Impr int The university of Waterloo’s official student newspaper
Friday, March 26, 2010
Vol 32, No
32
imprint . uwaterloo . ca
Website redesign
UW’s redesign initiative extends from log os and advertisements to the website.
SCIENCE10 Waterloo can dance
The first ever So You Think You Can Dance Waterloo competition is a success.
ARTS
17
Teacher awards
UW’s highest teaching honour is awarded to four professors and lecturers.
FEATURES 14 On March 18, two resident of UWP, Beck Hall were robbed in their room. Adrian Safati reporter
A
s some students slowly stumbled back to their houses having had their fill of fun in the early hours of March 18, the morning after St. Patrick’s evening, an armed robber entered UWP’s Beck Hall. Making his way up to the third floor, he entered an unlocked room and pulled out a gun. Inside were two roommates; they had just returned after a long night, the third having left a moment ago to grab some pizza from university plaza. They had no reason to lock the door; he’d be back in a few minutes. The robber, a 5’8” stocky black male dressed in a ski mask and winter jacket entered the room and shut and locked the door behind him. The roommates believed that they were the victims of a pra ctical joke, not an armed robbery. Waterloo Housing and Residences’ response to the incident has been to make posters instructing individuals not to allow strangers into their residences, and informing the dons of the incident. There are talks of increasing video surveillance around residences, but according to Housing and Residences no concrete
plans have been made to improve the safety of the UWP residents. Staff Sgt. Greg Fiss of UW Police encourages students to make sure that their doors and windows remain locked. However, UW Police did not comment on this incident specifically. MKV (the other apartment-style residence on campus) has multiple levels of security. There are security cameras on the first floor monitoring everyone who enters and exits the residence, the stairways and elevators are locked off, and the individual floors themselves are locked off. Not only would it be significantly harder for a trespasser to move around, they would even be caught on camera. Unfortunately, there are no cameras around Beck Hall, and no locks other than the one in the main foyer. If you ever find yourself in a robbery situation, UW Police encourages you to simply comply with the demands of the assailant and not play a hero; your life and well-being are far more important than your possessions, they said. Hopefully, this albeit rare incident will never occur again. However some say steps need to be taken to improve the security of the residences. As one of the victims said, “I don’t feel safe here anymore.”
photos by rajul saleh
Notices have been posted at residences warning students of the incident and reminding them of safety precautions.
News Six outstanding students were recognized this week for their contributions to co-op employers in 2009
Siaw Yun Poi Faculty of Mathematics
Roseanna Presutti Faculty of Applied Health Science
Adrienne Raw news editor
U
W’s six 2009 Co-op Students of the Year — Siaw Yun Poi, Roseanna Presutti, Lauren Theobalds, Tewodros Mamo, Sameer Shah, and Stephanie Dobson — were honoured for their contributions to co-op employers at an awards ceremony on Wednesday, March 24 as part of National Co-operative Education Week. National Co-operative Education Week, which runs from March 23 to 27, recognizes the advancements of co-operative education across the country. Co-op Student of the Year award recipients are chosen from each faculty based on their contributions to co-op employers during the 2009 year, their academic achievements, their community involvement, and their overall contribution to co-operative education. There were 93 students across all faculties who applied for the 2009 awards. Two of UW’s recipients were also recognized at the provincial and national level: Poi received the provincial award from the Education at Work Ontario (EWO) and both Poi and Persutti received honourable mentions from the Canadian Association for Co-operative Education (CAFCE) at the National awards. “Now that I’ve been here at UW for a few years, I’m no longer surprised by the marvellous contributions that our co-op students make in their work terms. But I’m still hugely impressed,” said Peggy Jarvie, executive director of co-operative education and career services at UW. “Our six winners this year demonstrate the range of opportunity that UW co-ops have in their work terms, as well as the significant contributions they can make on the job.” All six students were pleased and excited to have their efforts and contributions recognized by UW. “When I found out, it was
Imprint, Friday, March 26, 2010 news@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Honouring co-op contributions
Lauren Theobalds Faculty of Arts
Tewodros Mamo Faculty of Engineering
Sameer Shah Faculty of Environment
Stephanie Dobson Faculty of Science
graphics by ian cutajar and alcina wong
a good feeling that the hard work that I’ve been doing at my co-op placements have been noticed by the co-op community overall,” said Theobalds. “I was very thrilled when I found out that I had won the award for the math faculty,” said Poi. “It was nothing short of a blessing and that was all I was hoping for, so winning the EWO award and receiving the honourable mention from CAFCE were icing on the cake.” Mamo said that the award “has encouraged me to keep working hard and plan on even bigger things in the future.” During their 2009 co-op terms, the six UW students made the following outstanding contributions to their employers. Siaw Yun Poi
Siaw Yun Poi, a third-year actuarial science student, was recognized as the co-op student of the year from the faculty of mathematics for her contributions as an actuarial assistant at Sun Life Financial. Poi also represented UW co-op students at the provincial and National awards, receiving the student of the year award from Education at Work Ontario at provincial awards and an honourable mention during CAFCE at the national awards. During her term with Sun Life Financial, Poi developed a new investment framework that reduced turnaround time by over 90 per cent. “Co-op has helped me gain a better understanding of the industry, develop useful business and technical skills, and build relationships and personal character,” said Poi. “But perhaps most importantly, co-op helped me realize firsthand that there is so much more knowledge to be uncovered and more grounds yet to be broken, and that with passion and hard work, it was possible for anyone — not just a selected few — to make the breakthrough.”
Roseanna Presutti
Roseanna Presutti represents the faculty of applied health sciences as a 2009 co-op Student of the Year award winner. Presutti, a third-year health studies student, was recognized for her work at Sunnybrook’s Odette Cancer Centre as a clinical research assistant where she had a hands-on role in patient consultation and co-led a clinical trial. Presutti also received an honourable mention at CAFCE’s National awards. “The most valuable part of my co-op experience was the ability to grow both as an academic and an individual,” Persutti said. “Because of my co-op experience I was able to take many of the skills that I had gained in the workplace back into the classroom to further excel in my studies.” Lauren Theobalds
Third-year drama student Lauren Theobalds received the co-op student of the year award as the representative from the faculty of arts for her work as an assistant to the development and outreach officer of the non-profit company Workman Arts. Through her marketing role, Theobalds increased attendance at the company’s annual film festival by 46 per cent and worked to increase youth enrolment in arts programs with the Toronto District School Board. “Co-op has been valuable because it gives me the hands on experience I need to succeed in my future,” said Theobalds. “I know it sounds like the textbook answer that you hear about co-op, but its true. Co-op is hands down the most valuable part of my university career.” See CO-OP, page 5
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News
Imprint, Friday, March 26, 2010
World This Week
Azra Premji reporter
Alim Khamisa reporter
Health insurance reform becomes law in America
On Sunday night, the legislation that extends health care to millions of uninsured Americans was approved. Over $900 billion is anticipated to cover health insurance for roughly 32 million additional Americans. Larger employers are required to provide coverage, lifetime coverage limits will be banned, low-income individuals and families are eligible for insurance subsidies, and insurance companies will not be able to deny coverage based on gender or pre-existing conditions. On Tuesday, President Obama signed the health form legislation into law. According to CNN news, Obama announced, “Today after almost a century of trying; today, after over a year of debate; today, after all the votes have been tallied, health insurance reform becomes law in the United States of America.” It will take four years to implement this reform fully. However, Obama claims that this year, amongst other actions, tax credits will be given to four million small businesses to provide employees with insurance. For Americans that remain skeptical about this law, Obama is making speeches starting in Iowa City, Iowa. For further information and frequently asked questions about the health reform, you can visit www. whitehouse.gov/realitycheck/faq. Lotto winner: $20 million
Bonnie Preece, age 49, won half of Saturday’s $41 million draw and will continue working as a grocery store cashier at a No Frills outlet in London, Ontario. According to The Star, Preece said, “I don’t play the 6/49 because I don’t pay the $2. I just had two toonies and I said ‘It’s $40 million, we might as well give it a try.’” Accord-
Get a start
ing to the Vancouver Sun, Preece said she had $80.17 in savings prior to receiving the money. While Bonnie is not sure how she will spend her newly acquired wealth, she knows she will travel, take care of family, friends, and those in need first. The other winning ticket was sold in Edmonton. However, the winner(s) there have not claimed the prize to date.
UW students are a party away from Aussie land
Bush and Clinton in Haiti
George W. Bush and Bill Clinton recently visited the thousands of homeless survivors and Haitian President Rene Preval in Haiti. President Obama had asked the two former US Presidents to lead the US fundraising, to help raise awareness for the continuing need for assistance in Haiti, encourage entrepreneurship to create jobs, and spur the economy to leave a longer lasting change after the fatal earthquake on January 12. According to CBC news, Bush said one of the purposes of the trip was to “remind the American people [that] there is still suffering and work to be done.” The non-profit Clinton-Bush Haiti fund has raised approximately $36 million for Haiti relief funding. To date, over 200,000 people have died, over 300,000 have been injured, and at least one million have been left homeless after the devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake. Thunderstorms in Western Australia
Severe rainfall that struck the Perth area in Western Australia, causing landslides, hailstones the size of golf balls, torrential rains, flooding, and winds at 120 km/hr has caused damage that may cost up to $100 million to fix. Schools and hospitals in the area were flooded, with collapsed ceilings, and over 50, 000 people were without power. According to BBC news, at Perth airport almost a month’s average rainfall fell in only seven minutes. “This incident is going to cost the states tens of millions of dollars to repair buildings, restore power lines,” Premier Colin Barnett said in a statement.
on finishing your degree early.
photos courtesy of brittany thordarson
Alyshahn Kara and Brittany Thordarson are among 30 finalists competing to travel to Australia for 21 days and share their experiences. Gina Racine
incoming editor-in-chief
D
o University of Waterloo students Alyshahn Kara and Brittany Thordarson have what it takes to tour Australia and live to tell about it? We’ll soon find out. The two are among 30 finalists that will be throwing a party as the final piece of their contest entry in hopes of winning a round-trip adventure to Australia. Organized by Tourism Australia and CampusPerks, the VIP Aussie Adventure contest gives three Canadian students the chance to travel to Australia for 21 days and then share their adventures and experiences online with others back home. A total of 60 college and university students from across the country entered the contest by submitting a video entry online on the CampusPerks website. Kara and Thordarson are competing against each other and neither have ever been to Australia. “This is the biggest opportunity of my life really,” said Thordarson of the contest. “To go somewhere exciting, adventurous and gain work experience. I think I can do a good job promoting it to students — telling them about my experiences and hopefully they will want to do the same [trip].” Kara, who currently works as a promotions co-ordinator for Feds, says his primary focus would be to gain work experience from the trip, among other things. “The traveling is almost a bonus for me personally,” he said.
“The major thing you could take out of this is work experience that you could bring back and adapt to the work force here in Canada.” If the winners choose to stay in the country, Australia’s working holiday Visa would allow them the opportunity to work, travel, and explore the country for up to one year. Thordarson says she would like to stay for the year, if chosen as a winner. Kara and Thordarson were each given a kit filled with items for their party such as banners and information. Thordarson’s Australian party will be held on Monday, March 29 at the Huether Hotel, 59 King St. N., from 7:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Thordarson says people can expect a night of fun and interaction. “I have some tricks up my sleeve,” she laughed. Kara’s party is taking place on Wednesday, March 31 from 4:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Alpha Omicron Pi house on Albert Street. The group volunteered to help out with the event that Kara says will be a lot different than Thordarson’s. “I have some exciting and interesting people coming that people would not expect to see at a party like this,” he said, adding that there may be some involvement from various local businesses. After the parties are over, a second round of voting will take place online from April 1-6 and the winners will be announced on April 12. To vote for Kara or Thordarson, or for more information about the contest, visit www.CampusPerks.ca. editor@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
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When in England, it’s probably you who’s driving on the wrong side of the road.
Save $100 on any flight to Europe with Transat Holidays. Europe for less, ISIC student discounts only at Travel CUTS. Visit your local Travel CUTS or book online at travelcuts.com University Shops Plaza, 170 University Ave. W. 519.886.0400 Save $50 per person, per segment (max. $100) on new bookings made until Mar 30, 2010. Travel period from Apr 1 to Oct 31, 2010. Promotion for students only (ISIC card required). Cannot be combined with any other promotion. Not applicable on child rates, last minute bookings (bookings made 21 days prior to departure). See travelcuts.com for full details and gateways. ON–4499356/4499372 | BC–33127/34799/34798 | QC–7002238 | Canadian owned. Transat Holidays – ON Reg. #50009486
News
Imprint, Friday, March 26, 2010 John Li reporter
Response to racism at Queen’s University
Tewodros Mamo, a fourth-year nanotechnology engineering student, was recognized as the co-op student of the year from the faculty of engineering for his work as a nanomedicine intern for Harvard Medical School. During his term, Mamo designed targeted nanoparticle systems for use in drug and gene delivery, a project which could be applied to the therapeutic treatment of cancer. Mamo said that his co-op experiences have helped shape his future path. He also acknowledged the value of his unique experiences. “The best thing about co-op is that it helped me shape what I wanted to do in the future. More than the technical experiences I gained, the discussion I had with many people I met at my co-op placements were very valuable,” Mamo said. “I attended talks and discussions with world-renowned experts and I had a chance to shadow medical doctors.”
Last week, Principal Daniel Woolf and Vice-Principal Patrick Deane signed a statement condemning two recent incidents of racism that occurred around the Queen’s University campus. The first incident occurred minutes away from the university’s West Campus. Three vehicles in the parking lot were vandalized with derogatory and racist words spray painted on each. The second incident concerned Safiah Chowdhury, the incoming president of the Alma Mater Society (the student government) at Queen’s. While in the library, Chowdhury overheard several students making racist remarks about her and referring to her as the “Taliban turban of terror.” Woolf and Deane were prompted to speak out about the incidents. They reinstated the values and attitudes that Queen’s students have, and called these acts “unacceptable and undesirable.”
Sameer Shah
Ryerson University facing $10 million lawsuit
Sameer Shah, a third-year environment and resource studies student, represented the faculty of environment as a co-op student of the year award winner. Shah was recognized for his work at the Royal Bank of Canada as an environmental project management intern. His accomplishments included co-leading a highly successful pilot program aimed at reducing the company’s operational footprint. Shah said that the most valuable part of his co-op experience was “working with a plurality of stakeholders across many different departments; it made proposing and implementing initiatives challenging!”
Ryerson is currently facing the largest lawsuit that the university has ever encountered, according to Julia Hanigsberg, Ryerson’s general counsel. Chris Avenir, a third year engineering student, was almost expelled for sharing homework tips over Facebook in 2008. Avenir was charged with academic misconduct for being an administrator of the Facebook group in which students could exchange class-related material. Although Avenir won his expulsion appeal, he felt Ryerson’s academic misconduct policy denied students the right to be represented by a lawyer at expulsion hearings. Avenir has, as a result, threatened a $10 million class-action lawsuit against the university. Hanigsberg claims she refused to settle out of court due to the fact that she is confident in the fairness of Ryerson’s policies.
Continued from page 3 Tewodros “Teddy” Mamo
Stephanie Dobson
Fourth-year biochemistry student Stephanie Dobson received the co-op student of the year award for the faculty of science for her work as a research assistant at the Princess Margaret Hospital. She worked in a lab devoted to stem cell and cancer research and was part of team that successfully experimented with the genes of mice that were potentially affected by retroviral insertions that could be linked to leukemia. “The most valuable part of my co-op experience has been the amazing work experiences I have gained working in nationally known labs, the skills I have learned and the contacts and friends I built along the way,” Dobson said. “Co-op has truly enriched my university experience.” Turning out talent
How does UW’s co-op program produce talented students such as this year’s winners? “UW attracts ambitious and talented students, our academic programs enable them to build extraordinary knowledge, and their co-op work terms provide opportunity to apply that knowledge in the real world,” said Jarvie. “The size of our program ensures that a huge variety of challenging and rewarding opportunities is available to students, and their success on the job keeps employers coming back for more.” “Employers of Waterloo co-op students offer them excellent work term opportunities allowing students to build on their skills from one term to the next,” said Olaf Naese, communications and public relations representative at CECS. “This puts many students in a position to make significant contributions to employers based on the knowledge transfer that takes place.”
Students march against rising tuition
Around 400 university students gathered outside of the University of Alberta Student’s Union and marched on the Alberta legislature to show their disapproval of the rising tuition in Alberta. In particular, they expressed their outrage at the possible $550 “common student space, sustainability, and
Passionate about news on campus?
araw@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Pride Centre hopes to rid campus of homophobia
The Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (SFUO) Pride Centre is launching the Ambient Violence Awareness campaign to fight homophobia on campus. Members of the Pride Centre have noticed that homophobic remarks are often overheard, and even written in graffiti on campus. The campaign hopes to address these types of discrimination through spreading the word on how discrimination will not be tolerated, as well as pointing out that homophobia still exists on campus. This campaign will involve taking pictures across campus of washroom stalls and desks where homophobic slurs are written and displaying them on posters. The campaign will also hold various educational workshops about homosexuality, including commonly misunderstood terms and the resources available to those questioning their sexuality. UTSC receives the credit or no credit option
The University of Toronto Scarborough Campus now allows students to take one class with the “credit or no credit” option in their degree. This option will allow students to take one course where their mark in the class does not factor into their GPA. Their transcript will simply say “CR” for credit (if they receive above 60 per cent in the course) or “NCR” for no credit (if they receive below 60 per cent). Aisha Khaja, vice-president of the student union, claims that this option allows students to explore courses on campus without it factoring in to their GPA. The CR/NCR option cannot count towards satisfying program requirements. Furthermore, once the decision is made regarding the option, it is final. A student cannot choose to include the course mark in their transcript if they decide to take the course with the option, even if they do well.
