The text book debate / p.4
Basketball update / p.10
Dealers and Legalization / p.7
Issue 9 | Wednesday, January 6, 2016 | www.thesputnik.ca
How to start the new year with a bang Matthew Burley A&C Editor Year after year, people try to better themselves by creating immense New Year’s resolutions. These resolutions range from many things. Genuineness, accessibility and overall practicality are issues in making a resolution. You have to be able to commit to this crazy idea, so you might as well choose an attainable goal. Treat this article as a guide as to how to bring out the best in your New Year’s resolution.
DO: Make healthy choices. Getting into a healthier lifestyle can allow you to feel better on the inside and out. This can include changing up your diet, cutting out smoking and exercising. Playing a new
sport, joining your friends to the gym, and trying out a new recipe are great ways to start new habits. DON’T: Push yourself too hard. Gyms feel the rush proceeding New Years as people swarm
the weights and treadmills. Some people see this as an opportunity to push their limits. While this isn’t a bad thing, the Sputnik cares for your health and wants everyone to be safe.
DO: Try your best in school. University is stressful and it is sometimes difficult to reach all your goals. However, if you were planning on making a resolution based on your grades, remember that you’ve done your best and to be proud
of what you’ve accomplished. Committing to going to class, studying with friends and doing readings are easy ways to keep your grades up. DON’T: Procrastinate. To many students, procrastination is an art. It is something
that takes years to master; but if not done properly, it can ruin your time at university. Taking a look at the syllabus early on in the semester can help keep you updated. Don’t allow old habits to creep into the New Year.
DO: Spend time with family and friends. Our family and friends are the most important people in our lives; they bring us joy, wisdom and new experiences. Spending time with loved
ones is as simple as giving a relative a call, going out with friends, or meeting someone new. The little aspects in life are often forgotten but bring the biggest smiles. DON’T: Forget responsibilities.
It is important to have fun in life, however, fulfilling your responsibilities is the key to success. If you are able to be responsible with your time and actions, you’re on your way to a fresh start for 2016.
Back to school mode after the winter break Anya Eland News Editor The winter break is now over, which means students must come out of relaxation mode and get back to school mode. After all the relaxing, partying and family dinners, the break had to come to an end. As classes start for the new winter term, students will need to manage their
studying time effectively in order to help them to achieve their academic goals. There are many ways to start the New Year and become a better student. University goes by quickly, and students will then have to enter the real world. They need to apply all they learned in university to their everyday lives, and it helps to prepare yourself to be a good student over the years. Laurier Brantford offers many different facilities to help you with your start to the New Year. Wilkes Gym offers many
classes for students to burn off all that Christmas turkey and chocolate and get back in shape. Getting back on track to healthy living through habits like working out and eating right can help improve academic success. A healthy body makes a healthy mind. Plus, since this is a new year, wanting to start working out or getting back to it in order to become a healthier person is great motivation. New Years resolutions are something most people don’t usually live up to, but it can help to keep you on schedule.
If you say your New Years resolution is to study two hours before bed, then do that! If you stick to that resolution, it will definitely help you get organized and back into school mode. After all those days going to bed at 3 a.m. and waking up at 2 p.m., students need to get back on track with their sleeping schedules. Students who lack sleep don’t do as well academically as those who get enough rest, so it is important for students to reassess their sleeping schedules. Students should get back in to their extra- curricular activ-
ities. The Students Union also re-hires this winter term and students are encouraged to apply. Extra-curricular activities give students a positive mindset as they can do something other than school work. It also helps students to meet other students and gain skills outside of the classroom. Students are encouraged to work hard to get back to school mode, as grades are important. A nice long break is always great to have but now we must get back to working hard in school and doing the best we can.
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A lot of people have been debating lately whether Canada should accept Syrian refugees. I have been disappointed with the lack of tolerance and empathy from the people I thought I knew. I remain shocked at how Syrian refugees are being labelled as terrorists, just because many of them are Muslim. How does that make sense? I encourage everyone to think before they defend their religious intolerance. This is the same kind of hate that once led to historical genocides, and no one should contribute to that. I’ve decided to speak on this issue because I know that saving refugees from injustice is the greatest thing a country could do. I know this because Canada saved me and my family when we were fleeing wartorn Kosovo in 1999. If Canada hadn’t been so open-minded and tolerant of diversity, my family and I would have been killed. I’ve heard arguments involving people saying things like “this is our country, and you should go back to yours if you don’t like the way we do things.” I’m both appalled and disgusted with the
Some Laurier students have been refugees in the past. (Sai Gnanaharan/ The Sputnik)
lack of empathy from certain Canadian citizens. Especially those who have never had to suffer and experience war, but are so quick to voice their opinion without understanding both sides of the issue. Did you ever have to witness children and your loved ones being killed in war? Did you lose your father due to war at the age of three? No, you didn’t. But I did. At this moment, Syrian refugees don’t have time to sleep and if they do, they wake up to nothing but bombs and the destruction that has been made of their home. All refugees want is to be safe again. Canada should continue to welcome refugees because it’s not right for children to be deprived of their childhood, and for innocent people to be killed, while the world just
watches. Thank you Canada for being my safe haven and providing me with the rights, freedom, and peace that I had been deprived of as a child. Canada has allowed me to do a lot of things: speak out against injustice that I experienced as a child, get an education, apply to law school, and break through the stereotypes and barriers that others have built against refugees. I encourage you to be openminded and imagine yourself fleeing war at this moment. Would you be telling Canada to not accept refugees? Absolutely not. Have that same respect and empathy towards Syrian refugees, and help provide them with the freedom that you and I have.
Misusing the soapbox In This Issue News The Text Book Debate Dillon Giancola EIC Happy New Year! We at The Sputnik hope you had an amazing holiday break, and had an awesome time ringing in 2016. New Years is a really special time because no matter what it never ceases to inspire. Even though we all may fail at our resolutions or goals year after year, we still try again, and we always really believe that this year, all our resolutions will be fulfilled. You could see that statement as something to be cynical about, but I think differently. I think the fact that year after year we can pick ourselves back up and try to do the same thing we have fallen short of countless times before as an amazing testament to the human will. Just like the Toronto Maple Leafs fan can get his hopes up every time the Leafs make the playoffs, even though they know they will be let down, there is something in this willingness to try again that makes us stronger. It let’s us know that nothing really fell
apart when we missed the mark before. Also, the past has no hold on us, which is why we celebrate the new year, not a celebration of the year that just passed. Whether we achieve our goals this year, or if our lives get better is not really the point. What is important is that we try, if we think we need to. Chances are, as students, there are a million different things you want to try or get better at this year, whether it is your studies, art, relationships, or health, or maybe something that isn’t cliché. I sure know there are things I will be trying this year, and I am super excited about the challenge, and the journey. If you think that the concept of making resolutions is counter-productive or harmful, that is fair, and if you have no resolutions this year that is great too. But if there is something you want to try, now is as good as a time as anyway. Just like it will be in February, and June. It is important to remember that there is good reason to be inspired at the New Year, but that January is not the only time we can or need to try new things. Remember this the next time you fall short
and are critical of yourself. Now that we have touched on all the usual stuff associated with this time of the year, let’s look at what else there is to come. Such as the second half of the school year. Whether you are graduating in April and are nervous, or are sick of the cold already and eagerly awaiting the warm hope that April brings, there are still four months until that time comes. Nobody knows what will happen, so try and make a point of being present, and enjoying each week and each month. The new year is not just an occasion for us to try to be happier with ourselves 12 months for now, but it is an opportunity for us to forget the crap that happened the last 12 months. But most importantly, it is a chance for us to make another 12 months of mistakes and find a year’s worth of success. That is what is truly worth celebrating about the new year - that we are able to spend some more with the people we love and do the things we like to do.
