Imprint_2008-02-08_v30_i26 by Editor Imprint

Impr int The university of Waterloo’s official student newspaper

Friday, February 8, 2008

vol 30, no 26

imprint . uwaterloo . ca

Understanding student governance Part 3 of 5: The electoral process in action

Round 2 Mission to... Candidates’ forum yields its own rewards Maggie Clark editor-in-chief

he location was the same, and the time of day similar, but turn-out for the 2008 student candidates’ forum, which pitted Feds exec and student council hopefuls against questions from a well-armed Feds exec, proved leaner than for the media forum on Wednesday, January 30. Starting at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, February 5, the candidates’ forum gained more of an audience as the morning progressed, leading to a more pronounced campus presence during the later referenda debates. Even then, when the forum opened itself to comments from the general student body, only one non-media-affiliated audience member stepped forward to be heard. Just as lacking was representation from math council candidates — none of whom were present, though Sumaiya Tasmin (the panel’s lone attendee during the media forum) sent her regrets in a lively, tongue-in-cheek address that broke the rather stern rapport of Feds exec members Darcy Higgins (VP internal), Del Pereira (VP administration and finance), and Jonah Levine (VP education), if only for a moment. As Dmitry Pyatin dropped out of the race later that day, automatically acclaiming the other three candidates to math council positions, the panel’s absence proved moot, if disappointing for those curious to hear what math council representatives had in mind for the year to come. Yet for the panels that did attend, the forum provided enough variety to keep the event surprising, as the format of debate varied markedly from one position to another — an organizational structure that could be categorized either as destructively inconsistent or simply reflecting the differing needs of different candidacies. For instance, Fatima Ahmed and Andres Fuentes, candidates for VP education, were permitted to ask each other one question, while candidates for VP internal (Andew Falcao and Steve Hayle) received no such opportunity. In contrast, the VP internal candidates were asked more questions overall, and with more follow-up questions, than candidates for VP education. Another surprise for the later portion of the forum was the last-minute emergence of a “No” committee for the WUSC referendum. Though Ian Kasper (newly acclaimed math student councillor) did not attend the earlier math council panel, he argued in his address that organizations should not “piggy-back off other organizations” to achieve their fundraising and administrative goals. [More on the WUSC referendum on page 18.] New insights likewise emerged from both sides of the CKMS forum, with the No com-

Arizona? William Durocher, UW student and captain to crew 64 of the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) returns home to share his story.

Learn about UW’s part in on-going research for future Mars missions, page 26 mittee reaffirming CKMS’s theoretical interest in acquiring SLC space to increase campus radio prominence, and the Yes committee challenging whether the station’s stronger presence in recent weeks is solely a response to the referendum. Much earlier in the proceedings, St. Jerome’s council candidate Christopher Neal again sent his regrets (he is on co-op this term), and with them a response to opponent Sebastien Kundra’s statement that Neal’s association with Team Yellow took away from the uniqueness of St. Jerome’s; Neal commented that he felt he could isntead enhance Team Yellow with that same uniqueness. Fielding questions as a lone candidate, Kundra later said he disagreed with Neal’s comments regarding

the acceptability of promoting Greek letters (i.e. fraternities and sororities) on Clubs Day. Meanwhile, Fuentes’ concurrent bid for a seat with the Young Liberals, and his associations with prominent provincial Liberals like premier Dalton McGuinty, came under question during the VP education panel; asked if Fuentes’ felt these associations opened him up to conflicts of interest in lobbying the provincial government on behalf of students, Fuentes replied that he instead felt these associations would be an asset. When asked about how faculty-specific her plans were, Ahmed encouraged students from all faculties to approach both candidates with their concerns, promising that no matter what the outcome of the election she

would make sure their input was not lost. Not much earlier, Falcao and Hayle agreed on the importance of positive space campaigning, a renewed commitment to sustainability, better financial management, and the prioritization of students’ mental health. Few differences emerged in the course of this discussion, save in each candidate’s respective style of leadership — though time will tell what differences students themselves note in their candidates, and subsequently elect. The Feds election polls are open from 8:00 a.m., February 12 to 8:00 p.m., February 14. For more information visit http://vote.feds.ca. editor@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Have you made your Feds exec picks yet? Candidate interviews, page 16 Still confused about CKMS and WUSC? Referenda synopses, page 18

News

news@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Imprint, Friday, February 8, 2008

New mayor’s council set to hear student issues Waterloo Mayor’s Student Advisory Council gears up to promote positive change in KW

Mark Kimmich staff reporter

he need for a student’s voice inside local office is one not always fully recognized by the powers-that-be. This, however, is set to change with the founding and implementation of Brenda Halloran’s Waterloo Mayor’s Student Advisory Council (MSAC), which has been set up so that the needs and concerns of students may be better met. Launched Sunday, January 20 at the Waterloo City Hall through their first annual general meeting, MSAC is primed to become a force for change within Waterloo. According to a prepared press release from Anum Tariq, Waterloo student and director of community public relations and promotions for MSAC, the purpose of the council is to “bring students and the community together to support economic, social and cultural development of the city of Waterloo through community engagement.” Lu Jiang (full disclosure: treasurer of Imprint’s board of directors), a member of the new council spoke to Imprint about the importance and purpose of MSAC. “Our mission is to bridge the yawning canyon that has opened between the students of the university and college campuses and the other citizens of the Waterloo community.” When asked what benefits the students may find from their participation in MASC, Jiang explained, “MSAC members receive the same benefits as their peers but they also enjoy incredible opportunities to network, to lead, to initiate new projects, to represent their peers, and to be an ambassador for the post-secondary students of the City of Waterloo to the rest of the world.

Although currently under construction, the MSAC website, www.waterloomsac.com, describes the council as “a compilation of bright student minds from Wilfrid Laurier University, University of Waterloo and Conestoga College.” The council, made up of seven such students, was founded by Waterloo’s own Chelsea Prescord. Prescord, who is a former chairperson of Mayor Hazel McCallion’s Mayor’s Youth Advisory Committee (MYAC) in Mississauga, recognizes her “passion for social change” as the driving force behind the creation of the new group. As an undergraduate co-op student and club member, Prescord’s resume is loaded with professional and club experience that would seem to make Prescord a qualified student for the job.

“Members learn about their local government through participation.” — Lu Jiang, MSAC member

Drive and commitment are both key indicators that Prescord intends to use the group to bring about a positive change. Continuing from her work with MYAC, MSAC aims to provide a similarly successful impact for students and the community as a whole. If the thriving MYAC is any indication, MSAC is in a good position to reveal students to be a powerful and constructive force within the community.

Though the group “aims to encourage students to actively participate in the community,” outward impact onto Waterloo is not the only mandate of the group. Another directive encourages students to “identify and bring forward issues that impact themselves and their colleagues,” which could bring about student led change on the three KW campuses. The group’s added potential to advocate for student issues within the local government is promising for those involved as well as the rest of students here on campus. Equally promising is the probability that the group will function as a learning tool that encourages “members to learn about their local government through participation,” an opportunity for students to gain experience in the political sphere by actively participating and engaging in open dialogue with city officials, which could prove to be invaluable for students involved in the endeavour. Although the group is still in its fledgling stages, its objective of making “students’ voices heard…throughout the city of Waterloo by providing a platform for engagement,” creates an outlet that has prospect of furthering student credibility and interest within the local government. Outward impact onto Waterloo is not the only mandate of the group however, since while “MSAC aims to encourage students to actively participate in the community,” it also suggests students “identify and bring forward issues that impact themselves and their colleagues.” The potential for the group to act as an advocate within local government for student issues is promising. Equally promising is the probability that the group will function as a learning tool that encourages “members to learn about their local

government through participation.” The experience gained by actively engaging in an open dialogue with local city officials will certainly prove to be invaluable to the students involved in the endeavour. mkimmich@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Correction Imprint would like to clarify a graphic accompanying the article “Middle Eastern Outrage” in the January 25 issue. Imprint staff were unaware of the negative association that particular image, a map of Israel with a question mark, has historically supported. The intended purpose of this graphic was not to question the validity of Israel’s existence, but to highlight a still-to-be-determined UW presence within Israel. Imprint endeavours to be an open atmosphere that upholds intellectual and cultural diversity. We welcome people of any and all backgrounds.

News

Imprint, Friday, February 8, 2008

Jobmine: students still waiting Feds’ promised program is still under construction and so far has few results to show Travis Myers news editor

mprint first reported on the reconstruction of the Jobmine project, aptly named Jobmine 2, in July of 2007 with predictions of the new offices being implemented and in use by the winter. At the time much of the excitement surrounding the decision to revamp the employee-employer match making service

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revolved around the removal of student study of support and updates, the software itself space in the Tatham center, a decision made by would need to be replaced with a new prothen vice-president internal Jonah Levine, for gram, the resulting Jobmine 2. the next three years to house the Jobmine team In a common sense move, the university in the ir required close contact. chose to use its wealth of computer savvy coIn the months since the announcement op students to design the new program. and the begining of the execution of the Levine is confident in his decision to ambitious project there has been little pub- lease out the space was a good one, stating lic word from the Federation of Students, the benefits of the new Jobmine are already as well as the students left with less study being seen, stating some of the immediate space on the subject. However, Levine, who results include jobs for students, “There is currently Feds vice-president of educa- were several students who received co-op tion, explained a possible reason for the employment through this project.” quiet implementation: “Students [can book Although outside of those few students, study space] in the other parts of the Tatham he was quick #2to admit that the system’s Centre ...KW’s anytime after the normal nine to benefits were and are still far in the comfive working day GAY there is as much space ing: “More broadly amongst the student PREMIER available for students as there was before body though, I would admit that there has & LESBIAN rooms were taken up for the development been no short-run benefit to students in the NITECLUB of Jobmine 2.” 2007/08 year.” Levine went on to give details on the Despite the slow pace and the lack of early situation students seeking a place to study results, Levine is confident that the student may find themselves in, adding that during exam times there has been concern over the lack of places available to study quietly, as the business day is time that is off limits for use. The project began in May of 2007, after a report released by the university stated that “JobMine needs improvement in flexibility, 24 Charles St W ~ Downtown KITCHENER user friendliness and availability (i.e., 1-877-635-2357 when Info: 519-570-2406 ~ Toll Free: the system isWEDNESDAY available), TO as well as in9 its SUNDAY: p.m.abilto 3 a.m. ity to be reasonably upgraded and changed.” www.clubrenaissance.com The response was to organize Jobmine into a more close knit unit for the development of the predecessor, and the team organized to build Jobmine 2 needed a space to use, and the Tatham Centre’s 13 study rooms made a good space for this. At the same time it was announced that because of the aquisition of Peoplesoft in 2005, the makers of the software used for Jobmine, and the resulting discontinuation

body will soon benefit from Jobmine 2 within the timeframe of the next few years. Lower year students may have some luck with Jobmine 2, as they will be in a prime spot to take full advantage of the system in their latter years of school, as it will be approaching completion in the summer of 2010. For some current students, however, this may not be fast enough considering looming graduation dates and upcoming forays into the professional world, although according to Levine these delays will not be a total loss on the upper year students: “While the project is pegged to come to completion in three years, some sections of the system could be up and running in a couple of semesters. In the medium and long run, I am confident that the students will be happy to see improvement in the Jobmine system.” tmyers@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

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News

Imprint, Friday, February 8, 2008

Jennifer Henderson reporter

Fight for the right to party The legalization of drugs is up for debate at a Vancouver conference on drug use.Amidst the smoke, marijuana and heroin are the drugs being discussed at this controversial debate. The CBC reports that 10 years ago the United Nations aimed to put an end to drug use around the world, but so far they have not met their goal. A fresh approach is in order. CBC reported that formerVancouver mayor Philip Owens believes drugs should no longer be a problem and announced that,“The war on drugs is coming to an end.”Among the groups attending the conference were judges and police officers who both want drugs legalized. Life or death decision Desperate times call for desperate measures. The horrific image of an infant being tossed out an apartment window in Ludwigshafen, Germany has appeared in media around the world. In the midst of a blazing fire desperate parents in an attempt to save their young children tossed them out windows to firefighters and rescue workers below. Police told The Associated Press a four-story building’s main wooden staircase collapsed; trapping residents on the upper floors. At least three young children were thrown out windows while some adults jumped to awaiting mattresses below. Nine people were killed in the blaze while 22 remain in serious condition. Global warming: take it seriously Global warming is an issue everyone has heard about but many remain uninformed as to the imminence of the problem. Scientists reported Monday that global warming this century could trigger a runaway thaw of Greenland’s

ice sheet and other abrupt shifts such as a dieback of theAmazon rain forest. Scientists are urging government officials to be more aware of the impact of global warming. “Society may be lulled into a false sense of security by smooth projections of global change,” the scientists at British, German and U.S.institutes wrote in a report saying there were many little-understood thresholds in nature.

February 8

Friday 2:00 – 3:00 pm @ SLC Great Hall Black History Discussion Panel

The panel is a free event consisting of discussion, lecture and forum, featuring Deputy Chief Keith Ford fromToronto City Police;Travis Blackman, a Mass grave discovered in Iraq Spoken Word Artist and Performer; and Marlene Griffith Tuesday marked the discovery of a Wrubel from Organizational mass grave in Northwest Baghdad. Human Development at ABC reported the grave area as UW. having been controlled by Al-Qaida earlier this year until being ousted by local uprising tribes. Iraqi officials reported that the bodies of more than 50 people were discovered. Some of the bodies had been there for quite some time and were severely decomposed,others appeared to have been killed recently. This is an all too familiar scene. ABC notes that as many as 200 bodies have been discovered in mass graves over the past couple of months.

February 8 – 9

Friday – Saturday @ Student Life Centre Warrior Weekend

Alcohol-free activities in the SLC Friday and Saturday evenings, including “Speed Meet New People”, crafts, ice cream sundaes (Friday) and pizza (Saturday), and movies . For more details check out http://warriorweekends. Tornadoes touch down in the uwaterloo.ca U.S. causing widespread destruction

Thousands are lucky to be alive after a devastating string of storms ripped through the Southern United States late Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning.CNN reported that at least 48 people have been pronounced dead with more than 100 people injured,CNN meteorologist Rob Marciano said, the storm system was becoming less intense as it moved east on Wednesday. However, it was too late.The storm ripped apart hundreds of homes, farms, a shopping mall, and trapped residents of a retirement home in debris. Union University Campus looks to have been hit the hardest. University president David Dockery told reporters Wednesday that, “It looks like a war zone.”

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February 7 – 9, 14 – 16

Thursday – Saturday @ Studio 180, Hagey Hall Differ/End: The Caledonia Project

February 11 – 16

Monday – Saturday Class Enrolment Appointments Class enrolment appointments for spring term undergraduate courses take place February 11 – 16; open enrolment begins February 19.

Researched and relived by UW drama department students, come check out the production of “Differ/End”. Tickets $12 (students $10) at February 15 Humanities box office. Loving to Learn Day

February 7 – 9

Thursday to Saturday 8:00 pm @ Humanities Theatre Global Warming: Kiss your FASS Goodbye FASS takes on global warming in a comedic, musical way. Tickets $7Thursday, $9 Friday (two shows) and Saturday from Humanities box office. Contact 519-888-4908 for more information.

An opportunity for everyone and anyone to share their reflections about their love of learning. More information online at http://www.cte. uwaterloo.ca/events_registration/L2L.html

February 23

Saturday @ Ayr Curling Club 37th Annual Hagey Funspiel An event for current faculty, staff, friends and retirees to get together and curl. Lunch and dinner provided. Register online at http://www. procurement.uwaterloo.ca/ pdfs/hagey2.pdf

Opinion

opinion@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Imprint, Friday, February 8, 2008

Beating a dead horse Friday, February 8, 2008 Vol. 30, No. 26 Student Life Centre, Room 1116 University of Waterloo Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1 P: 519.888.4048 F: 519.884.7800 http://imprint.uwaterloo.ca Editor-in-chief, Maggie Clark editor@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Advertising & Production Manager, Laurie Tigert-Dumas ads@imprint.uwaterloo.ca General Manager, Catherine Bolger cbolger@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Ad Assistant, vacant Sales Assisstant, Jason Kenney Volunteer Coordinator, Angela Gaetano Systems Admin. Dan Agar Distribution, Peter Blackman, Rob Blom Board of Directors board@imprint.uwaterloo.ca President, Adam Gardiner president@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Vice-president, Jacqueline McKoy vp@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Treasurer, Lu Jiang treasurer@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Secretary, Alaa Yassin secretary@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Staff liaison, Rob Blom liaison@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Editorial Staff Assistant Editor, Michael L. Davenport Lead Proofreader, Eric Gassner Cover Editor, Mark Kimmich News Editor, Travis Myers News Assistant, Marco Baldasaro Opinion Editor, Christine Ogley Opinion Assistant, Monica Harvey Features Editor, Dinh Nguyen Features Assistant, Cait Davidson Arts Editor, Andrew Abela Arts Assistant, Duncan Ramsay Science Editor, Adrienne Raw Science Assistant, Sherif Soliman Sports Editor, Yang Liu Sports Assistant, Olinda Pais Photo Editor, Jenn Serec Photo Assistant, Jamie Damaskinos Graphics Editor, Joyce Hsu Graphics Assistant, Yosef Yip Web Editor, Hoon Choi Web Assistant, vacant Systems Administrator, vacant Sys. Admin. Assistant, Peter Sutherland Production Staff Andrew, Tejas Koshy, Paul Collier, Sheffield Mok, Scott Houston, Tim Foster, Chris Miller, Guy Halpern, keegan Tremblay, Emma Tarswell, Peter Trinh, Sohni Satyajit, Lily Lo, Tracy McKenna, Mo Jangda, Rajul Saleh, William Chau, Matt Black, Keshi Hasan, Sarah Mark, Sonia Lee. 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. Annual general meeting: Feb 26, 2008 2:00 p.m. Next staff meeting: Monday, February 11, 2008 12:30 p.m.

You already know you should vote, so just do it

ast year an esteemed predecessor, Tim Alamenciak, warned students against voting in the Feds elections if they weren’t informed. His reasoning was fair — better no vote than a random click of the mouse, selecting your future student leaders on the basis of how interesting their names look in print, or through the sacred democratic practice of “eenie-miney-moe” — but I think we can do better. Moreover, considering the staggering number of acclamations this year, I think we have to. So if you’re not informed, your first task is to accept it. After all, let’s be honest — you don’t even know what the VP education does, let alone whether Ahmed or Fuentes would be the better choice for the position. Student council, student referenda — it’s all pretty complex stuff, isn’t it? Look, there’s no shame in not being informed. You’re a busy student. You’ve got classes, assignments, midterms. You just haven’t had the time. Your friends don’t know any better than you do about what’s going on, so how can you talk the elections over with them? Are you even certain you know what “issues” really matter to you? And sure, Imprint’s been covering the heck out of what student governance means, and how the election campaigns are going, but so what? You jumped to the distractions page every time, and don’t regret your decision for a moment. In short, you’re not ready to make an informed decision. So do the responsible thing — the “good citizen” thing. Get informed.

