Imprint_2009-02-06_v31_i25

Impr int The university of Waterloo’s official student newspaper

Friday, February 6, 2009

vol 31, no 25

imprint . uwaterloo . ca

Fading ink? A series on the future of print

part 1, page 10

Election

Connection

Mohammad Jangda

Jamie damaskinos

Mohammad Jangda

Candidate cagematch:

Above: From left to right, Feds presidential candidates Sam Andrey, Mubi Sadoon, and Allan Babor discuss their platforms and plans for the future of UW at the public debate held Friday, January 30 in the Student Life Centre. Fellow candidate Brandon Mulholland was unable to attend, but sent a video outlining his views.

The video did not play due to technical difficulties, but Travis Myers staff reporter can be found linked on Mulholland’s Facebook profile, “Brandon Mulholland.” hree candidates for the presidency of

Presidential hopefuls match wits with words

Special Election Edition Feds Election Coverage 2009 Candidate Interviews...................p.13-24 Hot Topic: Athletics..............................p.32

the Federation of Students sit down at a table in the Imprint office. They arrive ostensibly to talk politics, campaigns platforms, and the like. While these goals were accomplished, the interview itself functions as something of a summary for the election and the campaign process thus far. Sam Andrey entered the office, cool and collected. His business-casual wardrobe is a relief from the shirt-and-tie fare he’s been sporting throughout much of the campaign period. His security is both calming and unnerving at the same time — his confidence

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Finally, as candidate Mubarak Sadoon was unavailable, the last candidate, Brandon Mulholland joined us. The champion for the athletic cause is easily the least politically prepared of the three sitting at the table, but his good looks and interpersonal skills have made him a visible presence throughout the campaign. Informed students are probably already aware of his rhetoric-heavy viral promotion video, which contains scenes of he and several supporters repeating phrases such as “our Waterloo” and “highly effective leadership,” and little platform information.

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is a quality sought after in leaders but his perceived assuredness is bothersome in the period prior to the vote.

Allan Babor joined us and began to chat casually while I prepared. Babor’s strength and weakness lies in his commitment to and interest in students. While student engagement and empowerment are crucial to both student life and student government, his detractors have made their case against him for focusing too narrowly on the interpersonal and ideological side of the Federation (a technique he used previously to bolster recognition and involvement in the Arts Student Union) while not focusing enough or speaking as strongly about the corporate and financial aspects of the government.

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CANDIDATES FACE OFF

One room, three candidates, five topics, no restraint ATHLETICS What role do you think athletics will be playing in this election?

“I think people are frustrated with campus recreation,” opened Andrey, the only candidate at the table to have not participated in varsity athletics at UW, “the PAC hours, the equipment at CIF, and that comes from the budget cuts we saw two years ago.”

“Athletics will play a key role,” said Babor, former captain of UW’s varsity cheerleading team, “and Brandon is driving hard there, and that’s a great thing. The fact is that we don’t have a large voter turnout and this is a huge demographic of our campus.”

“Athletics has a stronger tie to this election than it’s had in a long time. There is a rift between Feds and athletics.” Said Mulholland, the candidate with arguably the most influence in and support from the athletics community, being an athlete and being involved in We Are Warriors.

Andrey quickly agrees: “There is, I think there is a rift between athletics and Feds.”

CKMS “What are your feelings about last years referendum in the news again with the possibility of a new fee? Where do you stand on the issue?”

Babor dives into the topic, saying that “last year the students spoke and said ‘no,’ they didn’t want to [pay the fee]. CKMS has done a number of things to improve themselves […] I think they’re doing a fantastic job. If [the students] want to see it happen we’ll create that referendum.”

Andrey shares a similar view, although disagrees on the execution. “I think it was the president of CKMS who said that the referendum might have been a good thing because it turned CKMS around and created a new culture there. I don’t think it would be helpful to send it to referendum, but if they get the required signatures I wouldn’t do anything to stand in their way.”

Mulholland also agrees that, after having been on CKMS twice and signing the petitions it was something he felt was worth saving if the student body came to the same consensus.

Babor, taking que from the other two candidates, rephrases his answer before the topic is changed. “We don’t need to have a referendum to support Sound FM,” he said, “we need to start having it played at Turnkey and around campus to students can start to hear it and understand the value behind it.”

“Do any of you listen to sound FM personally, outside of the campaign period? I know [both Babor and Mulholland] have appeared on it recently — have you Sam?” “No,” Andrey quickly answered.

Mulholland takes a lot of interest in this question, explaining that “Actually, in my car, I don’t get 91.5, but I do get 100.3, and when the BBCs not playing I’ll listen to it every so often, and sometimes you’ll listen to it longer than you’re thinking about it. It does have the capacity to reach people.”

At which point Andrey interjected: “I do listen to it.” Babor, however, cannot say the same. “I’m an MP3 guy,” he said “I like to listen to what I want to hear.”

The two of you [Babor and Mulholland] had considerably smaller platforms — is that more realistic in terms of what you can accomplish in one year?

Mulholland pauses for a long moment before responding. “I feel as though there has got to be a lot of room for what students want to see,” he said, and then went on to explain that he agrees with quite a bit of the other two candidates’ platforms, and believes that a large number of continuation projects will be the brunt of the president’s work. “I personally would work with our support staff.”

Babor chimes in with his views on the campaign platform of his opponent. “I agree with the 50 point plan, and a lot of those things I have also been a part of and agree with. I think that those are things that need to continue. My platform is not one where we say this is what were going to do and stating it.” Babor stops to reconsider this statement before continuing. “Its important to say this is our plan, and I do have a plan, and I do have tangible things. I’ve got the co-curricular transcript; I have ideas for safety and security. That is important, but it’s also important to say that we want to hear what students think, and we want to get feedback, and they’re the ones who need to come forward and be a part of that process.”

What seems to be the main point of contention between the two candidates — that is, the view of Feds as either a tool for student engagement or as a corporation, is now out on the table. Andrey takes the opportunity to respond with a criticism of campaign tactics. “I’m going to disagree with you there, on that people in the past have said coming in with a plan, I think our weakest presidents are those that have won on rhetoric and goals and values — and then come in with no idea what to do, then spend six months learning the job and then they’re out the door.”

Babor quickly responded, “I’m a fast learner.”

He then brought up his past work with the ASU in defence, saying “Right now I have a number of other responsibilities, right now I oversee a government of 4,000, I put out my ideas and the things I’ve seen happen on this campus, and I don’t intend to walk in blind, and I don’t think that to imply that is fair.”

As the conversation between Andrey and Babor heats up, Andrey responded to Babor’s accusation. “I don’t suggest you would walk in blind,” he said, “Feds is an $8 million corporation with service aspects and business aspects.

To suggest that you can learn everything in two months —” Babor cuts in: “I’m not saying that I’ll learn everything in two months. I’m saying that I am always learning. And yes, I appreciate you bringing that up, one thing I don’t like is that it is always referred to as a corporation. You

I will find the right people to do it. And it might be you, I don’t expect you to disappear off the face of the earth.

— Allan Babor

PLATFORMS “[Andrey] you’ve been criticized for the 50 point plan, some people think it’s too much.”

“I don’t understand the criticism,” said Andrey

“

“

“I’ve had so many people tell me they’ve read the whole thing, which surprised me. Coming out of the gate, I wasn’t expecting that. I didn’t expect people to read the whole thing.”

Andrey then turns from the talk of his own platform to negative comparisons of Babor’s.

“Allan does a lot of talking about engagement and I think that’s great, but I think we need to engage them by giving them something tangible to chew on and get feedback, and I’d like to see a better plan from my two opponents in terms of what they plan to do if they win, or else you can’t be accountable to.”

have to be responsible and you have to be accountable, we understand the fact that we have a responsibility to our students to make sure that it continues to be sustainable, but it is a student government and it is here to represent

those values of those students, and quite frankly I’m tired of hearing ‘we’re the CEOs of this corporation.’ Yes, I know that. I’m the CEO of the Arts Student Union, but I don’t go around

“

Fitzgerald and I understand the history of why we don’t have it, I understand why co-op sets a prescient, and how we need to work towards it for the students. […] those are

You don’t have a platform, do you?

Like, an actual platform?

— Sam Andrey

saying [that,] I say I’m the president, I’m here to represent your voice.”

As the multi-candidate debate polarizes between Andrey and Babor, I try as the moderator to bring Mulholland back into the discussion by asking his thoughts on whether Feds is more about the business aspect or the student engagement aspect.

“I’d think right now it’s more of a corporation,” said Mulholland, “One thing that [Andrey] said during the debates was that Justin wasn’t keeping up with his public appearances. Well I think it shouldn’t be brushed off, it should be an important aspect of being the president is making the time to be the face, so that students can know there is something behind [the corporate side].” He went on to elaborate, “as the president it’s your role and your responsibility to get out and be more active and be seen by the current students.”

Andrey came to the defense of his statement in debate, which Mulholland had took to be in jest. “That is my primary criticism of Justin. As a director where it is his job to be accountable, that is his biggest weakness. I do take it very seriously, I would be out more […] When there are issues, we need to get out with students and make it an issue and be more visible.”

The tension across the table is building up. The tones between Babor and Andrey become sharper as they begin to interrupt one another.

Andrey continues on responding to Mulholland’s answer. “The corporation aspect of it […] there is no doubt that you run a multimillion dollar bus pass, and a multimillion dollar health and dental plan, and students trust you to —” “What about this term? Give me an example,” Babor interrupted.

Andrey doesn’t respond continued on, taking a swipe at Babor’s campaign slogan. “You can’t spend all your time ‘engaging’ students, its just naïve.”

Babor, visibly irritated by the turn of the conversation, responds. “It’s not naïve. I think its not a matter of me being out there all the time, council is supposed to be my eyes and ears and I’m supposed to be its voice.”

Andrey pushes his criticism further. “So what is your plan for engagement?”

Babor answers curtly. “What is my plan for engagement? You know what? You know it Sam, but I can continue to elaborate.”

Andrey doesn’t let it go. “No, I’ve heard you talk about it, but what are the tangibles?

Babor answers. “In what sense?”

Andrey: “Like, you plan to make a more engaged campus, tangibly, what will you do? Not that you will [do it] and that you think it’s wonderful, but what?”

Babor begins to explain his platform in more detail, listing off his plans. “The plan is co-curricular transcript as soon as we get in, centralizing student services —“ Andrey interrupts. “How do you plan to do to the co-curricular transcript?”

Babor responds to Andrey’s interruption in tersely. “How do I plan? I’ve been working on it for five months. I’ve done my research. It’s not a matter of me coming in and reinventing the wheel.”

“You’ve been working with [the administration]?” said Andrey.

Babor begins explaining his work so far.

“Yes, I’ve been working with the Harry

“

Continued from cover

little things that will make a big difference.

It’s not a matter of me coming in and doing it all myself, and I think that’s the biggest difference between us, that I understand that I’m not the best at everything.” He pauses for a moment, his disparagement noted. “Where I need to make up for those weaknesses I will find the right people to do it. And it might be you, I don’t expect you to disappear off the face of the earth.”

While Andrey and Babor have dropped the pretenses of civil conversation, Mulholland’s voice hasn’t been heard for a while. Sitting at the end of the table, with Andrey and Babor on either side, I can’t help but think that he looks as if he’s watching a tennis match while the two senators spar. I try and bring the conversation back to Mulholland by asking the other two candidates to acknowledge his presence.

I know you’ve mostly been talking to each other here, what do you think about [Mulholland’s] platform?

Andrey is the first to respond, “I haven’t seen it.” There is an awkward pause at the table after his statement. “You don’t have a platform, do you? Like an actual platform?”

Babor spoke in defense of the athlete’s campaign. “No, it’s on his Facebook page.”

For a short period Mulholland attempts to articulate a plan for what he calls “business enhancement” before the floor returns to Babor.

“Brandon, I respect you, and I think we need more student leaders like you on campus,” he begins, “I think we need more programs like We Are Warriors, and I think you’ve been through it, what it takes to start up an organization — but for those reasons I feel you’d be better suited to VP Internal, because I feel that that is your role. I just want to put that out there. […] I’ve attended the Senate meetings and that’s what I feel you are missing.

That is the void, and [that experience] would make you that much stronger of a leader.”

DUBAI Let’s talk Dubai. [Mulholland] where do you stand on the rights of gay faculty members and students in UW’s campuses abroad?

“I like the way the GLOW community has such a strong presence on campus.” said Mulhollan.

I ask him to clarify: “Do you mean LGBT, queer persons or members of the GLOW service?”

“Like, everyone involved in that,” he said, “lesbian, gay, transgender individuals. Sorry, what was the question again?”

I restated the question. Mulholland responded.

“I think that its important [abroad] that we set up a system that — maybe [not right away] provides a service to build into our international student federations.”

I open the question to Babor, knowing he and Andrey have much to say on the issue. “[Babor], you voted in favour of the school in Dubai.

Why?” He responded in detail: “We’re at a point where this discussion has been happening for two years now. We worked together as senators to say that we were okay with the idea but there were a number of things that needed to be worked on, and we will continue to work on this. What frustrates me is that it seems to me like we aren’t working together.”

See FINAL ROUND, page 5

News

Katrina Massey Reporter

300 estimated dead as fighting continues in Sri Lanka COLOMBO, Sri Lanka Relentless attacks between the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) have led the top government health official from the area, Dr. Thurairajah Varatharajah, to estimate a death toll of 300 civilians.

This estimate came after the only functioning hospital in Tamil-held territory was shelled on February 1 and again on February 2. The combined attacks

Imprint, Friday, February 6, 2009

left 11 dead and 26 wounded. The Sri Lankan military has denied shelling the hospital and blamed the rebels. However, Dr. Varatharajah has stated that two of the attacks seem to have come from the army, causing extensive damage to the overcrowded hospital. Gordon Weiss, a UN spokesperson in Sri Lanka, said that “...the attack is a clear breach of international humanitarian law,” since those wounded and killed were either already injured or visitors to the injured.

The ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) has staff at the hospital and has been attempting to evacuate wounded civilians from the area since attacks began. On January 29, 200 people were successfully removed from the area through the combined

Correction In the January 30 issue of Imprint, the Tamil Student’s Association was wrongly identified as supporters of the Tamil Tigers, a terrorist organization.

Tamil students speaking out against the atrocities in Sri Lanka are in no way automatically linked to this group, and Imprint apologizes for the error.

efforts of the ICRC and the UN. This occurred on the same day Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa declared a “safe-passage” window of opportunity for civilians to evacuate, which lasted until February 1. Civilians were urged to flee Tamil territory to a nearby safe zone spanning 35 square kilometres.

The UN estimates that half of the 300,000 estimated trapped civilians now

military. Jets are currently conducting bomb raids on rebel targets in order to advance their army northward and surround the LTTE. President Rajapaksa seems optimistic; on February 2, he claimed the LTTE rebels were almost crushed. “The stronghold of terror once believed to be invincible... have fallen in rapid succession, bringing the final elimination of terror from our

“The only functioning hospital in Tamil-held territory was shelled on February 1 and again on February 2. The combined attacks left 11 dead and 26 wounded.” occupy the safe area.

Reports, however, have emerged of fighting within the confines of the safe zone. Both the military and the LTTE are accusing each other of firing into the area. According to CBC News, photos are surfacing that verify large numbers of civilian casualties, and deaths occurring within the safe area.

The Tamil Tigers are encircled in an area of 300 square kilometres by the

motherland,” he stated. The military aims to find LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran.

Protests are occurring, most notably in Southern India and Toronto, in opposition to Sri Lanka’s offensive against the Tamil Tigers. On January 29, a man in Southern India died after setting himself on fire in protest outside of government buildings. Students also protested by conducting hunger strikes,

while some traders shut down shops in other parts of India. In Toronto, thousands of protestors formed a human chain on January 30 outside Union Station. One protestor, 17-year-old Phavalan Rahendram, said: “It’s not only the Tamils that should care about this...This is the killing of human beings.

This is a genocide.”

— With articles from CBC, IRIN, and Reuters New president gives Somalia hope for stability MOGADISHU, Somalia President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed was elected to Somali government on January 31 as part of a UN-backed plan to establish peace in the war-torn country. This is a big goal for Somalia , which hasn’t seen peace since 1991, when several groups overthrew previous President Mohamed Siyad Barre, provoking a violent civil war.

“The new president’s priority is security and stability,” MP Ahmed Abdullahi said. This includes such goals as resettling 1.3 million Somalis displaced from constant fighting in the past two years.

In February 2007, one million Somalis fled when Ethiopia-backed militia and insurgents began fighting.

Ethiopian troops left the area a month ago, with their final pullout from Mogadishu taking place last week. Ethiopian troops were replaced by 3,600 African Union peacekeepers from Uganda and Burundi. Some civilians have returned to the capital, Mogadishu, for the first time in years.

However, militants of Al-Shabaab, considered a terrorist organization by Washington, have taken advantage of Ethiopia’s pullout and claimed the Somali town of Baidoa the same day troops withdrew. Al-Shabaab has since held protests against the newly elected president and accused him of selling out to the West. Their group leader has also vowed to intensify attacks against African Union workers in Somalia.

Possibly as a response to these threats, on February 3, President Ahmed appealed for international militaries to help Somalia handle insurgents and establish peace in the country. An unnamed Somali said that the new president may be well selected since he knows the spoken language of Al-Shabaab and can therefore communicate directly with them.

— With files from BBC, IRIN, and Reuters

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Imprint, Friday, February 6, 2009

FINAL ROUND:

“

I’m feeling very attacked.

“As senators and as students,” he responded Andrey countered instantly, defensively. “It was an open forum with Leo [Rothenburg] and Amit [Chakma], and we had a two-hour meeting with Amit [about the opening of the Dubai campus].”

Babor responded, “And I told you that I was not there because I was chairing my ASU council meeting,” “No,” said Andrey, “the one at Dana Porter, the one where you weren’t there and we fought with him for two hours to make progress. [...] It’s not like they were secret meetings that we’re not inviting you to, these are open forum. “ The verbal sparring from earlier in the interview returned, with both candidates seeming more unnerved as they drag out each other’s political records.

“You’re calling me out like I’m the bad guy,” said Babor.

“Well you voted for it,” responded Andrey, “and you said afterwards that the reason you voted for it was because you took ‘the wisdom of the deans.’”

“That was one part of it and I’ve said a lot more since then, Andrey,” countered Babor, agitated, “when I don’t have the experience I look to others, and this is something they have obviously thought a lot about.”

“And when they want to raise tuition you’re going to take their word for it, too?” queried Andrey.

“No,” said Babor, “and I don’t appreciate you putting words in my mouth.”

“You took ‘the wisdom of the deans’ who always vote for —“ Andrey is cut off mid-sentence.

“They don’t always vote for everything, and right after that meeting I went to the arts faculty, I sat with all the departmental chairs, and I voiced the students’ concerns. We need to continue to talk about what kind of values are we going to be, what process are we going to see for students —” Andrey responded in turn by cutting off Babor mid-sentence. “And that’s great, that really is great, but it’s essentially meaningless if UAE is going forward with the issues that we talked about for a year, like workers’ rights, and you just haven’t been working on it with us.

You just haven’t been there. And then you voted for it. To suggest that we are working together and are on the same

— Allan Babor

and that was one of my driving factors.

A lot of people criticize me for thinking too forward, but I agree that there are going to be a lot of challenges over the next few years,” he said Andrey is nonplused by Babor’s argument. “But there is no leverage. It passed through.”

“We do annual updates —” Babor began.

Andrey interrupted: “No, we don’t.”

“Well,” said Babor, “we need to push for that.”

“But we lost the leverage to do that.” restated Andrey.

“I don’t think we lost leverage,” said Babor, “this, in my opinion, was going to happen, and if, like you said, the deans always vote in favour, alright. Should we be working against them or working with them?

Andrey disregards Babor’s question and said: “I was talking to the GLOW people and they said that they don’t feel welcome at Waterloo anymore. Not at UAE Waterloo, but Waterloo in general. To hear that is so disheartening.”

“It is. I’m not encouraging people being discriminated against,” said Babor.

“But you’re encouraging the project,” said Andrey.

Babor begins to speak in his earlier tones of engagement, “If we are talking about making people feel welcome, let’s build Ally Training into

“

What is a qualification that you have that the other candidates don’t? or to list off accomplishments they feel best represent their abilities as a student leader.

Babor is the first to respond. “I think I have the most diverse experience on and off our campus. I have a strong working relationship with our administration, […] and not just with our administration but with the students, in the grassroots.”

Mulholland speaks up, saying, “I think I have the stronger relationship with out current student body, when it’s come to developing We Are Warriors, and working, and playing for the hockey team, and [knowing] a diverse group of people around campus, and that diversity and the lack of involvement in the Federation process up to this point will allow me to bring in a fresh set of ideas into the Federation of Students I don’t think my lack of experience will hold me back too long in the process,

I don’t want to take ownership over it, but the suggestion that you did the same [amount of work] —

the curriculum and — Don’t look at me with a smirk.”

After a short exposition on the possible positive of the school’s presence in Dubai, Babor concluded by asking, “If we don’t go, how will students ever be able to?”

“Go to Dubai?” asked Andrey.

“Yeah,” responded Babor.

“They could hop on a plane,” said Andrey, quite obviously mocking Babor’s attitudes towards the situation.

Babor began, “And feel — Hop on

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GENERAL TOPICS

— Sam Andrey

“

I ask for a clarification, wondering if the “we” he was referencing was the work he and Andrey shared in the student senate. When you say “we” who do you mean?

page is not true.”

Any hope of including Mulholland in this discussion now is lost on my part.

[Babor] I’d like you to explain further why you voted for it.

“I can’t vote against the possibility of affecting change through education,

“

Continued from page 3

a plane, yep.”

Babor once again explains the positives he sees in the UAE venture. “People say to me it’s not our responsibility, well I think it is our responsibility.” he siad.

Andrey responded, “There is no doubt we could influence change in that country, but when we put a UW logo on a building, that should mean that everyone should be able to go.” The laughter from his plane joke is gone from his face. “If you’re Isreali and if you’re gay, you’re not going to that school.”

“As a Canadian citizen, how did we get to the point where we have these values?” asked Babor. “People had to come here and build on the foundation of education — and those principles, the historical —” he trailed off.

“And you think teaching a hundred engineering students, that is going to be the groundbreaker?” asked Andrey.

“I don’t think — no, I think that it is a part of the process,” answered Babor.

With the steam of their disagreement gone, Andrey allows the topic to peter in his response. “We disagree on that,” he said

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getting up to date.”

Andrey begins to give some examples of some of his accomplishments from his time in student government. “I worked with the dean’s office to make sure that we got rid of Saturday labs after I heard from my constituents in science that they didn’t like having Saturday labs. […] That is something that I didn’t report, it was done and then I moved on. [In] senate, exam relief, that was my initiative — Babor chimes in, saying, “We worked together on that.”

Even as the multi-candidate interview comes to a close, these student leaders can’t resist one last opportunity to disagree. “No, you came in two months later,” said Andrey. “[…] No. It was my initiative.”

“I’m sorry Sam,” said Babor, “my term started when it started.”

Andrey refuses to accept Babor’s involvement. “It was during the summer, and then you came in September and worked with us once we were finished, but I met with senators throughout the summer and the Registrar’s Office, so don’t suggest that it was ‘our’ project.”