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Be careful around the freezing river
Make sure to stay away from the Grand River as it freezes, and to be safe this winter. (Christina Manocchio/ The Sputnik)
Taylor Burt Staff Writer As the weather is getting cooler, Brantford’s fire department and the Grand River Conservation Department urge people to be careful around the Grand River as it starts to freeze.
“Sections of the Grand River can freeze in the winter months, but this would be dependent on various conditions, including air temperature, river flows, river water temperature and other contributing factors. For example, groundwater temperature or water entering the river from wastewater treatment plants,” said Lisa Stocco, Manager of Communications for the Grand River Conservation Authority, in an email.
“During the winter months, people should take extra care as river banks can be wet and slippery and the water is very cold, and hypothermia can set in within minutes.” The fire department advises people to not only be careful and safe around water in the winter, but also at all times of the year. “People should always be cautious around water, but especially when the currents are stronger than normal
and around thin ice, which is common during the initial cold periods of winter,” said Dwayne Armstrong, Chief Fire Prevention Officer, in an email. “The GRCA issues warnings especially during extreme events and flows,” said Robert Hillier, former board member of the Grand River Conservation Authority. The thin ice is a safety concern, though the fire department is well prepared for any
action they may need to take. “The Brantford Fire Department trains its staff in ice water rescue response,” said Armstrong in an email. Stocco encourages people of all ages to avoid water areas, especially if they seem unsafe, “The GRCA regularly reminds residents to use extreme caution near all watercourses, and in particular parents are reminded to keep children and pets away from watercourses.”
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What interesting To buy or not to buy things did you do over the break? Content by Jamaal Owusu-Ansah Lead Photographer
Winter break is over but many students enjoyed that time off and did some really cool things.
Gurleen Lall
Alex Vialette Staff Writer
With the new semester starting up, student bank accounts across the country brace for impact thanks to the textbooks they will have to buy. It’s no secret that prices for any education past high school is fairly high, in some provinces more so than others. But while students do fork over what often feels like an arm and a leg, there is a decent amount of debate whether prices should be that high and if students use their textbooks to begin with. “Well, first of all I find textbooks very overpriced” said Matthew McKenzie, a Social Science major at John Abbott College. “When me buying seven books comes to a total of $520 or so it’s pretty ridiculous.” With the prices of textbooks being what they are, the next logical question is why textbooks cost as much as they do. Rates for enrolment in post-
secondary education have been on the decline since 1997, and so the institutions must turn to other means to turn a profit. In addition, Canadian law forces textbooks to be well built, making them more expensive, and allows a 15 per cent price hike from foreign publishing companies. This builds on that wariness over whether or not it’s worth the investment and how much it will be used in class. “I rarely used any of the books,” said Harry Mackay, a Police Foundations student at Conestoga College. “The most useful books I had were the ones I needed for the open book exams and the texts that I used for reference like the Canadian Criminal Code and the Ontario Highway Traffic Act.” “If the teacher is going to give lectures based entirely on the content of the book,” said Mackay, “then they become far less useful as long as you take good notes. More integration would be great if it actually added information beyond what I took in my notes, but for some classes I’m sure they could be scrapped.” While there is definitely a
benefit to doing your assigned readings for each and every class every week, it is sometimes difficult to keep all your courses balanced. And regardless of subject, having the required textbook is a benefit. With the Internet the way it is, students have found ways to get access to the overpriced literature for cheaper prices. In some cases professors themselves take a step back and see the absurdity in prices; the entirety of the BF190 course reading are available on the Project Gutenberg website. The professors gave links to the assigned readings on the site, but the drawback was they were the entirety of the readings. The textbook available in the bookstore featured the refined and pertinent sections of said readings. While “to buy or not to buy” is still the question that wracks the minds of students when they take that first look at the price tag of a textbook, the final decision continues to lie on the student until something in this overpriced system changes.
Green Management. Human Resources Management enables graduates to enter into a mid-management position in various fields such as government and consulting. The program is required in order to write the human resources professional association designation. Community and Social Services Management is a oneyear program that focuses on developing skills in managing public, private and non-profit community organizations. The second semester includes a 75-hour placement in an organization registered with Conestoga. Society, Culture and Environment third or fourth year students will have the option to be in the bridge program in either Community and Social Services or Green Management. Green Management focuses on change-management skills and implementing sustainability into businesses bottom line. Karen Towler, Manager of Operations and Program Planning at the Brantford Conestoga College campus said, “Students have said that it is a tough program that requires much dedication. They didn’t realize how much work would be involved and are finding the balance of school and
work stressful.” Sara Neziol, manager of Academic Advising at Laurier, said, “the benefit is that students are getting two degrees within four years. This saves them time and money.” Students in the designated programs who are interested in the bridge program should speak to their Academic Advisor to determine eligibility. Conestoga is involved with Laurier in four different ways. The first is the bridge program. The second is a high school dual credit program held in Grand River Hall where high school students attend Conestoga classes in order to complete their high school requirements. The third is the independent programming offered continuing learners. The fourth way is the integrated programming in the Digital Media and Journalism program and the Game Design and Development program. Classes are taught by Conestoga faculty and equipment is shared between the two. Towler said, “It’s a wonderful partnership, we’re into our fourth year in it. Conestoga is all about pathways and wanting to ensure that students can start anywhere and continue on with post-secondary.”
New Conestoga option for health admin stdents Safa Youness, left, and Sama Moosa, right.
