Issue 3 September 21, 2016

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THE SPUTNIK

The new iPhone 7 controversy

THE SPUTNIK TEAM

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Christina Manocchio eic@thesputnik.ca PHOTO EDITOR Kathleen Binder photography@thesputnik.ca LEAD PHOTOGRAPHER Gurleen Lall leadphotographer@thesputnik.ca GRAPHIC EDITOR Sai Gnanaharan visual@thesputnik.ca WEB EDITOR Kurtis Rideout web@thesputnik.ca NEWS EDITOR Shreya Shah news@thesputnik.ca ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR Anya Eland FEATURES EDITOR Dellesia Noah features@thesputnik.ca ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR Matthew Burley arts@thesputnik.ca SPORTS EDITOR Devon Momy-Gamache sports@thesputnik.ca OPINION EDITOR

Josh Adesina opinion@thesputnik.ca

THE SPUTNIK ADMIN PRESIDENT/PUBLISHER Meghan Roach (519) 884-0710 ext. 3565 president@wlusp.com ADVERTISING Care Schummer (519) 884-0719 ext. 3560 care.schummer@wlusp.com MANAGER OF OPERATIONS Jamaal Owusu-Ansah manager@thesputnik.ca EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Lakyn Barton lakyn.barton@wlusp.com Treasurer John Pehar Vice-Chair Abdiasis Issa Director Mynt Marsellus Director Maddy Cutts Director Matthew Burley Director Fred Kuntz The Sputnik is a bi-weekly campus newspaper intended to engage and inform the community.

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Ricky Pacheco Staff Writer Fall is setting in, and along with typical school expenditures, students can anticipate unwavering pressure to buy Apple’s latest iPhone. Considered the most anticipated device of 2016, the new iPhone 7, paired with the most advanced technology of our generation. It will bring to the table: sharper images, a smarter SIRI and faster processing times, as seen on iphone7buzz.com.

However, if Apple today is anything like it has been for the course of its history, we can also expect marginal improvements

in the actual product, unfair warranty policies, and speculations of sourced components made by the tiny hands of Taiwanese children. I’m not usually one to bash consumer culture, but I do often ask myself why people immerse themselves into the Apple lifestyle. If we stop and think about it for a moment, there is nothing you can do on an iPhone that you can’t also do on an Android.

However, I do have to hand it to Apple for successfully marketing the shit out of their product for the last six generations of its life.

According to Forbes, Apple has been rather successful in peddling its product on us.

Studies show consumers these days are not very compelled by wordy ads throwing arbitrary facts and figures at us. Rather, we are drawn to simple images, calming background colours

Sitting during the national anthem

Josh Adesina Opinion Editor I find it frustrating that we as educated people contradict ourselves time and time again. We expect people in the spotlight to use their stardom for the right things. We expect them to stand up for causes that are meaningful. Why is it that when celebrities stand for something we are so quick to scold them? In the midst of all the police brutality in America and across the world, we want to make a scene about an athlete choosing to sit during a national anthem? Really? I’m baffled.

Colin Kaepernick is the quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers. He is also the ballsy athlete that chose to sit during the playing of the American national anthem. As you can imagine, Kaepernick has attracted all kinds of controversy from Americans because of his actions. For those of you who do not know why Kaepernick chose to sit, let me fill you in. If you pay even the slightest attention to the news, then you are aware of the merciless killings of African-Americans committed by the police. I can name dozens of African-Americans that have been brutally murdered by the so called ‘good guys.’ Kaepernick is an African-American who has chosen to take a stand by sitting while the national anthem was playing, according to the NFL. There has been a heavy amount of media coverage around this incident, along with thousands of racist comments made about Kaepernick across the internet.

The issue I don’t understand is how Americans have an issue with someone taking a stand for something that is obviously an issue. African-Americans are being murdered by the police.

Their lives are being treated like those of wild animals. There are videos of black men being harmed and killed by the police on YouTube for petty reasons.

Oh but that doesn’t matter, does it? What matters is an athlete not standing for the national anthem of a country that was built on racism. This is wrong in so many ways. We love to point fingers at people for not using their platforms for good, but continue to point our fingers when they do. Racism in America has been an issue for generations and it is still happening right in front of our eyes. Instead of joining Kaepernick in the fight for justice, Americans would rather judge him and expect him to be a puppet. I do not understand this at all.

This type of injustice will continue to rear its ugly head unless we take a stand. People love to pretend that racism doesn’t exist when things like this are all over the news. How oblivious can people continue to be? I believe that Kaepernick is doing the right thing and is a good example of someone that stands for a worthy cause. I’m also happy that other athletes are taking a stand as a result. Megan Rapinoe, an American soccer player for Seattle Reign FC, kneeled during the national anthem according to ESPN. Rapinoe kneeled because she felt her rights as a gay woman were not protected. More athletes and celebrities must continue to take a stand, and show the world that injustice has no place here.

and easy pictures to look at.

An Apple Billboard is easily the epitome of this principle. This is funny because not only do their ads imply our simple minds cannot deal with the strenuous facts we might actually want to know about when buying a phone.

They are making money off us while doing it.

Moreover, why do we even need the new model? In an article written by Splash Gear, a look at the iPhone since its ancestral 2G model explains how you are not really getting a bang for your buck. Given the first generation of iPhone wouldn’t be able to boot the most recent IOS operating system, the changes between models are so incremental you could probably get away with holding onto your iPhone for two or three generations before Apple phases it out

of existence. Isn’t it funny how our iPhones stop “working” around the same time a newer model comes out?

