Imprint_2010-06-18_v33_04 by Editor Imprint

Impr int The university of Waterloo’s official student newspaper

Friday, June 18, 2010

Vol 33, No

imprint . uwaterloo . ca

Suspension verdict

Entire Waterloo football team benched for the upcoming season

Protest gathers substantial group Rosalind Gunn features editor

Paula Trelinska

Paul Melia of CCES, Marg McGregor of CIS and UW athletic director Bob Copeland hosted the press conference on Monday discussing the Waterloo Warriors’ suspension. news editor

t appears as though the Waterloo Warriors football team will become a little more familiar with the bench next season. The team received the verdict — a year’s suspension from playing football — during a press conference held on Monday. The press conference was held in order to release the of the steroid testing done by the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport. The CCES collected 62 urine samples and found a potential nine violators of the anti-doping rule. Among these were four admissions of use, one refusal, three adverse analytical findings and one case pending further investigation. In addition, they also collected 20 blood samples, for which they are still awaiting the final results. The two names which have been released are those of first year linebacker Jordan Meredith, and Joe Surgenor, a second year linebacker. Meredith tested positive for Tamoxifen, which is a prohibited substance that is commonly used as a breast cancer therapy. It is used by athletes as part of a post cycle treatment to help reduce the side effects of steroids. Surgenor admitted to using a steroid when the CCES came to test the entire team. He admitted to using Winstrol, a fat cutter to help become leaner and stronger. Both waived their rights to a hearing, acknowledging they have committed a doping offence, and have accepted two-year sanctions. The remaining seven names will have to wait until each alleged user has signed an admission waiver or completed a hearing process to appeal the findings. The university’s vice president, academic and provost Feridun Hamdullahpur, along with support from UW’s administration, or-

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Paula Trelinska

[It is] the most significant doping issue in CIS history, and we’re taking it very seriously. - Marg McGregor, CEO of CIS

dered both the suspension and a review, according to Copeland. The team’s two full-time coaches, head coach Dennis McPhee and assistant Marshal Bingeman, will be placed on paid administrative leave from all duties while the review is being conducted. “This has been an incredibly difficult time for our football team, coaching staff, and university,” said Copeland. “It has been particularly difficult for the team and the players who have competed clean.” The CCES also conducted tests at the University of Guelph and McMaster University. There were no violations to be reported at these schools. A miscommunication stopped the CCES from test the Laurier football squad, and they have yet to be tested. “[It is] the most significant doping issue in CIS history, and we’re taking it very seriously,” said McGregor. The testing came as a result of an investigation by the Waterloo Regional Police, who found Waterloo football player Nathan Zettler with several thousand pills and vials of anabolic steroids for the purpose of trafficking. UW athletics decided that testing the entire team would be the only way to remove the cloud of suspicion hanging over the team. The university split the cost of the testing with CCES and reportedly paid between $12,000 to $18,000 on the doping control tests. ptrelinksa@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Further coverage on the Warrior football scandal covered on page 12. Visit www.imprint.uwaterloo.ca for updates from the players’ media conference held Thursday.

Science

Review of Apple’s latest iPhone 4

nger and outrage abound throughout the world over the recent Israeli attack on the unarmed flotilla on its way with 10,000 tonnes of aid to blockaded Gaza. The attack took place on May 31, leaving nine people dead and dozens wounded. University of Waterloo-centred group, Students for Palestinian Rights (SPFR), organized a protest on campus last week to show its condemnation of the attack. The crowd was filled with not only members of SPFR, but also unaffiliated university and high school students, along with other community members. In the ranks was Luke Stewart, a graduate student in the department of history and prominent member of the active Kitchener-Waterloo Peoples’ Summit. “I’m here because I’m a Jew and I’m disgusted with what Israel is doing,” Sterling Stetz, a marcher in the protest said. “What happened with the flotilla is absolutely disgusting.” Before the march set off around Ring Road with their banners, posters, and chants, Wilfrid Laurier sociology Prof. Peter Eglin said a few words about the global situation regarding Palestinians. “We stand on the ground of a university,” he said. “The place where of all places people know what’s going on the world. The problem is not us, the problem is with those who know and do nothing.” Ben Cameron, a member of SFPR, also spoke at the protest. He spoke with as much fervour as the professor. “I’ve had enough,” he began. “I’ve had enough with the Israeli government’s arrogance and repeated defiance of international law... I’ve had enough of the indifference of our neighbours to the south and the stranglehold they helped Israel establish.” “Following the second World War’s end, the UN passed security council resolution 242 that ordered the withdrawal of Israeli armed forces,” Cameron said. “But today, 43 years later, nearly 500,000 Israeli settlers reside in occupied Palestine, 300,000 of them in the West Bank. All of this in direct violation of the Geneva Convention, the European Union, and the United Nations. Something needs to be done.” The march gathered a substantial following — approximately 100 marchers, all chanting at the top of their lungs, demanding freedom for Palestinians.

With files from the National Post and information courtesy of Tony Omran.

A participator holds a sign in the Palestinian protest on June 10. abisade Dare

News

Imprint, Friday, June 18, 2010 news@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Northdale plans slowly progress in redevelopment initiatives. This addition, however, was removed by Coun. Jan D’Ailly. D’Ailly also approved rewording the original motion to remove any mention of intensification, leaving the goals of the land use study and Northdale’s eventual future more open-ended.

Jacqueline McKoy Lambert senior staff reporter

he product of several months of deliberations as well as a last-minute proposal from city development staff, Waterloo City Council recently voted to begin plans for a land use study to investigate redevelopment of the Northdale residential neighbourhood. Northdale is the predominantly-studentoccupied area bounded by University Avenue West, King Street North, Albert Street, and Columbia Street West. Issues in the enclave sparked city-wide debate earlier this year (see “A Matter of Perspective,” Imprint, January 22, 2010). These issues include the neighbourhood’s dwindling owner-occupancy rate, abundance of unlicensed houses, and reports of rowdy student behaviour. Council’s most recent decision follows the earlier deferral of a decision to consider the city’s previous Northdale visions report, which suggested either maintaining current development strategies in the area or introducing a “green solution” that would involve redeveloping the area to include modern mixed-use residential and commercial buildings – a strategy known as “intensification.” The “green solution” was pushed by local advocacy group HUG (Help Urbanize the Ghetto) Waterloo, but criticism about its lack of focus was launched by many members of the public delegation at council, including Feds VP admin and finance Sarah Cook. Cook and many other UW students presenting at the meeting, noted that HUG’s vision for the neighbourhood could serve to price students out of the neighbourhood. Speakers such as former Feds VP education and current city council candidate Jeff Henry spoke at the meeting about the lack of amenities and diverse housing stock that the neighbourhood currently offers students. Council’s approved motion was based on a last-minute proposal from the city’s development services staff to, among other features, include the Sugarbush area north of Columbia Street and bounded by Albert Street, Cardill Crescent, Smallwood Drive, and High Street

Many steps before housing changes seen

Council will reconvene in July to strike an advisory committee – which will include community and student input – for advising consultants through the upcoming land use study. However, it is unclear when or what development will take place as a result of the study, which will likely take at least one year to complete. As well, regardless of the results of the study, it was noted several times during the council meeting that the city does not own the Northdale lands, and any redevelopment will still take significant collaboration with current homeowners and prospective developers. Both UW and Wilfrid Laurier University may play a part in shaping Northdale’s future housing stock. In what was described by council chair Coun. Mark Whaley as a “historic” collaboration between the two universities, UW VP business operations Bud Walker and WLU’s VP student affairs David McMurray presented a joint proposal to council, including their idea of a “university residential commons”.. However, the timeline on development of this plan is unclear; when asked by council, Walker suggested that the schools plan to “get underway with plans for [the URC] within one year…[and] make headway within five years.” Math/BBA student and Northdale renter Daniel Lau said that he “[doesn’t] understand logistically” how plans for redevelopment would play out in Northdale. As well, he says he is unsure of the need to change amenities in the area. “I feel that uptown and downtown are accessible, it’s safe, and it’s a good location [near] the school,” he noted about his home. — With files from the City of Waterloo and Imprint jmckoy@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Sugarbush

Potentially slated for later land use study

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Are you protected? Changes to the health and dental plan mean an increase in fees for students Eduardo Ramirez reporter

Health and dental plan facts Feds is taking over all administration of the health and dental plan. After having conducted a survey of approximately 20,000 undergraduates they have determined that fees will increase between two and $15 for each plan. The plan increases will include: Regular student fall term health plan portion from $49.14 to $50.00

Co-op student term health plan portion from $92.14 to $92.50

Regular student fall term dental plan portion from $35.25 to $45.38

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Regular student winter term dental plan portion from $70.50 to $90.76

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Ring Road closure: Ring Road closed between Needles Hall and the PAS parking lot last Thursday, June 10, and will remain closed until July 12, 2010. This closure is a result of the ongoing construction of the Environment 3 building. Pedestrians are still able to use the west sidewalks and all GRT buses that usually use the west side will be redirected to the east side past the Davis Centre.

Regular student winter term health plan portion from $98.28 to $100.00

A TAM AU S

Paula Trelinska

graphic by Jacqueline McKoy Lambert, Data courtesy of Open Street Map and city of Waterloo

This map shows the Northdale area currently subject to study by the City of Waterloo.

Co-op student term dental plan portion from $66.09 to $81.59 UPASS fee portion from $49.75 to $51.75

he Feds/Graduate Student Association (GSA) health and dental plan is seeing some significant changes beginning in the fall term. Renovations to the current contract have been made and it will be reflected on undergraduate and graduate students’ fees. Among the modifications, the most significant change is that Feds will be taking over the health plan for the next five years; the GSA is no longer part of the administration. As a result of financial difficulties under the current administrative system, Feds will be in charge of the health plan for both graduates and undergraduate students. Currently the undergraduate and graduate health plan is combined into a single plan in order to avoid unnecessary expenses and bad administrative decisions. Feds VP admin and finance, Sarah Cook, declared that this decision was determined by a survey, with approximately 20,000 undergraduate students participants, that was conducted in late May. As a result, the fees for the undergraduate and graduate health plans will see an increase of approximately two to 10 dollars. As part of the new package, Sun Life Financial also introduced a product that will benefit students during times of distress. The product consists of a tuition refund for students that become ill with any serious disease such as cancer, or any other condition that requires the student to withdraw for a term. This offer will be available to the University of Waterloo for a free trial period of two years. “[The new package] will provide students with a ‘safety cushion’ that will help them during times when they need to be concerned about their health and not money issues,” said Cook. See PROTECTION, page 5

News

Imprint, Friday, June 18, 2010

Bill Chen reporter

Justin Dufour reporter

Expansion begins at University of Alberta

A new Ecological Learning Centre is planned for construction as an expansion of the Devonian Botanic Garden at the University of Alberta. The new centre is intended to provide better service to garden visitors as well as students. It will fulfill the urgent demand for additional all-weather classroom and laboratory space at the garden. The expansion, once completed, will allow for the introduction of additional ecology courses for a wide selection of audiences, including students that are not in the faculty of environmental sciences. Other than students, the new facility is also predicted to be incredibly beneficial to the surrounding community in the future by serving as a community education centre. The estimated cost for this investment is well over $16 million.

Alim Khamisa reporter

Azra Premji reporter

5.7 Magnitude earthquake rocks U.S.-Mexico border

Southern California was rocked by a 5.7 magnitude earthquake along the U.S.-Mexico border this past Monday, June 14. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the quake was centred about 85 miles East of San Diego. T he number of aftershocks that followed Monday’s earthquake exceeded 100. According to Egill Hausson, a seismologist at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, this quake was an aftershock of the 7.2 magnitude Easter Sunday quake that rocked Southern California in April of this year. Hausson pointed out that the epicentre of Monday’s quake was in the same zone as the quake that occured in April. Light tremors reached as far north as Los Angeles where accord-

Wilfrid Laurier University establishes Aboriginal education council

UPEI Department of Athletics creates new active living plan

Professor inducted into Canadian Academy of Engineering

Wilfrid Laurier University has formed an Aboriginal education council to address the under-representation of Aboriginal students in post-secondary education. The primary objective of the council is to encourage Aboriginal adolescents to pursue opportunities in colleges and universities. The Aboriginal education council will meet several times each semester to develop strategies on providing Aboriginal students with the necessary tools to reach and realize their academic goals. It will also conceive new plans to better accommodate Aboriginal students in postsecondary institutions and attempt to incorporate the heritage and culture of Aboriginal peoples into Laurier’s academic programming and extracurricular activities. The council is co-chaired by Max Blouw, the president of Laurier, and Brenda Davis, the chairperson of the Grand River Post-Secondary Education Office. Other members of the council include representatives from the local Aboriginal community.

The University of P.E.I., in collaboration with nine NGO’s and not for profit groups, has created a six-week project that will allow people with financial difficulties or social reasons to access wellness programs and facilities. This program is a test project that will see the eventual committee evaluate problems, such as obesity and other key health issues. UPEI’s president Wade Lauchlan believes that this program will create a stronger foundation for the community, as well as create a healthier community. There have already been 225 clients that have signed on to the program. They will bring specialized programs, with the goal being to eventually have relationships with more identified groups. Coaches from UPEI are directly involving extracurricular sports to aid in the program’s foundation. Sports such as soccer, swimming, volleyball, and others will help improve the overall fitness this project hopes to achieve. To celebrate the six-week test project they are having, a special barbeque for the head committee members.

Azzedine Boukerche, a professor at the University of Ottawa, has been the latest reciprocate to be inducted into the Canadian Academy of Engineering. He is the professor and research chair at the school of information technology and engineering. The research done by Boukerche into large-scale distributed interactive simulations and mobile computing and networking has earned him an international reputation. His contributions have been a great help in the fields of multimedia and integrated networking. This research has applications in such fields as video entertainment, internet access, and internet collaborative environments. The Canadian Academy of Engineering was founded in 1987. It is an active member of the Council of Academies of Engineering and Technological Sciences (CAETS), an international federation of academies from 26 countries.

ing to reports, the quake was felt as a gentle rolling motion. A jolt as a result of the quake was also felt at San Diego’s Petco Park where the Toronto Blue Jays were playing the San Diego Padres in a baseball game. The game was paused momentarily as the quake passed. An earthquake of this magnitude will not typically collapse buildings but can cause walls to crack and windows to break. Fortunately, the San Diego County Office of Emergency Services released a statement saying that there were no reports of significant damage. Kyrgyzstan beset with Ethnic Violence

A mountainous nation, bordered by Kazakhstan, China, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan is currently facing heated ethnic rioting and violence that has caused officials to place the nation under a state of emergency. About 100,000 minority Uzbeks in Kyrgyzstan have fled their homes to take refuge in Uzbekistan. Ethnic

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Uzbeks make up about 5.5 per cent of Kyrgyzstan’s 5.5 million people. The violence erupted on June 10 in the southern city of Osh after tensions between Kyrygz and Uzbeks were sparked once again by a heated political situation which involved the previous government being overthrown due to accusations of corruption and the sharp hike in utility prices. The interim government has been unable to control the situation and the UN has called for a Kyrgyzstan humanitarian corridor. The UN human rights commissioner Navi Pillay stated there was evidence of indiscriminate killings and reports say that more than 700 people have been killed. To date, more than 75,000 Uzbek refugees have managed to cross the border into Uzbekistan.

details of how Canadian foreign policy would differ under a Liberal government. He emphasized that Canada should stay in Afghanistan when the combat mission ends in July 2011 in order to train police and military personnel for three years in a staff college setting in Kabul. Other propositions included an increase Canada’s involvement with emerging economies like India, China, Brazil and Africa, implementing a permanent secretariat for the G20 and Arctic council, starting a Canada Youth Service program to boost youth volunteerism overseas and introducing Canada Global Scholarships to provide scholarships for academic excellence for individuals from lower and middle income countries to study at Canadian universities.

Ignatieff and the new proposed Liberal foreign policy

Auditor to review MPs’ expenses

At the National Forum in Toronto on Tuesday, Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff proposed the

Federal Auditor General Sheila Fraser has been given permission to review the expenses of Federal politicians. Specifically, spending

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rules and practices within the House of Commons procurement, human resources management, security, financial management, and support provided to MPs will be subjected to being audited. According to CBC news, Fraser stated that the performance audit of Federal spending will not reveal individual MPs’ office expenses. Marcel Proulx, Liberal MP, stated, “We have noted in the numerous emails, the numerous demands that there really is a public interest to know what is happening, to know how their money is being spent,” she said. The public concern may have stemmed from previous political spending scandals in Britain and Nova Scotia that have led to subsequent resignations, firings, and police investigations of politicians. Currently, Parliament’s expenses are being audited by a private accounting firm, KPMG, but only the main expenses are made public. Fraser said she expects she’ll be able to report her findings to the House by fall 2011. — With files from The Globe and Mail, The Toronto Star, The Washington Times, BBC News, CBC News and The Star

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News

Imprint, Friday, June 18, 2010

Ceasar Martini’s re-opens after renovations

Komal R. Lakhani

Ceasar Martini’s was one of the many businesses damaged in a fire which tore through Campus Court last month. While the restaurant suffered minor damage, they took the opportunity to do some renovations. The restaurant has now re-opened. Dinh Nguyen head reporter Paula Trelinska

UW’s 100th convocation: The University of Waterloo held its first two convocation ceremonies of the year this past Wednesday. The university held its first convocation 50 years ago. This year, 16 individuals, including Julie Payette, Hon. Monique Begin, and Harold Atwood will receive honourary degrees from the university.

