Volume 18, Issue 7 - Nov. 28, 2018

Volume 18, Issue 7 – November 28, 2018

The Sputnik, We Orbit Around You. News, pg. 5

Features, pg. 6

Arts pg. 7

Sports, pg. 11

Opinion, pg. 12

SANTA CLAUS HAPPY HOLIDAYS INTRODUCING TOP 10 SPORTS MO- HOW EARLY IS PARDE RETURNS FROM THE SPUTNIK THE ART OF DRAG MENTS THIS YEAR TOO EARLY?

Many classic movie charac- And a fun and propserous ters were present this year New Year, Golden Hawks

Glynherst Art Gallery brings drag to the public

We look at the best Canadian moments in sports

Start celebrating right after Halloween or wait until Dec. 1?

SIDHANT KAPAHI/DESIGN MANAGER

02

THE SPUTNIK

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SPUTNIK_NEWS

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2018

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THE SPUTNIK STAFF EDITORINCHIEF Dellesia Noah eic@thesputnik.ca

GRAPHICS EDITOR Anuj Kapahi graphics@thesputnik.ca

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PHOTO EDITOR Madelin Moses photography@thesputnik.ca

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VIDEO EDITOR Jason Morgan video@thesputnik.ca

ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR Hyrra Chughtai arts@thesputnik.ca

SENIOR COPY EDITOR Gabrielle Lantaigne copyeditor@thesputnik.ca

OPINION EDITOR Avery Mclssac opinion@thesputnik.ca

SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR Stephan Reilly Message him on our facebook page!

What is your favourite thing/tradition to do over the holidays?

SPORTS EDITOR Jessa Braun sports@thesputnik.ca

WLUSP ADMINISTRATION EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Lakyn Barton lakyn.barton@wlusp.com

BRANTFORD MANAGER OF OPERATIONS Maiya Mistry manager@wlusp.com

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BOARD OF DIRECTORS CHAIR Terrence Mroz

DIRECTOR Rosalind Horne

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TREASURER Garrison Oosterhof

DIRECTOR Hayley Watson

DIRECTOR Aaron Hagey

“Going to the Christmas market with my family” - Stephanie, Year 1, Law & Society

“Watching old stop-motion films” - Molly, Year 1, Digital Media and Journalism

“Sleeping” - Andrew, Year 2, Criminology

“Eating Candy” - Jessie, Year 1, Human Rights

“Travelling” - Charson, Year 1, Criminology

“Going home to see my family” Erik, Year 2, Criminology

SECRETARY Maiya Mistry

ADVERTISING INQUIRIES All advertising inquiries can be directed to Care Lucas at advertising@wlusp.com or 519-884-0710 ext. 3560.

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EDUCATION

Queer Sphere hosts HIV/AIDS awarness

The DEO’s Queer Sphere, the AIDS Network and the Grand River Grannies wants to educate public on HIV/AIDS

LAUREN BURROWS/CONTRIBUTOR

Members of the DEO’s Queer Sphere with membebers the the Grand River Grannies at the Red Scarf Project event.

DELLESIA NOAH EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

The Queer Sphere has paired up with the Grand River Grannies and the AIDS Network to host Brantford’s AIDS awareness week.

From as early as Nov. 14 and until Nov. 30, the Queer Sphere has and will be hosting events to engage the community on HIV and AIDS awareness.

The Grand River Grannies has been a constant support to the AIDS Network, and both organization thought it would be a good idea to team up with the Diversity and Equity Office’s education and inclusion co-ordinator Lauren Burrows, who then brought the Queer Sphere on to help.

“We were fortunate that the AIDS Network of Hamilton, Halton, Haldiman, Norfolk and Brant and Grand River Grannies reached out to the Diversity and Equity Office to get us involved in their HIV/ AIDS awareness programming”, wrote Pilar Vergara-King, Queer Sphere member. “HIV can impact anyone, regardless of sexual orientation. It's important to know your status because it's important to be informed about your health. When people know their status, they are able to make the best decisions about their health, and the health of their partners” added VergaraKing.

HIV can impact anyone regardless of sexual orientation. It’s important to know your status because it’s important to be informed about your health.

-Pilar Vergara-King, Queer Sphere Member

The first event was the Red Scarf Project, where attendees had a

hand in creating an interactive art installation. Those in attendance would create versions of their red scarf -- a symbol that has long been associated with HIV/AIDS awareness -- and give them back to the community.

“An awesome group of people were able to make quite a few scarves to share” said VergaraKing.

“We even learned, from some Laurier students, how to make infinity scarves and scarves with little pockets in them to keep hands warm. It was great having university students and grandmothers working together and learning from one another” wrote Tim McClemont, executive director at the AIDS Network.

“We even learned from some Laurier students, how to make infinity scarves with little pockets in them to keep hands warm.

-Tim McClemont, Executive Director at the AIDS Network

Wednesday, Nov. 28, the Queer Sphere plans to host a HIV/AIDS awareness panel for the general public to attend. “We have a great array of speakers for our awareness panel. Jill McNall who is the Community Legal Worker from HALCO -- HIV/AIDS Legal Clinic of Ontario -- will be speaking around HIV disclosure and the law. Donna from the Grand River Grannies will be speaking about the Stephen Lewis Foundation and the local work the grannies do to fundraise for HIV/AIDS in Africa. We have a local individual who is living with HIV, he will be speaking about the different kinds of stigma he has faced in his life”, wrote McClemont Through these events the Queer

Sphere -- alongside these organizations -- are hoping to teach the community about HIV and AIDS in order to reduce stigma, as well as learn about the experiences of those within the Brantford community living with HIV or AIDS. The Queer Sphere is also planning to end the month with a vigil for world AIDS day to remember those who have passed.

Vergara-King addressed that there are many myths and stereotypes that still need to be tackled;

a common one that those that are HIV positive are “dirty” -- which they aren’t, or that getting tested is a difficult process -- which it isn’t.