Babor, however, refuses to let go of it, repeating, “No, but we worked together.”

Andrey concedes somewhat in saying “I don’t want to take ownership over it, but the suggestion that you did the same —” Babor also conceded somewhat in the closing questions, admitting, “I didn’t say the ‘Andreye,’ just that we worked together.”

As the candidates pack up their things, Babor summarizes the overall theme of what can so appropriately be referred to as a candidate cagematch:

5

“I’m feeling very attacked.” Although on the outset it may have been an interesting meeting in which the presidential candidates bounced off one another for responses, it slowly degraded into the roles the candidates have been playing from the outset.

Andrey’s cool demeanor and assuredness showed in his dismissal of the other two candidates at the table;.Babor’s focus on student engagement and refusal to play the political game ended with his floundering on several key exchanges with rival Andrey. Mulholland sat out much of the back and forth; and Sadoon’s did not even attend the interview.

With only a week before the polls close, the chances of these leopards changing their spots is small, the cement around their feet is setting much quicker than perhaps anyone anticipated. The real question is how their actions in this campaign will influence voters, and in turn, influence the direction of the Federation of Students underneath the eventual winner. tmyers@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Voting is Feb 10 to 12, 2009 Visit the websites of each candidate at: www.ababor.ca www.feds09.com The Facebook page of Brandon Mulholland www.startmubi.com

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Opinion

Imprint, Friday, February 6, 2009 opinion@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

The voice less often heard

Friday, February 6, 2009 Vol. 31, No. 25 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, Abbus Abdulali Systems Admin. Dan Agar Distribution, vacant, Sherif Soliman Interns, Brandon Rampelt Volunteer co-ordinator, Dinh Nguyen Board of Directors board@imprint.uwaterloo.ca President, Sherif Soliman president@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Vice-president, Vacant vp@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Treasurer, Lu Jiang treasurer@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Secretary, Vanessa Pinelli secretary@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Staff liaison, Peter Trinh liaison@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Editorial Staff Assistant Editor, Dinh Nguyen Head Reporter, James Damaskinos Lead Proofreader, Alicia Boers Cover Editor, Veronika Zaretsky News Editor, Duncan Ramsay News Assistant, Ryan Webb Opinion Editor, Adrienne Raw Opinion Assistant, Christine Nanteza Features Editor, Vacant Features Assistant, Vacant Arts & Entertainment Editor, Tina Ironstone Arts & Entertainment Assistant, Vacant Science & Tech Editor, Vacant Science & Tech Assistant, Rajul Saleh Sports & Living Editor, Caitlin McIntyre Sports & Living Assistant, Vacant Photo Editor, Vacant Photo Assistant, Shannon Purves Graphics Editor, Vacant Graphics Assistant, Vacant Web Administrator, Vacant Systems Administrator, Mohammad Jangda Production Staff Ted Fleming, Peter Trinh, Rajul Saleh, Paul Collier, Julia Hawthownthwaite, E, Kaitlin Huckabone, Andrew Dodds, Yang Liu, Tom Levesque, Rosalind Gunn, Susie Roma, Rachel McNeil, Erin Thompson, David Kraemer Graphics Team Armel Chesnai, Nikou 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.

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editor@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Mubi Sadoon’s different approach to student politics

F

eds exec candidate Mubi Sadoon is an interesting case in student politics. I knew he would be the moment he abandoned the Friday, January 30 executive debate in the Great Hall, so before we got to our main interview, I just had to ask him about some of the extreme positions he’d presented then. Rather than answering the questions posed by Del Pereira, debate moderator and acting Feds president, Sadoon wanted to talk each and every time about the need for Feds transparency. When asked why he wanted to change Fed Hall from a currently profitable business model to one that had in the past incurred huge debts, he said he’d changed his position: he wanted it to become a derelict building instead. As for the 18 full time and 200 part time staff of Feds (who operate all its businesses, manage accounting, and deal with communications and advertising), he said he wanted to cut a huge number of jobs; when Pereira pointed out that HR does not allow people to be fired without due cause, Sadoon said he’d find a way.

Having witnessed a few Feds elections now, I greatly appreciated Pereira’s hardline approach at that debate: very specific questions requiring precise answers, curtailing op-

Sadoon represents a large portion of students who will only be diverted from their studies and turn to Feds when something’s standing in their way. portunities for bullshit, and demanding that candidates demonstrate a working knowledge of Feds and university matters. So I was surprised to hear Sadoon explain that it was precisely this approach that led him to walk out on the event halfway through. “The questions were just not accessible to students. They just wouldn’t care.”

Sadoon’s actual interview is available in the centre spread of today’s newspaper, so I won’t rehash all his comments here, but what did emerge in the course of our conversation was the asset that he found his minimal knowledge of Feds to be. “I want to make Feds simpler,” he said, “and not knowing how Feds works going in, I’ll be able to come at it with fresh perspective.” I pointed out that existing Feds execs say it takes an entire six to eight month term to learn how to be effective at their jobs, and asked how he would convey Feds simply to students if he were to take the same amount of time to learn its ins and outs. To this, Sadoon had the following response: “Well that’s just it, though; I can start up a blog and explain day by day what I’m learning about the organization, so people can learn as I learn.”

Though I expressed skepticism to Sadoon throughout our conversation, there is something quite intriguing about his reasons for running for Feds presidency, and what it says about the role of student politics in university life.

Sadoon very much represents the average student, with day-to-day issues sparked by day-to-day interactions with the PAC, Feds Express, the Used Bookstore, the Bomber,

and the like. When asked about his plans with the government lobbying aspect of Feds presidency, Sadoon said he felt it was not important to work on long-range planning issues, but to ensure a few specific changes were implemented right now, in the present. Clubs seeking to use spaces and resources, for instance, should have more immediate access, and students should see better fitness resources in the PAC. Comments like these made me realize a great many students only ever interact with Feds when they need help with something pressing — and by no means is that a bad use of the system, just a different one. While such students may claim Feds isn’t doing enough to engage students, their ideal smooth-functioning organization of complete transparency and efficacy would, in all likelihood, be one in which even fewer of them ever notice it’s there, because it’s working so well.

Sadoon, in other words, represents a large portion of the student body that will only be diverted from their studies, their clubs, and their athletics, and turn their attention to Feds, when something’s standing in their way. Having difficulty getting a room booked? Maybe it’s time to talk to the VP internal. Getting kicked out of co-op for reasons you feel that UW bungled? Meet your VP education. Struggling to plan an event at the Bomber? Chat up your VP administration and finance. Want the university to do something about the professional development program? Your Feds president is a voice at the UW senate.

Sadoon, of course, has gone one step further than most students in that group: he’s running for the position of Feds president. But his issues remain on the same day-to-day level.

He does not know how the system works, but he believes the way it works is wrong. He says he later regretted some of the things he told me, such as his comments about Fed Hall at the debate, because his focus lies only with the issues he wants to deal with. The rest, from the management of certain businesses to participation in federal lobbying, he deems peripheral.

This adds an interesting twist to the old argument about student engagement on campus — the age-old debate about why voter turnout is always so low, and why our academically-driven students don’t also participate in a more wellrounded student life. When we think about students who interact with Feds solely when they have problems with the system, maybe we should start asking if the participation of every student is the best proof of an effective student union — or is it just possible that many of the students who use the Used Bookstore, Bomber, Feds Express, Feds clubs, student services, the Health and Dental Plan, and the U-Pass; or who reap the benefits of government funding through student lobbies, still have access to relief hours during back-to-back exams, and find protection against faculties trying to cut down on program flexibility, do so without complaint?

If so, by virtue of being satisfied with the status quo, is it possible that not hearing from these students, who have at their disposal the ability to focus more on their day-to-day studies, fitness goals, and club activities, might be the best confirmation Feds could get that they’re doing something right?

armel chesnai

Opinion 7 Behind those smiles

Imprint, Friday, February 6, 2009

Manners 101 nbest@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

W

hat is wrong with the students of this campus? I find myself ashamed at the behaviour of a large amount of students in some of the most common social situations. It seems that many people here are hopelessly consumed with their own personal lives to the point where they forget the basics that (I hope) their parents taught them when it comes to public interaction. We may be rated the best school in North America, but we have embarrassingly poor manners. Here are some of the things I think we should be more conscious about.

Hold doors

If you are walking through a doorway and there is someone a mere three steps behind you, you should hold the door for them. After watching the doors at the entrance to the SLC for a short time, there is some serious lack of door holding there. It takes only a moment out of your day, and it can brighten someone else’s. A good way to know someone appreciated your gesture is hearing a quick “thank you.” When was the last time a stranger thanked you?

to get thorough a tight squeeze of people, or do anything that would interrupt or disturb someone from whatever they are doing, it is common practice to say “excuse me.” Those two words are simple and important, yet I find them hard to come by on campus.

Tip your servers, always

People who have the job description of “server” or “bartender” are actually paid a very poor hourly wage, because the employer assumes they are receiving gratuities. The standard tipping in Canada is 15 per cent of your bill after taxes. If your server was amazing, give them 20 per cent, if they were horrible give them five per cent. If you choose to not leave a tip at all, I hope you realize you are ruining someone’s day. Some people (students especially) count on tips as a source of income, and when you skip the tip, you make them fall short on income. Think: would they be a bartender or server if they didn’t need the money?

Walkways are for walking, who knew?

Garbage, garbage everywhere from all the food and drink

When you bring food to class, you should take your garbage with you when you leave. I thought everyone would do this here, but I am sadly mistaken. It’s sad to think we are making our wonderful UW custodial employees have to clean up the garbage after us. Most students here are over 18, which make us legal adults who are far messier than most grade school kids. We should all take a page from Prof. Len Luksa’s book and clean up after ourselves. If someone beside you in class is leaving without taking their garbage, remind them they forgot something, or take the initiative and throw it out yourself. Why does every action we make have to benefit only ourselves?

Excuse me, but you forgot to say “excuse me”

When you bump into someone, try

If you are really popular, and have lots of friends who you hang out with on campus, odds are that you usually walk somewhere with that large group. This means you are most likely walking unbelievably, painfully slow to everyone behind you. My simple request in this matter is that when you walk in large groups, be conscious of the people behind you, and let them through or they may bump past you and “forget” to say “excuse me.”

When students are mindless at the best university in Canada, it saddens me to no end. If we are to be the future leaders of tomorrow, we should be learning and utilizing the basics by being courteous and respectable people in all aspects, not just with our academics. Be mindful, so our campus is a more beautiful and pleasant place.

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An international student’s experience

F

or the last six months, I have watched with some degree of anxiety and disappointment the general reaction to international students at this school. Though I am a fan of the diversity that is present on our campus and the interest and warm welcome with which international students are regarded, one can hardly deny the feeling that we are still regarded as aliens — only profitable for the chunks of funding we provide.

These feelings have been heightened by worrisome indicators of how Waterloo really feels about its international students. After reading the 2009 – 10 budget of the school, I imploded in rage and disgust for the lack of respect for the dignity of international students. The report, without much hint of shame, implies that to balance Waterloo’s budget for the next year, more of the golden cows who are international students would be admitted. Their fees would also be raised three per cent to accommodate the school’s shortfalls. While I had previously given school authorities and students the benefit of doubt on other occasions like this (Abu Dhabi), this time I am convinced that certain disappointing stereotypes of international students may be responsible for this discriminatory behaviour.

Behind those politically correct smiles of inclusion and diversity, we

know what you truly feel about us. You feel that international students are a bunch of fat cows whose corrupt parents fund our escapades here by milking our home country’s poor people of their wealth. I cannot deny that there are a few international students who might fit this description. However, there is another version of the international student’s story that beats these shallow but rampant images of grandeur through corruption. Perhaps I should share some of these experiences.

I have a really smart Ghanaian friend at the University of Toronto studying civil engineering. He has a reputation for cheapness — the kind that approaches extreme. He’s the kind of guy that orders wings only on Tuesdays because they are 25 cents instead of 75 cents. During the summer he hand-washed his clothes to save laundry money.

One day we discussed what we would do as soon as we got out of university in a few years — it was only then I was to know the story behind his smiles. His father had been a stock broker for a major financial institution in the country. He remained in the same spot for more than 15 years. Since his father was an immensely talented stockbroker, boss after boss saw his father as a threat to their positions at the company and refused to promote him. One open air night vigil after another, the family

eaboyeji@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

prayed and cast out all the demons that had bedevilled his father’s promotion, but to no avail.

Finally, his father lretired and began his own company. As anyone familiar with African business terrain knows, success is a crooked path dependent on who you know and how much you can “service.” This conscientious man opted for a straight path and lost out.

Threatened with lockouts by government agencies, he had to close down his young firm and return to the corporate world where he was appointed to a higher position at a different firm.

However, here was the problem.

Two of his sons, one of them being my frugal friend, would soon complete high school and Ghana’s educational landscape, while one of the best in Africa, was inadequate for the future he had envisioned for his sons. Since my friend’s father saw education as something that was not just for individual advancement but a necessary national service for a nation in need of intellectual rejuvenation, he insisted that only the best would be good enough. His sons would need to visit the white man’s land to learn his magic. However, the million dollar question was: How would he fund it?

See INTERNATIONAL, page 12

8

Opinion

Imprint, Friday, February 6, 2009

Community Editorial A plea for informed opinions respondent

I

’d like to begin this letter with an unconventional approach: I am a Jew, and moreover, I am pro-Israel. I think it’s only fair to objectively state my subjectivity on the Israel-Palestine conflict. Having said that, there are particular truths in this world which no amount of bias can deny; however, you will come to see that irrationality will always find ways to distort this truth, no matter how basic it is.

Just this past winter break, I toured the Land of Israel for two and a half weeks, and I am no closer now in determining a resolution to the tension in the Middle East than I was a half-year ago.

And while I am far from establishing an informed and concrete opinion on the matter, it seems as though every article, letter, and editorial that I have read on the topic is based on a complete lack of information. For example, it does not seem right that an opinion on such a complex issue can solely be based on the “proportions” of one attacker against his foe.

The most fundamental mistake that these writers make is that they assume Hamas is a legitimate government. The European Union, the United States, and even our beloved Canada have designated Hamas as a terrorist group. The notorious al-Qaeda responsible for the 9/11 attacks is just another one of these horrific terrorist organizations listed. I agree with those who state that Hamas was democratically elected to power. And, perhaps, after this legitimate appointment

to power, Hamas would turn its agenda around and Another poorly formed judgement is that of focus its energies toward bettering its citizens. But, the continual accusations against Israel for comno, this was not to be; for immediately following this mitting war crimes. An alleged 700 civilians were election, Hamas did what any totalitarian govern- killed in the three-week war that ended two weeks ment would do: Hamas murdered, imprisoned, and ago. Do you really believe that a country such exiled all its Fatah foes and quickly converted Gazan as Israel which is in constant need of positive Palestine from a two-party state into a fundamentalist public opinion would unnecessarily murder these Islamic state. innocent men, women, and children? It is safe to Although Hamas may have been legally elected say that we all value human life, but what do you into power, they now have a military hold on the propose Israel do to target Hamas militants when territory similar to the Taliban’s hold on Afghanistan. Hamas uses its civilians as human shields?

The Gaza Strip is neither developed nor modernized, Newspaper letters are often written in response to a and since Hamas has come to power, they have not particular article or editorial, but my letter is different. made matters better but far worse. So while the territory is While I am far from establishing an informed and in awful economic shape, the majority of Hamas’ funding concrete opinion on the matter, it seems as though goes toward the smuggling of weapons that they use against every article, letter, and editorial that I have Israel rather than the improvement of infrastructure in the read on the topic is based on a complete lack of region. information..

This now brings me back to the misinformed opinions of the writers on the IsraelPalestine conflict. They believe that the simple combi- In my letter, I want to ask other students in the future nation of a ceasefire and reopening of the Palestinian to write a response to my letter. In these responses, borders will resolve this complex conflict. Is it really I want to hear of constructive ideas that will actually that difficult to foresee a potential problem in such improve the situation in the Middle East and not worsen a resolution? Hamas would eagerly take advantage it. But I ask for one more thing: I would appreciate if of these opened borders and bring in an abundance these ideas were based on true information and not of weaponry which would then be deployed against the uninformed opinions of those that have previously the innocent civilians of Israel. been posted in this newspaper.

“

“

Gregory Cohen

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Opinion

Imprint, Friday, February 6, 2009 Bill Chang

Michelle Bellefontaine

reporter

reporter

hen the started airing out during the ‘30s, people felt that it was a matter of time before print media became obsolete. That feeling strengthened when the TV and computer arrived on the scene as main players in the electronic media revolution. Yet newspapers, magazines, and books remained strong during a time when people enjoyed reading and the computer was still a lumbering metal box, trying to find its niche within the media.

Unfortunately for print media, the PC did find its niche. The rest, as they say, is history.

As of today, it is without question that print media, once the darling of the information industry, has sunk into mediocrity. Newsgroups and websites have replaced the newspaper (plus the TV and radio) as the go-to news source.

Blogs and emails have made communication paperless. Even magazine articles and entire textbooks can be found online.

In the internet-dominated future, will print media be something more than a museum display item? Of course.

Will it regain its position as the premier source of media? Highly unlikely.

Top papers like The Boston Globe, Dallas Morning Herald, Toronto Star and National Post have all reported circulation losses in the last few years. In fact, newspapers have been declining since the 1980s. The situation is starting to gain attention as the Tribune Company teeters on the edge of bankruptcy and the New York Times Company’s shares trade at $5.75.

A main reason why people are abandoning print sources is time. With technology making everything faster these days, people operate faster. The internet offers information and resources faster than any form of paper. Less and less people are finding the time to sit down and read a good book or flip through a paper. We are more flexible and no longer settle for the morning paper or that monthly magazine. We demand info now.

And unlike other threats print media have faced in the past, the internet has ingrained itself into our culture. Television and radio were revolutionary but did not change the way the world operated. At most, they added entertainment to our lives. But the internet has completely changed everything — from how we work to how we entertain ourselves.

As we become more and more reliant on this new means of communication, old sources like print media become less important in our lives.

That being said, it is unlikely that print will soon be extinct. There are always people who enjoy flipping through the morning paper or lying on a couch flipping through the latest issue of TIME. The book industries will continue to make millions by creating new editions of the latest textbooks.

For many, the art of reading hard copies is more pleasant than staring at a computer screen.

In the wireless-info dominated future, in order for print media to remain relevant, the industry will have to undergo change. It shouldn’t look to regain the dominance it had not so long ago, but rather to acknowledge that the world is moving on and make the necessary adjustments to co-exist with the internet. Through mergers, acquisitions, online presence, and innovative strategies, our papers can stand strong.

After all, print media has lasted longer than past human civilizations. Why can’t it survive through this one?

ince the invention of the Gutenberg printing press, print has been the backbone of education, entertainment, and business. It has surpassed new technologies including the telegraph, radio, and television and will continue to fight for the future. People will continue to turn to a good book, the tabloids, or a newspaper for entertainment, and printers, publishers, and bookstores will continue to profit.

Many readers will always prefer the nostalgic notion of reading something real and tangible. Technology has a way of removing the novelty out those classic traditions such as curling up with a good book in some deserted location and reading it cover to cover or waking up in the morning to coffee and the morning paper which still smudges ink on your fingers.

Along with the dying notion of reading printed text is the dying notion of going to the library to do research or borrow books. Most resources from the past remain on the dusty shelves at the library as people turn to internet archives for resources. However, there are still many periodicals and books that hold valuable information that will never make it to the internet. Therefore, as long as these publications exist, so too will libraries.

It’s great that as a society we are becoming more environmentally conscious and that we are attempting to reduce our footprint on the earth through less print and paper. However, keep in mind the amount of power it takes to run your computer while you read the daily news, a few blogs, or an entire novel. Newspapers are recycled through the hands of various readers including rush hour commuters who pick up their favourite section on the way to work and through commercial recycling programs. The same is true for novels; print copies are easily reused as they are passed on from one reader to the next. The same novel may reappear in a used book store several times before it’s deemed useless and recycled. Perhaps being more environmentally friendly in the printing world means reducing the amount produced — eliminating unnecessary print.

Newspapers had a difficult time with the emergence of television, radio and 24-hour news. Their existence has continued despite these technological changes with few modifications to what is published in a newspaper. Unlike other forms of media, newspapers are able to offer truly local news through hometown papers with features that offer details that are too intricate for television or radio. In the case of publishing online, newspapers have adapted by joining the bandwagon, offering readers online content.

However, reading publications online requires that you have a constant internet connection or access to your computer. Some find it very difficult to read content online versus in print; our eyes simply aren’t conditioned to stare at a computer for hours on end while we read.

Part of the increase in electronic publishing includes new forms of publications that wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for this new trend. Many publications such as blogs, websites, and online forums have content developed purely for the internet. Publishing has become so easy thanks to the internet that almost anyone can publish whatever they like. Certainly, it makes it difficult for official publishers such as newspapers and magazines to compete. It just means that they need to up their game. Through the internet people have access to multiple opinions and aren’t confined to the narrow minds of newspapers who publish endorsed content.

It is evident that as a society we are moving forward once again as the result of technology. Sharing our opinions with the world and accessing information at the click of a button. We are also becoming more environmentally conscious, turning to the internet to read the same content that we could read in a newspaper and referring to resources online to eliminate the journey to the library. This printing scare has merely been an act of environmentalism as we reduce unnecessary printing. However, necessary print will always exist.

W

9

S

Is print media dying?

adrienne raw

Opinion

10

Imprint, Friday, February 6, 2009

Letters Re: Ask Shaniqua First of all, I must say that this article contains some of the most embarrassing and shameful advice that can be given; what the fuck are you people thinking? I find myself at a loss to describe, with one word only, the degrading advice given on what is supposed to be a helpful place to ask for relationship advice; instead it is disgraceful, debasing, and completely without dignity or decency. Is this the finest wisdom on sexuality and relationship management that Imprint’s writers have to offer to the student body? Have you even considered the fact that there will be readers (both within UW and outside) who will read this material, and may seriously take it to heart as worthwhile advice, thereby potentially ruining their personal lives? Encouraging women who have left relationships to console themselves by engaging in casual sex and referring men with large porn collections to alternative websites (thereby not solving the problem, but encouraging it) can only be described as conducive to bringing about failed personal lives and poor self-esteem.

Such disgusting advice will do nothing more than harm the men and women who have so innocently placed their trust in Imprint. Shame on Shaniqua, and shame on the editorial staff of the Imprint for complacently allowing this kind of material to be printed without consideration for the well-being and happiness of others.

On behalf of any persons agreeing

with this view, I demand that Imprint should cancel this column and print a retraction, complete with an apology.

— Bogdan Caradima Second year environmental science Re: New king and old courtiers It has only been a few weeks since the planet’s sigh of relief that was Obama’s inauguration as the U.S. president, and he has already shown signs of coming through with his promise for change: orders for the shutdown of Guantanamo Bay and a whole network of CIA “ghost prisons” where members of the broadly defined “terrorist” party were detained and tortured. Efforts are underway by the U.S. to fall in line with callings of the Geneva Conventions, there are plans afoot to tackle the economic crisis with an $800 billion injection (however much that is), the approach for dealing with Iran’s nuclear enrichment issue and the Gaza conflict (or massacre) has a more reasonable and mature touch. It is much too soon, of course, for results and judgement of any kind, and I, in my ignorance, am not concerned with that.