Protection: Changes in your health, dental and vision coverage One of the main concerns that Feds has with the current management of the Health and Dental Plan was that undergraduate students were subsidizing the graduate students’ health plans by paying for premiums that they weren’t using. According to Cook, this was most pronounced on the dental plan because grad students take advantage of the on campus dentist clinic more often. Another aspect that increased the number of claims is students’ right to access their dental plan while they are on a co-op term. Graduate students also tend to enrol their spouses and family members to the Feds/GSA Health Plan more often than undergrads. The health plan is considerably more stable since most of the costs and expenses are easy to calculate as it is a self-insured plan that the premiums can be predicted more accurately than the premiums from the dental plan resulting in less money waste. Cook said that the dental plan tends to be highly unstable. Last year the insurance claims went over by a million dollars, most of those claims being from graduate students. This loss was aided by Sun Life Financial but the excessive amount of over claims resulted in the separation of the undergraduate and graduate dental plans into individual plans, as well as reduced dental coverage for graduate students. As a result, instead of getting two hours of deep cleaning students will

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Last year the insurance claims went over by a million dollars, most of those claims being from graduate students.

only be covered and reimbursed for one hour; as well scaling coverage decreased from eight units to two units, saving students approximately $3.50 per term. The Feds/GSA Health and Dental Plan is a healthcare package which covers full-time undergraduate students as well as graduate students. The current Feds/GSA plan is divided into three sections: health, dental, and vision. Health plan

The health plan covers up to 80 per cent of a student’s eligible prescriptions drugs and vaccinations costs. Students are also covered for 100 per cent of drug dispensing fees for some prescriptions and vaccines through the on-campus clinic at UW Health Services as well as medications listed in the Ontario Drug Benefit (ODB) Program. This plan allows student to access health practitioners, home nurses, hospitalization, and ambulance or air lift services. Dental plan

The dental plan coverage gives

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students a total amount of $750 per year. This section of the plan covers 70 per cent of dental costs and more importantly, if students visit a Dental Network member they will receive an additional 20 to 30 per cent off dental services. Vision plan

The vision plan entitles students to eye exams, new or replacement eye glasses, or contact lenses, and laser eye surgery. The total coverage is $275 per year. Part-time students are not automatically covered and the fees from the plans are not added to their tuition fees; however they may chose to opt in on the plan by paying the fees to the Student Care office. Full-time students may opt out of the plan but only if they meet certain requirements and already have an alternative health plan. For the dental, any student may choose to opt out of the plan and get a refund. Both undergraduate and graduate students may add any of their family members or spouses for an extra fee.

ith the latest repair to damages left by the Campus Court fire on April 22, students can also expect to reconstruct their night life schedules. After sustaining water and smoke damage from the infamous fire, Caesar Martini’s, who closed their business for two months, reopened on Monday, June 14. The restaurant, which suffered minimal damage compared to the other affected businesses, took advantage of the down time to make minor renovations. “With our cash flow we wanted make sure we kept the same winning formula so that when people came in it wasn’t too radical or to different. We changed a few of the colours around. Where our coat check was before we built a little lounge area — we won’t be needing the coat check until the fall. We kind of raised up some tables in front the of the bar to make a sports bar area with a couple of new TVs. It’s minimal changes, but enough that when you walk in you’re like ‘it’s changed but I like it,” said Caesar Martini’s co-owner, Andrew Strow. Caesar’s also took time during the renovation to re-evaluate their market target and better cater to their customers. While popular events like Thursday nights with DJ Surreal and Saturday nights DJ Legal E will continue to run, other less favourable events will cease or change. “Monday nights we were doing swing dancing, we’re not doing that anymore. We found that a lot of people don’t necessarily enjoy the music and everything that the swing dancers bring. With our changes we want to make sure [people] don’t feel uncomfortable with an event when [they] come in,” said Strow. Friday nights will continue to have different DJs but Caesar Martini’s management are in the process of making it more consistent. Caesar Martini’s has also become a prominent sponsor of the Laurier baseball team. As a result, they will also be hosting DJ nights on Wednesdays. Strow said that UW students are more than welcome to attend. Among the many changes, an updated menu has been introduced to create a diverse selection. “When we first opened we thought we’d try the causal fine dining. Over the last five year we digressed a little bit to become more of a casual dining environment. We still like to offer nice specialty dishes. We added a few more comfort foods on [the new menu] for people, so that when they come in they can be able to pick and choose different things... We’ve added chicken wings which we’ve never had before. Fajitas are on the menu full time now instead of just one day a week. We brought back a chicken alfredo pasta which is really popular. We’ve taken some of our specialty pizzas and added some more,” said Strow. Caesar Martini’s is open at 11 a.m on weekdays, 12 p.m. on Saturdays, and is closed on Sundays. For full information on business hours and their menu visit http://www.caesarmartinis.com. dnguyen@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

volunteer@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Opinion

Imprint, Friday, June 18, 2010 opinion@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

IMPRINT

Convocation is for

The University of Waterloo’s official student newspaper

celebration

Friday, June 18, 2010 Vol. 33, No. 4 Student Life Centre, Room 1116 University of Waterloo Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1 P: 519.888.4048 F: 519.884.7800 http://imprint.uwaterloo.ca Editor-in-chief, Gina Racine editor@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Advertising & Production Manager, Laurie Tigert-Dumas ads@imprint.uwaterloo.ca General Manager, Catherine Bolger cbolger@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Sales Assistant, Dina Hamdieh Systems Admin., vacant Distribution, Sherif Soliman Distribution, Abdul Asmat Volunteer co-ordinator, Travis Myers Web Developer, vacant Board of Directors board@imprint.uwaterloo.ca President, E Aboyeji president@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Vice-president, Angela Gaetano vp@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Treasurer, vacant treasurer@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Secretary, Erin Thompson secretary@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Staff liaison, Keriece Harris liaison@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Editorial Staff Assistant Editor, Adrienne Raw Head Reporter, Dinh Nguyen Lead Proofreader, Ivan Lui Cover Editor, Sonia Lee News Editor, Paula Trelinska Opinion Editor, Andrew Dodds Features Editor, Rosalind Gunn Arts & Entertainment, Felicia Rahaman Science & Tech Editor, Komal Lakhani Sports & Living Editor, Brent Golem Photo Editor, Peter Kreze Graphics Editor, Armel Chesnais Web Administrator, vacant Production Staff Aletheia Chiang, A. Y. Daring, Amira Hassan, Michael Hay, Mika Ilic, Chantal Jandard, Joanne Lau, Howard Leung, Alicia Mah, Jacob McLellan, Divyesh Mistry, Deanna Ostafichuk, Eduardo Ramirez Graphics Team Armel Chesnais, Ian Cutajar, Nikoo Shahabi

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. Next staff meeting: Friday, June 18 12:00 p.m. Next board of directors meeting: Monday, June 21 12:30 p.m.

editor@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

remember the weeks and months leading up to my convocation. To say I was excited would be a definite understatement. After spending three years writing essays, preparing for exams, and reading stacks of books about things like the history of Canadian literature, I was ready to take the plunge. Having self-funded pretty much my entire university education, while student loans assisted greatly, I still classify that as selffunding as I am the person responsible for the loan re-payment, I knew what the word struggle meant. I was no stranger to Kraft Dinner for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I can’t count on both hands how many times I had to scrounge for rent money – one time I had to roll pennies. My friends and I often joke around about how third year was the poorest year of our lives. It is really the culmination of a downward financial spiral where your resources have essentially dried up to the point where you’ve convinced yourself that there is nothing wrong with buying a textbook and photocopying every page and then returning it. Oh my. But when the day came where I had to put on the cap and gown for my photos, I don’t think I have ever smiled harder, and it surely was not because I

had to ask my parents for their grad photo money up front, either. I was finally going to graduate from university. Having never attended anyone else’s convocation, I really had no idea what to anticipate. Obviously, the Harvard graduation ceremonies in the movies are a less-than-accurate depiction of what convocation is actually like. Having recently undergone surgery and spending the weeks before convocation recovering, my family was a little less convinced that I should have been sitting for three hours waiting for my name to be called and instead in a bed getting my pillow fluffed. But I was determined to be there. I made sure everyone important to me was able to attend and share in my enthusiasm. I selfishly imagined it would be the proudest day of my parents’ lives. I received some lovely presents – the usual bouquet of roses, some money, a day planner – but the best gift I was given was advice from someone I look up to very much. The real question when you finish university is, “what’s next?” The government only gives us student loan victims a total of six months to start paying them back, so obtaining a full-time job was

definitely on the top of my list of priorities. But it’s not easy to find a career and it is especially difficult to find a career in the field you have chosen to study. I mean, having a leather day planner with your name imprinted in it does make it a lot easier, but the truth is, university doesn’t always teach you the skills required to go out into the real world and grab the bull by the horns. It is a cut-throat, competitive world out there and you have to make yourself stand out and look more appealing than the other 500 people that are applying for all the same jobs. No pressure. Last week my best friend celebrated her convocation from my alma mater, Wilfrid Laurier University. I was very proud of her, mostly because I know how difficult is it to graduate after suffering financial struggles, working three jobs at once while trying to find time to study, and living with roommates who don’t understand the definition of cleaning. When UW students celebrate their convocation this week, I hope they are gleaming with self-satisfaction. It is an incredible accomplishment, especially for those who had to use their own resources to see it to fruition. At the end of the day, though, we are able to say we did it, and we were better for it.

Nothing good lasts forever Here’s hoping Wikileaks keeps on keeping on

very once in a while, someone or something will come along and redeem your faith in the world (this assumes that – like me – you are a cynic and have no faith in your fellow man). A stranger buys you coffee. A beautiful sunset awes you. That girl in STATS that you haven’t yet had the courage to speak to knocks against your arm on purpose (honest!). Wikileaks is one of those things capable of inspiring belief in the goodness of man. It is an organization that helps people with sensitive (read: incriminating) information disseminate this knowledge to the public. A textbook example: Collateral Murder, a video featuring footage from an American-manned Apache helicopter that gunned down eight innocent Iraqis (watch it at http://www.collateraldamage.com).

pmcgeown@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

For obvious reasons, the U.S. government is not thrilled about Wikileaks. Not only does it bring to light some of the less than savory goings-on at the federal level, but in the case of Collateral Murder, it underlines the blatant cover-ups propagated by the government. Initially, the U.S. averred that all of the men killed were insurgents. Revelations such as Manning’s video expose these lies and lend credence to critics and conspiracy theorists, and on a more immediate level, serve to erode always-weakening support for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Hence the recent arrest of Bradley Manning (the one responsible for leaking Collateral Damage) and the search for Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. It has nothing to do with justice, and everything to do with setting a foreboding precedent for any citizen that fancies him or herself a

Bradley Manning. Maybe it should serve as some small assurance that Manning did not just disappear – it is not ’84 just yet – but this is more likely a function of the U.S. sending a message to potential whistleblowers: “We will not tolerate dissent.” At least, that is the most conventional approach. Let’s not forget that the U.S. is to spin what Italian soccer fans are to arrogant boasting. You see, the U.S. says it wants Wikileaks to co-operate with the government, and on the surface, it is a reasonable request. The U.S. wants to ensure that nothing is leaked that might endanger military personnel – or citizens, for that matter. Of course, if the United States government gets its foot in the door, Wikileaks will become akin to a “declassified” government document, complete with ominous black redac-

tions in the form of omissions and doctored video. Assuming Assange can evade U.S. authorities – he is said to be in Australia, currently – cooperation with the government seems an unlikely scenario. More likely is a campaign of misdirection, whereby the United States begins to intentionally leak videos and communiqués in the same vein as Collateral Murder. At the cost of a few soldiers – who will be prosecuted in order to sell the leak – the U.S. may very well buy complacency. Oh, sure, there will be outrage directed toward the offenders. But, “justice has been served,” the populace will say. “Thank god for Wikileaks.” And, most importantly, “Surely, someone else will blow their whistle.” Am I paranoid? Maybe. But when a camera becomes an RPG, few can lay claim to sanity.

On Canadian oil sands development

ith recent news headlines dominated by the Deepwater Horizon spill and the U.S. efforts aimed at containing the spill, many Canadian politicians and activists have questioned how our domestic oil industry should be expected to develop resources that may not only provide Canada with immense wealth, but also destroy the very land we take pride in. While experts and laymen alike agree that the impact of the Gulf oil spill on the industry will be significant, few have offered concrete predictions on what those impacts might be, or even what positions the government should take on regulating the industry. In formulating such a position, it would be beneficial to reminisce on oil

bcaradima@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

spills gone by and the frequently complacent reactions of the oil industry to such incidents. If the Exxon Valdez spill is the closest comparison we can draw to the current disaster, one need only consider that you can still find globules of crude oil between the rocks that line the pristine coastline of Prince William Sound, and that ExxonMobil has still rejected responsibility for the spill to this day, even refusing to pay certain damages. If we consider the reaction of Imperial Oil CEO Bruce March to the Gulf spill, then we should be very troubled by some of the frank comments that he made at an economic conference on June 8, saying that “the Exxon Valdez incident rewrote a lot

of regulations around oil shipping and oil transportation, and I wouldn’t be surprised if 20 years from now you see this event also spurring new regulations and new ways of industry operation.” With a straight face March suggests that oil regulation laws in Canada may take 20 years to pass; one should not assume that this estimate considers the aggressive lobbying for deregulation of the oil industry. March offers further insights, blurting that even as Imperial Oil and its competitors advocate for Alberta oil development as an environmentallyviable business, the oil industry has the unenviable task of convincing the public of something that isn’t true. Ignoring his blatant contradiction,

March pushes ahead: “Our industry hasn’t done the most effective job of communication, but... you’ll see more advertising both in print media and television media, and you’ll see more CEO-type communication sessions like this one...” In other words, CEO Bruce March, along with the rest of the Canadian oil industry, promises to bring the public more intensive advertising and public relations campaigns in order to persuade Canadians that an environmentally disastrous method of extracting oil is about as irresponsible as discarding a Tim Horton’s cup with the lid on. See OIL SANDS, page 8

Opinion

Imprint, Friday, June 18, 2010

Community Editorials

letters@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Science and state Ali Alavi uw science

ot an unfamiliar idea to biologists, the recent act of creation by Craig Venter and Co. has dragged synthetic biology to the stripping pole. Imaginations are being honed; soon the seas will breathe out oxygen, the sun will pour petroleum, love will generate electricity, and a clone reincarnate of Warhol will be commissioned by the Vatican to repaint the Creation of Adam as man and yeast. For those with a historically blind perspective, who have been waiting earnestly for a scientific proof of the no-God theory: they forget the passage of men such as Copernicus and Darwin, and underestimate the profundity of religious ideas. However, it is not unrealistic to see our time as the dawning of a new era, where ‘we are only limited by our imaginations.’ Countless problems of this

overpopulated world can be solved by using synthetic life forms, to produce food and energy, clean up the environment, mass produce chemicals ranging from vital antibiotics to (maybe just as importantly) recreational drugs. In principle, any chemical synthesis with a solved biochemical pathway can be replicated using simple single cell organisms. The reservation, of course, is the imagination of men, besides being subject to many perversions, are motivated by myriad and mysterious forces. One may cough in deflection and easy dismissal to face art rooted in the ever pervasive information theory to reflect the new shackles of our civilization, yet it is not even overly pessimistic to predict the emergence of novel chemical and biological weapons before we start to use the new discovery for good (think about the nuclear revolution for an easy parallel). If the army is a means to subsidize

high technology industry, then uneducated science and crude straight line rationality are the enablers. It seems inevitable, for example, that if and when the nuclear dispute between the West and Iran has been fully resolved, the issue of biochemical technology will flare up with some other perceived ‘terrorist’ nation. While it is cowardly not to pursue with curiosity, it is important that biologists, and more generally scientists — scholars and specialized men and women with a narrow perspective — be attuned to the dangers of their inquiries from the get go. It is as if to call for something of a parallel of the Hippocratic Oath that is lacking among the community of scientists, as a group of men that share a cause separated from peoples and nations, and as individual men with so much capacity to control and transform, wielding so much power. It is as if to call for a separation between science and state.

Pets spring into homelessness Frances Hannigan director new faculty recruitment and support

h, spring. The warmer weather, the beauty of the flowering trees and blooms, and the quiet of the campus grounds as the majority of students are going home for the term. However, what puts a stopper to all of these happy thoughts are the sights of the various stray pets that seem to explode in numbers during this time of year. It is by far the most frustrating and disheartening sight that I must come across almost daily while walking through the campus grounds. I know I cannot solely point the finger on students that have gone home for the spring term leaving behind a pet that they got in the fall because they, for some reason or another, cannot bring them home with them. But there is no other possible explanation for the influx of strays wandering the UW campus if not because of students leaving behind pets. The majority of the kinds of strays around campus are usually cats barely a year old. For eight months these kitties have relied on their student owners to provide for them, to keep a warm place for them to sleep in and to feed them. But after eight months, it would seem that they are no longer cute enough, cuddly enough, or playful enough to bring home, so off they go to be left behind because these kitties can now find their own way. I guess these students

felt justified to do such a thing because that’s what their parents have done to them – they are now 18, 19 years old and can live on their own during their university career. But these students seem to forget that their parents still let them come home and not abandon them to the side of the street with the thought that they now can fend for themselves like they have done to these kitties. A pet is not something you can pick up and discard when you are done with it. It is a living, breathing being that requires love and attention, just like its owner. If you cannot commit to the life of the pet, then don’t get a pet. But if you do, have the maturity to take it home and give it a proper place to live. If, however, that is not a possibility, bring the pet to the KW Humane Society, to a cat/dog rescue association, donate it to a friend to whom you trust, or place an ad in Imprint to have someone who can care for it to adopt the pet. The solutions can be easily incorporated to solve this dilemma we seem to see each and every spring term. Even having a “no pet” policy for all campus residences, we still continually see these stray pets wandering the campus grounds. I don’t know how you can expect these students to learn when they cannot even understand the simple concept of responsibility, accountability, and dependability of being a pet-owner.

