Sports
Arts FASS of the Titans
Warriors split Alumni Day
26
21
Impr int The university of Waterloo’s official student newspaper
Friday, February 4, 2011
Vol 33, No
imprint . uwaterloo . ca
25
Presidential candidates face off in debate Feds election special with breakdown of candidates and their platforms, pages 14-19
PHOTOs gina racine
Feds Presidential candidates Matt Colphon (left) and Ian Charlesworth (right) speak on student issues at the media debate on Feb. 1.
Apathy, indecision runs high as election nears Michael Chung staff reporter
A
pathy and indecision amongst the student population seem to run higher as the Federation of Students election draws near, as suggested by a poll run by Imprint. The poll randomly asked 50 students in the Student Life Centre between Monday and Tuesday about their thoughts on the upcoming election. Only 52 per cent of the students said that they will be voting. Of the students who said they will be voting, many were undecided over which executive candidate they would be picking in the coming election. One student commented on the reason why he was undecided saying, “I am way too uninformed to make a decision right now. Maybe I’ll read some of the posters when I walk to class later.” When asked about the individual executive positions, the poll found that 39.4 per cent of the respondents would vote for Team Real, while only 5.8 per cent would vote for Team Rhino.
Natalie Cockburn of Team Real leads the VP education race with 30.7 per cent of the vote, with Andrew Magalhaes in second place with 11.5 per cent, Brian Maloney in third place with 7.7 per cent, and Edgar Bering of Team Rhino in fourth receiving no votes. A total of 50 per cent of the respondents said that they were undecided. Luke Burke leads the VP internal race with 38.4 per cent of the votes, while John Stevenson of Team Rhino received 7.7 per cent of the votes. When asked about the position, 53.8 per cent of the respondents said they were undecided (Note: Rob Fry was not included in the poll due to his withdrawal from the race). Prashant Patel of Team Real leads the VP administration and finance race with 46.1 per cent of the votes, while Marc Burns of Team Rhino received no votes in the race. the poll indicated 53.8 per cent of the respondents said they were undecided. Matt Colphon of Team Real leads the presidential race with 42.3 per cent of votes, while Ian Charlesworth of Team Rhino received 15.3 per cent of the votes. The respondents that were undecided numbered 42.3 per cent. PRESIDENT
VP ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE
VP INTERNAL
VP EDUCATION
MICHAEL CHUNG
News
Imprint, Friday, February 4, 2011 news@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Tuition increase expected for Spring 2011 The one exception is the family-style townhouses at Columbia Lake Village, where rents will go up by 0.7 per cent. A construction contract for the planned Stratford campus building: Bondfield Construction will get the job, worth $11.6 million plus tax. A project budget of $45 million for a science expansion building attached to the south side of Biology 2 and west side of Biology 1. The project would be built in two phases, finishing in 2013-14. A decision to “wind up” the “flexible pension plan,” an extra savings vehicle for faculty and staff members that has not been widely used.
Eduardo Ramirez assitant news editor
I
-With files from UW Daily Bulletin eramirez@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
General tuition increase:
2 International student tuition increase:
1
per cent to
3
per cent
“
to per cent
6.5
per cent
Officials have set aside $3 million from this year’s budget to cushiontheeffect ofalikelycampuswide budget cut next year. - VP Finance Accounting, Quentin Fang
“
ncreases ranging from 3.0 per cent to 6.5 per cent are being proposed to most Waterloo tuition fees, and only need approval by the university’s board of governors. The increases would go into effect for the upcoming spring term. The annual increases fall into a few categories: Canadian students in undergraduate programs, fees will up four per cent. Most BA, BSc, and BMath programs fees will up 4.5 per cent for newly admitted Canadian students. Programs, such as engineering, computer science, architecture, optometry, and pharmacy: fees up 6.5 per cent for newly admitted Canadian students. Canadian graduate students, fees up three per cent. International students in undergraduate and most graduate programs, fees up three per cent. The documents being presented to the board for approval shows that the fees for undergraduates at the United Arab Emirates campus as 72,000 dirhams for two terms, or about $13,000 Canadian per term, around the same fee an international student on the Waterloo campus would pay. This approval of tuition fees for 2011-12 will prepare the university’s budget for the new fiscal year, which will start May 1. A progress report on the 2010-11 year tells the board that income has gone up by some $13 million since the last estimate was presented in October, mostly because of higher-than-expected fall term enrolment. Most of the money has been transferred to faculties and departments and spent, or will be spent before the year ends, but the year’s surplus is now expected to be about $3.2 million. In addition, officials have set aside $3 million from this year’s budget to cushion the effect of a likely campus-wide budget cut next year. Also, residence fees for 2011-12 will up by three per cent in the Villages, UW Place, Minota Hagey and Columbia Lake.
4
News
Imprint, Friday, February 4, 2011
2011
Feds
elections Adrienne Raw news editor
A
s January rolls into February, the University of Waterloo undergraduate student population prepares for the annual elections of the Federation of Students. Twelve-month positions are open in the Feds executive, the Students’ Council, and the Senate. The elections
Candidate campaign run from Jan. 24 to Feb. 7 and this year there were 49 students nominated for positions. The debates
Two debates were held in the SLC’s Great Hall to give candidates the opportunity to talk about their platforms and voters a chance to ask questions. At the three-hour media debate Jan. 31, representatives from campus media outlets, including Imprint, had the opportunity to ask pointed questions about the candidates and their platforms. The questions continued at the executives debate on Feb. 1. During this three-hour debate, candidates for Federation of Students exective positions were questioned by the current executive members of Feds and by the audience. The candidates
The race for positions on the Feds executive this year is composed of several independents, Team REAL, and Team Rhino (the controversial team of candidates who have openly promised to immediately resing from their positions if elected). Senate and Students’ Council positions (that are not acclaimed) also have a large number of candidates. The acclaimed
Several positions, including the Arts and St. Jerome’s seats on Students’ Council and the AHS seat on Senate, have already been acclaimed due to low numbers of candidates. The full list of acclaimed candidates will be available after the elections close. araw@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
CANDIDATE PROFILES For brief candidate profiles, check out pages 14 to 19. For more detailed profiles, including more questions and longer answers from candidates, check out our 2011 Feds election coverage online at imprint.uwaterloo.ca.
VOTE Voting for the 2011 Feds Elections will take place from Feb. 8 to Feb. 10. As has been the case for the past several years, the bulk of voting will be carried out through online ballots at vote.feds.ca/
Azra Premji
Raya Sidhu
staff reporter
reporter
Riaz Nathu staff reporter
McGILL UNIVERSITY
EGYPT
Uprising in Egypt
Discontent with economic woes, poverty, unemployment, corruption, and ultimately the rule of Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak has led to protests in Cairo. Crowds filled Cairo’s Tahrir Square with anti-government protestors yelling “Down with Mubarak.” For the first time, 24-year-old Ismail Syed struggling to live on an annual $600 salary is protesting and fighting for better economic conditions. Protestor Mostapha al-Shafey said he wants an end to the rule of Mubarak; “30 years of Mubarak is enough- we’ve had enough of the state of emergency, prices are going up and up,” he said.
