Are firefighters tough enough?
UW prof analyzes the effectiveness of the CPAT test, page 4
Help needed to save Fedbus
Feds VP calls for student support at court, page 5
i mprint un i v e r s ity of waterloo student newspaper
vol 29, no 4
Friday, June 16, 2006
imprint . uwaterloo . ca
Honouring students for their success
tim alamenciak
Science students from UW gathered into the PAC to celebrate the traditional ceremony of convocation. This was the 92nd convocation carried out at UW celebrating the academic achievements of the students as they donned robes and accepted their diplomas.
UW to trade land for $9 million in essential services Tim Alamenciak editor-in-chief
North Campus, the bit of campus that extends near Bearinger Road, will take further steps toward development as Waterloo city council reviews a proposal to trade land for services. The city will receive land for a library and YMCA installation, while UW’s land will receive up to $9 million in vital services. In exchange for a total of 30 acres of land, UW would get 87 acres of land prepped for living by the city. The city will equip the land with running water, sewers and roadways over the course of five years following the approval of the proposal.
According to Dennis Huber, vice-president administration and finance for UW, there hasn’t been a firm decision as to what the 87 acres on North Campus will be used for. “UW has no specific project plans for the west side lands at this time — ultimately development will be informed by UW’s campus master plan,” Huber said. The campus master plan is a document that was drafted by consulting firm Berridge Lewinberg Greenberg Ltd. in co-operation with several other consultants and UW administration. It was approved in 1991 and has served as a guiding light for campus development since. The campus master plan was designed to “provide a clear framework for the future de-
velopment of the campus over the next several decades.” It lays out plans for both South and North Campus, calling North Campus one of UW’s most valuable assets. The master plan details, well, the master plan for North Campus as follows: “Overall, the development of the North Campus will bring environmental issues to the fore and foster better links to the rest of the campus and to the surrounding community.” In keeping with this mindset, the proposal specifies that an environmental assessment must take place over the next six months. According to the memorandum of understanding, “The EA process determines potential affects and benefits a project may have on the natural, social,
cultural and economic environments as a means of informing the decision making process” The city and YMCA will use their slice of land to build a 23,000 square-foot library branch and 45,000 square-foot YMCA and sporting complex. The two complexes will sit on the corner of Fischer-Hallman Road and Laurelwood Drive. Being the lovely landlord it is, UW is only charging $1 per year for use of this land. Construction of the library is slated to begin in the spring of 2007, pending approval of the proposal. The city council will meet again on July 10 to make a decision. editor@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Men’s golf falls short of victory at nationals Mohammad Jangda imprint staff
Having already conquered the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) provincial title twice in the last three years, Coach Dave Hollinger and the Waterloo men’s golf team were ready to dominate the National University and College Championship held between May 30 and June 2 at the Thornhill Country Club (TCC) in Thornhill, Ontario. The tournament saw a total of 153 male and
female golfers from post-secondary institutions across Canada competing for both team and individual titles. In total, 21 men’s and 10 women’s teams of five players each took to the course to face off in the 72-hole tournament. Team scores in each round were calculated using the top four scores. Despite high hopes and an admirable performance from Jud Whiteside, the Warriors lost out to the defending champions, the University of Victoria Vikes, and slotted in at
fifth place in the fourth edition of the national championship. “We were very accurate off the tee,” said Hollinger, “but when you look at the stats, at the end of the day, it came down to putting.” The TCC course is one with heavy emphasis on the short game. The team, accustomed more to “courses for horses,” the term used to describe courses with long holes, landed in the rough too many times and the putting let them down, he explained. The team scored a total of 1207, with fourth
place finishers, the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds, scoring 1192. The Vikes were able to score a victory with a total of 1179. “We proved that we were capable of winning,” said Hollinger, pointing out the team’s score on the second day, an impressive 293. If the team had posted similar scores in all four rounds of play, they would have gained the victory. But, Hollinger said, “We didn’t perform up to our capability.” See GOLF, page 23
Friday, june 16, 2006
news@imprint.uwaterloo.ca News Editor: Ashley Csanady News Assistant: Emma Tarswell
News Imprint
Ashley Csanady
On June 8, faculty, staff and retirees joined together on the Graduate House green to partake in the Keystone Campaign.The Keystone Campaign is an annual donation drive. All faculty and staff recieved two paid hours off work to attend.
imprint staff
Canada
Nothing beats a drunk fireman. A small town in Newfoundland recently lost its entire volunteer fire department after a new policy was implemented that forbid drinking in the fire hall. The town of Port Leamington located in the northeast region of the island had used the fire hall as an unofficial bar for many years. According to the town’s mayor, Robert Elliot, past problems led to the town council’s current position. Fraser Struckless, the town’s fire chief, said that he plans to comply with the town’s ruling to stop the sale of alcohol, but he argues that the firefighters should be allowed to enjoy a drink on a special occasion. Struckless argued, “the other fire departments, they do have alcohol … the alcohol is there for personal use for the firemen and, as far as I’m concerned, we should be allowed to do the same.” I’m with the chief because it’s a comfort to know that when the Christmas tree finally catches on fire, at least the fire department will be full of “Christmas cheer” when they arrive. U.S.
UW’s impact in Cambridge Magdalena Milosz special to imprint
It has been nearly two years since the School of Architecture moved to the downtown area of Galt, Cambridge and while many positive changes have taken place within the school itself, the city is still adjusting to the move. The core area’s face is in a state of constant flux. Since the school opened its doors, many businesses have shut theirs for good. Main Street is afflicted by empty shop windows and short business hours, leaving students with limited choices for shopping, recreation and nightlife after long days in studio. In response to this problem, a group comprised of four masters students is examining the positive impact the School of Architecture can have on the downtown area and how the city can respond to the needs of the students. Kate Bowman, Court Sin, Jody Patterson and Ryan Ollson are working on a communityuniversity research alliance (CURA) report analyzing the “pre” and “post” conditions in Galt regarding the school of architecture. After completing a case study on town-gown relationships in cities similar in size to Cambridge, they invited students, community members and businesses to participate in a comprehensive survey about the school of architecture in its context. The group received 257 replies, 95 per cent of which came from students — a significant response considering the student population numbers about 400. The group found that both students and community members shared similar concerns, particularly on the variety of
independent retail and restaurants in the downtown area. Students were also concerned about the quality of the nightlife, public transportation, and the creation of a safe and welcoming environment. In addition to the survey, the group wishes to further explore the possibilities for change in Galt through their thesis, a master plan for Galt. According to Ollson, the goal is to avoid “design for the sake of design,” and focus on the positive ways the school and the city can interact.
Students were also concerned about the quality of the nightlife, public transportation, and the creation of a safe and welcoming environment. While their work will not culminate in an official document, they hope to eventually present their findings to Cambridge City Council and the university Board of Directors. They see this as a way to open up communication and increase awareness of the issues facing students settling in a town not yet accustomed to a university population. The students’ anticipation is not the creation
of an independent campus, but the development of amenities within the community that will benefit citizens and students alike. Does the Galt community believe the presence of the students in the downtown core to be a positive thing? All of the community survey respondents stated that they would be open to both increasing the architecture student population and the possibility of students in different disciplines. A major concern many students had at the time of the move to Cambridge was what the connection to the main campus would be like. “The holistic university experience is compromised,” said Patterson, citing the small student population and limited services at the Cambridge location. Even though options like the iExpress exist for getting to Waterloo, it is unfeasible to return to campus for many everyday student needs. The architecture student population is too small to warrant many university-run services, such as retail services and health services. While the masters students believe there will be a residence in the future, currently all student housing in Cambridge is off-campus. Improving the downtown core will strengthen the community in the long run, while supporting the student population in ways the university cannot. School of Architecture director Rick Haldenby is excited about the prospects. He hopes that with the increased awareness that results from the dissemination of the students’ research comes a “less reactive” approach to urban design in Galt.
Beer may help keep your prostate healthy, so drink up boys! Researchers at Oregon State University say that a compound found in hops (the primary ingredient used to make beer), xanthohumol, inhibits a protein in the human prostate that can trigger the formation of cancer cells. Xanthohumol was first discovered in hops in 1912, but its health benefits were unknown until 10 years ago. Sadly, however, you would typically need to drink 17 beers per day to consume the amount of xanthohumol necessary for it to be beneficial. Germany has solved this problem by producing a beer with ten times the normal amount of xanthohumol, now being marketed as a healthy beer. While stocking up on beer is always a good plan, don’t start doubling your intake just yet — the jury is still out as to whether xanthohumol really prevents cancer. Pounding back cup after cup of hot coffee after a night of heavy drinking may actually help prevent liver disease. A study performed at the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program in Oakland, California showed that for every cup of coffee consumed, each day there was a 20 per cent decline in alcoholic cirrhosis. When four cups of coffee were consumed, about an 80 per cent decline was documented. The study proved that coffee may be a kind of protection against liver disease but it did not, however, show that it actually prevented liver disease. The beneficial compound isn’t thought to be caffeine, as tea drinking produced no such benefits and whether the coffee was caffeinated or not didn’t vary the results. As coffee is made up of over a thousand chemicals, a number of factors could come into play. In various studies, coffee has often been linked to lowering the risk for Type 2 diabetes, suicide and liver cancer. On the down side, coffee can cause high blood pressure, rapid heart rate, insomnia and nervousness. So drink lots of coffee and your liver may be healthy, but you’ll be really nervous and worry about your high blood pressure and insomnia. acsanady@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
news
FRIDAY, june 16, 2006
Headliney Small Course Cuts Follow-Up By: Alexa Higgins On May 31, the Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB) approved of a list of compulsory courses for high schools with populations of less than 900. They also approved an average class size of 22 students. The Good Schools Committee, a research group elected to determine appropriate school sizes and composed of four WRDSB trustees originally presented the course list on April 10. An article in the May 5 edition of Imprint explained that some trustees and parents felt the original list would prevent students from being admitted to their post-secondary field of choice. Since then, a final draft of this list has been approved. Stephanie Walker, WRDSB trustee and member of the Good Schools Committee, agreed that the initial list was ill-formed. “The first list was inadequate,” said Walker, “so we all did a better job. We added the necessary courses like math and science that were left out of the first list.” Walker said that the original course list left parents wondering if their child would have the opportunity to possess the prerequisites needed to enter the post-secondary school of their choice. Walker said the new list had much more satisfactory results. “The Committee was pleased,” said Walker “The secondary principals did an excellent job of improving
the list.” Walker said the new list does not contain all of the necessary prerequisites for students to enter any university or college program. “For very specialized programs [in post-secondary school], students may need to enroll in a correspondence course or an online course.” Jeff Henry, Feds’ vice president of education, said the course list might hinder universities as well as students. “At UW we’re working on the problem of students figuring out too late what program they really want to be in - a problem that sees students paying way more tuition than they should, accumulating even more debt, and unnecessary levels of stress and underachievement.” In response to the completed course list, Henry said, “The school board decision will not help us solve that problem and will likely disadvantage many local kids.” The revised course list will be implemented in public high schools with smaller populations as of September 1, 2006.
It may just be the most intense obstacle course in the world. And researchers in UW’s faculty of Applied Health Sciences (AHS) are investigating whether the Candidate Physical Ability Test (CPAT) is intense enough to match a firefighter’s job. The CPAT is used internationally by fire departments to determine whether applicants for firefighting jobs are physically fit enough to complete the essential tasks required of firefighting. During the CPAT, applicants must complete a set of eight simulated tasks, which are consistent with tasks that a firefighter typically runs across during a fire suppression situation, within 10 minutes and 20 seconds. Working in conjunction with the Workplace Safety Insurance Board and the Kitchener Waterloo fire departments, Drs. Richard L. Hughson, a professor of kinesiology and Michael Sharrat, former dean of AHS, are using scientific methods to determine the effectiveness of this test. “It’s never been tested to this extent before,” explains Michael Williams-Bell, a Masters student who is helping with the research. “We’re looking at whether the physiological demands placed on firefighters during live simulated fire suppression
training are replicated during the CPAT.” During the live training, firefighters are subjected to extremely high temperatures and undergo great physical stress. The study will run 20 firefighters through a live training exercise at the Waterloo Region Emergency Services Training and Research Complex, a facility east of Waterloo that can accurately recreate conditions during realistic fire scenarios. The researchers will measure the energy requirements of the exercise and the levels of stress placed on each firefighter through heart rate, body temperature, oxygen intake, carbon dioxide outtake and power output. The firefighters will then be run through the CPAT and the same data will be collected. The study will also look at non-firefighters and their performance in the CPAT. In total, 75 non-firefighter participants of all activity levels will be studied - 50 males and 25 females, which is representative of the male-to-female ratio within fire departments across Canada. Once all the data is collected, the live training results will be compared to the CPAT results. The results of this research will be communicated to the firefighters and chiefs to help them improve their
testing methodologies. The CPAT is administered in the Manulife Wellness Center inside the Lyle S. Hallman Institute for Health Promotion building. Participants are fitted with a blue helmet, gloves and a vest weighing 50 pounds to simulate a fire fighter’s breathing apparatus and gear, and several data collection devices. The test consists of eight tasks: a three minute stair climb carrying an extra 25 pounds, hose drag, equipment carry, ladder raise and extension, forced entry, maze crawl, rescue drag and ceiling breach and pull. It is a very demanding test, explained Williams-Bell. Just the first three minutes of stair climbing in the beginning is enough to exhaust someone. The hardest part though, he added, is the rescue drag, which involves dragging a dummy that weighs 165 pounds, which is often times heavier than the participants. “It definitely gives you a greater appreciation of a firefighter’s job though,” he said. “But at the same time it’s very cool to see what goes on ‘behind the scenes.’” Participants in the study also gain an opportunity to learn more about their physical condition with regards to aerobic and anaerobic power. “And sometimes, if you pass the
news
FRIDAY, june 16, 2006
Fate of Fed Bus lies with students Ashley Csanady imprint staff
The future of the Fed Bus lies in the hands of students and the Ontario Highway Transportation Board. Student Transportation of Canada Inc. (STC), which currently provides the buses for the Fed Bus, has applied for a scheduled service license in order to keep the Fed Bus running. Currently, the Federation of Students (Feds) sells tickets then charters the buses from STC. The new system will have Feds acting as a ticket agent for STC and STC would actually be providing the service. Renjie Butalid, vice president of administration and finance for Feds, said that if the STC gets the licence “we [Feds] are going to be running the exact same service. STC has always been our provider […] so nothing will change.” Butalid further explained that all the same routes would continue to run, including the ones to Hamilton and London that Greyhound does not offer, but that “the prices will increase by about $1.” He added that “prices haven’t been raised for God knows how long — plus the rising fuel costs, inflation — and we are only raising it by a dollar.” This means a one way ticket will cost $10 and a return ticket will cost $19 if STC continues the Fed Bus service after the July 31 cut off date. Currently, a one-way ticket costs $9 and a return ticket costs $17. As of July 31, the Fed Bus will cease to exist due to the Ontario Highway Transportation Board’s ruling following a complaint filed by Greyhound Canada that the Fed Bus was in violation of their monopoly on scheduled service — unless STC is able to attain the scheduled services license. Greyhound Canada has filed opposition to STC’s application. A hearing will be held on July 24 and 25 at Kitchener City Hall, where Feds and STC will plead their case. For the Fed Bus to continue, STC must win its case in July, Butalid explained, “It’s down to getting people out.” He added, “We’re hoping to get some students to go to the hearing […] to speak up on behalf of Feds that Fed Bus is an essential service to them” Ted Wilson, vice president of STC, said, “We have to prove there is a want, need and necessity for this
The New Quarterly travels with Three Day Road for The New Quarterly, said the One Book, One Community events have a common theme. “The idea is to For the fifth year in a row, the One get as many people as possible in the Book, One Community events are community reading the same book at fast-approaching in Waterloo. This the same time.” He said the events expose the talyear’s selection is Joseph Boyden’s Three Day Road, a story that follows ent of Canadian writers and create a war-torn Native Canadian sniper common connection for people in Xavier and his compassionate Aunt the community. Legg said that some Niska on a three-day canoe journey UW students participated in these after Xavier returns from the First events in the past, and he predicts that World War. The novel combines two this year’s novel selection will spark stories — one of Xavier, whose dark more interest among the students. past and missing leg leave him on the “Boyden’s book will be of particubrink of death, and the other of his lar interest to students in history or aunt, as she tells him healing stories to Native studies — though you don’t need to have read try and save him. it to attend — and The Record, The a means for any New Quarterly, regional library, and “The idea is to get student to get off campus and conbookstores in the as many people as nect with a larger community sponcommunity.” sor One Book, possible in the Tricia Siemens, One Community. Representatives community reading owner of Words Worth Books in from the sponsorWaterloo, said ing organizations the same book at sales for Three make the book sethe same time” Day Road are dolection. Each year, ing extremely well. The New Quarterly, a national literary Andrew Legg “When the nummagazine based Administrative assistant ber of copies drop at St Jerome’s and events co-ordiantor, below 40, we order another case [of University in the The New Quarterly 50]. We’ve had to University of Wado this a couple terloo, sponsors community events that pertain to that of times.” Siemens spearheaded the project five years ago when she heard year’s novel of choice. This year’s events include One that several cities in the United States Book, One Canoe, a canoe trip sym- were reading a common book to bolizing Xavier’s journey in the novel. build a sense of community. Siemens On Saturday, June 3, participants prompted other bookstores and librartravelled along the Grand River from ies in the region to adopt the program, Glen Morris to Paris, Ontario. The but she had no idea the One Book, One trip included lunch, discussions and Community program would continue readings from Three Day Road. Once to grow over the next five years. Siemens said the One Book, One in Paris, participants had the opportunity to go to the Arlington Hotel for Community program gives people a a final reading and a beverage. The reason to read. “People don’t have to know the name of the book. They can cost of this excursion was $60. The second event, a concert with come in and say, ‘Oh yeah, I want to singer/songwriter James Gordon, read that One Book book.’” Three Day was held on Sunday, June 11, on the Road is also available for purchase at banks of the Nith River. The Songs the UW Bookstore for $22. The upcoming One Book, One the River Sings featured music from Gordon’s latest CD as well as related Community events are designed to readings from Boyden’s novel. Tickets spark conversation and build relationships. for this event were free. Andrew Legg, administrative ahiggins@imprint.uwaterloo.ca assistant and events co-ordinator Alexa Higgins
imprint intern
Tim Alamenciak
The original hearing regarding Fed Bus was held March 30. service.” Wilson explained there is want because the students want this, need because it’s more economical for students and necess because Fed Bus provides services to stops that Greyhound does not.