Another common misconception is that only gay men can contract HIV/AIDS or that those living with the disease can’t live long and healthy lives. Thanks to decades of advancement in medicine and research, those living with HIV/AIDS can go on to live fulfilling lives.

According to the 2016 national HIV estimates -- conducted by

CATIE, Canada’s source for HIV and Hepatitis C information -- the number of people with HIV in Canada is increasing; there were an estimated 63,110 Canadians with HIV at the end of 2016. This represents an increase of 2,945 people (5 per cent) since 2014.

According to the same survey, an estimated 14 per cent of people with HIV in Canada are unaware that they have the disease.

THE SPUTNIK

04

NEWS

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2018

GAMING

Favourite games of 2018

We polled Laurier students to find out what they were playing STEPHAN REILLY SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR

LIFEHACKER.COM

Everyone knows someone who games.

According to the Entertainment Software Association of Canada, a little less than 60 per cent of all Canadians play games in one form or another.

Whether that’s on their phone, laptops or a dedicated gaming console, gaming is a cultural force that connects people across Canada – and across Laurier Brantford.

It’s not just because of our Game Design & Development program here at Laurier Brantford: students from every program play games.

We even have our own club on campus, Game On!, which holds weekly game nights in the GRH basement where students come together to play board games, video games and card games.

As a part of our wrap-up issue, I wanted to know what games connected with Laurier students and staff most this past year. So I asked.

I polled dozens of students (and a couple staff ) across the majority of our programs offered here to see what people played the most in 2018, as well as what games they saw their colleagues playing. There were some clear winners.

Starting with what they saw their colleagues playing the most in 2018, the answer was no surprise.

It seemed everyone was playing

“Fortnite: Battle Royale” in 2018, and Laurier Brantford was no different.

42 per cent of respondents reported seeing more “Fortnite: Battle Royale” being played by other Laurier students and staff this year than any other game.

This makes sense: “Fortnite” broke records across the board in 2018, earning the most revenue in a single month for any free-to-play game ever.

“Fortnite” also reached 8.4 million concurrent players (meaning people playing the game at the same time), which is more than every game on Steam at its peak, combined. The game had a big presence at Laurier Brantford this past year and only continues to grow.

Students also reported seeing “Pokémon GO” being played by many at Laurier, earning 12 per cent of the votes for game most seen played by others at Laurier. I can attest to this too: I see three or four people daily logging into the hit mobile game to spin Pokéstops and catch whatever new Pokémon have been added that month.

Next, I asked students what their personal favourite game of 2018 was.

Coming in at number one, a little less than 25 per cent of the total votes was “Spider-Man”. The open-world action game was released this past September

exclusively for the PlayStation 4, to critical and financial success.

This wasn’t too surprising: Sony revealed that Insomniac Games’ “Spider-Man” sold 3.3 million copies in the first three days, making it not only the fastest selling PlayStation game of 2018, but in the company’s 23-year history. Lots of Laurier Brantford students picked it up too, it seems.

Laurier’s second favourite game of 2018, coming in at a little less than 18 per cent of the total votes, was another PlayStation exclusive: “God of War”.

Released in April of this year, “God of War” is a reboot of the classic PlayStation action series, which started back in 2005 on the PlayStation 2. The original studio, Sony Santa Monica, returned to develop the reboot, this time setting it in the Nordic mythos rather then the Greco pantheon.

Interestingly enough, “God of War” was PlayStation’s best selling game of 2018 before “Spider-Man”, also breaking the company’s previous record for fastest selling game in company history.

It seems Laurier Brantford has a lot of PlayStation fans, with PlayStation games taking up almost 45 per cent of Laurier’s favourite games of 2018. The rest of votes were spread out across various games at two to five per cent each.

Game on into 2019, Laurier!

CAMPUS

You Can Sit With Us spreads kindness

The campus club took on the intiative to spread kindness during exam season for anti-bulllying week STEPHAN REILLY SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR

You Can Sit With Us held events across campus this month to raise awareness about bullying on campus and in the workplace in honour of anti-bullying week.

The Kindness Project was one of three events held. Students passing through RCW on Monday, November 12 were prompted to write a compliment or uplifting message on a sticky note and leave it on one half of the chalkboard labelled “Give what you can”.

They could also take a sticky note from the second half of the chalkboard labelled “Take what you need”.

cakes to de-stress and take a break from studying.

The event was also a fundraiser for St. Leonard’s SNAP program, described on their website as “an evidence-based program for male youth with serious disruptive behaviour problems and criminal justice involvement.”

SNAP teaches these youth critical strategies for avoiding conflict and skills to make more positive choices in their lives.

The final event was Take A Compliment, where students could come to the RCW lobby, assemble

a free self-care package and receive more compliments from other Laurier students.

The goal of this event was to provide students with things they could take home to help de-stress during the last few weeks of school when assignments and exams build up.

You Can Sit With Us is a Wilfrid Laurier University Students' Union club whose mission, in their own words, is to “bring awareness about the issues and causes of bullying”.

“Most people think that bullying

stops when you leave high school, but it can follow you into your adult life through the workplace,” said You Can Sit With Us secretary and third-year social work student Skylar Holmes. “To be good people, you can’t do that.”

According to the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, seven per cent of adult (18 years or older) internet users in Canada self-reported having been victims of online bullying. According to Statistics Canada 70 per cent of internet bullying victims are females, who receive hateful and threaten-

Most people think that bullying stops when you leave high school but it can follow you into your adult life through the workplace .

Seeing people come to the booth and they’ll write something and take something off the wall and their spirits are lifted up..that’s my favourite thing.

-Skylar Holmes, You Can Sit With Us Secretary

“These compliments are just to boost people’s days up and make sure they’re happy,” said Tom Nguyen, You Can Sit With Us president and third-year social work student.

The second event was a buildyour-own cupcake evening in the student centre basement. Students came out and built their own cup-

ing messages across various social media platforms as well as through email.