Police have blasted crowds with water cannons and tear gas while protestors have thrown stones at the police. As a result of the violence, over 2000 people have been injured. At least 75 people have been killed in the protests, including a policeman. The government cut off cell phone service in certain areas and internet service is still blocked preventing protestors from communicating through Twitter and Facebook. Foreign affairs is advising Canadians to Cairo and surrounding areas to avoid travel to these areas. 6,500 Canadians currently in Cairo appear to be safe at this time and many are arranging travel to leave the turmoil and violence.
Copy stores photocopying
busted
for
Thirteen store owners and employees were arrested at four. Montreal photocopy stores on January 20th for selling illegal photocopied textbooks. During the raids, which were held over the last few weeks, the RCMP found 2,700 counterfeit textbooks. Investigations of the photocopied textbooks began after the RCMP received complaints from several university publishers. In comparison to the textbook prices on the shelves of stores, the photocopied books were being sold at a fraction of the cost. It was the concerns of several students at legitimate stores, which provoked the investigations as these stores complained to the RCMP. I f the suspects of this fraud are found
guilty, they could face being charged with a violation of the Copyright Act and a fine of up to $1 million or be imprisoned for up to five years. A student, Sivan Havusha, who had been accused of photocopying her textbooks, spoke out, “I felt bad for doing it, but my textbooks all cost more than $100 each. I felt I could justify it because books are so expensive and I didn’t want to spend hundreds of dollars on textbooks.” An independent storeowner, Adrian Edwards, sympathized with Havusha. He stated that when a textbook is reasonably priced, the price would increase based on the demands of the textbook. He closed off his statement by saying that, “Students are being taken advantage of and it’s a real scam.”
UNITED STATES
US support for clean energy
Following President Obama’s latest State of the Union address, advances were made in Washington to push the clean energy agenda forward. Last week in his address, Obama remarked that by 2035, 80 per cent of electricity needs will come from clean energy sources, such as wind, solar, ‘clean’ coal and nuclear. The new clean energy plan proposal earned a key endorsement earlier this week, which is a vital step to becoming enacted in legislation. Critics of the energy plan have voiced concern over the inclusion of nuclear power, in particular, the stor-
age challenges with spent fuel. Energy Secretary Steven Chu, explained that nuclear provides vital base load energy where wind and solar are not feasible. Officials have hinted at incentive programs designed to encourage the development of clean technologies. A popular form is the feed-in tariff system, which the Ontario government enacted in 2009 through the Green Energy Act. The Obama administration has proposed to spend approximately $8 billion on research and development (R&D) in the renewables next year. Financing this R&D and not increasing the debt has led to plans to reduce of tax breaks for oil and gas companies.
UNITED STATES
Harper and Obama meeting
This Friday Prime Minister Steven Harper will be traveling to Washington to meet President Obama. Staff from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) indicated that the current situation in Egypt will likely be on the agenda as both Canada and the U.S. share similar positions. However, while the US has maintained an active voice in the international dialogue, little opinion has been voiced from the PMO.
In addition, energy will be an important topic of discussion. The clean energy dialogue initiated in 2009 between the two countries has since been handled by senior public officials. Pipeline development in Northern Canada seeking to tap natural gas resources is of particular interest to the U.S. energy needs. National security is likely to be discussed as well in light of a new US Senate report indicating security gaps along the Canada-U.S. border.
SUDAN
Sudan: One country or two?
The first official results of a landmark referendum have revealed more than 99 per cent of voters want the seperation of Sudan’s south from the country’s north. The Southern Sudan Referendum Commission Chairman Mohamed Ibrahim Khalil has stated that the final results will be announced on Feb. 14. Cheering crowds were gathered at the Memorial site to celebrate the large number of voters agreeing to the seperation.
While the numbers may change over the next few weeks, if the same trend continues, South Sudan will become its own country in July. Chairman Khalil has expressed that North and South Sudan should be mindful of their historical bonds. He stated the “North and South are drawn together in indissoluble geographic and historic bonds and we will transcend the petty personal prejudices, the transient whims, and the political aberrations.”
UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA
Will discrimination ever get old?
A graduate student at the University of Alberta has filed a Human Rights complaint against the Department of Cell Biology for unfair treatment and racist comments. SalahRahmani complained to the department in March 2010 following the personal verbal attacks on Rahmani. Allegedly a faculty member called him “less intelligent than a dog, untalented, and too old to be a student.” According to Rahmani, he attempted to voice his concern to the department by visiting the graduate co-ordinator and the department chair, Mr. Rachubinski. While at this meeting, Rachubinski asked Rahmani to sign an apology letter for falsely accusing a faculty member of racism. Fol-
lowing the refusal to sign, Rahmani made attempts to meet with the department chair with the presence of a Human Rights representative but they were declined. In a mandatory meeting on May 11th, Rahmani was told he had to sign the apology letter or was “threatened to leave the department. If not done so voluntarily, the department would call campus security.” Under the pressures of the moment, Rahmani signed the letter and handed over his keys. The complaint was filed on May 25, 2010. Further communication between the department and Rahmani were attempted, however this time Rahmani turned them down, as he stated, “I’m not a criminal.” The investigation is ongoing and no word yet as to whether the allegations have been proven true.
UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA
Saying no to water bottles
The University of Victoria Sustainability Project (UVSP) has issued a petition to eliminate bottled water on campus. Edward Pullman of UVSP has stated their position as, “We’re asking a hypothetical question, (should bottled water continue to be sold on campus) to gauge support before moving ahead. This is only the first step in a larger process.” Should the petition be successful, the consequence would be the removal of bottled water from campus vending machines. Of course, the project hopes to eliminate all water bottles from campus eventually. However, there is some backlash to the petition. The school worries
that the removal of water bottles will create a potential economic issue since it is the most popular drink of choice on campus. Although Pullman recognizes this issue, he believes that the university will be better off in the long run. Health issues are also arising with the possibility of abolishing water bottles. The university fears that it will leave no healthy options for students in the vending machines and that students will be forced, by the elimination, to turn to beverages high in sugar. Yet again, Pullman offers a solution of pure fruit juices to replace water in the vending machines. The petition ran from January 24th to the 28th, but the results of the petition are not yet known.
— With files from the Martlet, the McGill Daily and the Gateway. — With files from BBC and CBC.ca
apremji@imprint.uwaterloo.ca rnathu@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Write for news.