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Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire. William Butler Yeats
Volunteer
Value of co-op
news@imprint. uwaterloo.ca
news
More than 80,000 college and university students are enrolled in co-operative education programs at institutions in Canada. UW’s co-op program, launched in 1957, is the largest program in the country. The co-operative education program means different things to different students. Students value it for the experience, the income earnings, the opportunity to appeal concepts from the classroom in real-world settings, the opportunity to make business connections, and its role is shaping a student’s future. Students in the co-op program gain “confidence, maturity, self assurance, and superb skills develop in general and the power of the reputation of the University of Waterloo in particular,” said Naese. According to Poi, “The co-op program serves as a platform for applying the concepts taught in the classroom. But more than that, it exposes us to real world problems and industry challenges, which gives perspective to our classroom learning and directs our attention towards avenues for solutions.” Co-op is also an opportunity to gain valuable work experience that can be used to get a job after graduation. “Students gain marketability from coop,” Theobalds said. “My resume is loaded with relevant work experience for when I graduate, which is mostly in part to my co-op experiences.” Mamo acknowledged the value of UW’s co-op program in providing “the framework in which students can explore their interests and figure out what exactly they want to do in the future.” He also pointed out what he felt was the only downside of UW’s program: PDEng. The program, he said, “took a lot of my time and created a lot of unnecessary stress during my co-op terms.” He recommended that the program should either “be radically reformed or completely be removed to improve the UW co-op experience for students.” Jarvie credits the nature of UW’s co-op program as the foundation of its value for students. “In many co-op and internship programs in other parts of the world, students mostly shadow company workers on the job,” she said. “In Canada, co-op students become part of the employee team, doing real work and making real contributions. Students gain work experience that helps them learn more about their field of study, as well as deciding what they do (and sometimes don’t) want for their careers. And they build a terrific network both through their own experiences and those of their fellow students, with whom they share the good, the bad, and the terrific of their work terms.” UW honoured six of our co-op students who have had terrific work terms during this year’s National Co-operative Education Week, but there are many others like them.
security fee” that may be implemented. The march was organized by the Council of Alberta University Students (CAUS). Along with University of Alberta students, students from the University of Calgary and the University of Lethbridge also showed up for the march.
Campus Watch
CO-OP: UW’s program gives value to students
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Opinion
Imprint, Friday, March 26, 2010 opinion@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
IMPRINT The University of Waterloo’s official student newspaper
The editor-in-chief must change
Friday, March 26, 2010 Vol. 32, No. 32 Student Life Centre, Room 1116 University of Waterloo Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1 P: 519.888.4048 F: 519.884.7800 http://imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Board of Directors board@imprint.uwaterloo.ca President, Sherif Soliman president@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Vice-president, Anya Lomako vp@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Treasurer, Lu Jiang treasurer@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Secretary, Erin Thompson secretary@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Staff liaison, Caitlin McIntyre liaison@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Editorial Staff Assistant Editor, vacant Head Reporter, vacant Lead Proofreader, Katrina Massey Cover Editor, Rajul Saleh News Editor, Adrienne Raw News Assistant, Paula Trelinska Opinion Editor, Clara Shin Opinion Assistant, Mushfiqur Rahman Features Editor, Komal R. Lakhani Features Assistant, Parth Khanna Arts & Entertainment, Dinh Nguyen Arts & E. Assistant, Michael Chung Science & Tech Editor, Jordan Campbell Science & Tech Assistant, Erin Oldynski Sports & Living Editor, Brent Golem Sports & Living Assistant, Michelle Duklas Photo Editor, Ethan Oblak Photo Assistant, Abisade Dare Graphics Editor, Sonia Lee Graphics Assistant, Ian Cutajar Web Administrator, Paul Collier Web Assistant, Xiaobo Liu Systems Administrator, vacant System Administrator Assistant, vacant Production Staff Ivan Lui, Michelle Sterba, Michael Shao, Michael To, Jessica Pellow, Divyesh Mistry, Rosalind Gunn, Stephen Kearse, Athena Ngai, Ronald Chui, Alcina Wong, Adrian Safati, Jacob McLellan, Tom Levesque Graphics Team Alcina Wong, Majuratan Sadagopan Imprint is the official student newspaper of the University of Waterloo. It is an editorially independent newspaper published by Imprint Publications, Waterloo, a corporation without share capital. Imprint is a member of the Ontario Community Newspaper Association (OCNA). Editorial submissions may be considered for publication in any edition of Imprint. Imprint may also reproduce the material commercially in any format or medium as part of the newspaper database, Web site or any other product derived from the newspaper. Those submitting editorial content, including articles, letters, photos and graphics, will grant Imprint first publication rights of their submitted material, and as such, agree not to submit the same work to any other publication or group until such time as the material has been distributed in an issue of Imprint, or Imprint declares their intent not to publish the material. The full text of this agreement is available upon request. Imprint does not guarantee to publish articles, photographs, letters or advertising. Material may not be published, at the discretion of Imprint, if that material is deemed to be libelous or in contravention with Imprint’s policies with reference to our code of ethics and journalistic standards. Imprint is published every Friday during fall and winter terms, and every second Friday during the spring term. Imprint reserves the right to screen, edit and refuse advertising. One copy per customer. Imprint ISSN 0706-7380. Imprint CDN Pub Mail Product Sales Agreement no. 40065122. Next staff meeting: Monday March 29, 2010 12:30 p.m. Next board of directors meeting: Friday March 26, 2010 12:00 p.m.
A rationale behind a different person at the Imprint helm every year As of a week from the publication from this newspaper, I will no longer be Imprint editor-in-chief (EIC). Whether you’ve thought good or bad of the last year of Imprint, my departure is a good thing. While each EIC has their own reasons for leaving, its been a trend that nobody has been EIC for more than 24 months, with 12 months as EIC being the standard length. This turnover is a good thing for Imprint as an organization and for you as readers. When I was a volunteer writer for Imprint, I loved covering contentious topics, like the Women’s Centre name change, undergrad students getting a bus pass, the push to get fraternities and sororities officially recognized by the university. But I’ve spent a good chunk of the past year sitting behind a desk. Aside from my personal desire to not be behind a desk anymore, there is only so long someone can sit behind a desk all day before their journalism suffers. See, when I was writing about all those issues, I was
a student at the same time. When I wasn’t working on Imprint things, I was in class with my peers talking about student issues, struggling with not sleeping, and living the student life. Being editor-in-chief removed me from all of that I was no longer a member of the world I was supposed to cover. One can only be EIC for so long without losing touch. When Feds held the referendum on the Radio Waterloo fee last term, I remarked that it was odd I didn’t see any posters promoting the radio station. “What are you talking about?” one of my reporters told me. “There are posters all over DC.” I checked and she was right. But the problem was I hadn’t set foot in DC for days when that happened. I wasn’t exposed to the same environment students were. As another example, when JobMine slowed down, all the students noticed, but I wasn’t impacted at all. The only reason I found out is I read blogs and follow Twitter. But
again, poorly-functioning JobMine wasn’t a visceral problem for me. The longer one has any full-time staff job on campus, the more one loses touch with the students. This is true of the university administrators who used to be students here. This is true of the Feds exec. This is true of me. The editor-in-chief must be in touch with the students. Sometimes a member of the Feds executive runs for re-election. This year, both Sarah Cook and Allan Babor ran to be on the executive again. And whenever someone runs for re-election, they always say the same thing. “Vote for me!” They say. “I already have the experience of the past year, and if you let me do my job again for another year, I’ll be better at it.” Well, I should hope so. If you wouldn’t do a better job the second year around, that means you didn’t learn anything the first time. But “let me do it again, I already have the experience” is a weak argument.
If I were to be the editor-in-chief of Imprint for another year, I would be better at it, in an academic sense. I would have greater knowledge of the specific challenges that the EIC faces, be more prepared for some of the day-to-day tasks. But I would have the same — and increasingly irrelevant — point of view. The newspaper would grow stale, partially because the leadership would be static. Most importantly, in staying I would not be allowing someone else to take my place, and reap the same benefit from the EIC experience that I have had. Can you imagine if Liz Wood, the first editor-in-chief of Imprint, was still here? Her personal experience with being a university student would be completely out of date. She would have never grappled with Quest. She would have never had to use those clickers in class. She would have never applied for a co-op job using JobMine. She would be more familiar with the Anti-Imperialist Alliance than the problems of today. As her time ended, so must mine.
Dear MPs, you are not MDs
eaboyeji@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Parliament is not the forum for informed discussions on maternal health
L
ike a lot of you, I hardly ever watch Canada’s federal parliamentary proceedings. However, unlike you, I barely have good reason to. Seeing as, for good reason, I cannot vote in Canadian elections, your Parliament might very well remain eternally prorogued in my mind. Wednesday, I had to. Canada’s parliamentary debates had settled on a matter of life and death for women in my country; maternal mortality. In 2008, 59,000 Nigerian women accounted for 10 per cent of all the world’s maternal deaths making its maternal mortality rate the second highest in the world after India. Little has changed since then. In fact, in last year’s annual Millennium Development Goal Report, the United Nations declared improving maternal health the least achieved MDG. Fortunately, the government of Canada as the host of the G8 meeting in June, decided to champion the issue of maternal and child health in developing countries during the global meet. Maternal health enthusiasts like myself hoped that perhaps, this time around, the G8 would finally listen to what is acknowledged fact amongst maternal health experts. Many of the poor women who fall to the beast of maternal mortality simply bleed to death. According to the World Health Organization, 25 per cent of maternal deaths are caused be hemorrhaging. This make it the leading cause of maternal death. It seemed like for the first time the government of Canada would actually be on track to present to the G8 a policy document that was based on expert advice, when the Liberals felt that health policy that would affect millions of women thousands of miles away should be the subject of parliamentary attention in Canada.
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In the court of public opinion, ignorant as it often is, saving pregnant women in developing countries from bleeding to death is synonymous with preventing them from getting pregnant in the first place.
Overnight, every Tom, Dick and Canadian Harry became an expert on maternal health. Years of carefully done research that had proven that coupling reproductive health with maternal health issues had been the disaster responsible for slow progress with regards to maternal mortality were thrown to the winds. In the court of public opinion, ignorant as it often is, saving pregnant women in developing countries from bleeding to death is synonymous with preventing them from getting pregnant in the first place. Can you blame them? What do they know? After all, what does the average Canadian born on comfortable white washed hospital beds free of charge know about giving birth in a small “hygienechallenged” hut in the middle of nowhere? How on earth could they know that 45 per cent of maternal deaths occur within 24 hours after child birth? Could they possibly understand that women who had carried babies to term weren’t exactly prime candidates for contraceptives or family planning? Admittedly, under certain circumstances, reproductive health options might double as some sort of precautionary measure against maternal mortality. Nevertheless, considering the issue at hand is maternal mortality, you would think the lives of over half a million women currently at risk would
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Editor-in-chief, Michael L. Davenport editor@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Incoming editor-in-chief, Gina Racine gracine@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Advertising & Production Manager, Laurie Tigert-Dumas ads@imprint.uwaterloo.ca General Manager, Catherine Bolger cbolger@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Ad Assistant, Shirley Ma Sales Assisstant, Tony Tang Systems Admin., vacant Distribution, Sherif Soliman Distribution, Abdullah Asmat Volunteer co-ordinator, Angela Gaetano
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be worth the effort of saving first. According to the experts, simple and cheap actions like training for skilled birth attendants in developing countries and making medicine available like oxytocin or misoprostol for stopping hemorrhaging are more effective in combating maternal mortality than ship loads of contraceptives which few end up using properly. Thankfully, in the end, a few conscientious Liberals stood for the principle that the women of the developing world should not have their health policies dictated to them by some clueless politicians in Ottawa and joined conservatives to vote down the ill-considered policy change. Nevertheless, for future reference, it might be good to remind MPs that just because poor women are the subject matter does not mean that “P” in “MP” magically became a “D” overnight. One small correction: On my February 26th column, “The true North ain’t that free” I mentioned that visible minorities make up far less than one percent of Parliament. I am informed that recent numbers are slightly higher. The error is regretted. Hat tip to Matt Cassell for pointing that out.
Opinion
Imprint, Friday, March 26, 2010
7
Re: freedom of speech stretched too far Brendan Bennett 1 b mathematical physics
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he problem of how to limit freedom of speech has existed at least as long as democracy has. Too little room for debate ruins democracy’s effectiveness, and, as Oren Lahav pointed out in an editorial last week, too much of it risks causing nonspecific grievance to the other parties involved. Oren lists a number of examples, such as the demeaning online comments made by “idiots” online, the endless backand-forth by people who refuse to let Gaza go the way of Tibet, and a third point that is also the first. What’s the right level of censorship?
Since the issue we’re talking about is as old as democracy, it’s instructive to look back at how democracy’s Athenian inventors handled it. Athens was a powerful state, having attained that power thanks to wise leadership and a strong military. Public debate was an essential part of life, with many politicians having built their careers on rhetorical prowess. All was not well, however. One man, a self-described “gadfly,” was making a career out of confronting the aforementioned wise men and, through discussion alone, making them seem fools. The Athenians faced a dilemma. On one hand, to condemn someone for his rhetorical ability went against many of the values that made their state prosper. On the other,
it really sucks to learn things that make you uncomfortable over the course of a conversation. When so starkly posed, the decision was obvious. After a short trial, that man, Socrates, was sentenced to death by hemlock. Since the sagacious Athenians could censor speech in such a reasonable manner, why shouldn’t we? The question becomes: who decides what to censor and how to censor it? I nominate Oren Lahav. I’ve read his essays, published by Imprint. Here is a man who was born to censor. I don’t know if it’s his obvious unease when it comes to open debate, or his penchant for stating his feelings as if those constituted arguments, but he is clearly qualified. Here is a man so committed to the truth that he
knows what it is even before he’s read what you wrote. Dr. Oren’s prescriptions make sense: monitor the online comments, reject any articles written in an offensive style (such as loathsome satire), and closing the debate in the editorial section after two weeks have been allocated to solve contentious issues. I’m still pushing for the hemlock option, but these suggestions seem a good start. The fact of the matter is this: since what constitutes frivolous, annoying, or redundant speech is universal, who could possibly oppose that which Oren advocates? The answer’s irrelevant. I wouldn’t want to hear from such people anyway.
Taking the plunge sustainable model for growth literally in our own backyard? We’ve done this before. In 1957, Gerard Hagey took an enormously courageous step and invested in a new kind of university — one where students worked directly with employers to learn how to directly apply their skills. The success of this model has been unquestionable, and the positive effects for Waterloo have been obvious. It has brought prosperity to current students, staff, and faculty, and also the whole city. How can the university recapture some of these positive externalities and continue to develop them? The first big thing would be to invest in a new sort of degree program to create a new kind of graduate: a social entrepreneur. We need to train community-minded people who can innovate and who doesn’t chase after dollar signs and huge salaries. We need graduates who are committed to working towards a high, sustainable quality of life that can be shared by the whole community. Such a program could incorporate elements of speech communication, new media studies, and community development into existing programs of environment, engineering, and computer science (to name only three
of relevant areas). These degrees would be broad, with the aim of creating graduates with thorough grounding in their fields, and an ablility to think critically and flexibly to apply their knowledge to the real world. The second component of this approach is equally important. The honours year of this new program would see students researching, networking, and developing a business model in association with their peers, professors, local business people, and city planners. At the end of the year, the companies could apply for a loan from the university which, in association with private investments, would allow them to implement their plans. These companies would be inherently public/private ventures—owned by the university with profits going to pay for development of programs, but managed and directed privately.
Community development companies could ease a lot of the burden on the university’s finances, allowing it to focus more on teaching and research rather than the provision of student services. There are students everywhere chomping at the bit to research, develop, and implement new ideas for our communities and ways of living. We should be giving these students access to the tools and resources they need to make a difference, as opposed to giving them their piece of paper and sending them far afield. This is not a complete solution, of course. It needs to be combined with new residences that combine upper-year students, recent graduates, the working poor, and new Canadians— again, opening up the university to its community. There is no question that communities with
diverse income levels and cultures are happier than homogenous ones, and the university has the clout needed to start development of these new neighbourhoods. It also needs to be combined with a longterm strategy developed in association with city council, local residents, and other interested parties. Ultimately, however, the university needs to be prepared to take again the same innovations, rather than resting on its laurels waiting for bailouts. It needs to understand that it is dependent on the health and wealth of its community, and make investments in accordance. Most of all, however, it needs courage at every level. This place was not built on timidness and conservatism— it was built on innovation and dynamism, And it is in this spirit that it needs to move forward.
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he University of Waterloo is, at this moment, grappling with a very uncertain budget, and needs to find a way to balance it quickly. The rising costs associated with huge new buildings are not going to go away anytime soon. New residences, student spaces, and transit infrastructure will not build themselves. The university is running out of money, and that is a problem. Maybe the solution is to find people to donate. Maybe alumni or the government need to chip in more with donations or subsidies. Unless invested wisely, however, this can only ever be a short-term fix; regular injections of cash and grants can be addicting. The university needs to start playing the long game — making cuts and alterations where necessary, but working towards a broad vision of sustainability through strategic, local investments. The university needs to invest in itself — not only as an academic entity, but also as a part of its wider community. Frankly, the inhabitants of the ‘ivory tower’ need to let down their hair and step into the sun. Why on earth would we be investing in stocks, bonds, and all sorts of other investments dependent on the fate of the world economy, when we have a
mrowley@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
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Opinion
Imprint, Friday, March 26, 2010
A lesson in learning editor@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
T
he thing about choosing journalism as a career path is that although you can learn a lot from textbooks and being in the classroom, the most valuable lessons you could ever find yourself wrapped up in are the ones you learn first hand. Having graduated from university with a non-journalism degree, I’m a prime example that it’s definitely possible to make it as a news reporter without the little piece of paper that says I’m capable. But I had experience. Like many of my peers, I worked at my campus newspaper before being employed by a “real” newspaper. My teacher was someone who knew a lot about journalism and passed his vast knowledge along to me, and it did not occur in a classroom.
Throughout my career thus far, I found that a productive way to learn is by asking questions, as embarrassing as it can seem at times: Me: “So where is the media conference being held?” Some annoyed reporter from Global TV: “In the media room.” I would say it took me nearly the entire year to actually understand some of the municipal jargon that councilors were quick to throw out during a time of crisis. After almost a year of working full-time as a city hall reporter in Edmonton, I’m certain I asked at least 1,000 questions (especially after the council agenda thief was discovered — then I was asking some real questions). But aside from asking questions, the most important way to learn, and in my opinion probably
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the most humourous, is by being thrown into a scary situation and figuring it out, (also known as trial and error, I mean, hands-on learning). Attempting to follow criminal activity in a small town where local authorities insist it simply does not exist was probably the most fun I’ve ever had in my entire life. One afternoon in Whitecourt, we heard some particularly interesting words come through the police scanner. I quickly grabbed my car keys, my camera and the intern, and before I knew it, we were blindly following cop cars to the crime scene. When we arrived and saw people dressed in camouflage holding rifles, we knew we were onto something, all right. Talk about hands-on learning. True journalists will admit it is an all-encompassing job that truly sucks the life out of you. It ruins relationships, sabotages
At this year’s AGM, YOU can elect 5 new board members! Find out about the year’s highlights, change bylaws, appoint an auditor, and give your input. Join us for dinner as we celebrate another year of student action and appreciate WPIRG’s amazing volunteers & staff! Please RSVP for dinner at info@wpirg.org.
