Issue 13 - March 4, 2015

A tribute to women on the homefront Rosewood House resident shares her story

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Golden Hawks set sights on CFL Combine

Issue 13 | Wednesday, March 4, 2015 | www.thesputnik.ca

WALKING AWAY

FROM

UNFAIR WAGES THE AMERICAN MOVEMENT TO IMPROVE CONTRACT ACADEMIC STAFF POSITIONS SPREADS TO LAURIER BRANTFORD

Nadine Saba Staff On Feb. 25, staff and students across the United States walked out of classrooms at noon. It was the first National Adjunct Walkout Day, where students and professors stood in protest for the job security, fair pay and support of adjuncts. Although the movement was most prominent in the US, its efforts and goals are alive

and well in Canada, even here at Laurier.

An adjunct, the American name for a contract staff member, is hired part-time but in many cases, works full-time hours. In the United States, parttime instructors make up 76 per cent of staff. There is no official record in Canada, but a 2014 article by the CBC estimated that 50 per cent of classes are taught by contract faculty.

Prof. Sue Ferguson, an associate professor of Digital Media and Journalism at Laurier Brantford, said she thinks the walkout’s biggest impact will be raising consciousness of the issue rather than changing the ways universities will fund fu-

ture teachers.

At Laurier, contract faculty teach about 50 per cent of students and earn about $18,000 a year.

The average annual household income is $76,000 in Canada. To enroll in the Laurier Pension Plan, part-time faculty must register manually as they are not automatically included. They also do not receive regulated dental or health benefits.

Since it is cheaper to hire part-time staff, there is an increase in hired contract faculty. Often, parttime faculty work full-time hours with part-time wages. Due to such financial constraints, it is difficult for contract faculty to spend the necessary

time with students as many simply cannot put in more hours working for free.

“It’s like sweatshop labour, really,” Prof. Ferguson said. “We get so upset about people working in sweatshops overseas but you look around you and you in fact have people who are working under poverty-level wages at your university teaching you. That’s really something to be appalled at.”

many achievements since then, many serious gaps remain. This is the time to uphold women’s achievements, recognize challenges, and focus greater attention on women’s rights and gender equality to mobilize all people to do their part,” says the UN International Women’s Day webpage.

This year’s initiative will focus on the twelve major themes of the 1995 Beijing Initiative: “poverty; education and training; health; violence; armed conflict; economy; power and decisionmaking; institutional mechanisms; human rights; media; environment; and the girl child.”

According to the Status of Women in Canada, the Nation has declared its 2015 International Women’s Day theme as “Strong Women. Strong World. Improving Economic Opportunities for All”.

The City of Brantford has not yet proclaimed International Women’s Day. According to City Councillor, Cheryl Antoski of Ward 4, “The clerk’s office researched what had last been done in recognizing International Woman’s Day, and they found a resolution from 2010 that asked the City of Brantford and it’s resident’s to support the efforts of the International Women’s Day Committees.”

After being elected this past fall, Antoski is

the only woman sitting on Brantford’s City Council. “Brantford certainly lags behind many other communities in terms of the number of women on Council. To accurately have proportional representation for Brantford, we should have 5 women on Council.” says Antoski.

Brantford has never had more than two women sit on council in a term.

In regards to why Brantford more women are not involved in municipal politics, Antoski explained, “Being on Council is a huge time commitment that would be impossible for women who don’t have the full support of their family. In my opinion, women are fantastic multitaskers and are capable of this challenge, but without the fullhearted support, it can add strain to a family. Also, we need to encourage strong women and not see this as aggressive or contrary.”

In regards to Canada’s theme of “Strong Women. Strong World.” Anotski says, “I do identify with this theme … I am certainly seeing great strides in this regard. Many of our leaders in education, various agencies, industry, excreta, are women. I believe that if you were to look at statistics of 10 years ago to now, that you would see a very noticeable increase in numbers.”

Lin Fines, of the Brantford chapter of The Ca-

nadian Federation of University Women (CFUW), says that the organization is working with Brantford’s Nova Vita to host the Women of Excellence Awards on March 4.

The 6th annual Women of Excellence Awards is Nova Vita’s International Women’s Day fundraiser, which operates to highlight the achievements of local women, while raising money to help women affected by domestic violence in the Brantford community. According to Nova Vita’s website, last year’s event raised $40,000.

“This year there are 18 nominees and an award in each of five categories.” says Fines, “The event will follow a similar format to the previous five years - doors open at 5:30 for a silent auction, dinner will be around 6:30, Kate Davis will be our after dinner speaker - and at 9 p.m. we will honor this year’s recipients of the Women of Excellence Awards.”

CFUW will be participating in International Women’s Day events across Canada, “CFUW National helps clubs across Canada to focus on resolutions and concrete projects with measurable outcomes [and] community driven long-term interventions which empower, protect, educate, and nurture girls and women, providing them with equal rights and opportunities.” says Fines.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 5

Brantford groups celebrate local women Taylor Berzins News Editor

International Women’s Day is March 8, and this year the UN is looking to challenge nations to enact equal rights for women.

In what began as small celebrations of women throughout Europe in 1911, by 1977 the UN had created a resolution to have March 8 be recognized as International Women’s Day. Centered on the twentieth anniversary of The Beijing Declaration, International Women’s Day 2015 is operating as a platform to call for the empowerment of women and to encourage development in the role of women as economic actors.

The UN has declared the international theme of 2015’s International Women’s Day as “Empowering Women, Empowering Humanity: Picture it!”

The Beijing Declaration was created by the UN in 1995, and was signed by 189 governments.

20 years later, the goals of the Beijing Declaration have still not been met, “While there have been

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The Sputnik

News

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Taylor Berzins | news@thesputnik.ca | @sputnik_news

Brantford takes a stand against bullying with Pink Shirt Day Davis Vallesi

Staff On Feb. 25 the City of Brantford celebrated Pink Shirt Day, a worldwide campaign against bullying, where participants annually wear pink shirts to raise anti-bullying awareness on the last Wednesday in February.

The Boys and Girls Club of Brantford, who raised funds for the campaign by selling pink shirts to the local school board, as well as other groups within the city, led the initiative.

“We use the day to celebrate the successes, support and efforts of our community; we take Feb. 25 as the day to keep the conversation going. However, we certainly understand that the issue of bullying occurs on an ongoing, daily basis,” said Deanna Searle, executive director at the Boys and Girls Club of Brantford.

The money raised will support the club’s after school programs, which they believe can help prevent bullying through developing traits in children such as inclusion, acceptance and respect for others.

“Within the Boys and Girls Club we have expectations of behaviour and respect, and also try to give our members the tools to address and report bullying appropriately,” Searle stated.

The inspirational story behind Pink Shirt Day illustrates the ability for bystanders to take action and prevent bullying. Back in 2007, Nova Scotia high school students David Shepherd and Travis Price noticed a younger classmate being bullied for wearing a pink shirt to school. Shepherd and Price decided to purchase 50 discount pink shirts and organized a “sea of pink” protest the next day, with hundreds of students at their school participating. The event received wide-

Meghan Page and co-founder Kate Harvey raise awareness about bullying. Marissa White

spread attention, leading many communities to celebrate Pink Shirt Day annually.

At Laurier Brantford, a new club called Never Stop Fighting held an event at the RCW lobby, in support of Pink Shirt Day. Never Stop Fighting was co-founded by Laurier Brantford students Kate Harvey and Lena Sousa, with the intention of bringing awareness towards issues of bullying and providing a voice for students who have struggled or are struggling with bullying.

“We decided to start this club to promote bullying awareness around campus because we found that even though people think it’s an

adolescent problem, we were seeing it throughout the university, especially in residence,” said co-founder Kate Harvey, a third year concurrent education student.

“We want to promote that it’s not character building or something that everyone goes through; it’s a problem that is very serious and people face very serious mental health illnesses from it,” Harvey added.

Being the victim of bullying can have adverse effects on the mental wellness of youth; this has become evident in recent years, especially through the high profile stories of teens be-

ed, “Many of us involved in the campaign have been frustrated with the expenses associated with menstruation for years. I think this is an issue a lot of people feel strongly about, and they haven’t felt like their voices are being heard.”

“According to the Government of Canada all menstrual hygiene products are considered a non-essential item or luxury. To add insult to injury, items like incontinence products, cocktail cherries, human sperm, wedding cakes, and lottery tickets are not subject to GST.” explains the Canadian Mensturators Facebook page.

The organization is using the power of social media to spread awareness about the discriminatory tax, and they are encouraging Canadians to sign their petition in order to change the Federal rules. “Irene Mathyssen (Member of Parliament) introduced Bill C-282, An Act to amend the Excise Tax Act (feminine hygiene products), in October of 2013, and the bill will be lost if Parliament falls. It’s a private member’s bill, so it needs a lot of public support for it to be debated,” Fraser explains, emphasising that in order for the “No Tax on Tampons” campaign to succeed public support is crucial.

Due to these taxes, tampons and pads become even more unaffordable for women who

are already financially struggling to make ends meet. Cindy Oliver, the manager of Brantford’s Food Bank, states that their organization, which works on a donation basis, has noticed that “there is always a need for feminine products, but we don’t very regularly get them donated”.