“It’s down to getting people out there” Renjie Butalid Vice president of administration and finance, Feds “We’ve never let the university down,” said Wilson, “we’ve had weeks where the university has needed 24 buses on a Friday [and] I’m not sure Greyhound could meet that demand.”
Butalid stated, “around 30,000 students used the Fed Bus last year — so, 500 to 1,000 students each week.” “Given the number of students that travel, it’s good business for us and for our drivers,” explained Wilson when asked why STC was pursuing the licence. When asked how he was planning on getting the necessary student support to keep Fed Bus running, Butalid replied, “we are looking at going all out at the beginning of July […] We don’t want to start it out too early and have that fade away. “The Feds are here to fight for you guys, but we can’t do it without student support,” Butalid said, later adding, “we [the Feds executive] can do as much grandstanding as we can, but if it’s a bite with no teeth, there’s not a lot we can do.” acsanady@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
news
FRIDAY, june 16, 2006
Being a UW child I have attended half a dozen convocations so far in my life, and I haven’t yet graduated from university. With the exception of a few, I wasn’t there to watch anyone in particular graduate. Instead, I was there to accompany my father so that he could watch his students graduate. Without me, and without the proper arrangements with the Registrar’s office, it’s unlikely that he would be able to attend. Convocation is one of those paradoxical milestones. For each graduate and their family watching from the stands, their 30 seconds on the stage is a key moment capping off years of education. The rest of the ceremony is quite tedious. Hundreds of 30-second moments create a very long convocation and a gym full of very flat bottoms. I hadn’t realized how important the university was for my father, and the impact that he had there until recently. I have been a university brat for a long time. At first, all of the students were very old and everything that my father did there was
mysterious. I even went there for a take your kids to work day in Grade 8 and spent the day sorting out his filing cabinets. Beyond that, his job was fairly mysterious. In time, my understanding has changed. His students became relatively younger, and now several of my friends have taken his fluids course (which he figures he’s taught at least 20 times so far). The abstract students suddenly became real. This really hit home when I attended a BBQ last
Every day, my father teaches and interacts with his students the same way that I interact with my profs. week with a few of his recovering victims... er... students who had just finished his midterm. Every day, my father teaches and interacts with his students the same way that I interact with my profs. My second insight has come as I have begun to do some of his academic writing. Like all profs, particularly the math, engineering
and science profs, it is more fun to do the calculations than it is to do the report writing. As an English major, I can offer to record the ideas so that others can understand what’s going on. In order to get everything right, I have been going through my father’s past papers. Suddenly, that which was mysterious makes sense. For once, I understand what it is that he does each day. When I was young, I was allowed to sit on the fire hydrant at the end of our street to wait for my father to come home at night. I never knew what it was that he did when he was at work. Before he became a prof, my dad did consulting work, and would often tell me that he was going to be in the basement making money. Boy, was I disappointed to discover that to make money, my dad used a boring old computer and not a printing press! This Saturday, we will not get to convocation, but instead hope to have a few of my father’s graduating students over for some pictures and finger food. While I won’t attend convocation, I’ll be making preparations at home. For my father, it’s an important moment. The wet-behindthe-ears frosh have matured, graduated and are moving on to take their own steps into the world. nmoogksoulis@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Emma Tarswell
UW hybrid competes
imprint staff
Optometry to grow Pretty soon there will be yet another building project begun on campus. UW’s board of governors have approved a design for an extension to the Optometry building on Columbia Street. The cost for the 39,000 square foot building is currently an estimated $9 million. The extension to the building will increase it size by a third. The building is also expected to have a new classroom, clinic, museum and library. First female awarded Graham medal At this year’s spring convocation for the faculty of mathematics and the school of computer science, Deanne Farrar will be receiving the J.W. Graham Medal in computing and innovation. Farrar is the senior vice-president of Bycast Inc. and will be the first woman to receive the Graham medal. Farrar got her bachelor of mathematics in 1988 from UW. Since then she has worked in management positions for many different technological companies including vice president of Janna Systems Inc. and LivePage Corp. She gave a talk titled “Building a Successful Software Business: Combining a Great Product with the Right Business Model.” In this talk, she discussed ways to develop successful business models for software companies and ways to create an innovative product.
The University of Waterloo’s Alternative Fuels Team (UWAFT) recently competed in Challenge X: Crossover to Sustainable Mobility. They took their Chevrolet Equinox, a hydrogen fuel cell hybrid, to the three-year North American competition to develop a sustainable crossover vehicle. The team competed in many different evaluations for their entry. They participated in tests on the towing ability of the Chevrolet Equinox, off road performances, greenhouse gas emissions, an oral presentation, and submitted a technical paper. UW’s team took top prizes in many categories, including best control strategy presentation, first place in the GMability outstanding outreach program, best website, best K-12 educational outreach and best community outreach. They also took second place in the freescale semiconductor: silicon on the move category and the Mathworks: crossover to model-based design category and won the Spirit of the Challenge award. Over the past few years of competition, UW’s team has won the team first place prize and this year placed 14th overall. MSA BBQ a success The MSA successfully raised $2000 to support relief efforts for the Indonesian earth quake. A barbecue was held over two days on the B2 green. Chicken burgers, beef burgers and veggie burgers were served up with an array of accoutrements for $6. etarswell@imprint.uwaterloo
Football at Fed Hall
mohammad Jangda
With matches being played until July 9, UW students continuously flock to Fed Hall to watch the FIFA world cup.
i m print Understanding the rhetoric of war university of waterloo student newspaper
Friday, June 16, 2006 — Vol. 29, No. 4 Student Life Centre, Room 1116 University of Waterloo Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1 P: 519.888.4048 F: 519.884.7800 imprint.uwaterloo.ca Editor-in-chief, Tim Alamenciak editor@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Advertising & Production Manager, Laurie Tigert-Dumas ads@imprint.uwaterloo.ca General Manager, Catherine Bolger cbolger@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Editorial Staff Assistant Editor, Kirill Levin Cover Editor, Irshad Mulla Photo Editor, Vacant Graphics Editor, Claire Mousseau Web Editor, vacant Systems Administrator, Nick Ranchev Sys. Admin. Assistant, vacant Lead Proofreader, Shivaun Hoad Proofreader, Leslie Havens Proofreader, Kim Morrison Production Staff Steven R. McEvoy Tim Foster Katlan Huckabone Jacqueline McKoy Office Staff Distribution, Gillian Flanagan Distribution, Amy Pfaff Sales Assistant, Adam Rauf
Board of Directors board@imprint.uwaterloo.ca President, Jeff Anstett president@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Vice-president, vacant vp@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Treasurer, Jacqueline McKoy treasurer@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Secretary, Wasim Parkar secretary@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Staff liaison, Darren Hutz staff.liasion@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Imprint is the official student newspaper of the University of Waterloo. It is an editorially independent newspaper published by Imprint Publications, Waterloo, a corporation without share capital. Imprint is a member of the Ontario Community Newspaper Association (OCNA). Editorial submissions may be considered for publication in any edition of Imprint. Imprint may also reproduce the material commercially in any format or medium as part of the newspaper database, Web site or any other product derived from the newspaper. Those submitting editorial content, including articles, letters, photos and graphics, will grant Imprint first publication rights of their submitted material, and as such, agree not to submit the same work to any other publication or group until such time as the material has been distributed in an issue of Imprint, or Imprint declares their intent not to publish the material. The full text of this agreement is available upon request. Imprint does not guarantee to publish articles, photographs, letters or advertising. Material may not be published, at the discretion of Imprint, if that material is deemed to be libelous or in contravention with Imprint’s policies with reference to our code of ethics and journalistic standards. Imprint is published every Friday during fall and winter terms, and every second Friday during the spring term. Imprint reserves the right to screen, edit and refuse advertising. One copy per customer. Imprint ISSN 0706-7380. Imprint CDN Pub Mail Product Sales Agreement no. 40065122. Next board meeting: TBA Next staff meeting Monday, 12:30 p.m.
Every morning I wake up and feel great. I look around, the sun is shining, my dogs are barking for food, and there’s a fresh coffee waiting for me at Turnkey. And then I start digging around the global newsscape — that obelisk of information. It’s jagged; shards of misleading truths protruding everywhere. I scour the headlines and read all the news for the day. Then the sun stops shining on my day — darkness commanded by the news-scape. Recent mornings have been haunted by the stories detailing recent arrests made by the RCMP. I hesitate to use the word the rest of the media has been using to describe them. You’ve all heard it echoed throughout the hallowed halls by frightened civilians everywhere. Speeches are easy to write nowadays: just work in Al-Qaeda, talk about people associated with them, and then start talking about children or freedom or some other issue that rips at the arteries of the nation.
Have you ever noticed how nicely Al-Qaeda fits in to English speeches? It’s intense, really. That and the other word that I will not mention. I’m not blind to the threat that Al-Qaeda, or any other organized extremist group (white supremacists, gangs, the KKK), pose to people worldwide. I know that the media is handling it with kid gloves — they’re doing their best. But still something in our communities isn’t quite right. An Imam was recently threatened with a knife for no good reason. Mosques have been vandalized. An enormous part of our Canadian community is suddenly the subject of anger and scrutiny. FM 96, a rock station out of London, aired a comment from a listener that called the Caledonia protesters the very same word that is being applied to so many extremist groups nowadays. Listeners were pissed — it’s not a word to be taken lightly. Unfortunately, persecution is one of those things that we will never get away from. True acceptance and diversity is a flying car. In the ‘60s, they seemed feasible by the year 2000. We can try, though. As a nation and a community, we can do our best to embrace people of all races and origins. But the way to do that is not through buying in to a poisonous rhetorical feed from the top.
I may seem a tad 1984 at times, but there are more dangers than Big Brother/Sister watching you. Be assured, Big Brother/Sister is indeed watching, but not passively. Speeches are designed to feed a populace with a sort of ideology; it’s geared towards freedom in the U.S., protecting the homeland with a mask of savage nationalism. In Canada, we have been fortunate enough to maintain a focus on our own citizens, our policies and financing. Occasionally we’ll fly some heavily-armed peacekeepers over to take care of stuff. The people on Parliament Hill are showing us how scared they are. The best way to lead is by example. If the powers are scared, the public is scared too. Liberal MP Keith Martin said it best in a story run by The Canadian Press, “It’s a wakeup call for all Canadians that we are a target, we are a mark.’’ It is indeed a wakeup call for Canadians. Not because we should be rushing out to Canadian Tire and buying the most powerful BB gun we can find, but because we need to start doubting the government. The U.S. has already been through the They phase. Canada is entering in to a climate where They loses all definition and becomes a story to tell children at night. Just don’t fall for it. editor@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Birth certificates require “daddy”
As Canadians, each of us has a fair multitude of legal documents and cards that show that we are citizens. Everything from drivers licenses, passports, social security cards, and birth certificates can be used as legal identification, proving that we are who we say we are, no matter what business or agency it is that is questioning our identity. The birth certificate, though, is somewhat different. Assigned to every child born in Canada by the province in which they are born, the birth certificate lists important information such as place and date of birth, parent’s names, gender and so forth. This certificate is usually assigned to the parents a few months after the child is born. In order to receive the birth certificate here in Ontario, the parents have to fill out a form called the “Statement of Live Birth.” This form was recently the source of some
EUCHRED
controversy when a married lesbian couple wanted to register as the parents of their child, who was conceived through artificial insemination. The problem is that the Statement of Live Birth specifically lists the parents as “Mother” and “Father,” and as such, the couple was not allowed to register their child under their names, instead having to use the name of the biological father of the child. This, of course, ended up in a court battle, which came to a conclusion a couple weeks ago. The Government of Ontario argued that to allow the couple to sign their names as the parents of the child would open the gates for other couples, of both same sex or opposite sex families, to do the same, regardless of the actual relation of the child to those individuals — thereby muddying the waters of the legal documents which are supposed to help with the tracing of genealogy and direct parenthood. They are, of course, correct. Allowing any two people to register as a parent of a child without ensuring that they are indeed the biological parents would make it near impossible for any child to trace who their real parents or grandparents were with any measure of certainty.
