The Silhouette - Oct. 24, 2013

HALLOWEEN ISSUE

COSTUME IDEAS B1 AN UNNVERVING ANDY C1 DRESSING UP IGNORANCE A4

KATHLEEN WYNNE SPEAKS AT STUDENT CONFERENCE A3

The

Silhouette McMASTER UNIVERSITY’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2013 VOL. 84 NO. 11

Colouring outside the lines Sophia Topper Staff Reporter Student artists have added a splash of colour to the Wilson Hall construction site. Their new mural is a part of the Spotlight on the Arts, a yearlong festival run by the School of the Arts.

Students are transforming the plain white boarding surrounding the construction site into murals depicting themes related to Hamilton’s blue collar history.

Inspiration came from the vibrant public art movement, with its associated vulnerability, mystery and public accessibility as important components to the modern movement.

The work “raises questions with community…in a different kind of context,” said Beth Marquis, a lead coordinator of the festival.

The murals continue Spotlight on the Arts’ September theme of community.

“It’s a collaborative effort,” explained third-year Studio Art student Kirby Tobin. “The designs were all by our class…we each have a few panels to work on in pairs, but we’re all working on it.”

The chosen media are stencils, latex paint and wheat pasted images, which are being used to represent the reassembled remnants of the students’ past work.

The idea arose from preliminary discussions about the Wilson Building, and the hope was to create an “interesting art project that could engage the community, instead of just a practical fence,” said Marquis.

TYLER WELCH / ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

Murals now cover parts of the barrier fence at the Wilson Hall construction site. Art students collaborated to give a new look to the fence.

Carmela Lagense, assitant professor in the School of the Arts, volunteered to adopt the project, using it as an assignment in her Painting and Drawing class.

The festival worked with Facility Services and the Department of Public Relations to gain approval for the project.

“I think this project represents everything Wilson Hall is going to be about,” Laganse told the Daily News. “It’s communitydriven, collaborative and innova-

tive.”

“I really like the opportunity to work outside and interact with the viewers during the process; that’s something new in terms of putting the work up,” said thirdyear Studio Art student Natalie Richard, a member of Lagense’s class.

“I wouldn’t say we do public art of this sort often,” she said.

“Our work is open to the public but this sort of space is a lot more inviting, especially since going to

MAPS passes bylaw changes Anqi Shen Online Editor The McMaster Association of Part-Time Students passed a set of revised bylaws at a special general meeting held on Oct. 22. The meeting was the first to be called by the new board of directors, elected in February after former MAPS director Sam Minniti was fired and board members resigned.

Just 28 people, including two guests and MAPS board members, attended Tuesday’s meeting.

During the one-hour meeting, bylaw changes were passed by a vote of 22-0 including nine proxy votes.

MAPS president Andrew Smith said the bylaws were completely overhauled and rewritten.

An online referendum system could be put in place to reach a larger number of part-time students in decision-making and deal with low attendance at MAPS’ general meetings. Before an e-referendum is held, MAPS will hold an information meeting in person, through broadcast or on the Internet.

Currently, according to MAPS bylaws, a motion can pass with at least five MAPS members in the room and at least five proxy

members.

MAPS fees held in trust by the “That’s a lot of power for five University since May 2012 will people,” said Kyle Johansen, actbe returned to MAPS. McMaster ing director of MAPS. is holding more than $362,000 in “The bylaws kept being MAPS fees until the new board changed. Setting quorum at three meets the University’s requireper cent is a significant goal to ments for fiscal transparency. achieve. Referendum will allow “Hopefully, the fees will be members to address issues on returned by the end of the calentheir own terms and their own dar year, but I can’t give a definite time,” Johantimeline,” Smith said. sen said.

MAPS’ most A new recent financial audit bylaw provifor 2012, released in “Referendum will sion says that September, was also only MAPS included in Tuesday’s allow members to members can meeting agenda address issues on approve new materials. fees or an inMAPS spent their own terms crease in fees $206,117 in salaries on their own and the board and benefits, down time.” must provide from $352,023 in a rationale for 2011. Staff travel exany request. penditures amounted Kyle Johansen, Acting A twoto $14,663 in 2012, Director of MAPS year term up from $4,577 in of office is 2011. being enforced for directors and MAPS posted $209,600 in net directors cannot serve more than assets for the 2012 calendar year. eight years in a row. A review In July 2013, MAPS was recommittee will be set up by both leased from its $1M commitment MAPS and McMaster University to the L.R. Wilson Hall. to evaluate MAPS’ progress and make a public report available @anqi_shen every three years.

In addition, MAPS president Andrew Smith said he anticipates

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see art can be intimidating.”

“This kind of public art is a unique opportunity this year,” echoed Tobin. “I think this is possible as an extension of the effort to get the arts community at McMaster more recognized.”

The murals will be up as long as the boards are, but after that, their fate remains uncertain.

Some hope to preserve the murals, but the mural’s ephemeral nature could be an asset. “[Street art] pops up and engages the

Transit project launched Hamilton opens its first ever transit-only lane downtown J.J. Bardoel Silhouette Intern Those commuting in Downtown Hamilton will notice a significant change when driving along King Street throughout the week. The one-year public-transit-only lane pilot project was finally launched early in the morning on Oct. 23 following numerous delays throughout September.

The lane will operate as transit-only 24/7 for a trail period of one year and is exclusive to buses operated by the HSR, GO Transit, Greyhound and Coach Canada, as well as emergency vehicles.

The project is set to gauge the effectiveness of a lane exclusive to transit and emergency vehicles on the flow of traffic in the congested streets.

With the north lane exclusive to buses, running along King St. East from Mary to New Street, one block east of Dundurn, drivers and cyclists will be limited to two lanes for the same portion length of the street. Any private vehicle driver taking advantage of the new lanes will be subject to a fine of $65.

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The men of feminism

community for a period of time,” said Marquis.

While the bulk of the murals are found on the boards facing Sterling Street, other classes have contributed to collaged prints on the side facing Forsyth Avenue.

Students have been given permission to use the remaining blank space for their work, and will continue depending on remaining time and material.

Marauders start strong into playoffs

Positively attractive costume ideas

A serial killer’s personal jams

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“The bus priority project is a very progressive step allowing us to test the use of a dedicated lane in preparation for future rapid transit in our city,” said Ward One Councillor Brian McHattie.

“Hamilton can join with the very best middle-sized cities in Canada in putting transit first.”

Preparation had been made weeks in advance for the $300,000 project with signage being posted, but weather delays on Oct. 21 postponed the use of the lane until street markings could be painted. The prominent change to street parking also led to the installation of new display parking machinery.

Disabled & Aged Regional Transportation System (DARTS) vehicles and taxis are allowed limited access to the lane when dropping off passengers, while all other vehicles will face fines, except in the case of turns at an intersection or driveway.

This time next year, city staff will evaluate the need for the lane.

The general issues committee will make decisions based off of feedback from the community.

the S ’ T N E D I S E PR E G A P Audited Statements Demonstrate MSU’s Fiscal Stability Jeff Doucet VP Finance vpfinance@msu.mcmaster.ca

ext. 24109

At the next meeting of the Student Representative Assembly (SRA) on November 3rd, I will present the McMaster Students Union’s Audited Statements to the full members of the corporation. Each year, the MSU is audited by an external professional auditing firm (KPMG LLP) to ensure that we are able to maintain a high level of fiscal accountability and present accurate, transparent documents for release to students and the wider public.

www.msumcmaster.ca/audit

As an organization, the MSU generated a surplus of $369,707 for fiscal year 2012-2013. With total expenditures of $12,235,578 this figure represents 3% of our annual operating budget. The Audit provides both an overview of the organization’s finances, as well as detailed reports about every business and service. The MSU’s budget is derived from two revenue sources: student fees and business unit revenue.

The MSU Organizational Fee is $122.61 and is directed towards our “Operating Fund”, which supports our core operations, including 25 of our 30+ services. These services range from six-figure operating budgets such as The Silhouette and MSU Campus Events to smaller services run primarily by student executives and volunteers like the MSU Maroons or Mac Bread Bin. In 2012-2013, the Operating Fund finished the year with a surplus of $513,988 placing the MSU’s operations on a sustainable track. This is due in part to increased revenue in many of our business units, including Underground Media+Design and Union Market. TwelvEighty, while still operating at a loss, decreased their annual loss to $55,041 and is on the verge of becoming a revenue-neutral business entity. All in all, pragmatic management of our resources have placed the MSU in a comfortable financial position moving forward, with plenty of room to grow as an organization.

In addition to the Organizational Fee, you are likely aware of the MSU Health and Dental plan fees. The $57.50 fee for the Health Plan and the $115.00 fee for the Dental Plan allow the MSU to provide comprehensive health and dental insurance to the undergraduate student population. This past fiscal year, the MSU changed the way that we administer the Health plan by switching from a selffunded model to an insurer underwritten approach. In the past the MSU experienced fluctuating costs associated with our health plan. Moving to the new approach will ensure financial stability moving forward. However, as a result of making this change, our Income Sheet reflects a $380,501 deficit in the Health and Dental category. The deficit in this area is due to the fact that entry into the new model of insurance removed a portion of the revenue to offset the cost of premiums for the period May to August 2013-2014. After this year, the cycle will be maintained by removing revenue from the current year and adding it to the previous year, resulting in a zero effect to the bottom line. This process is due to the nature and timing of collecting premiums. This is a one-time adjustment that is not expected to be incurred next year.

Finally, all students now pay $12.50 to CFMU 93.3FM, our campus radio station. This past year, CFMU incurred a surplus of $193,785. Last year, in an MSU-initiated referendum, students voted to lower the CFMU fee from $17.45 to $12.50. This year it is expected that CFMU’s revenues will match its expenditures, ensuring that students get the most value for their investment in their campus and community radio station.

While our surplus represents a relatively small amount of our operating expenditures, we will strive to minimize our surplus in all of our funds in order to deliver the optimum value for the amount that students pay into our organization. The full Audited Statements of the 2012-2013 fiscal year are available on the MSU website, www.msumcmaster.ca. If you have any questions, I encourage you to attend the SRA meeting next Sunday, November 3rd at 6:30PM in Gilmour Hall 111. Additionally, I would be more than happy to meet you in person, connect with you by email or speak with you over the phone.

$12m

Revenue Expenses

$9m $6m $3m

2010

2011

Deficit ficit Surplus or De = % Surplus or Revenues 2010

2011

1.1%

7.3% Organizational Deficit

Spencer Graham VP (Education)

David Campbell President

Anna D’Angela VP (Administration)

Jeff Doucet VP (Finance)

Organizational Deficit

2012

2013

7% Organizational Surplus

3% Organizational Surplus

2012

2013

Despite fluctuating costs associated with many of its services, the MSU will continue to strive towards being a revenue-neutral organization.

The President’s Page is sponsored by the McMaster Students Union. It is a space used to communicate with the student body about the projects, goals and agenda of the MSU Board of Directors.

www.msumcmaster.ca

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VIDEO: A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A HAMILTON FARMER’S MARKET VENDOR THESIL.CA

Redefining women’s leadership

Third annual summit draws students, community for gender-based dialogue Women perform 66 per cent of the world’s work, receive 11 per cent of the world’s income, and own 1 per cent of the world’s land.

It was with that sobering statistic put forth by Kim Crosby, feminist advocate and keynote speaker, that the 2013 Leadership Summit for Women kicked off in MDCL on McMaster’s campus on the rainy morning of Saturday, Oct. 19.

This was the third year of the conference, which has grown tremendously in size since its modest 2011 inauguration in a simple classroom setting. This year, the conference featured two keynote speakers, a panel discussion, two rounds of workshops, a luncheon and a pledge-sharing period.

The first speaker, Kim Crosby, set a thoughtful and empowering tone for the rest of the day’s proceedings. She was particularly interested in recognizing the many forms of leadership that women are involved in, and lamented our lack of vocabulary and respect for the quiet, nurturing forms of female leadership.

“Our language is so inherently biased against women that there aren’t a lot of words to talk about the nuances about the ways that we build communities [as leaders],” she said.

“When I think about what

women’s leadership looks like, recognizing [and looking past oppressive barriers shows that women] are being leaders all over the place,” she continued. “In every landmass, women are actually doing an enormous amount of work to take care of themselves, their communities, and their families. The fact that they’re not being affirmed or valued or recognized is part what I’m asking us to think about today.”

Most importantly, Crosby implored the audience to think about how “some of the work we need to do isn’t just about creating more space for women’s leadership, but actually acknowledging it where it’s already happening.”

Crosby talked for nearly an hour about colonization, being an ally, her practice of feminism, and the importance of women working together in their communities to create change.

The workshops in the second half of the day addressed a wide variety of topics, from gender-based violence in c/o the workplace, ALYSSA LAI to women and political activism, to “dudes and feminism” and beyond. Eleven unique workshops were offered, of which

participants were invited to attend two.

BEN BARRETT-FORREST / MULTIMEDIA EDITOR

Jemma Wolfe Executive Editor

c/o ALYSSA LAI

All of the workshops were lead by notable women – and men – in their field. Steph Guthrie, founder of Women in Toronto Politics and recent TEDxToronto speaker, lead a session on thoughtfully curating and being aware of one’s online presence. Hamilton Spectator columnists Evelyn Myrie and Susan Clairmont talked to their workshop group about women’s voices in the media. Sandy Shaw, Director of Corporate Responsibility for First Ontario Credit Union spoke about female mentorship and networking.

Such themes of self-assertion and working together were reiterated by Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne’s concluding keynote address. Wynne spoke primarily about empowering women, as well as about Ontario’s skilled trades issues and problems sustaining the Canadian Pension Plan.

“We need to start to shift our notion of who are our leaders,” she said. “That’s why this discussion is important. So I’m going to keep doing my part to challenge

the perceptions that undermine women and [promote] ideals of fairness and equality because I don’t want young women to shy away from leadership roles. I want them to embrace them.”

Wynne talked for approximately 20 minutes and then entertained a series of critical questions. Wynne received an especially enthusiastic round of applause for her comments on the frequent women’s issue of prioritizing children versus careers.

“My resume’s got a big gap in it. But it wasn’t a gap, it was when I was learning the most important lessons of my life because I was raising my three kids,” she said to cheers from the crowd. “I wouldn’t be who I am without that experience and so I think it’s really important that … we value childrearing and family involvement – whether it’s men or women – as we evaluate people’s capacity to do politics.”

Despite a talk heavy on politics and low on personal anecdotes, it was with statements such as this that Wynne resonated with

the crowd.

While it’s hard to know what tangible actions and personal inspiration will stem from such an event, the Summit certainly addressed its mandate of redefining, redistributing and revolutionizing female leadership. @jemma_wolfe

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“Some of the work we need to do isn’t just about creating more space for women’s leadership, but actually acknowledging it where it’s already happening.”

Kim Crosby, Feminist Advocate

Young Liberals host Premier, Mayor at Mac Julia Redmond News Editor On Oct. 19, the Hamilton Young Liberals hosted a leadership conference at McMaster. The aim of the day, said HYL president Waleed Aslam, was “to leave here inspired, to get involved, [and] to make a difference.”

The event, which took place in Convocation Hall, welcomed a collection of guests, opening with a series of Liberal candidates for MPP based in the Hamilton area.

Ivan Luksic, one such candidate for the riding of Hamilton East/Stoney Creek, and a Mac alumnus, suggested that students consider leadership from a different perspective.

“When I look at leaders, I don’t look at those who inspired humanity in history,” he explained. “I look at the more personal ones—my parents.”

One of the featured invitees

of the afternoon was Hamilton mayor Bob Bratina. He spoke of the importance of getting involved in the political process, citing his own change of career as an example.

“What I found of 45 years in broadcasting was that I had so many things I was interested in, so many ideals…and for the most part, nothing really happened until you get into the political sphere,” he explained.