“Bullying has long-lasting effects for so many people of all ages and can severely impact someone’s mental health,” said Rachel Stultz, You Can Sit With Us vice-president. “University culture is not shy of bullying amongst online and real-life forms of bullying, which is why this group is so important on this campus.”

“Seeing people come to the booth and they’ll write something and take something off the wall and their spirits are lifted up… that’s my favourite thing,” said Nguyen. “We can make a difference.”

There are no more club meetings

-Tom Ngyuyen, You Can Sit With Us President

RACHEL STULTZ/CONTRIBUTOR

The You Can Sit With Us club reminds students to be kind to themselves and others this exam season.

this year, but students can attend their bi-weekly Monday meetings next semester in RCW 324.

“We are very accepting if anyone wants to join us,” said Nguyen.

“We’re going to be doing a lot of events throughout the year to raise awareness of bullying and give students more resources.”

THE SPUTNIK

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2018

NEWS

05

HOLIDAYS

Santa Claus parade returns to Brantford

The annual parade returned for its 44th year, with an influx of cinematic characters from holiday classics

ALEX VIALETTE/WEB DIRECTOR

The 44th annaual Santa Claus parade closed down streets al along Colborne for Brantford citizens to come out and enjoy.

ALEX VIALETTE WEB DIRECTOR

The 44th annual Brantford Santa Claus Parade drew festive onlookers downtown on Nov. 24, all of them excited to start the Christmas season.

Wagons filled with kids and parents camping out with coffees on lawn chairs lined Dalhousie Street between Stanley Street and King Street, despite the cold and rain.

96 parade entries and six bands marched the 14 blocks, handing out candy and waving hello from their floats.

“It was a huge success and spirits were bright despite the soggy weather,” wrote organizer Junior Chamber International (JCI) on the parade’s Facebook event page.

This year’s theme for the parade was Cinematic Christmas. JCI encouraged floats and paradegoers to come dressed for the theme, hoping to see Whos from Dr. Seuss’ imaginative Whoville or Will Ferrell’s Buddy the Elf. This plan might have backfired to a degree, however, as the parade featured enough Grinch costumes to steal Christmas for the foreseeable future.

Most floats were adorned with “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”themed decorations, while others featured scenes from National Lampoon's “Christmas Vacation” or “Frozen”.

The most left-field movies turned into Christmas themed floats were a “Jurassic Park” Jeep covered in lights with a person in an inflatable velociraptor costume

chasing it and the Brant County SPCA’s “101 Dalmatians” group, which had their volunteers and some of their pooches dressed as dalmatians.

The SPCA took home the award for the Best Service Club/Not-ForProfit, one of the four given out by the parade judges. The other winners included The Rise Centre for Best School, Andrew Schwalm’s Desjardins float for Best Theme, the Brantford Cheer Club for Most Enthusiastic and Desiree's Angels for Best Overall.

While these entries brought cheers and laughs from the crowd, Saint Nick stole the show.

“I like watching Santa Claus go by at the end,” said Grace, 9, “that’s probably my favourite part”.

“I really like it when Santa comes by too,” said Callum, 7, while smiling excitedly.

“I don't personally have a favourite float personally because they’re all great,” Kait Miller said.

Pauline Gladu, who has attended every Brantford Santa Claus parade since she moved to the city, felt the same.

“They put the effort forth and it shows,” Gladu said.

Anyone who may have missed seeing Mr. Claus this past week is not completely out of luck. The parade will be aired on Nov. 29 at noon, Dec. 5 at 8 a.m. and Dec. 7 at noon on Rogers’ Brantford station – channel 20 on cable.

Santa will also be making stops in Paris, Burford and St. George for their Christmas parades early in December.

2019

HAPPY HOLIDAYS! FROM WLU STUDENT PUBLICATIONS & THE SPUTNIK

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FEATURES EDITOR/NOW HIRING

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FEATURES

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28,2018

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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2018 ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR HYRRA CHUGHTAI arts@thesputnik.ca

CULTURE

Glynherst Art Gallery hosts drag show The Fierce and Frozen show was a way for participants and the community to engage in the art of drag

LISE BENNET/CONTRIBUTOR

The Glynherst Art Gallery of Brant hosted the Fierce and Frozen Live drag show, giving the Brant community a look into the world of drag.

HYRRA CHUGHTAI ARTS AND CULTURE EDITOR

Drag culture has grown tremendously throughout the years. More people are now knowledgeable about the culture and even attend live shows. A huge factor in this has been the popularity of “RuPaul’s Drag Race”. People who weren’t a part of drag culture are now able to glance into the lives of drag queens and see how they get ready for shows as well as what they go through in their day-to-day lives.

On November 24, the Glenhyrst Art Gallery of Brant hosted the Fierce and Frozen Live drag show, giving the Brantford community a taste of a live drag show.

If you aren’t too familiar with what a drag queen is, drag queens are performers that dress up as hyperfeminized versions of women and provide entertainment. They often sing, dance, perform comedy routines or lip synch. The Fierce and Frozen show was hosted by two queens: Ash Steeves and Brandon DesRoches, who also performed.

Brantford has a website that supports the LGBT community. By hosting various events during pride month in June as well as

throughout the year, the community tries to help each other through any hardship or struggle.

DesRoches, whose drag name is Scarlet Revaine, believes that drag helps people be more expressive through their art and creativity.

“It was kind of a means of selfexpression, but a lot of it came from my general admiration for femininity and the struggles that they go through and stigmas,” said DesRoches.

It was kind of a means of self expression, but a lot of it came from general admiration for femininity and the struggles they go through and stigmas.

-Brandon DesRoches, Host of Fierce and Frozen Drag Show

DesRoches is from Belleville, which he says has a strong LGBT community; something that Brantford, by comparison, seems to lack.

Ash Steeves is the only drag queen from Brantford. However, that doesn’t seem to stop the audience from enjoying the art that drag shows provide. They allow people to open their minds and see the various ways one can be creative with movement, humour, music, costumes and makeup.

