Impr int The university of Waterloo’s official student newspaper
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Vol 32, No
33
imprint . uwaterloo . ca
Arts student vs PAX
dinh nguyen
Among cosplayers and concerts, games and geeks, panels and Pokémon, one arts student discovers a real geek community Everything in unity
UW Physics and Astronomy Prof. Robert Mann lectures on a unifying “theory of everything.”
See PAX, page 18–19
INSIDE THIS ISSUE!!!
FEATURES 21
Seriously, go read it now!
A look at the Elmira Maple Syrup Festival, the world’s largest one-day Maple Syrup event.
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Maple syrup aplenty
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magine yourself locked in a car for 10 hours, forced to endure the company of two computer science students and one nerdy engineering student, only to arrive at a three-day event filled with over 35,000 dungeon masters and bespectacled gamers. There are some places an arts student should never go - geek conventions are one of them. This past weekend, I embarked on a journey to the first ever console, PC, and tabletop (board games, role-playing games, and fantasy card games) convention, the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX East) in Boston, Massachusetts. My objective was to report and validate the cultural superiority arts students have over our technologically-minded counterparts. To my surprise, what began as a quest for exploitation landed me on a path of self-exploration. In the words of one of my travel companions, Filip Krynicki, “I grew up little that day.” Krynicki didn’t say those words explicitly to me, but I identified with them. It has been
said that, generally, gamers and geeks are children stuck in the bodies of grown men (and, in some cases, women). While many may associate this with an immaturity complex, it was evident at PAX that the gaming community takes the statement to represent the expression and exercise of creativity, a notion that is not usually associated with adulthood. Known for his role as Wesley Crusher on the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, keynote speaker for the PAX opening ceremonies, Will Wheaton, captured this notion best in his speech. “I use my imagination to make my stories come to life. Gaming is the lens that I use to harness [this] imagination into something I can use… Fantasy worlds are important because we chose to visit them. We make the worlds we create real,” he said, “[Playing] Rock Band allows us to be superstars. [Being a geek] lets us imagine that we can do incredible things and that we do them well.”
Why are you still here? MOVE already!
SCIENCE25
Dinh Nguyen arts & entertainment editor
News
Imprint, Thursday, April 1, 2010 news@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Handling human resources
courtesy alexandra sleghel
UW’s team wins second place at the Excalibur National Human Resources Case Competition Michelle Sterba staff reporter
T
he University of Waterloo proves itself at a national level at this year’s Excalibur National Human Resources Case Competition. The 24th annual National HR Case Competition took place on March 19 and 20 at the Hilton Bonaventure in Montreal. Out of the 23 teams in attendance, the UW team achieved second place. The HR Case Competition is an annual event organized by Ordre des Conseillers en Ressources Humaines Agrees (the Quebec Human Resources Association). The event is supported by the Canadian Council of Human Resources Associations (CCHRA). The competition gives Canadian undergraduate students the opportunity to compete against other universities in the area of human resources through case analysis. This year’s team was comprised of coach Len Luksa (department of psychology), assistant coach Sean Schofield-Hurwitz (industrial/organizational psychology masters student), competitors Amanda Briganti (4B honours psychology), Alexandra Sleghel (4A honours psychology), Sara Cleland (3A honours political science), and alternate Jimmy Huynh (3B honours speech communication). The team members expressed a wide variety of reasons for taking part in the competition, from love of competition and interest in the subject matter, to networking opportunities and the application of theory to real life scenarios. “The University of Waterloo’s dedication to academic excellence and innovative application of what is taught in the classroom was recognized at a national
level,” Sleghel said. “Going into the competition, Waterloo has been considered an underdog. Having two podium finishes in the last three years is allowing us to build a strong reputation as competitors with the top business schools in Canada.” The team was awarded $2,250 for the second place victory. “Having all of our hard work pay off, and getting to meet so many great people was so rewarding, and something I will never forget. Team X was amazing!” Cleland said when asked to recount her experience. “It was a fun, nerve-racking, and rewarding experience — a great ending to my UW experience. Thanks to all who supported us.” said Briganti. The team spent a great deal of time and effort preparing for the competition. Two years ago the team won third, so the second place finish was quite the achievement. The team members attributed their success to their cohesiveness as a team, their ability to stay calm and focused, and the knowledge that they each brought from their different programs. The UW team was professional and presented with confidence and personality, which the judges enjoyed. While other teams over-complicated their responses, the UW team kept their solutions practical and applied them to the actual businesses. “Achieving second place was not an easy task. Our team, with the guidance of our coaches, has been practicing extensively since the beginning of January to prepare for the tournament,” Sleghel said. The team practiced in three hour time slots, two to three times a week. Their practices consisted of an informal presentation by a subject matter expert in a variety of HR topics such as training, labour relations, and recruitment. After the pre-
sentation, the team would have a limited time to analyze a case and prepare recommendations. These would be presented to their coaches and the subject matter expert. The first round of the tournament consisted of three fictitious cases, two of which the group had to do presentations on, and one they had to do a report on. Six out of the 23 teams advanced to the finals, along with a seventh team who advanced with a wild card based on the results of a knowledge test. During the finals the teams were given 90 minutes to access a case based on a true situation, and prepare a 20-minute presentation for the panel of judges. The panel was made up of industry and subject matter experts, as well as a representative of the organization the case was based on. The presentation was followed by a questioning period to ensure the teams had a thorough understanding as well as the ability to think on their feet. Briganti and Cleland explained a particularly stressful part of the tournament: the final case was on compensation and labour relations, courses which are not currently offered at Waterloo. The team persevered and used their theoretical knowledge from their HRM301 course to solve it. They are excited for new teams, as these courses are now being offered. Jimmy Huynh, who went as the alternate this year, will be leading the team at next year’s competition. The team said they were thankful for coaches Luksa and Schofield-Hurwitz, all subject matter experts that contributed to their learning, as well as the UW department of psychology and the Human Resources Professional Association Grand River Chapter for providing funding for the team. msterba@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
UW’s winning team celebrates their victory at the Excalibur National Human Resources Case Competition. The team, from left to right, holding flowers: Alexandra Sleghel, Sara Cleland, Amanda Briganti. Behind them, in the middle, is their coach, Len Luksa.
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News
Imprint, Thursday, April 1, 2010
Provincial government releases new budget UW administration releases their response Adrienne Raw news editor
O
ntario’s new provincial budget is good news for universities and colleges. The budget, released on Thursday, March 25, has dedicated $310 million to attract new students of Ontario’s colleges and universities, anticipating the creation of 20,000 new spaces this September. The budget also includes plans to promote Ontario’s post-secondary educational institutions abroad (and increase the number of foreign students by 50 per cent), and implementing a credit transfer system to help students navigate the post-secondary education system. The credit transfer system supports the collaborative arrangements between Ontario universities and colleges that allow students to combine the differing of foci of university and college educational models. Feridun Hamdullahpur, UW’s vice president academic and provost, expressed his approval of the new budget in a March 26 press release and said that it “is generally good news for Waterloo and for all of post-secondary education in our province.” There is still some uncertainty as to how this new budget will impact University of Waterloo employees, particularly on the topic of salaries. The new budget imposes an immediate two year pay freeze for most public sector employees who are not unionized or part of a professional association, which includes UW employees. “The precise way this policy will apply to employee groups at Waterloo, all of whom work under
complicated compensation structures, is not yet clear,” Hamdullahpur said. On the topic of the situation of pension funds at some universities, Hamdullahpur said, “I want to repeat our previous assurances that while there is a long-term need to shore up Waterloo’s pension fund somewhat, we are not one of the institutions that are facing a crisis in this regard.” The budget has dedicated $500 million to the Pension Benefits Guarantee Fund. The overall aim of the new Ontario budget is to address the impacts of the global recession and grow Ontario’s economy. From the perspective of administrators of post-secondary institutions, this budget is meeting that goal. “While the details of the budget have yet to be clarified, our sense is that, even in difficult economic times, this budget is moving post-secondary education in the right direction,” Hamdullahpur said. Hamdullahpur expects to be able to provide more information about how the new Ontario budget will affect the university within the next week. The new budget also includes funding and proposed initiatives to promote jobs and growth in the province’s northern regions, implement full-day learning for four- and five-year-olds, supplement investments in child care, support stimulus infrastructure investments and address the provincial deficit. — With files from The National Post, the Council of Ontario Universities, 680 News, CBC News, and the Government of Ontario araw@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
20,000
new university spaces
$21.3 billion provincial deficit for 2009-2010 books balanced in
2017-2018 economic growth projected at
2.7 per cent in 2010
$126 billion total spending in 2010-2011
Day one © 2010 Ernst & Young LLP. Ernst & Young refers to the global organization of member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young LLP is a client-serving member firm located in Canada.
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Imprint, Thursday, April 1, 2010
Feds plans byelections for April Jacqueline McKoy Lambert senior staff reporter
W
Engineer holds fundraiser for Tanzania mission trip
— Rebecca Sauder Gina Racine
incoming editor - in - chief
E
ngineering student Rebecca Sauder is about to embark on a life-changing mission to Tanzania, but the trip itself is only half of the adventure. Sauder must raise nearly $10,000 to get to Tanzania for June 1. She will be bringing medical equipment donated by hospitals all over North America as well as knowledge obtained during her studies at the University of Waterloo. Sauder graduated with a MASc in chemical engineering in January. “My fourth year project was designing a cost effective, easy-to-use blood electrolyte analyzer. I loved the project and loved the purpose,” says Sauder of her reasons to get on board with Engineering World Health (EWH), the organization that’s hosting the volunteer mission. While in Tanzania, Sauder will work on repairing, calibrating and installing the equipment in an underdeveloped hospital. “I will be learning Swahili so I can teach them how to fix it when it breaks down,” she said. Sauder will be hosting a unique fundraising event to help cover the costs of her trip, which she says include airfare, emergency evacuation insurance, and supplies, among other expenses. “Aside from my airfare to Tanzania, I will have to pay for the transportation and airfare for all the medical equipment, tools and supplies to go to Tanzania,” she explained. “For the first month, I have four hours every morning of Swahili training and will be paying for the medical instrument training as well. Also, the transportation to and from the hospitals, all the food, all of my [accommodations], my immunizations, and medical insurance.” Sauder is inviting yoga and Thai food lovers to attend hot yoga on April 24 and 25 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Bikram Yoga, 663 Belmont Ave. West, in Kitchener. “It’s going to be basically an open house where you can come in and make a minimum $10 donation and also get a Thai meal,” says Sauder. Thai Sun will be sponsoring the event, and all proceeds will go to the volunteer mission. Starting Thursday, yoga enthusiasts can also enter a raffle to win a
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one-year unlimited yoga membership at Bikram Yoga, a $988 value, by buying raffle tickets. Tickets are $10 for one, $50 for seven and $100 for 15, and can be purchased at Bikram Yoga. The winner will be drawn on April 25. “When I graduated from undergrad, I went to New Orleans and basically lived in an evacuated school that they made for volunteers,” Sauder said of her time helping in animal shelters and soup kitchens. “Now I’m graduating and wanting to do it bigger and better.” Sauder says she has learned a lot about herself from backpacking in second and third world countries as well. “You learn who you are and what you want,” she said. “The materialism, the commercialization, I didn’t need it anymore ... Seeing people in disparity and living without anything but still seeing their pride and their dignity and their happiness [shows] we can live with much less as well.” For more information or to sponsor Sauder visit www.ewh.org, or email her directly at RebeccaSauderTanzania@gmail.com editor@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
hile most students are busy preparing for exams, some aspiring student politicians will be vying for eight open seats on Feds Council. The seats available include two seats for AHS, all four seats for science, one seat for Renison undergrads, and one seat for the school of architecture. Unless these seats are filled, these groups will have no representation when the incoming Feds Council begins its one-year term on May 1. A handful of Feds council seats in math, engineering, and environment are filled during a separate spring term election because these faculties have a large proportion of co-op students away during the winter term Feds election period. The seats available during the upcoming by-election, however, are ones which were up for election during the recent Feds election period but had no candidates. One student, Juwairyah Khalid, had been a candidate for the Renison seat at the start of the February Feds elections, but withdrew her candidacy during the election period.
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If these seats remain unfilled after this byelection, another set of byelections will likely be held during Fall term, when the largest proportion of students in these constituencies will be on campus.
Nomination forms — available on the Feds website at vote.feds. ca — must be submitted to the Feds office by 4 p.m. on Thursday, April 1. Candidates must attend an all-candidates meeting on the same day at 4 p.m., in SLC 2129. The campaigning period for these seats starts on April 2 at 10 a.m. and continues until April 8 at 4 p.m. As for debates, Feds executive researcher/ assistant Andrew Langille said that until the close of nominations it is difficult to tell in which faculties debates will be held. “At this point there will probably be an election in one faculty,” he said. He also said that it is possible that debates may not be scheduled due to conflicts with exams. Voting days will be held during the
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UW student needs help to educate developing country When I graduated from undergrad, I went to New Orleans and basically lived in an evacuated school that they made for volunteers. Now I’m graduating and wanting to do it bigger and better.
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exam period, from April 9, 2010, at 10 a.m. to April 14 at 10 p.m. Results will most likely be released online on April 15. If these seats remain unfilled after this byelection, another set of by-elections will likely be held during fall term, when the largest proportion of students in these constituencies will be on campus. According to Langille, “In past years the seats open in the Federation of Students winter byelections have been traditionally filled by acclamation. I’ve sought to change this by conducting targeted outreach in the faculties where seats are open.” — with files from Feds and Imprint jmckoy@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Tuition framework extended in provincial budget Paula Trelinska news assistant
T
he Government of Ontario announced the new budget relating to college and university tuition fees on Monday. The new framework will be the same as the old framework which expired earlier this year, it has now been extended for two years. With this framework, tuition increases are compounded yearly, while the average rate cap is 5 per cent. Earlier this year the university’s
board of governors approved the new tuition rates in hopes that the framework would stay the same or similar. The tuition increase did in fact stay within the framework and the university will go ahead with these tuition increases. Following this framework, current students will be paying 4 per cent more per term, while newly admitted students will be paying 4.5 per cent more. Newly admitted students in deregulated programs will pay 8 per cent more while international and graduate students will be paying 3
per cent more. In addition to tuition restrictions, colleges and universities are required to 10 per cent of all additional revenue from tuition fee increases student assistance programs such as bursaries. The provincial government will also invest $6.2 billion more in post secondary education over the next five years. This will be the largest investment in over 40 years. Included in this infusion will be $1.5 billion more invested in student aid. ptrelinska@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Blank resumé? volunteer@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
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Imprint, Thursday, April 1, 2010
Dr. John English wins Shaughnessy Cohen Prize Alicia Mah
Why did you decide to go into politics?
staff reporter
I have always been interested in politics, and I worked in the presidential race of ’68 while I was at Harvard. I then became involved [in Canadian politics] in the mid’70s when Trudeau was prime minister. I had not grown up in a Liberal family, they were Conservative, but I had been attracted to the direction that Pearson was going. After the Liberals lost in 1984, I didn’t like the way the country was going. In ’87 I decided that I’d give it a try.
R
etired UW Prof. John English recently spoke to Imprint about his career in writing, politics, and teaching. Just Watch Me: The Life of Pierre Elliott Trudeau, 1968– 2000, has won English the 2009-2010 Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for excellence in political writing. This is just the latest highlight in his career, which includes writing multiple works of non-fiction, serving as an MP for Kitchener, and teaching history at UW. Imprint sat down with English for one final history lesson as we bid farewell to this professor. Tell me about your career so far.
I went to UW in the ’60s, for a bachelor, then to Harvard for my master and doctorate degrees. I came back to UW to teach in 1971. I taught consistently throughout my career. I ran for Parliament in 1988 and lost, then ran in ’93 and won. I was an MP for Kitchener for four years, then left politics and went back to teaching. In 2002, I went on partial leave from the university to set up the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) and was there until 2009. Now, I am retired from CIGI and a Professor Emeritus at UW. Why did you decide to go into political writing?
Courtesy k-ideas via Flickr
The author of Just Watch Me: The Life of Pierre Elliot Trudeau, 1968 - 2000, John English, won the 2009-2010 Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for excellence in political writing for his work, a highlight in his career.
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What is the message that you want readers to take from your books?
In the case of Pearson and Trudeau, these are very significant figures who shaped our country. What I want to accomplish [by writing these] books is [imparting] some understanding of how these individuals shaped the reality of Canada. As in, what kind of influence they had on Canada, their ideas about the nation, and the interaction between their own character and the circumstances in which they lived. Azra Premji / Alim Khamisa
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I had written a biography of Lester Pearson in the 1980s, by working on a collection of his papers [private letters]. So much of Canadian foreign policy was impacted by Pearson. That biography came out in 1989. When Trudeau died in 2000, a year later the executor [of the estate] asked me whether I would do the same thing for Trudeau. Trudeau entered politics very late and I didn’t know whether he had any papers at all. It turned out he did, and they were very extensive, far more extensive than Pearson. I started writing [the Trudeau series] in 2002.
reporters
Dust storms in China causing disruptions across Asia
Springtime brings much more than just spring rain in China. For many decades the notorious dust storms originating from northern parts of China have been sweeping across countries in Asia causing widespread respiratory illnesses, low visibility for drivers and disruption of day-to-day life as governments try to take precautions which sometimes include the closing of schools. According to NASA, who has been monitoring these large yellow dust storms on a yearly basis, more than 270 million people in 16 provinces in China were affected during this year’s menacing storms. Dust clouds forming from these storms reached as far as the Continental United States this March, persisting over many areas including in particular, the city of Denver. Eroding of the land due to overuse of farming and grazing in northern China has left scientists very worried. More than 900 square miles of farmland is blown away each year by seasonal winds and according to Lester Brown, president of the Earth Policy Institute in Washington, D.C., “if they’re losing that much, then there is several times that area in various stages of deterioration.
Tell me more about your days as an MP.
The biggest issue was the deficit. I worked on that fairly closely with [Paul] Martin. I also worked on the referendum, as I was the parliamentary secretary to the privy council. I think it was a good time to be a MP. It helped me to write the Trudeau book. I really know how parliament works. How did your days as an MP impact your teaching?
From the teaching evaluations I got back, I noticed that some had written down that I was a former politician. Mostly it was a very positive thing, but in some cases they accused me of having a Liberal bias, although I don’t think I do. I don’t think [my political experience] affected [my teaching] very much. What kind of courses did you teach?
I taught undergraduate courses about Canadian history, biography, war, and Canadian foreign politics. I also taught graduate seminars, and tried to correlate them with what I was working on at the time. What is in the future for you, career-wise?
I have a contract with the publishers of the first two [Trudeau] books for another book, and I am sorting out what the book will be about. I decided not to do it on the subject of Trudeau, nor biographical. It will be something rather different. I am also giving the Goodman lectures at the University of Western Ontario. They’re normally [made into] a book as well. I am trying to think of a subject for that. Maybe it will be about leadership looking through the eyes of prime ministers. Or alternatively, taking a look at equality in the Anglo-American democracy. amah@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Losing it and abandoning it are sort of the final stages before it becomes desert.”
memory of 64GB.
iPad in stores soon
A new report commissioned by the Toronto Board of Trade has made the average person’s commute time in the city a hot topic. According to new findings in the report, Toronto placed dead last in terms of average commute times among 19 other urban centres, with an average commute time of 80 minutes. Toronto beat out Los Angeles, Barcelona, London, New York, Montreal and many other heavily populated cities for the worst commute time for both drivers and public-transit riders alike. This report comes just a week after the provincial government’s announcement to delay $4 billion in spending to expand the rapidtransit network in the GTA, in an effort to reduce the current deficit. The expansion would have seen rapid-transit extend into one of Ontario’s fastest growing areas of York Region. The expansion project was still heavily underfunded, but transit expansion will surely be a top priority in the coming years, especially after these recent findings.
Are you an Apple fan who has been excitedly awaiting the release of the iPad? This Saturday, April 3 marks the official release of the iPad in retail stores in the United States. Apple’s newest tablet device is expected to become available in Canada, Europe, Asia and Australia in late April. The iPad is about a half inch thick with a multi-touch 9.7 inch screen that will allow you to surf the net, check your email, play games, listen to music, read books, and use more than the 100,000 current iPhone apps which are growing in number each day. It will be available in both a WiFi version (to be released first) and a 3G model which will be available later in April. It also features 10 hours of battery life and weighs only 1.5 pounds, but according to some technology critics, a lack of a camera (important for video chat) and the iPad’s inability to run more than one app at a time and its inability to run videos based on Adobe’s Flash software may make it somewhat disappointing to those expecting a “do-it-all” device. Starting at $499 for the lowest model, the iPad will sell for as much as $899 for models featuring both WiFi + 3G and the maximum possible internal
19-city survey places Toronto last for commuter times
— with files from The Star, The Globe and Mail, The National Post, National Georgraphic News, BBC News, The New York Times, and CBC News.