Melissa Weaver News Editor
Philip Kartos
Lesley Perez
Starting in September 2016, third and fourth year Laurier Health Administration students will have the option to choose between the old and new program. The old program includes business and leadership courses, while the new program offers a bridge option at Conestoga in either Human Resources Management or Community and Social Services Management. The bridge program is offered to Laurier students in Leadership; Human Rights and Human Diversity; Society, Culture and Environment and now Health Administration. In their third or fourth year, students will take Conestoga classes for the fall and winter term. They will then complete their Laurier credits before graduating. Bridge program students will graduate with their Laurier degree as well as a graduate diploma. There are three options currently able to choose from: Human Resources Management, Community and Social Services Management and
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The harsh reality of online identity theft Tayler Buchanan Staff Writer In 2010, the documentary Catfish was released, following the true story of a romance that began online but ended promptly after it was discovered that the girl was posing as someone else. From this came the actual term “catfish,” which we now describe as someone falsely impersonating another person’s identity online. People from all over the world started sharing similar experiences when they discovered that the person they were talking to online was entirely made up, and that their photos and videos came from someone’s real profile without their knowledge or consent. While many have come forward with their catfish stories, few have discovered themselves online as the actual catfish. Twenty year-old Emily Pusz-
kar, from Mississauga, was on Facebook one evening when she noticed a young girl under the name of “Emily Terry” had added her as a friend. To her surprise, Terry’s profile picture was actually an older picture of Puszkar. “They sent me a friend request,” Puszkar says. “Which I found really strange. So I thought it was a prank potentially by one of my friends.” Clicking further into this impersonator’s profile, Puszkar discovered that this was not the only photo that Terry took from her. Since Puszkar’s profile was under fairly strict privacy settings, Terry could only use the seven photos available of Puszkar, her family and her friends. This catfish stole all that was in their reach. “I saw that they had about 400 friends, none of which were mutual to mine,” Puszkar explains. Puszkar could see the profile contained conversations between strangers, all of which believed that the Terry’s profile photo was the person they were speaking to, not Puszkar. Instances on past
episodes of MTV’s Catfish television show have emphasized the issue of authenticity – when the “catfish” claims they are the real person, then who is to say that people would not believe this to be true? This loss of identity can quickly become dangerous and potentially affect a person in many ways such as potential job opportunities and their current relationships. “I didn’t message them,” Puszkar explains, “but I reported the account to Facebook.” Promptly after Puszkar’s report, Facebook deleted the impersonator’s account. Luckily, this was the last she heard from Emily Terry, but the experience for Puszkar was surreal to say the least. Although Puszkar’s experience ended quickly, many others find themselves in very similar yet scary situations. “I felt confused and surprised at first. It’s one of those things you hear about happening but it’s kind of shocking when it’s your own photo. I wouldn’t say I felt scared but
Emily Puszkar found this photo of herself displayed as catfish “Emily Terry’s” profile picture when the impersonator added her on Facebook. (Courtesy of Emily Puszkar)
that’s only because Facebook took it down as soon as I reported it,” Puszkar reflects. “I definitely found it kind of funny,” Puszkar says. “Going on the profile and reading the ‘info about themselves,’ you can’t help but laugh knowing
it’s completely made up!” These situations can be frightening, especially in cases when impersonators become very real stalkers. Luckily in Puszkar’s case, no one was hurt, so she can look back and have a good laugh.
There’s more to gaming than a fun time Julian Panchaud Staff Writer *Disclosure - Julian Panchaud is in the Game Design and Devlopment program. A new and exciting program has emerged onto Wilfrid Laurier’s Brantford campus: Game Design and Development, a unique program for the ever-expanding study of game design. At the heart of this wondrous new program is the games network lab, shortened to the BGN lab, located in the Grand River Hall building. The BGN lab is directed by Scott Nicholson, professor and program coordinator of the new program. “Life is a game,” says Nicholson. Games of all kinds have a profound impact on our lives, impacts that are far too often ignored. Nicholson describes life as a series of situations dictated by a combination of implicit and explicit rules we follow to reach goals while managing our resources, “such as money, time and relationships.” According to Nicholson, “many gamers do not realize that their lifetime of gaming has given them the skills to deal with real life, and turn off their gamer brain [when] tackling non-game situations.” He explains that games allow people the advantage of exploring these different rules of life with significantly
less risk associated with them, and that the ability to engage in many different types of games helps people to learn how to assess different types of rulesets. This gives them more experience and practice in strategically managing resources. With more exposure to games of all types, people begin to practice and hone very real life skills through play. The BGN acronym is pronounced as “begin”; quite fitting for a zone on campus dedicated to the start of this new and exciting type of education. Rather than the more commonly explored programming aspect of gaming, focused on video and computer games, Laurier’s new Game Design and Development program is geared toward the interaction of a game to its player. This allows for a much deeper look into gaming, moving into the psychological aspect of gaming. Nicholson says that Game Design and Development as a program at Wilfrid Laurier is especially strong because of its focus on how games directly affect a person’s life. “Rather than emphasize a specific type of game, we focus on the player. We start with how we want to change the player, and then choose the type of game (analog, digital, or live-action) and game mechanisms that can bring about that desired change,” he explains. “This
will allow students to create serious games - games that are designed for a real-world outcome, or more powerful recreational games that are designed to affect the player.” The reason the term “game” is used over video game is because this new program vastly broadens what is commonly known about games. Game Design and Development takes on a new approach, teaching the many elements
“
Many gamers do not realize that their lifetime of gaming has given them the skills to deal with real life.” of board games, card games, casino games and much more in addition to digital gaming. Another major part of what it means to play games is a player’s ability to interact with another player, both within and outside of the game’s context. What is truly fascinating about the virtual world is that it becomes a means of human
interaction beyond the physical world, whether it be a digital world or one sculpted by the minds of its players. Nicholson says that “gaming, especially face-to-face gaming where people engage directly with each other, has the ability to break down barriers through the power of play. It allows people who may not even say hello on the street an opportunity to engage.” Beyond examining the effects of games on the human mind, and past simply being entertaining, the university’s Game Design and Development program and the BGN lab emphasize the actual creation of games, and what making a game truly means. Nicholson says that creating games takes the interaction of people through games a step further. He says, “It allows groups of people who did not know each other to engage not only creatively with each other, but also around some topic in the world. If that topic is one that could make a difference in a local community, then the result of bringing together people from the community to make games for the community can be quite powerful.” Game Design and Development teaches all the foundations of creating and designing games, with a focus on how a game interacts with its player, and by extension how a game designer interacts
with the player of his or her game, using the game as a medium. The program gives off a much grander focus than simply making games, but rather changing the world through the play of them. Nicholson explains the ultimate goal of one designing a game is to change a player through the playing of it. So, the game must be constantly played by its designer. If life is a game, it’s also a series of rules being followed in order to reach an objective. The goal of those exploring this field of study is to create objectives for others. The BGN lab periodically features events called “Game Jams” and playtest nights, when people from all across the community gather to design and discuss games and their purposes, as well as test ideas with like-minded people. These events are intended for the whole of Brantford’s community, not just for those within the program. The Game Design and Development program is a wondrous addition to the Brantford Campus. It both serves as a gateway to all the hidden elements of gaming, taking a very different approach to game design as a study, while also being open to Brantford’s community as a whole. This is what having a downtown campus is all about, and it will be exciting to watch the program’s further expansion and development.