“So no matter the ideals, the concrete projects we might have in mind…nothing gets done without the political process.”

Before becoming mayor of the city in 2010, Bratina had a career as a radio broadcaster, hosting talk shows and acting as a commentator in sports. He initially became involved in politics as a city councillor representing Ward 2 in 2004.

Premier Kathleen Wynne served as the keynote speaker for

the event, arriving late to Convocation Hall after having presented at the Leadership Summit for Women, also on campus on Saturday afternoon.

While the two-hour event was themed around leadership, Wynne took a more partisan angle, offering justification for the Liberal government’s economic strategies. “[I want to talk] about how we’re going to be building Ontario up, because I think that’s a distinguishing characteristic between us and what’s happening on the other side of the floor,” she told the audience. “[Their strategy] is to some extent tearing Ontario down, talking about what can’t happen as opposed to what can.”

Wynne also echoed the appreciation of the previous speakers for the already-committed Hamilton Young Liberals in the room, in a move that was likely welcomed by the group but

may have felt alienating to other audience members, who included a variety of students and community members.

“You’re also critical to the way we think about our policies,” she said.

“I want you to understand that the ideas you put forward are things we want to act on, we need to act on,” she explained, citing the province’s 30 per cent tuition rebate as an example.

“I know the Young Liberals have been hugely important in all our campaigns and will continue to be,” she said, later joking, “We don’t want you just because your joints are good.”

Mayor Bratina was one of the guests at the Oct. 19 event.

YOSEIF HADDAD / PHOTO EDITOR

CANADIAN CAMPUS NEWS Ryle Cameron The Silhouette

Financial boost coming for Quebec schools

USask to educate public about agriculture

Schools see only small gains in research income

Ontario looks to improve position of interns

Popular fiction has real-world impact

The government of Quebec plans to spend $3.7 billion over the next 5 years in an effort to increase research and innovation in Quebec.

Introduced as the new National Research and Innovation Policy, the money will be dispersed through universities, colleges, businesses, and laboratories in public high schools throughout Quebec. Quebec also plans on raising the percentage that research and innovation has in the province’s GDP, to 3% from the previous 2.4% set in 2009. This new policy will devote $173 million to central areas of research: namely, demographic changes, sustainable development and the Quebec identity.

October 15, 2013 marked the opening day for University of Saskatchewan’s new Rayner Dairy Research and Teaching Facility, an $11.5 million facility that aims to improve agricultural research and promote agriculture to the public.

The facility, named after former uSask Director of Extension John G. Rayner, features the Feeding the World interpretive galleries, which will educate the public on how a dairy barn operates; the entire uSask dairy herd, which will be grown to 100 cows by the end of the year; and cutting edge research facilities that will give both undergraduate and graduate students at the university an advantage over competition.

2012 saw only a 1.1% increase in the total amount of research income generated from the 50 leading universities. According to Infosource’s 2013 Top 50 Research Universities yearly rankings, this was the result of “sharp cutbacks in provincial research funding in Alberta.” Other parts of Canada posted a strong showing, however, with U of Toronto ranking first and becoming the first institution to post an income of over $1 billion. U of T was followed by the University of British Columbia, generating $585.2 million, Université de Montréal third with $526.2 million, and McMaster University sixth with $325.1 million.

The Ontario Ministry of Labour is examining aspects of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) that includes the overseeing of unpaid internships.

Labour Minister Yasir Naqvi says that they are “currently looking at bringing co-op students under the OHSA to ensure they have all the same rights and protections as all other workers.” While the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) has been pushing for the protection of student interns for a time, this move does not bring into reconsideration the unpaid aspect of these internships, because these students receive a course credit instead of money.

University of Ottawa’s Medieval Studies program may have popular fiction such as Harry Potter and Game of Thrones to thank for the increase in its enrollment this past year, up almost 50% (from 40 to 58 students). Cristina Perissinotto, director of the university’s program, suspects that these massively popular series helped to create a point of entry for incoming students interested in their childhood passions. High school students interviewed cited the reading of Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter as the initial piquing of an interest in “medieval stuff.”

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

ANTI-RACIST ADVOCACY

Wear a costume, not a culture This Halloween, make thoughtful choices when deciding who - or what - to dress up as Jemma Wolfe Executive Editor

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Every year I see cringe-worthy concoctions in line for TwelvEighty’s ever-popular Halloween club night. Aside from the revealing choices of many club-goers and the frequent rude joke outfits (ahem, six-foot-tall penises), the worst offenders continue to be the racist and culturally insensitive.

Perhaps it’s a tired request: dress with some respect on Oct. 31 and the party days that surround it. But based on the “costumes” that continue to proliferate the last week of October, it’s clearly a conversation worth rehashing.

First Nations costumes are probably the most common of the most inappropriate found around this time of year.

Donning the traditional dress of First Nations peoples because you like moccasins and hipster clothing ads have made it cool to wear feather headdresses is not okay. Doing so stereotypes and appropriates the culture of a diverse group of peoples, erases their identity, and ignores the history of colonization and genocide that is regrettably intrinsic to their relationship with Caucasian settlers (and that includes you, even now, even “after all these years”). Their culture and practice is disrespected through parodic – and always hypersexualized – costuming.

The same can be said for the many other Othered and marginalized groups that get “put on” for a day every October. Under no circumstances is sexualizing and insulting Indian, Mexican, Arabic or Asian cultures an acceptable thing to do. Not even for a day, not even if you “mean it as a joke,” not even if you have one <insert ethnic group here> friend who thinks it’s really cool/funny/acceptable.

An ignorant celebrity culture helps normalize this kind of overlooked racism. In recent history when Paris Hilton dressed as a scantily-clad First Nations woman, Heidi Klum as Hindu Goddess Kali, NHL player Raffi Torres as Jay-Z (complete with blackface) and Chris Brown as a MiddleEastern terrorist, it made cultural appropriation and stereotyping seem totally passable.

A great campaign put it succinctly last year with posters that read, “We’re a culture, not a costume. This is not who I am and this is not okay” along with people from marginalized groups holding pictures of people in costumes of their heritage. The examples it gave of costumed people in blackface, or mustached with sombreros, or wearing turbans – all inappropriately boiling a peoples down to one stereotypical image – were powerful, albeit oft-parodied since.

All it takes is a quick stroll down a costume aisle at a big-box party store to see that these costumes are as popular as ever, are readily available, and are clearly not being questioned or criticized enough to create change.

This isn’t about being “politically correct,” or any other kind of buzz-word rhetoric. This is about being a decent human being. And it’s a perspective and mandate we need to wear and internalize this Halloween – and every other day of the year.

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Most popular

Most commented

Most underrated

LIFESTYLE: “Cramming champion: study time tips” by Jason Woo. First published on Thursday, Oct. 17.

OPINION: “Empowerment is what you make it” by Tobi Abdul. First published on Wednesday, Oct. 16.

VIDEO: “What it’s like to be a vendor at the Hamilton Farmers’ Market” by Emily Scott. First posted on Wednesday, Oct. 16.

to tallying up the sass.

to riggins making it into the kitchen.

to e.l. and l.n., who’ve always been around, and who are joining the 22 club.

to our trivia score.

to middle school angst on the dancefloor. to cats. and how everyone apparently has to get one.

to the bloodhound gang, and their impending takeover of motown. to the ‘40s at 4. to hardworking, inspiring moms. to another thumb for milos.

to trains. to kare-no-ke. to not being cool. to the 1280 kissing booth. to broken mice. to bbm. why? to administrative sass. sorry for caring. to preliminary presidentials. to my mid-october crisis. to the state of my shoes. to carpal tunnel. to double spaces.

The Silhouette

McMaster University’s Student Newspaper

EDITORIAL BOARD Jemma Wolfe | Executive Editor thesil@thesil.ca

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Scott Hastie | Managing Editor managing@thesil.ca Andrew Terefenko | Production Editor production@thesil.ca Anqi Shen | Online Editor news@thesil.ca Julia Redmond | News Editor news@thesil.ca Tyler Welch | Assistant News Editor news@thesil.ca Tomi Milos | Features Editor news@thesil.ca Sam Godfrey | Opinions Editor opinions@thesil.ca Laura Sinclair | Sports Editor sports@thesil.ca Alexandra Reilly | Assistant Sports Editor sports@thesil.ca

*These are all real “costumes” available for online purchase, and the names are all genuine.

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

to news-team blue(s).

to drunk pumpkins.

y Specs” “Chop Sue

to 300 sandwiches. to the responses to this week’s feedback question.

to dog costumes (mainly on pugs).

@jemma_wolfe

Come again?

to what should have been the twenty-third birthday of b.h.

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

thesil.ca

Amanda Watkins | LifeStyle Editor lifestyle@thesil.ca Miranda Babbitt | Assistant LifeStyle Editor lifestyle@thesil.ca Bahar Orang | ANDY Editor andy@thesil.ca Cooper Long | Assistant ANDY Editor andy@thesil.ca Yoseif Haddad | Photo Editor photo@thesil.ca Eliza Pope | Assistant Photo Editor photo@thesil.ca Ben Barrett-Forrest | Multimedia Editor photo@thesil.ca Karen Wang | Graphics Editor production@thesil.ca Emily Scott | Video Editor photo@thesil.ca

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that it is more attractive than their natural speaking voice,” which was a result of some prior research that O’Connor and her team had done.

Jillian O’Connor from the DeIf in everyday life men start using partment of Psychology, Neuroa deeper voice, women will not sciences and Behaviour, here at find them attractive, suggesting McMaster proved that men with that men cannot fake their voices lower pitched, masculine voices to sound attractive because women were found to be more desirable have a natural way of sensing that. to women. However, women con“We have other senses, so sidered these men to be faithful to when we see someone that we them for only short-term relationare attracted to, we take a lot of ships. O’Connor does her research things into consideration like how in the Voice Research lab. It has they look, how they sound, how taken two years for her to come up they smell, it’s a big picture,” said with her findings.

O’Connor, who wanted to clarify O’Connor’s paper about how that voice is not the only quality men’s voices influence women’s that is used to assess human attracperception of them has allowed tion. O’Connor her to find two takes a special perceptions that interest in human women have sexual behaviour about men: “[Women] know when or behaviours attractiveness within relationand infidelity. men try to lower their ships which Women preferred voices to sound more happens to be lower pitched the motivation attractive, it doesn’t men’s voices behind her refor short-term work.” search. relationships/ ”Men with one night stands.

Dr. Jillian O’Connor, Department lower pitched They think that of Psychology, Neuroscieces voices have highmen with lower and Behaviour er testosterone pitched voices and hence they are unfaithful for are more likely a romantic relato cheat. But we tionship. don’t know that yet and that is “But this is what women think something we would like to test in of men,” said O’Connor. “Men the future,” said O’Connor. who are really attractive with these She said that this milestone of lower pitched voices don’t really a finding would act as a stepping have to be faithful in the longstone in addressing the bigger term. They may be more successful issue, that is how women choose if they follow a shot-term mating their mates and how voices evolved strategy, one where they don’t to signal underlying qualities commit. So this is the case where when it comes to romantic relawomen prefer men with lower tionships. She hopes to figure out, pitched voices for short-term rein the future, if a man’s voice is an lationships but that is only if they honest cue to his sexual behaviour think that they will not be faithful.” or if women are off base on their She stated that “[women] deduction about a man’s sexual know when men try to lower their behaviour. voices to sound more attractive, it doesn’t work. Women don’t think Abhi Mukherjee The Silhouette

“

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Deep voices woo ladies

A5

CHEAPDRINKS, AMAZINGFOOD, PRICELESSMEMORIES.

NEWS

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

Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013

theSil.ca

theSil.ca

Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013

NEWS

A6

FEATURE

My big, frat, Greek life PI KAPPA ALPHA (PIKES)

PHI DELTA THETA

ALPHA EPSILON PHI

ΠΚΑ

ΦΔΘ

ΑΕΠ

March 1, 1868 University of Viriginia

December 26, 1848 Miami University

“Once A Pike, Always A Pike”

“One man is no man”

OMACRON PI ALPHA

LAMBDA PHI EPSILON

NU OMEGA SIGMA

ΟΠΑ

ΛΦΕ

NOS

November 7, 1913 New York University

October 28th, 2010 Boston University

February 25, 1981 UCLA

N/A

“Commitment for a lifetime”

“Freedom, “To Be Leaders Democracy, Among Men” Political Participation”

N/A

Emblem:

Greek shortform: Founded:

Motto:

KAREN WANG/ GRAPHICS EDITOR

Tomi Milos Features Editor While perusing the scene at this year’s Clubfest, many may have noticed a cluster of McMaster students wearing togas and done a double take. Yes, togas.

These were members of the local Hamilton chapter of Phi Delta Theta, looking to attract new members during their famed rush week. Should a look of confusion be crossing your face at the news that fraternities exist at Mac, it wouldn’t be unwarranted.

Technically, fraternities such as Phi Delta Theta, Pi Kappa Alpha and Alpha Epsilon Pi do not exist — at least not as school clubs. Looking back to 1956, we can find the explanation as to why this is so.

That year, the McMaster Student Council Senate passed a motion aimed at barring fraternities on campus by a vote of 7-6.

On December 13, 1989 a further policy was passed by the University Senate that prevented fraternities from obtaining recognition as official school organizations and in this manner freed the University from being held responsible for any of their acts. In the same manner that Pontius Pilate washed his hands of Jesus, so too did McMaster of the frats’ fate.

Some may nod their heads in affirmation, thinking McMaster was right in ending their affiliation with organizations known — at least in popular culture — for their ultra-masculine, misogynistic, beer-guzzling ways.

But the naysayers may be letting their opinions become clouded by lewd depictions of fraternities within media.

Seeking to clear the air, The Sil spoke with Jordan Cole, a second-year Political Science and Philosophy student and Acting Recruitment Chair of Phi Delta Theta, one of the six fraternities in the Hamilton area.

The principles that fraternities are normally founded upon can strike some as overtly dramatic, but Phi Delta Theta’s own of “friendship, sound learning, moral rectitude” ties directly into their goal of making each man who joins them the best person he can be, and sounds like something anyone could benefit from.

Cole stressed how a fraternity can give someone who’s pining for the comforts of home a pseudo-family that acts as a “rock” and gives students a sense of solidarity. In surrounding oneself with like-minded individuals, Cole reasons that academics immediately become a more manageable task as everyone now has each other for support. He ended his summation of the principles by saying that moral rectitude simply revolves around living truthfully and virtuously, which they accomplish through charity work.

Glancing at the list of famous Phi Delta Theta alumni on the fraternity’s website is a humbling task, for it includes men such as astronaut Neil Armstrong, architect Frank Lloyd Wright, Dropbox CEO Drew Houston, adored movie critic Roger Ebert and football star Wes Welker.

Though impressive, one glaring fact stands out: all of the men are white. This fault feeds the notion that all frat members are elitist silver-spooners.

When confronted with this fact, Cole was quick to point out that his chapter’s president, Mradul Sahani, came from a traditional Indian background and adamantly said, “We have absolutely nothing against diversifying our chapter and I have nothing against it as so many new traditions are brought in that can add to our three principals which are ever-changing.”

On a related note, Nu Omega Sigma recently sailed into uncharted waters by becoming McMaster’s first black-focused Greek fraternity.

As someone who was initially opposed to fraternities, Cole himself spoke of how nothing could be more different to what frats signify than the stereotype of a preppy alpha-male swinging from a chandelier. If anything, he said that Phi Delta Theta looks for new members who embody the opposite; someone who can engage in social activities with ease, but who places more importance on academics. Though they don’t require a certain grade average for admittance, strong marks are highly encouraged.