What I would like to point out is the depravity of the military and political institutions as evinced by the closure of torture chambers like Guantanamo Bay. An operation like Guantanamo Bay cannot simply be seen as a prison where they put humans away and torture them. It stems, of course, from a political and humanitarian (or

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anti-humanitarian) ideology: a very conscious choice — an ideological path the conscious progression on which was made very apparent by widespread criticism — going against the lessons of time to trade evolving human ideals for security.

Its success in is barely a concern for many. It should be kept in mind that the Bush administration was not just one man making these choices, it was not George Bush the man torturing possibly innocent people, but it was the administration. The Idiot King barely looked capable of doing bad things at times.

A great number of highly educated, highly “qualified” people at the top of political and military institutions are involved with these projects, a lot of whom are still going to be around and kicking through Obama’s time in office. For these people, closing down Guantanamo Bay would be like, to use a religious analogy, leading an extremely sinful life and then embracing religion near death in hope of salvation. The reality is perhaps different in that there are no real principles involved, and there is no desire for salvation; I personally picture a bunch of fucking morally bankrupt people going with the flow without a care. Politics is dirty by nature — and it needs to be — but the continued existence of large militaries which operate on primitive principles where a superior officer’s word is the rule of law without any room for negotiation, even when killing is involved, in the modern, “enlightened” world baffles me. How do so many people who, are guilty of outright crimes walk away unpunished? How do they manage to live on with a different face, and trade everything they stood for under one leader for another leader’s ideas with applause? The only redeeming power in the current world lies not in any gospel but in the art of convenient pretension, where we may hold on to our good natures while walking with the devil.

— Ali Alavi Re: Down but not out I am writing to you regarding your posting in Volume 31, Issue 22, “Down but not out,” an article about how co-op students from our school were affected by the current situation of the economy. I personally agree with your three suggestions to students: go home (to the old workplace), go elsewhere (to look for jobs outside their typical geographical area) and to expect less (regarding the pay). However, there are a few points I would like to remind these co-op students (or everyone in general) about.

First of all, I am quite sure that people of this generation, including you and I, have been thinking much too simply. We think that the tasks in front of us are much easier than they really are. Of course, going back to the old workplace or staying in the current workplace might work, though not necessarily, because there are many other graduates and unemployed workers who are for sure more qualified than us, being just undergrad co-op students. Nevertheless, why do we have to fight for a placement at work with these people who need their job for actual monetary support while we are just looking for some work experience?

Secondly, by looking at the world’s statistics, we know that the unemployment rate in recent years is growing, which means even if students were to look for jobs outside their area or

even outside Canada, it still might not work out. And if it works for some of them, is it even ethical to do so? As the position could have been taken by a father from a poor family with a malnourished baby.

Lastly and most importantly, what I think is worth mentioning is that if you are looking for a job merely for experience, save your breath and stop fighting with people who need this job; you can still earn experience after you graduate, or even work as a volunteer to earn some experience if that’s really what you want. If you are working for your tuition fee, I would say go ask for OSAP or apply for even more scholarships by studying harder instead of working. If OSAP

(PLO). Israel agreed to look beyond the PLO’s terrorist past, acknowledge the PLO (now the PA, Palestinian Authority) as the official representative of the Palestinian people, and to give them self-rule. In return, the PLO was to renounce violence, recognize Israel’s right to exist, and accept a two state solution. The most difficult issues (Jerusalem, refugees, final borders, and settlements) were to be negotiated five years later once Israel was assured that the violence had stopped. In the five years after the Oslo Accords were signed, 282 Israelis were killed, which was more than the entire 15 years preceding 1993. Even still, Israel continued to withdraw from the West Bank until

There are many examples of successful people that never finished school. Reality is cruel and students like us are just a small percentage of the world population. and scholarships still cannot cover the tuition fee, I am sorry to say this, but I do really suggest for you to drop out, because one can never do something beyond one’s ability. Also, not getting a university degree does not mean you can’t have success or be rich, there are many examples of successful people that never finished school.

Reality is cruel, everyone has to face it, and students like us are just a really small percentage of the world population. While we are just sitting in front of our computers staring at JobMine, there are many people out there starving because of unemployment.

— Hoi Ki, Leung First year planning Re: One day, there can be peace Derek Kraan of SFPR suggested that Israel must “come back to the negotiating table ready to make real concessions.” My friend, Israel wants peace! Every day since the declaration of independence was signed 61 years ago, Israel has sought peace. The declaration states, “We extend our hand to all neighbouring states and their peoples in an offer of peace and good neighbourliness.” The following day, May 15, 1948 five Arab armies attacked Israel.

Following the Six Day War in 1967, Israel was attacked on three fronts and found itself in control of the Sinai Peninsula, Gaza Strip, and the West Bank. This was after Egypt had initiated the war by blocking of the Straits of Tiran. Following the war, Israel was willing to negotiate under the formula of “land for peace.” The Arab nations responded to this with the Khartoum Resolution which stated three NOs: no peace, no negotiations, and no recognition for Israel. However, in 1979 Israel did make peace with Egypt. In return for peace, Israel gave up the Sinai Peninsula, dismantled all the communities it had built there, and ceded the oil drilling infrastructure.

Israel proved that they were willing to trade land, oil, money, military strength, and settlements for peace!

Furthermore, in 1994, Israel made peace with Jordan.

In 1993, the Oslo Peace Process was signed between Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization

98 per cent of the Palestinians were governed by the PA. Furthermore, at Camp David in 2000, Israeli PM Ehud Barak offered 95 per cent of the West Bank, 5 per cent of Israeli land to replace that missing portion, 100 per cent of Gaza, a capital in Eastern Jerusalem, removal of Jewish communities from all those areas, and $30 billion to help resettle Palestinian refugees. Not only did the Palestinians reject this offer, but no counter offer was made and the Second Intifada was launched against Israel. During this intifada, over 1,000 Israelis were killed, with almost 50 per cent of the deaths caused by suicide bombings. The 147 suicide bombings happened in places like restaurants, night clubs, synagogues, public busses, and hotels.

In 2005 Israel unilaterally disengaged from the Gaza Strip giving the Palestinians self-rule. Rockets had been launched from Gaza since 2001, and Israel decided to remove all its citizens in the hopes that this would start a peace process. Israel hoped for peace, but what it got, yet again, was more terrorism, more rockets and more mortars (over 6,000 since disengagement).

So Derek, as I write this letter, Israel is again at the negotiation table trying to stop the rockets that continue to be launched from Gaza. Israel continues to allow aid into Gaza. On Monday 194 trucks with 5,354 tons of aid entered Gaza even as rockets continue to land in Israel! By the way, this aid was not a one-time delivery.

Israel does allow aid into Gaza on a daily basis.

My friend, negotiations are a two way street where both sides need to make concessions. Israel has shown they are willing to make painful concessions for peace. When Israel extends its hand in peace, she is met with wars, intifadas, terrorism, and the most hurtful of all, the word “NO.” It seems as though it is always Israel’s fault for not making peace.

Why was there no counter offer to Camp David? Why the Khartoum Resolution’s three NOs? Israel, Egypt, and Jordan say yes to peace.

Peace talks are happening with Syria.

Israel says yes to peace. When will the Palestinians follow suit and also say yes?

— Alex Kaldor

Opinion

Imprint, Friday, February 6, 2009

international: on campus

Letters

Continued from page 8

“... supporters speak with stomachs” I found this article incredibly offensive as a Tamil individual who went through a famine for about 24 hours to portray a more proper message. Our Sri Lanka’s Tamil Genocide 24 Hour FamineAwareness Day was to bring attention to the fact that innocent blood is being spilled over a horrific genocide in Sri Lanka. However the media spins the issue, the Tigers have nothing to do with the message we wanted to send across. We were hoping that our fellow students became aware and motivated to help save innocent lives. With the help of students, we will gain the power to influence higher authority to help those innocent people caught in the cross-fire of this civil war.

Sri Lankan Tamils are slowly diminishing in number, and as students we try to help. But instead Imprint rudely portray us as Tiger supporters.

Moreover Imprint tries to discredit our efforts by writing “what they claim.”

We have not made up our concerns or our facts. Have you not seen this on the news elsewhere? If you have, then you probably saw 50,000 Tamil protestors in Toronto who formed a human chain on Friday to gain the attention of the city and national media.

The information is out there, but why would you send our message across with doubt? Essentially, Imprint took our act of awareness and made it sound dishonorable and discreditable.

— Thulasi Second year electrical engineering I am very disappointed in the manner in which Imprint put forth their coverage on the 24 hour fast to raise awareness about the genocide in Sri Lanka. I thought Imprint was more sophisticated than to follow mainstream propaganda about the terrorist group, LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam). This fast was meant to educate the students and staff at the school about the humanitarian crisis taking place. The Tamil civilian population has been drastically affected by a civil war that has been raging for 25 years in this northern region — losing homes, limbs, and 70,000 lives. This number has risen during the past weeks as the

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LTTE territory is being captured by the government’s armed forces and a quarter million people are stuck in the war zone. People who may not have walked through the SLC to talk to the participants and read the signs may not be aware of the issues at hand in this island nation. This headline is misleading for the people learning about the issue in Imprint. I know that if I were to read “Al-Qaeda supporters speak with stomachs” for a similar crisis in Iraq, I would surely turn the page and not even care to look for the cause of their protest. Just as being Iraqi does not immediately mean support of Al-Qaeda, WaTSA did not plan this event to “support the LTTE.” The Tamil Students’ Association wanted to raise awareness on the humanitarian crisis affecting the very people we represent. As many as 250,000 innocent civilians are running for their lives without food, clean water, or medical supplies, not knowing if they will die of starvation or by bombs from air raids.

— Asha T. Fourth year science Tamil is an ancient language that originated in India while the Tamil Tigers is a rebellious organization that has been fighting for an independent nation in Sri Lanka. Members of the 24-hour famine were deeply hurt by the mistake on Imprint’s part by equating the word Tamil to Tigers, but Imprint has made the correction on this edition in page.4. WaTSA (Waterloo Tamil Students Association) and the Tamil population in general have worked so hard to remove this association.

With the various demonstrations across the world, most publications and politicians were able to identify the difference between the Tamil civilians and the Tamil Tigers. After the bombing of hospitals and government proclaimed “safe zones” by the Sri Lankan government, UN and the Red Cross condemned the actions and have indicated that a major humanitarian crisis is taking place in Sri Lanka. Most publications (BBC, CNN, TIME, Reuters, Associ-

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ated Press, Toronto Star, Globe and Mail, National Post, Toronto Sun and various other newspapers) understood of the terrible plight of the Tamil civilians and journalists of Sri Lanka (google “And Then They Came for Me” by Lasantha Wickrematunga).

We would like to inform those who signed our petition that the petition had nothing to do with the Tamil Tigers. The purpose of the fast was to raise awareness on the slow and systematic genocide conducted by the Sri Lankan government. The purpose of the petition was to do the following: • Intervene to immediately stop the war and urge for resumption of peaceful negotiations • Allow NGOs to operate in areas affected by the war • Allow food and medicine to be let into areas affected by the war • Allow independent media to operate as they are not allowed in war regions therefore propaganda is easily spread (Reporters without Borders has named Sri Lanka the most dangerous democratic country for journalists) • Urge the Sri Lankan government to allow a UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Sri Lanka Various members of the fast have families in Sri Lanka who they have not heard from for weeks due to the war. We would like to thank those who came out to support us and lend an ear as knowing that you care means the world to us. We hope more light gets shed into war in Sri Lanka and that we, the international community, do our best to ensure another life is not lost.

— Sarujan Kanapathipillai WaTSA

He had certain bright ideas. Being a financial services guru, he envisioned that his talent could be put to personal use in some way. So emboldened by these thoughts, he took a loan of $150,000 on the family home and invested the money in the stock market.

He would use the returns to pay for his son’s education while gradually repaying the principal with his earnings. To fund my friend’s education, his father had to make the ultimate fatherly sacrifice — his worth. For this reason, my friend was going to ensure that any funds he was given were spent wisely.

Many international students have different variations of the same story.

Their ticket to learning was not some corrupt patriarch sucking their country dry to fund their foreign escapade. It was parents — some single — with an unwavering dedication to the value of a good — sorry, the best — education.

They believe this education to be critical to their nation’s future greatness and thus view their present suffering as a sacrifice that pales in comparison. For some international students, this sacrifice may even mean an arrangement some may view as akin to slavery — some loan shark lurks in the corner waiting patiently for graduation so they can come whisk away their foreign-trained intellectual to their sweat shop of low salaries and extra commitment.

Last week, I spoke to my friend again. Excepting some miracle, he might have to go back to Ghana next year to continue his education at a local school.

Thanks to the global financial crisis, the investment his father made is now at half its value — his ticket to success is no longer tenable.

Since, I am not in the business of blind criticism, I am not about to leave you with a sorrowful tale without telling you what to do about it, lest a minority of you embark on some dumb fundraising misadventure for “underprivileged” international students. One thing is very clear: international students are not

asking for a hand out. The majority of us see the sense in the discriminatory fee policy we must cope with. We know — a nation’s first responsibility is to its people. However, we do think that it is not enough to give international students an office and a song festival each year. We demand a voice.

I recommend that the school authorities immediately look into setting up a senate seat specifically for international students. Then we can be assured that we do not just provide fodder for evidence of school diversity, but that we have a considerable role in shaping policy especially as it concerns our interests. We can ensure that in issues such as partnerships with schools in other parts of the world, like the Abu Dhabi issue, the myopic view the majority of students take to such investments in freedom and learning can be countered by the international student’s point of view. We will also be able to roll back the exploitative mentality that pervades our school’s dealings with international students. Someone must be there to appeal against the reasoning that international students are just golden cows to be milked when it is convenient and abandoned when it is not.

On a final note, I would like to make some comments on the election especially as it relates to this issue. I sincerely commend Justin Williams for making this issue part of his election platform. It simply shows how remarkable a leader he is. However, I would also like to make a point of this pressing issue by endorsing Raynold Alorse for senator at large.

It is my belief that, especially in view of his extensive experience in issues relating to international students, he will be the kind of senator that will advance these interests in the senate forum. Hopefully if these reforms are implemented, UW will be the kind of international institution that plays a significant role in equipping the kind of competent, conscientious, and compassionate leaders the developing world so desperately needs.

Features

EWB

Imprint, Friday, February 6, 2009 features@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Amy LeBlanc staff reporter

T

he UW Engineers without Borders chapter hosted a concert at the Bomber on February 3, featuring two Toronto-based bands:,The Apollo Effect and Picture Sound. In true UW fashion, the night took an innovative spin on the ever-popular green movement called “Be Orange – What impact do your actions have?”

The “Be Orange” campaign is a new EWB movement that encourages a commitment to a socially and ethically responsible lifestyle that is not only globally positive but also personally sustainable.

The powerful rock and roll sounds and lyrical talents of Picture Sound and The Apollo Effect perfectly complemented the strong “Be Orange” message of the evening. Sarah Cook, the EWB UW chapter president explained that the “Be Orange” campaign has three stages. “The first stage is consumer choices, choosing fair trade and sweat-free products and simply being aware of the impact of your purchases. The second stage calls for civic action including writing letters to your MP regarding political policy issues in Canada that have the potential to positively affect others overseas such as untying aid.”

Cook elaborated that although Canada offers generous aid contributions every year to developing nations, a lot of that money remains tied meaning that those developing nations can only use Canadian products and materials. As a result of adamant civic action, EWB successfully passed bill C293 that unties Canadian international aid, which allows developing nations to use local labour and materials (swaying at least one reporter’s opinion about the impact of “writing letters to your MP”).

Cook defines the third and final stage of the “Be Orange” commitment as “personal impacts.

This includes living your life in an “orange way,” buying fair trade products, spreading awareness, and inspiring others to the movement.”

Finding inspiration and motivation in EWB’s cause, good music, and the “Be Orange” movement is one thing. But as any student will tell you, money is another — one has to ask, where does your money go when you support EWB events?

Cook ensures that all EWB proceeds go to overseas projects including the support of two UW undergraduate engineering students (both enrolled in the systems design program) on their upcoming four-month term abroad in Africa as well as two UW graduate students currently on 14-month placements abroad (Megan Campbell in Malawi and Wayne Miranda in Ghana). aleblanc@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Centre: From left to right, Shawn Van de Sande (Lead Guitar), Jason Harvey(Bass), Brent Lunney (Lead Vocals/Guitar), Erick Bruck (Drums), and Dennis Hahn (Keyboard), Toronto base band, The Apollo Effect pumping Bomber with musical engergy.

Bottom: Picture Sound’s Guy Glover (Bass, Vocals), Regan McDonell (Drums) and Fabio Sartori (Guitar/Vocals), performing during the EWB’s “Be Orange” promtion at Bomber.

photos by Amy LeBlanc

Features

Imprint, Friday, February 6, 2009

13

I think I’m turning Japanese Why has Japanese culture so successfully exported itself?

H

aving lived in Japan in the early ‘90s for several years, when I came to North America, Japanese popular culture was still largely confined to expatriates and a small underground scene. The general image of Japan at the time was still that of an economic superpower known for their compact cars and electronics expertise.

In my time growing up in Canada, I’ve witnessed first-hand the boom in Japanese popular culture, particularly among the Asian community here.

In the 1980s, as the Japanese economic behemoth threatened to overtake American economic hegemony. North America was awash in anxiety as alarmist articles came out from publications such as Newsweek that the average Japanese salaryman would make five times what the average American businessman made by the late ‘90s. However, as the Japanese economy crashed in the early ‘90s, fears in North America of Japanese hegemony were allayed. What arose instead was a trickle in the eventual flood of Japanese popular culture to North America.

Starting with videogames, and then manga and anime, Japanese pop culture gained a foothold in North America in the early ‘90s. Video game franchises such as Super Mario, Sonic the Hedgehog and Pokémon became household icons, and anime had a steady niche following the advent of subtitled VHS tapes and later on gained a more mainstream

yliu@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

following with dubbed imports appearing on Saturday morning shows and the Cartoon Network.

Japanese video game companies top several billion dollar in sales within North America and Europe each year, outpacing Hollywood in the last few years. Major Hollywood adaptations of Japanese anime are coming out within the year such as the popular and venerable Dragonball series.

While video games and anime have been the predominant Japanese cultural export to resonate with the under-25 crowd, Japanese food (especially sushi), though an exotic curiosity 20 years ago, is now ubiquitous in big cities across North America. A quick peer through the Yellow Pages reveals more than 100 listings for Japanese food in Toronto. Japanese snacks such as Pocky can be found in most city supermarkets today.

So how is it that a country as homogenous and culturally insular as Japan has become one the leading ambassadors of Asian pop culture, particularly in the West?

According to the Japanese tourism board, revenues from foreign tourism has nearly tripled in the last 15 years. The number of students of Japanese language has also exploded. The Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) was first administered in 1984 to certify foreign speakers of Japanese. In its initial year only 7,000 applicants wrote the test. In 2007, more than 500,000 applicants wrote the test

worldwide and the number continues to grow annually. One only has to look at the massive waiting list for Japan 101 every term here at UW to assess the popularity of learning Japanese.

Within the Asian community, Japanese pop culture influence is even more ubiquitous. From food, to fashion, to music, dramas, hairstyles, brands, etc. much of the trend setting comes from Japan.

Especially to youths that come from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japanese pop culture has largely amalgamated with the pop culture from those areas. Even in countries that have traditionally been political rivals with Japan such as China and South Korea, Japanese popular culture through video games, anime, music, and fashion, has been bridging the political gap between the countries within the younger generation. Despite a large Chinese expatriate community in Canada, Japanese pop culture is still perhaps more visible in the mainstream media even with a miniscule expatriate community.

South Korea had a popular culture wave that swept through Asia in the earlier part of this decade.

However, the Korean wave did not spill over at all to the West, while the Japanese wave continues to build momentum here. It seems Korean cultural exports, largely its movies, music and dramas have not found an audience in the west, except among the expatriate community. However, Japanese cultural exports of video games and anime has

seen increasing popularity each year in the West.

Why is this the case?

As the Japanese economy found itself mired in a deep recession in the ‘90s, Japanese entertainment conglomerates, which in the past had focused solely on the domestic market, realized they had to look to other streams of revenue to stay afloat. As the world’s second largest economy, some natural osmosis of popular culture to foreign lands is expected. Much in the way American culture has dominated the global market. Japan used their economic leverage to export their cultural products. Japanese animation (anime) has found a huge market with kids and teens in North America as well as a substantial niche market with adults. Anime seemed to resonate strongly with the “geek” community in the West, which in the past would’ve been largely enamoured with fantasy novels and Dungeons and Dragons.

The huge communities formed by anime fans have contributed to dump billions of dollars into anime related goods each year.

The Western fascination with Japan also stems from a mutual consumerist mentality. Japanese cities are blistered with bright neon colourful ads, and many of its holidays are driven by consumerist spending. Japan is exotically different enough from the West, yet is still “first-world” enough for Western allure without the associated baggage of dire poverty or imperialism.

A student’s guide to the free life

“

U

‘Life for free’ on campus isn’t always easy. It requires time, stamina, a bus schedule and a bagged lunch.

niversity can be expensive sometimes.

Tuition, rent, travel, and all the other costs of living are constantly competing for your cash. Why not take advantage of your student privileges and embrace everything free on campus? The following is a brief survey of what’s available for WatCard-equipped students at UW. These are only some of the many free activities on campus. More possibilities are out there — you just have to find them.

Starting your free day is as easy as hopping onto your local GRT bus route. If you can’t take a bus to school, you can explore more of Kitchener-Waterloo. Why not use the iXpress to visit Uptown Waterloo (King and Erb), Wilfred Laurier University, Conestoga Mall to the north-east of campus or even Fairview Mall further South?

Once you step off the bus and onto campus, you can choose almost any UW building to walk through and warm up. Part of your tuition is used to keep all these buildings well-lit and the right temperature all year long, so enjoy. Visit the mini-museum in the Environmental and Information Technology (EIT) building, or go for a stroll through the art gallery in East Campus Hall (it’s on Philip Street a little bit North of Molly Bloom’s).

Between explorations, race a friend up the stairs

to the top floor of the Dana Porter library. Don’t have a friend? Read a book instead. If you’re feeling more creative, why not build something epic with the piles of snow we have lying around? Explore the campus’ myriad tunnels, colleges, hallways and staircases to your heart’s content. Like Ontario, they are “yours to discover.”

While trotting around campus, there is a lot to do for free besides explore. Reading the Imprint is an excellent start. Check out the other free publications on campus for different perspectives. Alternatively, visit one of the faculty-specific computing labs around campus to surf the internet. There are also computers you can use in the Tatham Centre, but be prepared to compete for elbow room with jittery co-op students trying to triple-check their interview times.

Online you can find a ton of free things to do at www.uwaterloo.ca alone. Try typing in “Tanya’s List” into the Uwaterloo search bar for a Word document provided by CECS that is loaded with scholarship and adventure opportunities. Take a look at the Daily Bulletin — it always has a list of things happening on campus, in addition to daily campus news items.

