ensure a mutually beneficial relationship. posed a “class-free week” which would feature community-based learning experiences.

“Making sure that community engagement is mutually beneficial is at the forefront of the The “class-free week” concept comes on the cusp of recent student interest and concern decision-making process. Especially when we ask community partners and consult with them over the attempt by the MSU to secure a fall break for students in 2013. before simply creating things,” she said.

While a fall break was part of Siobhan Stewart’s electoral platform, the Class-Free Week Generally, McMaster has strong elements of short-term service learning and industry was proposed independently by the CE Task Force as a method to more flexibly approach stu- partnerships but has lagged behind other universities in community-directed research and dent learning and ensure opportunities for community-based learning. community-based education. Most students have limited awareness of Hamilton’s realities.

Susan Denburg, VP Academic (Health Sciences) and Strategic Advisor to the President, Huzaifa Saaed, MSU VP Education remarked upon this trend. He stated, “ I don’t feel noted that this week would eliminate classes but provide supplementary opportunities for stu- that…we’ve made a strong commitment to the City of Hamilton, as our city and that’s what we dent learning, through seminars, service-learning and other activities. need to go towards. It’s more of a culture shift.”

“We want to increase opportunity for students to expand their horizons, we want the enviSEE COMMIITTING, A4 ronment to be flexible. People learn in different ways and at different rates. So we want to create

Connectivity deification

ANDY gets political

Are there consequences to having such a well-connected world? Delve into the dark side of total digital immersion.

Take the spin out of the system and find out what democracy means to, as ANDY digs into the culture of politics.

See B7

See C4-C5

McMaster gets its annual report card Julia Redmond Assistant News Editor

Remember the feeling of getting your report card? McMaster was faced with that feeling this October, as the Globe and Mail published its annual Canadian University Report.

The assessment, released on Oct. 25, tried to get away from the largely data-based rankings of other organizations, instead assigning letter grades to different aspects of the university’s performance based on student surveys.

And McMaster’s administration was certainly pleased with the report card results.

“It’s extremely gratifying to be ranked by students as providing the highest quality teaching and learning experience in Canada,” McMaster President Patrick Deane told the Daily News, referring to McMaster’s first-place finish in its division for quality of teaching and learning.

Most notably, Mac ranked first in campus atmosphere, research opportunities and quality of teaching and learning, as well as second in student satisfaction, where it placed behind Western.

It also made an impression at the lower end of the large school division, placing second to last in city satisfaction and information technology. And naturally, McMaster’s infamous SOLAR system earned the university last place in course registration.

“If you take all the rankings, they add up to an interesting perspective that we’re strong, but there are some areas which need our attention,” said Deane.

The premise of the Globe’s rankings is a survey of cur-

rent undergraduate students. For the 2013 rankings, 33,000 undergrads responded to a survey, and their responses, given on a scale of 1 to 9, were converted into corresponding letter grades. But the entire premise of this style of ranking is problematic, said Lonnie Magee, an economics professor at Mac. “How would a university student be able to know about another school?” he asked. “It’s so driven by how you compare it with what you’re expecting.” He explained that since students attend only one university, such a comparison not particularly useful.

The Globe and Mail addressed this criticism in its 2012 Canadian University Report, released last October. Alex Usher, president of Higher Education Strategy Associates, an education consulting firm that advises the Globe on the annual report, argued that student surveys are a reliable method of devising rankings.

“Another criticism [of the report] was that student[s] … had no idea what was available at any school other than their own. That’s true to some extent – but if year after year a particular institution gets results which are particularly good or particularly bad compared to other institutions of its type, then the results start to gain in validity,” Usher argued.

Magee notes that such results come from the “temptation to make the results more objective, to accumulate statistics and present them to show that your rankings are based on these ‘hard facts’ that have been collected.” He cautioned that qualitative factors like student satisfaction are tough to compare.

SEE RANKINGS, A4

the

PRESIDENT’S PAGE Jeff Wyngaarden VP (Finance)

Huzaifa Saeed VP (Education)

Siobhan Stewart President

David Campbell VP (Administration)

OUSA GENERAL ASSEMBLY GOES LIVE Provincial lobbying partner to discuss Financial Aid, Accessibility, and issues facing Northern and Rural Students

Huzaifa Saeed VP (Education) vped@msu.mcmaster.ca ext. 24017

This weekend, students from McMaster will travel to the University of Waterloo for the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) General Assembly. OUSA General Assembly is the highest governing body of OUSA and is held twice annually at OUSA member schools through a rotation which includes Queen’s, Brock, Waterloo, McMaster, Trent, Western, Windsor and Laurier.

Each full-time undergraduate student pays $2.85 into OUSA, by way of the MSU budget. OUSA is our provincial lobbying partner and represents the interests of over 150,000 university students at nine student associations

across Ontario. Our shared vision is for an accessible, affordable, accountable and high-quality post-secondary education system. In order to achieve this vision, we come together to develop solutions to challenges facing higher education, build broad consensus for our policy options and lobby government to implement progressive changes. OUSA has a strong research and professional lobbying focused approach to enacting change and has been instrumental in securing government funding for growth, access, infrastructure and other policy improvements.

Movember 1st through 4th, students from associations across Ontario will come together at the University of Windsor campus to discuss policy papers on Student Financial Aid, Students with Disabilities and Northern and Rural Students. These three papers are to become the standing policy papers of the organization and will be used to effectively lobby the government at any future opportunity over the next three years. Furthermore, there will

be focus groups on communication strategies, advocacy and future policy for the organization. You can follow the conference via a liveblog we will be hosting on the MSU website.

I have personally been working on additions to the Student Financial Aid paper. One of the biggest themes in my research has revolved around the need for government to recognize the student financial assistance system in Canada is exceedingly complicated with many different sources of funding, each with various eligibility rules and applications.

High school students applying for college or university for the first time often have little knowledge about the types of student financial assistance that are available. Loans are allocated to individuals with the least amount of experience with consumer loans. Despite a lack of a credit history or credit rating of their own, they are asked to make significant decisions and choices about very complicated financial products.

Counselling is rare and published information is opaque. And students

who opt for loans rarely have a choice about doing so; taking a loan is usually a last resort when family contributions and work alone do not suffice to cover the costs of tuition, academic materials along with room and board. These facts were demonstrated via a 2010 survey published by the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA) which reported that over 75% of students failed a simple seven-question quiz on aspects of the student loan system, amongst other troubling results. Moreover, as of October 2011, out of the estimated 300,000 students eligible for the Ontario Tuition Grant, only approximately 201,000 applied for the grant. This means there is potentially over $100 million in unclaimed government funding out there for you! You can find more information on it: https://osap.gov.on.ca/ OSAPPortal/en/PostsecondaryEducation/ Tuition/index.htm To address this and other concerns regarding financial aid, the MSU will be running awareness campaigns next term via various resources.

MAC PRIDE CELEBRATES PROGRESS, BUT LOOKS TO MAKE MORE Jyssika Russell Director, QSCC qscc@msu.mcmaster.ca msumcmaster.ca/qscc Each year in early Movember, the Queer Students Community Centre (QSCC) presents MacPride, a week dedicated to celebrating and supporting the diversity of gender identities and sexual orientations at McMaster.

This year from Movember 5th – 9th, the QSCC will acknowledge the many contributions GLBTQ people provide our community. We invite any and all allies to our Pride March on Tuesday, Movember 6th, meeting at 2 PM in front of the Commons building. Other events include a short film screening and director discussion of “What I Love About Being Queer” on Wednesday, as well as the always popular annual Drag Show, featuring some of Mac’s finest Kings and Queens, starting at 7 PM Thursday at the Marauder Pub (the downstairs of Kelsey’s on Main St. West). For a full list of events, as well as a complete list of services provided by the QSCC, visit us at www.msumcmaster.ca/ qscc, or follow us on twitter @msu_qscc.

Many people wonder, is it still relevant to celebrate MacPride? Society has come so far, does it still matter?

After all, our current first year students went into high school already listening to Lady Gaga and were in Grade 10 when “Glee” premiered. These are the people who were the main target of the popular “It Gets Better” campaign, with Hollywood’s biggest celebrities reminding them that it’s okay to be gay.

At the same time, the “It Gets Better” campaign was in response to a rash of teen suicides, mostly due to bullying.

Despite the many positive messages from the media, GLBTQ teens still face bullying, isolation and low self esteem.

The “It Gets Better” campaign often articulates that life for GLBTQ teens starts getting better at university, and for most people, that’s true. The QSCC, located in MUSC room 221, is a service of your McMaster Students Union, and caters to the needs of McMaster’s GLBTQ community. The QSCC is a home for queer students and their allies.

The MSU’s Anti-Oppression campaign, introduced last year, made it clear that oppression, in such forms as homophobia and transphobia, are not welcome on campus. Yes, there are still incidents of homophobia, and improvement will always be welcome, but with your help and support at MacPride, we can show that McMaster is both a safe and encouraging place for people of all gender identities and sexual orientations.

JOIN THE McMASTER McMOSTERS FOR MOVEMBER AS THEY RAISE AWARENESS AND FUNDS FOR PROSTATE CANCER BOYS - GROW THE STASH! LADIES - MAKE IT NO-SHAVE NOVEMBER! CHECK OUT FACEBOOK.COM/McMOSTERS FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE TEAM

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

EWS

Thursday, November 1, 2012 News Editors: Aissa Boodhoo-Leegsma, Julia Redmond and Anqi Shen Meeting: Thursdays @ 4:30 p.m.

Contact: news@thesil.ca

UTS launches $100,000 Wi-Fi pilot project Anqi Shen

Online News Editor

The MSU is bringing back the #WheresTheWifi hashtag after partnering with UTS on a $100,000 Wi-Fi pilot project on campus.

New surveys on the MSU’s website and Facebook page were released Monday to gather feedback on which areas of campus are most in need of Wi-Fi. Huzaifa Saeed, VP (Education), who sits on the Wi-Fi working group and is spearheading this year’s pilot project, says it’s an important step towards a larger-scale initiative.

The Wi-Fi working group consists of UTS, CLL, Library, Facility Services and the Registrar.

“I will be reporting to UTS later this week, and we will work out where we can spend the money,”

said Saeed.

“I think it’s important for students to contribute, especially since Wi-Fi was such a big issue in the last [MSU] election,” he said.

In less than 24 hours, over 600 votes were casted on the MSU’s channels. So far, the Burke Science Building and Student Centre seem to be where most students have identified the greatest need for Wi-Fi. The survey on the MSU’s website differs from the one on Facebook, providing a longer list of choices and asking for student satisfaction with Wi-Fi on campus.

Mukhtar Galan, current SRA representative (Engineering), ran with the slogan ‘Where’s the WiFi?’ in his presidential campaign this past January.

Galan said he is very support-

ive of the pilot project and student poll.

“There are a lot of empty tables and study spaces on campus that can’t be used because there’s no Internet connection,” he said. “We

“I think it’s important for students to contribute, especially since Wi-Fi was such a big issue in the last [MSU] election.”

Huzaifa Saeed MSU Vice President (Education)

have good space, we just need to optimize it.”

“I was surprised to hear from so many first-years last year that they couldn’t connect to Wi-Fi in some common rooms,” said Galan.

“I think that’s a problem.”

However, the cost to expand Wi-Fi in residences is closer to $500,000, says Saeed, so it wouldn’t be feasible as part of the pilot project.

“After the project, [the MSU] will be submitting a multi-million dollar proposal to the University for Wi-Fi upgrades on campus,” Saeed said.

UTS’s website states that areas eligible for University funding are public gathering areas for students where there is seating or workspace. This includes lobbies, libraries and lounges.

‘Out of scope’ areas for Wi-Fi funding by UTS are classrooms, administrative areas, and faculty and staff offices. Wi-Fi improvements for these areas can be secured through departmental or project funding if available.

Discussions to improve Wi-Fi on campus, in addition to other technological services on campus, have been ongoing for years.

Last year, MSU President Matthew Dillon-Leitch and executives worked to get UnivMail undergraduate e-mail accounts migrated to Google.

The University’s ERP (enterprise resource planning) project was also announced last year. The purpose of the five-year project is to modernize and streamline McMaster’s outdated business processes.

The initiative entered the ‘fit-gap’ stage earlier this month.

During this stage, members of the implementation team will examine how the selected PeopleSoft software fits McMaster’s business process needs, and where there are gaps.

PHOTO: REMEMBERING LINCOLN ALEXANDER The Burlington Teen Tour Band performed during procession for Lincoln Alexander in downtown Hamilton on Friday, Oct. 26.

Canada’s first black member of parliament, who had died a week before at 90 years old, received a Bachelor of Arts from McMaster University in 1949 and an honourary doctorate in 1987. After retiring from his post as MP for Hamilton West in 1980, Alexander served as Lieutenant Governor of Ontario from 1985-1991. A funeral at Hamilton Place followed the procession.

SAM COLBERT EXECUTIVE EDITOR

EWB continues fair trade campaign

Anqi Shen

Online News Editor

McMaster’s Engineers Without Borders (EWB) is continuing their efforts to bring about a fair trade campus status for McMaster.

In March, a motion was brought forth at the MSU’s general assembly for the MSU to work with the University to attain the status, but the motion was dismissed because quorum wasn’t reached.

A fair trade campus is a status granted by the Canadian Fair Trade Network that would mean all coffee sold at the university would be fair trade certified. In addition, there would have to be at least three fairtrade tea options and one chocolate option wherever tea and chocolate is sold.

Franchises such as Tim Horton’s that operate on campus would not be required to serve fair trade coffee.

There would also need to be a committee consisting of one university VP, a retail manager at the university, a manager from the Union Market, one faculty member and one student representative.

Fair trade signage would have to be visible where the products are offered, and the University’s website would need to indicate McMaster’s

fair trade campus status.

Dani Mejia, director of fair trade awareness for EWB McMaster, said the organization will continue to promote and discuss how the initiative may be implemented.

“It would be a gradual change.

We’ve been told it can’t happen overnight or even within a year,” said Mejia. “Even if many students aren’t aware of the benefits of fair trade, that’s exactly what we are trying to address [in our campaign],” she said.

As of Jan. 1, 2012, the MSU’s Union Market adopted the practice of selling fair trade only coffee as well as a selection of fair trade teas and chocolate.

Leigh Laidlaw, Chef Manager at Bridges Café, says Bridges currently serves fair trade coffee only, and he would be interested in serving fair-trade teas.

Bridges has undertaken several sustainability initiatives in the past year, including a kitchen composting system and the eco container pilot program.

Other Canadian university campuses that have recently become fair trade certified include the University of British Columbia, the first to do so in Canada, and Simon Fraser University.

News in Brief Threadwork hosts clothing swap Alice Cavanagh The Silhouette

On Oct. 25, OPIRG working group Threadwork held their fifth biannual clothing swap in MUSC. Hosted in partnership with MACGreen, the Swap drew over 70 participants and left organizers with three brimming donation bins for the Canadian Diabetes Association.

Threadwork was founded in 2010 and strives to promote critical thinking about the implications of consumerism for the environment and community.

Core members of the group include Ariel Bader-Shamai, Alice Cavanagh, Isabelle Dobronyi, Alexandra Epp, Scott McDonald, Sophie Roher, and Christina Vietinghoff. The next swap will be held in late second semester.

C/O THREADWORK

Enrolment Services unit created Nisha Chopra The Silhouette

On Oct. 9, the three different departments of Student Recruitment, Admissions and Financial Aid & Scholarships were put under one umbrella, Enrolment Services.

The intent is to increase YOSEIF HADDAD SENIOR PHOTO EDITOR YOSEIF HADDAD SENIOR PHOTO EDITOR

the efficiency of the university as a whole. By putting all these services under one banner, the university aims to increase coordination between admission offices, faculties and residents.