Finally, if it isn’t already obvious, wireless ear pods are a complete gimmick. When you inevitably do lose one, you’ll probably have to spend $80 or so on a new pair. Rest in peace to the headphone jack. I guess the logic behind this decision is it’s not worth going all the way to Future Shop to pick up a pair of Bluetooth headphones for $30.

This is not to say I wouldn’t use an iPhone. I just wouldn’t spend $700 trying to stay on top of the phone chain. But more power to you if you have the money to spend. Happy shopping!

The Globe and Mail’s new podcast is important Josh Adesina Opinion Editor It’s that thing that we all hate talking about. That thing that we all pretend to be oblivious about from time to time. The elephant in the room. Race. It will always be a touchy subject regardless of whichever angle you approach it from. Nonetheless, there is always something new we can learn about race. The Globe and Mail’s new podcast series can help us.

Colour Code: A Podcast about Race in Canada is hosted

by Denise Balkissoon and Hannah Sung. Balkissoon is a writer and editor, whilst Sung is a video editor. They both work for the Globe and Mail. The podcast series is meant to shed light on issues regarding race in Canada.

I’ve already listened to the first episode and was very excited about it before it was released.

The promos and snippets kept me in suspense. The podcast series does a great job in discussing race in Canada from different perspectives. The first episode is called Race Card and it touches on Indian Status and what it’s all about. You don’t have to know a whole lot about indigenous communities in Canada to acknowledge the discrimination they have faced and continue to face. Although I already know a fair bit about Indigenous people in Canada I still learned something from this podcast. It was a real eyeopener for me. I can only imagine what it would do for someone that knows nothing about this topic.

Race is something that we tend to ignore quite a bit. I’m sure we’ve all heard that one person say ‘I don’t see race’ or ‘we’re all the same race’ before.

This is absolute nonsense. Rac-

ism is very subtle in Canada and you have to keep your eyes and ears open to spot it out. I can honestly argue about race all day but it doesn’t really get me anywhere. A lot of the time, people that are oblivious about race choose to be because they are ignorant or because they have not experienced racism at all. This is a reason why this podcast series is so important.

People can listen to it and develop and understanding about race in this country. It can open up the minds of bigots and slap racists in the face at the same time.

The podcast series can also help students at Laurier Brantford understand race. If you didn’t know, there have been numerous incidents involving race on this campus. A lot of them have gone, and continue to go unnoticed. It isn’t fair that ignorant students feel it is okay to pick on others because of their race. This podcast series is for them too. It can give us all a better understanding of race on campus and the part we all play. If you haven’t listened to it already, I highly recommend it.

Log on to the Globe and Mail’s website and listen today.

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 21 ,2016

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FEATURES

DELLESIA NOAH | FEATURES@THESPUTNIK.CA | @SPUTNIK_NEWS

Through the Time Capsule: A showing of the Sanderson

Dellesia Noah Features Editor The Sanderson Centre for the Performing Arts has stood on Dalhousie Street for nearly a century. As time has passed, the community has changed and so has the theatre.

The theatre debuted in 1919, after WWI. Canadians had returned home with losses, economic devastation and a sweeping epidemic of influenza. “I thought it was a really interesting take on the optimistic outlook of the time,” said theatre manager Glenn Brown, about the construction of the theatre.

Perhaps they believed building a theatre would hold a certain catharsis for Canadians.

When the theatre finally opened, it was the biggest in Brantford and among the highest in class. It showed the best in movies and was featured on the vaudeville circuit.

“They called it the Supreme Playhouse. It [the theatre] was very prestigious,” said Brown.

The theatre made its way into the 1930’s and with it came the effects of the Great Depression.

“It was a very disruptive time in entertainment. The art shifted away from vaudeville to movies” said Brown.

The ‘20s into the ‘30s brought many changes to the theatre, not only to the art but to the management. From 1927 to 1986, Famous Players acquired the theatre and ran it solely as a movie theatre, among the many in their chain.

When you set foot into the theatre and walk through the lobby, past the doors there are multiple walls filled with autographed pictures of acts that have performed at the theatre.

“When we acquired this place in the ‘80s, they found hundreds of these photos glued to the walls of the orchestra pit,” said Brown.

It’s a tradition that the theatre has held since then.

When you step into the theatre itself, it is a near full restoration of its original appearance when it debuted in 1919. “When

Courtesy of Glenn Brown, The Sanderson Centre

it was acquired in the late ‘80s, it was to be the rebirth of the theatre. It was a shift away from that movie past back to performing arts” says Brown. When Famous Players left, the theatre was named Sanderson, after the Sanderson family, who contributed to many organisations and community works in the city of Brantford. The money to acquire and restore the theatre came

from John Sanderson. When he passed away, his daughters Elsie and Clara Sanderson were the ones to decide what they wanted to support in the community, and the theatre was among such projects. One of the most significant restorations is the mural on the ceiling inside the theatre.

“They had a guy up there, he spent weeks on his back painting,” said Brown.

“I think they’re a lot of people in the province who are aware of Brantford for two things,” said Brown. “Wayne Gretzky and the Sanderson. On the verge of the theatre’s 100th birthday.”

Brown believes that the theatre will continue to balance its role in the community while still putting up great performances that reflect the people in the community.

Student’s fashion around campus Christina Manocchio Editor-in-Chief

Elaheh Sajadi Style: Things I can buy for less than $20.

Celeberity inspiration: Mother Teresa

What we wear is a form of self-expression, it’s how we want society to perceive us. Different religions, cultures, and beliefs have different individual attire to represent their values and/or character. Finding a student strutting around campus

like Carrie Bradshaw from Sex in the City is a rarity, but some students have their style on point.