For some more social contact on campus, you can spend time with one of the many clubs on

“

imerrow@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

campus for free. Some clubs might require a fee to join, but for the most part they’re funded by the “Federation of Students” charge on your tuition bill. If Feds doesn’t have what you’re looking for, there are a host of a faculty or program-specific societies you can join (like MathSoc or PsychSoc). Drop by their club office if they have one — depending on their mandate, some clubs might provide you with services, buttons, or reading material. Browse the “full clubs listing” on the Feds’ website to get inspired, or apply to Feds for funding to start up your own.

Wily WatCard users can also access a whole list of free services by using their card outside the UW “club scene.” Use it to book free late-night rides home from Ride Safe, free counseling sessions with Counseling Services, and free writing workshops from the English Language Proficiency Program. Top it all off with free pizza and movies provided during Warrior Weekends in the SLC and you might make it through a whole week without spending a cent.

Another WatCard perk is the accompanying full gym membership to the campus’ Physical Activities Centre (PAC) and Columbia Ice Fields (CIF). Between these two facilities you can weight lift, use cardio machines, skate, swim, shower or

GREEN YOUR CAREER— Applied skills for the Environment

rent equipment to play squash, basketball, or badminton. Check out a facility schedule on campus recreation’s website before your next visit and enjoy.

Also, if you’d like to be a spectator, you can always wave your WatCard for free admission to varsity games happening on campus. Ditch your plans to watch the game on TV to watch Waterloo’s finest compete live, for free.

After you’ve lost your voice from cheering, why not book a free appointment with health services?

Remember to call in if you need to cancel though, because a no-show will cost you $20.00. Not sure if you need to book an appointment for a particular health issue? Call Telehealth Ontario free of charge at 1-866-797-0000 to ask a registered nurse about it.

If you’re lucky enough to feel healthy but still don’t have a dime, start dreaming about life after UW in the Tatham career centre. Flip through their massive binders on internship and volunteer opportunities, book a spot in a career workshop, or RSVP for an employer information session. Even if you don’t get a job offer, you may walk away with a tasty slice of pizza and a few ideas.

“Life for free” on campus isn’t always easy.

It requires time, stamina, a bus schedule, and a bagged lunch. When times are rough, you might envy the people in the Tim’s window eating their $7 sandwiches. Just try to remember that the more time you spend on campus for free, the more cash you have for a life outside Ring Road.

Environment & Geomatics Centre W Ecosystem Restoration

niagaracollege.ca

(Graduate Certificate) W Environmental Management and Assessment (Graduate Certificate) EMA On-Line Available in Distance Delivery W Environmental Technician–Field

and Laboratory (Co-op) W Geographic Information Systems

– Geospatial Management (Graduate Certificate)

905-641-2252 ext. 4480 enviro@niagaracollege.ca

Feds Election

14

Imprint, Friday, February 6, 2009

Words for an election I

t takes a lot of work to wrangle the number of interviews with candidates Imprint is proud to share with you, our readers and the full-time undergraduate student population that will vote in the upcoming election, in the following pages. We’ve never had such a large elections issue, so I’m hoping you’ll find some use in having a great many of the Feds candidates answering the same questions in different capacities. Personally, I was quite struck by how much variance a question like “What do you see as the most pressing student issues in general?” received — and encouraged about what such diverse responses say about the need for students to maintain an open dialogue about our different experiences and challenges with life at UW. It takes a village, clearly, to adequately represent one, so thank you, candidates, for taking part in this election and providing such an excellent forum for discussing the crucial issues at present in UW student life.

I would, however, like to make a small request in exchange for these interviews — which I know, sadly, are not as comprehensive as I wish they could be, on account of our tight deadlines and a lack of responses from many of the candidates (who we at Imprint understand are very busy). Specifically, the request is this: if you’re available, and if you’re around, please drop by the Great Hall on Friday, February 6 between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. to take part in the media forum with Feds candidates, which I’ve structured to maximize opportunities for student involvement through direct questions to the candidates. I strongly feel the student governance structure will greatly benefit from your presence , your thoughts, and your issues — and, of course, it goes without saying, your votes over the course of election days (February 10 to February 12).

Hope to see you out.

— Maggie Clark Editor-in-Chief

This elections issue was made possible with the help of photographers Amy LeBlanc, Shannon Purves, Ted Fleming, and Julia Hawthornthwaite.

(Maggie Clark also took many of the enclosed.) Reporters Tina Ironstone, Rosalind Gunn, Dinh Nguyen, and Duncan Ramsay also took interviews to help shoulder the load. Graphic artists Armel Chesnais and Nikoo Shahabi assembled a gorgeous intro page to this section, which unfortunately had to be cut to accommodate a page that went missing from Opinion. Their efforts were nonetheless greatly appreciated.

Engineering senate Abhilash Jayakumar [We have his interview; miscommunication had it lost until just before press deadline; we’ll have it up with the rest online this Friday, February 6. Many apologies.]

Unfortunately, Imprint received no responses from the other candidates running for the following senate positions:

AHS senate Stephen De Thomasis Sarah Campos Peter Wawzonek

Math senate Michael Finistauri (Statistics & Actuarial Science) Jared Hebert Aaron Ingersoll (Applied Mathematics / Computer Science) Donald MacGillivray (Actuarial Science) William-Henri Sellier (Applied Mathematics)

At-Large senate

Correction In the January 16 Features article, “Miscommunication between student club and not-for-profit results in $3,000 loss,” Bombshelter manager Darren Maher was inappropriately referenced without being reached for comment. This is not Imprint policy, and though the writer’s motives were based on his realization, as the story developed, that the Bomber aspect was not at all to blame for the miscommunication between both AFRSA and the Afri-Can Connection, these journalistic rules exist for a reason, and can do damage when not maintained. Imprint apologizes for representing Darren Maher without giving him the opportunity for response.

FREE P

IZZA!

Muhammad Ali Akbar (Biology) George Chiran (Biology) Kevin Knapp Sabastien Kundra (History) As we at Imprint operate under strict deadlines, we would recommend not dismissing a candidate out of hand simply because you don’t see their responses listed on these pages. Instead, we strongly encourage you to find out more about these candidates on your own before casting your votes, either by emailing them directly, checking out their various Facebook groups and alternative websites, or by attending the media forum Friday, February 6, in the Great Hall from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Best of luck.

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Senate Feds Election

Imprint, Friday, February 6, 2009

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Why are you running for this position?

What do you see as the most pressing student issues in general?

Which of those issues do you feel you could most effectively tackle in your position?

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What are your achievements to date?

Edgar Bering

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For whatever reason, you have only one month to be effective in your position.

Besides training your replacement, what one issue would you tackle?

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On the last day of nominations, when I have heard the current list of nominness, I didn’t know any of them.

I asked friends, and none of them have heard of the nominees either. Whoever was running didn’t keep in touch, and we needed someone on the “third floor” to represent math students.

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One of the issues that I haven’t added to my campaign platform but I’ve been meaning to is cheating. Senators haven’t done anything to ensure that these regulations on cheating are to the letter. These rules need to be laid down with precise definitions, so you issues with students interpreting the rules in a way that, while technically permissable, still goes against their spirit.

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I strive to make a positive impact on the university, and would be honoured to have the opportunity to represent undergrad mathematics students on the UW senate. I aim to listen to the concerns of fellow math students and make sure those concerns are brought to attention.

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I think a lot of focus right now is being directed towards the current economic downturn. This situation has real implications for students diminishing co-op and full time job opportunities, potential reduction in scholarship and grant money, and a strain on student loan programs to name a few. While these are not easily solvable problems, the University is currently taking precautionary measures and students need to make

Ajnu Jacob

sure these measures don’t hamper the university experience of current and future students.

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I am looking forward to the opportunity to help deal with the economic challenges that UW and its students will face and will work towards finding solutions that don’t undermine the quality of education for UW students. We need to promote sustainable funding sources and operational practices that provide the greatest level of service to students, and make sure that student budget items (such as scholarships) are not drastically reduced. I feel my past experiences with the Mathematics Endowment Fund as well as managing finances and soliciting sponsorship for a national mathematics association have adequately prepared me to help take on these challenges. As

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the senate is an academic body that regulates academic policy, and I’m someone who is keenly interested in academic policy, and i’m someone who wants to make an impact in that realm.

The most pressing issue is the precedence of financial value over student rights.

There are a number of issues that follow right under the above issue. The one that most alarms me is the withering down of the quality of the honours degree in math — specifically, in the CS program

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I’m running for this position because I feel I can be an effective advocate for the students at waterloo, and because I feel that my experience will enable me to effectively promote the interests of the student bodies I represent

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Notwithstanding the fact that the university board of governors just raised student tuitions by five per cent, and declined to lower staff salaries, I feel the most pressing issue right now is the internationalization of the campus. I am not in favor of this because I do not

think pursuing internationalization for the sake of internationalization is a worthy goal, since it would turn away domestic students for international students for the sake of more revenue.

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Out of all the issues, I feel that I would be most suited to preserving student interests in the co-op program, as there are significant changes coming down the pipe, such as forcing students to stay in the co-op program after their third term, which I am not in favour of.

What about your opponents makes you a better candidate for this position?

Also, students are now able to earn an “honours” degree through a curriculum of more general courses in two facets of the math faculty. This arose from high attrition rates, but if the faculty has this problem it should improve recruitment, not sacrifice the quality of what we as customers have to pay to meet requirements. As for attempted amendments to co-op, co-op is supposed to enhance the education, not drive it.

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I will tackle the cheating cultures and the devaluation of math degrees.

Senate is often seen as and acts as a rubber-stamping organization. They have been active in the past few terms, however, and I will continue to be that active. time progresses, I hope to be involved in a wide range of issues. If elected, I intend on being a very active member of the Senate.

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Given the incredibly short timeframe, my goal would be to promote and increase awareness of the Senate to mathematics undergrad students. Many Senate objectives are long term, and I feel there would be an almost immediate benefit to mathematics students if they were more aware of these objectives and the future plans of the University.

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My most significant achievements at UW to date have been through the Mathematics Endowment Fund (MEF).

I have been a MEF Board member for the past three and a half years and was most recently the MEF Director and and bachelor’s of math. The senate has had an upper hand in being able to judge what’s appropriate, and I feel their decisions in these cases were not right. I feel I could make a better impact.

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The issue that really bothers me is the one I just mentioned. more particularly, what really bothers the student body on the whole is that the administration has sort of tricked them into believing that 120x-level courses are something they could take to sustain themselves through the rest of the academic year. However, as someone who has

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I would do my best to preserve the academic integrity of the math faculty; specifically protecting students from increased generalization of degrees, such as the recent switch from the math sciences to the math studies major, and the above mentioned coop changes.

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I’m currently a Federation of Students councillor for the math faculty; I sit on the education advisory committee, and the 2008-2009 budget committee. I was also present at senate for two major debates in the Fall 2008 term. These were the exam

I would probably try to tackle the cheating issue, because in one senate cycle cheating is something I can take a proactive stance on, while with devaluation of the math degree is a longer process.

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Only two of my opponent have posted platforms, and unlike most of them, there’s no way for me to graduate before the term is over.

Ajnu Jacob — she‘s graduating before the senate term’s end, so there would have to be a special election.

Ian Kasper was primarily the person who motivated me to run. He was never on the third floor, and people couldn’t get in touch with him. I’ve made a promise on my website to book the third floor hallway the week before senate meetings, and ask the math students if they have anything that need to be brought up at senate.

Chairman of the Board in my last two academic terms. This role has been a mix of long term development and planning of the endowment fund, as well as operational and administrative tasks. I have also been involved with various other groups and committees and enjoy contributing my time.

Ryan Cuscito

One of my greatest achievements is attaining the rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America. Only three per cent of boy scouts achieve this position, which represents many important personal qualities: the ability to be trustworthy, loyal, hopeful, friendly, courteous, kind and obedient.

These aren’t values that you forget; you take them for the rest of your life.

I also attended a Changing the World conference with the CS club.

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I know the other candidates in this election are admirable, high-caliber individuals and I wish them all the best! As a couple of my current commitments are wrapping up in the near future, I know I will have the appropriate time available to be fully devoted to this position. I pledge to perform this role to the best of my abilities and make sure undergrad math students are well represented on the Senate. not taken those, i don’t think this is something i could stand for — it devalues the comparable quality of all our educations.

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I’ve been heavily invollved with MathSoc these past eight months.

I’ve been a council member on the Math Endowment Fund, too, which requires making sound decisions from an objective standpoint, so I am very confident I can perform in this capacity on senate as well.

or more, I’ve acquired a lot of context for a position as math senator, which would immediately mean that I’m highly connected to the students and approachable. I think these qualities would make me a better rep than my opponents.

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Through my heavy involvement, and my rich leadership, which I know I’ve been a part of for the past year relief provision debate and the Dubai campus debate, where I was one of the only students present — and the only student not professionally obligated to be so.

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I’m not using this as a resume builder; I plan being an effective advocate for all students at the university of waterloo, not just the math faculty.

I’m concerned with the experiences of the other candidates, as they are mainly focused at the MathSoc level and may not be exposed to the wide range of issues that the senate will deal with.

Ian Kasper

Feds Election

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Senate

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Imprint, Friday, February 6, 2009

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Why are you running for this position?

What do you see as the most pressing student issues in general?

Which of those issues do you feel you could most effectively tackle in your position?

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What are your achievements to date?

For whatever reason, you have only one month to be effective in your position.

Besides training your replacement, what one issue would you tackle?

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What about your opponents makes you a better candidate for this position?

Raynold Alorse — At-Large

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I’m running because of my qualities and my experience. As for that experience, I’ve been the global representative for the international student office, as well as an undergrad student representative for the student services advisory committee, a diversity steering committee member advisor, and more. As for qualities, I’m passionate about serving people, committed to what I do, and an excellent student — a national scholar —so I feel I can contribute to academic policy.

Students should have more of a voice and should get involved. there are so many opportunites for us to volunteer.

Matthew Cassell — At-Large

I’ve been reading in the campus newspaper (Imprint) and I’ve seen that there are a lot of issues going on in this university where I feel students weren’t being adequately represented. I feel this task is one of the most solemn duties for an elected official. I also don’t feel students aren’t connected to their senators, so I want to connect to students through new ways. We’ve seen them connect through faculties, but I want to engage clubs, use Facebook, try new approaches. So one, we need senators showing up, and two, unquestionably, we need more members of the community taking part.

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PD courses are one of the most pressing issues for co-op students, and it’s really aggravating to them. One of the other issues, particularly in arts, is that students feel disenfranchised. We need to address that and make these students feel like a bigger part of UW devleopment. Then there are residence and meal plan issues. We also need to look at programming and scheduling for orientation week. Moreover, we need to make the senate more relevant; I think students often felt last term that they didn’t have a voice.

I always tell people in debate that I have two approaches to getting people more involved.

The first is the use of an interpersonal approach — that is, talking to people, getting to know to people — and the second is the use of a technological approach — applications like Facebook and websites in general to improve communication.

I will strive to foster the representation of diverse voices. I’d do this by getting to know what’s going on in MathSoc, as well as other societies, and by working with the other senators.

I’ve received the Head of State Award for Overall Best Student in Ghana, as well as being a

I want to get in and blast open the groupthink mentality in a lot of people running for positions this year. We have to be proactive and reach out. There are so many disillusioned students.

Just keeping the administration accountable to the students is key, and it’s really about keeping students aware — making sure that issues coming up on the senate are dealt with, and that I as a senator know what my students’ feelings on the issues are.

Columbia international top grad for arts & social sciences. I’ve received three medals of honour in Columbia, best overall student in Ghana, and led my school in Ghana to win the National Commission for Civic Education Award. Here in UW, I’ve worked with the International Student Office, the Student Services Advisory Committee, the Diversity Steering Committee, and the One Waterloo campaign.

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My opponents mention a lot of experiences they’ve already had, but most of those experiences are external, whereas mine are within this community. I also think I’m more passionate.

did 20 to 30 talks on technology. I’ve also been involved in federal and provincial politics, which has given me the knowledge of how to speak with power, as well as a sense of how policy works, what matters in debate and argument, a slew of contacts, and insight into how to lobby.

It’s given me a breadth of experience that I can draw from for this position.

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I’m a first year student, but what I’d say about that is that most Members of Parliament had short records before getting elected. I received the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional award in 2007, which was earned in part through communicating with business professionals; I

First of all, I’m delighted by the strength of the competition. Something I think sets me apart is my undying commitment to show up at every single meeting and meet with the students, and my strong commitment to reach out to students who might feel disillusioned, disenfranchised, or otherwise disconnected. I want students to feel comfortable calling me, even if i’m not the right person to call, just so I can redirect them to the right person. My unique and diverse background – arts, technology, business – has exposed me to a variety of different things. Also, my political background has prepared me to deal with the giant bureaucracy that is the UW Senate.

Chakma’s speech about the region, and his own comfort there, was that he’s straight, and not teaching volatile issues: what happens then?

Looking at what UW is doing for students and professors who want to go there is, I think, very important.

Park against Bill 52, and I’m a regional speech com champion, so I’m a good and clear speaker — two variables I know are huge — and more importantly, I say what I mean. Being hired to the Turnkey Desk is also a good testament to my approachability.

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The most crucial issue is finding some way to deal with senate absences — the web conferencing solution, for instance. Another advantage to this approach would be having students all over campus taking part, being able to watch, so I’d definitely champion it.

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Dave Smith — AHS

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I chose to run for this position because I feel I’m the best person for the job. I think that student representation is very importnat.

I was thinking about this postioin 3 to 4 weeks before the nominations period opened, and our faculty was in a bind because we had no one to run for this position. On the first day of nominations, I was still the only one.

When others joined later in the game, I hit the ground running on this.

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Tuition is a big thing, because the re-evaluation of the tuituion structure is coming up next year, and I think we can make a big role in protecting students. Dubai is also a big concern: students need to be heard, and we need to get some insight into what will our student mandate there. If that means sending more delegates, more regularly, so be it. The biggest issue I had with UW Provost Amit

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I’d like to look at both, actually – at Dubai and at tuition, but I could most effectively work towards residential and international student fees within this tighter framework; specifcally how to bring them down.

I really want to see a training program between February and May, since there’s so much time for the training of successors. Otherwise, tuition is still my ultimate focus. I think there’s no need to charge this much for education.

I represented high school students in Queen’s

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I feel that I really hit the ground running in this election, and that won’t change when I get elected. My faculty is underrepresented, and that needs to change. Further to that, others have said that they’re better connected, but it’s not who you know now, but how you build those relationships in the future that matters. And I’ve already started that with other senators and Feds exec nominees. I’m willing to do more than the five hours a month a senate meeting takes. People in my faculty actually know who I am, too, and I think that really sets me apart.

VPIN

Feds Election

Imprint, Friday, February 6, 2009

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What do you see as the most pressing student issues in general?

Which of those issues do you feel you could most effectively tackle in your position?

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Why are you running for this position?

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What are your achievements to date?

Being a club president, I’ve experienced a lot of the policies and procedures Feds has for clubs, as well as the resources available, and I definitely saw the ways that things could have been made clearer and easier for clubs. It’s hard for clubs to say whether or not something is okay – things run on precdent, but if you don’t read back on things, how do you know what that is?

So being able to drive a review of procedures forward is something I want to do, so clubs can say “this is okay, this is not okay, and these are the reasons.” Having governance experience, alongside policy experience, and being a clubs president, has given me a broader perspective.

This year I’ve been able to talk to Andrew [Falcao], follow him around, and learn what the day-to-day experience is of being the VPIN is, and I realized that as a clubs president, and being involved with EWB, and so forth, I already do all this – it’s all old hat.

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The biggest issue is probably the lack of excitement, engagement, and school spirit. I find people are so focused on their academics; they’re here because they worked hard to get

For whatever reason, you have only one month to be effective in your position.

Besides training your replacement, what one issue would you tackle?

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What about your opponents makes you a better candidate for this position?

here. And I was like that in first year; I wasn’t involved in anything else. But as I got involved in the Arts Endowment Fund, EWB, and Feds, I realized a great deal of my personal learning was coming from clubs involvement and community involvement.

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As VPIN I think helping students figure out where they fit in and how they can get involved, as well as making them aware of all this personal development they can acquire from getting involved, is crucial. VPIN is in a really unique position to help with that because there are over 200 clubs and services for students to get involved in, if they can just figure out what they’re interested in. The VPIN should be helping students gain access to that – and an events calendar would be an especially big part of that.

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Getting support and resources to clubs is crucial. So as SLC changes are happening, making sure those rooms are stocked with the resources students need, as well as being able to have rooms with A/V equipment available, and getting printing discounts and poster runs,

and making it so clubs can go to one place for all their needs — that’s all crucial, so clubs have the ability to spend more of their time with their members.

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The single biggest thing I’ve accomplished is being an arts student and chapter president of EWB at Waterloo. Because I’m in arts sometimes it’s not as easy to go into engineering and say that not being engineering doesn’t mean I can’t be an effective representative. and I achieved that in a year and a half. The great thing for me is being able to be involved in the realized success of others. With Feds I was also an arts councillor, and took a leading role in this position.

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We all have experience in different ways, but I’m the only one with governance experience, as well as work with the clubs, and on funding committees. I also think I’m a really strong leader, who’s spent the time developing members. Knowing how to do that, using what I’ve learned in my HR courses, and taking a leading role in the personal development of people I work with are all assets for me.

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I’m running because I feel the need to give back to the community that has given me so much in the last five years. I feel it’s important to be involved, and to set an example by running, so other students know that no matter what age they are, where they come from, or what their financial situation is, they can still get involved in their community.

2 Kia Buchanan 1 Student life on campus is important. Leadership and working with others on a daily basis are skills you can learn from being a student involved in student life and working as VPIN. Student life is undervalued on campus and I want to begin making it more important by providing quality support from Feds.

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Most students involved on campus find it difficult to use some of the services offered by Feds. One big issue is the financial system. It is not very accessible to students. You have got to put money upfront for events: later you will be reimbursed— so you basically have to have credit or cash to be a good leader on campus.

There’s got to be a solution out there that works for both sides. Also, with the economic crisis right now a great way, as a co-op student, to put you above other candidates is by being involved in clubs and student life on campus — so we have to stress that. Another issue is accessibility. With all the new satellite campuses the students there don’t really have access to Feds services.

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I can tackle all these issues in my role as VPIN. I don’t have a learning curve, because

The top two student issues are probably housing, and financing education. Housing, because I know that while I haven’t had personal bad experiences with landlords, I know students who have, so I know students have trouble finding affordable and adequate housing within a reasonable distance to campus. As for financing education, as a part-time worker throughout my university education, I know it takes a toll on your grades, and how many courses you can take. Some terms I’ve had to narrow it down to three courses. It also limits how long some can stay in univesity to get things done, which affects their ability to explore different options during their time

I have been working for Feds for six months and I understand business and corporate culture. If I had to pick one issue that I could most effectively tackle it would be making the financial system easier. There are barriers for new clubs to start, which can be discouraging and I would like to fix that issue.

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The number one complaint Feds receives is about the financial system. I would work really hard to get a better financial system for students. I would spend a lot of time trying to strengthen communication between Feds and the university, and informing students about what’s going on on-campus. It is important to be informative and I would be a great source of knowledge for students on-campus.

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I’m not one for boasting about my achievements. I’m graduating with an honours in molecular biology with co-op. I have worked in many environments, all of which have contributed and strengthened me as a leader.