One of the concerns of having insufficient menstruation products is the increased risk of Toxic Shock Syndrome, which is a life-threatening complication that can result from bacterial infection. It’s difficult to collect menstruation products for donation as most people don’t focus on these items when donating to a food bank, “Whatever products we do receive, we package down, so you may only get five tampons instead of an entire box” says Oliver.

Dr. Christopher Schneider, an Associate Professor of Law and Society at Laurier, further emphasizes the need for public awareness and support, “Social media platforms really contribute to the conditions to where groups and issues such as this can be brought to the attention of the broader public, including men, as it’s probably an issue that’s low on most men’s minds, something they may not reflect on”.

Despite being considered by many to be a ‘feminist movement’, an exemption of taxes on

COPY EDITORS Roberto Belardi Adrienne Fiander Dana Tenn-Miller

CONTRIBUTORS Jacob Dearlove Shelby Do Anthony Fusco Fatbardha Lajci Christina Manocchio Arnisa Morina Jamaal Owusu-Ansah Nadine Saba Shreya Shah Miles Smith Davis Vallesi Aaleya Waslat Melissa Weaver Marissa White Tristan Wright

ing bullied so severely that they were led to take their own lives.

Shelley Marshall, a registered nurse who cares for youth with mental health and addiction issues, discussed the connection between mental health and bullying.

“Working with the adolescents that have mental health issues in my program, I would tell you that greater than 50 per cent of them have been bullied in the past. Even if the bullying has ended, they’re still significantly stressed; it negatively impacts their ability to cope and influences they’re behaviours,” Marshall stated.

“We can’t say that bullying causes mental illness but we know that it’s extremely detrimental for people who develop mental illnesses to also have been bullied,” added Marshall.

This year’s Pink Shirt Day had a lot of visible support around the city, as the cause continues to grow internationally. Some noteworthy individuals and groups within the city showed their support this year including Brant MP Phil McColeman, Brant MPP Dave Levac, the Grand Erie School Board and Brantford Police.

However, it is clear that bullying among adolescents remains far from resolved in Canada.

By considering the results of a recent study by PREVNet, that researchers from 28 universities participated in, the statistics remain alarmingly high. For instance, half of Canadian students reported that bullying is a problem within their high school and one-fifth of teenagers face cyberbullying on the web.

The study affirms the message of Pink Shirt Day, in that the solution may lay in the actions of bystanders speaking out to the bully and standing up for the victim, just like in the case Shepherd and Price. The study found that peers are present in 90 per cent of bullying incidents and that when a bystander intervenes, the majority of bullying cases end within 10 seconds.

No more taxes on tampons - period Shreya Shah Staff What do products like milk, bread, vegetables, prescription drugs, and medical devices like contact lenses and hearing aids have in common?

Canadians do not pay taxes on these types of “essential” products.

More specifically, these products are zerorated. This means that GST/HST is not applied on the supply of these products, as these products have been deemed a necessity by the Canadian government. Tampons and other feminine hygiene products do not fall under this list of necessary items, despite being essential for all menstruating women.

Recently, this tax law has received resistance, being challenged for being “unfair”.

Shining a spotlight on the topic for the public is a group called Canadian Menstruators, who are currently running the “No Tax on Tampons” campaign. Kathleen Fraser, a spokesperson for the campaign, explains how the movement start-

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Layla Bozich eic@thesputnik.ca MANAGER OF OPERATIONS Nathanael Lewis nathanael.lewis@wlusp.com PHOTO EDITOR Cody Hoffman photography@thesputnik.ca ART EDITOR Neha Sekhon visual@thesputnik.ca WEB EDITOR Dylan Kellendonk web@thesputnik.ca

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tampons is beneficial to everyone in society. Dr. Schneider points out, “Tampons, pads and other feminine hygiene products are necessary for women because they are active participants in society. We need women to be in the work force and to go to school; it makes society more productive and better for everybody”.

The campaign estimates that the Canadian menstruating population spent approximately $519,976,963 on feminine hygiene products in 2014, resulting in a GST revenue of $36,398,387.

This large economic gain is acquired by the federal government through targeting a population that cannot avoid this natural bodily function.

ADVERTISING Tammy Rowe (519) 884-0719 ext. 3560 trowe@wlu.ca FRONT PAGE PHOTO CREDITS Left: Lora Adkins Middle: Christina Manocchio Right: Kha Vo Main: Jamaal Owusu-Ansah The Sputnik is a member of the Ontario Press Council, which is an independent ethical organization established to deal with editorial concerns.

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The Sputnik is a proud member of the Canadian University Press (CUP).

Opinions expressed in The Sputnik are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the Editorial staff, The Sputnik, WLUSP, WLU or CanWeb Printing Inc.

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

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The Sputnik

On Campus

Josh Adesina | oncampus@thesputnik.ca | @sputnikoncampus

Self-defence for women organized by Special Constables Melissa Weaver Staff Laurier Brantford’s Special Constables are working to offer improved campus safety by offering R.A.D. self-defence training to Laurier Brantford female students.

The course is taking place on March 21 and 22 in a nine-hour training session. It is a free event with 20 spaces available.

“The training will cover self-defence techniques and situational tips,” explained James Yuhasz, Special Constable.

“The goal is to escape, not to go toeto-toe with somebody,” adds Special Con-

stable Tammie Maertens. After circulating the event on social media, students have expressed their concerns regarding the training, specifically two aspects; the name of the training and that it is only being offered to women.

The name of the training is R.A.D. which stands for ‘Rape. Aggression. Defence.’ Students have expressed concern with the name. “I have talked to other people and they found it very triggering and I found it very aggressive and scary. It’s off putting and I wouldn’t do it because of that,” said Rebecca Mazzarolo.

While the Special Constables acknowledge that the title may be triggering, “the name of the company is ‘R.A.D. Systems of Self-Defence”, Maertens explains.

“It is for women only because we don’t want to have a man, who could potentially be a rapist, come in when we are teaching people how to defend themselves,” said Maertens. “Another reason is that there is a lot of close contact when we are training, and for a woman who has potentially been abused before, being partnered with a man may not be beneficial. This is for women to get their power and to know their inner strength and to foster that and help them bring it out.”

Yuhasz adds, “We aren’t saying that violence against women is the only issue. Any violence is wrong, whether it is against women, men, children or anything.

This is just a specific program for safety against women that we’re having.”

The program was made possible by the Women’s Safety Committee on campus. Yuhasz explained, “A couple of years ago, we applied for funding through the Women’s Safety Committee. The Women’s Safety Committee gives out funds for projects and initiatives that are specifically geared towards issues facing women.”

The training has been offered approximately four times in the past which has made it a recurring favourite within the department. The training comes from the United States. It has been running for 21 years, with 9,000 training instructors. It is the highest ranked training session of its kind in the world in comparison to national standards.

Tips to find a perfect summer job in Brantford can be found at: https://www.brantjobs.ca/ index.php.

Arnisa Morina

Volunteer Network Brantford

Staff

If you are spending the summer in Brantford and are interested in volunteer opportunities, take a look at Brantford’s Volunteer Network: http://www.brantford. ca/residents/Volunteer/Pages/default.aspx.

This summer, you can meet new people and form meaningful relationships through volunteering which will make a difference in your life. Volunteer opportunities include childcare, advocacy, leadership roles, event planning and plenty more. Give back to your community and gain skills you can use in and outside of school every day.

Summer is almost here and that means that it is time to take a break, or to make some money! As university students we all need a little extra income, so it’s important to prepare for summer jobs and student placements. Don’t know where to find employment opportunities this summer? There are many services available to help get you started, and bring you closer to achieving your goals.

Ontario Public Service Have you ever wondered what it would be like to work for the Ontario government? There is no need to wonder anymore.

This summer is your chance to further your education and improve your career skills, through government employment.

Job opportunities include: Victim Services Aid, Market Coordinator, Environmental Assistant, working on a boat as a Marine Assistant to support law enforcement with the Ontario Provincial Police, Travel Counsellor, examining evidence samples as a Laboratory Assistant, and many more worthwhile experiences. Through these positions, which range from seven to eighteen weeks, you can develop skills that will help you attain your ultimate career goals.

Head on over to www.gojobs.gov. on.ca/SEP to get your job search started!

Laurier Navigator Laurier’s Career Centre will help you find a summer job through over 4000 job postings for students. These postings can be accessed through Navigator which includes not only summer but also full-time and on-campus opportunities. The Career Centre also offers services to assist students in preparing an effective cover letter and resumé. It also helps you prepare for

Neha Sekhon

and improve your interview skills. If you haven’t already done so, it is time to take advantage of the helpful and easily accessible services on campus, that are here to help you be successful. View job postings by logging on to Laurier Navigator: https:// navigator.wlu.ca/login.htm.

Brant Jobs Brant Jobs is an effective tool to search through various available employment opportunities offered in your area, not limited to Brantford only. Students can also prepare for their career path by reviewing advice and tips by employers and employees.

These will help you refine your job search, resumé and prepare for interviews. Further engage yourself in articles related to career development, employment opportunities and prospects from leading business publications. Student jobs and placements

Correction: Olivia Matthews wins WLUSU presidential election Please see www.thesputnik.ca for an updated version of this story that has been changed to fix errors concerning number of

votes cast and names involved in the 201516 WLUSU presidential election.