“We want to bring a fun and educational aspect of drag to Brantford. I feel that there is not a lot of LGBT-friendly communities or things of the sort in the area. [W] e want to bring the beauty of drag to the community, and in doing so, I'm personally hoping to inspire others to be comfortable in their own skin, and have the confidence to do what they want to do, regardless of outward influences,” said DesRoches.

As we are in the modern age of drag culture, RuPaul has undisputedly been the most commercially successful drag queen. Due to mainstream culture and the way technology has been integrated into everyday life, there have been opportunities for broader exposure for drag queens and the LGBT community. The idea of a drag queen is now more accepted or understood due to this expo-

sure. Companies have started to associate themselves with the drag culture. Some companies have started up to cater to those in need of supplies to help with their creativity. The representatives of the LGBT community on television led to greater recognition of the community as well as drag queens, and helped the public understand their art.

But the culture isn’t limited to drag queens: drag kings are included as well. Drag kings are basically the opposite of drag queens; instead of dressing up as women, they dress up as men. Taylor Lorraine Walsh is a drag king making her debut at the Fierce and Frozen show under the stage name Oliver Personas.

Getting interested in drag as early as high school, Walsh wanted to showcase her creativity and slowly started to get interested in drag.

“Early on in high school I would often try to appear male in many ways, but it wasn't the artistry you would find in drag. I only started to really incorporate my art this year… I love everything about it.

The hair, makeup, costumes, performing, acting et cetera. I'm also a very animated & odd and it all just plays into my persona,” said Walsh.

Throughout the process of getting to know how to become a true king, Walsh incorporated elements of people in her life that have helped her grow, such as her father, partner, grandfather and brothers.

DesRoches, who started doing drag in 2011 in Belleville, had seen how open the community of drag was when they first started.

Although their art being different the rest and coming from musical inspirations, that didn’t stop others to accept the new change. Creating a name for yourself can be difficult but drawing creative motivation from other queens.

“A lot of my inspiration has come from artists like Pink and Amy Lee of Evanescence, but my main inspirations would come from every day life and the people that I would have the privilege to perform alongside,” said DesRoches.

With such openness in the community, DesRoches feels that there are a lot more people out in the

community that should be able to participate in the art and freedom to express themselves. DesRoches wants to make drag accessible for everyone who wants to become a drag queen or who wants to come to a show.

“I do feel as if drag is very undermined and overlooked in Brantford. I find that Brant County in general has kind of an avoidant eye when it comes to drag, but there are many who want to feel accepted and see their fellow queens and kings perform and be part of something that they normally wouldn't feel comfortable doing outside of their bedrooms,” said DesRoches.

Having spent a huge chunk of his life as a drag queen, DesRoches decided it was time to hang up the wig as Scarlet Revaine after the Fierce and Frozen show. The impact that drag can have on a person is astounding. The amount of effort someone must put into a show every time they perform is phenomenal. As well as having the courage to perform onstage, drag allows one to act as an example to others.

We want to bring the beauty of drag to the community, and in doing so, I’m personally hoping to inspire others to be more comfortable in their own skin...

-Brandon DesRoches, Host of Fierce and Frozen Drag Show

“Due to the fact that this show will be my retirement, I've had to prepare myself mentally and emotionally. Drag has been a part of my life for a long time, and I've accomplished more than I had ever thought I would in doing so, so I've basically been preparing my goodbye as a drag queen and transitioning into a different kind of persona for future events,” said DesRoches.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2018

THE SPUTNIK

ARTS & CULTURE

09

HOLIDAYS

Christmas cheers and blues

The holiday season is known for bringing high moments as well as lows RYLEE WOLFKAMP STAFF WRITER

As this fall semester comes to a close and most students gear up to go home for the holidays, many students begin to feel a disconnect from their families.

This can lead to a decline in mental health, resulting in more stress and loneliness.

Particularly for me, as I’m waiting in Brantford to write exams (that are sometimes days or even a week apart), I begin to get a little homesick -especially if I have to miss a family event or tradition for an exam or because I don’t have a way to and from home.

My birthday is actually on Christmas Day, so our Christmas is a little different from everyone else's.

-Katie McPhee, Student

EMILY ERNST/STAFF

Laurier students have made their own holiday traditions while on campus .

When asked about how she spends Christmas with her family and if it’s changed since coming to university, Katie McPhee wrote, “My birthday is actually on Christmas Day so our Christmas is a little different from everyone else’s.

We do Christmas in the morning and then the evening is dedicated to a movie and Chinese takeout for my birthday. These traditions have stayed the same since I went

to school, the only thing that’s changed is how much more I value this time with my family.”

This brings up the concept of "adulting". There are many moments one comes across in university that remind us again that "adulting" is different, hard and often no fun.

We now have responsibilites to look after; responsibilities that we didn't have when we were children.

These added responsibilities in such a high-risk setting, like university can start to develop a variety of mental health issues.

According to recent data from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, people between the ages of 15-24 are more likely to experience mental illness and most will not receive treatment.

Stress like being away from home, having exams or important final projects and missing family traditions can negatively impact one’s mental health; particularity if someone has a preexisting mental illness.

When asked if her Christmas experience has changed since coming to university, Sarah Danielson, a third-year student, wrote, “I think last year they decorated the tree without me.” She added, “usually my roommates and I will find something to do related to a holiday when one comes around but it varies as to what it is... [this year] me and my roommates got matching pajamas and then we’ll marathon Hallmark Christmas movies”.

Creating new traditions and memories with roommates or friends is a common occurrence as we age and meet new people.

This is a great way to combat homesickness and the stress of finals.

Jennifer Moore, a third-year digital media and journalism student, wrote, “The only tradition I’ve adopted since coming to Laurier is participating in Secret Santa with my friend group —I used to do this with my friends in high school so it’s nice to continue this even if it’s

The only tradition I've adopted since coming to Laurier is participating in Secret Santa with my friend group.

-Jennifer Moore, Student

with new people!”