News
RETHINKing
Keriece Harris staff reporter
leadership and innovation
University of Regina professors scrutinize “Project Hero”
paula trelinska
Joseph Facca, director of hardware qualification and diagnostic for AMD, answered student questions during his IEEE RETHINK presentation. Paula Trelinska news assistant
T
he University of Waterloo branch of the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) brought together some of the region’s top management executives for the RETHINK Modern Leadership and Innovation event that took place from Tuesday to Thursday this week. The student group is part of the IEEE, one of the world’s largest technical professional associations. UW’s chapter is just one of 1,150 student branches worldwide. Their goal is to connect students and others to engineering, technology, and industry by holding various events and competitions. This past week they brought together executives from five international technology companies to discuss how ideas evolve into products in their companies. The speaker to kick off the event was Alfred Spector, vice president of research and special initiatives at Google. Spector, himself an IEEE fellow, spoke to the audience about different opportunities in the industry, as well as how Google is working to innovate within it. “We are an ‘s’ curve of innovation,” he said. At Google there’s, “so much fun and achievement,” he explained. One way in which they’re innovating in the industry is through projects such as Google Labs - a website which demonstrates and tests new Google products. Thanks to the culture of innovation at Google, many successful Google products start this way, maybe even Gmail, said Spector. Much of their success is because of “talented people who want to change the world through our computer systems,” he said. He even joked about YouTube captioning and finding related videos. “Detecting love is still tricky for computers,” Spector said. Following in the same sort of technology sphere, the second group to speak was from
Advanced Micro Devices, (AMD). Joseph Facca, the director of hardware qualification and diagnostic, and Terry Laviolette, the senior director of software development, spoke about the development process. They follow what they call “rapid pace product innovation,” meaning they are constantly developing and working toward customer demands. On average, they say, the consumer expects a new graphics card every year; however, it takes them three to four years to innovate. This means that they are not only constantly developing new products for the next generation, their engineers need to work on several generations of products at once, solving problems with the current generation while working on the next. They are driven by consumer demand, said Laviolette, they create products that make sense for consumers. An example of this, said Facca, is the wattage in the devices they create. He asked if anyone knew how many watts your home wiring could support, “I did the math last night, I went on Wikipedia,” he joked. AMD could create graphics cards that use up 450 watts, but combine that with an advanced monitor and other computer features and you’re using more than the 1,500 watts in your home, he explained. Speakers from both companies said they are driven by talented individuals, and especially students from places such as the University of Waterloo. The rest of the week included speakers such as Dr. Paul Smith, lab manager of materials synthesis and characterization at Xerox, Robert Hardt, senior VP of industry at Siemens Canada, and Peter Tang, Phil Arsenault, Ian Cameron, and Gerry Wootton from Automated Tooling Systems. The RETHINK Modern Leadership and Innovation event was free to students and the public and took place throughout the week at Hagey Hall. ptrelinska@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Project Hero, whose name alone is being debated, in essence provides financial aid to children of Canadian Forces personnel who have lost their lives while serving in an active mission. Although individual universities establish the terms and conditions for the scholarship (including value, duration and application process) professors at the University of Regina were still not satisfied. In fact, 16 U of R professors drafted an open letter to U of R President Vianne Timmons stating their concerns. Their concerns included the fact that dependents of fallen soldiers have post-secondary education already paid for under the Children of Deceased Veterans Education Assistance Act. In addition, the program accused of being a glorification of Canadian imperialism in Afghanistan; it’s not the position of the university administration to take a position in favour of this war. Despite the professors’ attempt to provoke discussion on this issue, the decision has been made and U of R is on board for Project Hero. English may reign supreme at U of T starting next semester
Professors of the University of Toronto Scarborough campus were dealt a shocking blow on March 15 when they received messages stating that a majority of the language classes were to be terminated immediately. It was reported that lecturers were informed by their department heads that all Arabic, Tamil, Japanese, Sanskrit, and Latin courses would be cancelled whilst beginner and intermediate French courses and Spanish courses would be suspended in 2011-2012. Professors are in uproar as this declaration came with no warning, leaving many professors without summer jobs or enough time to secure employment. In a response to a UTSC student, Dean and VP Academic Rick Halpern noted that language expansion was a pilot project and would be assessed against other pressing academic needs. In light of this situation, instructors have been gathering student support through a Facebook group called “Save Language Courses @ UTSC” which, at press time, amounted to 872 members. In response, Halpern invited students to a discussion on Monday, March 29, from 12 to 1 p.m. The results of this discussion or further discussion have yet to be reported.
LAST CALL FOR GRAD PHOTOS! See our website to book your appointment www.lifetouchatwaterloo.com “As always, FREE re-takes”
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“White privilege” the new excuse for Queen’s latest racial controversy: Sumo suits
Queen’s University has again, in less than a week, encountered another racial dilemma: Sumo suits. Sumo suits are inflatable body suits that transforms the wearer’s body into that of a stereotypical Japanese sumo wrestler. It is equipped with head gear that imitates the hair style of the sumo wrestler while providing protection. In a bid to raise funds for the food bank, a group within the Alma Mater Society had scheduled to feature two sumo suits in a sumo showdown on March 30. The event quickly came to a halt, however, as complaints rolled in on their Facebook event page about the racist implications of the advertising and how the act itself belittled the sanctity of the Japanese culture. Brandon Sloan, communications officer for the Alma Mater Society, offered ‘white privilege’ as the factor which blinded the student government to this issue. Nevertheless, the Alma Mater Society swiftly put out a letter of apology which, in itself, is questionable in its truancy. FNU of Canada make demands for federal funding
With rumours aflight about possible reinstatement of federal funding, students of the First Nations University of Canada are maintaining their stand that they will not settle for less than the $7.2 million in federal funding previously provided. At stake are all the programs they offer as they are already under funded. Previously, the province had pulled $5 million in funding, followed by the minister for Northern and Indian Affairs, Chuck Strahl, announcing that his department would not fund the school past March 31. But last week (Tuesday), the province announced it had signed a memorandum of understanding with the University of Regina and the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations (FSIN), which would see money flow to FNUniv through the U of R. Furthermore, last Thursday, in a news release issued by Liberal MP Ralph Goodale, it was stated that the federal government has bowed to pressure and is reconsidering its position on FNUniv. In preparation for a possible visit by Strahl, FNUniv students prepared a cheque for $7.2 million to FNUiv and stated that all that is missing is Strahl’s signature.
Campus Watch
Imprint, Thursday, April 1, 2010
— with files from The National Post, The Varsity, Leader Post, and The Province. kharris@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
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News
Seven UW students in the running for a trip to Australia
Imprint, Thursday, April 1, 2010
Recognizing leadership Feds awards leadership skills in University of Waterloo students John Li reporter
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Courtesy Melanie Martins
Melanie Martins, above, is one of seven University of Waterloo students throwing a party to win a trip to Australia. Paula Trelinska news assistant
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ourism Australia and Campus Perks are organizing the VIP Aussie Adventure contest and giving three Canadian students the chance to travel to Australia for 21 days and share their experiences online. Over 60 students from across Canada entered this contest and though it was previously reported that two from the University of Waterloo are in the final 30, there are in fact seven students still in the running. Melanie Martins, Allison Jahr, Matthew Hanselman, Brittney Jordan Nottrodt and Rukshan De Silva, along with Brittany Thordarson and Alyshahm Kara, are also part of the final 30 contestants still eligible to win the trip to Australia. All seven submitted videos and were voted as part of the top 30 finalists. They each held an “Aussie party.” The parties that they held will be judged and this will determine the winners of the competition. Should they win, the students will travel Australia for 21 days and later report on their experiences online. Once they finish this they will have the choice to stay in Australia on the Australia working visa. This will mean they will be able to work and travel for up to one year. ptrelinska@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Have a passion for writing? Email volunteer@ imprint.uwaterloo. ca or join us for production night May 5th, 2010
he Federation of Students held a leadership awards ceremony on Thursday, March 25, to recognize the achievements of Waterloo students who have shown exemplary leadership on-campus and around the community. An annual tradition at the University of Waterloo, the leadership awards recognize 10 student leaders every year. The winners of the award receive a cash prize as well as a certificate of distinction from the Federation of Students. All winners were selected based on nominations, usually from friends or colleagues. The theme of the night was not just based on honouring the 10 student leaders, but also on promoting leadership as a whole. Feridun Hamdullahpur, vice president of academic and provost at the university, was the first speaker of the night. His speech recognized the difficulty of committing to activities that are above and beyond one’s regular duties and responsibilities, and congratulated those that do. “We are learning from your leadership, we are learning from your hard work,” he said. The entire night was divided into four parts. The first part focused on the speech of Sunjay Nath, the keynote speaker for the ceremony. The second part recognized the achievements of the various clubs on campus. The third part gave special mention to the various services offered by Waterloo. Finally, the fourth part honoured the 10 winners of the leadership awards. Keynote speaker
Sunjay Nath, the keynote speaker for the ceremony, held a degree in mathematical engineering, as well as an MBA. Furthermore, he had earned his certified speaking professional designation at age 25, making him the youngest Canadian to receive the designation. During his speech, Nath emphasized the importance of passion in leadership. Nath believes that a leader must have passion and, in order to have passion, a leader must have a goal or a vision. “Leadership is about seeing your vision, seeing what’s important to you, and going after it, at whatever cost, even though people around you think you’re nuts,” he said. Nath stated that the ability to see one’s vision and the willingness to take action in order to reach it is essential to becoming a good leader. Nath also pointed out that, in order to reach a goal, it is important for a person to get rid of the negative attitudes that interfere with one’s pursuit of the goal. Nath called this negative attitude a “chife.” “Life is what you choose, chife is what you lose,” Nath said. “Have the right attitude, and literally nothing can stop you.” Club awards
After the keynote speech, Sarah Cook, VP internal of Feds, presented the clubs and services awards. Cook recognized 10 unique clubs for their achievements on campus: African Students Association, the Waterloo Space Society, Pakistani Students Association, DJ Club, Photography Club, Waterloo SOS, Polish Students Association, Association of Caribbean Students, Film Creators’ Club, and FOCUS were all given awards for their positive
impacts on campus, and their ability to unite members of a common interest to foster a positive community experience. Services awards
Feds services are run because many students feel that the university does not satisfy all the needs of students. These services are run completely by volunteers. The Feds services, and all the volunteers that contribute to its success, were recognized at the awards ceremony. Feds currently runs eight services, all of which were honoured during the awards ceremony. Campus Response Team, Women’s Centre, UWSP, GLOW, International Students’ Connection, UW Food Bank, the Student Refugee Program, and Off-Campus Dons were all invited on stage. Gratitude was expressed to all the volunteers who helped make these services a success. “We definitely really appreciate all our volunteers,” said one of the co-ordinators of the Campus Response Team. “They’re truly amazing people.” Leadership awards
Justin Williams, VP Education of Feds, was the presenter for the leadership awards. The leaders were evaluated based on the quality of their leadership and their impact on the campus and the community at large. Williams praised the diversity of the winners, saying that the students all won for different and unique reasons. “I don’t think there is one alike,” he said. “That was probably one of the best things about it.” The following students won the 2010 Feds leadership award: Jeffrey Baer: Jeffrey Baer is currently the president of Waterloo SOS. He was also a student counsellor. His nominator praised his friendliness when acting as a leader. “I’ve never felt like Jeffrey is a president, but more like a friend,” they said. “When people feel they’re working with a friend, they become part of a team.” Brittany Boilard: Brittany Boilard is on the Arts Endowment Fund, and served as a member of the board of directors for the Federation of Swtudents. Her nominator highlighted her dedication and determination. “She always pulls through, and I can always count on her to finish the task on hand,” they said. Cat Hay: Cat Hay was president of the Engineering Society last year, as well as serving as director. Her nominator said that she genuinely cares for everyone around her. “When the goal is accomplished, a leader has done their job by allowing you to feel like you accomplished the goal by yourself,” they said. “Not only does Cat do this, but she does it with a smile.” Kieng Iv: Kieng Iv is very active in the school of Accounting and Finance as a peer leader, an ambassador, and OHD workshop facilitator. His nominator feels that Kieng’s dedication in seeking out opportunities to contribute sets him apart from his peers. “Kieng thinks proudly about his contributions to UW and takes his developing leadership skills to community-wide events,” they said. Anna Katsios: Anna Katsios is a student counsellor representing the School of Architecture, as well as being a member of the internal administrations committee. Her nominator praised her for her work in strengthening the bond
between the main campus and the school of architecture. Diane Kishi: Diane Kishi is the president of the AHS Undergrad Members, and is VP of the Christian Fellowship. Her nominator said that she is an entrepreneur with innovative ideas who genuinely loves to help others. “She exemplifies the qualities of a Waterloo student.” Christine Lu: Christine Lu has taken on roles such as Ontario president of IMPACT, and was the president of CASA. Her nominator praised her willingness to help mentor younger students. “Christine exhibited the important quality of mentoring young individuals to help them reach their potential.” Theresa Power: Theresa Power has been a residence life don, the captain of the UW cheerleading team, and a member of the faculty orientation committee for the math faculty. Theresa’s nominator acknowledged that Theresa wanted everyone to get involved with the university, so that their university experience is fulfilling. Jay Shah: Jay Shah has been an engineering senator, residence life don, and endowment fund director. His nominator highlighted his contributions to the engineering community, and the positive effects it had. “Not only does he excel [at] the positions that he takes on,” his nominator said. “He goes above and beyond the role and puts the extra effort and dedication to make sure he does his absolute best.” Hayden Tay: Hayden Tay has been a residence life don, residence council vicepresident, and newly-elected VP Internal of the Science Society. His nominator acknowledged his exemplary leadership abilities and his ability to foster a strong sense of community. “Hayden Tay is a superhero.” Afterthought
This ceremony has certainly highlighted many students who are working towards making the university a better place. The award was an honour to many winners, as well as a reminder to continue working hard in the future to improve student life. “It is an honour to be recognized by Feds for leadership contributions to UW,” said Jeffrey Baer, while remarking on the success of Students Offering Support. “I feel like the award truly belongs to all the members of SOS who have helped make our organization so successful this year.” “I think this award really helps to encourage both the winners and others to keep at what they are doing and help improve student life at Waterloo,” said Hayden Tay. “For me, the biggest part of leadership is to be able to encourage others to get involved and be passionate about something.” The ceremony also shined a new light on what leadership actually means. Sunjay Nath, the keynote speaker, defined it as having a strong sense of passion and being able to act on it. Many award winners had similar ideas. Kieng Iv believed that the award winners can be described as “students who are not afraid to be different in order to make positive changes to their community.” “Without leadership, the world would be stagnant,” said Jeffrey Baer. “It takes determined leaders to make progress in any issues, from minor improvements on campus to tackling major global problems.”
Opinion
Imprint, Thursday, April 1, 2010 opinion@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
IMPRINT The University of Waterloo’s official student newspaper
No fear
Thursday, April 1, 2010 Vol. 32, No. 33
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
I was editor-in-chief for a year because I didn’t let me scare myself out of it
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ere’s something I’m willing to admit now: when I chose to become Imprint’s next EIC, I was terrified. Absolutely. Fucking. Terrified. Let me put you in the frame of mind I was in: I had left a skill-less job at RIM, and was working a skill-less job at Subway. I was making sandwiches for minimum wage. I had already secured better employment for the summer — I was supposed to work for Engineering Science Quest. But that job was safe. And then there was this. Editor-in-chief. I have another dirty little secret I’ve kept this entire year: when I applied to be the editor-inchief, I never intended to actually get the job. I applied because I wanted the next editor of Imprint to be “at least as good as I am.” There were reasons I didn’t plan my life around becoming EIC (I’d seen other people make such plans, then not become EIC — it destroyed them) but most of these reasons weren’t very good. Many of those reasons were based on fears and insecurities. In the end, it turned out that I was the most qualified candidate. Or so I was told, anyway — I didn’t quite believe it. I thought that maybe they had made a mistake. But as a good friend said to me, “I don’t think you have to worry about having fooled the hiring committee into believing you’re competent.” This all reflects a mistake I made — I was undervaluing myself. I spent a long time thinking and enumerating the reasons for and against becoming editor-inchief. I had a lot of reasons to go for it. Unlike making sandwiches or inspecting bits of plastic, journalism is something I’d be happy to do until I die. All the reasons I had against being editorin-chief were based on fear. Fear that I would lose the already small volunteer base. Fear that I could not get any story leads. Fear I wouldn’t be
Next staff meeting: Thursday April 1, 2010 12:30 p.m. Next board of directors meeting: TBA.
any good at anything. And then I decided all those reasons were stupid, and I accepted the position. That’s the point I’m trying to get to here. You can’t not do something just because of fear. You need to (as journalist Jan Wong once said) “flex your boldness muscle”, not fantasize about ways you can cock things up. Confidence. The lesson I’ve learned, and had reinforced again and again, is that there is no correlation between confidence and actual ability. And that’s the thing. It’s statistically likely that there are people reading this who are confident, but are absolute idiots. That’s okay — there’s little to be done about that. What concerns me are the people who are over-capable but under-confident. You. The world needs you. Let go of your fears. When I was transitioning in, I told the thenoutgoing editor-in-chief Maggie Clark, “Whether I succeed or fail, I will definitely grow in this role.” She responded, “What are you talking about? You are going to succeed. And, you are going to fail.” She was right. For instance, I remember in the very first paper I put out, I misspelled “Quandary.” After that, I vowed never to misspell anything in a headline again. And I never did. Nope, not once. Just ask Ian Kasper. Seriously though, the past year has not been completely free of fail, on my part. But there have been a lot of successes. When I started there was a “volunteer recession”, but now the office is full of life, all the time — we have better
hours than Tim Hortons. Our coverage in many areas — of UW athletics, of arts in the city, of the Feds election — has been outstanding. And though “Quandry” was not the last misspelling to appear in a headline, the date on the cover has always been correct. I can say in all honesty that I am proud of my past year personally, I am proud of the newspaper, and I am proud of Imprint’s volunteers. I think I’ve gotten lucky, in a sense. Though sometimes I drag my feet in actually making personal decisions, I do eventually cast off my fears and make the right one. I grew a lot in a year here, an opportunity I had because I didn’t cave to fear and make the “safe” choice. The more adventurous decision challenged me more and made me a better person. Meanwhile, in some parallel universe, I’m still making sandwiches for minimum wage. I’m glad I’m not that guy. We all need to overcome fears to make risky decisions. Apply to that challenging graduate program. Try and sell that book you’ve been working on. Audition. Take the job that scares you a little. Go for the girl. This is the final piece of advice I’ll give you here: when you have to make a difficult choice, put aside the fears you have. Put yourself in a position where you must make difficult choices. Make a decision, choose the option which most terrifies you, and own it.
Better safe than sorry
Graphics Team Alcina Wong, Rebecca Chung 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 Thursday during fall and winter terms, and every second Thursday 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.
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You can’t not do something just because of fear. You need to (as journalist Jan Wong once said) “flex your boldness muscle”, not fantasize about ways you can cock things up.
editor@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
A
fter the recent bombings in the subway stations in Moscow, and even something as incredibly local as the robbery that occurred on campus, I really question the word “safe.” As an individual living in what some call the safest country in the world, I have never personally been involved in a situation where I was unsafe. I have never been robbed, never been assaulted, never been threatened by another person, and believe me, I have lived in some of the busiest and most “unsafe” areas in my former residences. I suppose there were times when I felt unsafe. But feeling unsafe and being unsafe are two different things entirely. One afternoon when I was leaving my apartment to pick up a friend, a very large man approached my car window just after I got in and was about to turn it on. When I rolled down my window an inch and asked “Can I help you?”, he asked if I had any spare change.
Most would agree that was pretty harmless, but it scared me to death. We all know how frequently bank robberies, home invasions and other life-threatening crimes happen, but, until we are directly involved, we quickly forget the impact they have. When a fear-inducing incident does occur, we are only affected by it immediately afterwards; the fear does wear off. It’s interesting, though, how large-scale incidents that threaten our safety (i.e. the bombing in Moscow) tend to stick around a little longer and can quickly cause a ripple effect. Subway trains in New York City tightened their security systems following the aftermath of the bombings on Monday. Ripple. Torontonians, I’m sure, took extra precaution whilst traveling on the TTC this week. Ripple, ripple. Even after the robbery on campus last week, I was glad not to be wandering around the pathways of UW alone in the dark.
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What makes us feel safe in Canada is surely very different than what makes residents in Moscow feel safe, even more so now.
Ripple, ripple, ripple. I guess an important question to ask after every major national crisis is why can’t we maintain a higher level of security on a consistent basis as a preventative measure as opposed to merely using an irregular amount of caution after the fact? I know it’s impossible to predict events like the robbery that happened on campus, and I’m sure that UWP is normally a very safe place to live, but was there something that could have done to prevent what happened? It’s obvious that the word “safe” has a working definition
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Incoming editor-in-chief, Gina Racine editor@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Outgoing EIC, Michael L. Davenport editor@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
editor@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
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Student Life Centre, Room 1116 University of Waterloo Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1 P: 519.888.4048 F: 519.884.7800 http://imprint.uwaterloo.ca
that changes based on geographical region. What makes us feel safe in Canada is surely very different than what makes residents in Moscow feel safe, even more so now. Two female suicide bombers killed at least 38 people on packed Moscow subway trains on March 29. Sixty-four others were injured (and counting). It will take a long time for residents’ minds to feel any sort of ease, let alone comfort. How will students, and those living near campus, recover after the robbery? Has the University of Waterloo taken enough steps to reassure our safety? Only time will tell.
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Opinion
Imprint, Thursday, April 1, 2010
ReSHAPEing Waterloo mrowley@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Perhaps they should recognize that keeping students and residents apart will not dissolve tensions, but rather reinforce the idea of “two solitudes.” Perhaps they should be thinking of new, innovative living spaces that are more integrated into communities. What is needed is not necessarily a student residence, but a community residence. The demand for social housing in Waterloo is proven, but very few areas are willing to see it built in their backyards. Students, however, may feel differently. Couldn’t our school involve planning, social work, and environment students in the creation of a new kind of living space which incorporates housing, public space, and small businesses? One needn’t look far to find a model for this sort of development. In Europe, university campuses have been dealing with space constraints for centuries. Their solution is to build their residences away from their main faculty buildings, connecting them with dedicated, efficient public transit, and relying on local businesses to provide some of their services. In Waterloo, we could take this one step further and create housing
developments that incorporate space not only for students, but also for recent graduates, new Canadians, and the working poor. This would provide a critical mass of people needed for effective delivery of mass transit and social services (such as English classes, provision of computers, and internet access). It would also aid in the sustainable development of small businesses (such as pubs, cafés, school supply stores, etc.) and public spaces (reading rooms, study areas, and desk-shares). The possibility of this kind of development is not in question; look at any major European city and you will see an agglomeration of these “hubs.” It is desirable not in question either. By mixing people of different socioeconomic backgrounds, and giving them a sense of common identity, strong, sustainable communities can be developed. The idea that it would be profitable is not doubtful either. One need only plant the seeds of this development and allow other developers to get in on the game. Buying up land around these sites would be a very shrewd investment, as these new community and cultural hubs would become sought-
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In Waterloo, we could take this one step further and create housing developments that incorporate space not only for students, but also for recent graduates, new Canadians, and the working poor.
after places to live. Placing some of the burden of student services on outside companies would drive down prices (as firms compete) and absolve the university of some of its present costs. These businesses would not just have access to students, as they presently do on campus, but a whole range of people living in the communities. So long as the school commits to keeping rent low, the problem of gentrification displacing residents need not enter into the picture. The ultimate problem is that the university is applying old models to new problems. The suburban sprawl that has characterized Waterloo’s development is beginning to show its weaknesses, but our leaders are reacting by trying to apply the
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B
y now, many of you will have heard about the student group ReSHAPE — Redefining Student Housing Attitudes and Perceptions Everywhere. Their goal is noble — to get people within the broader Waterloo community to reconceive student residences as something other than “ghettoes” to be avoided or a problem to be fixed. This question is, to a certain degree, political — the rhetoric of local leaders has a huge effect on these perceptions. However, as I hate politics, I’d like to present an alternative. Maybe it isn’t the perceptions of residents that need to change first; perhaps the university needs to reconsider its approach to student housing before any inroads can be made. Why should students be forced to choose between homogenous, carefully controlled environments on campus, and absentee landlords and unfriendly neighbours off campus? Perhaps student residences need to be recast as something more. Perhaps the university should recognize that the number of students is not going to decline anytime soon, nor are housing prices in the city.
same old models of building more residences and getting bogged down with higher support costs. These developments isolate students from their communities and build walls between community members. Perhaps the school’s finances are not in the best shape presently, but times of economic uncertainty are often the ones in which it is most expedient to act. What is certain is that UW’s present course is unsustainable, and that something needs to happen quickly. A new kind of residence would provide a window of opportunity for Waterloo to separate itself again from the herd of other institutions, and perhaps provide a model for other communities looking to reshape themselves.