April 5, 2009 - 5:30 PM
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All UW students and community members are encouraged to attend and have a say! For more info on the AGM and election visit: UW SLC 2139, http://wpirg.org, or call 888-4882.
Nominations for WPIRG
Board of Directors The Waterloo Public Interest Research Group is governed by a Board of Directors of nine members. We need five new board members to be elected at the
WPIRG Annual General Meeting on April 5. Nominations are open from March 15 at 10 am to March 29 at 4:30 pm. Pick up a nomination package in the WPIRG office (UW SLC 2139). See our website for information on being a board member, or email election@lists.wpirg.org. For more info visit the office, wpirg.org, or call 888-4882. Candidates Meeting: Before AGM M o n d a y, A p r i l 5 , 3 : 3 0 p m S L C 2 1 3 9 .
Journalism is such a multifaceted concept. It means something different to every writer, photographer, videographer, editor, columnist, and news reporter out there. To me, it means letting go of everything and letting life take you by the reigns. It’s getting thrown into a highly contentious debate about nuclear power or driving down an unknown dirt road for an hour trying to find the 4H clubhouse. Journalism is spending 12 hours straight working on your section to make sure it’s something you can truly be proud of, and putting together a reputable newspaper in an environment where there are no classes, no textbooks, no notes, just handson learning. Like an old Chinese proverb goes, “Tell me and I’ll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I’ll understand.”
Re: Reflections: International Women’s Week and Graduation
You’re Invited to
WPIRG’s ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING and Social!
any chance of having a social life and, not to mention, leaves you penniless. But for some reason or another, there are “aspiring” journalists everywhere you turn. There are millions of bright-eyed and bushy-tailed individuals lined up, praying for the chance to get coffee for the sports reporter at the Toronto Star. It’s because journalists are devoted. The volunteer staff at Imprint demonstrate the true meaning of the word devotion and have an insatiable desire to learn. They’re like little sponges, soaking up all the unique and obscure talents people who hang around the office just so happen to possess. And due to the fact that there is no journalism program at the University of Waterloo, you really have to stop and think about where that talent comes from. Everybody brings something different to the table on Wednesday nights — literally.
Michaelangelo Finistauri math alumnus
I
would like to agree with Michelle Goodridge’s disgust with the article, but I’d like to point out that the original article points to a tradition that was sexist. However there was no way that it was sexist to women. The tradition of giving the daughter away was more of a sign of men’s obligation to protect, provide for, and be responsible for the well-being of their wives and daughters. The father giving the daughter away was another way of saying that it was now the husband’s responsibility to protect, provide for, and be responsible for the well-being of their wife to be. It was now the husband-to-be’s turn to provide for his daughter. This was sexist to men because women were given a protector and men were given an obligation to protect.
Way back in the day, the man was expected to work to take care of a family and many of the jobs available were physically arduous, dangerous, and very much unfulfilling. The man was expected to spend time providing finances for the family by any means necessary. This often meant not being able to spend as much time with his children as he may have liked so that the family could survive. The woman’s responsibility was making the home safe. Today these roles don’t work quite the same, but they were about surviving and not trying to supress women’s freedom. Of all the traditions to comment on, I’m surprised that the author didn’t bother to mention the engagement ring. This tradition started because the man needed to prove to the woman that he could provide for her. The man needed to prove that he
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had sufficient income to support her while she tended to the family. The man was the worker and the woman was the family caretaker. It would be really nice if people stopped chastizing men for their role of protector. I never hear anyone thanking their fathers for giving up time with their children so that their family can be safe. I never hear anyone saying how grateful they were that they had protectors who took the brunt of the physically demanding, dangerous, and often unappreciated work. I’m glad nowadays that women share this responsibility; however, if someone gave me the choice between working in a mine or factory and raising my children, I would choose my children every time. A lot of men didn’t have that choice and we need to start respecting that.
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Opinion
Imprint, Friday, March 26, 2010
9
D
aniel Manary has succumbed to two major confusions in terminology in his science editorial. Firstly, he states that evolution is a hypothesis, which is incorrect. Darwin’s hypothesis was the mechanism of natural selection, and when evidence supporting natural selection became readily apparent, the idea was “upgraded” to Darwin’s theory of natural selection to explain the fact of evolution. Imagine Manary telling us that gravity was just a hypothesis. It isn’t. Einstein’s idea that gravity could be modeled as masses deforming a “grid” of space (and time) started off as a hypothesis and has been similarly upgraded into a theory. You could, armed with sufficient knowledge and evidence, come to challenge Einstein’s theory on how gravity works, but you cannot challenge the fact of gravity itself, the fact that objects fall. Similarly, we can challenge Darwin’s explanation (natural Luke Johnston 4b kinesiology
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his is regarding “A Challenge to Evolution.” There are several key issues presented in last week’s science editorial, many of which are persistent myths about evolution. I want to start by saying that no one is “pretending” that evolution is a fact. It is a fact. It is just as much a fact as gravity or electromagnetic radiation. The author is correct, however, that evolution is not a law. But, he is incorrect in stating that it is a hypothesis. It is actually a scientific theory, which means it is stronger than a law or a hypothesis. The author may not have been aware of this, but a scientific theory is a comprehensive set of laws and hypotheses that explain mechanisms and can make accurate predictions. Evolution is just as real and factual as the gravitational theory. Should we “stop pretending” gravity is a fact? The author also seems to be confusing abiogenesis with evolution. Abiogenesis is the study of how life formed from inanimate matter early in Earth’s history while evolution looks at how currently living organisms change over time. The current understanding of evolution is not perfect. There are plenty of loopholes and gaps in this knowledge but, then again, so do almost all sciences. Nearly everything we know is not perfect! If you delve deep enough in any field, be it math, biology or physics, there are large gaps in what we know. As for the origin of single celled organisms, the components that are seen in a modern “typical” cell, have not always been present. For example, the mitochondria, which is the power plant of a “typical” cell was at one point separate from the cell. Later on in evolution, the mitochondria formed a mutual relationship with the cell and together they merged and became one. We know this from the fact that mitochondria contain different DNA than our own DNA found in the nucleus. So, the components seen in a “typical” cell were not necessary for survival in the past. And, of course, the tired and overused flagellum argument is used. For those who really want to know some busted myths on evolution, I sug gest you read New Scientist’s articles on myths
selection) but not that which he tried to explain: evolution. That organisms have evolved in the past and continue to evolve at present is a clear fact. Natural selection might seem to be tautological (those best at reproducing have the most offspring, by definition) but it was still wrong of Manary to say that Darwin’s idea is not falsifiable. If natural selection is going on then organisms should have obsolete parts, suitable for ancestors but not for the modern forms. If some alternative process was creating animals from scratch (instead of deriving them from ancestors) then there should be no historical leftovers. So natural selection could have been defeated by a lack of nonfunctional parts, but instead, examples, such as the coat of fur that we grow and shed in the womb, abound. Secondly, Manary confuses abiogenesis for evolution, and thinks the difficult questions poised by the former are a challenge to the latter. Evolution simply assumes that, billions of years ago, some
in evolution (www.newscientist. com/article/dn13620-evolution24-myths-and-misconceptions. html). In one article, they examine the irreducibility of the flagellum. The flagellum’s components are in fact reducible and do in fact serve a purpose. Most of the components are actually proteins used in other parts of the cell, for other purposes besides being part of the flagellum. Cells evolve through changing small parts of a currently existing molecule. For example, dopamine and epinephrine are only different in their structure by one OH group and yet they have vastly different functions. One small difference can lead to very different functions. So over time, other molecules get changed and provide a benefit (or not) to the cell, or pre-cell structure. They could have an advantage over other pre-cells (or not). I say pre-cell because early life forms were very probably nothing like what we see today and would probably not even be considered a “typical” cell. Lastly, the theory of evolution has massive evidence in support of it. There are even experiments being conducted that are trying to replicate early life conditions to make early life forms develop. If the author is truly serious that evolution is not a fact, how does he propose to explain all the fossil records? Or of all the extremely simple organisms that are dated to 3.5 billion years ago (Earth formed around 4.5 billion years ago)? Or that our DNA is similar to other organisms, including plants? Or that everyday organisms adapt to the changing environment? Or that infectious diseases of the same species are able to infect us time and time again if they are able to evolve? Evolution is a reality of life. Not everyone understands it fully, but I suggest reading up on it and researching it from credible sources to get a better grasp of it. Definitely read the New Scientist article. Oh, and read the online comments for last week’s “Challenge to Evolution” article. These myths need to be busted in everyone’s minds as this is something that is just as important and real as gravity, or quantum particles, or chemistry, or physics, and on and on. Evolution should not be such a controversial issue. It’s a fact! Get over it. If the Pope can, so can anyone.
molecule was capable of replicating itself. That’s the only requirement — mutation, competition, and selection naturally follow from any kind of replication. Abiogenesis theories struggle with the previous step of getting that first replicator. Notice that I’ve abandoned the words “living” and “non-living,” because they are thoroughly obsolete. Manary wants to see an experiment generate something “living” from “non-living” components, and he wants a sharp, clear transition. Would he also ask for a quick transition from a baby to an adult? Does the baby become an adult on the stroke of midnight on its 18th birthday, or did it stop being a baby sometime before that? He thinks that intermediates between “living” and “non-living” can’t exist because single cells are complicated. This is the familiar “irreducible complexity” argument of a creationist/ID proponent. There are many ways to handle it, but I invite Manary to think of an arch of bricks. It seems irreducibly complex — take out one brick
Nicholas Randall 1b science and business
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hile evolution may not be a scientifically proven fact, if we are to limit our education to what we can define as a fact, then we eliminate a fair bit of science, namely everything with the word “theory” in front of it. This would eliminate the Theory of Relativity, Particle Theory, and of course, the Theory of Evolution. Theories are explanations of how a part of the world works, and they will never become scientific law, which is a description of an observed phenomenon. A theory is a theory, and will always be a theory. A law will always be a law. The difference is that a law can be proven, where as a theory can only be disproven. Evolution is, and always will be a theory, unless evidence disproving it is discovered. With regards to evolution in particular, there are hypotheses, but of course none of them can be proven, or have any more evidence than any other idea. However, short of somehow simulating several billion random interactions of random particles over the course of
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and the thing falls apart. Nevertheless, an arch is built brick by brick with the help of scaffolding that is removed once the keystone is placed. Its “irreducible complexity” is an illusion. The most promising line of abiogenesis thinking at the moment seems to be the “RNA world” hypothesis, suggesting one more step back to a simpler ancestor (though certainly not the primal replicator — RNA is still rather complicated). I should also point out that a virus does not qualify as a non-living ancestor for a single cell, since viruses need cells to reproduce. They could only have evolved as parasites once cells already existed. But more importantly, scientists don’t need to fabricate life from scratch to prove evolution — such an act would only confirm a theory of abiogenesis. Evolution and natural selection are already on solid ground — every domesticated plant and animal is a successful experimental result. And clearly, whatever the details, abiogenesis has happened at least once.
Regardless, evolution will remain a theory, like many other theories that cannot be proven, but have yet to be disproven.
several billion years, we won’t be seeing much evidence any time soon. So we make do with theories. The one I find convincing is the “RNA World” theory, which was covered in the first week of my BIOL 265 class. To assume that the single-celled organism is the most basic form of life is a mistake akin to thinking that the atom is the basic building block of everything. Further research was done, and now we have protons, neutrons, and electrons. Those were the most basic forms until we discovered quarks, which will be the most basic form until further notice. However, the atom, nucleus, and even quarks are all a part
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Mark Ferguson 2b nanotechnology engineering
of Particle Theory. The questions mentioned in the article “A Challenge to Evolution” have been asked many times over by people, and many of their questions have been studied, analyzed, and in most cases, answered. Regardless, evolution will remain a theory, like many other theories that cannot be proven, but have yet to be disproven. It is not scientific fact and never will be; that is true. So while evolution may never be a “fact,” I’m going to treat it as such until a better explanation surfaces.
Community Editorials
Re: a challenge to evolution
Science & Technology
Imprint, Friday, March 26, 2010 science@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
New UW website design Erin Oldynski science & technology assistant
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courtesy white whale web services
he UW website needs to position the university as unconventional, creative, risk-taking, and experimental,” said Megan McDermott, project lead of the UW website redesign project. In September 2009, the University of Waterloo decided that it would redesign their website. By December 2009, the UW redesign team chose White Whale Web Services to be the consultant for the web design project. White Whale’s portfolio includes website redesigns and major projects for UC Berkeley, Brown University, Duke University, and MIT. According to the redesign team, the two main reasons for the website redesign are to demonstrate the attributes defined in the new UW identity, and to improve the user experience, including enhancements to the navigation as well as improving consistency throughout the UW web space. Although the new UW identity has not yet been finalized, the website redesign has been moving forward. Included in the process of developing the redesign is audience research, content analysis, information architecture, and navigation design. From March 16-18, White Whale posted an initial preview of the working model of the UW homepage design. During its launch to the public, the preview was viewed 2,366 times before it was taken down. White Whale designers stated, “The primary reason we’re pulling the live preview is because we are already making changes to the information architecture and design as a result of community feedback.” The preview included four proposed websites, each with a different background and slightly different layout, but all with the same slogan. “This early concept is a first attempt to capture Waterloo rather than portray Waterloo,”
stated Sarah Forgrave, Dean of Communications and Public Affairs. Forgrave explained that, “the slogan ‘Everything you discover at the University of Waterloo belongs to you’ references our policy on intellectual property and, taken more generally, echoes our hopes for your academic and non-academic career at Waterloo.” Forgrave further explained that, “Once the slogan is absorbed and your eyes slip past it to the photo underneath you might ask how is this relevant to Waterloo? The concept includes an idea that all photos for the homepage be created by the Waterloo community. These photos may not pertain to academics or campus life directly but will reflect our community and their interests.” The purpose of each of the proposed homepages is to create a clean, simple look, made possible by supporting links throughout the site. Along the top of each homepage is a grey bar that contains points of interest for prospective students and other external audiences. The link “Today @ Waterloo” provides information that will change daily, including news, events, and weather. The “Faculties & Academics” and “Offices & Services A-Z” areas have been designed to make it easy to find information, without having prior knowledge of the organization. Students have left hundreds of comments on the redesign blog, providing both praise and criticism for the proposed homepages. While some students prefer the clean, simple look, most students prefer function and have suggested that links to Jobmine, Quest, and UW-Ace be present on the homepage. Although the preview of the new UW homepage has been taken down, the UW redesign team is still seeking student feedback at: web.uwaterloo.ca The UW web redesign team has stated that the redesigned UW site could be launched as early as May 2010. eoldynski@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
courtesy white whale web services
Fat, footprints, and ferocious reptiles Ivan Lui staff reporter
Volcanoes and the rise of the dinosaurs
For about 135 million years, dinosaurs were the dominant species on the land masses of Earth. While the idea that a comet pummeling the earth caused the eventual downfall of these gigantic lizards, there is also the idea that something similar to this event may have led to their uprising. PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences) suggested that a volcanic eruption caused massive climate change, resulting in mass extinction that gave way for the dinosaurs to take the position of head predator. The scientific paper, released by a joint team of researchers from the U.S. and Taiwan, looked at natural evidence to extract the data needed to make this claim. The evidence consisted of plant wax and wood that was imbedded within cooled lava sediments. This cooled lava dates back to about 201.4 million
years ago, when it caused the extinction of 50 per cent of tetrapods (four-limbed animals) on land, 50 per cent of terrestrial plants, and 20 per cent of marine families. Researchers said that during this time, there was a spike increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide and aerosol. This would have caused a “super greenhouse” warming effect. “We are showing that these events are synchronous with the extinction and that the events all occur within a few tens of thousands of years of the eruption of these huge lava flows,” lead author Jessica Whiteside said, a geologist at Brown University. Though there is proof of this spike, there has yet to be any proof of how the dinosaurs survived or how this could have possibly affected species on land. Fat can be good, too
Polyunsaturated fats can be good for a person, according to Harvard Medical School. These fats are found in some fish and vegetable oil. The research team has analyzed
eight previous studies that cover 13,000 people. Saturated fat, which is found in butter, seems to be the recipe for a diet gone wrong. These saturated fats should not go beyond 11 per cent of one’s daily diet. Saturated fat, which can cause bad cholesterol that would block arteries, is the direct opposite of unsaturated fat, which has the effects of raising good cholesterol. This study shows that for every five per cent increase in polyunsaturated fat, there is a ten per cent decrease in the risk of heart diseases. According to lead researcher Dariush Mozaffarian, the risk in cutting down saturated fats means the body may look for other means to get the missing energy. These other options may include trans-fats, such as those found in processed foods like biscuits or cakes, which can be just as bad. While praising this research for its promotion of healthier life choices, Victoria Taylor of the British Heart Foundation said that there may be some flaws in the research
itself. Stating that there is a lack of concern for monounsaturated fats, there may be other alternatives or possible avenues in the research. New footprints, new ways of walking
Comparing an ancient set of footprints and modern footprints indicates that our ancestors were able to walk upright some 3.6 million years ago. This was during the time when they still climbed trees and lived in them. The new study was based on anatomical fossils. Some researchers argue that the 4.4 million year old Ardipithecus ramidus (“Ardi”) was adept at walking on its hind legs. Researchers are now turning to the Laetoli footprints that were discovered in Tanzania and presumably left by the same species that the famous “Lucy” was part of, which resemble the foot shape of the Australopithecus afarensis. These prints revealed upright postures, but there still lacks evidence as to how swift or how fluid these motions
might have been. In order to get accurate examples, Raichlen and colleagues set up a scenario to test out this idea of walking upright, but with a twist. Researchers instructed subjects to walk across a sand pit, both in a normal upright form, then in a bent, hunch, chimpanzee style walk. Using these footprints, a 3Dmodel was created to see how well it matched up. To the surprise of the research team, these “hunchback” footprints were quite close to humans. The missing element was that the toes dug in too deep. “To our surprise, the Laetoli footprints fall completely within the range of normal human footprints,” Raichen said. “This more human-like form of walking is incredibly energy efficient, suggesting that reduced energy costs were very important in the evolution of bipedalism.” —With files from BBC and Scientific American ilui@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Science & Technology
Imprint, Friday, March 26, 2010
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the gift of life
The real way to travel
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gina racine
UW student Sifan Jia tries his hand at a gigantic game of Operation during the RecycleMe.org organ donation campaign on Tuesday in the Student Life Centre on campus. The Trillium Gift of Life Network conducted campus tours as part of their RecycleMe.org campaign, raising awareness of the critical need for organ and tissue donors in Ontario. The organization managed to sign up 50 new donors during the event.
thelferty@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
’ve written before about the joys of travelling without resorts and other tourist-y destinations. For those of you who would like to give it a shot, I want to write now about the many ways in which you can mix up your travel experiences with memories that you won’t forget. It’s not always expensive to go travelling, depending on your mode of transportation. If you’re staying on the continent, it’s usually not hard to hitch rides with someone or make it into a road trip to split money on gas. Sometimes a plane or expensive train ride is all that’s available but with enough effort it can be avoided, and a longer trip can be more exciting. In terms of accommodations, there are plenty of different methods. Some can even affect your travel experience. For example, WWOOFing (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) allows you to stay on organic farms for free. You arrange a length of time with the owner to work on their farm (usually around six hours a day) and in exchange they give you a place to stay and meals. It allows you to help out with organic farming, gain new experiences, meet new people, and stay for free in a new place.