I planned Orientation Week and was a Feds orientation member. These opportunities gave me the chance to meet great people who

here. I think that finding ways for students to better finance their education, whether through bursaries and grants brought to the forefront, or simply through finding innovative ways to get students to interact with grants through essays, community involvement, and so on.

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Because I would have so many connections with the clubs, societies, and services in my role as VPIN, I think that by holding info sessions, as well by devoting website space to these two issues — allowing students to know their rights, as well as to get more information about what grants are available to them — and advertising through those avenues, I can reach students more effectively.

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I’d have to wait to see what the term brings, but I’ve looked at the feedback students have given me about what they want, and I project that space on campus will be a big issue — that students need and want more space for themselves, whether that be for lounge (multipurpose) or study use. This will be an

Sarah Cook important issue for me to deal with.

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As an Orientation Week leader and director, I had a great time getting to know new students. I also worked with the campus response team for two and a half years, basically working my way up the ranks to coordinator. I’m even on the board of directors for the Association for Campus Emergency Response Teams of Canada. Last term I also did the Know the Score campaign; before that I didn’t realize how much gambling could be a problem for students. And, of course, I’ve done work with Warrior Weekends.

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Like I said in the Feds exec forum, I find my breadth is much wider than my opponents, and I can draw from different areas. Being a Sex, Marriage, and Family student in a multidisciplinary program, I think that also helps me gain perspective on how to meet with a wide variety of very different people. I’ve learned how to manage and approach different people with different skillsets better.

I learned a lot from. Having 1,400 students enjoy our event planning was also nice.

I didn’t have that first-year residence experience and I guess that was partly what motivated me to get involved. Volunteering with Feds for four years has been really fun and added a lot to my university experience.

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I have the most tangible experience of all the candidates. I don’t think the others have my same level of experience. I know Feds inside and out, and I have volunteered in almost all areas. I have been working with clubs and services on behalf of Feds for a while now, which means I can focus on bigger things on campus. The experience I have means I already know the little things that sometimes trip up others who are new to it.

Due to my experience with different environments I work well in both independent and group settings. I think that one needs to have great teamwork skills and the ability to work well with any executives. I am great at liaising with volunteers, and since I have been a volunteer, I understand both sides. Feds is built on volunteerism, and I’m quality.

Val Orr

Feds Election

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Why are you running for this position?

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Imprint, Friday, February 6, 2009

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Which of those issues do you feel you could most effectively tackle in your position?

What do you see as the most pressing student issues in general?

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What are your achievements to date?

For whatever reason, you have only one month to be effective in your position.

Besides training your replacement, what one issue would you tackle?

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What about your opponents makes you a better candidate for this position?

PREZ Sam Andrey

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I think I’m the person on campus who’s most ready to take on the role of Feds president.

I’ve spent the last two years working on every level of the campus community to prepare for this position, and I’ve worked with my team, Team Green, for six months to develop a plan that will move us forward. I’m ready to be the leader this campus needs.

I think campus space is a huge issue – whether for prayer, social, or study. I think we need to develop a strategy for new undergrads and make sure we partner with the university on funding for new spaces. Another issue is resources for student life: clubs, services, and societies all need to get their money faster. I think that’s really what the role of Feds is – to give people the resources and training for them to decide upon and develop their own sense of community. Also, it’s not so much an issue, but one of the main things consuming Feds is advocating for students, and the need for that advocacy represents issues in the student sphere all its own.

All three. The president is able to work on all those issues, and as the primary representative of the Feds, they would all be in my mandate.

If I only had one month I’d work to enhance the recreational facilities – the CIF and the PAC – because we’ve heard from students all across campus that this is the biggest issue on campus, and also because the causality is pretty straightforward: the budget was slashed two years ago, and it needs to be restored so these facilities can get the funding they need.

I think that within the Feds we’ve already set a new direction for student leadership to take. I’m particularly proud of the two senate issues — with exam relief hours and the UAE — that I’ve worked on recently. I think with the UW provost leaving this creates new opportunities for further growth. I’ve also worked with the SLC management board in revitalizing club space. I took part in efforts to revitalize the building as a whole, too, which start in the May. Bringing Curry In was another accomplishment; I fought hard for that one. Then there was the co-op council, where I fought against a motion in math which essentially said that if you did two terms in co-op you had to stay in co-op. I instituted and pushed for a review of professional development (PD) courses. Then there was my work with governance of the Feds in general: in the last two years I helped with the bus pass, the health and dental plan, the Tim Hortons issue, and HR management issues.

I’m the only candidate with any relevant experience in the Feds. Allan claims to have experience with Feds but I’m not sure what that means because I haven’t seen him around. That, I think is really the crux of this issue, because we’re not vying for high school president: this is about the head of an organization that oversees 30,000 undergraduate students. So there’s really an element of knowing what you’re doing right out the gate here. The other two candidates couldn’t list off the day-to-day duties in response to the question Del [Pereira] asked at the executive debate. Our weakest presidents have been those who’ve come in with grandiose ideas, but not much experience. And that’s of particular importance this year, because coming up we have new bar agreements, a revisiting of U-Pass, as well as the Health and Dental Plan, and working with a new UW Provost. So these candidates won’t have time to work on all these issues if they’re learning how to lobby, or how to work with the administration. Now, we have a 50-point plan, and that is in reality what we will be doing. We’ve received great student feedback so far.

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Allan Babor

I’ve seen what great things we can accomplish at UW, and I’m ready to step into the position with the greatest ability to support our students. I think we’re doing really well but we could push ourselves farther. I’d like to see our students continute to stand out and impact their community.

It’s a difficult question to answer because this campus is fragmented, especially at the faculty level, and experience-driven. Strong governance is needed to make students feel that they’re a part of. creating a community and a culture. I feel there’s a really big disengagement right now. Whether it’s PDEnge or co-curricular learning, students need to feel that they have more power, from the inside, to make an impact. Especially now, with the administration changing, we can push our admin to focus on student issues, and challenge them to rise to the standards that we feel are appropriate. We’re great academically and innovatively, and we need to maintain that, but our student leadership is at a low-point. Feds should be there to support the journey.

I feel that students are going to be the eyes and ears and i will be their voice. I want to see increased partnership in working with our admin, instead of against them. It’s not that we haven’t been working with them, but it seems to me that Feds wants to be a separate entity. Meanwhile, I believe we’ll be much stronger if we work together. I also want to see emergency polls on north and south campus, and increased digitalized displays. I want to make being involved more exciting and more rewarding by quantifying and qualifying the out-of-class experience. Campus-wide event submission forms also need to be made broadly available. Above all I see the need to deal with the academic, social, spiritual, emotional, and financial needs of students.

Brandon Mulholland

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I’m passionate about student life at Waterloo. I’ve had a set of experiences that I believe have been successful, and will help me in a position of leadership in an organization such as Feds to translate the things that I’ve done into maintaining and creating a more involved campus. I’ve been a student here for four years and I’ve been involved actively in student life.

I’ve played for a varsity team, stood in line at bomber at timmy’s at 2am and 6am, feds ex, got involved in community building activities.

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I think that because I’m new to the whole Feds scene I can add to the relationship element between Feds and the students. There’s a phenomenal support staff and wealth of experience the other executive positions bring to the team, and i think that my addition will be a fresh, new voice. I think a lot that can be done to improve current relations between students and Feds. I’d like to see more communication through news media on campus, and more of a face given tot he office. A lot of people don’t know who the president is. Another area I want to get actively involved in is the business structures of the organization, SLC businesses and campus-wide ones alike. My understanding is that they do well financially, though there are a few that don’t make money. I think there’s a way to get students more involved to help them, and also to provide more stimulus to get clubs and services to get more active in them. There’s the issue of Aussie’s [old space], too: What’s going in there?

I’’ve heard a lot of ideas from the current body, but I think there are other options that would serve the students better than a fast-food place. I think those other options need to be explored because I think they’ll create more accessibility.

4 5 6

If I had one month to do this job I would create more accessibility to clubs for funding that we have. I think that there are budgets that don’t get fully used, and that’s a loss of potential. Feds is running well right now, but if we look at the weaknesses of that, it’s that they’re not accessible. They should be run almost like a bank, and we should have our VP Internal pushing information about the availability of these funds onto the clubs all the time so they know they have access.

A lot of my ideas are going to take a little bit of time to implement. I feel that within month we could create a personalized communication sisytem through which students opt in to their interests, so students can receive email updates about things they care about. and the campuswide event submission form. a students’ daily bulletin would also be great.

Helped facilitate the distribution over $100,000 to student initiatives through the Arts Student Union. Proud to be student director to a program that gives students the opportunity to contribute to the community. I was the arts endowment fund chair for the last two years, and helped raise awareness and finances with a goal of 2.5 million for the bracelet of hope campaign. I supported the creation of the boar magazine. I’m on ten councils and committees, chairing three.

I’m also really proud of the fact that I’ve been able to change programs four times. Now in independent studies I am developing leadership and positive social influence skills through digital communication, and I’m able to apply what i’m learning directly into my experiences on and off campus. I’ve won the President’s Circle Award for leadership, challenged and supported 55 first years as a don, and sat on the Student Life Endowment Fund, as well as the education advisory committee.

With Sam I think I have the breadth of experience he doesn’t. I am running for a team, the team of student leaders I’ve been working with for the last four years, which represents more outside experience than he has. I feel he looks at Feds like a corporation, while I look at Feds as a student government. While we have a responsibility to the corporation aspect of Feds, I feel the culture within it needs to change. Brandon is great, but his experience is more suited for VPIN, whereas I have experience in senate, and running a student government. I value athletics, but our campus is much more than that. As for Mubi, I understand the excess of bureaucracy in the university, but while he’s optimistic about changing that, I’m both optimistic and realistic.

I think that the biggest issues for students would be the state of the job market, and graduating into positions. I think that Uat W there’s too big of a chance that students will go their four years without making a piece of the UW campus their own. I think those two issues will correlate through the activities that are offered on campus – resources that can help you get a job getting out of school. I think the way that the university is engaging on an international level can affect the students in a serious way, too. One of the biggest issues, I think, is the UAE campus, and I think that needs to be dealt with in the next year. We need to figure out how Feds is going to operate on that campus, and what kind of an impact are we going to have there.

I co-founded We Are Warriors is a club in 2007, based on an initiative to create community among arts students. The mission of the program was to engage students, though the club has grown, and it was picked up officially by athletics in summer 2008 (at which point it changed its mission from arts to the entire student body). I’ve also played for a nationally ranked hockey program: that’s taught me a lot about focus, determination, representing an institution. I also won 2008 Xerox leadership award.

I’m distinguished. I’m definitely distinguished. If you’ve looked at the others, they’ve maintained great positions, but it’s been the same people for the last few years. That’s where I come in – I’ve done everything right now outside the Feds. I’m one hundred percent passionate about this school — not to say they’re not, but I’ve been living the student life process these past few years, not making it, so I know that’s one difference I bring to the position.

Mubi Sadoon

1

I’m an average student, and I feel that I relate to students on campus. I can make Feds simpler, and I think that not being privy to these organizations would make it easier to identify the problems.

I want to see an improvement on campus. The Feds bus pass was a great thing, and I want to leave a mark like that. The PAC is one issue on campus, and the creative aspect of campus life – we should have one of the most vibrant communities of students.

2

Extending PAC hours is important; I’d say most people want some change in the gym atmosphere at Waterloo. CIF has bad hours, and PAC has gone to the 11 to 1, 4 to 7 system. PAC equipment is not safe, and ventilation is poor. I’d like to get a project going with the Used Bookstore to make all the books they need for a course available in packages. I also want increased transparency, where a transparent government would involve an open forum, campus newsletter, and dealing with the clubs space issue to make it easier for them to operate.

In short, the most important issues are club space, and general access to resources and services.

3

4 5 6

The PAC issue would be the one I could most effectively tackle.

I want to know that I can change things as an average student, and I think I can. Then there’s club space – getting things booked quicker, getting the room space in Feds. Maybe we could switch to a schedule where people could share the office, three days for one club, three days for another. PDEng is another concern: I’ve talked to students who feel it’s a crime, and I think Sam’s doing a great job with the PDEng review, but i’d like students to be petitioning it, too. Extending library hours could benefit students, too. We have a hard-working student body, and they deserve an extra hour.

I feel that I could learn about external lobbying positions. I don’t necessarily feel you need this in the position of president, though. Making big changes that people see every day would be more effective than lobbying for federal funding.

Increase prayer rooms for Muslim students, so one or two prayer rooms would benefit a lot of people.

I’ve spoken to about 1000 students, getting their feedback, introducing their feedback into my platform, and running a paperless campaign.

You can go to my website: I’m running my campaign from there. I count my controversial debate performance as an achievement, too, because that may have gotten people out there and interested. For better or for worse, I got them thinking about what’s going on.

Like I said, the other candidates have worked with Feds for up to 4 years, and they’ve got credentials with the senate and councils, but I feel that coming in as the average student who’s coming in fresh, I have the perspective needed to make Feds simpler. It’s a learning process, but I can write about the process of what I’m learning as I’m going along.

20

3

1

Imprint, Friday, February 6, 2009

2

Why are you running for this position?

4

What are your achievements to date?

For whatever reason, you have only one month to be effective in your position.

Besides training your replacement, what one issue would you tackle?

6

What about your opponents makes you a better candidate for this position?

Justin Williams

When I came into the role of the president, I really wanted to change the organization, to make it more student driven and engaging. And I think I did it — through a first year working group, changes to orientation week, and the incredible amount of changes we’ve made to board and prep for council training. But on top of that, it’s been hard to escape the fact that how we lobby, both internally and externally on academic issues, really doesn’t involve students at all.

There are those involved specifically on council, or senate, but when it comes to reaching out to societies, I just don’t think it’s there. So there are a lot of structurual issues with the education portfolio that I want to address. Students have increasingly difficult workloads, and part of our job serving them has to be done more effectively. We need to be there.

2

Universities are changing, resources per student are declining, and we as institutions, as a province, you name it, don’t have a plan of action. We have this really odd relationship between grade inflation and a lack of preparedness for students coming in. One of the things i’ve recently talked about with is that in a move to increase the number of students and to reach out to underrepresented students we’ve enrolled students with needs other than those of the traditional student. One example is the first generation students who have no one in their families to guide them through the process. UW has also made it requisite for students to write the ELPE, hasn’t made the times effective, and hasn’t made more resources available.

These aren’t flashy issues, but dealing with them will serve our students beter, and that should always be the first goal of the Feds.

3 4

I think the first thing we need to work with is the plan for Feds. This will be the first year of the Feds having a plan, and that needs to be maintained when we go forward with provincial and federal lobbying. The second is going to OUSA and CASA as a delegate, and being there and being a strong voice for the organization. Not only do I have the experience working on it, but I also think I have the skill set to push forward.

Well, succession is honestly an important issue itself, because it’s something we’ve done very poorly. It’s something I think the Feds does very poorly, because the exec takes on so much, so so much relies on them doing it. The reason we need effective succession is that in April Feds exec realize all the things they should have done, and they don’t write it down, and don’t pass it on. A “critical path” is something I’ve been trying to maintain. For instance, I’ve tried to build a pool of ready candidates for positions which are usually asked to be filled last minute.

5

I honestly believe I’ve made the Feds a more contemplative organization than it’s been in all my time here. There was the Orientation Week review, as well as a Welcome-Back Week for other students. Senate has also been turned from a rubber-stamping forum to something more deliberative. Then there was the clubs and services review, a rewrite of our bylaws that better reflects the changing nature of our exec, and the creation of a committee that will work with the Sustainability Project to create a review of campus. I’m also proud we made sure CKMS got to stay in that warehouse, because it’s still a better use than having Plant Ops there.

6

What do you see as the most pressing student issues in general?

Which of those issues do you feel you could most effectively tackle in your position?

5

1

VPED

Feds Election

The job of the VPED is threefold, I think: You have to be a lobbyist, you have to be a researcher, and you have to be able to take those two things, and figure out how to serve the students with them. I think when it comes being able to speak publicly... I think between myself and my opponent, I’m going to be able to do it in a much stronger way. I think as a researcher, I haven’t seen the same amount of background from my opponent, and I don’t.

1 2 3

Alicia Mah

I want to combine my experience as an activist and on the front lines of education; I want to put them together in this position. In the EngSoc elections forum, I was asked what one thing would make me different — and that’s my social justice experience, my tutoring work, my peer-mentorship and work as a teaching assistant. I’ve always been interested in furthering these experiences in a role like this.

I envision a campus where we pull together to talk about our educational needs. Students want to feel that their efforts are making a difference, and I envision a Feds that is exactly that — a union of students coming together over a common goal. Students need to be represented for their efforts with Feds. Meetings need to be made accessible.

In my position, I’m talking about ensuring students are an integral part in the university’s decision making process. Specifically, I want to create a physical office and a wider mandate for co-op services. What it will look like is a physical office for education volunteers, and having a place people know they can go to get their academic and co-op concerns addressed. This position’s nickname is VP Travel, so there should be a physical, constant place where people could go in my absence. I als want to continue to lobby for increased funding, and to improve teaching quality through instructor training and online course evaluations.

4

In training the next person to take over, I’d instill in them the importance of a very good volunteer base. That is the single greatest factor that will drive the success of this position — the volunteers. I would lay the foundation of that for the next person. I do have some volunteers already, and I’ve gathered together people who are interested in education and people who are interested in doing research in education. The best way to recruit, manage, and most importantly maintain volunteers is to make the position widely marketed as something fun to be involved in. For anybody new, who hasn’t done their research — always have something for them to do. Play to their strengths.

5

I’ve been a student activist for four years with Students Against Sweatshops (WPIRG), where I created awareness. I’ve also analyzed UW’s ethical purchase policy and met with the administration to ensure it was followed. I collaborated with student groups here, as well as on other campuses to maximize impact, and I’ve been a volunteer coordinator for four years for a wide variety of positions. I was discouraged from the VPIN at the time from creating an awards program to celebrate volunteers, but I wanted to pursue that as well. As an educator, for four years I’ve been a tutor and teaching assistant at high school and university. I also cofounded the Simplicity Circle, a WPIRG group and peer-learning environment where students discuss and take action on environmental and academic issues.

6

What comes to mind is that I have a real vision for change. A lot of Team Green’s plans are current, day-to-day procedures. Some of them appear to be changes. I actually want to bring fresh ideas to the organization. I’m somebody who does have experience with the organization; was a Feds receptionist for 8 months. My experience in terms of education and people, and the student voice, comes from working with the students on a person-to-person basis – not on a policy-to-person basis. For me it’s not just about working with those who have always been involved. Through talking to regular students, I understand what it’s like to be that regular student — and that’s what I bring to this position.

senate Feds Election

Imprint, Friday, February 6, 2009

3

1

What do you see as the most pressing student issues in general?

Which of those issues do you feel you could most effectively tackle in your position?

5

4

What are your achievements to date?

David Shuang Liu

1

I am amazed by how few people know about the engineering senator position. The position exists for the representation of the engineering faculty and relaying important information from senate meetings. If 49 out of 50 students do not know who their senator is, then clearly information is not being passed along and the voice of the students is not being heard. I want to bring a dramatic change to that, and that’s why I’m running for this position.

2

The fact that the issues aren’t being

Devan Cass

1

I’ve been watching what issues past senates have had to deal with —for instance, exam accommodations and the opening of the campus in the UAE. I guess I realized that students do have a say in the decisions that are made on campus, and I’d like to be able to convey the student voice in the senate concisely, clearly, and in a respectful manner.

The administration does care what the students have to say. They expect these concerns to be brought forward to them in a professional manner and the senate offers the perfect forum for this discussion.

2

2

Why are you running for this position?

21

I think that changes on a termto-term basis. I’m on co-op now, so the last term I was on campus the UAE discussion was the hot topic.

Now I’m not sure campus-wide what the hot topic will be, but specific to my constituency, I will be raising awareness on the PDEng review, because that review started with a lot of momentum and a lot of issues were raised by students.

1

6

What about your opponents makes you a better candidate for this position?

Engineering

I feel confident and competent that I can do the job. But most importantly, “education is something I’m passionate about. I want to make the difference in your education.” Because all the undergraduation calendar changes must go through senate, I want to be the voice on behalf of undergrad engineers at the senate meetings.

2

For engineering undergrads, PDEng, the ratio of female to male students, the quality of teaching assistants, the level of class spirit, and

relayed and that the students’ voices aren’t being heard about issues is the most pressing issue in itself, at this point.

3 4

I can open the lines of communication between the senator role and the students, and effectively tackle this pressing issue head on.

Once again, the communication issue is the only issue I would strive to tackle at this point. Other than training my replacement, I would ensure that several mediums are used to achieve this

1 2

I’m running because I feel that I can bring a level of dedication, trust, and commitment to the senate.

The obvious ones would certainly be the PD program. Many students are very conflicted in terms of their views on this. The second largest issue is the opening of the UAE campus. Again, the conflicting perspectives of students makes it an issue. Peripheral to those two large issues are ones requiring more immediate response, such as the rescheduling of Orientation Week.

Apathy is still an ongoing concern.

3

I think there’s a large discon-

For students in general, I’m still very open to what the concerns will be. My job as a senator will be to identify what those students’ concerns are, not make those decisions as to what are the hot topics. I want to open it up to the students and I want the discussion in senate to represent the students’ most pressing, imminent concerns. Specifically, I want to make sure it’s not my own personal opinion clouding what it is that’s being discussed at the senate level.

3

For whatever reason, you have only one month to be effective in your position.

Besides training your replacement, what one issue would you tackle?

The development of the PDEng program is the issue that I feel I could tackle the best. That’s because I’ve seen the engineering societies; VPs of education approach the matter from various angles, and I’ve seen the outcomes each time. I’ve been able to learn what works and what doesn’t, what the administration will take receptively in terms of feedback, and the best ways to really get things to improve. I think the most important thing is that

extracurricular involvement are the main issues right now.

3

Raising the students’ participation in engineering society events. I say this because through my experience from UW residence life, as a don and residence council co-ordinator, I have learned the importance of diversity, communication, and student body involvement.

4

I would like to push the PDEng independent review through the Dean

by making it a regular occurence that the senator writes in the Iron Warrior. I would set up a website with important updates from senate, as well as a forum for students to comment on the issues.

Finally, I would make personal class visits and instruct my replacement to do so as well, to hear the opinions and pass on information firsthand.

5

My personal achievements are unimportant. All the candidates are qualified, including myself. It’s not about me; it’sa bout the students: The important matter is the amount of commitment

nect in this election between what students say they want to do — that is, to effect change — and what kinds of things are actually done by senators. I’ll be complementing my position at senate with a seat in the undergraduate senate council, which would allow me the room to tackle the aforementioned issues. Specifically, I think I would take more of a stance on the PD program; I’d like to see it developed into more of a leadership model, like that seen at MIT.

4

The first thing I would tackle would be clarifying issues with the UAE I’m not staunchly opposed to the program, in that I’m not advocating to get rid of it. I feel the faculty and the undergrads need to come to a compromise. The PDEng program was designed to add value to the engineering degree, while most students would agree it does not.

We need to work towards getting that increased value out of our degrees.

4

The one issue I’d try to tackle is splitting the senator’s seat into a two-person position, solely for the purpose of accommodating the fact that we go on co-op every other term. I feel that, in the past, the engineering senator role has suffered from the senator being physically too far to contribute in an effective manner.