news@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Opinion 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 Co-op placements, David Lehto, Eleonora Meszaros, Julia Peters Sales Assistant, Lana Fell Systems Admin., Ben Waismark Distribution, Amit Chatterjee Distribution, Bensen Wang Volunteer co-ordinator, Michael Chung Board of Directors board@imprint.uwaterloo.ca President, Keriece Harris president@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Vice-president, Kevin Boisvert vp@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Treasurer, Howard Leung treasurer@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Secretary, Erin Thompson secretary@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Staff liaison, Patricia Rebello liaison@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Editorial Staff Assistant Editor, Brent Golem Head Reporter, vacant Lead Proofreader, Mika Ilic Cover Editor, Divyesh Mistry News Editor, Adrienne Raw News Assistant, Eduardo Ramirez Opinion Editor, Anya Lomako Opinion Assistant, Lindsay Simmons Features Editor, Zoe Kim Features Assistant, Michelle Sterba Arts & Entertainment, Caitlin McIntyre Arts Assistant, Paul McGeown Science & Tech Editor, vacant Science & Tech Assistant, Chinye Osamusali Sports & Living Editor, vacant Sports & Living Assistant, Ron Kielstra, Chester Yang Photo Editor, Peter Kreze Photo Assistant, Sophie Côté Graphics Editor, Majuratan Sadagopan Graphics Assistant, Krystin Li Web Administrator, Marta Borowska Production Staff Robert Dziarmaga, Deanna Ostafichuk, Felicia Rahaman, Brittany Nychka, Jaymie Constantino, Steffie Mendanglio, Komal Sandhu, Rajul Saleh, Jonathan Ng, Jason Day, Chantal Jandard, Stephen Kearse, Fabiha Nuzhat, Gabriela Grant, Michael To, Shawn Flanagan. Imprint is the official student newspaper of the University of Waterloo. It is an editorially independent newspaper published by Imprint Publications, Waterloo, a corporation without share capital. Imprint is a member of the Ontario Community Newspaper Association (OCNA). Editorial submissions may be considered for publication in any edition of Imprint. Imprint may also reproduce the material commercially in any format or medium as part of the newspaper database, Web site or any other product derived from the newspaper. Those submitting editorial content, including articles, letters, photos and graphics, will grant Imprint first publication rights of their submitted material, and as such, agree not to submit the same work to any other publication or group until such time as the material has been distributed in an issue of Imprint, or Imprint declares their intent not to publish the material. The full text of this agreement is available upon request. Imprint does not guarantee to publish articles, photographs, letters or advertising. Material may not be published, at the discretion of Imprint, if that material is deemed to be libelous or in contravention with Imprint’s policies with reference to our code of ethics and journalistic standards. Imprint is published every Friday during fall and winter terms, and every second Friday during the spring term. Imprint reserves the right to screen, edit and refuse advertising. One copy per customer. Imprint ISSN 0706-7380. Imprint CDN Pub Mail Product Sales Agreement no. 40065122. Next staff meeting: Monday, February 7th at 1 p.m. Next board of directors meeting: T.B.A
Write some history. Submit your dialogue to opinion@imprint.uwaterloo.ca, or apply pen to paper directly.
Friday, February 4, 2011 Vol. 33, No. 25 Student Life Centre, Room 1116 University of Waterloo Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1 P: 519.888.4048 F: 519.884.7800 http://imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Bammy vs.Harpie
YOU
Rajul Saleh staff reporter
T
Pictures from Right of Center Rice and GlobalResearch
Spark some change Imprint faces a few changes and we want you to be a part of it
W
Internet needs
hether it was the high we experienced from all the knowledge we obtained from the conference in Montreal, or simply getting bored of old ways, the volunteers at Imprint have been, and will be, making some really cool changes to our newspaper. Coming back from an exciting conference, seeing how other newspapers do things, and getting amazing advice from industry professionals like Jason Chiu, the front page designer at the Globe and Mail, we had so much gusto. I immediately called for a video campus question and insisted that we get a new website as soon as humanly possible. One important (and simply obvious) fact was drilled into our heads quite thoroughly at NASH — the online world is the future of our newspaper. It's important to get tweeting and sending people to the web, yes. But I asked my volunteers how I should confidently send a mass amount of people to a website that doesn't even function properly. Users cannot even comment on stories or upload events that are happening on campus. We can't even upload video directly to our site (we have to embed a YouTube link). So I’ve sat here at my editor desk for the past 10 months living with the site, not having any knowledge of how I personally could improve it. Here’s where I sincerely apologize for not being tech-y. But because we’re sitting in the basement of a truly technologicallyinclined campus, I was able to use the skills that I do posses (begging) and enlisted some help.
As some of you may have already been informed, Imprint will be getting a new website (ETA: reading week) and we are also hoping to improve the general look and feel of the newspaper itself. We are hoping to make these subtle changes with feedback and assistance from you, the student body. We even have a student here at UW creating said website. So brace yourself over the next month or two for some Imprint “tweaking,” and not just things like taking the borders off photos (see last week’s issue). If you could also reserve some patience as well during the times when our website will be even less functional than it currently is (hard to imagine, I know). We're doing our best to get you a new site as soon as possible. I have already sent out a plea to our volunteers for feedback in regards to the website, but it would be merely fantastic to hear from the students at UW, as it is your student newspaper. You can stop by the office or shoot me an email and let me know what your ideas are.
he Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) made a decision to force Usage-Based Billing for all Internet Service Providers (ISP) and scrap all unlimited plans. This means that anyone who is currently with an ISP who is not Bell, Rogers, or Telus, will see a jump in costs on their bill. These smaller ISPs, who back-end off the Bell and Rogers networks but were able to set lower prices and provide higher bandwidth, will now be forced to sell at rates similar to the big companies. Companies like TekSavvy, which provided 200GB and unlimited packages, can now only sell 25GB, and anything above will be charged an extra $2 per gigabyte. If you’re doing nothing other than checking your email and Facebook, then yes, 25GB is more than enough. For pretty much anything else, though, the numbers
r e t e m ia.ca/
nmed
ope
expert on the issue, states how there are workarounds for “heavy users” that these big companies are not choosing to implement. See his more detailed arguments at www.michaelgeist.ca. The second argument, that UBB works like any other service where you pay for what you use, makes a bit of sense. That is, until you realize the ridiculous mark-up these companies are forcing. According to Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix (one of many businesses that would suffer greatly, through no fault of their own, if UBB stays), the amount it costs for an ISP to deliver a single gigabyte of data to a customer “is less than a penny and falling.” That’s a 200 per cent mark-up to the $2 per gigabyte you would have to pay once you go over your limit.
start to add up. An hour of YouTube videos will eat up over 130MB. Assuming you watch only 15 minutes per day, that’s almost 1GB in a month. And if you’re watching HD content, that number shoots up to almost 7.5GB in that month (1GB per hour). Similar costs apply to streaming video services such as Netflix and AppleTV, where an average 90 minute movie takes up 1.5GB. Want to download a game off of Xbox Live, the PlayStation Network, or the net? That’ll be somewhere between 6–10GB. Download your free copy of Windows 7 off the university website? That’s 5GB right there. And let’s not even get into the not-so-legal downloads that our generation is so often accused of doing. Proponents of Ultimate Bulletin Board (UBB) have put forward two major reasons for enforcing this policy, both of which are complete crap. The first, that it is designed to keep “heavy users” from slowing down the network for the rest of us, has been met with harsh criticism from many industry experts. Michael Geist, a law professor at the University of Ottawa and
Of course, many have speculated that the real reason for doing this is for the big companies to recover from loses from their obsolete services. Who wants to pay for cable when one can simply stream the latest TV shows and movies online? Who will pay $3.99 for a single movie on pay-per-view if $8 gets you unlimited content from Netflix? The only answer these companies could come up with is to stifle competition as best as possible. If these other companies are forced to sell at a price similar to Bell and Rogers, the market becomes almost completely non-competitive, allowing these companies to charge outlandish prices without any fear of losing customers. The first step would be to sign the online petition at openmedia.ca/meter. As of writing this article, over 285,000 people have signed, and politicians are taking notice. Both the NDP and the Liberal Party of Canada have taken a stance against the CRTC decision, and Prime Minister Stephen Harper has called for a review. Increasing this number can only help our cause by showing just how many people are against it. But most importantly, the best thing you can do is let everyone know about the issue. It’s sad how few people know about the issue, and how deeply it can affect us. Allowing this would pave the way for the big telecommunications companies to do as they please in the future without any repercussions.
editor@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Letter Policy
Letters must not exceed 200 words. Please include your full name, program, and year. Letters must be received before 12 p.m. on Tuesdays to letters@imprint. uwaterloo.ca. Imprint reserves the right to edit for length and clarity or to reject any letter.
courtesy of national post
Justin Bieber visited Much More Music headquarters on February 1st, 2011, causing unnatural female excitement, considering he is a Stratford, ON native.