There are many other volunteer travel opportunities, such as working on a tall ship or even just meeting someone who does something that interests you and asking to work with them for room and board. There are tons of things you could do, such as build homes or help with small businesses. There is no shortage of volunteer opportunities around the world that allow you to travel for much cheaper and gain new experiences while you do. It’s not all work either. Many people will take you on other parts of their life, such as visiting the places around the area. If you’re not looking to work for someone and just want to do your own thing, there is another great resource for finding free places to stay. A popular one is the website couchsurfing.org. Here, people all over the world post a profile of their place where you can crash on their couch for a certain time. While this may sound sketchy to some and is recommended to be done with a friend, there are a lot of new opportunities to be had with this method. There are many people who will take you for kayak rides or other fun adventures while you crash at their place, to show you around the area. You still have to get your own food (usually), but it will
save you a lot of money. If you’re willing to spend more money and want to do an adventure that is planned for you, join up with an adventure company. A famous and good one is GAP Adventures. They have some reasonably priced trips all over the world that include everything from camping and trekking to staying in hostels. Sierra Club is also a popular one of similar quality that is great about sustainability. If you check out the National Geographic Adventure Companies Rating site (adventure. nationalgeographic.com/adventure/ outfitterhome), you can find ratings and descriptions on all the adventure companies out there. You can even sort them by price, sustainability, activities, and more. So next time you’re thinking about going on a trip, think about putting together a group of friends and roadtripping it across the country, crashing on couches. Or find someone who is doing something you really want to learn about and see if you can volunteer with them for free shelter and food. Travelling doesn’t always have to be a once in a while expensive plane ride. Make it an adventure that can change your life.
Science fiction is nearing science fact Alex Chortos staff reporter
First test of commercial space flight
The first commercial spacecraft, the VSS Enterprise, took its first test flight Tuesday over the Mojave desert. The ship is owned by Virgin Galactic, a company started by the daring investor and businessman Sir Richard Branson, and is intended to take passengers for a joy ride to the edge of space. The design for the ship was developed in 2004 by Burt Rutan in fulfillment of the requirements of the Ansari X-prize. The prize of $10 million was instituted to promote research in the field of space flight technology, and the requirements were that the same vessel be launched into space twice within two weeks. The VSS Enterprise is comprised of two components: the WhiteKnightTwo, and SpaceShipTwo. The WhiteKnightTwo is a jet that can fly 18 km above the earth, and provides the launch platform for SpaceShipTwo. SpaceShipTwo is a
small rocket powered ship in which the passengers and pilots are housed, and is carried to high altitude by WhiteKnightTwo before blasting off into sub-orbital space. The craft reaches a maximum altitude of around 110 km, which is much lower than the height at which satellites orbit, but is high enough to see much of the earth’s surface, and is defined as the edge of space. During the flight, the passengers will experience forces approximately three times the force of gravity. WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo are similar to the original ships that won the Ansari X-prize, but have been scaled up in order to take six passengers and two pilots into space. Virgin Galactic has already sold 330 tickets into space at a cost of $200,000 each, and has begun construction on the world’s first commercial spaceport in New Mexico. The next series of test flights will involve SpaceShipTwo gliding from WhiteKnightTwo back to earth, and then rocket power testing. The first flights with passengers are planned for 2012.
3D invisibility cloak unveiled
Invisibility has been a staple of both science fiction and fantasy for many years, and now scientists have taken a major step forward in making invisibility a reality. As reported in Science Magazine on March 18, researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany have successfully made a tiny bump of gold invisible using a new material composed of tiny crystals. The material is classed as a “metamaterial,” defined as an engineered material with properties that are not found in nature. The material developed by the researchers is composed of layers of tiny stacked crystals in a honeycomb pattern. The crystals act like lenses that guide light around an object so that the object does not reflect or absorb any of the light. Their discovery is important for two reasons. Firstly, invisibility has been demonstrated only in one direction. That is, the object was invisible from only one view point and visible from all others. The new material can make objects invisible from all viewpoints, up to a viewing angle of 60 degrees.
Secondly, previous research has made objects invisible to long wavelength electromagnetic waves, which are easier to manipulate than visible light. The group in Germany used near infrared light, which is close to visible light, a significant step forward. However, the group still has their work cut out for them to produce a true invisibility cloak, because it is more difficult to alter the pathway of light at visible wavelengths. The researchers demonstrated the ability to make invisible only a very tiny object, which was slightly larger than one micrometre, or 0.001 millimetres, but they say that theoretically, the same method would work on larger objects; the crystals would just have to be made smaller. The main challenge in cloaking larger objects is the difficulty in accurately fabricating smaller crystals. The researchers have not yet speculated on possible applications. —With files from TG Daily, the Associated Press, the Independent, Reuters, Sify News, and the New York Times
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Science & Technology
Imprint, Friday, March 26, 2010
Electrical and computer engineering
symposium
Electrical and computer engineering (ECE) students from UW gathered on March 24 at the 10th annual ECE symposium to present design solutions on topics ranging from transportation and health to aerospace and robotics. Over 220 students displayed 46 projects in the Davis Centre to industry insiders and members of the academic community. rajul saleh
The best overall design was awarded the Infusion Cup along with a $2,000 prize. This year’s winner was the team responsible for The Kickboxer Pro, a prototype automated fitness trainer. The team (shown above) included two moving targets and two body shields in the design. The user programmable device is also able to track progress and performance through data collection.
abisade dare
abisade dare
abisade dare
Features
Imprint, Friday, March 26, 2010 features@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
UW grad talks real-world fashion Jas Banwait takes students from sweats to suits
Gina Racine incoming editor in chief
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inding a career starts with finding a great power suit. According to professional style guru Jas Banwait, owner of customtailored suit company Savillian, during a job interview, your prospective employer is sizing you up — even before you open your mouth. “How you dress and your image is really important in your career,” she said. A graduate from the University of Waterloo, Banwait started her company while still a student, during a time where fashion isn’t necessarily a priority for most. “Your university life is very unstructured... so what you’re wearing is like the last thing on your mind,” Banwait said. “When I was in first year, people called me ‘Jogging Pant Jas’.” Banwait said that those looking for advice when preparing for a job interview should remember the three F’s —fit, fabric, and foundation pieces. It’s also important to find your own individual style, she said. “I dress kind of androgynous —that’s my personal brand,” she says. Banwait’s workshop entitled “Sweats to Suits” drew a crown in the SLC last Tuesday. She had a lot of advice to offer students who are going to be looking for careers in the near future as well as how to put together and maintain a stylish wardrobe once a career has been obtained. Men working in an executive
level position should own three to five suits, according to Banwait. Navy and gray are both great colour choices for pants and blazers. “Contrary to popular belief, a brown shoe does look good with a gray suit,” she said, adding that men’s shoes should always match the colour of their belt. For women, the rules are a little more flexible. “I always felt that a dress code was built for a man,” Banwait said. For women seeking a more creative career in media or marketing, their attire can also be just that-creative. Items like a colourful scarf or shirt can make you stand out in a professional way, Banwait says. Banwait’s parting piece of advice for all career-seekers? “Make friends with an alteration place or a tailor.” editor@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Jas’s fashion tips Do’s • Look for fit in the shoulders above all • Consciously dress better on “casual days” than your peers Don’ts • Wear brown shoes with a black suit • Wear white in the winter • Show skin inappropriately
Gina Racine
Jas Banwait talks about suits during her presentation in the SLC on Tuesday.
Tattoos: art, intricacy and self-expression Sarah Al-Hage staff reporter
Parth Khanna features assistant
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Stefani Bogatan
Sarah Al-Hage
Sarah Al-Hage
Top: Tattoo on Stefani Bogatan’s shoulder of a city skyline. Bottom Left: A “tree of life” tattoo on Julie Belanger’s back. Bottom Right: Tattoo on the back of Sarah Hameline’s neck depicting her star sign in elvish scripture.
n a sea of human faces, we are always looking for symbols to demonstrate our individuality. One such symbol is tattooing; it not only has historic roots, but also speaks volumes about the person getting the tattoo. By definition, a tattoo is an imprint made with permanent ink which is typically injected into human skin. Tattooing has gained much commercial momentum recently. With popular TV shows such as “Miami Ink” and being recognized as a creative art form within many urban circles, monetary incentives to become a tattoo artist seem to be growing. However, it is fair to mention that popularity of tattooing amongst the younger demographic is no new phenomenon. What underscores each tattoo is the bold statement that the tattoo makes and the individual personal background which is often blended into the art itself. The deep relationship of tattoos with the human drive for selfexpression is evident in the fact that practice of tattooing may be traced back many centuries and has managed to evolve with time. Early tattoo inks were made from natural ingredients and were minimal in terms of colour variety. Today, there are thousands of different kinds of ink put in use across the globe. Tattoo ink is different at every separate tattoo parlour. It is even said that you never really know what mixture of chemicals are used to make the so-called “ink,” and to create the pigments. However, modern tattoo inks are typically carbon-based pig-
ments. When considering getting a tattoo, one should keep in mind that although it is possible to remove a tattoo by laser procedure, a hefty tattoo could still cost thousands of dollars to remove. Also, the removal process is never guaranteed to work perfectly. There is an even smaller chance for the removal to go as expected if it is in colour. Not to mention, hygienic practices should always be in place when receiving or removing a tattoo. The motives for getting a tattoo are as varied as the tattoo art itself. They range from merely being a fashion symbol, showing love and commitment in a relationship to demonstrating religious, cultural, or personal beliefs. As Stefani Bogatan, a fourth year urban planning student, put it while shedding light on the subtle essence of the tattoo of a city skyline on her left shoulder blade, “the meaning of the tattoo is my love for cities that are alive, fun and colourful. It also has something to do with being young and not worrying about the future, and how the tattoo will eventually fade.” Some tattoos go deeper than
one’s own outlook on life and serve as a window into one’s heritage and the past — sometimes representing pain, sometimes hope, and sometimes both. Lindsay Wolfson, a second year international development major, decided to get a Hebrew symbol known as “chai” tattooed on her left wrist. She explained that “the tattoo means ‘life’ and ‘18’ which was my age at the time. I got the tattoo because I have a lot of family that was in the Holocaust and they all got numbers tattooed to their wrist as identification. So I wanted to get a number tattooed on my wrist but I wanted it to mean something to me. I decided to get a number that meant life.” Despite the perceptions and connotations that might surround each tattoo, the art is essentially an attempt at sharing one of the many stories from a person’s book of life with others, stories which are essentially the pigment giving colour to the tattoo. pkhanna@imprint.uwaterloo.ca slhage@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Correction In the March 19 issue of Imprint, a photo of Angela Steenstra, the national co-ordinator for the Silent No More campaign, was published below a story titled “Women’s week at UW proves to be a great success.” Imprint staff wanted to clarify that the organization has no association with the Women’s Centre and the photo should not have been placed in proximity to the above story. We apologize for any confusion this may have caused.
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Features
Nancy Vanden Bosch
photos courtesy jonathan menon
Robert Mann
Imprint, Friday, March 26, 2010
Continuing Lecturer Accounting and Finance First Year at UW: 2002 AFM 331 — Strategy
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ou might not realize when looking at the new accounting building that it boasts a rooftop garden and patio, donated by an alumnus who named it after two of his favourite accounting professors. Today’s accounting students have a new favourite teacher in Nancy Vanden Bosch, whose enormous office window offers an unobstructed view of the “green roof.” This distinguished teacher keeps her office as pristine and uncluttered as any corporate CFO. After graduating with a Masters degree in Accounting from Waterloo in 1986, Vanden Bosch worked at Deloitte Consulting before returning to teach at UW as a continuing lecturer in 2002. Now, her course in strategy—AFM 331—is mandatory for all accounting majors. She is looking forward to teaching 230 students next term alone. “When I start the course, I’m not sure they like me all that much, because here I am talking about corporate strategy and they probably don’t want to.” And then her students find out that merely absorbing theory won’t be enough for them to pass the course. “You have to show me that you can use that knowledge to make decisions, but you also have to show me that you can communicate those decisions.” According to former students, she has taught these lessons well. Several alumni have written about how learning strategy from Vanden Bosch continues to impact their work as professional accountants. One of them even mentioned that she keeps her course materials nearby so she can refer to them on a daily basis. Like many great teachers, Vanden Bosch attributes much of her success to the self-directed motivation that she encounters in Waterloo students. “I’ve had some discussions with people who teach in other universities, and the question they struggle with is: ‘How do you motivate the students?’ I tell them that, for the most part, my issue with students is pulling them back!” But she finds that pursuing academic and professional goals single-mindedly can be a handicap for ambitious students. “I think sometimes students get a little bit caught up in type-A behaviour ... forgetting why they are doing it. So, if they, every once in a while, lift their heads up from their workload and think, ‘Oh yeah, I am meant to be learning here,’ I think they will get more out of the experience.” Nancy Vanden Bosch has also been busy crafting the future of financial education at Waterloo. In addition to being the principal case writer for the School of Accounting and Finance, she chairs the committee charged with redesigning its undergraduate program. Future students will learn how to put their knowledge to work in functional disciplines such as financial and managerial accounting, assurance, information systems, taxation, and finance. “In my opinion,” writes a colleague, “no one has had such a significant positive impact on the curriculum of the school in the last ten years.” “As a Waterloo grad,” she jokes, “I am a bit of a bigot, you know. I think we should be pushing the edges of what we are doing in our programs.” From the moment you meet Nancy Vanden Bosch, it’s pretty obvious that she does just that.
Professor Physics and Astronomy First Year at UW: 1987 PHYS 121 — Mechanics and Waves 1 PHYS 010 — Physics Seminar PHYS 444 — Modern Particle Physics
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rof. Robert Mann seems like a stereotypical physics professor. One wall of his office is filled with books about particle physics and quantum mechanics. The other has a chalkboard crammed with incomprehensible equations, half erased and rewritten. His desk is littered with student papers waiting to be marked. Mann is a stereotype—that is, until he begins to speak. “I think it’s a good thing for students to see someone in this discipline recognized for teaching, given the stereotype that physics is a great way to stop conversation at a cocktail party.” He’s known for packing classrooms full of students at 8:30 in the morning and staying at tutorials until all questions are answered. When told that students had mentioned the latter he answered, “Well, that’s the fun part,” as though it were obvious. “I give the kind of courses I’d like to be taught. The danger can be putting in too much material, but it’s important to think outside the curriculum to the interesting aspects.” The secret to his dynamic lectures is a balance of organization and entertainment. “With too much organization and no flair, students fall asleep. With too much entertainment they will quickly become annoyed with you because they realize they aren’t learning anything. It’s important to hit the sweet spot.” It was still a question whether or not he had hit the sweet spot when he demonstrated projectile motion by dropping a watermelon off the roof of the physics building during one of his classes—until a student mentioned it in their nomination letter. Mann gets students interested by making statements that they can’t help but question. “There is a method in quantum physics known as ‘renormalization.’ It’s a method for treating answers that are infinite. It contradicts everything students know, and I introduce it in a controversial manner because it will make them ask questions.” The way his students recall his statements show that his words remain with them long after they leave the lecture hall: “Positroniums, you will later find out, are actually particles that go back in time.” Mann doesn’t try to guide students through problems step by step in his lectures. Rather, his first priority is to help them understand the material at a conceptual level. “The hard thing,” he says, “is knowing which equations to solve. The ‘why’ comes before the ‘how.’” His final endorsement of physics might sound predictable, but after spending even a short period of time with him, you can understand exactly what he means. “Physics,” he asserts, “is worth learning no matter what your ultimate career path is. The concepts you learn will broaden your horizons on what reality is. It’s not the only thing worth knowing, but it is very useful to know.”
istinguis D he 0 1 A r war d 0 e h 2 eac ds T The Distinguished Teacher Award, UW’s most prestigious teaching accolade, is awarded by the University Senate each year “in recognition of a continued record of excellence in teaching at the University of Waterloo.” The winners are chosen by a committee of students, faculty, staff and alumni based on nominations from the university community. This year’s four winners were announced by the Senate on Monday, March 22.