The stress of school has not yet affected these student’s appreciation for fashion, causing their sweatpants to stay in the closet for another couple of weeks.

Emmanuel Obajuluw Style: Simple, sway, swavy, classic.

Celeberity inspiration: A$AP

Joel Kalangara Style: Just work up and put a basic tee and jeans.

Celeberity inspriation: Instagram @outfitgrids

Elaheh by Christina Manocchio, remainder by Kathleen Binder/The Sputnik

Cristiana Couceiro Style: Casual and sporty Celeberity inspriation: Kanye and Kim Kardashian. A mix of manly and feminine.

Marena Silli Style: Casual and chic Celeberity inspirtation: None

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WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 21, 2016

NEWS

SHREYA SHAH NEWS@THESPUTNIK.CA | @SPUTNIK_NEWS

Laurier presents conversations with leaders

Shreya Shah News Editor On the cool evening of Saturday the 15th, close to 500 people convened at the Sanderson Centre for a special occasion.

Laurier was hosting its third annual Conversations with Leaders speaker series and this year around, the two guests attracted quite an audience.

At approximately 7:00p.m. a hush fell over a theatre room full of Laurier students, staff and faculty, community members, and out-of-town visitors, as the two very special guests were introduced.

Award-winning CBC journalist Duncan McCue and former judge, Senator Murray Sinclair took to the stage and acknowledged the excited crowd before settling into two comfy arm chairs to begin their conversation.

Duncan McCue looked over at the Senator and started off with a few words in his traditional Aboriginal tongue, and while the senator chuckled, he turned around and translated for the audience, “I just said, yo what’s up.”

Senator Sinclair had an air of ease and humor about him, despite his extensive and impressive resume. Born and raised in Selkirk, Manitoba the high school class valedictorian attended the University of Winnipeg, and graduated from the faculty of law from the University of Manitoba in 1979. He was called to the Manitoba Bar in 1980 and worked primarily in the fields of Civil and Aboriginal Law. “I loved being in court. I loved advocating, I loved arguing, I loved researching, I loved ev-

erything about being in court.

During that time, I was continuing being involved with the community, I was continuing to represent my people, and then upon graduation representing people who needed a lawyer. My wife keeps reminding me that at that time we almost went broke because I wouldn’t charge people for services. If they needed a lawyer, and I was available, I would do it.” Said the Senator.

While appointed as the Associate Chief Judge of the Provincial Court of Manitoba in 1988, he was the first Aboriginal judge in the province, and the second in Canada. In 2009 he was named as Chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. Their mandate is to inform the Canadian public about the experiences of the Indian Residential Schools through vocalizing and acknowledging the impact it had on its survivors.

The ultimate goal of the TRC is to help both the Aboriginal and Canadian peoples to come together to reconcile the injustices of the past in order to move forward.

“I think that we are incredibly lucky to have him here and to really showcase the amazing work that he has done on behalf of Indigenous peoples across Canada in order to help raise awareness of the residential schools.” Said Bonnie Witlow, the Aboriginal Student Support Co-ordinator for the Brantford campus.

While the speakers were able to successfully create a light and comic atmosphere, they took on some challenging topics, one of them being the importance of education. “My grandmother was very clear that we all had a responsibility to help people.”

Explained the Senator, “She was in her sixties when I went to live with them and she had a house full of daughters who were my aunties. And the way that she raised us was by assigning each

of us to one of the aunties. So I was raised by an aunty who was a teacher. That relationship between my aunt and I was very strong and my aunt nurtured my educational experience while I was growing up. In fact, when I was a young boy of about ten or eleven she bought me the complete set of encyclopedias and told me to read it. It was absolutely fascinating so I read it all. When I went to my grandmother and told her that I wanted to go to university she had to sign off on some consent forms, because at that time parents had to agree to your taking university programs, or else you had to take technical courses to become a mechanic and so on. And so my grandmother, as my guardian, had to sign off on these forms and before she signed them she said, ‘you have to promise me that you will get an education, and you will do something with it’.”

And so, as promised, Senator Sinclair got an excellent education and decided to use law as his tool to help people. As such, he has become a prominent leader in both the aboriginal and non-aboriginal worlds.

Robert J. Donelson, VicePresident of Laurier’s Development and Alumni Relations, explained why involving leaders with the Laurier community is vital, “The genesis behind it all was to inspire lives of leadership and purpose. We want to instill in all of our students and all of our alumni with the characteristics of leadership. When they go out in the world, no matter what they do, they will have developed leadership traits to contribute to whatever field they are working in. And so what we want to do is highlight Laurier as a place of leadership.”

The conversation concluded with a chance for the audience members to ask their own questions to the Senator.

Basketball on wheels Christina Manocchio Editor-in-Cheif Shreya Shah News Editor Students who were participating in Laurier Brantford’s O-week had the chance to play a wheelchair basketball game, just like the Paralympics. The only difference was none of the students were disabled.

Unlike the athletes in the Paralympics, every participant playing had the ability to walk on both legs. By having able students play wheel chair basketball, the idea was to create empathy for individuals who are not able to play regular basketball on two feet.

“We wanted to differentiate from regular programming,” said Cale Riccobon, an Icebreaker attending the event.

In wheelchair basketball the use of your feet to push yourself around is prohibited. With a majority of the students attending the event having the ability to walk, the use of their feet gave them the advantage to move across the court faster than using just the wheelchair.

Laurier’s Diversity and Equity Office explained the challenges and differences of individuals who don’t have the same advantages as an abled individual.