Simply put, changing the birth certificate and the piles of documentation surrounding such an important piece of information is not a smart thing to do. Of course, it would help if the government hadn’t started allowing this already. As Justice Paul Rivard of the Ontario Superior Court noted in his ruling, the government had allowed non-biological fathers to sign as the “father” of around 4,500 children last year without any problems or red flags raised. As such, the government has already muddied the waters of the Statement of Live Births and the Birth Registry, and thus not allowing this lesbian couple to register as the parents is simple discrimination. With the ruling, the Ontario Supreme Court has rightly brought the Ontario Government to task for not following the rules laid down by the charter, but they have also opened the gate for ongoing problems with how ancestry and parentage is tracked. Hopefully the government will take measures to ensure that both the biological parentage of every Canadian child is maintained while the guardians of the child are also officially recognized, regardless of their sexual orientation or relation to the child. gbarclay@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Margie Mansell and Darren Hutz
opinion
Imprint to be commended
To the editor, I would like to commend Imprint for its wonderful and beautiful articles and its website, which is one of the best I have gone through. Your ability to create a forum where people, especially students, can voice their opinions about issues affecting them and the university helps take the profession of journalism to the max. — John Sharon Non-UW student
Johnson wrong on drunk driving
To the editor, Although I agree with Mark Johnson’s assertion that drunk drivers aren’t the only danger on Canadian roads, his elaboration of these ideas is uninformed and potentially deadly. He claims that if he was driving “drunk, stoned... exhausted... [or] while using a cell phone…”, “operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol would be by far the least risky.” Tell that to my brother and my father, who lost a mother and wife to a drunk driver just over a year ago.
Mark’s statement that “there exist extraordinary and unprecedented punishments in place if one is convicted of drunk driving” is just wrong. The perpetrator has been out on bail since the day after the accident. The Crown Attorney on our case told my father that if he pleads guilty and shows remorse, he could get two years of house arrest. The consequence of killing someone while driving drunk is an inconvenience, not a punishment. Minimizing the impact of a deadly activity like drunk driving to make a point is disgraceful. Studies have shown that no one can “drive better than normal” when they’re drunk. Despite the best efforts and extraordinary campaigns put on by the “nuts” and “twits” at MADD Canada, you, Mark, still haven’t gotten the message. I, on the other hand, know first hand that drinking and driving kills. — Shelly Steffler 4A psychology
Driving is a privilege
To the editor, This letter is in relation to the “Drunk drivers are not the only danger” article. I agree that driving on Canada’s roads is becoming more and more treacherous due to many different factors including drinking and driving, talking on cell phones, and the elderly — but in no way should drinking and driving be put at the bottom of the list for what is “least risky.” According to the MADD website, “Every day in Canada, just under four deaths and
FRIDAY, june 16, 2006
just under 190 injuries are caused by impaired driving.” The people behind MADD Canada who work and volunteer there are amazing people and usually have emotional and personal connections to the organization. Driving is a privilege and we should all treat it with repect, but having the government “stop picking only on drunk drivers” will not solve anything.
Human rights a gateway to overbearing state intervention
To the editor,
I totally disagree with the article entitled “Leftist wrong on rights” dated Friday, May 5, 2006. I was appalled at the archaic ideas presented in the article. Life is more than a paycheque. Threatening people with smaller paycheques to take rights (yes, they are rights!) away from “two billion Africans” is a new low. To think that people are born with or without the right to a higher education, effective healthcare and other such basic amenities is irrational. There are factors in life that you cannot control, like the wealth of the family you are born into. It’s called ‘equal opportunity’ and it’s quite an important idea in this world. Learn it. There is more to this topic than partisan politics.
This letter is in response to an editorial that appeared in a previous issue of Imprint vis-à-vis the “rights-craze” of the political left. For those not familiar, those on the left seem to think that natural rights extend far beyond the “life, liberty and property” espoused by the classical liberal tradition upon which modern free societies are based. These so-called human rights extend from something as common as a right to welfare to a right to cultural preservation (as indicated by the article). More and more, we are seeing a shift from what political theorists call ‘negative’ rights (wherein the government need only stay out of the way, such as the right to freedom of expression and conscience) to ‘positive’ rights (where special obligation is placed upon the state and society to recognize or otherwise support their enactment, such as a right to education). Don’t get me wrong, education is fundamental to a healthy society and many of these other causes may possess some merit (welfare may be highly problematic in its present form, but has a certain humanitarian quality to it). But the second that these (mostly) left wing objectives are enshrined as fundamental human rights, a legal gateway is pried open for overbearing state intervention in more and more facets of society.
— Prasenjit Mukherjee 1B mechatronics engineering
— Adam Smith 4B political science
— Verity Cotterell 2A therapeutic recreation
More to life than a paycheque
To the editor,
Media treatment of arrests unfair to Muslims
The analysis reaching Canadians lacks an in-depth understanding and qualified study of the issues at hand In the past two weeks, since the arrest of 17 Muslims in relation to alleged acts of terrrorism, Muslims all over Canada have come under great scrutiny. Many young Muslims, including some at UW, have been interviewed by all sorts of media outlets. While the attempts of the media to try and get the perspective of Muslims on this issue is laudable, the sad reality is that most of the analysis reaching millions of Canadians through the media lacks any in-depth understanding or qualified study. In keeping with recent trends, the media has sensationalized the issue to a great extent and, dare I say, has acted with ignorant racism. Last Monday, as I was watching CTV Newsnet to get the latest information on the controversy, anchor Ravi Baichwal was interviewing
Shabir Ally, a prominent Canadian Muslim scholar. In addition to the stereotypical questions, such as how Muslims feel, Baichwal closed off the interview with the question. “Should certain verses from the Qur’an be denounced?” Genius! The Qur’an has existed since the 6th century, and in the intervening 14 centuries there has been no history of terrorism, until recent times, when an extremely small minority have used verses for political leverage. Yet according to Baichwal, this obviously had nothing to do with politics, and was a problem with the Qur’an. Ally then explained in a dignified manner that these verses have to be contextualized and reflected upon. Even more perplexing was the front page coverage in last Tuesday’s
Globe and Mail. This article even provoked an editorial response from renowned British writer Robert Frisk. The original story reported on the issue rather distastefully, describing all the arrested individuals as brownskinned people! This coming from one of the leading Canadian national dailies. Quite pathetic. The Canadian media has also sunk to some staggering double standards. All the fancy investigative reports, such as W-5 and others, have focused on Al-Qaeda’s history and details of their covert operations, as well as some speculation on how they can infiltrate Canadian security. There has been no mention whatsoever of the failures of the Canadian government in the past in dealing with similar circumstances.
Innocent Muslims have been made to suffer by the government over here before. The media has conveniently forgotten the case of Maher Arar and the involvement of Canadian authorities in his unnecessary torture in Syria. Then there was the case two years ago, when 26 Muslim men were arrested in a sweep called “Project Thread.” The men were allegedly part of an Al-Qaeda sleeper cell, which was later proved incorrect. Obviously, this does not necessarily mean that the current suspects are innocent, but the media are reporting as if these alleged crimes are already proven. The impact of this irresponsible coverage is that Canadian Muslims are starting to get extremely defen-
sive about their faith. An increasing number of Muslims, especially young ones, are scared to reveal their religious identity, or resort to defensive mechanisms claiming Islam is exactly the same as other religions. This has resulted in the notion of “Liberal Islam.” Basically, Muslims are not allowed to be different anymore. This is a great tragedy for Canada. The very reason thousands of Muslims come to Canada every year is the values of multiculturalism that allow them to be different without being judged. However, the media is doing its very best to tarnish two great identities — Canadian and Muslim. — Wasim Parkar
Classifieds Campus Bulletin HELP WANTED Weekend counsellors and relief staff to work in homes for individuals with developmental challenges. Minimum eight-month commitment. Paid positions. Send resume to Don Mader, K-W Habilitation Services, 108 Sydney Street, Kitchener, ON, N2G 3V2. Al Madina Egyptian Cuisine needs part-time waitstaff. Deli counter servers are also needed at Just n’ Pita. Please bring resume to 150 Philip Street, University Court Plaza, Waterloo during business hours.
HOUSING
Available now - two-bedroom apartment at $900 per month and threebedroom house at $950 plus utilities per month. Available September 2006 - three-bedroom apartment at $395 per room, two-bedroom apartment at $900, five-bedroom apartment at $350 inclusive per room, five-bedroom house at $425 plus utilities per room (on Hazel St) and three-bedroom house at $950 plus utilities per month. For more info call 746-6327 or 501-1486. Room for rent in three-bedroom townhouse. $400 inclusive, deck, BBQ, fun-loving roommates. Looking for responsible, nice roommate. Parking available, good neighborhood. Call Tim at 573-6191 for more information. Premium three-bedroom townhouse unit in a professionally managed student complex. Perfect for students, close to UW campus. Available May and September 2006. Call Perry now at 746-1411 for all the details and to set up a showing. Ask us about your signing bonus and gifts! Three-and four-bedroom apartments available September 2006. A 15-min-
ute walk to UW. Sixplex is located at 282 Erb Street, with a 12-month lease, $375 per room, utilities included. Building is very clean, laundry on main floor and parking lot. Don’t miss out – call Shadde at 747-4711 or e-mail 282erb@gmail.com. Attention Cambridge School of Architecture students! Live conveniently and comfortably right across the street from school in this beautifully renovated apartment. Four, eight and 12-month leases available, with excellent signing bonuses and rental incentives! Call Perry at 7461411 for more details. Five bedroom house – available September 1 - must see. Columbia and Hazel Streets area. Walking distance to both universities, two kitchens, two bathrooms, five car parking, laundry newly renovated. Please call 575-1973. House for rent September 1 – $385/ month/bedroom, seven bedrooms at Columbia and Hazel. Five minute walk to WLU, 10 minute walk to UW. Newly renovated bath. One bedroom available immediately until August 29th at $250/month or best offer. Call (519) 574-6886.
SERVICES
Proofreading – editing: Assignments, theses, letters, statements. We correct grammar and improve logic and flow. Onscreen, fast, professional. 30 years experience. Full details at www. checkedit.com. E-mail checkedit@ cogeco.ca. Phone (905) 335-3192. IMPRINT IS BI-WEEKLY FROM MAY 5 TO JULY 28, 2006. CAMPUS BULLETIN AND CLASSIFIED DEADLINES ARE MONDAYS AT 5 P.M., WEEK OF PUBLICATION. bring to slc room 1116.
UPCOMING
Saturday, June 17, 2006 FREE! UpTown Country, live performances by five great country music artists. KICX radio hosting StarQuest show at 1 p.m.! Show runs from 1:00 to 10:30 p.m. at the Regina Street parking lot (Regina and Willis Way). For more info contact Patti Brooks 885-1921. Monday, June 19, 2006 Row for Heart – learn to row. Register as a crew of five or as an individual. Nine-week lessons start the week of June 19. Call 571-9600 for more info. Saturday, June 24, 2006 Castle Kilbridge National Historical Site presents “Whispers of Wilmot: Heritage Fair” from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 60 Snyders Road,W., Baden, Ontario. Admission by donation. For more info call 634-8444. Wednesday, June 28, 2006 The Alzheimer Society of Kitchener Waterloo is proud to announce a new partnership with local artist Peter Etril Snyder. Press conference begins at 9:30 a.m. at Peter Etril Snyder Gallery, 59 Erb St. E. Waterloo. For more info call 742-1422, ext 15. Saturday, July 1, 2006 Dominion Day Picnic hosted by Doon Heritage Crossroads from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. to celebrate Canada Day. Free admission. Held at 10 Huron Road Kitchener. Wendy Connell for more info 748-1914. Wednesday, July 5, 2006 “Familiar spaces between unknown places” with Lindsay Chambers. Exhibit opens from 5-7 p.m. at the Rotunda Gallery, Kitchener City Hall 200 King St. W. For more information contact Cheryl York 741-3400 ext 3381.
VOLUNTEER
Volunteer Action Centre Recruitment has the following volunteer positions open: Kids on the Block needs puppeteers to perform for the disability awareness program. Training is provided. Call Douglas at 5716788. Lutherwood needs volunteers for many area from moms and babies to seniors. Call 884-7755, ext 238 or www.lutherwood.ca. Old Fashion Bazaar volunteers needed for Saturday, June 17 for family event at kidsLINK in St. Agatha. Call Beth at 741-1122, ext 234. The Lung Association is looking for mature and dedicated individuals to sit on the Community Advisory Council. Call Marjorie at 886-8100/822-7739 or email mbrown@on.lung.ca. Canadian Red Cross needs disaster services volunteers. Training is provided. Call Kristen at 742-2785 or e-mail kristen. eva@redcross.ca. The Antique Roadshow is coming to film an episode at Kitchener City Hall. Volunteers are needed for collecting tickets, escorting guests, etc. Call Leslie at 741-2564 or e-mail volunteer@city. kitchener.on.ca. City of Waterloo has volunteer opportunities for an “intergenerational project seeking youth and seniors” to work together to produce an oral history of the senior volunteer’s life experiences. Two hours/week, summer and fall. Call Tiffany 579-6930.
FINANCIAL AID
June 2006 Stop by the Student Awards Office to see if your Ontario Access Grant cheques are here. Recommended submission date for 2006-2007 OSAP application for fall 2006 term. Last day to submit undergraduate bursary applications. For further info visit the website http://safa.uwaterloo.ca/ or second floor Needles hall, ext 3583.