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Brittany Bennett Features Editor
M
eet Lynda Vanderstelt, the candle maker. As soon as you walk through the door of Serenity Country Candles located in Brantford’s Holmedale core, your spirits are lifted as you feel your body slowly become at ease. Each different scent in the air moves through you like a breeze. The shortbread cookie and maple butter take you to a friendly baker’s place, or maybe your grandmother’s house. The Muskoka boathouse guides you on a canoe flowing over a peaceful lake, and the lavender and lilac bring you outdoors to a cozy garden. Owner Lynda Vanderstelt has about 40 different scents weaving through Serenity Country Candles, yet the smell of the place is not at all over-
whelming. Peaceful music features birds chirping, water running, and gentle instruments to take your mind away, free to wander through each and every scent as your walk through the many unique rooms. “It’s more than a store, I don’t know how to describe it, but it’s more,” Vanderstelt explains. Each scented candle lining the shelving throughout the store is hand poured on location, and has its customers coming back for more. Vanderstelt found her love in candle making about ten years ago. She was working a full-time job with five children at home, and she wanted to find something she could do to spend more time with her family. Vanderstelt also found herself not fully satisfied with the candles she was buying elsewhere. “You go out, you buy a candle and it would smell great, and then you light it and then it was good for five minutes, and then nothing. And I kept finding that, so I thought ‘gosh, maybe I could make my own.’”
Which lead Vanderstelt to opening her own ten by ten booth at the Brantford Farmer’s Market in 2005. Within months that grew to a stall and a half, and finally reached two and a half stalls before she packed up and ventured to her own little spot on Holme Street over a year later. “I just loved candles. I loved burning candles, I was a candle freak,” Vanderstelt admits. “There’s nothing better for me at the end of the day than coming in, making tea, and lighting my candles. Just very serene, and the peacefulness, and I wanted to bring that into a retail environment.” These candles do more than just light and scent a room for Vanderstelt’s customers; the store has become a go-to place to relax and get away. In March of 2014 Vanderstelt introduced the last piece of her dream: a restaurant. Before Vanderstelt was even allowed seating in her store, customers would just take a seat on the floor and chat away because they enjoyed the atmosphere that much. “I wanted to create a place where people
Owner, Lynda Vanderstelt of Serenity Country Candles offers over 40 different scented hand poured candles in Brantford’s Holmedale core. (Brittany Bennett/ The Sputnik)
got away from that hustle and bustle of mainstream and I wanted like a more relaxed atmosphere,” Vanderstelt explains. Just like it were her home,
Vanderstelt offers every new customer a complimentary coffee as a welcome. “Our motto is we want you to feel better when you leave than you did when you came in.”
The pot dealers life after legalization Brittany Bennett Features Editor Leaning back in his comfy couch, a couch that seats many different people coming in and out daily, he explains, “I’m pretty much just the stereotypical, friendly, neighbourhood pot dealer.” For confidentiality purposes, his real name will be withheld, but his customers know him as Bob. Bob sells about $200,000 to $250,000 worth of marijuana each year in his little home town, at the best price around. He has gained customers that work in law offices, on constructions sites, in fast food restaurants, as realtors and more, over the past five or so years he has been dealing regularly. “They’re just your everyday people, the people that the government itself is categorizing as its citizens. We’re not catering to a certain type of individual group that goes out and causes harm or anything.” With the stress of today’s everyday routine, Bob says that smoking a little weed is a nice way to unwind and relax. For Bob, it helps him become more calm and at ease, especially when going into public places where he can have issues of anxiety. Although Bob also works as a freelance website developer, his pot dealing provides
for a large deal of his overall income. Bob does not grow his own merchandise, and neither do the people he gets it from. It’s actually quite an extensive collaboration of people working together in the world of selling pot. Bob says the people he directly works for are nothing like the “break-your-arm” type others may think of. “The guys that I work for are the nicest people, like, in the world. They would bend over backwards for me. They are so nice, but they’re also very serious. The more you get into it the more serious people get with it, and it becomes a business. There’s absolutely nothing that could basically distinguish what we’re doing from any other business in the world really,” he explains. But it takes a lot of trust to give someone thousands of dollars’ worth of material. It’s not just a business, it can be a career, and thanks to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s recent election campaign, it could soon be a legal one. Trudeau does not believe the current marijuana prohibition is working. During the election campaign, the Liberal party outlined a series of issues that could be solved with the legalization of marijuana in order to regulate and restrict access. Trudeau’s campaign says that marijuana is too easily
accessible for young people within this current prohibition.
“
There isn’t a lot of guys out there that just sell weed, and that’s how it needs to be.”
Bob was 12 years-old when he took his first puff of a joint. He was with one of his cousin’s boy friends at the time, standing around with some of his friends when one of them happened to light one up. “It just started going around the circle and every time it got closer to me it was like, you know, this is your moment, what are you going to do? Basically it got around to me and of course I didn’t want to seem like the oddball, so I smoked it a bit.” About a year later Bob became a regular pot smoker. He admits that he was very young, and that it did effect his development. That is why this now 23 year-old pot dealer doesn’t sell to anyone under the age of 19, and wouldn’t sell
to anyone younger than himself when he was dealing pot as a minor. Trudeau says the illegal drug trade, even just selling pot, supports greater threats to public safety, such as organized crime and hard drugs. “There isn’t really a lot of guys out there that just sell weed, and that’s how it needs to be,” Bob says. Bob admits it is easy to fall into selling harder drugs - it’s more appealing because it’s more profitable. “There’s always going to be those bad people that exploit it, and they get too greedy and they just get that mentality that they’re like some kind of drug boss king-pin.” Bob has been offered to sell harder drugs multiple times, and denied the offer every time. Bob imagines a perfect world where the everyday, friendly pot dealer could just apply for a pot dealing licence and live a happy life, unaffiliated with these harder drugs. Bob doesn’t even associate with people that are into hard drugs, even if they were his friend beforehand. “It ruins people’s lives. I’ve been on that end of it, I’ve been there and tried that, and it’s horrible. The people that are all doing it, they do want to stop but the guys that are all selling it make it there in abundance.” In legalizing marijuana, Trudeau hopes to regulate this issue. “I think what he’s
referring to in that sense is eliminating a lot of those people that are selling weed and various amount of levels of hard chemical drugs too. Because that is what we need to get off the street. I am in full support of that 100 per cent,” Bob says. Trudeau has been very broad in the specifics of his plans to regulate marijuana, but his campaign does say that selling outside of the new (undefined) regulatory framework will see stronger punishments. But for the people like Bob, that are just here to sell the average adult something to help them get through their stressful days, this could be an opportunity to establish their brand. “It’s basically the time to shine for the entrepreneurial pot dealers,” Bob says. “The people I work for, we want to establish the Apple of pot dispensaries. We want to be the fucking top line go-to, but it’s a lot of competition for that.” Once Trudeau confirms the rules and regulations around his plans to legalize marijuana, this friendly pot dealer might just try to legalize his current day job, and turn it into a dream career. In doing so, this legalization could effectively keep marijuana out of the hands of minors, and potentially regulate the issue of marijuana becoming a gateway into selling harder drugs.