When asked if she feels the same way about other holidays, McPhee wrote, “Christmas is probably one of the biggest holidays in our family so I’m not as sad to miss Halloween, and I’m lucky enough to be able to go home for Easter and Thanksgiving every year!”

If you are, or one of your friends is struggling with a mental health problem – related to the holidays or not – it is important to seek help.

The Wellness Centre is a great start and they will connect you to the resources you need to get help.

The Wellness Centre (519) 7568228 x5803

DANCE

Modo Yoga hosts open jam for public

The yoga centre hosted the event to give students an active and healthy way to blow off steam an environment that lets us dance and move and express yourself without the need for consumption of any substances.”

Although having fun without alcohol was a theme for this event, Modo Yoga doesn’t promote an anti-alcohol message.

The studio just wants create a

We created an environment where people didn’t feel they were being judged. they could enjoy themselves and relax while having fun and expressing themselves.

-Mark Schneider, Owner of Modo Yoga

MADELIN MOSES/PHOTO EDITOR

It doesn't matter if you could dance or not Modo Yoga opened its doors so students could blow off steam before exams. a healthy and active way. For that If dancing or having space to FIONA ROWAT one hour, you just let yourself move around is your thing, or even STAFF WRITER

With mid-terms ending and final exams beginning, a lot of students have found the past few weeks stressful.

Time to unwind is scarce and far in-between. Some of us need to drink a cup of tea, some of us need to take a nap and some of us need to get out of the house.

something you do alone in your bedroom, Modo Yoga might have the fix for you.

On Friday, November 6 from 8 to 9 p.m., the studio held their first “Open Jam” night.

The event was open to everyone.

There was no instructor to follow and no “right” way to dance. It was all about letting off steam in

feel free from all obligations and stressors.

“We created an environment where people didn’t feel they were being judged. They could enjoy themselves and relax while having fun and expressing themselves,” owner Markus Schneider said.

“The goal is to give people an opportunity to have fun for an hour in

fun and enjoyable environment where those who choose to drink and those who choose not to both feel welcome and at home.

“It’s not a stance against alcohol, it's an opportunity for people who don’t consume alcohol to enjoy an event [that] is free from substances,” Schneider said. “It wasn’t necessarily formal dance, some people just moved and absorbed the music and enjoyed it that way.”

The turnout was success-

ful, even though there was short notice. Many individuals shared their dismay about not being able to attend on Facebook.

As a result of the positive feedback and for the sake of those who wanted to try it out, Modo Yoga is hoping to hold many events like this in the future. The studio is hosting a second event on Friday, December 7 at 8 p.m.

“The next one’s going to be even bigger,” Schneider said. “Everyone was really impressed with how much they enjoyed it...we created an environment where people didn’t feel they were being judged, they could enjoy themselves and relax while having fun and expressing themselves.”

If dancing isn’t your thing, that’s not a problem! There are tons of other de-stressing activities that happen weekly at Modo Yoga for a very low rate.

If you prefer yoga, Monday nights from 6 to 7 p.m. are drop-in classes for $5. All the proceeds go to a local charity, which differs from month to month.

The studio also has free mindfulness meditation classes on Wednesday evenings from 6 to 7 p.m.

Any upcoming events can be found on the studio’s Facebook page or on their app, which can be found by searching “Modo Yoga” in the app store.

THE SPUTNIK

10

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2018 SPORTS EDITOR JESSA BRAUN sports@thesputnik.ca

CAMPUS

Athletes come together for Pink Strong Laurier Brantford Athletics and Recreation hosts week-long event to raise money for cancer research JESSA BRAUN AND RYAN PRAUGHT SPORTS EDITOR AND STAFF WRITER

Pink Strong was Laurier Brantford’s recent fundraising event that raised money for cancer research.

The event started with Balls for Breasts: a game of 3-on-3 basketball on Nov. 20. Pink Strong continued all week: Wednesday was the Movemeber Madness first annual charity basketball game; Thursday was a Pink Fitness Zumba event; and Friday was an extramural volleyball tournament.

VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT Laurier Brantford’s extramural volleyball team has a lot to be proud of after Friday’s tournament, but they will have some work to do before their season ends in the new year.

The Golden Hawks went 3-0 in their three guaranteed games, falling short of moving on to the playoff round.

“We didn’t get the result we wanted today,” said team captain Joel Schellenberger, “But we played the best we’ve played all season.”

All games were close and could have gone either way. Laurier Brantford was able to recover quickly from misplays and there were many new players who added a spark on the court.

“Amanda Rivera drives a lot of our offense,” Schellenberger said of the new setter. “She is fantastic.”

Sarah Bray is another new player to watch. Of Bray, who joined the team as a first-year, Schellenberger said: “We put a lot of pressure on her to do well, to be the cornerstone of offense. She’s doing a fantastic job keeping that going.”

Laurier’s first game was a close one, and although Humber Lakeshore took the victory, the Golden Hawks were close to snagging the win.

Laurier took an early lead in the first set, but it became a close game after Lakeshore worked hard to make quite the comeback and worked their way to a score of 24-21.

Kieran McGrath kept the team in it with a hit from the back line, which brought the Golden Hawks up to 22 points. In the next play, Bray made a nice tip that brought Laurier up yet another point, keeping them in the game. It was then that Laurier mis-served and the win went to Lakeshore (25-23).

Laurier established their rhythm and was able to keep their lead in the second set. Halfway through the game, they had already doubled Lakeshore’s points: 16-8. They easily took the set with a final score of 25-13.

The tie meant Lakeshore and Laurier had to face off in a third set, but Lakeshore took an early lead and the overall game victory.

Laurier played their second game against Centennial, which was another close match. The Golden Hawks seized the first set 25-20, while the Colts won the second set 25-19. Centennial took the game in the third set after winning by two points.

The third game was the most inconsistent game of the day for the Golden Hawks.