This year voting takes a minute or two at most, and you can vote from any computer at any time between 8 a.m. on Tuesday, February 12 and 8 p.m. on Thursday, February 14. You don’t even need to be on campus; you can register from any remote computer so long as you have your Quest username and password. Here, I’ll even save you the google search: once the voting period begins you’re looking for http://vote.feds.ca. So even if you only spend twice as long making your choices as you do typing out the website name and writing in your Quest, username and password, you can spare the time it takes to make even a moderately informed decision. And to make things even easier, you have online guides to help you — so you really don’t need to move from the comfort of your own home in order to get involved. First and foremost, Vote. Feds.ca offers a brief, yet comprehensive overview of how to vote and what positions are still in the running. The website also offers contact information for existing members of student council and Feds exec, so if you want to fire them a question or two about their positions before you vote, by all means make them squirm. Then there’s Imprint. I know, I know — shameless plug, but you’re already reading us so what’s the harm? The fact is that, despite condemnations in this week’s Letters to the Editor (though they are, as always, much appreciated), we’ve got some solid, election-pertinent information available for you online. From the end of the nomination period, before candidates had even released campaign platforms, we covered the acclamations. The week before that, we covered the preliminary release of the CKMS referendum. The week before that we had UW WUSC, the

refugee program now also up for referendum, on the cover. And after the initial acclamations we covered the media forum (with Fatima Ahmed’s name now added to the online version; sorry Ahmed!), culminating in this week’s traditional Feds election issue, which is always published the week before voting begins. Above and beyond these sources, Imprint gave a run-down of student goverance positions through Feds in Part 1 of our special series, “Understanding student governance.” We also noted voting trends in Part 2, “Representation through history.” And this week we’ve supplemented the usual (if somewhat abbreviated, on account of all the acclamations) campaign coverage with some pieces about how the electoral process itself works. Of course, we’re not perfect; personally, I’m still losing sleep over the thought that our printed error regarding the end of the nomination period might have played into this year’s heavy acclamations. And of course, Ahmed’s name was not mentioned in the body of the printed media forum article. But we’re still a start — and then some, if you take a look at how prominent the letters section has been in the last few weeks. So after skimming the Imprint website, look up some of the Facebook groups and public blogs of Feds exec and student council candidates. Consider it your “next step” in getting informed. Or, you know, jump right from Imprint to the Feds voting page. Whichever you like, so long as you tried. So long as, when you’re finished, you can honestly say you took at least one moment — just one! — to think your choices through. editor@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Nuclear business, funding woes

he firing of Linda Keen (former head of the Canada Nuclear Safety Commission) has dominated recent coverage of the Chalk River isotope fiasco. The Chalk River facility, operated by Atomic Energy Canada Limited, normally provides 60 per cent of the world’s medical isotopes (used in diagnosis and cancer treatments). The reactor was shut down in November on the orders of the CNSC because of a failure to comply with safety repairs that the AECL was supposed to undertake, a move that resulted in a worldwide shortage of medical isotopes used in diagnosis and cancer treatments. Out of all this, a broad array of stories has emerged. The incident exposed long-running differences between a crown corporation and its federally mandated regulator, provided a venue for petty politicking from both sides of the political spectrum and raised fundamental questions about the balance between acceptable risk and public health. Keen lost her job over the decision to shut down the reactor, and whether that was a good or bad idea seems to depend on which party you support — at least as far as Ottawa goes. To a certain degree though, all these stories are missing the point. The most important issue here is not the shortage in isotopes, the acceptable risk of nuclear reactors or the apparently vindictive firing of a civil servant by the government. It’s the fact that this is just the most public in a long line of problems with the AECL. The Chalk River reactor is ancient; the design dates back to 1949 and it has been in operation since 1957. Two replacement reactors, the MAPLE 1 and MAPLE 2, that were set to become operational in the early part of this

decade, are still sitting unused due to shoddy workmanship and fundamental miscalculations in their design. The reactors were originally going to be financed by the private sector, by way of a former crown corporation called MDS Nordicon. Currently, it is the buyer for Chalk River’s entire isotope supply and controls much of the world market. However, in 2005 MDS Nordicon gave up its share in the Maple reactors and wrote off a $345 million investment, having watched the original figure of $140 million continue to rise. According to a recent Auditor General report, the Chalk River facility as a whole will require $600 million in investments over the next five years in order to maintain safe operational standards, and the Toronto Sun reported in a February 1 piece that sources those closely involved in the reactors’ development didn’t think that they would ever become operational. Although it’s hard to really give the Toronto Sun much credit, the very fact that such a story exists is worrisome. Many observers have cited November’s shutdown as a wake-up call for the government and the public. James Cowan argued in the National Post that the AECL had been “ignored and under-funded” for the past 15 years, as did Preston Manning in the Globe and Mail. There’s no denying this; as Cowan and Manning makes clear, atomic energy subsidies are not a popular political topic, nor is science for science’s sake. The solution however is not to throw more funding at a failing enterprise. With Ontario looking to build two new reactors as part of its plan to wean itself from coal power and England planning to greatly

expand its number of generators, one might think that this is an opportune time for the AECL to make some sales and turn a profit. Indeed, its CANDU technology is unique in the world for its use of heavy water and ability to use uranium in its natural state. However, with AECL’s miserable track record, it’s hard to see it as a viable competitor for new contracts. Both those within the nuclear power lobby and those who fight against it agree that subsidies are necessary for new projects to be undertaken; the associated costs are simply too high for nuclear power to be competitive in its own right. Most of those costs occur in the initial construction and startup phase; the reason nuclear power is still attractive is because energy production itself is relatively cheap, if externalities are ignored. As a crown corporation, AECL hasn’t been subject to market forces that might have forced it to be more efficient. Instead it’s been allowed to limp along with millions of dollars in subsidies every year that still aren’t enough to maintain current facilities or stay on schedule with new ones. As much as I like having homegrown nuclear technology and supporting local industry, the federal government should privatize the struggling AECL. The technology and expertise it possesses are valuable, especially with the resurgent interest in nuclear power both domestically and internationally. If AECL is going to stay relevant and not just become a glorified repair shop for the remaining CANDU reactors out there, it should be cut free from federal ownership as soon as possible. ghalpern@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Opinion 7 War quagmire

Imprint, Friday, February 8, 2008

nless you’re watching Family Guy, “quagmire” is a word scarcely heard. The one place it’s consistently mentioned is in reference to the American war in Iraq. While the focus in our media is directed towards our troops in Afghanistan —and rightly so —the war in Iraq still spreads its sphere of influence around the globe, and merits understanding. To be stuck in a quagmire is to be in a situation that is extremely challenging to get out of, and considering the negative global influence of this war it is imperative that a solution be found. Unless you’ve recently been thawed from cryogenic stasis, you know that the Americans have been fighting to bring peace to Iraq ever since toppling Saddam Hussein’s government. The

consequences of this move have been all over the map. Never having received permission from the UN to start the war in Iraq, along with having John Bolton sit at the UN for the U.S. who once said that “there is no such thing as the United Nations. There is only the international community, which can only be led by the only remaining superpower, which is the United States,” could lead one to wonder whether the U.S. truly wants global collaboration and peace. When no weapons of mass destruction were found in Iraq, despite this being one of the main reasons for going to war, American credibility was lost. Then Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, told ABC in an interview about the WMDs that, “We know where they are. They’re in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south and north somewhat.” George Bush said in a radio address on March 22, 2003, “Our mission is clear, to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction, to end Saddam Hussein’s support for terrorism, and to free the Iraqi people.” To this day, no WMDs have ever been found in Iraq, leading many to wonder if the invasion was justified. We all recognize the 49th parallel and how it separates us from the U.S., but even an international poll by Maclean’s showed other countires having varying knowledge of wheather or not Canada had troops in Iraq, 43-45 per cent believed Canada to be a U.S. puppet. Worse, the lies about WMDs, one of the main reasons the U.S. gave for its invasion, can cast doubt over other U.S. operations, including their and our neighbouring work in Afghanistan. See QUAGMIRE, page 8

The gay agenda

o, you want to be an influential gay, huh? Well, I’m gonna tell you about a little thing called the “homosexual agenda.” Now when I say that, I’m not referring to some sort of meticulously organized, colour-coded, funfur-covered, pink day planner with a picture of Madonna on the cover. The gay agenda is what some extreme right-wing, super conservative Christian fundies and other scoundrels see as the gay’s scheme to take over the world. And well, the gay agenda might also be something a homosexual day planner enthusiast might use. According to Jim Dobson, leader of Focus on the Family, these evil homosexuals have been meeting regularly in their submergible lair located in a swamp (they’ve been subletting from the Legion of Doom) plotting in secret to establish such nefarious deeds such as over-

turning pedophilia laws, infiltrating their kind into the Boy Scouts and our public schools, and ensnaring and molesting our children and turning them gay! Not to mention the bankrolling for this — according to Focus on the Family, the gays plan to “get funds from corporate America” to fuel their devious tactics! Sadly, the only part of their accusations that I exaggerated was the underground lair. In fact, the concept of some sort of secret agenda is so pervasive with

some homophobes that it was even brought up by American Supreme Court, Justice Antonin Scalia, during Lawrence vs. Texas, the landmark 2003 case that finally removed criminal laws against homosexual acts in Texas.

Apparently, according to Scalia, the move to strike down these laws is all part of a greater homosexual plan to (gasp!) gain equality! Yes, in reality what some like Scalia and Dobson view as an evil master plan by gay supervillians is actually the western movement towards parity for gays and lesbians. What they perceive to be an agenda involves things like ensuring that gays and lesbians aren’t discriminated against when it comes to employment and housing. The agenda is teaching kids that it is quite alright, if they happen to be gay. The agenda is making sure that members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transexual/transgender (LGBTQ) community can live their lives unhindered by hatred. I guess the main point of this agenda would be for homosexuals to be able to pursue their lives and seek freedom and liberty just like everyone else. Should someone be denied a job as a teacher because they are gay? Should gay sex be illegal? Should hate crimes go unnoticed? Well if you opt no on any of those questions, you might be a part of the gay agenda. And you know what, being a part of the gay agenda might not be so bad after all. tmyers@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Loving Valentine’s Day Monica Harvey staff reporter

alentine’s Day is approaching and some of you may be getting ready to board the clichéd Valentine’s bitterbus, but there are some things you should think about before you cash in your used Kleenex for a ticket. Not having a date on Valentine’s saves you at least $20 and 30 minutes, depending on how quickly you choose cards or make dinner reservations, and despite what most people think, this applies to both genders. If you’re a guy and you disagree, thinking girls don’t have to do anything except show up and complain, then you’re dating the wrong girls. You also have some good ammo for when she starts talking about equality in the workplace —you need that extra dollar an hour to help pay for all the crap she wants on Valentine’s. While money and time are probably the scarcest resources to a student, being able to hold on to those dollars and minutes may not be enough to help you realize the full potential of this misunderstood holiday. It’s the only day you can wear pink and red at the same time without a

stern warning by the fashion police. There are some people who don’t know anything about clothes who cling to these arbitrary rules in an attempt to seem savvy. You get to watch these people sweat as one of their chances to feign fashion sense is deflected by the immunity provided by the holiday. Perhaps the most important aspect of the holiday is what it means to you and your relationships, both romantic and platonic. So what if you’re single? This is a chance to let all the people in your life know that you care about them—without being creepy. While the holiday has evolved into the commercialization of romance, it is time it evolved into something more than a dozen roses for someone you have been dating for a couple of weeks. So this Valentine’s Day, take the time to let your friends and family know that you think about them and hope they have a great day, and of course if you have a special someone, make sure they know that today they are extra special—just like everyone else you know. mharvey@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Do you have an Opinion?

I guarantee that your friends are tired of hearing it; start writing it down for Imprint and your friends might come back. Do people walk too slow? Is income tax the biggest scam ever? We need 100-200 words of whatever you care about Send it to opinion@uwaterloo.imprint.ca

Opinion

Imprint, Friday, February 8, 2008

Letters Had a reaction to one of our articles, editorials or columns? Write a letter to the editor at letters@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Re: UW student steps up to defend religion, Imprint, Vol.30 No. 25 I feel obliged to address a few key points raised in an article from last week concerning religion by Mathew Wiebe. First, Weibe asserted that everyone believes in the intangible — this is false. Individuals who adhere to particular kinds of empiricism do not believe in anything intangible; instead they believe that talks of the “intangible” are nothing more than a linguistic shortcut for discussing complex tangible phenomena, and are not in themselves real things. In other words the assertion that everyone believes in the intangible is simply not true. Secondly, it was implied that “faith” applies to everyone because everyone has to hold beliefs in the face of uncertainty — this leaves out a key part of the analysis: what level of faith? Is the amount of faith that one holds when one sits on a testable untested chair, believing that it will not collapse, really comparable to the kind of faith that one needs in order to believe in something that is totally untestable? Finally, the reader should understand that one need not be “liberalist” to reject religion (by my definition), I am an atheist and a conservative/realist, and with pun intended — God Bless America! — Lin Fan

Re: UW student steps up to defend religion, Imprint, Vol.30 No. 25 Where can I start: incredulous analogies, incoherent arguments, the article is chock full of them. For example, a chair supporting weight is somehow analogous to believing in god, heaven, and faith in general. Faith by definition does not require evidence and therefore is irrational. There is no reason to believe that my chair will spontaneously fail, and if it does the cause is easily determined. When was the last time you tested what your faith tells you? Well you can’t, can you? I don’t think heaven has an all-access summer pass. However, I sat on my chair this morning! And you tell me that believing my chair will support my weight is stupid. You could have taken a moment to come up with a better analogy. Secondly, you recognize the fact that people have a problem with your headstrong assertions, and instead of addressing this, you question the intelligence of your peers for not sharing your beliefs. The tone of your

article implies you are a victim of some sort. However, there are seven Christian organizations on campus. Knowing Imprint’s standards I expected something at least half decent, but this was totally pathetic. —Akarsh Mallya

Re: UW student steps up to defend religion, Imprint, Vol.30 No. 25 I was somewhat surprised to be told, in the article “Questioning intolerance: UW student steps up to defend religion” that I have both a religion and faith. Let me put it bluntly: I do not. What I do have are personal philosophies and a worldview, but it is an extremely misleading (and dishonest) redefinition of religion if you consider me religious because I have an individual perspective. If having faith means anything, it means believing something without evidence that it is true. Despite the article’s claims, sitting on a chair with the belief that it will hold my weight is not faith, “I have ample evidence that it will do so. Evidence including the fact that I have sat in this chair (or a chair like it) many times in the past and it has held my weight; the chair looks sturdy; chairs are generally built to hold someone of my weight; the chair is in a place where someone is likely to sit on it, and people usually don’t keep unsupportive chairs in a place where someone may sit on them. If the chair didn’t look sturdy, or had collapsed under my weight in the past, or I had reason to believe it wasn’t well made, I would be more cautious before plunking myself down onto it. To claim that I must have faith to believe that a chair can hold my weight is simply ridiculous. Belief in the intangible is not always based on faith, despite what this article implies. Electrons are not tangible, but I believe in them because there is so much evidence for them. One of the central theses of the article in question was that people should question beliefs which are the product of their social environment. As an apostate myself, I couldn’t agree more. I find it extremely regrettable that such a good message was at the heart of an article which conflated terms in such a misleading way. I believe the author was attempting to claim that you shouldn’t judge him for his faith because everyone has faith. In order to support this conclusion the author was forced to redefine terms and make outrageous statements. It therefore seems all he accomplished was making the case for his faith that much weaker. — Tommy Blanchard

President of the Atheists, Agnostics and Freethinkers of Waterloo

Re: referendum on CKMS It saddens me to hear that there is an attempt to cut the financial support from the student body for the campus radio station CKMS. As a student over 20 years ago, I got my first experi-

Quagmire: Iraq continued from page 7

These doubts could be the fuel that keeps Taliban recruitment high, while eroding global support for our troops over there, with few countries willing to be put in harm’s way and all of our federal leaders vowing to pull us out. Despite the underreported success of our troops in gaining the locals’ trust and in their reconstruction efforts, constant focus on Canadian casualties meant that as recently as last fall, Canwest polls showed that 44 per cent of Canadians wanted a pullout from Afghanistan. The recently released Manley report, which supports an extension of the mission, may have had an effect on the public, as the number has dropped to 37 per cent. Each time another army pulls out, or backs from the front lines, our troops face more danger. The US State Department’s Iraq Weekly Status Report shows that since July 2005, non-US forces in Iraq have dropped from approximately 23,000 down to 10,604. Anger now spread at all ‘invading’ armies in the region fuels further terrorist attack planning. As untouched as we have been, it only takes one successful terrorist attack to cause havoc here in Canada, while our troops abroad and government at home need to prevent every

single one, from planning abroad and at home to preparations and execution here in Canada, to be successful. Had America never entered Iraq, well over 100,000 troops would be available to help in Afghanistan. They could also provide the numbers needed to have a real impact in other troubled regions, such as Darfur. While our military is not led by theirs, it is far easier to get into other international efforts when you can be joined by the numbers the American military has available. Despite our absence in Iraq, the problems started there have still managed to find their way back to us. Without a solution in Iraq, a shadow hangs over much of the world, and many works of good remain stalled at the starting line. Getting out of the mess there is a critical goal of the Americans — one that we too should hope for the success of. Later this month we will see why the war in Iraq has become such a paradox, and ways in which the the conflict may be brought to an end. At least we may begin a more concrete progression towards one. adodds@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

ences of working in the media by volunteering for both CKMS and Imprint. It was invaluable in helping me to develop my media relation skills which I use on a regular basis in a completely different setting (the National Health Service in England). If students don’t like what they hear when they switch on CKMS, they should turn up at the station to volunteer. I am certain that they will be accepted with open arms as I was.

This type of incomplete media coverage is responsible for low voter turn out. In a democratic structure the role of the media is to inform people about the choices they have in elections. Both issues of Imprint did not focus on the candidates that were running for the election but rather those who were acclaimed. If you want to promote electoral competition than focus on the election race, not on voter apathy!!

— Julie George

— Hafsa Qureshi

Re: Campus Question, Imprint, Vol.30 No. 25 Okay, I’ll admit it. I, along with most third graders, open pages, whether a newspaper or a book, and immediately am drawn to the pictures inside. Thus, weekly when I open Imprint I go the campus question to see familiar faces of my fellow colleagues (and then attempt the crossword). However, while reviewing the answers to the campus question this week, which might I add is a pressing question of our time, I was appalled. I pride myself in attending such a reputable school such as ours; but, to be honest, would have rather affiliated myself with Laurier this week after reading such responses. The question for those who missed out was: What would you do to cool down global warming? The responses varied from those that made no sense, i.e. “Vote for Team Yellow” to “I wouldn’t do anything.” Others, which I won’t mention because they don’t deserve to be printed for a second time, were even more appalling and simply embarrassed me as a University of Waterloo student. I strongly believe that we as a school have an image to uphold and last weeks’ answers definitely didn’t meet the standards in which I believe we are capable of. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the odd humourous remark to the campus question; but, as G.O.B. would say from Arrested Development “COME ON!”

I am curious as to why there was no mention of Fatima Ahmed (candidate for VP Education) or her platform in the last issue of Imprint, while all the other candidates present were mentioned. Students who are trying to make informed decisions in this election deserve the opportunity to know who is running and what are his or her viewpoints. Needless to say, omissions like these can have dire consequences for the candidate’s campaign and can confer unfair advantages to his or her opponents. This is particularly true for independent candidates such as Fatima who stand on their own and do not rely on a group platform for publicity.

— Jessica Fowler

Re: Feds election coverage The coverage of the Feds election leaves a lot to be desired. Specifically information on all candidates, how are we supposed to make informed decisions about political choices with out fair coverage of all candidates? This is either blatant incompetence or lax journalistic standards. In either case I expect more from the student newspaper which my student fees pay for. — Gloria Ichim

Re: Feds election coverage At the debate on January 30th Fatima Ahmed was: hands down the best debater. She had clever rebuttals, insightful platform, a commanding demeanour and the honesty and sincerity that make her desirable as a student politician. Unfortunately Imprint did not so much as even mention her name or any information about her platform in the article, while it made reference to the yellow team and to her competition for VP education. It is unfortunate that Imprint did not report anything about Fatima Ahmed. — Nourhan Safwat

Re: Election Coverage by Imprint I am very disappointed by Imprint’s election coverage thus far. The fact that the January 25 election focused on the acclamation of the president and the VP of admin and finance and no coverage was given to the candidates running for the other positions is reflective of irresponsible media coverage. This issue did not even discuss the candidates who were running for VP internal and VP education. Moreover the February 1st mentioned the names of all candidates present except for Candidate for VP Education Fatima Ahmed’s name was not mentioned at all in the February 1st issue is reflective of the complete failure on part of the newspaper to live up to its responsibility in a democratic environment. The role of the media is to inform the students about their choices and to keep students abreast of information which pertains to their student lives. If the media does not do its job of keeping students informed is it any surprise that there is an overall feeling of apathy among students when it comes to voter turnout? Is there any surprise as to why top Candidates positions are acclaimed?

— Aziza Patel

Re: UW student steps up to defend religion, Imprint, Vol.30 No. 25 Mathew Wiebe’s defence of religion was, to put it bluntly, very weak. Throughout his editorial, Weibe focuses on the idea that everyone is forcing their beliefs on him while failing to talk about the benefits of religion or at least address its criticisms. Wiebe doesn’t make a distinction between experiencing a different view and being forced to believe in it. If he was right, then the only way to hide from this constant imposition of viewpoints by others would be for him to walk around with his eyes covered and ears closed. I fail to see the reason for bringing up this point in the first place; we live in a very diverse environment so I would think that it doesn’t even need to be stated. Wiebe should have spent his time writing about the good side of religion. Here are just a few reasons for non-believers to give religion some props: All religions have strong moral codes meant to guide their followers. All religions serve their communities with various services and charities. All religions help individuals in dealing with traumas and life in general. Finally, the psychological benefits of prayer and meditation are scientifically proven. — Sampath Perera

Re: Middle Eastern outrage, Imprint, Vol. 30, No. 24 I am not sure that Haifa policies are actually discriminatory since there has been no actual evidence. However, either way, I do not see how this should in any way affect students who wish to better their lives and generally better their education by going to a different country where they can experience a culture that is completely different than their own. In the end it seems to me that this entire debate focuses on the wrong aspect of politics instead of the great potential that the exchange has. If anything, this experience can help students come to a better understanding of the conflict that has been plaguing the area for too long of a time now. — Jana Kokic

Correction In the February 1, 2008 edition of Imprint, a “short” about university, Higher ed, was credited to Scott Siyavoosh Chonghar. The piece is actually an excerpt from the book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, by Robert M. Pirsig. Imprint apologizes for the error.