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Arts & Culture
The Sputnik
Wednesday, January 6, 2016
Matthew Burley | arts@thesputnik.ca |
How 2016 Will Surpass 2015 in Film Shelby Do Staff Writer
With all of the record setting films, not to mention the billions of dollars in revenue, it’s hard to imagine that 2016 could ever top the impact (and money) that 2015 made on modern film history. That being said, 2016 is gearing up to be a visually spectacular year. In 2016, superhero movies are coming out in full force, beginning in February and ending in November. DC attempts to kick off the summer movie season two months early, with the highly anticipated Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice this March, followed up by Suicide Squad (August), a somewhat risky film for DC to put out so early in their superhero film slate. As for Marvel, their two stu-
dio factions will both be trying to win audiences over. Over at Fox, Deadpool will premiere in February, after years of development, and their second solo superhero film of 2016, Gambit, comes out in October. In late May, they will release their sixth X-Men team film, X-Men: Apocalypse. Disney will be having an explosive year in 2016. Disney Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War (May) and Doctor Strange (November) will be the company’s last year with only two superhero film releases, as they gear up for three films a year in 2017. Other live-action films from Disney in 2016 will include two adaptations of their animated films, The Jungle Book (April) and Alice Through the Looking Glass (May). The first Star Wars spin-off , Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, has a December release. Animation will also be big for Disney in 2016, with three releases, two of which are inhouse Disney films. Zootopia (March) and Moana (Novem-
Sputnik staff writer Shelby Do lays down a list of some of the exciting movies that 2016 has in store. Hope you like super heroes. (Collage by Sai Gnanaharan/ The Sputnik)
ber) hope to continue Disney’s successful run after Frozen. Disney Pixar’s Finding Dory will premiere in June, and is looks to be one of Pixar’s most
promising sequels. Other films of 2016 that will be released with high expectations are the Assassin’s Creed adaptation (December), Star
Trek Beyond (July), and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (November), which is the first of three Harry Potter spin-off films. With all these major film studios pumping out sequels upon reboots upon adaptations upon remakes, it may be hard to find original films. Many indie films won’t begin promotion until later in 2016, but there are some original films releasing early in the year that deserve enthusiasm. The Revenant, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy, will be released nationwide this January. Hail, Caesar! (February) and The Nice Guys (May) combine stellar casts with original ideas to prove critical acclaim doesn’t have to be Oscar bait. The sheer amount of hype surrounding next year’s blockbusters and independent films should be enough to excite everyone’s inner child, and hopefully calm the nerves of Hollywood’s studio executives.
From the back of the stage to the front Dellesia Noah Staff Writer I’d like to make a comment on the present state of the music industry, and for me to do that I’d like to ask you to think back to your favorite concert. Who did you see? Was it Carrie Underwood? Or Beyoncé? Maybe Stevie Wonder or Sam Smith? I want you to conjure up that experience again. Are you there? Can you hear that sweet melody of that singer’s voice? Now I’d like you to broaden that memory to include the backup singers. Do you remember what they sounded like? How their voices came together to accompany the presence of that headliner? There was a time in music where the backup singers made the track. A recent Brantford concert was headlined by none other than the famous Darlene Love. If you do not know who Love is, she has a very extensive music resume. Love was a backup singer in the 60s for the likes of Marvin Gaye, Elvis Presley and Dionne Warwick to name a few. She also sang as the lead vocalist for The Blossoms. Her voice catapulted her into stardom. She has starred in Broadway hits such as Grease and Hairspray. Love was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame back in 2011, and these
facts are only the tip of the iceberg. Love spent a majority of her career transitioning from the background to the foreground. Love’s voice has the power to resonate in one’s spirit. Now, I don’t believe that type of power comes easy. Which had me wondering - what does it take to make that leap from background vocals to headliner? Is it egotism, pride or confidence? How about the ever illusive it factor? How does one prepare mentally or emotionally for such a leap? I decided to go in search of another backup singer to learn the process. Which brings me to Lisa Williams. Williams is a young women with a gift to sing. She leads song service every other Sunday at Logos Apostolic Church of Reconciliation in Toronto. Many great singers started singing in the church, discovering their voice and learning to hone their skills and Williams is no different. “I think my discovery [of my voice] happened at a young age. Being sort of born into the church I was already surrounded by music. It gave me the opportunity to sing a little note. So my parents put me into the children’s choir and it was a wow moment. Like ‘wow, she’s not just making noise she can actually sing.’” These moments singing in church opened up doors for Williams to other opportunities and she surrounded herself with other like-minded artists.
“That’s how I networked with Sheldon Neil. He asked me to come on board with his project [an album called Y-Evolution],” Williams said. As far as leaping from backup singing to leading, Williams explained “there is a huge difference. Not so much in the enjoyment but in the involvement. There was a lot of added pressure, because you’re not just singing for the enjoyment but also for the quality. On a Sunday morning there is less pressure but there is still expectation.” Williams’ voice can stand out on its own or it can blend to harmonize with other vocalists. She has obvious talents, so why hasn’t she made that leap from backup to forefront? Williams said “there was an opportunity for me to take that leap. My thoughts were, ‘are you sure? Me?’ The hesitation lay in, ‘did I really believe in my talents?’ Singing in the background it was really easy to get comfortable. You can be an amazing singer but there’s that it factor that people talk about all the time. You can be an amazing vocalist but putting yourself in the foreground really takes that it factor.” All these moments helped Williams grow and learn as a singer. “They were all pivotal moments for me to grow my love for this art,” she explained. And who knows, maybe the next time opportunity comes knocking Williams will be willing to take that leap.