Whether it be through employment or volunteer opportunities, you can improve your skills, learn about your working style and decide which career field is right for you. Take a break this summer, but don’t forget to also gain valuable work experience which will help you succeed. Good Luck Golden Hawks!

Follow Sputnik On Campus on Twitter! @sputnikoncampus

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Wednesday, March 4, 2015

On Campus Josh Adesina | oncampus@thesputnik.ca | @sputnikoncampus

Laurier Brantford celebrates International Women’s Day with week of events a.m. – 2 p.m. in RCW lobby) A variety of tables, including community organizers (such as the Sexual Assault Centre of Brant) and students groups (like the Laurier International Students Association and F-Word) will be set up to provide information and activities.

Josh Adesina On Campus Editor Laurier Brantford embraces International Women’s Day with a week of events that bring attention to different matters related to gender equality. The events will take place between March 9 and 13.

International Women’s Day reflects on the past and present accomplishments of women from all countries and communities.

Dr. Rebecca Godderis, program coordinator, was able to talk about International Women’s Week and its relevance to Laurier Brantford. “The point of the day itself is to declare a day to continue to think about issues related to women, and women’s equality around the globe.” In addition, Godderis spoke about some of the reasons International Women’s Week will be celebrated at Laurier Brantford. “We want to celebrate the accomplishments that we’ve seen in women’s equality, and also recognize that there are a number of things that still need to be addressed,” continued Godderis.

Furthermore, Godderis touched on various subjects that deserve the attention of male and female students.

“One of the issues that folks may have heard in the news is sexual violence. In particular, sexual violence and sexual assault on university campuses. We don’t have proper policies in place for a lot of universities in Ontario. It really is an issue that affects a lot of young women, and their

Wednesday – March 11

Family Ties Tour (4:00 - 5:20 p.m. in RCW 203) An arts-related event in which Toronto artists Casey Mecija and Vivek Shraya will share their short films and sing.

Thursday – March 12

Women’s Spaces: a workshop (3:00 5:00 p.m. in CB 100) A hands-on opportunity for students, staff and faculty to work together with social justice organizer Julie Lalonde to learn about the possibilities for creating a women’s centre on the Laurier Brantford campus. All are welcome, but space is limited!

To RSVP, contact: rgodderis@wlu.ca Neha Sekhon

ability to fully participate at university,” said Godderis.

Although International Women’s Week is one that focuses on the importance of equality for women, Godderis encourages males to attend the events as well.

“It’s not meant to be just about women.

It’s meant to have both women and men think about what kind of world they want to live in. Gender is about both men and women, and how they interact. We encourage males to come too,” said Godderis.

These are the dates and locations for all

events. Remember, all are welcome (even community members)!

Monday – March 9

Community Forum on Gendered Violence on Campus (1 p.m. in OD 107) A number of panellists from the Laurier Brantford community will be speaking about gendered violence on campus and answering questions from the audience.

Tuesday – March 10

Information Fair in the RCW lobby (10

Friday – March 13 Talking to young people about sexting, technology and gendered violence (1 p.m. in Dal 007) A public talk hosted by social justice advocate Julie Lalonde.

Students, staff, and faculty can contact Dr. Rebecca Godderis at rgodderis@wlu. ca

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Features

5

The Sputnik

Karly Rath | features@thesputnik.ca | @sputnikfeatures

A Canadian advocates for LGBTQ rights in Ukraine Aaleya Waslat Staff Every human being deserves to be treated equally, fairly and with respect, regardless of his or her sexual orientation. However, globally, the LGBTQ community faces severe discrimination, violence and abuse. Michelle Emson, a committed LGBTQ advocate, an award-winning speaker and an openly ‘out’ transgender woman, is working to change that in Ukraine.

Originally from southern Ontario, Emson has also attended Brantford Pride and has presented on gender issues at the local Grand River Community Health Centre. Today, Emson currently lives in Slovenia, alongside her girlfriend, Olena Semenova, and Ukrainian and Canadian human rights advocates, continuing to raise awareness for the fight of LGBTQ rights.

The homophobic and transphobic culture in Ukraine discriminates against the LGBTQ community by challenging their “right to exist”, said Emson.

The first pride parade in Kyiv, was to be held in 2012 but it was not safe for people to march due to the strong homophobic oppression and was cancelled as a result. In 2013, Europe and Canada supported the Ukrainian activists and although Pride was successful, discrimination and violence was unavoidable. Lastly, in 2014 Kyiv Pride was cancelled at the last minute because police could not provide security to the people.

Emson works to reduce the stigma surrounding both gender expression and mental health throughout the transgender journey.

The Canadian Embassy in Ukraine is supporting the production of a documentary called PRIDE of Ukraine – Inspire a World of Change about the story of Kyiv Pride movement from 2012 to 2015. Michelle Emson is the co-producer and is putting the final touches on the documentary before it is published this month.

She stresses that “coming out of the closet” is very endangering for LGBTQ people in Kyiv, as people are exposed to extreme violence.

Emson’s personal transgender journey

Michelle Emson is co-producing a documentary called PRIDE of Ukraine - Inspire a World of Change. Courtesy of Michelle Emson

“Society wanted me to be a boy and that’s what I was.” has been long and intense.

“It took me ten years to plug up the courage,” she said, finally deciding to speak to a therapist about her gender in 2008. She spent three years looking for a “cure”. The year of 2011 was her “social transition year”: she began hormone therapy and came out at work.

Her final surgery was in Dec. 2013.

Emson’s relationship to her family and friends has dramatically changed throughout her transition. Emson has not seen her two step-children and six grandchildren for about five years. She had hoped that her family had at least an idea of what was happening all along, “only to discover that they were clueless”, she said.

Emson is hoping to create a support system for the family and friends who receive “only little focus and attention”, she said, speaking of her experience through re-social-

ization.

“Society wanted me to be a boy and that’s what I was,” she explained. She added that if there is not enough support available for youth who may be gender diverse, it will lead to “permanent difficulties”. She emphasized that intervention usually happens at a later age which causes long-term mental health issues that can be avoided through an early transition.

With proper support, social transformation can begin earlier. Emson said that there would have been far fewer struggles and fear in her childhood if she were able to come out of the closet at 12 years old.

“It would have been awesome,” she said.

Rainbow Alliance at Laurier Brantford offers support to students on campus who may be dealing with coming out, transitioning, or any other issue that the LGBTQ community and its allies may face. The group focuses on acceptance and awareness, just as Emson advocates for. Identities, pronouns

“The homophobic and transphobic culture in Ukraine discriminates against the LGBTQ community by challenging their ‘right to exist’.” and other wording can all be vital in a person’s journey.

“We provide educational workshops, to ensure that the students are learning about the right terminology,” said Melissa Burke, Diversity and Leadership Coordinator on Campus.

Amidst all of the discrimination that still plagues the global LGBTQ community, there are individuals and groups working every day to see that change. Michelle Emson is one advocate who aspires to make the LGBTQ community’s march through life a whole lot easier, safer and freer.

Contract academic staff fight for job security Nadine Saba Staff CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

In order to become full-time, staff must publish extensive academic research but this labour-intensive process is hardly feasible while teaching courses.

Prof. Ferguson said that while one-day actions do not change much as change occurs

with prolonged action, they are still important. “It’s super important because it’s part of something that can build momentum,” Prof.

Ferguson said.

Prof. Ferguson used the 2012 Chicago Teachers Union’s strike as an example of a successful event that started small. “That began with little one-day skirmishes here and there and you need those to build people’s confidence, that it’s okay to fight back and that there’ll be people who’ll support you if you’re fighting back,” Prof. Ferguson said.

“It is part of something that could potentially grow into something much bigger, and it’s an important cog in that wheel.”

Talks of job security and fair pay for contract academic staff are present throughout many Canadian universities.

In solidarity with National Adjunct Walkout Day, the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations, known as OCUFA, launched a “We Teach Ontario” campaign to highlight the works of contract faculty in universities across the province.

The campaign also brings up the challenges contract faculty face regarding job security and working conditions.

A Laurier Facebook event page was created by Ethan Jackson, a student, to host the walkout at the Waterloo campus. On the day of the walkout, students marched throughout campus in solidarity with part-time fac-

ulty at noon, similar to students in the United States.

“As students, we pay thousands of dollars a year for our education,” Jackson wrote on the Facebook event page. “We are in school to get a degree and to get a better job, yet why is it that the ones teaching us this narrative do not get the same opportunity of stable living, of health care access, of aspirations?”

Prof. Ferguson said there is always a potential for contract faculty to go on strike given their working conditions. This would not be the first at Laurier. In 2008 the union that represented contract faculty elected to go on strike.

“It really depends on how much the universities really aggressively pursue the move to create more contract faculty at the expense of full-time faculty jobs,” Prof. Ferguson said.

“At some level people would say, ‘Well isn’t that a progressive thing because at least you are giving them something?’ But the problem is it’s not a good solution for education in the long run because the contract faculty are often so stressed out.”

If you take note of your professors’ official titles, several are likely to be contract academic staff members. Understanding the context of their employment can help explain a lot of what goes on inside and outside of your lecture hall.