Distinguished Teacher Award Winners (2000-2009) 2000 Brian Forrest, Pure Mathematics Emanuel Carvalho, Economics Al Evans, Religious Studies (St. Paul’s) Grant Russell, Accountancy 2001 Jim Frank, Kinesiology Will Gorlitz, Fine Arts Pierre Dubé, French Studies Geoff Hayes, History 2002 Tom Yoder Neufeld, Religious Studies (Conrad Grebel) Brent Hall, Planning Richard Nutbrown, Political Science 2003 Robert Ryan, French Anne-Marie Donovan, Drama & Speech Communication Ron McCarville, Recreation & Leisure Studies John North, English 2004 Vera Golini, Italian (St. Jerome’s) Harriet Lyons, Anthropology Jane Lang, Earth Sciences Wing-Ki Liu, Physics Science 2005 Dan Andreae, Social Work (Renison) Carey Bissonnette, Chemistry Andrew Hunt, History Lyndon Jones, Optometry 2006 George James Davidson, Mechanical Engineering Owen Ward, Biology Erik Woody, Psychology 2007 Steve Furino, Mathematics Gary Bruce, History Barbara Moffatt, Biology Wei-Chau Xie, Civil & Environmental Engineering 2008 Jane Irvine, Geography Monica Leoni, Spanish and Latin American Studies Mike Sharratt, Kinesiology Ian VanderBurgh, Mathematics 2009 Kerry Lappin-Fortin, Italian and French Studies (St. Jerome’s) François Paré, French Studies Ian Rowlands, Environment and Resources Studies Gord Stubley, Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering majuratan sadagopan
Associate Professor Fine Arts First Year at UW: 2001 FINE 120/121 — Fundamentals of Visual Art FINE 221 — Fundamentals of Painting B FINE 320 — Advanced Painting FINE 461 — Senior Honours Seminar FINE 473 — Senior Honours Studio
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Doug Kirton
When I first found out I had won the award I was speechless. ‘For once,’ my students would say.” Dozens of paintings and drawings greet you when you enter the East Campus Hall office of Prof. Doug Kirton, a winner of this year’s Distinguished Teacher Award. “You’ll have to excuse me,” he said. “The end of term is always a busy time for students, and this is all work to be marked.” What comes across most strongly when talking to Kirton is his sense of empathy and his unassuming nature. He immediately credited those who had come before him when he was asked what led him to excel in teaching. “As you know, there is no formal education for university teachers. I had the support of many passionate teachers and practicing artists who were very generous to undergraduates—as well as to other teachers like me—and I am indebted to them.” He also stressed that teaching takes dedication. “I did a lot of sessional teaching, and that is the school of hard knocks. That being said, as long as you’re self-reflective you can correct your mistakes and get better.” Kirton has learned that to convey information correctly you have to place yourself in the student’s shoes. “Empathizing with the fact that they are going into uncertain territory is important.” “A good teacher can’t assume that students will digest all the material at once. If issues come back, it is important to understand that it is all part of the learning process.” He believes it is a challenging period in art education, due to the broader experience of visual culture that students come to university with. “We have to rethink the traditional ways of teaching and adapt to the fact that technology will influence how these students think visually. A lot of this technology is about recording and producing information. This is particularly a challenge for our foundations studies programs, as they tend to be quite traditional.” He related a story about a student who had come to Waterloo on an athletic scholarship and had decided to take fine arts. “At the end of a painting class he asked me how he was supposed to get the paint off the brush. So I told him he just needed lukewarm water. He had never painted with acrylic before.” Kirton’s open nature shone through in his interview, but one student said it best “I have had other professors whom I have never felt comfortable approaching in my studies here at UW, but I have never once felt this way with Kirton. He treats me like an artist, and a person, and, at this stage in my career, that is precisely what I need to keep growing.” Kirton concluded by saying: “Education should be a right for everyone, and it is a privilege to be able to teach. All teachers should understand that the students are why we are here, and we should work towards creating the most vital environment for learning for them.” Associate Professor English (St. Jerome’s) First Year at UW: 2004 ENGL 200B — Survey of British Literature 2 ENGL 208N — Sex and Marriage in Literature ENGL 301H — Honours Literary Studies ENGL 430 A/B — Literature of the Romantic Period
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This must be a mistake!” was the first thought that came to Dr. Tristanne Connolly’s mind when she learned that she had won a Distinguished Teacher Award. “I thought: ‘This is so strange!’ Because there are so many good teachers at Waterloo, it was very surprising.” Connolly, whose soft-spoken words are peppered with gentle laughter, grew up with two parents who were teachers. Now their daughter teaches English literature at St. Jerome’s. “I learned from their experience that I didn’t have the patience to teach at a lower level,” she laughs again. “My students keep me on my toes because they are interested, they are here not to get a piece of paper and a job so much as to explore ideas and get excited about things.” “Fervent flair and openness to innovation,” is how one student described Connolly’s teaching style. Innovation is one thing if you are an engineer, but what does it have to do with old Romantic literature? For Connolly it is about putting aside the crusty idea that everything in the Romantic period was written by “six dead white guys that everybody’s heard of.” In the past, she explains, scholars presented English literature as “very serious, very scientific, very high-culture, so that it could compete with Classics.” Writers like Felicia Hemans, who was very successful, got kicked out of the “canon.” Connolly chooses instead to incorporate non-traditional authors and works into her courses, from women to Charles Darwin to Leonard Cohen’s Beautiful Losers. “That’s a fun one,” she smiles. “She has become comfortable with silences that allow her students to think,” writes another student. “She includes every point, question, and anecdote that is raised by students in her discussion, and ensures that every person in her class has been heard. From this, we, as students, feel a sense of security as we begin to think for ourselves and make our own connections to the material.” Tristanne Connolly also runs the Canada Council speaker series that brings contemporary Canadian authors to UW. These authors attract her because, in a sense, they are the complete opposite of the British Romantic writers who are her specialty. “Because I teach old, British literature, I am extra aware that you might think that literature is something that happens somewhere else. But there’s no reason to think that in Canada.” And the series also adds an important dimension to her teaching mission. “There are contemporary Canadian writers who write about the Romantic period—like Emma Donoghue and Lawrence Hill—so that brings the historical stuff I do into the present day, which is really important to me. If we forget history, we have a very distorted view of humanity, because we’re not smarter than people were in the past.” “I think Mary Wollstonecraft is right about a lot of things,” she says, summing up, “one of them being the idea that absolute authority doesn’t stand to reason. If you start to critique it, it starts to fall apart. So if you can think for yourself, then you’ll never be a slave.”
Tristanne Connolly
Compiled by E Aboyeji with special thanks to Jonathan Menon and Mathew Waller eaboyeji@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
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Features
Imprint, Friday, March 26, 2010
I can make films and so can you
nowledge is power, Dr. Deadhead,” said the man on screen just before slamming a zombie in the head with a massive Oxford English dictionary. The zombie then fell to the ground onto a pile of beaten and oozing zombies, as blood spilled from its mouth. This was the last scene of the short film “Zombie Apocalypse.” The film was no more than five minutes long, but in those five minutes, it managed to be extremely gory, campy, and hilarious. Oh yeah, and it was made within 24 hours. The 24-hour filmmaking challenge is a competition in which local filmmakers produce short films from start to finish within one day. This year, the competition was part of Local Focus, an annual weekend–long film festival that screens locally produced short, feature, documentary, and animated films. The festival is organized by the Multicultural Cinema Club (MCC), a non–profit organization in Kitchener that provides filmmaking workshops which are free for MCC members and low-cost for non-members. MCC also rents out filmmaking equipment and provides opportunities for volunteers to get hands on experience in shooting, editing, and producing film. The six films that were made for the 24– hour film challenge were surprisingly hilarious. <<SPOILER ALERT!>> In the opening scene of another film, a woman is pinned up against a wall in an alley in downtown Kitchener. A masked man digs a
gun into her back and demands that she empty her pockets. The woman pleads, “I have a 16 year old brother with a brain tumour! Please don’t take my money!” At first, the mugger is confused, but then he decides to release the woman without taking her money. The woman then casually spends the day shopping and walks into a parking garage in uptown Waterloo. She puts on a black ski mask and attempts to mug a man who walks into the garage. She pins him against a wall and says, “Give me all of your money! I have a knife and I will kill you!” The man pleads, “I have a 16 year old brother with a brain tumour! Please don’t take my money!” After a moment of confusion, the woman realizes that she is attempting to mug the same man who attempted to mug her earlier that day. The two share a laugh and then go for a cup of coffee. My stomach just about burst from laughing at the absurdity of this film. Following the film screenings, I spoke with Philip Bast, a local filmmaker who organizes the 24 hour filmmaking challenge each year. It just so happens that Bast had worked as a journalist for 30 years and retired in 2006 from being arts editor for the Record for 20 years. “It’s a team–building experience and an amazing experience for building energy inside of you,” said Bast about the competition. “Filmmakers meet at 7 a.m. and receive the criteria. The film must be seven minutes in length and it must have a theme, location, prop, and sound–bite.” Bast only recently got into filmmaking him-
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“I didn’t retire from The Record ... I graduated into filmmaking—I morphed into video to celebrate arts and culture in this community.” - Philip Bast
self. “I didn’t retire from The Record,” he pointed out, “I graduated into filmmaking— I morphed into video to celebrate arts and culture in this community.” Since he started making films, Bast has participated in several 24 hour competitions. “It’s all about creativity,” he said, “Doing everything on a shoestring, at a moment’s notice.” Bast said that he’s always been interested in film. In 1976, he was a student at the University of Waterloo in the very first arts co–op stream. Two of his work terms were with the university’s audio/visual department where he was responsible for cataloguing everything that was on film. Bast was first hired by The Record as a journalist. Later, he became a copy editor and then he did general reporting on campus and community affairs. Before becoming arts editor, he had a column on community theatre. Documenting the community has always been one of Bast’s greatest passions. “I document and celebrate the arts community,” he said. “My interest is in people’s stories, in the human condition, in what’s real.” This was the first year that the 24-hour filmmaking competition was part of the Local
“
“K
Former arts editor for The Record creates 24–hour filmmaking competition
Focus film festival. In previous years, the competition was hosted by Ed Video, a media arts centre in Guelph that is one of the longest running arts centres in the province. In past years, students have participated in the competition, but that was not the case this year. “I’m disappointed that no students submitted,” Bast said. When I told him that I write for Imprint, he got really excited and said, “Tell students to submit to the next competition!” I must admit that I saw a bit of myself in Bast. Like him, I love documenting what’s happening around me. And like him, I really want to get into filmmaking. This is what the 24 hour filmmaking competition is all about. It’s not just for experienced filmmakers—it’s also for attracting new and potential filmmakers. For Bast, the transition from journalist to filmmaker has been a smooth one. “Now I make movies instead of watching them,” he said. The Multicultural Cinema Club is considering hosting another 24 hour filmmaking challenge this fall, so keep your eyes and ears open for that. Keep up to date on their website at: www.kwmcc.org
komal r. lakhani
Jean-Francois Carrey, the youngest Canadian to climb Mount Everest addresses a crowd at the official launch of the Student Leadership certificate program at Hagey Hall. He spoke about his experiences while climbing Everest and how self determination and strong will is really important to get you through it. Behind him a picture he took during his expedition when it was minus 55 degrees Celsius. It took him two and a half months to climb to the top and just two days to get back to base camp.
Arts & Entertainment
Imprint, Friday, March 26, 2010 arts@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Photos courtesy Jim Wallace (top right) and Jon Grieman (top to bottom left)
From Poppin' to Lockin'
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14 teams, 13 performances, 1 drop out.
After a concise audition, the remaining Waterloo dancers compete for a third place prize of $250 , a second place prize of $500, and a grand prize of $1,000 .
Michael To staff reporter
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Top left: Grand prize winner Mat Li took home $1,000 with his urban-style dancing. Middle and bottom left: XinXin Zhang didn’t place in the top three, but was still memorable. Top right: Indian dance inspired, Maroeen Georgie took home the third place prize.
illed with glamorous lights, impeccable dance routines along with mad beats, flighty feet and a few spills, March 20, 2010 marked the first annual So You Think You Can Dance Waterloo (SYTYCDW) competition. It was a showdown of talent between 13 dance routines, with one contestant dropping out right before the show. Each competitor vied for the grand prize of $1,000 and the knowledge that they do indeed know they can dance. There were contemporary routines, many jazz-steps, couples twirling round and round, and lots of fog leading up the anxious wait for the declaration of the ultimate winner. The competition was held at Federation Hall. The full stage was adorned with bright lights, two fog machines, and strobe lights alternating between pink, green, and blue strobes. A judges panel, positioned one audience length across from the stage, was ready to house four esteemed adjudicators. The white covers hanging overhead added to the allure of the entire setup. Two co-hosts, Klean Nizamani and “Al,” guided the competition along with witty repartee and before and after commentary
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between each performance which added a hilarious, yet — still — professional tone to the competition. The audience was filled with many fans, family members, and dance enthusiasts, some of which held signs and letters of support. The venue had many Feds Street Team volunteers, in aqua and purple T-shirts, to which the performers gave thanks for their initiative and help throughout the show. First onstage was Julia Ridley, moving to a cultural combination of belly dancing and hip-hop to a Bollywood mix, which she admits was inspired by her own experience living in Dubai. Following her was Mat Li who danced a more urban style which he describes as “dancing for and to the music.” This involved moving exactly to the beat of his mix song. After Li was an expressive “free” dance by XinXin Zhang. Zhang moved to a modified version of a classical piece by Wolgang Amadeus Mozart. Soon after Zhang was an emotional rumba by Carolyn Augusta and partner Robert “Robbie.” The dance was inspired by “love and peace on earth [...] and the South American feel of [Augusta’s] music,” Augusta jokingly adds. See Dance, page 21
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Arts & Entertainment
Imprint, Friday, March 26, 2010
Gaming Review: Metro 2033 tkoshy@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Metro 2033 is a disappointing game. Damn you 4A games for breaking my heart.
Metro 2033 4A Games THQ
STORY
Grade The Good • • • •
D
Finally, a post-apocalyptic game that takes place outside the United States. Metro 2033 forces players to hit the ground running, giving absolutely no heads up of what’s going on. All we know is that a nuclear war is responsible for the current crap the residents of Moscow suffer — oh and there are some freaky aliens. The game story is a quest in which you, the protagonist, seek to find a solution to save your “station.”
Unique ammo system Immersive atmosphere Interesting Story a post apocalyptic story set outside United States (yes I’ve heard of S.T.A.L.K.E.R)
The Bad • • • • •
Schizophrenic AI Awkward surface sequences Bugs Checkpoint system needs to be reworked flawed Hit system (especially with throwing knives)
GAMEPLAY Metro 2033’s gameplay is a mixed bag. The segments involving mutants, monsters, “ghosts,” and other non-human entities are amazing. The combination of dialogue, sounds, and gritty visuals really draw the player in and manage to create
a disturbing, scary atmosphere without resorting to cheap “oh my god, it’s alive!” tactics. The game’s AI, especially its human AI, can be described as bipolar. Monsters are simply content to charge you en masse, relying on brute force to overwhelm you. The humans, on the other hand, are a different story. There are moments when they just happily run past you while you mow down their comrades. Other times they seem to have a sixth sense for finding where you are, even though you’ve done enough to make Sam Fisher proud. The human AI seems to swing back and forth between being completely moronic and psychic. There are also a few bugs that pissed me off. One notable bug prevented me from firing my weapon while an oncoming horde of monsters charged me. Another notable bug affects the ragdoll physics with regards to corpses, in some cases creating the illusion of dancing corpses. More than once,
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A scene featuring a market from the game Metro 2033 I emptied my ammo into what appeared to be a zombie, only to realize that it was already dead and that the physics engine had simple decided to go completely bonkers. A gargantuan problem is with the game’s checkpoint system. More than once, the game created a checkpoint right at the moment I was about to die. Other times, it respawned me at moments where I was forced to listen to some idiot drone on and on and was almost enough to make me want to stab my eardrums, if only to end the agony. A frustrating problem concerns the game’s “hit system.” This problem becomes excessively clear when trying to use throwing knives. More than once, I tried to take down guards with throwing knives only to empty my entire load without so much as a flinch from them. Now I can already hear you whine and say, “But you must have been too far from them.” Bullshit! I was close enough to kiss the guards rather than stab them. Despite all of this, the gameplay does not completely suck. The ammo system is unique, in that it forces players to choose between crappy, dirty bullets and pristine, military grade ammunition (which also double as currency). This also serves to indicate how desperate the situation is when you’ve started, to literally, shoot money at the problem. The monsters for the most part do play their role and when accompanied with their howls and roars, certainly do contribute to the scary atmosphere. Metro 2033 certainly delivers on the survival aspect of the game. For most of the gameplay, I felt like I was living on the brink of disaster. Most of the time, I’m desperately ducking through tunnels and fighting off monsters and crazed bandits. When I’m not doing that, I’m scavenging through corpses looking for useful items. However, the de-
velopers could have really improved the game by giving me the option to run away from encounters, thus immersing me even deeper, instead of forcing me to have a last stand every couple of minutes. The few brief moments of contact with what passed for civilization were as dear as a mother’s touch to her baby. Metro 2033 certainly takes a page from other games and features dream/flashback sequences. They often pop in during key moments, such as when you’re desperately looting corpses for scraps of ammo. They certainly are freaky and if this was the developer’s intention then bravo, you owe me a new pair of underwear. I would have preferred the developers were consistent as to whether these sequences were interactive or not. More than once my character died, simply beacuse I didn’t know that I had to do something.
PRESENTATION Metro 2033’s graphics are gorgeous, if it were the ’80s that is. While the graphics aren’t horrible per se, it’s just that they’re not very good. There are texture pop-ins and the designers seem to be content to draw everything in either gray or brown. On the other hand, the lighting effects are competent enough to draw you in. The sequences where you venture onto the surface are a notable weak point in the game. Textures are often of low quality. Models suffer, and even the monsters seem to look stupid in broad daylight. When combined with the twisted map layouts, it was as frustrating as searching for a sober/smart Western student. When combined with the flashback sequences that gorgeously depict life before the fallout, it’s confusing as to why the developers simply dropped the ball.
Memes and You will be back next week.