The biggest change in this initiative is moving Financial Aid and Scholarships under the Enrolment Services banner with the aim to provide funds to students that will prove more effective and valuable to them.

Jock Phippen has been appointed Executive Director of Enrolment Services.

A4 • News

The Silhouette • Thursday, November 1, 2012

Committing to community FROM A1 The CE task force has looked to examples of American schools to model a strong long-term, community-university partnership from.

At the University of Minnesota, the Public Engagement department tracks all the various initiatives and tries to quantify and evaluate the levels of engagement.

McMaster is part of the Canadian Association for Service Learning (Ontario Branch), which has allowed McMaster to exchange ideas with other universities about their best case practices.

McMaster does not stand-alone in its commitment to the community.

In the latest Strategic Mandate Agreements submitted to the provincial government, University of Guelph and Queen’s both pledged to incorporate community engagement into their institutional priorities.

While McMaster is still in the brainstorming process, Guelph has pledged to create a certificate in Civic Engagement and establish a School of Civil Society.

Queen’s is in the process of developing a Co-Curricular Opportunities Directory to capitalize on student involvement in community and experiential learning opportunities Other universities such as York and UBC have reallocated resources and received significant funding to create community engagement centres and departments.

What comes first?

A major priority for the CE task force has been finding a channel to share and discuss the various community initiatives. McMaster hosted an “Idea Exchange” day where faculties were invited to share how they were engaging with the community.

The current focus is to familiarize all units of the university with all the ongoing projects. The Task Force report proposed creating an infoshare or database of community opportunities to organize the information for faculty and students.

The report also proposed both a network of community champions and a community engagement course. However, both of these are fairly intertwined initiatives and may vary faculty to faculty.

The network of community champions could be part of a larger community engagement office. Alternatively, these could be designated individuals within faculties.

A community engagement course would seek to immerse students across the university in community learning and meeting community members. Koziol noted that the university is now contemplating, “what are the big initiatives which would allow a cascade of ideas.”

Koziol reiterated that it was equally important to ensure meaningful engagement and a certain commitment to the community.

“The crux of community engagement is that you are trying to both create and strengthen a network which can be difficult to measure.”

Rankings inconsistent Mac’s performance varies across publications

The Times Higher Education (THE), for example, produces a rankings issue considered to be The Canadian University Report is one of two one of the best in the world. major Canadian university ranking publications.

This year, McMaster placed 88th overall in The other, administered by Maclean’s, is the more their report. But the THE also ranks by faculty, and well-established of the two. It will release its 22nd in the “clinical, pre-clinical, and health” category, annual rankings issue this year, while The Globe McMaster earned 14th place in the world, making has just published its 11th. it the top school in the category in Canada.

Rather than following The Globe and Mail’s Meanwhile, QS, a British firm, ranked Mcapproach of a heavily student-based survey, Ma- Master 152nd. A Shanghai-based organization Acclean’s compiles a number of factors to generate its ademic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) rankings. Schools are divided placed McMaster this year at into three categories: medi92nd. cal-doctoral, comprehensive International rankings “It’s not quite clear that the and primarily undergradumethods provide a different indicators match quite well with ate, in order to improve the set of criteria. what students or administrators comparison.

While Maclean’s and The should care about.”

But the factors it uses for Globe consider student satthis comparison, made up isfaction, such firms as QS largely of data from Statistics and THE factor in a school’s Dr. Mike Veall industry influence and inCanada and federal funding Professor of Economics agencies, are sometimes critternational impact – an area icized for not being entirely relevant to students or where McMaster can’t compete as well, especially administration. when factors like number of Nobel Prize winners Mike Veall, an economics professor at Mc- are considered.

Master, has published work on the effectiveness of But in the end, a bad report card doesn’t have the Maclean’s rankings. He described their meth- a huge effect on a school, Veall said. ods as being a “little bit suspect in terms of gaining In his 2005 study, co-authored by Qi Kong, indicators.” a Mac undergrad at the time, he concluded that “It’s not quite clear that the indicators match a change in ranking has little effect on a school’s quite well with what students or administrators enrolment share or the entrance average of its stushould care about,” he said. dents.

While there are many factors, the rankings do A shift of one place in the rankings can, at consider data like the number of library holdings best, change the mean entrance average by 0.3 perand amount of money available for current ex- cent, although Veall emphasized that this conclupenses per weighted full-time-equivalent student. sion was “not particularly robust.”

McMaster has also been rated by broader, But even though the rankings may not matter global organizations. But these, too, have their much in the end, it doesn’t mean McMaster can’t limitations. be happy with a good report card.

FROM A1

Thursday, November 1, 2012 • The Silhouette

News • A5

Who are our 1%?

Income inequality seminar educates Mac about poverty

C/O MATTHEW ING

Senator Art Eggleton discussed the broader Canadian trends in income inequality.

Aissa Boodhoo-Leegsma

to afford housing and the cost of living in Hamilton and employers would have higher Senior News Editor productivity rates and less worker turnover.

“We are the 99 per cent” has become enWhile Cooper’s arguments may have apgrained in public opinion as words of protest pealed to students’ emotions, Senator Eggleto the growth of social and income inequality. ton raised points about the economic reperBut how many people know the reality of the cussions of poverty. inequality in our own backyard?

Eggleton, former Mayor of Toronto and On Oct. 29, McMaster Young Liberals a former federal Cabinet Minister, noted that hosted a non-partisan seminar on income on both ends of the political spectrum, poliinequality, entitled “Inequality Beyond the cy advisers and politicians have shown their Poverty Line.” Guest speakers included Tom concern about income inequality in Canada.

Cooper, Director of the Hamilton RoundHe explained that researchers and politable for Poverty Reduction, and Senator Art ticians have recognized the dangers of risEggleton. ing inequality as it is usually a precursor to Among a small group of approximately decreased social cohesion and a rise in anti30 students, Cooper discussed the work he social behavior, which can result in increased did to address poverty in Hamilton. Cooper crime rates. remarked upon the decrease in social assisEggleton mentioned that he is a part tance rates as a major factor that would per- of an All-Party Anti-Poverty Caucus that is petuate the cycle of poverty in slowly trying to drive the community. this issue at the federal “Ten per cent of this coun“When you hear from level. He stressed the fitry lives in poverty...that’s a person who has lost their nancial cost of poverty more than all the people job as a result of an illness… and contested the lack of in Atlantic Canada. That’s [who] lives on woefully inadpolitical will in Ottawa shameful for a country as equate levels of social assisto address nation-wide tance…it really breaks down poverty. rich as ours.” some of the stereotypes…

“Ten per cent of this Art Eggleton about people who live in povcountry lives in povLiberal Senator erty,” he said. erty…that’s more than Students attentively reall the people in Atlantic sponded to the various statistics and num- Canada. That’s shameful for a country as rich bers thrown at them. In particular, Cooper as ours. We’re treating the symptoms of povcited the CodeRed study as an example of the erty, we’re just managing poverty, in fact we severe health disparities present in the com- entrap people in poverty,” said Eggleton. munity as a result of poverty.

Ing agreed, saying, “I’m not sure what’s Matthew Ing, President of the McMaster more shocking - that poverty is so endemic Young Liberals and fifth-year Arts and Sci- in a country as well off as Canada, or that we ence student, expressed his surprise to learn are largely unaware of it… The solution isn’t that “in Hamilton alone, such are levels of simply to throw more money at the problem inequality that you can walk from one neigh- - because poverty manifests in so many difbourhood to the next and the life expectancy ferent ways, you have to be creative in your will drop by 22 years.” approach.”

Cooper also told the group that a person During the question period, students living off of social assistance from Ontario pressed both speakers to explain how all Works receives a mere $599 per month to live levels of government would start addressing on. He re-iterated that it was well known that poverty, especially in light of all the data colthis amount is simply not sufficient, and even lected which has identified regional and mua provincial commission had recommended nicipal poverty. a $100 increase to Social Assistance.

Fariha Husain, a fifth-year Life Sciences Cooper also commented on the Round- and Political Sciences student, acknowledged table’s commitment to make Hamilton a that the speakers gave a good overview of the “Living Wage City”. The living wage, which issue but wished that, “we heard more about is $14.95 per hour in Hamilton, has been what students could be doing. I think it aligns adopted (at different rates) in 140 American well with Dr. Deane’s ‘Forward with Integricities. ty,’ to use what we learn [in class] to stay and Cooper argued that by making Hamilton help the city or become more aware of the a living wage city, employees would be able poverty initiatives in the city.”

ST GEORGE’S CHURCH • Reformed Episcopal • Anglican Church In North America 134 Emerson Street at Royal Avenue 4 blocks South of McMaster Medical Centre www.stgeorgehamilton.ca Prayer Book worship. Reformation theology.

___________________________________________________

Sunday 4 Novmber COMMUNION AND BAPTISM - 10:30 a.m. light lunch following “Suffer the Little Children” STUDY AND DISCUSSION – 7:00 p.m.

"Glory Veiled and Unveiled” a guided study in the parables Tuesday Evenings – 6:00 to 7:30p.m.

ESL FRIENDSHIP GROUP Conversation and Canadian Culture

___________________________________________________

Bring your faith. Bring your reason.

In God’s universe they belong together.

MSUMCMASTER.CA/1280

DITORIAL

Thursday, November 1, 2012 Executive Editor: Sam Colbert Contact: thesil@thesil.ca Phone: (905) 525-9140, extension 22052

Cheers to this year’s Hurricane Sandy Halloween costumes to uruk-hai.

to taco juices.

to tie-dye uruk-hai.

to the tyrannical burger king. burger democracy now!

to bill nye the uruk-hai. to queer eye for the uruk-hai. to uruk-guys. to swag right out of the womb. to tuesday production. hope we don’t miss big news. stay safe, trick or treaters. to the didgeridoo. to the banana man at motown. to hurricane sandy not messing with the oort cloud. phew. to helping samuel adams kick some historical ass.

to gravy in my gravy. to when people say, “we’ve got all the time in the world.” no, we don’t. we’ve got to get there early tonight. it will be busy. to lake erie. you’re too shallow for a long-term relationship. to finishing other people’s sentences. to self-titled albums that aren’t your first one. to unintentional politirections. #gobama. to the candy overdose. to mr. tambourine man.

The Silhouette McMaster University’s Student Newspaper

Editorial Board Sam Colbert | Executive Editor thesil@thesil.ca Jemma Wolfe | Managing Editor managing@thesil.ca Andrew Terefenko | Production Editor production@thesil.ca Aissa Boodhoo-Leegsma | Senior News Editor news@thesil.ca Julia Redmond | Assistant News Editor news@thesil.ca Anqi Shen | Online News Editor news@thesil.ca Mel Napeloni | Opinions Editor opinions@thesil.ca Brandon Meawasige | Senior Sports Editor sports@thesil.ca

Before hitting land on the eastern seaboard, Hurricane Sandy stopped in Cuba, where my family was on vacation last week. Being rainy season down south, it was a cheap time to travel. What a deal, they thought. So, on a whim, they had booked a week-long trip to warmer climes.

After a few days in the sun, they were told to stay in their rooms one night – retreating to the bathroom if necessary – as Sandy came through.

The next morning, there was no running water (there wouldn’t be for the two days that followed). There were tree branches in the pool. The patio was closed. So was the bar.

Halfway through their all-expenses paid resort vacation, they were spending their days fetching buckets of water from the pool to refill the toilet.

What was a comedy for my family in Cuba was more serious, but no less cinematic, in New York. In reporting Hurricane Sandy, CNN shied away from using the word “Frankenstorm.” But it seemed so perfect.

Under a full moon, the hurricane combined with a cold front sweeping north. Halloween was only days away as the storm left millions in the dark.

Parts of the city were evacuated. Buildings crumbled. Homes were flooded. People died.

All this is to say that, when I go out tonight, I’ll do so with hopes that I see someone dressed as a windswept Olivia NewtonJohn. (Get it?)

Too soon? Too insensitive?

I’m reminded of a Halloween party I went to a few years back, where two brothers, twins, dressed as the iconic pair of New York towers in the World Trade Centre that were hit and destroyed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Their decorated cardboard boxes were complete with model planes, flames and falling stick people.

In every tragedy, there’s a little comedy. There is, of course, more comedy in some than others – or at least, the humour is a little darker in some. Thinking of my family taking a trip to a Cuban resort’s pool every time they want to go number two – that’s funny. The twins in cardboard towers, though, might have found the far extreme.

But if there’s one time to celebrate whatever humour you can find amidst terror, it’s Halloween. Once your trick-or-treating days are over, the holiday isn’t meant to be a wholesome one. So I hope you dressed up and remembered not to get offended.

I write this editorial in costume. Hurricane Sandy, if you happen to see a guy dressed as Bob Dylan at Motown tonight, save a dance for him.

•

Scott Hastie | Assistant Sports Editor sports@thesil.ca Sam Godfrey | Senior InsideOut Editor insideout@thesil.ca Amanda Watkins | Assistant InsideOut Editor insideout@thesil.ca Nolan Matthews | Senior ANDY Editor andy@thesil.ca Bahar Orang | Assistant ANDY Editor andy@thesil.ca Yoseif Haddad | Senior Photo Editor photo@thesil.ca Jessie Lu | Assistant Photo Editor photo@thesil.ca Javier Caicedo | Multimedia Editor photo@thesil.ca Karen Wang | Graphics Editor production@thesil.ca Ammar Hanif | Distribution Coordinator thesil@thesil.ca Sandro Giordano | Ad Manager sgiordan@msu.mcmaster.ca

Sam Colbert

Corrections In “PSE panel criticizes MTCU plan” [Oct. 25], it was noted that there was a lack of participation at the event from the McMaster New Democrat Club. There is no such club, or any similar club, at McMaster.

The infographic for “Clock ticking on fall break” [Oct. 18] showed that the University of Windsor and Lakehead University had fall breaks. Windsor’s fall break was run only once, as a trial. Lakehead does not have a fall break, but starts a week later than other schools.

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PINIONS

Thursday, November 1, 2012 Opinions Editor: Mel Napeloni Meeting: Wednesdays @ 2:30 p.m.

Contact: opinions@thesil.ca

Write what you know Laugh at the absurdity, drink a little, and get to work

WOMEN’S RIGHTS

Why aren’t you a feminist?

Wake up and learn the truth Edwardo Lovo The Silhouette

With the larger-than-life aplomb of a pulp-fiction hero, Bukowski preached simplicity in self-motivated writing.

Mel Napeloni Opinions Editor

Sometimes, I drink. And then I write.

When I’m bothered by things I can’t control, I write.

Sometimes, it’s 3 a.m. and I’ll get a morning high and then I’ll write.

Every once and a while, I get an idea. I think about it and walk around. And then I’ll sleep. I’ll wake up next morning and think about it.

Sometimes, it hits a little harder. What if a snowman came alive and awoke without his button-eyes or ears? It’d waddle and fall and scream. What if Oswald had his goofy, blabbering cousin beside him on the day of the assassination? He couldn’t concentrate. But I won’t write. I’ll sleep. I’ll wake up next mor-

ning and think about it some more.

Sometimes, shit happens. And then I write.

And then, only sometimes, shit happens and I’ll think ‘that shit sucks.’ Then, I’ll think about other shit. Eventually, I’ll think about so much insufferable shit, I’ll write it. Or I’ll drink. And then write it.

I’ll get a little horny and, sometimes, write about how horny I am. A girl, or several girls.

I like thinking about stuff then writing about it or writing about stuff then thinking about it. Sometimes, it’s simultaneous, in which case I can’t think or write much.

One time, I sat and read about lead poisoning. I laid and pondered its history of mental health and madness. Merciless. And then I thought about all the pencils I ate as

a kid. I put the two together and thought ‘bingo.’ And laughed. I eventually laughed so hard I was too tired to write another damn word.

Later, I learned that pencils are made of graphite.