6

Features

The Sputnik

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Karly Rath | features@thesputnik.ca | @sputnikfeatures

Rosewood House, at 42 Nelson St., is transitional housing for people with mental illness who need care before living on their own. Christina Manocchio

A Rosewood House resident’s story of struggle and strength Karly Rath FeaturesEditor Rosewood House is transitional housing for people with mental illness and often drug addiction. Residents attend an hour of group therapy each day, which addresses a variety of issues from anxiety and selfharm reduction to budgeting and healthy eating. The residents, usually around 15 at a time, have chores assigned weekly, their food and medication prepared for them, and a nightly curfew.

But beyond the day-to-day activities, Rosewood House is a place of struggle, strength and positive change.

Abby Cardenas, 25, is in her first semester at Laurier Brantford, studying law and society part-time.

She has lived at Rosewood House, located at 42 Nelson St., for seven months. In order to live at Rosewood, which is staffed by trained professionals 24/7, one must be diagnosed with a mental illness, be on Ontario Works social assistance, and are often put on a waiting list.

Cardenas, who has been diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, loves the care that is provided at Rosewood. Regular drug testing, addictions counselling, one-on-one therapy and dialectical behavior therapy are just a few of the resources available.

“There are times where it’s calm and peaceful and then there are times where it’s high-intensity,” Cardenas said.

Over the months spent there, Cardenas has formed strong relationships with her housemates.

“I love the people I live with, mainly

because I have a lot of patience for them and I understand them and where they are coming from,” she said.

Despite the extra care provided to residents, the home is just like any other. The residents, many of them now close friends, enjoy hanging out together, talking and laughing.

“For Christmas time, the staff didn’t want to decorate for whatever reason … so I went inside the closet and I took out all of the decorations and decorated the whole

to save me from this Hell because I don’t know how to get out,’” she said. “And two weeks later, I was out.”

After a failed suicide attempt following a beating, her pimp’s drug dealer rescued her from the bathroom floor and told her she could not go back.

With the dealer gone to visit his family for Easter weekend, she had nowhere to go. She went for a walk and stumbled upon Trinity Anglican Church with a sign advertising the Good Friday service. She

“I was in [that lifestyle] for five years and finally I just said, ‘God: I don’t know if you exist or not but if you do, you need to save me from this Hell because I don’t know how to get out,’” [Cardenas] said. “And two weeks later, I was out.” place,” Cardenas said, eyes lighting up at the memory. She then gushed about the “Family Photo Area” she created for her housemates to ignite their holiday spirit.

Cardenas, poised, pensive and clever, has been through more than most can imagine: years of incessant emotional, mental, physical and sexual abuse.

At one point, Cardenas had what she thought was a charming, loving boyfriend.

But this master manipulator soon became her abusive pimp, forcing her into a life of stripping. She was hospitalized many times during this time of her life in Mississauga.

“He set the dogs on me. We had three pit bulls, so they tore my flesh,” she said, her hands grazing over the scars on her shoulder blades.

Cardenas was an atheist and had been all of her life, yet she knows that God was the one who saved her.

“I was in [that lifestyle] for five years and finally I just said, ‘God: I don’t know if you exist or not but if you do, you need

read the phrase “God is Here” and walked in and heard the Easter story for the first time.

“The thing that really pierced me so bad was when they said that they beat [Jesus] … and it started to make me angry because my pimp used to tell me every time he beat me, ‘You deserve it, you did something wrong.’ But He, Jesus, didn’t do anything wrong.”

She felt an immediate connection to Jesus in that moment. After listening to the next sermon on Easter Sunday she began bawling at the overwhelming feeling that God loved her; she had never felt loved before that moment. After rushing up to the rector, the preacher, and telling him her life story, he invited her to live with him and his family. Just like that—she was safe and loved.

“They didn’t ask me for a penny. They let me live in their home. They let me have dinner with their children at the dinner table with them and I had never felt that

before,” she said. She cried right then and there.

“I was starting to see… consciousness kicked in and you’re aware of good,” she said. “It’s a whole other world.”

Since that life-changing Easter weekend nearly three years ago, Cardenas lived with her rector up until he and his family moved out of Canada a few months ago.

She moved into Rosewood House this past August to ensure she receives the care she needs to stay strong and continue down her path. She takes full advantage of all of the resources the home provides her, takes care of her body, and speaks with her rector, now overseas, regularly.

“He tells me all of the time, ‘Abby, I love you. I am so proud of you, just keep going,’” she said.

Cardenas is now a conscientious Laurier student who is focused on herself, in the best way possible. She is choosing to stay away from relationships for now but she feels unconditionally loved all of the time which is marked by the cursive “Jesus” tattoo on her ring finger. Cardenas also works at a legal firm downtown Brantford. After Cardenas graduates Laurier, she wants to go on to law school, and one day become a judge.

The residents of Rosewood House sometimes experience stigma. But next time you hear snippets of one’s past, or their diagnosis, or of someone’s personal struggles, remember that there is a reason, there is a story. And, without a doubt, there is a reason Abby Cardenas stands where she is today—whether you believe in God or not, walking into that church service that day changed her life. There is no doubt the unwavering strength that can be seen in her eyes had something to do with it too.

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

7

The Sputnik

Arts & Culture

Dillon Giancola | arts@thesputnik.ca | @sputnikarts

George (Cooper Bilton) comforts Fannie (Alex Draper) during a scene in The Second Self. Courtesy of Lora Adkins

Brantford’s tribute to Canadian women on the homefront Dillon Giancola

A&C Editor Brantford’s arts scene is maturing before our eyes. The Brantford Arts Block is a huge part of this, attracting many talented bands from out of town. However, the home-grown Brantford talent is a huge part of that, with the current showing of the play The Second Self at The Arts Block being perfect evidence of this.

The Second Self was written and directed

by Brantford’s Victoria Hudson-Muir, an English and Theatre Studies student at the University of Guelph. The second play that she has written, Hudson-Muir and her team worked on The Second Self every Sunday since September in preparation for this run at the Arts Block, which included five shows from February, 19 to 22. The Brantford shows were both performance and preparation, as the play was accepted to appear in the London and Edmonton Fringe Festivals

this summer.

Hudson-Muir originally wrote the script when she was 13. However, in July, because of all the talent she was seeing in Brantford, Hudson-Muir started to work on The Second Self again. “I wanted these performers to get a chance to be seen by a wider theatre community, and I thought that this script was the perfect opportunity for it,” she said. In fact, all seven members of the cast, as well as the production team, are from Brantford.

The play tells the story of a group of young Canadian women, and one man, that live together during the second world war. It is centred around what life was like back on the home front. It is very revealing, bringing to attention topics like abuse, the pressures on the youth of that era to grow up, and about moving on after a loved-one is lost at war.

These are all issues that are not commonplace in war movies or plays, and provide a new way to look back on the war experience.

Hudson-Muir drew from her family and own experience to provide inspiration for this story. “My grandmother was a war bride in her twenties. She married my grandfather in

the early 1940s before he left to fight overseas,” Hudson-Muir said. The character of Helen James, played excellently by Brandy Goodnough, shows this notion of the wife trying to go on with life as normal while her boyfriend is off to war. She deals with the uncertainties of wondering daily if her husband will return safely or not, while trying to plan the rest of her life as if he surely will.

Likewise, the role of George, played by grade 10 student Cooper Bilton, was based off of her grandfather, Harry Hudson. Hudson was heavily abused physically and emotionally by his father, yet he forgot against the memories of the abuse, and became a very successful psychiatrist. In the play, George is a rough-around-the-edges young man, who won’t face his abusive past, and is scared to pursue his feelings for Fannie, who is played innocently by Alex Draper. George, feeling like he isn’t a man, weighs whether or not he should enlist for war.

It is the issue of the pressure’s on the youth of that era that is most compelling, and one Hudson-Muir is especially interested in exploring. She said that she really wanted

to show the difference of the pressures on 1940s youth to those placed on youth today.

The character of George really struggles with this, being of age, but not feeling like he is doing enough with his life. Fannie is still in high school, yet is living parent-less, and is considering marriage to keep the love of her life from going to war.

Hudson-Muir says that though there may have been different kinds of pressures on the youth in the 1940s, “we still pressure the youth of today to mature.” It is a topic that is not brought up enough, the expectations placed on kids coming out of school are ingrained, yet are rarely attainable or the best options.

The reaction from the crowd during the run of performances was very positive. The show is very well acted, with several standout exchanges written that allow the actors to showcase their talent. For these reasons, and its captivating subject nature, The Second Self is poised to receive great fan fare during its performances this summer.

Two worlds, one family: Assumption College brings Disney to life Shelby Do Staff On Friday Feb. 27, Assumption College School debuted this year’s production, a stage musical adaptation of Tarzan, based on both the Disney film of the same name and Edgar Rice Burroughs’ story, Tarzan of the Apes.

With pre-production beginning in June 2014 and the auditions and production process starting in October, it’s evident that despite only having about four months for the cast and crew to prepare, a lot of time and effort was put into making Tarzan a special performance.

The director and teacher at the school, Alicia Belina, explained, “We rehearsed 3 nights a week. On Mondays and Thursdays, we did stage work. We would do blocking and we would do choreography, and things like that. And then on Tuesdays, we did vocal rehearsals for a couple of hours each night.”