Features

features@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Imprint, Friday, February 8, 2008

Riding climate change Chris Miller staff reporter

ith Canada producing 2.3 per cent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions while possessing a highly climatesensitive vacation industry, Daniel Scott is in the right place to study the effects of climate change on tourism. The University of Waterloo professor and chair of the World Meteorological Organization’s (WMO) expert team has become a world leader in the field. Originally completing his master’s degree at UW before coming back to teach, his investigations have shed new light on how we, in our work and play, interact with our environment. He feels his subject has taken on a new urgency: “Climate change will be the defining issue of my daughters’ generation,” said Scott. “Most of my work is on what climate change means for tourism, such as lack of snow, melting glaciers, hurricanes — all those sorts of things.” One of the biggest difficulties for researchers like Scott, however, is quantifying emissions. As part of a report commissioned by the WMO, he sought to gain a clearer picture on just how big the contributions of tourism are to climate change. Generally, the emissions created by tourism have two components. The first is the modes of transportation used by vacationers. “Tourism

can be very sustainable,” said Scott, “but it can produce as many emissions as your ordinary lifestyle.” Flight, in particular, is one of the most emissions-intensive means of travel. “People often get a surprise. Especially those who fly on business a lot.” Scott provides some recommendations on becoming a more conscientious traveler. “If you drive a big Hummer now, you can drive a hybrid,” he said. Flight, however, remains particularly problematic, as he notes, “There isn’t a real good alternative to flying long haul. Few people are willing to take a boat to New Zealand, for instance.” Means are being undertaken to reduce the footprint that airline travel entails. Bio-fuel is being tested for Boeing 747 jetliners and should it prove commercially viable and depending on the material used, it may provide a better alternative to kerosene. Domestically, inter-city high-speed rail is a possibility, though North American infrastructure is not nearly so conducive to it as its European counterparts.

Failing such measures, travelers can also take advantage of the somewhat mixed benefits of carbon offsetting, in which offset companies plant trees or support anti-emissions projects in other parts of the world. Though some can be beneficial, others can be easily rendered ineffective, such as if new trees are wiped out by hurricanes. “Most consumers aren’t savvy enough to know the difference,” said Scott. Despite these recent innovations, the professor feels that efforts have been lopsided. “On the industry front, we have examples of real Canadian leadership,” said Scott, “On the government side, we’re far behind the times.” Various tourist destinations are making efforts at carbon neutrality. Whistler-Blackcomb, for instance, is pursuing a power-generating hydro plant that would create enough energy to offset the power needs of both ski mountains. The other challenge comes when dealing with the potential tradeoffs to developing countries, particularly in the Caribbean. “You risk ending

up negatively affecting their economies, which can rely on anywhere from 25 to 75 per cent on tourism. As a result, they could suffer the brunt of these measures, yet they didn’t create those emissions.” Canada’s position in these tradeoffs is particularly complex. The country’s infamous “snowbirds,” those choosing to head south to escape harsher winters , play their own role in the climate change puzzle. Though they are the richest generation and the most experienced at flying, the scale of their activities is not clear. “You’ve got numbers put out in the media, somewhere between hundreds of thousands to one or two million — we really don’t know.” Such migration compounds the difficulties of understanding the economic and social impacts of so many people moving around. Additional questions remain regarding how much their ranks will continue to grow and how much farther they will travel — Cuba, Costa Rica? Destinations play an important role. Scott offers a final critique of the media over its portrayal of the

climate change issue, suggesting it had dropped the ball when it comes to challenging the credentials of historians, economists and others who often attempt to weigh in on the debate without the necessary knowledge: “It’s mixed. There’s been some good studies shown, but often they present two sides — there’s climate change experts and climate change deniers. It’s part of their journalistic training, but there’s not a fifty-fifty split.” Scott also expressed his belief that those with true expertise on the issue are few and far between: “The number of people in the world that I would listen to on climate changes is somewhere between a handful and fifty.” Even Scott himself declines to sign petitions on the issue, deferring instead to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Working Groups. Nevertheless, environmental studies is a necessity and a growing field. “Most of the knowledge of our climate has come in my lifetime — in the last 35 to 40 years.” Scott suggests keeping an open mind to new scientific discoveries, while also making sure that such findings come from those who have the understanding to make such claims. “New science will come along and challenge our current findings. But it has to be a robust science.” cmiller@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Joyce Hsu

Features

Imprint, Friday, February 8, 2008

La Crème de love

s we approach the day d’amour I want to satisfy those who love it and those who loathe it. Whether you are fond of, indifferent to, or bah-humbug the day, I have a recipe that will please both ends of the spectrum. More to share if you are attached, and more for yourself to devour if not. No matter the case, it’s a win-win situation. Not exactly the best way to get in the mood for love, but let’s talk custards. The word comes from the Anglo-French ‘crustade’ which in turn is taken from the Latin ‘crusta,’ also meaning ‘crust.’ The following is based on the recipe below: What we want to do to the egg is to thicken the liquid to turn it into a custard. By throwing in some science to explain how the thickening process works, we do this by capturing the liquid (i.e. dairy products) in a mass of coagulated protein molecules. If

done correctly, the result is a velvety texture, with a silky smooth and creamy taste. However, what you don’t want to do is form tight curds of over-coagulated proteins. If you fumble on a few crucial steps, you could end up with scrambled eggs rather than luscious custard. Here’s how to avoid such a disaster: think of Aesop. Remember him, Mr. Fable man? Okay, recall the story of the Tortoise and the Hare from your elementary school days. Tortoise ended up as the victor because “slow and steady wins the race”, while eager Hare was speedy — sporadic and overconfident. You want to be the humble Tortoise. There is a step in this recipe that tells you to temper (that is, from the Latin Temperare — to mix correctly) the eggs into the hot milk mixture. If you were to add cold eggs to the milk, you would end up cooking the eggs rather than end up with a unified mixture. If

you are asking, “why don’t I just not heat the milk mixture then?” Therein lies the tricky bit. You actually want a high heat because you will be closer to the set point of the silky texture of your custard… but it is a fine line between that set point (good) and the curdling point (bad). So the key is: go slow. The heat will be absorbed by the eggs, raising the temperature so when you add the egg mixture slowly to the milk, you won’t shock the proteins which will prevent curdling. You will also be cozying up to Marie — Bain-Marie that is. Using a bain-marie, or water bath, ensures that your custards are baked evenly all the way through. The water bath helps keep the custards from heating up too quickly from the hot oven. If you have a roasting pan on hand, that’s the perfect item for the job. However, if you are like me, a little improvisation is required: use a

Tiffany Li

large aluminum roasting tin from Zehrs (less than two bucks). It’s a real winner, which I’ve used in the past to make cheesecake. Just

make sure you support the tin with a baking sheet. tli@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Caramel ingredients:

Caramel direction:

c 3/4 cup granulated sugar c 1/4 cup water

Place 3/4 cup of sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Pour water evenly over sugar, swirling (do not stir with any utensils) the pan to combine. Continue swirling until a clear syrup forms, about 3-5 minutes. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Cover pan and boil for 2 minutes. Uncover pan and continue to cook syrup until it turns an amber colour, about 2-3 minutes. Quickly pour equal amounts of syrup into the 8 custard cups. Place the rack in the middle of the oven (there are 4 rack holders, counting from the bottom up, you want the 3rd one). Preheat oven to 350 ° F, grease 8 ramekins (you can easily find these ceramic cups at the Dollarama).

Custard ingredients: c 1 1/2 cups whole milk c 1 cup half and half c 1 tsp vanilla extract (you could also substitute for a generous spoonful of brandy, rum, etc.) c 3 large whole eggs c 3 large egg yolks (save the whites to use for other ocasions such as making macaroons) c 1/2 cup granulated sugar

Custard direction: In a medium saucepan combine milk, half and half, and vanilla, over medium-low heat bring to a simmer. Immediately remove from heat, set aside. Meanwhile, set a kettle of water to boil. Take a small bowl and whisk whole eggs, egg yolks, until they have lightened in colour. Slowly whisk in 1/2 cup sugar and continue until the mixture is thickened slightly. Temper eggs into milk mixture: while whisking the eggs, slowly drizzle about 1/3 of the hot milk mixture into the eggs. Then, while whisking, add all of egg mix into the milk mix. Put mixture through a fine mesh sieve over a bowl (with a spout if you have one, which will make pouring easier). Place ramekins in roasting tin and fill each one with mixture. Then, open the oven door, and place pan on it. Carefully pour recently boiled water into pan until it reaches halfway up the sides of the cups. Place pan into oven and bake 4050 minutes or until they wobble just slightly. You can also check by placing a knife halfway into custard. If it comes out clean, it’s done. Use tongs to remove cups and place on a kitchen towel-lined (to soak up any drips) cooling rack. Discard water from roasting tin. Cool custards, and then chill for at least 4 hours. When ready to serve, dip cups in warm water, and run a knife around custard to loosen edges. Unmold onto serving platter.

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Imprint, Friday, February 8, 2008

through foreign eyes

Ireland â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a tale of two countries Emily Buck reporter

was sitting in an Irish pub, listening to traditional Irish music of course, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sweet Home Alabamaâ&#x20AC;? and eating â&#x20AC;&#x153;chipsâ&#x20AC;?, a.k.a. french fries, when my teammate, Paula Rogers, told me this story: â&#x20AC;&#x153;When I was 17, I went home from my first day of work and told my mother â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Mommy, I met a Protestant today!â&#x20AC;&#x2122; She laughed and asked, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Well, did it bite?â&#x20AC;&#x2122; This was my first time actually talking to one, before that we only chased after, or ran away from each other. I went to school in a Protestant area, so every day when we were let out weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d change into our trainers and start walking home. Except when we got to this certain spot we had to start running because they would come after us, cursing and throwing rocks.â&#x20AC;?

Paula was telling me about her experiences growing up in Belfast, a city which saw the worst of â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Troublesâ&#x20AC;? that consumed Northern Ireland from the 1960s until the Belfast Agreement in 1998. For those of you who donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know (I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t), Ireland is not just one country, it is two: Northern Ireland and Ireland. The histories of these two countries date all the way back to the 1600s when Britain, great imperialist power that it was, decided to colonize the Irish who then struggled and fought for hundreds of years until partial independence was given through a partition in 1921. The south became Ireland and now has its own government, currency and national language. Northern Ireland, on the other hand, has remained under the control of Great Britain as part of the United Kingdom. See IRELAND, page 12 Emily Buck

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Blessings in Light & Love

1. Beer bottles: Personally, this student design trend is the single most perplexing thing Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve ever experienced in university, next only to the mystery of how poor students can routinely afford to eat at Food Services establishments. I cannot â&#x20AC;&#x201D; for the life of me â&#x20AC;&#x201D; understand what possesses students to proudly display empties in their windows or other prominent spaces. Yes, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s thrifty â&#x20AC;&#x201D; what could be cheaper than hoarding your recycling? But displaying empties is like displaying how little of your liver is still functioning, or how much money youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve spent on getting trashed. It does little for your self-image except attempt to hide your insecurities under the guise of â&#x20AC;&#x153;I can drink more than you.â&#x20AC;? Go back to high school. 2. Unoriginal posters: Posters are a tricky beast. On one hand, theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re used to express things you love, and by extension, tell people about yourself. On the other hand... posters can be kind of lame in and of themselves. Putting up posters is kind of like pledging allegiance;

they have a magical way of reducing your personality to a token movie, television character, or brand of beer you like. To make matters worse, thanks to the Imaginus sale, many of you will end up with the exact same posters on your wall. Whereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the originality in that? Look, Scarface isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t that great of a movie, and I have news for you: those two underwear models making out in that poster probably arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t even lesbians anyway. If that doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t hit home for all the fellas out there, you can bet that having that poster up will do absolute wonders for your sex life â&#x20AC;&#x201D; I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know a self-respecting woman who would want to get to know you any better when she can see the storyboard of your wet dream hanging prominently above your bed. For less than the price of some beers or some posters, you can really change your living space for the better. Consider: 1. Plants: Plants are probably the quickest way to raise someoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s impression about you and your home. Why? 1)

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Plants require responsibility â&#x20AC;&#x201D; you have to water them regularly to keep them alive. By extension, 2) having a plant gives off the impression that you have the capacity to care for other life forms, ie. youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re sensitive and caring. This may be entirely fictional, but just shut up and go with it. The same principle applies for having kids or dogs, but as far as I know, at least one of those things isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t always allowed on a lease...and both of them poo a lot. Editorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s note: A lease may state that pets are not allowed. But legally the landlord has no choice but to allow pets, unless the landlord lives on the premises him- or herself.

now take your favourite photograph from 4â&#x20AC;?x 6â&#x20AC;? to 4 x 6 pieces of paper. The output on each sheet will look like a bunch of random dots, but when you put them together, the results are always striking. Check out their online galleries for inspiration. The possibilities are actually endless. 3. Minimalism: When all else fails, this aesthetic saves the day! Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s simple, and requires little effort and money. All you have to do is ditch everything you can. This is especially useful if you have white walls. If you pull it off correctly (ie: clean regularly), you can give off the vibe of someone with a two-year subscription to Wallpaper who has been pimping Swedish design principles since we were all in diapers.

2. Rasterbate: (http://homokaasu.org/rasterbator/). This fantastic webapp will create huge, rasterized images from any picture, for free! All Until next time, keep those fists you have to do is print out the pages tight. and arrange them on your wall. You can isherr@imprint.uwaterloo.ca 1/8Anastasia_imprint:Layout 1 2/4/08 1:41 PM Page 1

PHOTO: Andrew Oxenham DANCERS: Tara Butler & Preston McBain

ecorating â&#x20AC;&#x201D; yes, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m dropping the D-Bomb this week â&#x20AC;&#x201D; is about adding some creativity and interest to your home, such that you actually feel comfortable in your living spaceâ&#x20AC;Śand maybe even a little proud? Perhaps more importantly, decorating your space may cause others to form a mysteriously favourable impression of you. How so? You can make people think youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re creative, intelligent, and a whole slew of other â&#x20AC;&#x153;softâ&#x20AC;? characteristics, simply by putting some thought into decorating your space. Trust me, girls eat this stuff up...and so do guys, although they usually donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t admit it. Quelle surprise. Put it this way: if you want to have sex, start with your living space. The less your home looks like a janitorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s closet, the more likely you are to invite someone back there. Unless, of course, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re into the thrill of custodial storage spaces. However, as much as decorating is about expressing your personality and style, there are some things that may backfire in your attempt to decorate on the cheap:

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Features

Imprint, Friday, February 8, 2008

Been outside of Canada? Features wants you! We need people to help open UW up to cultural diversity. Come share your experiences in another country with us!

WHEN: February 13, 2008 9am - 6pm

WHERE: University of Waterloo Student Life Center Main Complex

Ireland: a lingering past Continued from page 11

Unfortunately, not only does this mean I am stuck using the English pound but, this has also resulted in continued conflict between Catholic nationalists, who want a unified Island of Ireland, and Protestant loyalists, who want Northern Ireland to remain part of the UK. Until recent years this conflict would have prevented myself, and many other foreigners from entering the country where bombs and shootings were everyday occurrences. However, since a peace agreement was signed in 1998, Northern Ireland has experienced a period of reconciliation. For the first time in over 30 years. students like myself are able to live in an environment which had remained isolated for so long. Now that you understand a little bit about where I am, let’s take a minute to get acquainted. My name is Emily Buck. I am a third year peace and conflict studies student at UW but am currently living in Derry, Northern Ireland where Bloody Sunday, one of the key events of the troubles, occurred 36 years ago last Wednesday. I am able to pay tuition to Waterloo but take courses at the University of Ulster through the study abroad program and have now been in Northern Ireland for four and a half months So what? A lot of things.The country is beautiful. Travelling is wonderful and the people are amazing, they are all kind, funny, generous and hospitable. Thus, you can see what a shock it has been to hear stories about the sectarianism that existed and still exists today and even witness it first hand. Not only did Paula tell me about her own experiences with discrimination, but she also told me how her father was imprisoned without trial for five years before she was born simply because he was Catholic and “looked the IRA member age.” She told me how they didn’t have windows in their house because there was no point — the bombs just blew the glass out anyway. She told me how her father’s best friend, Mickey, was pulled over at a British checkpoint for a routine search but it was actually a Protestant paramilitary ambush and they shot her father’s friend 20 times in front of his wife and two children. She told me and I listened and I imagined my childhood in Ontario. The games of tag in the park, the forts we built in the forest. My biggest fear was never whether or not I would be in the wrong place at the wrong time or whether the man dead on the news was a relative of mine. “But,” she told me “ we weren’t afraid. Marches and riots, bombs and plastic bullets were all that we knew.” Paula wasn’t the only one with a story either. Everyone has their own tale to tell. My roommate’s boyfriend threw his share of petrol bombs, even took a plastic bullet in the butt. Now I know you’re thinking, it’s plastic, it couldn’t have been that bad. Well, such “non lethal weapons” actually killed over 17 people during the troubles, and left countless others with permanent injuries. Gary’s bruises healed but many others were not so lucky. In the same way, my friend, Connell, still refers to Northern Ireland as “occupied Ireland” and has had his share of bar fights with those who tell him different. It is not hard to believe that he was born to a father who was

an IRA member and that he has beeindoctrinated with nationalistic ideals. Scary stuff indeed. Fortunately, Connell does think that peace is a good idea and I don’t have to worry about him being carted off to prison any time soon. I didn’t think I would have to worry about any type of discrimination while I was here, but I was wrong. Apparently not everyone is okay with a Protestant girl, international student or not, playing the predominantly Catholic sport of Gaelic football. No, it wasn’t my teammates who spoke out against me, but a Protestant girl who couldn’t believe I had invited her to the Gaelic football fundraiser. With eyes like daggers she retorted: “You do know that’s Catholic, right?” “Yeah, so?” “So I can’t believe you play that.” She snarled in anger and disbelief. I walked away feeling like a piece of dirt. The craziest part though, was that the girl is actually a really nice person. A perfect example of how such an ingrained notion of group identity: “us vs. them” mentality can bring out the worst in people. By the way, I still play. It’s way too fun not to — Google it. Thankfully, there is more to Northern Ireland than old wounds healing. Some other stereotypes about the Emerald Isle also hold true. For example, on my first day I saw seven rainbows. I also saw about 1000 sheep. I have eaten the best potatoes in my life and have also acquired a taste for beans; staples of the Irish diet. To put it into perspective, potatoes are to Ireland as Tim Hortons is to Canada. Speaking of coffee, you can only get Emily Buck instant here. I know, I know, it’s disgusting, but back to those delicious spuds. While staying with a new friend in Gweedore Roarty, his tiny hometown in the South, I had the privilege of eating not one, but two Irish meals prepared by his father. Bear in mind, Mr. Roarty is 65 years old and still warms his house with peat logs he cuts himself from the bog up the road. Another thing — he doesn’t like vegetarians. Well, it’s not that he doesn’t like them but he thinks not eating meat is foolish. His idea of catering to my dietary needs was to make up for the lack of beef with extra carbohydrates. Six large ice cream scoops of mashed potatoes later I was finished my dinner. Yum. The next night was even better. My entire plate once again existed of one item, piled high, but this time the overdose was scrambled eggs induced. I wish I could tell you everything about what I’ve seen and experienced since I left the Loo behind for windy walks and open fields, but I think trying to fit it all into one mighty masterpiece would be too much. Besides, we can’t have all of you flying over here at once. What I can say though, is that despite their tragic past, the Irish are truly an interesting and friendly people. Their country is stunning. Barren and pure. Walking along its beaches, looking down upon jagged black cliffs and stepping in sheep turds has been the highlight of my year. I am in love with this little green world with its history and triumph; its pride and its passion. It is definitely good craic (Irish slang for “good fun and enjoyment;” pronounced “crack”) to say the least. I’ve only been left wanting in my search for instant wealth — where are all the leprechauns? I’ve got five more months to catch one.