If you have yet to pick up on the opinion, here it is, nice and short. Write what you know. Write when you feel it.

If it isn’t burning in you, do something else. If you feel the need to discipline yourself, don’t. If you’re forcing it, leave it alone and go for a walk.

Too many writers fall into the same crap that puts elegancy over simplicity, discipline over passion. And those are the biggest mistakes you can make as an artist. The world has had enough literary heroes.

And that’s my piece.

Hurricane Sandy says hello Let’s get more critical about all the hype on Sandy Rob Hardy The Silhouette

Hurricane Sandy may just be one of the stronger hurricanes on record. This fact is actually lost on many people due to weather hype (or hype in general these days), which makes “the conversations” that Twitter initiates grow to such loud drones that the voices themselves are lost in the process.

Though it’s great to be able to engage with others, people’s ability to tweet virtually anything can help colour any event, thereby changing perception in often-unrealistic ways. When many people weigh in on something like a storm, but have no clue what a millibar is, expectations get assigned that were never valid to begin with, reducing the process to little more than a telephone game.

First off, in regards to this hurricane, which by the time you read this will have caused beyond billions in damages, we have a case of under-hype if anything. As someone who has followed meteorology for a very long time, when hurricanes are classified solely on wind speed we get a redundant factoring which fails to take into account storm surge, rainfall or barometric pressure. This makes Sandy’s classification as a Category 1 hurricane misleading because it’s actually behaving like a major one instead, aided by a collision of weather fronts fuelling the storm’s energy.

Climate change is a very prickly topic but it’s really not so difficult. Though there is some debate, statistics are finding things heating up, though this involves colder weather at times since progress never uniformly points to one direction. We know that humans have absolutely changed this planet, and it’s also safe to say that bigger changes around us also play a factor (such as increased activity on the sun and other planets). But beyond that, we can’t quantify exactitudes.

People always talk about “the science”. Okay, let’s look at that. Science comes from the latin term scientia, meaning knowledge. Uh oh, so right away, this doesn’t look too good here. Because even if we were to unwisely declare that intuition was not a worthy source to rely on, how are we as humans going to function rationally when our body of knowledge, a.k.a. the level of our scientific understanding thus far, could only relatively

fit into a thimble? And that’s for those who actually know a thing or two.

For those who don’t, hype not only builds up but it also tears down, with little understanding that weather is not really easier to predict today despite technological advances. However, this is not something to be reduced to a cheap joke, because understanding our place in the larger sphere should be taken very seriously, lest we be reduced to relying on second-rate information. That everyone likes to “freak out” as if they are in the movie 2012, and then later declare a significant event as a “dud” after the fact, doesn’t take into account the actual facts as they transpired, but rather plays into some sort of hyperactive social script the same one which also declares that looking into the way things actually work is “geeky”.

Even authorities in Ontario were ripe to jump on the bandwagon during last year’s Snowmageddon, for example, saying that the storm “fizzled out”. No, what actually happened is that it thankfully spared this part of the region from the worst effects, while Lakeshore Drive in Chicago got pummelled by hurricane force winds off of Lake Michigan, forcing drivers to abandon their cars for miles after the blizzard made it impossible to move. This “dud” actually showed that a single non-cyclonic storm system could now produce nearly every sort of weather event imaginable at some point, including hail, thunder and sleet, with winds upwards of 80 mph, something quite unprecedented and unlike the clearing we ourselves experienced in this region.

Our earth is changing. This seemed especially clear this weekend as a powerful earthquake in British Columbia, registering at 7.7 causing a widespread tsunami warning for Hawaii, effectively pre-empting news of the impending hurricane with its own roundthe-clock coverage. These kinds of stories

JAVIER CAICEDO MULTIMEDIA EDITOR

bury the lesser-known but significant events, such as the Trans-Canada Highway, which collapsed in Wawa last week when rains caused the land beneath it to give way.

Other significant events are further obscured, such as Russia’s own 7.7 earthquake two months ago.

Some of you have travelled overseas for work or to see family, perhaps hearing something about how unusual the weather has been there.

We live in the GTA, which seems to be one of the few places being spared of some of the larger calamities occurring more frequently elsewhere. But it only takes one event to alter lives drastically, which is why New York is particularly vulnerable - not really well protected from even a minimal hurricane.

The point is that it’s easy to say something was over-hyped or mild if you only experienced the peripheral effects, but we have to judge something by its strongest point, as those whose homes are already flooded in Delaware and beyond will attest.

Otherwise we are relating more to a kind of created mythology than any specific event itself.

“Why are you a feminist?” I’m often asked, after revealing that I am one. The need to ask the question expresses that someone needs a justification to be a feminist; the onus is on the feminist to exonerate their feminism. The question that should be asked is, “Why aren’t you a feminist?”

Do you believe in sexism? Do you believe in discrimination based on gender, race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, ability, age, and class? Do you believe in an inequality between people based on arbitrary characteristics? That is, do you believe they exist? Do you believe in promoting these things? These questions are intended to be rhetorical, and I ask you, dear reader, to consider more fully why you aren’t a feminist.

Feminism is a movement against the oppression of women, but it doesn’t merely take a stance against systematic sexism. Society has complicated human beings by structuring all its individuals into multiple categories; we don’t merely fall into a single category, such as men and women, but fall under a variety: social class, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, etc. So, women can fall under any of these categories, and for feminism to be a movement against the oppression of women, it must be a movement against all of the intersecting systems of oppression.

Feminists are stereotyped as man-haters, as being all women, as being lesbians, as being hairy. Well, I’m not a woman, for this reason I don’t think I can count myself as a lesbian, I’m too narcissistic to hate myself—and, hey, I shave sometimes.

I acknowledge that I am writing from a male perspective, and I do not intend to speak on behalf of women, but as a self-identified feminist. How, as a man, am I affected by systematic sexism? And, for the non-believers, is there systematic sexism?

Patriarchy is an oppressive system that imposes norms on men and women—promoting an imbalance of power relations that favour men. To serve you one example, women are given the contradictory expectations to be sexual and not sexual. On the one hand, women who don’t accept his advances anger a man. On the other, a woman is degraded for being promiscuous by being shamed by negative labels, whereas a promiscuous man is praised for his “success”.

In a workshop on racism held by the Human Rights and Equity Services, the speaker Dr. Gary Dumbrill reported on his experiences being raised in the ranks of the work force. He noted that as he raised the ranks he noticed fewer women as his colleagues and that this is cause for reflection. It reflects an imbalance of power between men and women, where men are placed in the higher echelons of the work force.

Clearly, something is wrong, and these are problems that cannot be dismissed offhandedly by claiming that there is no inequality between the sexes.

For men especially it is difficult to see the inequality, as we are the privileged in this oppressive relationship. But after removing the blindfold to the cited facts above (and countless other visible effects of varied forms of oppression) the question that faces each and every one of us is, “Why aren’t you a feminist?”

A8 • Opinions

The Silhouette • Thursday, November 1, 2012

Violetta

Devil’s

Advocate

Nikolskaya MacDebate Exec Member

Violetta Nikolskaya

Should the House, under the new Premier, adopt a tuition freeze for all Ontarians?

HEADTOHEAD

V: As a fourth year student, I have come to love and dread OSAP. For an independently funded student, OSAP is the only way I am able to stay in school. I have worked part time for years but it does not pay all the bills at the end of the day.

Every year, with a steady increase of around 5 percent to my tuition, I find myself acquiring more and more debt. 5 percent does not sound like much but it comes out to roughly $500 every year. Ontario once adopted a two-year tuition freeze between 2004 and 2006.

In 2006, the average university tuition for an undergraduate degree was about $5,000. My tuition costs roughly $6,600 today.

As you can see, there has been a steady but painful increase in fees.

Maybe it is time to have another tuition freeze.

D: At first I thought, “Why don’t we already adopt this motion?” Quebec has had a tuition freeze for as long as I can remember. I always wondered how the Province of Quebec was able to afford such an initiative.

Federal Transfers and Equalizers, as they are called, is the reallocation of Provincial revenues to different Provinces to ensure sustain-

able budgets. Ottawa reallocates 15 billion dollars a year of other Provinces’ revenues to Quebec. Granted, Ontario also benefits from this program.

My point is that we all share into the expensive initiative that is a ‘tuition freeze’. If a tuition freeze were to occur in Ontario, the plan would cost $110 million to imple-

What we all, and the thousands of students of Montreal, can agree upon is that tuition costs are too damn high.

Violetta ment in its first year, $195 million in the second, $280 million in the third and $365 million in four years time.

Since no party would ever consider a tax increase in the midst of the Premier leaving office, I would have to assume that the money that would be needed would come at the cost of social services, the arts, and other important facets of society. I don’t think I can watch another social

service risk drastic funding cuts.

V: The assumption that I made is grounded strongly in the evidence that has been presented over the last few decades; when the going gets tough, the services get cut. However, the only way this assumption could fail is if the economic prosperity improves as a result of this tuition freeze.

“With the fastest growing tuition in the country and poor performance in the student summer job market, the province must act quickly to address the concern that higher education is becoming increasingly inaccessible for Ontario families,” commented Alysha Li, President of OUSA. As is consistent with my experience, along with thousands of my peers - as tuition costs increase, the need for more student financial assistant increases with it.

Furthermore, as tuition costs begin to increase and outpace inflation rates, the number of individuals who find that education is becoming inaccessible is also increasing. These potential students cannot then engage themselves in the competitive market places of our economy and find meaningful employment.

This is just as problematic as having

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social services, and other funding, has been better on the basis of accessibility, practicality and the cuts. direct financial benefit to students.

D: But is a tuition freeze the solu- Furthermore, I think that this program should be expanded, not in tion?

As much as I do not always align terms of accessibility but rather, to my interests with the Liberals, I relieve even more of the financial did appreciate the 30 percent grant stress of students.

I would much rather see the that was available to me, and many other students, whose families money that would be needed to start or sustain a tuition freeze be put into this initiative.

As tuition costs increase, the need for more student financial assistance increases with it.

Violetta

make an annual income of less than $160,000.

I feel as though this is a very accessible grant that many students have benefited from over the last year.

This initiative has cost the Province the same amount a tuition freeze would.

I would argue that this initiat i v e

D: At the end of the day, this is not an easy issue to debate. A simple issue has a clear-cut answer. A complicated issue has a difficult problem with a tested solution that requires attention. A complex issue is a very difficult problem with no clear answer or sufficiently tested solution.

Tuition costs are important to all of us.

We all must bear this burden in some way, whether that is through the support of parents, tiresome employment, federal grants and loans, et cetera.

What we all, and the thousands of students who protested in the streets of Montreal, can agree upon is that tuition costs are too damn high.

Opinions • A9

Thursday, November 1, 2012 • The Silhouette

to Let’s just talk about this Space conquer The difference between discussion and debate Samhita Misra The Silhouette

Debates freak me out. Way back in grade nine, I sat in one of my high school’s debate club meetings and watched a girl, red faced and impassioned argue about the merits of capital punishment. “They committed a crime! They gave up their right to citizenship! They should die!”

I never went back.

Four years later, I found myself in the same mess except this time the debate club is my first year Peace Studies class.

As my classmates quarreled over whether or not university education should be paid for by higher taxes, I sat in the front row, my head down, as people behind me yelled out their points and views as if they were facts.

“Peace Studies class!” a girl emphasized ironically.

So here’s my problem with debates. While they’re great for pushing boundaries, thinking critically, considering new alternatives and ways of thinking, or any other cliché you can think of, they don’t combine ideas. When everything’s been said and the winner’s been announced,

it’s still one side against another: black and white, clear-cut, well-defined sides opposing each other.

The final presidential debate last Monday night had me daydreaming about what-ifs. What if Romney’s unnerving smile and Obama’s stubborn “That’s simply not true” were replaced with a cloud of collaboration and problem solving and humility? What if, instead of fighting to defend his choices over the last four years, Obama put down his plan for the future?

And Romney, instead of arguing that America’s worse off than they were four years ago, said “Hmm, well I like this and this. I don’t think that will work for these reasons.

But hey! I have an idea that I think would make that work.”

And it’s that idea - the idea of discussion - that makes me yearn for more, makes me want to listen, learn, try, work, get active. Because discussions do what debates cannot: they consider the shades of grey.

Liberal arts teachers emphasize that there is no right answer. Debate forces people to argue as if there were—a right answer.

Romney’s foreign policy is

Grab space by the throat

JAVIER CAICEDO MULTIMEDIA EDITOR

wrong, Obama’s is right. Prison time won’t work; capital punishment is the way to go. Discussion takes away the pressure of winning and instead introduces shades of grey: multiple solutions that could work and multiple approaches to any situation.

Discussion builds on ideas in a way that debate cannot. While debaters frantically scribble down rebuttals for every point the opposition makes, individuals in a discussion stop to consider the points. Do

they agree or disagree?

If they disagree, why do they disagree?

What part do they disagree with? Can they modify a part of the argument to strengthen it?

A discussion involves collaboration and collaboration ensures that people are happy with the outcome, rather than just settling for the better of the two.

Of course, you may disagree with everything in this article. But hey, let’s talk about it.

The author and the reader JAVIER CAICEDO MULTIMEDIA EDITOR

JAVIER CAICEDO MULTIMEDIA EDITOR

Sarah O’Connor The Silhouette

“Books belong to their readers.” So says young adult author John Green.

This phrase is a relatively new way of thinking for authors – namely, that the books they write actually belong to its readers.

But how can a book belong to its reader?

If a person buys the book then yes, they physically own it. But how can a reader own the story they haven’t written? The author created and outlined it. They spent many long days and nights perfecting the right words to make their precious story told. So how can a reader own

it?

What Green is in fact talking about may take some explaining.

Green is saying that a reader owns a book in the way they interpret it.

The way the author’s words speak to them, analyzing the actions of certain characters or the setting of a novel. Green says the reader owns the book in the realm of interpretation and that what the author meant to say is not as important as what the reader reads.

In the past, author’s owned their works in a physical and spiritual sense. They owned the words and if a reader thought differently from the main message, they were wrong. I tend to side with Green in

some areas of books belonging to their readers.

More than enough times I have interpreted a book a certain way only to be crushed by the author when finding out it has a completely different interpretation.

And it’s because the authors are the creators that they have more say in their story. Which you could argue true but it could also be argued that the student can be their own creator.

So whom does a book belong to? The author or the reader? The creator or the viewer?

I like to think there is a hidden in-between and that both author and reader own a story. Obviously,

the author created it and owns the idea.

The author created the world, gave birth to the characters and put obstacles in their way to create a story.

But the reader owns the aftermath - all the events that happen when a book ends, the lives of minor characters, other seemingly meaningless things and certain words and phrases that speak to them.

They both own the story. The creator inspires the viewer to create their own ideas and become creators themselves.

There will always be stories and we will both always own a part of them.

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Tarun Sanda The Silhouette

Recently U.S. President Barack Obama announced that the proposed 2013 budget includes cutbacks that would halt and possibly terminate progress on planetary science missions. From an economic point of view, planetary science is the easiest place to save money.

However, is it wise to do so?

Assume for a minute that we are not alone in this universe. That somewhere far off, in a different galaxy, in a different time, lived a species similar to the human race.

They are similar in the sense that they are able to understand and hypothesize about the world around them. But what if those individuals had the opportunity to venture further out and explore the cosmos beyond their native land, yet decided against it, as it did not seem economically viable at the time?

Given an infinite amount of time, any event is possible. Our extinction is inevitable, however the purpose of our being is to first ensure our survival. Although there is no sign of a cataclysmic event decimating all life on Earth in the near future, we know that our time on Earth is on the clock. With the rate that we are consuming the resources our planet has, it will not be long before we are faced with the issue that there might not be anything for us to fight over anymore.

Then what? Soon we will run out of oil, and then food, and then water.