The last week of rehearsals before the

show, aptly titled “Hell Week”, was an even more intense production, pushing the students to do their best, despite the exhausting hours. Belina commented, “It’s been long.

Every night, Monday to Thursday from 3 to 9 o’clock.” With school hours officially beginning at 8:45 a.m., you can just imagine how tiring this week has been for the cast and crew, yet they pushed through and put on a great show.

The cast, led by Kyriakos Kyprianou as Tarzan and Michelle Zyma as Jane, demonstrated just how talented the students as Assumption College are, as well as students from St. Gabriel’s Elementary School, who volunteered to take part in the play.

The cast is rounded out by great acting and vocal performances from Bailie Wade (Kala), Ainsley Headley (Kerchak), Ines Kowal (Terk), Bianca Pace (Young Tarzan) Krysia Glowala (Young Terk) and Van Thompson (Professor Porter), as well as Alex Margavio (Clayton) who does not sing.

The entire cast showed phenomenal dedication to their characters and craft, especially

those in the ensemble who spent much of the play walking on stage like gorillas. For the ensemble, it was the choreography from Ally Penders that gave them the chance to actually stand up, and when they did, the difficulty and skill of their choreography was on full display.

This article could not be complete without giving much deserved credit to the stage crew. Headed by stage manager Nick Pettigrew, musical director Arjun Fernando, and technical director Dave Allen, everything from the set to the costumes to the music was beautiful, pulling the audience into a jungle experience.

The hair and make-up demonstrated considerable skill in transforming each actor into their characters, unrecognizable to their own selves, but still unique enough to differentiate the characters, most notably through different coloured wigs.

For the world of drama in education, Tarzan and other high school productions aren’t just to show how talented students are. There is a more important issue to discuss when

talking about high school productions, and that is the importance of drama and art in schools.

When asked about his past in drama and his experience working on Tarzan, Kyprianou said, “This was the first thing that I’ve ever done. I was very surprised. I think it really boosted my confidence. I really liked it.

It was really fun and I’m looking forward to the next thing that I’m going to be in that has to do with drama.”

By supporting the artistic efforts of students, people can help generate an understanding of why art in school is a necessity.

It’s going to see productions like Tarzan, or viewing a school’s art gallery, or attending their band recitals. Supporting the educational arts helps students find what they enjoy in life, and it helps keep artistic culture alive.

You can catch Tarzan at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 6, as well as shows at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 7.

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Arts & Culture

The Sputnik

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Dillon Giancola | arts@thesputnik.ca | @sputnikarts

Taking a trip through the musical time machine

Roberto Belardi

Staff In recent years, concert attendances have drastically changed to suit a higher demand of entertainment and experience.

From generation to generation, genres of music change, altering popularity each and every time. Predominantly from the 60s to the early 90s, rock and pop fuelled the souls of young listeners enjoying their concert experiences. After that, rap and hip hop entered the scene before the impact of electronic dance music created what we know as one of the most popular genres today.

I want to take you through the time machine of music, and which artists and concerts have stood out the most. Let’s rewind to the 60s, where artists such as The Doors, Jimi Hendrix and Elvis Presley electrified rock and roll. In spite of these three incredible artists, one band rose above the rest to grasp a historic focal point of music; that band was The Beatles. This band performed one of the largest concerts in its time in New York City at Shea Stadium in 1965. A total of 55,000 people attended this show and according to the bands official website it was described as one of the greatest shows to ever be filmed on T.V. Guitarist Paul McCartney said, “Half the fun was being involved in this gigantic event ourselves.”

The 70s brought a decade of rock and hippies, but not much changed in the style of music and popularity. Bands such as Rush, The Eagles, Aerosmith and even the Rolling Stones began to gain worldwide recognition. However, the band who held the largest show within this period was Led Zeppelin.

According to www.forums.ledzeppelin.com, they hosted a concert at the Pontiac Silverdome in 1977, in front of 76,229 people.

This performance was recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records, revolutionizing the attendance of concert venues, as it was a 20,000 person increase from that Beatles show in the 60s.

“The size of the crowd increases the size of the energy,” said Laurier Brantford professor and former musician David Haskell.

If you’re wondering what the 80s brought to the table, it might not be what you were thinking. Yes, the 80s had AC/DC and pop bands like ABBA who were extremely popular, but the decade also witnessed a revolutionary style of pop music and the introduction of rap/hip hop. Michael Jackson took the main stage as one of the largest sources of entertainment touring the world. From 1987 until 1989, Jackson performed 123 concerts for over 4.4 million people. He exceeded Led Zeppelin’s position in the Guinness Book of World Records and gave pop a new name. In the late 80s a group known as N.W.A arose from the violence and poverty of Compton, California to express their difficult lifestlyes, in a genre we now know as rap music. Famous names such as Dr.Dre and Ice Cube are well known for their bizarre musical approach that influenced many people; their album Straight Outta Compton is one the most sold rap albums of all time. It is difficult to know how many people attended their concerts, but their popularity inspired two rap artists of the 90s to take the game to a whole new level.

Names like Notorious B.I.G and Tupac Shakur may ring a bell. They were as big of names for rap at this time as NSync and Backstreet Boys were for pop. Biggie and Tupac divided all of America into the pro-

The Doors played a large part in the original rock and roll scene. Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons

lific East and West side styles of music that battled each other up until the deaths of both artists. Concert attendance numbers were as high as 50,000. This was extremely impressive for a style of music that was not yet highly regarded as a great one.

From the 2000s until the present day, two concerts changed the limits for how many people artists can play for. Although U2 and Coldplay concerts were very popular, The Rolling Stones had the biggest show. In 2006, they travelled to Praia de Copacabana in Rio de Janeiro to perform in front of 1.3 million people across the beaches. Photos will blow your mind as the Stones are widely regarded for one of the largest audiences ever in one venue. Across the globe, and in the present

day, a festival known as Tomorrowland in Boom, Belgium attracts fans of Electronic Dance Music, as DJ’s perform for 400,000 people. According to bbc.com, for the 2014 edition of the festival, 360,000 tickets were sold in just one hour.

As new genres of music evolve, the popularities of each genre rise and fall, and concert attendances increase. It is fascinating to look back at how music has changed over the last 50 years, and what new genres will exist next. And you, the fans, get to choose which music to support, influencing the next wave of artists to come.

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

9

The Sputnik

Sports

Kyle Morrison | sports@thesputnik.ca | @sputniksports

Taking the next step: Golden Hawks set sights on CFL Combine Jacob Dearlove

Staff Every single snap has been building up to this, every late night and early morning in the weight room, the nagging injuries, the victories and the defeats. Every battle on the practice field, in front of screaming fans at KnightNewbrough field and at road stadiums across the province have been building towards this moment.

They’ve spent four years leaving it all on the field for the Laurier purple and gold, and now in just four weeks’ time, three Golden Hawks will take the next step in their journey to play professional football. On the weekend of March 27-29, Laurier football standouts Ese MrabureAjufo, Chris Ackie and Dillon Campbell will head to the 2015 National CFL Combine in Toronto to showcase their physical skills in front of CFL coaches, general managers, scouts, and media in hopes of solidifying their position as draft picks in the upcoming CFL draft. Their four years of top-level on-field performances have caught the attention of scouts, earning them invitations to the combine, and now is their chance to show CFL personnel that they have what it takes to make it in the pros.

The weekend will include athletic measurement drills, such as the 40-yard dash to measure speed; the three-cone drill to measure agility; broad and vertical jumps to measure explosiveness and the bench press to measure raw strength. It will also feature positional drills, which allow scouts to compare players’ applicable skills against their positional counterparts. The final components of the weekend are team interviews and medical examinations, which allow teams to assess character, get to know players better, and ensure that there are no underlying injuries which may hinder a player’s performance.

The combine is an individual showcase of talent, but the three hopeful Golden Hawks will approach it the same way they have approached everything over the past four years: as teammates, friends, and brothers. These three players share a much deeper connection than their invitations to the combine, and deeper still than the same purple and gold jerseys they’ve donned each Saturday of the last four fall seasons. It is this connection that has pushed them to the position that they are in right now, and what continues to drive them in the pursuit of their goal. “It’s a brotherhood,” says Dillon Campbell, who set OUA single-season and single-game records for rushing yards in 2014.

“You grow up together … As the years go on, you grow and you have the same dream to get to this level, you use that to push each other.”

All three players entered the Laurier football program in the same rookie class of 2011, and despite the numerous personal achievements on the field, making it through all four years is what Ese Mrabure-Ajufo sees as his number one accomplishment in football. “Coming in as a freshman, a lot of the vets were talking about how a lot of the guys will come in their first year and do well, and second year they do pretty well -- but somewhere in the mix they fall off, either academically or talent-wise, they’re just not hungry enough.”

A lack of hunger has never been an issue for Ackie, Campbell or Mrabure-Ajufo, according to Laurier football head coach, Michael Faulds.

Faulds attributes each player’s success to their rare combination of skill and work ethic. “Obviously they’ve been blessed with unbelievable talent, but talent only gets you so far, and they’re at the point of their careers where they’re getting opportunities for pro football because they match that talent with an unbelievable work ethic.”