Understanding student governance A five-part Imprint special report

Part 1: Structures of Power January 25, 2008

Part 2: Representation through History February 1, 2008

Part 3: The Electoral Process in Action February 8, 2008

Part 4: A Working Dynamic February 15, 2008

Part 5: Obstacles and Optimism February 22, 2008 JOANNA SEVILLA

Understanding student governance part 3 of 5: the electoral process in action

How do referenda work?

How do you run for Feds?

Tom Ellis staff reporter

Feds power at the end of term Ashley Csanady staff reporter

he election process for the Federation of Students actually starts in November, when the Student Council nominates a chief electoral officer to oversee the election process. In the past, this has traditionally been the executive researcher for Feds, currently Rick Theis, but it doesn’t have to be. Once this position is filled, the council then creates an elections committee who help the chief electoral officer administer the elections. This year, advertising for students to submit nomination forms began in December. While the official nomination period usually begins in early January, students can submit forms before this date if they so desire. The 20-day nomination period will vary from year-to-year, as the Federation’s Policies and procedures mandates that the elections must be held the week before reading week, which forces the chief electoral officer and committee to plan their electoral dates according to the university’s schedule. Only full members of the Federation of Students are eligible to run for office. However, every current full-time undergraduate student, students on co-op, or students who have paid fees in the preceding term and have shown intent to register in the following term have the rights of full membership. Feds executives also have the rights of full membership, so incumbents are also eligible to run for executive positions. Any potential nominee must also have 25 other full members of the Federation must sign a nomination form on the candidates behalf. Regardless of when the form is turned in, the candidates must wait for the start of 10 business day campaign period to open before commencing their campaign. Campaigning before the campaign period can result in being fined by the elections committee. Students who run for a seat on council must also be full members of the corporation. But unlike the executive positions, they only have to get five other members to sign on their behalf; however, they must be from the faculty that the councillor hopes to represent. Nomination forms are typically available from the Feds office. So that no one is prevented from running on a purely financial basis, all candidates who run for an executive position will be reimbursed for up to $300 from the Federation. To get this money, the candidates must submit a budget of their expenditures. Candidates do not get the money if they are disqualified, and candidates are disqualified if they go over budget. To get the reimbursement, candidates also must get 7 per cent of the vote. This money helps candidates pay for posters and other campaign materials, but also prevents inequality of resources between the candidates. acsanady@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Keegan Tremblay staff reporter

ne of the classic problems with the democratic process is its structure of short terms and the subsequent power struggles those short terms can cause. Many would say the largest problem caused by the short term structure is a government’s tendency to lose sight of the future, something that some say is evident with Canada’s recent failures in following Kyoto protocol. However, one of the most frustrating problems caused by short terms is the case of a lame duck. It can arise when government officials lose negotiating power at the end of their term because parties, which were once negotiating with the government in power, can wait out the remainder of the term knowing that the current government’s stance will likely not be held by the next government in power. As a result, the issue being negotiated will be dead if delayed long enough. In turn the politician involved in such negotiations becomes little more then a well paid figurehead; there, but ineffective. As the Feds current term comes to an end, with campaigns for next term now in full swing, the question lingers: are students paying lame Feds? The short answer is no, or at least that’s not what the current structure is set up to achieve. As it stands now the transition process is established in a way that insures continuity between old and new Feds members. The process includes a half-month training/transition period where new members sit in with old to learn and adapt the Feds direction. As a result any group negotiating with Feds at the end of term, should not gain bargaining power, as delaying an issue will not kill it. In turn incoming Feds will carry on negotiations outgoing Feds were involved in. Another power issue that can arise at this time of year is that of rerunning officials. The issue: how effective are officials in their old position if they intend to campaign for a new one or re-run for the same position? Feds Executive Researcher Rick Theis explains that Feds officials who choose to campaign for a new position “take an unpaid leave of absence.” In turn that official’s remaining duties are essentially doled out to the board executives where other officials fulfill them. As a result, all of the term duties are fulfilled despite an official campaigning. However, as Rick Theis explained, “this doesn’t happen very often.” ktremblay@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

longside the regualar ballot at this years FEDS election will be a referendum on two issues, whether to remove the CKMS fee and whether to introduce a $1 refundable fee for the Student Refugee Program. Referendums form an integral part of student governance, but what is a referendum, how do they work and what is their history at UW? A referendum is a method of direct democracy. This means that the electorate or voters are asked to decide directly on an issue instead of delegating that responsibility to, at UW, the elected Feds executive. They have the choice to either accept or reject the tabled question on a particular issue. Referenda can be iniated three different ways: a referendum can be called by the Feds board of directors, a referendum can be called by Feds council, and finally a referendum can be called by petition — if 10 per cent of Feds members (that’s full time undergrads) sign a petition to put a particular question to referendum, Feds has no choice but take the question to the students. In any referendum the phrasing of the question can be a complex process with both the “Yes” and “No” camp trying to gain an advantage. This is because the way the question is written can have an effect on those voting on it both if it is too complicated, putting people off, or if it is in the form of a leading question suggesting one option is more favourable. The result of a referendum will only be considered binding if certain prearranged conditions regarding the votes are met. These include a minimum number people voting — seven per cent of eligible voters must have cast ballots in favour of the winning side. In the run up to the referendum, campaigning takes place with the “Yes” and “No” camps canvassing for votes and explaining their side of the argument. It is important to note that both sides have many opportunities to present their arguments through debate, putting up poster, flyering and email. Perhaps the most controversial referendum was in 2005 on a refundable WPIRG fee which was over shadowed by allegations of underhanded election tactics such as vandalism. This culminated in the “Yes” camp being disqualified from campaigning for what was described by the referendum committee as “posting violations.” They were instructed to cease campaigning and all related operations, but refused leading to the postponement of the vote, described in the chief running officer’s report as “taking place under illegitimate circumstances.” Following the run up to the 2005 referendum and campaign on a refundable WPIRG fee, The chief running officer, Brandon Sweet, recommended that those canvassing on referenda “should be held to the same standard as election candidates.” At the University of Waterloo other recent referendums have seen the implementation of the Universal Bus Pass (U-Pass), and the creation of an Arts Endowment Fund following fierce debate. Information on the arguments both for and against this years referendums can be found online at http://vote.feds.ca/ tellis@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

joanna sevilla

yosef yip and joyce hsu

Feds Election 2008

VPED

Imprint, Friday, February 8, 2008

The vice-president of education deals with the extremes, dealing with students on a campus level (academic, co-op, etc) as well as interacting with student organizations at other campuses on the provincial and national level. Conference calls with politicians, speeches on education related topics and meeting one-onone with students wouldn’t be out of the ordinary in the day of a VPED. The VPED reports to the education advisory commitee and the board of directors, as well as overseeing a diverse group of offices.

: What experience do you have in student politics? A: I have not been involved in council, nor have I sat on the board. However, if people are interested in my credentials, I have been very, very involved in other jobs on campus. I’ve been on the board for WPIRG, and part of the exec council for Amnesty Student Association a number of times. I have worked a lot with the Student Life Office, I have been an orientation leader since 2004 with the Student Life Office, where 20 people are trained to then train about 1,000 people every year, and I’ve been running housing session for residences. Q: How do you think this experience will help you as a candidate? A: I think just the fact that I haven’t been involved in council before is definitely good, because I’m going in with the minimum of previous contact in terms of knowing councilors and everything. There are a lot of students who are involved with clubs, or who want to be involved, but there is some sort of disconnect happening in terms of what their ambitions are. Volunteer opportunities are definitely tied in with those ambitions, specifically groups that are very specific to an interest, or specific to certain peoples. I can use my experience with such specialized volunteer opportunities to make a connection. Q: What kind of relationship do you plan to foster with the federal and provincial government? A: The relationahip is primarily fostered through representative organizations and the political organizations. I definitely say I’d be following there, I’d be following the relationship that we have with them right now. That said I do think I would really like to raise a few important issues that I feel are left out at this point. For me one big issue is international students and the financial aid offered to them. I’m also interested in how some Muslim students can’t take loans for religious reasons, or for students in general whose parents are within a certain financial bracket, but are not offering them [direct] assistance. So I’ll be working on the primary issues, but I would also like to bring certain other issues to their agenda. Q: How do you plan to accomplish the goal of increasing awareness of the administration? A: You can check out my website, there you can also see the action plan. For each of my plans I have plans of action. Q: Do you feel that having an action plan is beneficial to you in this election? A: Before I ran, I didn’t want to run for about two months, because I didn’t want to run until I believed that I could make a difference. Interacting with students is the biggest strong point, and the second being, if you look through my website you will see that I have put a lot of work in here. I’ve been running things by 4 or 5 student groups and the current VPED.

Falcao

: What experience do you have in student politics? A: I was St Jerome’s Student Union first year representative, treasurer and Vice President, which involved representing over 800 students, as well as co-ordinating campaigns with the Ontario Undergraduate Student’s Association.

: What experience do you have in student politics? A: It’s extensive, I have been a past science society president, I am currently science councillor I sit on the Federation board of directors I am current Federation of Students Arts Commissioner, I’ve been a volunteer of the science society for many years.

Q: What did you co-ordinate? A: Things like the Blue Chair Campaign, as well as the Concert Kick Off for it, and Blue chair was really a good cause, it was organized to remind [everyone] about improving accessibility.

Q: How do you think this experience will help you as a candidate? A: Because the job, VPIN, is all about the clubs, services and societies, and I’ve been a president or volunteer of all of them! I’ve also sat on the internal planning and I come from extensive event planning experience, pretty much its what I’ve been doing for years anyways.

Q: How do you think this experience will help you as a candidate? A: Well I think working with OUSA will be extremely relevant, I’m already familiar with policy and structure. I have experience as an executive which is also very relevant. I’ve worked within administration before and […] St Jerome’s is kind of like its own little university, I’ve quarterbacked [projects] before. Q: What are some ideas you have that you would implement if elected? A: One idea is reforming the ELPE. Most students take the test during their first term of exams, and the test is to identify students with [difficulties] but by the time you’ve written it you’ve already gone through a term, which doesn’t help the point of the […] result. If we do the test in the summer […] online we can find out right away, the money saved can be used for the writing centre, which is in need of it. Q: A lot of students are concerned with the upcoming referendums on CKMS and WUSC, what are your feelings about these things? A: When it comes down to it, it is the choice of the students. It is an opportunity to hear the voice of the students, listen to their opinions, but as a Federation candidate I really can’t have a public stance, I wouldn’t want to […] influence the debate. So really, students control the fees and […] we will see what they want to do with them. Q: Do you feel that being a part of an aligned team gives you an advantage? Yes, definitely. [The aforementioned ELPE plan] was something that we came up with, discussed with each other. It’s good because, when you look at it, a lot of our platforms are overlapping and our vision is very similar on a lot of things. A major part is seeing Feds as a whole, when you have candidates who know what they want to do with their position, but don’t have that connection with the other executives … then Feds isn’t a whole, people won’t exactly co-exist as well as they could. [Team alignment] allows us to operate Feds as a whole.

The vice-president internal is responsible for the supervision of clubs and Feds services, as well ensuring open communication between students and their representatives. The VPIN is also responsible for heading innitiatives regarding diversity and student life, as well as other smaller committees. The VPIN’s activities can be very different from day-to-day but include issues of internal funding, looking at requests, advising student proposals and requesting cheques, as well as answering student and UW staff questions.

Fuentes

Ahmed

VPIN

Feds Election 2008

Q: A lot of students are concerned with the upcoming referendums on CKMS and WUSC, what are your feelings about these things? A: I’m actually very pro WUSC and I’m definitely on the No committee for CKMS. For some students it’s the idea of getting their refund back, and they say that it’s an unbearable 20 minutes away, well, the Federation should work with CKMS to make it easier to get their refund, because CKMS apparently has come to Feds multiple time to say can we get an office or something in the SLC and have constantly been denied. That’s not how you go about doing things, you have to work with these external organizations in order to provide the best services for people. And regarding WUSC, well it’s a one dollar fee, in my mind I think of the fact that it’s refundable. Q: Do you feel that your non alignment will help you? A: I definitely think so, I’ve never been a fan of ticket politics. In my mind, the average student will look at it and say well I like one person from “team red” but I have to vote for the other person, so its kind of difficult to differentiate people. We clump everyone together, we miss the point we lack the diversity of voices when they all speak in one unified voice, I just don’t like it. Q: Do you feel that not being on a ticket will make interaction with other Feds difficult if you are elected? A: I actually don’t think so. I have pretty good relationship with Stephen Hayle, even though I might beat him, but I also have a good relationship with Justin Williams, with Del [Peirara] and others, and throughout the Feds election we’ve become a lot closer. I find that basically I’m an agreeable person, it takes a lot for me to not like someone.

Hayle

: What experience do you have in student politics? A: I’ve been involved since my first year […] I’ve served on Feds board of directors, and, although it’s not really a form of student government, I’ve been on the SLC Management Board which I think is important because of its structure. I’ve been an Arts Senator, part of the Arts Student Union. Through this experience, I’m familiar with long range plans. Q: How do you feel this experience will help you as a candidate? A: Well, number one, I have experience with board and the Feds Internal Administration Committee, I know the structure of student governance, things like bylaws, the issues and what is facing them. Second is my experience as an ASU exec where I made it my responsibility to keep ASU and Feds connected, and as VPIN it’s a lot of the same responsibility going the other way, keeping Feds connected and serving as a liason with all the societies. Q: A lot of students are concerned with the upcoming referendums on CKMS and WUSC, what are your feelings about these things? A: I prefer to let the students vote on this issue. It is important to gather as much information as possible though, on these issues. Remember, also, that [if I am elected] I will have to be working through Feds on these things. I think it’s really up to the students, though, to see where this goes. Q: Do you feel that being part of an aligned team will help you? A: I think, yes, it definitely has helped, being involved with others who are running, people who I share the same ideals and values as. I think that working together we can best represent students and empower students. Another great thing about working as a part of a team is that we’ve really found something in each other, and students will find too that we all really bring our own unique ideas, goals and values to come together, and that really helps. Q: Will your aligned status help you if you are elected? A: Again, definitely yes. Knowing each other as a team during the election, I think, is something that is key to working together as a Federation, as well as involving students. It’s really up to the students to let us know how to work best for them.

photos by michael l. davenport

Science & St. Jerome’s Seats

To vote for one of the five candidates running for the four science councillor seats you must be a student within the science faculty, and to vote for one of the two candidates running for the one St. Jerome’s seat, you must be in a program at St. Jerome’s.

The Acclaimed

Those acclaimed to the three math council seats are Ian Kasper, Sumaiya Tasneem and Xin Yuan. The five arts council seats went to Sarah Cook, Veronica Fredericks, Ralon Nazareth, Lu Jiang and Bronwen Morris. The three engineering council seats went to Jeffrey Aho, Abhilash Jayakumar and Han Xu. The one enviromental science council seat was acclaimed to Dan DesRosiers.

Left to right: Science council seat candidates Yuwei Liang, Matthew Colphon, Rosalyn Chiu, Humberto Vigil-Gutierrez and Sam Andrey and St. Jerome’s Council seat candidates Christopher Neal and Sebastien Kundra. joyce hsu

Feds Election 2008

Imprint, Friday, February 8, 2008

The choices are yours Understanding the WUSC referendum ““Do you support the implementation of a refundable fee to support the University of Waterloo World University Service of Canada Student Refugee Program at the University of Waterloo, at a cost of $1.00, to be paid by every full-time undergraduate student as part of the Federation of Students’ Administered Fees each academic term that they are enrolled in classes on the University of Waterloo campus, to be implemented through a system designed at the discretion of the Federation of Students, and to begin in the Fall 2008 term?”?” David Yip staff reporter

uesday February 12 brings a little Super Tuesday of our own to Waterloo. Beginning that day until Thursday the 14, students will be able to cast their vote for two Feds executive positions. Also at stake is a vote on the accompanying referenda on removing the CKMS Radio Waterloo fee and a separate question on adding a $1 fee to tuition in support of the Student Refugee Program (SRP) run by the World University Service of Canada (WUSC). The SRP facilitates the entry of some 50 student refugees into Canada to study as permanent residents in Canadian universities. Students in refugee camps apply to the program and are admitted on the basis of English proficiency, academic performance, and community involvement in the camps, according to the “Yes” committee, formed to promote the successful passing of the referendum. Local Canadian committees of WUSC also raise funds and negotiate with their respective schools to offset the cost supporting the student. Under Citizenship and Immigration Canada rules, WUSC must provide all funds required for sponsored student’s first year in Canada. The program supports refugees for a minimum of one year (sometimes two), and after that WUSC students — who become permanent residents — work through the regular OSAP system, or pay their own way through jobs. “Like any other students they are working towards self-reliance,” said Lisa ter Woort, also a WUSC advisor. “The program offers an opportunity, a foot in the door. After that it’s up to the students to make the most of it.” Supporters of the program say it is a unique opportunity for bright refugee students to get a post-secondary education. According to Lynne LeBlanc, senior program officer for the Student Refugee Program, WUSC is a “unique-to-Canada” aid program, with the concept of youth sponsoring youth to pursue higher education not as well reflected, institutionally, in other parts of the world. Waterloo’s first sponsored student is Tariku Kebede. Kebede is in second year science. Born in Ethiopia, he spent most of his childhood in Camp Kakuma, one of two refugee camps in Kenya. In Waterloo Kebede stayed at St. Paul’s College, which alongside Conrad Grebel University College supported the program with food and boarding waivers. Meanwhile, the Ontario government provided overall programming for WUSC, helping in the selection process, providing language/preparatory classes, and more. Kebede’s expenses from September 2006 to August 2007 totaled $24520, according to UW SRP’s budget. The majority of donors are institutions such as the Office of the President, which contributed $4520, St Paul’s United College, which contributed $8255, Feds, which contributed $2000, and the Rotary Club of Kitchener-Grand River, which contributed $1330. Individual donors also contributed cash or goods. WUSC has also been working to provide education on a two-way street, with plans to send a few Canadian university students into refugee camps for six weeks, so they can bring back that knowledge to their respective schools and classmates, though these efforts have been hindered by recent violence in Kenya. The “Yes” committee also points out that sponsored students also often give back to the school community in many ways. For example, Kebede presented at a WPIRG Human Rights Conference in Fall 2007.

Efforts to call a referendum on the topic began in Fall 2006, when WUSC asked the Student Council to call a referendum, and again in Fall 2007. Both attempts were unsuccessful. According to Feds President Kevin Royal, the council then expressed concerns over setting a precedent for student club fundraising through Feds, and also over the administration of the fee. The council also questioned appropriateness of calling a referendum through the council itself, encouraging WUSC to call the referendum through petition instead. WUSC successfully collected over 3000 signatures on its petition, leading to a referendum as required by Feds bylaws. The “No” committee, which had not been formed in time for the all-candidates debate held on January 31, is led by Ian Kasper. “Our position does not relate to the merit of the charity, [but] the precedent it sets.” The committee questions the appropriateness of Feds administering a fee for a student organization, and raises the possibility that it may even be out of Feds jurisdiction to administer a fee on behalf of an independent organization. Even if Feds were to administer a fee, the committee argues, there is no particular reason to support WUSC over any other organization. As an alternative, the committee proposes that a “Feds Charitable Fund” could be established, collecting money from each student, but then distributing it to a variety of student groups as necessary. The committee further notes that sustainability of funding was a reason cited by the “Yes” side in support of the fee. The “No” committee argues that this may indicate that “students on campus are not committed to the cause”, or that the WUSC fundraising efforts have not been aggressive enough. Finally, the “No” committee argues that such a fee would open the door to many student clubs attempting to raise money in this way. Asked what he felt about arguments against the WUSC referendum question, Kebede said: “I cannot blame [students] for their views because they have not seen what I have seen. I know if they could only see what it means to live [in refugee camps] they would surely not think the same way … but I do not blame them.” In response to the “No” committee’s assertion that WUSC should do its own fundraising and administer said funds outside of Feds, Nicola Weston, UW WUSC co-chair and a science and business student, said that the organization is already “fundraising like crazy,” but that the implementation of a levy will provide “the kind of sustainability a program like this needs to offer a fair chance to these students.” The “Yes” committee also noted that fees for WUSC at other universities such as Wilfrid Laurier and the University of Victoria have not led to other student groups attempting to fundraise in a similar manner. Feds itself is neutral on the issue, with Feds President Kevin Royal noting that it is up to students to decide. However, should the referendum pass, Royal says that the implementation of the fee itself is one of his biggest projects in the coming months, as well as working with WUSC on creating its constitution. Asked about his own aims, Kebede said, “Like everybody else, I have my own goals. And I want to prove to others that people from refugee camps can make their dreams become a reality. I am not ashamed of where I come from; I am very proud to be from a refugee camp. My success is used to inspire other people in the refugee camps, so they go to school and try very hard to do the same. This gives them hope.” dyip@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

CKMS at a glance “Do you support the removal of the $5.50 per term fee for CKMS, the campus community radio station at the University of Waterloo, effective the Fall term of 2008?” Michael L. Davenport assistant editor-in-chief

Voting YES will remove the $5.50 fee from the statement of all full-time undergrads, but also deprive CKMS of 90 per cent of its funding. There has been no concensus on what effect the funding removal will have on CKMS. Voting NO will maintain the status quo.