“The reason why they held the basketball event is they were looking to develop student empathy around using a wheelchair,” said Lauren Burrows, the Education and Inclusion Coordinator at the Diversity and Equity Office. “I think one of the things we need to consider when hosting events like this is ways in which you may develop empathy around using a wheelchair, but how to further the discussion and also to consider the

ways in which this even doesn’t actually speak to the experience of disability. I think it is a good starting point of conversation and to build community.”

While Laurier has done a good job making all of its buildings accessible for students with disabilities, the same cannot be said for what Adria Joel, from the Employment Equity and AODA office, refers to as “the attitude towards people with disabilities.”

“In terms of physical barriers, Laurier is doing well. We are AODA compliant. And whenever we are constructing new buildings accessibility is top of mind for folks. It’s more in terms of attitudinal behaviours when it comes to people with disabilities. It’s more of a microaggression around accessibility rather than overt discrimination. It’s the little things which I don’t believe are intentional most of the time.”

Micro-aggression is a term used to describe daily, commonplace insults, whether intentional or unintentional.

“It could be things like the language that we use around people with disabilities. So for example, often it’s preferred to use the people’s first language.

But that’s not to say that that’s the case for every group or individual, it’s whatever is preferred.

But for example, we usually say people with disabilities rather than disabled people. And then words like crippled, or the Rword, even when not used to describe people with disabilities, when it’s used to describe a negative thing, it creates the idea that there is something negative about disabilities.”

Students playing wheelchair basketballChristina Manocchio/ The Sputnik

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 21, 2016

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NEWS

SHREYA SHAH | NEWS@THESPUTNIK.CA | @SPUTNIK_NEWS

Brantford Takes Back the Night

Brantford actitcus to activist, Anna Principato/ The Sputnik

Anya Eland Assistant News Editor On Thursday Sept 15, 2016, The Sexual Assault Centre of Brant held the 25th anniversary of the annual Take Back the Night event. Those who attended the night all acknowledge the fact that that there are many people in the community who do not feel safe to walk alone at night. This event is to raise the awareness that this issue needs to end and brings all together to walk to end sexual violence. The night belongs to everyone and people should feel safe. This event consisted of a few songs and dances sung, as well as cheers cheered by all who attended. Jessica Doroshenko, is the coordinator of the No More Project which is a proj-

ect that focuses on getting boys and young men in the topic of gender equality and expressing the fact that sexual violence affects the whole community; not just one section of the population. Doroshenko also expressed why the Take Back Event is so important, “The goal is to bring awareness to the alarming rates of sexual violence and other forms of gendered violence that occur in our community, and to try and change that. Throughout much of our history women have been told not to go out alone at night for fear of what might happen to them. By sending this message to women and other populations who are more vulnerable to violence (such and trans and non-binary folks) we’re looking at the issue in a really backwards way. Instead of saying to the community at large ‘It is wrong to commit violent acts” we’re saying to the people who are the targets of violence “you did something to warrant

the violence against you,’” said Doroshenko.

The Brant Native Housing Women’s Drum Circle was invited to perform at the event. “Indigenous women face very high rates of sexual and domestic violence. Indigenous people have had so much stolen from them during colonization, including their safety during night time, and colonization continues in so many ways today. I think that is why it is important that there is lots of space for traditional activities such as drum circles to take place at events like ake back the night,” said Doroshenko.

A few of the other organizations and programs involved in this event include: Nova Vita (Brantford’s Women’s Shelter and the agency responsible for domestic violence prevention services), Victim Services, Brant’s Response Against Violence Everywhere and Brant Native Housing. There were also some Laurier students who

came on the walk to show support.

This night meant something to everyone who came out, including Doroshenko.“This event is so important because we still blame women for violence that is perpetrated against them. We still ask questions like, ‘what were you doing out alone at night?’, in response to assaults that occur. This is not okay. I want the night to be a time that is safe for everyone, and I don’t ever want any woman who is out alone at night to have to question her safety.” This event is very active in affirming the fact that women are usually afraid to walk at night because it’s not safe for them and to always be on the lookout for danger.

“From a young age women are trained to be hyper-aware of their surroundings at night, and to have safety plans in place in the event that they encounter danger, and that just doesn’t feel right,” said Doroshenko. “It

Walk-it for Parkinsons Taylor Burt Staff Writer On Sept. 10, Parkinson Society Southwestern Ontario put on an event called Walk-It for Parkinson’s. The event took place at Mohawk Park to help raise awareness for Parkinson’s disease.

This event allowed anyone and everyone to come out to support people whose lives have been affected with Parkinson’s. It was also a great way for community members to have a chance to be physically active.

“We handed out pedometers to every participant,” said Steve Hickson, the Coordinator of Special Events for Parkinson Society Southwestern Ontario.

“We really want to promote ex-

ercise, because exercise really helps with the pain of people with Parkinson’s [have]. So we thought ‘Hey if we can hand out pedometers and get people thinking about exercise and starting setting daily goals for themselves, that way we are keeping the Parkinson’s community active.”

Parkinson’s is the result of nerve cells dying in a specific part of the brain called the substantia nigra, reducing levels of dopamine. This causes motor skills to become reduced or uncontrollable. It can also cause restless sleeping, unstable balance, and postural issues among many other symptoms.

According to the media kit given by Walk-It for Parkinson’s, approximately 10,000 people are living in Southwestern Ontario with Parkinson’s disease.

Most individuals start showing symptoms of the disease at age 55 but about ten per cent start at

age 40.

Parkinson’s is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder (after Alzheimer’s disease) according to the media kit given by Parkinson Society Southern Ontario.