Arts & Entertainment
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Imprint, Friday, March 26, 2010
Michael Chung
A Memory, a Monologue, a Rant, a Prayer Jacob Mclelan staff reporter
A
Memory, a Monologue, a Rant, a Prayer (MMRP), a new addition to Waterloo’s V-Day Festival against violence towards women, was touching, moving, and entertaining. This is the first time that the University of Waterloo ran MMRP as part of the V-Day Festival. It was a great way to allow men to participate and show support in this otherwise female-centred festival. The actors’ performances — the range of emotions, the ideas, the viewpoints — were marvellous as each actor truly expressed their conviction towards V-Day’s goals. Keriece Harris (full disclosure: Keriece is a current staff member at Imprint) performed a particularly intriguing monologue called “Respect,” playing on the Aretha Franklin song. She offered a unique and intriguing view on America. Harris said that America’s success was born by black women — referred to as “black vaginas” — in the form of slaves. “twelve billion dollars,” which is unfathomable in today’s money, said Harris. She implored, with strong persuasion,
that black women deserved more respect then they got, as she listed off examples of inequality between white and black women. Janice Lee, who performed “True,” sent constant chills through my spine. Her energy on stage was amazing and drew me in. Her performance was inspiring. She told stories of violence quelled against women as the people committing violence realized who their victims truly were. The father about to beat his daughter for wanting attention stopped after seeing she was just a defenseless girl, the soldier did not shoot the woman holding her child after realizing she was a poor mother, and the girl whose mother whipped her was never hurt again after Lee’s own intervention. Sadly, we find out that all of the stories but one were false. However the story of a boy intervening and telling a group of men to stop hurting and raping a girl leaves the audience with hope. Joseph Lauria, one of the three male performers at MMRP, performed “Destruction Artist,” a story about an unsettling, disturbing portrait of a masochistic male who offered a peculiar service to women. The one criteria that the women must have is that they must have undergone abuse. He allowed women to cut off parts of
his body, but eventually, that wasn’t enough and he started looking for someone to do something worse. It was a great performance, well-suited to Lauria’s abilities as an actor, with elements of dark humour, hints of mystique, and a perfectly delivered, shocking revelation. To finish off the night, Sukhpreet Sangha performed “Spotlight Monologue.” It was an absorbing monologue and performance about a girl in the Congo who was taken as a slave for two years. She gave advice with mounting emotion — anger and contempt — as she listed the rules to surviving as a captive sexual tool of a man. The monologue climaxed with the advice to “run!” when the moment comes (and it will come), and to not look back, even when you know the guards your capturer has had watching you are right on your tail. The MMRP is a welcomed addition to the V-Day Festival, and I can’t wait to see how they evolve next year. The Vagina Monologues will be held this Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. jmclelan@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Arts & Entertainment
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Imprint, Friday, March 26, 2010
Questions, comments? contact arts@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
UPCOMING SHOWS
DRAGONETTE BIRDS OF WALES
mar
25
WITH
JIM GUTHRIE 27 AND HIS LITTER
mar
WITH
TYSON AND THE TREPIDS
TRI-CITY ROLLERGIRLS PRESENT
apr
DIRTY ROCK ‘N’ SWEET ROLL
1
TCRG FUNDRAISER • GLAM • HAIR METAL • ROCK • DJ88
TOKYO POLICE CLUB
apr
6
JASON COLLETT•ZEUS•BAHAMAS THE BONFIRE BALL
apr
13
DANIEL, FRED &JULIE
apr
14
AT THE JANE BOND
MARIA DOYLE KENNEDY
apr
18
SLOAN
apr
27
BLUES FEST LAUNCH PARTY
apr
WITH MONKEY JUNK AND DADDY LONG LEGS
29
STARS
may
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ENGLISHBEAT MAY 16 & MAY 17 THE
CLUB NIGHTS
FRIDAYS
BEHIND THE MILK WITH DJ CHARLESS FUNK • DISCO • SOUL • HOUSE • MORE.
SATURDAYS GLOBAL WARMING NO COVER DJ’S 88, MASTER H, CHONGALONG, BENONG
TICKETS ON SALE AT: ORANGE MONKEY, ENCORE RECORDS AND AT TICKETWEB.CA WWW.JANEBOND.CA THE STARLIGHT
47 KING ST. N. WATERLOO
519.885.4970
courtesy Yahoo
Our Lady Peace performed live at Centre in the Square on March 20, 2010
Driving the Spiritual Machines: Our Lady Peace opened and played the main performance Matt Mitchell special to Imprint
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ur Lady Peace is so talented that they have to open for themselves. It seemed like two different bands playing, too. During the first set they seemed a little distant from the crowd. Only occasionally talking about the album, it seemed like they were there to play and then leave. They stood in one spot and played through the entire album. But then after intermission, shedding their jackets and scarves, they really began to rock out — running around on stage, holding the mic out over the crowd and letting the audience sing a verse or two. The crowd dynamics changed, adding to the overall atmosphere. During the opening set, everyone tapped their feet along to the music like it was a band they didn’t know and were waiting for the headliner to come out. After the intermission, people crowded the front of the stage and really got into the show, singing along and waving their hands in the air. I must say that having no open floor for general admission really affected the energy of the audience. No one could really move around or jump up and down. It wasn’t one of those venues where you are packed in and are forcibly lifted off the ground by the people jumping around you.
Allow me to present you with an image of the stage. During set one, videos were projected onto a white fabric screen showing images similar to the Spiritual Machines album cover and others that reflected the song’s story. In set two the screen was retracted to reveal an ensemble of lights. I’m not sure whether they thought they were lighting up a baseball diamond or thought we were the zombies from I am Legend, because after being in relative darkness for an hour, using the brightest lights possible is blinding. But after your eyes adjust from the 20 flashes, it created a nice effect, lighting up the entire audience and band. Our Lady Peace is definitely a mustsee live performance. Even though there was little energy from the band on stage during the first set, listening to them play “Spiritual Machines” was great, if not better than listening to it on the album. Raine Maida can still hit all the high notes he could back when the band started up. He was performing so well I even heard one audience member question his legitimacy, but if you’ve heard any of Maida’s solo work you’ll know that he can really sing. Steve Mazur, the replacement guitarist for Mike Turner who was the guitarist when Spiritual Machines (the album) was recorded, was an excellent performer. He had
every riff perfected and never missed a beat, but it wasn’t until the second set that we got to see him really jam. One special treat Our Lady Peace gave the audience was a half acoustic version of “Is Anybody Home?” Unlike many acoustic versions of songs I like, I really enjoyed this one. Overall, both sets were rather enjoyable — even songs they said that were never meant to be performed live were played excellently. The show climaxed with their encore performance, which concluded with Maida making his way out into the middle of the crowd and singing “Starseed” with the fans around him. While leaving, I overheard a girl who was excited about touching Maida when he entered the audience. I definitely recommend checking Our Lady Peace out if you can catch any of their last Ontario tour dates. They will be playing in North Bay, Ottawa, and Thunder Bay, but if those are too far I’m sure they’ll make another round of Canada soon enough. Oh yeah, Maida told us not to tell anyone, but Spiritual Machines fans are “the real deal,” so all you Clumsy fans reading this. na na nana na. I’m just kidding. I suspect he probably said the same thing the night before. I just hope next time Our Lady Peace comes to KW they play at a venue, like The Aud, which have general admission tickets.
Arts & Entertainment
Imprint, Friday, March 26, 2010
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The rooted rule of thumb dyoon@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
S
o here’s the thing, early spring heralds in the sunshine, spring dresses and the ability to get by with just wearing a hoodie instead of heavy winter coats. It also (should) signal the beginning of fresh fruits and vegetables, and the end of black spotted onions, ugly imported produce and the use of dried herbs. According to the FoodLand Ontario seasonal produce chart, it is at this time that we should be sadly waving goodbye to stored apples and fresh oranges, and welcoming the return of artichokes, asparagus, peas and rhubarb. However, if you go to the supermarket, you might be surprised to find that the produce section is barren. This is the fruitless season — literally. It is at this time of year that we’re starting to grow tired of root vegetables and squash, and the roots themselves are starting to look tired. However, now is the winter of our discontent, made spring glorious by the ability to barbecue and thus bring new life to the root vegetables of winter. One of my favourite roots by far has to be beets, sweet and jewel bright. These are just coming to the end of their season; unfortunately so, because they’re perfect matches for the grilled meats and
fruity wines of summer. Now, If you go to the meat section at the supermarket with an open mind, you can often find wonderful sales on great cuts of meat — particularly right before a holiday or long weekend, when they try to sell as much of their cuts as they can. Last week, to my delight, I found pork tenderloin on sale for under $5 and it waited lonely in my fridge for the weather to grill it in and the perfect side to accompany it. Then along came a beautiful bunch of beets that I knew would be just perfect with that lovely side of pork. There is a general rule of thumb that I learned a few years ago while watching the king of cooking fresh, Jamie Oliver, on roasting root vegetables and it has never disappointed. It’s so simple and so foolproof. The formula for perfectly roasted roots is:
Keep in mind that when I say an acid, this refers to either a vinegar or citrus juice. White vinegar however, will not work as you are trying to impart a flavour. Try to keep the flavours complimentary, for example, I probably would not use lemon or orange juice on carrots. Similarly, I would not use mint on roasted celeriac. Give the roots a quick wash, and if using different kinds, you can either toss them all together or (I prefer) to keep each vegetable separate and season them differently to enhance and define the flavours. Also, beets tend to stain everything they come into contact
Olive oil + salt + pepper + an acid + a herb.
I chose to drizzle my beets with balsamic vinegar and a healthy sprinkling of dried oregano. It’s as simple as that, from there you can put them on the outer edges of the grill or into a 350-400 degree oven for 20-35 minutes. Fresh, healthy, and easy, all my favourite qualities in food.
photos courtesy jean scheijen / www.sxc.hu
This can be applied to carrots, turnips, beets, potatoes, or pretty much any other root you can think of.
Dance: First, Second, Third continued from page 17
The final act of the first half was a poppin’ performance by club owner and top 100 in SYTYCD (Canada), Taeyeon “TK” Kim. Kim danced to a surprising mixture of songs, including hip-hop and classical. The intermission that occurred after Taeyeon featured a performance by the Huron Heights Dance Group to show their involvement in the Kitchener-Waterloo dance community, with choreographies and grand tributes to Michael Jackson. After the intermission was Cameron Postnikoff and Hanna Kazhamiaka time to shine. These two, from the Athletics Ballroom Dance Club of UWaterloo, danced a traditional ballroom dance, inspired by many Greek themes. After the duo, Leah Peterson danced a jazz-contemporary performance. Inspired by her own jazz roots in her dancing career, Peterson “wanted to entertain the audience with her dance.” Mareen Georgie was next up after Peterson. She performed a classical Indian dance which was inspired by her own experiences of Indian dancing throughout high-school. Following her, Tomi Ajayi threw down with his hybrid performance of R&B and hip-hop, inspired by Michael Jackson’s style in a more playful fashion, exhibiting his enjoyment of the dance style. Stephanie Wellart, who followed Ajayi, danced a graceful short contemporary piece, based on the theme of heroin addiction. The dance was unfortunately cut short due to an ankle injury mid-dance, forcing her to leave the stage prematurely. The final performance on the docket, was the duo Brettina and Young Xue (no relation), who danced a flurry of different styles, tango to jazz and was, based on an unrequited love story. The judges who would determine the final three contestants were the former classical ballet dancer, Maryelle Brick, current VP Internal of
with so you risk all of your vegetables having a pink tinge. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, drizzle with whatever acid you’ve chosen, and top with your fresh chopped (or dried) herb of choice. Keep it simple; too many herbs will detract from the flavour of the root.
courtesy Jim Wallace
Feds and experienced synchronized and single artistic skater Sarah Cook, conditioning and wellness co-ordinator for Campus Recreation at the University of Waterloo, Stacey Hamilton, and former classical singer,soloist, and the undergraduate studies co-ordinator at the University of Waterloo School of Accounting and Finance, Carol Treitz. Each judge held past experience with either a form of dance, the musical world, or the technical and physical aspects of the body training associated with dance. As the performances drew to a close the judges announced Mat Li, duo Stephany Bayle and David Buey, and Mareen Georgie as the final three performances. After that, it was the job of the audience members to applaud as loudly as they could for their favourite performers by use of a projected on-screen “applause-o-meter” to determine the grand winner. It was determined, after a great deal of screaming, that the grand winner was Li, who obtained a large signed Feds cheque for $1,000. The runners up each obtained cash rewards for their achievements in being part of the final three. In second place, duo Bayle and Buey received $500. And in third place, Georgie received $250. It was a grand performance by all and it was inspiring knowing that the University of Waterloo definitely can dance. mto@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
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Arts & Entertainment
Imprint, Friday, March 26, 2010
Music Review Titus Andronicus The Monitor XL
O
Photos courtesy XL
urs is a culture that is consumed by knowing why things happen — things like war, torture, and hate. We ask many variations of the above question, vowing to never to let these things happen again — only to return to same question. And so, Titus Andronicus asks this same question in their second full-length album, The Monitor. Named after Shakespeare’s bloodiest tragedy, Titus Andronicus is literary in an in-your-face kind of way. The Monitor is a concept album that revolves around the American Civil War with a mix of anthemic punk rock and spoken-word performances of Civil War-era speeches and poems. There’s more to this album than war as it’s also about a young man’s dashed dreams and his struggle to retain his humanity. The music itself isn’t anything we haven’t heard before. There are obvious Bruce Springsteen influences and some of these tracks are so Arcade Fire-like that they could have appeared on Funeral. The Monitor is also very similar to Funeral in its poeticisms as the war serves as a metaphor for the human condition. Opener “A More Perfect Union” ushers in the album in a gloriously anthemic battle cry as it follows a young man who gets his first taste of war. Though painfully optimistic in the beginning of the song (“Where I’m going to now, no one can ever hurt me”), the mood quickly sours as the “enemy” is introduced and he fears that “None of us shall be saved, every man will be a slave.” The language here is so bitter that it’s easy to forget that this is a song about civil war — a war fought between fellow citizens. This reminds us that war can make enemies of us all as fellow citizens can easily become (or be perceived as) our worst enemies. With its catchy guitar riffs and angsty patriotism, “A More Perfect Union”
invites us along on this dangerous, but exciting journey of war (not that I’m condoning war or anything, it’s just that this track evokes these feelings). This motif of the enemy’s existence continues throughout the album. In both “Titus Andronicus Forever” and “…And Ever,” the line: The enemy is everywhere is chanted and shouted. It’s impossible not to think about today’s war on terrorism while listening to this album because the issues that Titus Andronicus raises apply to today’s war. The vagueness inwhich Titus Andronicus approaches the word “enemy” reminds us that it is very difficult to identify who our enemy is and what we’re fighting against. Another motif that the band uses is pigs or hogs which serve as a foil for humanity. In “Richard II,” singer Patrick Stickles tells us, I will not deny humanity/I’ll be rolling in it like a pig in feces, as he reminds us of the struggle to retain our humanity. Later, in “Four Score and Seven,”he sings that: Humans treat humans like humans treat hogs. This lyric inevitably conjures up images of the torture in the Abu Graib prison and human rights issues that exist outside of war. Here, we have to wonder whether the Civil War is truly over as there are still human rights issues everywhere and people who still treat others like “hogs.” “Theme From ‘Cheers’” is Titus Andronicus’ masterpiece as it is here that we see the emotional effects of war and all that is truly lost. Musically, “Theme From ‘Cheers’” is so much good ole’ fashion jolly fun that it could have, quite literally, served as the theme song for the ’80s sitcom “Cheers.” There’s a nostalgic vibe to this song as we find our hero in an ode to his youth as he tells us to have a good time and save all our problems for another day. Later in the song, we find him as an old man, and we see all the problems trickling through. After considering all the lost dreams and lives, it is here that he asks, “What the fuck was it for anyway?” It is also here where we
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Photos courtesy Slender Means Society
Parenthetical Girls EP: Privilege, Pt. One: On Death & Endearments Slender Means Society
I
n this day and age, the music industry is going downhill. More and more artists are dropping the CD format in favour of using digital downloads to sustain themselves. Parenthetical Girls aren’t using the CD format for their latest release, but if anything, their approach is even
realize that all along he’s been “fucked up” and pretending that he’s okay, as the war’s left him a “fucking junkie.” This is a song of a man who’s lost all his dreams and hopes in life as he tries to drink away his pain. While it sounds like frolicking fun, the lyrics and context make the fun unsatisfying and depressing. In the closer “The Battle Of Hampton Roads,” Stickles describes an apocalyptic world in which the enemy is truly everywhere. The album ends as we find our hero weaker than ever and we realize that the enemy has inevitably become a part of him. The shoegazed vocals and poetic lyrics make The Monitor a rich, densely packed album that will require weeks, even months, to unravel and immerse yourself in its meaning. Fans of Funeral or the heartbreakingly beautiful Hospice by The Antlers (my favourite album of 2009,) will appreciate the growing nature of The Monitor. I hate using the clichéd term “epic” here as words cannot express the ‘epicness’ of The Monitor. From the anthemic “A More Perfect Union” to the nostalgic “Theme From ‘Cheers’” to the pianoaccompanied duet “To Old Friends And New,” The Monitor is an ambitiously expansive album that will move you differently with each subsequent listen. With their vast musical range and poeticisms, Titus Andronicus is the antithesis of every punk band out there. They’re angsty without ever sounding whiny. They’re emotional without ever sounding emo. They sing about something other than being dumped by their girlfriends (rejoice!). Underneath all that catharsis and pent-up angst, Titus Andronicus raises some crucial questions. But the question that opened this review isn’t one of them. Shit happens. What matters is figuring out how we can work together to build a future that fosters love and peace rather than war, torture, or hate.