Religious rights are also human rights On campus journalism Zainub Ibrahim phd geography, economic development Gloria Ichim uw alumni, juris doctor at university of windsor

In the recent Imprint articles about the niqab, debate is painted by Bogdan Caradima, Abdel Rahman Elsayed, and the online responses to Abdel Rahman Elsayed’s article — which exhibited much hate, intolerance, and profanity — as a debate between Muslims wanting special privilege, and the government of Quebec wanting to maintain law and order. This is a misleading approach to understanding the issue. Religious accommodation is a fundamental Canadian value which is based on the fair application of the law rather than requesting exemptions from it. It is a popular belief that those who support the niqab seek to be exempted from the Canadian law. This opinion fails to address the perspective of the government of Quebec, which seeks to preserve and protect its “culture” from the constitutional scrutiny of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, in this case, by limiting religious freedom. Canadians should be concerned for the rights of minorities within Quebec, whose rights are not protected by the charter because of a domineering French secularist agenda. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms holds freedom of conscious and religion as one of the fundamental freedoms in Canada. This means that the Canadian legal system deems religious freedoms to be one of the core freedoms that are granted to all people living in Canada. The charter holds that all rights are subject to restriction as per reasonable limits prescribed by the law. The limits to religious freedom are “reasonable accommodation to the point of undue hardship.” This means that there is a duty to accommodate religious rights that are reasonable and that do not place an undue hardship on others. The discrepancy, however, comes with the ambiguity surrounding the definition of the boundaries of religious practice that is within reason. An individual’s level of religious commitment is a matter of personal preference. What may seem extreme to one may be ideal to another. For instance, monasticism is highly respected in Christian Catholicism and Orthodoxy, and although it is arguably an oppressive form of religious practice, it would be absurd to argue that monasticism should be outlawed. In Canada, we have the freedom to choose whether or not we wish to partake in religious practices, and the degree to which we do so. Unfortunately, the niqab debate has been shaped into

an argument about a so-called “Islamofacist” culture which seeks to impose Islamic law globally, subjugate women, and force them to wear niqab. While many people are drawn to this superficial argument, the hypocrisy of transgressing the boundaries of personal freedom can be overlooked, and how this type of imposition of secularism is equally “fascist.” A defining characteristic of fascism is the subjugation of individual rights to the collective national rights. Collective rights, however, are not an end in themselves, as the purpose of collective rights is to protect individuals, rather than an abstract concept of “the collective.” The purpose of the rule of law is to protect individual freedom from exploitation in cases where great collective benefits could be achieved at the expense of denying the rights of a minority, thus securing individual rights from the tyranny of the majority. Thus, if we speak of Islamofacists enforcing their religion on others, we must point the same finger at French secularism imposing secularism on others. The niqab ban in Quebec violates an individual’s right to choose to practice religion as they see fit. It does not respect private religious rights, nor does it recognize the separation between public and private affairs. Depriving women of the right to wear niqab is depriving woman of the right to choose what type of social interaction they want to have with others. To force a women to integrate into some kind of mould of what a women is supposed wear, according to some “Western” standard, is as oppressive as forcing a women to wear a niqab, and the scales of justice go both ways. In 1991, when Gwen Jacobs, a resident of Guelph, challenged the status quo by walking down the street topless, the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled that equality rights enshrined and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms dictate that constitutional rights entail the right for women to be topless. In the Canadian legal context, the question is not whether we want to see Gwen Jacobs topless. Rather, the question is what alternative right exists which could impose a duty on Gwen Jacobs to put a top on? The court could not find any corresponding duty. Likewise, the question today is not whether women have a right to wear the niqab, rather, it is whether a correlative duty strong enough to oblige them to take it off exists. To date, no principled case for a niqab ban has been made out. The only arguments that have been made out are polemical mud throwing and Islamophobic paranoia. Arguments based on paternalism, integration, and secularism are not strong enough to defeat fundamental individual rights and the personal values, personal autonomy, liberty, and the individual’s right to self determination. After all, religious rights are human rights.

Trevor Fairey 3a software engineering

will begin discussing Imprint, as the main question readers have is why is Tbor, an adverse critic of the campus’s most corporate newspaper, writing his article here, and not for mathNEWS this week? The cheap joke answer is that I was forced into this because I have PDEng assignments due shortly after mathNEWS production nights. But the real reason is that I respect the audience that Imprint commands, and that mathNEWS as I shall reveal further, has become as politicised as (if not more than) the paper it hopes to satire. Imprint has had its share of scandals in the last year, but everyone knows people make mistakes, especially students when there are large sums of money involved. Imprint strives for lack of bias, but because of its belief in freedom of the press, it turns out the ideals and opinions with the most face time are those where people will take the time to get involved to champion those ideals. As we have seen in last year’s election, I’m pretty sure I can count in my head amongst those people (don’t worry, I’m a mathie), and it is not an accurate representation of the student body. I bank on the intelligence of the student body in that they take all opinions with a grain of salt, and realize that each issue has two sides. I certainly have no hard feelings against Imprint (unless they layout my article next to the intimacy section). The math faculty’s publication, mathNEWS, is drastically different than Imprint in that it is run differently each semester due to the co-op cycle and the sheer power that the software engineering program holds over it. I was ashamed to read last week’s issue (aside from a nicely done piece on Dr. Mario that wasn’t quite completed but was thrown into the issue anyway), as it was filled with the ideals that I previously believed the publication deeply opposed.

The simple-mindedness of the front cover overwhelmed any suggestion of helping out on Canada Day with a childish internet meme mocking it. Continuing on in the issue, we naturally want to find jokes making fun of Imprint, but instead, an attack on the president on Imprint for a tweet about The Chevron. This is neither your business, nor funny. Lastly, we find a very politicized article giving a report card of the MathSoc executives. Not only is it a bad idea to write grades that many students will graze over and accept without reading further, but the president, given the poorest grade of all, is holding the position that the writer of the article ran for and lost in election. I hope all math students will take to the BLACK BOX (located on the third floor of MC beside the C&D) and give InsidED a piece of your mind. I certainly know what grade I would give him. The Chevron is a paper that most students haven’t read (judging by the fact that I couldn’t find a copy until last week). The ideals of it tend toward an ideal of “Freedom of the Press,” and by hiding themselves in anonymity, they feel they are invincible enough to spread their ideas to everyone on campus. Unfortunately, their free press is one that tends to bias toward anarchical press. Policies are there for a reason. Your anonymity only weakens your message, as the person with these ideas cannot be targeted by others. You seem like the type of person that will watch V for Vendetta and The Dark Knight until you find your own personal sense of justice within their morals. The only problem is that current campus media are not hurting the public, and are not subject to new ideas. If you have a problem with Imprint, then write for them and assist in making campus media a better media for the students. Iron Warrior, I know you’re there, keep up the good work.

Opinion

Letters

Imprint, Friday, June 18, 2010

Reconciling science and religion

letters@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Re: Is religion relevant? Mohammed Shouman masc management sciences 2012

Ahmed Sahi’s gist that Islam “could very well be the pinnacle of religious evolution” is false. In 87:1-5, Allah (the Islamic deity) exhorts the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, to praise him because he “creates, then makes complete;” “makes according to a measure, then guides;” and “brings forth herbage, then makes it dried up.” The verses do not imply an evolution of religious revelations as Sahi infers. In 87:6-7, Allah tells Muhammad not to worry about forgetting Quranic revelations – again, no reference to teaching religions in stages. In reality, the Quranic message is fundamentally different from Judaism and Christianity as believed by their adherents. Islam considers religions that associate partners (committing shirk) with Allah (specifically Allah, not any other god that does not acknowledge Muhammad’s final prophethood) to be false, and not products of their time that

would evolve to Islam. Because Christians associate “partners” with Allah through the Trinity, Allah admonishes them: The Quran states that Allah does not have a son, Jesus is not the Son of God, and the Trinity is a falsehood (4:171, 5:72, 5:116, 6:101, 18:4, 19:35, 23:91, and 43:81). The Quran also unequivocally affirms that Christ was not crucified (4:157). The Quran claims that the Jews believe Ezra is the Son of God (9:30); that, along with the Arabian Jews’ rejection of Muhammad as a messenger, lead to Islam’s denunciation of Jews for committing shirk. Faced with the fact that the Quranic message differs from those of the extant Jewish scripts, Islamic scholars attribute discrepancies to Jews having corrupted their own canonical texts. For instance, the Quran says that Muhammad was prophesized in the Jewish and Christian scriptures (7:157), but Muslim scholars claim that the prophecy did exist prior to the texts’ deliberation corruption, “as the rabbis and priests well know.” (Quranic exegesis TafsirIbnKathir)

UW Football Suspended Season Lynn Morton relative of uw football defensive back brad morton

I am shocked and outraged about the decision to suspend the football program for a year. I agree that the issue of steroid use is serious, and that the players who use performance enhancing drugs should face the consequences of suspension. Victimizing the entire team for the bad judgment of a few is reprehensible, and it shows a complete lack of understanding and compassion for the young men who play cleanly and honestly. As a teaching institution, this ill-conceived decision

teaches nothing to the players who did nothing wrong. If nine engineering students cheated on an exam, would UW suspend the engineering program for a year? Of course not, because the decision would be wrong, just as the football decision is wrong. The wrong-doings of a few may have stained the reputation of UW, but their decision, which demonstrates a complete lack of compassion and support for the players who play by the rules will inflict wounds that will take decades to heal. UW should have the courage to admit that the decision was unjust and have the integrity to reverse it.

his week, I return to exploring why the West has drifted away from religion. In the West, Christianity has reigned supreme for two millennia. However, in the last few centuries of western society, great advances in science have led to a staggering decline in adherence to religion. The late Mirza Tahir Ahmad, a renowned scholar of comparative religions, describes this phenomena as such: “Scientists began moving away from God because they thought that the Judeo-Christian understanding of nature, as depicted in the Old and New Testaments, was not realistic. The understanding of the world and the heavenly bodies and of what lies beyond, as construed from a study of the Bible, appears far removed from the realities of scientific discoveries.” He goes on to say further: “Later, as education spread far and wide, great universities and seats of learning turned out to be the breeding grounds of atheism…The argument against belief in God took the following course: If God is the Creator of the Universe and all that belongs to it, and if He is the Designer and Maintainer of the laws of nature, as discovered by investigative human minds, then how could He Himself have been so utterly ignorant of those realities?” This is one critical area where, in my estimation, the Holy Quran renders invaluable service in reuniting modern man with his Creator, for the Holy Quran contains numerous verses pertaining to scientific

asahi@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

phenomena which are so accurate and so in advance of man having discovered such facts, that it leaves little doubt about the agreement between the word of God and the act of God. For brevity’s sake, I will only give a few brief examples, however an interested reader will find a plethora of such instances within the Holy Quran. One clear example of the Holy Quran’s scientific accuracy and foreknowledge is with respect to cosmology. The prevailing cosmological theory describing the early development of the Universe, known as the Big Bang Theory, was conceived in 1927 and more or less states that the Universe was initially an infinitely dense singular mass, which was exploded apart and caused to continually expand till this day. A total of 1,300 years before this theory’s conception, the Holy Quran stated the following: “Do not the unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were a closed-up mass (ratqan), then We clove them asunder (fataqna)?” [21:31] “And the heaven We built with Our own powers (aydin) and indeed We go on expanding it (musi’un).” [51:48] A study of the authentic Arabic lexicons reveals that the word “ratqan” aptly describes a black hole, the singularity from which the Big Bang Theory states everything originated. Moreover, it should be noted that the concept of an expanding universe is unique to the Holy Quran, no other religious scripture even remotely mentioning it.

The Holy Quran also discusses human embryology in several verses (chapter 23). Due to length restrictions I cannot delve into the details of these verses, therefore I feel it sufficient to mention only one amongst many quotes from famous scientists in the fields of anatomy and embryology who more than endorse the accuracy of the Holy Quran’s science related verses as evidence of divine authorship. Dr. Keith Moore, one of, if not the foremost embryologist in the world states: “It has been a great pleasure for me to help clarify statements in the Qur’an about human development. It is clear to me that these statements must have come to Muhammad from God, or Allah, because most of this knowledge was not discovered until many centuries later. This proves to me that Muhammad must have been a messenger of God, or Allah.” Although scientific advancement initially led man away from God, I believe that the time is coming, when science will lead man back to God and this belief finds credence in the views of several scientists on the leading edge of scientific discovery. Perhaps Sir Francis Bacon, one of the founding fathers of modern science himself, best describes how the advancements of man will eventually lead him back to God: “A little philosophy inclineth man’s mind to atheism, but depth in philosophy bringeth men’s minds about to religion.”

OIL SANDS: Further lessons to be learned Continued from page 6

It is also interesting to note that March isn’t so much concerned with the environmental drawbacks of oil sands extraction, as he is with the insufficient quantity and quality of corporate propaganda. The problem, he reasons, is not the obvious environmental destruction wrought by their methods, but by their inadequate advertising efforts in persuading the public otherwise. If there are any further lessons to be learned from the Deepwater Horizon spill by Canadians contemplating the riches offered by the Alberta oil sands, it is that corporations can never be expected to act as responsible law-abiding citizens on their own initiative, and that corporate activity must therefore be constantly policed by NGOs and government agencies in order to comply with public interests. After all, corporations are only socially responsible citizens with respect to environmental protection insofar as the consumer demands them to be. This view is expressed rather tell-

ingly when March remarks that “people of the world expect companies like ours and like BP’s to develop the resources responsibly,” without adding that corporations do not hold themselves to the public standard. However, one must also admit that regulation is not enough, as the public must also be wary of corruption within the environmental protection agencies themselves, as American efforts at regulation have revealed. And before rushing to the defence of oil companies by arguing that their interests are the public interest, we must ask what environmental conservation efforts these companies would pro-actively implement without public pressure. Ultimately, we must constantly suspect corporations, since corporations as entities are not legally bound to care about public concerns or the environment. We must remember that corporations are bound to care only about profits, no matter how many times their smiling spokespeople and dazzling advertisements say otherwise.

E is for Error will return next issue. eaboyeji@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Science & Technology

Imprint, Friday, June 18, 2010 science@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Is this the future of handheld communication?

A review of the Apple iphone 4

Johnathan C. Leung reporter

fter the iPad, the next Apple product, people having been waiting for is the iPhone 4. Let’s see what’s new with the latest model of the iPhone.

Design:

The outside body is stainless steel, that now acts as the supporting body frame to the entire structure of the phone. It uses the stainless steel enclosure as the antenna for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and cell network. This implementation is a strong improvement as drop calls were an issue with the previous iPhone. The new iPhone can also cancel background noise with a new noise cancelling microphone. The volume buttons are completely different from the old phone. iPhone has finally transitioned to using a Micro-SIM card due to space limitations. This model of the iPhone is by all accounts the thinnest Smartphone on the market to date. Screen:

Both the front and the back of the phone now use tempered glass. This glass, compared to the old iPhone, is 30 times tougher than plastic. This results in a greater ability to counter scratches on the screen. This glass technology is also used in bullet trains and helicopters. A new display called the retina display is used. This display is new in the industry and has four times the amount of pixels compared to the previous iPhone. This means that users are able to get high quality display with minimal pixel distortion. Camera:

There is also a new front camera is installed, and a new LED flash at the back of the phone. The new back camera is five megapixels which supports high definition video recording and excellent quality picture-taking. Hardware:

A gyroscope is built into the hardware design to enhance gaming experience along with a bigger battery which lasts longer. Apple has used an A4 chip in it (it’s the brain of the iPhone, also used in an iPad), has low power consumption, 1Ghz in speed. Being very fast, it can handle multi-tasking, which did not exist in previous iPhones. Software changes:

courtesy Nikoo shahabi

The new iPhone will come with a new updated firmware known as iOS4. Many users are waiting for this release as Apple finally created a method to include multi-tasking. They designed a way to implement multi-tasking effectively while conserving battery life. What this means is you can basically pause application as you would on any UNIX-based system by switching to another app while enabling some special services (e.g. receiving a call) to run in the background preserving battery power in the process. Another implementation they included is the ability to drag and drop apps on top of each other to create folders. The folder names itself according to the category of apps in it. These new folders are able to expand and help users increase productivity. The new iOS is able to scale any apps automatically to the new resolution. Applications:

One of the applications, called iBook, is available now to iPad and also making its appearance on the iPhone 4. It will also be updated with PDF readers so you can transfer PDF from your emails directly to iBook and read it at your convenience. iMovie:

This is an app that is used in congruent with the video recording feature on the iPhone. What this enables users to do is create professional movies and enables them to export it to friends, family and for their own recollections. There are many features that come with this programs which includes transitions, soundtracks, still images and many more.