This event took place in Mohawk Park so that participants we¬¬re able to choose from a few different paths that ranged from approximately two kilometres to five kilometres.

Individuals could walk any of the paths or turn around halfway and return to the start.

This event was meant to be a fun walk to get people moving and raise awareness for a good cause.

“Registration started at 1 p.m. and the walk started just after two,” said Hickson.

Super Walk also runs events for Parkinson’s awareness, but this is the first appearance of Walk-It. “The first year for this particular event, but we’ve been

having walk events in this area for many years now,” said Hickson.

Hickson explained that there was a regional goal of 1,000,000 steps over the 13 different events across the region or Southwestern Ontario. The steps reached by participants at the Mohawk location was 73,200.

The volunteer committee is trying to expand for next year to make more things available.

“We are looking to expand the committee next year, the volunteer organizing committee and if we can do that then maybe we can add more activities and maybe some local speakers who are involved in Parkinson’s research and things like that,” said Hickson.

The regional fundraising goal that Parkinson Society Southwestern Ontario set up for was $400,000. Hickson stated that they had not yet reached the goal but were hoping to by the

shouldn’t be on me to defend myself against someone’s violent action, it should be on that person to not have committed a violent action in the first place. I should be able to walk freely, and without worry at night, and until that night comes where every woman, non-binary and trans person feels completely safe to be alone at night, it is important to take social actions toward reclaiming the space.”

The Take Back the Night Event happens in Sept. every year around the second week.

Students who are interested can definitely take a look at these different programs and community agencies that are part of Take Back the Night for anymore information. Approximately 200 people marched this year and the Brantford community agencies hope that over the years more people will come and take the march with them.ß´

end of the last two events on Sunday, Sept. 18.

The organization tries to find sponsorship for the events they put on as well as ask the participants to donate.

Approximately 70 people showed up to the event at Mohawk Park. The weather was gloomy that day so the organization was pleased with the turnout.

If you are looking to donate next year or any time during the year you can log onto www.

Walk-It.ca and pick a team to donate or donate to the cause in general.

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WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 21, 2016

ARTS & CULTURE MATTHEW BURLEY | ARTS@THESPUTNIK.CA | @SPUTNIK_NEWS

Our Place wants to be your place

Our Place is on a mission to be the next Thursday night go to, Alex Vialette/ The Sputnik

Alex Vialette Staff Writer With a grand opening on Friday, Sept. 23, Our Place hopes to become your go to bar.

Even though the bar has their grand opening soon, they’ve been serving drinks for a little over a month now. Scott McFadyen, one of the bartenders, poured the first beer at Our Place on Aug. 3 at 5 p.m. Since then the bar has been doing a soft opening, holding events a

couple times each week to drum up some interest.

“We can do anything here, we’re lucky,” said McFadyen.

“We can have groups all over the place. We have a dining area, a sitting area, a pool area, a ping pong area, a bar area, [and] a poker area so we can cater to anybody. Doesn’t matter what age, from 19 to 80.”

These aspects are what gives the bar a jack of all trades feeling. Whether someone wants to shoot pool or to go dancing, Our Place plans to have it covered. With a lineup of free poker nights on Monday and Thursday (which if you’re good, can send you to big tournaments in Vegas, Montreal, and Niagara), a pool

league that plays Tuesday and Thursday, Karaoke on Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday, and bands on Friday nights.

Right now Our Place has a dive bar air to it. Most of the people coming in are there to shoot pool, sing karaoke, play darts, play poker, and eat food.

They hope to draw more students in with a student themed night, a DJ, and the potential for a student discount.

“Everybody knows that the students on Thursdays go to NV, right?” said McFadyen. “Like, that’s the place to go and students like to go there. We’d like to change the demographics of everything because we’re not NV, we’re not the night club. I

speak very highly of NV but we want everything.”

One huge selling feature that appeals to most any drunken shenanigans is the fact that Our Place has a kitchen. While yes, Rockling’s and Piston Broke offer the same, Our Place steps a little beyond them. All of their baking is done with a wood fired oven, making pizza, garlic bread, and all sorts of drunk food. To boot, Our Place also tries to catch students with their drink prices to go along with their cuisine.

“We want to make it almost like a student price,” said McFadyen. “We have lower end beer, I used to be a student myself so I know what students like. If you

can have $3.25 beer, and most students don’t care what it tastes like, or you can have a beer for 5 bucks and then tax on top of that… students are smart.”

Our Place is immediately across the street from the Expositor residence, smack dab between Rose and Thistle and The Starving Artist Gallery Café.

Clerks: Cole Hayward of Sk8 for ALS what is Sk8 for ALS all about?

Skate for ALS is a skateboarding competition to raise awareness and funds for ALS.

Kurtis Rideout Web Editor Brantford’s downtown is home to a wide variety of shops and small businesses. These businesses define Brantford, but what defines the businesses?

This is the inspiration behind “Clerks”; getting to know those who know us so well. From our shoe size to our favourite item on the menu, these business owners make feel more like family than customers. With that being said, let us shine the spotlight on Cole Hayward, founder of Sk8 for ALS. Just a little introduction for those who don’t know who you guys are and what you do:

How long has Sk8 for ALS been running for?

This is our third year running Sk8 for ALS. What made you choose ALS specifically?

My dad passed away from ALS when I was two years old, so that has just been my go to fundraiser for my entire life.

And you’ve always been into skateboarding too?

Yeah, since I was six years old.

So you chose to integrate skating into your fundraising because of personal preference?

Well I actually chose skating because I went to the Walk for ALS in London and I saw two

guys skateboarding it, so I decided that I wanted to do something with skating, and what better than a competition to help raise awareness.