Opinion
Imprint, Thursday, April 1, 2010
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Bringing looney back eaboyeji@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
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ow I don’t usually write columns like this but, for all my ranting on this space, I should be able to do one thing for those condemned to my weekly offensives: answer questions. I receive a lot of questions from the people who read my column every week but perhaps the most common is a variation of “why are you here?” Seeing how much I scream myself hoarse about how the school is not currently serving, as it should, talented motivated students who want more than another traditional education, you would think I would have sooner packed my bags and gone to a school that I believed better lived up to the standard.
As an online commenter Benjamin eloquently expressed the other day: “If you believe that there are other countries that offer better education, why are you here?” It is a fair sentiment. Perhaps it makes no sense for me to expect you to read my weekly invectives if an effortless transfer would cure me of my grieves. So really, why am I here? In truth, in my senior year of high school, I never considered going to school in Canada. Like most young people from my country, I had my eyes set on “le rêve américain”: Ivy League edition. It was simple: attend an Ivy League school on full financial aid; meet rich American blonde in university; marry her,
become a citizen and then move the entire clan over after a few years. We live happily ever after. I came close to doing all of that — or at least the first few parts. It took a school as unconventionally Canadian as Waterloo to grab my attention. When I read about this young Canadian school situated in the midst of the BlackBerry empire, it wasn’t the “microsoftesque” BlackBerry story that inspired me to come here. It was its history of globally acclaimed lunacy. This school, I read, had set goofy Guinness World Records with 500-foot submarine sandwiches and 1,334 people doing the bird
dance together on village greens. Vancouver’s winter Olympics has nothing on this school’s spirit. As early as 1961, Waterloo students were already making an Olympic style relay run from Waterloo to Hamilton, carrying a black and gold football, to promote a UW vs. McMaster football game. With no journalism program, this school’s newspaper went from being a radical rabblerouser, kicked out of the Canadian University Press for being “too communist,” to operating one of Canada’s largest campus papers with a circulation of 12,000 and a six figure operating budget in 30 years. Engineering students here put their book
knowledge to work in practical engineering jokes they routinely plague their hosts with. Amazingly, unlike those dinosaur Ivies I once admired, Waterloo’s streak of looney need not be backed by an endless reservoir of cash for students every wimp. Our youthful craze was born of the understanding that we have nothing to lose by doing things differently. Today, I wonder if Waterloo is the same school. I doubt it. My fascinating fixation with the famous “Looney Loo” has been replaced with an ironically drab laser coloured “imaging” project we call U-Dub. So I write — because I want my Looney Loo back.
Not an analogy: Israel and the crime of apartheid Bogdan Caradima 2b environmental science
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eading Joshua Samuel’s arguments against the use of the term “apartheid” in describing the situation between Israelis and Palestinians, I am forced to consider the euphemism of “systematic racial segregation.” Surely, Mr Samuel, you have no objections with my terminology now, given that that is precisely what is happening in the occupied territories. Yet, it seems that there are some people who would have me arrested for saying such things, citing it as hate speech despite its virtue of being true. The Ontario MPPs that Mr. Samuel referred to have a problem with the term because “[apartheid] was only ever applied in one historical case and remains applicable only
to that one period of South African history.” The underlying logic used to oppose the term not only ignores matters of historical record, but it rationalizes its opposition to the term by considering “apartheid” to be under some sort of copyright in terms of time and place. This rationale, the equivalent of arresting someone for calling any genocide a “holocaust,” is apparently what is used to justify the proposed amendment of free speech laws in Canada. If my explanation was not immediately clear, I would point out that Palestinians, Israelis, academics and solidarity activists are not arguing that the Israeli apartheid is the exact same as the South African apartheid. The piece “Not an Analogy: Israel and the Crime of Apartheid” by HazemJamjoum of the Badil Resource Centre for Palestinian
Residency and Refugee Rights is an excellent comparison of these two institutions. In this piece, Jamjoum argues that while points of similarity and difference between apartheid South Africa and Israeli apartheid are outlined with great detail by prominent scholars and solidarity activists, apartheid is a political and legal system that could be practised by any state. He moves on to point out that even with regards to the legal definition of apartheid, the 1973 adoption of the International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid by the UN General Assembly clearly explained that the definition of the crime of apartheid was not limited to the case and borders of South Africa. In other words, there is no basis for the argument that apartheid refers exclusively to a par-
substituting those of others for your own. In closing, I have three remaining points that I will make quickly. First, I would encourage students to carefully read the article “Not an Analogy: Israel and the Crime of Apartheid” as well as other opinions voiced on the use of the term “apartheid.” Secondly, I would urge students who are concerned about the Israeli apartheid or about free speech in general to write to their MP, either via electronic or paper mail. I have personally written to the Ontario MP Peter Baird using his email address: braidp1@parl.gc.ca Lastly, I would like to thank Imprint for their graciousness and patience in facilitating the various articles and debates on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Thank you. This conversation is important.
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ticular government, period of rule, or moment in history. Nevertheless this insidious argument, in complete defiance of international legal findings and consensus, is precisely what Ontario MPPs and Joshua Samuels are proposing to the Canadian public. This dangerous move to suppress free speech must be stopped. The arguments that are put forward in favour of it are not only deliberately misleading, they wilfully deny matters of historical record and international consensus on matters of law. Mr. Samuels, I would like to remind you that when you put forward future arguments, do try to provide your own reasoning rather than quoting Ontario legislators to support your case with appeals to authority. Of course, I happen to know exactly why you chose not to put forward any meaningful argument, instead
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Opinion
Imprint, Thursday, April 1, 2010
Community Editorials
Discrimination at Huether? Jenny Kirby 2b psychology and film studies at Laurier
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n episode of discrimination was experienced last night and because the person who chose to act outright homophobic is a prominent figure in the KW region (Sonia Adly, owner of the Huether Hotel), we thought it important to get this message out there to as many people as possible.
On Monday evening, my girlfriend and I experienced an episode of blatant homophobia from the owner of Café 1842. As we were getting ready to leave, we exchanged a short kiss and suddenly heard Adly exclaim “What’s going on here!?” She walked over to us and angrily said, “Stop that — that’s enough. This isn’t the place for that!” She was so loud that the whole café stopped and stared as it was made clear that anyone LBGT is not wel-
come. We have witnessed much more than an innocent kiss between heterosexual couples in the Huether establishment with no public scorn from the owner, so evidently it’s a “gay problem.” Ironic since their website motto exclaims the Huether offers “something for everyone.” Personally, we are boycotting the Huether and recommend that those in support of equality and fighting discrimination also choose alternative
prejudice-free establishments (there are tons including, but not limited to, Coffee Culture, Princess, Seven Shores, Williams, Little Bean Coffee Bar, and Matter of Taste). This is not the first case of outrageous bigotry on the part of the Huether owners and it is time we take a stand. It is not often that you can put a face to homophobia and make it well known. Fo r m o r e i n f o a n d t o help join the fight against
homophobia in KW, visit the Facebook group “Taking Action Against Homophobia in Waterloo Region.” Editor’s Note: Imprint followed up the letter and contacted Barney Adly, the son of Sonia Adly, and one of the managers at Huether Hotel. He denied the allegation saying they would have intervened the public display of affection even if it was not a homosexual couple. He further explained that Café 1842 is a family restaurant.
Cheerleading — the not so ugly truth Katrina Hawes 2b arts and business/ speech communications
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’m a cheerleader on the varsity team here at UW and, for the record, I don’t have pompoms or a perma-grin, and the males on my team have perfectly average levels of testosterone — but those aren’t the only incorrect stereotypes that cheerleaders everywhere face. Although UW athletics recognizes cheerleading as a varsity club, there are a lot of people who still assume it doesn’t require much athleticism. I’ve talked to several people who have said “I can do that” but they aren’t willing to prove it, as if trying for
five minutes would make them look bad. Or maybe it’s fear of potential criticism from others, spoken out of their ignorance to what competitive cheerleaders do, that holds people back. Competitive cheerleading isn’t something to make fun of. It requires a lot of hard work, athleticism, and dedication, so let’s kick the negative stereotypes to the curb by explaining exactly what it is that cheerleaders do, shall we? To be clear, I’m not discussing professional cheerleading squads like the one for the Dallas Cowboys here. Those are dance teams hired to entertain middle-aged men at football games. Competitive cheerleading teams, like the team here at
UW, are quite different; they are best described as a cross between Cirque Du Soleil and competitive gymnastics. These teams are groups of individuals that combine their strength, acrobatic skills, and teamwork in order to create a routine. These routines, composed of the hardest skills which the team can perform, aren’t designed for entertainment; they are made to compete and win at regional, provincial, national, and international competitions. One of the most significant routine components in competitive cheerleading is stunting. Imagine the co-ordination it takes to build a human pyramid standing three people high in about
eight seconds. Consider the skill required to toss someone 20 feet in the air as they flip and twist like a half pipe snowboarder, and then catching them. Imagine the guts that it takes to be the one being thrown with only a few people between you and the ground. Finally, think about the strength required to throw a girl from the ground to well above your head, catching and holding her by her feet in one hand. That’s what we call stunting! Tumbling (what gymnasts do) is another big part of what we do. If you think you can jump straight up, do a backwards somersault in the air and land on your feet, you might just stand a chance at tryouts.
We’re proud to represent the University of Waterloo at competitions, on the side lines, and through special events. When you see us, enjoy the show and have some fun with it; we love it when people participate. But remember that what we do isn’t easy; it takes a lot of training and practice as well as endurance, flexibility, coordination, and strength. If you think you have the athletic ability required to be a cheerleader, or if you’re one of those people who look at what we do and say “I can do that,” then prove it. You’re more than welcome to come and give it a shot upstairs in Blue North of PAC on April 1 from 7 p.m. - 10 p.m., but leave your doubts, stereotypes, and pride at the door.
the pro-euthanasia private members bill Ashley Stock 4a political science/peace and conflict studies
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iss, fuck, hell, damn, etc. Words that people in formal settings consider taboo. I have another one: euthanasia. Euthanasia has other names: mercy killing, assisted suicide, and putting down/to sleep/out of their misery. It is a practice that is okay to perform on your sick dog but not on terminal people who ask nicely. From the Greek “eu” meaning “good” and “thanatos” meaning “death,” euthanasia is defined as the act or practice of allowing a hopelessly sick or injured patient to die by taking less than complete medical measures to prolong life. On March 16, 2010, Bloc Québécois MP Francine Lalonde reopened the debate in Ottawa with the hope of amending the Canadian Criminal Code and legalizing physician-assisted suicide. The 69-year old MP who has battled cancer says people should be able to choose when and how they die; she wants terminal patients to be able to die with dignity. This subject is just as controversial as it is loaded. I believe that keeping euthanasia illegal has little to do with a slippery slope and sudden spikes in hospital deaths from indictive medical professionals. People fear death and deal with it via the ostrich strategy (“if I don’t talk about it, it doesn’t exist”). The problem is even if you stick your face in the dirt, your ass is still sticking up in the air waiting to be bitten. It seems like every day there is a new drug that, if taken daily with meals, will help you live to 500. Death has been constructed as something that happens to the old, feeble, and
vulnerable. So if we’re young (which includes those in their 40s and 50s) and reasonably healthy, then we don’t have to talk about it because it won’t happen. Lalonde said in her parliamentary address, “I believe medicine will have to inevitably work towards a template for end-of-life care and for euthanasia.” I agree. People have a hard time relinquishing control. Death and dying signify loss of control. Does submitting to physician-assisted suicide give you more control? No. Ultimately, you still have no control over the outcome. You still die. The only change is how and when. The controversy probably stemmed from people with an internal locus of control. The concept is a polarity; people with an internal locus of control believe that their decisions affect the outcome of their lives. Conversely, external control people believe that they are guided by fate (ex. God). Many Jehovah’s Witnesses, for example, will not accept blood transfusions or life-saving surgeries and instead submit themselves to divine intervention. Is euthanasia murder? How can we know that terminal patients have the cognizance to choose death over treatment? Is it possible for someone in intolerable pain to rise out of a morphine induced haze and lucidly request death? Euthanasia is not murder. Murder occurrs when the victim had no intention of dying. There is a difference between administering a fierce stabbing and not providing treatment. I think politicians are worried about how to determine when someone intended to die. Dead men tell no tales; you only have the word of the attending physician.
Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance are the commonly described stages that the dying experience. Monitoring these stages is the best way of knowing if a person is capable of making the decision to die. When pain is a factor there is a huge gray area and room for error. How do we know when someone is crying out in desperation or if they are really asking for the sweet embrace of death? It’s a very personal experience with which few are familiar. I do not like to correlate euthanasia and “dying with dignity.” Is there such a thing? When I think of degeneration to the point of contemplating suicide, perfectly made-up amnesia patients from General Hospital don’t come to mind. Dignity is defined as “being worthy of esteem or respect.” Terminal illness gradually removes all of the things associated with dignity; the ability to maintain one’s own hygiene and eating, moving and speaking, independently. People don’t typically respect the condition of the terminally ill, they feel sorry for them. Decriminalizing euthanasia would not be as simple as changing written law. It would have to be a highly institutionalized process. The patient, physician, and witnesses would have to sign legal documentation. The process of euthanizing the patient would need to be witnessed, whether the act was independent or physician-assisted. Should people be allowed to choose and be assisted with death? Yes. The reality is that it already happens. Reality doesn’t go away just because society refuses to talk about it. The challenge will be finding doctors to openly apply for these positions and carry out the responsibilities therein. Also, there will be obstacles created by social stigma trumping any legal change.
Opinion
Imprint, Thursday, April 1, 2010
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Navigating the thin line between debate and dispute Jessica Pellow 3a mathematics
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omeone told me the other day that a religious person can never be a rational thinker and that believing in any god is akin to believing in fairies. Some of you just nodded and some of you just felt the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. Now, I can appreciate the point of view and see where that person was coming from, but I think you’ll find non-rational thinkers on both sides of the coin. It’s not fair to generalize. To lump all religious, or all non-religious people for that matter, into a group and make such a general comment is to make a mistake. There are many rational thinkers who have made incredible contributions to society regardless
of their beliefs. Regardless of whether you’re an atheist, agonistic, or spiritual person, that way of thinking impacts every decision that you make; however, they don’t necessarily ensure that those decisions are the best ones. To say that someone can’t be a good leader or a rational thinker because they believe in something that differs from your belief system is just closed minded. What’s there to prove that your belief system ensures that you are a rational thinker or that you are “right?” Over the past few weeks, I’ve witnessed several people who have been attacked for their beliefs and I’m astounded that this type of unacceptable behaviour is still prevalent in society. One thing that I have always loved about Canada is that we are referred to as a cultural mosaic. Each person
is an individual and we encourage that individuality and expression. Compare that to the United States, which is often referred to a cultural melting pot. We should be proud of our diversity and be more accepting, especially at an institution like the University of Waterloo that’s renowned for intelligent and knowledgeable students. What makes up a person? Personally, I think it’s the collection of experiences, ideas, and beliefs. To attack someone’s beliefs is to attack them as a whole. Now, I’m not saying that you can’t disagree with someone’s beliefs. I’m not asking you to conform. I’m asking you to step into their shoes for a moment. No one likes to feel attacked and no one should ever be attacked. Look at the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Two
of the fundamental freedoms state that everyone has the right to “freedom of conscience and religion… freedom of thought, belief, opinion, and expression.” So if I can believe anything I want to, and think anything I want to, stop trying to tell me that I can’t. I would never presume to tell you that your beliefs are wrong, so why do you feel the need to tell me? Instead of “correcting” someone, perhaps it is the actual discussion that matters more. A great thing about an honest discussion, the key word being “discussion,” is that it forces you to genuinely examine your opinions and beliefs and often leads you to understanding more about yourself and your opinions. Just because I believe in something different than you doesn’t mean I don’t
value your opinion. Go into any discussion with an open mind. Be open to hearing things that might not exactly fit your current viewpoint. You may actually learn something. I think a fundamental factor of this issue is learning how to talk to someone about their beliefs. It’s one thing to have a fair discussion and trade opinions; it’s another thing for people to fight over whose point of view is superior. Very few people will ever be won over to your side just because you disagree and you chose to argue with them. It should never be about winning, it should be about trying to learn more and appreciate someone else’s points of view. To go into a discussion with the intent of winning means that you’ve already lost.
Nicholas Randall 1b science and business
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he idea of freedom of speech is interesting. As it’s understood, the freedom is to say whatever we want over any form of communication without fear of persecution. People will try to restrict what a person says with the phrase “You can’t say that!” to which I question “Why not?” If I am capable of pronouncing or spelling the word, or can get my idea across in any form of media, then I have said what I wanted to. Being able to do so without fear of penalty is what is meant by freedom of speech. It is the idea that there are some things we shouldn’t say where the issue of censorship arises. The purpose of censorship is to restrict an opinion or idea from being expressed, usually with the intent of preventing offence, which in itself is not a bad idea. Or is it? Why is someone offended when they are cast in a negative light? The answer may seem obvious, but think for a moment:
why? If they believe it to be untrue, then do they have proof ? To make a generalization or stereotype of a person could be completely true. If it is not, or there is no basis for the opinion, then can it be refuted? If so, then the opinion of the speaker does not matter, for the idea is proven wrong. However, the world doesn’t seem to work like that. Several times throughout history, an idea that is untrue has propagated the world. With the falsehood reinforced as truth, the more people believed and repeated it. The solution that has been provided to combat this is censorship, which prevents sensitive topics from being examined, and even more so if they are cast in a negative light. To insult or insinuate that there is something negative about a certain race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, etc. is taboo and penalties are exacted on the speaker. Why? Because what they are saying is untrue (according to the offended persons). If the offended persons know this to be untrue and for the sake of argument, let us
assume most of the listeners know this to be untrue then, why are they listening? Are they taking it seriously? Are their opinions changing? Will they believe an opinion over evidence? If there is no evidence, and the conflict is between opinions, then who is to say who is right? The trouble arises in people not questioning their sources. Be it a rumour, propaganda, or an outright lie, if someone isn’t interested enough to ask “Is this true?” and accepts it without question, then you have the beginning of a false truth. The random hate messages or vicious attacks that are launched across the world create more and more hate when it should be easy to let go. An Internet flame war, or the constant disagreement of people who attack the other person more and more as opposed to the topic at hand, tries to ruin the other’s credibility and make their opinion “right.” If you see a flame war online, do you struggle to determine who is correct based on the insults that are thrown across cyberspace? I’m willing to bet you don’t. I’ll bet you ignore the two users and tell them
to shut up and stop the pointless bickering. Both have lost credibility, and further ideas posted by them are likely to be ignored. Why is this exempt from the rest of society? If we don’t like what we hear, why do we listen? Why do we insist on giving more and more attention to the hate groups and rumour-spreaders of the world, while ignoring the more overlooked solid evidence? If there is no evidence, then why are you letting the opinions of others shape your’s? Can you not form a solid opinion on your own? Do you not have your own mind to make up? In summary, the freedom to speak does not mean you have the right to have people listen. Think critically as opposed to taking an idea for granted. Don’t take the opinions of others and shape them as your own. Make your own from scratch. Let the hate groups and flamers vent. Their opinion means little, if not nothing. If we do this, perhaps we’ll grow a little and be better for it. But that’s just my opinion. Take it as you will.
Paintball “sensitivity” training Michael Shao 1b computer science
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s an avid critical thinker and recreationalist, I think games that promote strategy and problem solving deserve some merit for stimulating our brains when we need it. Games such as Risk, Stratego, Chess, and even something as simplistic as a Rubik’s Cube should be considered when looking for an activity that helps improve your problem solving and thinking abilities. I began to consider more daring recreational activities, ones that could come across as dangerous physically but well worth it for both the price and the pain, and immediately, I thought of paintball. Sure, g oing paintballing doesn’t seem like one of those activities that you would think of doing on a weekend or Friday
night, when you could go out and get drunk instead (not that I support that or that I would), but my question is basically this: Why are people so scared of a little pain every once in a while? Yes, paintballs travel at high speeds and yes, at first it will sting and maybe leave a bruise, but paintball is more than just the thrill of shooting your friends (or enemies, take your pick) or getting shot and being in pain for a little bit; paintball is a game about strategy and physical exertion. Being able to think about where and what you want to shoot at, and how to tactically outsmart your opponent while under fire is a tough mental and physical task to undertake well worth any amount of money or pain that you experience. If you want some advice about paintball, don’t think about getting hit. Rather, think about a way of hitting your opponent.
A few weeks ago, when I went paintballing for (I think) the fifth time in my life, I was not hit for a good three hours simply because I chose well concealed hiding spots, moved quickly, and did not expose my position until absolutely necessary. Paintball is a sport of patience and cunning; it takes practice to refine some skills (such as evading paintballs and shooting), but you have to know what you want in order to achieve it (in most cases, achieving your objective or simply just marking your opponent, instead of being afraid of being hit the entire game). If you want some exercise that requires some actual conscious thinking (and with the bonus of being in a mild form of physical danger), you should give paintball a try. Wear some layered clothing (or, if you’re a fast enough runner, you don’t really need to) and
hit the paintball field. Sure, the first few hits you receive and you shoot will come as a shock to you and may scare you a little, but it’s nothing that a horror film wouldn’t “make” you feel. It’s a little expensive for those who are stingy, but paintballing, even once a month, is enough to get adrenaline pumping through your veins for the following few days. Besides, a couple of paintball bruises really gets a lot of sympathetic attention from the opposite sex, if you know what I’m getting at. The main thing is that I don’t really understand why people are so afraid of a little pain. I guess people don’t understand the simple fact that paintball is not that painful of an activity. I think that, generally, people need to get some sensitivity training and learn to face their fears. A little paintball never killed anybody (I mean a little, not a lot). People to-
day are strangely avoiding activities such as paintball or hockey to undertake weird “adventures” such as wild partying and excessive alcohol consumption. If you’re really willing to spend that much money damaging your liver and “relaxing,” I really don’t understand why people wouldn’t at least try playing paintball as an outlet for their stress or anger. After playing paintball, I understood so much more about silent interpersonal communication (I learned a primitive form of sign language), how people think, and especially a lot on close combat strategy, all from playing paintball. I think that paintball is a great activity for me because I am easily stressed and sometimes need an alternative method of venting. So if I can be allowed a simple suggestion — try it. What slight pain won’t kill you, will only make you stronger.