Is this the way the world ends? With us at each other’s throats, doing our best to be the last one standing amidst chaos?

We, and in turn our governments, should be inclined to spend time and money into planetary exploration. If the human race is to survive, it should not take us over 40 years after the first Moon landing of Apollo 11 to send the Curiosity Rover to Mars. There may be more pressing issues that need immediate attention than exploring the depths of the cosmos, and one day there may be a time where space may be the most pressing issue, but by then it might be too late. Maybe the universe is littered with species that had the chance to extend their existence, however decided not to because it did not seem economically beneficial or urgent to be deemed a priority to expand their presence. Is it possible that our ignorance could one day be the cause of our extinction?

A10 • Opinions

The Silhouette • Thursday, November 1, 2012

Feedback

The sad state of mental health Is the medical approach always appropriate?

What are your thoughts on Hurricane Sandy?

Compiled by Mel Napeloni and Jessie Lu “What happened in Manhattan is unfortunate, but coverage in Ontario was blown out of proportion.“ Julia Piccioni Commerce III

YOSEIF HADDAD SENIOR PHOTO EDITOR

Sometimes, mental health is deeper than a medical term. Give yourself more agency.

Aaron Grierson The Silhouette

“Everyone on this side overreacted to preparing for Sandy. Alhough, I can’t believe over ten people have died.”

Meg Peters Arts and Science III

“With the upcoming election, it will give people time to recollect and reflect on their priorities.”

Azalea Atienza Economics II

“People were buying non-perishable foods.

That’s absurd - it isn’t as big a threat as everyone thought.”

Ahmed Malik Commerce II

“As someone who lived in Florida, I can safely say that people are making a mountain out of a molehill. We were ill-prepared because we’re not a country that normally deals with hurricanes.”

Abdullahi Sheikh Computer Science II

All the talk of mental health the last few weeks are making me depressed.

It may sound like a bad joke. Many of my friends suffer from various mental ‘abnormalities’ or ‘illnesses.’

I’ve experienced first hand how useless you can be when someone breaks down because they’re having an off day while under the pressure of these mental states.

I am however glad that (at least for some) these situations are not permanent. It is only a mild reassurance especially in the face of such pressing media, but nevertheless it is a sort of light at the end of the proverbial tunnel.

Now I’m sure that for some, all of the advertising about mental health awareness is great. To others, it may be extremely intimidating, but that’s never been a reason to stop, so I know asking would be a waste of breath.

No I’d rather look at a deeper issue. Maybe it’s one that’s been looked at hundred of times before.

Not that all of us have the time or energy to be reading psychology journals. What I wonder concerning the recent bandwagon push for mental health awareness is why most of the possibilities are looked at as a disease.

The few readers that know me

personally probably understand where I’m coming from. I am by no means going so far as to call myself depressed, or even really make a comparison but a lot of us feel down a lot of the time. A lot of us often have wavering self-confidence.

Does that mean that we are in some way sick? Like plague carriers of negativity?

Does it never occur to the institution (not McMaster, but the medical community at large) that this is in and of itself stigmatizing in the most potentially harmful ways?

Is that not a dead end of constantly paying for pills and still feeling like shit upwards of half the time, maybe?

I realize that this line of thinking has a few problems. First, half of my thoughts about the efficacy of medication are more or less speculation, but I’ve never heard anyone say that depression is something one simply gets over.

Second, and far more importantly, being depressed, manic, or bi-polar may be some of the more common mental derivatives but are certainly not the only ones. So I can hardly say that a sociopath feels like crap. Maybe they don’t even know what it’s like to be down in the dumps.

The diversity of mental health might even be part of the problem with tackling it. No one method

fits all, rather like how there is no one pill that makes everyone feel ‘normal.’ But again, I have to question the necessity of normality. I’m quite prone to saying that sanity is for the weak or that it is not required. That’s because in today’s world, sanity seems like a fallacious bastion that people hold on to when they don’t feel up to dealing with the world’s problems. But that’s yet another problem - for activists who wish to end world hunger, the task is overwhelming. At the same time, gawking at the inaction of the world may also drive someone mad.

Maybe it takes something a little different. Like the world telling those with such ‘illnesses’ that they are in fact not sick (or certainly not in a devastating fashion) and that no one really has all the answers.

A thing like being happy or confident is not an easy journey, and may indeed take a whole lifetime.

Maybe that’s the sort of philosophical paste we need to start espousing in order to better hold ourselves together.

It’s funny to say but I’m not really sure there is such a thing as a ‘happy medium,’ when it seems we can’t all be happy.

It almost feels like I am yet to reach the acceptance stage with these sorts of issues, but I can certainly say that I won’t be happy until something more is done about it.

Opinions • A11

Thursday, November 1, 2012 • The Silhouette

A good book isn’t gender specific Forcing women writers in classrooms isn’t focusing on the art

YOSEIF HADDAD SENIOR PHOTO EDITOR

Ariel Garlow The Silhouette

I’ll start this blunt. As a big fan of the literary world, I’m sort of peeved when the occasional person says, “ugh, we don’t read any classic female authors because most fans of literature today still devalue women! Look at these female authors we aren’t reading - that’s a sign of patriarchal oppression!”

There are fewer classic female authors because of the gender issues in the past. Correct.

And since there are fewer female authors, you are going to notice that you’re reading more male classic authors than female. The amount of good literature a teacher or professor can choose from on the side of male authors is a big pool, not because classic male authors are better but because they are just more common. The entire pool of female authors is, thus, smaller.

You shouldn’t force people to read books just because females write them. You should give people books to read because that book is good. Forcing students to read female authors almost seems like you don’t have enough faith in the talent of said authors.

So let’s say there’s an equal ratio of good authors to shitty authors in each classical gender pool. Say the number 100 represents the male pool, and 20 represents the female pool. Now let’s say the equal ratio of good authors is 40 percent (admit that not everyone who writes a book is good at it). That means

you can pull 40 good male authors from their pool, and 8 good female authors from their respective pool.

But wait, you say, 40 men and only 8 women? That’s completely unfair. Now we’re drowning in male power fantasies and father-son relationships. Where’s the female perspective?

I agree that the fact that only having 8 good female-written novels as compared to 40 good male-written novels is a total rip-off.

Though quite a few classic male authors, take F. Scott Fitzgerald or Turgenev for instance, can write from the female perspective without totally screwing it up, you can bet that at least half of that 40 is going to be focusing almost entirely from their own perspective. That’s what writers do best, whether we like it or not.

“Write about what you know” isn’t a suggestion, it’s almost the basic formula for a great piece of literature.

But are we only reading 8 female authors as opposed to 40 male authors because our current society devalues women? Despite that women are still at a disadvantage, this is not the main case. We are simply feeling the repercussions of the classic age. What I mean is, it would have been swell if women writers in the 1800’s or early 1900’s were given more chance to show their talents. But they weren’t.

Many great old female writers we still cherish today even felt it necessary to use male (or gender neutral) pseudonyms.

George Eliot, author of Silas Marner, was

The drug lord to rule them all Drug cartels still operate.

What are we doing about it?

M.M. Rajabali The Silhouette

While Western nations perpetuate the War on Terror in the Middle East, the War on Drugs continues to go by unnoticed. Juarez city lies on the border of Mexico and the United States, and is a major shipping port for drugs being sent to the United States. Up until a few weeks ago, Juarez was recorded as the most violent city in the world – being the murder capital of the world.

In Juarez, drug cartels operate and recruit individuals with the “Silver or lead” policy.

If you choose to get bribed to work for any one of the numerous cartels, your life will be spared. They are also likely to provide healthcare benefits, social benefits and family care in the much-maligned future of Mexico. How could one resist?

El Chapo Guzman - “Shorty Guzman” - is the drug lord of the largest cartel in the world: the Sinaloa cartel in Mexico. Unlike his size, his network runs far and wide – all the way from Canada and the United States to West Africa. El Chapo is seen as the meticulous yet loving modern day Robin Hood.

He is able to order assassinations in a jiffy, and yet care for his close family (which includes recruits from the lowest levels) on a day-to-day basis. Surprisingly, El Chapo has made numerous public appearances at restaurants, parties and beaches with his own set of bodyguards.

Why haven’t they caught him yet? Well because he was caught once, and then he escaped. El Chapo was sentenced to 20 years in a maximum prison facility, but escaped after bribing the police and taking complete control of the prison. Although it took him eight years to find an ideal way out of the maximum-security prison, it cost him a mere $2.5 million.

In Mexico, becoming the president or a government official with a mighty reign is not something anyone strives for. Rather, El Chapo provides a surreal example of the man that everyone wishes to be.

When given the choice between smug-

SILHOUETTE FILE PHOTO

gling drugs and being shot to the head, most would not pick the latter.

Once a member of a drug cartel, fidelity is the only criteria.

Ciudad Juarez is one of the most dangerous cities in the world because it is the main route of drug supply from the largest seller of drugs, to the largest buyer of illegal drugs.

So next time you decide to take that sniff or snort, think about the countless lives that may have been lost in trying to give you that batch of goodies.

really Mary Anne Evans; Charlotte Bronte often went under “Currer Bell”; the author of Little Women, “A.M. Barnard”, is Louisa May Alcott. Would I like to change the past so that the pool of classic women authors is bigger, and thus more women authors who powerfully excel to the top ranks of literary fame? Of course I would. I can’t think of many people who would say “no” if they were suddenly given the ability to allocate more gender equality to our often shameful past on this planet. Can we do that? Unfortunately, no, history cannot be re-written. This is also why I think it’s important to read a mix of classic and contemporary authors.

So what can be done to ensure great classic women writers are given a chance? I think one way some professors go about the issue is ultimately damaging.

Suddenly, you’re not reading a book because it’s good; you’re reading it because a woman writes it.

Suddenly you’re stating that this writer isn’t unpopular because they have a terrible novel, but because of their gender status alone.

Suddenly (and this is what I abhor so much about the problem) great women writers of the past are overlooked because they’ve apparently already “had their time to shine”. Is Harper Lee too mainstream for you now? Did Mary Shelley suddenly stop being a woman?

Did Edith Wharton do something to piss of the Gender Studies department at McMaster?

Willa Cather? Charlotte Perkins Gilman? We

don’t all agree with Ayn Rand, but as someone with clean style and ability as a novelist, why does her name never come up when we’re talking about these prolific women writers?

Don’t you still enjoy Sylvia Plath?

Why is it always Jane Austen plus some writer I’ve never heard of and frankly wish I’d never read?

By forcing students to read these obscure female authors, I don’t think we’re helping possible literature fans respect the capabilities women.

I think we’re teaching new English students that women’s rights in the writing world has to be a painful and boring experience, when it can be an inspiring one. This doesn’t mean, “let’s only read the people we already know.”

A great woman once wrote a book alternatively titled The Modern Prometheus with fright, astounding insight, amazing narrative and deep emotional value. It was imaginative and takes the reader outside the commonplace yet still in the realms of societal critique.

Instead you’re telling them to read about how a couple of young ladies went to some boring parties and cared way too much about what Mr. Darcy thinks.

One day, I hope to be a writer. I’d like to believe that my novels will be read because I am good, not simply because I am a woman and some feminist literature prof is exploiting my gender representation to make a point.

HURRIC ANE WATCH DAY 4 T H E T E N E S S E N T I A L T I P S YO U N E E D TO K E E P S A N DY O U T O F YO U R PA N T S

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Romney alleged to be bipartisan; denies claims

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Tricksy Hobbit

Says it was just “harmless college experimentation”

TIBERIUS SLICK Political Speculator

A series of serious allegations have been levied towards former governor Mitt Romney regarding his political ideologies.

Insider sources from Harvard University claim to have evidence of bipartisan behaviour, a claim that Romney is brushing off as “baseless conjecture” from his “experimental youth.”

Jeremy White, a spokesperson for Romney’s presidential campaign, issued a press release that cited Romney’s “unwavering devotion to having both feet in the far right.” The release continued to claim that “everyone has that phase in their lives where they are experimenting with different political affiliations, this was just a dark chapter in a confused young adult’s life, and the media should be ashamed of digging it up.”

The media could not be reached for comment but is likely not ashamed in the slightest.

Among the happy trick-or-treaters, a small and somber troop of kindergarteners went door-to-door on Halloween, pillow cases outstretched, asking Westdale residents for truth, beauty and brief but meaningful moments of real human interaction.

“An emptied and broken shell of my former self,” responded Braxton Tennyson when asked by one resident what he was dressed as for the holiday.

“Well, aren’t you scary,” replied the homeowner, politely, as she treated the four-yearold to an uncomfortable eight seconds of eye contact.

The youngsters of George R. Allan elementary school stayed out well past dusk, having eaten only Rockets and whatever homemade, unwrapped and unidentifiable baked goods they had collected from the widows of a few homes since snack time that afternoon.

“I think it’s adorable,” said Trish McKenzie, mother of five-year-old Alisa. “To see the approaching of winter chip away at my little girl’s youthful optimism as it does the daylight with each passing day – I can’t tell you how proud I am.”

According to her teacher, Alisa is working on an application to a Masters of Arts in religious studies at McMaster University to complete a thesis project, for which she has tentatively selected the title, “Sense of Shame in the Nicomachean Ethics as It Applies to the Way Appendages Emerge Directly from the Heads of My Family Members in Drawings I Did at School and then Posted on Our Fridge At Home.”

“I turn five and three quarters next month,” said Jeremy Bond. “As I go trick-ortreating this year, I carry with me the realization that my best Halloweens might be behind me,” he added before a thoughtful pause, which hung in the air, he would later consider, like his grandmother’s passing of gas – not to be acknowledged or remarked upon.

Deer dare to dive into danger Deer diary, I should be allowed to cross the street wherever it would please me. P.S. Send more salt licks.

CLEOPATRA FAWKES Doe-eyed Speculator

The global deer community is up in arms after a Youtube audio-video of an American radio caller denouncing deer crossing signs went viral last month.

The caller, who fervently complained about the location of deer crossing signs as a hazard to the public for their apparent encouragement of deer road-crossing activity, has been the target of recent backlash by the offended communities of deer, elk, etc. in America and around the world.

President of the lobbying group Deer Organizing Everywhere (DOE), the Honourable Buck Elkwood, expressed his fury at the woman’s comments. “The real issue here is why

INSIDE TODAY

human roads were constructed in areas of high-volume deer traffic,” he said. “And also, why more people don’t have salt licks in their back yards.”

It seems as though this incident was the last straw for the greater antlered family, and the DOE Association of North America held a summit last weekend in Moosonee, Ont. to discuss their plan of action. Organizer Carrie Bou, Vice-President of DOE, expressed her enthusiasm for the deer community rallying together. “For too long we’ve been deer in the headlights around humans, passively accepting their authority. But no longer. It’s time to go buck wild.”

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Notable guest speakers included Annie Antelope from the African contingent who lectured on her pacifist HART strategy (Human Antagonism Requires Tact) and Fawn O’Fallow from the United Kingdom’s delegation who spoke about human appropriation of the deer communities’ traditional Stag and Does.

Attendees fawned all over their revolutionary leaders and there was much doe-eyed talk of revolt and “taking back the forests” from hunters, construction companies and preschoolers on annoying field trips.

It remains to be seen what DOE has in store.

In the black

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Disclaimer: Stories printed in The Hamilton Speculator are fact. Any resemblance to persons real or dead is likely intentional and done out of spite. Opinions expressed are those of The Speculator and if you disagree with them you are wrong. And stupid. Possibly ugly as well.

TOP STORY IN INSIDEOUT THIS WEEK: IS SOCIAL MEDIA MORE THAN A DISTRACTION? SEE B7

PORTS

Thursday, November 1, 2012 Sports Editors: Brandon Meawasige and Scott Hastie Meeting: Thursdays @ 1:30 p.m.