Did everything go as planned today or were there any problems?

Yeah it was really fun, definitely the most fun year so far.

How would you say the response has been from the public over the past few years for Sk8 for ALS? I think everybody thinks it’s fun, I haven’t really ever gotten any bad reviews from it. I think everybody likes it; it’s getting bigger every year.

What kinds of obstacles did you guys face this year?

A few of our sponsors and some people that donated clothing didn’t get back to us so we did have to find a few new people that were willing to donate and give us deals on product.

How many people came out to the Sk8 for ALS contests in previous years?

The first year about 50 to 60 people showed up, but last year we had some bad weather so there were only about 40 people or so. I don’t have the official numbers yet but this year we saw the most people show up.

Can you name the sponsors for me?

Indecks skate-shop, the London Board Shop, Fun House skate-shop, No Frills, MBS grip, New Orleans, Life of Leisure, Arbour skateboards and Beaver wax to name a few.

So what’s in the future?

What’s coming up for Skate for ALS this year?

Well the WALK for ALS is

coming up this week where we will present our cheque to the foundation and then we are just waiting for next year.

How much did you guys end up raising for ALS during today’s competition?

Well I’m not one hundred per cent sure because I’ve been really busy today, but the first year we raised $1400 and the second year we raised $1700 dollars, so we are hoping to top that. All I know is that it was a lot of fun today.

What was your favourite trick in the competition?

Probably Arrie Vissers’ kickflip back tail on the hubba.

THE SPUTNIK

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 21, 2016

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ARTS & CULTURE MATTHEW BURLEY| ARTS@THESPUTNIK.CA | @SPUTNIK_NEWS

No goats were harmed in the making of this article

Matthew Burley A and C Editor On Sept. 24, approximately 1,100 fans will witness six comedians have their chance at $10,000 during the 7th Annual Brantford Comedy Fest.

The mix of amateur and professional comedians will take the stage at the Sanderson Centre in hopes of laughing their way to the bank.

However, this will not be the comedians first time performing for the festival, as each comic had to earn a spot in one of the weekly qualifiers that preceded the event. One of these comics will then be chosen at the Rising Star Finale taking place at the Polish Hall on Sept. 24. The comics were chosen by an undisclosed panel of judges, who will be revealed at the finale.

Brantford Comedy Fest director Jamie Stephens is “excited for the changes” in the upcoming event, and feels that the level of comedy will be really cool. Aside from the added prize money to the Rising Star contest, changes to the festival include a VIP after-party.

Canadian comedy veteran Steve Patterson will be making a long awaited return to Brantford as the special guest headliner for The Gala night. Stephens saw Patterson perform in Brantford

when he was a child, and said that Steve was, “the first person” he contacted while looking for a special guest. Stephens had intended on having Patterson involved in previous years, and stated he was happy that scheduling worked out.

Fresh off the release of his latest work, “The Book of Letters I Didn’t Know Where to Send” (which features “letters” addressed to things ranging from people to the sport of baseball, to onions), Patterson is feeling good about the upcoming comedy festival and is “looking forward” to his return.

Patterson is content with the current state of Canadian comedy, and stated that he, “feels the scene is good.” Patterson praised comedians for using platforms such as YouTube and Vine instead of stages or festivals to put themselves in the public eye.

Patterson hailed up and coming Canadian comedians Matt Wright, Deanne Smith and John Steinberg for their work in the comedy industry.

To prepare for the show, Patterson’s preshow rituals consist of visualizing his act, zoning in, and “drinking an insane amount of water.”

“I wish it was more exciting,” said Patterson. “Like if I sacrificed a goat or something like that.”

In the past, the Brantford Comedy Fest has featured comedians such as Debra DiGiovanni, Colin Mochrie, Debra McGrath, Jeremy Hotz, K. Trevor Wilson, Tom Green, and Brent Butt.

Steve Patterson is looking forward to his over due return to Brantford, courtesy of John Hryniuk

However, Stephens stated that the “local talent usually steals the show.” Stephens also stated he was proud of the festival’s consistency, as they have never

had any comics swap out or cancel beforehand.

The Annual Brantford Comedy Fest sells out every year, however, there are still tickets avail-

able; visit the Sanderson Centre website for details.

“I wish it was more exciting like if I sacrificed a goat or something like that.”

Jamie Stephens before the Rising Star qualifier on Sept. 15, Ben Cooke/The Sputnik

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THE SPUTNIK

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 21, 2016

SPORTS

DEVON MOMY-GAMACHE | SPORTS@THESPUTNIK.CA | @SPUTNIK_NEWS

The career of RG3 was always a show Adam Stocker Staff Writer It was supposed to be “the era of unbridled optimism.” Or at least that’s how long-time Washington Post writer, radio host and “Pardon the Interruption” star Tony Kornheiser described Robert Griffin III, following his impressive debut for the Washington Redskins in 2012. However, since his rookie season, the once bright, unstoppable star of RG3 is fading fast and nearing extinction following the latest in a string of major injuries.

Coming out of high school in Texas, Griffin was a four-star recruit, wanted by big-time colleges for his ability to run hurdles as much as his ability to quarterback an offense. Griffin initially committed to the University of Houston, but switched his com-

mitment to Baylor after Houston Head Coach Art Briles accepted the same position there.

Griffin enrolled at Baylor for the spring semester in 2008.

Competing on the track team, Griffin ran the 400-metre hurdles that semester. He also dominated the Big 12 competition and finish third in the NCAA that season. Griffin’s early college success would give him the chance to compete at the 2008 United States’ Olympic trials. At the age of 17, he made it to the semi-finals, but failed to qualify for Beijing. The initial foundation for his stardom was ignited, and he hadn’t taken a snap on the football field.