Jinxu Zhang reporter

Vuvuzelas, love or hate it, it’s hurting you

Outside of the stadiums and all around the world, spectators of the world cup have drifted away from the usual topic of group winners, spectacular goals, and questionable calls to a much more contentious issue, the difficulty to ignore vuvuzelas. On one hand, it sounds like the entire stadium is filled with an angry swarm of bees, downing out all the usual songs, chants, and reactions of the crowd. On the other hand, it is an integral part of South African soccer heritage and how soccer is normally played. Regardless of which side you feel is correct, the large concentration of vuvuzela at this world cup is capable of causing more than mental anguish. According to recent research, a single vuvuzela can produce a sound of more than 116 decibels at a distance of one meter. Given the crowded nature of soccer stadiums, the plastic horn is capable of producing a much more damaging sound at closer distances. According to the Department of Communications Pathology at South Africa, continuous exposure of 7 to 22 seconds would exceed most work-safety limits. At 90 minutes, permanent hearing damage will likely occur. For those of us far away from the action, the effect of the vuvuzela is also difficult to avoid. The drone, similar sounds produced by bees and hornets, can have the same headache inducing effects after prolonged exposure. — With files from South African Medical Journal

The most important feature:

Video conferencing has been sought out in dreams from the possibilities of what it can do. Apple has captured that dream and finally made it into reality. Apple iPhone solved the issue of having too many peripherals all being used in congruent. Even for programs such as Skype, which requires a computer or a laptop, web cam, speakers, microphone and internet connection having all of these peripherals is expensive and time consuming to set up. Video conferencing will change the way we communicate. iPhone 4 video conferencing is currently only available to use WiFi internet connection and in the future will most likely be able to be used through 3G and 4G networks. Also, the video conferencing software is open to other developers and manufacturers where they can implement their own software and hardware to establish communication across platforms. For everyone waiting to get their hands on this improved Apple product, the iPhone 4 comes out in July.

Did you know?

All McIntosh apples can be traced back to one little tree in Dundas County, Ontario. In the 1790s John McIntosh moved from upstate New York, to a farm in Dundas County, while clearing the land, he discovered a few apple seedlings. After transplanting them, all but one died, but that one tree produced delicious apples, now known as McIntosh. Later, John McIntosh’s sons and grandsons propagated new McIntosh apples, using cuttings from the original tree. Today, McIntosh is one of the most produced apples in Canada, and they all came from a one of a kind apple tree.

Science & Technology

Imprint, Friday, June 18, 2010

The magic of Mario: all in the mushrooms achiang@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

f, like me, you have the mind of a highly imaginative eightyear-old, you have probably already envisioned your life as a Nintendo character (if you haven’t, it is simply because your imaginative capacities have yet to reach the level of superior childishness already attained by yours truly). Inevitably, the rate at which these kinds of thoughts pervade my mind becomes particularly elevated whilst I am trying to do something important — like studying. So it was on one seemingly insignificant June afternoon, as I was attempting to understand the symbiotic associations between fungi and vascular plant roots, it suddenly occurred to me that the mushrooms (the “fruit” of fungi) I was reading about must be magical mushrooms. You see, Mario lives in Mushroom Kingdom, and while his nutritional needs are not welldocumented, I propose that he survives off “Mushroom-Ups,” and the occasional carrot stick. In particular, eating the former bestows upon Mario certain special powers, many of which are too special to detail in my column. In true Edible Hypothesis fashion, I decided to figure out how to grow my own mushrooms. With the help of a mushroom-growing friend of my former TA, I learned that the basic “shrooming” process entails setting up a “sterile box” with a fan and good quality filter, under which one inoculates spores – the reproductive cells of mushrooms – onto agar-filled petri plates. The spores are then allowed to germinate into mycelia (scientific term of string-like structures of fungus) in a dark, temperature-controlled environment for a week. A specific type of mycelia is selected, placed into a sterilized mason jar along with some rye seeds for the mycelia to “latch onto,” and is once again incubated in a dark, temperaturefilled environment. After a few days, or once the jar appears white from the overgrowth of mycelia, the rye seeds can then be placed into a temperaturecontrolled, high-humidity fruiting chamber, which can be made from an old aquarium or large Tupper-

ware box, and preferably placed near sunlight. After three or four weeks, enjoy your very own fullgrown button, portobello, or crimini mushrooms, preferably in a recipe brought to you by yours truly. Mario’s mushroom magic is a magical stir-fry fit for fueling Mario and all Mario wannabes; fighting

King Koopa and his minions is no small task – even when you realize that all you’ve got is an overactive child-like imagination and your much-neglected botany textbook. For more (incr)edible adventures, check out The Edible Hypothesis online at: lafillenaturelle.wordpress.com/t-e-h .

omid jaffari

Mario’s mushroom magic (adapted from IndoBase Recipes)

Ingredients: 4 cups mushrooms (chopped) 1 medium to large carrot, grated 1 inch of ginger (grated) ¼ tbsp cumin seeds 1 tbsp olive oil 4 cloves garlic (chopped) Sea salt to taste th Open November 16 ! Cora at the Shops Directions: in the Waterloo Town Square Heat oil and add cumin seeds, ginger (beside Valu-mart) Enjoy and garlic. Breakfast

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on the Patio, opening in NEW extended May! Hours:

Monday to Saturday 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

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2 3

Fry for few seconds.

When the water of the mushrooms evaporate, serve in a bowl. For extra Nintendo points, enjoy in something that looks like a (clean) flower pot.

Add mushroom and other remaining spices, fry on high.

Ivan Lui staff reporter

God particles?

A new study has discovered that the scientifically mythical and elusive, “God Particle,” also known as the Higgs boson may have multiple versions. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) experiment in Geneva, which ran at a cost of about $10 billion, is aimed at finding the Higgs boson. United States physicists, however, suggest that there may actually be five particle instead of just the one. Known as the Standard Model, the current accepted theory states that one particle may have started life as we know it. The importance of the Higgs boson lies in its purpose in the Standard Model, it is the subatomic particle which explains why all other particles have mass. This new idea of the multiple God particles comes from DZero experiment at the Tevatron particle accelerator, operated by Fermilab in Illinois. DZero works to find the reasons as to why we are not made of anti-matter, rather than its opposite, normal matter. Those researching into this subject, have noted that particles are colliding in the Tevatron accelerator. Results from these collisions showed that there were more matters being created rather than anti-matters. They say the data points to five Higgs bosons with similar masses but different electric charges. Three would have a neutral charge and one each would have a negative and positive electric charge. This is known as the two-Higgs doublet model. Dr. Adam Martin of Fermilab, told BBC News that the two-Higgs doublet could explain the results seen by the DZero team while keeping much of the Standard Model intact. “In models with an extra Higgs doublet, it’s easy to have large new physics effects like this DZero result,” he explained. He continued, “What’s difficult is to have those large effects without damaging anything else that we have already measured.” Martin explained that there were other possible interpretations for the DZero result. “The Standard Model fits just about every test we’ve thrown at it. To fit in a new effect in one particular place is not easy,” he said. While the studies may be proof for something else, it is never the less a new step towards a new discovery that could challenge the Standard model. The Standard Model cannot explain the best known of the so-called four fundamental forces: gravity; and it describes only ordinary matter, not the dark matter which makes up some 25 per cent of the universe. Species of bat affected by Fungus increases

White-nose syndrome (WNS) has now affected its ninth U.S. bat species according to the Center for Biological Diversity. With this new number, WNS has officially affected 20 per cent of North America’s bat species. This latest species of bat to be affected is the Southeastern Myotis (Myotis austroriparius). The first infected bat was found in Virginia’s Pocahontas State Park in May. This species of bats lives in the Gulf Coastal Plain and the lower Mississippi Alluvial Plain.

After the capture by the Virgina Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, the infected bat was killed. These fungi cause WNS to grow on the bat’s face, skin, and wings. Essentially, the bat would be unable to fly, or see where it is going. Without the ability to travel efficiently, the bats would eventually starve and die. The mortality rate of the bats infected with WNS ranges from 75 to 100 per cent. Originally observed in the Eastern states of the U.S. in 2006, more than one million bats have now been killed due to this fungus. The fungus has been noted to spread as far as Ontario and Quebec and for this reason, most caves have been closed for viewing or otherwise. Unknown to humans, they may have a chance of spreading the fungus into uncontaminated caves. Scientists still have no idea as to how to cure bats that are infected with WNS. Rice and diabetes

Brown rice may have its gritty taste and unpleasant look to most people, but scientists says that white rice could potentially increase chances of diabetes. Eating brown rice, on the other hand, may decrease diabetes by at least one third. Causing blood sugar levels to rise, white rice, however, is a staple food of a large population in the world. Harvard researchers in Archives of Internal Medicine say that brown rice and other wholegrain foods are healthier as they reduce glucose in small steps. While this may be true, other scientists says that the data collected based on questionnaires are not strong enough to base any firm conclusion on. Critics says that those with a tendency to eat brown rice may also live healthier lives. Nearly 200,000 Americans were tested in this white rice consumption theory. Those who ate five, or more than 150g, servings of white rice per week had a near 17 per cent chance to get diabetes in comparison to those who ate less than about a cup of rice a month. In comparison, brown rice cut the chances of getting Type 2 diabetes in half. People who ate two or more servings of brown rice per week had an 11 per cent reduction of getting diabetes. In fact, replacing white rice with any whole grain product will also cut down the chances of getting diabetes by a third. Dr. Qi Sun, and other researchers, say the explanation lies in the composition of the food. The benefit of brown rice comes from the fact that it is high in fiber, releasing energy slower. White rice, however, had most of the germ and bran removed during the milling process. More than 70 per cent of all rice consumed in the U.S. and the U.K. is white. Dr. Victoria King of Diabetes U.K. said that, since the results were from self-reported food diaries and questionnaires, it was not possible to make conclusive recommendations on how much of certain foods, such as brown rice, might protect against Type 2 diabetes at this stage. “The best way to prevent Type 2 diabetes is by keeping active and eating a healthy balanced diet that is low in fat, salt and sugar with plenty of fruit and vegetables,” she said. — with files from BBC and Scientific American ilui@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Sports & Living

Imprint, Friday, June 18, 2010 sports@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Reasons to watch FIFA World Cup U.S.A.

Honduras

Soccer is the least of their concern and nobody in the world believes they are good at it. They showed promise after shocking Spain in the Confederations Cup last year. Can they do it again with England? If you dislike England or just want to support our neighbours down south, U.S.A. is the team to root for.

One of the few first time nations at the World Cup, they are just happy to be there. Definitely another underdog team. Their odds to win it all is 500 to 1.

Jacky Lam reporter

he FIFA World Cup 2010 South Africa is upon us and it is undoubtedly the biggest sporting event in the world. It happens every four years and this time is the first time the event is held on the African continent. To UW students and most Canadian fans, it has been 24 years since Canada qualified for the World Cup Finals. Since most Canadians and a lot of UW students come from different backgrounds, they should still have a team to cheer for at the World Cup. This edition of the finals is no different, it seems that every team, even the communist Korea DPR (North Korea), have reasons for Canadian and UW students to cheer for them. Here is at least one reason why you should cheer for some of the finalists at the FIFA World Cup 2010.

Cameroon

One of the best African teams in the World Cup, the whole continent should be supporting them to go through to the knockout rounds. Can they do it for Africa and advance far into the World Cup? We shall see on starting June 11.

Netherlands

Another underachiever at the World Cup stage, Oranje has some of the best players in the world right now in Robben and Sneijder. They also play a style of attractive attacking football and should be very fun to watch.

Korea DPR

This is the ultimate underdog team to cheer for. It is North Korea's first appearance since 1966, where they upset Italy 1-0. They are in a group with Brazil, Ivory Coast, and Portugal. Perhaps they can produce shocking results this time around too.

Serbia

First time they are entering as an independent nation and one of their fans was crazy enough to hitch hike from Serbia all the way to South Africa to see the team play. Let's hope he gets there safe and in time for the games.

South Africa

This team will try its best to not be the first host nation to exit after only the first round. All their fans at home will bring out their vuvuzelas (a piercingly loud stadium horn that has been criticized for distracting players and couches) and cheer on the home team. There will be an amazing atmosphere present at every game.

Brazil

The favorites to win it all, the five time champions are always a safe choice to cheer for. However, there is no more Joga Bonito for the Brazilians, as their coach Dunga has opted for defense oriented counter attack methods. Even their own fans dislike the coach.

Argentina

They have the best player in the game in Leo Messi, but they also have one of the most unpredictable coaches in Maradonna. Maradonna has promised to sprint around Buenos Aires naked if they win the World Cup. Something to look forward to for their fans.

Courtesy Kyle Giggs/Wikimedia commons

Above are the qualified nations competing at the 2010 FIFA World Cup held in South Africa.

Portugal

One word: Ronaldo.

Italy

The team everyone loves to hate, unless you are Italian. If you like defensive football, hand gestures to the referees when called for a foul, and players getting headbutted, this is the team to cheer for.

England

Have not won the World cup since 1966 at home, they have exited at the quarter finals stage the past few times. They always have the most media attention and are scrutinized the most. Football is to England as what hockey is to Canada. It would be huge disappointment for them if they don't win it all.

Spain

They were known as the underachievers of international football until Euro 2008 when they came out as the winner. In 2010, they are the favorites to win it all with arguably the most talented squad in the tournament. They play an attacking style that is fun to watch. Should be one of the more entertaining teams in the World Cup.

New Zealand

Nicknamed the All Whites, this is their first appearance. Almost always overshadowed by Australia in the international media, there are trying to make a name for themselves in international football.

Australia

Nicknamed the Socceroos, Australia deserve some love after the way they exited the last World Cup losing to Italy in injury time thanks to a Italian player, Grosso, diving into the box that lead to a penalty kick.

NFL in the offseason jtoporowki@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

ack in February, after the Superbowl was over and the Saints had just begun their drunkfest of celebrating, the NFL-world turned to the offseason with one word being thrown around dangerously: un-capped. Yes, this offseason was going to be a unique one, filled with a ton of uncertainty. The Player’s Union and NFL owners had reached the last year of their current collective bargaining agreement (CBA), and the cap that prevented teams from out-spending other ones, was being lifted. So was the cap that restricted teams from spending too little. Most of the focus seemed to be on the caps that had been taken away. Would obsessive owners with deep pockets (see: Snyder, Dan & Jones, Jerry) break open the bank and buy themselves a championship? Would cheap teams in dire financial straits balk at the spending and drop their payrolls to record lows? No one was quite sure. But while the removal of salary caps and free agency turned out to be a bigger bust than Heidi Montag’s, a bizarre fact in this new capfree world slipped under the surface. Players that normally would have been eligible for free

agency if this was a normal year, were merely being granted “restricted” free agent status due to wording in the CBA. Now, for those of you who don’t now what the difference between being a “restricted” free agent and a normal free agent is, it’s really quite simple — it’s the difference between “seeing” a person and “dating” a person. When you’re seeing someone and you find someone that’s better, well, you move on and are free to go (this is what being a free agent is like — when your contract is up with your team, you’re free to move on). But if you’re dating someone, then you have to undergo a nasty breakup with tears and damaging future effects, which is exactly what being a restricted free agent is like. The other team has to give your former team a draft-pick to sign you; there are damages that have to be paid. But that’s not all. As a restricted free agent, if no team is willing to pay the price to get you (i.e. a draft pick), you are essentially forced to sign a tender that is often times significantly less than you’re worth. For instance, Vincent Jackson of the San Diego Chargers is one of the more explosive receivers in the game and a

huge part of the Chargers offence, but because of these restrictions; he is limited to a $3.268 million contract for next year, far below what he is worth. So naturally, contracts have become a massive part of this offseason. Darrelle Revis, the runner up for Defensive Player of the Year award last year, is currently fighting the Jets for more money. So is the Patriots star lineman Logan Mankins who as recently as Tuesday, June 15 said he wants to be traded. The Offensive Player of the Year, Chris Johnson of the Tennessee Titans, hasn’t been to any of the Titan’s offseason workouts. Many of these angry stars have good points. Many will get the money they deserve. And then there is Albert Haynseworth. Albert Haynesworth was the big free-agent catch last summer; signed to a ridiculous seven year, $100 million contract by Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder (who throws around money as frequently as Lindsay Lohan appears in court). He was paid as the “best” defensive player in the game, expectations were high, his impact was supposed to be felt. Then last year he mostly threw up a dud. He was injured at times; unenthused at other times,

but rarely the disruptive, game-changing force he was paid to be. So you had to think, as a Redskins fan, that he’d come back this year riled up and ready to go. He failed in his first year; it would only make sense, right? Especially since he’s been paid $32 million already, and is scheduled to make $9 million more to bring his total up to $41 million. Nope. Albert Haynseworth doesn’t like the defensive scheme that new coach Mike Shanahan’s staff has developed and refuses to come to team workouts. It’s actually amazing that this sort of thing can happen. If someone paid me that much money to do a job, I’d be there doing it. It’s simple logic. Albert Haynesworth has become the new standard for “unappreciative star.” I think it’s important that we draw the fine line between a star holding out for money because he is worth it (a running back like Chris Johnson may only have two to three more productive years in the league, after all), and one who is lazy, selfish and maddeningly ignorant about the simple fact that when you get paid, you have to produce.