5

I’ve had a lot of extracurricular experience in Waterloo Engineering.

I am currently the WEEF director for ASOC. I was a resident don in the previous term. I am an executive

of Engineering, to be submitted for external review. The independent review serves as a way to get feedback about PDEnge from external agents — industry, academia, and professional organizations. It needs to be done as soon as possible.

5

I have a 94 per cent cumulative GPA and 100 per cent in 10 UW courses. I’ve received the C.D. Howe Foundation National Engineering Scholarship, and in Fall 2008 I received the UWP North Team Leader Don Award. I’m a two-

I will put forth for the position and its duties — it’s all about communicating with the students.

6

time All Canadian Athlete Academic Honour Roll student, too.

6

I am currently a member of the Engineering Society, as VP education.

Senator falls in line with the role of VP education. In fact, VP education attends the Undergraduate Senate Council. The approved changes from the council will then be brought to senate. Hence, it is suitable to have consistent representation in these meetings.

Kyla Tan

My opponents are very involved with other extracurricular activities, which will draw their attention away from their duties as the engineering senator. This makes me a better candidate for this position because I will focus all my attention and set the duties of engineering senator. 100 per cent of me will be committed to the position and to communicating with engineering students. campus, especially with staff, faculty, and students. I feel like I’m still in the dark. Communication and clarity between students is crucial, and I’d focus most on getting their questions about this initiative answered.

5

I’ve been an ambassador to the university both nationally and internationally. I also worked on Vision 2010 — a campaign with the dean of engineering to expand our faculty’s space on campus. My involvement in the engineering society, in terms of directorships, work with charities, and the engineering talent show all demonstrate how active I am in the member of the UW robotics team.

I was the career fair director for the Canadian Engineering Competition, and the director of the engineering society charity bus push. I’ve been the secretary for EngSoc. I was also a writer for Iron Warrior, as well as a layout assistant. I have been a class representative for several terms. I have the community outreach and practical engineering experience, support the UW facilities, and have shown leadership through being a don. I’v also been involved in engineering outreach through the FIRST robotics membership.

6

I feel that the senator position can sometimes be misunderstood, and I have been to senate meetings in the past. I understand the role that the senator plays and I truly understand what it is that I’m getting into for the next two years. I feel that this separates me from my opponents.

community. My involvement with the UW alternative fuels team is also a point of pride; I organized media events almost singlehandedly, with invitees among government and other universities.

6

My immersion into the community and faculty distinguishes me from some of my fellow candidates.

I feel I’m very approachable, and I regularly attended EngSoc meetings.

That, as well as my zeal in terms of sensitive issues, means I don’t think I’ll take a back seat on anything important. I feel very informed on world and campus issues alike.

Jay Shah

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council Feds Election

Imprint, Friday, February 6, 2009

1

2

Why are you running for this position?

23

What do you see as the most pressing student issues in general?

Which of those issues do you feel you could most effectively tackle in your position?

5

4

What are your achievements to date?

Brittany Boilard, Arts

Unfortunately, Imprint received no responses from the other candidates running for the council positions:

St. Jerome’s Sebastian Kundra

1

For whatever reason, you have only one month to be effective in your position.

Besides training your replacement, what one issue would you tackle?

6

I want to represent student issues, which need to be brought to the forefront. Arts is the largest faculty and it needs more representation and unity. I want to encourage students to become more involved in university – it’s important to get people involved to make UW the best.

2

Students voice is under represented – academically and in extracurricular activities – we need to bring our activities and the issues we face together, and I plan on doing

What about your opponents makes you a better candidate for this position?

exactly that. I plan on having more students come together We need constituents to come to us to voice our issues so we can come together and act upon that; that relationship in general doesn’t exist as of now.

3

I think I could bring the faculty of Arts together – and as a team, we would need to talk to the interdepartmental societies; there are issues specific to each year and each department. And I think I would be good in this position because I

am willing to talk to people even if the issues are not addressable on a short-term

4 5

The position runs for one year, not one month. [Editor’s note: Followup to clarify the question was not possible due to time constraints.]

I am the director for the One Waterloo Campaign — Student Federation and Student Life office.

We promote diversity on campus, and our mandate is a commitment to being inclusive. I’ve worked on

coming out week, black history month, among others.

I’m a third year representative for the political science association – representing voices of students.

I’m associated with the African Connection, and have been an Orientation leader for two years in a row. I’m reapplying to be a UW don.

6

No comment.

Scott McKee

Arts Amanda Tkaczyk Matthew Waller Arjun Dhingra Diana Hanna Raywatie Haicuchaud Monica Chamberland

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24

Feds Election

Imprint, Friday, February 6, 2009

And now for something completely different

peter trinh

1.

E

o,

nng tt

Arts & Entertainment

Imprint, Friday, February 6, 2009 arts@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

I spoke with Steve Senkiv of The Waking Eyes on February 3. He comes across very down to earth and not fazed by success drummer. I accidentally hung up on Steve when he called and he simply called again and deemed my apologies unnecessary, very cool. He was very easy to talk with and even cracked a joke during our conversation. The band has an awesome sound and happy tunes.

Keeps me coming back was released this week.

The Waking Eyeful of Awesome An interview with Steve Senkiw from The Waking Eyes.

By Tina Ironstone | Cironstone@imprint.uwaterloo.ca courtesy The waking eyes

Why music?

In high school I was in band, which was a lot of fun. I wasn’t much interested in anything else and when the opportunity came up to play music I was happy to pursue it.

What image do you think your music conveys?

A good one. We’re all happy dudes and we play happy tunes. I’d like to think our music has a positive image.

Who are your musical influences/ Where do you draw your inspiration from?

My favourite music right now are Weezer, Radiohead, and Kanye West.

I love Kanye’s new album. As for where I draw my inspirations from my band members: Matt, Joey, and Rusty. I love and respect these guys so much.

What aspect of music and creating music most excites you?

[Laughs] well almost everything about music excites me. Being in the studio, recording is my favourite activity. Playing is my second favourite ... playing is really good!

How have you handled fallbacks or success musically speaking?

We’re easy going dudes. It has been a forward momentum for us, not much bad stuff has happened. It feels like it’s been a success.

How different are your music tastes?

[Laughs] I’m the odd one out. Everyone else likes indie rock while I like some top 40. Overall our tastes are all over the place.

What are you up to right now, musically?

We have a record out. It has mostly been playing and performing live.

When we get back to Winnipeg in the spring we’ll start recording some new songs.

Do you like touring together? Does it get cramped or stressful? Do you have a blast?

It has been really fun! I mean these guys are my best friends and I’m really lucky. It can get a little cramped at times but we’re happy and it’s awesome.

Does The Waking Eyes like facebook or myspace?

We all have our respective social networking accounts but as for myspace I haven’t used my account in over a year. I use facebook it’s awesome, great way to keep in touch.

What do you guys do for fun? When you’re not playing music.

We like movies! Lots of movies. All types besides horror movies. Besides movies, we like to go out to pubs and chill.

My thoughts on Edgar Wright’s “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World” ptrinh@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

B

ryan Lee O’Malley is the poster child of Oni Press, the small-press comic publisher known for producing his infamous Scott Pilgrim series. With the fifth of six volumes released on February 4th, I thought it’d be appropriate to talk about the shocking fusion of two of my all-time favourite creators: O’Malley and Edgar Wright—the latter being more well-known as the director of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz.

To put as simply as possible, the comic stars Scott Pilgrim—a slacker and wannabe-rock star from Toronto that has to fight through the seven evil exes of female lead Ramona Flowers in order to date her. O’Malley has made this comic his tribute to some of the greatest video games from the late 80s and 90s, complete with boss battles and rock bands with names such as Sex Bob-omb and Clash at the Demonhead. If you get the chance, check out the first volume, Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life. I have no doubt, you’ll be surprised with it.

Now, of all the directors and writers in the world to grab the film rights for Scott Pilgrim, I see no one more perfect for the role than Edgar Wright. Being a fan of video games and comics, Wright has proven that his humour-writing skills are top-notch, extending to more than just a British-crazed fan-base.

Take a look at how some of his works (mostly including the talented Simon Pegg and Nick Frost) have come to existence. Shaun of the Dead in particular was loosely inspired by an episode of Wright’s two-season BBC series Spaced, from Tim’s (Pegg’s) hallucinations of zombies after a night of playing Resident Evil 2 under the influence of club drugs. Hot Fuzz was homage to some of Wright’s favourite action flicks such as Point Break and Bad Boys II, as well as a tribute to his amateur film, Dead Right, which sparked the premise of the story. Pilgrim holds some similarities with Spaced as well, complete with a rambunctious set of personalities that have lived with each other for almost too long.

I am worried about whether or not this film will do well. For one, the screenplay is being written by Michael Bacall (Bookies, Manic) who hasn’t had much commercial success with film writing, although this is only his third film.

As well, while a lot of the casting is amazing — including my personal favourites, Chris Evans (Fantastic Four, Push) and Brandon Routh (Zack and Miri, Superman Returns) as the second and third evil exes, respectfully — there’s the casting of Michael Cera (Superbad, Arrested Development) as Pilgrim, which has caused a bit of a stir in some comic-fan circles. Here’s hoping that Cera will do a good job at playing a slacker who knows when it’s the right time to strike. I personally have plenty of hope for this film, as Cera looks like the only one strong enough and well-known in Hollywood capable of playing the role.

The news was announced a while back (Summer 2007) that Wright had plans to make this film, but it has only been in the past month

where production and casting information started to make its way out into the public. At the moment, it looks as if New Line Cinema has exposed every main character from comic volumes one to four, but IMDb says that the film will feature all seven exes, all whom are to span across all six books. In an interview on SuperheroHype.com, Wright has said, “The only book that isn’t written is the sixth, but our film takes on a slightly different trajectory after the second book and it includes elements from books three, four and five. In some cases, [Bryan] has used lines in his books from our first draft of the screenplay (chuckles) which is like strange performance-style transference.”

Whatever the case, here’s to Wright on his next potential success!

Oh, and to those who’re fans of Edgar Wright, he’s planning to curate a ton of films at the Bloor Cinema in Toronto, starting with a double-feature of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz on February 28.

Arts & Entertainment

26

Imprint, Friday, February 6, 2009

Reviews Movies, music, TV, webcomics, graphic novels, animation, poetry, galleries, literature & more!

Send 300 to 700 words to:

Novel

arts@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

to find the answers to life’s many questions in order to live a fuller, happier life. It is without doubt, one of the best feel-good mustreads for anyone looking to build on the courage needed to conquer their dreams.

-Ranga Thangarajah

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The Alchemist Paulo Coelho HarperCollins Publishers

Set in Spain, Paulo Coelho’s international bestselling phenomenon, The Alchemist, a fable on following your dreams, takes us on a journey to the deserts of Egypt, where some of life’s simplest yet profound lessons are revealed.

The Alchemist is the fictional story of Santiago, a young Andalusian shepherd boy, who sets out on a journey to retrieve an Egyptian treasure claimed to be his and buried in the pyramids. Upon leaving his homeland, his father advises him surely, “Take to the fields, and someday you’ll learn that our countryside is the best, and our women the most beautiful.”

These words echo in the reader’s ears as we follow Santiago on his quest.

Along the way, we meet a Gypsy woman, a self-proclaimed king, and an alchemist who all point the boy in the direction of his pursuit—his “personal legend.” In doing so, he lights a fire of desire within us all to set out on our own written quests.

Paulo Coelho’s message is simple and believable, “Wherever your heart is, there you will find your treasure.” A reoccurring reminder in the novel, this line captures the gist of the young shepherd boy’s spirited travels to find his treasure as well as the personal legend pursuit of every wilful dreamer out there.

Originally written in Portuguese in 1988, and later translated into 56 languages selling over 20 million copies worldwide, it is clear this spiritual writer knew all too well then what many after him would repeat: “When you want something, all the universe conspires to help you achieve it.” Celebrating its 20th anniversary, the revised edition of the book includes a bonus introduction from the author, along with questions for discussion, and an interview with Paulo Coelho himself that are all sure to leave you questioning your own destined paths. Don’t let the size of this book fool you at just under 170 pagethis uplifting, easy-to-read fable is packed with ageless wisdom, which will have you wondering where this book’s been all your life If you’re curious to discover your own personal calling or simply open to being enlightened by literature, then like the millions of readers who have already been moved by this light read, you too will find in the simplicity of Coelho’s story-telling, a deeper spiritual connection to the powerfulness of his teachings. After all, as Coelho puts it, maktub—it is written— like Santiago, we all have a God-given gift within us worth realizing. The Alchemist encourages us to dig deep within our core self

azcentral.com

Trailer Park Boys Mike Clattenburg Topsail Productions

All day Friday, January 23, I was swearing like crazy! I couldn’t stop; I was way too excited for that evening. I had plans to see the Trailer Park Boys live at Centre in the Square in Kitchener.

For those who know the Trailer Park Boys, you may agree that swearing is a pretty good way to get geared up for the show — of course drinking and getting high would be too, but that’s not really how I roll. For the rest of you who may not know the essence and the allure of the boys from Sunnyvale Trailer Park, you may think I have bad taste or I am uncultured for liking a show that is so stupid.

Well, let me tell you, you are dead wrong! It’s incredibly funny and a uniquely Canadian show. I must admit that a couple of years ago when I first came across the this strange show created in Nova Scotia I was turned off by the dirty weed-smoking, swearing, rum guzzling idiots who lived in a trailer park. I have since changed my mind and have found a place in my heart for Ricky, Julian, and Bubbles, who always get into trouble but always stick together.

The basic premise of the show follows people who live in a trailer park and are trying to get by. Ricky, Julian and Bubbles are trying to work together to sell enough weed to retire from crime. Unfortunately, Mr Lahey, the drunk trailer park supervisor and his big-gutted assistant randy, are always calling the cops. The live show I went to continued this premise as the boys had to fulfill community service by putting on a puppet show warning people about the dangers of using alcohol and drugs. The show that we actually saw did little to warn against the dangers of drugs and alcohol.

The show was full of “liquor and whores” (one of Bubbles’ songs), swearing and insanity.

These guys really know how to put on a hilarious show and they drew quite a diverse audience to their performance. As I walked into Centre in the Square, there were a lot of different types of people. I saw a few university students but there were a lot of adults, some even dressed formally. I said to my fiancée that there must be two theatres; another

show these older people were going to see. To my absolute surprise these well dressed older people were going to the same greasy horror show I was. And, though I was surprised at the class of people going to the show, I was not surprised by the other hobo-trailer park-greasy people that one may expect to see at the Trailer Park Boys live.

At first glance this show doesn’t seem to have too much substance, but it is not only about drinking and drugs. This is a show about family and friends. Just as Ricky explains when he’s at church on Christmas trying to sell dope, Christmas isn’t about stealing presents and trees, Christmas is about getting drunk and stoned with your family — and if you don’t drink or smoke dope, then just go spend some time with your family. Now I’m going home to get drunk and stoned with the people I love.

Ricky may seem like a dope addict who only cares about himself, but in reality he’s a guy that really respects education – he works his butt off to earn his grade 10 equilivency, which he never thought he would get. He loves his daughter and would do anything for his friends. Julian, on the surface, is a guy who you’ll never see without a rum and coke and who only cares about stealing enough money to retire. Really though, Julian is a guy who treats the whole trailer park like his family and would do anything to take care of them all.

Bubbles may look like a googly-eyed bastard, but he’s smart, and he works hard to earn enough money to feed his kitties. All Bubbles really wants in life is to rock with the boys and rock with his kitties.

The Trailer Park Boys stick together no matter what. They are proudly Canadian, live life to the fullest, and don’t put up with any bullshit – Lahey and Randy, you better watch out!

-Alicia Boers

Reality TV

True Beauty Tyra Banks & Ashton Kutcher ABC Network

Real-life doesn’t always live up to our excitement standards. Many media programming shows have acknowledged this fact by offering shows which are created to give us a modified, heightened portrayal of the real-life reality we’re not experiencing at the moment; that is, through reality shows. Whether it’s the search for America’s next singing superstar or perhaps the ultimate weight-loss challenge, I’m sure you’ve found yourself guilty of viewing a reality show at some point in your TV life.

But among shows such as American Idol and The Biggest Loser which have all gained momentum and audience approval over the years since they first aired, there have also been quite a few others which have taken have taken a hit in their television ratings.

Imprint, Friday, February 6, 2009

Reviews Including this new potential candidate: True Beauty.The show, which is surprisingly co-produced by former fashion models and current television hosts Tyra Banks and Ashton Kutcher is set in Hollywood, and aims at finding the “most beautiful person.”

The show is hosted by former Miss Teen USA and Entertainment Tonight correspondent Vanessa Minnillo, who is perhaps more popularly known for dating pop singer Nick Lachey. Minnillo is also a judge on the show alongside former fashion model Cheryl Tiegs, and fashion editor of Elle magazine, Nolé Marin. So okay, another beauty contest. That should be easy, right? Wrong.

Here’s the catch: the winner has to be someone who’s not only beautiful on the outside, but also on the (yes, you’ve probably guessed it) inside.

The latter being the key determining factor in deciding the winner, which the contestants are unaware of. Living together in a mansion, they’re all under the impression that they’re being judged on how beautiful they appear on the exterior. So, what’s the winning prize for unmasking this secretive beauty within? A pretty attractive one, I must say: $100,000 and the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be featured in People magazine’s 100 Most Beautiful People issue. In other words, a chance to share valuable space with more beautiful people.

A membership into magazine celebrity beauty heaven you could say.

And with only 10 contestants competing, one would think this wouldn’t be all that difficult to accomplish, right? Wrong again.

It seems some people in the U.S. were never given a definition of what inner beauty is.

Given the task of heading down to Melrose Avenue in groups of three to buy three complete, separate outfits all under $100 using their skills and of course, their beauty, I was amazed to see contestants come up with spiteful strategies to get clothes for less.

One team even agreed to trick pedestrians into believing that they were collecting clothing for charities and have them donate the clothes off their back! Maybe some of the selfless pedestrians should’ve been on the show, I thought at that point.

What they don’t know is that a charity booth is set up with a hidden camera along their way to see if any of the contestants will donate a portion of their already scarce $100 to a worthy cause.

All the while, the three judges are closely observing the contestants on camera with stern looks and unpleasant smirks behind closed doors.

Once judgment day arrives, two contestants are narrowed down for elimination and taken to the “hall of beauty” where one will be eliminated. However, before they arrive, another hidden camera challenge is set-up en route to potentially save them from going home. In one particular episode, Ashley, the design assistant from New York, is sent home after using various charity representations to get clothing from passers-by, refusing to donate a penny to the

charity booth, and failing to help the staged bike rider who crashes behind her as she’s entering the hall of beauty.

Now, that’s true ugly.

But, is a reality show really the way to measure true beauty? Who’s to say the beautiful judges themselves are living examples of the premise they preach? We all have our moments when we’re not on our “best behaviours,” but does that make us any less beautiful than we already are? I’m not sure. But, one thing is for sure: if the people watching are anything like the contestants on the show, then maybe this show will help them and in turn, make this world a more beautiful place to live in. You be the judge.

True Beauty airs at 10P.M. EST every Monday on ABC. —Ranga Thangarajah

Future Events Want to have fun??

Looking for something fun to do

on campus this upcoming weekend?

Future events will inform you of a couple arts related events that will rock your socks.

~Live FASS, Die Tomorrow *Friday, February 6, at 7:00p.m. & 10:00p.m. * Saturday, February 7, at 8:00 p.m.

~ Upstart Women The Drama Department is putting on a festival called Upstart Women ‘09.

Arts & Entertainment 27 The Greatest Story Ever Told Historical films and you. Ian McEwan, a feature this week, will be an Imprint columnist as of next week

T

he greatest is definitely our own. Our own story; the longest, deepest, darkest, happiest, weirdest, sexiest, head-choppingest, shin-kickingest and most exciting tale with characters so rich that we’ve immortalized them over thousands of years. Metaphors aside, I’m talking about history on film. I’ll bet you’ve seen at least one flick in your life that’s ‘‘based on a true story.’’ As long as the film industry’s existed, filmmakers have taken our great big stories and broken them into tiny pieces to show us just how fascinating we are in case we’d forgotten. History on film is a broad topic in itself because some people like to light their cigarettes on it (*cough* Michael Bay) while others are more sensible. I’ve noticed a lot of well-known historical movies re-emerging on Special Edition DVD, in the past few years. You don’t have to be an expert in history to enjoy them, because the story will allow you to learn. As a history minor, I’m probably ranting in my rose-coloured glasses. But you’ll find that historical films, if done right, can get through to anybody just as much as any work of fiction.

Let’s look at The Patriot (2000) directed by Roland Emmerich, starring Mel Gibson. There are two things Gibson seems to hate more than a lack of horrible torture on screen, and one of them is British people. I know that’s likely untrue, but after you’ve seen this movie (and don’t forget 1995’s Braveheart), it’s difficult to work around that characterization. As though it were some kind of excuse, Emmerich admitted that the film was “history told with a bias.” Some people seem to think it’s impossible to retell a true story without taking a side. The Patriot chronicles the American Revolution as seen through the eyes of a former British officer turned rebel, Benjamin Martin (Gibson). Martin is apparently so important for telling this story that no amount of musket balls on Earth can hit him. He’s Chuck Norris with a tri-corner hat. You just sit around waiting for Let the Bodies Hit the Floor to start up in the fife and drum squad. Now, the movie definitely has a recognizable setting, and it includes some nuances of the unique culture. But why stop there? The story completely engulfs the characters and events. Historical events are almost like characters themselves: their effect on us is unique. There’s no need to play Stalin and take a leak on people’s actual accomplishments. The Americans didn’t win the Battle of

THE HOTTEST.

* The festival features six short plays. * Februrary 3-7. Shows start at 7pm. * For more information see facebook group: Upstart Women ‘09 Festival

~Engineering Jazz Band Engineering Music Exchange Concer t Night (featuring U of T’s Skule Stage Band and Skule Stage Band Blue) Student Life Centre Great Hall 6:30pm * Saturday, February. 7, 2009 Warrior Weekend Student Life Centre Great Hall 9pm http://www.engjazzband.com

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Cowpens by yelling and playing their theme music louder.

Nationalistic ignorance is neither fair nor entertaining. Mel “one-man-army” Gibson’s character simply becomes an avatar feeding on people’s pride for the wrong reasons and making them forget that real people fought wars and built nations. Telling history onesidedly nullifies its ability to draw you in; it has to be something comparable to your own experience of your day and age. Why do you think everybody respects Saving Private Ryan? The movie presents events as they truly were and allows you to reflect on them, and it’s not even based on a true story. It’s based in a true story: World War II. It’s noise, terror, a bloody mess, and you really get a sense of how they’d feel crawling up Omaha beach.

“History is a story best told by time” If The Patriot had allowed people to die when they were supposed to, and let the events unfold around the characters instead of making everything conform to a cheesy plot, not only would it have been more bearable, but easier to appreciate. History is a story best told by time, something with absolutely no bias. We can only try to come as close as possible. I’ll admit that raw history doesn’t always form a structured story, but that’s why writers have to find ways to be creative and try historical fiction or fantasy. More on that later.