Write some history. Submit your dialogue to opinion@imprint.uwaterloo.ca, or apply pen to paper directly.
IMPRINT The University of Waterloo’s official student newspaper
Imprint, Friday, February 4, 2011 opinion@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Opinion
6
Imprint, Friday, February 4, 2011
cairo resident
I
think the situation here can be summarized with the good old Egyptian saying “fish, milk, and tammarind” (direct translation). Things are quite chaotic at the moment. It started with the protests in Tahrir which eventually escalated. The police were pretty decent the first day. However, on the night of the 25th, they actually went in and dispersed the crowd. On the 28th, all internet and mobile communications were cut off. During prayer, some people were shot by water cannons while still praying. Then, when the people were wrapping up prayer, tear gas was shot in the mosque. This caused some people to start reacting a bit violently. Eventually the whole thing got out
“
and weapons were stolen and many policemen were killed. The rest disappeared. At the same time mass breakouts from three different prisons occurred, two of them proving successful. (So those prisoners also joined the fray and started terrorizing and robbing.) We were left with no police for two days in those circumstances. We formed shifts to guard the streets. We made barricades, traps, and went down with any form of weapons we could muster. Most were with sticks, but occasionally you could find those with guns. The army eventually joined the fray and started capturing the escaped prisoners (preventing the breakout of one of the prisons with the help of the prison guards), as well as taking the prisoners people in various neighbourhoods had already caught. They also began patrolling around different areas.
While I share their feelings, I don’t agree with the timing. People here suffer from a lack of ethics and ignorance that, until solved, would be too easy to exploit to ruin things even more.
of hand and later on people from rural areas joined the fray and the violence escalated and turned into vandalism. As things escalated, the police ran out of rubber bullets and tear gas, with orders to use live bullets. Some of them refused and left the scene (otherwise they would have been beaten to death), while others took off their uniforms and went around pillaging and vandalizing. There were attacks on different police stations
“
Mostafa Sakr
The prisoners and thugs used police cars, taxis, ambulances, firetrucks, and other ministry vehicles to move around. They also sometimes scouted on motorcycles before robbing different neighbourhoods. They also had machine guns and different weaponry in their possession. Yesterday the police in theory started to redeploy, but not all people are quite trusting of them as of yet. We still had shifts in the street. Today, the Internet is back and I only
Tyndale’s Bachelor of Education Program
saw one police officer (I didn't notice the rank, but I think he was a traffic officer to start with), and the number of people in the streets has diminished. There are very few. All this was in Cairo only. In North Sinai, the last news I heard which was on 28th, was that the Bedouin there attacked the police station (in response to having one of them shot dead) with RPGs (nope, not role playing games) and machine guns. They demanded that the police turn themselves in. (Yeah, I chuckled big time when I heard that one) As the saying in Arabic goes, “ , ” which can be roughly translated to, “The worst of misfortunes are those that make you laugh.” In Suez, all police stations were burned and ransacked, and things are a mess there. Alexandria has a lot of mess as well. Though, as far as I have heard, not as bad as the above three. Other cities throughout Egypt also had lots of protests and the headquarters’ of the national party were burned down throughout the country. I have a cousin, and several friends who joined the protests, so I heard from them. I did not experience those myself. But I hear it was quite messy and a lot of people were hurt. Over the past couple of days many people died. I have been partaking in the shifts in the streets, along with many others. Some of them joined the protest on the 28th, and told me the same things. I personally don't believe that Egypt was ready for such a step. And it was neither planned (which is exactly what made it work the way
Community Editorial
An internet revolution Noha Tarek
via Facebook
MA environmental studies
W Experience, Mentors, Community. Apply today! Reasons why: ○ 100 days of classroom experience throughout the school year, 3 different settings ○ Taught by educational leaders: teachers, principals, textbook authors and mentors ○ Cross-curricular emphasis in a supportive learning environment Over 80% of the first graduating class has a teaching-related position.
Application Deadline: February 22, 2011 Tyndale University College tyndale.ca/education | 416.218.6757
it did) nor did it have a purpose nor direction. They just wanted to “speak their mind.” They did not think of what might happen. Nor did they take into consideration the amount of ignorance that the majority of the Egyptian population suffers from. While I share their feelings, I don't agree with the timing. People here suffer from a lack of ethics and ignorance that, until solved, would be too easy to exploit to ruin things even more. Also, the economic and educational problems are the reason why we’re doing this whole “revolt.” Our average working hours — sorry — minutes per day are 20? So until people change themselves things won't change. Education suffers a similar problem. The ministry of education is rotten and corrupt to the core, but they aren't the only ones at fault. The economy affects salaries which in turn affect teachers’ “enthusiasm” when it comes to teaching (assuming said teachers are qualified to be teachers to start with). So many of them don't even do their work well. Until both the education and economy are worked upon in parallel, we won't advance as a country. So, yes, we do need to do something about the government, but not before we do something about ourselves first.