Sports & Living

Imprint, Friday, June 18, 2010

Warrior Football Team Speaks

he Waterloo Warriors football team was called into a mandatory "meeting" where the Athletic Director, Bob Copeland told us that "Drug testing is being done in order to exonerate all of the clean players on the team." Many veteran players were also promised that we would be playing this season. In turn we relayed this message to the rest of our team. The testing process was uncomfortable, however we still responded with utmost compliance and full trust in the administration. We understood that this was the only way our team could remove all suspicion in order to compete in the upcoming season. This decision is something that will destroy everything our team has been working towards building, for some, for the last five years. It has left many players in an unfortunate position as many felt that football was the main catalyst that ensured their continued effort towards the academic portion of being a student athlete. For the University of Waterloo to act in such a harsh manner is unfair at best, and we as a team believe that this ruling should be overturned immediately. The actions of a few should not result in such negative consequences for all. We win, lose and train as a team, but the whole team cannot be held accountable for some individuals` actions behind closed doors. We feel and hope that you can empathize with these feelings and agree that this team-wide suspension is absolutely unacceptable. Countless Waterloo administrative personnel had expressed their support for the team. The university was the last organization that we thought would turn their backs on us. We hope we have the support from our fellow students in hopes to salvage our season and allow us to continue playing football at the University of Waterloo. — Waterloo Warrior Football (submitted by Andrew Ward and fellow players)

Suspension creating lots of tension Brent Golem sports & living editor

“A

ll of a sudden, it’s not there anymore. Now it’s done,” senior quarterback Luke Balch said with a heavy sigh. After four years of hard work and dedication, the program that Balch has bled for and sweat for has taken away his opportunity to finish out his career with pride and honour. The University has made the decision to cut the program, a decision that they reiterated, in a Wednesday press release, was not going to change. “The University has an obligation to take a strong position in the wake of finding that nine players on its varsity football team had been involved in using banned substances,” VP Provost said through the issued statement. The resolution to suspend the Waterloo football team for the 2010 season has sparked controversy, receiver coach Carl Zender tendered his resignation as soon as he heard about the decision. He feels that the University is unjustly punishing the honest players who played fair. “We have to remember out of this that there were a certain amount of people that tested posi-

Reckless abandon? The University of Waterloo has handed the football team a controversial one year suspension after nine players have adverse drug tests, punishing the clean and dirty players alike. Some critics allege that the clean players have been abandoned by their own administration

tive, absolutely correct. But, the greater majority of them tested clean,” former receiver coach Carl Zender furiously told media on Monday after the results were released. “The penalty of them testing clean was the exact same as if you tested positive and then self disclosed. So they get a one year ban: a one year ban for being honest, a one year ban for being clean, a one year ban for sweating and doing the right things. That’s cowardly.” Although the press conference was booked two weeks prior, the University only told the student athletes a couple hours before the eleven o’clock media conference was being held. UW athletics director Bob Copeland told Imprint that the resolution to suspend the team was only decided by VP Provost Feridun Hamdullahpur a few days prior to the announcement, and there wasn’t enough time, nor was it feasible to hold a team meeting so that players were made aware of the decision through the proper channels. UW athletics met with as many players as possible while an email was sent out to those who were unable to meet. The players were visibly shaken and shocked to find out that their season had been taken away from them. Many players said they were assured by UW athletics that they would be playing next season, regardless of who is on the roster or not. “Bob (Copeland) told us, you guys are going to have a season coming up in the fall, so I want you guys to say that through the media outlets,” Wide receiver Dustin Zender said. “We were lead to believe, by Bob and by the upper administration that came on to the field that, we were going play 100 per cent and they had our backs. They said they would be there to come to our games, too.” UW athletics countered these statements without denying them. “The basic thrust of what I said, and I completely would say again today and do the same thing tomorrow, is I’m here and this is not here just to catch the guilty, this is to exonerate the innocent and to remove a cloud of suspicion that would no doubt be on the team,” Copeland said. Either way, the responsibility of the course of action was placed in the hands of VP Provost Hamdullahpur. After consulting with many people, including sports ethicists, he made a firm decision. “There should be no mistake that our first obligation is to our students’ welfare — all 26,000 of them — and helping them acquire an excellent education. But we are also obligated to our students, their parents and society, and the fight against substance abuse across all levels of sport,” Hamdullahpur added. “We must address this head-on to establish the principle that Waterloo is about clean and fair play.” The VP Provost also reiterated that Waterloo was committed to its football program saying that “it is here to stay.” At the forefront of UW staff

working hard for the program is UW athletic director Bob Copeland, who logged long hours completing an application for a grant that will see Waterloo gain a new turf field and better bleachers for watching various varsity games. He shared the Provost’s sentiments. “It certainly is a setback, but this is bigger than football. This is bigger than winning or losing on the playing field,” Copeland said. Caught in the middle of this remains the clean players, who will lose a season, although not a year of eligibility. Regardless, for many of the seniors it is their last chance to be scouted for a pro career before graduation. It seems the player’s only option will be to transfer to another school . It is unclear if their scholarships will be honoured or if their credits will transfer. Critics question why our players have enough integrity to play for other Universities, but not our own. Also left by the wayside are the 35 to 40 fresh recruits who accepted their admission to Waterloo. It is already too late for them to change their schooling preferences and maintain any scholarships that they have been awarded. For now, the University of Waterloo said that they would assist those players seeking transfer, and help them move along. The University’s athletic department will be looking to move forward with the clean players and hope that greater social lessons can be gained by this experience. “What I really hope is, and they may not realize it today but, maybe some time down the road someone says I thought about taking substance, I didn’t because of an educational program that was put into place because of what happened at the University of Waterloo or because of my fear of a program being terminated because of what happened at Waterloo,” Copeland said. A review committee is now in progress, and their recommendations are uncertain. What is certain is where the heart of the program lies. “If even one guy shows up, if I am allowed back, then I will be back,” Coach Dennis McPhee said. Unfortunately for him, at least 45 men will have to come out in order for Waterloo to field a competitive roster. A lot of critics of the suspension have doubts whether or not there will be a team for recruits to play for. “They’ve basically killed the program, make no bones about that, this is not a one-year suspension, this is a death knell to the program, you cannot field a team without your first-year players and your fifth-year players,” parent and coach Zender said. Social pressure seems to be mounting as those against the suspension bind together. With over 5,700 members joining a facebook group in only two days, the clean Waterloo football players are being shown lots of support. sports@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

UW steroid decision unusual Ian Renato Cutajar

Black and gold Iyinoluwa Aboyeji imprint president

or the odd supporters of the University’s action in suspending the Warrior football team, it is rare proof of a school’s belief that its good name should precede gold (see Randy Starkman and Dick Pound). In that light, the action sounds commendable, almost heroic in fact. Yet, the cynic in me wonders, might this really be about a different kind of gold? Or to put it more aptly, the need for it. I’ll state my obscure case as clearly and concisely as I must. No doubt, after a scandal as we have experienced, the University needed to take some decisive action. Suspending the football program might be considered as such. However, herein lies my surprise. Of the nine students who are under suspicion of doping, including the two who have already publicly admitted to it, none, it seems,

will face any form of disciplinary action from the school. This is despite the fact that the school has a clearly outlined policy — Policy 71 — that should ordinarily apply in this situation. So this begs the question, why is a public announcement to suspend the entire football program a more plausible alternative for a school seeking to clear its name than actually punishing the guilty? As always, I’ll stick with the money. Expelling the nine doping players from school might send a strong enough message to the entire world that the University of Waterloo does not tolerate doping of any sorts on its teams, but what are the cost savings? Little to none. In fact, there is a deficit of nine less tuition fees and the government support they guarantee. Alumni dollars? Pfft! Sorry, this ain’t UWO. Our homecoming might as well be another Frosh event. Our ‘nerd’ alumni put their money to ‘nerd’ projects like the recreation of English style work-

houses (the Tatham Centre) or some ‘Quantum thingy’, soon to be the SLC’s big brother. On the other hand, for a ‘nerd’ school looking for budget cuts in these rough economic times, athletics might be a good place to start. Come to think of it; no more covering what must be exorbitant travel costs for a nationally engaged team, those scholarships might as well be pieces of crap paper before long, and by the time the review is over and the program is long dead and buried, Waterloo will quietly lengthen Feridun’s long list of schools he has administered without the peeve of a football team. The truth is this; despite the illusions of high morality naive commentators are pinning on the school’s decision, its primary concern is unsurprisingly, its bottom line. In this case, as in several others, the black speaks louder than the gold. My fear is that it always will. eaboyeji@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Ron Kielstra Jr. staff reporter

n the wake of what is undoubtedly the largest steroid scandal in the history of Canadian Inter-University Sport, the University of Waterloo has decided to suspend its football program for the upcoming season. Steroid scandals in sports are not a new phenomenon, but the decision taken by UW administration is unusual, to say the least. Scandals in the past have generally had one of two outcomes: either the athletes in question are punished while the team continues to operate, or the program itself is sanctioned with the players involved facing few consequences. Waterloo’s decision to suspend the program for one year and initiate an internal review indicates a desire to find some sort of middle ground. The review, to be headed by former Waterloo Police Chief Larry Gravill and the Faculty of Mathematics’ Mary Thompson, is expected to provide its recommendations by the end of the summer. But it’s the decision to suspend the program for the upcoming season that students should be most concerned about. It appears that the University, in keeping with its recent tradition of placing the image of

the school above the welfare of its students, has chosen a course of action designed to appear as if it is protecting the integrity of the program while actually punishing innocent students for their mere association with scandal. In essence, the university is distancing itself from the program and treating the innocent students on the team, students who have devoted their blood, sweat and tears to representing their school, as nothing more than collateral damage. Students who competed with integrity are being rewarded with what amounts to a one-year suspension, and will be victims of guilt by association for a long time to come. What’s worse is the way the University dealt with the students on the team: according to players who were present at the conference this morning, they weren’t informed of the school’s decision to suspend the program until hours before it was made public. Senior quarterback Luke Balch was on his way to work when he received the call, and later said that he had no idea that the program’s suspension was even being considered. Other students are on vacation and it’s not unrealistic to assume that they may learn of the decision through the media before hearing from the University. The lack of student involvement in this decision-making process should be alarming, but

it shouldn’t be surprising. The University has a track record of making decisions that will affect the lives of its students with little to no input from students themselves. Take, for example, the cancellation of the environmental economics, economic history and regional economics specializations. These options were unceremoniously removed from the undergraduate calendar at a Senate meeting in March of this year, and students who were in the process of completing these programs are being forced to change their plan. If there were thousands of students in the program, it might be understandable that each individual student was not consulted prior to the decision (though some form of discussion should still have taken place), but the small number of students affected makes the lack of consultation questionable. Similarly, the relatively small number of students on the football team makes the administration’s actions hard to accept. Because of the actions of a handful of players, an entire team is being punished without so much as an opportunity to discuss the situation. It’s not as if it would have been difficult to talk to the students on the team: the students were only informed of the drug testing the morning it took place, and yet each of them found a way to be there. After

forcing its students to provide blood and urine samples on such short notice (the testing was not compulsory, but rather a decision made by the University), one would be justified in assuming that some form of dialogue would take place. Except that justice is of no concern when image is at stake. Admittedly, this sounds somewhat harsh — but no less harsh than the consequences this decision may have for the students affected. This is a team that has had two of its players sign pro contracts in the past two months and a team that had a disproportionately high level of representation at the CIS’ all-star game in May. It’s not unreasonable to assume that there are current players who might be capable of making it to the pro level, and this decision could put an end to their dreams. It is disgraceful that the University would interfere with students’ livelihoods without so much as a conversation, to say the least. What makes it intolerable is the implication that this attitude could have for other students. It may only affect the `jocks’ right now, but other students should be warned: if you’re associated with anyone who does anything questionable, you should not expect justice. You are guilty by association. rkielstra@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Out of options The members of the University of Waterloo football team have a limited number of options if they hope to have a say in their football futures. Below we list the player’s options they can undertake if they want to try to force the administration’s hand or merely make the best of a bitter situation. None of these options are exclusive, and individuals on the team may choose to pursue different options (some players have already contacted other universities).

Negotiate a noncompetitive season

The players on the team could accept the sanctions and work with the coaches and athletics department to schedule some exhibition matches and training sessions. Most Diplomatic

Seek transfers to other Universities

The talented players can contact other Universities to transfer. Other Universities are not allowed to contact them as per recruiting regulations. Unfortunately their scholarships and some credits will not transfer, all for a possible spot on the bench.

Demand a representative on the review committee

The players on the team could force the UW Administration to include a representative on the internal review committee so that the Administration is obligated to renew their support for the program.

Refuse services funding approval via Student Services Advisory Committee

If the players could convince the student majority committee to reject the budget, the University would be out millions of dollars since it is retroactive and the money is already spent.

Take legal action against the UW Administration

After consulting the Ombudsperson, they could take the University to court for not following its own policies. Most Hostile

Sports & Living

Imprint, Friday, June 18, 2010

Losing weight, getting stronger or toning up? Approximately 3500 calories are contained in a pound of body fat; [...] not many people have six hours to devote to each pound they want to lose.

Workout A Squats

3 sets of 5 reps per set

Bench Press

3 sets of 5

Dead Lifts

3 sets of 5

Workout three days a week, alternating between workout A and B.

Workout B Squats

3 sets of 5 reps per set

Military Press 3 sets of 5 Power Cleans 3 sets of 5; or 5 sets of 3

“

mjefkins@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

or most people just starting out at the gym their overall goal will fall into one of three categories; they are hoping to lose weight, get stronger, or tone up. For those of you that fall under column A or B, this article is for you. For those of you in column C, know that toning is at best a silly buzz word you should stop using because all it means is doing A and B at the same time. Fortunately, regardless of your intended goal, the tried and true best workout regime for you is Mark Rippetoe’s Starting Strength. The name of the game for increasing functional strength and

losing weight is compound lifts. A compound lift is one that has you using a collection of muscle groups together in one motion. Squats, bench press, dead lifts, military press and power cleans make for an efficient and effective workout. As recommended in the book of the same name, and on sites like startingstrength.wikia.com (www. stumptuous.com is a lifting site for women, though not specifically devoted to this routine) the Starting Strength routine goes as follows: With three workouts a week on nonconsecutive days, alternating between workout A and B each time you’re at the gym. And I know what you’re thinking: it’s almost like it was set up to be straightforward and easy to remember! This has the added benefit of mitigating excuses. By using the site I provided above, you’ll have no problem finding videos of proper form to mimic, and variations on the regime as a whole. I, for example, chose bent over rows as a substitute for power cleans. And lastly, ask

someone! There are trainers and knowledgeable people that will be happy to help you improve. Great form and proper technique don’t happen over night. Some reading this might be asking: but what about cardio? To put it simply: cardio is not the best way to lose weight or get stronger. If you have the time to add it on days you aren’t lifting, that’s great, but it shouldn’t take a front row seat for achieving the aforementioned goals. The math nearly does itself. Approximately 3,500 calories are contained in a pound of body fat; on average 10 calories are burned per minute of aerobic exercise; and not many people have 6 hours to devote to each pound they want to lose. Instead, consider that the real goal is losing or gaining inches. That its not the weight but the way it’s carried. Muscle burns more calories than fat, and its how people get those “toned” figures people clamour on about. You can determine your basal metabolic rate through an online calculator, or more accurately by

multiplying your non-fat weight by 13. This simple math on top of the fact that weightlifting is a intensive aerobic workout is hopefully enough to drive home the point that your time is best spent with the free weights and not on the elliptical. Many people will avoid the free weights for a perceived fear of ‘getting bulky’ which is the equivalent of not playing tennis because you don’t want “get all Federer.” These sorts of results will only ever be attained by those who specifically strive for those sorts of results after years and years of training. This said, you still need to push yourself to near-failure consistently to really attain results. And pushing yourself to the limit means just that: if I offered to pay all your student loans for just one more rep, you’re doing it properly if you’re still be knee deep in OSAP the next day. Don’t do your body a disservice by buying in to the myths and instead get yourself under the bar and get lifting. Be safe and good luck.