The first set went well. Rivera made game-changing blocks and the energy from the team both on

RYLEE WOLFKAMP/PHOTOGRAPHER

The Laurier Brantford Golden Hawks extramural volleyball team played in their first-ever host tournament at the YMCA .

the court and on the bench was the highest it had been all day. Unfortunately for Laurier, UOIT made some hits from their back line that were too hard and accurate for the Golden Hawks to dig. UOIT won the first set 25-22.

Things went downhill from there for Laurier: they tried making some changes in the lineup, bringing in third-year Josh Boettcher and first-year blondie, but the Golden Hawks’ lack of communication during the set resulted in a hard loss of 25-7.

Schellenberger says for the next tournament, the Golden Hawks need to focus on consistency, staying focused and not getting too high or too low.

“When we were playing well today we were communicating, we moved our feet,” he said. “When we play confident volleyball we play better volleyball.”

He’s optimistic going into the second half of their season.

“This is the best day of volleyball I’ve played at Laurier,” he said.

“The team is just gradually getting better every single tournament.”

He says at the end of the year, the Golden Hawks only lose a couple players. The majority of the team staying means they’ll be able to continue to learn to work with each other and build more consistency.

BALLS FOR BREASTS The Balls for Breasts 3-on-3 basketball tournament was an event held by the Laurier Brantford Athletics and Recreation team.

The tournament was a forfun tournament that saw more than 10 teams square off against each other in 15-minute games.

The tournament was mostly for recreational purposes and raising money for a great cause, so the games could end in ties. With that being said, there was a great sense of competition, and as a result there were many highlight plays on both sides of the ball.

The event was not exclusive to Laurier Brantford students however, and there were a few local children who showed their passion for the sport by participating in the event. There were some adult

YMCA members that participated as well.

As participant Ian Linton put it, “It supports a good cause and it’s just a lot of fun to play in.”

The winners received a pizza coupon for their efforts.

MOVEMBER MADNESS The Movember Madness first annual charity basketball game was probably the event of the week as it featured a bit of everything.

The $2 entry fee was definitely worth it, as all proceeds went to the Canadian Cancer Society and those who attended were treated to a tremendous basketball game.

The Laurier Brantford extramural men’s basketball team played against the Brantford police, and both teams played a hard-fought game.

The game had four 12-minute quarters as well as an entertaining half-time show to give each team an extended breather. Make no mistake, however: this game was not just for fun. The game had a great sense of competition and there were referees on hand to ensure the fairness of the calls.

The game had a bit of a slow start as both teams took a while to get warmed up, and it took some time for the shots to start falling.

The crowd slowly got into the game as well, not truly coming to life until about midway through the second quarter -- thanks in large part to the Laurier Brantford cheerleading team who handed out hand clappers to help make some noise.

Similarly to the basketball tournament held the day before, there were plenty of non-Laurier Brantford community members in attendance -- some with plenty of children on hand -- enjoying a great night.

It was 39-19 for Laurier Brantford by the midway point, and as both teams took a short break to collect themselves, the half-time festivities began.

The halftime show started with a bean bag toss, with the goal of landing the bean bag as close to the eye in the Laurier Golden Hawk logo as possible. Each toss cost a dollar and the proceeds

went to charity. The winner won a cool black Laurier backpack.

Then Chaos dance team, decked out in pink, performed a dance to “Uptown Funk”. The players then returned to the court and the second half of the game was ready to begin again.

The police had a tough task of closing the 20-point gap in the second half, but they did their best to chip away at Laurier’s lead. Led by officer Mark St. Amand and his tremendous dribbling and shooting skills, the police quickly began to draw closer to the Golden Hawks.

St. Amand effectively hit some threes and dished passes off to other teammates to lead his team back into the game.

It wasn’t as easy as it sounds,

however, as a two-headed attack featuring guard Andre Dinglasan and centre Nathan Jackman did their best to ensure Laurier kept the lead after three quarters of play.

The score was 60-47 after the third quarter and the shots were starting to fall from both teams, making the game really entertaining. St. Amand continued to cause problems for the Laurier defence and he helped the Brantford Police cut the point difference to just one with 3:56 left to go in the fourth quarter. This is where things really picked up, as both teams made some big shots during the final few minutes.

Dinglasan and Jackman continued to produce for the Golden Hawks, while officer Abby Heron and officer Matt Roberts provided their star St. Amand with some huge help. The teams ended the fourth quarter tied 77-77.

Unlike the basketball tournament, there were no ties allowed, meaning they had to go into overtime. It was a low-scoring extra frame that was three minutes long, and it was 79-79 with 29 seconds left. Then Laurier hit a bucket with seven seconds left that looked like it was going to win them the game.

Cue officer Mark St. Amand: After receiving the inbound pass, St. Amand bolted up the court and got a shot off as time expired . . . swish.

St. Amand’s teammates swarmed him as he had just sunk the gamewinning shot and stunned the Golden Hawks.

It’s safe to say that the first annual event was a huge success and that the event will be coming back for a second year. Hopefully, so will St. Amand, who put on a performance like no other. The event was truly a great spectacle and most importantly, the proceeds went to charity and supported a great cause.

COURTESY OF THE CARNEGIE

Laurier Brantford men’s extramural basketball team played Brantford Police.

THE SPUTNIK

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2018

SPORTS

11

CFL

Stamps win Grey Cup

Calgary finally comes out victorious in the CFL championship JOSEPH MARINUCCI STAFF WRITER

JOHANY JUTRIS/CFL.CA

Bo Levi Mitchell of the Stampeders was named MVP of the CFL and Grey Cup.

After losing in back-to-back finals, the Calgary Stampeders have finally lifted the Grey Cup, beating the Ottawa Redblacks in Edmonton with a score of 27-16.

Entering the game, the Stampeders had the burden of the memory of losing in consecutive finals, having been defeated by the Toronto Argonauts in the 2017 final and the Ottawa Redblacks in the 2016 final.

Going into the championship game, Calgary had to put any doubts of their playoff performance aside, and they could not afford to be known as the team that looks like a contender in the regular season only to choke in the game that matters most.