ONGOING
The UW Stage Band has need of more players immediately in all sections. Everyone is welcome and participation can be taken for credit or for fun. Call Michael Wood at 2711488 or percwood@orc.ca. Rehearsals are Monday’s from 7 to 10 p.m., Congrad Grebel, room 1111. Starting May 24, Wednesday’s from 7 to 9 a.m. at the Charitable Research Reserve, 1679 Blair Road, Cambridge, presents “Warbler Watching” with Bill Wilson. Binoculars, appropriate dress and footwear for early mornings required. Rain or shine but will be cancelled during a thunderstorm. Register early by calling Rachel 6509336, ext 122. Artist In Residence Studio Hours. Join Artist In Residence, Julia Horgan, for a fun art lesson and learn a new art trick or two! Wednesdays from 10a.m.-2p.m. and Sundays from 1p.m.-4p.m. Admission $7, children under 3 free! www.wrcm.ca/whatshappening/programs 749-9387 x239
SERVICES
i-TUTOR is a FREE student resource. We encourage learning and promote education within Ontario. Our website resource helps tutees find qualified tutors. Tutors are university students who are independent of this organization and have their own rate and schedule. http://www. i-tutor.ca.
HOW TO TELL THE SEX OF A FLY
A woman walked into the kitchen to find her husband stalking around with a fly swatter. “What are you doing?” she asked. “Hunting flies,” he responded. “Oh, killing any?” she asked. “Yes, 3 males, 2 females,” he replied. Intrigued, she asked, “How can you tell them apart?” He responded, “3 were on a beer can, 2 were on the phone.”
10
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Strong armed forces not the solution So apparently some rebellious youngsters were planning to launch a big, bad terrorist attack in peace-loving Canada. Is anyone really surprised by this? We’ve sent our soldiers to die in Afghanistan, just to take a load off the backs of the American military. This foolishness has evidently made us a potential target for terrorism. As expected, the doomsday-predicting right-wingers started screaming — “These people hate our way of life — they despise everything about us! It’s time to fight back! We can’t afford to be complacent any longer!” Their pedantic arguments are nonsensical, to say the least. Which countries have been victims of ghastly terrorist attacks, aside from Iraq and Afghanistan? Australia was attacked in Bali. Britain was attacked in London. We all know about when America was attacked. And, by remarkable coincidence, who are the biggest contributors to the invasion of Iraq? Why, it’s the U.S., Britain and Australia!
Am I the only one who sees a connection here? Bush, Harper and their ilk need to realize that the Western bullying going on is what’s provoking these attacks — it has nothing to do with them hating our way of life. It’s clear that what they want is to be left alone, but Uncle Sam isn’t happy unless every country is ruled by a U.S. lapdog – just look at how they removed the democratically elected leader of Iran in 1953. Or how about the democratically elected Jean-Bertrand Aristide in Haiti? The notion that we must pour more and more resources into our military to defend against possible terrorist attacks is barking up the wrong tree. Look at Iceland, for example — they have zero military, and they’re an island in the middle of the ocean. Yes, they’d be a cinch for an invading army to take over, and yet, it doesn’t happen. Why? Perhaps because Iceland isn’t tagging along on every U.S. misadventure in the Middle East, they just aren’t a target. The Americans may be intent on forcing democracy down the throat of every country but theirs is hardly a democracy to mimic. According to media reports last week, some U.S. marines allegedly went on a three-hour killing ram-
page in Haditha, Iraq. Soldiers went door-to-door and systematically killed civilians. God bless America, eh? Thank God they liberated those poor Iraqis! Remember, this is a country that some say may have faked a terrorist attack to garner international sympathy and domestic support for the unpopular Bush administration. Steven Jones, a professor of physics at Utah’s Brigham Young University, has published findings that seem to indicate that the 9/11 attacks were indeed staged. To put it succinctly, the building did burn on September 11, but the melting point of steel is about 1,480 degrees C, while the hottest a jet-fuel fire can burn is around 980 degrees C. Some chemicals or fire aid was placed throughout the building beforehand. Is it really so hard to believe? We already knew the U.S. government had prior knowledge of these “attacks” — Condoleeza Rice herself has even said so. And we of course all know about the U.S. torture chambers at Abu Ghraib. The Guantanemo Bay “resort” is getting more publicity these days too. And Canada just tags along, like a trained seal. University of Chicago terrorism expert Robert Pape points out
AskMen.com reveals 12 types of “ideal” women
Bored at work the other day, I came across a very intriguing article on AskMen.com entitled “12 Types of Women You Should Date.” What I was doing on AskMen.com, God only knows. Originally, it caught my eye as a potentially chauvinistic piece, demanding that all women look like Angelina Jolie, cook like Martha Stewart and be better than Jenna Jamieson in the sack. The remarkable thing was that the article, written by Matthew Fitzgerald author of SexPloytation, was not only insightful but also really interesting. The “ideal” women range from “Miss Sexual” to “Miss No Pressure” to “Miss Low Maintenance.” Seemingly misogynistic they may be, but the article is more so a male version of a typical Cosmo article than anything else — made all the more interesting because it’s written from a male perspective. While some may argue this story still degrades women by classifying them as “sweet” vs. “bitchy” but who’s to say that men shouldn’t be afforded the same rights as women are in providing dating advice? If anything, the article is much more generous towards the opposite sex than the typical women’s magazine is to men. Women, in fact, could learn a
lot about men’s perspective on our sex and the “dating game” itself from this article. The two “ideals” that I found the most astute were “Miss Equality” and “Miss Right for You.” According to Fitzgerald, “Miss Equality [...] is a true feminist and understands that equality means equality across the board, from holding the door open to fighting on the front lines.” This raises an interesting point about women’s equality. Are there “cafeteria feminists” who pick and choose the aspects of their life they want to be equal and those in which they want to revert to a different set of rules? How often have you heard seemingly strong, independent women complain about inequality in the work place and in the next breath bitch that their latest boyfriend won’t pick up the tab at dinner? Fitzgerald is right, equality should mean just that: “a relationship should be 50/50 partnership” where women and men share everything equally from finances to housework to the snacks at a movie. Women shouldn’t scream equality and then sit back on dates and let the man pay for everything — it just wouldn’t be very fair, would it? “Miss Right For You” was the “ideal” that really amazed me, especially because I began reading the article with the belief that it would objectify, debase and degrade women. The best part was that it could go both ways, change “Miss” to “Mr.”, “she” to “he” and it can also describe the type of man every woman should be looking for.
Fitzgerald advises, “if you find a woman who makes you happy, regardless of looks, age or social status — or what any other guy thinks — then you have definitely won at the mating game.” I believe it was this line that really made me stop and re-examine the preconceptions I had before reading the article. Since the article was written by a man, and it’s about types of women, that automatically means it will be chauvinistic and sexist, right? Wrong. I think that there is this concept out there that men cannot write about women in any sort of a critical, albeit realistic, sense without it automatically being considered sexist. Why? Women criticize men constantly in books, magazines, even on TV shows, so how come men aren’t afforded this same right — especially when their critiques can be insightful and accurate? There seems to be this constant fear that any kind of a criticism from a man to a woman is automatically going to degrade her. What irks me is that this male perspective on the dating world provides a much more equal, straightforward and realistic argument than Glamour could possibly hope to achieve. When it boils down to it, women love to dish out criticism of the male sex, but when the tables are turned, “sexism” is cried first and all the truths tend to fall on deaf ears. The article in question can be found at http://ca.askmen.com/ dating/curtsmith_100/119_dating_advice.html. acsanady@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
that the longer our combat forces are in Afghanistan, the greater the risk of attack. No kidding. Perhaps the conservative minds — who believe the route to safety flows through the barrel of a gun — ought to wake up and smell the coffee. Rather than stick our heads in the sand and “beef up” our armed forces
BAR FLIES
— who use tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars a year on condoms for their “liberation” of Afghanistan — let’s take the common-sense route, pull our occupiers out of Afghanistan and start working on a peaceful solution to the problems of today’s Earth. mjohnson@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Ian Blechschmidt
Friday, june 16, 2006
features@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Features Editor: Kinga Jakab
Get in touch with your philanthropic side
Interested in joining the “indie”-stry?
Steven Preisman imprint staff
kinga jakab
Independent designers showcase their all-natural, handmade products at the Downtown Urban Design Event. Right, Amy Kwong and Keith McCalmont of Smitten Kitten. Kinga Jakab imprint staff
Local hobbyists-turned- independent designers showed off their clothing, accessories, body care products and fine art at the Downtown Urban Design Event (DUDE) on Friday, June 2nd at the Walper Terrace Hotel in downtown Kitchener. Hosted by DUDE, this event featured over 10 up-and-coming young designers who have succeeded in taking their hobbies and turning them into profit. How, you ask, does one know that their hobby is worthy of profit? Hobbies are not quite like cleaning your room instead of writing an essay; rather, hobbies are activities you find yourself craving to do regardless of having other things to do. It is often the things you find yourself doing for free anyway that hold the most potential for making you financially secure and happy. The next step is to be a part of the growing independent business scene. But just because you look like the real Slim Shady doesn’t mean you can burst into rhyme. Not just anyone can sell their products whenever and wherever they want. You have to network and, by all means, make sure you’re good! Test your products on anyone you can get your hands on — the more objective the person, the
better. You should firmly believe that your products are worth all the trouble, and that they are not just something your grandmother could have thrown together. “Creative jobs you have to create yourself,” says Jessica Burman, founder of Cocoon Apocotherapy. She handcrafts her own natural body products, admitting that, with nature, a little goes a long way. Jessica’s transition from hobbyist to independent business owner is supported by her belief that people should live meaningful lives. Imagine investing the time you currently spend on other stressors into perfecting your hobby and networking. In this “indie”-stry, Jessica offers that buyers tend to focus on and look for reputation, and giving new designers a chance is few and far between. However, “perseverance is everything,” Jessica says. She encourages designers to push forward despite the setbacks and obstacles. In a Cover Girl and Avon world, natural products are hard to come by. Naturals, although more expensive, are by far the higher quality product. Jessica hopes for a world that will “look away from Halle Berry and look at me!” In fact, many of the designers at this event support utilizing nature for their art. Erin Wilk, founder of Anatomy of a Skirt, takes great pride in using solely vegan prod-
ucts. Her originally-designed bags maximize what every woman wants: space. Not just ordinary space, but vegan space, depending on her design or depending on the custom orders she also offers. She stayed in school, although admitting that it was “a sidetrack to this.” Turning her hobby into a business was a big investment of both time and money. Taxes, Erin says, are her biggest obstacle to date. It is important to keep good records, she adds, “because the creative part is fun but the business part is extremely important.”
“Just do it. There’s never a good time, so just do it”
— Amy Kwong Founder, Smitten Kitten
Her collaborative partner, Amy Borkwood, founder of Nightjar Books, agrees that without a background in business, it can be quite difficult to keep track of spending and very easy to make mistakes. Starting off at a biannual Stitch ‘n’ Kitsch event, Amy creates unique bound books, a “one woman binding operation.” She sometimes collaborates with
Erin Wilk to create vinyl-bound books. She places special importance on evolving your work with your personality to create each piece’s individuality. Amy’s work is handmade out of recycled materials, which she feels enhances the uniqueness of each piece. Individuality and distinctiveness are a large focus both in creating one’s work as well as promoting it. Each designer boasts the uniqueness of their work, and most offer custom-made options to their customers. Thera Ip, founder of Thera, creates jewellery and functional sculptures with natural and recycled materials. Using her background in environmental science, she also collects unique rocks. Thera says, “Mass produced art isn’t art.” Thera thinks, “Our culture does not promote the arts” and believes the obstacles she’s encountered have been societal. She succeeded in turning both her hobby and her education into a business by investing time and being persistent. She offers that you “just have to do it” regardless of worries and fears of rejection. “The biggest pay-off is when people admire your work”, Thera says. Similarly, Amy Kwong of Smitten Kitten encourages new designers to “just do it.
There’s never a good time, so just do it.” Amy creates “objects of desire that make you feel sexy, but also products that enhance your life and surroundings,” and did so while working two full-time jobs and doing her hobby part-time. Since she quit her jobs and transitioned into the “indie”-stry, she says she can’t imagine working for someone else ever again. What these women have in common is their dedication to their artisan and crafter hobbies. They have started on the path to success in what they describe as a supportive network of friends. For those of you who have a hobby but don’t quite know what to do with it, have a lot of spare time, have a continuity of supplies at your disposal, have a plethora of family and friends to use as guinea pigs, and are able to make useful and aesthetically pleasing things, perhaps getting into the “indie”-stry is for you. Know your products inside and out, and be creative! You can find more information from local showcase websites like www.dudeshop.org and www.kitchenermarket.ca.
Is it just me, or is the ratio of “people who have it really good” to “people who volunteer their time to just causes and the less fortunate” in Waterloo a little bit out of proportion? Really now — for everybody who has the time and energy to party it up and get drunk on any given night, there exists probably another 0.01 people who volunteer. Those individuals who fit my “people who have it really good” profile should get off of their laurels and do a little bit of good, if only for goodness’ sake. But how does one get started? May I suggest the Canadian Cancer Society’s Relay for Life? The following is a first-hand account of my Relay for Life adventures. After spending a whole 37 minutes running around the Student Life Centre collecting donations, I had already reached the $100 quota I had set for myself and was thereby eligible to join in on Friday night’s anti-cancer festivities. When I arrived in Cambridge for the Relay June 9, I was very surprised with what I saw, as it wasn’t at all what I expected. The field was filled with lights and gave off a very beautiful ambience. There were rows and rows of tents filled with wide-eyed, optimistic and friendly youth (about 80 per cent of them girls). Most people were dressed up in an assortment of costumes and the campsites were also decorated very spectacularly, which livened up what could have been a rather sombre atmosphere. I believe an award was given out for best costumes and campsite. Of note was a group whose campsite looked like a space station and who were dressed up as astronauts, satellites and spaceship parts. They were out of this world… cough. The people were all very easy to talk to, and I’m sure I could have gotten some numbers here and there if it weren’t for that tiny shred of conscience that’s left in me, which I am desperately attempting to get rid of. I’m open to suggestions on how to achieve this feat. There was also a Tim Hortons there, which solidified my theory that Tim Hortons is on the verge of taking over the world, as even nonprofit institutions are no longer safe from its clutches. It makes sense, though, if you think about it — first cancer, then parliament, then the world. Brilliant. A middle-aged biker gang/cover band was also at the Relay for Life. They played a lot
of Beatles and Rolling Stones songs, as well as some country rock tunes that I have never heard of and hope to never hear again. When asked to play something by anyone other than the Beatles or the Rolling Stones they would reply “we don’t know that one, but here’s something like it” after which they would proceed to play a country rock tune that sounded nothing like the requested song. I didn’t say anything, though, because they were bigger than me. I don’t know you, but they were bigger than you, too. There was an open-mike portion to the evening, however, and I sang “Yellow” by Coldplay. I messed up the lyrics a little bit, but the 12-yearold girls in the audience didn’t seem to mind. I have 12-year-old groupies now. Hot. The actual “relay” portion consisted of people walking around a track over and over again in a very redundant manner. Not enough people ran, though. It was so pedestrian. I tried to tell people that walking wouldn’t beat cancer. Only running will. I set an example by running myself; but ironically, all of those cancer sticks I seem to be so fond of prevented me from running more than two laps. Damn you, irony. After they find the cure for cancer, I will find the cure for irony. As the night closed in and I grew tired, I decided to take a nap. The people who I was with were also tired, so four of us crowded into a tent that was clearly made for two people. I spooned with a large man named Devo. He was the big spoon, fittingly. Morning came with the obnoxious yelling of camp ditties such as “There Was a Great Big Moose” by a group of old ladies. Instead I gathered all of my belongings, cleaned up the camp site with my friends and we all headed for Benny’s where I ate the most delicious breakfast ever — eggs benedict with smoked salmon. I highly recommend it. I then stole a packet of orange pekoe tea off the counter so as to balance out all of my day’s good deeds with a bad one. Gosh, I’m cool. This coming fall, the Relay for Life is coming to Waterloo — may I suggest volunteering? It’s great fun and a solid way to ease you into the philanthropic spirit. Putting a little bit of effort into a good cause on a Friday night sure beats putting a lot of your innards into a toilet bowl on a Saturday morning. Plus, chicks dig it. spreisman@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Fashion police: where a guy buys his clothes can make the statement, but does it make the man?