A 1996 study conducted by the National Centre on Postsecondary Teaching in the U.S.

focused on the cognitive effects of fraternity affiliation during the first year of university and found that those involved in fraternities had “significantly lower end-offirst-year reading comprehension, mathematics, critical thinking, and composite achievement than their peers who were not affiliated with a Greek organization”.

When confronted by this statistic, Cole — who himself is involved in multiple extra-curriculars as well as a part-time job at

“

“We’re being told ‘This is the way you are, so you’re not going to be involved with our school. But we’re also not going to give you the chance to redeem yourselves.’”

Jordan Cole, Acting Recruitment Chair of Phi Delta Theta Union Market — relented that the fraternity is a big commitment, but if a student’s academics begin to suffer as a result, his social duties are put on the back-burner until he is back on track.

It is important to note that although fraternities have come to promote diversity, the fees required to join and remain a member can play a major part in offsetting that. Asked if the cost can deter certain demographics from joining, Cole replied, “Yes, but it’s like joining a team here; there is a cost to it, but it helps keeps everything running and you gain access to a network of alumni who can help in setting up your career after school. If money is ever an issue, there’s always some way to work it out.”

Still, the idea that frats promote exclusionary culture remains prevalent in contemporary society and Cole is continually seeking to combat that.

“My goal as Recruitment Chair is to truly see who best embodies these qualities we look for while remaining unique and bringing their own spark to the table. Nobody should have to change in order to fit in. Those who buy into the partying stigma are the ones who deter their chance of getting a bid.”

The media has played a major role in perpetuating the prototypical gauche frat-boy image. Films like American Pie Beta House — some of which was coincidentally filmed at McMaster — paint a very vulgar picture of Greek life, especially of the notorious hazing practices involved. But Cole says those frightened of being made to endure similarly painful initiations have nothing to fear.

“We, Phi Delta Theta, have a no-hazing policy involved and do not condone any behaviour that is similar to it whatsoever,” he said.

“Some of the stories of hazing in the States that I have heard are disgusting and they have always bothered me. We are just trying to promote a safe atmosphere where people can engage in fun events.”

To accomplish this secure feeling, Cole said that Phi Delta

Theta has adopted an alcohol-free approach, which means that alcohol is prohibited at official events where the fraternity emblem is present.

The 1989 policy is a bit of a sore topic with Cole who remains frustrated with the limitations it imposes on not only his, but other Hamilton-based fraternities looking to cater to McMaster students.

“I feel that what we do is a positive thing and it’s a frustrating situation for us because we’re made to sound like something really scary. We’re being told ‘This is the way you are, so you’re not going to be involved with our school. But we’re also not going to give you the chance to redeem yourselves.’”

Cole is saddened by the fact that despite his and other fraternities’ heavy involvement in the community, they remain unrecognized by their own schools.

Despite the hardships endured, he maintains an optimistic outlook for the future.

When asked about the future of the relationship between the University and fraternities, MSU President David Campbell said, “I don’t know what I would really speculate. I haven’t heard a lot of concern about the fact that they’re not officially recognized, but my interactions with fraternities have been largely positive.”

After considering how fraternities have changed since 1956, the bottom line remains that they’re not for everyone. But as long as they’re not bothering anyone and continue to promote positive values, there is no reason that McMaster shouldn’t rekindle their relationship with the Greeks.

@tomimilos

FAMOUS FRATS

Neil Armstrong - Phi Delta Theta Lloyd Wright - Phi Delta Theta Brad Pitt - Sigma Chi Toni Morrison - Alpha Kappa Alpha Jon Hamm - Sigma Nu Ashton Kutcher - Delta Chi Jennifer Garner - Pi Beta Phi Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. - Alpha Phi Alpha

Left: Brody Weld Right: Jordan Cole C/O PHI DELTA THETA

O

theSil.ca

Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013

PINIONS

A7

Feminism is here to destroy the patriarchy, not men.

There are a lot of misconceptions surrounding feminism – one of them being the idea that feminists hate men. Sure, there may be some women feminists who happen to hate men, but being a “man-hater” isn’t a requirement or value of feminism.

Feminism doesn’t aim to bring men down; it aims to bring women up. In fact, while advocating for women’s rights and dispelling negative gender stereotypes, feminism has also benefited men.

The idea that women are less than or inferior has, for centuries, given the “feminine” qualities that some women (and men!) possess a negative reputation. Things like

A11

Email opinions@thesil.ca Phone 905.525.9140 x27117 Fluoride in our water?

FEMANISM Ana Qarri Staff Reporter

Bangl adesh

Editor Sam Godfrey

caring, being sensitive and emotional, liking to dress up, wear make-up, and so on have been seen as characteristics solely and exclusively reserved for women.

By changing the way feminine qualities are perceived, less pressure is put on men not to act likes “girls,” which apparently, in our society, is the worst thing a man can be. The pressure to act the way men are supposed to act - whatever that may be - can be overwhelming.

Cases of verbal and physical violence directed at boys who weren’t perceived to fit the societal ideal of masculine have been endless, and raising little boys to become men who can’t recognize the harmful impact of this isn’t fair to anyone.

This emphasis on masculinity has created a culture of silence amongst men.

A8

Feminism doesn’t discriminate based on gender. It’s out to help everyone, including men.

Men aren’t supposed to talk about feelings or show that they have feelings – that’s weak. Men aren’t supposed to cry in public – that’s only for girls.

With documented cases of male mental health problems rising, this has become much more obvious. The most convincing evidence of what’s being called the “silent crisis” by health professionals can be found in male suicide rates. In 2007, four of five people who had committed suicide in Canada were male. The code of silence that surrounds men’s behaviour has become a barrier that stops men from seeking the help they need, and acknowledging any mental health issues they’re experiencing.

Normalizing the discourse of well-being and self-care for men and alleviating the pressure of acting anything but feminine

FEEDBACK

is just one of the many ways that feminism is creating a better society for men, too.

In addition to redefining gender and the societal expectations of what it should be, feminism also indirectly advocates for men’s rights where the patriarchy has backfired on them and created unfair situations.

One of the most well known examples is child custody. The majority of child custody cases prior to 1970 were won by women. This was mostly a result of the idealization of the mother and child bond and the shift in family structure that took place during the Industrial Revolution. In fact, before the Industrial Revolution, children were seen as property of their fathers, since women couldn’t legally own anything.

The empowerment of women through feminism has had a

YOSEIF HADDAD / SENIOR PHOTO EDITOR

significant role in the continuous redefinition of parental roles (ex. making it socially acceptable to be a stay-at-home dad), which has made custody cases a determination of what’s in the child’s best interest rather than a gender-biased debate.

Problems with child custody that arise due to gender still continue today, but the push of feminism towards gender equity has definitely helped make procedures fairer than they were.

So if feminism really means “gender equity” and if it’s also important for men, then why does it have to be called feminism?

Because feminism is about empowering women, and in doing so, creates a better society for everyone. @anaqarri

Also this week

Do you identify as a feminist?

“I don’t agree with modern feminism.

I do agree women are treated badly.

Rather than looking at gender, we should focus on equality.”

Pranav Rawal, Engineering I

“Not really. Haven’t thought about it.”

Marc Diotte, Social Science I

“I’m less of a feminist, more of an egalitarian.”

Nick Moore, Computing and Software PhD

YOSEIF HADDAD / PHOTO EDITOR

STRAYS, A9

theSil.ca

Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013

Health, hygiene and freedom of choice Kevin Maynard The Silhouette Most people are familiar with the fluoridated goop at the dentist and the painstaking sixty seconds leaning over a sink, fighting the urge to swallow. This is followed by a thorough rinse as the dentist ensures none of the paste is accidently consumed. Not swallowing is a common trend for just about all products containing fluoride; toothpaste and mouthwash being no exception.

So why is it water, the most fundamental necessity to humans, is being contaminated with fluoride and ingested every day?

For nearly 50 years, Hamilton has added fluoride to their drinking water, claiming that it is essential in preventing tooth decay.

Recent studies prove otherwise.

One of the most compelling arguments to continue water fluoridation is the decline in tooth decay since its origin. This is persuasive, but misleading. The World Health Organization has found that developed countries across the world have shown a decrease in tooth decay, whether they were fluoridated or not.

This contrasting study does not appear on the City of Hamilton’s Public Services website. Instead, all the information is given as a bias to continue fluoridation, creating a monopoly of knowledge that has suppressed the voice of Hamilton residents.

A community can only overpower this monopoly if it bands together and creates awareness.

The City of Hamilton also

states that fluoride is naturally occurring, and almost everyone would agree that natural is healthier. Yet, there are many dangerous compounds found “naturally” on earth. An example is arsenic, one of the most poisonous chemicals known to humans.

The same can be argued about fluoride, which may as well pose serious health problems.

A recent study by the Harvard School of Public Health states there are strong indications that fluoride is linked to declined neural development. Senior author and professor of environmental health at Harvard, Philippe Grandjean, explains, “Fluoride seems to fit in with lead, mercury and other poisons that cause chemical brain drain.”

There are some benefits to fluoride, obviously. Most dentists agree that as a topical agent, fluoride rebuilds and repairs tooth enamel. These benefits are most prevalent if applied directly, not ingested. Therefore, if the average person isn’t rinsing their mouth with fluoridated water before swallowing it, the benefits are minimal.

But there can be too much fluoride.

Fluorosis is a condition the WHO says is caused by ingestion of excess fluoride. Fluorosis is a defect in tooth enamel, shown by white spots and occasionally brown streaks.

With these studies, it seems odd that over 90 dental and health organizations support fluoridation. The City of Hamilton’s website gives links to 14 of these. Of the first six of these links, four led

to “sorry, we cannot find the page you requested,” one had no scientific proof and the other was dated ten years ago.

The municipal government makes decisions regarding drinking water, and with outdated information like this, it is inevitable change will not occur. Awareness is the only option.

According to The City of Hamilton, fluoridation is an attempt to provide everyone with access to oral hygiene products.

Economically speaking, there are much deeper issues in Hamilton if that many people cannot afford toothpaste and a toothbrush.

The average cost to fluoridate Hamilton’s drinking water each year is $2.50 per household; money that could easily be used to help provide oral hygiene products for those in need. Poverty is clearly the issue Hamilton needs to address, not oral hygiene.

It is barbaric to unwillingly expose Hamilton residents to this chemical. The people should have a right to choose what they are consuming, and more importantly, understand the health risks associated with it. An older generation’s idea is currently being used as a quick-fix approach to solving oral hygiene problems. It is time for the city to abandon this preconceived view and attack the root of the problem.

Citizens of Hamilton will be exposed to this water for many upcoming years, whether they approve or not.

As of right now, there is no choice.

OPINIONS

A8

r e b m e v o N

Breaking tradition Jacob Brodka SRA Science For the first time this year, McMaster students can look forward to a three-day Fall Recess that will run from Oct. 31 to Nov. 2. During the recess, there will be no scheduled undergraduate lectures or tests.

The length of first term (62 sessional days) remains the same, as the term is extended to be slightly longer before the winter exam break in order to not impact program accreditation.

This three-day recess period was approved last February by the University Senate on a two-year trial basis following a recommendation from the Undergraduate Council.

Lobbying, discussion and surveying of student opinions by the MSU in conjunction with growing interest and implementation of breaks at other institutions in Ontario at McMaster sparked the push for the break here. Western, Carleton and Brock will be joining McMaster in having some form of fall sessional break for the first time this year.

Once this break (and the two-year trial) has come and gone next year – what is next for this

scheduled period of relief? At this point in time, no strategy has been put in place to solicit student feedback on the recess. This leads to a genuine question about what information will be taken into account when this recess period is up for review following the break next year.

The decision to keep the break or modify it in any way for the 2015-16 school year would have to be made shortly after the Fall 2014 recess period as the Undergraduate Calendar follows structured approval dates.

At that point in time, it would be fantastic to have some form of formal feedback to take into consideration.

I am interested in having the break last well beyond this two year pilot period as I see intrinsic value in having an opportunity - albeit small - to catch up on school work and focus on personal wellness. I will be using the break to read, catch up on some sleep and spend time with friends and family.

If you have any comments or feedback to share about the Fall Recess, I encourage you to to comment or get in contact with any of your SRA representatives.

theSil.ca

Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013

OPINIONS

A9

McMaster left a

stray

Leah Flanagan The Silhouette About 4,000 cats and kittens are euthanized in Hamilton each year as the population of stray cats grows out of control. As of the writing this, there are 593 felines, mostly kittens, “free to a good home” on Kijiji in the Hamilton area and thousands in foster care and shelters. Many McMaster students living in the student housing area will feed a stray for the school year, but where does it go afterwards?

Young adults are the most likely to move from home to home in very short amounts of time and in the process, a lot of homed cats become homeless when their owners move out.

Being a school with such an intelligent student population, developing a solution should come as naturally as a kitten playing with string.

Every female cat older than five months can reproduce then give birth to over 30 kittens a year if they aren’t spayed. The cats in shelters that are scheduled to be euthanized need good homes but education on proper care for a cat is just as important in stopping this problem. Gail McGinnis, a member of the Kit Cat Club says, “You can’t just give a kitten to a child and say ‘here you go.’ We need to educate people how to care for these babies, because that’s what they are, babies.”

The average domestic indoor house cat can live to be over twenty years old.

That’s twenty years of love, for better or for worse.

McMaster could introduce a program to promote proper care for pets as well as developing a unique a solution to the adoptand-ditch norm of off-campus students. For people who are looking to adopt, are there other ways to have a pet and not take care of it for its entire life? Many charitable organizations for stray cats, such as SPCA, HAS, Kit Cat Club and Organization for the Rescue of Animals, are always urgently looking for homes for foster care. This means taking in a pet for a certain length of time and providing it with care, food and shelter. If students volunteered to be foster homes, they wouldn’t be faced with the decision of whether to abandon their pet. It could also give the students the opportunity to see if they are responsible enough to care for another.

Caring for a cat without the financial support of an organization’s help can also be costly.

The average cat owner can spend about $900 per year on its basic needs such as food, vet care and litter and the initial essential supplies cost about $300. Most

students have loans to pay.

A program should be made at McMaster for adopting a good number of cats and passing them on to the next student as years go on. This would create more jobs during the year and in the summer for placing the cats in homes and doing check-ins to know they are in safe hands.

The cats and kittens should be under contract in a partnership of the school and the shelters to make sure that the animals are returned safely at the end of the year rather than abandoned to increase the student’s responsibility.

Of course, not every student is pet-savvy. Volunteers from shelters should come in to speak to people interested in having a pet and give them a basic training course. This would include teaching them how to properly hold their pet, how much food they need, the overall responsibility, as well as the benefits to having a pet in university or even over a lifetime.

The operation to spay and neuter cats could be a good substitute for medical student’s first surgery. McGinnis says, “We need a really low cost spay/ neuter clinic in the area.” With one not in sight for a two-hour bus ride, the likely chance of students actually taking the time is little to none.

The cats could also become part of a research project to see if they help reduce depression in

university students.

Cats have also been known to help depression in moderate to mild cases, or at least help people cope with their mental state if it is more severe. With 24 per cent of all 15-24 year old deaths being related to suicide, the theory of cats being “happy makers” could benefit both stressed and depressed students.

The City of Hamilton doesn’t have a solution yet, but the Marauders could be it.

By adopting a large number of cats into a school program, neutering and spaying them through the school curriculum, raising money through events to give back to the community and cover the cost of supplies needed to house the cats through fundraisers, the cat community, Hamilton and McMaster can finally be a cat-killing-free community.

EM KWISSA / CAT OWNER

What Free Trade means for

Hamilton Jeff Doucet MSU VP-Finance Last week, Stephen Harper flew to Brussells to sign a Free-Trade agreement with the European Union. After Harper secured the support of all ten Premiers, Canada has reached an agreement in principle to sign the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with our European peers.