Backup singer Lisa Williams says it takes that it factor to sing lead. (Courtesy of Lisa Williams)
Wednesday, January 6, 2016
Arts & Culture
The Sputnik
9
Matthew Burley | arts@thesputnik.ca |
The Featured Artist:
Steve Dave (Kurtis Rideout) Matthew Burley A&C Editor The Featured Artist is a Laurier Brantford student who is constantly striving for creative and artistic excellence. The medium isn’t what’s important; it’s the art. This weeks Featured Artist is Steve Dave (Kurtis Rideout). How long have you been rapping and making beats for? I started playing and writing music when I was just a kid... probably like 10 or so, and I started a band with my childhood friends not too long after. When I was in high school all my friends split up and went to separate schools so we were on to different stuff, that’s when I started to make beats on my laptop with Fruity Loops, probably like aged 15. I don’t really rap a lot though, so I’d say I mostly just produce, but I’ve been stockpiling lyrics on my iPhone, that’s just some stuff I’ve got in store... it’s cooking, you know, on the back burner. I’ve heard that certain artists prefer to be in a specific state of mind when they’re about to create something. When you’re making music, do you feel this way? I like to be alone but if I’m around the right people I can sometimes feed off of their energy. As far as state of mind goes I don’t have any particular rituals besides constantly streaming cartoons and sitcoms, just stuff for background noise I guess. How do you feel technology has changed the way people listen to music? I look at streaming services like the one Apple has now and Spotify, and kind of feel
like I can’t buy into them because of how I traditionally accessed music. But I like the fact that the Internet at large has given people access to all of the craziest music you could ever imagine. I think if I didn’t have technology I would have been too lazy to go to record shops and pay for stuff as often as I can just browse online. A lot of people probably feel the same way, so I think it’s had an affect on all aspects of music beyond just how we consume it. Where do you see yourself in the next five years? I’d like to see myself producing some seriously next level dope ass music. I feel like I can’t even picture myself sitting behind a desk anywhere or something of that nature... Emails give me anxiety. What software do you use to create your music? Have you tried any other options? I’ve played around with GarageBand a bit and I tried out Ableton, but I really like Fruity Loops. Either it’s mad easy to learn or it just makes sense to me, I don’t really know what it is, but Fruity Loops just clicks. I also use Audacity to cut samples and mix my beats after I finish them on Fruity Loops. Everything I make on Fruity Loops goes through Audacity at least two times. I’ve noticed that some of your beats are sample based. What do you look for when trying to find the perfect sound to sample? Finding samples is probably what I struggle most with. It’s pretty easy to find a loop in a song on YouTube after typing in some strange keywords, but the real trick is to find that really fire ass sample that makes you nod your head when you throw some drums over it. I like to use jazz and piano samples but I really just mix it up as much as possible... Sampling is only cool because
Producer and rapper, Steve Dave, has big dreams but wants to make the right connections before any moves are made. (Christina Manocchio/ The Sputnik)
it has no limitations, I think. Who are your top five producers, dead or alive? That’s tough but I’m gonna have to go with Noah “40” Shebib, Pimp C, all the people who produced 2Pac’s Me Against the World (that’s more than five in total but I think the production on that album is consistently flawless), and I gotta show love to Jimi Hendrix, Jim Carroll, and Kurt Cobain. I know they aren’t producers and that’s more than five but I don’t care. You’re from the town Drumbo, just outside of Brantford; what are some of the struggles of being a new artist in a town like that? What are some of the positive aspects? I love where I’m from. People say being from a small town is slow and boring but I feel like in the city you are always stuck in traffic or walking behind slow people. Where I live I get to set my own pace which gives me the freedom to move around a lot. Moving forward I’d obliviously probably wanna situate myself a little closer to Toronto or some other metro music hub type place, but for now I dig the isolation out here. Vice recently put out an article titled “2015: The Year White Rappers Lost” which explained how generally, white rappers have been losing respect and popularity (other than a select few). Where do you stand on this? I don’t really have an opinion. I understand the dynamic and I respect it, but I see music as an art form that I want to manipulate beyond one specific label, or genre of music. I guess I think it’s sad that race is even part of the conversation with any genre of music, because to me good tunes are good tunes and you can’t hear colours anyways, so if it sounds good I’ll play it. If you could tour Canada with one other Canadian artist, who would it be and why? Is it a cop out to say Drake? (laughs)... I’m probably gonna have to actually say either Mac Demarco or Jazz Cartier... Partly because I like the stuff both of the guys have been doing over the past few years, but mostly because they both have some crazy ass energetic live shows. Where can people find your work? For now I’ve just got some random stuff on soundclou. But I’ll be announcing some different stuff over 2016 so check me out on Twitter or something at @stevedave4lyfe.
The newest addition to the series is a hit at both the box office and with fans, but it still has its critics.
Star Wars: The force is just meh Tristan Wright Staff Writer Spoiler Alert! Although if you haven’t seen The Force Awakens yet we have to question if you know what Star Wars is anyway. Star Wars is meh. And that’s coming from a pretty big fan. Seriously, it’s one of two good sci-fi universes out there. The other being Warhammer 40,000 - Star Trek is lame. The action scenes were very good, and that’s it - even the action scene where they had a bombing run, and used no actual bombers. Seriously, no Y-wings for the bombing run.
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The movie is a 6 out of 10. Only see it if you got a coupon for Christmas.” There are numerous small errors throughout the movie, which makes one think, “Did anybody actually edit this script” or “What the heck happened to the poison gas filling the ship? They never turned it off.” Even if you can ignore the many glaring
flaws, it is hard to get past the over-powered, I-can-doanything “strong woman” archetype. She is terribly written, although her acting is fine. The reason people liked Luke was because he was a good guy, but he could not do anything. It took him a movie and a half to use the force to pull a lightsaber out of some snow. The female lead in The Force Awakens did it in half of the movie, even with the big “edge-lord-of-a-Darth-Vaderreplacement” pulling it with his force powers. It’s like if Harry Potter beat the crap out of Voldemort in the first movie. I get the need for a “strong empowered woman” character and the demand for one, but make her actually struggle and progress as the film goes along. I will say that the main male lead named “Fin” was actually very well done. I liked him and he might actually balance the scales. The new droid was pretty cool I guess. It follows the tried and true “make-a-thingthat’s-not-a-dog-act-like-adog” Disney formula very well. On the topic of characters, the Sith lord has very big ears. Without his mask on he is quite hard to take seriously. I also wonder how he keeps his flow under that hood. The wonders of the Dark Side. Overall, the movie is about a 6 out of 10. Only go watch it if you got a coupon for Christmas or really want to take your significant other out because you’re sick of “Netflix and Chill”.
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The Sputnik
Sports
Wednesday, January 6, 2016
Devon Momy-Gamache | sports@thesputnik.ca |
Opposites face off in college football championship Devon Momy-Gamache
Sports Editor
Next Monday, a match-up between #1 Clemson (14-0) and #2 Alabama (13-1) will feature two teams that appear to be polar opposites. Fans of spread offenses will be able to cheer for Clemson which is led by the one of the top quarterbacks, Deshaun Watson. For those who prefer football to be a game of toughness and power running, Alabama and the Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry will be the perfect representation of this style. When Clemson have the ball, they will be facing a defence that has struggled at times against spread offenses. Alabama lost their only game of the season to an Ole Miss team that plays a similar style to Clemson. The Crimson Tide will have to stop a Clemson offence that is led by Watson, who became the third player in NCAA division 1 history to pass for 3,500 yards
while also running for 1,000. Fellow sophomore star Wayne Gallman has been impressive running the ball as well as rushing for a school record 1,482 yards this season. The two will face their toughest test of the season against the Alabama front seven. Alabama has always been a hard team to run against, and that tradition has continued this season. Junior Defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson was a consensus All-American this season as he anchored the line. The true leader of the defence is senior linebacker Reggie Ragland who was named a unanimous All-American. The rest of the Alabama front seven has been just as strong helping to hold opponents to an NCAA best 74 yards per game and only 2.4 yards per attempt. In their semi-final against Michigan State, the Crimson Tide defence shut out the Spartans and limited them to only 29 total rushing yards. If Clemson wants to score against Alabama, they will need to either find a hole in the brick wall that is the front seven or throw over the wall, which Watson is very capable of doing.
The other big star in this game will be Derrick Henry, who dominated all season. The junior star could be playing his last game of his career and will be looking to continue his strong play, which has resulted in over 2,000 yards to lead the country and an average of over five yards per carry. At quarterback, Alabama will be relying on fifth year senior Jack Coker, who transferred from Florida State. After earning the starting job this year Coker has played well including a great performance against a respected Michigan State pass defence. The Clemson defence is consistently overlooked because of the offence, but this season they were dominant as they helped Clemson go undefeated. Their performance against Oklahoma’s offence, which had been rolling with Baker Mayfield late in the season, proved they can dominate elite competition. Defensive end Shaw Lawson, a consensus All-American, missed most of the game due to injury, but has said he will be ready for Alabama. Lawson has helped
Clemson continue their recent tradition of strong defensive line play which will be crucial in limiting Henry. The Championship game will provide an interesting
clash of styles that should draw in both casual and hardcore fans, and more importantly, deliver an exciting game.