In my opinion, another good example of a well-done historical film is Gladiator, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Russel Crowe. It came out the same year as The Patriot so there’s good reason to compare them. In the realm of historical epics, nobody does it better than director Ridley Scott, whom you may also know for making Kingdom of Heaven (2005) and just maybe 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992). Like Saving Private Ryan, it’s an original screenplay set in a faithful historical setting. The story centers around Maximus (Crowe), a former general of the Roman army stationed in Germany, and how he rises from slavery to avenge his family.

That’s easy enough, but good historical films don’t just borrow a cool backdrop like ancient Rome; they have to come

through with characters too.

Every character in the film is believable, not just in a literary sense, but in a historical sense. Their mannerisms, interaction, and behaviour reflect the setting and the plot is based on this rule. Maximus is a killing machine and offs many people like Benjamin Martin does, but he comes close to death himself whenever it’s appropriate. This creates suspense because it shows he’s not perfect. If you re-watch films like this, you may realize that what you find so intriguing about the characters is that they’re (in some ways) nothing like you. They don’t roll over to fit a director’s opinion of what we can relate to. At the same time, however, you can still empathize with them because you appreciate the difference between their era and yours.

It’s a strange feeling watching a film with characters like this, knowing they actually shaped the world you’re living in.

Maybe that’s why every attempt should be made to include effects like accents.

Directors don’t have to shy away from stuff like that just to make the film more accessible to a wide range of audiences.

Even so, it’s fair enough that some people just want to be entertained. If that’s the case then you’re probably thinking of historical fantasy. Remember when the Iranian government complained about the Persians depicted in 300? Historical films are often the centre of controversy in our keep-it-PC world. Even if someone’s creating historical fantasy, an original story using elements of actual history, they need to tread carefully or Facebook will within days be full of Boycott ­­­­Whatever! groups. I digress. We don’t know exactly how Grigori Rasputin reacted to getting poisoned, shot four times, and beaten with a club. If there’s room for creativity, writers should still be realistic and the entertainment will follow.

Even if you know how the story ends because you were there, or read about it, or heard about it, history on film is a great experience but it depends on how it’s packaged. The popularity of these movies means that people are interested in their own story just as much as any original work of fiction.

There are so many places, times, and perspectives that it’s not about winners or losers- it’s about us.

Imcewan@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

28

Arts & Entertainment

Imprint, Friday, February 6, 2009

VAST

I

t seems like most bands today have no interest in doing anything different; the majority of newcomers just peddle the same things we’ve been hearing for the past 15 years. However, the record industry is changing because of the impending death of the hard copy. Just about any album you could want can now be found online, and occasionally their albums can only be found online. Some bands are using new formats to release music in exciting new ways (like Nine Inch Nails releasing their album Ghosts I-IV with only a couple weeks notice and then later in the same year, the album The Slip with even less notice) while other bands have shown how the process can be used more deceptively (as Radiohead acted as though In Rainbows would be an online-only release and gave fans mediocre quality MP3s but later announced that a CD-version would be available with even more tracks). Some bands, however, converted to releasing albums online before both of these big names — like this week’s band: VAST.

It’s been 11 years now since VAST released their first album — which was titled after the band’s full name — Visual Audio Sensory Theater. It wasn’t until 2004 though that VAST creator Jon Crosby tried releasing two packages of tracks online, respectively titled Turquoise 3.x and Crimson 3.x. This eventually evolved into the online release Turquoise & Crimson. Crosby was later pressured into signing to a label and releasing a physical version with them — but this just led to his realization that he didn’t want to be a part of a separate label, so he created his own independent label, 2Blossoms. Now almost all of his albums have physical and online releases directly through his website www.realvast.com and the online prices average at about $3 a CD.

But the focus of this article is the doublealbum that started this — Turquoise & Crimson.

World Towns

egassner@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

The album came out online in 2004 and a physical copy 2006. VAST’s sound comes across as very raw, but it’s mostly due to the vocals. Crosby has a distinct voice, but also tends to sound as though he sings further away from the microphone — like there is some added distance between the singer and the listener. The music itself is often peaceful, but with a leering darkness as in songs like “Where It Never Rains” and “Lost.”

In order to get the distinct sound he gets, Crosby includes a lot of interesting elements like chanting found on one of VAST’s best songs “Thrown Away,”. There is also heavy use of acoustic guitars throughout the album, but the songs themselves are far from just being “acoustic.”

Even the simpler songs tend to have a wide range of instruments, to various stringed instruments, piano, and some very unique uses of a synthesizer.

VAST really excels in conveying the assorted emotions that Crosby exhibits. Though the songs rarely have an optimistic outlook, they’re always powerful and insightful. While Turquoise & Crimson is probably one of the quietest albums that I’ll suggest, it still has heavier songs; songs like “Falling from the Sky,” “Turquoise,” and “I Woke Up L.A.” all tend to shoulder more anger and appeal to those looking for more energetic songs.

Though a couple of their songs have made appearances on TV shows, VAST will never be mainstream. The songs aren’t usually catchy.

However, this is no reason to overlook them. Their exceptional lyrics and artistic instrumentation is a brilliant combination unlike that of any other band.

You can check out some of their songs at www. myspace.com/vast or support them directly by going to their website and buying extremely cheap CDs that are worth much more — and sound different — than what’s playing on the radio.

amackenzie@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

“Yes. You are in London. But it feels like Luanda, or Lisbon.”

— Buraka Som Sistema, “New Africas pt. 1”

L

ast week, I got into the idea of musical globalization, and want to continue that theme in this article with a discussion of where global music comes from. Cities grow in exciting ways. There are some interesting maps out there that show the stages of urban evolution, and they generally follow a systematic trend.

Early, medieval-style cities, before any form of mass transportation, were compact creations that allowed people to walk places. When rail became popularized in the 19th century, “streetcar suburbs” started popping up as little pockets outside the core. Then the car was introduced, freeways get built, and every single collection of built form balloons outward.

First-tier world cities, like New York, London, and Paris, have ballooned like everywhere else.

However, their cores are so incredibly dense that their overall densities are much higher than newer cities. Density like this generally results in packed, integrated cities, where people from different sociocultural backgrounds live next door.

Different cities experience this to varying degree s, of course. London is notable for pushing extremely rich white neighbourhoods right up against extremely poor minority neighbourhoods, while Paris tends to clump its rich white people in the city core and push the poor minorities out to the banlieues. While there haven’t been any scientific studies establishing to supporting this, common wisdom among urban theorists ties density directly to multiculturalism: the denser a city, the more multicultural it is.

One potential reason that density is so important to multiculturalism is that it facilitates access between different parts of town. Quite literally, it brings cities closer. The postwar American phenomenon of white flight, where rich white people escaped the dangerous core for the leafy suburb en masse, happened in part because poor minorities simply couldn’t afford the cars necessary to access the sprawled-out suburbs. While density doesn’t necessarily affect the proportion of minorities in cities, it affects the extent to which they comingle. Toronto, for example, is relatively scattered and has a very high proportion of minorities, who generally keep to themselves in ethnoburbs, which I find to be, a distinctly Canadian phenomenon. Nevertheless, Toronto is still relatively dense. In fact, it’s about 10 times as dense as Huntsville, Alabama.

The hint that was dropped in the last few paragraphs: it comes from big and dense world cities!

Let’s go through a quick list. Toronto hosts critically acclaimed Somali-Canadian rapper K’naan.

Paris plays home to producer Onra, who shapes his sound around Chinese and Vietnamese pop samples and provided the soundtrack to CocaCola’s Beijing Olympics TV commercials with single “The Anthem.” London is perhaps the biggest melting pot for global music, with notable London residents including Malawian rising star Esau Mwamwaya, who recently got major love from influential music website Pitchfork Media for his mixtape The Very Best. Buraka Som Sistema, Western ambassadors of the Angolan/Lisboan kuduro sound, recently collaborated with tastemaker DJ Diplo and the ubiquitous M.I.A., who’s also a London resident.

Speaking of M.I.A., who else would sum up this expanding musical landscape so concisely, with a chant on her 2007 LP Kala, “Hands up, guns out, represent that world town.” It’s a pretty obvi-

ous lyric, conjuring visions of the world coming together in cultural hubs. But there’s a subtext to this lyric that is not so immediate: the line is a very simple flip of a Baltimore club staple by the late “Baltimore Club Queen,” DJ K-Swift, who chants “hands up, thumbs down, represent that B-town.”

Baltimore club music, otherwise known as simply “B-more,” is interesting because it gets an awful lot of attention from people talking about musical memes, yet disappears from the discourse of musical globalization. While this may seem like a “duh” move; after all, Baltimore is not exactly Timbuktu — the equation is not that simple. Yes, Baltimore may be a Western city, but the music that comes out of its hyper-local club scene is far removed from any other strain of Western music. B-more club is fast, sample-happy, and instantly recognizable. Its 8/4 beat structure, heavy on hand-claps and snares, is entirely homegrown, a product of B-more’s previously insular scene which germinated in the early ’90s and shot to ubiquity with the rise of the ifnternet.

For a genre that was mostly unheard of just a few years ago, B-more blew up fast. Even French DJs are making Baltimore tracks now: 2008’s Eurogirls Go To Baltimore compilation is kind of a riot, in a good way. We can explain how this happened with two words: the internet, but it’s a bit trickier to figure out why B-more became such a huge deal. B-more is so fast that you cannot dance well to it without Baltimore moves like the Wu-Tang Slide or the Spongebob, yet it’s getting play in rock clubs to crowds who don’t care that they can’t dance to it.

While the swift ascent of B-more is today’s most relevant example of a local, insular style blowing up on a world stage, there are many similar examples. Crunk music from Atlanta, inescapable a few years ago when Lil’ Jon dominated clubs and radio, had a significant development period within the southern U.S. before it exploded in the mid-2000s. Hyphy, a hip-hop subgenre from the Bay Area, had a brief period of glory in 2006, getting co-opted by the acclaimed DJ Shadow on The Outsider, and M.I.A. herself, who collaborated with hyphy star Nump on “I Got Grapes.” Recently, the budding Paper Route Gangstaz in the “what, where?” town of Huntsville, Alabama, have been threatening to blow up with a hyped-up mixtape release on Diplo’s Mad Decent label.

The PRGz have a unique sound. It’s slow and druggy, but not slow and druggy like the chopped and screwed hip-hop that germinated in Houston.

Like virtually all of the scenes I mentioned earlier, the PRGz make heavy use of easily recognizable samples that seem inappropriate for hip-hop anthems but are sampled masterfully. One gem off their Fear and Loathing in Hunts Vegas mixtape is “Grind Baby,” which turns Weezer’s “Say It Ain’t So,” a pretty simpering song, into a swaggering Southern anthem.

It remains to be seen whether the PRGz and their unique sound will blow up like Baltimore club. However, whether they emerge or not is beside the point. What’s relevant about the rise of the PRGz is that an exciting, unique scene developed in a town of comparable size and density to Waterloo. In this age where metropolises have changed from incubators of local scenes to melting pots for global sounds, the future of unique sounds may materialize in the Huntsvilles of the worl

Been outside Canada?

Want to share an eye opening epiphany with the student body?

Or do you just want to write about your trip?

Through Foreign eyes: A university student’s raw cultural experience outside the country.

Campus Bulletin UPCOMING

ONGOING

Friday, February 6, 2009 Distinguished Teacher Award Nominations – nominations are due in the Centre for Teaching Excellence, MC 4055, no later than 4:30 p.m. For info www. cte.uwaterloo.ca/awards/index.html or www.cte-blog.uwaterloo.ca/?p=9 or call Verna ext 33857.

Monday, February 9, 2009 WPIRG presents: Meet the Press – a workshop for activists on dealing with the media, with Dr. Herbert Pimlott, Associate Professor of Communication Studies, at 5:30 p.m., MC 4041. Free.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009 Heart Healthy Nutrition Seminar – interactive and informative session that emphasizes the effects of heart disease.

5 to 7 p.m. at RCH 308. Admission.

Thursday, February 12, 2009 Loving to Learn Day is almost here!

Deadline submission is today. There’s a free contest (write your own education quotation in 25 words or ess), and prizes. Details at http://cte.uwaterloo. ca/L2L. “Connections” Concert no. 1 from 8 to 10 p.m. at Conrad Grebel Great Hall.

Sponsored by The Afri-Can Connection. For tickets/info call 519-741-0098 or info@the-afri-can-connection.com.

Friday, February 13, 2009 Award for Exceptional Teaching by a Student – nominations are due in the Centre for Teaching Excellence, MC 4055, no later than 4:30 p.m. For info www.cte.uwaterloo.ca/awards/index. html or call Verna at ext 33857.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009 The Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region is seeking female volunteers to join us, on our information night from 6 to 9 p.m., at 201-151 Frederick Street, Kitchener. To register call 519-571-0121 or or heather@sascwr.org.

Saturday, February 21, 2009 The Chinese Stem Cell Initiative, partnering with Canadian Blood Service-OneMatch, that will be promoting a Stem Cell Registration Drive to help patients with leukemia and other related disorders. Will be held at First Markham Place, Markham Ontario.

Info: chinesestemcell.com; onematch. ca; 416-760-6181.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009 2009 Autonomous Racing Challenge – build autonomous robots – race for first prize of $500 to $1,000. Early registration deadline April 1, 2009. For details www.RobotRacing.org.

Sunday, May 3, 2009

FRIDAYS The Fine Arts Film Society presents a free Contemporary Malaysian film series in ECH 1220 at 7 p.m.: February 6 – Mukhsin (aka Sepet prequel) February 13 – Village People Radio Show.

CAREER SERVICES WORKSHOPS

Monday, February 9, 2009 Writing CVs and Cover Letters – 12 to 1:30 p.m., TC 2218.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009 Successfully Negotiating Job Offers – workshop is geared towards graduating students. 3:30 to 4:30 p.m., TC 1208.

Monday, February 23, 2009 Successfully Negotiating Job Offers – workshop is geared towards graduating students. 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., TC 1208.

Career Interest Assessment – 2:30 to 4 p.m., TC 1112.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009 Success on the Job – 3:30 to 5 p.m., TC 1208.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009 Business Etiquette and Professionalism – 3:30 to 4:30 p.m., TC 1208.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Exchanges for undergraduates and graduates – 2009-2010 academic years: MICEFA, Paris, France and the Chinese University of Hong Kong internal deadline: March 17, 2009. For info and application forms please contact Maria Lango, International Programs, Waterloo International, Needles Hall 1101, room 1113, ext 33999 or by email: mlango@uwaterloo.ca.

General casting call – independent filmmakers looking for acting talent, full cast, extras and potential crew members. Contact Black Cloak Entertainment at casting@blackcloak.ca.

CHURCH SERVICE

economic, or family status. 275 Erb Street, E., Waterloo. Sunday services at 10 a.m. For more info www.parkuc.ca.

VOLUNTEERING City of Waterloo needs volunteers for summer 2009 events: Uptown Country Festival on Saturday, June 20, Royal Medieval Faire on September 19, Busker Festival needs new talent for interesting Board positions such as Director of Corporate Sponsorship ; Director of Marketing and Media Co-ordinator.

55+ Urban Poling Club needs indoor walk leaders on Friday mornings. Email volunteer@waterloo.ca or 519-8886488 for more info.

Volunteers needed – the English tutor program is in constant need of volunteers to tutor international students.

Volunteering is an essential part of student life at UW. Apply online at www. iso.uwaterloo.ca.

Volunteer with a child at their school and help improve their self-esteem and confidence. One to three hours a week commitment. Canadian Mental Health at 519-744-7645, ext 229.

Best Buddies is a national charitable organization matching students with individuals with intellectual disabilities

Imprint, Friday, February 6, 2008 ads@imprint.uwaterloo.ca living in the community. Hours are very flexible – compatible with busy schedules. More information contact: bestbuddiesuw@gmail.com.

Resume builder! Volunteers needed to visit people with Alzheimer disease through Alzheimer Society Volunteer Companion Program. Call Jill at 519742-1422 or volunteer@alzheimerkw. com.

Drive. Deliver. Befriend – Community Support Connections needs volunteers to help drive seniors to appointments, deliver a lunch meal or befriend an isolated senior. Mileage is reimbursed.

Contact 519-772-8787 or info@communitysupportconnections.org.

Volunteer Action Centre, 519-7428610 or www.volunteerkw.ca, has many opportunities available – visit the website or call today!

STUDENT AWARD & FINANCIAL AID

Office is second floor Needles Hall, 519888-4567, ext 36605, safa.uwaterloo.ca.

February 19: OSAP Application Deadline (full funding) for winter and spring term.

Classified HELP WANTED

Weekend counsellors and relief staff to work in homes for individuals with developmental challenges. Minimum eight-month commitment. Paid positions. Send resume to Don Mader, KW Habilitation Services, 108 Sydney Street, Kitchener, ON, N2G 3V2.

Imprint requires a distribution driver to distribute Imprint Friday mornings. Please contact ads@imprint. uwaterloo.ca or 519-888-4048.

SERVICES

Does your thesis or major paper need a fresh pair of eyes to catch English spell-

ing and grammar errors? Thesis English editing, $50/hour. Five business day turnaround. Neal Moogk-Soulis, ncmoogks@uwaterloo.ca.

HOUSING

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 Joanne at 519-746-1411 for more details.

Large furnished room with extra large storage and walk-in closet. Well kept house in upscale area near UW on Cul-

February 27: Deadline for OSAP Reviews (appeals) for winter only and fall and winter terms. Last day to submit Full-Time Bursary/Award Application for winter only term.

LIVE & LEARN LECTURES-WPL

Lectures from 7 to 9 p.m. at Waterloo Public Library, 35 Albert Street, Waterloo. For info 519-886-1310, ext 124.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009 Blogging yourself, among others: online diaries and new communities.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009 Converting telematic theatre: a new fad or the future of live theatre.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009 Mr. Plow meets the Beatles.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009 Is it normal for my teenager to be gambling?

Tuesday, April 7, 2009 Saying uncle: speaking under torture or coercion.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009 Necromedia.

pepper Drive. Short bus ride directly to the university. $450/month (negotiable) - until the end of April. Female preferred. Phone 519-745-7485 and ask for Pam.

COURSES

SP-100 Forest Firefighting course to be held in Kitchener/Waterloo, Ontario March 11-15, 2009. Registration limited to the first 32 applicants. 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 1-877-381-5849. Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources accredited. No guarantee of employment.

St. Bede’s Chapel at Renison College offers worship on Sundays at 10:30 a.m.

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/ministry-centre.

Parkminster United is an affirming, liberal congregation open to all, regardless of race, sexual orientation, age, ability,

Web Administrator Needed Immediately

55

Come join the Imprint staff as a Web Administrator.

Unix knowledge an asset but we will train.

You just need to ensure Imprint is published on our website by 5:00 p.m. each Friday.

We’ll ensure you meet new people, improve your resume, learn valuable skills and have fun!

Web Administrators are elected and receive all the benefits of Imprint staff members.

Apply at any Staff Meeting held each Monday at 12:30 p.m. at the Imprint Office, SLC room 1116 or phone 519-888-4048.

465 PHILLIP STREET LOCATION ONLY LIMITED TIME OFFER

746-6893

Science & Technology PhD profile: Dr. Pei Hang

Mohammad Jangda staff reporter

Rajul Saleh asst s&t editor Googling the oceans and world history

A recent update to Google Earth, the Silicon Valley search giant’s geo-mapping software, has introduced a host of new features that enable users to dive into the oceans, take a trip back in time, and even explore Mars. With version 5.0, users can dive underwater and explore ocean topography and features such as mountains, trenches, and shipwrecks, all in 3-D, something not previously available through the software.

According the Wired.com, the coverage of the oceans is limited, but is supplemented with maps overlays from National Geographic, video content from Cousteau Ocean World, and links to Wikipedia pages for featured landmarks. Also included in the new version are historical maps, which allow users to travel through time and view topographic — and in some cases 3-D — imagery of locations in different time periods. Of course, the selection of maps is very limited but still provides a useful historical outlook into key areas.

The third major update is the inclusion of 3-D imagery of Mars, the red planet. While map overlays of Mars have been available on Google Maps for some time now, Google Earth includes 3-D mapping of the planet, allowing users to fly across landscapes exploring key areas such as Olympus Mons, the tallest volcano in our solar system.

Google Earth 5.0 can be downloaded from http://earth.google. com.

Sony develops finger vein scanning

Sony has developed a super-fast, super-accurate biometric authentication technology that is small enough to mount on mobile devices such as mobile phones. Instead of the traditional fingerprint, “mofiria” scans finger veins, which are also unique to individuals and remain unchanged over time. According to Electronista, the technology uses CMOS sensors to capture the scattering of light patterns created by a built-in nearinfrared LED lights, which is then used to create a plane layout unique to each finger.

Unlike traditional fingerprint scanners, which require specific finger placements or swipe movements, mofiria can scan a finger in any position.

The technology also boasts extremely low power, processor, and storage use, which make it ideal for use in “mobile devices, gateway security systems and solution services.” Although Sony has not announced release dates as of yet,

Profile on Dr. Pei Hang and her work on antibiotics Lana Sheridan staff reporter

D

r. Pei Hang is feeling a sense of accomplishment. Just this December, she defended the PhD thesis on bacterial resistance to antibiotics that she had been working on, under the supervision of Dr. John F. Honek. In particular, the work focused on the antibiotic thiostrepton (TS), which was first discovered in the 1950s and which has since been shown to have both anti-malarial and anticancer effects. Unfortunately, at the moment it is of very limited utility due to being relatively insoluble in water.

“Thiostrepton is active against Gram-positive bacteria,” Hang said, indicating that it only targets one of two main bacteria types — the kind without an extra cell membrane outside the cell wall. “It binds to the ribosome, the part of the bacterial cell that produces proteins, and then the bacteria dies.” However, this process does not kill all susceptible bacteria; for example, it does not kill Streptomyces azureus, the bacteria that produces the antibiotic TS. “There were two parts to the project,” Hang explained. Firstly, she was interested in exploring the possibility of modifying the antibiotic to make it more water-soluble without sacrificing its bactericidal abilities. Secondly, she studied the resistance mechanism of S. azureus that allowed it to survive its own poison.

Because it does not dissolve in water, TS “is used as a topical medication for veterinary purposes,” Hang said. “It isn’t used in humans.”

Making TS water-soluble could open up its

Making thiostrepton [above right] water-soluble could open up its application to use in people. application to use in people by allowing it to be taken internally, fighting malaria as well as cancer. “It’s going well,” she commented with a smile, hesitating to reveal too much at this stage in the project.

There has also been a lot of progress made in understanding resistance to TS. As it turns out, the bacteria S. azureus produces an enzyme called TSR (Thiostrepton-resistance rRNA methyltransferase). This enzyme attaches methyl (CH3) groups to the binding site for TS on the bacteria’s ribosomes. This prevents the antibiotic from attaching itself to the ribosome and interfering with its function. Hang studied the structure of the enzyme TSR with collaborators

the company has stated that it plans to begin promotions this year.

New IBM supercomputer faster than current Top 500 supercomputers combined

courtesy sony corp.

The IBM Sequoia, to be constructed at IBM’s BlueGene facilities in Minnesota, is expected to reach

courtesy dr. pei hang

working in X-ray crystallography at the University of Manchester. “We found the structure, and it has given insight into structures that lead to resistance,” Hang said. The enzyme held a surprise: a protein knot. A protein is composed of a chain of amino acids. These chains fold in ways that are difficult to predict, but are often critical to the function of the enzyme. In this case, the chain actually threads through itself, forming a knot. “There are a family of proteins with this knot, but less than one per cent of all proteins have knots,” she pointed out.