The full-text of the agreement has yet to be released, but the agreement has already been supported in principle by both the Liberal and New Democratic Party.

This is remarkable, as it was only twenty-five years ago that Free-Trade was a divisive election issue. However, since the Mulroney government’s implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement brought nation-wide economic growth and diversification, all federal parties now support free trade.

While we have yet to find out the finer details of the agreement, we know enough to start talking about its benefits and what it means for our local economy in Hamilton. When hearing about government initiatives such as CETA, it is easy to hear large, broad statements such as “12 billion annually” or “80,000 new jobs” and not really know what it means.

While the industry has taken a hit, Hamilton has remained a local economy supported by a manufacturing sector. Contributing billions of dollars to the national economy, Hamilton’s

manufacturing sector makes up roughly 4 per cent of the province’s GDP. Several major industries such as automotive parts dominate the local economy while other important industries are growing rapidly. Green automotive technology in particular has the potential to grow and produce innovative, exportable products. The federal government and McMaster University demonstrated this commitment to green automotive technologies with the recent opening of the McMaster Automotive Research Centre. The research centre will collaborate with the private sector to develop, design, and test innovative hybrid technology.

With our globally recognized research-intensive universities, Canada has the ability to pair local industry with Post-Secondary Education and deliver commercial and economic success.

We all know that large-scale, simplified manufacturing has left North America for good. Other countries with lower wages and lower environmental standards will continue to hold the advantage in mass producing simplified goods. Because of partnerships like MARC, Canada will continue to hold the comparative advantage is in the advanced manufacturing of complicated, innovative technologies. But here is the thing: on a global scale, the Canadian automotive sector is relatively small. If you are a company that is producing technology that will one day be hidden under the hood of a car, you need unre-

stricted access to the global market to truly prosper.

The EU is the world’s second largest producer of automobiles, producing over 16 million cars, trucks and vans in 2012. To put this in perspective, last year Canada nearly produced 2.5 million automobiles. While Canadian auto-parts companies can currently sell their product in Europe, they face barriers to entry. CETA will eliminate EU tariffs on auto parts, which currently run up to 4.5 per cent. With the implementation of CETA, local companies in Hamilton will have an important leg up over competitors in other countries. Volkswagen while assembling a car in Germany could can now use Canadian technology at a lower price.

This example of how our local economy will benefit illustrates the importance of CETA, and the impact it will have on other industries and local economies. As tariffs as high as 22 per cent are lifted on our industries, Canada will continue to grow as a world leader in the trade of our unique goods.

Whether these goods are lumber exports from Northern Quebec, shrimp from the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador, mineral production in Nunavut, or software technology in British Columbia, local economies across Canada stand to benefit from increased access to five hundred million consumers in the European Union.

Billionaire philanthropist Yaman Al-Nachawati The Silhouette The speech given by Michael LeeChin, Chairman of Portland Holding Inc., to McMaster students on Oct. 7 was more than just inspiring; it was symbolic. By taking us through his journey as a McMaster Engineering alumnus, one that began as a bouncer upon graduation and eventually led to becoming one of the more generous billionaire philanthropists in the world, his past became the representation of the fruits McMaster University wishes to bear in the future.

Speaking directly to students, he urged we “discover a dysfunctionality and make it your cause to change it. It is your passion that enables perseverance, and passion comes from the confidence that you are doing the right thing.»

The environment that allows one to follow their passion is very important, and has been much of the focus of the McMaster administration in recent years. In 2011, President Patrick Deane sent an open letter to the McMaster community outlining the principles that he hoped would guide the university’s future “Forward with Integrity”.

The letter highlighted experiential learning, self-directed learning, inter-disciplinarity and internationalization as the themes McMaster must follow in order to continue to generate leaders who solve the problems of the future.

These themes are very much enshrined in Lee-Chin’s life. He has found a way to use his Engineering degree as a stepping stone to becoming one of the leaders in the mutual fund industry, making his passion for self-directed learning and inter-disciplinarity easy to spot.

He was a pioneer in calling for the reinvestment of profits in developing countries locally, adopting a new method for

internationalization. Fuelled by his confidence in doing the right thing, he rose above the perceived dichotomy of “doing good” and “doing well” in business, piloting the program in his home country of Jamaica. His company’s shares increased almost instantaneously.

I believe that the vision has also resonated with the students here at McMaster. Indeed, with this year’s first winds of autumn came a subtle wind of change in culture among students.

While I personally may not see what comes of this new culture here in, I am excited by what’s to come from this university after I graduate.

Having attended the McMaster Social Innovation Lab and Entrepreneurship Association club launches, both in their first years, I was impressed with the eagerness shown by students to seek solutions that solve real-world problems. I also see this enthusiasm first hand in SUSTAIN 3A03, Societal Tools for Systemic Sustainable Change.

I believe this course changes the story students write for their script after university life, proving to them that the skills learned in their degrees can in fact be used to do help improve the world. The multi-disciplinary fabric of the course, as well as its self-directed learning nature, have also gone a long way in making me more comfortable to take on problems that I would have otherwise thought were out of the scope of my degree.

At the end of his homecoming, Lee-Chin left us with the most important formula we will learn in our time here: “Fulfillment is a function of doing well, doing good and having fun in between.”

Now knowing where the path Forward with Integrity leads, I think I have found the direction to walk after my graduation ceremony this year.

theSil.ca

Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013

OPINIONS

A10

Collapse begs consumer consciousness The collapse of the Rana Plaza in Bangladesh killed 1,134 workers, despite a factory-wide evacuation the day before and the clear knowledge of an unstable work environment by officials.

C/O FLICKR CREATIVE COMMONS

Poor working conditions in developing countries is a steep price for cheaper threads this side of the Atlantic. all this? More importantly, what can we do as socially conscious consumers to ensure our clothes are not made through exploitation The collapse of Rana Plaza, a of others? garment-manufacturing comCalls for industry-wide plex in Bangladesh, which killed reforms gave birth to initiatives 1,134 workers, sent shockwaves such as the Accord on Fire and around the globe this past April.

Building Safety in Bangladesh.

Just a few months earlier, the This is the first agreement of it’s Tazreen factory fire had already kind, one that promises to bring killed 117 people in the country. significant changes to working These latest episodes bring the conditions in Bangladesh. death toll of Bangladeshi factory The Bangladesh Accord workers to over 1,800 since 2005. was drafted in conjunction with The appalling disparity between unions in Bangladesh, apparel these downtrodden substandard companies and labour rights garment factories and the upscale NGOs. It gives workers at factostores where the products are sold ries increased protections such is nothing short of criminal. as the right to refuse unsafe work Corporations such as Wal– something Mart Canada that could have and Joe Fresh saved the Rana which outPlaza disaster. sourced from In addition, these sweat“Workers evacuating it requires shops came Rana Plaza a day before monetary comunder intense mitments from heat. Investigathe collapse but were tive journalists, forced to go back due to global corporations to fund such as that of threats of termination.” the repairs and the CBC and renovations the Toronto factories. Most Star, have importantly, since revealed the Accord is legally binding chilling facts. For example, it which means that global brands was found that workers evacucan now be held accountable in ated Rana Plaza a day before the court for their operations abroad. collapse but were forced to go Thanks to public pressure, this back due to threats of terminaAccord has now been signed by tion. Since the collapse, workover a hundred global clothing ers continue to protest for the brands. This includes groups such minimum wage to be increased as H&M, Calvin Klein, Tomfrom $39 a month to a mere $100. my Hilfiger and even Canada’s Stories of people like 10-year-old Loblaws’ Joe Fresh.

Shakil Khan send shivers down However, corporate culprits the spine: he has been working as Wal-Mart and Gap have started an unpaid trainee for 4-months a parallel safety initiative instead and will make $4 per day when he of joining the Accord. Along with eventually gets a salary.

20 other brands, the Alliance So, what has been done about Waleed Ahmed The Silhouette

“

for Bangladesh Worker Safety was created with hopes to also offer improved safety and better working conditions for factory workers. Despite the promises, the Alliance initiative lacks the rigour of the Bangladesh Accord, provisions for forming unions and more importantly, it’s not legally binding. This corporately-regulated voluntary initiative was drafted without consultation with unions and cannot be enforced by worker representatives – this leaves all the power with the companies. It was private regulation schemes that lead to disastrous results in the first place; it’s hard to see how a similar program could be a solution to the problem.

Many have dismissed the Wal-Mart/Gap initiative as simply a public relations exercise. NGO’s such as CleanClothes, United Students Against Sweatshops, Macquila Solidarity Network and LaborRights have already called for and started campaigns urging them to sign up for the Bangladesh Accord. Leading US labour federations jointly declared the Alliance initiative to be “weak and worthless”. In contrast, the UN Secretary General, EU and trade unions has accepted the Bangladesh Accord both globally and locally in Bangladesh.

So what are we to do in light of all these developments? Our best course of action is to pressure Wal-Mart/Gap and associated retailers to sign onto the legally binding Bangladesh Accord. Consumers have a better case to make as competing brands have already signed on to it and thus deserve recognition and preferential treatment by ethical buyers.

Assisting campaigns calling for implementation of the Accord is our best bet. One of the most effective ways of doing so is personally delivering a letter to your local Wal-Mart/Gap. Simply not buying from them isn’t effective, as it won’t get the message across.

Emailing these corporations, posting on their Facebook/Twitter

and signing onto petitions are also effective methods. Whether it be raising awareness through social media or just talking about it with your friends - anything which puts pressure on corporations to invest in worker safety is key.

As I watched footage of overworked factory workers being pulled out of the rubble, I couldn’t help but wonder if the very clothes in my closet originated from that factory. It is our collective demand for cheap fashion that has empowered corporations to push factory owners beyond their safety limits. It is therefore our responsibility to call on these companies to implement radical reforms to ensure worker safety, ethical pricing and fair-wages.

Not Just a Problem Abroad: In 2000, more than

11,000 factories were defined as “sweatshops” in the U.S. which means they broke at least two labour laws.

Pope Francis has publicly spoken out against these practices, calling them “slave labour.”

The Accord, signed in May this year, is a five-year legallybinding agreement aiming to maintain minimum safety standards. It was not signed by Wal-mart and 14 other large clothing retailers.

Because the majority of workers in these conditions are female, most are forced to take regular pregnancy tests to avoid costly maternity leaves.

2013 McMaster United Way Campaign Help McMaster reach its goal of raising $300,000!

How you can contribute: • Pledge to the campaign on our site: www.workingatmcmaster.ca/uway

• Bid on great items in our online auction: http://auction.mcmaster.ca (Oct 14-28th)

• Drop your change in the donation boxes by cash registers at hospitality locations around campus.

• Spread the word and stay up to date on campaign events by following us: Facebook

Twitter

@MacUnitedWay The Power of an

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

Starting November 4th, bring new unwrapped toys for children up to 12 years of age to any of our drop off locations.

You can also donate a toy through our online toy catalogue at www.citykidz.ca/toys For more information, to make a donation or to volunteer your time please call 905.544.3996 or visit www.citykidz.ca/christmas

Thursday, October 24 3rd floor, MUSC, CIBC Hall 11am - 5pm

DROP OFF LOCATIONS:

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Send your request to Leeann Corbeil, Director of Marketing and Community Relations. E: leeann@findlaylaw.ca

PH: 905.522.9799 ext. 248

Findlay Attorneys. 20 Hughson St. S., Suite 510, Hamilton, Ontario, L8N 2A1 Findlay Attorneys will determine which agency or group will be included based on a first come, first serve basis and at the discretion of Findlay Attorneys.

Findlay Attorneys cannot guarantee inclusion of any materials submitted and therefore accepts no responsibility for any ad or information exclusion. Materials should be submitted at least two weeks prior to date of publishing.

NOTSPEC.COM

36 DEGREES We poll three dozen college grads to feed into their blatant inferiority complexes B3

THURSDAY OC TOBER 24, 2013

HAMILTON SPECULATOR THE

CHEWING THE FAT SINCE 1934

LOCAL

How to live life on the edge (of poverty) A3-4

WORLD

Ten “countries” that qualify as fourth-world A7

SPACE

China sends first cat to space; ISS astronauts still hungry C6

Political rally lands cold fish Student group waits with bated breath as their guest speaker barely manages to feign interest in their inconsequential drivel.

You guys are, I guess, the leaders of tomorrow, probably. [sigh].”

Councillor Holms

TIBERIUS SLICK

The guest speaker, seen here fishing in his pocket for a fuck to give.

Shitty Hall Speculator

Political conventions were torn asunder last night as a student event erred on the side of disbelief.

For a consecutive twenty seconds, guest speaker and city councillor Frank Holms mustered together the willpower to pretend to care about whatever the fuck this thing was he was speaking at.

“There aren’t any electric scooters or homeless here so I have to assume this is some kind of student thing” said Holms in a rare moment of lucidity.

“I mean, there are better waysto waste your time but this isn’t in the bottom three so there’s that.”

Spectators saw this as a cause for applause and gave Holms a rousing send-off as he snuck out of the hall early.

There aren’t many politicians who will make the effort to stay awake for the whole event.”

Young Go-getter

Hamilton man loses fight with erectile dysfunction

ARIES: You’re in a pretty shitty relationship, so end it before he/she takes you for all you’re worth. Which is probably not much.

TAURUS: Stick to your guns. Even if that means being absolutely wrong, 100% of the time. Idiot.

GEMINI: You will come face to face with an insurmountable obstacle.

Don’t even try to get past it, you just suck too much.

TOM HOGGINS Desensitized Speculator

He was a father, a son, a husband and a transportation officer loved by everyone on his dispatch.

He is still all those things, but his dick will never work again.

Jeff Gropnick, a Hamilton native and avid bingo player, was diagnosed with a chronic case of erectile dysfunction over twenty years ago, but his family refused to let the illness defeat him.

“He tried to put on a brave face as he tried all the most modern – and some less contemporary – treatment options available, but in the end none of them got his dick hard,” said Sandra Gropnick, Jeff ’s sexually-frustrated wife.

At the culmination of his twoplus decades of erection rejection, Jeff decided to quit fighting the sickness, and has accepted his ultimate impotency.

“It was just not worth it anymore for him. He felt that a life without a working wanker was better than having a cocktail of pills with every meal,” said Sandra Gropnick.

HOROSCOPES

CANCER: You are, ironically, a cancer to everyone around you. Stop being yourself because it is not working.

LEO: The planets have aligned in a formation that will make life difficult for you. You will be reborn as a citizen of Windsor, ON. VIRGO: You are just the worst kind of person. The Speculator hopes you die soon, for humanity’s sake.

LIBRA: That thing you did two days ago you want nobody to know about? They already know.

SCORPIO: Your hands-on approach to life will inevitably lead to a severe case of dysentary. Gross.

He struggled with the sickness for years before just giving up.”

SAGGITTARIUS: You are in a tight financial spot right now, so make sure to only buy the cheapest of lottery tickets and novelty cigarette lighters.

CAPRICORN: Your secret crush is thinking about you today, so use the opportunity to double up on your stalking schedule.

Herbert Lackley, M.D.

In an effort to raise awareness for those afflicted with the destructive dick disease, a local activism group has started Jeff ’s

WEATHER

Lousy Dick, a campaign aimed at raising money for alternative ED treatments.

Too old for this Shit

HIGH: LITERACY LOW: COMPREHENSION A privilege should not be mistaken as a right. That being said, public urination is frowned upon.

SPECU

Shit Hastings digs through Lionel Ritchie’s trash in hopes of finding if he was who Shit was looking for. see ONLINE

Jeff at the end: Gropnick, seen here at the end of his rope, has ceased his quest for getting hard, which wasn’t easy.