Community Editorials
My two cents on freedom of speech
Arts & Entertainment
Imprint, Thursday, April 1, 2010 arts@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
UW gets Down With Webster E Aboyeji staff reporter
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niversity of Waterloo students certainly held it down with the Webster crew at Monday night’s concert at the Bombshelter. For the uninitiated, Down With Webster, also known by their abbreviated acronym, DWW, is a seven-man Canadian band from eastern Toronto. The band traces its origins to a Grade 8 music class where they had to form a band for their year-end assignment. Little did they know that 10 years later, their middle school music project would become an internationally acclaimed best-selling band signed to prestigious Universal Motown Records. On the same day that their best-selling song, “Rich Girl$,” jumped to number two on the Much Music charts, the hip-hop band performed a sold out benefit concert organized for the Food Bank. True to their award-winning style, by the end of the night, they had the service co-ordinators smiling while presenting the Food Bank with a mountain of canned food and money, and an elated hoarse-throated and inebriated audience screaming for an encore. Even before 9 p.m. when the doors opened, fans had gathered outside of the Bomber in the SLC Great Hall, many of them bearing the three cans of food required to enable them access to the much anticipated event. The evening opened with local KW band, Trap Tigers, who delighted the crowd with their everything-music menu, from rock to pop to something that sounded strangely like heavy metal. With much-appreciated effort, they completed the opening act’s typical task with panache; charging up the crowd for the main course. Sometime close to 11 p.m., the opening act ended and the stars of the night prepared to ascend onto the stage. Within seconds of the band’s first sound, the crowd was screaming and rocking to “It’s Time to Win.” Almost automatically, a perfectly serene and seemingly senile crowd turned rather rowdy and active, as if the music had possessed them. As the night wore on, the madness only got worse. It was so bad, a human barricade of Bomber security staff had to be deployed to protect the performers from the crowd’s loving lynching. Before the end of the night, in a statement that completely floors established stereotypes about both schools, the band leader Patrick Gillett glowingly admitted that the night’s University of Waterloo students had eclipsed Laurier in crowd energy. He was right; from the safe distance where I stood, I counted close to seven successful crowd surfs. Indeed, that was the level of craze that occupied the Bomber Monday night. Although it was hard for the band - or most other normal people - to eclipse in energy the raved University of Waterloo student crowd, there is no question that they creatively fed the crowd’s frenzy. Their combination of excellent song transitions, funny anecdotes, best-selling songs, and incredible stage performance was too difficult for ordinarily cerebral Waterloo students to resist. Perhaps Monday night will go down in Bomber history as the night Waterloo held nothing back when it got down with the Websters. eaboyeji@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Right: Cameron Hunter of Down With Webster performs a song in the Bombshelter on Monday night. Down With Websters’ show benefited the UW Food Bank with cans of food and money. aBisade Dare
Arts & Entertainment
Imprint, Thursday, April 1, 2010
15
The indie genre (and why it says nothing about music)
Arts Editorial
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courtesy Ross Brown
here comes a time when every conversation eventually moves towards the topic of music. There is chatter of Lady Gaga, of Justin Bieber being too young, perhaps of the latest gig at the Bombshelter — but eventually the faces turn towards me: “So Ronald, what sort of music do you like?” I am loath to answer this question. The problem lies in the fact that my music taste could be generalized as being “indie.” Take a look at the majority of the artists I’ve reviewed: Owen Pallett, Xiu Xiu, Parenthetical Girls, the list goes on. Almost all of these artists are on indie labels. But when you’ve got dance-centric artists like Hot Chip and rock-based bands like Los Campesinos! both being labelled as “indie,” what is there to differentiate between the two? The etymological roots of “indie” stem from the word “independent.” Indie makes reference to many different art forms: indie films, indie games, and of course, indie music.
In the case of films and games, using the term “indie” is still a proper reflection of their creation, as they are very much created by independent directors and programmers. On the other hand, indie is a term thrown about rather frivolously. Take for example, Death Cab For Cutie, a band well known for their “indie rock” music. Everything they had recorded up until Transatlanticism had been on Barsuk Records, which technically means they made indie, or independent music. However, all of their releases since then have been on Atlantic Records, whose parent company is Warner Music Group. At this point, they technically should not be an indie rock band. There is, however, that one very common argument brought up in defence of the indie label: “Oh, but they have that indie sound.” The problem is, what is that sound? When one describes a punk rock band, you expect short songs with political commentary and shredding guitars. When one
describes hip hop, you expect thumping beats and a catchy hook. But when one tries to describe indie, you fall flat. It is far too general of a term to truly define a band’s sound. I apologize for the Hot Chip/Los Campesinos! comparison earlier – yes, the two may be “indie” but to be fair, they aren’t exactly in the same genre. Let’s instead look at two artists that fall under the scope of “indie rock”: Broken Social Scene and Future of the Left. Broken Social Scene is a beloved Juno-award winning Canadian indie rock band with a sound veering more towards a mixture of art rock and shoegaze. On the other hand, Future of the Left, a Cardiff-based band, isn’t quite as popular, but they are fucking loud. They’ve got piercingly angry lyrics, piercingly angry guitars, and are altogether far more piercingly angry than Broken Social Scene. To slap on the “indie rock” label to the two bands simply isn’t doing justice to what their music really is. Ultimately, it’s not a matter of whether a band is indie or not. The term is fine when making distinctions as to where the band is signed, but as a genre, it tells me nothing, and it tells you nothing. Indie pales in comparison to other terms that are used to describe music because it doesn’t describe the music. At this point, it’s become an overused word that doesn’t accurately represent music because of its gross generalizations, but hopefully it’ll die down in time. “So Ronald, what sort of music do you like?” I am still loath to answer this question, but nonetheless I’d probably answer something wishy-washy like, “Oh nothing, just indie rock.” I suppose for now it’s alright, unless the reply I get is, “What? You like Indian music?” — Ronal Chui
Erotica and videogames
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othing gets soccer moms more incensed, legislators more mad, and Fox News more crazy than sex, especially in videogames. As gaming has evolved over time and become more of an established niche in entertainment, the topic of sex and erotica has come up time and time again. Debates have raged over what is erotic and what is pornography. While adult-oriented pornographic videogames do exist, the controversy is always the hottest when it concerns mainstream games. Let’s get Mass Effect out of the way right off the bat. The first of the series included romantic sex scene between a your character and an ally of your choosing. It wasn’t a random one night stand; it was the climax of a romantic relationship in which you had to go through all the motions. You had to talk to them, tell them how attractive they were and remind him/her/ it that they were the only object of you affections. It was one step away from asking whether they looked fat in those trousers. As for the love scenes themselves, raunchier depictions can be seen in many Hollywood blockbusters. But they delivered their message, as sex was the climax of the romantic relationship. Also it barely lasted 10 seconds. The God of War series has been noted for its ridiculous amount of gore and violence and has made forays into sex scenes. For the most part it has used a somewhat unique tactic in regards to their sex scenes. One should note that the sex scenes themselves aren’t integral just to the storyline. They net you a boatload of points to upgrading your weapons. A trademark of the series: while your character proceeds to make sweet, sweet love to an extremely sexy, half naked lady, the camera
tkoshy@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
often pans to another object in the room such as a candlestick, while you follow the onscreen instructions. God of War 3 on the other hand, pans the camera to two topless, nubile young ladies, who, if you play it right, proceed to make love to each other at the end. This is a prime example of a game that definitely jumps into soft-core pornography. While God of War goes for the soft-core porn approach, Saboteur teases players with it. One of the gameplay elements is the inclusion of brothels, a place where one can take shelter from the Nazis, who prowl outside and partake in the “local culture” consisted of exotic dancers dressed in titillating outfits. While I do understand that a brothel would include dancers, I have to wonder at what point would the option to have all the dancers topless serve the storyline. Some argue that such topless dancers were common in French brothels, while others say it was simply a gag to reel in horny, prepubescent teenagers. The developers should have decided whether or not to include toplessness and not give players the option. Such a decision almost spells out the developers’ lack of confidence in their game. You have to decide whether you are going to concentrate on the seedy, sensual underbelly of Paris, or go for the PG version. The senario is like replacing the swear words in the Dirty Harry movies with compliments (“Do you feel lucky, Good Sir?”). There are also several mainstream games whose sole selling factor is their erotic characters. Bayonetta could be considered a modern example of a game that uss its titillating lead character as its main draw it. Features a witch, named Bayonetta (didn’t see that coming did you?) whose quest is essentially the same as Jason
courtesy beefjack.com
An erotic scene from Mass Effect between the main character and an alien. Erotic scenes in Mass Effect and other games often last a very short time. Bourne’s: recover her memory. Featuring attacks that give players a sneak peak at Bayonetta naked form and an opening sequence that has strategic cuts across the costume, this is a prime example of a mainstream game that purely uses sex appeal to grab the player’s attention. Dead or Alive: Xtreme 2 is another game that doesn’t even bother to include action gameplay. Featuring the ladies of the Dead or Alive series in skimpy bikinis, this game essentially has you recreate a day at the beach for them. Sure, all you did was play volleyball or sunbathe, but you control some well-endowed young ladies. This
is certainly a game you wouldn’t want to be caught playing. Unfortunately erotica in videogames has also encouraged the stereotypical views of gamers. The fact that video games such as Bayonetta and Dead or Alive: Xtreme 2 have sold out and continue to be developed, only contribute to the image of gamers as being socially awkward, nerdy males who play videogames alone at night. In the end one must realize that erotica has a place within videogames as it does within movies. As there are movies that simply capitalize on the sex appeal of their stars, so will there be videogames that do the same. One must also re-
alize that there will be cases where erotica can be a writing tool used by developers to showcase character relationships. Given the social circumstances surrounding sex as one of the ways of expressing intimacy within a relationship, so too will erotic or romantic scenes be included in videogames. I would also like to point out that almost all of the games I just described have been rated Mature by the ESRB. That means you have be at least 17 in order to purchase these games, past the age of consent in Canada. That means that you could have had real legal sex before even seducing that sexy alien in Mass Effect.
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Arts & Entertainment
Imprint, Thursday, April 1, 2010
Braised in Bliss dyoon@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
S
o here’s the thing: as much as I love a slightly charred rib-eye that’s so rare that faint sounds of moo-ing can be heard as you cut into it, it bothers me that the so called ‘lesser’ cuts are not being recognized for the potential that they bear. The neglected cuts of meat such as brisket, chuck, and flank steak are perfect for methods such as braising in their toughness. This past Saturday, after returning from a busy day at the Elmira Maple Syrup Festival, I made boeuf bourguignon — Julia Child’s boeuf bourguignon, to be specific. I know that many of you have seen Julie & Julia and like me, wondered what the big deal is. I mean, come on, it’s just beef stew. Boeuf bourguignon, which translates as burgundy beef, is beef that has been cooked in burgundy wine, although saying that it has been cooked doesn’t even begin to do it justice. Lean cuts
of beef are slowly braised with vegetables in red wine until the meat is so unbelievably tender that as you bite into it, it melts on your tongue and the richness and depth that the wine has imparted in the several hours of cooking brings you to a state of being that can only be described as euphoria. Don’t use steak for braising. As much as it is tempting to think that using a more expensive cut will result in a better tasting stew, the meat will fall apart early, creating a mushy mess of a stew. I prefer chuck, as it still contains a little bit of fat and connective tissue which add to the flavour of the stew. You may also use meat from the round area of the cow (Julia suggests a rump roast). You can use the pre-packaged stewing beef, but personally, I find the pieces to be too small for browning in the beginning stages. A month or so ago, I found a cross rib pot
roast (which is from the chunk region) for around $5 at Valu-mart. It was a steal coming in at just over a kilogram. I froze it until the occasion finally arose to make boeuf bourguignon. I cut the pot roast into large 1-2 inch cubes which makes it much easier to brown on all sides. As for the wine, use something you would drink. Don’t waste an expensive bottle on stewing. The recipe suggests a young, fullbodied wine such as a chianti, but for the sake of my wallet, I chose a malbec blend from the burgeoning and decently priced wine selection of South America. The Argentinean Fuzion, a shiraz-malbec blend, rings in at a mind-blowingly cheap $7.45 at the LCBO, and although it is not an exceptional wine, it’s great value for the price. It is smooth, medium bodied and drinkable, meaning that you’re unlikely to find someone who dislikes
it; plus at this price you don’t feel wasteful using it to braise. In the three hours the stew was left to braise in the oven, I chose to visit Casa Mia yet again and picked up a beautiful loaf of artisan multigrain bread — another cheap pre-weekend sale for $3 (usually $6) — which was perfect for sopping up all the lovely rich broth left in the bowl. Although some aspects of this recipe can begin to get complicated, it’s well worth it in the end. I’d definitely suggest buying frozen pearl onions for the braised onions because you can easily spend a half hour peeling fresh ones. If you don’t want to go through this painful step, just go ahead and use some sliced onion. Just don’t braise them for as long. If you choose not to remove the braising vegetables before serving it’s not a huge sacrifice either.
julia child ’s boeuf bourguignon Ingredients For boeuf bourguignon • 4 - 5 slices bacon • 1 tablespoon olive oil • 3 pounds lean stewing beef, cut into 2-inch cubes • 1 carrot, peeled and sliced • 1 onion, peeled and sliced • 1 teaspoon salt • 1/4 teaspoon pepper, freshly ground • 2 tablespoons flour • 3 cups red wine (a full bodied wine like bordeaux or burgundy or chianti) • 2-3 cups beef stock • 1 tablespoon tomato paste • 2 garlic cloves, mashed • 1 sprig thyme (or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme) • 1 bay leaf
For braised onions • 18-24 white pearl onions, peeled • 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter • 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil • 1/2 cup beef stock • salt and fresh ground pepper • 1 bay leaf • 1 sprig thyme • 2 sprigs parsley (or 1 teaspoon dried parsley) For sautéed mushrooms • 1 pound mushrooms, quartered • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter • 1 tablespoon olive oil
Directions
1 2 3 4 5 6
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Sauté the bacon in the oil over moderate heat for two to three minutes to brown lightly. Remove to a side dish with a slotted spoon. Set casserole aside. Reheat until fat is almost smoking before you sauté the beef. Dry the stewing beef in paper towels; it will not brown if it is damp. Sauté it, a few pieces at a time, in the hot oil and bacon fat until nicely browned on all sides. Add it to the bacon. In the same fat, brown the sliced vegetables. Pour out the sautéing fat. Return the beef and bacon to the casserole and toss with the salt and pepper. Then sprinkle on the flour and toss again to coat the beef lightly with the flour. Set casserole uncovered in middle position of preheated oven for four minutes. Toss the meat and return to oven for four minutes more. (This browns the flour and covers the meat with a light crust.) Remove casserole, and turn oven down to 325 degrees. Stir in the wine, and enough stock or bouillon so that the meat is barely covered. Add the tomato paste, garlic, herbs, and bacon rind. Bring to simmer on top of the stove. Then cover the casserole and set in lower third of preheated oven. Regulate heat so liquid simmers very slowly for two and a half to three hours. The meat is done when a fork pierces it easily.
Steve Cutler
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While the beef is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms. Heat the butter and oil in a large skillet and add the pearl onions to the skillet. Saute over medium heat for about ten minutes, rolling the onions about so they brown as evenly as possible, without breaking apart. Pour in the stock, season to taste, add the herbs, and cover. Simmer over low heat for about 40 to 50 minutes until the onions are perfectly tender but retain their shape and the liquid has mostly evaporated. For the mushrooms, heat the butter and oil over high heat in a large skillet. As soon as the foam begins to subside add the mushrooms and toss and shake the pan for about five minutes. As soon as they have browned lightly, remove from heat. Set them aside until needed. When the meat is tender, pour the contents of the casserole into a sieve set over a saucepan. Wash out the casserole and return the beef and bacon to it. Distribute the cooked onions and mushrooms over the meat. Skim fat off the sauce. Simmer sauce for a minute or two, skimming off additional fat as it rises. You should have about 2 1/2 cups of sauce thick enough to coat a spoon lightly. If too thin, boil it down rapidly. If too thick, mix in a few tablespoons of stock or canned bouillon. Taste carefully for seasoning. Pour the sauce over the meat and vegetables. Serve over rice, potatoes or buttered noodles.
Arts & Entertainment
Imprint, Thursday, April 1, 2010
17
Ninteen Eighty-Eight akmackenzie@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
W
ith this column, I’m bringing ’88 back. I was going to follow up on my Olenka Krakus interview, but a lot of the themes in that interview linked back to the 1988 hip-hop scene, and I decided that it just wasn’t worth it to give token attention to the interview when 1988 was where my mind was really at. Anyways, the year was — let’s hear it — 1988, and Public Enemy was dominating the airwaves. They had a brand of intensely and explicitly political hip-hop that was mean but sincere: landmark album It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold us Back was marked by self-explanatory hits like “Fight the Power.” They buddied up with political radicals: “Farrakhan’s a prophet that I think you gotta listen to,” while being a little radical themselves — PE’s Professor Griff got in some trouble after displaying anti-Semitism in a Washington Post interview. Public Enemy was unimaginably influential. From 1988 to 1990, PE was pretty much the biggest group in the world. Then they started fading. Some think it was Griff ’s corrosive influence, some chalk it up to Flava Flav’s indifference, and some think that groups simply have to be way more stable than PE to stay on top for any significant period of time. But for whatever reason, Public Enemy slowly disappeared from the public radar, and political hip-hop was replaced by other styles. Conscious hip-hop enjoyed a little golden age from 1991 to 1995, and Wu-Tang brought
hyperliterate abstract gangsta to the mainstream while RZA enacted his five-year plan from 1993 to 1997. But for my money, the hip-hop we hear on the radio doesn’t owe a lot to either Tribe or the Wu. Its roots lie in the West Coast, with Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Eazy-E, and the rest of NWA. In 1988, the same year PE released Nation of Millions, NWA released Straight Outta Compton. It was weirdly successful, hitting double platinum sales without any commercial airplay or major tours — factors that benefited PE greatly. It was also a radical album, but not explicitly radical like Nation of Millions was. It was radically different. PE was invested in us taking political action. NWA - not so much. “I don’t give a fuck/that’s the problem,” rapped the late Eazy-E. The lyric’s creepily appropriate to his 1995 AIDS-related death; he learned about the disease as he was admitted to hospital. NWA didn’t achieve quite the same level of immediate success as PE, but their impact lasted way past Eazy’s death. Hip-hop purists like to get self-righteous about how Wu-Tang and Gang Starr defined the ’90s sound. I’ll agree that hip-hop enjoyed its golden age in the first half of the ’90s — I prefer the soulful Pete Rock-style sound too — but I won’t agree that people listened to it more than the hilariously designed bargain-bin trash released on Master P’s No Limit Records. Trashy labels like No Limit, Murder Inc., G-Unit, and Young Money
courtesy staticblog
effectively rule the commercial landscape — still. I’ve heard the argument that NWA and its trashy musical offspring became commercially successful because they make dumb music for the lowest common denominator. I don’t buy it. Who are we to judge who makes up the “lowest common denominator?” Are they the least literate members of society? The least politically engaged? The most nihilistic? I bring up this question because, by their own account, NWA was the lowest common denominator themselves. Eazy began his last statement before death — a surprisingly poignant message — with the self-knowing “I may not seem like the type of guy you would pick to preach a sermon.” But he continued: “I was a brother on the streets of Compton doing a lot of things most people look down on — but it did pay off. Then we started rapping about real stuff that shook up the LAPD and the FBI.” For all their efforts, Public Enemy never did shake “the man” as deeply as NWA did. I think that, on some level, they failed to truly connect with their fans. Chuck D, Griff, and Flava Flav were silver-tongued all right. But what were they actually saying? Fight the power, sure. But how? At times, it seems like the only solution they actually proposed was to listen to Louis Farrakhan. Nobody was actually about to burn Hollywood down. You can say the same thing about NWA, sure. NWA fans — perhaps contrary to popular
opinion — did not take cops to the Court of Judge Dre, like on “Fuck tha Police.” Much of NWA was myth. But there was realness to it. Eazy was a dyed-in-the-wool nihilist who really didn’t give a fuck. He had as much sex as he bragged about. He certainly drank 8-Ball on the regular. He provided a role model kids could relate to. If kids wanted to be Flava Flav, they had to wear that clock around their necks, and, like, yell a lot. Eazy’s character was a lot more fleshed out. Flav was an image, Eazy was a lifestyle. The difference between Public Enemy and NWA, Chuck D and Eazy-E, was that Public Enemy was always a little out of touch with who they were. They understood who they were in society, sure, but we never got a sense of Chuck other than “that aggressive political dude,” never got a sense of Griff other than “that crazy Five Percenter,” never got a sense of Flav other than “that loud weirdo.” NWA — especially Ice Cube and Eazy — presented accessible, compelling characters, who didn’t try to change themselves for others. Eazy was his own manic little dervish out there, but he was Eazy, and only Eazy. His muchpublicized death note concluded pretty sharply — and maybe I’m fishing for a convenient wrap-up here, but his words are appropriate enough for an official column conclusion. I’ll call it off right here with Eazy’s last words: “Just remember: it’s YOUR real time and YOUR real life.” Thanks for reading, y’all.
courtesy www.coldfrontmag.com
Clarification
Check us out online:
http://imprint.uwaterloo.ca/
In the March 26, 2010 issue of Imprint, the article titled A Memory, a Monologue, a Rant, a Prayer, did not mention that MMRP is a collection of monologues by world renowed authors and playwrights, edited by Eve Ensler and Mollie Doyle. Also, Keriece Harris was misquoted as saying lines from Respect written by Kimberle Crenshaw as her own. Harris only performed the monologue. She does not hold the views expressed in the article. Furthermore, the authors of True and Destruction Artist were not clearly stated in the article. True was written by Carol Michele Kaplan and Destruction Artist was written by Michael Cunningham.
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Arts
Imprint, Thursday, April 1, 2010
19
PAX: A people misunderstood Continued from front page.