Everyone has that favourite piece of clothing that they love to wear no matter how many times their friends tell them it’s ridiculous. For some, it’s a goofy hat they wear to the beach or out gardening. For others it’s a shirt they really, really like, even though it’s either two sizes too big or two sizes too small. For me, it happens to be a Rush T-shirt. That’s right, the same band that brought you such rockin’ tunes as “Tom Sawyer” and “Closer to the Heart” also appears in T-shirt form wherever crap is sold.
But we’re not here to discuss my amazing T-shirt. We’re here to discuss why people wear clothes. Aside from keeping your body warm and your fun parts covered, clothing is supposed to be a means of expression. It’s supposed to be our way of controlling how we appear to others on the outside. Seem simple? Then let me tell you a little story that may complicate things. Meet my friend Chris. His name’s not really Chris, but I don’t like his real name so I’m calling him Chris. Chris is not the most fashionable dresser. In fact, his entire wardrobe consists of clothes most people buy as gags. But he loves them and more power to him for that. But there’s another problem. Chris is single and desperately wonders why no girl can see past his Family Guy T-shirts. I suggest maybe buying a T-shirt from the Gap, or possibly from any store that isn’t online. He scoffs at me. “I’m no sellout,” he says. “I’d rather be
single than wear what some gay store tells me to wear.” Mission accomplished. After reminding him that the store probably prefers to be called homosexual, not gay, I also remind him that lots of people that he meets every day buy their clothes from stores in the mall, not the stands. “Exactly my point! I don’t want to be like every other moron out there wearing American Eagle hats and Gap jeans. I like my clothes and I don’t want to change who I am just to look cool.” I agree he has a point. But he also won’t gel his hair because he considers that selling out too. In fact, anything other than his wash-anddry mushroom cut is selling out to him. Chris is afraid that by buying consumer products, as advertised, he’ll become a sellout. Although I agree that buying something just because it’s on a mannequin is ridiculous, but not buying clothes you may like because they happen to be on a mannequin is equally ridiculous.
There was only one explanation. I took Chris shopping and pointed out clothes that he may like, that didn’t show cartoon dogs peeing on fire hydrants. Shopping with me, he didn’t find any hat that had the phrase “d’oh” printed across the front. And for once, his underwear did not have a clever phrase and an arrow pointing up, down or any other direction. I explained to Chris that clothing labels and brands didn’t have to be status symbols but rather symbols of quality and reliability. Sure, many people buy something because it says AE or Old Navy on it, but I buy them because I know they fit me well and they won’t wear out so easily. I taught Chris to find clothes that expressed who he was and that he would enjoy wearing. I taught him that it’s all right to style your hair to make yourself feel good. After all, it’s just fine to dress nicely and hope someone else notices; but to truly feel good about yourself, you should
dress so that you think you look good. When I dress for class, I don’t wear my best clothes in order to impress the pretty girl at the end of my row. I dress well because I like to feel good about how I look and hopefully she’ll notice that instead of how my pants show off my ass. There are plenty of people who like to wear cute or sexy underwear when they know that no one will see it. They wear it because it makes them feel sexy, not so that they can impress someone else. As I taught Chris, dress to express, not to impress. If looks can kill, commit suicide every day. Remember Chris, and remember that Chris used to be me. Well not really, but that would definitely be a better end to my anecdote. Remember though, if you can’t look at the mirror every morning and say, “Damn, I look good,” then you’re dressing for the wrong person. janstett@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Steve Preisman
Relay for Life participants (from left to right), Jamie Nicholls, Jenny Habicher and Jenn Rickert
You might be under the watchful eye of The Sartorialist Lea Chambers
special to imprint
The Sartorialist, a New York City street fashion blog, is hoping to offer even more to its readers in the near future. The Sartorialist makes his name by taking his readers to the street and giving them a look at the well-dressed, colourful citizens of The Big Apple. There’s no prearranged shooting times, no money being exchanged, and no model bookings involved — just a friendly “Hello, you look great, can I take your picture?” — deal. With a keen eye, The Sartorialist offers something that is real, something that is genuine, and something that you can believe. There are no makeup artists to make these models look good. There is, however, a mysteriously inexplicable “thing” that draws The Sartorialist in: shoes, a hat, a tie, or some unarticulated combination of a few things – it could be anything. I would imagine the fun for The Sartorialist is to figure out what exactly it is that he loves about an outfit or a look and then share it with the world. And it is The Sartorialist who is out there finding them for us — venturing into the busy streets of NYC, the most densely populated major city in all of North America. He returns each day to his viewers with a handpicked bouquet of bona fide fashion. In the city that never sleeps, there are literally millions of walking advertisements: New York City’s eight million citizens. With such a large population, it is no wonder the city is seen as a global crossroads for many artists — music, film, theater, dance, and visual arts alike. But contribution to fashion is by no means limited to the Arts. New York City is an international centre for business and commerce. You could argue that this is what, in fact, drives the creativity in fashion here — a developed economy. Willing and able consumers are demanding fashion expertise. Tourists are visiting the city year round, throwing their two cents into the mix. Café’s, sidewalks, shops, and even mass transit are all showcases for people in NYC. These places are the unofficial runway for every label that can make its way into New York City. With the vast competition fashion designers face, what we find in New York City is a centre flourishing with many colours, textures, and styles. It is prime ground for a bird’s eye view of what is fashionable and what will be in the near future. So why not take a walk every morning with The Sartorialist to check these things out! The Sartorialist has some thoughts on growth and expansion for his forte. In his blog last month, The Sartorialist posted an interview which was then published in DNR, an online news magazine for men’s fashion. The Sartorialist mentioned the possibility of getting NYC fashion consultant Robert Burke to become a partner in order to get some investments to launch The Sartorialist into the next level. This new level, he hopes, would include more interviews and more fashion shows, taking his camera backstage for the rest of us. To follow the spotlight this New York fashion blogger carries on the street, keep a bookmark of his site and stay up to date! To check out The Sartorialist, visit http://thesartorialist.blogspot.com. The Sartorialist posts daily, often more than once per day.
features
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Celibate good times, c’mon
Steven R. McEvoy imprint staff
What do you get when a writer from Da Ali G Show, Weakest Link, Survivor and The Apprentice takes on the Catholic Church and the question of celibacy for priests? God or the Girl (GOTG). How can five weeks of filming capture years of discerning — the internal debate, praying, and questioning if God has a specific will for one’s life? All the hype on TV prior to the airing, including interviews on CNN, by Dianne Sawyer, Larry King and many, many others created a circus air around the series. The show traveled the world as most reality shows do these days. Filmed mostly in the United States, the men traveled to Germany for World Youth Day and to Latin America for a mission’s trip. Even Canada makes a small appearance as Joe goes on a pilgrimage to Niagara Falls, Mount Carmel Spiritual Centre. The four men examined in the series are: Joe Adair, 28, a campus counselor at John Carroll University; Steve Horvath, 25, who left his job as a high-paid consultant to become a
campus missionary at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln; Mike Lechniak, 24, who must choose between a teaching career with girlfriend Aly and the priesthood; and Daniel DeMatte, 21, a second-year student at Ohio Dominican University whom I had the chance to interview. Here’s what he had to say about his experience with the series. How long have you been in this discernment process? Three years. If someone were approached for a GOTG2 would you recommend it? Definitely. It’s a great way to evangelize a national audience. What was the best experience of GOTG? The cross carrying really drew me into the mystery of Christ’s passion. It has been a constant reminder and aid in my prayer life. It taught me so much about discernment and God’s love and mercy. What was the worst part of GOTG? The stress of the time commitment. With the cameras around all the time, did you find you modified or changed your behaviour? If so, how? Was it harder to have personal time with God, or prayer time? As Socrates says, “I am the same man always, both in private and in public.” No, it didn’t change my behaviouhr at all, but it did take away from personal time with God. Sometimes it would be hard to get my prayer in during the filming process. If you were in charge of GOTG what would you have done differently? Shown more of the broadness of discernment. How it is a call between celibacy and married life, and how you take smaller steps — like to first discern should I enter seminary or
start a dating relationship. Also, it would have been God or the girl; I would have liked to show the beauty of sacramental marriage more. Do you pray the rosary daily? If not, how frequently? How important is Mary to your faith? I did the de Montfort total consecration to Mary. “I am all thine, all I have is thine, o most loving Jesus, through thy most loving mother”. Mary is very important to me, yet I rotate praying the rosary and the chaplet of divine mercy. When you made and carried the cross, could you have chosen lighter wood? I could have... I wanted to enter into the mystery of Christ’s suffering. The heavy wood was needed for me to fulfill God’s plan for me. Looking back from the distance of time, do you regret carrying the cross? Would you ever recommend it to a young man you are working with? Not to just any young man. It could be a source of pride for some. But I was very blessed by doing it. I would let people know that when they carry a cross like that, God can speak to you for your vocation. See, our life as vocation is linked to the cross. If I am a priest, I am called to lay down my life for my congregation. If I am married, my life is laid down for my wife and kids. When I was carrying the cross, I was thinking more about sacrificing myself for a wife and kids. This is the way my heart desires to lay down my life. This has been very significant in my discernment. How many people attend your campus ministry meeting at Fort Zion? We have 217 highschoolers in our youth group. We meet at the church, St. Agatha’s now. We average about
60 youth per week. We also have monthly events open to the diocese now, at which we average about 350400 teens. Praise God! What would be the single piece of advice you would give to a person who wants to grow in their faith? Read 1 John 3:1-5. Learn who you are and then respond to this knowledge. What books, or authors do you read to nourish your faith? Scripture, Therese, deSales, Pope John Paul II, Scott Hahn, St. John of the Cross. This series, which many thought would be a joke, turned out to be a fair and balanced approach. Though it had many shortcomings — first in that it only spanned five weeks for a process that takes many years; second, that the variety in background for the four men was not very diverse. The show demonstrates some of the struggles that men must face in making this life-altering decision. Here at the University of Waterloo, we have students at St. Jerome’s who are deciding this as well as seminarians who have made the decision at Resurrection College. If you are Catholic or know Catholics, this series will give you a glimpse into some of the men who consider serving the church, God and mankind in this way. The show had five episodes that aired over a number of weeks leading up to Easter weekend. A&E is releasing the series on DVD in June 2006. The DVDs have 10 hours of special features and behind the scenes footage. smcevoy@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Contract and relax your Kegel without anyone knowing
Recently, there has been some debate on my blog about Kegel exercises. It appears that people just aren’t sure how, when, or even where to do them. There’s a lot of conflicting information out there, so I ambled over to the library website to do a little research. Kegel (often misspelled as “keggle” or “kegle”) exercises are named after the gynaecologist Dr. Arnold Kegel, who cared so much about vaginas that he gave them exercises to do so that they could stay in shape. Kegel exercises are done by clenching and unclenching the muscles at the bottom of the pelvis, specifically, the pubococcygeus muscle. When you try them — as I’m sure you are at this very moment — you’ll want to focus on clenching the same muscles that you might use to stop yourself from urinating. It is alright for your abs to clench, but make sure that you aren’t tightening your thighs — if you are, then you aren’t focusing on the right muscle. Kegel exercises strengthen the pubococcygeus muscle (PC or Kegel muscle), which is found in the pelvic floor of both men and women and is incredibly useful. It controls urine flow, contracts during orgasms, and
surrounds the openings of the anus, vagina, and bladder. In women, Kegel exercises can help strengthen and tone the pelvic muscles, which is great for toning up before and after childbirth and for preventing urinary incontinence (i.e. peeing your pants when you sneeze — a significant problem for millions of people in North America).
Imagine that your pelvic floor is an elevator and slowly clench it tighter and tighter. Kegels can also be a lot of fun during penetrative sex; a male partner should be able to feel the muscles tighten around his penis as you clench your PC muscles. In men — yes it works for the guys, too — Kegel exercises can aid urinary continence, and are said to be able to help them reach orgasm without ejaculation and even attain multiple orgasms! Doing Kegel exercises will also raise and lower his testicles which could be a fun party trick, and work out his anal muscles which could handy during penetrative anal sex. The disagreements start when it comes time to talk about where/how to do Kegel exercises. Some people are convinced that Kegel exercises should be done during urination — that is, the person should exercise their Kegel
muscles by stopping and releasing the flow of urine when they are on the toilet. On the other hand, some vehemently oppose doing Kegel exercises during urination because of the reported risk of urinary tract infection. One of the papers I found, by Dr. Katharine Kolcaba et al., recommends locating the appropriate muscles for Kegel exercises by pretending to stop to flow of urine. And a few other websites also suggest locating the muscles this way or by actually stopping the flow of urine, but only once or twice. Personally, I suggest that you go the route of “better safe than sorry.” Since it has been suggested that stopping the flow of urine is not a good thing to be doing regularly — why do it at all? There are many ways to work out your Kegel muscles without resorting to this uncomfortable and potentially dangerous method. In fact, let’s look at what Dr. Kegel prescribed: His method had an 84 per cent success rate. He instructed his patients to contract their pelvic muscles against a “perineometer,” a cone-shaped balloon inserted into the vagina, but a dildo, fingers, ben wa balls, or a piece of foam cut to size would work just as well. They were instructed to alternately contract and relax the PC muscles for 20 minutes, three times a day, for a total of 300 contractions. And this brings us to another disagreement on my blog — how many clenches should be done in a day?