OUR GORD AND SAVIOUR A3

SUDAFEDOKU D8

CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOLE:

FALL OF ROME: AUTUMN CON-

ON EQUAL FOOTING A5

QUERER’S CATALOGUE G4

“SOBER” OCTOBER: NOT AS

HONOURABLE HERBS: WHY

GOOD AS “I CAN BARELY RE-

SKIPPING THE HARD “H” IS

MEMBER” NOVEMBER B1

DISHONEST G8

AQUARIUS: As the sun will always set in the west, you will always wake up on the wrong side of the bed. Sorry, we don’t all win the genetic lottery.

PISCES: Keep on being awesome. :D

PER ISSUE: Tree dolla dolla bills y’all INCL. HST, PST where applicable.

SPERM BANK of CANADA

SBC

R

Tired of big corporate fat cats blowing away your load?

It’s time you switched to a bank that cares about you.

Come into one of our banks today or online at jackinit.sbc.com

The harder it gets, the more we can help.™

Disclaimer: The Hamilton Speculator is a work of satire and fiction and should not under any circumstances be taken seriously. Unless you’re into that sort of thing. Then do what you want. I’m not your dad.

L

theSil.ca

Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013

IFESTYLE

B1

Editors Amanda Watkins & Miranda Babbitt

Threadcount

B2 Trick or Treat Trivia

B6

Email lifestyle@thesil.ca Phone 905.525.9140 x27117

HAPPY HOLLAWEEN D.I.Y.

SO BOOTIFUL If you’re anything like us, you’ve been planning what you’re going to be for Halloween since last Halloween. And again, if you’re

• • • •

• • • •

Get some black Bristol board and cut it out in a horseshoe shape. Get small pieces of white and red Bristol board to add to the bottom of each end of the arc as the North and South Poles.

Dollar stores generally have toy figurines of farm animals, if available, get a handful of baby chicks and hot glue them onto the magnet. If you can’t find these

YOU WILL NEED:

GOD’S GIFT TO THE WORLD

Wrapping paper Bows Bristol board Ribbon

• • •

the wrapping paper. From a piece of Bristol board, cut out the shape of a gift tag and write on it “To: The World, Love: God” and attach with ribbon.

YOU WILL NEED:

•

Denim on denim is made fashionable when its used for a feminist-friendly costume!

Tie your hair in a bun and fashion a headband out of your red bandana. Pair together your

CAT LADY

Bathrobe Safety pins 10 large colour cat pictures, or if possible, cat stuffed animals Hair rollers (optional)

Lay out your bathrobe and evenly space out your cat pictures or stuffed animals across the robe.

Safety pin each cat to the robe, safely securing each animal with around two pins- one at the top and one at the bottom.

Put your robe overtop your clothes (clothing underneath is

ROSIE THE RIVETER

Blue button-up shirt Jeans Red bandana Red lipstick Yellow Bristol board Blue paint

blue on blue outfit, and put on a swipe of bold red lipstick.

For your “We Can Do It” sign, cut out a large speech bubble from the bristol board and paint on your text.

Bristol board Baby chick figurines (if not available, keep reading for alternative solutions) Yellow feathers (optional) Safety pins (optional)

figurines, pick up some different sized yellow pompoms and glue them together so there’s one small pompom for the head and a larger one for the body. Glue the “baby chicks” onto the magnet along with some yellow feathers to finish off the look. Wear the magnet like a boa or attach it to your shirt with bobby pins.

YOU WILL NEED:

Over top of your regular clothes wrap your chest in wrapping paper from the dollar store.

Get an oversized bow or a handful of small bows and stick them to

• • • • • •

“CHICK MAGNET”

anything like us, you’re a procrastinator and have, once again, left planning to the last week. If you have a tendency to leave Halloween to the very last minute here are some DIY costumes that can be made in a few hours and are relatively inexpensive.

Amanda Watkins & Brianna Buziak LifeStyle Editor & The Silhouette

YOU WILL NEED:

recommended, although not necessary...). Roll your hair in velcro curlers to create the idea that you have spent all day at home with your furry friends.

Walk around the room showing off pictures of your cat, and the costume is complete!

OTHER DIY COSTUMES TO CONSIDER:

WHERE’S WALDO/WANDA, SHEET GHOST, SHEET PUMPKIN, GARBAGE BAG

THAT’S PHAT:

Sil-favourite candy calorie counts

Emily Scott

Sam Godfrey

Andrew Terefenko

Anqi Shen

Jemma Wolfe

“Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups!”

“Wee little Wunderbars.”

“A Universe does not exist in which [Popeye Candy Sticks are] not the holy grail of Halloween candy.”

“Fuzzy Peaches.”

“Mini Kit-Kats.”

Calories: 260 per serving (two cups) “Phat”: 13g Magic Powder (sugar): 21g

Calories: 60 per serving (one bar) Phat: 4g Magic Powder: 4g

Calories: 60 per serving (one box) Phat: 0g Magic Powder: 15g

Video Editor

Opinions Editor

Production Editor

And if you aren’t a fan of calorie counting...

Online Editor

Executive Editor

Calories: 16 per serving (one peach) Phat: 0g Magic Powder: 3g

CHECK THESIL.CA FOR POTATO CHIP GRILLED AND CHOCOLATE BAR TRIFLE RECIPES.

Calories: 210 per serving (one bar) Phat: 11g Magic Powder: 21g

CHEESE

theSil.ca

Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013

LIFESTYLE

Justine Reaume

Second-year, Health Studies and Gerontology What sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wearing: Coat - Garage Skirt - Tobi Shoes & top - Urban Planet Accessories - Spring What food do you crave most in the fall?

Chicken Nugget Meal, replace the drink with a Rolo McFlurry What do you have on repeat in your iPod? Riptide by Vance Joy, Pretty Face by Soley, Carried Away

by Passion Pit, and Stubborn Love by the Lumineers What is your go-to outfit on lazy days?

McMaster sweatpants and animal sweaters

YOSEIF HADDAD / SENIOR PHOTO EDITOR

d n a p u e k a m , s g i w , s e m u t s co ! e r o t s s u p m a c e h t t a s e i accessor

NOW OPEN!

Visit us in the back of the Campus Store Coupons not valid at the Campus Costume Store.

B2

theSil.ca

Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013

LIFESTYLE

THE 6-STEP GUIDE TO:

SURVIVING A HORROR MOVIE 1

REMOVE YOURSELF FROM ISOLATED AREAS

So you live on a farm? Move.

Axe murderers tend to be drawn to lonely wooden structures and small town environments. Cornfields, abandoned asylums and wooded areas are a no-no. Keep to more densely populated city

2

DON’T INVESTIGATE WEIRD SOUNDS

If you hear a weird sound coming from the floor above you, CALL THE POLICE. I don’t care how many triathlons you’ve done or how badass you think you are, you are not equipped to battle a

3

areas and travel in packs of 10 or more. If you cannot avoid being in an isolated area, have a car on hand to drive your ass the hell out of there in case of an emergency (preference for SUVs and Hummers).

psychopath ghost living in your attic. You are not Scooby Doo, you are not Bill Murray, and you are not that lady from Long Island Medium, you are no match for the paranormal.

CARRY A CHARGED CELLPHONE

One of the luxuries of the twenty-first century is the easy access to portable electronic devices. Use your goddamn phone to call for help. You also want to make sure you have enough battery power for your caller ID to work. The

last thing you need is to answer a call from an “Unknown Number” and find yourself being stalked while manoeuvring a babysitting gig. That being said, another good tip – don’t be a babysitter.

ACROSS

DOWN

1- Chip dip 6- ___ boy!

10- Floe 14- Stage items 15- Rivals 16- Zeno’s home 17- Little bits 18- March time 19- Biblical twin 20- Univ. aides 21- The science of flight 24- Sign of a slip 26- Keys 27- Land in la mer 28- Martinique volcano 30- Hilton competitor 33- Cut off 34- ___ canto 37- Untidy condition 38- Gave a hoot 39- “Give that ____ cigar!”

40- Half and half 41- Wise ones 42- Grimy 43- Consecrate 44- Goddess of dawn in Greek mythology 45- Plant with colorful leaves 48- Loss of the sense of smell 52- Haphazard 55- Hill dweller 56- Comic Rudner 57- Repose 58- Hermit 60- And ___ goes 61- Gen. Robert ___ 62- ___ nous 63- Suffix with exist 64- A Baldwin brother 65- Ohio, e.g.

1 - ill will 2- Bellowing 3- ___ luck!

4- Hot tub 5- Attack 6- Burning 7- Brouhaha 8- Adolescent 9- Went after 10- Firefly, e.g.

11- Noted spokescow 12- Hit back, perhaps 13- Unit of magnetic field strength 22- Before, once 23- Computer operator 25- Poses 28- Israel’s Shimon 29- Nights before 30- Med. care option 31- Craving 32- Enzyme ending 33- Droops 34- Ingot 35- Med. specialty 36- Put Down 38- Roman capital of Palestine 39- Fail to hit 41- Fake coin 42- Draws aimlessly 43- Rebuke 44- Vane dir.

45- Swearword 46- Pungent bulb 47- Living in flowing water 48- Early Mexican 49- Devilfish 50- Inactive 51- ___ Grows in Brooklyn 53- 1994 Jodie Foster film 54- Got it 59- Thunder Bay’s prov.

4

plywood framework and all of a sudden, you’re getting shanked in the spleen with some next Kill Bill blade. Unless your home is made of steel, you are not going to be safe from the person in the next room.

DON’T HAVE SEX

Ok guys, so I know when you’re scared and lonely you feel the need to get handsy, but there are several important considerations when it comes to fear-inducedfreak. Don’t be caught pant-less,

6

Horror movies always seem to star stupid people. Regardless of age, location or occupation, every starlet seems to think it’s a great idea to find shelter in an abandoned basement, investigate the screaming sound coming from

the attic, or adopt that one creepy little orphan whose only protection is the Young Offenders Act. If this Hallowe’en you find yourself bewildered with a horror movie-esque attack, here are six steps that may help you make it all the way to the credits.

DON’T LEAN AGAINST WALLS OR DOORS

When the floorboards in the next room are creaking and you don’t know how to check if the coast is clear, leaning against the wall/ door for a better listen is not a good idea. Because there you are all huddled up next to your

5

Amanda Watkins LifeStyle Editor

B3

you will find yourself running for your life semi-nude. Don’t get pregnant, because you will give birth to a demon child. Don’t have sex, because you will get chlamydia and you will die.

DOUBLE TAP

It’s never dead when you think it is. Double check, give it another hit.

DON’T BE CROSS

@whatthekins

Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013

theSil.ca

SEXandthe STEELCITY Jason Woo The Silhouette Over Thanksgiving weekend, I found myself subjected to the same old questions by my relatives: “How’s school? How’s living off campus? How come you’ve gotten skinnier?” And then the biggie: “When are you going to bring your girlfriend home?” That one always hurts. For the longest time, I thought that the pain was because it made me cognizant of my tragic loneliness. In turn, I’m achingly tempted to reply in my sassiest tone, “When am I bringing one home? When I friggin’

LIFESTYLE

B5

Confessions of a single guy In response to last week’s female confessional have one! When else?”

Yet I know that can’t be the case. University is such an enveloping experience that I’ve never felt truly lonely. The times that I am alone are mostly by choice and quite enjoyable. (Parks and Recreation is better enjoyed alone, perhaps with a good friend, Nutella.) Upon reflection, I realized that the real reason it hurt was because it made me feel like I should be dating.

There’s an unspoken rule that a dry spell for a university student should only last about a year. My female friend asks if I like someone. My male friends

ask if I pined someone. My family asks if I have a girlfriend. I haven’t brought a girl home in so long that if my parents had not stumbled across my stash of condoms, they would probably think that I were asexual. My mother actually once said it was abnormal that I still didn’t have a girlfriend.

This is not to say I have an aversion to dating. After a string of failed relationships stemming from incompatibility and trying too hard, I have simply embraced the idea of letting love come whenever it decides to. That’s all fine and dandy, but recently, when an opportunity does arise, I’ve

found myself questioning if I even know what flirting is anymore let alone how to do it.

The process of “wheeling” also got a lot more complicated once university started. Suddenly, I was forced to abide by rules I didn’t even know existed. Don’t mess around with the ladies from your year if your faculty is small.

Don’t involve a housemate. Don’t deal with your female best friend’s best friend. The list goes on and on.

The other problem is that I friend-zone. I always get close to a female friend whom I might be interested in, but since I’m now

an awful flirt, the whole process is drawn out. It gets to a point where I become so invested in the relationship that I’m afraid dating will ruin it. Thus I find myself content to friend-zone myself and have a close female friend instead.

To be honest, I don’t really feel like it’s a problem to be single.

Sometimes I just wonder if I ever will strongly desire a relationship.

And if I do, will I even have it in me anymore?

So here’s to you Mrs. Right or Ms. Close-Female-Friend-Number-35, wherever you may be.

Antibiotic Resistance Avrilynn Ding The Meducator

Dear Midterms, Emma Suschkov The Silhouette Remember in high school when there were tests and assignments due all the time? Each was worth about 5 per cent so they really piled ‘em on. And yet somehow, everyone made it through reasonably well.

Skip forward to university.

Tons of people (myself included) have a day off and there are only a couple of assignments in each course per semester (generally).

So it should be manageable, right?

It all feels so manageable until that one week comes when I have four midterms, two essays, and a lab due. The week draws closer and closer and it seems as though the muscles in my shoulders will never relax again. How much does a massage cost? (Don’t be ridiculous, I don’t have time for a massage right now.)

I always tell myself to start studying and working early but

no matter what, there is always last-minute cramming. I subconsciously attempt to solve calculus equations while writing an essay on autopilot. Then I read over what I wrote and it’s absolute gibberish and on top of that I still have no idea what calculus is.

How can I possibly be expected to know all of this information? All of the subjects are just running together.

I keep getting advice – make sure you get enough sleep, take breaks every so many minutes, blah, blah, blah – but I can’t make time for something so unnecessary as sleep when there’s a month-and-a-half ’s worth of five courses’ subject matter to learn.

So, midterms, the point is this: can you try the steady trickle method instead of always coming in a sudden flood? I’m drowning, here. Help us out a little!

Pleading for academic mercy, Stressed Stacey

Although antibiotic resistance has been identified as a problem since the first introduction of penicillin, it has recently emerged as a serious public health concern.

Currently, one in 12 adults in Canadian hospitals are infected with bacterial microbes that are immune to most or all available antibiotics. A report released by the Ontario Medical Association in March recommended governments to establish regulations to combat antibiotics overuse in medicine and agriculture. Ironically, while antibiotic resistance is a growing threat, the pharmaceutical industry largely abandoned antibiotics development in favour of researching treatments for other diseases. The majority of antibiotics used today were discovered before 1960, and target limited pathways in bacteria.

To address the issue, researchers at McMaster University recently developed a novel approach to screening for new antibiotics. Eric Brown, a professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, led the study, published in Nature Chemical Biology. Rather than searching for antibiotics under conventional nutrient-rich

conditions in the laboratory, researchers targeted bacteria growth under nutrient-limited conditions that closer resemble conditions in the human body that bacteria face during infections.

“Convention says you try to kill bacteria under the richest growth condition that you can create in the laboratory,” Brown said.

“And yet we know that life is not that kind to bacteria when they are infecting the human body. They actually struggle quite a bit.”

The study focused on antibiotics against Escherichia coli, a common bacterium used in research. The researchers used a medium containing four salts, supplemented by 0.4 per cent glucose and 20mM ammonium chloride, to create a growth environment lacking the vitamins and amino acids the bacteria require. They then screened for antibacterial compounds by shifting through a library of 30,000 synthetic molecules and testing for chemicals that can block E. coli’s ability to synthesize its own essential nutrients.

Using the method, the research team discovered and characterized three new antibacterial compounds, designated as MAC168425, MAC173979 and

MAC13772. Each chemical acts on a different pathway in E. coli to disrupt its ability to create or use a particular nutrient.