Letter to the Editor
From Cairo, on Cairo A direct narrative on the making of a revolution
hen Mark Zuckerberg designed Facebook, he intended it to revolutionize social networking for college students to vamp their social life. It is unlikely that he foresaw that he was creating a tool which would lead to the overthrow of the Tunisian government and the recent revolution in Egypt. The complete stoppage of Internet access in Egypt caused some to ponder a question that, on its surface, sounds ludicrous: is Internet access a basic human right? The popularization of the Internet revolutionized the world of education and business, but there was long-standing criticism due to the “digital divide.” It was a long time before the Internet could be used as a tool for political revolution in developing countries. The “digital divide” is the concept that access to the Internet was not democratized and, thus, the disenfranchised would remain so. Yet the cases of Tunisia and Egypt show that web 2.0, combined with affordable technology, provides the forum for popular participation to achieving political ends; two dictatorships have been brought down by the power of Facebook and Twitter. In Egypt, other means of communication have long been controlled by the state. Hence, social media offered a new medium where people could communicate and co-ordinate to achieve political goals. While public discourse was tightly monitored, Facebook and Twitter provided a forum where Egyptians could share their discontent regarding, dictatorship, unemployment, corruption, and poverty. The recent Egyptian revolt started online, mainly using Facebook and Twitter, and then added hard tactics on the ground in their effort to bring down a regime that has lasted for about 30 years. People across Egypt took to the streets
starting Jan. 25, 2011 in demonstrations against corruption and failing economic policies (partly inspired by similar protests that rocked Tunisia this month). Millions were protesting in Cairo and Alexandria and more than 50,000 demonstrators were in the southern cities of Aswan, Ismailiya, and the northern cities of Mahallah and Suez. Both groups were fiercely demanding that the current president steps down along with his cabinet. The role of the Internet in fueling this recent revolution began in April 2010 with the brutal murder of a young Egyptian man, Khaled Saeed, under vicious beatings of two Egyptian policemen. Photos of the dead body were circulated around Egypt on the Internet, mainly using Facebook. The picture elicited extreme rage among the people. The events were quickly escalated by a series of undesirable consequences ranging from fraudulent parliamentary elections that took place in November 2010 to a series of bombings that took place since 2004 in Taba, Sharm El-Sheikh, Dahab, Cairo, and Alexandria to a massive increase in public suicide rates. “The Day of Rage”, as Egyptians have called it, finally took place against President Hosny Mubarak’s authoritarian power that has lead to massive corruption and economic deterioration within the country in the last three decades. On Jan. 28, 2011, in response to the protests, the government decided to cut off all means of communication for over 80 million people. The chilling aspect of this Internet clampdown is the assumption that lies behind it: If you will not let your people tweet, what else will you not let them do? It’s not the loss of Facebook and Twitter that constitutes human rights abuse here. It’s the idea of freedom of expression and information, a human right recognized in Article 19 of the U.N. See REVOLUTION, DIGITALIZED, page 7
Opinion
Imprint, Friday, February 4, 2011
7
Revolution, digitalized Jeff Henry
Community Editorial
waterloo city councillor (ward
(basc, 2004) / arts (ba, 2007)
T
6); engineering
here has been a lot of dialogue about the new proposed rental housing licensing program and bylaw that was tabled before council in early January. As a member of council, I know we wanted an open discussion about the pros and cons surrounding this new program and bylaw as well as the opportunities for improvement. What we didn’t want, and what we have been seeing, is the wrong information going out to those who will be impacted by the proposed changes. I want to remind everyone, students in particular, that the goal of the proposed program is balancing the needs of property owners with the needs of Waterloo residents looking for safe, adequate and properly maintained rental accommodation. As a city, we cannot proactively ensure renters have healthy and safe places to live under the current 25-year-old licensing bylaw. A very provocative, anonymous ad ran last week announcing with great alarm that the City of Waterloo is considering implementing a new rental housing licensing bylaw that would potentially regulate all 5,000 residential rental units. Releasing a first draft of the new bylaw was
an important first step in bringing our licensing program out of the 1980s and into the 21st Century. The next step is a thorough community conversation, which the City is having with property owners, neighbours, and renters. As the councillor who represents many of the areas near the University of Waterloo, I strongly believe that the voice of students is critical in developing the right solution. That is why city staff and I are working with the Federation of Students to hear the stories, ideas, and concerns of students on this important issue before coming back with the next draft on April 11. Since there is still a lot of confusion and misinformation out there, I believe that you first need to have the facts: Quality Housing – the goal of a new bylaw is to provide safer, healthier rental accommodations that are adequately maintained. In the current draft, it means the property owner will have a parking, garbage, and property maintenance plan, kitchens, and bedrooms will be a reasonable size, and rental units will comply with fire codes. Choice of Accommodation — the city has proactively encouraged a supply of rental units in Waterloo, including 5,000 low-density residential rental units and an increasing supply in apartments. Existing licensed lodging houses would
Re: Apartheid revisited
Community Editorial Sefy Cnaany 4a computer science
O
peration Cast Lead took place between Dec. 27, 2009 and Jan. 18, 2010 in the Gaza Strip. It was a military response to continuous rocket fire that lasted for seven years before, to surrounding Israeli towns in southwestern Israel, including the City of Sderot, where people live in constant fear from the next rocket attack, where they have about 12 seconds to run for cover after the sound of the alarm. These rocket attacks are targeting Israeli civil population, with no mercy. Israel couldn’t just sit still when the lives of its own civilians were under constant daily risk. Israel had to take action and put an end to these attacks, defending its people. In the summer of 2005, Israel withdrew its presence from the Gaza Strip, leaving behind state of the art greenhouses, structures, and infrastructure for the locals to use for themselves, but instead the Palestinians burned them to the ground. In 2007 Hamas took over the Gaza Strip in a violent revolution, arresting and killing all who stood in their way. Hamas doesn’t recognize Israel, nor Israel’s right to exist. Not to mention
LSAT MCAT GMAT GRE Preparation Seminars • Complete 30-Hour Seminars • Convenient Weekend Schedule • Proven Test-Taking Strategies • Experienced Course Instructors • Comprehensive Study Materials
be able to continue operating under the current draft bylaw as transitional lodging houses, and still be able to offer more than three-bedroom accommodations in a boarding house. The city believes there will continue to be a sufficient and diverse supply of rental housing available. Affordability – licensing fees for landlords already exist for lodging houses licensed under the old bylaw, and the new fee levels are not significantly different for these accommodations. The city also anticipates that a sufficient and diverse supply of rental housing will continue to exist in Waterloo. While there will be some costs for currently unlicensed properties to be brought into compliance with the new rules, those costs are associated with making the property safe, and many of those costs will be one-time in nature. As a former and relatively recent University of Waterloo student and renter, I can appreciate the need for better rental accommodations at a fair price. After all, I lived in many of the same places that you live in now. I look forward to a vigorous and thorough conversation on how we can balance the needs of property owners, neighbours, and renters in our community. For more information on the proposal and the process, please visit waterloo.ca/rhlr.
that they have held Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, captive for more than 1,680 days now, which is more than four and a half years, since June 26, 2006. And so, direct negotiations don’t work. During the operation, Israel targeted terrorists who worked to harm Israeli civilians. These terrorists used innocent Palestinians as human shields, working from seemingly “neutral” and “innocent” locations such as schools, mosques, and private houses, under the assumption they were protected there as Israel wouldn’t dare to attack them there because of their neutral nature. There is aerial video footage documenting and showing rockets being taken out of these so called “neutral” locations. There is also video footage showing that after being hit, these buildings had secondary explosions that in some cases caused houses on the other street to blow up, demonstrating the fact they were used as ammunition storage centres connected by secret tunnels to other buildings with explosives.
Despite the fact that Israel ordered military operations and the blockade of Gaza out of necessity to protect its people, Israel isn’t supporting human rights violations against Palestinians just because it wants to, not because it can. In fact, Israel allows aid to go into Gaza on a daily basis, but people at the crossings are still at risk, so checks must be enforced. There is some economic growth there, although still limited. The most important point I must stress is that Israel is NOT an apartheid state! Israeli Arabs, as well as other minorities within Israel, have full equal rights, and are represented in the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament. In the Palestinian territories, the Palestinians have their own rule, in the form of the Palestinian Authority, under the leadership of President Abbas and Prime-Minister Fayad, who are recognized by Israel and have been negotiating a peace treaty, or Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
For there to be peace and freedom, the attacks on Israelis must stop. Gilad Shalit needs to be released, as currently he is not even allowed to see doctors of the Red Cross. Hamas needs to recognize Israel and its right to exist. Only then, with no threat to its own people, would Israel betech ablead to (4x7.5):Layout lift the blockade. 12956 1 12/23/10
Continued from page 7
Universal Declaration of Human Rights: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” Egypt's actions demonstrate how vulnerable mobile and Internet access companies are to the pressure from government to take actions that directly harm human rights. Egyptians realized early on, however, how afraid the regime was to go to the extent of shutting down everything because, in the end, the closure of the Internet took the revolution from cyber-space to real space. Surprisingly, and as the whole world watched, telecommunications triumphed as Google, Twitter, and Facebook all came up with a speak-totweet service, the ability for anyone to tweet using just a voice connection—a new Peoplebook! The Egyptians actually connected to the web without Internet access. Dictators may triumph when people are kept in the dark, but with the rise of more tools for popular communication, information can spread and be exchanged at such a rate that economic injustice of the powerful is no match for the people-power of Facebook. This gives hope not only to Egypt but to other developing countries where wealth and power are centralized in the hands of a few and most people do not have access to a basic standard of living. 6:09 PM Page 1
Make your degree work for you
take it tech Increase your skills and competitiveness in today’s job market with a Humber graduate studies program in Applied Technology.