As you read above, Dr. Kegel recommended doing three sets of 100 clenches in a day, but there are two recognised ways to do Kegel exercises: fast and slow. For slow Kegels, you clench your Kegel muscles and hold for 5-10 seconds. For fast Kegels, you clench and hold your Kegel muscles for only 1 second — this would have been the type that Dr. Kegel was thinking of when he prescribed doing 300 in a day. You should also keep in mind that he was prescribing this to patients diagnosed with urinary incontinence — I’m sure Dr. Kegel won’t be angry if we healthy folks don’t do the full 300 clenches a day. You could also try alternating between fast and slow Kegels. Once you’ve gotten pretty good at your regular Kegel exercises you can try this: imagine that your pelvic floor is an elevator and slowly clench it tighter and tighter, imagining that the elevator is going up floor by floor, and then slowly unclench, bringing the elevator back down. You could also try incorporating Kegel clenches into your yoga routine — this is called tightening your Moolabandha — it is said that this will increase your energy levels and relieve tension. The nifty thing about doing your Kegel exercises, whether you do them fast or slow, is that no one has to know! You can do them anywhere, at almost any time — like a Kegel ninja! And the benefits are certainly worth the small amount of concentration required. ssparling@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
FRIDAY, june 16, 2006
Tight tips and stalks
Asparagus is in season at the moment. These likeable veggies, with a mellow and earthy taste, are at great prices in supermarkets — a bonus for all us budget-minded students. This dish is quick and simple and will complement anything you like; I usually have it with some fluffy rice. When looking for asparagus, choose bright green stalks with tight tips. To store in the fridge for 3-4 days, simply wrap the spears tightly in a plastic bag. When you are ready to use them, rinse them thoroughly under cold water, the buds being the first to get cleaned. Trust me, grainy asparagus does not enhance texture in a dish. If the stems are tough, don’t throw them away. Use a vegetable peeler and remove the outer layer. Asparagus contains a good amount of vitamin A, so it’s a great alternative for those who are not fond of carrots. Ingredients
A few dashes of granulated garlic (or salt and pepper) 2 tsp vegetable oil (such as sunflower) 1/2 pound of shrimp, washed 1 tsp chopped garlic 3 shallots, finely chopped 1/2 tsp finely chopped ginger 1/2 red onion, chopped 1 tsp garlic chili pepper sauce (optional), the amount varies depending on how spicy you like your dish to be 1 bunch of asparagus (6-8 stalks), washed and cut into 1 ½ inch pieces 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp sugar 1 tbsp oyster sauce 1 tsp cornstarch (or all-purpose flour) 2 tsp cold water Method
1. Peel shells off shrimp, de-vein. Then place in a medium sized bowl, with the seasoning, the granulated garlic if you have it or salt and pepper. Sprinkle liberally, toss to coat thoroughly and put in the fridge. 2. Meanwhile, put the skillet on medium-high heat. Add the oil, chopped garlic and shallots, cook until golden brown and fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. 3. Add chopped red onion and garlic chili pepper sauce (if using) and continue sauté until the onion and tender, another 1-2 minutes. 4. Add asparagus, sauté for 2 minutes, then add the salt, sugar and oyster sauce. Sauté for another minute. 5. Take a small bowl, add the cornstarch and water, mix and then add to the pan. Continue to stir for 1 minute, until sauce starts to become thicken. 6. Add the shrimp and cook until they turn to a nice soft pink tinged with a golden brown colour, 2-4 minutes. Serve immediately. Makes enough for four people. tli@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
16
Arts Imprint
Friday, june 16, 2006
arts@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Arts Editor: Margaret Clark
MT Space breaking new, old borders Just under two years old, this K-W multicultural positive company is still taking theatre to new extremes
courtesy of MT Space
MT Space and CCAT performers — including UW students and staff — inhabit the top floor of the K-W Royal Canadian Legion for Legion of Memory, this summer’s site-specific theatre offering. Margaret Clark imprint staff
Two years ago, Majdi Bou-Matar had a dream. A theatre professional and immigrant to Canada, he felt all too well the conflict brewing between these identities. The theatre scene held more barriers for those of different theatrical traditions, and what roles were available fell regularly into culturally-stereotyped categories. The Canadian immigration act itself was against foreign-born performing artists, encouraging a stream of scientific and business professionals but leaving a dearth of international artists, essentially restricting the influx of new creative minds. But Bou-Matar refused to accept his immigrant status as any kind of declaration that he was abandoning the arts, and two years ago this July 4, with the extreme support of the arts and culture communities already present in Kitchener-Waterloo, MT Space was formed. Wth the upcoming performances of Legion of Memory, a site-specific theatre presentation directed by UW’s own Andrew Houston, it’s plain to see just how far Bou-Matar’s dream has come. MT Space (Multicultural Theatre Space) seeks to accomplish just what its name suggests:
it highlights the “empty space” in Canadian theatre formed by a neglect of multicultural dramatists and communities, and works to fill that void with all manner of theatrical traditions and cultural influences. Its premise and mission statement are quite simple, yet immensely daring: MT Space is committed to exploring different cultures, styles and dramatic spaces, recognizing that since people come to Canada with different acting traditions, Canadian theatre can only be enhanced by the surfeit of old-new approaches to the art. Legion of Memory, produced in collaboration with CCAT (Canadian Centre of Arts and Technology) and involving students and staff from UW, is a prime example of this meeting of worlds, styles, cultures and forms. The production explores war memorials in relation to the “real” K-W war refugees from Yugoslavia, juxtaposing remembrance and escape in the top floor of the former Kitchener Legion. The choice of location is no fluke, either; it’s all a part of site-specific theatre. “Site-specific theatre,” said Bou-Matar, MT Space’s artistic director, “is theatre created for specific sites. It’s going into specific sites related to the content of a performance and acting through those spaces to reach a deeper understanding and connection to the material.
Sometimes the content even rises from the space itself; it’s all interconnected.” Bou-Matar added that the interaction between performance, content, architecture and community was especially important, allowing such productions to reach the audience in a way conventional theatre spaces simply could not and to change the way viewers look at the other spaces they inhabit in new ways. An MT Space program blurb further explained: “With site-specific theatre, you begin by seeing how the elements of the site (peeling walls, windows, staircases) are metaphors for the life experiences embedded in the site. This kind of work makes monologues and physical scores out of the broken floor tiles and searches for ghosts that inhabit a place in order to animate (using a variety of disciplines such as acting, dance, multi-media, etc.) the ghost’s story.” Legion of Memory further serves to unite different disciplines and perspectives through the interaction of soundscape, storytelling, movement, physical and other, differing theatrical forms. Around the world theatre takes extensively diverse faces — from dance to spectacle to martial arts — and MT Space seeks projects that present multicultural voices in equally experimental ways.
MT Space fall production, “Yes or No” by Douglas Campbell, is another such example. Set to open October 25, 2006, the production explores the interaction of two Yugoslavian couples with two Canadian couples on the eve of the ’95 national referendum, contrasting one broken country with the feared break-up of another. Auditions are going on this weekend and the next (June 16, 17, 23 and 24) and, in the MT Space spirit of openness, all interested and well-motivated parties are encouraged to write to info@mtspace.ca and to check out www. mtspace.ca for more details. Participation in MT Space is welcome on many levels, however — from tech crew and office volunteers to apprentices to individuals with experimental or community-broadening project ideas they sincerely wish to pursue. The aim of MT Space, after all, is to provide a viable opening (for those with the commitment and drive) to an artistic field that otherwise presents a series of barriers to the equal exchange of cultures, dramatic forms and, quite plainly, good theatre. Two years after MT Space’s inception, with the company’s staff and artistic teams fleshed out and growing stronger, Bou-Matar’s idea now seems anything but a dream. mclark@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
arts
FRIDAY, june 16, 2006
17
Canadian folk tunes, instrumental electronica, slow-jams and spins alike Sonic Snippets spreads out, grapples with a mosaic of music for your listening pleasure (Cont’d on pg. 18) Fatboy Slim The Greatest Hits: Why Try Harder Sony Music
If you haven’t heard of Fatboy Slim, you might pick up this CD because Christopher “Hot-foran-Old-Guy” Walken is on the cover. I enjoyed Slim’s singles but wasn’t a fan until I heard this CD, released June 19, 2006. Popular techno DJ and alter ego to Norman Cook, Fatboy Slim’s compilation of singles, remixes, and other tracks stretch back to his first album in 1996 and include various artists he’s worked with over the years. A decade of writing, sampling and mixing later, this CD includes some of the jazziest, most techno-mixed, bop-worthy dance and trance tunes my ears have heard! Slim’s most popular singles, “Rockafeller Skank” and “Praise You” start off the CD, followed by cool remixes of Cornershop’s “Brimful of Asha” and Groove Armada’s “I See You Baby.” Why Try Harder even includes a collaborative track with the late and sexy Jim Morrison, and also a sample from Five Man Electrical Band’s Signs in a song called “Don’t Let The Man Get You Down.” Fatboy Slim indeed created quite a name for himself as well as garnering a large fan base that spreads across countries. Summing up an era of sampling and technology in music, these greatest hits define our generation of musical experimentation. — Kinga Jakab
Emma Cook Manifesto Emmazing Records
This disc should come with a pack of cigarettes and a beret. It’s contemplative, folkish and fittingly sad. Emma Cook’s voice pierces my cold black heart and injects it with emotive vocals backed by reflective, meandering riffs.
If I woke up every morning and “Watch Dog” was playing from my alarm clock, I would be a very sad man, but I’d certainly enjoy the music. Manifesto spends most of its lyrics distilling the problems of life, love and girlhood. It’s an angry and bitter disc lyrically, but musically it makes you want to snap your fingers. I don’t mean to use a tired expression, but I really did feel like getting some fierce fingersnapping going on through some of the tracks. It’s that good. The band uses bongos on a lot of the tracks, leading up to some fierce bongo solos and interesting musical combos. I never thought I’d toss up the horns for a bongo solo. Cook’s voice is passive-aggressive. Sometimes I feel soothed, other times I feel playfully slapped. She’s like Alanis Morrisette doing a duet with Sheryl Crow. The east-coast folk influence is vibrantly clear in her music. It’s a genre that has a special place in my heart — the perfect music for sitting out on the patio with my dogs. Manifesto is a phenomenal disc, and doubly so considering how independent Cook is. I wholly recommend it to anyone looking for some chill music that will make you think. The lyrics will make you feel things, the riffs will inspire you and the bongos may just make you dance. Emma Cook, I throw up my metal horns of folk just for you. Rock on. You can catch Emma Cook performing at the Rivoli in Toronto on Friday, June 23
and at Nathan Phillips Square on Tuesday, July 18. — Tim Alamenciak
Corinne Bailey Rae Corinne Bailey Rae Emi
June 20 Immaculate Machine w/ The D’Ubervilles — Starlight $8 Advance — Doors at 9 p.m. (All ages)
Hot Chip The Warning
Hot Chip are a UK quintet who make vocal-based, very pop and distinctly electronic music. The beeps, hums, and whirrs featured are so convincingly computer created that any Hot Chip listener is at least taken aback when told that their musical arsenal is purposely lacking a computer. Hot Chip pride themselves on not using computers whatsoever to create their music. Instead Hot Chip uses only four keyboards, a guitar and a drum-machine to create sometimes mellow but often funky and lively music. Off of their third studio album The Warning, the third track Colours is an enjoyably mellow song with regrettably repetitive lyrics and vocals. The fourth track, “Over and Over,” offers similar unpleasantly repetitious vocals and lyrics — which include the lyric “the joy of repetition really is in you” — but is easily forgotten once the bizarre organ plays alongside the driving bass and cool guitar. The sixth track, my personal favourite of the album, brings a distinct hip-hop feel to a very non-hip-hop group with key parts that sound like they could easily be from Snoop’s Doggystyle or even Dr. Dre’s The Chronic. The rest of the album reiterates their Kraftwerk and 80s techno-pop influences and is quite interesting to listen to knowing which instruments were used in its production. The Warning is an enjoyable album but Hot Chip would have been wise to use lyrical repetition with much more discretion. Unfortunately in some cases, if repeated enough, words can hurt (the music). — Andrew Abela
June 18, 25 Legion of Memory — The Former Kitchener Legion $5 Students, $10 Adult — 2 p.m. June 21 Suits XL w/ Beautiful Alone — Starlight Free Show — Doors at 9 p.m. June 22 Theatre On The Edge — Waterloo Community Arts Centre $ 5 Admission — 8 p.m.
June 17 Cafe Cabaret: performances by Son Ache, Grupo Taller and Marcelo Puente — Victoria Park Clock Tower $15 — 7 p.m.
June 18 Aids Wolf & Usa Is A Monster — Starlight $9 Advance — Doors at 9 p.m.
— Kinga Jakab
Emi
The sticker on the cover of this debut CD compared Corinne Bailey Rae to Billie Holiday and Macy Gray. While she has remnants of them, after I listened to the CD I have my own comparisons that I think are much more accurate and telling. Bailey Rae reminds me of Alicia Keys without the gangsta lovin’. She has that same pure but throaty-attimes voice, sounding on some tracks like Michelle Branch, especially when Rae plays the piano. Her voice seems very controlled — reserved even — and I found myself wishing that she would let loose and show off her vocal skills, but she never did. Bailey Rae’s lyrics demonstrate plenty of soul, but the passion is lacking in her voice. The CD follows timeless and familiar themes of girl meets boy, boy breaks girl’s heart, cue CD. Kind of like Erykah Badu’s work, the mellow music expresses smooth jazz rendezvousing with funk – very slow jams, if you’re into that. Rae’s lyrics aren’t very revealing, but maintain a poetic tone throughout. Overall, the CD was quite generic. Because she has a naturally good voice and seems
June 16 Celebration of the Arts: Various artists — University of Waterloo School of Architecture More info at soniam@theatricaldreamevents.ca — 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. June 16-17, 23-24 Legion of Memory — The Former Kitchener Legion $5 Students, $10 Adult — 8 p.m.
June 17 Danny Michel w/ Kevin Fox — Starlight $16 Advance — Doors at 9 p.m.
musically inclined, I’ll cut her some slack and say that I’m sure her next CD will prove to be more impressive.
Margaret Clark section editor Graphic by John Toal
June 25 Spike Lee’s Inside Man — Princess Cinema $6 at TurnKey — 4:20 p.m. (14A) June 26 l’enfant (the child) — Princess Cinema $6 at TurnKey — 7:00 p.m. (18A) June 28 Pilate — UW Humanities Theatre, Waterloo Campus $23.50 Advance — 8 p.m. June 29 Theatre On The Edge (See June 22 entry for details)
arts
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FRIDAY, june 16, 2006
Sonic Snippets cont’d: the obscure music report You’ve probably never even heard of these musicians Matthew Herbert Scales
dance technique and sounds instead of the other way around.