The Yes side • “If no one knows about it, how do people benefit from it?” Mang Pui Lau, “Vote ‘YES’ to Remove the CKMS Student Fee!” • “My issues are issues of governance and accountability and transparency, not content.”Jeffery Aho, Media forum. • Yes committee alleges that CKMS has violated the Canadian Corporations Act several times, including but not limited to providing insufficient notice for Annual General Meetings, secret votes on removal of directors, and not making meeting minutes readily available. They also allege CKMS is poorly run; process for equipment procurement and replacement are not followed, and in essence have been co-opted by the station manager and technical director. • “At one point at CKMS, I was discouraged however by the lack of student participation and status quo operations of CKMS, and relinquished my role as I realized that it would be impossible for me to create meaningful change. I don’t think it’s a matter of creating change at this point, it’s a matter of realizing that students are not benefitting as greatly as they can from their funds and there are other ways to go about supporting the arts.” — Dan MacLeod, “I support CKMS” facebook wall

The No side • CKMS raises the profile of the University of Waterloo by turning out volunteers who go on to excel in the broadcasting industry. (e.g., Caitlin Crockard, the regional music producer of CBC Radio.) Crockard said, “As a University of Waterloo and CKMS alumna, I can honestly say that I wouldn’t be where I am today without the welcoming, supportive and learning environment of CKMS.” (Source: CKMS website) • Benefits students as a whole to have access to a “huge diversity of student programming.” • CKMS is available both on the internet and online. • Radio Waterloo makes available a professional quality recording studio, which can be used by students at a greatly reduced rate. • CKMS broadcasts Warriors sporting events live. • CRTC requires that broadcasting licenses are held by independent corporations (not universities or student unions) thus FedS cannot start their own FM station anyway. • While web streaming can provide a diversity of music, they lack a “human presence”. according to Ira Sherr. (Source: “I support CKMS” Facebook group.)

Same facts, different facets

The following statements were taken from YES and NO campaign materials. They’re all true but worded differently. See if you can spot the subtle differences in meaning. “UW undergraduate students contribute 90 per cent of the funding, yet hold only 57 per cent of board seats and make up only 34.5 per cent of volunteers.” (Source: Remove the CKMS student fee)

“Undergraduate students and UW alumni run and program half the shows on CKMS and make up 60 per cent” (Source: Feds CKMS NO page)

“$220,500.00 – Students contribute over 25 times more money to CKMS than to Feds services.” (source: YES poster)

“...pennies a day to support diverse and creative student programming.” (source: NO poster)

For more information CKMS YES sites: defundckms.wordpress.com http://uwaterloo.facebook.com/group.php?gid=7678604143 CKMS NO sites: http://supportckms.blogspot.com/ http://uwaterloo.facebook.com/group.php?gid=7629008346 Note: There has also been a lot of debate on the wall of the “I support CKMS” page: http://uwaterloo.facebook.com/group.php?gid=17508440153 mdavenport@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Follow Imprint Online on Friday, February 15, 2008 for Feds election results and Imprint interviews with your newly elected representatives. www.imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Campus Bulletin ANNOUNCEMENTS “Morning Drive Radio Show” – 6:30 to 9 a.m., www.ckmsfm.ca >click on webcast, for the latest news, traffic, school closures, interviews and a great mix of music! To get your important events on the air, e-mail morningdrivel@yahoo.ca. If you have an interesting person that CKMS should interview call 519-884-2567 between 6:30 to 9 a.m....qualify for a prize! Win $1000, $500 or $200 award. UW, UWO, WLU, or U of G students. Submit transcript, cover letter, and two technical communication samples. Deadline February 29, 2008. Go to http://www.stc-soc.org/awards/ thiessenaward.php. Doon Heritage Crossroads – February is workshop month – needlework, candlewick embroidery and genealogy. Call 519-748-1914 for info. Exchanges for undergraduates and graduates – 2008/09 academic years: Ontario/Rhone-Alpes, France, Ontario/Baden-Wurtemberg, Germany and Ontario/Maharastra-Goa, India. Scholarships available, for applications/deadlines please contact Maria Lango, ext 33999. MICEFA, Paris, France and the Chinese University of Hong Kong – internal deadline: March 17, 2008. For information and application forms contact Maria Lango, International Programs, Waterloo International, Needles Hall 1101, room 1113, ext 33999 or by e-mail mlango@uwaterloo.ca. Considering transferring to the Accounting and Financial Management program? Submit a Plan Modification form by Friday, February 15 to Carol Treitz, School of Accounting and Finance, HH290B, ext 36537. Forms available at the Registrar’s Office. Nominations are requested for one student elected by/from the fulltime undergraduate students, term from May 1, 2008 to April 30, 2010. Nomination forms are available from the Secretariat, ext 36125, and from the Secretariat website. At least five nominators are required in each case. Completed nomination forms should be submitted to the Chief Return-

ing Officer, Secretariat, NH 3060, no later than 4:30 p.m., Friday, February 22, 2008. A by-election will follow if necessary. Refer to the Senate website for information about Senate and its Committees/Councils.

CO-OP/CAREER SERVICES

“Career Exploration and Decision Making” – Thursday, February 14 at 2:30 to 4:30 p.m., TC 1112. “Career Interest Assessment” – Tuesday, February 12 at 2:30 to 4 p.m., TC 1112 or Thursday, February 28 at 3 to 4:30 p.m., TC 1112. “Exploring Your Personality” – Part I: Wednesday, February 27 at 10 to 11:30 a.m., TC 1112. Part II: Monday, February 11 at 2:30 to 4:30 p.m., TC 1112 or Wednesday, March 5 at 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., TC1112. “Special Session for International Students” – Wednesday, February 27 at 4:30 to 6 p.m., TC 1208. “Business Etiquette and Professionalism” – Thursday, February 14 at 10:30 to 11:30 a.m., TC 1208. “Success on the Job” – Tuesday, February 26 at 3:30 to 4:30 p.m., TC 1208. “Successfully Negotiating Job Offers” – Wednesday, February 27 at 10:30 to 11:30 a.m., TC 1208. “Getting a U.S.- Work Permit” – Thursday, February 28 at 4:30 to 6 p.m., TC 1208. “Writing CVs and Cover Letters” – Monday, February 25 at 12 to 1:30 p.m., TC 2218.

CHURCH SERVICE

St. Bede’s chapel at Renison College offers worship on Sundays at 10:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. or take a break midweek with a brief silence followed by Celtic noon prayers on Wednesdays. Come and walk the labyrinth the second Thursday of each month, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. For more info contact Megan at 519-884-4404, ext 28604 or

www.renison.uwaterloo.ca/ministrycentre.

UPCOMING

Tuesday, February 12, 2008 WPIRG presents “Anonymously Yours” – a film about human trafficking and sexual exploitation. The film chronicles the merchandising of women in a land afflicted with staggering poverty and widespread corruption. Physics, room 145 at 5:30 p.m. Friday, February 15, 2008 Considering transferring to the Accounting and Financial Management program? Submit a Plan Modification form by today to Carol Treitz, School of Accounting and Finance, HH290B, ext 36537. Forms available at the Registrar’s Office. Saturday, February 16, 2008 Women’s Crisis Services of Waterloo Region is proud to present “Hockey Night in Waterloo Region with NHL hockey legend Darryl Sittler,” at St. George Banquet Hall, 665 King Street N, Waterloo. Call 519-653-8966, ext 239 or shelly.friesen@wcswr.org for more info. Tuesday, February 26, 2008 Spend a semester or a year in Germany while earning UW credits. Exchange info session at 3 to 4 p.m. in ML 245. For more info scwood@ uwaterloo.ca.

VOLUNTEER Volunteer with a child at their school and help improve their self-esteem and confidence. One to three hours a week commitment. Call Canadian Mental Health 519-744-7645, ext 229. City of Waterloo, 519-888-6488 or volunteer@city.waterloo.on.ca has many volunteer opportunities. Check out the website today. Volunteer Action Centre, 519-7428610 or www.volunteerkw.ca, has many opportunities available – visit the website or call today! The Kitchener Youth Action Council

is currently seeking volunteers aged 14-24 who are concerned about issues facing youth and young adults across Kitchener. For more info e-mail youth@kitchener.ca. Distress Line Volenteers Wanted Canadian Mental Health Association is seeking caring volunteers to provide supportive listening and crisis deescalation to callers living in Waterloo Region. Please call 519-744-7645, ext 300. The tri-Pride Community Association is looking for people to get involved with various projects leading up to Pride Week 2008 which will take place during the month of June. For more info e-mail info@tri-Pride. ca or www.tri-Pride.ca.

COUNSELLING SERVICES English Language Proficiency Program (ELPP) – all workshops are scduled bertween 9:30 and 11:30 a.m.. Monday, February 4 or Tuesday, February 5 – “Critique Writing.” Monday, February 11 or Tuesday, February 12 – “Punctuation.” Monday, February 25 or Tuesday, February 26 – “Articles/ Prepositions/Pronouns.” For more info/registration call 519-888-4567, ext 32655 or kmaclean@uwaterloo.ca or ext 33245.

Classifieds HELP WANTED

HOUSING

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. Angies Kitchen, Waterloo, needs part-time line cooks and waitstaff. Flexible hours. Bring resume to 45 Erb Street, Waterloo, attention: Teresa. 519-886-2540. Assistant/secretary for composer/ producer– applicant must be dependable, punctual, creative and passionate about music. Part-time. Apply by mailing HAND WRITTEN reply to: Assistant, Box 43041, Kitchener, ON, N2H 3K0.

Attention Cambridge School of Architecture students! Live conveniently and comfortably right across the street from school in this beautifully renovated apartment. 4, 8 and 12-month leases available with excellent signing bonuses and rental incentives! Call Darlene or Joanne at 519-746-1411 for more details. Free 32” TV or BBQ for the first 10 groups! Spacious three and four bedroom townhouses available for May or September. Newly renovated, private backyards, patio, free laundry and parking. Call 519-572-0278 or visit www.domushousing.com. Spacious, well maintined house available to rent at 11 McDougall Road. Only five minute walk to UW campus. Utilities and internet included in rent of $425/month. Contact 519-893-2000 or rooms4students@gmail.com. Four/five bedroom house for rent. Close to UW. Call 1-905-509-3284 or e-mail gord010@sympatico.ca.

COURSE INFO SP-100 Forest Firefighting course to be held in London, Ontario March 1216, 2008 and Waterloo, Ontario March 19-23, 2008. Course will be held during evening hours during the week. To register, please call Wildfire Specialists Inc., 2233 Radar Road, Suite 5, Hanmer, Ontario, P3P 1R2, toll free 1-877381-5849. Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources accredited. No guarantee of employment.

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Arts

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Imprint, Friday, February 8, 2008

Ally Gore will save your FASS Cait Davidson staff reporter

hat do Earth, Wind and Fire, Yuko Bono and David Sudoko have in common? Why, FASS of course! In Global Warming: Kiss your FASS Goodbye, solving global warming isn’t the real issue; trying to figure out whether to laugh or groan at the one-liners delivered onstage at this year’s FASS performance is. The clever lines aren’t the only thing FASS has going for it this year. The music, set to popular tunes with a little artistic licence on the lyrics, is catchy and will be stuck in your head for days. After watching the first official dress rehearsal, it’s clear that this year’s show will be fun — but these jokes aren’t for the whole family. Nothing is sacred in this FASS, and the show wouldn’t be as amusing if anything was. No matter what offends you, be it the casual use of Playboy as a prop or the string of curse words uttered by one actress, you’ll find it in Hagey Hall, February 7 to 9. Bill O’Reilly, Bono, George Bush, “Steve-O” Harper and more all take hits this year. At times the show is an eclectic group of scenes that mostly come together in the end. The three hour show seems a bit long at times, but that’s only when you’re in between scenes or jokes. While some of the scenes seem unnecessary, they all point toward an end that ties up the show. While it may not be a lecture by Al (or Ally) Gore, Global Warming: Kiss your FASS Goodbye, does send a message out to its audience. The message it’s sending? Global warming is bad. Now that you know that much, I’d seriously recommend this musical. While it wasn’t perfectly polished and the actors aren’t as prepared as they will be on Thursday, this show has amazing potential. Great vocals, with the exception of one young lady who is adorable on stage, but has lost her voice this week. The choreography was still being perfected; as well, some of the lines and song lyrics were still unsure. If by Wednesday these flaws are fixed (and I’m sure they will be), this will be a FASStastic show. With a live rock band in the orchestra pit, the music was good. Without mics for the actors, hearing the lines may be an issue for the audience. When the lines are delivered loud and clear and the songs are played perfectly, it’s a show to make director Russell Wong and producer Robert Burke very proud. When asked his opinion of the show, Wong commented that it’s one of the best shows FASS has put on in his 10 years of involvement. This is his first year of directing. Wong took a moment to discuss the show with me. He discussed the three things that keep FASS running. First there are the old cast members that form the core of actors and actresses who constantly come back and eventually become directors and producers like himself and Burke. Then the new cast members, who will keep coming back and replacing the members who are graduating or moving on. Then there’s the audience. The audience comes and enjoys the show every year; many people watch the show and join FASS in the following year because the cast looked like they were having so much fun on stage. Wong mentioned that around 50 per cent of the cast this year were new, which has presented new opportunities and challenges. The global warming theme has been suggested before, and this year the FASS committee chose global warming simply for the chance to have dancing bears in the show. As with every FASS show, it’s amateur theatre that is meant to bring fun and laughter into the lives of others. While you may not enjoy it for its moderately good quality theatre, if you walk into the show expecting a fun night full of laughter and a few groans, you’ll enjoy this year’s production. cdavidson@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

The brawl at the big brotherhood meeting breaks out over the business benefits of global warming.

Photos by David Yip

Esteemed religious figures speak on FASS News Network about their pay-as-you-go religion.

Arts

Imprint, Friday, February 8, 2008

UW as the next “it” brand? Sukhpreet Sangha staff reporter

ince first seeing BRANDED, the current exhibit at Render, I have been proudly sporting my orange punk-band sized button with BRANDED written across it. Every time it’s noticed, it’s assumed to be a comment on my own brandedness and that of society in general, leading me to explain where I got it and what it is actually advertising — Halifax artist Cathy Busby’s new art exhibit focusing on the marketing rhetoric of universities. Busby combines university ‘brandmarks’ or slogans with broader advertising catchphrases in an almost frighteningly seamless array of wall text. Each white wall in the gallery features blocks of stencilled black text painted on various background colours taken from an American advertising firm’s colours of 2008. Each grouping is united by a theme, which themes are identified on a legend available to viewers and include “think,” “excellence,” and “world.” Busby has also placed the stencils used to paint the text on the floor in front of each wall, in different formations and with some words upside down, in an effort to expose the artistic process. The stencilled, capital block letters Busby uses do well for the readability of her slogans, and it is primarily the words she chooses that matter, or at least the marketing campaigns they represent. Her own work, at first glance, can appear like an advertisement for advertisements. The exhibit was commissioned by Render’s curator, Andrew Hunter, when he met Busby in Halifax and she mentioned she was working on a project on advertising and how universities promote themselves. Hunter notes that Render tries to engage the university and 1/4pg_stomp_imprint:Layout 1

Rocky Choi

Render’s latest exhibit BRANDED by Cathy Busby explores themes of advertising and marketing of universities using a text-based installation. The showing runs until February 16, so check it out to take a different look at how universities brand themselves. its environment, and Busby’s theme fits this mandate rather well. Busby’s concept was especially timely since Hunter was in the process of re-branding the former University of Waterloo Art Gallery as Render when he met Busby, making it part of the branding culture the work comments on. 1/21/08 3:10 PM Page 1

Busby’s work has multiple formats: the text-based main installation in East Campus Hall, a banner with the theme of ‘spirit’ in the Modern Languages Building’s foyer, and a banner at the School of Architecture in Cambridge. A BRANDED publication and website will also

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be released in approximately one month. According to Hunter, the BRANDED book will be different than your typical gallery catalogue, and it will be available at Render as well as ten international art and book stores. On top of the BRANDED and Render pins available at the exhibition, there are BRANDED napkins — a comment on the pervasive nature of branding. The BRANDED banner in the Modern Languages building, with its bold black capital letters and bright colours striping the background, keys in on the theme of ‘spirit’ and includes UW’s own 50th anniversary slogan. This model of display, used in all of Busby’s BRANDED work, highlights the blatancy of the advertising slogans emblazoned on it, which permeate our culture so thoroughly and inform our discourse such that we no longer notice them. They become unremarkable.

But Busby corrects this in her new exhibit, as well as in past works which also highlight advertising and new media, forcing viewers to examine the slogans. Her juxtaposition of university slogans with those of multinational corporations highlights their tactical similarities, while also throwing into relief the differences in the organizations and institutions employing them. Her work asks whether the tactics employed by companies and universities should actually be so similar and as a necessary corollary, what the effect of this similarity is. BRANDED opened January 10 and runs until February 16; if you’re lucky, a visit on Valentine’s Day and a subsequent examination of branding just might excuse that forgotten bouquet. ssangha@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Arts

Imprint, Friday, February 8, 2008

Comicist courting

hen I look at the world of comics, a lot of the artists out there are actually pretty normal folk. They eat, sleep, play video games, watch movies, read books — you name it. To add, the community of comic artists and writers that I admire are just that; they’re friends and family. And since Valentine’s Day is around the corner, I thought I’d share with you guys about a more intimate side of comics. From reading a good amount of comics and reading many of the artists’ blogs, it’s pretty common that two comicists will hook up with each other. I was actually reminded of it by the current blog posts of Jeph Jacques (Questionable Content) about getting engaged to his girlfriend and comicon-business partner Christi. Seriously though, it’s actually really cute if you think about it. Kazu Kibuishi (www.boltcity.com) is revered for his work, and is known to the world as the author and artist of Copper, a comic about a traveller and his dog in a surreal world. As well, he’s the editor of Flight, a series of comic anthologies from an extensive list of other collaborators and one of my favourite set of comics. While he is married to webcomic artist Amy Kim Ganter (www.felaxx.com), don’t assume that she doesn’t get any spotlight. She’s been featured many times in the Flight anthologies, but she’s also known for many other works like TOKYOPOP’s Rising Stars of Manga competition-winner Sorcerers & Secretaries (which is now being serialized) and her webcomic Reman Mythology. Both of them — not just altogether, but on their own — have a lot under their belt. One of my favourite couples is comicists Dave Roman and Raina Telgemeier. Their marriage is, I think, one of the most well known of the indie comic world, because of how it was brought to the public. Roman (Nickelodeon Magazine, Astronaut Elementary) proposed to Telgemeier (Smile, The Baby-Sitters’ Club graphic novels) in one of the coolest ways I’ve ever seen; he drew a comic that led up to the moment he proposed to her on a plane. It’s a really good comic too, with great humour and a nice sense of warmth throughour. If you guys

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want to read this comic, you can find it at http://www.webcomicsnation. com/daveroman/engaged/series. php. I’ve seen them twice — both at the Paradise Toronto Comicon and at the Toronto Comic Arts Festival (TCAF) — and I’ll admit, they’re a pretty cool duo. Speaking of TCAF, I had the chance to meet Bryan Lee O’Malley and Hope Larson, who are two really keen people. O’Malley probably well-known for Scott Pilgrim, a series of graphic novels that pays homage to video games, involving Scott having to defeat a girl’s seven evil ex-boyfriends to date her. Larson known for quite a few comics too, such as Salamander Dream, a comic about a girl and her imaginary friend, and Chiggers, a comic set in a summer camp that is currently almost done in production from Simon & Schuster. It’s weird because I had completely opposite vibes from both of them upon meeting them — Larson always smiling and O’Malley holding a stoic rock-star visage — yet they looked perfect for each other. I wish these guys and gals all the best in their lives. I’ve seen great things come from the hands of comic artists, so it’s awesome to see that some of these comicists have such a strong connection. ptrinh@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Joyce Hsu

Gamer Grievances

fter many painstaking hours of making progress through Rock Band’s “Ultimate Set List,” you can be sure that you will be interrupted before glory for your band can be had. When the inevitable yippy dog or hunger pains kick in, you can be sure that they won’t be as easy to get rid of as those hours of sleep were. These plagues are something that, deep down, every gamer knows is inevitable and must be dealt with much like any of Bioshock’s Big Daddies. I give you the list of the top annoyances faced by gamers.