Wheaton believes that gaming is a form of storytelling that allows readers and authors to participate in, and directly affect the story. Additionally, it allows them to practise and master their creativity. He credits receiving his first D&D game as a life-changing moment. He believes that the game (the first edition of its instruction booklet read, “This is a game that is fun. It helps you imagine”) assisted him in the development of skills he now uses in his career — public speaking, acting, writing, and storytelling. Despite the creativity and artistic values associated with geek culture, it is still looked down upon by mainstream society. I believe this comes back to stigmas we attach to the “geek” label. Fine arts, music, poetry, theatre, and creative writing are things that we, as a society, like to associate with creativity. We often classify them as “artsy,” and though they require the use of imagination similar to that with geek culture (role playing games can be compared to acting and storytelling, as game music and graphic design can compare to non game music and fine art), we do not look down upon them in the way we do with gaming. According to Times game journalist, Lev Grossman who spoke at the gaming and journalism panel at PAX, “No art form outside of videogames has worse representation outside of its culture.” He adds “[A person may] not be into ballet, but [they] don’t think ballet turns people into psychopaths.” This may be because gamers are wrongly perceived to be, in the words of Wheaton, “Horrible, anti-social people.” (The same kinds of stereotypes Waterloo students like to place on math students). But they’re not. If PAX has taught me anything, it is quite the opposite. Wheaton refers to conventions, specifically geek conventions, as the first form of social networking. Before Web 2.0
brought with it websites like Facebook and MySpace, people who enjoyed D&D and intense “geeky” things gathered at conventions to show each other that they were not alone. This tradition has continued through manifestations like PAX. As a result, geek became a community — and a social one at that. I like to consider myself a social being, and one who does not get uncomfortable easily. At PAX, it wasn’t the rancid smell of the occasional sweaty geek, or the few Americans who thought that free health care would empower the lower class to throw society into chaos, which bothered me. It was the massive number of friendly individuals who initiated conversations before I did that made me step back. Anyone who has met me would agree that I’d be the first to make a fool of myself in public or interact with strangers for the sake of being the first to start a conversation. I understand that shyness is just a feeling, and I often push myself to overcome the notion of unease it causes. I did not expect a bunch of anti-social nerds to outplay me in my own game. Nonetheless, it became an enjoyable experience. I have never had so many intellectual conversations about Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and its reflection of society. I have never been invited to so many parties, or have so many people offer to “geekify” and train me in the way of the nerds. I have never had so many odd yet fascinating experiences. The most notable was at the concerts at the end of Thursday and Saturday nights. Instead of dancing to the music, many people sat down — often times with strangers — and played on their Nintendo DS. What it comes down to is common interest. Just as the departments and faculties at Waterloo don’t interact with each other, neither do geek and mainstream culture. At PAX, even if everyone enjoyed different things, they knew that, primarily, they were there for similar reasons. Like math
students, geeks aren’t “horrible, antisocial people,” they are simply people who choose not to interact with people outside of their realms because of the different style of communication. If you’ve read this far, you’ve come to realize that my opening statement contradicts itself. Unless we are living solely within the confines of social labels, true acolytes of the humanities know that arts students are encouraged to liberate themselves with education. We are the prime example of what it means to be openminded. We are the masters of analyses and the observers of games; the tellers of stories and the reporters of truths. There are no places an arts student should not be. Geek is no longer a four letter word, and nerds are no longer those guys we push into lockers. We’re all grown up now, and it is time to pass social confines and use our imagination. I challenge all students, especially those from the arts faculty, to make at least one trip to PAX in their lifetime. If you do take my challenge, keep these things in mind, unless you don’t want to have a great time:
Shower — Though we are taught that geeks smell, at PAX, people who reek of armpit odor and sweat, are looked down upon.
Keep an open mind — Though things might seem different, put yourself in the shoes of a reporter and just explore. Learn as much as you can.
Network — Make connections. You
never know when they might come in handy. I met many who have an BA and are not working for game companies. In the words of Will Wheaton, “don’t be a dick.” — No one likes a dick. dnguyen@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Top left : The bald MC Frontalot made a cameo appearance in a comedic Paul and Storm performance. Top middle: Alienware and Bigfoot Networks presented the Battle for PAX Championships, where players competed for a chance to win $10,000. The man in black was a security guard dressed in character.
A weekend with Penny Arcade Sonia Lee staff reporter
W
ith computer hums, chiming tunes from handheld consoles, and games on hand, Penny Arcade Expo East (PAX-E) delivered a gamer deluxe weekend package filled with tournaments, previews, and guests. This sold-out event met the anticipation and high expectation of gamers. Despite having panels being sparsely spaced and not back-to-back as many other conventions of this genre often have, it was still difficult to attend many since queues for them would fill out so fast. In contrast, while line queues were so long, many activities were introduced to keep con goers entertained. These included games and various polls, choose your own adventure and videos to
vote via text messaging. Saturday’s evening concert was most memorable. The night with Boston based Video Game Orchestra which focused more on musical integrity side of video games instead of “feeding the fans” having a tasteful selection from the Chrono Cross and Trigger series, Final Fantasy, and Mario Brothers. Blowing the crowd with an exclusive piece from Castlevania — Vampire Killer — they rocked the fans out with guitar solos that were as quick as the speed of light. Their set prompted the crowd to request an unexpected encore as they had to replay a piece from the set – still pleased the crowd and still maintained the breath of freshness that they were. Paul and Storm followed in with a “Trolololo” (also know as, Russian “Rick Roll”) skit that was very amusing as they were matched with suits and awkward brown wigs. They
were joined by the Prince of PAX, Will Wheaton, in the act. The comedic duo amused the fans as they sung the infamous “We’re the opening band” (available for download for Rock Band) since they always “open” for Jonathan Coulton. Having amused the fans, Jonathan Coulton sustained the energy for the remainder of the concert. It was an enthralling weekend at PAX East: from the exclusives to the crowd to the overall atmosphere. Many people were quite pleased with the variety of features from card gaming, game development, and game playing aside from a few items (such as no Super Street Fighter IV coverage or anything featuring the development of Microsoft’s Natal system). PAX-E was a convention unmatched by any others of its type. slee@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Top right: UW student, Mark Miltenburg testing out one of many upcoming video games on display.
sions of their games are available for free on www. gambit.mit.edu
Middle far left: Strangers no more, many con goers exchanged gifts on their PokÉwalkers, a small device that came with the latest release of the Pokemon series.
Middle far right: Amongst many of the line games, players were invited to unite, controlling a sensor on a camera to navigate the games character. If many people wave their arms to the left, the character also would move left.
Middle left: While many did not dress up, some of the cosplayers got lost in the crowds and lineups. Middle right: Gambit, a student group at MIT presented one of many indie games. The premise of this one was to educate players on velocity and positions. Full ver-
See page 20 for a preview of Civilization V
Bottom left: The Video Game Orchestra left the crowd shouting “encore. However, unlike most concerts, the audience did not dance, instead, many sat and played with their Nintendo DS.
Photos by Dinh Nguyen Three day pass photo by Steve Cutler
Arts & Entertainment
20
Imprint, Thursday, April 1, 2010
Questions, comments? contact arts@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
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courtesy Firaxis games
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here will be a new Civilization introduced this fall 2010. Yes, you read that right, Sid Meier will be releasing a new Civilization game as part of the brand that started in 1991. Penny Arcade Expo- East brought with it many upcoming game demonstrations with long lines and wait times. Amongst them was an intimate preview and Q&A session with marketing associate Peter Murray, and Firaxis Games producer Dennis Shirk of Civilization V. The panel was so popular that it was impossible to reach, unless you woke up and were ready right when the convention doors opened. Even then, the average enthusiast will likely make it on to the signup sheet for a time slot later on in the day; I was lucky to catch the 4:15 p.m. slot. The last installment of the series, Civilization IV was released in 2005. With the heavy anticipation of Civilization V many critics questioned what other features could be added to the brand to make it even better. Civilization V, unlike its predecessors, will not be an extension of the series’ game play, it will be completely modified to stand out on its own. Graphics and interface and maps
A new game engine will be used to make the graphics more vibrant and natural looking. Textures of water, land and mountain will be added in minute details down to the reflection of the sun off the ocean. Animals, fish and whales can often be seen interacting with their environment. One crucial change the devlopers will be making in Civilization V is the shift from square tiles to hexagon tiles. This will allow for game-play to seem more natural over time, as units can be arranged in more in-depth angles. Like shortcuts, commonly used actions (like build warriors, attack, etc.) will be displayed via icons on the left part of the screen. A new notification system will be introduced
that will not interrupt game play. “Notifications let you get to things when you’re ready to. You’re the king of your kingdom, people should be waiting for you,” said Murray. Maps will be more elaborate and expansive. One powerful aspect of Civilization V was the mod system which allowed players to create new maps and levels. In Civilization V the mod system will be improved. It will have everything Civilization IV had, but even more powerful. Not only will people familiar with scripts be able to mod and create maps, new players will have the tools to make maps as well. AI, cities and interactions Civilization V aims to make the game experience realistic. Foreign leaders will speak their own language making it the same as if a player was at war trying to establish relationships with foreign countries. Furthermore, AI characters will be more intelligent and will have their own personalities and deepened characteristics. They will even have their own agendas and motivation. For example, unlike Civilization IV, it will be unlikely for Ghandi to wage war. Queen Elizabeth, on the other hand, will find other ways to invade certain countries if she is unsuccessful the first time. Countries will be unique. Each will feature their own culture and will excel in certain productions and advances. City-states will interact with other states; if you maintain friendships with certain countries they may share their resources or assist you in wars. Vice versa, if you help defend a country, the relationship may grow and be more interactive in its diplomacy. One example of relationship benefit is through helping each other advance. If you collaborate with others under the research front, both countries may gain a research advantage bonus for a certain period of time. A “smart system” will also be introduced to expand growth of cities, leaving culture to expand borders slowly. This can be done with gold as well, as there will be more uses for it. Gold can also be used as offerings to other countries
as a diplomatic tool. “It is along the lines of using your economy to push the lines of boundaries, but your citizens decide where to go,” said Murray. Combat You can choose to impose your will on a country through diplomacy or war. Combat will be longer and more lifelike. They are meant to feel more rewarding after the battle is over. Unlike Civilization IV, only one type of army unit may be allowed on each title, rather than having unlimited army men. The number of men per unit depends on the type of infantry. For example, catapults may only have two, while archers may have 12. Range infiltrates will also be introduced. They can only attack from a distance, and can be used as a defensive mechanism to weaken the enemy. However, if swords or spearmen get too close, they may not be able to fight back. If other units are targeting a range unit, ground units may intercept and defend. Religion In Civilization IV religion worked as a way of diplomacy. As the designers felt that it was far too onedimensional, there is a possibility that they will bring it back with more depth. For example, they may build religion into AI characteristics, so that certain religions will mesh while others may move towards stife. Religion may also influence culture, but none of this have been finalized. Though the game is complex, the developers hope to attract new players. However, they feel that people who wish to play this type of game will be able to figure it out. The tutorial will be more new user-friendly, but they made it clear that they will not sacrifice gameplay for accessibility. All elements presented at the preview given by Firaxis Games, and mentioned in this article are not yet set in stone, though their significance will become cleaner closer to the release date. dnguyen@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Features
Imprint, Thursday, April 1, 2010 features@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Maple syrup, eh?
The world’s largest one-day maple syrup festival gets sticky in Elmira, Ontario Komal R. Lakhani features editor
D
riving away from Waterloo at 7:30 a.m. can be a very different experience. When you start seeing horse driven carriages along the roads selling maple syrup, you know you are in for something special. The Elmira Maple Syrup Festival is the world’s largest one-day maple syrup festival. It takes place every spring. There were around 2,000 volunteers involved in organizing the 46th annual festival, with a volunteer committee meeting monthly throughout the year before the actual event. There were many more volunteers on the event day. This festival helps support local charities and non-profit organizations and has been going on since 1965. Upon entering the streets of Elmira on this fairly cold March 27, you could start seeing happy smiley faces gathered together, making their way to the centre of town. The air was filled with mixed fragrances like sweet syrup and roasted meat, drawing you even closer. The most common thing available was — as the name of the festival goes — maple syrup, going for about $40 for four litres. Other sweet things included fudge, going for $5.50 a bar and $6 for a mix tray, which was a steal. Moving towards savory dishes, they had German potato pancakes for $3 each. Then there was the warm boiled corn with the option of being covered in various spices. This might have been the perfect complement to the cold morning, and the corn was priced on the high side at $4. The main highlight was the pancake breakfast. These pancakes were as big as a regular sized frisbee and served with pure, rich, and thick maple syrup. A booth that had a line as big as the pancakes was the booth selling barbecued turkey legs, which were bigger than the
exit sign placed in our hallways. At $8 a piece, these drumsticks were a meat lover’s fantasy. Food was the dominant part of the festival, but there were other activities as well. The sugar bush tour was popular among the people, where a tour of the sugar bush farms and demonstrations on how maple syrup was extracted from them was offered. Log cutting was a form of bonding, where you could get in groups of two to four people, cut a piece of wood, and get it branded using the authentic method. Branding design options included a maple leaf or “E” for Elmira. For kids, there was the Old MacDonald’s Farm with a hay maze and ponies to ride. Other attractions included the Mega Mutts dog show and the pancake flipping competition (flipping pancakes in a relay race), which has been going on for 25 years. Antiques, garden accessories, home decor, and even clothes were found at various booths throughout. An interesting activity was seeing maple taffy being made in the town square; the 30 minute wait to get your hands on a single piece of taffy covered in ice is worth it (provided you like maple syrup). A lot of UW students were seen enjoying different bits of the festival. If you were one of the people who attended, you know that the chances of running into someone you knew were pretty high. Incoming Feds President Bradley Moggach was also spotted enjoying a hearty pancake breakfast. As I drove out of the streets of Elmira, the roads leading to it were still lined with cars sparkling under the afternoon sun, anxious to get in. The carriages were still waiting to give us a last opportunity to get our hands on that soft, smooth, and sweet maple syrup to stock up on until next year. klakhani@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
michael chung
Above: Pancake breakfast was served at the festival. Below clockwise from far right: A volunteer demonstrates the art of making maple syrup taffy while giant turkey legs cooking on the grill. Maple syrup was also on sale at the festival while the Elmira horse unit was on site keeping things going smoothly.
paula trelinska
michael l. davenport
steve cutler
steve cutler michael chung
22
Features
Imprint, Thursday, April 1, 2010
Our Home on Native Land eoldynski@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Anti-Native rally in Caledonia shut down by First Nation solidarity activists for all kinds of vegetables — from peppers and squash to beans and tomatoes. Later in the summer, we planted pumpkins and corn. Throughout the summer, we harvested the vegetables, put them into baskets, and drove them out to Caledonia where we then gave them to a community group that was organizing support for the Six Nations. This was the last time that I was involved in what is happening in Caledonia until last week. I found out about a rally that took place in Caledonia on Sunday, March 21, the International Day for the Elimination of Racism — a day that grew out of anti-colonial resistance to South African apartheid. The International Day for the Elimination of Racism is also becoming a day that neo-nazi groups are trying to co-opt by calling it “World White Pride Day.” Gary McHale is an anti-Native activist who has been involved in organizing so-called “antiracist” rallies in Caledonia. McHale claims that the rallies are to support white people who are victims of ongoing racism at the hands of Six Nations people. However, there is documented evidence that prominent neo-nazis have attended McHale’s rallies in the past. On March 21, McHale organized another “anti-racist” rally in which he and his supporters planned to march onto the Six Nations controlled former Douglas Creek Estates for the stated purpose of “having a potluck.” Over 60 non-native anti-racist activists mobilized to show up un-
announced at the rally. With signs that read “McHale is not an anti-racist,” and “anti-racism is anti-colonialism,” the anti-racist activists began their rally alongside nearly 100 people that came out to McHale’s rally. The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 3903 First Nations Solidarity Working Group was there to stand in solidarity with Six Nations and show that McHale does not speak for all non-natives and that his political program and activities are definitely not “antiracist.” McHale reacted by cancelling his planned rally — his supporters got into their cars and left. Nadeem Lawji and Alison Murray are local activists who have been involved in demonstrations that support Six Nations people over the years. They participated in the rally as part of the CUPE 3903 First Nations Solidarity Working Group. Lawji explained, “I went [to the rally] because I believe in anti-racism work. From what I saw though, all [McHales] supporters were mostly middle-aged white men. I did not see one single person of colour amongst the Gary McHale crowd. The racism that McCale is trying to draw attention to is really the realization that his white privilege cannot operate unquestioned in this land area. I went, knowing this, to show solidarity to the people of Six Nations.” Murray’s reasons for attending the rally were similar. She explained, “Last weekend I decided to go to Caledonia because I was upset that Gary McHale and his supporters were appropriating the language of ‘anti-racism’ to fit their
“
Injustices didn’t just happen in the past — the government is ignoring its obligations to Six Nations people in the present. - Alison Murray
narrow-minded agenda. I went because Gary McHale is trying to frame this as a ‘white vs. native’ issue and I wanted to show that many non-natives support the rights of Six Nations people. Injustices didn’t just happen in the past — the government is ignoring its obligations to Six Nations people in the present tense which is why it is so important for those of us who aren’t from Six Nations to take action.” Lawji first got involved in First Nations solidarity events by visiting Tent City on the steps of the Ontario legislature a few years ago, in which people constructed impromptu tents to create a message of urgency about homelessness and First Nations sovereignty. Lawji explained, “[Visiting Tent City] helped me better understand the importance of honouring treaties, creating a space for all peoples to live fairly, and personally, acting like a settler. This land was appropriated, through treaties,
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he first annual SPCOMpetition was held on Saturday, March 27 in the Student Life Centre’s multi-purpose room. The event was divided into two separate competitions - it featured a public speaking portion as well as a poetry slam section. The event was a collaboration between the UW Speech Communication Society, the Speech Communication Ambassadors Program, and the UW Toastmasters. The difficult task of judging was given to Christina Moulton, president of the Kitchener-Waterloo Toastmasters, Brad Moggach, President of the Arts Student Union, and Shannon Hartling, faculty member of the Speech Communication and English programs. The SPCOMpetition was sponsored by the Arts Student Union, Domus Student Housing, and University of Waterloo Retail Services. The public speaking competition featured three speakers, each presenting novel speeches. William Rea took first place for his speech, “Above and Beyond; Why Asian Students are Good at Math.” Pat McCauley made the audience rethink a common utterance in his speech, “Well That’s Life,” which won him second place. Brian Garton came in third place by educating the audience on the issue of fluoride in our tap water with his presentation of “It’s Good for Your Teeth, Right? “ After a brief intermission, the poetry slam competition got underway. This section was clearly the more popular competition as there were 12 entries in this section alone. Guest slammer Robert Ballard, a UW professor from the speech communication
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violence, and genocide — much land is still unceded land — my understanding of history shows the destruction of native communities as a result of the settler populations.” For Lawji, getting involved in First Nations solidarity demonstrations is a way for him to work for positive change in society. “Getting involved was important for me to offer as a way of working for social justice, and appeasing my guilt for being a non-native person in North America that has systematically, in every which way, found it necessary to destroy native communities,” Lawji explained. “Learning about the destruction of native populations, residential schools, and the current plight of native communities across North America has changed my perspective on what it means to be Canadian.”
They spoke up, they spoke out staff reporter
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Back in the spring of 2007, a friend of mine who was a peace and conflict studies student asked a few other PACS students if we wanted to start an organic vegetable garden on a small plot of land on the western outskirts of Waterloo. The plot of land was part of a family owned farm that my friend had worked on the summer before, and the family was now agreeing to let her use it for her own growing. Her idea was to grow vegetables that would then be given to the Six Nations people of Caledonia, Ontario to express solidarity in their struggle to maintain land rights. Caledonia is a community just outside of Hamilton where there have been ongoing disputes over First Nation land claims since 2006. The disputed land covers 40 hectacres that a company called Henco Industries Ltd. had planned to develop as a residential subdivision known as Douglas Creek Estates. Although this land was granted in 1784 by the Crown to the Six Nations, Henco argued that the Six Nations surrendered their rights to the land in 1841. Henco later purchased the land from the Crown, but the Six Nations maintained that the land was theirs. Five of us PACS students followed through with the idea to create a vegetable garden to show solidarity with the Six Nations. We started driving out to the farm on a weekly basis during the early spring. First we prepared the soil for cultivation by raking it and adding fertilizer. Then we planted seeds
department, started the competition off on a high note with his presentation, “Pieces of His Life.” The following 11 performances ranged from humorous to thoughtful and everything in between. Sometimes the whole spectrum was woven into a single presentation. Other poetry slammers who presented included Liz Watkins, Graeme Ruck, Farhan Mohamed, Rachel Small, Kat, Janice Lee, Miyar De’Nyok, Amanda TK, Monica Chamberland, Matt Brett, Sky Smith, and Taylor Jones. From this list of impressive performers the judges managed to pluck out three performances to put on the podium. Janice Lee rose to first place with her powerful presentation entitled “Flight.” Rachel Small and Kat took second place for their mutual presentation, “Hair I Am.” Third place was awarded to Amanda TK, for her insightfully contradictory piece, “Renovation Observations.” The audience was presented with a range of performances that were thought - provoking, funny, emotional, and abstract. Both forms of presentation effectively captured the audience’s attention and continuously drew people in, as could be seen throughout the event. At the start of the competition, there was a smattering of people in the audience, but, after a few performances, the audience had grown so large that people were forced to stand in the back. The competition experienced a highly successful launch with both a large audience and long list of participants. The event highlighted the talent that lies within our locality. It was a venue that supported creative expression and the value of spoken words. frahaman@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Features
Imprint, Thursday, April 1, 2010
23
On-campus Pizza Pizza: Not a good deal Michael L. Davenport editor-in-chief
N
ot all pizza is created equal. Even among pizza slices of the same “brand,” a systemic size disparity can sometimes exist. Take for example the Pizza Pizza location in the SLC, and compare the slices sold there to slices sold at actual, dedicated Pizza Pizza locations. Over the course of several weeks, Imprint staff members purchased pepperoni pizza slices from both the Pizza Pizza in the SLC cafeteria, and slices from proper Pizza Pizza retail locations such as the outlet on King and University. The net food weight of these slices was determined using a scale. The result was that students purchasing pizza on campus pay significantly more per gram of food. Pizza Pizza slices sold on campus are slightly cheaper, but drastically smaller. According to Imprint’s data, the average food weight of a slice sold on campus is 197 grams, compared to 258 grams for a slice sold off campus. Including tax, slices sold on campus cost students $3.14 each, whereas $3.24 is the charge for slices off campus. The end result
On campus Pizza Pizza slices — Raw data
is students pay $15.98 for a kilogram of Pizza matter in the SLC, while the same stuff only costs $12.56 off campus. This disparity is a result of the two different chains having different corporate overlords. As Pizza Pizza marketing co-ordinator Elana Murphy explained, “[Non-traditional locations] would include the [Canadian] National Exhibition, the Auto Show, anything that’s in a cafeteria. Those are usually run by Aramark, 90 per cent of the time.” The operations at such locations differ from those of the 500 “traditional” locations across Canada, Murphy explained. “So they buy the rights to sell our product, and they have a separate staff that’s trained to make your KFC, your Pizza Pizza, your Pita Pit. It’s not necessarily the franchise location.” No representative from UW Food Services commented by press time. The result of this trial reinforces what many students already intuitively knew: want a better deal on food? Dine off-campus.