Kick away time with soccer

ith the world gripped in soccer fever, now is the most ideal time to take up soccer as a pick-up sport. Popular all over the globe, and relatively simple to play, all you need is a ball, a comfortable pair of shoes, and some enthusiastic comrades. The question that puzzles is, where do you get to indulge in some soccer action? Luckily, Waterloo has a lot of soccer fields within walking distance to channel your inner Ronaldo. If one place is booked or has no space for a new game, you can always move on to another. While exploring soccer grounds, I found Laurier’s Alumni field to be the best location in terms of ground quality. Located on the east side of the Wilfrid Laurier campus, opposite the science building, it is an artificial turf that models an ideal soccer field. The field is available to “external groups” from May 1 to August 30 (Laurier students have access during the Fall and Winter terms, as well as the Spring time), but it is best to check the facility schedule to ensure the time you choose to play doesn’t coincide with a varsity game. There is a big disadvantage however, as it is a popular field, and even if there are no varsity games booked, the field is nearly always full. It is also required that you fit your shoes with safety studs of 13mm (1/2” or less). However, there is a distinct advantage, too. Ankle injuries are far less common on consistent ground, where there isn’t the additional stress of running on hilly grass. The Columbia Ice Fields arena makes up for what the Alumni Field lacks — space. With several fields to choose from, a pick-up game is easy to organize, and it’s equally easy to maneuver out on the field with less players to obstruct your path. Since it is also on UW grounds, one can also gain from other facilities offered, such as being able to borrow a soccer ball from the Equipment Centre. The fields however, are not entirely built to be easy on the feet — with hills and sudden pits throughout the area you’re playing. Another field similar to the Columbia Ice Fields is located in Waterloo Park next to the Seagram parking lot, and has enough space to allow two separate soccer games to be played. It’s important to remember that while soccer is not a contact sport, you are still just as likely to get injured. In the event of twisting an ankle or injuring other parts of your body, stop the game immediately and seek medical help if necessary. To enhance performance, investing in a good pair of cleats is also highly recommended. Hope you all enjoy bending it like Beckham! asyeda@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Features

Imprint, Friday, June 18, 2010 features@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

A walk in their shoes

Rosalind Gunn

Counter-clockwise: Picture drawn by a young child while staying in a refugee camp, common medicinal supplies found at health stations in the camps, and an imitation of a typical living structure for a family. All pictures taken in the refugee camp simulation in Uptown Waterloo. Jacob McLellan staff reporter

I started off the Doctors Without Borders refugee simulation, Refugee Camp in the Heart of the City, like a true refugee, by cutting the exceptionally long line at the Waterloo Public Square on June 5 to meet up with my companions and avoid the close-approaching rebel “freedom fighters.” Successfully slipping past the line-guards and avoiding the leering eyes of the fellow soon-to-be refugees, I made it to the front of the line, where I met up with my companions and our first obstacle of the day: a selfish border guard. Built, stern and greedy, the border guard harassed us for proper identification, money and possessions to cross into the camp. His threats of leaving us for the freedom fighters if we didn’t pay up was convincing, to say the least. A good, fellow civilian handed over her purse with her cell phone, money and all of her identification to get the entire group; however, two of our group members, who only offered a pithy two dollars for their admittance, were forced to stay behind. After we were admitted, the volunteers treated us much better than the austere border guard as we were shown around the camp — our home for the next few years. We were shown the shanties in which we would live, our daily tasks of gathering water, the doctor’s tents where we would have our ailments cured, the bathrooms and the dreaded

quarantined zone for the highly ill. Despite being promised some fundamental rights, life here was not going to be comfortable, but it was better than the alternative of living in our now-destroyed homes. We were shown some of the residences in the area and it’s a scary sight. They’re built from whatever scraps you can find: sticks, string, tarps, plastic, cloth. Our new “home” — though I’m reluctant yet to use that word to describe that hut — is what a real estate agent would call “comfy.” It’s uncomfortably small and bleak, but at least we have shelter. Until we can independently sustain ourselves with our own food, the camp will provide it for us. The volunteer showed us our rations of rice, beans, oil, salt and sugar, and the lovely BP-5 Compact Emergency food bar, which tastes just about as good as it sounds. The food situation isn’t great, but at least we had decently nutritious rations to survive on. The water is clean, thanks to a simple but effective filtration system, but we’re only given 20 litres of water per family per day to cook, clean, and wash with. Considering that flushing the toilet uses about 11 litres of water and that the average American consumes 379 litres of water each day, this isn’t that much. And if supplies run low, we might have to survive on a mere five litres a day. The toilet system is a primitive hole in the ground, but highly sanitary. The enclosure is made of tarps that can be bleached clean each

night. The toilet has a snug cover to prevent flies from getting into the faeces and spreading disease, with highly powerful bug killer lacing the exits, just in case. There’s a medicine tent for the sick, where children are regularly treated for malnutrition and disease.

standing in the blazing sun without much food, drink, or shade. The volunteers jumped into action and treated her with juice and rest, but it left the rest of us uneasy about the years to come. The entire experience was enlightening; we were exposed to the heat, the conditions,

The water is clean...but we’re only given 20 litres of water per family per day to cook, clean, and wash with. Considering that flushing the toilet uses about 11 litres of water and that the average American consumes 379 litres of water each day, this isn’t that much. Measles, cholera, and STIs can run rampant through camps, claiming many lives, so the doctors are careful to see as many patients in a day as possible, while maintaining high sanitary standards. Inevitably, some of us will get sick, and those people have to be quarantined and treated. On our visit to the currently empty quarantine zone, a young girl from our group suffered from dehydration from the long initial day of

the lack of food and water that refugees have to deal with every day. As a privileged country, we need to continue our efforts to support refugee camps and organisations such as Doctors Without Borders to help the unfortunate people that come from war-torn countries and areas destroyed by disasters. jmclellan@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Features

Imprint, Friday, June 18, 2010

The G20 summit lands June 26-27 What does top security look like? You’ll see it in Toronto next week reporter

n the weekend of June 26 and 27 more than 20 of the world’s most influential political leaders will arrive in Toronto for the Group of 20 Summit on financial markets and the world economy, or the G20 Summit. The G20’s website describes itself as a forum that hosts government leaders who represent a large majority of the world’s wealth and population. However, many groups disagree. They are unhappy with the neoliberal policies promoted by the G20 and, if past summits are any indication, a torrent of demonstrations can be expected in the streets while the heads of state are gathered. As a result, readers planning a visit to Toronto on the weekend of the summit may want to make other plans. Fearing that some among the protestors may turn violent, the Canadian government has already invested over $1 billion in an effort to ensure the event goes off without a hitch. The bulk of that sum is being used to fund security measures in and around the primary venue, the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. The operations themselves are being implemented by an ensemble, known as the Integrated Security Unit (ISU), which consists primarily of the Toronto Police Service, the Ontario Provincial Police, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, with additional support from the Peel Regional Police and the Canadian Armed Forces. Those hoping to catch a glimpse of United States President Barack Obama, Chinese Presi-

“

Ryan Web

Those hoping to catch a glimpse of United States President Barack Obama, Chinese President Hu Jintao, or one of the other leaders expected to attend, will likely find that impossible. dent Hu Jintao, or one of the other leaders expected to attend, will likely find that impossible. As a result of the security measures, much of the city’s downtown core will be virtually locked down to the general public. A map released by the ISU last month shows the area immediately surrounding the convention centre will be fenced-off by a security perimeter. Those in the general vicinity of the summit, and along the route to Pearson, may even notice that their cellular telephones temporarily cease to function. The RCMP have indicated they will be using cellphone jamming devices along motorcade routes to provide further protection to VIPs. Air and subway travel will, apparently, be operating more or less as usual, albeit with heightened security that will include police and the military. Flights arriving at, and departing from, both airports serving Canada’s most populous region, Pearson International and Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, will continue during the summit. However both airports are warning travelers to expect delays.

The Toronto Islands Ferry Terminal will also be cordoned off according to the ISU, but those with business at Billy Bishop Airport will be permitted to board. As a result of the security measures, a number of popular destinations near the summit venue will be adversely affected. Via Rail will not be operating out of Union Station, and will rely instead on a network of shuttles connecting commuters to suburban

stations in Oakville, Brampton, Oshawa and north Toronto. The CN Tower, the main University of Toronto campus and the Ontario Legislative building at Queen’s Park will be closed on the days of the summit. The PATH pedestrian network and SkyWalk pedestrian bridge will also be closed to the public. The Roger’s Centre will also be offlimits to the public, and baseball fans who had been eagerly awaiting Roy Halladay’s return to Toronto in a Philadelphia Phillies uniform will have to wait until next season. Despite initial efforts by Blue Jays officials aimed at ensuring that the games would go on in the face of the summit, a Jays-Phillies series that had been scheduled for the same weekend has been moved to Philadelphia instead. A map of the affected areas can be found at www.toronto.ca/g20/assets/pdf/isu-mapaffected-area.pdf.

Local cows discover their voices on Twitter Waterloo’s Critical Media Lab wants you to look at cows in a whole new way Billy Sheiban reporter

orget about cows mooing; they have found a new “social media” to get their daily activities and thoughts across: Twitter. The animal revolution has begun Waterloo’s Critical Media Lab has been focused on exploring the relationship between technology and society, but UW research associate Ron Broglio and his team have taken-it one step further by attempting to redefine the “animal experience.” His project gives animals and, more specifically, cows, the right to use social media. It is called “the twittering cows,” or Teat Tweet. Twitter allows us to follow the lives and thoughts of our favourite celebrities, if we so choose to, but now it allows us to follow our favourite lactose producing animal, 12 of them to be exact, with names such as Charge Mabel, MortyFy, and AttnPlease. The main goal of this project, as explained by Broglio is to explore “how technology mediates the relationships between animals and humans.” According to Broglio the initial purpose of this endeavour was to link rural Waterloo to urban Waterloo, two parts that seemingly have very little to do with each other except for the occasional St. Jacobs visit. However, it has seemingly quickly turned to be farming as a technology, the history of farming and where and who our milk comes from. We do not usually think of cows as technology, but why not? Broglio said, “We genetically engineered them to be everything we want… to the point where they produce more milk.” He further iterates the idea of the cow being a “cyborg.” This is not a foreign concept, “they are just a piece of our technological puzzle that we live in, which also includes all the machinery involved. The farmer does not milk the cow themselves; it is all automated by robust robotics that move the cow from location to location and our milk is retrieved from automated milkers. They are just a piece a complex system or a production line, if you will,” said Broglio. He seems to agree that the concept is Ford-

ism at its finest. They have one job and they have little influence over how they do their job. The animals have yet to have a say before the tweet, just like those who worked on the production line in Motor City who listened to orders with no objection to increasing productivity to please the owner. Until one day they became unionized. The goal of tweeting is not to unionize the cows but to increase awareness of where our milk comes from, and maybe start laws and regulations in farming to ensure the rights of these cows, Broligio proclaims. Through testing the limits of social media by putting animals on board, a new sect of social media has been created. “A will and force in our social network [has been created for the animals], since we live through their byproducts, and now we have a place within the social role, and given them a voice to some degree,” said Broglio. This is the forum for the revolution, “the animal revolution.” It was common place for a labourer to not have a say until civil movements happened, and the same is to be said with production farming. Broglio speaks of farms being a factory, and now with this medium there is the possibility of a paradigm shift over where our food comes from. Tweeting for cows shows us that these animals have a job just like us with tweet updates by cows such AttnPlease’s “I entered the robot stall. In 3:31 secs. the milker massaged out 8.0 kgs of milk..” The cows are working for us, to get our dairy products, as Freedie Speedy reminds with his tweet of “11.3 kg of frothy deliciousness for the humans.” The history of farming is becoming more vividly displayed for us through movies like Food Inc, but now there needs to be policy changes says Broglio. According to Broglio cow farming in Canada is “something we should be proud of when you compare it to our southern counterparts, and we need to be educated about this.” Hopefully these tweeting cows can push us forward towards new global policies regarding factory farming which make it more favorable for the animal and instigate a new “animal revolution.”

Features

Imprint, Friday, June 18, 2010

Navigating networking gongshows (i.e. conferences) imerrow@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

etworking can happen anywhere, but nowhere does it occur more often than at conferences — the ultimate networking event. The sole purpose of a conference is to connect a body of interested people with other people that share the same interests. Conferences may be academic or business focused, and can also be called conventions, summits, meetings, forums or expositions. No matter what the name, their purpose remains the same. One famous conference you may have heard of is E3, the annual event that brings together world leaders in the videogame industry. Networking at a large industry event like E3 or Canada 3.0 allows you to meet people from across the world you would never normally have the chance to meet. That makes conferences an important arena to test your networking mettle. If you’ve read my other articles, you already know the importance of making a great first impression and following up — two skills that are particularly important in a conference environment. You have to have the courage to introduce yourself, learn someone’s name and ask for their business card or contact information. More importantly you need to follow up with people after the conference by saying hello and offering to help them accomplish their goals.

Most conferences you will attend will be based on speaking events that force you to sit and listen, with limited breaks for lunch and coffee. Do not sit down and listen to these speakers. That’s right; do not sit and listen. Unless a speaker is organizing an activity you can participate in with other people, their subject material cannot be as valuable as the insight you’ll gain by networking with people at the back of the room. Stay in places where you can make conversation with people without causing a disturbance. Talk to the event organizers; talk to anyone. Think of it like school... You can’t make friends by sitting quietly next to someone during a boring lecture. You have to talk to them outside of class about how boring it was. Even though you’re not listening to what they say, the speakers at conferences are often amazing people you probably want to meet. After a speaker is done presenting, an awkward clump of supplicants usually gather to ask questions and group-massage their ego. Do not join this group. The speaker is unlikely to offer valuable information when they are so tired, and the people will blur together in their memory. Hang back and wait till the crowd disperses. Once the speaker starts to make their exit, seize the moment and jump in. Do not impede their escape; ask which way they’re going and ask to join them (or better yet: show them the way). Thank them

for coming out, use small talk to make a connection and ask them if they’d like to grab a coffee (or a beer) before they head home. The conversation that follows will have genuine value — probably more than their actual speech did. Finally, don’t get caught in the lunch-time trap. Usually people are so exhausted from listening to speakers all morning that they grab a lunch tray and plop down in a chair for the entire lunch hour. The mildly adventurous will sit down next to a stranger and make an effort at conversation. You on the other hand – the consummate networker — will never sit at one table for more than five minutes. Lunch is a perfect opportunity to visit table after table of stationary people and introduce yourself. Ask what tastes good, and learn who everyone is so you can talk more with them later. Stash a couple sandwiches in your conference bag you can enjoy later: networking is the only nutrition you need to make it through lunch. For some people conferences are boring events made up of sandwiches, workshops and cramped hotel rooms, but they don’t have to be. Take advantage of every chance you have to connect with someone new — bring lots of business cards and give away every single one.

A change of diet for a changing climate jbelanger@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

s crops are dependent on temperature, food security and anthropogenic climate change are intimately linked. Increases in temperature extremes and variability are projected to further stress our global food systems and cause an overall increase in food poverty. Our current agricultural practices also significantly contribute to global greenhouse gas emissions. In 2007, agricultural production alone accounted for 7.98 per cent of Canada’s greenhouse gases. This figure does not include the ensuing links in the industrial food chain, such as processing, distribution, consumption and waste. These links tote a large carbon footprint that is not easily quantifiable due to the global nature of our food system. If you follow a slice of pizza down the industrial food chain, it is overtly obvious that it is ultimately dependent on cheap oil resources. It may also become apparent that two dollars does not cover the actual cost of your lunch. First, land must be seized to grow food or feed crops. This often entails the destruction of ecologically productive land. There is also the production of agricultural inputs such as pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, antibiotics, and others, which are resource intensive. Oil is required for the farm machinery and to raise livestock. Food is processed and packaged using petroleum products. It is then transported domestically and internationally, refrigerated, prepared, and consumed. This process results in a lot of waste, which includes manure lagoons, packaging waste, and also the degradation of water and soil resources. This food system is notably increasing the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, decreasing the efficiency of carbon sinks, and grossly contributing to global warming. It is estimated livestock produces 18 to 51 per cent of global

greenhouse gas emissions and represent 37 per cent of global food production. Our current demand for meat is unprecedented and rapidly growing. The meatification of the world’s diet indicates an overall rise in individual income as well as social status. However, this is not sustainable. A diet based on animal products requires far more resources than a plant-based diet, because it requires more land to produce calories (feed for livestock) and to absorb waste (copious amounts of manure). The large-scale adaptation and mitigation of our food system could decrease the climate-related impacts faced by vulnerable countries, but it is largely driven by consumer demand, which is a small-scale process. Making small changes to your diet can drastically reduce the size of your carbon fork-print. If vegetarianism is not for you, joining the international movement of Meatless Mondays is a great way to curb your carbon footprint. Author Anna Lappé has also outlined other principles of a climate-friendly diet. 7 Principles of a climate-friendly diet (Adapted from Anna Lappé’s Diet for a Hot Planet)

1. Avoid processed foods 2. Adopt a plant-based diet 3. Eat organic 4. Eat local 5. Limit food waste 6. Reduce packaging 7. Grow and cook your own food Courtesy Nikoo Shahabi

Venice

lthough the train trip was really long (12 hours) I have finally arrived in Venice. Venice is a city like no other. It is situated in a lagoon and is comprised by a collection of 118 islands. These islands are connected by many bridges (around 150) including three bridges that cross the Grand Canal. One of the first things I noticed when I got off the train was that Venice doesn’t have any cars. This, however, is not an issue as Venice is a really small city and one can easily walk in between sights. With this in mind, it is really easy to get lost in the city, but that is the fun part. The only other method of transportation is by vaporetto, the public transportation boat or gondola. Taking the vaporetto is a great way to see many of the sights as this boat travels down the Grand Canal. Note, I would suggest doing this at night for a great tour of Venice. The first place I would suggest you visit is Piazza San Marco. Over there one can see the Campanile di San Marco, which is the tallest building in all of Venice. Right beside the tower is Basilica San Marco and the Doge’s Palace. When entering the Basilica, you can climb up to the top and see the Four Horses of Saint Marks and different mosaics by Titian and Tintoretto. You can

bpetrescue@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

also view the San Marco Square from the top. Other churches of note are Santa Maria dei Saluti, Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Friari and San Giorgio. San Giorgio is located on a separate island near the island Giudecca. You can climb la Campanile of San Giorgio and you will get a great view of Venice from the side. As you travel around, you will undoubtedly pass by the Rialto bridge. The Rialto was the first bridge to cross the Grand Canal and for a long time it was the only way to cross from one side of Venice to the other. Near the Rialto one can find the Mercato, which is an outside shopping place where you can still buy fruit and fish. If you are looking for a beach or at least some place to go tanning, I would suggest going to Lido. This island does have cars, and it is a great retreat from Venice. Other islands which are worth visiting are Murano and Burano. This has been the greatest city I have been to so far and you should go to it soon, seeing as it is sinking. As for me, I have to move on. Next stop: Florence.