The bare necessities: Essential to not only our gaming needs, but also that of our day-to-day lives, are our bodily functions. Despite how well-known the routine of eat/ pee/sleep is, it cannot help but annoy even the most seasoned of gamers. Nothing says sure-death in Counterstrike like that sudden need to run to the bathroom. Solution? Tackle these problems pre-emptively and don’t get too far into battle, or even jumping in the game, without making sure all your basic needs are met.

The domestic unit: When finally attaining a group for Scholomance after a whole day of searching, there’s bound to be someone at home that wants to interject. Forget trying to explain to them the delicate details of grouping in World of Warcraft, or that other people are depending on you now. Non-gaming household members cannot get around the idea of a game you can’t pause or simply just turn off (note: Flying Mounts do not count as a pause button). Any attempts to disrupt this preconceived notion during the interruption will often serve no good other than for you to waste more time and ultimately lose your group. Solution? Try to talk to family members or roommates ahead of

time. If you let them know a time that you have set aside for your gaming of the day, they may be less likely to bother you during that time. It’s key here to stress although you love and/or respect them, certain gaming moments need their solidarity.

The time machine (a.k.a. the Void): We’ve all experienced this at some point. Even Halo can easily fall victim to a loss of electricity that drives it. In the most mediocre (yet often just as devastating circumstances), this can be as simple as the battery draining from your portable or laptop. In the most terrifying scenario, a full-out power outage shifts us back into the Dark Ages of board games, cards and family time. *shiver* Let’s not think about how long this torment of the Void can last, let alone the fact that no amount of cat-on-treadmill power or candlelight will bring your games back. What makes this last scenario all the more devastating is the likelihood of lost progress in any non auto-saving game. During a power outage, you can pretty much say goodbye to those last three hours of level grinding in Final Fantasy XII. Light returning means it is time for you to incite your gaming renaissance. Solution? Buy a battery backup or generator to try and give you at least enough juice to save your game, before the inevitable happens

The unending challenge of “IRL”: The very worst part of the distraction tree is what is known as “the real world.” The gaming-gods require us to work to support our needs. Without

electricity or food, we can’t venture off to fight or explore our gaming realities. Though farming and township life may seem like an “exciting” occupation when shown in Harvest Moon, monotonous tasks in real life aren’t nearly as rewarding. Despite the fact that it is an never-ending battle between the gaming realm and that of real life, it is important to remember that though we fight the valiant fight to remain on our gaming worlds, it is important not to neglect the martyrdom of maintaining our real life alongside. A happy gamer is a balanced gamer, no matter how annoying real life may initially be. Solution? As they say, “absence makes the heart grow fonder,” so why not believe that a little time away from your game will make you love them more? If need be Zuma, Peggle and Bejeweled are always available online for your procrastination pleasure, not to mention that thing we call “imagination” to keep you going till you’re at home again.

Honourable mention: In our modern day of wireless supremacy, we are less and less plagued by the yanking of controller cords from tripping feet. At one point, we thought that these frustrating days would not end. We were a people beset by falling consoles, frozen games or even defeat due to a lack of controller connection. To the geeks of the gaming industry who finally eliminated this by creating wireless controllers, headsets and longer power cords, I salute you. Pets can now be put to better use — such as perfecting that cat-on-treadmill power generator to prepare for the coming of the next gamers’ Dark Age. jrickert@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Arts

Imprint, Friday, February 8, 2008

Chinese vision, american eyes The Eye David Moreau and Xavier Palud Lionsgate

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ydney Wells (Jessica Alba) sees dead people. As a blind violin player, Alba stars in the American remake of the Chinese horror movie, The Eye. After getting a double cornea transplant, she goes from four senses to six â&#x20AC;&#x201D; gaining the ability to see into the spirit world. So why The Eye? If inheriting a pair of new eyes is the reason for Albaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new gift, why not pluralize the title? The answer here is the main problem with this remake.

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The stripping of Chinese culture has many negative impacts on the remake when compared to the original. In both versions, the main character repeatedly runs into a ghost of a little boy who haunts the hallway of her apartment. The boy is doomed to repeat the most painful moment of his life, the moments leading up to his suicide when he lost his report card and was afraid to his strict parents wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t believe him. An explanation of this is provided in the Chinese version of the movie when the main characterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mother consults a shaman/fortuneteller. This piece of information is a strong belief in Chinese culture,

and also foreshadows certain events that happen towards the end of the movie. The original Eye was a brilliant film. Not because of its storyline, nor because of its actors, but because of its display of Chinese culture. Taking away these elements is like taking the rhetoric techniques, the analytical aspect of a well written book. If you want a movie that provokes your intellect, and is filled with culture, skip The Eye and download the original version. Otherwise, if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re looking for a cheap horror thrill, go see the remake. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Dinh Nguyen

A mellow, soulful time

bgdiamonds-golde@sympatico.ca

LSAT MCAT GMAT GRE

David Moreau and Xavier Paludsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; The Eye is stripped of almost all cultural context. In the original, the concept of seeing the spirit world is based on the notion of a third eye â&#x20AC;&#x201D; an invisible entity that exist in the spiritual world. In traditional Chinese culture, it is believed that every individual is born with a third eye. Most are closed, some rare people are born with them open. Having an active third eye allows a person to see the spirit world. In the original movie, inheriting a personâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cornea, also means inheriting their opened spiritual eye. Hence the singular form in the title is referencing a spiritual eye, a concept that is lost without Chinese culture.

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wenty Two Fourteenâ&#x20AC;? from the 2004 album In A Safe Place by The Album Leaf. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a tune that will act as a pillow to your head as it rests against a Greyhound bus window in the dark of night. Dreamy â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and just in time for reading week travels. This is one of those songs that makes you think youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re in a music video. With this song playing in your ears, all of your daily activities seem important, perhaps even beautiful, if you can handle the notion. The Album Leaf was started as a solo project by artist Jimmy LaValle in 1998. At the time, LaValle was focusing most of his efforts toward playing for Tristeza, a â&#x20AC;&#x153;post-rockâ&#x20AC;? band from San Diego, California. With the creation of The Album Leaf LaValle remained loyal to his Tristeza members, doing most of his writing for The Album Leaf, while Tristeza was breaking from tours. Only in 2003,

after five years of juggling responsibilities, did LaValle leave Tristeza to concentrate on The Album Leaf. The departure was backed by The Album Leaf â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s European and U.S. tours with Sigur RĂłs and the release of full-length albums An Orchestrated Rise to Fall (1999), One Day Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll Be on Time (2001) and a solo EP In an Off White Room (2002). Since his departure from Tristeza, LaValle has gone on to release two more full-length albums for The Album Leaf entitled In a Safe Place (2004), and Into the Blue Again (2006). He has also released EPs entitled Seal Beach (2003), Red Tour (2005) and Green Tour (2007). Today, Lavalle remains in full control of The Album Leaf, writing and composing all of the bandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s music while assembling additional band members for what appears to be touring purposes only. This is not to say The Album Leaf is restricted to the composition of songs

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by Jimmy LaValle alone, however. filled O.C managed to pick up six of On the album In a Safe Place, LaValle The Album Leaf â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s songs â&#x20AC;&#x201D; including sought help from friends â&#x20AC;&#x201D; including â&#x20AC;&#x153;Twenty Two Fourteen.â&#x20AC;?As well, songs three members from Sigur RĂłs â&#x20AC;&#x201D; in from The Album Leaf have appeared in composing some of the CDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tracks. commercials for Hummer, Cadillac and This created an interesting variety of MacBeth Footwear. In a 2004 Interview audible differences when compared to available on www.methodshop.com his prior release One Day Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll Be on Time LaValle was asked to comment on the and later release Into the Blue Again. idea of â&#x20AC;&#x153;selling outâ&#x20AC;? in relation to new As for â&#x20AC;&#x153;Twenty Two Fourteen,â&#x20AC;? it exposure for The Album Leaf. LaValle has a slow, soulful melody featuring responded by saying, â&#x20AC;&#x153;If anything, the instruments such as the piano and corporate world is getting smarter realviolin, woven together with the genius izing that mainstream â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Boy Bandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; pop is of LaValle. In 341 seconds this song just shit.â&#x20AC;? LaValle continued by saying, can take you â&#x20AC;&#x153;There arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t a from a midterm In 341 seconds this song whole lot of opstress-out to a portunities for â&#x20AC;&#x153;who cares?â&#x20AC;? major exposure can take you from a chill-out. It carwhen it comes ries a dream- midterm stress-out to a to instrumental like quality donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t â&#x20AC;&#x153;who cares?â&#x20AC;? chill-out. music...I that many now compose songs relate to The with the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;corpoAlbum Leaf. rateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; world in mind and I do write songs In an interview with www.thescene- from myself in my own way.â&#x20AC;? star.com in June of 2007, Jimmy LaValle For a listen into some of LaValleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s romantically explained, â&#x20AC;&#x153;I just get in- work, search for â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Album Leaf spired by everything, and [the music] â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Twenty Two Fourteen Graficaâ&#x20AC;?on comes from there.â&#x20AC;? This is the sort YouTube. If you really canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t handle of talk that produces music that could instrumental music, check out The Almake a robot cry. However, LaValle is bum Leaf â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;Always For Youâ&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;On not a person out of touch with the real Your Wayâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201D; two of the few Album world. On the contrary, it appears this Leaf songs that feature vocals. musician knows how things work. In its four seasons on air the angst ktremblay@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Distractions

Imprint, Friday, February 8, 2008

Crossword

Tim Foster

Across 1. Glen 5. Fifth wheel 10. American broadcast regulator 13. Baking appliance 14. Silent clowns 15. Chamber 17. Character’s melodic themes 19. Make eyes at the ladies 20. Gross 21. Former Disney CEO 23. Cited document 26. Wraparound cape 28. Highlander protagonist 29. Speed contest 30. Classic distress call 33. Pizza’s home 34. Hot-ticket items on the 14th 35. Feds emergency service 36. Platter 37. Nibbles 38. Prophet or oracle 39. Longest division of time 40. Mass transportation vehicles 41. Southeast Asian orange fruit 42. Chest bone 43. Requests 44. Classic car body shape 45. Helping another player score 47. Putting together 48. Frightened 50. Sketched 51. Tiny bit 52. Stressed 58. Small water vessel 59. Mix of greens 60. University advocacy group 61. Coming before 62. Fashion 63. Syringe Down 1. Radio knob label (abbrev.)

Sudoku 4 1

I follow you from class to class every day. I watch you eat your pita for lunch, except on Tuesdays, when you get pizza. You are a professor and I know it would be wrong... but it feels so right. I love the way you control a class...just like you would control me in the bedroom. Maybe some day instead of being student and professor, we can just be boy and girl. I would like that. You’re one mean looking cat! I would love to get my paws on you! -Doggy Doug ERS is such a closely knit group, but I have taken a special notice of you. Since the start of second semester, we have spent more time together and I have really gotten to know you more as a person and a friend. I knew this would be a good way to get your attention. I was thinking

28 33

43 45

necessities to sustain your life. What is the one

extra thing that you would bring with you?

by Mark Kimmich

41 44

2. Rd. 3. Hawaiian necklace 4. Wholly 5. Murdered (slang) 6. Compassion 7. French friend 8. Sports official 9. Fundamental characteristics 10. First-year 11. Connoisseurs 12. Loose cabbage 16. French sea 18. Star Trek doctor 22. Freezes over 23. Wielder of a heavy blow 24. Tariff 25. Mongolian capital 26. Oppose

Tim Foster

2 3

You’ve been stranded on Mars, but with all the

19 21

20 23

7 8 9 8 4 1 7 5 6 9 8 7 8 2 7 4 1 2 5 4

My buddy and I saw the two of you (one brunette, one blonde) on your way to the squash courts the other night.We saw that you were checking us out too.You can play with us anytime, and we don’t mean squash!

that we should get together and give things a try. For a clue as to who I am, I wear your flower everyday. To the cute blonde in my ANTH 102 class who sneezed on her hand, showed her friend, and then wiped it on her pants... maybe we could get together for a private study session sometime? And don’t worry, I have an ample supply of tissues. -kulamaster99@gmail.com Stop facebook creeping. If you like this girl get the chocolates, get the card, get the flowers, get some balls and go for her.You know who you are, and you know I like you, so get the wine glasses out and turn on some music.There is nothing I would love more than to spend time with you. K.B., we are in the same 3A Chemical Engineering classes. I have had my eye on you since day one. I always watch you from the back of class. I usually have tinted glasses when I first walk in. My first name rhymes

27. Desert respites 31. Idaho’s western neighbour 32. Mighty 34. Dangers 37. Company 38. Bread-wrapped meal 40. Bottom 41. Operational situations 44. Ceremonial procession 46. Winter sports equipment 48. Bro or sis 49. Basketball goal 50. Yellow Indian legume 53. Yoga equipment 54. Travel a route regularly 55. Utter 56. Psychic ability acronym 57. Philosophical way of nature

“Porcelino the party Boar.”

Jesse van Amerom and Melissa Hart

“A Dean Koontz book.” Katrina Kite 1B math

3B ‘farts’ and 3B sociology

Feb. 1 solutions

tfoster@imprint.uwaterloo.ca J U M P O P E R B O N E N U M I U K A S R I F E G E T E V E R R A S W E C P A H I R E E N D S M E S S

2 8 4 6 1 9 5 7 3

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6 7 3 4 8 5 2 1 9

8 4 1 9 6 2 7 3 5

5 9 2 3 7 1 4 8 6

O R S E W I C M O T B E G R A I A W G S H H E C A T O P H N E E S R

7 3 6 5 4 8 1 9 2

1 6 9 8 2 4 3 5 7

P O L Y H Y M N I A

T A L E S

E I R E

S L A E D D S

4 2 8 7 5 3 9 6 1

3 5 7 1 9 6 8 2 4

M I N D

S N A P

E L S E

“An entire beer brewery.”

“A bust of Sir John A.”

1B political science

4B political science

Andrew Moule

“Each other!”

Fiona Copley and Emily Ashcroft

Florence Stalenhoef

“My guitar.”

Angel Hammoud 4B english

4B sociology and 4B sociology with ‘cat’ but starts with an M. I know you are taken but what he doesn’t know can’t hurt him. Email me and we can finally unite for a night of hot, wild intimacy. Will you be mine? -M.S. D, you are in my heat and mass class. We share similar interests such as the UFC and often practice UFC submissions after class.You have a beautiful smile and sweet sweet blue eyes. I come to this class just to see you. Will you be my Valentine? -I.B. S.A., your nickname is the same as the one dude off jackass.You are a really really tall handsome man.You are skilled at baseball. We are friends and roommates now, but I think we should bring our relationship to the next step.You know who I am (I play on the volleyball team) and my last name means “a lot of Trees.” Valentine’s day is approaching...will you be mine? -B.F. Missed a connection? Wanna break the ice? Email mkimmich@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

“My vegetable garden.” Sam Price 3B english

“A spaceship to get home!” Ian McEwan 1B arts

Science

science@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Imprint, Friday, February 8, 2008

Memos from Mars

UW student speaks about his experiences at the Mars Desert Research Station Sherif Soliman assistant science editor

n Fall 2007, Imprint covered a movie screening of Mars Underground, which was hosted by the Waterloo Space Society (WSS) and introduced by UW student, William Durocher. The movie discussed the current plans and initiatives to send a manned mission to Mars, NASA’s lack of drive and direction, and the details of the plan proposed by entrepreneur and president of the Mars Society, Robert Zubrin. During Christmas break, Durocher was appointed team commander of Crew 64 and deployed in the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS), which is run and maintained by the Mars Society in the Utah desert. The crew consisted of six people, who among them, had around 14 degrees in different fields, spanning from biology, to engineering, to journalism. Upon his return, the WSS hosted a presentation on January 30, in which the society introduced its general interests, future events and vacant positions, and hosted Durocher’s talk about his experiences in the Utah desert. The main purpose of the MDRS is to provide a similar environment as the one on Mars. The teams would run a Mars mission as realistically as possible, to investigate and discover possible obstacles that actual missions to Mars could face in the future. Objectives of the crew included scientific research into the habitat of extremophiles (bacteria that live in extreme conditions), engineering tasks that included generator repairs and battery tank constructions, and public relation tasks that included dealing with film crew sent by the Discovery Channel. Maintenance and dealing with life necessities proved to be a very time-consuming process, with Durocher claiming that it occupied almost 75 per cent of their time. Another obstacle that future Mars missions will need to overcome is the fact that they need to be completely self-sustainable. This includes the need for complete water recycling and reusability. Crews had to use a facility called GreenHabs to recycle as much water as possible. The amount of water recycled only reached half the amount of water used. As comprehensive as the research facility was, Durocher outlined several ways in which the environment was not similar to the Mars atmosphere. While the cycle of day and night was the same, temperatures at the research facility were much higher than actual Mars temperatures

courtesy william durocher

michael l. davenport

UW student William Durocher participates in a simulated Mars mission at the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah (left). On January 30 Durocher spoke about his experiences at the Mars Desert Research Station as part of a Waterloo Space Society presentation (right). which fluctuate from -5 to -70 degrees Celsius. Another environmental factor that could not be simulated was gravity. As the gravity on Mars is a third of that on Earth, researchers cannot assess its effect on bone and muscle mass. The standard source of energy on a future Mars mission would be a small nuclear reactor, while, due to financial constraints, and the fact that many teams would be using the same power source, the one used in MDRS was a diesel engine. Even the space suits were not the pressurized varieties that would accompany a mission to Mars. After his presentation, Durocher elaborated

on the plans developed to terraform Mars. He explained how Mars’ potassium-rich soil is suitable for plantation. As a solution for the lack of water, the proposed plan was to produce huge amounts of greenhouse gases which would heat up the planet and melt down the ice-caps on Mars’ surface. Durocher’s main interest is the study of psychological effects of space travel on humans. He described his interest in how interactions and tensions between crew members developed as time passed in their quarters. He believes this experiment proves that intelligence is not the only attribute contributing to crew members’

selection. Emotional intelligence and social skills are of paramount importance. The future of Mars exploration and terraformation is anything but clear. The closest researchers have come is the development of a probe, inhabited by mice, that is currently used to test the effects of gravity on Mars. The actual self-sustaining presence of humans on Mars will probably not be a reality in the lifetime of anybody currently reading this article, but our insistence on it taking place will not falter. ssoliman@imprint.uwaterlool.ca

Infusion Centre offers Backstage Pass Adrienne Raw science editor

he Backstage Pass event, which took place last week in Fed Hall, was an opportunity for students, alumni, and interested members of the community to hear from a panel of Canada’s innovation leaders. Panelists included representatives from Microsoft Canada, Infusion Angels and Frozen North, all of whom are associated with the one-year old Infusion Angels Innovation Centre (IAIC). The January 31 event was, in part, a celebration of the founding of the IAIC, which launched at the end of January one year ago. The Innovation Centre is housed in the Waterloo Research & Technology Park Accelerator Centre on the University of Waterloo campus. According to their website, the IAIC, sponsored by Microsoft Canada and Infusion Angels, “aims to foster economic growth in Canada by providing students and entrepreneurs with the critical resources needed to take their ideas, concepts and solutions to market.” The IAIC’s purpose is to provide resources (including open access to the latest technologies from Microsoft, Dell, and Intel) and training to help budding entrepreneurs bring their ideas to the commercial market. “We’re one year in on a grand experiment,” said Gregory Brill of the IAIC. Brill, CEO of Infusion Development, acted as moderator and

host of the Backstage Pass event. question and answer panel during which the Frozen North Productions, an independent six panelists took questions from an engaged game development studio, is one of the first audience. The event’s panelists were Greg Brill, enterprises supported by the IAIC. Julian CEO of Infusion Development; Alim Somani, Spillane, UW alumni and co-founder and partner, Infusion Angels and President, InCEO of Frozen North, was on hand at the fusion Development; Gaurav Jain, director, Backstage Pass event as one of the six Impact Entrepreneur Group, Infusion panelists. He also treated the audiDevelopment; Phil Sorgen, presience to an exclusive first look at dent, Microsoft Canada Co.; Mark Frozen North’s new game Up & Relph, vice president, developer Dn (“up and down”), inspired and Platform Evangelism Group, largely by the works of Escher. Microsoft Canada Co.; and Julian The action adventure puzzle Spillane, co-founder and CEO of game is unique in that it allows Frozen North Productions, Inc. players to rotate the world they Panelists took questions ranging are playing in, reconfiguring the from their involvement with the world’s gravitational orientation IAIC to their advice for would-be as needed. entrepreneurs. Just three hours prior to the Spillane offered the following Backstage Pass event, Frozen advice to those wanting to start a North received word that Up & software company: “Don’t ever, Dn had found a publisher. The ever listen to the naysayers.” He announcement was, according advises entrepreneurial hopefuls to to Spillane, the “most defining surround themselves with people moment of my life to date,” and who believe as they do and to percourtesy frozen north severe through mistakes and rough prompted a round of applause from the audience. The Players of Up & Dn play patches. He does, however, game is expected to launch as a wizard’s apprentice caution them to listen to the globally during the holiday critics… but only if they have with the power to rotate very good reasoning. season of 2008. The main event was the the game world. Another piece of advice of-

fered by the panellists was to be open to change and be willing to take risks. They advised wouldbe entrepreneurs to avoid having an immutable idea, because if it doesn’t work out, you have nothing left. One audience member asked panelists to talk about what they thought innovation was. Brill responded that “innovation means simply trying the unknown,” and seeing what the universe says about the unknown. Sorgen added that the “best innovation comes when you are passionate about something.” Panelists also addressed current statistics that suggest decreased enrolment in computer science and engineering programs, such as a 2007 statistic from the Ottawa Business Journal that reveals that the number of students enrolling in science and technology programs decreased by 21 per cent between 2001 and 2005. UW, however, reversed the trend in declining math and science enrolment for the first time this year. Other highlights of the packed event were a brief introduction by Dr. Sujeet Chaudhuri, the interim chair of the electrical and computer engineering department, during which he spoke about UW education and the value of the co-op program; a demo of Up & Dn; and an opportunity to network with the panelists. araw@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Science