Purchase time net weight cost per kg 2009-12-15 13:55h 182 g $17.25 2009-12-16 15:45h 186 g $16.88 2009-12-16 16:40h 191 g $16.44 2009-01-08 15:15h 207 g $15.17 2010-01-19 18:03h 204 g $15.39 2010-02-10 15:30h 183 g $17.16 2010-02-10 15:30h 234 g $13.41 2010-03-05 16:08h 185 g $16.97 Slice cost is $3.14 incl. tax
Off campus Pizza Pizza slices — Raw data Purchase time net weight cost per kg 2009-12-16 16:15h 271 g $11.96 2009-12-16 23:09h 226 g $14.34 2010-01-24 16:51h 235 g $13.79 2010-01-27 12:48h 231 g $13.59 2010-01-27 12:48h 321 g $9.78 2010-03-05 18:48h 264 g $12.27 Slice cost is $3.24 incl. tax
editor@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Even the packaging is different, depending on the slice vendor. The cardboard pizza tray that comes with Pizza Pizza slices sold off campus measures 23 cm a side, while the tray sold with slices on campus measures 21 cm a side. The slice in the background is a scaled representation. The solid outline depicts the regular tray sold with pizza off campus, while the light grey space shows the smaller tray found on campus. Michael L. Davenport
UW full of Idols
UW scores a math conference Komal R. Lakhani features editor
T
abisade dare
From left to right: Winners of UW Idol Aleshia Ali, Dorothy Ohiani and Sannia Palmer were thrilled to come out on top.
he students of UW have one more thing to look forward to this summer: the Canadian Undergraduate Mathematics Conference (CUMC) is scheduled to take place in July. It will take place at the University of Waterloo after 14 years of being hosted by other campuses. Waterloo won the bid at the CUMC at Carleton University last year by making an outstanding presentation. Other competitors included McMaster, Calgary, and Trent. Right now, the team, composed of seven faculty members and about 14 students, is busy planning and organizing the logistics of the conference. Two of the faculty members involved are Ian Goulden (chair of C&O department, future dean of math, as of this summer) and Jack Rehder, executive
assistant to the current dean, Thomas Coleman. Student presidents for the conference are Richard Zsolt and Nathan Yeung. Planning for the conference started back in August and the team has performed certain feats such as raising $17,000 in donations for general conference funding. On being asked how this could benefit UW students, Zsolt said, “We have raised enough money through MEF and MathSoc to get $50 off the first 80 Waterloo students who sign up. Our normal fee is $90, so it’s reduced to $40 for the early folks.” Since this is a national conference, the CUMC committee has sent out 500 posters to universities nationwide. There will be eight keynote speakers at the conference including Frank Morgan, the vice president of the American Mathematical Society, and Carsten Thommasen,
the recipient of the Lester R. Ford award by the Mathematical Association of America. Talking about the educational aspect of the conference, Zsolt said functionally, the conference is a learning experience. “Students get exposed to a bunch of math not normally in their curriculum. For many students this is their first opportunity to attend a conference and see what it’s like to learn about math outside of the classroom,” he said. “For students interested in going to graduate programs in math, many of them find the experience of attending a noncompetitive conference a gentle stepping stone to more intense environments.” More information about the speakers and event updates about the conference can be found on their website cumc. math.ca klakhani@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
24
Features
suicide.
Imprint, Thursday, April 1, 2010
can we get over it?
Divyesh Mistry staff reporter
A
ccording to the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), Canada has the third highest suicide rate in the industrialized world for the age range of 15 to 24 years old. In the case of student demographics, suicide is ranked second in what kills us the most, the first being car accidents. Suicide is a subject that can be taboo. Whether it be religious, cultural, or a feeling of being uncomfortable, the stigma that comes with being open about having suicidal thoughts or any other mental illness can be overwhelming and put even more pressure on the sufferer. Suicide often comes as a result of other mental illnesses and conditions such as depression, a relatively common illness. Suicide threats are usually a cry for help; many people who are having suicidal thoughts don’t actually want to die, nor is it always for attention. Suicide threats should be taken seriously. Prevention is the key and, often, those thinking about taking their life hint at it in different ways, whether it is in writing, video blogging, or even mentioning it in regular conversation. According to the CMHA, the best thing to do if you suspect a friend is thinking about suicide, is to talk to them directly about it. Maintaining a certain amount of safety will allow a person to talk to you, but at the same, shield them from others who may look down upon them and send more negativity. Since most people don’t have the necessary
background knowledge, an important thing to remember is to recommend resources. A list of organizations and services in the Region of Waterloo and on campus that can help out include, but are not limited to: Counselling Services at Needles Hall, Health Services, Crisis Services of Waterloo Region (located in Kitchener), and the Waterloo Region Suicide Prevention Council. The University of Waterloo also offers a suicide prevention training program called Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) that is run by Counselling Services. As negative as it sounds, there may be suicides that “succeed.” The time afterwards will be a grieving time. If you were not involved with the person or aware of the issue, the death of a friend or family member may seem sudden and traumatic. In cases where there isn’t a suicide note, friends and family may go months without knowing why exactly the person committed suicide in the first place and may never find out. The CMHA identifies those who are affected by the death as “survivors” this group has a higher risk of suicide. The Waterloo Region Suicide Prevention Council gives advice to those who are dealing with the suicide both directly and indirectly. The best thing one can do in the aftermath is to act as a support, if you were not directly affected, or to let yourself grieve. Talking openly about your loved one can help you get through a trying time. More importantly, it is best to talk about the good moments and to honour your loved one’s life. dmistry@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Redefining a fashion show
The Reshaping Fashion show was held to increase awareness about eating disorders Komal R. Lakhani features editor
S
ix feet tall, long well shaped legs, a slender neck and prominent shoulder bones. This is what comes to mind when we think about fashion shows, from Milan to New York. The runway we are talking about today is unique. The people you see on it are as ordinary as you and I. They don’t starve themselves or spend every free hour at the gym. The fifth annual spring charity fashion show was held recently at the Kitchener City Hall Rotunda by the Eating Disorder Awareness Coalition of Waterloo Region to increase awareness about eating disorders like anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and compulsive overeating. Adele Newton from 91.5 The Beat was the master of ceremonies while the keynote speech was made by Natalie Macneil, Ms. Oktoberfest 2008. The point of the event was to highlight the fact that, no matter what size you are, there is no need to be embarrassed about it. The intention was to promote a healthy body image among people who are suffering from eating disorders and also for people who frown upon those who are ‘too fat’ or ‘too short.’ The event also provided a preview to spring fashion for all sizes. Starting in 1995, the Eating Disorder Awareness Coalition has been a valuable resource for the citizens of Waterloo for 15 years. They provide support to people with body image issues and kids who are teased for being overweight or having to deal with peer pressure. They organize talks with local schools and also host an annual professional development conference. They also have a helpline which receives hundreds of calls each year. This year’s fashion show was particularly important for the organization. They face the same challenges with fundraising as most other charities because of the economic crisis and therefore lack of funds. Their biggest fundraiser, a golf tournament, had to be cancelled due to a lack of participants. To compound their problems, they only have a few thousand dollars left for the coming financial year and their board of directors has decided to cut back on some of their services. The organization usually functions with the help of funds and grants from the United Way and Trillium Foundation and through fundraising and donations, none of which are fixed or high enough to cover all expenditures. It has just one paid staff and functions with the help of around 100 volunteers. According to the event co-ordinator, Maple Tay, the group is planning to hold a music concert called Music For The Heart on April 30 at the First United Church in Waterloo. The concert will commence at 8 p.m. and will attempt to raise more funds for their work. For more information about the organization and how you can help visit their website at www.edacwr.com. klakhani@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Left: The clothes modelled during the fashion show. Bottom: Volunteers walk the runway during the fashion show.
photos courtesy calvin and john tang
Science & Technology
Imprint, Thursday, April 1, 2010 science@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Physics venturing into
EVERY TH I NG
Daniel Manary reporter
T
he poster advertising this week’s Phys 10 lecture was perhaps the most inadvertently intriguing flyer I’ve seen around campus this semester. Not bad for something that didn’t advertise free food. Aside from the usual information that declared the time, the room, the speaker, and so on, the strangely inconspicuous title was commanding, once noticed. A single word pronounced the title as “Everything.” Given that the length of the lecture is about 45 minutes, this would be no small feat to cover. “Everything,” to a physicist, starts with unity. Historically, theories that attempt to describe new phenomena are more readily accepted when they agree with and expand upon currently accepted theories, making unity a prime goal. Bohr’s theory of the atom was given credit by its agreement with and explanation for Rydberg’s previous observations, for example. Dr. Robert Mann’s first point is on the unity of matter. Beginning with a familiar cup of coffee, he traces its building blocks through molecules, atoms, nuclei and electrons, neutrons and protons, and finally, to quarks. Each sequential layer describes, in a more complete manner, the layer above it. So where does it stop? In his opinion,
it’s likely that quarks and other related particles–leptons–are the smallest. He explains that as the particle gets smaller, the energy used to bind it to another particle, for example, when an electron orbits a nucleus, is a larger fraction of the mass of that particle. A particle that requires all of its energy to bind itself to another isn’t much of a separate particle. While we might have a decently unified understanding of matter, our understanding of forces is not as complete. Mann lists the four fundamental forces that comprise our current understanding: the electromagnetic force, the strong nuclear force, the weak nuclear force, and gravity. Each force has its own particle or particles which “carry” the force, although the Higgs boson that supposedly carries gravity has yet to be discovered. So why do we look for a theory of “everything” that could unite these forces? Aside from needing to keep physicists busy, there are several good reasons. First, it’s worked before. In the 19th century, electricity and magnetism were united into the electromagnetic force. In the 20th century, electroweak theory united electromagnetism and the weak nuclear force. Second, it seems like it should be unified: at an exceptionally small distance, the weak force, strong force, and electromagnetic force are all very close to the same strength. Third, current theory has an unpleas-
ant amount of seemingly arbitrary constants. Including things like the speed of light and the masses of quarks, there are 29 separate numbers required. Fourth, our current fundamental ideas contradict each other. General relativity describes gravity and quantum mechanics describes the others, but they don’t mix well. The result is called quantum gravity, and interestingly leads to equations that have totally arbitrary solutions. A theory of everything should be able to start from the beginning. It would have to describe the first instance of the universe and its development, all of the forces and particles, and conceptually unite gravity with the other forces. Ideally, it would also have only one constant from which the others could be derived. Although Mann has been enthusiastic as usual throughout his talk so far, he seems to be gaining steam as he moves onto his next topic. Since a theory of everything would have to explain the origin and existence of our universe, it would also have to explain what he calls “cosmic fine tuning.” Our universe appears to be quite special. To begin with, it is extremely flat. It could possibly be other shapes, but those shapes would either collapse very quickly or expand too rapidly for anything to form. There is also the “horizon problem.” The entire universe is almost identically the
same temperature, despite vast regions of space being unable to affect each other due to distance, which is difficult to explain. The variation in temperature is so slight that it has only recently been measurable. Are the life-permitting features of our universe typical or special? Or if you use the words of Brandon Carter as Mann does, “Does the existence of intelligent life on Earth say anything about the universe as a whole?” This is called the anthropic principle. Interestingly, very slight differences in subatomic particles or strengths of forces would prevent the universe from being able to sustain life. There are three areas we require in order to exist: constants of nature, structure, and initial conditions. If the constants were different, if the structure of the universe would not allow things like water to form, and if the entropy or expansion of the universe at its origin were different, we would not exist. It is the peculiarity of these conditions that have led some to speculate that our universe is not the only universe. That it belongs in a larger group of universes—a multiverse—where each could vary in any one of these ways. But how do you draw the line? There appears a necessity for an infinite number of universes. Mann jokes that this would reduce cosmology to environmental
science. As he carries the implications of the theory to their logical conclusions, he explains that it would actually be possible to calculate the distance between you and your nearest duplicate. After all, given infinite universes, everything will eventually be replicated. He even shows us the estimated distance between our universe and an exact copy of our universe. Even more importantly, every possible action happens. But he doesn’t stop there. Not only does every possible event happen, but it happens infinitely many times. It’s even plausible that we are a computer simulation, or a computer simulating a computer simulation, and so on for perhaps even an infinite number of times. To punctuate the absurdity, he exclaims emphatically that “you just can’t know!” It’s clear that a theory of everything has a significant amount of work cut out for it. It not only must unify all of the facets of knowledge relating to how our universe works, it must also explain why the universe works that particular way and how it came to be. I had thought previously that a theory of everything was limited to just explaining the unification of forces, but apparently that wasn’t grand enough. At least one thing is clear: “Everything” is a lot more than just a cleaning product I found in my friend’s basement.
graphics by alcina wong photo courtesy wikimedia commons
26
Science & Technology
Imprint, Thursday, April 1, 2010
Poison, viruses, and cancer Ivan Lui staff reporter
Hormones for food poisoning
A new resolution
L
ast weekend was the worldwide Earth Hour event. People everywhere turned off their lights to celebrate the event aimed at making people aware of our unsustainable energy consumption. Some people may have even downloaded the cool, oxymoronic iPhone app that lets you stay connected and glued to your screen while everyone else stares and shakes their heads. The thing about Earth Hour that you have all likely heard before is that it’s a token event that is fun and allows for a lot of environmental campaigns, but makes no tangible impact on energy consumption. It is still a good time and does keep that message of protecting the environment alive, even if for a short while, so I’m not at all calling for an end to it. Instead, I’m calling for something new. The school term is coming to an end and summer is just over the horizon, with 20 degree weather being expected this weekend. Let the excitement of the coming warmth and the vacation from school motivate you to do one extra thing for the environment; something that can do more than just an hour of symbolic gestures; create an environmental resolution. Change one part of your lifestyle that will help protect the environment. Even if you feel it won’t have a massive impact or change the world overnight, don’t let that stop you from doing it; whether it’s using a Nalgene instead of buying water bottles, trying to buy more local foods, or using fewer plastics. Take it a step further and think of an initiative or group that is doing something to help the environment (preferably something that is more direct-action like building sustainable homes instead of campaigning and protesting), or make it a goal to find a new approach to helping the environment. I’m not looking for some New Year’s resolution-type thing where you make a token effort and give up by the end of the month. This should be something you can feel passionate about. Being environmentally sensitive and sustainable encompasses every subject and lifestyle. Think of your favourite thing to do–your profession, sport, pastime, career–and I bet you can find some way of making it more sustainable. Too many people think being environmentally-friendly is just reduction and writing letters to the government, when it is so much more than that. It’s change that creates a better life for the planet, and for yourself. Now take this one step further and do more than just a small change in your own life; change something in your life and take it outside of your own single person circle. Make a resolution that hasn’t been in any Greenpeace campaigns, something original. Then take that resolution and spread it to your friends. Maybe you even have a resolution that could benefit a larger community: the school, the city, the country. Maybe even the world. Who knows where it could lead? Make a resolution to change yourself and as many people as you can with a simple gesture; a simple action that is more than just waving a sign or turning off your lights for an hour. Being sustainable is more than just turning off a light in an unused room; it’s creating a change that will have positive impacts not only on the environment, but on the people who commit to the change. Make a resolution to not just yell “Don’t!” or “Stop!” in a crowd, but to create the kind of direct action that people stop and clap for. thelferty@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Rather than attacking food-borne infections with antibiotics, which may potentially cause more harm, Vanessa Sperandio, speaking at the Society for General Microbiology’s spring meeting in Edinburgh, explained that intercepting hormones released by the host for signalling pathogens may be the better way of handling food poisoning. Bacteria within our gut, Escherichia coli and Salmonella detect and respond to adrenaline released by the host through a sensor called QseC that are both on bacterial surfaces. When this adrenaline is combined with QseC, there is a chain reaction that ultimately leads to a toxin production. A molecule called LED209, found by Sperandio and her research team at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Centre, stops the binding of the adrenaline with the QseC. When LED209 was given to a selection of mice that had such infections, it was found that a number of potential infections were prevented. “QseC is a very attractive drug target because it is present in at least 25 important animal and plant pathogens but not in mammals. This means that drugs targeting this sensor are less likely to be toxic and have the potential to be broad-spectrum [effective against several types of infection].” Sperandio said. Unlike antibiotics treatments that can make our illnesses worse, LED209 can prevent this. Simply put, the molecule does not kill nor hinder E. Coli, whereas antibiotics would just cause a further development of the shiga toxin. “Instead, LED209 decreases expression of genes that encode this toxin,” she said. “What is more, because this signalling system does not directly influence bacterial growth, inhibiting it may not exert a strong selective pressure for the development of resistance.” Silver bullet to our viruses
A medical “silver bullet” that can disable HIV, Ebolavirus, the common flu, and possibly every kind of enveloped virus on the planet may have been
discovered this week. Benhur Lee at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), developed a compound that could potentially act as a crippling agent. To make this sound better than it already does, viruses may be unable to develop any potential resistance to this compound. This lab process took Lee four years in collaboration with many labs across America before the final paper was presented. What first began as a research group to combat the Nipah Virus in 1999, Lee, as an expert to viral envelopment, began looking into branching research. Viral envelopment is a process by which the outside surface of a virus latches onto a cell. The Nipah Virus is so deadly that those researching this specific virus need to wear air tight hazmat suits with internal oxygen supplies. In an attempt to bring down the uncomfortable levels of safety requirements, Lee attempted to fill the labs with a compound that may reduce such safety needs. “One compound [LJ001] looked really good, it had an IC50 of one micromolar [meaning that it inhibited the pathogen at a low concentration], which for an initial read is okay. Most importantly, it wasn’t toxic [to cell cultures],” Lee explained. This LJ001 compound worked so well that Lee sent it to the University of Texas medical branch to have it tested in a secure environment. The compound even ran up against HIV, and was noted for its ability to deny entry to the viruses. Lee said, however, that LJ001 worked against lipid-enveloped viruses only. Despite all this, the LJ001 compound attacks both the victim cell as well as the virus cells. Essentially just creating a layer over both cell units, the LJ001 manages to damage the primitive virus cells, but without a proper way to repair, unlike most cells, the viruses die. Warner Greene, director of the Gladstone Institute of Virology and Immunology at the University of California, San Francisco, congratulated Lee and his collaborators on “a fascinating piece of work on an unexpected finding.” But, he cautions, “from a therapeutic point of view it is a very, very early finding.”
Every day is special at Gen X but we give you half price rentals on Mondays and 2-4-1 rentals on Wednesdays. That’s because we are nice.
K-W’s best selection of foreign, cult, anime, gay & lesbian and hard-to-find DVDs and Blu-Rays.
Pregnancy is the best hope for breast cancer
At the seventh European Breast Cancer Conference (EBCC7) held on March 25, a research group from both Belgium and Italy, found that pregnancy was safe for breast cancer patients and helps increase survival rates. Developing mostly during early the childbearing years, breast cancer has caused survivors to want to have kids after the treatments have finished. Until now, it was unclear as to whether or not it was safe to be pregnant as estrogen could cause cancer to reoccur or become aggressive. Taking results that had occurred in 14 trials from 1970 to 2009, Dr. Hatem A. Azim, Jr., a fellow at the department of medical oncology at the Institute Jules Bordet, Brussels, Belgium, found that a reduction of 42 per cent in the risk of death occurred for those that were pregnant. This study involved 1,417 pregnant women with a history of breast cancer and 18,059 women with a history of breast cancer who were not pregnant. Azim said “Our findings clearly demonstrate that pregnancy is safe in women with a history of successfullytreated breast cancer. There is a wide perception in the oncology community that women with history of breast cancer should not get pregnant for fear of pregnancy increasing the risk of recurrence by means of hormonal stimulation.” This is untrue, however, as Azim’s study has found that high levels of oestrogen would cause 60-70 per cent of breast tumours to undergo apoptosis (programmed deaths); these high levels are found during pregnancy. “Nowadays, fertility after cancer has become a top issue not only for patients, but also physicians. In 2006, the American Society of Clinical Oncology published guidelines that state that fertility issues should be discussed with patients before treatment—a recommendation we believe is of great importance,” said Azim. —With files from Science Daily and Scientific American. ilui@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
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Science & Technology
Imprint, Thursday, April 1, 2010
27
World leaders commit to ending climate change—for one hour Erin Oldynski science & technology assistant
O
n Saturday, March 27 from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., hundreds of millions of people took part in the third ever Earth Hour. In the United States, the lights went out in one of the best lit places on Earth—the welcome sign and strip at Las Vegas, Nevada. Paris turned off the lights of the Eiffel Tower, while Toronto dimmed the lights of the CN Tower. In Waterloo, students gathered in the Great Hall of the Student Life Centre for a concert organized by the University of Waterloo’s Sustainable Technology Education Project (STEP). For one hour, all lights were turned off, with the exception of the decorative lights around the stage which were being powered by a bicycle generator. Earth Hour is organized by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). It first started in 2007 in Sydney, Australia when 2.2 million homes and businesses turned their lights off to make a statement about their commitment to end climate change. By 2008, Earth Hour gained worldwide involvement with more than 50 million people in 35 countries participating. From the Sydney Harbour Bridge, to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco; from Rome’s Coliseum to the Empire State Building, iconic buildings and landmarks all over the world stood in darkness to pledge support for the planet. Earth Hour 2009 became the largest climate change initiative
in history when 4,000 cities in 88 countries officially joined the movement and turned off their lights. According to the Earth Hour website, the purpose of this event is to create “a global call to action to every individual, every business, every community throughout the world to stand up, to take responsibility, to get involved, and lead the way towards a sustainable future.” For Earth Hour 2010, 126 countries took part by simultaneously turning off their lights. Within 24 hours, Earth Hour had 74.6 million mentions on Google and it was the number one worldwide trending topic on Twitter. Over 1,000 official Earth Hour photos have been submitted to the Earth Hour website from around the world. Following this year’s Earth Hour, Andy Ridley, cofounder and executive director of Earth Hour, said the response from citizens, businesses, and government has been truly phenomenal. “Crossing geographic, economic, and cultural boundaries, it has brought together people from all over the planet to celebrate the one thing we all share - the place we live,” he said. United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, said the message of Earth Hour is simple. “Climate change is a concern for each of us. Solutions are within our grasp and are ready to be implemented by individuals, communities, businesses, and governments around the globe.” eoldynski@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
A botanical garden in Curitiba, Brazil before and during Earth Hour.
Mind control, search engines, and the hadron collider Rick Ray staff reporter
Human mind control
According to researchers at MIT, our moral judgment is not as inviolable as we once thought. Researchers have proven, with the use of magnetic interferences, that our moral judgments can be altered. Studies have proven that the right temporoparietal junction (TPJ) in the brain is activated when a person attempts to engage in moral decisions such as evaluating the intentions of others. While most people believe their moralities are consistent, the MIT team proved that relatively simple processes, such as evaluating the intentions of others, are impaired when an electric field is applied to the scalp. The electric field is generated via a noninvasive transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to interfere with the right TPJ, inhibiting the routine firing of neurons in the region. The experiment was composed of two tests, a control test and a variable test, where the participants were asked to complete a quiz. The quiz had the participants evaluate the character’s actions based on the supposed intentions. In the first test, participants were
asked to judge character’s actions based on their intentions. In the second test, the participants were subjected to a 500 millisecond burst of TMS, just as they were about to make a moral decision. The outcome was startling to the researchers. In both cases, the control subjects were able to evaluate the harmfulness and morality of the character’s intentions, but the subjects that had been hit by the TMS bursts made their moral judgments purely based on outcome. Those exposed with TMS largely based their responses on the concept of “no harm, no foul.” For example, one question asked whether it was permissible for a man to allow his girlfriend to cross a bridge he knows is unsafe, even if in the end she manages to cross safely. The control group all iterated that it was morally impermissible, as opposed to the group exposed to TMS, which indicated it was permissible. The TMS exposed group also found that people who had killed someone else in self defence or intentionally as acceptable, while the control group indicated that there should be repercussions. The research proves that morals are more corruptible than once believed, and human mind control may not be as far-fetched as once believed.