!k7
Megan McCafferty Charmed Thirds
Dan Millman The Journeys of Socrates
Crown
Harper Collins
I might like this book so much because I put myself in the place of the main characters in the books that I read — and in the case of Jessica Darling, the main character of Charmed Thirds, doing so isn’t that big of a stretch. Jessica Darling is a young girl from Jersey who has left her small town for Colombia University in New York City. Her parents aren’t thrilled about this decision as their daughter had a full scholarship to another school that was closer to home. Charmed Thirds is, as the title suggests, actually the third novel in a series that follows the life of Jessica Darling. The first two dealt more with high school romances and the changes that occur during the last few years of high school. In Charmed Thirds, however, it is the changes one faces throughout university that are addressed. The novel is divided into eight sections, each a winter or summer vacation during Jessica’s four years of university. It begins with her first summer holiday and chronicles the experiences that Jessica has had over her first nine months at a new school. McCafferty manages to seamlessly take her main character and develop four years of her life in less than 400 pages. Written as a journal, each entry reads as though the thoughts and events are happening to the person writing them. Throughout the novel, Jessica’s life unfolds. It begins with simple problems, such as a boyfriend who lives across the country and the difficulties one has when adjusting to university life. By the end of the novel, as the reader, we have seen relationships, romantic and platonic alike, begin and end, family feuds resolve and new possibilities open in the life of Jessica. Because of this, the novel is great. In most novels, the reader only gets a glance at the life of the main character; in Charmed Thirds they get the whole story. In all of McCafferty’s novels that I have read, she seems able to create realistic characters with real problems. When reading her works, I can imagine myself in those situations, possibly because I have already been in them, doing or thinking the same things that Jessica does. This makes the novel much more interesting to read because it feels as though there is actually a person sharing details of their life with you. My only criticism of this book is that you definitely have to read the first two novels in the series to truly understand the character of Jessica Darling and what has happened up to the point of university in her life. So my recommendation is picking up Sloppy Firsts, the first in the series, and Second Helpings, the second in the series, before moving on to Charmed Thirds.
This book was long awaited by fans around the world, and I loved it until almost the very end. The ending and notes, however, will cause all joy of the story to be lost. The first book in this trilogy came out 25 years ago; The Way of the Peaceful Warrior has been an international bestseller since it came out. It was released this month as a movie starring Nick Nolte and Scott Mechlowicz. Both that first book and the sequel, Sacred Journey of the Peaceful Warrior, are part biographical and part allegory. Millman has, since the beginning, answered questions about what parts of those two books are truth and what parts are story. Now, here in the third book in the series, he blows that whole tradition out of the water. The story is supposed to be the life story of Socrates, the protagonist’s mentor in the first two books. This is an amazing story of a young man born of mixed blood in Russia. He is part Cossack and part Jewish. He is being raised at a Cossack military school after the death of both of his parents. He later learns about his Jewish blood. During the pogroms against the Jews, he leaves the school to go in search of the treasure his grandfather has left him. He suffers loss, the loss of a pregnant wife to an old enemy. He vows revenge on their grave. He studies under many martial arts masters in order to learn how to seek that revenge. He studies first with a sword master and then with a master of all the arts, the latter who tries to teach him to choose life and be a master of self. He journeys all over Asia while studying with these teachers, and while in pursuit of revenge that he has studied for years to be ready to exact. He eventually goes to the New World in search of a long-hoped-for new life. The story is great. But in this edition, Millman, in the afterword, states that he will not answer any questions about what parts of this story are true and what parts are not. The story leads us to believe that Socrates is Millman’s real-life grandfather, estranged from his family at birth. Millman indicates that ‘Socrates’ started journaling the day that he was born and that sometime between Way of the Peaceful Warrior and now he received those journals from Socrates. What is the story? What is the truth? How can he leave us, his readers, hanging like that? Because of this duplicity, a reader can call into question all the good that has been taken from Millman’s writings over the years.
— Emma Tarswell
— Steven R. McEvoy
Jazz is often fused with other genres to produce innovation (or hipsterism) in musical culture; in fact, any type of “fusion” performance implies jazz of some sort. In electronic music jazz influences are most often seen through brooding atmospherics or breathy vocalists. Matthew Herbert has introduced me to a different kind of animal, where big-band jazz is augmented with modern dance-music sensibilities. According to allmusic.com, his desire to use real objects to make strange sounds is innovative and legendary, although I’m not sure if it’s cheating to refer to external reviews in my own. Trumpets, drums and soulful singing dominate the disc but the music is steady and danceoriented, hinting of disco without the indulgence that probably brought about that backlash. Electronic manipulations can be found around the edges of the music, standing out where normally they would be essential. The tracks don’t seem to take on the traditional song-form, but feel like divided phrases unified by the strong rhythms that flow between then. Voices abound on this album, but are an equal instrument instead of the central focus. That being said, should you choose to listen to them, you will be rewarded with politics and emotion, something you don’t often find in designed-fornightclub fare. The latter half of this album brings the listener into downtempo and more traditional territory, which to this listener seems less striking, despite the fact that Scales provides a solid opportunity to hear an inversion of modern musical style, with jazz adopting
— Gaelan D’costa
Scott Walker The Drift 4AD
First off I have to admit that this album frightens me. It cannot be considered music in the traditional sense. Letting out dark and mysterious imagery, Scott Walker sings in an operatic style that could be considered somewhat silly if the background wasn’t filled with unsettling drums and guitars which beat on menacingly. Sometimes it creeps by as a haunting murmur in the background before abruptly launching into threatening shrieks of war. These two elements barely match; there is enough of a connection to be listenable, but it surrounds everything with an air of strong disharmony. This doesn’t make the album sound very appealing or even deserving of existence. But considering that this album has a definite intention, it achieves its goal quite successfully. The vocals marry dark writings and an absurd singing style, the juxtaposition becoming a work of art for not falling flat on its face in the attempt. Meanwhile the background has no such conflict, being a very effective and contagious vehicle for paranoia and fear. When it rises to the foreground, the danger it conveys will feel as if it is right in front of you. Not everyone wants their music to make them feel worse, and not everyone who would appreciate this experience would appreciate it more than once. Even so, if you want to hear something that will challenge you, I cannot think of much better than The Drift. — Abid Amirali
arts
FRIDAY, june 16, 2006
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The scoop about campus sculpture Margaret Clark imprint staff
Don’t try to deny it: you’ve looked. You’ve wondered. You’ve tipped and turned your head in all possible directions trying to make sense of the abstract structures on campus. And you’re not alone! After the average UW student has finished critiquing — fondly, loyally — the grab-bag architecture across their campus, her disdainful eye most predictably turns to the art, that eclectic collection of mural, painting and sculpture that occasionally pocks the university landscape. Although the Arts departments are often neglected in any quick survey of UW’s preeminent programs, and the Fine Arts faculty exists in large part off-campus, students may be too hasty in condemning those peculiar artistic structures that likewise call the campus home. As it turns out, the University of Waterloo plays host to a few big names in Ontario sculpture,
and at least one of our statues is a copy of a European work. (And if it’s European, it can’t be all bad, right?) Take, for instance, the case of Ron Baird. Surely you’ve heard of him? His work features in places like the Yorkdale shopping centre and the CNE (both in Toronto). He now works on sculptural projects with wife Lynda Baird, but he was flying solo when he produced “Triad,” the bewilderingly bipedal structure at the end of the Chemistry/Biology courtyard. He’s also the mastermind behind “A Sculpture Environment,” that curious compendium of brightly-coloured
Emma Tarswell
What happened to the “Joy”?
Emma Tarswell
Some sculptures should stay enigmas — especially these.
Emma Tarswell
“Break” is actually fibreglass.
statues providing a gateway to the Hagey Hall courtyard. The name unfortunately doesn’t do justice to the suggestions that have arisen over the years as to the structure’s purpose. In recent years, the curved structure featured second from the right (in the image on the left) has gained special notoriety, doubtlessly due in no small part to the jesting recommendation made by Imprint’s 2003 frosh edition that the smooth, awkward pedestal would be a prime location for practising the “art of love.” Meanwhile, a concrete stump still stands by South Campus Hall,
serving as a painful reminder of a tragic vehicle accident in 2004. The casualty? Two concrete figures intertwined in Theodore’s Harlander’s 1971 statue, “Joy.” In the UW Daily Bulletin, Rick Zalagenas was reported as saying “the decision was made that it just wasn’t worth trying to repair it.” The statue was often a living art space for subtle artistic campaigns on campus (notably the chained books promotion in 2003 for the UW art gallery’s new season), and until its foundation is removed or reused, its absence is sure to remain a pointed on campus. On a lighter note, consider the fountain at the Math and Computer building’s southeast corner. You might recognize the structure as, well, a great big rock egg half sputtering water. You may even have waded in the cold, fairly well cleaned pool during the summer. Heck, you might even have been responsible for one of those dish detergent soap pranks that typically befall installations of its type. But did you know “Break,” a 1971
Emma Tarswell
“David of Sassoun”? No way. This piece screams “CS” statue. production by Bruce Watson, isn’t made of rock at all? According to the University of Waterloo’s own release on campus sculptures, it’s actually fibreglass. Weird, huh? Of course, the one structure you really can’t miss just happens to be one of the most confused installations on campus. I’m referring to “David of Sassoun” by Armand Buzbuzian, completed in 1977 and occupying a place of honour outside the Math and Computer building. Not sure what that is? That’s not surprising: the puzzling strip of blue-painted metal coincidentally seems to form the letters “CS” when approached from the right side (see image above). Considering the University of Waterloo prides itself on its CS program, it thus comes as no shock that most students prefer calling this construct the “CS” statue instead of its obscure given name. There are others too: the redpainted steel in the Carl Pollock Hall courtyard, created by Krystyna Sydowska and entitled “Early Morning Dream,” the ceramic “Spirit Stone”
nestled in the ecology garden (Ann Roberts, 1988) and of course “Wild Boar” by Marinelli, a bronze copy of an ancient Greek marble sculpture housed in Florentine. (In their sprier days, engineering students were even known to run away with the 700-pound beast for kicks!) In all honesty, this list barely scratches the surface of art on campus, but in a way that might be for the best. Perhaps the point is not to find out why we’ve got “A Sculpture Environment” outside Hagey Hall, or why “Early Morning Dream” looks suspiciously like a kangaroo playing basketball (from the right angle, of course). So long as students pause, year after year, by the base of these enigmatic installations to cock their heads a moment and study these works, to wonder that a campus grounded so emphatically on science and math has space at all for art — whatever its worth, whatever its meaning — should it really matter that “Triad” only has two “feet” on the ground? mclark@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
S cience Smith says expert systems help Imprint
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Friday, june 16, 2006
science@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Science Editor: Azadeh Samadi
Artificial intelligence and intelligent implementation can go a long way in businesses and society Cheng Seong Khor Special to imprint
It was an evening of knowledge and insight-sharing and certainly no artificial intelligence as UW’s economics professor, Larry Smith, arguably the campus favourite public speaker, captivated a full-house audience at RCH 308 on June 7, 2006 to the hidden opportunities afforded by expert systems (ES) for efficient computergenerated work. ES is an artificial intelligence (AI) method for capturing human knowledge and expertise in a database, typically in the form of sets of rules. These knowledge-intensive computer programs are used to assist decision making and problem solving by asking relevant questions and explaining the reasons for adopting the decided actions. Smith began provocatively by lamenting over the young horde of UW students who are afraid to stand out and do something different from simply jumping on the bandwagon of the current mainstream of the software industry; jabbing occasionally at how Microsoft and Google are hijacking and wasting
away the best talents and creative minds of UW. To justify his stand for ES, Smith’s somewhat controversial tagline was to get rid of inefficient and unpredictable human work in order to reap profit from computer-controlled and machine-generated work that gets done in less time and with less expense, while allowing humans to pursue greater opportunities elsewhere. In underlining the unexploited opportunities in AI/ES, Smith continually emphasized that the advent of the software industry-backed Internet merely makes humans talk, while the former is what actually accomplishes much-valued work. Smith exemplified his point by singling out Wal-Mart, the giant US retailer, with one of the richest man in the world at its helm, as a great success story of ES. mother — Machines controlled and run by ES are employed to provide customers with access to goods when and where they want them, by determining what gets placed on the shelf based on customers’ wants. It is also ES that has enabled Wal-Mart to boast that sixty percent
of its goods sold are only paid to the suppliers after they have been purchased by customers. The second application of ES espoused by Smith is in the use of process control software in the petroleum and petrochemical industry. The adoption of ES in this domain demands a detailed understanding of the intricacies of work in an industry that is so inherently interdisciplinary and collaborative. Typically, companies involved in this kind of work are, in Smith’s own description, “unglamorous, unlike the great software corporations that UW students famously adore”. Ironically however, these companies provide rule-based ES systems with closely-guarded computer codes to some of the largest communication networks companies in the world. Smith also drew on the application of ES in the consumer banking services of the financial industry. Whether an application for credit card is approved or rejected is entirely decided by an ES-enabled decision support system.Subsequently, transactions involving the use of credit
cards and ATM cards are entirely monitored by ES-based machines running in the background. ES also plays a huge role in the highly complex computer-traded transactions of currency trading and investments that take place every second in stock markets. These extremely complicated functions demanding accurate constant monitoring simply go beyond the capability of human beings, highlighting the indispensability of ES in modern life. On a somewhat lighter note, Smith illustrated how the music recording industry employs ES to decide which songs go into an album to be produced, based on the expectation that the selected tunes have the potential of becoming profit-making hits. Acknowledging the enormous investment that goes into producing an album, ES-supported validation software leverages on data mining by sending digital signals that serve to decide whether the pattern contained in a song has what it takes to become a successful release in the market.
Mere mortals, susceptible to being arbitrary and capricious in decisionmaking, would have simply been unable to remain sufficiently objective in evaluating a work of music. The same application has also been adopted by Hollywood in rating the likelihood of a story becoming the next blockbuster at the box office. A Larry Smith talk would not be complete without its almost inimitable thought-and-action provoking last words. True to this style, Smith challenged all students alike to not be afraid to stand out and do something different in a non-trendy field such as ES/AI, and in the process of doing so, to not be afraid of working with other people and even of knowing something too much. Ultimately, Smith underscored the importance of having the guts to pursue something as profoundly purposeful as one’s lifetime work. This courage, as Smith was quick to note, is something that neither him nor even the best motivator in the world could possibly bring out in anyone. It’s up to the individuals to find it in themselves.