MAC168425 interferes with the metabolism of glycine, a major amino acid used to build many proteins. MAC173979 prevents E. coli from making vitamin B9 by decreasing the biosynthesis of an intermediary molecule, while MAC173979 prevents the biosynthesis of vitamin B7 by inhibiting a key enzyme. In addition to the three molecules, researchers also identified 68 other chemicals that showed active antibiotic properties in nutrient-limited medium.

Brown’s findings have great implications in pharmaceutics by demonstrating the possibility and feasibility of a new method for antibiotic development. Not only does it suggest an alternative process for identifying antibiotic chemicals, it also opens research to a new class of antibiotics that target the nutrient synthesis mechanisms of bacteria. Although further research is required to transform the three antibiotic compounds into antibiotics, the study’s approach to discovering antibiotic chemicals has great potential to address antibiotic resistance.

confessions of a

Tightrope Walker

Rick Kanary The Silhouette My girlfriend was excited to go to Todd’s surprise birthday party.

Todd is a mutual friend, more so her friend than mine as they have known each other since they were fresh out of diapers, but that would be a fruitless argument of quantity over quality.

Todd and I have bonded over a variety of things and I was excited to go to the party as well. Why wouldn’t I be? Todd and his roommate Scott have a great apartment, especially for parties, and there was going to be a boatload of familiar, friendly faces at the party. Except for Scott.

It’s because of Scott that we won’t be attending the party. He won’t allow me in his apartment.

Months ago I arrived at the place for a non-specific party.

My buddy Andy was stationed

at the makeshift DJ booth on the rooftop patio. The place was “bumpin’” and every face had a smile, including mine. My girlfriend, Kristin, and I brought our beverages to the Tiki bar for refrigeration and began making small talk with a few other party-goers. Things were pretty chill.

Then Scott’s cocaine (and other illicit narcotics)-filled face rose to the surface of the shifting sands of social butterflies, right in front of me, with a half smirk, half smile.

“Hey man,” he said flippantly.

“I don’t really want you here.”

Scott and I had met amicably on numerous occasions, exchanged kind words, engaged in conversation, and generally got along while getting to know each other a little better with each meeting. We had never exchanged any words of ill-will and, for the most part, as far as I knew, we were “acquaintances” of good will.

There had been no drama.

“Where is this coming from?”

I asked.

Scott’s face was flush with blood, his eye-lids purplish, and his skin cocaine clammy.

“I don’t need any of your drama,” he said in a smug tone while peering off at the crowd as if they were some kind of conquest.

Needless to say, things escalated to hostile words. I composed myself while he made threats and referred to his “time in the clink” with wild and chaotic dilating pupils and froth at the corners of his mouth.

“Whatever man.” I returned to the Tiki bar to retrieve my beers. Kristin had been in the midst of the fray trying to diffuse the situation and was now cursing Scott while I made my exit as gracefully as possible. We made our way downstairs to a mutual friend’s apartment in the same

building where we cracked some pops and decompressed a little bit with a cross section of our friends who decided to leave the party with us.

Later on in the evening, Scott made his way down to the apartment to try his hand at apologizing. Interpersonal skills aren’t one of his strengths. I wasn’t interested in a clumsy apology and made that obvious. This escalated into some barbaric chest inflation and name-calling until I told him it was better he leave, which, backed by the tenants, he did.

Allowing this to bother me would give more value to Scott’s theft of “social capital.” I am disappointed, but not bothered.

Scott allowed hearsay and minute blips echoing through the social network, to have enough meaning and value for him to formulate a concrete opinion of another living, breathing denizen of this

place.

I will not judge him for his ignorance. I will not hold my values against his. Being objective, particularly when the desires of a loved one are compromised, is not an easy task. It requires the regular practice of the rational mind to offset the reactionary and passionate emotional mind. This practice of balancing these two fundamental aspects of the self can bring you to a centre point, a wise mind, from which you can make more pertinent, objective, and effective decisions.

Should you be on the receiving end of a social conflict, leverage the immediate emotional impulse by practicing the intellectual skills you are currently immersed in. This is a tried and true method for ‘getting out of yourself ’, ‘getting out of the moment’, or at least ‘staying out of trouble’.

theSil.ca

Miranda Babbitt Assistant LifeStyle Editor

Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013

B6

LIFESTYLE

POOKIFY DI S Y

paranormal friends ...are your best friends

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You can only count Halloween a success if you befriend some paranormal folk. So if you don’t come home with some framed portraits of your new BFFs… trick everyone that you did with this DIY.

Step 1 Print out a black and white portrait of a friend no one has met yet, or a random yet visually pleasing stranger from the olden days.

Step 2

Before you throw out that jam jar, take a look at it again. Wouldn’t it just be the perfect home for a stoic crow, or a boney hand? That should be your first thought during October anyway.

Step 1 Wash and thoroughly dry your old jam jar. If a few spots remain, do not fret, as this is a creepy terrarium.

Step 2 Spray paint a rigid stick (shorter than the jar) black, white or silver.

Step 3 Find decorations for the base of the jar that you will throw in first. This could include moss, little artificial bugs and cobweb galore.

Step 4 Hot glue any decorations you found, and a crow (if you so desire) to the spray painted stick.

Step 5

Cut a piece of card stock and glue it to the back of the photo, and with a small knife, cut out their eyes.

It is Halloween, after all.

Their eyes should be about a quarter inch.

Step 4

Dab a sponge with water and black craft paint, and very lightly brush it over your new friend to age the photo to eery perfection.

C/O CountryLiving

Step 5

Step 3

Step 6

Remove the frame’s back and glass.

{

Get some red mini Christmas lights and string them along the back of a series of pictures with your paranormal friends in them. Pierce the red lights through the holes.

Put back the frame’s backing. A little tape may be necessary to keep these fellas in place.

creepy terrariums

...to protect creepier crows

Hot glue this stick to the base of the jar. Then, sift through the decorations you have hoarded from the dollar store and throw them in.

Step 6 The creepier your terrarium, the more people will steer away from opening it up, so hide anything (small) you want in here.

C/O CountryLiving

S

theSil.ca

Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013

PORTS

B7

Editors Laura Sinclair & Alexandra Reilly Email sports@thesil.ca

@silsports

Phone 905.525.9140 x27117

Cross Country B12

Women’s Rugby B10

FOOTBALL SET FOR PLAYOFFS Alexandra Reilly Assistant Sports Editor Coming off of a 45-3 victory over the Carleton Ravens on Oct. 19, the Marauders can move onto the playoffs with a little extra confidence.

McMaster finished off the OUA regular season in fourth place and are set to face the team they currently remain tied with in the standings.

The Ottawa Gee-Gees, who the Marauders beat in their home opener game back in August, currently remain tied with McMaster, both teams holding 10 points, with each securing five

wins on the season.

Assistant Coach for the Marauders Jon Behie is hopeful for a positive outcome for the Marauders football squad, but also understands that it will be a very different Ottawa team faced against them this weekend.

“Ottawa is a veteran team and the score from week one is not indicative of the caliber of team they are,” said Behie.

“They have athletes at important spots and are playing with a lot of confidence. There’s no question this game will be a challenge, which is ok...it is the playoffs after all.”

Not only have the Marauders

secured a quarterfinal playoff game, but they will also be playing for their home crowd, with a sea of Maroon expected to attend the game on Saturday afternoon.

“Being at home gives us such an advantage,” said Behie “…and I hope our Marauder faithful fill Ron Joyce Stadium to cheer us on.”

A home game is definitely an advantage for the Marauders and will give them an upper hand on the Gee-Gee’s.

Veteran wide receiver Mike DiCroce is looking forward to the challenge ahead keeping in mind this Ottawa team will definitely give the Marauders a run for their

money.

“We know they have some talented players and some CFL caliber guys, we need to set the level of intensity and effort the whole game,” said DiCroce.

It is all about Marauder execution and striking early against the Gee-Gee’s in order to set the tone for the remainder of the game.

“Our challenge this week is executing in what we do, we cannot beat ourselves and put ourselves in a hole,” DiCroce added.

“We have both grown as a unit throughout the year and I think we need to stick to what we

do best and compete across the board.”

Both teams have grown this season and this weekend’s battle will set one team apart, giving them the tiebreaker within the OUA rankings.

The last time the Marauders faced the Gee-Gees this season was at the home opener on Aug. 25 at Ron Joyce Stadium.

The Marauders came a way with a 51-24 victory and their first win to start the 2013 season.

The game is set to begin at 1:00 p.m @Miss_AReilly

McMaster will hope to differentiate themselves in the OUA rankings by putting up a win against the fourth ranked Ottawa Gee-Gee’s.

C/O RICHARD ZAZULAK

Men’s soccer headed to playoffs William Lou The Silhouette The McMaster Men’s Soccer Team qualified for the OUA playoffs after securing the second seed in the OUA West division with a win and a draw over the Brock Badgers and the Laurier Golden Hawks.

The Marauders took on the Badgers last Saturday under rather miserable weather conditions. In addition to light rain and gusting winds, temperatures dipped below 10 degrees, resulting in rather sloppy play at times.

The Badgers, having already been eliminated from the playoffs, looked to retain a modicum of dignity against the vastly favored Marauders who looked to clinch the second seed with a win.

However it was simply not to be for the Brock Badgers. In an effort to secure the win, coach Dino Perri trotted out his best starting eleven, and his team dominated both the possession and the score.

Co-Captain Paterson Farrell opened the scoring in the 11th minute and Gersi Xhuti scored his team-leading 7th goal of the season in the 37th minute.

The Marauders got off to a tumultuous start in the second half. McMaster went down to 10 men, thus conceding some possession to Brock, but the Badgers failed to capitalize.

McMaster tacked on two more goals on a corner kick by Ryan Garnett and a great run by Nate Morris in the 65th and 87th minute. The match ended 4-0 in favor of the Marauders.

The win clinched the second seed for McMaster and earned them a bye in the first round of the playoffs.

However, the match did come with a cost. Xhuti received a straight red card at the start of the second half for kicking Brock’s Erik Van Wissen. As Xhuti went to retrieve a ball that had gone out of bounds, Van Wissen slid in for a late challenge and struck Xhuti

in the leg. Xhuti took exception to the challenged and retaliated with a swift kick in the calf, which earned him a straight red card and a one-game suspension.

After the game, coach Dino Perri commented on Xhuti’s reaction, saying that “[Gersi] was probably a little frustrated that he got kicked and he reacted incorrectly” and that the two would “have a chat” about the incident.

Perri also said that he’s “happy with the way that they played and with the way they handled themselves after going down to 10 men for the half.”

He also spoke about securing the second seed.

“First place is nice, but first or second is the same thing because you’re playing at home unless there’s a team that is vastly better on one side, which I don’t think there is.”

The following day, the Marauders traveled to Waterloo to take on the Laurier Golden Hawks.

Having secured the second seed, and with no prospect of improving their conditions, coach Perri decided to rest his starting lineup and give his substitutes some run.

The Golden Hawks were desperate to earn the win to secure home field advantage for the first game of the playoffs but despite issuing nine shots on goal to McMaster’s three, the match ended 0-0.

The Marauders ended the regular season with three straight shutouts en route to an overall record of 11 wins, two losses and three draws, finishing second in the OUA West and third overall in the OUA conference to Ryerson and York.

They will have a first-round bye and they will host an OUA division semifinal match on Sunday, Oct. 27, at Ron Joyce Stadium. That opponent is to be determined after the quarterfinals.

C/O YOSEIF HADDAD / PHOTO EDITOR

theSil.ca

Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013

SPORTS

B9

Mac loses in penalty kicks Scott Hastie Managing Editor

With the penalty-kick playoff loss to the UOIT Ridgebacks, the women’s soccer season that started with much promise has come to an abrupt end.

At the halfway point of the season, McMaster was 2-4-2, with two of those ties coming against nationally ranked opponents. But during the first of two matches against the Western Mustangs – and the eighth game of the season – team captain Sophia Ykema suffered a concussion.

The team would manage a tie but lost control of the season without their leader.

Inconsistency became the weakness, with McMaster unable to sustain any momentum gameto-game. A game head coach Brett Mosen described as the “worst performance in my threeyear career here” followed a solid outing on the road against the Windsor Lancers.

McMaster took on a York team they were battling for playoff position, and won 2-1. The next day, they threw up a dud and lost 1-0 to the UOIT Ridgebacks, starting a three-game slide.

To call this a lost season would be sensationalizing it. A struggle through the second part of the jam-packed season is to be expected when your roster is comprised mostly of first- and second-year players. At the beginning of the season, both Mosen and Ykema had foresight to see that the level of physicality and number of games would take its toll on the younger players.

What they could not foresee, however was the sheer number of injuries the team suffered.

Ykema’s concussion recovery took a month instead of the typical two weeks, Taylor Davis suffered an ankle injury before the season opener and then injured her quad immediately after. Goalkeeper Brittany Duffey missed two games in early September. Stephanie Davis, who was second on the

team in scoring, missed two games later in the year also.

Those injuries are all to players with at least a year of experience, so the missed games just compounded the growing pains for first-year players.

But it will pay off in the future. Having games under the belt is a key to developing players.

Watching from the sidelines has benefits, but getting in the action is arguably more important.

For proof, you can look to the aforementioned group of players, who all gained on-field experience in their first year.

The end of the 2013 campaign marks the start of something. What that “something” turns out to be is in the hands of a team who saw their capabilities in the first eight games of the season.

The ceiling for a squad of this age, with a captain who has two years of eligibility left, with a defensive group and goalkeeper who have an abundance of experience, with a rookie who is on the Rookie of the Year shortlist after leading the Maroon crew in goals, is a CIS national tournament berth. Anything less is to sell the accomplishments short.

The men’s soccer team is currently second in the nation and have sights set on a CIS championship. With the right amount of work, it should not be long before the women’s squad is in a similar situation.

The women’s soccer season would be cut short due to a penalty goal scored by their opponents the UOIT Ridgeback bringing their once promising season to a close.

C/O ELIZA POPE

@Scott1Hastie

YOU DON’T HAVE TO READ THE BOOKS TO LEARN FROM

OTHER VOICES

A Fall “Super-Series” of Book Studies

westdale united church

Sunday Evenings, 7:30pm to 9:00pm: October 20, 27 and November 3, 10

REASON, FAITH, AND REVOLUTION Witty, trenchant, profound. Reflections on the God Debate

by Terry Eagleton, leading British literary scholar and left leaning Catholic

RELIGION FOR ATHEISTS ‘Wonderfully provocative!’ A Non-Believers Guide to the Uses of Religion

by Alain de Botton, philosopher turned popularizer

THE SCAPEGOAT ‘Exhilarating, lucid.’ A classic study of Religion and Violence

by Rene Girard, Prof. of Literature and Civilization

WAITING FOR GOSPEL An Appeal to the Disheartened of the Protestant Establishment

by Douglas John Hall, Canada’s forermost Protestant Theologian.

‘Always worth reading.’

Our Lecturers: Raymond Hobbs and Richard Shields Jefferey Donaldson and Janet Kilgannon Paul Dekar and Andrew Crowell Lorna MacQueen and Orville James

Westdale United Church 99 North Oval, Hamilton $5 Per Session | Students Free

ALL WELCOME

C/O ROBERT DA SILVA

theSil.ca

SPORTS

Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013

B10

Mac goes for bronze RECAP MEN’S SOCCER OUA EAST

OUA WEST W | L | T | PTS

McMaster will take on the Western Mustangs with hopes of receiving bronze for the second year in a row

RYERSON CARLETON QUEEN’S LAURENTIAN TORONTO NIPISSING TRENT RMC

12 0 8 3 6 5 5 4 5 4 5 8 2 9 1 11

2 3 3 5 5 1 3 2

38 27 21 20 20 16 9 5

W | L | T | PTS YORK MCMASTER GUELPH WINDSOR WESTERN LAURIER BROCK UOIT WATERLOO

13 2 11 2 8 3 7 3 7 6 6 4 1 11 2 13 1 12

1 3 5 6 3 6 4 1 3

40 36 29 27 24 24 7 7 6

C/O ROBERT DA SILVA

Laura Sinclair Sports Editor In the short and compact rugby season, the Marauders have been able to pull off a record of 4-3.