Contact: sports@thesil.ca

MEN’S SOCCER

Mac to the Final Four Marauders earn a spot in bracket featuring the nation’s best

Paterson Ferrell and the Marauders hold the No.3 spot on the CIS rankings and look to defend last year’s OUA championship this weekend in Toronto.

Scott Hastie

Assistant Sports Editor

One more win, and one step closer to the OUA championship. With the defeat of the Guelph Gryphons, the McMaster Marauders men’s soccer team moved into the OUA Final Four. The match at Ron Joyce Stadium was a cold and wet affair, but the weather could not keep Mac down as they finished the day with a dominating performance, winning 2-0.

This game was the third match-up of 2012 between the two teams, with McMaster winning both of the previous tilts.

Sunday would be no different and that was clear from the beginning. In the seventh minute, Ryan Garnett looked to put his team in front with a shot just wide of the goalmouth.

Mac would keep their foot on the gas pedal, mounting an offensive onslaught for the next fifteen minutes of play.

The tie would be broken when the Gryphon defender committed a handball in the box to give the Maroon and Grey an opportunity to take lead with a penalty kick.

Midfielder David Serafini would step up to take the kick and leave no doubt, placing the ball well past the Guelph goalkeeper’s reach to give the Marauders a 1-0 lead. Seeing the ball hit the mesh gave Mac confidence, as they would have another opportunity a minute later.

McMaster’s leading regular season goal scorer Mark Reilly had a chance to increase the separation but his shot would also roll narrowly past the goal post. Taking a 1-0 lead into the half, momentum seemed to be in

favour of the home team.

But second half of play would get rough with aggression from both sides, and a Gryphon goal felt possible given their inspired play.

The Maroon and Grey stood tall and scored another goal to ensure the Guelph Gryphons would come to an end on Mac’s campus. Gersi Xhuti found himself alone on the right side of the pitch and made no mistake with the opportunity, using a left-footed boot to beat the Gryphon keeper in the 66th minute.

Despite having their season on the line, the Gryphons were unable to muster up any real offense pressure.

McMaster was able to control the pace for the rest of the match with passing and communication from every third of the pitch.

JEFF TAM THE SILHOUETTE

Goalkeeper Angelo Cavalluzzo would not be beat on Guelph’s best opportunity off of a corner kick and preserved a clean sheet victory.

Defeating Guelph puts McMaster in an OUA Final Four spot, where they will face off against the Queen’s Gaels.

The Gaels play in the OUA East conference and finished with an 11-1-2 record. McMaster will face one of their toughest challenges of the season in Queen’s, who allowed a league-best eight goals this season.

The Final Four tournament will be hosted

by York University over the upcoming weekend and the Marauders enter the competition as the reigning champions.

The road to back-to-back OUA titles will not be an easy one as all four teams remaining are ranked in top ten of CIS men’s soccer.

WOMEN’S SOCCER

Road win for the Maroon and Grey Scott Hastie

Assistant Sports Editor

The McMaster Marauders women’s soccer team is the Cinderella story of the OUA FInal Four. After a penalty kick victory, McMaster upset the Western Mustangs at TD Waterhouse Stadium after both teams failed to score through 120 minutes of play.

It was a game played through wild weather with excessive rain affecting both sides’ offense. Despite the conditions, McMaster’s keeper Brittany Duffey stood tall and stunned the Mustangs on multiple occasions.

Early in the game, a deep throw from the Mustang offense created havoc in front of the net but Duffey made a diving stop to prevent the tie from being broken.

Duffey would be called upon again shortly after, when the leading OUA scorer came barreling down for the Western offense but the keeper would not be beat. The first half belonged to the home team and McMaster relied heavily upon their defense in order to preserve the tie at the 45th minute.

In the final 45 minutes, McMaster would assert themselves in the offensive third of the pitch.

Their defense pushed up in order to keep the ball in Western’s end and their efforts would be nearly vindicated late in the game.

In the 82nd minute, the Maroon and Grey earned a free kick and a chance to score an important late goal.

The kick would narrowly sail over the bar and McMaster’s best chance would be marked down as a missed opportunity.

Mac would have to call upon their back four again to protect the net for the rest of their game.

The Mustangs narrowly missed a header after a Western forward made contact with a cross and the ball bounced off the crossbar

Mac’s women are headed to the nation’s capital after a penalty-kick victory in the quarter-final

and out. The playoff game would need extra time with a 0-0 tie at the final whistle.

Two fifteen-minute overtime periods would be similar to the second half, seeing both teams earn scoring chances.

But an extra thirty minutes didn’t solve anything and the two teams were headed to

the intensity of penalty kicks.

Keeper Brittany Duffey was outplayed twice by well-placed shots from two of Western’s most feared strikes.

But the Mustang keeper could not outperform her opponent, allowing three goals.

Mel Van Der Hoop, Maureen Mai and Emma

C / O RICHARD ZAZULAK

Mangialardi were the goal scorers for McMaster.

With the win, McMaster is now headed to the University of Ottawa for the OUA Final Four tournament this weekend. They’ll take on the No.1 ranked team in the country, the Ottawa Gee-Gees.

B2 • Sports

The Silhouette • Thursday, November 1, 2012

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL

Marauders shaky after slow start The pressure is on for Mac after three early conference losses Scott Hastie

Assistant Sports Editor

The first victory of the 2012 OUA regular season was within reach on Friday, when the McMaster Marauders women’s volleyball team hit the road to face the Guelph Gryphons.

But Mac couldn’t secure the victory and let a 2-0 set lead slip to suffer their second defeat in a row.

In the first set, McMaster looked to be in the driver’s seat. The Gryphon squad, whose most experienced players are two fourth-year players, were showing their youth.

With poor serving, lack of blocking at the net, and a hole in the backcourt defensively, Mac was able to ended rallies quickly to earn early points.

Taylor Brisebois was a menace for the Marauders on defense, easily sending back weak balls from the Gryphons.

But the set would not be as easy as it seemed, as the Guelph squad was able to wake up from their struggles to lead 16-14 at the technical timeout.The first set out of the timeout was a thrilling rally between the sides but the home team would win the point.

Losing the minutes-long rally could have been deflating for Mac, but they persevered.

Shannon McRoberts would lead McMaster to a 1-0 lead over Guelph, stringing together a quick kill followed by a roof block for two quick points to aid the first set effort.

But the Gryphons would not lay down in front of a full crowd, starting the second set with a 4-0 lead. With Mac wavering, fifth-year McRoberts would again be a rock for the team and energize her team to comeback.

Amanda Weldon adding her own offense from the setter position, catching the Guelph defense sleeping on multiple occasions.

At the technical timeout, McMaster led 16-14. The Marauders cruised through the second half of the set until late, when the Gryphons would again make a comeback effort and not give up the set easily.

The second would need extra points and Mac was up to the challenge.

They responded by winning 28-26, giving them a daunting 2-0 lead.With their first vic-

tory of the season in view, Mac came out looking to win as quick as possible.

The Maroon and Grey would be met by an equally inspired Guelph effort with the first ten points of the game going back and forth, point for point.

Rallies did not last long as both teams were able to score quickly in the possessions and there was no clear momentum for either side. The match went take a dark turn for the Marauders as the Guelph team dominated in both aspects of the game.

Mac looked like a different team, failing to put up any presence at the net.

The Gryphons were strong on the defensive side of the ball and mixed in attacks from both centre court and the outsides to earn kills throughout the game changing third set.

With a 25-14 third set score in favour of Guelph, a sure fire victory was highly questionable for Mac.In the forced fourth set, the story remained the same.

McMaster was not as strong as they were in the beginning and Guelph had found a groove. With confidence growing with each score, Coach Tim Louks called timeout and woke his team up.

Kailee Stock would put forth a strong effort offensively in the fourth but it would not be enough with McMaster falling 25-21.

The fifth and decisive set was tough with the Maroon and Grey unable to string together successive offensive plays against a stingy Gryphon defense.

Watching the fifth and final set of an unsuspected comeback got the home crowd cheering for their squad and inspired the Guelph team.

Their confidence was tangible and their efforts would be vindicated as they took the victory 15-9 to win overall 3-2.

McMaster received their second loss of the season and a deflating one at that. At times, the Marauders looked like a confident team able to prey upon their opponent’s weaknesses.

The beginning of their season is eerily similar to that of 2011. The team will look to turn things around when they travel to Thunder Bay, Ont. to take on the Lakehead YOSEIF HADDAD SENIOR PHOTO EDITOR Thunderwolves in two games this weekend.

McMaster looking to improve after early losses to conference oponents.

Men take over top spot in the province

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The Maroon and Grey are undefeated, dominating OUA opponents so far this season.

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Scott Hastie/ John Bauer Assistant Sports Editor/ The Silhouette

McMaster’s men’s volleyball team continues to put the OUA on notice that they are the team to beat this season, after two convincing victories over the weekend.

On Friday Oct. 26, the Marauders took on last year’s OUA Champion, the Queen’s Gaels. The Gael’s are a perennial force in the OUA but are facing a minor rebuilding year after the graduation of some of their best players.

Despite a down year for the program, Queen’s put up a stronger fight than the 3-0 loss would suggest.

In the first set, the Marauders would come out swinging and prove worthy of the No.3 ranking in the CIS. This set would be the largest margin of victory with a score of 25-19.

The second set would be closer than the first, as Queen’s looked to rebound from a disappointing result. The two OUA giants exchanged points throughout the set, until finally McMaster was able to separate with a 26-24 win and their second victory of the season only one set away.

Winning the third set would not be a simple task as the Gaels refused to take the loss without a serious comeback attempt. But with their backs against the wall, the Queen’s team could not hold off the Maroon and Grey.

Mac took the final set and sealed the victory with a score of 25-22.

Another Kingston, Ont. team would visit Burridge Gym this weekend to take on the Marauders.

Royal Military College came to the McMaster campus sporting a 0-1 record after suffering a 3-0 defeat the previous night at the hands of the York Lions.

McMaster’s tallest athletes made short work of the Paladins, winning in three sets, 25-7, 25-13, 25-6.

The men controlled the entire game with skill and precision, making only five attack errors to RMC’s thirty-one. McMaster overpowered the Paladins in every aspect of the game, with eleven service aces to RMC’s zero, and six of nine players recording a trio of kills or more.

The Maroon’s fine ball control was evident as through all three sets, the Paladins only managed a single block.

Standout performances against RMC include Ian Cooper, whose twenty-one assists doubled the entire Paladins team; Tyson Alexander, who drilled six aces and whose serving was near-unreturnable all game; and Daniel Groenveld, who laid out for seven digs.

RMC’s Eric Hawn was the lone bright spot on his team, scoring a respectable eleven assists to lead the Paladin effort.

Mac sits 3-0 atop the OUA table, looking like an early contender for the OUA championship. The next match for McMaster is a trip to Ryerson University to take on a 1-1 Rams team.

Sports • B3

Thursday, November 1, 2012 • The Silhouette

Old dogs, new found appreciation Brandon Meawasige Senior Sports Editor

In absence of the NHL this season Canadians from every corner of this great country have been in search of any way to get their eyes and ears on any hockey action possible.

That being said, I was not sure whether or not this predicament had made me more accepting of the sport at its lower levels. I can tell you this is no longer the case.

On Friday Oct. 26, I attended my first ever AHL hockey game and to the pleasant surprise of this previously ignorant hockey fan, the experience served as much more than an apt substitute for our regularly scheduled prime time hockey.

Furthermore, my night spent at Copps Coliseum watching the Toronto Marlies and Hamilton Bull Dogs was one of my favourite in recent memory.

Before I continue, it must be noted that I am not making a case that the AHL has surpassed the NHL as the premier hockey league in this country. It has not.

However there is something to be said about 10, 000 people filling

the lower level of an arena deemed unfit for hockey at its highest level, while 45 minutes down the QEW, Canada’s hockey mecca sat empty, taking a night off between the Smashing Pumpkins and pre-season basketball.

The Air Canada Centre, home of the Toronto Maple Leafs, $100 cheap seats, $15 dollar beer and 12th place finishes has lost its charm for me.

My heart has been stolen by a hockey experience that ended in a 5-4, action-packed overtime victory for the visiting team.

For my ticket I paid $12, for my beer(s) I paid $3 and though the season is still getting started, both teams seem to have a chance at playoff contention. That is not intended to sound like a Master Card commercial, either.

By comparison it seems almost comical that this version of Canada’s game goes largely unnoticed by the hockey fan at-large.

Yes, at the moment it is the best thing available, and that may be a contributing factor to the electricity of the game I attended but to describe it that way is unjust.

The NHL will eventually be back in full swing and the ACC will once again be sold out to the rafters each game night.

For the some 7 million other people living in the GTA who aren’t at the game, including the 700,000 in the metro Hamilton area, the alternative may be right under their nose.

The reasonable price, quality on-ice product and a underrated (and I mean really underrated) fan experience make it seem almost impossible to make a case for NOT attending these games.

NHL or not. I for one am a new Hamilton Bulldogs fan.

I used to think this city should not have been overlooked for an NHL franchise of this own. I have changed my mind.

The beloved Bulldogs, which are one of the longest serving AHL tenants, are more than enough for this city, a true source of pride.

Rightfully so. One need only look toward the blocked off upper level of Copps Coliseum to notice that someone feels threatened by this market and the fans that have The Hamilton Bulldogs are a hidden gem in Canadian Hockey. kept it around for almost 20 years.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK Stephen Maar gets some serious hangtime in the Oct. 27th game against the RMC Paladins. The first year outside is looking to be a key player for Mac’s men’s volleyball program in years to come.

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THREE DOWNS

1 I spoke too soon. After praising the Score for their coverage and dedication to OUA football, the TV network seriously dropped the ball.

For those of you trying to catch the Western vs. Windsor quarterfinal football match this weekend via Internet stream, you know what I’m talking about. After streaming regular season games, the Score did not make the game easy to find. The Western Mustangs twitter handle tweeted the wrong link. Tweeting the Score about a link was useless too. It wasn’t until the third quarter that Western supplied a link to a feed, which died minutes later.

Hopefully the Score gets their act together for semi-final action this weekend.

2 The CIS announced a new webstreaming deal this week with Stretch Internet, bolstering their coverage of CIS championships.

Stretch, an American broadcaster is partnered with the NCAA and Canada West, sports fans can expect excellent coverage going forward.

They also promise to bring streaming to iPhones, iPads, and iPods.

This deal is a slap in the face to the current streaming service of the OUA, AUS and RSEQ. The Canadian company has brought great coverage and connected with Canadian writers but the CIS doesn’t seem to care. Giving the contract to cover the biggest Canadian university sporting events to an American is a slap in the face to the dedication of SSN Canada.

3 If you’re looking for quality soccer action, look no further than the OUA. Three of the four finalists in OUA women’s competition is ranked in the CIS top-ten, including the No.1 Ottawa Gee-Gees. On the men’s side, all four of the teams are in the top ten, most notably No.1 York Lions and No.3 McMaster Marauders. SSN Canada will be carrying the Final Four games this weekend so head over to their website to catch the matches.

Scott Hastie, Assistant Sports Editor

business.humber.ca/postgrad

business.humber.ca/postgrad

Sports • B5

Thursday, November 1, 2012 • The Silhouette CROSS COUNTRY

Silver for Mac at OUA Championships

C/O RICHARD ZAZULAK

The Marauders braved treacherous weather this weekend during their OUA championship races. Both teams qualified for the CIS championships.

pour, the cold winds and the muddy hills, the performances of the MaThe Silhouette rauders were unaffected, as the The Marauders cross country team women’s team finished with 50 gave it all they had at the OUA points having 6 runners in the top Championships in King City on 20, and the men’s team finished Oct. 27 with amazing performances with 118 points having 6 runners in that contributed to the men’s and the top 50.