Griffin would later be named the starting quarterback for the Baylor football team. His freshman season saw him capture the Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year after he completed 59.9 per cent of his passes for 2091 yards and 15 touchdowns. But it was his explosive running ability that put Griffin on the map. He finished the season with 846 yards

rushing and 13 touchdowns. Baylor finished 4-8, near the bottom of the Big 12 standings.

Griffin’s initial season was a sign of what was to come during the next four years of his life, but his sophomore season foreshadowed the past four years of his career.

Two games into his second season, Griffin showed improvement throwing the football.

Early in Baylor’s third game of the season, Griffin tore his ACL and was granted a medical redshirt from the NCAA. He was dismissed to the classroom and rehab room. While at Baylor, Griffin graduated in three years with a GPA of 3.67 and a degree in political science.

After a year of rehab, Griffin returned to the starting lineup for his redshirt sophomore season. Griffin’s ascent to stardom continued, as Baylor reached its first bowl game in 16 years, finishing with a 7-6 record. Griffin continued to improve as a passer, completing 67 per cent of his pass for 3501 yards and 22 touch-

downs. The prior year’s injury did not have an effect on Griffin’s running ability, as he ran for 635 yards and 8 touchdowns.

Entering his redshirt junior season, Griffin was a potential Heisman Trophy candidate, but nowhere near winning it. That would all change after one game.

Unranked Baylor hosted the fourteenth-ranked Texas Christian University Horned Frogs, in a nationally televised primetime Sunday night game. In what can only be described as an instant classic, Baylor defeated TCU 5048, with Griffin electrifying the Waco crowd. Griffin completed 21 of 27 passes for 359 yards and five touchdown passes, officially becoming a star. The nickname RG3 was nationally known.

Baylor finished the season 10-3 and ranked thirteenth in the Associated Press poll. In the classroom, Griffin graduated and began working on his masters in communications. On the football field, he completed 70.2 per cent of his passes for 4293 yards and 37 touchdowns, while add-

ing another 10 touchdowns and 699 yards rushing. Griffin was awarded the Heisman Trophy as the best player in college football.

But Griffin had the type of star power that turned Baylor itself into a star. Before Griffin’s arrival, Baylor rarely won anything, but with the Griffin and Briles combination, Baylor became a winning destination for the top recruits. Despite its location between Dallas and Austin, nobody ever wanted to come to Baylor until RG3 achieved stardom.

A few weeks later after winning the Heisman, Griffin played his final game for Baylor. When the lights shined the brightest on national television, so did RG3. Griffin put on yet another highlight reel in a nationally televised primetime game, a trend throughout his career. The season started the same way it began for Baylor, an instant classic.

Baylor defeated Washington 6756 behind Griffin’s 350 yards and two touchdowns.

Change of QB helps Laurier continue strong start

Devon Momy-Gamache Sports Editor A late field goal gave Laurier their first lead of the day, but it was the only one they needed as they held on to beat Carleton 17-16.

Their win over the fourth ranked team in the country gave the Golden Hawks their first 3-0 start since 2007. The defence continued to shine, scoring their third defensive touchdown of the season.

The game turned around when the offence began moving the

chains in the second half, when Brantford’s own Michael Knevel took over at Quarterback.

On his fourth drive, Knevel helped the offence go on a 10 play 90-yard drive that resulted in a touchdown to reduce the Ravens lead to 16-14 in the final minute of the third. The drive included a couple of big plays from both Knevel and Running Back Eric Guiltinan. Guiltinan extended the drive with a 36yard run on third down which brought Laurier down to the one-yard line. Darian Waite ran in from there, for his first touchdown of his career.

Although the offence struggled, the defence did everything they possibly could to keep the game close. With the Golden Hawks down two, safety Taylor

Calverley made his second interception of the day. Earlier in the game, Calverley kept Carleton off the board with an interception in the end zone.

Another strong player on the defence was linebacker Scott Hutter. Hutter recovered a fumble that was forced by Kwaku Boateng. He landed on the loose ball on the Ravens 10 which set up Laurier in great field position.

A Nathan Mesher field goal is all the Golden Hawks could manage, but the 17-16 lead was all the defence needed over the final six minutes as they held Carleton off the board.

A key stop on third down with Nakas Onyeka and Malcolm Thompsom combined for the tackle at Laurier’s 51 to give the offence the ball back. A fumble

in the final two minutes by Guiltinan after a 50-yard run was almost costly, but Stu Smith recovered, allowing Laurier to run the rest of the clock out and get the win.

On offence, Guiltinan was a force in the second half, finishing with 200 yards on 23 carries, which was a career high for him.

Laurier needs each and every one of those yards with Knevel finishing 4-8 for 40 yards.

Knevel came in as quarterback after half-time to help inspire a Laurier offence that was stalling under starter Julien John. At the end of the first half, the score was tied at 7, but Laurier’s points were the result of Hutter’s interception return.

The offence was moving nowhere with John only complet-

ing two of his nine throws for six yards with an interception. The limited passing game meant that Carleton could focus on Guiltinan. Guiltinan was limited to 33 yards on six carries with 18 coming on one run.

The Golden Hawks were lucky to still be in the game after being outgained 208 yards to 45 in the first half. Laurier also only managed two first downs compared to 12 for Carleton.

It will be interesting to see who gets the start at Quarterback next weekend for the homecoming game against Waterloo. Waterloo has the worst offence (seven points per game) and defence (58 points per game allowed) in the OUA, so a blowout should be expected regardless of who starts.