Imprint, Friday, February 8, 2008

Contraceptive choices rock your world

ontraceptives cross the minds of the single, the abstinent, the married, the committed and those who never settle. But there is no sole method that will suit every individual and their needs over the course of an entire sexual lifespan; depending on the circumstances, people can create, alter or eliminate contraceptive choices to suit their locomotive lifestyle. This is why extensive contraceptive knowledge is useful; it can help expand your horizons on contraceptive choices to best suit your individual situation. Contraceptives are generally divided into four spheres: natural, barrier, hormonal, and invasive (surgical and insertion). Each of these represents a method of birth control with unique opportunities and disadvantages. Natural methods of birth control are those which do not interfere with the bodyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s natural reproductive system, but monitor and conform to its routine to track the likelihood of fertilization. University of Waterloo Health Services estimates the effectiveness of these natural methods between 60 and 80 per cent. Unlike the other methods, they can be used to both plan and prevent a pregnancy. Natural methods include careful monitoring of basal (vaginal) temperate, consistency of cervical mucus and the menstrual cycle patterns to determine the onset of ovulation. The last form of natural method is withdrawal, where the male withdraws the penis prior to ejaculation. This is also known as the â&#x20AC;&#x153;pull and prayâ&#x20AC;? method, as precum, a liquid that forms on the tip of the penis in the during arousal, can contain sperm and therefore does not eliminate chances of pregnancy. The advantages of natural methods are that they do not carry the health impacts associated with artificial forms of birth control, are not costly, require commitment from both partners and are applicable to most religious standards. The disadvantages of natural methods are that they do not protect from sexually transmitted diseases and they require periods of abstinence. Professional help is also necessary to successfully learn these tactics. These methods are less effective for women with frequent illnesses, those with irregular periods or those prone to urinary and vaginal infections. Barrier methods are those which prevent sperm from entering the female reproductive organs through the cervix, thus drastically diminishing chances of fertilization. This is the most popular form of birth control. It includes male and female condoms, cervical caps, diaphragms, sponges and spermicidal products. According to UW Health Services, male condoms are 85-90 per cent effective, while female condoms are 75-80 per cent, cervical caps stand at 70-80 per cent, diaphragms at 87-94 per cent, sponges at 65-80 per cent, and spermicide at 70-80 per cent. The main advantage of this group is their availability at pharmacies without a prescription (with the exception of the cervical cap, which must be fitted by a doctor). Each of these contraceptives offers its own advantages. Condoms, for instance, are unique in that they are the only form of birth control to protect against sexually transmitted diseases.

Sponges allow for spontaneous sex for up to 24 hours. The disadvantages of these methods is that they may cause vaginal irritations or allergic reactions, as most contain harsh chemicals. This is often the case with spermicidal cream, gel, film and other available forms. Both diaphragms and cervical caps should be fitted by a doctor. Some of these methods can contribute to increased vaginal and urinary tract infections and should not be used during a period. Hormonal methods have gained their popularity with the arrival and evolution of the birth control pill. Hormonal methods are those which use hormones to prevent fertilization. These include the birth control pill, the patch, injection contraceptives and emergency contraceptives. The birth control pill is a combination of estrogen and progestin, two sex hormones that combine to stop ovulation and create an egg-unfriendly uterine environment. Similarly to the birth control pill, the patch releases hormones through the skin, while the birth control pill does this orally. The most popular injection contraceptive is Depo-Provera, which is a quarterly injection of progestin, the function of which is very similar to that of the birth control pill. The advantages of this group of contraceptives are in their high rate of effectiveness â&#x20AC;&#x201D; up to 99 per cent, in some cases. The birth control pill and Depo-Provera are covered by Student Supplementary Health Insurance Plan. The disadvantages are that they do not protect against sexually transmitted diseases, effectiveness of hormonal methods can increase with the presence of other medication and their long-term impacts on the body remain highly controversial. Although emergency contraceptives should never serve the purpose of regular contraception, they too are a form of hormonal birth control. These â&#x20AC;&#x153;morning afterâ&#x20AC;? pills are to be used in case of failure or absence of a contraceptive at the time of intercourse. The most popular emergency contraceptive, Plan B, is available over-the-counter. It reduces risk of fertilization by up to 89 per cent when taken within 72 hours of intercourse. The downfall of these pills are that they are quite costly, ranging from $30-$40 per one-time use. Invasive methods of birth control are the most long-term of the four, including methods of sterilization and IUD (Intrauterine Device). Sterilization operations are considered to be simple with few complications, but are effective for a lifetime and therefore require a lot of consideration. Involving a vasectomy for men and tubal ligation for women, these must be performed by a qualified physician. The IUD is a copper device inserted into the uterus for up to five years, and is 96-98 per cent effective. It prevents the egg from becoming fertilized and makes it difficult for sperm to travel. The advantage of this method is that it can be used by women who cannot use estrogen-based products but still want a high efficiency rate. This type of contraceptive can be costly, ranging from $60-350, but is covered by SSHIP. However, it provides no protection against sexually transmitted diseases and may increase the risk of pelvic infections and/or pregnancy outside

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the uterus, according to UW Health Services. There is one last, 100 per cent effective method of birth control. It has no negative health effects, is completely cost-free and reversible and gives plenty of room in your mind and in your life for, well, anything youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d like. The last and most effective form of birth control is abstinence. Clearly, contemporary contraceptive options are very diverse. The key to finding your individual mix is to find a balance between effectiveness and the impact you are willing you make on your health. Take some time to think: would you rather commit to a highly-effective, long-term method such as a IUD, or would you rather combine two

less drastic contraceptives to protect yourself without having to worry about the long-term risks? I encourage you to reconsider your contraceptive choices as your life changes, as your

sexual priorities as a university student will likely vary from your teenage and future desires. alomako@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

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Science

Imprint, Friday, February 8, 2008

of square kilometres. Fish like the pacu eat the fruits that fall from these plants and later release the seeds as waste in areas that dry out after the flood waters recede. The study, one of the first of its kind, suggests a worrisome future for tropical forests such as the Pantanal, where fish populations are declining rapidly. Fishers in the Pantanal are only allowed to take the largest of the fish; these fish are also the ones that carry the most seeds inland.

Adrienne Raw science editor

Fish are major seed distributors in tropical forests

Mauro Galetti and his team from São Paulo State University in Brazil recently released results from a study to determine the effect fish populations have on seed dispersals. Most studies on seed dispersal have focused on animals and birds that consume seeds and later release them in their waste or get these seeds stuck to their bodies. However, in tropical forests such as Brazil’s Pantanal, the largest freshwater wetlands in the world, fish play a major role in distributing the seeds of many plants. Some plants, depend on fish such as the Pantanal’s pacu (Piaractus mesopotamicus) to distribute their seeds. Many plants in these tropical regions release their seeds during the period when massive flooding encroaches over thousands

New giant elephant shrew found

Galen Rathbun of the California Academy of Sciences has made one of the most exciting discoveries of his career. Along with a team of international colleagues, Dr. Rathbun has helped confirm that the Rhynochocyon udzungwensis, a type of giant elephant shrew or sengi, is new to the scientific community. The bizarre-looking mammal was first caught on film in 2005 in Ndundulu Forest in Tanzania’s Udzungwa Mountains by Francesco Rovero from the Trento Museum of

Natural Sciences in Italy. Since a new species cannot be described based just on photographs, in 2006 Rathbun returned to the Tanzanian forest to collect samples. The animal is roughly the size of a cat and looks like a cross between a miniature antelope and a small anteater. Despite its name, the animal is not actually related to shrews. Animals classified as elephant shrews, which are found only in Africa, were so named because of their superficial resemblance to European and American shrews. Elephant shrew species are distinguished by their distinctive, and often flashy, colour patterns; this new species, with its grey face and black rump, has a pattern scientists have never seen before. The species is also larger than other species of giant elephant shrew. Scientists hope further research will help answer questions about the animals, such as how many exist, their range, and how closely they live together. — with files from BBC News and Nature.com araw@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

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Sports Warriors fall to mac sports@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Imprint, Friday, February 8, 2008

Olinda Pais assistant sports editor

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Gillian Maxwell takes a shot from down low. The Warriors played tough against McMaster, but came up short on the night 78-62.

he Waterloo Warriors, already having managed to secure a position in the OUA playoffs, were looking to further their ranking in the championship in their match against the reigning champions, the McMaster Marauder’s. Interestingly, the Warriors newly appointed head coach, Christin Dickenson, served as a former player and was the Marauder’s assistant coach in 2007. The Warriors managed to make history last year by toppling McMaster’s #1 rank in the OUA championship, and were looking forward to doing so again this time around. Dickenson, though respectful of McMaster’s ranking as the champions, commented on how proud she was that the Warriors made the playoffs this year and anticipated a victory in their favour. This self-assured optimism in the light that they were playing them late in the season, giving them time to observe their opponents’ strengths and previous strategies, as well as harnessing much needed experience. The first quarter began with Gillian Maxwell tipping the jump ball into the Marauder’s hands; resulting in #14 scoring McMaster’s first basket in the first couple seconds itself. Waterloo matched that basket with an impressive pass from Rachel Harmsworth to Maxwell at the post, quickly followed by a three pointer by #14— whose intensity was unwavering throughout the game. The first quarter was marked by perhaps a more friendly rivalry stemming from the home team, which is

perhaps why the Warriors fell behind in the first quarter itself. This resulted in the quarter ending just as McMaster added a three-pointer to their lead. Needless to say, McMaster’s shots were dead-on (as were their crisp, accurate passes), which understandably got them in the lead early on in the game. The second quarter similarly began with a fumble on the Warriors part with Felisha Watson going over and back on the first pass alone — leading to McMaster’s first basket of the quarter. McMaster was relentless in their outside jump shots and three-pointers given any opportunity — which further put Waterloo behind. The tension between the teams began heating up as well, as reflected in the fouls committed (Guests 3; Home 0) ending 46 – 28. The second half of the game resumed with McMaster in possession, and was memorable because of the increased ferocity on court. This was increasingly evident in the Warriors securing their first foul of the game, covered by Maxwell scoring basket after basket from under the hoop. This, compounded by Melanie Belore’s strong, successive three-pointers, helped the Warriors reduce the margin at the end of the third quarter at 62-40. That, however, didn’t stop the Marauders from streaking ahead as #14 too began swishing in those outside jump shots. This, in turn, led Warrior’s Kate Poulin to secure a couple impressive jump shots from outside the three-point line. Like I said, simply riveting. The foruth and final quarter, being the most sensational, may have began with 62-40, but ended at 78-62 (a marked

increase of 16-22), with successive fouls from both sides. Needless to say, these last couple minutes would determine whether Waterloo would in fact topple the reigning champions from their #1 ranking or if the champions would hold onto their hard-earned position – thus sheer desperation and frustration prevailed, with McMaster evidently managing to keep their cool under the pressure. This was accomplished largely by McMaster intentionally slowing down the intensity of the game by wasting time with deliberate, pointless passes outside the three-point line. The assistant coach, Nate McKibbon, attributed their loss to the Marauder’s being “a very strong team with numerous strengths, inside and out. [The Warriors] couldn’t match up to their intensity,” which is why McMaster came out on top. Though McKibbon states that “we were forced to give them something, and they killed us for the outside jump shots,” the Warriors nonetheless refused to accept defeat and continued to fight till the last second, notably “getting into a manageable margin” – by reducing the Marauder’s considerable point lead in the game. Belore helped accomplish this by securing 15 points for the Warriors, closely followed by Maxwell (14 points) and Poulin (13 points). Though the Warriors had to accept defeat this time around, they look forward to challenging Western (currently in #2 OUA ranking) in the playoffs on Saturday and will hopefully be able to prove themselves this time around. opais@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Third year’s the charm for UW triathlon Tom Ellis staff reporter

he winter semester is usually quieter on the sporting front as snow lies across the Columbia playing fields leaving many athletes and sports enthusiasts looking for a new challenge. Triathlon, one of the many activities on offer, is a combination of three sports—swimming, cycling, and running, which luckily can take place indoors. At the top level, triathlon demands much more than other sports, requiring athletes to be both physically fit and experts in three different disciplines. Races can also be won

and lost during the transition phases when athletes change equipment. While a triathlon is made up of the three sports, depending on the discipline and type of race involved the distances can vary. For example an “Iron Man” triathlon involves a 3.8km swim, 180km bike ride and finishes with a marathon. For those new to the sport there are many amateur and interuniversity competitions which involve shorter distances. This year is the first time the University of Waterloo’s triathlon club has been recognized by Campus Rec, but is in its third year of existence. With its 25 or so members

Joanna Sevilla

holding several training sessions each week. Speaking to Imprint, Triathlon club president, Corrin Harris, said the club was started by a mix of athletes and “guys just looking for people to train with” all year round. All three sports are cardiovascular exercises meaning they are great for getting or keeping fit. The advantage of triathlon is that if you don’t feel like swimming one day, you can cycle the next. She added that training was “not just for people going to competitions” with many members interested in trying something new to keep fit. Organized training takes

place four times a week with spinning sessions at CIF and swimming under the supervision of a varsity swim coach at the PAC, with a group run, weather permitting. Training is done at the athlete’s own pace, with many members doing additional workouts to increase stamina and fitness in the run up to events. This weekend sees several members of the UW Triathlon Club competing in the Hart House, University of Toronto’s Indoor Triathlon. For many of them this is the first competition they have competed in, since deciding to take up a new challenge at university. Harris says that while the sport is “both

physically and mentally demanding, it’s fun and anyone can do it.” Other members of the club have taken part in duathlons, which involve two runs separated by a cycle. The club also organizes work shops with athletes lecturing on the sport and how to advance in it. If you’re looking to get involved with an energetic and motivating sport contact the University of Waterloo Triathlon Club e-mail uwtriclub@hotmail.com or search for the group on Facebook. tellis@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Sports

Imprint, Friday, February 8, 2008

When real fighting wins, and why Brock Lesnar, the unfortunate legacy of WWE, and why UFC MMA fights are so much better

fered from a motorcycle accident in 2004 and though his second last fight featured a round-one submission win against Antoni Hardonk, Mir’s road to recovery has been marred with setbacks. Even among the hardcore UFC camp there were fans who feared Mir just wouldn’t be able to endure the sort of pummeling Lesnar was likely to deal out. (A friend of mine referred to it as the “Hulk Smash!” of UFC ground-and-pound.) Nonetheless, after 80 seconds spent delivering just such a brutal beating, interrupted only by referee Steve Mazzagatti’s point-deduction when Lesnar punched Mir in the back of the head,

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February 10 vs U of T Varsity Blues 7:30 PM, CIF Arena

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editor@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Western

Presents

07 THIS WEEK IN 08 ATHLETICS

WWE legends Steve Austin and Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart and the Undertaker may have inculcated us with an understanding of strength as something easily equated to the bulk of fighters’ muscles, and the size of their bodies, and the way they snarl and scowl at each other during pre-bout face-offs. But if this new age of UFC (and especially the technical play-by-play feedback from UFC commentator Joe Rogan) has taught us anything, it’s that real champions are determined neither by age nor by size, but by versatility, skill, conditioning, and the sheer will to succeed.

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like martial arts challenge. But from UFC’s very dubious start certain martial art forms — kickboxing, jiu jitsu, muay thai, traditional karate, and wrestling — emerged as dominant forces, and those who could master a blend of these consistently ruled supreme. And after Dana White’s take-over of the franchise in 2001, UFC competitions adhered to safety standards and fight restrictions that further legitimized the sport, culminating in the form of mixed martial arts we can now enjoy more than monthly on pay-per-view. But if UFC 81: Breaking Point, which first aired on February 2,

So what actually cost Lesnar the fight? Quite simply, for all of Lesnar’s brute strength (which is formidable!), he just doesn’t have the range of expertise necessary for UFC. Can he ever? Certainly, because he really is determined to better himself as a fighter — but a nice long stretch of jiu jitsu training would really help. The problem is not Lesnar’s own capacity to change; he handled his first mixed-martial arts loss with dignity and grace, and with the insistence that he will stay and grow with the UFC. The trouble is the culture that hyped this fight up to begin with, and which, in the prelude to this heavyweight match-up, was so quick to abandon UFC skill to the whims of WWE fame.

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The problem is not Lesnar’s own capacity to change ... The trouble is the culture that hyped this fight up to begin with.

Lesnar fell easily into a straightforward jiu jitsu leg-lock take-down. Some Lesnar fans immediately cried foul, complaining that Mazzagatti shouldn’t have broken the pair up when he did, but in a later interview with www.mmajunkie.com, Mazzagatti stated that he had followed proper protocol in making his call — first giving Lesnar a warning, then breaking the pair up and deducting a point when Lesnar’s behaviour didn’t change. “To me, Frank was doing everything right,” said Mazzagatti. “If you watch a thousand Jiu-Jitsu guys in that position, a thousand guys would do what Frank did in that position. He could have kept the position if it weren’t for the strikes to the back of the head. He knew what he was doing.”

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dmit it: you were a kid once. Between your own roughand-tumble sports you probably watched Lex Luger and Bret “the Hitman” Hart duke it out in a wrestling ring on your TV set. Before the World Wrestling Federation lost its acronym (WWF) to the World Wildlife Foundation, you couldn’t tear yourself away from Yokozuna’s cheap, underhanded, but above all theatrical defeat of The Undertaker. You were a kid once, and this kind of “sport” was fun to watch on a Saturday afternoon. But if you can admit all of this, you’ll also have to admit the following: you aren’t a kid anymore. And the time of the WWE has come and gone. Now the far more legitimate star is the Ultimate Fighting Challenge (UFC). You won’t find fold-up chairs being passed into the UFC octagon, and you won’t see anyone climbing the sides of the cage to body-slam their opponents. Then what, you ask, is UFC’s gimmick? Hey! Try this on for size! It’s real fighting! Certainly, the UFC had its own infancy. Back in 1993, the event was a no-holds-barred tournament more in line with the world competition in Jean-Claude Van Damme’s later film, The Quest, than any fair, sportsman-

2008, proved anything, it’s that not everyone is quite ready to accept the inferiority of WWE. At least, that’s the only conclusion I could reach while sitting at Crabby Joe’s, one of the few K-W venues that hosted the pay-per-view match, and listening to the bar crowd cheer on Brock Lesnar, of WWE fame, while also paying homage to Steve Austin and The Undertaker, who happened to be attending the live event. Now, Lesnar himself is a good wrestler — this I wouldn’t even dream to deny. Before giving up an Olympic-track amateur wrestling career to join the WWE in 2002, the 6-foot-3, 305 pound Lesnar had a heavyweight record of 106 wins, 5 losses. He also has numerous world heavyweight championship titles to his name, and won his first mixed martial arts fight, in a K-1 franchise arena, in under two minutes. But that’s just it — Lesnar’s February 2 fight, against former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir, was only his second mixed martial art competition ever. Unlike competitors from other franchises, or even the reality TV show The Ultimate Fighter, Lesnar didn’t have to work his way up to the octagon: His WWE fame preceded him. And in the final play, it showed. Lesnar wasn’t even up against one of UFC’s freshest fighters — Mir suf-

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Maggie Clark editor-in-chief

February 9 vs Western Mustangs (W) 2:00 PM, (M) 4:00 PM PAC Gym

February 13 vs WLU Golden Hawks (W) 6:00 PM, (M) 8:00 PM PAC Gym

visit gowarriorsgo.ca for up-to- date playoff info.