more audacious. The band is set to release a series of five vinylonly EPs which will eventually form their fourth album under the name of Privilege. The first in this series, On Death & Endearments, is a promising look at what may be the beginnings of a brilliant album. The EP opens up with lead single “Evelyn McHale,” a pleasing guitar-based pop song with instrumentation evoking summertime sentiments. Lyrically, it’s not exactly a poppy summer hit, as androgynous vocalist Zac Pennington sings some mildly disconcerting lyrics: “When you got crippled by that car/When we were martyred monthly and scarred by the way that we are/ We nearly broke your mother’s heart.” The second track, “Someone Else’s Muse,” starts out reminiscent of Parenthetical Girls’ past work, with Pennington singing over top a single synthesizer chord, but around the 50 second mark, the bass and drums kick in, as well as additional fluctuations in the synthesizers. The turnaround in this song makes it far catchier and far more energetic. The title track has much more immediacy, having a consistent drumbeat with a marching feel, subtle brass, and short vo-
— Athena Ngai
cal bursts kicking off the song. The chorus is great and fun to sing along to, as Pennington croons, “History/She will surely remember me/And history/She will think of me fondly.” Closing “Found Drama I” is a softer track, with subdued drums and more emphasis on the electronic noises, but it makes for a rather abrupt ending to the EP. Parenthetical Girls have put together a very strong set of four songs. Admittedly, the output of music is regrettably small and slow, but if this is what it takes to make quality music, then they should take as long as they need. No details have been revealed on future instalments of Privilege, but they’ve set the bar pretty high for themselves. — Ronald Chui
Education That Makes a Difference
Office of Graduate Admissions Bailo Hall PO Box 2011 Niagara University, NY 14109-2011
See Page 20 for Our Lady Peace concert review
Campus Bulletin UPCOMING Friday, March 26, 2010 Annual commemoration of the U.N. International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination starting at 8:15 a.m., Kitchener City Hall Rotunda. For more info crosscultures@bellnet.ca. UW Ballroom Dance Club “Spring Fling” dance from 7 to 11 p.m. at the Button Factory, 25 Regina Street, Waterloo. Lessons, prizes refreshments. For more info www.uwbdc.ca. Saturday, March 27, 2010 Ten Thousand Villages/MEDA (Mennonite Econoic Development Associates) presents “Women’s Stories – Women’s Hope: An International Celebration.” Speakers, Indian dancers, Fair Trade foods. All welcome to this free event at Victoria Park Pavilion, Kitchener from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, March 28, 2010 “Canada 150: Where would we like Canada to be at 2017, the 150 anniversary of Canada’s founding?” at Bingeman’s Park from 10:45 a.m. to 3 p.m. Registration is $10. Mail cheque, payable to Bingemans, to Andrew Telegdi, 105 University Ave., E., Unit 11, Waterloo, Ontario, N2J 2W1 by March 25. April 1 to 30, 2010 Rotunda Gallery presents “Wetlands” by Judy Major-Girardin with reception on April 15 from 5 to 7 p.m. The exhibition runs for the month of April at the Gallery at Kitchener City Hall. For info 519-7413400, ext 3381. Tuesday, April 6, 2010 Seasons of Immigration: The MT Space is remounting one of its most successful productions at Kitchener’s Registry Theatre today and April 7 at 8 p.m. before it tours to New Brunswick. Performance in Cambridge on April 15 to be confirmed. For student matinees please call Majdi at 519-585-7763 or email info@mtspace.ca. Saturday, April 17, 2010 The “ABC’s of Success” is a day of workshops for artists and arts organizations to learn the business skills
needed for success. Join us at Waterloo City Hall, The Button Factory and the Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery. Space is limited, register at www.artsbusinesscreativity.com. Friday, April 23, 2010 CFUW book sale today and Saturday, April 24 at First United Church, King and William Streets, Waterloo. Donations can be dropped off April 21 and 22 at back door of church. For more info 519-740-5249. No textbooks, please. Saturday, April 24, 2010 Free public Star Party, hosted by KW branch of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada and KW Telescope, at dusk at picnic area number 9, Waterloo Park. Rain or complete overcast sky the event will be cancelled. For more details www.kw.rasc.ca. June 14 to 18, 2010 Compass Points for Students and Emerging Artists – the most exciting gathering of theatre students and young artists in Canada! The event is sponsored by UW and will be held during the Magnetic North Theatre Festival. For applications/info compasspoints@magneticnorthfestival.ca or www.magneticnorthfestival.ca. Wednesday, June 30, 2010 Student Video Contest – hosted by City of Kitchener – explore your creativity, win cash prizes and have your video digitally projected on City Hall. Deadline is June 30 at 4 p.m. For guidelines and application visit www.kitchener.ca.
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 Human Resources, K-W Habilitation Services, 108 Sydney Street, Kitchener, ON, N2G 3V2. Online Marketing Specialist – we need you! If you love online marketing and are web savvy, then we need you. For more details visit: www. fibernetics.ca/careers Starting in April – part-time employment available. Fun, games, sports and crafts with afterschool children at Laurelwood Public School. Only a short distance from the University. Interested persons should leave a message at 519-7418997.
HOUSING WANTED
Three female students are looking for rooms for fall 2010 term. Five to ten minute of walking distance to engineering buildings. shirleyma7002@ yahoo.ca.
author Barack Obama; from 12 to 1 p.m., LIB 407. Thursday, April 22, 2010 “A Year on the Grand: Scenes from the Grand River” – a photographic celebration of four seasons on the Grand – Flex Lab, LIB 329 from 12 to 1 p.m. Tuesday, April 27, 2010 Brain Fitness with Chloe Hamilton, Warm Embrace Elder Care from 12 to 1 p.m, MC 5158 Thursday, April 29, 2010 Walter Bean Trail Talk with Dave McDougall (Federation of Students) from 12 to 1 p.m., MC 5158. Repeat of popular talk about the walking trails in the KW Region. Great powerpoint slide presentation.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Remember the Seagram barrels? If you took a barrel at last year’s giveaway, Pat the Dog Playwright Centre wants to know! Contact Charmian at charmian@patthedog.org to tell your barrel’s story! Artists are invited to submit expressions of interest for a two-stage competition which will place a site-specific work of public art at the reconstructed main library, Kitchener. Commission is $125,000. Deadline is March 31, 2010. For details www.kitchener.ca or cheryl.york@kitchener.ca or 519-741-3400, ext 3381. Waterloo Wolf Pack – Waterloo boys under 13A rep soccer team will be conducting bottle drives/ pickups to raise funds for registration and tournament fees. To donate call 519-578-9394 or 519-746-4568 or nevrdy@sympatico.ca or hadley7073@hotmail.com. Story writers wanted for free paranormal magazine. Short stories, articles accepted. Free for free exposure. Submit your scariest stories true or fictional. Distributed locally to ghost tours and online. www.kwparamag.com. Tune in to Sound 100.3 FM radio or www.soundfm.ca for great music, prize giveaways, weather, traffic reports, community events and more!
UW RECREATION COMMITTEE UW Recreation Committee events are open to all employees of the University of Waterloo. Register by emailing UWRC@uwaterloo.ca. Tuesday, March 30, 2010 Feng Shui Discussion Group with Meltem Kurtman, MC 5136 from 12 to 1 p.m. Thursday, April 15, 2010 UWRC Book Club – “The Audacity of Hope”;
Classified
Imprint, Friday, March 26, 2010 ads@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
ONGOING
HOUSING
Houses for rent – Hoffaco Property Management presents a new release of student rental properties located close to UW. Clean, new or upgraded detached houses, townhouses, apartments and true loft space rentals available on many nearby streets including Ezra, Marshall, Hazel and Lester. Rentals to suit all group size from 1 to 13. Many start dates available. Please email uw@hoffaco.com (preferred) or phone 519-885-7910. Housing on campus – St. Paul’s University College has undergrad and grad housing available immediately or throughout the term. Please contact Jenn at jlaughli@uwaterloo.ca.
MONDAYS Gambling can ruin your life. Gamblers Anonymous, 7 p.m. at St Marks, 825 King Street, W, basement. WEDNESDAYS
ﻣﻄﺎﻟﻌﮥ ﮐﺘﺎب ﻣﻘﺪس ﻣﺴﻴﺤﯽ ﺑﺰﺑﺎن ﻓﺎرﺳﯽ ﻋﺼﺮ٩-٧ ﭼﻬﺎرﺷﻨﺒﻪهﺎ ﺳﺎﻋﺖ ﻓﺎرﺳﯽ ﻣﺸﺎرﮐﺖﻣﻘﺪس ﻣﻄﺎﻟﻌﮥ ﮐﺘﺎب !ﺑﺰﺑﺎناﺳﺖ ﻣﺴﻴﺤﯽ ﺁزاد ﺑﺮاﯼ ﻋﻤﻮم ﻋﺼﺮ٩-٧ ﭼﻬﺎرﺷﻨﺒﻪهﺎ ﺳﺎﻋﺖ Waterloo North Presbyterian Church !ﻣﺸﺎرﮐﺖ ﺑﺮاﯼ ﻋﻤﻮم ﺁزاد اﺳﺖ 400 Northfield Drive West WaterlooWaterloo, North Presbyterian Church ON N2V 1G7 400(519) Northfield Drive West 888-7870 Waterloo, ON N2V 1G7 (519) 888-7870
WANTED Used books wanted for CFUW Book Sale, Friday and Saturday, April 23 and 24, 2010 at First United Church, King and William Street. Drop off donations at church (back door) Wednesday, April 21 and Thursday, April 22. For more info please call 519-740-5249. No textbooks please.
STUDENT AWARDS & FINANCIAL AID For all in-person inquiries, including OSAP funding pickup, your SIN card and government issued, valid photo ID are required. BYID card can now be accepted as photo ID.
LAST CALL FOR GRAD PHOTOS! See our website to book your appointment www.lifetouchatwaterloo.com “As always, FREE re-takes”
March 30: recommended submission date for OSAP Rollover Form to add spring term to winter only term or fall and winter term. Recommended submission date for OSAP Reinstatement Form to add spring term to fall only term. Applications for Emergency Loans must be submitted on our web site by the last day of each term. Visit safa.uwaterloo.ca for a full listing of scholarships and awards.
CAREER SERVICES WORKSHOPS
For updates/changes to workshops, please refer to www.strobe.uwaterloo.ca/cecs/cs/index. Wednesdy, March 31, 2010 OMSAS Application – 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., TC 1208.
VOLUNTEERING Study participants needed! Healthy weight and over weight young adults needed to participate in a study on the effect of body weight on the knee joint. For more information, contact Kathleen, k4maclea@uwaterloo.ca. Shadow needed to be paired with international students for spring and fall 2010. Show them around, help them resolve cultural shock and make their stay in Waterloo more enjoyable. Make great friends and learn things from another country. Visit 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. Call Canadian Mental Health at 519-744-7645, ext 229. City of Waterloo has volunteer opportunities. For info call 519-888-6478 or www.waterloo.ca/ volunteer. The Distress Centre needs volunteers to provide confidential, supportive listening on our crisis and distress lines. Complete training provided. Call 519-744-7645, ext 300. Volunteer Action Centre, 519-742-8610 / volunteer@volunteerkw.ca, for all your volunteering needs! Deliver or befriend through Community Support Connections. Deliver meals, drive seniors to appointments or visit one for a few hours each week. Contact Kate Lavender at 519-7728787 or katel@communitysupportconnections. org. Hey hot stuff! Volunteering at Imprint is fun, easy, helps you meet people and boosts resumes and grad school applications. All welcome, regardless of experience. volunteer@imprint. uwaterloo.ca. Volunteers needed – The English Tutor program is in constant need of volunters to tutor international students. Volunteering is an essential part of student life at UW. Apply online at www. iso.uwaterloo.ca. Speak Croatian or Polish? Volunteer visitor required for a woman with Alzheimer’s disease. Two hours per week. Training/support provided by Alzheimer Society. Jill jmercier@alzheimerkw.com. Resume builder. Volunteer required to rebuild website for Kitchener International Children’s Games Chapter. Call 519-886-6918 and leave message or respond to icgkitchener@hotmail.com.
Sports & Living
Imprint, Friday, March 26, 2010 sports@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Men’s season recap
Striking out some baseball myths jsmith@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
rocky choi
The men’s basketball team capped off an injury-filled season. They never quite met expectations as they were never able to operate a full bench. Brent Golem sports & living editor
A
nother astonishing season is behind the Warriors. Unfortunately, the astonishing part of the season was that the players were able to walk away from it with no permanent damage. Although the season did not go as planned, the team fought through a season rife with injury. They started off on a terrific note, winning their second consecutive Naismith classic tournament for the first time in over two decades. The team looked very strong, but they weren’t immune to injury bug early-on. They had to win after the team’s top-scorer Cam McIntyre went down with an ankle injury. The team hoped that he would be healthy to kick off the OUA season, but it was an injury that plagued him for the season’s entirety. The regular season started off well, winning their first three of four games, and then they headed up to Ottawa for their annual test but dropped both games by wide margins. The team then closed out the first half of their season with wins at home. The team did well in their Christmas break tournament, and parlayed their run into the second half of their season, earning some big wins against Guelph and Windsor. Sitting in a solid position in their division, the bottom fell out as the team lost six games in a row and eight of their last nine to skid into the playoffs with a 9–13 record. In the playoffs, the team was seeded sixth in the west and faced number three seed McMaster. The team had split their season series with McMaster, and had seven of their nine wins in Waterloo. The only thing Waterloo had going for them was the fact that they had cracked a two decade old losing streak in McMaster’s Burridge gym only a week prior. The Warriors were able to pull out the narrowest of victories, winning
by only three points to earn a berth against the top-seeded Lakehead Thunderwolves. The Warriors faced the Thunderwolves only three days later, in front of a packed house. Waterloo was looking to exact revenge after going up to Thunder Bay only weeks prior, losing by less than two possessions in both matches. They played hard and took a lead into the half, before they were outlasted and beaten in the last minute of play. The Warriors ended up losing by a mere five points. With those five points the Warriors season was crushed, and all hopes that had been entertained of a National championship were dashed. Two of the teams that got to Nationals, Windsor and UQAM, the Warriors had beaten this season; while two other National championship entrants, Lakehead and UBC, the Warriors lost only in the final minute of play. “I’m very disappointed with how we finished up, but I thought we played hard. And I thought, if not for the ridiculous amount of injuries and how battered and beaten up we were, we could’ve made the season last a little longer,” coach Tom Kieswetter said. “It’s part of sports, it’s part of what happens. And you have to have a certain amount of luck to get to a position where you can win a championship.” For the last month, the Warriors had guys that couldn’t practise and could only play because they were so injured. Key factors of the Warriors game plan in Cam McIntyre, Ben Frisby, Matt Hayes had to overcome their own ailments as well as their opponents. Next year the Warriors will be losing four of their top six forwards. With co-captains David Burnett and Ben Frisby, Matt Hayes, and Jesse Tipping leaving, Waterloo will have to turn to a new core of players.
sports@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Baseball De-mythed… There is nothing sweeter than hearing the crack of a wooden stick connecting with the first pitch of spring. It signals the end of an excruciatingly painful winter (come on global warming) and it means the start of another joyous baseball season. Unfortunately there is some misinformation floating around that needs to be addressed. First of all, shortstop is not the most difficult position on the infield. It sounds crazy but it’s true. Second base has long been the most underrated position on the ball diamond. While the shortstop may be the (largely self-appointed) captain of the infield, the second baseman is the guy who makes the defense click. The second baseman has a much tougher double-play than the shortstop; he has to generate the arm strength by rotating the upper half of his body while avoiding the oncoming runner. On the other hand, the shortstop already has his momentum going toward first and has full vision of the runner barreling down on him. It makes for a nice-looking play, but it’s fairly routine. While it’s true that the shortstop does have a longer throw, this is really the only point in favour of that position. On the backhand side the second baseman is running away from first base and has to do a 180 spin to get the runner at first; a much tougher play than the shortstop going to his right. A similar argument can be made for the balls that each player has to charge. The shortstop has a relatively friendly angle to first while if the second baseman fields the ball on the infield grass it’s an almost impossible play. Usually leading to a glove flip which may or may not end up in the dugout. Stay tuned for further analysis on second base vs. shortstop. Everyone loves a stolen base, correct? It’s exciting and adds a new dimension to the game. But what about when the runner gets thrown out attempting a steal? Is that exciting for his teammates? Especially when you’ve got your power hitters at the plate waiting to drive him in. You’re essentially robbing them of an opportunity to produce. A variety of baseball researchers, including Baseball Prospectus, say that if you’re not stealing bases at an 80 per cent clip then you’re actually hurting your team’s output, regardless of the amount of bases you’ve stolen. The timing of stolen bases is also very important. Stealing second base when Albert Pujols is at the plate is far less valuable than stealing second when John McDonald is batting. This is why it makes very little sense to put someone at the leadoff position simply because they are adept at stealing bases. You want your high on-base
percentage (OBP) guys at the top of the lineup regardless of their speed because you don’t want to create outs on the base-paths ahead of your mashers. Wins are the first thing you hear quoted when people are discussing a starting pitcher. The trouble with wins is quite simple: they are a useless statistic (like RBIs!) that in no way measures a pitchers contribution. Think about a pitcher who pitches a complete game and gives up only one run, but his team doesn’t score so he’s tagged with a loss. On the other hand, a pitcher could log five innings and give up eight runs but his team scores ten and he gets the win. Which pitcher contributed more? Who is better? It’s true that wins are somewhat correlated with how well a pitcher performed in a given year, but it doesn’t tell nearly the whole story. Take Josh Beckett’s 2008 season: 16 wins with a 5.05 ERA. Sixteen wins is terrific but giving up five runs per nine innings is approaching Josh Towers’ territory (i.e. awful). Wins a more accurate measure of how lucky a pitcher got with his team’s run distribution. If the team scored a lot of runs on his bad days and just enough on his good days he could end up with a lot of wins. Much better statistics to measure the effectiveness of a pitcher are: ERA+ (earned run average adjusted for the league and ballpark factors); WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched); K/BB (number of strikeouts per walk); and GO/FO (ratio of groundball outs to fly-ball outs). It’s the year 2010: we can do better than wins to evaluate pitchers… First down… March Madness is in full force and the first weekend of play did not disappoint with respect to the amount of madness involved. Sixteen higher seeds lost in the first two rounds, which had everything basketball fans, and sports fans in general, could want. And they’re talking of changing the format? Everyone who picked Cornell (ever heard of it?) to go to the Sweet Sixteen raise your hand… No Ivy League school has won a tournament game since 1998 and now Cornell pulls off two straight upsets. It’s a great story that shows you don’t have to sacrifice academics for athletics… Speaking of academics: will stopping schools from competing in the tournament, if they don’t graduate enough of their athletes, do anything to combat the low graduation rate? Answer: negative. In fact, it will only motivate schools to do whatever it takes to “graduate” their student athletes (Read: blindly hand out diplomas)… See RUNDOWN, page 26
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Sports & Living
Imprint, Friday, March 26, 2010
25
NCAA March Madness takes star power to prevail
I
How many number one overall seeds, over the years, have lost in the second round of March Madness? That would be none. Zero. Zilch.