Number 1 seed Clemson plays Number 2 seed next Monday for the presitigous title of NCAA national champions. (Sai Gnanaharan/ The Sputnik)
Laurier basketball team leading the division
Laurier’s men’s basketball team has been playing surprisingly well as of late, and find themselves on top of the division. (Andreas Patsiaouros/ The Cord)
Devon Momy-Gamache
Sports Editor
A third of the way through the season, the Laurier men’s basketball team is leading their division with a 4-3 record. They have had a large turnaround after struggling last season and finishing with a 7-13 record. The team is being led by a productive and efficient offense. The Golden Hawks have averaged 80 points per game, fifth best in the Ontario University Athletics
conference (OUA). Although the team is shooting below average at 37.1 per cent, they have been able to control the ball with a league low average of 12.9 turnovers per game. As a team, the defence has succeeded at limiting their opponents shooting efficiency. The Golden Hawks allowed opponents to shoot a league low 25.9 per cent from three and overall limited their field goal percentage to 38 per cent, the third lowest mark in the
league. Laurier is leading the division, but if the playoffs started today they would be the lowest seed in the twelve-team OUA playoffs, which are based on Rating Percentage Index (RPI). The ratings are calculated based on a team’s schedule and performance by the OUA. For Laurier to get better and avoid a top opponent in the first round, they will need to improve their rebounding margin. The Golden Hawks have been
dominated on the glass with the second lowest rebound margin in the OUA, allowing their opponents to collect on average 5.7 rebounds per game. Laurier has found success by playing the pair of Simon Mikre and Will Coulthard at guard with both playing over 35 minutes a game. Coulthard is playing his fifth and final season and has taken the scoring role, averaging 21.1 points per game which is the fourth most in the league. Mikre,
who is only in his first season, is leading the team in both assist (4.6) and rebounds (6.9) per game so far this season. The team’s best shooter is sophomore Luke Allin who is shooting 51.6 per cent from beyond the arc. Allin has scored over 17 points in each of the last three games, looking more comfortable in each contest. He is now the only player, other than Coulthard, to average more than 10 points per game this season.
Wednesday, January 6, 2016
Sports
The Sputnik
11
Devon Momy-Gamache | sports@thesputnik.ca |
The Sputnik’s NFL playoff primer Jessa Braun Staff Writer
It’s that time of year again. The NFL playoffs are here and begin Jan. 9 with the Wild Card Round. Below is a playoff preview to get sports fans caught up with the facts before the big, upcoming month of football begins. AFC The Denver Broncos (12-4) clinched a first round bye when they beat the Cincinnati Bengals 20-17 in overtime in Week 16. Their 27-20 victory over the San Diego Chargers on Sunday earned them the No. 1 seed for the playoffs. Quarterback Peyton Manning made an appearance on the field Sunday for the first time since he injured his plantar fascia on Nov. 15 during a game. Backup quarterback Brock Osweiler took Manning’s place while Manning was out and carried the team through seven games going 5-2 in his starts. Whether Manning is fully recovered and on the field for the playoffs or not, the Broncos can guarantee a threatening offensive performance. The defending champion New England Patriots (124), defending champions, clinched a first round bye. By losing their last two games of the season New England lost their chance for home field advantage in a potential game
against Denver. The team is currently suffering a number of injuries and is doubtful about where the team will be at by the divisional round of the playoffs. The Patriots expect to have their starting left tackle, Sebastian Vollmer, who suffered an ankle injury over the holidays, recovered and ready in time for the playoffs. The team can only be hopeful about the rest, including wide receivers Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola, and safeties Devin McCourty and Patrick Chung. The Pittsburgh Steelers (106) and the Cincinnati Bengals (12-4) will play each other in the Wild Card round. The Steelers passed the New York Jets in the Wild Card standings on Sunday when the Steelers beat the Cleveland Browns 2812 and Jets lost to the Buffalo Bills 22-17. The Bengals’ starting quarterback, Andy Dalton, has been out with a hand injury for the past few games. The team will go into the playoffs with their backup quarterback, AJ McCarron, starting in Dalton’s place. The Kansas City Chiefs (11-5) and the Houston Texans (97) will play in the other AFC Wild Card game. The Kansas City Chiefs went 1-5 to start the season. Things turned around for the rest of the season when they won ten games in a row. They could have won the West division if the San Diego Chargers had defeated the Broncos last Sunday. The Chiefs will serve as the No. 5 seed since the Broncos came
out with the victory. The Texans haven’t been to the playoffs since the 2012 season, but this year they clinched the South division and are the AFC’s fourth seed. They ended their season by beating the Jacksonville Jaguars 30-6. NFC The Carolina Panthers (15-1) earned a first round bye and No. 1 seed. Carolina fans have high hopes for their Panthers since they were undefeated up until their second last regular season game, when they lost 20-13 to the Atlanta Falcons on Dec. 27. The Panthers didn’t take the loss lightly and were back in their groove on Sunday and came out stronger than before, beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 38-10. This team will be among the most dangerous in the playoffs. The Arizona Cardinals (13-3) clinched the other first round bye. Up until Week 17 of the regular season, the Cardinals carried the best offense in the league. They choked on Sunday in their game against the Seattle Seahawks, losing 36-6. Their starting kicker, Chandler Catanzaro, was having an off game especially and was replaced for the second half of the game. If the Cardinals don’t get their heads back in it, their road to the Super Bowl might come to a close earlier than they would like. Facing off in one of the Wild Card games will be the Seattle Seahawks (10-6) and the Minnesota Vikings (115). The Seahawks were in the
2015 Super Bowl and could potentially be on the same path this year after their 36-6 win over the Cardinals on Sunday. They are within the top five teams for points (26.4), yards (378.6) and rushing yards (141.8). Look out for Russell Wilson, who’s playing some of the best football of his career this season. The Vikings closed their season by dominating the Bears, Giants and Packers. Teddy Bridgewater has been a key to their success and will be a threat to opposing teams in the playoffs. The Vikings came through with a 20-13 victory over the Packers on Sunday to win the North division. The Washington Redskins (9-7) and Green Bay Packers (10-6) will be facing off in
the NFC’s other Wild Card game. The Packers fell short of earning their fifth consecutive division title this season. They lost their final two regular season games by 37 points combined. The Packers have been suffering from slow starts on offense, mainly because coach Mike McCarthy keeps trying new things on offense that don’t work. Kirk Cousins will be one to look out for on the Redskins. Although he had a rocky start to his season with the Redskins, Cousins has made a turnaround and threw 11 touchdowns in his last three games, carrying Washington to the playoffs and securing the East division.