Athletes of the Week Aaron Dam - Volleyball Aaron, a 3rd year Kinesiology student from Grimsby, Ontario put up impressive numbers this past weekend against Queen's (L 3-1) and RMC (W 3-0). In the two matches, Aaron had 2 aces, 5 stuff blocks, 7 digs and an amazing 20 kills from his middle position. He also had zero errors in 26 attempts. Waterloo (11-8) is currently tied for the fourth position in the OUA standings.

IMPRINT | FEB 8 2008

Gaby Leniak - Volleyball

Gaby, a 4th year Kinesiology student from Hamilton, Ontario, led the Warriors to two victories this past week over Brock and Queen's. On Wednesday against the Badgers, Gaby has 8 kills, 6 digs, 25 total attempts for 9 points in a 3-0 win. On Saturday, she posted 10 kills, 18 digs, 1 ace, 36 total attempts for 13 points in a 3-1 over Queen's. With the wins, Waterloo (13-4) continues to hold down the number two seed in the OUA West division.

Sports

Imprint, Friday, February 8, 2008

Wagering And Sports The world of sports betting is both big business and controversial

f you watched the New York Giants pull off a tremendous upset against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 42, one of the first things that might have come to mind is how much heavier your wallet would feel if you had bet money on the Giants to win. Indeed the Giants victory paid off handsomely for those gamblers that decided to buck all conventional wisdom. A $100 bet on the Giants would’ve yielded $375 in return; in the sports betting world that is a phenomenal return-on-investment. Each year, North American gamblers sink billions of dollars into the Super Bowl and other similar sporting events. In Nevada, where sports books are legal, revenues topped more than $2 billion U.S. in 2005 and continue to grow each year. In the world of online sports betting, where legality is murkier and the tracking of money more difficult, revenues were estimated to be between $4 – 5 billion for the 2005 fiscal year by the Christiansen Capital

Association, which tracks Internet gambling. Major events such as the Super Bowl and March Madness generate millions of dollars of wagers in the Las Vegas sports books and online sites. In 2007, more than $93 million were wagered in Nevada Casinos on the Super Bowl alone. Sports betting is big business; USA Today estimated that more than 20 million Americans made a legal sports wager in 2005. With millions more quasi-legal bets being made online, American politicians moved to make internet betting more difficult for gamblers. In 2006, the American congress passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Prohibition act with backing from various Christian conservative groups such as Focus On The Family, Moral Majority, and Christian Coalition. While this bill did not outright prohibit online sports betting, it made it much more difficult to transfer funds from bank accounts to online wallets. Consequently, many

online sports books and internet wallet sites stopped taking American customers. This effect has spilled over to Canada, where sites such as Neteller, a major online wallet that allows you to transfer funds from your bank account to the gambling sites, has also stopped taking Canadian customers due to fear of American legislation spillover into Canada. That may have been a silver lining for the provincial governments of Canada. Several provinces run a sports betting game called Sports Select (better known as pro-line in Ontario) through their lottery boards. Bettors have long complained that sports select offered poor odds, even the most savvy of bettors are unable to profit betting through Sports Select. Online sports books typically take 10 per cent commission on bets that is they will pay out $100 for $110 wagered. Sports Select typically takes a commission of 30 per cent, paying out 100 dollars for every 130 wagered

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in an individual match. Depending on the type of wager, the government take could go as high as 200 per cent, such as when bettors make parlay bets (multiple simultaneous bets with high payouts). In recent years, there has been a flood of bettors that have fled to the private online sports books which offer far fairer odds. The amount of money lost by provincial governments to the online sports books is estimated to be in the tens of millions. Sports betting has been a controversial issue for the pro-sports leagues, as many leagues enforce strict antigambling policies on its employees and affiliates. Players and coaches, and referees gambling on their own sport is considered strongly taboo, precipitated by fears of match fixing. Shoeless Joe Jackson and seven other players caused the 1919 Chicago White Sox to forfeit their World Series title after they were accused of throwing games to win wagers. They were banned for life by commissioner Kenesaw Landis, even though they were cleared by a grand jury in 1921. Pete Rose is the all-time hits leader in Major League Baseball. Regardless, he was banned for life from Major League Baseball in 1989, after evidence arose that he had bet on his own team as manager of the Cincinnati Reds. He has also been permanently excluded from the hall of fame for his infraction.

The NBA, European soccer, cricket, and various other sporting leagues have also been rocked by gambling scandals. The NCAA goes so far as to prevent its players and coaches from gambling on any NCAA game, even those unrelated to the sport they play. Yet, each year, the FBI estimates that some $2 – 3 billion in illegal bets are wagered on the NCAA March Madness tournament, compared to the $80 – 90 million in legal bets taken in the Vegas sportsbooks. The NCAA estimates that nearly 10 per cent of the American population participated in some form of March Madness pool. As pro-sports leagues continue to pull large audiences, the amount wagered on sports will continue to rise. Despite American legislative attempts to reel in online gambling, internet sport books continue to increase its revenues. Sports wagering dates back as far the ancient Olympics in Greece, as wealthy patrons that watched the competitions frequently wagered money, slaves and land on the outcome of matches. Most of us sports fans will make a bet on a sporting event sometime in our life, whether it be a friendly $5 wager with a buddy, a $20 office pool or a five-figure parlay bet at a Vegas sportsbook. Betting on sports is a part of sporting culture, and will continue to be so despite its deeply controversial nature. yliu@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

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Sports

Imprint, Friday, February 8, 2008

Warrior Wrap-up

Men’s Hockey OUA

Women’s Hockey OUA

Far East Division

W L T OTL PTS 39 1 19 5 0 35 1 17 8 0 28 2 13 11 0 25 3 11 12 0 23 1 11 13 0

GP 25 UQTR 26 McGill 26 Ottawa 26 Carleton Concordia 25

Laurier Toronto Guelph Queen’s Windsor York Western Brock Waterloo UOIT

Far West Division Lakehead Western Waterloo Laurier Windsor

W L 21 3 17 4 17 9 15 9 5 20

GP 25 26 26 26 26

T OTL PTS 0 1 39 0 5 36 0 0 32 0 2 30 0 1 11

GP 26 27 27 27

W 13 12 10 8

McMaster Guelph Queen’s Western Waterloo Ryerson York Toronto Windsor Laurier RMC

T OTL PTS 1 0 27 3 0 27 2 0 22 3 0 19

L 12 12 15 16

Mid West Division GP 27 26 27 26

Brock York Guelph UOIT

T OTL PTS 3 0 37 3 0 29 3 0 25 3 0 13

W L 17 7 13 10 11 13 5 18

W 22 19 17 11 12 9 8 6 7 1

L 2 5 7 9 12 11 13 13 14 20

T OTL PTS 1 0 45 0 1 39 0 1 35 6 0 28 1 1 26 3 1 22 4 0 20 7 0 19 4 0 18 2 6 2

Men’s Volleyball OUA

Mid East Division Toronto Queen’s RMC Ryerson

GP 25 25 25 26 26 24 25 26 25 25

GP 18 18 18 17 19 17 18 17 17 19 18

W 18 13 13 11 11 9 8 5 5 5 0

L 0 5 5 6 8 8 10 12 12 14 18

GF 54 47 42 41 42 35 34 24 17 23 3

GA 8 30 26 24 32 29 36 39 339 45 54

PTS 36 26 26 22 22 18 16 10 10 10 0

Men’s Basketball OUA

Women’s Basketball OUA

Women’s Volleyball OUA

East Division

Carleton Ottawa Toronto Queen’s Ryerson York Laurentian RMC

GP W 19 19 19 15 18 14 19 12 18 5 19 5 19 4 19 0

L 0 4 4 7 13 14 15 19

PF 1605 1466 1366 1399 1347 1333 1297 995

PA 1155 1260 1226 1262 1435 1455 1637 1703

PTS 38 30 28 24 10 10 8 0

York Toronto Laurentian Queen’s Carleton Ryerson Ottawa RMC

West Division

GP 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20

W 17 16 14 8 6 5 2 0

L 3 4 6 12 14 15 18 20

PF 1411 1483 1542 1290 1131 1107 1106 1014

PA 1165 1210 1336 1268 1205 1380 1364 1714

PTS 34 32 28 16 12 10 4 0

GP 18 17 17 17 18 17 18

Toronto Ottawa York Queen’s Ryerson Lakehead RMC

GP W McMaster 19 18 Western 19 15 Windsor 19 12 Brock 19 10 Waterloo 19 10 Laurier 19 9 Lakehead 20 8 20 7 Guelph

Men’s Hockey CIF Arena

L 2 3 6 12 13 13 18

GF 51 45 37 25 23 17 0

GA PTS 11 32 16 28 26 22 40 10 42 10 41 8 54 0

West Division

PA PTS GP W L PF Windsor 17 13 4 1409 1134 26 17 11 6 1356 1222 22 Brock 17 10 7 1306 1272 20 Guelph Western 17 9 8 1343 1254 18 Lakehead 18 8 10 1340 1372 16 Laurier 17 8 11 1213 1186 16 McMaster 17 7 10 1225 1260 14 Waterloo 18 4 14 1214 1381 8

W 16 14 11 5 5 4 0

L PF PA PTS 1 1436 970 36 4 1375 1257 30 7 1342 1174 24 9 1193 1229 20 9 1225 1196 20 10 1253 1245 18 12 1217 1330 16 13 1271 1353 14

McMaster Waterloo Western Laurier Brock Guelph Windsor

GP 18 17 18 18 18 17 18

L 3 4 7 7 10 9 16

W 15 13 11 11 8 8 2

GF 47 42 41 38 33 31 13

GA PTS 16 30 24 26 27 22 28 22 34 16 34 16 4 50

Women’s Basketball

Women’s Hockey

Pac Main Gym

CIF Arena

Waterloo vs. Western, 2:00 PM Saturday, February 9

Game Recaps

Men’s Hockey

Women’s Hockey

Sunday, February 3 Waterloo 9 Windsor 3

Saturday, February 2 Waterloo 1 Brock 1

Tuesday, February 5 Western 4 Waterloo 5 (OT)

Sunday, February 3 Waterloo 0 Guelph 4

Waterloo vs. Western, 4:00 PM Saturday, February 9

Men’s Volleyball

Women’s Volleyball

Saturday, February 2 Queen’s defeats Waterloo 3-1

Wednesday, January 30 Waterloo defeats Brock 3-0

Waterloo vs. Laurier 8:00 PM Wednesday, February 13

Sunday, February 3 Waterloo defeats RMC 3-0

Saturday, February 2 Waterloo defeats Queen’s 3-1

Men’s Basketball

Women’s Basketball

Wednesday, January 30 Waterloo 54 Windsor 99

Wednesday, January 30 Waterloo 44 Windsor 58

Saturday, February 2 Waterloo 71 Guelph 79

Saturday, February 2 Waterloo 58 Guelph 49

Men’s Curling

Women’s Curling

Saturday, February 2 Waterloo 2 Queen’s 8 Waterloo 5 Toronto 4

Saturday, February 2 Laurier 4 Waterloo 3 Waterloo 7 Queen’s 5

Sunday, February 3 Waterloo 1 Trent 5

Sunday, February 3 Trent 8 Waterloo 4

HT ED OF LIG AT THE SPE Midnight Sun ght near for new ► page 6 Dayli

Friday, July 27,

2007

Women’s Volleyball

Pac Main Gym Waterloo vs. Ryerson, 6:00 PM Friday, February 8

Men’s Volleyball

University of Waterloo Campus

Pac Main Gym Waterloo vs. Ryerson, 8:00 PM Friday, February 8

ersiTy of

7 vol 30, no

Evolution in

WaTerloo

’s official

sTudenT

neWspape

nT neWspaper

Friday, Janua

imprin t . uwate

rloo . ca

LIFE 4

michael l.

education

davenport

what’s inside

year re- Features describes the third students the Jernigan proudly ads and course,” during which museology Get your dice, gamep a biomedical te quired “museum secured a job at city to study at MiT, Jernigan day, while working as a live-in for Imprint’s comple to a museum-rich linary teams by teenagers travelare then divided up into interdiscip museum, cards ready engineering firm . house for troubled and for the chosen field, create an exhibit counsellor at a halfway guide to games a far cry from his teenagers. to research and compiling their information. staff reporter by night. Though digitally a lot about the centre ahead of you. i Jernigan assures he learned are ex- graduallyBKi program can be found in step they one or teens always The in the faculty for our troubled ed Jernigan is ► page 8 integration, located early at second cuphot latté “Whether they are adolescents and for Knowledge studies. it seems contradictory teens, they’re still learned this by arriving ental issues no matter secure his usual extra tment, ceptionally gifted faculty a could to i environm behaviour tied so of interview program being at.” there’s a lot of common side. To my disappoin — a boundary-free the tables and asks me, “What’s spectrum they’re and get on his good seated and took the liberty ent which end of the is responding to the pressures Jernigan turns Jernigan was alreadymug himself. Lesson learned: Jernigan — but interdisciplinary than the big environm one such issue more path after high school. of filling the travelendlessly and execute flawlessly everything? of selecting a careerare a lot of teenagers coming out [Vicethat encompasses one must research arrive more than 15 minutes with the idea with learned that there do not yet know what career “I actually toyed and provost amit chakma] — and apparentlyagainst someone as capable as not have a of high school that academia and they should developing such early — when up Jernigan president they want to choose too far along in what until they are sure. g, Jerni- path t before we got encouraged me to think about ed Jernigan. design engineerin to make that decision in his enrichmen Jernigan program…he of Waterloo professor of systems the kids enrolled might look like.” ed the university option, the says some of , feel the very same degree program e building enriching and the unlimited and gan has distinguish Waterloo degree abilities a new the success Sports a unique program, despite their leadership looking for has plenty of experienc once more by founding for students, with e integration (BKi), pressures Ciesielski . “They were exciting programs valley program and Waterloo disciplines in Bachelor of Knowledg student Victor qualities of educatione that would allow them to to incorporate all of both the shad g the BKI program was, he Former UW program designed study. The highly anticipated a university experiencin both the humanities and Canadian Open. Unlimited; developin ” a student’s academic tees off at the e in september 2008. evolution. continue to explore when we started thinking, valley natural commenc “a shad to faculty, set says, the is that’s each degree running disciplines from of students the sciences. so unlimited undergraduate degree Jernigan has been1984, and has been a systems By combining an ► page 13 since to attract the kindswell-rounded; ‘What would like?’ and we began talking about program at uW professor since 1976. each year BKi is expected in every “really bright, reallyroles as leaders program look engineering that UW wants: 20 and 30 Shads ample time design likely to be taking when they go it just that way.” for BKi ensures based on he noticed “between In the fall of 2003, Jernigan the ones who are also curriculum but Arts The class.” p years decision design scholarshi systems unique play make this life during their universitygo in life.” Jernigan might as during the first on Drama professor’s of canadian Millennium for students to they lot. their passions lie The students noticed a list are granted scholarships based on to wherever himself. where they find in a parking university of the BKi degree. ve science recipients who well be describing his first engineering degree to be staged and could pick any and second years scholars. “I high school experience enrol in three investigati After achieving received 52 of these will be required to “not just textbook learning,” in the country. UW systems design and computing of courses that display two math courses, a prob► page 14 was on the chair for me to wonder how many of experimental says Jernigan. roughly and it was natural systems. systems is a very small language course, in the ability course, a new course, written and spoken up of ended cent only about two per course and them design, a computer department — it’s we’re very small compared to a critical thinking english courses, in the first two years of study. body — so Millennium 52 student are and there more are required years are designed to provide the whole university,at the university. out The first and secondacademy and an introduction scholars spread the a big picture of scholarship, while the third and , page 3 See DEGREE into the nature of reserved for more specialized fourth years are doug copping opportunities.

option.

Pac Main Gym

The univ

of WaTerloo’s

► page

new degree Ed Jernigan founds

Men’s Basketball

NOTICE OF MEETING – Imprint Publications, Waterloo is holding its ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING on Tuesday, February 26 at 2 p.m., Multi-Purpose Room, SLC, UW Impr Int The Proposed Agenda for the Meeting is as Follows: In t

LESSONS

Kinga Jakab

Waterloo vs. Toronto 7:30 p.m. Sunday, February 10

official sTude

Impr The universiTy

Waterloo vs. Windsor 7:30 p.m. Friday, February 8

Waterloo vs. Laurier 6:00 PM Wednesday, February 13

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS PRESENTATION OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, 2006/2007 APPOINTING THE 2008/2009 AUDITOR PRESENTATION OF THE 2008/2009 BUDGET POLICY AMENDMENT RATIFICATION** ELECTION OF THE 2008/2009 BOARD OF DIRECTORS ADJOURNMENT

Proxy forms are available in the Imprint office and are due by Friday, February 22 at 2:00 p.m. Letters of intent to run for Imprint’s Board of Directors should be submitted to Imprint’s president by Friday, February 22 at 4:30 p.m. The floor will also be open to in-person nominations during the meeting.

QUESTIONS?? ~ Contact president Adam Gardiner at president@imprint.uwaterloo.ca or 519-888-4048

Closure at las Man accused

11, 2008

vol 30, no 22

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UW student

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Organ don

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pleads guilty , page 3

Health Cana

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r, page 20

WORKS IN P

ROGRESS

Campus co nstruction an ongoin Different ro g process ut UW refuge e for e program Photos by

Michael L.

assistant

Jenn serec

Davenport -chief

editor-in

pit has since blossom despite initial (see above right), ed into a beautifu which will eventua l building Sarah vations starteddelays in getting the actual uW’s future Hewey remains on , construction for feds reno- isn’t comple pharmacy students. The lly house intern te yet, but the schedu to open January le and the store eXpress arrived on campus first pharma building the refugees is still due cy students this term. in december, from a varietywas provided through The Quantu 28. The photov donations m-nano centre 2007, feds studen of groups on slow starter. due to open oltaic research centre (prc) tioned the has also as this year. origina is also univer against creating a student t council mo- fice,UW President’s Office, campus, including was supposed of september 2006, construbeen a fall of 2008, lly VP Academ but to have uW’s research it was to open in vice sity of Waterloo World fee to fund the paul’sRenison English Langua ction ic Ofstarted within year. The green park website of canada and technology ge Institute, united college univer the St. tion, but the first is as of yet unmarred by following winter 2008.” says the “first phase [is] , federa program, an (uW Wusc) studen sity ser- and the faculty of science tion of students the Bombshelterstep is finally underway: construc- campus map. prc is already on new copiesopening students to organization that allows t refugee This past year, foundation. excavating university the issue of service tunnel patio for the constru also include current construction on of our and integra support and fund the immigr Wusc how to fund s an additio ction of a tion of one (see above centre-t campus post-se ation refunda’s further efforts — possibl n buildin or both Meanwhile, two g (see above op). the condary institut refugee ble student y through according to centre-bottom optometry was founde countancy website ion. The programs into a With the council’s debatefee — came into questio a d , which ment the extension school of ac- mence even more construction ) and pas. n. focused on (see above left) living costs, in 1978, also provides funding this to a slated fee, how hagey year school supplie to comand whethe to imple(“engin hall betwee for approa this year, with is due to be completed in r or s, and other n east campu eering 5,” to be built sary expenses. March classes starting neces- presidech for Wusc. accordnot it is the right in July 2006, as soon as May.of hardhats and steel-to s hall and ring road) since the incepti ing nt to interna feds uW l darcy vice owned ed boots on of the progra the corner of disappearing King and victoriaa giant sand pit on from our campusdon’t look to be uW has hosted two Kenyan m in 2000, cilors did not disagree higgins, some counTariku Kebed with the spirit program, but streets. That anytime soon. e and samuel student refugees: to rather, the sand of the bers of the Kakum fee admini Banti, both mdavenport@im mem- “There ster it. in particu itself and how a refugee support tuition print.uwaterloo. lar said higgin were things waivers and camp. funding to of ca to be worked s, accommodation the refund.” out in terms for

L E T S

See WUSC

M A K E

A Sign up in D E A L the SLC Jan ! REV: Jan 18 From 14 th V1: Jan 1411am-3pm Check ww 15 th from QUIT SMO w.leaveth 5-7pm KING epackbehi AND WIN $600 nd.org for details

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