High-energy success for the Hadron Collider
The European Organization for Nuclear Research(CERN) finally saw success in their Large Hadron Collider (LHC) when they were successfully able to smash two beams of protons together at high speed. The successful collisions occurred after a few failed starts at an energy level of 7 trillion electron volts. The experiment had two proton beans travelling at over 99.9 per cent of the speed of light to collide, creating showers of new particles for physicists to study. Each beam consisted of up to 100 billion particles. Since the particles are so small, the chances for two to collide are very small. CERN re-
ported that they expected only 20 collisions of the 200 billion that were fired. However, the continuous streaming of the beams had bunches colliding at about 30 million times per second. The four detectors of the LHC, Alice, Atlas, CMS, and LHCb, observed the collisions and gathered data relating to each respective experiment. Physicists worldwide are excited at the opportunity to examine the results. They will be looking to solve the origin of mass, the grand unification of forces, the presence of dark matter in the universe, and perhaps uncover the composition of the universe. —With files from Popular Science, Scientific American, and BBC.
Correction Imprint would like to correct three errors which appeared the article “New UW website design”, in the March 26 edition: • Sarah Forgrave’s actual title is “Manager of Web communications.” • The website preview included only one proposed new website, not four proposed new websites • The target launch date for the new website is fall 2010, not May 2010. Imprint apologizes for the errors.
Campus Bulletin UPCOMING
ANNOUNCEMENTS
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. April 10 to April 27, 2010 rare Charitable Research Reserve – for all upcoming events www.raresites.org or info@raresites.org. 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. E-Waste Green Day at UW Central Stores (ECH, 263 Phillip Street) from 8 am. to 4 p.m. Drop off for all personal used electronic equipment. Staff is available for assistance in unloading the equipment from vehicles. Thursday, 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. Monday, May 3, 2010 Imprint’s first staff meeting of the spring/summer term today at 12:30 p.m. in the Student Life Centre, room 1116. For info call 519-888-4048 or check out Imprint’s web site at www.imprint.uwaterloo.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.
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! 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!
ONGOING
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
STUDENT AWARDS & FINANCIAL AID For updates/changes to workshops, please refer to www.strobe.uwaterloo.ca/cecs/cs/index. Have you picked up all your OSAP funding? Please check to see if you have claimed all loans and/or grant funding that you are entitled to. If you are unsure, stop by the office or call us at ext 33583. April 23, 2010 – official last day of term. – last day to submit Continuation of Interest Free Status Form for winter term. Forms will not be accepted after 4:30 p.m. (please do not put forms in the drop box on this day). – absolute last day to pick up loans for the winter term. Applications for Emergency Loans must be submitted by the last day of each term.
Imprint, Thursday, April 1, 2010 ads@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
UW RECREATION COMMITTEE UW Recreation Committee events are open to all employees of the University of Waterloo. Register by emailing UWRC@uwaterloo.ca. Thursday, April 15, 2010 UWRC Book Club – “The Audacity of Hope”; 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.
VOLUNTEERING
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. Contact Kate Lavender at 519-772-8787 or katel@communitysupportconnections.org.
Classified HELP WANTED
Weekend counsellors and relief staff to work in homes for individuals with developmental challenges. Minimum eight-month commitment. Paid positions. Send resume to 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.
HELP NEEDED
Have you seen this trailer?? The trailer represents the “fight for cancer” as it hauls equipment throughout Ontario for the yearly Kelly Shrine Snow Run events. It was stolen March 29, 2010. If you see this trailer PLEASE call police!
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.
WANTED
Used books wanted for CFUW Book Sale, Thursday 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.
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.
Sports & Living
Imprint, Thursday, April 1, 2010 sports@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Sports Editorial
The sweet life of bicycle touring Ian Hincks and Geoff Stanley 4b mathematical physics and pure math double major
Baseball Banter... As Spring Training winds down leading into the new season, it seems like an appropriate time to make a few comments about useless statistics in the game of baseball. Statistics can be dangerous in the hands of people who don’t know how to interpret them. Deciding which statistics to use can be treacherous. Rule of thumb: the more people that use a statistic the less useful that statistic is. Batting average may be the greatest scam ever conceived, and the funny thing is that intuitively you’ve always known that batting average didn’t feel right. Maybe you couldn’t say why, but you knew that a .270 average was not that much worse than a .300 average, and yet that could be the difference between an all-star and a scrub. Batting average is easy to put on the back of a baseball card, and it’s easy to understand; two reasons why it’s so popular. Over a large enough sample size a player’s true average will emerge (Kolmogorov’s strong law), and therein lies the main flaw of batting average: the sample sizes are too small for batting average to be taken seriously. At the end of a career quoting batting average makes a little more sense since there are thousands of at bats in the sample. In the course of a season a player might get 600 at bats and the randomness of those at bats is not going to be smoothed by the law of large numbers. We’ve all watched seeing eye singles and broken bat bloopers that “look like a line drive in the box score,” but those are not the same as a line drive laced up the middle. All a batter can do is try to make solid contact with the ball, after that it’s essentially luck. A great statistic is batting average on balls in play which is the amount of hits divided by the number of times you make contact. (ie. it discounts homeruns and strikeouts but factors in SAC flies). BABIP is essentially a measure of how lucky you were over the course of the season. Obviously BABIP will differ from player to player depending on the quality of contact that hitter generally makes. BABIP is the greatest contributing factor to batting average which means that batting average as a statistical measure is garbage. Like batting average before it, runs batted in (better known as RBIs) makes good people do bad things. Ever heard someone quote their RBI total? If a player is bragging about RBIs they’re claiming that they are “clutch.” There are clutch hits and clutch plays for sure, but there are no clutch players. They don’t exist. (aka. mythical) This isn’t to say that each at bat is identical and players don’t adjust to different situations, it’s saying that players don’t have the capacity to raise their hitting ability when there are runners on base. RBIs are dependent on the hitters in front of you (do they get on base regularly). Obviously this means that you will have more RBI opportunities, leading to more RBIs. See RUNDOWN, page 32
B
icycle touring: maybe the two words make sense to you, but together they are an oxymoron. Why ride hundreds of miles on a bicycle when you can drive in a car, or better yet fly in a plane? Why camp in the insect infested forest when you can sleep tight in a luxurious hotel? Why cook rice over a camping stove in the cold and rain when you can eat exotic and gratifying foods from fancy restaurants? Is a bicycle tourist just a loner driven by masochism to undertake anachronistic pilgrimages? Far from it. With just a few quixotic tendencies between us, we, Ian and Geoff, rode from Waterloo to Vancouver together last summer. It was the best time of our lives. A trip in a plane, or even in a car, will certainly get you to your destination. You can even sleep the whole way there. Or you might try to pay attention as the world goes streaming by, but it’s all a blur. You don’t see the moose in the forest, and you don’t see the mountain as a humble and impregnable expression of antiquity. It is difficult to relate the profound pleasure of bicycle touring; it’s a pleasure that takes root deeply in the soul. To feel the land rising and falling under the power of your own legs, to take immense joy in every bit of food that you consume, to understand the subtle way in which the Canadian Shield turns into the Prairies, or the way in which the sun rises and sets on the farms of Saskatchewan. I profess it is not possible to understand the majesty of the Rockies without having ridden across the Prairies to witness them rise out of the ground. And camping! Sleeping nightly under the simple stars, I have never slept better. In northern Ontario I would wake myself in the middle of the night to look at the mysterious blanket of stars above, to see the secrets of their ascent. We wake shortly after sunrise and pack our sleeping bags and tent, our lives, into our panniers and clip them onto our bicycles. We take off down the road, pushed along by a tailwind so we are hurtling at 32 kilometers per hour. We have no obligations, no deadlines — ultimate freedom. We soar with this wind for a few hours, and
Top Brackets #
Name
Pts
1
Tamim Anwar
73
2
Dan Van Der Werf
70
3
Dalton Bleskie
68
4
Erin Middlebrook
66
5
Jeffery Laythorpe
66
6
Littin Modoor
65
7
Avi Itskovich
65
8
Ken Suong
64
9
Melodie Harik
64
10
Robert Tutins
63
11
Michel Saccone
62
12
William Kyle Hamilton
61
13
Jason Poon
60
14
Justin Scidmore
59
15
Reanne Holden
59
Courtesy UW athletics
Geoff Stanley does a bicycle lift at Aaron Provincial Park between Thunder Bay and Kenora. I barely notice the time going by for I am lost in pleasant thought, in the dramas unfolding in the clouds above. Around midday we stop at a grocery store and get some bananas, apples, trail mix, bagels, salmon, cheese, peanut butter, jam; find a shady grove in which to lunch, take a little nap if you want. In the afternoon we ride a little slower, soaking in the sunshine, and by late afternoon we start looking for a place to spend the night. Today on the ‘northern’ route through Manitoba, we are looking at farmers’ fields and patches of woods. We find a small clearing and Ian goes to work setting up the tent while I cut some vegetables for my famous spaghetti. After dinner the writers get their writing pads out, explorers their cameras, artists their pencils and sketch pads; I go for my novel; and when the sun goes down, so do we. So we may sleep at 10:30 and
smell a bit funny, but we are not loners. About once a week, generally when we hit the big cities, we would find some generous soul to stay with. We would find these people through CouchSurfing (www.couchsurfing. org) or WarmShowers (www.warmshowers.org), send them a message a few days before arriving, asking “can we please sleep on your beds and maybe use your laundry machine, have dinner with you and you can show us around the city?” And they respond, “Yes, yes, yes, yes!” Our first hosts were in Sault Sainte Marie, and I was blown away by their generosity. They knew exactly what we wanted and offered it, plus more. When we woke the next day and it was snowing (in May!), we didn’t even have to ask to stay another day. A week later, approaching Thunder Bay, our host responded to our email with, “Hey Ian, No problem staying at my place. I might not be home
but that does not matter. [...] You are welcome to take a shower. Use my towels that are in the bathroom upstairs behind the bathroom door. You may also use my washer/dryer downstairs. [...] You are welcome to a couple of beer each.” In Jasper we stayed at the fivestar Fairmont Park Lodge, but we CouchSurfed on the floor of a dorm room with Garth, a server at the hotel. With Garth, we hiked to the top of a mountain, talking philosophy and poetry and environmentalism the whole way up. He introduced us to his friends at the hotel, people from all around the world, and we all had a barbecue by a pristine lake and a party with our new friends that night. Tell me, which rich man who flies in his private plane and pays for his hotel room will have such a glorious experience? See CYCLOTOUR, page 34
30
Sports & Living
Imprint, Thursday, April 1, 2010
Varsity Hockey
Alcina Wong and rebecca chung
Shane Hart #22
A
s the longest standing member of the Warrior squad this past season, Shane Hart was a clearcut example of talent and leadership. The five-year veteran began his career during the 2005-2006 season and quickly showed his prowess for scoring goals, as he was able to score nine goals and tally 13 assists. The Guelph native followed up his impressive rookie campaign with 11 goals and 16 assists as he became a regular face on both the powerplay and the penalty-kill. Hart became the face of the Warriors for his final three
seasons netting at least 10 goals and tallying at least 30 points in each season. As the Warriors came closer and closer to topping the OUA, it was Hart leading the way. The veteran ended his five-year career in impressive fashion scoring a career high 14 goals and placing fifth in the CIS rankings in game-winning goals with four. Even though he did not receive OUA All-Star status this past season, Hart was nothing but that on and off the ice and he encouraged his team to bring their best game in and game out, just like he did throughout his five year career.
Kyle Pellerin #18
Rocky Choi
Mark Hartman #11
Rocky Choi
“Y
ou know it’s funny what a young man recollects. Cause I don’t remember being born, I don’t recall what I got for my first Christmas, and I don’t know when I went on my first outdoor picnic; but I do remember the first time I pulled the Warrior jersey over my head.” The Lebret, Saskatchewan native’s fondest memory of being a Waterloo Warrior took place on the day he donned the Warrior crest to start the 2007-2008 hockey season. His impact on the team was felt almost immediately as the speedy forward tallied 23 points in his first season and was a key player on the special teams. He followed up his first season with 19 points in his second season and con-
tinued to show why his addition to the Warrior roster was paying dividends as the team began to come closer and closer to the top of the OUA standings. This past season, Hartman went out with a bang scoring eight goals and 17 helpers aiding the Warriors in their successful regular season campaign before it came to an abrupt end with an early first round playoff exit. When asked about the message he would like to send to his teammates as they prepare for next season Hartman stated, “I don’t know if we each have a destiny, or if we’re all just floating around accidental like on a breeze, but I think maybe it’s both. Maybe both are happening at the same time. I’ll miss you guys. If there’s anything you need, I won’t be far away.”
Ben Pasha #32
Rocky Choi
Aaron Dileo #3
Rocky Choi
RandiLynn Wilson #17
Rocky Choi
Laura Higgins #18
H
ig gins, a sophomore defensemen with the Warriors, is also parting ways after the season. She had five
“M
Rocky Choi
y fondest memory would have to be the trip to Switzerland last year engaging in experiences such as the outdoor hockey game on New Years Day, going sledding down the mountain and the time spent in ‘The Jungle.’ Basically my fondest memories are the ones that involve the team being together.” The Regina native placed a premium on being a team player from the day he stepped on the Warrior
“W
e have had many good times over the years with all the Michigan football games, great parties and many hours spent at Thirsty’s. Or the time Aaron Dileo told an entire elementary school (around 500 students) that Ben Pasha was his hero.” When the Halifax native arrived on the University of Waterloo campus for the 2006-2007 hockey season, he brought energy to the Warrior lockerroom that will certainly be missed. Pasha assumed an important role on the Warrior squad. He took the status as one of the team’s shutdown defencemen that would certainly make an opposing team’s player re-
T
ice-surface during the 2006-2007 hockey season. Pellerin often preached to his teammates and friends in the Warrior dressing room and it rubbed off as the team became a powerful force in the OUA. He routinely took his place on the team’s energy line and was known for his ability to be a power forward and deliver bonecrushing hits to the opposition. Even though he was not counted on to be an offensive scoring threat, he had no problems getting the puck to the back of opposing team’s net. Throughout his four-year career, his goal totals would nearly equal his assist totals. His most successful season came this past season as he totaled nine points in 16 games played and left his mark as a valuable team player that his teammates and Warrior faithful will certainly miss. “The message to the guys is to make the most of the time you have playing hockey for the university. It flies by and before you know it, it’s gone. Make sure you leave university and specifically, hockey with no regrets. Come to the rink everyday, regardless of how you feel that day and enjoy it because once it’s gone you will realize how special it is to be a part of Warrior hockey.”
gret entering the Warrior zone with his head down. He was also a regular fixture on the team’s penalty-kill as he ensured the opposing team’s power play would not capitalize. His ability to separate opposing players from the puck and make the smart play defined the on-ice player that Pasha was, while his great sense of humour off the ice made him a valuable asset year in and year out that will be greatly missed by his fellow teammates and Warrior faithful. “The message I want to tell the guys is to work as hard as you can in hockey, and if hockey doesn’t work out you can always join me in my pursuit of joining the TNA wrestling circuit.”
imbaland’s song “What’s the Dealio” became a frequent sound echoing from the loudspeakers at the CIF arena for the past four seasons. The song was played when Toronto native Aaron Dileo headed for his usual seat in the team’s penalty box. The gritty Dileo was not known for his ability to rack up large amounts of points, but making opposing players pay for taking late shots at his teammates.
A no- nonsense skilled athlete, despite his frequent visits to the penalty box, he made sure he did not take unnecessary penalties that would end up costing his team. His presence will be missed on the Warrior roster as he aided the team in its transformation to the finesse and scrappy team it has been for the past two seasons. Other teams feared to play them knowing that if they got out of line, players like Dileo would certainly put them in their place.
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Melissa Quinn #66
aptain Randi Lynn Wilson had been a varsity player for all four years of her university career. In her past three years, she has amassed 19 goals and 18 assists in 79 games, a point every other game. Most importantly, she was a key to the core of the team and will be missed for the leadership she brought to the dressing room. assists this season and added 32 penalty minutes. She played in all 26 games this season, a step up in responsibility over her eight games dressed in her first season.
“I have met some amazing people throughout my four years as a Warrior … I worked diligently throughout my career, and myself along with my fellow grads have contributed to a young hockey program that continues to grow for the future,” Quinn said. After four years as a varsity player, Quinn will be hanging up the skates to help coach the KW Rangers women’s junior team next season. “Hockey has always been a big part of my life, I am grateful to have had the experience to play four years in the OUA as a Waterloo Warrior. Playing amongst some very great hockey players, and just generally great people. I was able to play hockey at the university level, which is something I sought out to do from a young age,” said Quinn.
Sports & Living
Imprint, Thursday, April 1, 2010
Varsity Basketball David Burnett #20
Brent golem
Matt Hayes #23
“T
he thing I will miss most will be being part of a team every single day. We travel, practise, battle in games and even chill together for nearly all 12 months of the year in hopes of achieving one common goal. It’s a bond that can’t really be explained.” Burnett will graduate as a four-time Academic AllCanadian. He is a three-year co-captain, named to the OUA West Division All-Rookie team in 2006, while taking team Rookie of the Year as well. He was named to the 2006 Naismith Classic and 2006 Jack Donohue Tournament All-star teams, honoured as the UW’s most improved player and team MVP, in 2006 and 2007 respectively. His statistics are just as impressive: he has over 1,000 points, 600 assists and 400 rebounds. He also holds the University of Waterloo record for most career assist with 622. “Dave is one of the quickest point guards in the country and his ability to break down defences along with his unselfish team approach and great skills, has resulted in many ‘gifts’ to his teammates,” said coach Tom Keiswetter. In the future, Burnett plans to return to school and to basketball, but for the time being, his plans revolve around travel.
courtesy cole breiland
Jesse Tipping #24
Reanne Holden #5
“B
eing a varsity athlete has also taught me about time management and work ethic, because if you don’t have those two skills it makes it very difficult to succeed at the university level.” Reanne Holden has had a very challenging and rewarding career. Through the many amazing people she has met and the teammates she has bonded with, she has learned about goal setting and the amount of planning and work it takes to achieve goals as well as how important communication is within a team. In the future, she aspires to go into business and would like to work for a non-government organization.
rocky choi
Laura Becotte #14
rocky choi
rocky choi
Ben Frisby #33
“I
learned more about myself as a student, an athlete, and a member of the health profession than some people do in ten years. I was exposed to more opportunity than any textbook could have given me.” Laura Becotte’s favourite moment as a Warrior was winning a home court playoff game against Brock 46–41 in the 2008 season. In her first two seasons on the Warriors, Becotte was continually injured, and so her true potential as a driving force on the team had to wait until her third year. One of the biggest lessons that she learned through her varsity career was teamwork. Not only did this experience increase the importance of communication skills, it also helped her time management skills. Becotte’s final year has been the busiest for her. Not only was she a varsity athlete and a full-time student, but she was also a part time adult day program manager at the Trinity Village Long-Term Care Facility. Now that she is graduating, she will be working there full time for at least another year, and then may consider returning to school for a Masters degree.
rocky choi
“B
ecause of his competitive fire and ability to battle, Matt will always be remembered as a true Warrior,” said head coach Tom Keiswetter. One of the proudest moments for Matt Hayes was putting on the Warrior uniform for every game. In that uniform, Hayes has become the only Warrior to win two most improved player awards in consecutive seasons and also has a pair of Naismith victories. Despite a nagging injury this season, he was named tournament MVP at the Naismith Classic and at the UQAM’s Christmas tournament was named to the Tournament All-Star Team. “I think what I’ll miss most of all is the competition that came with being a Waterloo Warrior. I probably won’t ever again get the chance to play with a talented group of players, in front of hundreds of awesome friends, for such high stakes. But, I’m extremely happy with how my career unfolded here,” Hayes told Imprint.
“H
e is always poised and confident and is the voice of reason when the situation needs one,” said head coach Tom Keiswetter. Although he is glad that he chose to become a Warrior and represent Waterloo on the court, Jesse Tipping was not satisfied with his career as a Warrior. He really wanted a national championship. He has no regrets though, because he gave it all when he was on the court. “My greatest moment was being able to help Coach Keiswetter snap his 20 year winless record at McMaster this year in the first round of playoffs,” he told Imprint. Another noteworthy moment for him was the Warriors’ game against Brock, where Tipping led the team with 21 points and successfully beat the Badgers by a huge margin. In the future, he can see himself coaching basketball. Keiswetter said it best, “Jesse is an unselfish, team-first player, and most importantly an exceptional young man who has been an invaluable asset to our program.”
“B
en has lived and breathed Warrior basketball and he will always be remembered for his commitment to the team and his ability to play the game hard and aggressive — never backing down from any opponent!” said head coach Tom Keiswetter. Ben Frisby is a man of no regrets. Not only did he accomplish many of the goals he had set out for himself but those goals also translated into tangible statistics. Frisby finishes with close to 1,000 points, 800 rebounds and 300 assists over his career. All while coping with a chronic injury. This past season, Frisby scored the winning basket in the Naismith championship game and was named to the tournament all-star team, achieved a double-double in games against Toronto and UBC and scored 17 points against Windsor. Keiswetter remarked: “Ben has developed into a complete player, his high skill level enabled him to play all five positions on the floor and incredibly he did that — sometimes in a single game.”
Chelsea Brown #13 Stephanie Shea #7 Guard Chelsea Brown, from London, Ontario, is graduating this year from therapeutic recreation. In this, her fourth year as a Waterloo Warrior, Brown had 21 field goals and six three-point field goals, as well as 36 rebounds and 26 assists. She finished the season with 59 points, which equals around 4.9 points per game.
Stephanie Shea, a guard from Vancouver, British Columbia will be receiving her degree in kinesiology this year. In her third year as a Warrior, Shea has shown amazing leadership on the court. This season, she had 60 field goals and 27 three-point field goals. She also had 61 rebounds, 16 assists and 167 points.
Erin Button #23 Erin Button, a power forward from Stoufville, Ontario, has used up her five years of eligibility. In her final year as a Warrior, she scored 8.19 points per game, and grabbed 4.14 rebounds per game. Her height, as well as her leadership, will be missed on the court. She is completing her degree in fine arts and English.
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Varsity Volleyball
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Sports & Living
Imprint, Thursday, April 1, 2010
Kate Flanagan #11
Bojana Josipovic #13
“I
Courtesy UW Athletics
’ve had an awesome experience here, have met tons of great people and learned so much. Just a huge thank you to athletics and the coaches and teammates I’ve had over the years for making my volleyball experience alone a great one,” said Josipovic.