Campus Bulletin UPTOWN WATERLOO BIA EVENTS 2010

Saturday, June 19 – UpTown Country July 16-18 – UpTown Waterloo Jazz Festival August 26-29 – Waterloo Busker Carnival Sunday, September 12 – UpTown Dining Saturday, October 9 – 29th Annual Pancake Breakfast Saturday, October 9 – 32nd Annual Great Oktoberfest Barrel Race Monday, October 11 – Thanksgiving Day Parade November 2010 – UpTown Waterloo BIA Annual General Meeting November 4-6 – UpTown Waterloo Treasure Hunt Saturday, November 20 – Santa Claus Parade November 2010 – Holiday Open House December 2010 – FREE Horse Drawn Trolley Rides December 2010 – Victorian Carolers For more information about the above events call 519-885-1921 or email uptownwaterloobia@waterloo.ca or www. uptownwaterloobia.com.

UPCOMING June 2010 “Studies in Heavenly Things” by Henna Kim (www.hennakimArt.com) presented at Rotunda Gallery, Kitchener City Hall for the month of June. For info 519-7413400, ext 3381. 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. June 19 to August 14, 2010 20th Annual Homer Watson Exhibition with opening reception June 20 from 2 to 4 p.m. For info call 519-748-4377, ext 233 or www.homerwatson.on.ca. Saturday, June 19, 2010 6th annual Clip-a-thon will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Danny’s Barber Shop, 13 Ainslie Street, N., Cambridge in support of nonviolence. For info www. nonviolencefestival.com. Sunday, June 20, 2010 rare presents “Ferns and Fern Allies _ A Hike with Larry Lamb” from 10 a.m.

to 12 p.m., rare Administraiton Centre, 1679 Blair Road, Cambridge. For info info@raresites.org or 519-650-9336, ext 125. Tuesday, June 22, 2010 Experience the magic of the Shrine Circus at the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex with shows being held at 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. For info www. shrine-circus.com or www.ticketmaster. ca. July 23 – 25, 2010 Second annual Human Rights Docfest 2010, hosted at the National Film Board’s Toronto Mediateque. Will showcase Canadian films that highlight both national and international human rights issues. For info www.hrdocfest.com. Saturday, June 26, 2010 “Saving Places” – restoration of Canada’s Heritage premieres on History Television beginning June 12. Homer Waterson House, Kitchener will be aired on June 26 at 7 p.m. ET/PT. For more info www.homerwatson.on.ca. Metaverse Poetry Slam from 7 to 10 p.m. at the Button Factory, 25 Regina Street, S. Hosted by Kevin Sutton, featuring Maggie Clark, in colaboration with Pat the Dog. For info www.contactimprov.ca/ on/kw/warmer. Wednesday, June 30, 2010 Applications are now being accepted for the Alzheimer Society of Kitchener-Waterloo awards, with deadline as of June 30. For more info on how to nominate visit www.alzheimerkw.com or call 519742-1422, ext 14. 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. Saturday, July 10, 2010 2010 Call To Artists – The Nonviolence Festival, 6th Annual – at Victoria Park, Kitchener. To participate, info, questions call 519-342-8667 or administrators@ nonviolencefestival.com or www.nonviolencefestival.com. Tuesday, July 13, 2010 Scrabble event tournament from 2 to 5 p.m., ES Courtyard in EV1, to support Alzheimer Society of K-W. To sign up and receive your fund raising package email 2010scrabble@gmail.com. Saturday, August 7, 2010 Paddles up! Get ready for the upcoming 12th annual Waterloo Dragonboat Festival, at Laurel Creek Conservation area. A fun community experience with food, live entertainment and of course, racing! Please come out and support the event. For info www.waterloodragonboat.org.

CAREER SERVICES WORKSHOPS

Please refer to https://strobe.uwaterloo.ca/ cecs/cs for updates/changes to workshops. Tuesday, June 22: Success on the Job – 2:30 to 3:30 p.m., TC 1208. Wednesday, June 23: Career Exploration and Decision Making – 2 to 4 p.m., TC 1112. Interview Skills–Preparing for Questions – note: check out online interview skills module at website above. 3:30 to 4 p.m., TC 1208. Thursday, June 24: Interview Skills – Selling Your Skills – note: check out online interview skills module at website above. 2:30 to 4:30 p.m., TC 1208. Monday, June 28: Exploring Your Personality Type (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, Part 1) – note: material charge of $10 payable at Career Services prior to the first session. 2 to 3:30 p.m., TC 1113.

ANNOUNCEMENTS Remember the Seagram barrels? If you took a barrel at last year’s giveaway, Pat the Dog Playwright Centre wants to know! Contact Charmian at charmian@patthedog.org to tell your barrel’s story! 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!

STUDENT AWARDS & FINANCIAL AID

June 2010 2010/2011 OSAP Application now available – apply early. June 18: deadline for OSAP Reviews (appeals) for spring term. June 30: last day to submit Full-Time Bursary/Award Application for spring term. July 15: last day to sign Confirmation of Enrolment for spring term or winter and spring term to ensure full OSAP funding. OSAP Access Number (OAN) is now required when accessing your OSAP account online. If you can not retrieve the OAN, you will need to bring in your SIN card and valid, government issued photo ID to get the number. Go to safa.uwaterloo.ca for a full listing of scholarships and awards.

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Imprint, Friday, June 18, 2010 ads@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

UPCOMING Sunday, July 25, 2010 Memorial fundraiser for Chris Lane, UW alumni who passed away at the age of 29 from Hodgkins Lymphoma. Join us from 12 to 10 p.m. at Waterloo Public Square, UpTown Waterloo. This family-friendly event will include face painting, guitar hero contests, food vendors and much more! Live

music with local musicians and bands. All proceeds being donated to the Canadian Cancer Society to fund Lymphoma research.

Classified HOUSING

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. All ensuite bedrooms! Condo style units at 74 Marshall Street present a lavish twist on student living. Each bedroom features an ensuite bathroom. Greens, blues and browns compliment the high-end aesthetics, featuring dark cabinets, dark wood flooring and glass tiling – a beautiful way to study and live in style. Price per student is $595/month including utilities and internet (rare for new buildings). Parking available. September start, one year lease. Please call 519-572-0278 to book an appointment. Luxury Lester Lofts – welcome to the start of a new era in student living. Premium, luxury student accommodation steps away from UW. Open-concept floor plans, sleek, urban finishes/colours, high ceilings, kitchen peninsulas, black appliances including dishwasher, large windows, onsite laundry, over 100 square feet in bedrooms, ensuite bathrooms and private balconies. Parking $35/ month. Prices from $547 – $600 depending on floor. Includes utilities, hi-speed internet and cable. Call 519-572-0278 for a viewing. Five bedroom house available September 1, 2010. Walking distance from both universities. Recently renovated. Hardwood floors, central heating and air conditioning. Two kitchens, living rooms and bathrooms. Backyard, laundry and parking included. Must see! Please call 519-575-1973. Room for rent for a quiet individual

in a detached house, near both universities. Parking and all amenities. Please phone 519-725-5348 before noon.

SERVICES

Finish your dissertation! ... in 4 to 12 weeks. Proven system to simplify entire process. Works for all disciplines and the most complex theises. 20 years experience and excellent references. Call 519-620-9046. Does your thesis or major paper need a fresh pair of eyes to catch English spelling and grammar errors? Thesis English editing. Five business day turnaround. Neal Moogk-Soulis, ncmoogks@uwaterloo.ca.

HELP WANTED Weekend counsellors and relief staff to work in homes for individuals with developmental challenges. Minimum eight-month commitment. Paid positions. Send resume to Human Resources, K-W Habilitation Services, 108 Sydney Street, Kitchener, ON, N2G 3V2. Imprint Frosh Editor – must have writing/reporting skills, layout and design ; photo editing ; copy editing, proofreading skills ; experience with InDesign, Photoshop and digital camera technology. Must be a full-time college/university student returning to school fall 2010. Contract is from July 5 to August 31/10 ; full time hours ; $14/hour. Please send resume/portfolio to editor@imprint.uwaterloo.ca or fax 519-884-7800 or mail/drop off to Imprint Publications, 200 University Ave., W., UW, Student Life Centre, room 1116, Waterloo, ON, N2L 3G1. Deadline June 23, 2010.

IMPRINT The University of Waterloo’s official student newspaper

JOBS

Systems Administrator

Up to 15 hours/week at $11/hour. Candidates will have Webmail server administration experience, be familiar with medium scale Linux network administration, SAMBA file management, Windows XP workstations, LDAP authentication and Apache admin. Duties include maintaining and strengthening our office’s network system. Applicants must be full-time students and eligible for OSAP. Please send resume to editor@imprint.uwaterloo.ca.

Web Developer

TO APPLY FOR THIS JOB, YOU MUST FIRST BE APPROVED FOR ELIGIBILITY INTO THE INTERNATIONAL WORK STUDY PROGRAM FOR SPRING 2010

Up to 5 hours/week at $11/hour. Qualifications; working knowledge of LAMP servers ; experience with DJango web framework ; proficient with CSS, HTML, experience with JavaScript, JQuery an asset ; experience with PHP & MySQL is an asset ; proficient with Adobe Photoshop CS4 ; knowledge of current web trends, common practices, Web 2.0 SEO optimization. Job description tasks; web exculsive content for sections, web server maintenance ; curating comment/forum pages ; updating links to other websites ; blogging projects ; promoting Imprint website to students. Please send resume to editor@imprint. uwaterloo.ca

Arts & Entertainment

Imprint, Friday, June 18, 2010 arts@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Waterloo Arts Festival

photos courtesy Anum Syeda

Above: Thoughtful quotes and messages were strung out for all to see. Below left: Lurk is a `tragically comic’ clown. Below right: Rob Szabo is a local KW artist performing at the festival.

Anum Syeda staff writer

he Waterloo Arts Festival brought forth an endearing sense of community amidst a gloomy weekend by showcasing performances, booth displays, and a love for arts and crafts. Painters, sculptors, jewelers, illustrators and photographers lined an enclosure within Waterloo Park, selling and displaying everything from sock monkeys to henna-painted teapots. Strumming tunes on the centre stage was Rob Szabo, a local KW artist who entertained the audience with dreamy numbers from his Life and Limb album. Stopping to allow the audience to sing parts of the songs for him, Szabo was an instant hit with the crowd of both young and old. Another prominent performer was Lurk - a ‘tragically comic’ clown on stilts. Surveying the area, he flashed a grumpy smile to passer-bys, and entertained children with a grimace. Juxtaposing comical and sad, Lurk even joined Szabo in dancing to one of his songs. The festival was also ripe with opportunities to participate in arts and

crafts. KFUN 99.5 FM sponsored a gum art display at the festival; it involved chewing a piece of gum and using it to craft an image onto the canvas. Popular with children at the event, it transformed an object commonly seen as sticky and unsightly into an outlet for their imagination. Next to the gum art display, several canvases laid on the ground with an array of paint buckets – anyone could use it as an opportunity to dip their hands in and smear colours to create art. Looking across, another display of art was evident - messages were stringed together like clothes on a laundry line, a way to write a thoughtful quote or a secret on a piece of card stock for the world to see. A button-making booth sponsored by The Record was another popular destination, providing a template, several magazines to make collages out of, and scissors to button-making enthusiasts. A buttonmaker transformed those collages into a creation. Giant Scrabble and ‘createa-pillar’ (stringing ribbons onto a giant caterpillar) were also used as catalysts for creative problem-solving. There was a little bit of everything for everyone at the arts festival, and provided an artistic getaway for the day.

Arts & Entertainment

Book Review

Delete: The Virture of Forgetting in the Digital Age Victor Mayer-Schönberger Princeton University Press

o delete or not to delete; is that really the question? With a current estimate of over 57 per cent of Canadians actively using Facebook, it’s no surprise that social online networking has exploded, becoming a world of its own. Now, whether that fact itself is a good or bad thing can be left to interruption. As for those of you who do see a red flag, noted author and associate professor of the Information and Innovation Policy Research Centre, Viktor Mayer-Schönberger, may provide some needed closure with his opinion on “the virtue of forgetting” in relation to digital data. Stirring up a lot of attention from respected scholars to the average blogger, his latest book Delete: The Virtue of Forgetting in the Digital Age generates many thoughtful responses as well as mixed opinions from those intrigued by digital information and its governance. In his book, Mayer-Schönberger conveys a powerful message to urgently rethink the basic principles of computing, those of which threaten to harm social and even political relations; primarily

Imprint, Friday, June 18, 2010

due to “the demise of forgetting, and a fundamental shift to the default of remembering” all of our digital data. Laying out an even split between the problem and the solution, MayerSchönberger continuously reverts back to two specific real-life examples. That of Andrew Feldmar and Stacy Snyder, both fallen victims of digital memory backlash that was caused by technological trends to treasure each and every ounce of information. Unfortunately, Snyder, a 25-year-old student at Millersville University in Pennsylvania, was denied her teaching degree just days before graduation because university officials had discovered a photo of her, captioned “Drunken Pirate,” on her MySpace page. Although her behaviour may not be far from ordinary, as MayerSchönberger put it, “the Internet remembered what Stacy wanted to have forgotten.” This theme carries on throughout the book, motivating much of Delete’s plea for “digital forgetting.” This book offers a compelling argument to not become too engrossed in preserving “external memory” but should rather be more concerned about the way that digital memory is bound to linger. Mayer-Schönbergers’ elaborate and creative, yet highly implausible proposal which enables

users to set “auto-expiry dates” on their digital information, is probably too optimistic and likely to disappoint many readers. A strong commitment to emphasize forgetting causes his argument to become too intertwined with his own cultural bias and lacks sufficient contextual appreciation of the value of privacy policies and the essence of remembering. Despite these minor draw backs, Delete is definitely worth reading; it is an inspiring initiative for new and innovative ideas regarding technology’s influence on society. Some individuals may even go on to agree with its notion that the loss of control over the distribution of our personal records to “unknown others” is quite daunting. This results in consequences that may ultimately dictate our behaviour; forcing us to censor our blunt opinions over controversial issues in fear that they may jeopardize our future careers. So remember this next time you update your Facebook status: “Do we want a future that is forever unforgiving because it is forever unforgetting?” — Amira Hassan

courtesy Princeton University Press

fate that I did. Therefore I don’t mind spoiling it, so that you can see that this is really not a movie worth seeing. Spoiler alert

courtesy IMDB

Killers Robert Luketic Katalyst Films

illers was a movie to die for, literally. Not only did it display a clear lack of planning and execution, but also an obvious lack of talent or effort from any of the actors. Killers, was about an incompetent married assassin who manages to come close to death at the hands of a variety

of seemingly harmless characters, only to be saved multiple times by his wife, who up until that day had never touched a gun. This movie has only a few redeeming features, one of them being Katherine Heigl’s shoes. This movie is so unbearable, I feel that no one should suffer the same

The plot of the movie is not only convoluted, but at most times makes not a grain of sense. Starting off in France, Jen Komfeldt (Katherine Heigl), recently abandoned by her boyfriend for being too boring, falls madly in love with Spencer Aimes (Ashton Kutcher). Little does she know, Spencer is a hired killer. He quits, marries Jen, then after receiving a cryptic message from his old boss, finds out that there is a price on his life. Spencer is then attacked and almost killed, by his fat neighbour, secretary, and a U.S. postal service worker, all of which he should have been able to easily kill, as he was an assassin. In all cases, Jen manages to come in and save the day, even though she is a city girl who had previously not even held a gun, let alone killed someone. Eventually, it is discovered that this all occurred because Jen’s father (Tom Selleck) was Spencer’s last target, and had seen the message from his old boss, assumed Spencer was out to kill him, hired people to kill Spencer, and then tried to kill Spencer himself.

You see he too was an assassin. The plot, now beyond repair, is patched up with the two little words “I’m pregnant.” This seems to be a satisfactory solution, and makes everyone happy. The plot of Killers seemed as though the script writers came up with it as they went, spending little time thinking over what was happening. Not to mention Jen seemed to care very little that her husband was a hired killer, and that she killed people. Morality did not seem to be much of an issue for the previously straight-laced Jen. The main characters made little sense, and their emotions seemed illogical. Sure emotions are illogical in general, but wouldn’t you be a little scared if you had to go out, save your husband, run over people will a station wagon, being pregnant all the while. Jen handles most situations, except her initial introduction to a gun, and the initial discovery of her pregnancy, nonchalantly. This may be an indication of Katherine Heigl’s acting skills, or maybe it’s a hint towards the writers’ abilities. I would assume however, it’s a combination of both. Oh well, at least they had fashionable costume designers.