The women’s Captain, Steph women’s overall team place and MacNeill compared the uncomscore.

The women’s team finished 2nd fortable weather conditions to last overall for the fourth year in a row, year’s CIS Championship meet: “It despite missing CIS 3000 m cham- was a little unnerving at first bepion Lindsay Carson, and the men’s cause of the disaster that last years’ team finished 4th overall despite CIS championships turned out to be missing stand out rookie Connor for the girls team”.

The 2011 CIS Championships Darlington.

These team places were incred- fell on a cold and snowy day in ible and well-earned for the Ma- Quebec, which affected the perrauders squad that had to work ex- formance of the women’s team who tremely hard in horrible conditions. finished 3rd overall, despite finishDespite the torrential down- ing 2nd in years previous.

Laura Sinclair

“But at the end of the day, everyone had a great race and this gives us confidence that we can run in bad conditions and last year was just a fluke,” said MacNeill of this weekend’s experience Although the weather conditions on Saturday might have not been ideal, for MacNeill, her team still had an edge on the competition: “There were lots of hills on the course, which I think played to our teams’ advantage as we have lots of great trails with hills to run on in Hamilton.”

On the women’s side, Victoria Coates finished 2nd overall, Madeleine McDonald finished 7th, Courtney Patterson was 11th, Steph MacNeill was 14th, Jill Wyman was 16th, Chelsea Mackinnon was 19th and Pauline Skowron was 37th.

On the men’s side, there were a number of great performances from veterans and rookies that stepped it up to contribute to the second best OUA team finish in Marauder men’s cross country history.

Taylor Reid was the first Marauder to cross the line in 7th, and for Head Coach Rory Sneyd, it was a huge accomplishment for the veteran.

“We thought he could be top 14 but top 7 was a big surprise.” commented Sneyd.

Reid worked his way up in the 10 km race, getting himself to the lead pack, which was his best performance as a Marauder yet.

“Taylor had not previously been in the top 20 at OUA’s” said Coach Sneyd.

Not too far behind Reid was

Lionel Sanders in 9th, Austen Forbes in 29th, Blair Morgan in 36th, Taylor Forbes in 37th, Ryan Tice in 46th, and Jeremy Walsh in 70th.

After the incredible finishes and performances from both of teams at the OUA Championships, Coach Rory Sneyd’s goals for the CIS Championships are “to get our best athletes to the start line healthy and fresh, and to have the majority of the athletes run the best race of their season. We think that both teams will place very well if this is the case.”

The next challenge for the Marauders will be CIS Championships in London Ontario on November 10, where both the men’s and women’s team will fight to be one of the top teams in the country.

B6 • Sports

The Silhouette • Thursday, November 1, 2012

AIMING FOR THE CUP

The conference semi-finals are set after a weekend of exciting action in CIS football. The 2012 playoff picture features some perrenial powerhouses and some new teams hoping for their chance at the Vanier Cup. While the defending champions of each conference still have a shot to repeat, there will some new championship matchups, most notably in the OUA. McMaster and Western, last year’s Yates Cup final matchup, will face off in the semi-final game on Nov. 3 at Ron Joyce Stadium in Hamilton.

McMaster won last year’s Yates Cup en route to an eventual national title. With the bracket as it is right now, there are a variety of scenarios still on the table, including a possible Vanier Cup rematch between Laval and Mac, but there is still plenty of football to play.

•

Brandon Meawasige, Senior Sports Editor

ANDREW TEREFENKO PRODUCTION EDITOR

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Mac continues to impress on the court Alexandra Riley & Matt Jordan The Silhouette

The McMaster women’s basketball team continued to impress this weekend, notching a 79-54 win over the Calgary-based Mount Royal Cougars here in the Burridge Gym. It was a game that saw Mac dominance throughout, with the Marauders employing a highly effective trap defense to force a total of 33 Mount Royal turnovers. The team used its speed to capitalize on every opportunity, leading to a plethora of fast-break points.

Among the many storylines that came from this game was the career high 28-point performance

by McMaster second-year forward Isabel Ormond. It was clear from early in the game that she would have a standout performance, scoring 10 of the Marauders’ first 14 points.

The Cougars would rally to end the first quarter down 14-15, but the second quarter was where the Maroon and Grey really shined.

The Marauders opened the frame with a quick basket by veteran point guard Vanessa Bonomo, which was followed quickly by an energy-boosting three-pointer from rookie Danielle Boiago. Bonomo and Boiago would continue to dominate on both sides of the court, forcing a multitude of turnovers and executing perfect passes to help swell Mac’s lead.

The Marauders’ lockdown defensive play helped raise their lead to double-digits, with the majority of their points coming from fullcourt passes off of hard-earned turnovers.

The team even forced a rare eight-second backcourt violation, with the Cougars simply unable to find their way out of the full-court press.

A halftime lead of 44-27 was only the beginning for McMaster.

The third quarter saw another increase in their lead as the women’s squad continued to apply tremendous defensive pressure to a hapless Mount Royal team.

The fourth quarter began with a score of 65-38, and opened with a quality pick-and-roll between Vanessa Bonomo and centre Hailey Milligan, leading to a crowd-energizing and-one.

Mac faced a real scare, however, when Bonomo fell to the ground while fighting her way through traffic in the offensive zone. She was unable to stand up and left the game with an ankle injury. Bonomo’s inability to play would adversely affect the team, as her play-making abilities and solid defensive presence have both been major factors in the team’s success thus far.

Bonomo’s injury allowed rookie guard and last week’s Athlete of the Week Danielle Boiago to step up her game during the fourth quarter. She hit a couple of big-time shots from beyond the arc and made quality passes, finishing the game with 17 points and seven assists.

By the final buzzer, Mac retained a solid 25-point lead, beating the Cougars by a score of 79-54.

In their second game of the weekend, McMaster played hosts to the Acadia women’s basketball team this past Saturday in Burridge Gym. Despite an early lead by Acadia, the Maroon and Grey handed the Acadia Axewomen a 79-73 defeat after four intense quarters of basketball.

After previous game action loss against University of Victoria, the Marauders had to shake it off and rally together to ensure they would come out on top against Acadia.

Despite the fast pace of the game early on for the Marauders, Acadia responded well by outscoring them in the first quarter 23-14.

The second quarter proved to pay off in favour of the Marauders, as their defensive performance was outstanding.

They were able to hold off the Axewomen to just seven points and managed to score 19 points of their own in the process. The Marauders continued to overpower Acadia as the game continued, heading into halftime with a 33-30 lead over the Axewomen.

Danielle Boiago, one of McMaster’s prize recruits, has emerged as star early on this season.

In the previous game against Victoria, the third quarter was Mac’s downfall. But the women proved that this was just a one time thing as the Marauder contingent showed an amazing response to the three point margin.

The Marauders began the second half of the game with strong

play topropelled their lead further, giving a 55-48 heading into the fourth quarter.

Acadia picked up the pace in the fourth quarter, trying to cut the McMaster lead. But the Marauders proved to be in control of the game as they maintained their lead and held on for the remaining minutes

C/O RICHARD ZAZULAK

to pull out the win.

Isabel Ormond of the McMaster Marauders had a break-out game as she was the leading scorer for the Maroon squad, putting up 16 points in the game. Danielle Boiago and Vanessa Bonomo also put forth a great effort for the Marauders each putting up 15 points.

OUT

Thursday, November 1, 2012 InsideOut Editors: Sam Godfrey and Amanda Watkins Meeting: Thursdays @ 4:30 p.m.

Contact: insideout@thesil.ca

#Distracted

The detriments and benefits of total connectivity Paulina Prazmo The Silhouette

“Tweet me!” “Add me on Facebook!” or “Follow me on tumblr!” are phrases you might have heard many times, and probably said yourselves to your friends.

Many of us are guilty of checking Twitter as soon as we wake up, or being constantly distracted by Facebook when we’re supposed to be writing an essay. Yet there we are, time after time, checking our timelines even though nothing has changed in the past two minutes since checking it last.

Are we constantly plugged in?

Wired? Or is it simply the act of staying informed, connected and up-to-date?

From being able to communicate with group members on upcoming projects to following a professor on Twitter, social media intermingling with education is something to be thought about.

Philip Savage, a professor of the Department of Communication Studies and Multimedia here at Mac, is one of the profs you can see ‘tweeting’ away. His recent practice focus group was on students and their radio use. The leading question was “what is the first thing you wake up to?” He assumed it would be a clock-radio, but the most common answer was “I wake up and check my phone for Facebook updates, Tweets, Instagram etc…” What Savage concluded was that the majority of students are connected from the moment we wake up. Is social media playing a positive or negative role in our lives? Dr. Savage explained, “Social media extends us in different ways through time and space. It has this incredible power to extend us broadly and quickly. It cannot

be said if it is a good or bad thing, but a new way of situating ourselves.”

At Lyons New Media, the media specialist Chris McAllister thinks our affinity for social media is both a good and bad thing. He said the pros are that social media “has allowed individuals to interact with others very rapidly.” Negatively, “social media also has the potential to isolate and attack the vulnerable, as in the case of bullying, on a much larger scale than before.”

Speaking as a student to another student, we find ourselves in situations where we’re attached to checking these social media outlets. Whether it’s Twitter or Tumblr, these might be the reason why you procrastinated starting that assignment that’s now due tomorrow.

Gosh darn those precious tweets that your favourite celebrity is tweeting, or curse those pictures that your friend finally posted from that crazy party last night on Facebook.

Social m e d i a

might be what students are blaming these days.

Savage explains the difference between good and bad social media, and said, “There’s a whole tradition of saying that new technology is not very good. It’s almost as if saying that the electric light bulb was a terrible thing for education, because people stay up at night reading, studying, or talking when they should be resting.” As a matter of fact, these social media channels could prove to be an aid in helping the modern university student - from creating Facebook groups for the upcoming group project to reading helpful and intellectual tweets from your professor.

Nonetheless, Savage does warn about becoming a ‘slave’ to social media instead of using it as a wide range to connect with different people. “If you have to be literally always on, that might not be a great thing.

Social media is there to make new connections to different people with new ideas.

Some of it is good and some bad, it’s more of a discipline that people are still trying to work out,” explained Savage.

In addition to involving social media with education, it cannot be forgotten that these channels are everywhere outside of the McMaster community as well.

People want to be informed and know what the latest is happening. “I can’t imagine who wasn’t a little interested in what was happening in the Twitterverse on Hur-

ricane Sandy, or Frankenstorm, as it moved through different people. [The] smartest people I know are tweeting and passing things on and commenting. What an incredible action. I spent the presidential election making these connections with other peoples reaction to what was going on, on Twitter,” stated Savage.

And McAllister had some of his own visions as to how social media can impact the world: “I’d love to see social media being used to interact with people outside of the McMaster campus in our community. Imagine inquiry or engineering students investigating real issues or tackling real challenges posed by the

c o m kAREN WANG GRAPHICS EDITOR munity we live in. I don’t think there’s a right or wrong way to use social media, but I like the idea of experimenting with new forms of communication, rather than shoehorning in old methods.”

To be able to take part in these amazing social mediums such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr or Pintrest, is something that every student is entitled to and given the advantage.

In spite of the negative connotations that these common channels receive, it is up to us whether we simply make use of tweeting, posting and updating in a way that would show benefit to the original intentions and at the same time creating new ways of connecting, sharing and creating.

Whether we use social media to distract ourselves from the busy student life or to expand our knowledge and show involvement, it is something that is further growing and expanding. The ability to let it help us or hinder us in our education lies solely, like smartphones, in our hands.

Education by the numbers

Where does Canada’s schooling system stand?

Arnav Agarwal

While the holes are evident in the Canadian educational experience, the country has enjoyed numerous successes in funding an educational system which has demonstrated efThe Silhouette fectiveness in multiple aspects. In 2002 and 2003, total expenditures on education in Canada amounted to $6,667 per student, with approximately five million students were enrolled at eleDespite having relatively easy access to education in Canada, we, as students, have found new mentary or secondary institutions and another 689,700 were enrolled in full-time or part-time reasons to complain: the work-load is intense, our schedules are packed between classes and post-secondary education nation-wide. The financial resource investment has sky-rocketed up, homework and weekends are far too short. as Statistics Canada reported total expenditures per student averaging $31,103 on university education in a 2012 report, while expenditures stood at $11,489 for secondary education and While some might think this sentiment is characteristic of midterm season alone, they at $10,758 for primary education in 2008-09. A growing investment into the student learning would be surprised to learn where Canadian students stand on a global scale in terms of overexperience is clearly evident within the decade. all attitude to schooling. For a country whose government’s expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP stacked up to 5.2 per cent, ranking 49th among 132 listed countries, 37 per cent of school-going children indicated they do not like attending school and 58 per cent of students find school boring. This puts into question how effective the education system truly is at providing students a valuable and engaging learning experience.

Statistics Canada reported total expenditures per student averaging $31,103 on university education

An assessment of educational qualifications placed Canada at the top of a list of 21 OECD countries in 2003, for percentage of working-age population between the ages of 25 and 64 who held a college or university degree: outdoing its neighbours to the south by 6 per cent, Canada having 44 per cent of its middle-aged population as credential-holders captures the success of the educational system in being easily-accessible and well-rounded. A study by Statistics Canada in 2004 further reinforced these notions, identifying 59.1 per cent of those aged beStudent tuition fees have never been a popular area with the Canadian student body, and tween 25 to 54 in the country as being post-secondary certificate or university degree holders, understandably so. An increase of 26.6 per cent is evident in undergraduate tuition fees in less 8 per cent as having been enrolled in some form of post-secondary education, 20.1 per cent as than ten years, comparing fees from 1999-2000 to those of 2005-06. The high dependence on being high-school graduates, and only 12.9 per cent as having less than a high-school educaOSAP, scholarships, bursaries and loans is quite understandable when one considers an educa- tion. tional expenditure for undergraduate studies having only grown from the $4,214 mark it stood at in 2005-06. Almost half of the college and university classes who graduated in 2000 owed money to government, non-government or both government and non-government sources, highlighting the financial burden the educational system places on a demographic that is largely still in the process of establishing itself.

A more recent assessment completed in 2009 yielded similar results, indicating 50.8 per cent of those aged 15 and over had attained some form of post-secondary education.

So, where does the Canadian educational system stand now? Student attitudes towards their education or the resources they have to utilize to gain access to it don’t seem extremely positive. However, increased investment in the educational system over the years, as well as positive nationwide population assessments over several years are indicative of a growing educational system and one that, despite having its shortcomings and being a work in progress, continues to enjoy its own successes.

37 per cent of school-going children indicated they do not like attending school

59.1 percent of those aged between 25 to 54 hold a post-secondary certificate or university degree

An increase of 26.6 per cent is evident in undergraduate tuition fees in less than ten years

B8 • InsideOut

The Silhouette • Thursday, November 1, 2012

G AMES

SEE ANSWERS ONLINE AT WWW.THESIL.CA GAMES COURTESY OF CANADIAN UNIVERSITY PRESS WIRE PUZZLES PROVIDED BY BESTCROSSWORDS.COM. USED WITH PERMISSION.

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InsideOut • B9

Thursday, November 1, 2012 • The Silhouette

C OLUMNS

The neurobiology of love Matthew Greenacre SHEC

Maybe you met that person in one of your classes, or at a house party, or you might even have met them at TwelvEighty. Regardless, now they are at the back of your mind jumping up and down as you try to read your French literature or solve Maxwell’s equations. But why? What happened in your brain that caused your usually fervent focus on your GPA, the OUA finals or your band’s next gig, to be replaced with rosy coloured thoughts of someone who is still a relative stranger (albeit a ridiculously good looking one)?