Mrabure-Ajufo is, as CFL analyst Justin Dunk will tell you, “athletically, a bit of a freak for his size.” He has spent his four years at Laurier amassing 72.5 tackles, utilizing his combination of size and speed to effectively defend against the pass and run. In 28 career games, the Mississauga native chased down opposing quarterbacks for 10.5 sacks and brought down opposing ball-carriers 18 times for a loss

Left to right: Asante Mizan (91), Ronnie Pfeffer (37), Dillon Campbell (34), Chris Ackie (21), Ese Mrabure-Ajufo (99) with Pfeffer’s cousin Ash after their final home game for the Laurier Golden Hawks. Courtesy of Kha Vo

of yards, doing so from both the defensive end

“You grow up together … As the years go on, you grow and you have the same dream to get to this level, you use that to push each other.”

and defensive tackle positions, and believes he could continue to play both positions moving forward.

“There are two spots I could see myself playing [in the pros],” explains Mrabure-Ajufo.

“My home position, defensive end, and then 3-technique defensive tackle.” Dunk, who is one of the most prominent voices in the CFL draft process, shares the belief that he could potentially play both positions, but adds that it is likely Mrabure-Ajufo would make a bigger impact in the CFL if he were to bulk up and move inside to play as a defensive tackle.

Coach Faulds didn’t hesitate when asked if Mrabure-Ajufo could play either position.

“Yeah, he could … He could also play 3-4 linebacker … he’s strong enough to play inside and quick enough to play outside, and he’s one of those defensive linemen who, because of his speed, could play special teams.”

In preparation for the combine, MrabureAjufo has been training with Anthony Cannon at Sports Specific Training in Oakville. Cannon, a former NFL-er, was Laurier’s defensive line coach in 2013, where his ‘iron sharpens iron’ mantra struck a chord with Mrabure-Ajufo and set a fire to his play during his last two seasons for the Golden Hawks. Mrabure-Ajufo gives a ton of credit for where he is as a player to the coaching he’s received at Laurier, and explains that he’s modelled his game after two fellow Canadian football players, Cauchy and Henoc Muamba. Neither Muamba brother plays the same position as Mrabure-Ajufo, but watching how hard both train and how aggressively they play has given him something to model his own game after. As far as a positional role model, you only have to look as far as Mrabure-Ajufo’s number 99 for a hint. “J.J. Watt”, he remarks.

“Any guy that plays defensive end is going to say, ‘I wanna be like J.J. Watt.’”

Ackie is another defensive standout on the Laurier team, compiling 128 tackles in 32 career games, including five sacks and 6.5 tackles for losses in his four years of eligibility. Similar to Mrabure-Ajufo, he is another wild-card of sorts when it comes to his position moving forward, Justin Dunk explains. “He obviously played defensive back at Laurier, but when talking to scouts and looking at him myself, I think he’s probably better suited to be a linebacker in the CFL.” Ackie, who led the Laurier team in

tackles in 2014, is not surprised that he’s being seen as a potential linebacker. The 2014 CIS First Team All-Canadian has actually been told that many times, he says, and adds that, “If I go to linebacker, I still have my defensive back cover skills, and I know I’m big enough and strong enough to hit and play in the box.”

Rather than dwelling on a position change, Ackie has been hard at work, training under former CFL and NFL defensive back, Jykine Bradley for the upcoming combine. “We’ve been doing a lot of stuff with him,” says Ackie of the former seven-year pro. “A lot of explosion training, working on tons of speed.” In addition to the traditional physical training, Ackie has been dieting in an attempt to cut down ahead of the combine, adding that because of the dieting he feels leaner, better, and in the best shape he’s ever been in.

Once drafted, Dunk suggests that Ackie is someone who could “come in and play special teams right away for you.” While playing special teams may not sound appealing to some players, Ackie lit up at the mention of such an opportunity, “I’d love to play specials to work my way up and earn the respect of my teammates … wherever I go, I’ll ball out on specials.”

Campbell, has left no question in anyone’s mind about his position after two outstanding seasons as Laurier’s feature back. Coach Michael Faulds could not say enough positive things about Campbell’s game as a running back. “He’s tough, he runs really hard, and he’s got great speed … at any point he can take it the distance,” remarks Faulds. “He’s a great pass blocker … on top of that, he’s a dynamite special teams player with his toughness and speed.”

Campbell’s 2014 MVP season, highlighted by his 1458 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns, was incredibly productive and will stand out to scouts, claims Dunk. However, he senses that the Laurier running back will have to improve on his 40-yard dash time from last year’s CIS East-West Bowl if he wants to get a look as a CFL feature back. Matt Walter, a running back for the Calgary Stampeders and someone who Dunk compared Campbell to, ran a 4.65 second 40-yard at the 2011 combine, a number that is certainly not out of reach for the Laurier running back, who is also training under Jykine Bradley.

The OUA MVP from 2014 begs the question of how often someone runs in a straight line for 40 yards in an actual football game, but he added that he is up to the challenge because he knows the 40-yard dash is “a highly-scrutinized test, so I’m excited for that…I’ve been training really hard. I feel ready,” Campbell says.

Campbell’s head-down, work-hard attitude

as a player is one that should impress team personnel in interviews over the weekend. Instead of focusing on what other running backs are going to be doing at the combine, Campbell preaches the need to work hard and take things for himself. “I don’t love to compare myself to the other running backs … if I’m in the gym and in my playbook, knowing what I have to do each week, I’ll be prepared that way.”

Despite the differences in their individual skills and traits, this leadership attitude that Dillon exudes is the attitude which Coach Faulds believes sets all three of the prospects apart from their counterparts. “Both coaches and teammates think the world of them,” he proclaims, “All three of them just really lead by example. They’re really hard-working individuals and all three of them were voted captains by their teammates.”

“When we all came into first year, everyone has a goal,” says Ackie. “We want to make the CFL. Especially the group of us, we all had the same goal; when you come out of a class with forty guys in your rookie class, guys come and go; but us core guys, we’ve always stayed together.”

Two of those core guys from the 2011 rookie class that Ackie mentions have yet to receive an invite to the National Combine. Ronnie Pfeffer, second-team CIS All-Canadian kicker/punter, and Asante Mizan, another stand-out player on the Golden Hawks’ defensive line, each will be attending the Toronto Regional Combine on March 26, a day before the National Combine begins. Last year, 14 players from three regional combines across the country were selected to attend the National Combine, 13 of whom were drafted by CFL teams.

Pfeffer and Mizan will look to follow in the footsteps of former Laurier offensive tackle, Tommy Griffiths, who attended the Toronto Regional Combine in 2014 and recently signed a contract with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

“If you could take one teammate from Laurier along with you to the same CFL team, who would you choose?” Ackie, Campbell and Mrabure-Ajufo each laugh at the question, but then pause to think. “I feed off a lot of players … I can’t pinpoint one player, I wish I could bring them all,” Mrabure-Ajufo says.

“Those guys are some of my best friends, over the years I’ve always been close with them.

We’ve all pushed each other over the years, and I think that’s why we’re in the position we’re at now,” Ackie explains. They may not be able to bring them all to the same team, but with good performances at the combine, all five could very well hear their names called on draft day.

10

The Sputnik

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Sports

Kyle Morrison | sports@thesputnik.ca | @sputniksports

Whitney Ellenor is heartbroken after her team’s loss in what was her last game with the Golden Hawks in her career. Photo courtesy Jessica Dik

Women’s basketball team loses in double-OT shocker Kyle Morrison Sports Editor One of the best women’s basketball teams in Canada had their historic 2014-2015 season cut short on February 28 in a thrilling double-overtime upset at the hands of Queen’s University in the quarter-final of the OUA playoffs, 85-78.

The Golden Hawks entered Saturday as the sixth-best team in the CIS and were second overall in Ontario with a record-setting 17-win season, but they couldn’t overcome a late rally by the seventh-ranked Golden Gaels, who played the tenth-ranked Laurentian to setup the matchup with Laurier on their home court.

Coach Paul Falco and the Golden Hawks knew going in that if Queen’s was able to beat Laurentian, they were going to be a difficult matchup. Back in November the purple and gold held off the surging Gaels for a very

close 56-53 victory. “We had a really tight game [against Queen’s] down in Kingston … they’re definitely one of the more experienced teams in Ontario. They’ve played some top teams really tight,” Falco explained.

Coach Falco stressed the need for consistency. “Defensively and rebounding we’ve been solid throughout the year, but we’ve had lapses that have cost us,” Falco said. Laurier would find themselves in some games during the regular season having to play catch-up after getting out to big leads or they would narrowly escape big comebacks. Lapses like these came back to bite the Golden Hawks and ended up being one of the major reasons for the team’s loss on Saturday.

On two occasions Laurier had 14-point leads against Queen’s, but the Gaels were able to battle back on both accounts, once thanks to a 20-2 run to enter the fourth quarter, but as Laurier has done multiple times during the season, they clawed their way back into the lead. “We had a tough time [during Queen’s 20-2 run] getting someone to get a shot to drop … We’ve been pretty resilient all year

that way and when we’re in trouble we’ve bounced back,” Falco said.

Laurier’s resilience led to two late opportunities to put the Gaels away; once in the fourth quarter on a last second shot by Nicole Morrison and once in the first overtime period on a last-second three-pointer taken

by Kaitlyn Schecnk, but neither shot hit the mark.