Movie Review

— Deanna Ostafichuk

Arts & Entertainment

Imprint, Friday, June 18, 2010

Thou shalt release the beta tkoshy@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

n the remote possibility that one day I actually carve out an actual stone-tablet containing the videogame developer’s 12 commandments I shall include “Thou Shalt Release Thy Beta” right above “Thou Shalt not leave us on a cliffhanger”. Of course I’m not Moses from the Mount, and my thumb will never give up its fetish for the end of a hammer and so I’m out of a controller and a TV screen after being noob-tubed into oblivion for the thousandth time. A beta could have solved all of that. For those unaware, the beta version of the product is essentially the finished version of the product plus a horde of bugs and glitches, all which are begging to be destroyed (or if you’re Infinity Ward, left exactly as they are). While the practice of releasing the beta has increased in recent years, many videogame corporations, for misguided reasons, have taken to placing restrictions on the beta. These restrictions range from limited access to the product to entirely avoiding the beta. Releasing the beta Now some will wonder, what is the benefit of releasing a beta? A beta is the rare opportunity for you to test your product in a scenario that allows for quick modifications and changes to be made. It perhaps can be compared to testing an engagement ring on your girlfriend’s sister’s fingers. It allows you to make changes that would be excruciatingly difficult when made later (try asking for your ring back from your fiancée). Of course some developers blanch at releasing at what is essentially a rough copy of their game. Most of the time, the chief worry is that the bugs and glitches will turn off gamers from their product. Many are wary of releasing what they view as internal information to the public. However, the benefits of releasing a beta to the public outweigh the costs. Sure you could test the beta internally, but how many videogame testers could you corral in order to test it? With videogame budgets being tight, a beta will essentially get you all the privileges of having game testers with none of the cost. Instead of relying on a team of maximum 20 people with a private beta, with a public beta you can get at least 100 people from whom you can test your product. For instance, before Bungie released Halo 3, a beta was released during the preceding summer. This beta allowed Bungie to essentially let the entire public have a go with the rough copy of the game. This allowed Bungie to test the game with regards to networking, handling the load of hundreds of players. The result? Errors that were within the matchmaking system became apparent within the beta. Players that tried to join matchmaking were stalled. What are the odds that this problem would be found with testers whom are essentially testing within a studio, versus against a player across the country in Vancouver? Another result? The trip mine, which was ridiculously overpowered, saw its destruction capability reduced from being the Death Star to a more

gameplay friendly version. These are just a few of the errors that were found during the period that the beta was available to the public. There are also example of videogames that could have been improved by beta testing. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (yes I know I have mentioned this game more than a couple of times). This is a prime example of game that would have benefited immensely from beta testing. At one point, there were a lot of game-ruining glitches. There were glitches that could transform players into suicide bombers with the ability to kill everything within a 20 metre radius (Javelin Glitch). There were glitches that saw people essentially receive infinite opportunities to call in airstrikes, ammunition, automated turrets, and even more air-strikes (Care Package glitch). There were glitches that saw shotguns have the ability to kill a person from. Most of the glitches were eventually fixed, but the fact remains that valuable time and manpower was wasted on this. The fact is that perhaps the inordinate amount of glitches within the game was enough to convince people to switch to other games (consequently hurting Infinity Ward’s reputation). The point is that releasing a beta to the publics grants you access to a different type of gamer. The average corporate game tester is highly unlikely to attempt to crack or find loopholes in their product. To test your own product, would be like criticizing your own baby. Sure you could have a go at it, but you really couldn’t do better than say a stranger could. Additionally having the public test your product would give you more data than say a private beta.

StarCraft II is currently one of many games that are in beta.

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Access to the beta Unfortunately many companies limit access to the beta, often forcing people to buy products in order to gain access to the beta. For instance in order to gain access to the Halo 3 beta, one had to buy Crackdown. In order to gain access to to the now delayed Ghost Recon beta one had to buy copies of Splinter Cell: Conviction. And so on and so forth. While forcing people to buy a product in order to access you beta may give the marketing department an orgasm, it essentially handicaps the beta. The fact that people have to drop down money in order to essentially play a rough version of your product, will reduce the number of people/ testers playing the beta. Remember the more data one has, the better it is. In a perfect world, every single beta would be open to everyone, allowing a multitude of players to test every single atom of the game. In a perfect world, the marketing department is told to back off and allow the developers a chance to let customers test their product. In a perfect world, it would be the law for any game having multiplayer content, to release a beta version of their game. In a perfect world, glitchers would be hung, quartered and impaled on their controllers. Of course, we live in a world where there will still be awful videogames and Justin Bieber. Betas are just the first towards improving this world, or at least the videogame industry.

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courtesy Blizzard

Arts & Entertainment

Music Reviews

COURTESY AMAZON

Tear the World Down We Are The Fallen Universal Republic

e Are The Fallen are three exmembers of Evanescence, a new bass player, and American Idol contestant Carly Smithson. The band differs from Evanescence as their music is harder. Smithson is a stronger singer than Amy Lee, and is a rocker, not a goth. Their debut album called Tear The World Down, starts with the first single “Bury Me Alive.” It is a fantastic opener, well written, and never lets you go. “Burn” is up tempo, though, lyrically could use some work. “Paradigm” has a hook and is vocally intriguing. “Don’t Leave Me Behind” slows pace and uniquely mashes a rock out tune and a lighter-in-the-air tune. Listeners enter the ballad “Sleep Well, My Angel” with nothing but Smithson and a piano. The emotion is evident and the song peaks to a high with the rest of the band arriving and you can’t help but be pulled in. “Through Hell” is hard to place, but in a good way and sounds hellish. “I Will Stay” is mellowed and shows a soothing lullaby register from Smithson’s voice in the verses, exploding at the chorus. “Without

Imprint, Friday, June 18, 2010

You” shows that a hard rock song can be catchy and allow you to bang your head, all the while singing at the top of your lungs (out of key of course). “St. John” is essentially crazy, melodically and lyrically, seeing as it’s about being in an asylum. This is the only song with an actual solo, and it helps to bring along the song and not disturb focus. “I Am Only One” is slightly cliché in its depressing lyrics but you can’t help hear the anguish in Smithson’s voice. I particularly enjoyed the silent “one” in the first verse. This song ends so perfectly for the last song that if I weren’t looking, I would not realize the change. “Tear The World Down” elegantly starts slow and smooth and takes the listener on a ride. It elevates you until it lets you down softly, almost asking you to play the album again. Though the album is not groundbreaking, it is an enjoyable listen. It is difficult to arrange an album to flow, and of which We Are The Fallen does. The band takes their potential and utilizes the best features. Smithson is a phenomenal vocalist, and the music structures itself so that the listener is not bothered by the noise, all the while enhancing the song and moving things along. The riffs are heavy and soft when needed and the drums are surprisingly good. The songs could differ more artistically in places, but this band has the time and room to grow. It is an entertaining auditory journey and it’s hard not to be mesmerized by Smithson’s vocals, and bashfully, her gleaming smile. Some might need a few sit-throughs, but in the end, it is worth it. Bonus: The band plays a cover of Madonna’s “Like A Prayer” that massively improves the original and you find yourself wondering how you could possibly be rocking out to Madonna of all people. It is online and is a mandatory listen. — Mika Ilic

COURTESY Loud & Proud/Roadrunner Records

Ratt Infestation Loud & Proud/Roadrunner Records

nfestation is officially the seventh studio album produced by Ratt, though their work also includes a compilation of greatest hits (Ratt n’Roll 81-91) and an attempted comeback album from their first reunion. Ratt is an American glam metal band which experienced its heyday in the early and mid-1980s. After going on hiatus in 1992, the band reunited in 1996. Their aforementioned comeback failed to impress, and disputes amongst the band members forced them apart again. After a bizarre period where two bands bearing the name of Ratt were touring simultaneously (each with some of the band members), a second reunion occurred in 2006. A cohesive effort was put forth this time, the end result being this album. Infestation, beginning with the cover — From what I can discern — depicts an abandoned locale, with a rusting radio tower prominent in the foreground. The palette is a garish mixture of bright greens, faintly nauseating yellow — the colour of urine — and black. Despite the faintly offensive nature of this image, it feels rather apropos when evaluated in the context of Ratt’s history: an aged, dated band which has returned from its popular abandonment, a consequence of glam rock falling out of vogue, and is determined to resume its “infestation” of the rock landscape with a modern face – all while remaining true to its origins. According to the band, the aim of Infestation was to recover a sound reminiscent of their second and third albums – their most popular releases, Out of the Cellar and Invasion of your Privacy. They seem to have achieved that aim as virtually all of Infestation’s songs borrow, to varying degrees, particular riffs and beats from the most notable tracks of those albums: “Wanted Man,” “You’re In Love,” “Back For More,” “Lay It Down,” “Round and Round,” “What

RATEYOURMUSIC.COM

Walking on a Dream Empire of the Sun Astralwerks Records

ttempting to ride the wave of electro rock success of MGMT, Empire of the Sun crashes in the pipeline and is washed out by the rip tide of failure (homage to their Australian heritage). The debut album, Walking on a Dream, is produced under the EMI label. The album is overproduced and lacks tone variation.

COURTESY Loud & Proud/Roadrunner Records

You Give is What You Get,” and “Way Cool Jr.” The majority of the similarities to old hits can be found in the opening sequence (first 40 seconds or so) and do not significantly impact the songs’ overall quality. The only track which sounds somewhat original is “Eat Me Up Alive.” Moving beyond the aural propinquity, Ratt’s ability to carry a song has not diminished in the 20 years since their last major release. From my own comparisons and the input of an employee from my first-year residence who was a bona fide Ratt fan, the vocal abilities of the band, though noticeably aged, remain more than adequate. Lyrically, the content is very much the same: sexual tension, emotional confusion/instability, and, if I heard correctly, the fine line between beauty and tragedy. To remain contemporary, however, Ratt has been forced to lose some of its subtlety in lyrics (i.e. sexual references are far more direct, song verses are somewhat repetitive, choruses are shorter, etc.) and increase the tempo considerably. Thankfully, these changes do not ruin the album (to be frank, I believe they sound better at a faster tempo) and their image remains untarnished: that of aspiring artists struggling to be hard of the din of thousands, regardless of whether they are in their 30s or their 50s Infestation appears to illustrate that, as a musical entity, Ratt has not survived the passage of time through evolution; rather, it has adapted to its circumstances with remarkable aptitude. After almost two decades of turmoil and confusion (including the death of Robbin Crosby and the indecisiveness of Stephen Pearcy and Juan Croucier), the band has produced a new album which boasts a potent mixture of modern conventions and nostalgic tendencies. Deprived fans of Ratt and glam rock will exult in it, while ignorant newcomers, while perhaps slightly nonplussed by the reliance on erstwhile triumphs, will hopefully chalk that up to fan service and/or an artistic comfort zone and recognize this as a solid, fresh start. —Stephen Kearse

Most of the lyrics are sung in only two to three different pitches making E.T. sound like a member of the rat pack. I am always weary when the band’s top is the name of the album, which leads me to believe that that is their only solid hit — which in this case is true. The first three songs on the album start off strong, but then take a dramatic dive. “Walking on the Sun” can catch on after the first four listens, I would recommend just downloading the one song and save the rest of the bits on your computer for episodes of Lost. I cannot wait to remove the songs from my iTunes in the case that it might infect my other songs like some rampant Ebola virus. Not all bad can be said about the band. Lead singer, Luke Steel, is a positive role model for Chinese-Australians. He does not perpetuate the Asian stereotype — though he always wears late Chinese dynasty drag, and in the “Walking on the Sun” music video, he runs around shanghai waving alluding to the notion that all Asians are good at kung fu. Empire of the Sun should leave the artistic creativity for those who can get away with it like Lady Gaga. This was a sad attempt to infiltrate the indie scene. — Matt Wong

Comics & Distractions

Imprint, Friday, June 18, 2010

crossword ACROSS 1. Foreâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s partner 4. Homerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Iliad, for example 8. Jerk 13. Russian ruler 14. Hip 15. Near the center 16. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young protest song 17. Sorority letter 18. Outshines 19. Like one who holds doors 22. To 42-across 23. Rallying song 24. Jackâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nemesis 26. Every 29. 2000 Guy Ritchie film 32. What Will Shortz does 36. Do Deathâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work 38. Classic board game 39. Colour 40. Efforts 41. Really close by 42. Have a snack 43. Shrek, for example 44. Artistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s inspiration 45. Single-celled organism 47. Influence 49. Bloodletter 51. Buffyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tools 56. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s definite 58. Small loonies? 61. Door hangerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s part 63. Tipper or Al 64. Bloody 65. Complete, possibly 66. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You said it!â&#x20AC;? 67. Kitchen appliance 68. Holds back 69. Have to have 70. New Jersey basketball player

By Mike Koivusalo and Rebecca Henriksen 1

20. â&#x20AC;&#x153;___ Palaceâ&#x20AC;?, Toronto venue 21. Speech impediments 25. Cheese that isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t yours? 27. Rugged rock 28. Will names 30. Robert Smithâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s band, The ____ 31. Dog command 32. Sicilian volcano 33. Early first-person shooter 34. Sassiness 35. Giggle 37. For a second time

40. Prepare an egg, say 44. Fictitious story 46. Assails 48. Climb 50. Paul or Hulk 52. Producer Spelling 53. Jack 54. Wading bird 55. Spotted 56. As a result 57. Clue 59. Italian capital 60. Hotel chain â&#x20AC;&#x153;Double ____â&#x20AC;? 62. Chaw alternative

Pay attention to tenses and pluralization. The clue and the answer must agree in both of these things. So, if the clue is plural, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a very good chance the last letter of the answer is â&#x20AC;&#x153;S.â&#x20AC;? If the clue is in the past tense, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a very good chance the last two letters of the answer are â&#x20AC;&#x153;ED.â&#x20AC;?

staff cruciverb

Greetings! This is your local cruciverb (crosswordmaking person) with some explanations and hints on solving crosswords. This is my third term in a row making crosswords for Imprint, and I hope they have been enjoyed for the most part. Believe me when I say that I am my own harshest critic. My friends can vouch for how a simple typo, or single awkward acronym in a crossword can stress me out. I will be the first to admit that my crosswords occasionally have typos/ mistakes, and often have obscure acronyms in them. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not Will Shortz. While there are fancy crosswordmaking programs out there that can create a grid for you, I prefer to make mine by hand. Usually the process starts with a theme and three to six large words or phrases that follow the theme. Placing them in the grid â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;forcesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; some of the black squares. (There are rules that cruciverbs must follow). The rest of the black squares are then filled at random (keeping the grid symmetric, usually.) Often these few large words are enough to

To the cute guy in my STAT 332 class: Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve disappeared, did you drop the course? If so, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a crying shame -- you almost made morning lectures with our awful prof worth the while... - Mathie Girl

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;forceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; me to use some strange or obscure words. This in turn forces more weird words and the process snowballs until Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m forced to put words like â&#x20AC;&#x153;DSOSâ&#x20AC;? into the grid. It drives me nuts. I have also been criticized as well as praised for making the clues too difficult. Being a math student, my obsession with crosswords began more as an obsession with puzzles in general. I struggle immensely through my book of medium-difficulty New York Times crosswords. I have also noticed a marked improvement in my word skills. Although a little late in the term, there will be some hints below the puzzle that I hope will help you finish a crossword, or persuade you to start solving. I hope to provide more advice in the future, so keep an eye out. I will also call on you, Imprint readers, to help me. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m running low on ideas for themes, and high on stress at the moment. If you have any suggestions, comments, or questions you can reach me at uw.cruciverb@gmail.com. And before you ask; no, I will not tell you how many words a solution has. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m used to a certain style of crosswords, and that is what I will stick with. Good luck and happy solving!

Dear Fed X brown boy, Everytime I enter through the Fedxpress door and I see you I get the tingles. You are very sexy and appealing to me, and I would like to rip that sexy yellow shirt off of you. I want you to serve me with those sexy hands 24/7. The way you work the till, I long for your touch. - Your favourite customer

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I saw you at the gym last Saturday... you came up to me when I was on the elliptical to tell me you think Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m cute, then walked away! I have to admit it was mutual and I definitely think youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re cute too! :) Next time introduce yourself and maybe ask a girl out? - A gym girl

June 4, 2010

D E E R A T E D R E D N U R T I E S M A I V T S A E L M A P Y O S

2 5 8 4 3

Solutions:

Crossword Solving Tip of the Week

Michael Koivusalo

6 1 2

5 6 5

60 64

3 6

7 3 5 1 6 1 3

DOWN 1. Deathly pale 2. Pass out 3. Engagement 4. Skin rash 5. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Danteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Infernoâ&#x20AC;?, for example 6. Itty bit 7. Alarm sound 8. Resident of Tripoli 9. Half and half 10. Off-put 11. __ good example; be a role model 12. Formerly 13. Caesarâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s garb

51 59

7 8

58 62

25 29

46 49

sudoku

24 26

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Missed any connections lately? Got any ideas, gripes, or randomly entertaining thoughts? Send them (with utmost affection) to:

distractions@imprint. uwaterloo.ca

Comics & Distractions

Imprint, Friday, June 18, 2010

Who are you supporting for the Fifa Cup? By A.Y. Daring and Travis Myers

“Brazil, because they are ridiculously good looking!” Stephanie Hadi Recent Health Studies Alumni (Congratulations!)

“Germany. The most heritage I have. It’s just a quarter but you’ve got to support your people.” Trevor David 2B Environmental and Business

“Holland because they have all the good players: Robben, Van Persie, Van der Vaart ... they’re all superstars.” Hooman Safaee 2B Nanotechnology Engineering

ADRIENNE RAW (araw@imprint.uwaterloo.ca)

MICHAEL TO (irresponsiblyoptomistic@imprint.uwaterloo.ca)

“J.T.” (geese@imprint.uwaterloo.ca)