When they first walked up to you and asked to buy you a drink, you said yes partially because a free drink is a free drink, but mostly because within about 200 milliseconds your brain decided that it liked what it saw, heard and/or smelt (though still controversial, research from Heinrich Heine University of Dusseldorf and Duquesne University has suggested that humans may use a cocktail of pheromones to communicate on a subconscious level). Norepinephrine, the trigger to the fight or flight response is released, and you feel your palms become sweaty, your heart begins to race, your pupils dilate. At the same time your reward system is activated, dopamine is released, and you begin to feel a rush of euphoria. Parts of the cerebral cortex that you use to be logical are deactivated. You are suddenly likely to do something very stupid…

Of course, we are more than our animal instincts, and it might have been the tone of their voice that you found sexy or the wit and charm of their conversation compelling.

Regardless, your brain has begun to make

a connection between this person and the reward system of the brain. Whenever you are intimate with someone, your brain is flooded with either oxytocin if you are female, or vasopressin if you are male. This hormone rewires your brain’s reward system so that, according to the research of Helen Fisher at Rutgers University, the ventral tegmental area of your brain now makes and releases dopamine whenever you are around your crush or merely even think about them. Now you are really up a creek because this is essentially the same flood of dopamine, producing the same type of feelings, as if you were taking cocaine.

You’re hooked.

But being in love is great. Hand-in-hand you can happily skip through fields of posies in giddy dopamine soaked bliss because the hormone cortisol that makes you stressed is lowered and suppressed by oxytocin/vasopressin so even the thought of that midterm the next day barely bothers you at all. You can stub your toe and barely feel a thing because reward centres being in overdrive affects the parts of the brain that control pain. At the same time the amount of a neurotransmitter called serotonin drops. Low serotonin is common in people with obsessive-compulsive disorder, and this is why you can’t stop thinking about him or her. Your brain chemistry has primed you to obsess over things in general, and you get instant rewards for thinking about your special someone.

Just like your relationship, your brain chemistry can have different outcomes. If not enough oxytocin/vasopressin is released, your partner will not be wired to your reward system, being with him or her will release less and less dopamine and the passion you

KAREN WANG GRAPHICS EDITOR

once felt will fizzle out. If enough oxytocin/ vasopressin was released in your brain then I sincerely hope enough was released in his or hers.

Heart-break is the very real perception of pain that a person gets once they are cut off from their loved one. Stress inducing hormones called cortisol releasing factors (CRF’s) build up in the brain during the relationship.

Once the break-up happens and oxytocin/ vasopressin is no longer being released, CRF is free to produce a wave of cortisol. You become hugely stressed. High levels of cortisol are linked to depression. Your obsession

does disappear, but amplifies as you try and figure out how to win your beloved back. The high cortisol and low serotonin levels give you insomnia, leaving you to lie awake, churning over your loss. You are suffering from withdrawal, trying to figure out how you can get your fix again.

With time your brain chemistry will return to its normal levels, and sooner or later he or she will just be somebody you used to know. But in the mean time we know that it is a hell of a lot of cortisol to cope with and SHEC would love to help you out if you want to drop by.

SEXandtheSTEELCITY

Find love in a hopeless place Tips and tricks to help you meet your match without having to leave campus

Jamie Hillman The Silhouette

The cold weather is quickly approaching, and it’s the perfect time to snuggle with someone near the fireplace, sipping hot chocolate. But, what if you can’t find that special someone to share the romantic, winter nights with? Meeting people at school can be challenging, especially in a crowded lecture hall. If you’re looking for someone to spend some time with in the upcoming chill, here are some tips that will make meeting people a little easier.

DOs

DO: attend your tutorials. It’s a lot easier to talk to people when you’re in a small group, and a collaborative environment allows you to get to know your classmates on a more personal level.

DO: join a group on campus. This is a great way to meet people that share similar hobbies, making it much easier to strike up conversation.

DO: start up a study group. Ask some people in start up a study group. Ask some people in class, or on a Facebook group, if anyone wants to meet up to review before an exam. You’ll be putting the “date” in “studydate” in no time.

DON’Ts

DON’T: be shy during class. If people see that you’re willing to participate, it makes you appear more sociable and approachable. Confidence looks good on everyone.

DON’T: go home every weekend. Make plans with your housemates to meet some other students that live in your area. Knock on your neighbours door, and invite them over to have a few drinks and get to know each other.

DON’T: be afraid of sparking up a conversation with that young lad or lass sitting across from you. Don’t be afraid to pursue that chemistry (1A03, for example). And don’t be afraid to let the sparks fly where they may.

With the seasonal cups coming out at Starbucks, and the holiday season just around the corner, it’s the perfect time to meet that special someone to help keep you warm this winter.

KAREN WANG GRAPHICS EDITOR

McMaster celebrates grand opening of largest ever study on aging Ilia Ostrovski The Meducator

Medical advances are continuing to push the boundary of how long the average person should expect to live. This trend of increasing life expectancy underscores the importance of measuring quality of life as individuals age.

With this issue in mind, three Canadian researchers submitted a joint proposal to the Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR) to launch one of the largest clinical explorations of the topic to date. In November 2001, their proposal was accepted. On Oct. 19, after eleven years of planning, the study’s lead principal investigator, Parminder Raina of McMaster, finally announced the official grand opening of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA).

Raina is the director of McMaster’s Evidence-based Practice Center and specializes in clinical epidemiology and biostatistics. His area of interests is the epidemiology of aging, injury and knowledge transfer.

Before the launch of CLSA, Raina was the lead investigator for the Canadian Study of Health and Aging, which explored the epidemiology of dementia. Currently, he holds the Raymond and Margaret Labarge Chair in Research and Knowledge Application for Optimal Aging.

Raina was joined in the celebration by

160 researchers from all across the country who are collaborating on this innovative project. The study’s co-principal investigators are Christina Wolfson from McGill University and Susan Kirkland from Dalhousie University. This study will collect data from 50,000 men and women between the ages of 45 and 85 and will continue to follow up with its subjects for at least 20 years.

Unlike previous longitudinal studies on similar topics, CLSA will take a multi-faceted approach to examining the aging process. By analyzing the gradual change of psychological, social, medical and biological parameters, the investigators hope to address a breadth of important issues concerning the maintenance of good health in the latter years of life.

CSLA will use 11 data collection sites, four telephone interview centres and three data analysis facilities across the country. The McMaster Innovation Park is one of CSLA’s particularly prominent facilities. It houses the study’s National Coordinating center, the Bioanalysis and Biorepository Center and the McMaster Data Collection Site.

“The CLSA is more than a study,” said Yves Jouanette, the Scientific Director of CIHR’s Institute of Aging. “It represents a unique platform that will be used by researchers from all disciplines and fields for decades to come thanks to the range of information that will be gathered and analyzed.”

The nature of things Joshua Patel SCSN

Stressed by midterms and need some fresh air? Haven’t yet explored the waterfalls the tour guides all rave about?

One of the major physical features that mark this city’s beautiful landscape is the Hamilton Waterfront Trail. The trail is managed by the Hamilton Waterfront Trust, a charitable organization that makes it possible for everyone to enjoy the trail. Located in the North end of Hamilton, this trail offers a multitude of attractions and services to visitors, apart from its natural beauty. The trail is a beautiful place to get some fresh air and observe the beauty of the harbour.

The Hamilton Waterfront Trust offers a Harbour West Trolley Tour, a guided trolley tour that follows along 12 km of the shoreline and gives visitors a view of the natural and manmade features along the trail.

The Waterfront also offers winter attractions, with an NHL-sized outdoor ice rink, located on Pier 8. A concession skate rental stand is also available if you forgot yours back home.

If you’re looking for a place to dine or grab a snack, the Discovery Centre area has several quality restaurants that can cater to your needs.

An expanded trail system also gives you easy access to other areas such as Cootes Paradise, the Royal Botanical Gardens and Dundurn Castle.

Some other recreational activities that you can do along the trail are take a jog, bike or even join a real-world treasure hunt through Geocaching.com. For those of you who don’t know what this is, it’s a high-tech treasure hunt where users can use their smartphones or GPS devices to find caches that are hidden along the trail and discover what are stored in these hidden packages.

For you art-lovers, Pier 8 hosts a number of different murals along its fences from local art students.

So take a study break this month and discover a little bit more of the Hamilton waterfront than you knew of before.

Thursday, November 1, 2012 • The Silhouette

FASHION & FANDANGOS

InsideOut • B11

JASLEEN GREWAL Second Year Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour

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JESSIE LU ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR

Gearing up for

Pride Week What’s it all about?

SJ Jany

Queer Student Community Centre

As we near November 5 and the start of Mac’s annual Pride Week, you might have some questions about Pride. What is it exactly? When did it start? Isn’t it supposed to be in the summer? Do I really have to smother my entire body in glitter? All important questions.

Pride is usually held in the summer (specifically towards the end of June). This isn’t just because of the sunny weather; there is a more serious history behind the celebration of Pride. In June of 1969, members of the New York City gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans* plus (LGBT+) community engaged in a series of riots protesting police raids of the Stonewall Inn (a popular bar amongst members of the queer and trans* community) as well as general mistreatment of gender and sexual minorities throughout America.

The following year, a march through New York City known as the Christopher Street Gay Liberation Day march was held to commemorate the riots and to increase visibility of gender and sexual minority groups.

Since the Stonewall riots continue to be regarded as a crucial moment in the queer and trans* rights movements, this tradition of a yearly march has stuck. Throughout the world, Pride parades, marches, demonstrations, etc. are held at the end of June each year. Mac’s Pride is held in November simply due to scheduling issues; it wouldn’t be much fun to celebrate Pride when most students are home for the summer.

Now that we’ve looked at a super-brief history of Pride, you might still have some questions about why we continue to celebrate it. These aren’t easy questions to answer, since people have all sorts of different reasons

SILHOUETTE FILE PHOTO

Participants in last year’s McMaster Pride parade were all smiles despite the blustery weather.

for celebrating Pride. For some, Pride offers a chance to remember the sacrifices made by queer and trans* rights activists that enable us to live in a safer and more welcoming society. For others, it is an opportunity to celebrate identities which are still frowned upon by many in our society. Still others feel that Pride is a time to increase visibility and engage in activism. And some people are just looking for a fantastic party (glitter recommended, but not required)!

There are some people who feel that Pride is no longer needed. People see the advances we’ve made

toward a more inclusive society and feel that our work is done.

However, the legalization of same sex marriage in Canada, prohibition of discrimination against trans* people in Ontario, etc. are not the end of the road.

Members of the Canadian queer and trans* communities still face oppression and obstacles in daily life. As long as 73 per cent of Canadian LGBTQ+ youth report feeling unsafe at school and 18 per cent of trans* Ontarians are turned down for jobs because of their gender identity, we’ve still got a long way to go.

Stressed for success Ronald Leung The Silhouette

You sit flipping through the textbook trying desperately to scan and narrow down on the essential facts. Your hand shoots out for the coffee cup but you almost cry out in despair as you shake it and realize it’s empty.

Ugh, what time is it?

You glance at the clock. 3 a.m. beams back to you in neon green analogue numbers. The midterm’s at 6 p.m. but you have a day full of classes and still half of the material to learn. The stress builds up and….

Really, how do we end up in these situations? Every year we are faced with numerous tests and exams, studying and staying up until the wee hours of the morning attempting to fill our minds with knowledge. But even with all this practice, we still find ourselves caught in the headlights of the great roaring monster of exams.

Stress – it’s something we all live with.

What should we do then? Should we lock ourselves away and fret about the inevitable stress of our lives? No, quite the opposite actually. Surprisingly, without stress nothing would ever be accomplished. It is something that is bound to happen and should be embraced.

When you’re stressed, the medulla in your brain secrete two neurotransmitters (which are chemicals that carry signals to different nerves): adrenaline and norepinephrine. Believe it or not, these molecules cause a rapid heart rate and increase alertness – in other words, an ancient process called the “flight or fight” response.

Everything from increased oxygen flow for better speed to dilating pupils for night vision originates from stressful situations which may have come in handy for your ancestor 1,500 generations ago

duking it out with sabre-toothed tigers on the tundra. Nowadays all the wild animals are locked up in zoos (at least most of them) so stress has adapted to give increased mental capabilities. So yes, that boost of determination and energy to really finish reading that chapter in the textbook you’ve been putting off for weeks may not come from RedBull or the espresso you just drank – it’s your brain trying to help you out.

Did you know that excitement is a type of stress? When you’re planning an exciting birthday or party, stress drives you to do a really good job – because you really care about what you’re involved in. How does this differ from that nasty exam lurking months ahead? As cheesy as it sounds, it’s in our attitude. Hey, don’t expect anyone to suddenly become excited over an exam compared to a weekend hangout, but slowly, the only way to really combat stress is to look at the challenges you have in a more positive light. Even the small things – choosing a file folder at Titles, or what to eat at Centro can all be related back to stress, just on a minuscule level.

It’s just your brain looking out for you – it wants the best for you.

The next time you get stressed, try to turn the situation around. Think about what could be positive about that horrendous roadblock you see up ahead.

So the next time you see an upcoming midterm (don’t try to pretend you didn’t know you had one until the weekend before), really and I mean really try to plan out your studying time. Okay, who really wants to study?

Hopefully, images of your crazed/binge-eating/exhausted/ dazed self the night before the exam is some motivation. And if you do it long enough – gasp – it’ll become habit and soon stress will turn from that sleepless force to a more gentle coach. I think we’ve all had our fair share of stress, it’s time to turn the tables to take advantage of the benefits of stress.

1:3 Canadian women and 1:6 Canadian men will experience sexual assault in their lifetime.

45% percent of female college and university students say they’ve been sexually assaulted since leaving high school.

The victim and the accused are known to each other in 82% of cases – as friends, acquaintances or family

But… I am not alone!

SACHA (Sexual Assault Centre, Hamilton& Area) is there with 24-hour confidential support, information or accompaniment @

905-525-4162

www.sacha.ca

the politics issue music in political campaigns shakespeare • v for vendetta

andex

c2 • the silhouette’s art & culture magazine

thursday, november 1, 2012

Senior Editor: Nolan Matthews Assistant Editor: Bahar Orang

Contributors: Palika Kohli, Alexandar Sallas, Brody Weld, Spencer Semianiw, Matt Morehouse, Marco Filice, Theresa Tingey

Design: Karen Wang Cover: Yoseif Haddad

the hammer

Some notable Democrats include power couples Jay Z and Beyoncé and Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, who have raised millions for Obama’s campaign. Fashionable Obama supporters include Sarah Jessica Parker, co-designer of a “Viva Obama” shirt for the Runway to Win website, and Katy Perry, who has been rocking a ballot-inspired mini-dress with none other than Pres. Obama himself checked off. One of my personal favourites, Snoop Dogg/Lion posted his reasons for voting for Obama on Instagram, which included, “He mad cool yo” and “He wears a durag like me.” Even Kelly Clarkson is singing to the tune of “My Life Would Suck Without… Obama.” Lindsay Lohan has been flip-flopping in her support but technically isn’t even registered to vote. Political commentator Ann Coulter,

nov. 1

Young Rival The Casbah 8:00 p.m.

nov. 2

Born Ruffians The Casbah 9:00 p.m.

nov. 8

Haolin Munk Homegrown Hamilton 9:00 p.m.

nov. 9

Gallows The Underground 7:00 p.m.

nov. 12

coming up in

Sloan Molson Canadian Studio 8:00 p.m.

proved that being PC isn’t her thing when she referred to Obama as a “retard” in a tweet following the final presidential debate. Donald Trump got in on the cringe-worthy action by requesting that Obama release his college records and passport information in exchange for a $5 million charitable donation. His video appeal is almost as questionable as Clint Eastwood’s bizarre ‘invisible Obama’ speech at the August Republican convention. My conclusion: maybe Romney should pay some of his celebrity supporters to keep their mouths (and Twitter accounts) shut.