Everything you need for your Valentine’s Day sweetheart is waiting for you at
Raymond’s Flower Shop
Project Management Supply Chain Management Wireless Telecommunications
Roses, Chocolates, Teddy bears Calla lilies, Tulips, Stargazers and much more!
• Simulated Practice Exams • Limited Class Size • Free Repeat Policy • Personal Tutoring Available • Thousands of Satisfied Students
OXFORD SEMINARS 1-800-269-6719 416-924-3240 www.oxfordseminars.ca
133 Weber Street, North #2 Waterloo, ON N2J 3G9
(519) 886-3830
Apply now! humber.ca/appliedtechnology/graduatestudies
Features
Imprint, Friday, February 4, 2011 features@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Community Editorial
Behind closed doors:
Fighting the Allegations R
ichard J. Daley, mayor of Chicago, once said, “The police are not here to create disorder. They are here to preserve disorder.” The Bomber staff would probably agree if you asked them about the “incident” that occurred on the night of Nov. 3, 2010. Or rather, the incident that did not occur on Nov. 3, because no incident report was filed. And since no incident occurred, it follows that nobody called the cops. It must be then, that the UW Campus Police has a sixth sense that alerts them to the happenings of the back room of the Bomb Shelter Pub facility. Not only did no incident occur, but the cameras located outside the Bomb Shelter Pub probably failed to capture the mysterious, brown figure screaming in contempt at a pair of officers for a good half hour in what appeared to be a state of “complete and total intoxication.” This person was allegedly throwing up left, right, and centre, couldn’t string together a complete sentence in her violent stupor, and was threatening the lives of the officers on duty. This was apparently between her poor attempts at a two-step to the gyrating music pulsing out of the Bomber front doors. If only the actual footage was anything like this. The footage doesn’t include the officers escorting this individual to the SLC parking lot, where a Campus Police cruiser was waiting, and her subsequent arrest and humiliation at being charged with “trespassing” (though
she is a full-time student at the university, and one who frequents the pub). Never mind the fact that her Feds fee helped cover the Bomb Shelter Pub’s operating costs when they are unable to meet it themselves, which, considering their long-standing deficit, is most of the time. According to a Feds representative that I spoke with, only 40 per cent of the Feds fees students pay go towards keeping the business side of the corporation afloat. The other 60 per cent goes towards student run services like Warrior Weekends, Campus Clubs, and the Food Bank, among others. This Feds fee, 40 per cent of which covers the “operating costs” that its businesses (specifically, the Bomber) incur if they fail to raise enough revenue to pay it themselves, are paid in addition to students’ tuitions, students like me. It is students, like me, who pay the Feds staff salaries. It is students, like me, who paid to have students who are “completely and totally intoxicated,” like me, kicked out of the Bomber on Nov. 3. It’s a little twisted, if you think about it, because not only was I kicked out and removed from the premises, I was hand-cuffed and issued a ticket for “trespassing,” at the university that I paid to attend. Also, that the Bomb Shelter Pub does not actually own a liquor license poses a very interesting dilemma. The license belongs to the university, and all that the pub owns is the bar license. What relevance does this have? None, except that if the university had caught wind of what had happened at the Bomb Shelter Pub, the employees that they
hired so clearly abusing their privileges, they might reconsider granting the establishment access to their liquor license. So what happened that night that could have possibly pissed me off to the point where I am moved to contest the charges placed by going to court and lodging a complaint with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario? Let’s go over what happened. I was falsely accused of being drunk because I had put my head down on the table for a few seconds and wasn’t asked why I was doing so. The guy I was avoiding also left after I had put my head down and expressed my disinterest in striking conversation with him. Staff members lied about walking into the bathroom after me and seeing me about to puke, when I had clearly seen them there before I had gone to use the facilities (not to puke). The staff then brought me into the back room where they proceeded to intimidate me with threats, and then denied any such thing happening when the police arrived. The bar manager also walked into the back room half an hour into the interrogation, excused the bouncers that were holding me there, and then spat, “We don’t care if you’re drunk or not. If we don’t like you, we can kick you out!” The fact that I was the only non-white person there forced to leave via intimidation also strikes me as a rather blatant display of racial hostility. This was backed by Campus Police issuing the trespassing notice. Think this is hard to believe? There were plenty of witnesses present that night that noticed my sudden disappearance. As well, and my friends can contest this, I have never
been drunk to the point where I have been out of my senses or have felt the need to vomit. It strikes me as a little stupid to have to consume to the point where you don’t remember what you did last night, or wake up in your own vomit in order to “have fun.” It kind of defeats the purpose. More than that, the only other female in the room apart from me was standing in the corner of the room, terrified at the behaviour of the male bouncers and bar manager as she watched them screaming at me, harassing me, and treating me more like a dog than a human being. I don’t blame her for crying. At least someone else understood what the “incident” was really about. But there weren’t any tears in my eyes. I don’t get sad about racial discrimination, whether it’s by staff at the university pub or the members of the Campus Police, who are supposedly hired to protect students like me. Rather, I act. It’s what my father, a UN diplomat, has taught me to do from a young age. In the face of inhumane conditions and treatments, sitting around and feeling sorry for myself is not going to accomplish anything. Neither is hoping it just goes away. Which is why I’m opening my mouth and doing something about it, and by doing so, making damn sure history is not allowed to repeat itself, and that the individuals responsible are held accountable for their actions. I’m going to conclude with the wise words of Thomas Jefferson, which I hope compels you to act in face of any similar situations: “Anything worth having is worth fighting for.”
majuratan sadagopan
“
In the face of inhumane conditions and treatments, sitting around and feeling sorry for myself is not going to accomplish anything.