f you stayed still for a specific moment on Saturday night, kept perfectly quiet and listened hard, you might have heard the sounds of crumpling papers, and the tearing of parchment. You might have heard some curse words (heck, you would have heard a lot of curse words) and the cry of a hundred analysts proven wrong. You know how fast Snookie fell for every guy who gave her even an ounce of attention on Jersey Shore? Yeah, the hallowed Jayhawks managed to fall faster. Throughout North America brackets were being torn to shreds and curse words were muttered. The biggest “bracket buster” of all time capped off a wild first weekend of March Madness. It was one of those games where, right up until the dying last seconds, you got the sense Kansas would pull it out. I texted my dad “Are you watching this Kansas game? Upset special, baby!” with about three minutes left and the Jayhawks down something like seven, and his response was instant: “Kansas has the experience to come back. Kentucky will reach a game like this… will they be able to come back?” (I have Kentucky winning it all, so he was chirping). In other words, he had no doubt they were going to rally back and win, and neither did I. Even the announcers seemed, for the most part, subdued about Northern Iowa’s chances; Kansas was the number one seed in the country after all (not just the division). Take a moment for some interesting trivia: how many number one overall seeds, over the years, have lost in the second round of March Madness? That would be none. Zero. Zilch. But as the game finished and the Northern Iowa players were jumping around like the gym floor was made of hot coals (and as I was gladly sending “BEST UPSET EVER!” texts to anyone I knew who had Kansas in their bracket, most notably, my dad), something occurred to me that might very well explain why Kansas hadn’t won, and why my pick of Kentucky might prove to be absolutely right. In those moments of half-hazard jubilation, I started to piece together a theory on why we all should have seen this coming. See, Kansas was a talented, steady, senior-led team, which was why a great percentage of experts and everyday fans had them to win it all. The theoretical formula for winning March Madness was to have a talented, experienced squad that knew how to handle the pressure of an entire continent (well, maybe not so much Mexico) watching your every move. After all, even on the top contenders, only two or three players might make the NBA; talent was spread out pretty thin and the underdogs always had the advantage of the “no one expects us to win, so let’s just throw whatever we have at them” attitude on their side. Yet, no one stopped to really examine Kansas and stack them up against the past winners of the tour-
NCAA CHAMPION vs. NBA IMPACT OF STARS
“
“
jtoporowski@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
nament. Yes, they were experienced and there was no doubt they had considerable talent. So what were they missing? What didn’t happen, let’s say, around the 10 minutes left mark that should have, something that the past winners of the tournament might have had? This is what I was thinking after the exhilaration of the upset started wearing off (as well as the smugness of receiving all the dejected texts back from Kansas supporters). What had Kansas been lacking? This is precisely when I started wondering if it was lack of that allelusive quality: “star power.” It is entirely impossible to quantify, but you can feel it in certain players, in certain teams. Some would call it “greatness,” others “determination;” but it is, in my mind, a combination of them all. It’s having those guys who look up at the score board, see that they’re losing to a lesser opponent and say to themselves: “uh, this shit is not going down.” I also believe that this inherent quality, this stardom or whatever you want to call it, translates to NBA success. Take a look at the graphic included with this column. I charted the last 10 teams that have won March Madness and gave each of their three top players NBA-potential/success grades. What I noticed was, with the exception (coincidentally) of the 2008 Kansas team, every March Madness team that had won in the past 10 years had at least two B or above players. In addition, I noticed that, with the exception of the 2003 Syracuse team (which I will get to, soon), each team had three C or better players. Now, you may not think this is really all that clever, and it isn’t. After all, the best team in the NCAA tournament would, naturally, produce good NBA players. But then why didn’t anyone notice that Kansas was lacking in this regard? Kansas’s two best players are Cole Aldrich and Sherron Collins. Aldrich is expected to go somewhere in the first round, probably between the 10th and 20th selection. There have been comparisons made of him to Greg Ostertag and the general consensus seems to point to a rating of B to B- for him (on my scale), although he’s not particularly athletic, so he realistically could fall to C+ status. Collins, on the other hand, is a second-rounder, probably going in the 33-40 range of the draft. He’s undersized (at 5’11”) and isn’t the typical, offense-commanding point guard that the NBA is tailored to. So let’s assume his grade is a C at best, but more likely to be a C-. So how do we expect Kansas to be overwhelming favourites? When you consider this idea, maybe we should have seen their defeat coming. The team as a whole was great — but sometimes when times get tough, it takes a legitimate star to put the team on his back and win the game for them. Kansas didn’t have that. Now, consider Kentucky. The general scouting report on Ken-
Year
Champion
PT
Player
PT
Player
PT
Player
2000
Michigan St.
B+
Jason Richardson
B
Morris Peterson
C+
Charlie Bell
2001
Duke
A-
Carlos Boozer
A-
Jason Williams
B
Shane Battier
2002
Maryland
C+
Steve Blake
C
Juan Dixon
C
Charlie Wilcox
2003
Syracuse
A+
Carmelo Anthony
B-
Hakim Warrick
F
Gerry McNamara
2004
Connecticut
A-
Rudy Gay
B
Charlie Villaneuva
C+
Marcus Williams
2005
North Carolina
C+
Sean May
B+
Marvin Williams
B-
Raymond Felton
2006
Florida
A-
Al Horford
B+
Joakim Noah
B-
Corey Brewer
2007
Florida
A-
Al Horford
B+
Joakim Noah
B-
Corey Brewer
2008
Kansas
B-
Mario Chalmers
C+
Brandon Rush
C
Darrell Arthur
2009
North Carolina
B+
Ty Lawson
B-
Tyler Hansborough C-
Danny Green
A+ to A– :
Could be a top 2-3 player on a championship contender.
B+ to B– :
Could be a starter (or sixth man) on a good NBA team.
C+ to C– :
Ranging from a solid backup to a good role player who’s part of the rotation.
F:
Has no NBA potential/was undrafted.
tucky seems to be that they have extraordinary talent, but are far too young and inexperienced to win it all. But wait — wasn’t that what everyone said about the 2003 Syracuse team? They were also young and thin (the only team with an F in their top three), but Carmelo was a stud (the only guy to garner an A+ grade under my system). John Wall, the Kentucky
PG sensation, translates to an A+ NBA status. He’s fearless and talented — he’s a superstar. Add in DeMarcus Cousins, an A– (the next Zack Randolph, perhaps?), as well as Erik Bledsoe (B– potential, C+ most likely), and doesn’t Kentucky start looking pretty good? That’s why I think Kentucky will win it all. Yes, they’re young and maybe not as good a “team” as
Kansas. But in this tournament, with the way underdogs can catch fire and win before you know it, having a good, NBA-ready prospect (or two) who can take the team and lead them through the rough patches, is entirely necessary. That’s why Kansas lost and why Kentucky, Ohio State (with Evan Turner), or Syracuse (with Wesley Johnson) should end up winning it.
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Sports & Living
26
Imprint, Friday, March 26, 2010
Hartigan, Ray named to CIS All-Star team
Jon Grieman
Chris Ray was named to the 2009-2010 CIS All Star team. Michelle Duklas asst. sports & living
W
arrior goalie Keaton Hartigan and forward Chris Ray were named to the second team of the all-stars at the All-Canadian Banquet, which took place at Fort William Historical Park in Thunder Bay on March 25. Hartigan, a second year sociology major from Kitchener, played 25 games in the regular season, during which he accumulated 685 saves. In
the 1,477 minutes that he played, he let in 70 goals for a goals against average of 2.84. Hartigan had a record of 18–6–1, and he shut out the opposing team three times during the season. This win statistic ranked him second in the division for the most wins by a goalie. He was second only to JeanChristophe Blanchard of the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières. In the three playoff games Waterloo had this season, Hartigan’s record was 1–2. He saved 96 shots and let in
nine goals. Hartigan was part of the OUA First Team All-Stars, which was announced back in February. He was nominated for the CIS Goaltender of the Year Award; however, the honour was awarded to Steve Christie from the University of Manitoba. Chris Ray played left forward in 28 games this season for the Waterloo Warriors. The third year Kelowna native had 18 goals and 23 assists in the regular season, for a total of 41 points. He ranked third in the OUA for short-handed goals, with four, and ninth overall for the most points. From November 21 to February 13, Ray had a points streak of 28 points: 12 goals and 16 assists, which ranked him third overall for point streaks. Ray, who majors in environment and business, recorded two goals and one assist in the Warriors’ playoff run against Windsor. He was named the OUA most valuable player for the 2009-2010 year, and also part of the First Team All-Stars for the OUA. Waterloo head coach Brian Bourque was nominated for the Father George Kehoe Memorial Award for coach of the year, but ultimately the award was given to Gardiner McDougall from the University of New Brunswick. Bourque was chosen as the general manager for the Canadian Interuniversity Sport men’s hockey team for the
25th Winter Universiade, set to take place next year in Erzurum, Turkey. Bourque won the OUA West Coach of the Year Award for this past season. Other members of the Warriors to be named to the OUA West
All-Star teams include defensemen Kyle Sonnenberg to the first team and Steve Whitely to the second team. Sonnenberg was also named OUA defenseman of the year. mduklas@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
CIS Hockey Awards and All-Canadians Goaltender of the Year Keaton Hartigan (nominated) Coach of the Year Brian Bourque (nominated)
CIS First Team All-Stars G D D F F F
Steve Christie Marc-André Dorion Andrew Hotham Chad Klassen Francis Verreault-Paul Hunter Tremblay
Manitoba McGill St. Mary’s Alberta McGill UNB
CIS Second Team All-Stars G D D F F F
Keaton Hartigan Kyle Fecho Luke Gallant John Scott Dickson Chris Ray Derek Ryan
Waterloo Alberta UNB UNB Waterloo Alberta
The rundown: basketball ups and baseball downs Continued from page 24
Seventh inning stretch... Shaun Marcum deservedly received the Toronto Blue Jays opening day pitching nod. In the post-Halladay era, the Jays will need their young arms to step up in a big way and Marcum will need to be at the forefront. However, this really shows the state of the Jays’ rotation when their opening day starter hasn’t thrown since 2008... Can everyone jump off of the Zack Greinke bandwagon? He is a nice story and the only thing good in Kansas City since George Brett, but how about letting him have some sustained success in the majors before we anoint him the next Christy Mathewson (look him up)...
Top Brackets #
Name
Points
1
Michelle Kathryn Duklas
46
2
Tamim Anwar
45
3
Randy Luciano
44
4
Peter Gunn
44
5
Michel Saccone
42
6
Jeffery Laythorpe
42
7
Daniel Van Der Werf
42
8
Erin Middlebrook
42
9
Anastasia Pasche
42
10
Wesley Burns
41
11
William Kyle Hamilton
41
12
Littin Modoor
41
13
Adriel Orena
40
14
Harrison Mair
40
15
Tara Hill
40
While we’re on the subject of pitchers, can we all agree that awful middle relievers are ruining the game? How many times do we have to watch a starter get pulled in the sixth inning and then have to endure three or four brutal journeyman relievers before we get to another quality pitcher? It’d be nice to see starters go deeper into games; obviously pitch counts are a factor, but if a pitcher is rolling through the game he shouldn’t be pulled because of an arbitrary cut-off point... Overtime... It hasn’t been pretty, but Jennifer Jones is well on her way to a world championship win. She isn’t curling up to her usual standards but
will likely be in the playoffs come this weekend. The best news for Jones is that defending world champion Wang Bingyu from China is out of the playoff hunt. Jones is looking for her second world title (2008) and to rebound from her disappointing fourth place finish at last year’s tournament... With Kalin Lucas out for the remainder of the NCAA tournament, Michigan State (MSU) looks to be in tough to make it past Northern Iowa (another popular pick). MSU without Lucas is hardly worthy of being in the tournament, let alone the sweet sixteen. It took a buzzer beater for Michigan to hold off a Maryland comeback on Sunday, even though they had been up big before Lucas left the game. MSU is the only remaining
team from last years final four, and it’s going to take another Tom Izzo coaching miracle for them to return this season... Shout out of the week: A hearty shout out to the University of Waterloo Pharmacy Hockey Team for their “win” over the University of Toronto Pharmacy Hockey Team. Officially it will go down as a shootout loss, but for all in attendance the replay clearly showed that the Warrior goal in overtime that was disallowed was indeed a goal. A huge hat tip to the Warriors who outplayed the Blues for much of the game but were up against superb goaltending, many crossbars and some suspect officiating.
Comics & Distractions
Imprint, Friday, March 26, 2010
crossword
TEST TIME!
Across
1. Type of clarinet, flute, or saxophone 5. Fauna’s partner 10. Decomposes 14. Common draft animals 15. Inquire 16. Off-course 17. Famous clown fish 18. These might wrench during an exam 20. Excuse 22. Product about to go bad (abbr.) 23. A spy controlled by the enemy 24. Ms. Carrere 26. Homer’s dad 27. Part of an old-timey instrument 1
2
3
33. “The Wire” station, formerly 36. Linearly ordered data 37. U.S. intelligence agency 38. Cooking plant 39. “_____ You Babe” 40. Old-school gaming system 42. Relating to the leeward side 43. Starts, like a car 44. Result of bad night at a bar 45. XC 47. 360 degrees from 63 Down 48. Players 50. 86,400 seconds 51. Chowed 52. Jewish ritual feast
4
5
14
15
17
18
20
21 24
27
28
29
6
7
8
Down
1. _____ fide 2. Figure skating jump 3. Truck 4. Elite 5. Created by J. Edgar Hoover 10
32
37
47
41 45 49 51
54
55
56
57 64
58
63
66
67
68
69
70
71
Solutions: 2 1 6 5 7 4 9 8 3
1 5 2 8 4 3 7 9 6
35
46
62
5 9 8 3 1 2 6 7 4
34
42
50
7 3 4 9 8 6 5 1 2
33 38
48
53
13
23
31
44
12
26
30
43
11
19
25
40
6. Like a matrix 7. Palindrome name 8. Film medium 9. Eeyore, for example 10. Reward for a good worker 11. Is good at (slang) 12. Example of 5 Across 13. Group of interacting elements forming a whole (abbr.) 19. Indents 21. Spider descriptor 25. Common maternity ward cry 26. Not for 27. Hiding places 28. Suggests 29. Treasure locale 30. Noms 31. Common helpless cry 32. Near infrared (abbr.) 33. Ms. Of Troy 34. Famous Favre 35. A slave does this 38. Isolated Hawaiian community 41. Sign of skin damage 46. List part 48. Type of (fictional) bear 49. Paid employee 50. Turn off 52. Argue 53. Great lake 54. Famous Spanish explorer 55. Poke 56. Stack 58. Word used to express pity or concern 59. Casino-_____ 60. Frankenstein’s aide 61. Inquires 63. 360 degrees from 47 Across 64. Canadian tax
16
36
52
55. It started Mar. 20th 57. Moon plains 62. What many students are doing about marks 65. Slows 66. River in Yorkshire 67. Andy’s job in The Office 68. Mad with uncontrollable rage 69. Bottom 70. Roeper’s partner 71. H1N1 of 2003?
9
22
39
By Mike Koivusalo
59
60
61
65
March 19, 2010
Solution
9 6 3 7 5 1 4 2 8
4 8 7 6 2 9 1 3 5
8 4 9 2 6 7 3 5 1
6 7 5 1 3 8 2 4 9
3 2 1 4 9 5 8 6 7
1
T
2
3
4
5
I N A
14
W O M B
17
O N E H
6
18
7
8
A N T
O R E O
31 36
L
24
25
32
S
37
12
19
13
I
A S P E N T H A N K
22
27
J A C O B
34
28
29
30
T W O
35
I D E
38
T A L C 41
33
11
C O W
26
I V R E
A D O
I 21
10
C A C T
16
I N D E R
20 23
9
M A R C
15
S M O R E S
39
40
R A T S
42
A L O S S
43
C A T C H T W E N T Y
44
P
45
46
L A N W
50
52
S H N O O K
55
62
57
63
64
71
O P E R A
74
S
T A R T
66
75
R H O
58
L
61
O A R S
67
G E N
72
49
T S
E A S E
60
A G E
65
48
68
L U S
69
70
I U S A R K
A M E N T
sudoku
7
1 9
8 5
1
2 5 7 6 4
3 2 5 3 4 7 1
6 4 1 6
73
E R
76
T
I E
I D Y
To my darling pimpoy, Our kids have grown and they have a bigger penis than you. Shame on you... – Jessica “Juggs” Bootiful Dear Caf Guy, You probably notice me and my friends watching you as you served wraps at the REV caf (You know who you are, blondie). My friend thinks you’re really really hot, so the next time you serve her a veggie wrap, write down your cell number, too! Thanks! – Matchmaker Dear Lucky Charm, I saw you at 140 West on St. Patty’s looking very cute and coy, frequently on the dj booth taking pictures, but otherwise dancing with your Lucky Charms Girls. Ever since I laid eyes on you, all I could think was magically delicious. I wanted to have that dance that your friends were signalling me to have with you but my best bro, who came down from Guelph for his bday, called dibs on you. Sorry, bro code trumps on bdays. Now that he’s back and gone, why don’t we re-enact St. Patty’s without him in the picture? I’ll be at Caesar’s this Thursday hoping to see you. Sincerely, – Looking4TheFourLeafClover Missed any connections lately? Got any ideas, gripes, or randomly entertaining thoughts? Send them (with utmost affection) to
distractions@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
What is the most annoying/stupidest thing your roommate has ever done? By Sarah Rogalla and Divyesh Mistry
“Taking showers with their boyfriend while everyone was home.”
“Snore.” Mohan Sivapatham
Rosanne Abdulla
3A Actuarial Science
4B French
“Calling a bunch of people over right after cleaning the place. Going to sleep — clean. Waking up — mess.” Roshanth Rajachandrakumar 1B Kinesiology
“Coming down to the dryer and letting me know how his bowels were doing.” Michelle Ramalho, Natalie Cockburn, Leigh LePage, Stephanie Gill 4B Psychology, 3B Arts and Business, 4B Nanotechnology Engineering, 4A Speech Communication
9
9
54
S N A P
56
C O Y E R
S E
53
U C O N C E R T 59
47
L E A R
51
27
“Dressing in a Spartan helmet and saying catchphrases from 300 while making thrusting motions with his sword...” Mark Ferguson 2B Nanotechnology Engineering
28
Comics & Distractions
Imprint, Friday, March 26, 2010
(postscript@imprint.uwaterloo.ca)
JORDAN CAMPBELL (faculties@imprint.uwaterloo.ca)
MICHAEL TO (irresponsiblyoptomistic@imprint.uwaterloo.ca)
“J.T.” (geese@imprint.uwaterloo.ca)