The usually sure-handed Golden Hawks also struggled with turnovers in the quarterfinals, committing 24 turnovers which resulted in 26 points for Queen’s. “We’ve been pretty good [at limiting turnovers] most of the year, but we had a bad spurt in the second half, so that didn’t help,” Falco explained.

“But Queen’s hit some big shots so we have to give them credit.” Most of the shots came from Queen’s guard, Jenny Wright, who had a game-high 24 points on 56 per cent shooting.

Laurier is going to have an uphill climb to get back to the quarter-finals next season as three key players, including 6’3’’ centre, Whitney Ellenor. As Falco explained, there’s

very few players in women’s basketball who has the combination of size and skill that Ellenor has. “Every year that I’ve been here we’ve lost people due to graduation and every year we bring in new people and the pieces to fit to play a new style,” Falco said.

If Laurier isn’t able to recruit any players of Ellenor’s size in the offseason, Falco wants to continue to stress a fast-paced transitionstyle of play that they’ve worked on in the past couple of seasons.

Looking forward, the question marks exist, but as Falco looks back at the season, overall he was really impressed with how the team played. The one game playoff exit was a disappointment, but the women met some of the goals they set out to achieve going into the season. “We have to remember that we had a great regular season with some significant records for the program and pushed the bar even higher,” Falco said. “It’s the nature of sports – sometimes things just don’t go as planned and you have to deal with the disappointments when they come.”

The ramifications of drug culture in sports Anthony Fusco Staff Drug culture is something everyone comes into contact with at some point in their lives. It can be a minor occurrence, or blow up into something bigger depending on the situation. For athletes, drug culture is a huge problem. When I refer to athletes in this sense, I am talking about both performance enhancing drugs and regular street drugs.

Why do superstars in the sporting world engage in such a dangerous practice? Maybe they are attempting to chase success. With a proven track record of winning in their sport, athletes can earn millions of dollars with contracts, not to mention sponsorship opportunities and the fame that comes along with being at the top of their respective sport.

Maybe they don’t care about the punishment. A slap on the wrist or a fine is chump change for someone who is world famous and makes millions of dollars.

Another reason could be personal demons. Maybe the player had a complicated history growing up. Maybe they have issues currently. The reasons for drug use are numerous and can be triggered by the slightest thing.

There are numerous repercussions when a player decides to involve themselves with drugs. Baseball has many famous examples including Jose Canseco, Alex Rodriguez and Mark McGwire. All used some type of performance enhancing drug during their playing career in order to gain an edge over their competition. It has come back to bite them because now people associate their names with drug use, not athletic accomplishments.

Their reputations will be forever marred by their choices.

Another famous example is Lance Armstrong. Once a symbol of perseverance, is merely seen as a cheater. He admitted his drug use in an interview with Oprah Winfrey when he went on the record about his use of erythropoietin and human growth hormone, as well as blood doping.

There are also cases of athletes doing other types of drugs like cocaine. A recent example is baseball’s Josh Hamilton, who just had a relapse involving the use of cocaine and alcohol.

Jon “Bones” Jones, the reigning UFC Light-Heavyweight champion, opened up about his own positive cocaine test prior to his latest title defence. He’s quoted as saying, “I had done it before, quite a few times in college I had experimented with it. But that’s really it. Mainly just college it was something I dipped and dabbed into, but it was never really an issue.”

When athletes experiment with drugs,

there are simply no winners. They may feel invincible and on top of the world, but in reality they are doing a tremendous amount of harm to those around them.

The teams they play for suffer losing a player as well as the negative publicity that comes with a positive test. The fans lose out on seeing a great player perform. The athletes themselves get hurt from throwing dangerous substances into their bodies. It’s a lose-lose situation for all those involved.

Athletes should never be using drugs in open competition. It takes away from the true spirit and nature of the game that we all know and love. There are simply too many dangerous outcomes that are associated with athletic drug use. It’s an unfortunate reality, but it happens more than we all care to admit. And that’s the scary part. Even the cleanest looking athlete can be hiding a dark secret. And we may never know exactly what that is.

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Opinion

Brittany Bennett | opinion@thesputnik.ca | @sputnikopinion

Philosophers should only be judged by their mind Tristan Wright

Staff Students have recently been complaining about the amount of non-transgender individuals in a philosophy course at the University of California, Berkeley, reported Campus Reform. The students claimed “the white male canon is not sufficient for theorizing the lives of marginalized people.”

Martin Luther King is rolling is his grave, as he utters the most Conservative phrase to date. His words at the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin, but by the content of their character.” These individuals want to ignore the content of the character and instead focus on genitals and skin colour, and they did it to Socrates.

The students continued to say, “These courses pretend that a minuscule fraction of humanity — economically privileged white males from five imperial countries (England, France, Germany, Italy and the United States) — are the only people to produce valid knowledge about the world,” reported Campus Reform. Are they saying Plato and Aristotle are from any of those countries, and not Greece? Are they saying that France and Germany existed prenineteenth century, that they weren’t themselves to be under a genocidal campaign

by Rome, subjected to colonialism and enslavement? Except that won’t fit their closed-minded narrative that all whites are evil and oppress people of colour, so it’s ignored.

“The course syllabus employed a standardized canon of theory that began with Plato and Aristotle, then jumped to modern philosophers: Hobbes, Locke, Hegel, Marx, Weber and Foucault, all of whom are white men,” wrote the students. “The syllabus did not include a single woman or person of color.” It’s almost as if very few of the ancient philosophers were women,

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astonishing. Perhaps they can amend that by becoming philosophers themselves. I shouldn’t have to tell adults that the colour of a person’s skin does not matter, it is their works that matter. I would personally love to see Thomas Sowell in every foundations course, but he’s too modern and not as good as Socrates. As such academia chooses philosophers that everyone can agree on is good, not just a few. Those philosophers just happen to be white and male, there is no conspiracy against women or people of colour.

Inside Higher Ed had a brief news article on the subject of too many white people in old textbooks and they quoted John Agresto, past president of St. John’s College in Santa Fe and former deputy chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities: “In the past and at their best, the liberal arts were a gift given to everyone,” Agresto said. “It didn’t matter that Dante and Homer were dead white males,” and keeping Shakespeare alive wasn’t an “ethnocentric act.” He is correct in this, we don’t read Shakespeare and Socrates because academia wants to oppress a minority group, we do it because he’s written so many classical works and also influenced all of the western canon. Let me remind you all, if you’re reading this you likely live in the West, you must know western history and literature first, not any other. It is not as important to western society but there is still a place for it, but it will always be minor. Especially because the western cannon is universal: the Enlightenment and Plato’s forms don’t care about the colour of your skin.

The University of California, Berkeley now also has “The Problem of Whiteness” course. Do you know how they responded to their criticisms of racism because of the course content and title alone? They doubled down on it, a quote from one of their ads which was posted on Facebook: “If you’re upset by the English Department’s Problem of Whiteness course as popularized by the always enlightening FOX & Friends, here’s an opportunity to have a face-to-face discussion about it and get a better understanding of why whiteness really is a problem.” The name of the depart-

ment that made this course is, Department of Race Traitor Politics, School for the destruction of White Nationalism, I believe this name speaks for itself. I can’t believe somebody allowed this program, or didn’t immediately fire them for racism. This is outright antagonistic to whites. The colour of my skin is apparently a problem, so let’s pull a Socrates Switch™, trigger warning.

If you’re upset by the English Department’s “Problem of Jewishness” course as popularized by the always enlightening Daily Show and MSNBC, here’s an opportunity to have a face-to-face discussion about it, and get a better understanding of why Jewishness really is a problem. This course was made from the Department of Aryan Preservation Politics, School for the destruction of Jewish Nationalism.

One of these classes is tolerable to teach, according to these students and professors at Berkeley, the other is not despite the only difference between them being the title of a racial group. According to some people who liked “The Problem of Whiteness” course, they said it was ok because ‘Students choose to be there.’

I suppose the anti-Semitic course is also fine, because students would choose to be there as well. Right? Wrong. The correct answer of course, if you have a brain not yet ruined by social justice indoctrination would be that both courses are equally incorrect and unacceptable in academia.

There is no problem with Jewish or White nationalism or with either racial group. Yet this course tells students their skin colour is evil. People who preach this deserve to be banished not only from Academia, but from all western countries. If we are evil then don’t live with us, it’s quite simple.

They claim they are for tolerance and equal treatment and yet Socrates is too white. We seem to be creating a new morality, one that is just as intolerant, racist and oppressive as the old one. You need to see this and walk into your classes with both eyes open. Talking about social justice and feminism is one thing, unleashing it upon the western world is another. It doesn’t take a professor to see that our world has problems but it does take several morons in a tiny room to think they can solve all of

RANTIN’ & RAVIN’ A column by Opinion Editor Brittany Bennett on the mind blowing occasions that really make her question her faith in humanity.

Instead of ranting about the idiotic events of life, let us briefly cover the idiotic people that we all know too well.

The blonde (th-əə blônd), n. a person that has the ability to function their mouth and tongue in order to create words without their brain yet processing this action. Such words are likely to drag at the end of each sentence, and occur in an extensive pause before the brain reboots and calculates the embarrassing error of judgment. In certain instances, the brain is unable to reboot. Also, air•head. adj. [1845-2015] This term may no longer be used directly to marginalize people that have blonde hair, but the people that do fall upon the actions of this dictionary definition refer to these as “blonde moments”. “Blonde moments” result in laughter of peers, at many times disaster, and are typically of greater humor when such person does indeed have blonde hair.