“
Olinda Unita Pais 4B Economics
Features
Imprint, Friday, February 4, 2011
Urban agriculture in the Waterloo Region
9
What do you do in your backyard? Sharon Kennedy Reporter
Backyard Bounty
K
arin Kliewer grew up in Winnipeg and went to the University of Guelph. Her husband, Greg, grew up in Toronto and studied carpentry and construction. Both did internships on farms and despite their urban upbringings, decided to buy a farm and make their livelihood from the land. “You grow up in a city and see all the ways that cities aren’t sustainable,” Karin says. When they couldn’t find affordable farmland close to the city, they moved into a house near downtown Kitchener until they could find the right farm. That was in 1999, and they’re still on the same property, now dubbed “Little City Farm,” which they run as a bed and breakfast and an urban homestead. On their one-third acre of land, they have 12 growing beds for vegetables, an herb garden, a greenhouse, two ponds, and several fruit trees. If this seems like a lot to fit into one backyard, it is. According to the Little City Farm website, “urban agriculture […] is three to five times more productive per acre than traditional large-scale agriculture.” So what do they do with the fruits of their labour? Well, first of all, they eat the food. But, as Karin said, “it’s more than just the food, that’s just a small part of it. It’s the whole lifestyle.” She explained that they strive to make everything multi-functional: the organic waste gets composted and used as fertilizer; the ponds are part of their greywater system that recycles water from the shower, laundry, and sinks; whatever food they don’t eat, they
sell; and they have plans to build a rooftop garden. The sheer volume of projects is astounding, and one of the challenges of running such an operation is the lack of time. Another challenge is simply being in the city. For starters, there is very limited space, and keeping chickens and other farm animals is against city bylaw. Karin and Greg are willing to work around these challenges, however, to be connected to the community. On weekends, they hold workshops teaching skills such as cheese-making, bicycle repair, and sprouting, among others. “Part of the reason we’re in the city is to inspire people to do these things themselves.” What is urban agriculture? Little City Farm is not that exceptional. In most cities, urban agriculture is already found among the buildings and streets. Fruit trees, grape vines, berries, and native herbs are all examples of edibles that can be found within the city limits. That’s what urban agriculture is: the activity of growing food in or around a city environment. It’s somewhat of a reversal of fortunes, since most cities are growing in a farming environment; according to Statistics Canada, since the 1950s, half of the country’s urban growth took over what used to be farmland. As cities grow, the surrounding farmland gets converted into housing developments. See URBAN, page 10
land around them gets developed
Courtesy sharon kennedy
Cob oven the Kliewer family built from straw and mud, and use to make food for guests. The Kliewer’s run tutorials for anyone interested.
10
Features
Imprint, Friday, February 4, 2011
Urban agriculture: the community garden at least six rooftop gardens or green roofs (just grass). The most common place to find food growing in the city, however, is literally in our own backyards. The report found that 38 per cent of Waterloo’s urban residents grow some of their own food, and 90 per cent of them do it in their backyard garden. Gardening cultivates more than food
courtesy sharon kennedy
Sign outside of the Little City Farm in Kitchener, which was started by Karin and Greg Kliewer. Continued from page 9
Even for farmers who refuse to sell their land, if the land around them gets developed and the city designates the area a residential zone, then farming activities such as keeping livestock become illegal within that zone. The more agricultural land gets developed, the less food there is to feed the growing number of urban
dwellers, and the farther food has to be imported. Instead, city planners and residents are looking for ways to grow food within the city itself. Many cities are supporting the community garden model: a shared garden where community members can buy or rent a plot to cultivate food. Recently, the Vancouver Food Policy Council met its goal of creating 2,010 new plots by the year 2010,
putting their total at almost 3,000 plots in 55 gardens. Calgary has 667 plots in 46 gardens, according to their Food Policy Council, and is following in Vancouver’s footsteps with an initiative to establish 2,011 new plots in 2011. The Region of Waterloo published an inventory of urban agriculture in the region, putting our count at 31 community gardens comprising 679 plots and
Save money on your insurance with group rates!
Have you compared your insurance rates lately? University of Waterloo’s group insurance program may save up to 50% on your insurance home and auto insurance premiums plus your group discount! It takes just a few minutes for us to provide you with a quote. You might be surprised at the savings...give us call or email to compare!
Judy Westman,
Insurance Advisor
519.743.5221 ext. 214 jwestman@staebler.com STAEBLER INSURANCE BROKERS 871 Victoria St North Kitchener ON N2B 3S4 www.staebler.com
Between environment, community, and economy, there are plenty of benefits of urban agriculture. Aside from the obvious, such as healthy, fresh food, there are some surprises. For those on fixed or low incomes, growing food is relatively cheap. The economic benefits apply on a large scale too; the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel in Toronto saves over $30,000 a year in food and herb costs by maintaining a growing space. Gardens also have a positive effect on community and culture. People who find themselves marginalized or isolated, such as recent immigrants or people with mobility problems, can reconnect to the community and regain a sense of identity through gardening. A broader impact of community gardens is crime reduction. A community garden was started in Victoria Hills in
Kitchener, and the number of police incidents dropped 30 per cent by the end of the first summer, and 56 per cent by the end of the second. It’s not that all the delinquents are too busy weeding to commit crimes; the garden keeps people outside late into the evening, not just gardening, but keeping an eye on the neighbourhood as well. People get to know each other a bit more, and there is a sense that the community is cared for and maintained, which are all deterrents to petty crime. Bringing home the broccoli Anyone can reap the benefits of urban agriculture and simple living. If you don’t have room for a greenhouse or a chicken coop, don’t despair. You can grow potted plants like herbs indoors or on a balcony. The University of Waterloo Gardeners have a plot on North Campus and share the produce between each other. The Community Garden Council has information on how to join a garden. It’s also important to support local agriculture, by shopping at the farmer’s market or buying through a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). Karin’s advice: “Whatever community you’re living in, just try to be present and be involved as much as you can.”
Zoe Kim features editor
U.S.A.
Vaginal steam baths, a centuries-old Korean remedy, has recently been gaining popularity in the Manhattan and South California spa circuit. Many people swear by the “V-steam” and its many alleged health benefits, including reducing stress, fighting infections, increasing fertility, and helping with hemorroids. None of these benefits have been studied. Treatments essentially have the spa-goer perching naked on a bottomless stool over a boiling pot
of water that’s been mixed with a variety of herbs. Some doctors, however, remain skeptical. “I just don’t understand physiologically how putting steam up the vagina is going to change your fertility or help you relieve stress,” says Dr. Laura Riley of Massachusetts General in Boston. She credits most of its success to the placebo effect, but says it wouldn’t do much for her. “I’d be more concerned about burning my vagina. That’s a very sensitive area.”
The condiment-wielding criminal who has been terrorizing an Idaho library has finally been caught and jailed. Seventy-fiveyear-old Joy Cassiday of Boise has pleaded guilty to malicious injury to property stemming from what police report as more than 10 assaults on the library’s book-drop, totalling in over $1,000 in damages. It began in 2009 when library books in a drive-up drop-box were being smothered with
condiments like ketchup, mayonnaise, and corn syrup. Authorities say Cassiday began dumping condiments into the drop-box after having conflicts with the library patrons and staff. She was arrested after Boise police staked out the crime scene and caught her dumping an open jar of mayonnaise in the drop-box. An Idaho judge sentenced Cassidy to a month in jail and forbid her to have any contact with Boise area libraries for two years.
GERMANY
In Germany, a man received a new silver Mini Cooper by pulling off one of the craziest stunt during a radio show contest. Thirty-nine-year-old Muller paid in ink by getting a tattoo of the word “MINI” on his penis.
Listeners tuned into Muller shrieking on the radio as he received the tattoo on his penis while a female host watched. “Once I’m sitting in the car, it won’t matter anymore,” said Mueller.