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WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 21, 2016

THE SPUTNIK

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SPORTS

DEVON MOMY-GAMACHE| SPORTS@THESPUTNIK.CA | @SPUTNIK_NEWS

Laurier leads in first ever varsity competition

Jessa Braun (third left) and Mahayla Markell (fourth left) were Laurier’s first varsity competitors/ The Sputnik

Devon Momy-Gamache Sports Editor A major goal has been achieved for the athletic department in Brantford after the cross country team opened their season at Fanshawe.

With only a week worth of practice, the team only had 3 athletes attend the meet. Even with short prep time, a pair of women still managed to leave their mark.

In the women’s five KM race, freshman, Mahayla Markell fin-

ished in 37th place with a time of 22:54. After a strong start, she fell back a little overall. Markell said, “In the middle (of the race) I felt a little shitty. But the ending went really well.”

With two more races before provincials, Markell has intentions to improve, “Finishing top 50 is definitely something I want to improve on.”

Sophomore Jessa Braun finished in 39th in a total time of 23:01.

Head coach Cory Currie has high hopes for the two. “The girls ran really well and surprised me.

Top 40 is impressive with most of the schools here that will be competing in provincials.”

The race was won by Mary Strain of Cambrian college in an amazing time of 18:47. Strain won the race by over a full minute to celebrate her birthday.

In the men’s race, the only Golden Hawk on the course was sophomore Kullen Stewart.

Stewart finished his eight KM race in a time of 37:45. His time was good enough to finish in 96th out of 110 competitors.

Stewart was expecting to have some troubles with the distance due to his training in half marathons which require more endurance over raw speed.

Stewart’s strategy for running is, “a mile is a mile. You race against yourself instead of against the

competition.”

Seth Maccaccio won the race in a time of 26:34. The Fanshawe runner used his home-field advantage to win a close race with Rob Asseltine finishing 13 seconds later.

Megan Jacklin represented Laurier’s athletic department for Brantford as the Coordinator of the Fitness and Lifestyles program. Jacklin described how the opening weekend as a “Great start for our department as we start in OCAA (Ontario College Athletics Association).”

On the debut of the school in the OCAA, Jacklin said “It was a great showing. This was a great chance to show our athletes and

our faces around. A lot of people were hyped that we are now going to be competing in varsity sports.”

Although Laurier only had three runners this meet, in the future Currie will have eleven runners to select from with potentially all eleven being chosen for a race. To be eligible for the team competition, a school is required to have four runners in a race, which the team is expected to have.

Markell said on the future of the team, “Me and Jessa being close together allows us to push each other and improve our results together.”

Canadian Paralympians find success in Rio Jessa Braun Staff Writer

University is a great place, but the issue with it is that some students don’t have a TV. And the ones who do have a TV usually have no cable. This is a serious problem. How are supposed to watch our fellow Canadians in the Paralympics?

Well, the best I can do is give an update here of some Canadian Paralympic highlights that you might like to be filled in on.

Let’s start with Canada’s first gold medal of the Rio Paralympics. Aurelie Rivard is a 20-year old swimmer from Quebec making her second Paralympic appearance. She won Canada’s first 2016 Paralympic medal in the 50-metre freestyle S10. Her time of 27.37 is a new world re-

cord.

But the fun didn’t stop there for Rivard – she was a highlight for Canada this year, winning four medals in total, three of them being gold. She won her other two gold medals in the 100-metre freestyle and the 400-metre freestyle. In the 400-metre, she shattered the world record of 4:32:79 with a time of 4:29:26. Rivard also won silver for the 200-metre individual medley S10.

Swimmer Benoit Huot, 32, ended his Paralympic career by winning bronze in the 400-metre freestyle. He has represented Canada in five Paralympics now, leaving him with a total of 20 medals.

Wheelchair racer Brent Lakatos won three medals. The 36year old won gold in the 100-metre and silver in the 400-metre.

He captured his third medal with a bronze in the 800-metre.

Michelle Stilwell, another wheelchair racer, won two gold medals. She won the first in the

The Paralympics ended with 29 medals for Canada, Sai Gnanaharan/ The Sputnik

400-metre race, and the second in the 100-metre with a time of 19:42, a new Paralympic record.

Stilwell now has a total of six career gold medals. One of those medals is from being on the wheelchair basketball team. Stilwell is the second female Paralympian to win gold in two different summer sports. Stilwell was forced to switch from basketball to track after issues arose with her spinal cord injury after the 2000 Paralympic Games.

The Canadian cyclists had an exciting day last Wednesday, winning five medals in one day, which brought their total to eight. Tristen Chernove raced in the 20-kilometre C2 and won the first cycling gold medal of the 2016 Paralympics. It was his third medal after winning silver and bronze in track cycling.

Stephanie Chan was the first table tennis Paralympian in Canadian history to play for a medal. Chan, age 59, competed

against Seong-Ok Kim of Korea for bronze but lost 3-1.

The men’s wheelchair rugby team had an exciting overtime victory against England, which landed them a spot in the semifinals. They scored with less than a second remaining in the game for a 50-49 win.

After a 60-55 loss to the United States in the semi’s Canada’s medal streak going back to the Sydney games in 2000 was at risk. In another close game that was back and forth till the end the Canadians fell just short and lost to Japan 52-50 to finish without a medal.

Canada finished the Paralympics this past weekend with 29 medals to be proud of -- eight gold, 10 silver and 11 bronze.

The next Paralympics will be in Tokyo, Japan in 2020. You have four years to buy that TV, Golden Hawks!

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