The Musc•le Head (th-ûh mûhs-ûhl həd), n. a person that is otherwise unable to function properly in society for the sole purpose of having to work out all the time.

Such a person’s desire out of life is to look as lumpy and hard as physically possible. This desire replaces the normal human train of thought, and results in lack of logic and common sense. Also, lift•is•life. v. [1975-2015] This term does not refer to all persons that work out, but only the ones that suffer from the need to live directly for nothing but working out. The following symptoms in such persons may occur: continuously asking, “do you even lift bro?” Not being able to reach a vocabulary outside of workout-related words. Substituting a life partner for selfies of oneself flexing in the mirror; these are typically taped around such person’s room and to a body pillow that such person sleeps with at night.

The Teen•ag•er (th-ûh təən-əy-jər), n. a person that has the ability to judge every situation in life perfectly, without error. Typically, such persons remark to authority figures with attitude, but always in the form of an absolute correct statement. Also, know•it•all. adj. [1923-2015] This term refers to adolescents between the ages of 13 and 18, although it is very common for this persona to continue in persons that still live with their mother after the age of 30. Although studies are being pursued into where this great amount of knowledge has been coming from, results are showing inconclusive reports.

We seem to be creating a new morality, one that is just as intolerant, racist and oppressive as the old one. Neha Sekhon

The Meat Head (th-ûh məət həd) n. a person that functions with the replacement of a brain, for a thick cut of meat. Typically, it is a lean read meat and functions otherwise incompetent compared to that of a normal brain. Meat does continue to allow the body to function properly, but logic is otherwise impossible when suffering from meat for a brain. Also, stupid•person. adj. [18942015] This term is seen often throughout the twenty first century, and there is little us brain humans are able to do about it. We can only feel pity for these persons that lack a functioning brain, and shall excuse their behaviour for the result of a meat lump.

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Opinion

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Brittany Bennett | opinion@thesputnik.ca | @sputnikopinion

The Cruel Reality Of Animal Cruelty Brittany Bennett On Campus Editor An act to amend the Criminal Code was put forth in 2008, replacing sections 444 through 447 that dealt with animal cruelty offenses. Section 445.1 of the Criminal Code was changed from: “(1) Everyone that commits an offense who (a) wilfully causes or, being the owner, wilfully permits to be caused unnecessary pain, suffering or injury to an animal or a bird,” to “(1) Everyone that commits an offence who, wilfully and without lawful excuse, (a) kills, maims, wounds, poisons or injures dogs, birds or animals that are not cattle and are kept for a lawful purpose.” Wonder why? I can point out one easy answer that successfully continues animal cruelties throughout Canada not only without penalty, but also as a social norm: the new act can avoid cases of “unnecessary pain, suffering or injury”.

By referring to the previous version of this section of the Criminal Code I can see a loop hole for citizens to seek justice for animal cruelties that are seen as typical social norms, such as: horse care, rodeos and circuses. This amended legislation may change the abilities to

Some old cultural norms still encourage or display forms of animal abuse. Neha Sekhon

prosecute, but they do not change my mindset and obviously the country’s original mind set on the issue of animal cruelty.

To begin with the most controversial; horses. I have lived in the small town of St. Jacobs for over ten years now, and horses are an animal I see on a regular basis. Mennonites take up a solid portion of the town, mainly the farming land and country side. Day in, night out I see these beautiful creatures pulling buggies of families, no matter how hot or how cold the weather is. They have a bar that sits just inside their mouth, so their head is continuously being yanked around by the reins. I can see sores on their sides from the ropes, and I can see their struggle to keep pulling on those humid summer days. We have outlawed slavery for humans across the world, but do horses deserve this same injustice? I would refer to the Mennonites use of these horses as “unnecessary pain and suffering”. No matter how much these people care for the horses outside of using them for their buggies, no matter how much they brush their hair or feed them, it is the plain and simple fact that they are used to pull extreme amounts of weight across lengthy distances for the sole purpose of a human’s desire to get somewhere.

It is not necessary in this day and age. We have other resources, and even though these may go against their cultural norms, I do believe the well-being of an animal comes before that.

Now, riding horses is definitely not as extreme on my list but that does not mean I am all for it. Horse harnesses are hard, and heavy. I cannot imagine them being comfortable by any means, especially with a person sitting on top of it and digging the material into the horse’s skin. Again, a bar is put in the horse’s mouth with reins in order to control the poor animal by their head, and there is the stirrup that is used to slightly kick the horse into going. Really?

Try putting a pencil in your mouth to imitate the metal bar a horse deals with, kind of makes you want to throw up does it not? How about you give yourself a good punch in the ribs and see if that makes you feel like running. I get that at one point human’s needed these animals to survive, I get that most people today that ride horses truly care deeply for these animals, but it does not change the facts: it is unnecessary suffering.

Moving on to rodeos, bull riding stands out to me (and in some cases, they use horses in the same instances). How is this actually legal?

There has been a lot of controversy revolving around the flank strap, but from my research it does seem to be tied around the animal’s flank, not testicles. Either way, it is a piece of equipment used directly for irritating the animal into bucking. The sole purpose of bull riding is for entertainment, how is this at all necessary?

The intention of an animal that bucks is to get

something off of it, not for fun and games but because what is on top of it is bothering or irritating it. Although saddles are not used during bull riding, I can only imagine the injuries to the bull that may happen on a regular basis. But it is the cowboys we mourn for that get hurt, even though they are the ones to have chosen to be in the situation.

Lastly, circuses are another social norm that could be a relevant form of animal cruelty. Circus animals have been seen to exist of tigers, bears, elephants, and camels. These animals are forced to pursue actions again for the simple pleasure of entertainment. These animals are kept in small cages, and in many instances are dragged across areas through continuous travel.

I do not know much about the training of circus animals, but the fact alone of their purpose and living conditions is enough for me to know that this is wrong.

All these animals spend their lives devoted to humans, at their disposal and with no way out. Is this really how we are to be in the state of nature? So why now? Obviously by the initial section of the criminal code, we know the state itself saw these ethical lines but instead chose to cross them and amend the act. Entertainment and convenience should be two words added to this act, no animal should be used by these means at all, let alone if there is suffering involved.

police?

On Feb. 18, two female teens in Brampton were apprehended and charged with causing a violent confrontation with a police officer. The confrontation happened around 12:30 p.m. outside of St. Marguerite D’ Youville School. The one teen was said to be fifteen-years-old, and the other sixteen-years-old.

The sixteen-year-old teen was charged with trespassing, assaulting a police officer and escaping lawful custody. The fifteen-year-old girl was charged with assaulting a police officer, assisting and escaping lawful custody, obstructing and trespassing. Under the Youth Criminal Justice Act their identities will be protected. The two teens will be appearing in court on March 17.

I found this article interesting because it was a simple case where teenagers trespassed on school property, a school that they didn’t even attend. Wouldn’t the officer let them go after a warning, if it was the first time they had trespassed? In the worst case, the police could have informed their parents and had them pay

the fine, which is about $2,000.

I honestly think the behaviour of the two teenagers was unnecessary. The question is, what’s up with that kind of behavior? Their actions of getting physical with the officer would defiantly complicate the situation, and make it much worse.

These reasons behind, I think our experiences with authorities plays a part. Rather we ourselves that have had a negative experience or heard of a close family member’s or friend’s negative experience could affect our judgment of authority figures such as police officers. Furthermore, the increase in police misconduct that is being represented in the media shows another side to the story. There are also many examples of this flip side.

One of which examples left a man partially paralyzed in Alabama for a police officer’s “excessive force” as caught on video, reported by the National Post. This specific officer is said to be in the midst of getting fired, and faces trial in April 29.

Edmonton’s police are noted to owe the

public far better in another National Post article. The suspect, George Petropolous was accused of striking his mother and was beaten by an officer on the way to the police station. The officer is faced with a one-year demotion and a penalty of $15,000.

As aforementioned, we see these negative conceptions of police officers in our daily life, in the movies and on TV. Though it shouldn’t, it sometimes does influence our personal opinions of police officers. Just above I give examples of police misconduct that could potentially lead to this negative association or perception that could influence our thoughts on people of authority like police officers. Articles and reports like those have the power to reinforce negative perceptions. We need to understand the power that reporters, news stations, movies, family members and friends have and how it defines and supports those negative perceptions that we hold.

Exploring the causes of police assault Fatbardha Lajci

Staff As I was surfing the internet late one evening, I stumbled upon an interesting article. I found this article on the CTV News webpage called “Caught on cam: Teens charged with assaulting Brampton police officer”. It got me thinking about why police officers may get assaulted. What is the reason behind such actions?

Is police assault caused by negative conceptions? Or by the police officers themselves? Or previous negative experiences with police officers? Perhaps a mixture of both?

Who or what creates these negative conceptions that we believe or hear about police officers? Does the media, movies, films, previous experiences or family member’s experiences and stories impact those negative conceptions that are being represented? Does that hinder how we treat those that enforce the law, like the