This mediocre record does not do the team justice however, as they are up against two of the most talented teams in the country – notably the Queen’s Gaels and the Guelph Gryphons.

“The OUA has some very good competition,” said veteran captain, Cindy Nelles.

Although the OUA is stacked with exceptional teams and talent, however, Nelles believes that the Marauders have improved throughout the season, and can continue to improve their record in seasons to come.

“We definitely have room for improvement. We made huge gains throughout the season, from day one to even half-way throughout the season… we’ve just been on a steady climb. If we can continue that habit into next season or pick up where we left off this season, I think we’ll be in good shape.”

Nelles thinks that the 4-3 record is decent right now, but if this begins to be a trend for McMaster heading into next season, she won’t be proud of it.

“I think that next year, if we have this record, I won’t be satisfied,” added Nelles.

The Marauders third loss on the record was due to the dominant Guelph Gryphons on Saturday, Oct. 19, where the Maroon and grey faced a tough

loss to the visiting team.

But the game was not all bad for the Marauders, as they still managed to hold their ground against the Gryphons, and they kept the team’s score to the lowest score they had all season- 20-0.

This fate is similar to what the Marauder’s faced last year in the quarter-finals, except their loss was of a greater differential.

They lost 72-0 to the Gryphon team last season.

But Nelles feels as though seeing the Gryphon team so often has allowed them to become a lot more familiar with the way the Gryphon system works, and their style of play.

“The more you face a team, the more you learn a little bit of how they play, that makes you train to how they play…then you think you’ve stepped up your game, and then they change their game. It is just this constant cat and mouse effect,” said Nelles.

The Marauders managed to match the Gryphons game a lot better this season than last however, which spoke volumes about the continual improvement of the team.

“I think that says something about our team, and even just improvements from last year to this year. We’ve made huge gains,” said the captain.

One of these gains is confidence, which Nelles believes only grew over-time with experience.

“Through getting experience in the OUA, building those games and getting the chemistry going,

I think that we’re a much more confident team in our skills and capabilities. I think that has helped us execute a lot of what we want to do on the field.”

This confidence has grown out of the development of the players, and the change of a young team, to an older one.

“Last year, we were a very novice team comprised mainly of first and second years. Each year we are getting more and more experience and I just think that will be huge for us,” added Nelles.

Before the team looks too far ahead, however, Nelles knows that they need to concentrate on defeating the Western Mustangs for an OUA bronze medal on home territory, which is a match that Nelles thinks the Marauders bring a lot to the plate for.

“I think that we definitely have strength in our forwards.

Our forwards have been able to produce a fairly good scrum.

In the backs, we definitely have some smart players back there.

There are a few girls that are very good at making decisions and can execute. We definitely have a very aggressive team. I think that will bode well for us.”

The Marauders will bring their aggression to the match against Western on Saturday Oct. 26, where they will hope to receive the bronze medal for the second year in a row.

WOMEN’S SOCCER OUA EAST

OUA WEST W | L | T | PTS

OTTAWA 12 1 TORONTO 10 3 CARELTON 9 3 QUEEN’S 7 2 LAURENTIAN 6 3 NIPISSING 4 7 RYERSON 3 11 RMC 2 10 TRENT 1 14

3 3 4 7 7 5 2 4 1

39 33 31 28 25 17 11 10 4

W | L | T | PTS WESTERN LAURIER UOIT GUELPH WINDSOR MCMASTER YORK BROCK WATERLOO

11 0 9 3 7 5 7 6 6 7 5 6 4 5 3 9 2 13

5 4 4 3 3 5 7 4 1

38 31 25 24 21 20 19 13 7

FOOTBALL

WOMEN’S RUGBY

OUA

OUA W | L | PTS

WESTERN QUEEN’S GUELPH MCMASTER OTTAWA TORONTO WINDSOR YORK WATERLOO LAURIER CARLETON

8 7 7 5 5 4 4 2 1 1 0

0 1 1 3 3 4 4 6 7 7 8

16 14 14 10 10 8 8 4 2 2 0

W | L | PTS 5 5 3 3 3 2 2 1 1 0

QUEEN’S GUELPH MCMASTER WESTERN WATERLOO YORK TRENT BROCK LAURIER TORONTO

0 0 2 2 2 3 3 4 4 5

25 24 16 16 14 10 9 5 5 1

@Lsinkky

Mac volleyball looks for redemption Alexandra Reilly Assistant Sports Editor After coming off an encouraging pre-season run, one that the team had not been used to seeing, the Marauders were faced a familiar opponent in the OUA season opener.

Looking to administer some pay back against the Ryerson Rams was the main goal for the Marauders on the Oct. 19 match, which took place in Burridge Gym. The start of the match was not exactly how the team planned to begin their journey to a win.

The team fell behind early on with Ryerson taking a commanding 9-4 lead. At the technical timeout, the Rams continued to increase momentum as they crept up even further to a 16-5 lead over the Maroon and Grey. Ryerson would eventually close out the first set with a score of 25-13.

It was a different Marauder team seen to begin the second set as they took the lead this time with a score of 6-1. Their momentum would continue long into the final minutes of the second set as their marginal lead widened with the score sitting at 16-5 for McMaster.

McMaster would eventually

get a bit of the payback they yearned for taking the second set 25-16 and tying the match at one a piece.

The third set would be the difference maker for either team, as it would put one of them ahead by one. The Marauders held on to an early 16-12 lead. After the technical timeout the Maroon momentum continued as they lead 19-17.

Ryerson started their comeback, pouncing on some passing errors from the Maroon contingent. The Rams would soon capitalize and take a short 21-20 lead. Ryerson would eventually regain their momentum and finish the set with a 25-23 win.

Match now sat at 2-1 for Ryerson with the next set either giving a win for the Rams or the comeback for the Marauders.

With McMaster now trailing by one, this set would prove to be a crucial one for either team.

The Marauders got in close, by a single point with the score sitting at 10-9. Ryerson would rev up their engines bringing the score in their favor with a 16-10 lead.

Unfortunately, McMaster failed to make a comeback and fell to the Rams 25-16 in the fourth set, and lost the match 3-1.

Looking to the future of their

season, it will be communication between players that will be a key component in helping the team to make and complete game winning plays.

“We are working on having constant communication from everyone on the team on and off the court,” said first-year player Melanie Walsh.

“Going into the season if we can have constant communication we all know we have the talent to compete for the OUA and CIS titles.”

A key player from the roster was missing against Ryerson, which could have proved to be a difference maker for the Marauder squad. Taylor Brisebois, a third-year middle blocker suffered an injury in the semifinal matchup against Waterloo is anxious to make a return to help out her Marauder hopefuls this season.

“I should be making a full recovery hopefully next week and then competing in the Toronto match here at McMaster,” said Brisebois.

With the hopes of key blocker Brisebois making a triumphant return to the squad the Marauders have their upcoming matches against Windsor and Western to use as

the redemption they need to turn their season around.

The matches are set for this weekend, with games taking place on Oct. 25 and Oct. 26 before the team will make a return home to Burridge Gym to face the University of Toronto Varsity

Blues on Nov. 2. @Miss_AReilly

C/O YOSEIF HADDAD / PHOTO EDITOR

theSil.ca

SPORTS

Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013

B11

Mac beats No. 2 ranked Spartans

C/O YOSEIF HADDAD / PHOTO EDITOR

Laura Sinclair Sports Editor Coach Dave Preston made it very clear. He does not believe in the early CIS top ten rankings and what they say about his team.

“Rankings are a coaching poll, I don’t believe that it’s a true indicator of our performance level…I don’t think that rankings define our team.”

The CIS top ten rankings are determined by the coaches within the league that vote for the teams that they believe are the best in the country, but they cannot vote for their own team.

Preston takes the Marauders third-place CIS ranking to open the season as a compliment from the other coaches, but he is unsure of how they got to be ranked in third spot, especially without any extensive knowledge of the

team’s performance, or play, other than their match against Western that they won 3-2.

“I think it’s neat that we’re kind of considered to be one of the top three teams in the country right now, but again it’s a popularity poll…We played Western, beat them in five, and got ranked third in the country…Like how does that really work?” added Preston.

Despite Coach Preston’s view of the inaccuracy of the rankings, this past weekend, they were able to pull off an encouraging win over the second ranked team overall – the Trinity Western Spartans.

In this match, the Marauders took the game in five sets (3-2), but in the fourth set, the game began to look extremely familiar to their game played the previous night against the first-ranked Alberta Golden Bears.

The match against the Golden Bears on Oct. 18 saw the Marauders down 2-1, holding a lead with a score of 22-17 in the fourth set, before the Golden Bears pulled out of the set 25-19.

McMaster ended up letting the game slip away from them, which gave the Golden Bears the 3-1 win.

The following night, the Marauders saw themselves in the exact same scenario as the night before: they were down 2-1, the score was 22-17 in the fourth set, but this time, the Marauders did not let the game slip away.

“The captains on our team recognize the scenario, know that we didn’t take advantage of it before, and put a huge conservative effort to say we need to make sure we take advantage of it in this one, and did, and ended up winning the match in five,” said

Preston on the courageous win.

In order for the Marauders to have won the match against the Golden Bears in a similar fashion to the way they won against the Spartans, Preston believes that the consistency and repetition of good serving and passing during the game would have given them an extra push against the dominant team.

“It was our serving and our passing that I guess kind of eroded if you want to put a term on it,” said Preston.

“Alberta just showed how they are a little bit more repeatable than we are right now…we know that we can pass a good ball and our lesson right now is to make sure we pass a good ball as often as possible, and especially when it counts, and so that’s what I think the difference is between us and Alberta right now.”

The Marauders learned a lot from their trip, finishing with a record of 2-1 in the tournament, which also included their win against the host team, the Calgary Dinos, which was a reassuring defeat for the Maroon and Grey, as they now know early on that they can play well on the road and can upset the home team in their own territory.

“Beating Calgary, in Calgary, was pretty good…we can play on the road,” said Preston.

The team is also more determined from the tournament, and wants to get on the court as much as possible to win some more games, and to work out the preseason kinks.

“One of the things you’re always a little bit concerned about as a coach is what your motivation is coming home from an event like this. And I think we probably are a little bit more motivated now than we were before we left. So, that’s a good thing for us,” said the coach.

The motivation that is also present for the team stems from some of the veteran players, and the captains of the team that Preston refers to as the “leadership council” that have taken some of

Free

the rookies under their wing.

This leadership council consists of Austin Campion-Smith, Jori Mantha, Tyson Alexander, Alex Elliot and Danny Demyanenko – five experienced players that have helped out and have mentored some of the rookies early on this season “Our leadership council is tremendously influential, and leadership is very important,” said Preston.

“Each one of them kind of grabbed two guys, and they just go, so instead of one guy kind of being at the front of the pack and everybody else behind him it’s almost like one straight line and going on mass.”

The combination of leadership, incredible offense, and solid defence is what has made the Marauders so successful in the past, and it appears that it’s this same combination that continues to make them successful so far this season.

Despite the very early success, Coach Preston still has questions for the team that he expects to be answered throughout the duration of the season.

For his defense, it’s a question of endurance.

“Can we play defense?

Yes. For how long, and when it counts? Those are going to be the questions.”

For his offense, it’s a question of repetition.

“Is our offense good? Yeah.

Will it be better, and repeatable when it counts? That’s the question.”

The Marauders will look to provide a response for these questions in regular season action, which takes off on Friday, Oct. 25 in Windsor against the Lancers, and on Saturday, Oct. 26 in London against the Western Mustangs. @Lsinkky

Weekly Shuttle Bus Starting Sept. 18th

Wednesdays 6:00pm | 6:30pm | 7:00pm Last pick-up from Fortinos at 8:00pm Pick-up From Mary Keyes Residence At The Cootes Dr. Entrance

Look for the Big Yellow School Bus

theSil.ca

SPORTS

Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013

B12

Tracking the top seven McMaster is sending the best fourteen cross country athletes to the OUA championships.

Who is going to break ahead of the pack?

Laura Sinclair Sports Editor @Lsinkky

LIONEL SANDERS

CONNOR DARLINGTON

TAYLOR REID

TAYLOR FORBES

BLAIR MORGAN

GABE GHIGLIONE

PAUL ROCHUS

This runner’s greatest accomplishment has been winning the Muskoka Ironman on Sept. 8 of this year, with the second place finisher - Andreas Raelart - being a world record holder for the Ironman and a multiple-time Olympian.

Darlington has placed 4th at Canadian National Cross country championships which qualified him for Worlds. He also won the gold in the 5000 m at the Canada Summer Games

The triathlete finished 7th at the OUA Championships last year, and won gold at Canadian Nationals triathlon for the Under 23 race in 2013, and 2nd pro at Canadian Nationals 2013

This triathlete turned competitive runner has finished within the top 25 at OFSAA cross country three times, and came 7th in the 1500 m last year at the OUA Championships

The men’s captain has improved immensely ever since he came to McMaster. His best cross country race so far was last week when he came 10th at the McGill meet

Ghiglione has impressed everyone, being cut from the team in his first year, and coming back to make the track team and run to some major personal best times in the last year.

This rookie never even dreamed of making the Mac team five years ago, but he has improved immensely in past years to not only make the team, but crack the top seven.

MADDY MCDONALD McDonald had her best year in running yet, qualifying for the North American and the World cross country championships. She also went to the Junior Pan Am Games for the 3000 m, and finished in 2nd

COURTNEY PATTERSON Patterson has finished within the top 20 in the OUA for the past three years, and she was also named an OUA allstar last year.

KIERSTIN MYERS This grad student out of the University of Western has seen some major improvements in her races particularly in the last two years, after years of injury problems

EMILY NOWAK

MEGAN BEVERLEY

The rookie has been great this season, and has also made major improvements in the last year, with her best race in highschool being a 5th place finish in the 1500m steeplechase

Beverley took a two and a half year hiatus from competitive running, but her past has seen her qualify for the World track and field championships for the 1500m in 2009

RAQUEL BURGESS Burgess started her running career later in highschool, but she has worked her way up in the pack, and has finished within the top 30 at OFSAA cross country as a grade 11 and grade 12

CHELSEA MACKINNON The women’s captain has had injury problems as of late, but she has finished 8th in OFSAA cross country all four years of high school, and has been in the OFSAA finals for the 1500m and 800m multiple times

GOLD

SILVER

BRONZE

Jess Pearo - GOLD OUA 2010

Victoria Coates - SILVER OUA 2012 Marauders Women’s Team- SILVER 2012 SILVER 2011, SILVER 2010, SILVER 2009,

Marauder’s Women’s Team - BRONZE OUA 2008

Moments from Midnight Madness

Check out some must-see moments from Monday’s Midnight Madness event on Oct. 21

C/O JON WHITE

theSil.ca

Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013

ANDY E-mail: andy@thesil.ca

ndex •oct 26 •oct 29 •oct 31

monster bash 2013 hannah georgas halloween ghoul gig

this ain’t hollywood •oct 25 •oct 26 •oct 31

last scattering fat cat's halloween party halloween party

hamilton place •oct 26

lindi ortega

absinthe •oct 26

Senior Editor: Bahar Orang

Meeting Time: Tuesdays @ 5:30 p.m.