Her skill and leadership on the court guarantee that her teammates had a better experience because of her presence. Josipovic was named to the OUA West division all-star team, an honour she has earned in her previous three years on the team. She lead the team with over three kills per game. “Boj was our go-to player offensively for a lot of her career as a Warrior and has this constant competitive drive that shows her love of the game. She’s been a leader and a vocal presence on the court at all times and will always be remembered for her thunderous kills at the net,” coach Gaby Jobst said. “Bojana is definitely an outgoing, personable and social individual and has always had a mature quality about her that’s made her a pleasure to coach.”
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Brent Golem
lanagan didn’t have high expectations for what kind of player she would develop into. “The club team I played for wasn’t that successful so it was amazing being part of such a great program and getting to play with great volleyball players,” she said.
She will miss the competitive side of the sport, as well as her teammates. An OUA West first-team all-star for two consecutive years, it is certain her teammates will miss her presence and leadership on the court. She was one of the offensive leaders this season with 2.5 kills per game. “Kate is probably one of the most versatile players I’ve ever coached who just seems to have a knack for picking up anything she’s introduced to. She’s certainly a talented volleyball player in all facets of the game and managed to be a strong force for the team in one way or another throughout her career as a Warrior,” coach Gaby Jobst said. “Kate is just a pleasant person with this completely goofy side that makes her a blast to be around.”
E
Stephanie Ebreo #4
“E
Megan McKenzie #6
breo has had many tasks during her varsity career and has managed to embrace them as well as possible. Her skilled and versatile nature garnered her the position of chameleon, a well-rounded player who could step into an role that was needed. This year, Ebreo was called upon to act as a setter on the team and excelled at the task, earning 223 assists and added 82 digs. “Steph is a go-getter and fighter with a passion for volleyball. I can distinctly remember Steph coming into an away game against Windsor when we were down, and almost single-handedly winning the set for our team with precise and tough serving,” coach Gaby Jobst said. “She definitely has a fun personality and a take-charge attitude. I think she’d be a good coach someday.”
ach time we played, practised, trained and worked as a team we created so many amazing memories,” McKenzie said. “I will miss the anticipation of a big game, and the way it feels after a win. I will also miss spending everyday with my teammates, as they grew to be such a big part of my life.” McKenzie used her size well to dominate the net. As a middle blocker, she had 49 blocks and 44 digs, but wreaked havoc on her opponents with lethal kill ratio, scoring 139 kills in her 71 games played. “She was a constant on the court with her biggest claim to fame being her incredible blocking abilities at the net,” coach Gaby Jobst said. “Megan is a friendly and outgoing individual who seems to enjoy the finer things in life. It makes me laugh, but I’ll always remember Megan as being the worst morning person I’ll probably ever coach.”
Tyler Vivian #9
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Brent Golem
ivian followed up an OUA second-team all-star campaign last season by taking on the team captain role, with the added pressure of mentoring his younger brother who was a new recruit. Vivian led the team by example and, although he didn’t receive another all-star honour, had an excellent campaign, with a team-high 190 kills and 220 points, and added another 100 digs over his 77 games. He was top 10 in the OUA for kills. “He goes full bore all the time, and every team needs someone like this,” coach Chris Lawson said. “He forces his teammates to practise like it’s the championship game.” Over the summer he will test out the beach volleyball circuit before deciding if he wants to play semi-pro.
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Andrew Thorpe #5
D
Aaron Dam #7
ithout their leading setter, the Warriors may be in some trouble next year. Thorpe was arguably the best setter in the OUA this season. He was third in the OUA with 681 total assists over 76 games, meaning in the race to 25, Thorpe would have a hand in almost nine points per game. A definitive force in the front of the court, Thorpe will be a missed by his teammates and coaches alike. “He was player of the game in virtually half of our matches this season. He led all setters in blocks and service aces, and was second in assists. His experience is now catching up to his physical skills to make him a complete setting package,” coach Chris Lawson said. “Although Andrew is graduating, he has one year of eligibility left and we would absolutely love to have him back.”
am was a two-time team MVP, and was honoured as an OUA second-team all-star this season. He also was the OUA winner of the Dale Iwanocko award, which is given for athletics combined with academics and community service. Dam was very strong on the court, and was a force around the net. Standing at 6’6” Dam used his height to dominate the opposition. He was second in the OUA with 82 blocks this season, and led all middle blockers in the country in digs and service aces. “As team captain, he was extremely hard working and played through injuries, leading by example,” coach Chris Lawson said. “He is going to be virtually impossible to replace.”
Courtesy UW Athletics
Sports & Living
Imprint, Thursday, April 1, 2010
33
How wrong i was S
ometimes you think you have something figured out, only to discover you were dead wrong. It happens to the best of us, right? We get that ‘ping’ moment in our brain where ‘it all comes together’ and we convince our self that we’re undoubtedly correct. It’s happened to a ton of people over time. For instance, the guy who declared the Earth flat all those years ago — he was one of the original suckers. More recently, it was the producers of American Idol, who decided Ellen DeGeneres would be a good judge for their singing contest, when A) she has never sang, B) doesn’t know anything about singing and C) isn’t at all funny, because she’s so stressed about knowing zero about singing. Yeah, those guys are chumps, losers, idiots… Then there’s me. Last week, for those of you who read my column, I put together a set of data that as far as I was concerned, would successfully predict the winner of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship. I talked about the idea of ‘star power’ and ‘NBA potential’, claiming that these
tied directly into who won the tournament. I picked three teams that under my theory were eligible for the championship: Kentucky, Syracuse and Ohio State. So how’d that work out for me? About as well as Sandra Bullock and Jesse James’ marriage is going these days. Syracuse and Ohio State didn’t even make it out of the Sweet Sixteen, both falling immediately after my predictions became public. At least Kentucky held on for one more round, making it into the Elite Eight before crashing and burning at the hands of West Virginia. I mean, how was I supposed to know Kentucky would go 0-20 from three-point range to begin the game? To put Kentucky’s horrid three-point shooting into perspective: if someone would have come up to me at halftime and said, “Jason, using magic, we can substitute your younger sister in and let her shoot all the wide-open threes for the rest of the game instead of these Kentucky players … yes or no?” I would have thought about it for exactly one millisecond before yelling “PUT HER IN!” To put this into even further perspective: My sister has played
probably five basketball games in her life. Yes, I was that desperate and they were that bad. Watching the games with my dad (who was rather smug seeing as he had predicted this freshman collapse) and seeing my theory collapse quicker than Vince Vaughn races to a buffet line, I started thinking about why it hadn’t turned out like I’d thought it would. And bingo, here are some theories about why my other theory didn’t work (yes, you read that correctly): The Cheerleader Effect: As I was watching the Kentucky game and growing increasingly more incensed by Kentucky’s gawd-awful shooting, John Wall’s refusal to take over the game and the fact that they weren’t feeding the ball to DeMarcus “Mad Dog” Cousins more, I found myself being tortured with shots of West Virginia’s cheerleaders. Not once did CBS show a shot of Kentucky’s cheerleaders and why would they? West Virginia’s cheerleaders were all 10s, absolutely gorgeous girls, and I could tell they were sweet and sincere (okay, I made that last point up). Then I started thinking — I had neglected to factor in the cheerleaders
when making my picks. The hotter the team’s cheerleaders, the better the chances of that team winning. It boosts morale of the cheerleaders’ team and distracts the opposition. Why didn’t I think of this before? The “Imprint Jinx”: You’ve heard of the Sports Illustrated cover jinx, right? Horrible things (injuries, awful years, etc.) always happen to those who are chosen to be on the SI cover. Well, I’m pretty sure an “Imprint jinx” exists. That makes sense, right? Right? Both of these theories are ridiculous, let’s be real. What I really forgot to factor in was the nickname of the tournament: March Madness. This isn’t a logical tournament; there are no theories or models that fit it. It’s a bunch of hormone-laden youngsters playing basketball in front of national audiences with hot cheerleaders surrounding them (wait, the cheerleader effect may still be valid). Yes, it’s fun trying to predict who will win, filling out your bracket and cheering on your teams, but no one actually knows who will win. It’s the Madness. And that’s why we love it.
The rundown: pointless playoff match-ups Continued from page 29
The notion that a player has an impact on his RBI total is laughable. Unless you alter your approach with men on base, as opposed to bases empty, you’re just up there trying to make solid contact. It comes down to luck as to when your hits fall in; if they happen with men in scoring position you can cite your massive RBI totals to the masses who, for some reason, are in love with them... First Down... The Final Four is upon us and although the tournament started off with an abundance of upsets, the final four is not that much of a shock. For some reason, the general public fell in love with a Kansas-Kentucky final that didn’t materialize. While that prediction wasn’t unreasonable, it definitely shouldn’t have been on the majority of brackets. Butler came in with a 20 game win streak; Michigan State was in the final four last season with legend Tom Izzo behind the bench; Duke was a number one seed; and West Virginia has been solid all season. The craziest part of this final
four is any outcome can’t really be viewed as an upset... A hat tip to the New Jersey Nets for avoiding the title of “worst team ever.” Another hat tip to the San Antonio Spurs who were clearly filled with Christmas spirit and gave them the win. Whether the Spurs were trying or not is irrelevant to the Nets, who cracked the double digit win total. If the Spurs were indeed playing to win, this is a disturbing loss and not what you want to see coming into the home stretch... A bronze medal (pronounced: huge disappointment) for Jennifer Jones at the World Curling Championships last weekend... Possibly the sloppiest game of her career in a 10–3 semifinal loss to 19-year-old Eve Muirhead of Scotland... Seventh Inning Stretch... Major League teams have finally figured out that paying for top tier relievers is pointless. News-flash: Any half decent major league pitcher can be an above average closer. It doesn’t take much to hold down a three run lead over the course of one inning and get credited with a save. The tough part of being a pitcher is trying to get
hitters out the second and third time through the lineup. Being a closer you face only a handful of hitters on any given day. Looking around the majors right now you see Mariano Rivera who has seemingly been around forever, but after him there aren’t many closers with more than a handful of seasons of being an elite closer. The reason for this is simple: If you have the stuff to consistently dominate hitters then you will eventually become a starter. And if you don’t have the stuff then you will not last as a closer. Jonathon Papelbon is finding out the hard way that you can’t be a “thrower” in the majors for very long. You need more than a rocket arm to be a pitcher, which is why many “elite” closers are washed up in a very short period of time... All in favour of starting John McDonald at shortstop this season raise your hand... that’s everyone. While it is moderately funny that another Alex Gonzalez is tending to shortstop for the Blue Jays, the fans pay money to watch J-Mac unleash his glove upon unsuspecting batters. Toronto isn’t in serious contention this year so why not give the fans what they want? Another
upside to starting McDonald at shortstop for the majority of the season is we either get to see him win a Gold Glove or he doesn’t win and we can finally say for sure what we’ve all been thinking: Gold Glove Awards are meaningless... Overtime... Here comes the two month marathon that is the NHL playoffs. The NHL and NBA haven’t quite figured out that more teams in the playoffs does not automatically make it better. It’s a sad sight to see when your league is comprised of 30 teams and more than half move on to the playoffs. It hardly seems worth playing an 82 game schedule if you’re only going to weed out less than 50 per cent of the teams. Of course the (flawed) argument is that more teams involved in the playoffs increases interest for more fans, and therefore more revenues. The only problem with that logic is the logic. It’s not nearly as exciting watching two horribly
mediocre teams fight for the number eight seed (Raptors anyone?) then it is watching two juggernauts fight for the division title and playoff berth. The divisions in hockey and basketball are now meaningless and the opening playoff rounds are filled with mediocrity. People who want to see a lot of teams in the playoffs are forgetting why the regular season exists. Any team is capable of winning a series against another team (small sample size equals high variability) and the regular season is there to make sure only the best teams get a shot. Every time the league adds more teams to the playoff tournament it discredits the regular season more and more... Shout out of the Week: A hearty shout out to the curling fans in Swift Current, Saskatchewan for packing the arena for the Germany– Scotland final. It showed everyone that Canadians appreciate world class curling regardless of where the teams are from.
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Sports & Living
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Equestrian champions
Waterloo Equestrian Club rode ‘like a Warrior’ to win OUEA season as the highest point team Michelle Duklas asst. sports & living
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Courtesy Amarah EPP-STOBBE
Amanda Murdoch riding during a show event held at Trent.
The University of Waterloo Equestrian club was started in 20052006 by Lisa Cahill to create a community for equestrian enthusiasts at the University of Waterloo. The club aims to promote the equestrian sport through events, clinics, socials, and competitions. They are an official Federation of Students club and, just like any other club at Waterloo, it is open for everyone to join. mduklas@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Courtesy Amarah EPP-STOBBE
Amanda Murdoch, Michelle Laughlin, Amarah Epp-Stobbe, Kaylee Verougstraete, and Evin Ballantyne gather after competing at the York show event. Ballantyne was the high-point rider of the season, and a major factor in Waterloo being named the high-point team.
Cyclotouring: a beautiful challenge Many people I’ve talked to are enthusiastic about the idea of bicycle touring, but are skeptical of their fitness. I would like to be very clear: the physical exertion is not a big deal. If you are not fit when you start, you will be when you finish.
Continued from page 29
The beauty of being in the moment is perhaps best illustrated by quoting from my journal, after first sighting the mountains: “Their majestic beauty rose and sweltered from the land. A little later on I put on Beethoven’s Fifth. As much as I have known anything to be true, the music was not in my ears, but ema-
nated from the land. The hills were alive. The sounds were not external or foreign, they have been eternally embedded in the trees and clouds and mountains. The first movement was belted by the triumphant trees, which loudly swayed while collapsing into the road. The second, by the impending storm, roaring to the north. And then the mountains came into view again.”
Courtesy Geoff Stanley
Ian Hincks (left) and their Jasper ‘Warmshowers’ host Garth (right) cycling along the Jasper-Banff ice fields highway.
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he University of Waterloo Equestrian Club has won the Ontario University Equestrian Association (OUEA) Cup for having the highest point total as a team after the circuit’s events were completed. Warrior Evin Ballantyne won the award for the highest point rider over the whole season. Ballantyne, who is in his second year of Computer Science, finished in the top four last year; his top place finish this year was a definite improvement. Waterloo had four of its eight riders finish in the top ten, with two of them being division winners. This is the most successful season the club has had since its inception in 2005. The club finished with a total of 224 points, beating Western’s 217 points and Guelph’s 214 points to take the top spot. They achieved these points over a total of seven meets. The meets were hosted by seven different universities: Guelph, Waterloo, McMaster, Laurier, York, Brock and UWO. The Open team, consisting of captain Kaylee Verougstraete, Evin Ballantyne, and alternates Stephanie Houle, Kelly Manning, and Rebecca Radonich, finished the season with 126 points, second only to Guelph’s equestrian team.
The Intermediate and Novice teams finished with 98 points. The Intermediate team, which consisted of Michelle Laughlin, Amarah EppStobbe, and first alternate Nicole Makrimichalos, and the Novice team, consisting of Amanda Murdoch and Dylan McPhail, helped give Waterloo some much needed points. They finished fourth. With both teams’ points combined, however, Waterloo was able to capture the top spot in points for the first season.
Many people I’ve talked to are enthusiastic about the idea of bicycle touring, but are skeptical of their fitness. I would like to be very clear: the physical exertion is not a big deal. If you are not fit when you start, you will be when you finish. You plan the trip, and you can go as slowly or as quickly as you like. You pick and choose when you’d like to take a break and even when you’d like to take a whole day off. We met several retired couples with minimal previous athletic endeavours, and they grew to love bicycle tours. If they can do it, so can you. But I’ll hide it no longer: not every day is sunny and not every wind is at your back. There is an element of suffering to bicycle touring. In the Rockies we climbed Sunwapta Pass early in the morning before getting warmed up; I sort of pulled my hamstring on that climb, and the rest of the day was pretty rough. At the end of the day it was raining and cold, and we were climbing the Bow Pass. I was miserable and had to give out before we reached the top. We camped near the top of this mountain pass, in a thunderstorm. A thunderstorm in the mountains is terrifying and beautiful. In the morning it was still raining. We got out on the road, cycled until the wind and rain froze our hands. We’d stop, eat a snack and try to warm up, change our gloves and go again. No use, hands frozen again. And so pain begets invention, and Ian
Courtesy Geoff Stanley
Ian Hincks and Geoff Stanley have lunch by a bail of hay just outside Winnipeg. It was they day they “truly found the Prairies.” wraps our hands in socks, then we dunk these inside big blue zip-lock bags to block the wind. Sure, we can’t handle our brakes or gears that well, but we couldn’t with frozen hands either. The personal challenge bicycle touring puts to us, and that little bit of misery it offers, it makes us stronger and more confident. Later that day, my hamstring started bothering me again, so at the BC border I hitchhiked. I saw the mountains whiz by as I sat in the truck, and when I met Ian in the next town he told me what a fantastic time he had cycling the Kicking Horse Pass, and I knew that I had missed out on something great. This day proved to me the superiority of touring by bicycle. For more stories, check out the blog we kept at: www.dinosauropedio.org/cyclocross
Next time you think about travelling, consider this: • The incredible community of touring cyclists and couch surfers. • You get in shape without realizing it, and no dieting (one day I ate 8,300 calories). • You go slower and have freedom, while traditional vacations can often put extra stress on you. • No fuel burned; it’s environmentally responsible. • It’s cheaper (our day to day costs were almost entirely for food). • It strengthens your character. • Riding a bicycle is fun.
Comics & Distractions
Imprint, Thursday, April 1, 2010
crossword
APRIL FOOLS! 56. Out of 57. Last group on the periodic table 58. English as a first language 59. Overlooked 60. Come here when you’re healthy 61. Not the Social Security Agency 62. Mr. Stone of South Park
Across
1. Having this gives a disadvantage 5. Ampere per volt 8. Giant fishes that live on land 14. Imaginary 15. Don’t have to pay this at a toll booth 16. Aid and protect 17. Very wet 18. Close 19. Calm 20. Cosecant 21. Use this to untie a knot 23. With 45-Across, the rule that applies to every clue in this puzzle (except this one) 25. “Take your time” 29. Go on this light 30. Sign for those not born in April 31. Get hit 32. Smile of admiration 33. Female pilot who did not disappear over the Pacific 34. Audience member 37. This will beat rock 38. Everyone lives at the end of this play 39. Latin for “and no one” 40. Food goes in here 41. Dead 42. Dystopian future 44. French father 45. Don’t see 23-Across 49. Aggressive 50. Pay attention to 51. Talk 55. Type this after typing something unfunny
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42. University of North Carolina 43. Hinder 45. Without a charge 46. Outer 47. Tutor 48. Ivory 49. Store where meat is not sold 51. One hundred thousandth of a rupee 52. Healthy 53. Snowboard 54. Winter skin colour By: Alex Inayeh 8
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Having this gives a disadvantage B A S S Ampere per volt Giant fishes that live E on land O X N Imaginary Don’t have toNpayEthisMat O a tollbooth A L I B I Aid and protect Very wet T Close L U T E S Calm Cosecant A R R A Y Use this to untie a knot I the G rule O that T With 45-Across, applies to every R clue E Vin this S puzzle (except this one) C S S E “Take your time” Go on this light D A Sign for those not born in S E D E R April Get hit P R O T E Smile of admiration A Female pilot whoIdid R not E disappear over the Pacific R E A R
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– Enigma
Missed any connections lately? Got any ideas, gripes, or randomly entertaining thoughts? Send them (with utmost affection) to
distractions@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
By Divyesh Mistry, Rachel Viscontas, and Rajul Saleh
“Cougars. I don’t know why, though. Just because.” Lauren Mackay
Shawnathan DeSouza-Coelho
3B Legal Studies
4B Drama
“No animals at all — I hate animals!” Kshitij Mistry 2B Science
“Teacup piglets. They’re cute, cuddly, and people will steal them.” U-Ni Lee, Eric Suen, Yujeong Kim 2B Science, 2B Computer Science, 2B Science
8
Less heathy More gloomy Right Do this to your clothes to wet them Parallel to a st. Young woman I’ve never seen you looking so gorgeous as you did Comes neither before or you shine so bright — you tonight. I’ve never seen after a chicken were amazing. I’ve never seen so many people want Be blind toAmerican be thereagency by your side. And when you turned to me and smiled, itfortook my breath away. Be my lady in red. responsible emigration Sorry baseballer for the fromage upon fromage. But that’s how Boston Singular form of 10-Down love smells yeah? Mild sauce – Benji of Narnia Hola senor Disgusting fruits Dear Banana, Charlie Sheen’s younger brother The way you eat bananas turns me on. Keep on eatin’!! An irritating ointment – REV Stalker Music with instruments Truth Dear Pupraiser, Lots of colour Peasant in Islamic countries Youbuy likestock crossword puzzles but not sudoku, Limit market order let’s see if you know this puzzle’s about you. Non-french stars You like penguins, horses and purple and pink, University of North Carolina Hindergames and Jeopardy cuz they make you think. board Without a charge Stale marshmallows and winegums, or candy you’ll eat, Outer your smile is like Mini Eggs, delectably sweet. Tutor I like guessing the clues you articulate, Ivory atStore broken hand Rock Band where meat is not sold you weren’t so great. I know of the thousandth hole filled of rainbow socks you keep, One hundred a rupee you fake typed on my arm as you fell asleep. Healthy I may wish that someday you will be mine, Though Snowboard I still hope that mornings are your “Happy Time.” Winter skin colour
If you could replace the geese on campus with one other animal, what would it be and why?
“Girls from Laurier.” “...we need an animal.” “Oh, they ARE animals.“
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7 6 4 8 9 1 5 3 2
26. Mild sauce 27. Hola senor 28. Disgusting fruits 31. Charlie Sheen’s younger brother 32. An irritating ointment 33. Music with instruments 34. Truth 35. Lots of colour 36. Peasant in Islamic countries 37. Limit buy stock market order 39. Non-French stars
Down
1. Writer 2. Integrate 3. Lost 4. Youngling 5. Type of parking that’s on the road 6. Less heathy 7. More gloomy 8. Right 9. Do this to your clothes to wet them 10. Parallel to a st. 11. Young woman 12. Comes neither before or after a chicken 13. Be blind 22. American agency responsible for emigration 24. Boston baseballer 25. Singular form of 10-Down
By Alex Inayeh
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“I actually like them. Leave the geese alone!” Rebeca Hernandez 3B Sociology
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Comics & Distractions
Imprint, Thursday, April 1, 2010
(postscript@imprint.uwaterloo.ca)
JORDAN CAMPBELL (faculties@imprint.uwaterloo.ca)
MICHAEL TO (irresponsiblyoptomistic@imprint.uwaterloo.ca)
“J.T.” (geese@imprint.uwaterloo.ca)