•

Theresa Tingey

thursday, november 1, 2012

editorial

the silhouette’s art & culture magazine • c3

When I tell people that my favourite band is the Beatles, I’m usually met with mildly underwhelmed but nevertheless approving reactions. Pop culture enthusiasts and music snobs alike are well aware that the Beatles changed the sound, importance and impact of music forever. You can’t go wrong with the Beatles. It’s a safe choice. But to be perfectly honest, it’s never really been much of a choice. Since I was a little girl, I felt somehow connected to the music. My parents would play Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and I felt certain that there could be nothing more wonderful in the world.

As I grew up, I learned that you could dance, sing, cry, study, listen, think, create, fall asleep and fall in love listening to their music. I wondered, how could a group of people who were so far away – from a different world, a different time – how could they so eloquently and with such subtlety and simplicity articulate those feelings that I thought no one would ever understand? I felt both reassured and vulnerable. Listening to their music is among one of the few times that I’ve come to any kind of religious or spiritual experience.

The Beatles were a powerful uniting force, one that even a very young, very uncultured ten-year-old girl could identify with. As I grew up, I started to see that as the years passed, they began to recognize this power, and used their music for social change. Their youthful love songs developed into music that spoke to cultural conflicts, sexual identity, universal feelings of loneliness, family issues’, and the importance of promoting peace. The band became increasingly political, and songwriting was no longer a craft, but an incredibly moving art form that could inspire social change.

In light of the current presidential election, I am reminded of the Beatles, and their beautifully expressed pleas for peace, understanding and equality. If only there was a candidate who could think so freely and communicate so poetically. John for president: that’s my two cents.

And so, we present to you ANDY’s political issue, scraping only the surface of where politics and art intersect.

• Bahar Orang, Assistant ANDY Editor

the big tickle

what would you name your own political party? compiled by : yoseif haddad and nolan matthews

c4 • the silhouette’s art & culture magazine

thursday, november 1, 2012

music in the 2012 presidential election - what’s it worth?

From Obama’s numerous campaign endorsements by pop icons to Romney’s laughably out-of-pitch rendition of “America the Beautiful,” music has played a star role in this presidential election. Unfortunately for politics, (but fortunately for everyone else), some efforts have failed quite humorously.

Obama’s administration seems to value music as a way to make money, while Romney’s campaign instead seems to use music for an emotional connection with the American people. However, luckily for Obama, he seems to have racked up the grand majority of artists’ votes anyway - specifically the ones with the most dispensable cash.

Jay Z and Beyoncé, who have a collective worth of 775 million, are not only avid supporters of the President, but also have campaigned quite rigorously to gain him donations through their $40,000 a plate New York fundraiser back in September. Obama has also managed to gain the support of other big names in music, including Madonna, Bruce Springsteen and Lady Gaga.

Mitt Romney’s campaign has instead focused on proving that his platform will represent a change for the nation. A notorious example was when Romney’s running mate Paul Ryan tried to convince voters that he believed in smaller government because he had Rage Against the Machine on his iPod. It seemed this statement didn’t distract anyone from Ryan’s true political intentions, especially the band itself. In an angry reply to Ryan, lead guitarist Tom Morello expressed in Rolling Stone magazine how Ryan’s “guiding vision of shifting revenue more radically to the one per cent is antithetical to the message of Rage.”

The contrast between each campaign’s success is perhaps most striking in the array of artists who’ve endorsed each candidate. Obama has gained the support of a wide range of artists, both young and old, from a variety of different genres. Mitt Romney has instead garnered the support of a collection of elderly white gentlemen with whom his unprogressive ideologies resonate. Any outliers in this formula unsurprisingly display a meager level of intelligence or lack an understanding of politics. For instance, Scott Stapp, the front man of the ‘90s rock band Creed, said he supports Romney because, “My heart and soul would really like someone like Reagan or FDR to come back and give us a New Deal.” Apparently Strapp is a little unfamiliar with history, being that it was only FDR who created a New Deal and not Reagan.

When it comes to getting votes, music plays less of a role than rational discussion about the economy, but its use is undeniably successful in evoking an emotional response in voters, which can prove integral to a campaign’s success.

At least the use of music during campaigning has offered a good deal of laughs, and in the election process we’ve seen in the past few months, who could want any more than that?

•

Spencer Semianiw

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Am ma Ro ac am “Fa and

say is v sity

use tha Wh up me the

not the the

hav rea

cho in for or

on bec pub lou wil

thi rea nat in bri cha

thursday, november 1, 2012

the silhouette’s art & culture magazine • c5

alf awake in a fake empire

mid all the big talk about the economy during this presidential election, a mini-draa played out earlier this week over the use of a song by The National in a pro-Mitt omney video. The decision to soundtrack a Romney video with The National is confusing one – the band played two concerts in support of Obama not even month ago. And even more confusingly, the song used in the Romney video, ake Empire,” is the same song Obama used in a video about his “signs of hope d change” that came out shortly before the 2008 election.

The National posted a scathing response to the Romney video on Youtube, ying that “every single person involved in the creation of the music you’re using voting for President Obama.” The video, made by a group called “Ohio Univery Students for Romney,” was taken down the next day.

You might see this as a win for artists looking to control how their work is ed and to prevent it from being used without permission. Though it’s easier an ever to take and use music without permission, it’s also easier to get caught. hen I watched the Romney video, The National’s comment had around 1,500 votes, easily making it the top comment. It worked pretty well to undermine the essage of the video. The band had real power; they were able to do something about e misuse of their work, which hasn’t always been the case for artists.

In the early 1990’s, members of “riot grrrl,” a feminist punk rock movement, toriously avoided all contact with the media to prevent the misrepresentation of eir message. If anything about the riot grrrl movement was expressed, it was on eir own terms.

But avoiding the media completely isn’t a great solution, and The National ve shown that artists today can still control how they are being presented while still aching many people.

A question remains, though: Why did the Ohio University Students for Romney oose “Fake Empire”? Surely there are plenty of other songs that could have been used the video that didn’t have such a clear association with Obama. Either the Students r Romney didn’t do their homework about the history of the song they decided to use, they are actually much smarter than they seem.

News about the Romney video didn’t start to spread until The National commented the video, and maybe the Ohio University students chose to use “Fake Empire” precisely cause it was the worst choice they could have made. Publicity about a bad decision is still blicity. They were able to take advantage of The National’s ability to point out how ridicuus it was to use their music to also draw attention to the video it was in. It seems that artists ll never be able to control the use of their work, even when it appears that they do.

And maybe, if we want to really take it to the next conspiracy theory level, the whole ing was cleverly planned so that the statement of apology made by the Ohio students would ach the largest number of people. The students used the opportunity to write, “unfortutely we’ve learned that partisan divide exists on Youtube and in music as much as it does Washington.” The apology spins the whole thing to claim that Romney is really about inging different people together, and though he is running on the idea that he represents a ange from Obama, it’s a change that can appeal to everyone.

Is a partisan divide really such a bad thing?

•

Nolan Matthews, Senior ANDY Editor

c6 • the silhouette’s art & culture magazine

thursday, november 1, 2012

political theatre

what film can teach us about politics

top cinematic critiques of the political game While you might catch onto political slants in pretty much every movie, the following is a list of my top political films. Before tuning into the presidential election, watch these movies, read the newspaper, and make some appalling connections.

The Manchurian Candidate (John Frankenheimer)

JFK (Oliver Stone) Absolute Power (Clint Eastwood) The Matrix Trilogy (Wachowski Bros.)

King Lear by Benjamin West

Theater is well-known for staging political discourse. Shakespeare, whose political and psychological insights are still being understood in new ways, defined the canon of Western literature. He explored human nature through genres ranging from tragedies to black comedies, portraying the psyche with poetic acuity. While his plays and poetry put me to sleep in high school, I must admit that reading them now makes me realize just how relevant they really are. The Bard’s play-within-a-play technique allowed him to do something quite amazing. Building layer upon layer within a single story, the complex plots tease the audience, daring thinkers to keep up with the playwright. Shakespeare’s provocative ideals about art translated into modern cinema.

For example, Apocalypse Now, popularly known for its anti-war stance, represents the government as a failure of colonial enterprise. If you pay attention to the philosophy of Col. Kurtz, played by performance master Marlon Brando, the “horror” seen in war is the effect of people acting like gods.

In order to cover up such crimes, a politician like Nixon gave us such convoluted explanations that we got lost in his maze.

Remember Inception, how reality is caked with layers upon layers of dream? Watch it again and judge whether Cobb, performed

by Leonardo DiCaprio, reached reality in the end. Or did he just get lost in a web of chaos and deception?

Feeling similarly lost? You might watch American Beauty with comfort then, since pretty much everyone in that story feels the same. Coming across as a typical family drama, the movie is actually a harsh critique on our culture. And that floating bag — justify to me how that can be beautiful, and I’ll give you my tuition savings. When I watch the movie I feel that nobody knows what’s good for them, because values — ranging from a disheartened war vet to upper-middle class yuppies — have crumbled. What is termed “beautiful” in the movie is pathetic, and subjective judgement is thus made arbitrary and null of any grounding in reality. This, or so much of the world will claim, is the poor taste of North American mainstream — if you don’t believe me, ask Noam Chomsky.

When it comes to poor judgement, see if you can figure out any of the characters’ intentions in The Ides of March. This film, whose title emanates from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, shows its viewers the reality of Machiavellian politics. Look at Gov. Mike Morris, played by George Clooney. His deceptions are so careful that he not only fools his staff, but the audience watching the movie.

• Marco Filice

The Insider (Michael Mann) Lions for Lambs (Robert Redford) Enemy of the State (Tony Scott) The Adjustment Bureau (George Nolfi) Manufacturing Consent (Noam Chomsky) The Godfather Trilogy (Francis Ford Coppola)

thursday, november 1, 2012

the silhouette’s art & culture magazine • c7

freedom forever a look back at v for vendetta

“People should not be afraid of their governments.

Governments should be afraid of their people.”

This quote resonates with powerful meaning in the graphic novel adaptation, V for Vendetta, a movie ripe with underlying connotation. The movie encourages everyone to wake up from their oppressed slumber and take back the power.

Set in the near future, 2038, the United Kingdom falls under control of a totalitarian government, the Norsefire party. The party cements their authority through fear and the promise to ensure safety for British citizens through complete control and surveillance. Norsefire maintains power and knowledge, only divulging information they wish to disclose. A masked man named V, dressed in a Guy Fawkes mask, enters the picture with the intent to “free” the people and take back their individual identity by blowing up Parliament.

After blowing up the Old Bailey, V hijacks a news building and airs a prerecorded video of himself, admitting to the crime. He then encourages everyone to join him at the parliament building the following year, and stand up to the government.

The film sends a strong message to the audience: unless people stand up for themselves in regards to civil liberties, powerlessness will follow.

At the movie’s climax, with an array of armory pointed at V, Mr. Creedy demands that he take off his mask. Rather than opening fire on the man who has created a political uproar in London, the henchmen seem more concerned with identity and power.

As V walks towards Mr. Creedy, he informs Creedy about what he is up against, “Beneath this mask there is more than flesh, beneath this mask, there is an idea . . . and ideas are bulletproof.”

V fights for Britain to take control of their country and make their voices heard early and often. He insists that he is not a terrorist, and that it’s all for the greater good. The movie does a fantastic job providing justifications for V’s actions, while allowing the audience to ultimately decide whether or not he is truly justified.

Very few movies contain the power to actually empower and motivate someone to engage in social change. V for Vendetta ultimately reminds us to stand up for our beliefs, hold the government accountable for their actions, and stay active in political debate.

• Matt Morehouse

c8 • the silhouette’s art & culture magazine

thursday, november 1, 2012

Album: American Idiot Artist: Green Day

Album: The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan Artist: Bob Dylan

Album: Peace Sells... But Who’s Buying?

Artist: Megadeth

Album: The Clash Artist: The Clash

American Idiot is one of the most controversial albums of the last twenty or so years, mostly because of its clearly “political” nature and overblown and bizarre concept.

I, however, have no problem with either, and in some cases they make the record more interesting. While Green Day may not be the most well-informed when it comes to politics, I applaud them for attempting something different from the usual derivative pop-punk album.

Some of the songs on here are even pretty good. “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” is one of the best pop-punk songs I’ve heard in a while, “Give Me Novocaine” is an underrated rocker and “Whatsername” is a solid closer.

But unfortunately, there are some annoying tracks; “Holiday” immediately comes to mind as being one of the most irritating songs of the last ten years. Other duds, such as the boring “Are We The Waiting” and the uninteresting “St. Jimmy” add nothing to the album.

The big talking points of American Idiot are the two nine minute songs, “Jesus Of Suburbia” and “Homecoming”. The former is fairly interesting, with its intricate structure and many different parts. “Homecoming” is the stronger of the two, and features Tre Cool singing for one of the few comic relief moments on the album. Regardless of its political wisdom, this is a strong pop-punk album whose pros outweigh its cons.

The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan is his second album, the one that established Dylan as a legitimate artist at the age of 22 and led to his rise as an icon during the 1960s protest movement.

It begins with “Blowin’ in the Wind,” the anthem of every freedom movement that has occurred since it was released. Perhaps that’s because we are the same age as Dylan when he produced this album—that right now, we get it; maybe it’s that we can relate to it when we’re in the middle of a midterm, staring into space, because there we are: looking for the answer that’s blowing in the wind.

Dylan sings of long-distance love in “Girl from the North Country” and then laughs about it in “Down the Highway.” He is disgusted by the politics of war in “Masters of War” but again finds a satirical perspective in “Talkin’ World War III Blues.” His contradictions spell out your latest existential crisis, and then he sends your emotions a shock with the poignant accuracy of his words in “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright.”

Dylan’s true artistry lies in his lyrics. His rhythm is punctuated with messages that will resound forever. He reminds you of the power of all things blue – the stormy haze of it in your dreams at night, the depths of it as you stare out at the sea, in the endless expanse of the sky, and finally in a haunting melody that wakes you from a prolonged stupor.

Peace Sells... But Who’s Buying? was, for a while, my favourite Megadeth album. This has since changed (with Rust In Peace overtaking it in my books), but that doesn’t make this CD any less fantastic. It boasts some amazing tracks, from thrash anthem “Peace Sells,” to the superb “Good Mourning/Black Friday,” to closer “My Last Words.” The guitar playing on this album is incredible - every song features at least one wickedly fast guitar solo (most contain two, three or even more), and the rest of the instruments are superb as well. I find that there are three main points of discussion with this album: Mustaine’s vocals, the production and the length.

First, I thoroughly enjoy Mustaine’s vocals. He may not have the sleekest voice ever, but his trademark “snarl” fits the music perfectly. He really has established his own style, and it works.

Second: the production. I own the 2006 re-release of this record, so I can’t really comment on it since it has been improved.

But I will say, however, that the rough production only increases its raw sound.

It’s sort of funny how the noisiest, grungiest, shoutiest bands are often the ones with the most to say. In 1977, The Clash reinforced this by releasing a self-titled album with more political messages than guitar chords.

Amidst the beautiful noise of the English punk band’s overdriven guitars are statements on everything from the Americanization of Europe (“I’m So Bored With The USA”) to the ailing job market of 1970s England (“Career Opportunities”). The scope of their insight is pretty formidable too.

“Remote Control” is a complaint song about bureaucratic control of local concerts, whereas “White Riot,” with the line “all the power’s in the hands of people rich enough to buy it,” rings true about capitalism on a global scale.

The craziest part of this album is that it was hugely successful, peaking at the 12th spot on the billboard charts and becoming known eventually as one of the greatest punk albums of all time. The Clash’s selftitled album may be over three decades old by now, but it’s still a shining testament to the general rule of politically inspired music: if you are loud enough, you will be heard.

• Alexander Sallas

• Palika Kohli

• Alexander Sallas

• Brody Weld

andy reviews political albums