Prior to the game, weather and field conditions had been called into question, with players from both the Stampeders and the Redblacks claiming that the turf field had been hard and slippery.

This was evident late in the first quarter when Calgary running back and kick returner Terry Williams slipped on a missed field goal return attempt.

In addition, both teams combined for four turnovers in the first half to add onto the eight punts and multiple dropped balls.

However, Williams made up for his previous mistake with a historical

punt return.

With the Stampeders up 14-11, Williams made history with the longest punt return in Grey Cup history. Williams scored a 97-yard punt return and nearly slipped after Redblacks lineman Nigel Romick engaged, but Romick stumbled and slipped right past Williams, leaving a wide open field.

...they could not afford to be known as the team that looks like a contender in the regular season only to choke in the game that matters most.

-Joseph Marinucci

Despite Williams’ heroics, Stampeders quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell, who was named the CFL’s most outstanding player during the regular season, added to his trophy collection with the Grey Cup MVP award. Mitchell finished the game throwing 24/36 for 253 yards, adding two touchdowns and

throwing two interceptions.

Redblacks quarterback Trevor Harris did not have as much success, throwing 20/38 for 288 yards, adding a touchdown and three interceptions.

The second half did not bring as much entertainment as the first.

Both teams traded field goals in the third quarter to bring the score to 24-14 for the Stampeders.

The fourth quarter was much of the same, with Calgary again kicking a field goal to bring the score to 27-14. Ottawa added a safety at the end of the game with 26 seconds remaining to bring the score to 27-16.

Stampeders receiver Lemar Durant was named the Grey Cup’s Most Valuable Canadian after finishing with four receptions for 30 yards and a touchdown, and adding 22 yards rushing.

Calgary caps off a season in which they finished first in the west with a 13-5 record and first in the CFL overall.

Ottawa finishes a season in which they finished with a record of 11-7 and first in the east. Both teams look set to compete for the Grey Cup again in the 2019 season.

A championship rematch may not be out of the question, with both the Calgary Stampeders and the Ottawa Redblacks by far being the best teams in each conference.

CANADA

Canada’s top sports moments of 2018 Between international competitions and professional sports, Canada has a lot to be proud of this year.

HANNAH KASTEIN STAFF WRITER

5. Raptors get Kawhi Leonard On July 18, the Raptors were part of a blockbuster trade that saw a fan favourite DeMar DeRozan go, but one of the best defensive players in the game, Kawhi Leonard, join the Raptors.

Many Raptors fans were sad to see DeRozan leave, but so far it looks like it has worked out for the best.

The Raptors are currently sitting first in the league and with LeBron James leaving the east, there is good chance the Raptors will make it to the NBA finals this year. If the Raptors can take advantage of Leonard, they could have their first-ever NBA championship.

If they can’t, then Leonard is an un-restricted free agent next year and may not want to stay with the Raptors.

Whatever happens, it was a good chance to take for the Raptors and has resulted in a very exciting 2018-2019 season for them, which is why this trade was a significant Canadian sports moment in 2018.

4. Leafs Land John Tavares Similarly to the Kawhi Leonard deal, this was also a significant Canadian sports moment: not only because it involves a Canadian team but also because the player involved is a Canadian as well.

John Tavares, one of the most elite centers in the NHL, signed a contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs

Team Canada had an amazing outing at the 2018 PyeongChang Paralympic games, ranking third in medals with 28 total. Mark Arendz was one of the highlights for team Canadian as he broke a Canadian record by winning the most medals in a single Paralympic games.

He won a gold, silver and bronze in the biathlon, and a silver and bronze in cross-country skiing. Because of his amazing performance, he was honoured as Canada’s flag-bearer for the Games’ closing ceremony.

ANUJ KAPAHI/GRAPHICS EDITOR

on July 1.

Tavares was born in Oakville, Ont. and decided after playing with the New York Islanders for nine years to return home to play for his childhood favourite team.

Adding Tavares to an already stacked lineup with players like Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner gives the Leafs the best offense in the NHL. The Leafs have a good shot at

the Stanley Cup now for the first time in 25 years.

3. Taylor Ruck at the Commonwealth Games A 17-year–old Canadian set a record at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games this year.

The Canadian swimmer, Taylor Ruck, matched the record for the most medals won at a single Commonwealth Games by any athlete

from any sport.

Ruck broke the 52-year-old single games record for a Canadian woman with one gold, five silvers and a pair of bronze medals.

Her gold medal for the 200-metre freestyle race was both a Canadian and Commonwealth Games record in the finals.

2. Canadian Skier Mark Arendz at the Paralympic Games

1. Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir at the Olympic Winter Games Tessa and Scott Moir were already legends in Canada before the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic games, but it was there that they became legends throughout the world.

After coming out of retirement for an Olympic redemption and carrying the Canada flag in the opening ceremonies, Tessa and Scott did not disappoint. They earned a gold medal in ice dance after breaking their own short dance world record score and achieving a world’s best combined score in the process.

Days before, they helped team Canada earn a gold in the team event. With these two gold medals and three more medals from previous Olympics, Tessa and Scott became the most decorated figure skaters in Olympic history.

THE SPUTNIK

12

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2018 OPINION EDITOR AVERY MCISAAC opinion@thesputnik.ca

CAMPUS

Students should be able to pick due dates Our editor ponders the best way to avoid this traumatic pile of work students are given every semester JESSA BRAUN SPORTS EDITOR

I don’t know about the other students around here, but November has absolutely pummelled me into its cold, snowy ground.

I would have fought back, but the month pulled out its deadliest weapons: assignments, assignments and more assignments.

I didn’t, and still don’t, stand a chance.

As I drag my beat-up body and mind across the ground, getting knocked back over every three days with another 10-page paper, I wonder: is there a way we can prevent this semi-annual traumatic experience?

Yes. Yes there is. I believe with all my heart that students should be able to develop their own due date schedule at the beginning of each semester.