Superior but safe? Potential dangers of some nano unclear Nanomaterial regulations are needed to help protect health Adam Gardiner imprint staff
Nanotechnology is quickly becoming of the buzz word of today’s consumer market. The science, which employs the use of particles a billionth of a metre in size, is finding its way into everything from health food to sunscreen, with the promise that the resulting products will look, taste, and perform better. It’s becoming a point of interest on campus, too: with construction of the new nanotechnology research building slated to begin this summer on the biology green, it won’t take long for the term to become familiar to every student. However, the unknowns behind the science are causing many research groups to worry about the safety of nano products. They point to the fact that research into the health and safety risks of nanotechnology is about as undeveloped as it was for pesticides in the decades they were first put into commercial use. The same goes for government regulations; currently, none exist where commercial applications of nanotechnology are concerned. In the case of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, it may take up to three years before enough studies can be completed that laws can be drawn up. Nano particles are created by breaking down substances with
grinders or laser drills. At such a size, the properties of those particles are altered, usually amplifying whatever it is about the substance that humans find valuable. For example, nano particles of artificial sweetener are more intense than normal sweetener crystals. A far smaller amount of sweetener could therefore be used to
There is the evironmental concern: what happens to nano products that are released into the air or are deposited into the water supply? deliver the same amount of taste as the regular product. However, nano particles are small enough to pass through the cell walls of animals, where they could damage DNA chains. Metallic particles, if inhaled, can settle in the lungs; studies have suggested that this may lead to the forming of cancerous tumours. It has been suggested that the reaction of metal oxide particles on
the skin can lead to cancer as well. And as there are many possible ways for nano particles to enter the body, scientists aren’t even sure exactly how those particles get in. Then there is the evironmental concern: what happens to nano products that are released into the air or are deposited into the water supply? Some types of particles are considered indestructible by conventional means and might never biodegrade. But then again, the ways in which altering nano substances affect their properties is still a largely unknown issue. In the end, as with anything in the consumer industry, the need to satisfy buyer concerns will likely be what drives health and safety research forward. At the moment, the public’s reluctance to try something with unknown risks far outweighs the potential a company has to succeed through innovation. Analysts predict that most industries will wait for regulations and will perform more studies before they forge ahead with nano-enhanced products to amaze the buying public. No one, however, doubts the fact that our consumer culture is headed down the nano path. At this point, it’s simply a question of how quickly we move. agardiner@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Imprint
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You are not a UW grad until... By Irshad Mulla
“You’re fluent in Chinese.” Amol Rao and Batour Polda 1B enviromental engineering
“I stop handing in blank papers.” Waseem Mansur 1B mechatronics
“His kids graduate.” Taimur Mazhar and Ali Abbas 3A math business UW grad
“You have skipped class because of a hangover.” Konrad Pawlak
“You pay all your parking tickets.” Yvonne Yap
Across 1. Fairy tale start 5. Dorm furniture 9. Health retreats 13. Sloppy substance 14. Jewelled headdress 15. Kill for food 16. Revolver game 19. Place in a grave 20. Latin unless 21. Malleable metal 22. Gender 24. Hot sauce 26. So on and so forth 29. Gravitational force 31. Swindle 32. Information that judges the consumer 37. Started a news story 38. Before IV 39. Upper hip bones 41. Sartre’s philosophy 46. Relatively small number 47. Every one considered individually 48. Pressure unit 49. Gaelic Edinburgh 53. Excessive disorder 55. Hitler’s mistress Braun 56. Horizontal mine passage 58. Romeo & Juliet actress Danes 62. Why old men buy sports cars 65. Mongolian conquerer 66. Military vacation 67. Principal of a mortgage 68. Wild plum 69. Smallest Great Lake 70. Not hard Down 1. Shrek
Friday, june 16, 2006
2. Part of every sentence 3. The price you pay 4. Laxative salts 5. Tupperware 6. Deserve 7. French right 8. Schneider’s bread and butter 9. Female pronoun 10. Golf strokes 11. Crazy action 12. Short shorthand 14. Stone slab 17. Visual representation 18. Home of Gaddafi 23. Weird 25. Final month of winter term 26. Ambulance service 27. Old school recording technology 28. Most important point 30. Parisian river
UW grad
“You graduate?” Mark Solidum 1B math
2B accounting
Use the letters: UW GRAD 06
“You are kicked out for sleeping in the SLC.” Steve Wiegand 2B sociology
“They call you and ask you to donate money.” Renee Jacob UW grad
33. His name is Mack 34. Ravi Shankar’s instrument of choice 35. Ammunition holder 36. Snake noise 40. French friend 42. Honda Civic or Ford Taurus 43. Fiddle with 44. Ice spear 45. Near the wind 49. Classroom furniture 50. Relating to the uvea 51. Dressed tortilla chip 52. More pleasant 54. California-Nevada lake 57. Spicy Asian food 59. Hawkeye State 60. Small deer 61. Mini whirlpool 63. Smallest natural number 64. Shortened I have
Friday, june 16, 2006
sports@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Sports Editor: Mohammad Jangda
Sports Imprint
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Golf: Whiteside scores eighth-place finish
courtesy of Jing-Ling Kao
Jud Whiteside placed eighth overall in the National University and College Championship held at the Thornhill Country Club between May 30 and June 2. Continued from cover
With the championship being held in the Toronto area, the Warriors were hoping to use the home court advantage to their benefit. Having played the previous edition of the tournament in B.C., which saw the B.C. teams sweeping victory, Hollinger was confident that the Warriors could score a medal, but they retained their fifth place spot. Home court advantage did help Whiteside put on an impressive performance. The fourth-year arts student and native of the TCC shot 75-71-77-73 (par 71), scoring a total of 296. This was enough to land him an eighth place overall finish in the individual competition, only one shot short of tying with seventh place Lee French. First place finisher Jason Wellings scored a total of 285. Arjun Walia also put on an admirable performance totalling a 300, shooting 76-74-75-75. Other Warrior scores were as follows: Justin Fluit (77-7377-77), James Latta (79-75-74-80) and Mark Vanderbeek (78-77-87-81). Despite his great performance, Whiteside fell just two spots short of making the cut to be chosen as a representative for Team Canada at the 2006 World University Games in Torino, Italy in September later this year. Hollinger, however, will be accompanying Team Canada as assistant coach during the
weeklong tournament. Shortly before the Nationals, the team took a trip to North Carolina to face off against Duke University, a tradition that began when Hollinger played for UW. It was a good tune-up for the Nationals, Hollinger explained. The end of the Nationals does not mean an end to the golf season for the Warriors. The team will be busy playing as individuals in various tournaments throughout the summer. First-year rookie Latta recently scored a dramatic victory in the Ontario Match Play Championship. Latta beat out 64 competitors to earn the title of best amateur golfer in Ontario. The team will also be practising almost daily in preparation for the upcoming fall golf season continuing their year-round training. The team is active even in the winter, spending much of the season at the Walker Golf Dome working on major changes to their swings. The rest of the year, the focus shifts to working on the short game. “We’ve had a great deal of success playing the short game,” said Hollinger. Ideally, Hollinger wants his team to be the best from 100 yards and in. Come September, the team will see two new names added to the roster: Victor Ciesielski from the golf program at Virginia Commonwealth University and John Samuel from Quebec. The latter comes from a program which
has students spending half the school day on studies and the other half on golf. Hollinger sees the talents of these recruits as great assets to the team. Golf at UW is very healthy on both men’s and women’s sides, explained Hollinger. The women’s side is fairly young, having only recently completed their first full year. As such, Coach Carla Munch explained that the hardest part of the season was “battling to get a full group of players. I think the problem is that most girls think they need a really good handicap to play, which isn’t the case. But the team definitely needs more girls.” Despite this hardship, Munch led the team to a third place finish at the OUA finals last year and hopes to “establish a good core group of players” by working with them several times a week over the summer. Munch is looking to perform even better at the OUAs in the upcoming season and will be aiming for the good results at the Nationals as well. Students interested in the golf programs at UW should contact Dave Hollinger at davehollinger@rogers. com for the men’s team or Carla Munch at carla@cambridgegolfclub.com for the women’s team. —With files from the University of Toronto Varsity Blues Golf mjangda@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Imprint how-to guide: golf Mohammad Jangda imprint staff
“Great day for golfing isn’t it?” remarked the elderly gentleman walking on the gravel path beside me. With the sky a bright blue, the sun beaming and an oh-so-gentle breeze brushing across our faces, I couldn’t help but nod in agreement. “It’s a perfect day for golfing!” answered Todd Cowan, as we trudged along the side of the driving range at the Waterloo Golf Academy (WGA) carrying our worn 7-irons and bucket of beaten down yellow golf balls. He escorted me to the farthest spot on the range, somewhat secluded and specifically designated as the training area. Beginners usually don’t like to play around others, he explained. And looking around I could understand that. Having never lifted a golf club in my life before, I certainly didn’t want prying eyes staring at me as I fumbled with my club. Cowan is a golf teaching professional certified by the Canadian Golf Teachers Federation at the WGA and for 30 minutes he was my golf guru. I reiterated to him my utter inexperience with the world of golf and he responded with a childish but evil grin on his face snickering, “This is going
to be fun.” If you’ve never played golf in your life (not counting mini golf of course), it’s better to be introduced to golf through a lesson, he said. If you start playing without proper guidance, you’re bound to make many mistakes which, if repeated, can turn into bad habits. And bad habits are hard to fix. Coaches Dave Hollinger and Carla Munch, of UW’s men’s and women’s golf teams respectively, agree that lessons are an essential starting point for a golfing beginner. “There are certain things you can do as well as Tiger Woods,” explained Hollinger. What he is referring to are the fundamentals of the golf game, basic concepts that can make or break your performance — such as how you grip the golf club, your stance and your swing. So the best option when starting out is to get a lesson from an expert who can show you the right techniques and correct any errors you’re making up front. Hollinger also emphasized the importance of learning and understanding the rules of the game. There’s more to the golf than simply getting the ball into the hole. See HOW-TO, page 24
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FRIDAY, may 19, 2006
How-to: master golf Continued from page 23
This may seem like a common sense but it’s often something that is overlooked by beginners. The best way to learn the game, as explained by both coaches, is to read books and magazines on golf which contain a wealth of information. Another valuable resource and one of the more entertaining ones is watching golf tournaments on TV. Those blessed with full cable can find 24 hours of golf action on Channel 52. Munch also expressed the idea of learning golf etiquette before hitting the course. There are a multitude of rules of etiquette which vary by location but it’s important for golfers to respect and follow them. Dress codes, especially, are a hot topic. Typically, the standard dress code is comprised of a collared shirt with cotton style shorts or pants. But individual clubhouses set their own rules. For example, the WGA had no problems with me showing up in jeans. Other dress considerations are actually more functional. Munch recommends running or golf shoes, as other types tend to chew up the turf. I personally recommend getting a golf glove as your hand can get painfully blistered even after a meager half hour of play — which I learned the hard way. While my lesson with Cowan involved only a 7-iron, it’s expected that you should grow your arsenal of clubs as you advance in the sport. Munch advises against making an investment right away though. She
suggests using rentals from clubs until you’re absolutely sure that you like golf and would like to proceed. Hollinger suggested that beginners should look to buying used clubs beginning with a 7-iron, 3-wood and a putter. When actually buying clubs Munch also recommends having an expert fit your style and biomechanics to a club type. “Golf is a very addictive game,” said Hollinger. “Once you get a good start, you want to keep going.” But at the same time, it can be frustrating as well when your game is not progressing, explained Munch. Ways to overcome frustration are to start at the 150 yard marker of every hole instead of the start, or to play double par, which involves moving to the next holes once your strokes reach twice the par level. My 30 minute exposure to the golfing world was definitely an uplifting experience. I went from not knowing how to hold a club to hitting balls as far as 160 yards. It wasn’t an easy 30 minutes, I can tell you that. But with Cowan’s help, I managed to push myself to a point where every hit led to double the boost in my confidence and performance. I’ve now become a true believer in golf. And with sunny days in the future, expect to see me at the driving range pushing maybe 180, if not 200, yard drives. For more information on lessons available at the Waterloo Golf Academy visit www.waterloogolf. ca or give them a call at (519) 886-6555. mjangda@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Summer tournaments at UW Wasim Parkar imprint staff
There’s something about the spring and summer seasons that bring out our competitive nature. Imprint has compiled a list of upcoming tournaments to help satisfy your inner Rocky.
be grouped into foursomes, and the format will be Best Ball Scramble. In addition there will be a raffle for Leafs and Jays tickets. To register please call Cynthia Stewart at 905-475-6397 or 1-800-465-5914. Black Knight squash tournament
Grip: an example of a good grip is shown above. If right-handed, grab the base of the club with your left hand as you would a hammer, with your thumb pointing down the shaft. Do the same with your right, and have your right pinky overlap the index. If left-handed, begin with your right hand and follow the rest. Stance: four simple rules to follow are 1) legs shoulder width apart 2) bending forward at the hips but keeping your back straight 3) pushing your knees forward to equalize the weight distribution on your feet 4) arms hanging from shoulders Swing: The key thing to remember is that your swing must be one smooth motion. Once your grip and stance are set, align your shot. To begin the swing, twist your upper body and pull back on the club (far left). (Note that your lower body must remain stationary.) Once your backswing is complete, drive the club down towards the ball in an arcing motion. As you begin the downswing, pivot on your main foot to add power to your swing. Continue the swing even after contact with the ball for the followthrough Graphics by Winniefred Kuang
Shot-in-the-dark golf tournament This is mini-golf with a different and darker twist. This glow-in-the-dark golf tournament is held at night and is a fun way for participants at any skill level to enjoy a round of golf. The tournament will be held at Westhill Meadows Golf Course on Erbsville Road, on Thursday, June 22. The golf course will be illuminated with glow sticks and candles so golfers can see the flags, hazards and greens. Plus golfers are provided with equipment such as necklaces and golf balls which glow as well. Students can sign up individually, in pairs or as a foursome. Interested students can sign up in the Athletics office in the PAC. Students should have valid Watcards and their tournament fees of $35 when they register. Warrior Hockey Alumni golf tournament This golf tournament is being organized to fundraise for the Waterloo Warriors Hockey team. The tournament will take place on June 24 at the Bloomington Downs Golf Course in Richmond Hill. The tee-off is at 7:15 a.m., and the tournament runs until approximately 1:30 p.m. Players will
Coming up on Saturday, July 8 is the very popular Black Knight Squash Tournament. Throughout the competition, students can try out the latest racquets from Black Knight and then have a chance to win a brand new racquet valued at $250. Plus, with prize draws held throughout the day, participants are likely to walk away with something from the tournament. The cost of this tournament is only $20 and students can sign up in the Athletics office in the PAC. Over the Top Beach Volleyball The last tournament on the roster for spring 2006, is the Over the Top Beach Volleyball tournament which takes place on Saturday, July 15. This tournament comprises 4-on-4 tournament play for all skill levels and a spiking competition. Paired up as the day experience with the Summerfest II- Extreme Sports event, students can enjoy the beach volleyball during the day and then finish off the night at the Extreme Sport event held at FED hall. Students can register their team at the Athletics Office in the PAC. The cost of the tournament is $30 per team. wparkar@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Kirill Levin; map courtesy of google
The Waterloo region hosts a wide array of golf courses that are all within a 20-minute drive. Most courses, such as the Waterloo Golf Academy on Wilmot Lane, offer lessons and have driving ranges and putting courses that are great places to practise and improve your game.