She decided to work in this area because the plans for the project fascinated her and have allowed her to contribute to fundamental knowledge. She said she has enjoyed “being part of a community that can test ideas.” As for pursuing graduate study, she added: “I have no regrets, and I certainly gained a lot of knowledge.”

Her advice to students interested in research is that they “shouldn’t be scared to approach researchers and ask,” about their work, encouraging them to talk to the researchers themselves in person. “What’s on the websites can help, but it isn’t all there. They can tell you much more.” She added that she was not particularly captivated by the projects that her supervisor had posted on his website, but when she discovered he was interested in this vein of study, she was hooked.

“It just looked so interesting, and there was a lot to gain from it,” especially considering the potential for a medical breakthrough. lsheridan@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

performance speeds of up to 20 petaflops, or 20,000 trillion calculations per second. This would make its computing power greater than that of the current Top 500 supercomputers combined, and smash the record of their previously fastest supercomputer, the Roadrunner, which operates at a speed of 1.105 petaflops.

It is being built for the US government for its nuclear arsenal, and is scheduled for delivery to the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California by 2011. While the Sequoia’s main

purpose is to run complex simulations for nuclear weapons research, it will also be used to research astronomy, energy, the human genome, and climate change.

— With files from Yahoo! News, Wired.com, Electronista, and Times Online

mjangda@imprint.uwaterloo.ca rsaleh@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Imprint, Friday, February 6, 2009 science@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Wael Elsweisi staff reporter

Stem cell therapy promising against multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease in which the body attacks its own myelin sheath that normally wraps around nerve cells to improve their speed and rate of signal transmission. Symptoms range from physical to cognitive disabilities.

In a recent trial therapy, a team of scientists at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago had recruited 12 women and 11 men in their early relapsing-remitting stage of MS. The team first removed stem cells from the bone marrow of each of the participants before destroying their existing immune cells, and then re-injected the stem cells back into their bodies. The cells eventually developed into immune cells that, importantly, did not misidentify the body’s myelin sheath as foreign.

After a three-year follow up, 17 of the patients improved on a standard disability test, while none of them had deteriorated.

“Stem cells are showing more and more potential in the treatment of MS and the challenge we now face is proving their effectiveness in trials involving large numbers of people,” said Doug Brown at UK’s MS Society. The study is published in The Lancet Neurology.

A step forward in our understanding of cancer development

The power of the p53 gene in protecting us against various diseases has been well-understood since its discovery 30 years ago. The gene plays an essential role in keeping our bodies’ cells in check by ordering them to commit suicide when badly damaged, or by temporarily halting their division until proper repair is carried out. In fact, half of all cancers have an impaired or damaged p53 gene activity, which allows damaged cells to continue dividing at free will, eventually forming tumours.

A recent study by scientists in Singapore and the University of Dundee looking into p53 gene regulation has discovered that the gene not only makes the expected p53 protein, but also an alternative “control switch” variation of the p53 protein called isoform. The study involved exposing zebrafish to low levels of radiation, which causes DNA damage but is typically repaired by the p53 gene. However, no repairs were observed in fish lacking the control switch protein, which died shortly after, proving the necessity of the isoform. “Discovering how [p53] is regulated will have incredibly important implications in the development of better drugs and ways to diagnose cancer,” said Lesley Walker of UK’s Cancer Research.

— With files from BBC News and NewScientist welsweisi@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Science & Technology

Imprint, Friday, February 6, 2009

30

Are extreme solutions really a solution?

W

thelferty@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

hile some are researching ideas for cleaner energy, more sustainable building designs, and electric cars, others are looking at more extreme solutions to our environmental woes. Many scientists are beginning to believe that we are past the point where we can easily slow or halt the rising levels of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. These scientists are looking at drastic measures to reduce the amount in our air as quickly as possible, their solutions ranging from dumping iron sulphate into oceans — creating carbon dioxide-sequestering algal blooms — to launching giant sun shields into space. While these definitely would reduce the effects of the sun and greenhouse gases, they may also raise other problems.

Last month, a team of scientists experimented with a new technique

to extract carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. They proposed to do this by dumping tons of iron sulphate into the Great Southern Ocean around Antarctica. This will create algal blooms, which will take in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through photosynthesis, then sink to the bottom of the ocean, trapping the greenhouse gas for hundreds of years. If successful, the plan is to cover 20 million square miles with these blooms of algae in order to take in up to three and a half gigatons of carbon dioxide — about one eighth of the world’s annual emissions. While it is a great discovery, when can it be considered too much fiddling with the planet? After all, history has taught us that tinkering with large and dynamic ecosystems doesn’t always end well. This discovery of using algal blooms to slow climate change has stirred controversy, as many believe such tinkering could bring about consequences such as poisonous algae or the throwing of the ecosystem offbalance. Extreme solutions that include adding any sort of chemical to the oceans — especially the ocean around Antarctica, which has high biodiversity and is the breeding ground for many species — should be taken with extreme caution. In defence of the scientists performing the study, however, they do admit it should not be the only alternative.

Other extreme solutions include emulating massive volcanic

eruptions and loading the upper atmosphere with sulphate aerosols to reflect one or two per cent of the sun’s light, cooling the Earth.

Again, there exist the possible repercussions of pumping a chemical into the atmosphere.

This includes causing more ozone depletion around both the North and South Poles. While volcanoes may push these chemicals into the upper atmosphere naturally, they are still within nature’s limits, and pushing those limits requires caution.

While pumping chemicals into our skies and oceans remains controversial, there are other solutions that can have less harmful consequences. One of these is the creation of artificial trees that can take in lots of carbon dioxide all year round (unlike deciduous trees, whose leaves die every winter). The technology is under development to increase effectiveness and economic feasibility, but it could help our threatened forests in cleaning up the air.

Though there is the problem of storing the carbon dioxide once it’s captured, this can be done underground, under the ocean floor, or the gas can be chemically made into fuel again.

Another radical solution is putting trillions of shields made of thin glass into space. These would then reduce the amount of sunlight by a few per cent, bringing the temperature of the Earth to pre-industrial times. However, this is extremely costly and not a likely solution.

graphics by armel chesnais

While extreme solutions like these can help us in our fight for a more environmentally friendly future, they should be well researched. Due to the scope of many of these projects and the ecosystems they would affect, their failure could make matters worse. Even if they were to work, they should not be an excuse to continue our dependence on fossil fuels and to leave behind all other attempts for alternative living.

Instead, these should be well reviewed buffers to give us more time to implement clean energy and other tactics.

It should also be kept in mind that it is unlikely we will ever find a perfect solution. There will always be the risk of some sort of negative consequences to pushing nature outside of what it is used to, but calculated risks may be needed despite the controversy that surrounds them.

Starting Friday, February 20, Imprint investigates:

CRIME ON CAMPUS Join us in the seven part series.

Sports & Living

Imprint, Friday, February 6, 2009 sports@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

The voice of UW Athletics

What our athletic students are looking for in the upcoming FEDs election

“Personally, I’d like to see a better budget for all of our sports teams, especially rugby. We could really use enough money to get new equipment, good jerseys, and meal money for trips.

Whenever we go on the road for games, our budget is so small that we end up paying for our own food. We can’t get groceries because we have nowhere to cook and because we have to pay for ourselves we end up eating at fast food restaurants before most of our games. It’s really not good to have to eat junk right before we get on the field. The worst part of it all is that not all the teams are like this. Last year I played on the football team and our budget was huge. They cleaned our towels for us, and we had everything laid out and ready for us when we went to play.

I know it’s probably not possible because some sports are more high profile than others, but it would be great if all the teams got equal opportunities, and funding.”

“A lot of the teams and athletic programs are beyond Feds. But it goes without saying that our facilities and teams need more funding. When you look at other schools in the area, even Laurier, they’ve all got new equipment, more funding and lots of support from the school. I understand that Waterloo is more of an academics based school, but our athletics shouldn’t lack because of it. With proper funding we could afford to improve our coaching staff, for all of the teams that need it. Really we just need to work on inspiring spirit so we can improve our school’s reputation and athletic standing.”

“What we have isn’t bad, for being included in our tuition. Of course, there’s lots of room for improvement. Sure, if we could get more funding from Feds we could afford better equipment for everyone. I’m not on a varsity team, but I still work out here about twice a week. There also needs to be a better way of advertising our sports teams to the rest of the school. Curling, for example, is doing really well this year; we just never seem to hear about them though.”

“I’d like to see Feds pushing for support from students for our varsity teams. Whether you’re a team of 6 or 16, having your fellow students there to cheer you on really acts as an extra motivation to play harder. As it is, we occasionally get a poster put up on the bulletin board for major events, but what we need is active advertising all the time.”

“I think it’d be a good idea to try and have Feds and UW Athletics work together on different events like charities and fundraising. It would help put sports on the map, and it’d also ensure that everything was going to a good cause. It’s happened before, with things like Pink Weekend, which was really successful.”

“The workout room isn’t very big, which is a problem because it can get really overcrowded. We get our varsity hours at the gym, which is good for the teams. But the equipment in the weight rooms really needs upgrading.”

­— Athar Zia (Kinesiology)

— Richard Singh (Mathematics)

— Derek McCubbin (Varsity Rugby)

— Jane Yang (Varsity Rugby)

— Andy Reitzel (Civil Engineering)

— Brandon Donick (Recreation & Leisure Studies)

Warrior [W] Hockey February 7

vs Brock

Athletes of the Week

2:00 PM, UW CIF Arena February 8

vs Guelph

February 6 vs Windsor Lancers

2:00 PM, UW CIF Arena

Volleyball

[W] 6:00 pm, [M] 8:00 pm PAC Gym

Warrior [M] Hockey February 8

February 7 :: Senior Night vs Western Mustang [W] 6:00 pm, [M] 8:00 pm PAC Gym

4th year, Biomedical Science Ashburn, ON

vs Windsor 7:30 PM, UW CIF Arena February 12

vs Wilfrid Laurier 7:30 PM, UW CIF Arena

Registered trademarks of Boston Pizza Royalties Limited Partnership, used under license. © Boston Pizza International Inc. 2005

IMPRINT | FEBRUARY 6

Jara Brunt

Pier Pelletier Hockey 1st year, Arts St. Loius-du-Ha!Ha!, PQ

Sports & Living

Imprint, Friday, February 6, 2009

warrior

Waterloo Warriors Last Week Women’s Hockey

Men’s Hockey

Saturday, January 31 Western 2 - Waterloo 1

Friday, January 30 Lakehead 3 - Waterloo 1

Sunday, January 1 Toronto 4 - Waterloo 1

Saturday, January 31 Lakehead 6 - Waterloo 3

Women’s Volleyball

Men’s Volleyball

Friday, January 30 York 3 - Waterloo 1

Friday, January 30 Waterloo 3 - York 0

Saturday, January 31 Waterloo 3 - Laurier 2

Saturday, January 31 Laurier 3 - Waterloo 1

Saturday, January 31 Windsor 79 - Waterloo 72

Upcoming Games Women’s Basketball

Saturday, February 7 at Guelph, 3:00 p.m.

Saturday, February 7 at Guelph, 1:00 p.m.

Wednesday, February 11 at Laurier, 8:00 p.m.

Wednesday, February 11 at Laurier, 6:00 p.m.

Men’s Volleyball

Women’s Volleyball

Saturday, February 7 PAC Building, 8:00 p.m.

Saturday, February 7 PAC Building, 6:00 p.m.

Women’s Hockey

Squash

Saturday, February 7 CIF arena, 2:00 p.m.

Saturday, February 7 at Western, TBD

Sunday, February 8 CIF arena, 2:00 p.m.

Sunday, February 8 at Western, TBD

29, 2008

of WaTerloo’s

Swimming

Friday-Sunday, February 6–8 at Trent, TBD

Friday­­-Sunday, February 6–8 at Ottawa, TBD

Men’s Hockey Sunday, February 8 CIF arena, 7:30 p.m.

Basketball

Wesley Burns

Wesley Burns Reporter

T

he Warriors put up a great effort on Saturday afternoon against the West division rival Windsor Lancers. Both teams played a strong defensive game in the opening minutes, with both teams unable to score any points. This tempo gave the Warriors some early momentum, although they eventually found themselves down by 10 points at the end of the quarter, left the Lancers leading at 25–15.

The Warriors battled back in the second quarter, but Windsor had an answer for almost everything. Unfortunately for our fans at home, Waterloo was unable to close the gap that the Lancers had created earlier in the game. By half time the Warriors found themselves trailing behind the Lancers 37–28.

Coach Tom Kieswetter’s halftime speech must have impacted the Warriors as the team came out hot in the

second half. The Warriors closed the gap in the third quarter, tying the game at 46 and again at 48. The Warriors took the lead in the game for a brief period in the third quarter going up 61–60.

Windsor climbed back up and played a great fourth quarter which proved to be too much for the Warriors. The Lancers took back the lead and their defensive skill showed late in the fourth quarter. The Warriors, despite a late game push could not complete a comeback. The final score was 79–72 for the Lancers.

This is the third straight loss for the Warriors who fall to 7–9 on the season after the loss. The Warriors are now fifth in the division with 14 points. There was, however, a highlight to the loss. Waterloo’s Dan White, who fought hard through out, was named the player of the game with 26 points and nine rebounds.

NOTICE OF MEETING – Imprint Publications, Waterloo is holding its ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING on Tuesday, February 24 at 2 p.m., Multi-Purpose Room, SLC, UW imprin

8 vol 31, no

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editor@imprint.uwa

WHITENING AFFORDABLE ssor y. your best acce “Your smile is... they’ll notice.”

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The Proposed Agenda for the Meeting is as Follows:

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Maggie Clark editor-in-chief

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PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS PRESENTATION OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, 2007/2008 APPOINTING THE 2008/2009 AUDITOR PRESENTATION OF THE 2009/2010 BUDGET POLICY AMENDMENT RATIFICATION ELECTION OF THE 2009/2010 BOARD OF DIRECTORS ADJOURNMENT

Attendance is mandatory for all Imprint staff, staff who are unable to attend must inform the Editor-in-Chief and provide proof of important prior engagemenrts. Proxy forms are available in the Imprint office and are due by Friday, February 20 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 20 at 4:30 p.m. The floor will also be open to in-person nominations during the meeting.

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

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Women’s Basketball

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Comics & Distractions

If you were a candidate in the upcoming Fed’s election, how would you make your campaign unique?

“My life is way too busy for that kind of commitment.”

Chris Lenz 3A Economics “Encourage participation in not-for-profit organizations on campus.”

Dana M. Decent 1B Environment & Business “The first 10 seconds of perception are the most important. We would throw money at the voters…and then ask for it back.”

Scott Chonghar & Jayesh Salvi 3B Honours Biology & 4B Biomedical Science “Facilitate students’ ownership of their university experience.”

Josh Vanwyck 4B Systems Design Engineering “Encourage active participation in campus activities, including our own campus radio station 100.3 FM.” Nathan Vexler & Steve Krysak 3N Systems Design Engineering & 2B Environment & Business “Revitalize Arts orientation week.”

Jessica Whitehead & Brian Lui 1B Arts & Business & 1B Accounting

Imprint, Friday, February 6, 2009

Ask

Shaniqua distractions@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Howdy Shaniqua, You probably receive this question hundreds of times a day: but I am madly in love with my best friend but have no idea how to break this news, or even if I should. You see, she’s the greatest thing that has ever happened to me and I don’t think she really knows that fact. I over-analyze everything and I just don’t know if the risk of telling her how I feel is too much to justify ruining our amazing friendship. I know what you’re going to say anyway but I just need to hear it!

Regards, Scared in Ol’ Waterloo Dear Scared I’m worried, actually, that you may suffer from a rare sexual condition known as Cryptorchidism — you may know it by the slang terminology of “having no balls.” Please check right now to see if you have a pair, if not, consult a doctor as soon as you can, in the hopes that you may grow a pair with the help of new medical technologies.

If you do in fact have a set, then stop wasting my time, her time and your time and tell her you love her. For the love of God, it’s not like you didn’t get the answer to this question every week during the ten seasons Friends was on the air.

Dear Shaniqua, I am a new graduate international student in UW. Since three weeks ago that I was here everything is really good and everything is going well. But my only problem is that I do not have a girlfriend and cant find one. I know that maybe it takes sometime to find someone, but I really need . I cant concentrate on my studies without being involved in such a relationship.

“We don’t run a half assed campaign; we would encourage full gluteal exposure.”

My problem is that my language skills are not very good and I am scared to begin a conversation with native girls. Besides, I think they don’t like to have a relationship with a new not-native guy that even don’t know the streets of Waterloo.

Raheman Dhanani - 4B Economics

What should I do regarding this?

Tahira Nizari - 4B Women’s Studies

MECE

Shaheer Bhaidani - 3B Economics

Dear MECE,

By Ted Fleming and photos by Julia Rose

Think you can stump shaniqua?

Give it your best shot.

distractions@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Bring it, bitches.

I’m going to take a lot of liberties answering this question. My original answer was simply to tell you that the best place to meet native girls are the reserves, but I’m going to assume that by “native” you meant girls born in Canada.

Your language skills, judging by this letter, do leave a lot to be desired. If you’re lucky, your ethnicity might be something you can play up as foreign, steamy and sexy, but if you aren’t European or South American I wouldn’t count on this.

Sounds to me like the real problem here is that you can’t function if you aren’t in a relationship.

I don’t know if you’ve got personal insecurities about being alone or what, but if you aren’t comfortable being yourself as a single person, then I can only see trouble on the horizon for whatever poor “native” girl you hook up with. Your partner shouldn’t be there just because you want a partner there, your partner should be there because they are the one person you like, love, and want to be with.

I will, however, throw you a bone and say that if you want to impress girls with your knowledge of the streets in Waterloo (although if a woman is impressed by you listing off street names she might be somewhat dim) take them anywhere in the vicinity of King and Princess for a date.

Dear Shaniqua, I was seeing this guy pretty casually for a while, and it didn’t work out. I said I wasn’t into him and that I didn’t care, but I obviously do, because I’m writing into your column for advice. I don’t want him back, I don’t want to re-seduce him, and I don’t want to be his friend. I want cold, hard revenge. I’m hoping you won’t judge me and tell me to “just get over it,” but rather, that you have some creative tips for making him wish he had never been born.

Yours truly, A Woman Scorned Dear Scorned, Girl, the key to revenge is having fun in the process. Your options are almost limitless. Lots of girls decide to destroy the boy’s property (the Carrie Underwood course of action) but unless you want to spend the night in jail I wouldn’t put a crowbar through the windshield of his car.

It’s so much easier to destroy his reputation, for instance by telling all of your mutual friends that he let you try pegging (Google that one) or that he had an extreme case of Peyronie’s disease (Google image that one) to make sure they never look at him quite the same way again.

If you have any naked photos of him, a simple e-mail to his mom aught to do the trick. Simple, but so sweet. A man’s life is over the second their mother sees them with an erection – just ask any 12 year-old boy! And we all know that deep down, all men are just overgrown 12 year old boys.

Good luck.

Comics & Distractions

Imprint, Friday, February 6, 2009

Crossword

Paul Collier

1

Across

42. Peer

1. Cooking measure (abbr.)

43. Where to make your biggest 7. Dolt little mistake 8. Broad stone 44. Preferred 9. High percentile stature 46. Event host (abbr.)

10. One independent of 49. Gulf key local university

5. Archaic had 10. Discard 14. Fanfare 15. Tweety’s punching bag

6. Help

51. Warship (2 words)

16. Norwegian ‘hood 17. Parallel with radius

59. British comedian Eric ____

19. Urchin 20. Modern comforter (2 words) 23. Muslin

60. Salacious 61. Yellow pigment

25. Early morning prayer service 28. Delete, End neighbour 30. Avenue intersecting Keats

Down

31. Hot rock room

1. Straightshooting

33. Small-scale joule

2. Video game movie director

36. Non-profit CEO (hyphenated)

3. Lucid

40. Before

4. Carry out

41. Movement, Dex boost

5. Pride in excess

Sudoku 1 4 8

5

9

3 6 2 5

4 5

3 3 1

1 9 6 6 2

1

R A G Y D N L F O

D O F L A R Y N G

G L A F Y D N O R

Y F R A N O D G L

O D N R L G F Y A

N G L D F A O R Y

A Y O N R L G D F

F R D G O Y A L N

17

18

19

21

26

C E P R U R S H O W

T Y R O

12

13

33

34

35

54

55

56

22 24

27

28 31

36

37

40

41

47

11

29

32

38

39 42 44

48

49

45

50

51

52

53

57

58

59

60

61

62

63

64

65

37. Root for

48. Groups of personnel

28. Enormous

38. Opp over adj

49. Scratchy torturer

29. Unit

39. Self-image boosters

50. State of alarm

31. Adequate (hyphenated)

43. Withdraw

52. Out of control

32. Imitated by life

44. Having sharp hooks

53. Side

33. Periods

45. Gran Torino interviewee

54. Mental conception

34. Pulverise

46. Two strokes under

55. Vivacity

35. Husband of Sól

47. Runner in 1,760-yard race 56. No longer working (abbr.)

T O O B A D

2 8

10

27. Ripped

9

I N D I G O

9

16

46

Jan. 30 Crossword solution

Jan. 23 Sudoku solution L N Y O G F R A D

13. Overly sentimental person

Paul Collier 5

8

43

26. Arabic prince

65. To smooth

7

15

30

25. ____ to order

64. Tuned piano

6

14

25

22. Advertiser

63. Irish

5

23

21. Small-scale TNT unit

62. Swamp floor

24. Offline blog

4

12. More cunning

58. Tropical parrot

18. Trite

3

20

11. Prefecture, City, Bay, and Castle

57. Mirth

2

35

C O P O C H E T Y L G E S O U T I M E Q S T U N T R E O S Y N B G R A R A I T O I D A N G R S E

T S I T S P A L N E D E U O T F F O F G I N O S U P H E N R E A A S S S P

T E M O P V I A B R A A N N S M O O M S E S R Y

Cryptogram

I N A L L

T U N A

U R N S

S E A M

L A W E E C H V I T Y E N A P A E L L S D L E S E N E G U T E M S

Jan. 30 Cryptogram Solution If we don’t believe in free expression for people we despise, we don’t believe in it at all.

-noam chomsky

Maggie Clark

We lhiwqwog, pe hyvpewxms nwehywqu wg p lhiwqwopi nprhywqu. — Rmggm Rpocghe Dear Distractions fans, Imprint apologizes for the inconsistency of solution sets and puzzles in recent weeks. We encourage those still looking for solutions to our giant sudoku a few weeks back to plug in the numbers in an online sudoku-solver for resolution: Meanwhile, we’re going to work on moving forward with a clean, coherent puzzles page. Many thanks for your patience.

Comics & Distractions

Imprint, Friday, February 6, 2009

POSTSCRIPT

GRAHAM MOOGK-SOULIS

IMPRESSION, BY JIM & LAN

LOOSE SCREWS

RUNAWAY RINGTOSS

PETER N. TRINH

GEOFFREY LEE & SONIA LEE

KURTIS ELTON

IN THE WEEDS

BY MATT FIG, BRANDON FORLER, AND KEEGAN TREMBLAY

36