Here’s how it should work: The syllabus for each course would list all of its assignments, the minimum number of hours each assignment should take to complete and each project’s grade weighting. By the end of week one, students would submit their chosen due dates for each assignment in the course to their professor.

Letting students develop their own schedule provides many benefits: 1.

Students can disperse their assignments throughout the semester to avoid getting hit with four or five big assignments at

ANUJ KAPAHI/GRAPHICS

once. Ultimately, it reduces stress levels.

2.

It allows students to put more effort into their work. When a student has too many projects due the same week, it is likely they will not give those projects their best effort.

3.

It’s an advantage for professors because then they don’t have 70 papers to mark all at once.

Students would not lose the opportunity to practice time management skills because they’d still have to hand projects in on time.

It might even strengthen organizational abilities because students

would be encouraged to strategically plan out their semester so they can keep assignments evenly spaced out.

Some people might argue that students should plan ahead and start doing assignments early if they realize they have a heavy week coming up.

However, professors often don’t start talking about and explaining assignments more thoroughly until about three weeks before the assignment is due.

Sometimes that’s too late. The storm of school work has already hit, especially if it’s November.

Syllabus week is a breeze and all classes end early anyways, so the professors might as well fill the time by giving an overview of the assignments instead of talking about them later in the semester.

That way, students have the freedom to get the assignments started, done and handed in whenever they want over the next four months.

There have been three situations where I have been granted the independence to set my own deadlines. In high school, there was a rule within the school board that disallowed teachers to give

late marks, so technically we could hand everything in whenever we wanted.

Last year, I took a directed study and could hand assignments in at my convenience. The third situation was this past semester, when my Child and Youth Health professor gave us due dates, but made it clear that if a date didn’t work for us, we could email her with an alternative date we would have the project in by.

I can confidently say school is much more enjoyable when I have the luxury and freedom of developing my own schedule. It has paid off too.

My grades were much better whenever I was able to construct a schedule that was right for me. I could focus on one assignment at a time without letting the stress of others get in my way.

For students who don’t care to plan their own semester, it would be good if professors could set a default due date for each assignment like they normally would.

There is no empirical evidence to show this whole idea works better for students, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth a shot. There wouldn’t be anything to lose.

Because of how heavy the end of the semester gets and the amount of stress people experience, I think letting students schedule their own due dates would be extremely beneficial for their GPA and overall health.

HOLIDAYS

Is it too early to celebrate Christmas?

The holiday season is filled with goodwill towards all, but a lot of people feel added stress at this time of year EMILY ERNST STAFF WRITER

I need you to think back to October 25... You're prowling the aisles of your local Value Village or Party City searching for that perfect Halloween costume.

You near the end of the witch hats and upon turning the corner into the next aisle, you expect to be greeted by some creepy masks, pirate hats or maybe the occasional Jack-o-lantern. But instead, you find yourself staring at a marshmallow world of green and red.

That's right, Christmas: Christmas decorations ready to go before hordes of costumed children are pounding on your door demanding candy; Christmas before you've carved your pumpkins; Christmas before you've even decorated your front porch with cobwebs.

Christmas is regarded by many as a magical time of holly, jolly warmth meant to be shared with friends and family. Everything is lit up in hues of dazzling gold and silver. The smell of peppermint or cocoa seems to be everywhere.

Yet some people are still put off by the idea that there are already snowflakes hanging from every lamppost and store ceiling before any have even fallen outside.

When I traveled around campus asking Laurier students their opinions on the “official start date” of the Christmas season, I was met with an array of perspectives. One student said, “I like

celebrating Christmas as early as possible because to me it means spreading love. Whether you are volunteering, donating to charities or simply giving… it gives you an overwhelming feeling of joy. I love that feeling.”

Christmas offers this nostalgic and comforting feeling of warmth and security that no other holiday can quite match. The world is transformed during the Christmas season. Suddenly, goodwill and kindness to all are a little less hard to come by. I would think that everyone would want that to see that as soon as possible.

However, there were the few students who strongly disagreed with these notions. After I watched them recoil at Mariah Carey’s “All I want for Christmas is you,” which was playing in Stedman Community Bookstore, I made sure to collect their opinions.

“The Christmas season should start December 1. Christmas is amazing in small doses and one month of it is enough. There are only so many good Christmas songs and they will get infuriatingly annoying if they follow you wherever you go for two months straight. I resist the urge to be Christmassy until it’s actually Christmas so the novelty of Christmas spirit isn’t wasted on November,” said one student.

While I disagree that Christmas songs could ever get annoying, the rest of his opinion was validated by many others, who voiced con-

EMILY ERNST/STAFF WRITER

cerns surrounding the stress and planning that almost always came hand-in-hand with this festive season.

People felt that Christmas was already an overwhelming holiday, and to have the stress of purchasing gifts and making travel plans before mid-terms had even finished was just too much. Why that prevents you from listening to Mariah Carey belt one of the greatest songs of all time, though, is beyond me.

Christmas only comes around once a year and sometimes it is necessary to decorate some shortbread Christmas trees or make a couple snow angels in order to get

yourself through the tension and anxiety present throughout the end of the year.

There is no reason why those who love Christmas should feel bad about wanting it to last as long as possible. Those people are excited and eager to spread love and warmth everywhere they go.

Those are the people who keep the Christmas spirit alive even after the tree has been put back into storage and the last bit of snow has melted. Let people spread happiness. Goodness knows we all need more of it these days.

So if you need to wait until the first of December for your heart to grow three sizes, allowing you to

embrace the magic of Christmas, be my guest. But just know that come November 12, my tree is up, Michael Bublé is blaring through my speakers, candy canes have been purchased and I am ready to start spreading Christmas cheer everywhere possible.

My advice to you all is that the holidays are always more enjoyable when they are embraced with a spirit full of wishes and a heart brimming with tenderness. Let people celebrate, and who knows, maybe their cheer will melt that icy exterior of yours and open you up to the idea that magic doesn't have to be confined to just one of 12 months.