The first round of the playoffs features four games this weekend. (Sai Gnanaharan/ The Sputnik)
Price of Loonie ruining Blue Jays’ future Adam Stocker Staff Writer With the Canadian dollar continuing to decline, the Toronto Blue Jays’ window of opportunity inches closer to closing. On Dec. 18, the dollar closed under 71 cents American for the first time since spring 2004. For Canadian baseball fans, that could spell disappointment, as the Blue Jays looked to build upon last season’s run to the American League Championship Series. In 2004, the Blue Jays were in year three of the J.P. Ricciardi era. Four years earlier, Ted Rogers purchased the Blue Jays for $160 million. Rogers hired Ricciardi a year later following the “Moneyball”
success of the Oakland Athletics. Also in 2004, unfortunately for Montreal Expos fans, the Blue Jays would become Canada’s only MLB team. The Expos struggled due in large part to a poor dollar, weak attendance and owner instability, and were relocated to Washington DC. Ricciardi’s first order on the job from Rogers was to cut payroll. This decision was made largely because of the state of the Canadian dollar, which sat in a similar position to today. Ricciardi proceeded to trade off nearly every good player on the roster not named Carlos Delgado. Delgado would eventually leave as a free agent following the 2004 season. However, in the eyes of Rogers, Ricciardi had succeeded and was granted an extension after cutting payroll to $50 million (USD).
For several years the Blue Jays sat comfortably in the lower third of major league payrolls. The low Canadian dollar has already presented itself early in this off-season as the Blue Jays were unable to match the contract free agent pitcher David Price received from division rival Boston. Price left the Blue Jays for $217 million (USD) over the next seven years. Given the current state of the dollar, it would have cost the Jays roughly $300 million Canadian to resign the former CY Young winner. Even with the massive increase in baseball revenues over the past decade, Rogers Communications was unwilling to commit that much money to one player. In addition to the state of the Canadian dollar, the problem of being corporately owned has reared its ugly head again. Un-
like other teams, whose owners freely spend their money with no one to answer to, the Blue Jays are not that fortunate. Every dollar must be accounted for and is budgeted each season as Rogers must answer to its corporate stockholders. What does the state of the dollar mean for the rest of the Jays’ off-season? That’s simple - shopping at bargain prices. Interim General Manager Tony LaCava’s first move was bringing back pitcher J.A. Happ. Happ is best suited for the National League where he can face a pitcher every nine batters. In the American League East, he is a fourth starter at best and is a significant drop off from Price. With the state of the dollar, new General Manager Ross Atkins is unlikely to be spending the money necessary to improve the roster.
For fans of star sluggers Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion, disappointment may be around the corner. Both could be playing their last season in Toronto. Bautista and Encarnacion enter the last year of their contracts and are in line for a raise and long-term contract. If the dollar continues to drop, giving either player an extension will be made even more difficult. If the team gets off to a slow start, it could be the Blue Jays that are sellers at the trade deadline this season. For the first year this decade, every Blue Jays move is being made with the Canadian dollar in mind, as the deep pockets of Rogers may have reached their limits. The financial limitations have all but ended the Blue Jays chances of winning their elusive third World Series.
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The Sputnik
Opinion
Wednesday, January 6, 2065
Josh Adesina | opinion@thesputnik.ca |
Christmas journeys: London and Amsterdam Josh Adesina Opinion Editor This Christmas was a very special one because I was lucky enough to spend it in Europe with my family. I returned to South London, United Kingdom, which is my hometown, before heading to Amsterdam where I met up with my family. I got a long and relaxed break from Canada and re-familiarized myself with how beautiful Europe is.
It felt amazing to be back home because I hadn’t returned since January 2011. I was quite anxious on the day of my flight because I wasn’t sure what it would be like, and also because I haven’t flown in a while. It felt really good to get on the plane and hear a bunch of people that sounded just like me. I was able to communicate with everyone with ease including the flight attendants. It wasn’t really a surprise that everyone was British – after all I did fly on British Airways. However, it was still a great feeling to feel at home before I even got to London. When I landed at London
Heathrow Airport and got through customs, I felt like I had pressed the play button on my life again. It didn’t feel like I was gone for that long. I just seemed to ease back into this British way of living. I had forgotten how well-dressed Britons were! Anyone who knows me personally knows that I have an eye for fashion and seeing how stylish Britons were made me feel more at home. You can never be dressed up enough in London, and it felt good that I didn’t have to feel insecure about dressing up. Whether it was taking the bus through Croydon or taking the train to London Victoria, it all
reminded me of where I was from. Experiencing the stylish and fast-paced lifestyle of a Londoner was beautiful. Amsterdam was very similar to London with its fashion and city life. I went shopping with my sisters in the Central part of Amsterdam a couple days after Christmas. The shoppers there are outrageously stylish – I would say a lot more than Britons. People were dressed up everywhere they went – even the supermarkets! Canada is definitely a lot more different than Europe in the sense that Canadians are a lot more relaxed about their appearance. Europeans will come off as
The problem with psychology Ricky Pacheco Staff Writer Recently, I noticed a claim made on my paper had been contested by whoever marked it. Referring back to my source, I found the author was in agreement with what I had stated. To be fair, the claim is in the realm of a sensitive topic where scholarly debate is possible. The problem I have though is when I lose
points because of the marker’s speculation. Hence why I don’t believe in outsourcing the grading of university papers. However, that is beside the point. It seems like the institution of “higher learning” has duped us into thinking that professionals have some grand purpose in their respective field. This is comparable to nothing more than dogs chasing their tails and passing it off as meaningful work. Let’s take the study of psychology for example, based on Jon Ronson’s TED Talk about an anecdotal account of a man feigning mental
illness to evade a five-year prison sentence. The inmate ended up spending twelve years inside the Broadmoore Mental Institution even after admitting to his deception. Although the psychiatrists knew he had been faking, the inmate’s performance was so well done he had technically fit himself into the profile of a dangerous psychopath. So, I wonder what it really takes to be diagnosed with a personality disorder. According to Ronson, the Diagnostic and Statistic Manual of Mental Disorders has grown to include over three hundred notable
disorders. You would be hard pressed not to recognize any of your own faults as a personality disorder. Is it that humans are cunning beasts manipulating the system in order to evade trouble? Or are we too preoccupied trying to fit all human behavior in a nicely packaged box? Furthermore, we must ask ourselves what stake pharmaceutical companies have in the revision of such manuals. It is as though society wants to ostracize the “evil” behavior by labeling it as socio- or psychopathic, and as such feel justified in washing their hands of any wrong doing.
egotistic to a lot of people. The truth is they just like to look good. Although there is a clear difference between North America and Europe, I felt like I could see a lot of what I saw in Amsterdam in Toronto also. Amsterdam had a lot of classy restaurants and bookstores. Toronto does as well, and at times I felt like I was there. Travelling is always fun because it forces your mind to expand. You get to experience different lifestyles and develop new perspectives about life in general. I’ll be returning to Europe very soon and can’t wait to experience it all again.
However, evil is a subjective term used by those who hold power. Philip Zimbardo, author of The Lucifer Effect, offers a different take. Rather than chalking up dehumanizing acts to clinical disorders, Zimbardo explains how organizational contexts turn even the most average people into deprived human beings. It’s important to note that the answers to the world’s questions cannot simply be solved by wearing a lab coat. The greatest favour we can do for ourselves is to remain open minded.