Assistant Editor: Cooper Long

Phone: (905)•525•9140 ext 27117

Contributors: Shane Madill, Julia Busatto, Sarah O'Connor, Tomi Milos, Jason Woo, Michael Gallagher

coming up in the hammer the casbah

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Cover: Yoseif Haddad

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editorial

westdale •oct 30

gravity

art gallery of hamilton •nov 13 •nov 27

the act of killing salinger

C4 C5

serial killer stuff C6

a new course for true love mcmaster art gallery •until jan. 25 voyager exhibition •until dec. 14 homeland exhibition

threat signal

steve on horror “Alone. Yes, that's the key word, the most awful word in the English tongue. Murder doesn't hold a candle to it and hell is only a poor synonym.”

- stephen king

THE COVER STORY We saw it once. Then we saw it again. On the counter at Tim Horton's in the student centre.

Then again on my way to class in MDCL. Once more in the nuclear reactor. But when I saw it on a tree stump when I was sure it wasn't there just a moment earlier, I knew something was up. Now it'll be on newstands all over campus. Boo.

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album reviews C8

andy's horror games

theSil.ca

ANDY

Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013

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EDITORIAL

the Cooper Long Assistant ANDY Editor The scariest movie scene ever filmed does not take place in a graveyard, asylum, or Transylvanian castle. Rather, it is set in a school nurse’s office.

In Risky Business (1983), high school senior Joel Goodson (Tom Cruise) misses two midterms after he accidently sinks his father’s Porsche in Lake Michigan. Although Joel fears his father’s wrath, the real terror begins when he seeks a note from the school nurse. If he is not marked excused, his GPA and chances of attending Princeton will both be ruined.

He pleads with the nurse, but she is unmoved. In desperation, he grabs her by the collar.

“I’m sorry,” he apologizes, as he releases his clenched fists, “I just don’t think I can leave until I get just a little compassion.” He receives none.

Risky Business is a dark satire of teen sex comedies, not a horror movie. Yet, this scene still gives me shivers. Indeed, the idea that my future will be irreparably sabotaged by a combination of

scene ever filmed my own ineptitude and an inflexible, unsympathetic academic system is way more frightening to me than most horror movie tropes. When the nurse dismissively waves Joel away, she may as well be brandishing a bloody machete.

This type of everyday anxiety is not often exploited in mainstream horror cinema. Certainly, horror movies often play

on primal instincts. But these fears are subtly different than the nagging, unflashy worries of the average, comparatively privileged university student. This might seem somewhat unusual, considering that most young people, a crucial horror movie demographic, probably worry more about their grades and career choices than about being chopped in half.

I am not complaining, however, that Hollywood has yet to turn out a feature length version of those nerve-wracking moments from Risky Business. Nor, do I fault horror movies for failing to harness more humdrum anxieties. Indeed, I hope that no film ever bears a tagline like, “In T-29 no one can hear you scream.”

Rather, I think that this

The ghost of 20-year-old Tom Cruise

omission speaks to why horror movies are so counterintuitively enjoyable in the first place.

No matter how realistic the special effects or performances may seem, there is still a fundamental undercurrent of fantasy in most horror movies, since the scares onscreen are not those of everyday life. Even found footage horror films, like The Blair Witch Project and the Paranormal Activity series, which achieve considerable realism through their pseudo-documentary aesthetics, also rely on basically supernatural subject matter.

It is precisely because we are not constantly afraid of being dismembered or possessed that moviegoers can generally react to such cinematic mayhem with excitement and delight, rather than abject repulsion. In this way, horror movies can offer us an escape from our most persistent, daily worries, as opposed to preying on them.

Ultimately, horror films work because, even when the blood and guts are flying, they are careful not to cut too close to the bone. @coop_long

the

big

tickle best place on campus to hide from ?

YOSEIF HADDAD/ PHOTO EDITOR AURORA COLTMAN / SILHOUETTE INTERN

Abdullahi S. “Nuclear reactor.”

Rachel H. “6th floor of Mills.”

Christina S. “3rd floor of MUSC.”

Sarah J. “The Healthsci building I didn’t even know exists.”

Mike S. “Twelve Eighty.”

theSil.ca

Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013

ANDY

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inside a serial killer’s... five lesser-known horror films Shane Madill The Silhouette

It is really, really easy to just watch and consume more popular modern horror movies. This year The Conjuring, Insidious: Chapter 2, and Mama all managed to gross over $100 million at the global box office, with relative successes such as Evil Dead and The Purge also being noticeable. However, this Halloween I would like to encourage you to experience some other, lesser known scary movies to experience different styles and stories possible within the large horror spectrum.

Martyrs (2008) This French film depicts the attempted revenge of two women against their previous captors. The movie does a fantastic job of escalating the scares over time while taking a relatively simple premise and adding smart elements to make both the plot and specific scenes very memorable.

the best tracks for a bloodbath Everyone listens to music, even the heartless Music resonates emotion within us, and for some this emotion inspires the urge to pick up a chainsaw and kill the girl next door. Since it is Halloween, I find it only appropriate to enter the minds of the most menacing monsters, humans, and otherworldly characters to see just what’s spinning on their record players. Please be advised, terrible puns ahead.

Jigsaw from Saw – “Every Breath You Take” by The Police If you listen to this song with the right mindset, you may feel as though you are being stalked. If your boyfriend puts this on a mix tape for you ladies, run, it’s bad enough Jigsaw is watching every step you take. Oh Sting – what have you done, first “Roxanne” and now this?

Tucker & Dale vs. Evil (2010) A legitimately funny comedy/horror movie about two hillbillies and a bunch of college kids who mistake them for blood-thirsty murderers. Wellpaced, perfect dramatic irony, and plenty of laughs wrapped in a homage allow this to be comfortably compared as a funky cross between Shaun of the Dead and Cabin in the Woods.

Hannibal Lecter – “Cannibal” by Ke$ha Who would have imagined that the princess of pop would be singing about eating boys and devouring flesh? Glitter and twice-baked eyelids, oh what a beautiful combination. Fist pumping in the kitchen listening to cannibalistic dance pop, Hannibal puts on his pink rhinestone apron and gets down and dirty.

Trick ‘r Treat (2007) Besides the immensely more popular and well-known Halloween franchise, this should be the movie you watch to get into the scary mood of the season. Even though it only received a handful of screenings before being sent to DVD, this is still a great example of classic suspense.

Freddy Krueger – “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of These)” by the Eurythmics and ‘Come Away With Me’ by Norah Jones.

Freddy thinks some of them actually want to be abused. Also, Freddy could slice up a victim while Nora’s jazzy vocals sing “come away with me in the night, and I’ll write you a song.”

Splinter (2008) Taking inspiration from ‘isolation’ films such as Cabin Fever and traditional zombie films, this pulls together elements of classic horror movies together in a surprisingly high-quality fashion. A group of people trapped in a gas station fight off a parasite creating zombie-like beings with its victims; well worth a few scares.

Dexter Morgan – “Psycho Killer” by The Talking Heads Dexter is confused, is he a good man doing bad things or a bad man doing good things? It’s safe to say maybe he’s both, but that he is definitely a little psycho. Lets be honest, who doesn’t want to sing “fa, fa, fa, fa, fa fa, fa, fa, fa” while zipping up a body bag.

Monsters (2010) Think of a mix between Cloverfield and District 9, and this is what you get. Not quite as horror-focused as Cloverfield, and not quite as much of a social commentary as District 9. It’s got some heart and some scares – as a journalist is tasked to escort his boss’s daughter through an alien invested zone to safety.

Regan Macneil from The Exorcist – “Learning to Fly” by Tom Petty Petty Regan has no wings, but she manages to levitate and proves that coming down really is the hardest thing. Overcoming possession is a serious milestone. Regan would be an Eminem girl, but she’s jealous because his projectile vomit in “Lose Yourself ” was more impressive.

Julie Busatto The Silhouette

theSil.ca

Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013

ANDY

true love takes a new course

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a gender-informed production of Midsummer Night’s Dream

C/O KALYA MICHELLE MAZEPA

Sarah O’Connor Staff Reporter A Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of Shakespeare’s most well-known and loved comedies. It is filled with fairies and magic, chaos and lovers who fall for the wrong person. When I found out it would be the Fall Major this year – suffice to say that I was very excited.

But there’s a twist. The familiar comedy will be performed with a cross-cast of characters, in some instances men playing women’s roles and women playing men’s roles. This production will seek to inspire the audience to reevaluate their views on gender, sexuality, and power.

“We hope to unsettle normative gender dichotomies,” director Dr. Peter Cockett explained about his production choices.

“We’re trying to move people beyond the simple division of humanity into the male and the female, masculine and feminine, because those words are insufficient to describe the complexity of human identities

and sexualities.”

Last week Dr. Cockett and his production team put on A Mid-Fall Night’s Workshop in Bridge’s Café, a cozy event where members of the McMaster community were invited to discuss and critique three scenes that were performed in a few different ways.

During the workshop, Dr. Cockett went through a detailed slide show about his production choice – what he hopes to achieve with the production, as well as a historical context of the play. Sexual undertones were always present in the play but were not openly recognized in Shakespeare’s time. “I think the approach we are taking is timely and pertinent to our society and I think it’s going to be a really exciting production,” Dr. Cockett explains. “The play is full of references to gender, power, and sexuality so it’s ripe for re-interpretation.

Our production simply brings new perspectives to the text, exploring sexual identities that aren’t explicitly referenced in the play, but were still present in Shakespeare’s world as they are in our own.”

As I watched the preview scenes at the workshop, I was impressed and inspired by the actors’ maturity and deep understanding of their characters – they powerfully resisted gender and sexual dichotomies just as Dr. Cockett intended.

“At our auditions,” Cockett said, “we had a series of monologues for male and female characters and people could pick whichever they wanted. The roles they auditioned for weren’t determined by their sex... we were trying to keep as open a mind as possible throughout the audition process.”

The scenes at the outreach workshop were acted out twice, each time the actors portrayed their characters differently, and then asked the audience for feedback. The actors would perform one scene with either a heightened stereotype of masculinity or femininity while in another scene make it overly sexualized while the second would not. I enjoyed the discussion and hearing everyone’s opinions of what they liked and disliked about the scenes, how they related to each scene, and how the audience ana-

lyzed the scene on a deeper level.

Dr. Cockett believes McMaster students will enjoy the show for its comedy and for thinking outside the box: “I think it’s going to be very funny...I believe students are interested in relationships and sexuality and I think they’ll have a fun time and be provoked to think about themselves and their own relationships in new ways.”

Keep an eye out next week for A Midsummer Night’s Dream-inspired photo booth where students can dress-up and have their photos posted in the lobby of Robinson Memorial Theatre during showdates. Students will also be asked to complete the following card: “what sexy is…”

The Outreach Team will be in the Student Centre on Oct. 28th and 30th from 10 a.m.

– 2 p.m.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream will be on stage from Nov. 7th to Nov. 16th and tickets can be purchased at Compass or through SOTA 905-525-9140 ext. 24246. @notsarahoconnor

theSil.ca

Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013

ANDY

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andy’s album reviews Tomi Milos Features Editor

AHJ Artist: Albert Hammond Jr.

a Stroke of genius

Discovering Albert Hammond Jr.’s solo material after cutting your teeth on his work with The Strokes was a breath of fresh air. Songs like “Everyone Gets A Star” and “In Transit” revealed him to have a keen songwriting instinct and an irrestible voice.

But the sweet melodies found on his two albums Yours To Keep and ¿Cómo Te Llama? came in stark contrast to his dangerous drug addiction of which Hammond shared the scary particulars in a recent interview with NME. “I used to shoot cocaine, heroin and ketamine. All together. Morning, night, 20 times a day. You know, I was a mess. I look back and I don’t even recognise myself,” he revealed.

Having kicked that habit - kudos to him - he set about crafting what has become a tight little EP simply titled AHJ. Released on bandmate Julian Casablancas’ Cult Records, the collection spans five songs and is an example of Hammond at his buoyant best.

Far from unappealing, the stuttering riffs on opener “St. Justice” invite you in while Hammond experiments with a higher register. “Rude Customer” hurtles forward at a frenetic pace that will excite any fans of early Strokes jams. Though nothing could rival his moment in the spotlight on “Last Nite,” Hammond has a delightful guitar solo on every track.

If left wanting more at the conclusion of “Cooker Ship,” take heart in the fact that Hammond is currently at work on more material and be sure check out his Toronto show at The Phoenix on 10 Nov.

Jason Woo The Silhouette

Prism Artist: Katy Perry In any conversation about music, Top 40 is always the butt of the joke – it’s the genre that music lovers frown upon for its banal lyrics and repetitiveness. People tend to forget that few artists have actually succeeded in the hard feat of crafting a perfect pop album.

Katy Perry’s 2010 album, Teenage

Dream, was one such instance, sending five hits to the summit of the Billboard 100 and tying the record held by Michael Jackson’s Bad. Three years later, Perry has returned with Prism, and while lightning doesn’t strike twice, she does come close.

The album is packed with radio-friendly tracks that each seem to be a 90s sequel to a hit from Teenage Dream. “This is How We Do” is “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)” 2.0, with the album’s best laugh-out-loud lyric (“sucking real bad at Mariah Careyoke”). “Unconditionally” is a more mature “Teenage Dream.” The list goes on.

Perry, on top of the pop throne,

doesn’t break any new ground sonically, but the Bollywood tinged “Legendary Lovers” and Hip-hop/Pop hybrid “Dark Horse” with Juicy J suggests she is still somewhat trying.

Perry’s highly publicized divorce from comedian Russell Brand makes its presence known in the back half of the album. The Lykke Li inspired ballads here are not particularly bad, just remarkably average. Nothing approaches her strongest vocal effort in “Thinking of You” from her mainstream debut One for the Boys.

Katy Perry has always been at her best with her inspirational and tonguein-cheek party anthems, and in that sense, Prism still delivers.

theSil.ca

ANDY

Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013

andy’s top horror games this halloween by michael gallaghar DEAD SPACE

#5

Before Gravity showed us how scary space can be, Dead Space redefined the horrors of space. The player controls Isaac Clarke as he makes his way through an abandoned mining star ship, only to find a slaughtered crew and the aliens that killed them. In order to prevent the enemies from killing you, they must be dismembered limb by limb (instead of a typical shot to the head). This, coupled with the ability to fight in zero gravity makes Dead Space unique and thrilling.

#2

#4

SILENT HILL

The survival horror Silent Hill games in many ways deserve to take the number one spot. This is because they represent some of the earliest and most influential titles in horror video gaming. What makes them so great? Composer Akira Yamaoka’s eerie music, the use of unique camera angles, and the gripping story. If you want to be scared this Halloween, check out any of the Silent Hill games, but my personal favourites are the first and second.

AMNESIA

Amnesia: The Dark Descent pushed horror video forward by removing weapons and forcing players to be unable to fight back, paving the way for Outlast and Slender in the future. You control Daniel, a young man from the early 1800’s London, as he solves puzzles in a creepy castle. The only tool Daniel has is his lantern, which leaves players unable to fight back at the horrors that await them. This game is so incredibly scary that I found myself unable to carry on through some of the levels. If you want to have a fun time this Halloween, get your friends together and check out Amnesia: The Dark Descent or the sequel Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs. You won’t be disappointed.

#1

#3

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OUTLAST

Red Barrels’ Outlast is a horror gaming treat. You move through an insane asylum armed with only a night vision video camera to navigate the dark. The game is truly frightening. This lack of weapons means that players are only able to run away from enemies and cannot fight back.

SLENDER

The free-to-play indie-horror hit Slender: The Eight Pages is one of the most enjoyable horror games to date. The game is incredibly simple; players move through a forest armed with just a flashlight, as they collect eight pages to win. Soon, a mysterious figure known as “Slender Man” pursues you, and the character moves faster to get you with each page you collect. The game’s ease allows even non-gamers to give it a try, but still produces Amnesia level scares, something worthy of the number one spot.