Leipzig Zoo’s star opossum, Heidi, may be able to lose the crossed eyes that have made her so famous. The white-haired opossum has been put on a steady diet since her arrival, and her keepers hope that it will cut down on her fat, which is thought to be the cause of her crossed eyes.
They blame a poor diet when she was young that has caused fat deposits to form behind her eyes. Though Heidi has become an international sensation, the zoo has said that it will try not to market her too much and treat her like any other animal in their zoo. Her facebook page has over 280, 000 fans.
– With files from the Toronto Sun, Yahoo! News, and MSNBC
Features
Imprint, Friday, February 4, 2011
11
Fish and Chips: Golden Luigi Di Gennaro reporter
Golden Fish & Chips 94 Bridgeport Road East, Waterloo Phone: (519) 888 6660 Payment: Cash, Interact, and Credit Card
Now I admit, I’ve never had fish and chips. I have no nostalgic memories of driving to the coast of Canada, to back-woods, to whale watching conventions, all the while making short stops at quaint little stalls where one can gorge on fried clams or baked haddock. I consider myself, at self deprecating times, a rather diasporic eater. I like to eat, but wherever I go, I never really amalgamate myself well into the dining atmosphere. People consider me a foodie fanboy. I know a lot about the food I eat. It is an up at dawn, pride swallowing siege that I can never fully tell you about! I had big dreams for Golden Fish & Chips, or rather, dreams of Golden Fish & Chips. I dreamt that beyond the plastic curtains separating the outside from the in, there’d be tiled floors, cool, florescent lighting, stiff chairs, tables with plastic mats, and a swinging door that gave way to a kitchen, through which I could peer into and happily watch the cooks.
Alas, that poor swinging door was in fact plastic drapes, which did nothing to flatter the yellow walls, pastel-coloured, fleur upholstered booths, faux wood grained tables, and IKEA-esque paintings of flowers and strange meadows. After coming to terms with the décor, for the first time in my life I ordered a big boy meal of fish and chips. Salmon and chips actually, tenderly accompanied with a side of bland coleslaw, some pre-packaged tartar sauce (too tangy for my landlubbing palette), and a cool can of Coca-Cola (an unfortunate $1.50). The fish was good. I say that with as much gusto as is expected. Lightly battered with nothing out of the ordinary and transformed into one big chip. I expected dainty fingers of little fishes that I could pick up and tuck snuggly in my mouth. Instead, I was forced to break that flaky salmon up with fork and knife. It was okay. I received neither fish or chips wrapped in newsprint, or any kind of waxy paper. That
was reserved for my company’s fried clams, which were crispy on the outside, quite fishy and wet on the inside. Maybe it was a bad day. Maybe I hate clams (it was an appetizer and it was $7.49). The chips were my favourite part of the meal. I especially liked smothering them in vinegar and salt, and they didn’t seem to lose too much of their body. Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside. It’s how it should be, I reckon. It was a satisfying meal for $9.99. Still, considering the cost, I would have liked a little more. Maybe it was the small side of coleslaw that got my attention. Or, maybe it was the chips were so delicious. I merely wanted more. Now, I don’t have many other spots with which to compare Golden Fish & Chips, but I’m glad I went. It has been around for a while, and if it isn’t gone, and doesn’t look run down inside, then that must speak volumes for the place. I’m glad, though, that those fried little fishies called me into that food. Man, I feel like a sailor.
Write for
Features features@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Come and Eat at the Award Winning...
ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT TAKE OUT OR EAT IN HOURS: Monday-Friday Lunch 11:00 - 2:30 Dinner 4:30 - 9:00 Saturday Lunch 12:00 - 3:00 Dinner 4:30 - 9:00
Accelerate your studies through on-campus and distance education courses this summer.
NOW OPEN SUNDAYS 12:00 - 8:00 55 Northfield Drive, E., Waterloo (Corner of Davenport & Northfield next to Tim Horton's)
519-888-9006
www.yummyaki.com
for more information visit www.uoguelph.ca/summer
Campus Bulletin UPTOWN WATERLOO BIA EVENTS 2011 February 19: UpTown Waterloo Ice Dogs Festival March 10-12: UpTown Comedy Festival May: UpTown Waterloo Jazz Fundraiser June 18: UpTown Country July 15-17: UpTown Waterloo Jazz Festival August 25-28: Waterloo Busker Carnival September 11: UpTown Dining October 9: 29th Annual Pancake Breakfast October 9: 32nd Annual Great Oktoberfest Barrel Race October 11: Thanksgiving Day Parade For more information about the above events call 519-885-1921 or email uptownwaterloobia@waterloo.ca or www. uptownwaterloobia.com.
ANNOUNCEMENTS Influenza immunization offers the best protection for persons over the age of six months. Even though the first cases of influenza have been detected, it is not too late to be immunized. Influenza vaccine is available through UW Health Services, Monday to Friday, 9:00 - 11:30 a.m. and 2 - 4 p.m. on a walk-in basis. The current flu vaccine offers protection for the current influenza strain present in the community. Distinguished Teacher Award nomination deadline is Friday, February 4, 2011. Amit and Meena Chakma Award for Exceptional Teaching by a Student nomination deadline is Friday, February 11, 2011. More info under Awards at http://cte.uwaterloo.ca. Exchanges for Undergraduates and Graduates - 2011/2012 academic years: Ontario to Rhone-Alpes, France, Ontario to Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany. Scholarships available. Application deadline is January 21. Ontario to Micefa, Paris, France. Application deadline is March 14. For info and application forms, please contact Maria Lango, International Programs, Waterloo International, Needles Hall, Room 1113, or by email at mlango@uwaterloo.ca. Quick tips for green binning in winter – place cardboard or newspaper in bottom of bin ; layer food scraps with paper waste that will absorb liquid ; minimize the amount of liquid. For more info www.regionofwaterloo.on.ca/ waste. Professor Andre Roy has been appointed as Dean of the Faculty of Environment and tenure in the Department of Geography and environmental management. He is a highly respected leader, administrator and teach as well as internationally recognized. His appointments will begin on August 1, 2011.
VOLUNTEERING Shadow volunteers needed to be paired with new international students for winter, 2011. Show them around, help them socialize and make their stay at Waterloo more enjoyable. Make great friends and learn a new culture. Please apply at www.iso.uwaterloo.ca (under “about ISO”). Volunteer with a child at their school and help improve their selfesteem and confidence. Call Canadian Mental Health at 519-7447645, ext. 229. City of Waterloo has volunteer opportunities. For info call 519-8886478 or www.waterloo.ca/volunteer. The Distress Centre needs volunteers to provide confidential, supportive listening on our crisis and distress lines. Complete training provided. Call 519-744-7645, ext. 300. Volunteer Action Centre, 519-7428610 / volunteer@volunteerkw.ca, for all your volunteering needs! Volunteers needed – The English Tutor program is in constant need of volunteers to tutor international students. Volunteering is an essential part of student life at UW. Apply online at www.iso.uwaterloo.ca. Watch Movie Clips, Help Us For A Study — Looking for adult volunteers (18+) wearing glasses to participate in a study comparing two projection systems sponsored and in collaboration with Christie Digital Systems Canada Inc, under the supervision of Dr. Irving at the School of Optometry, University of Waterloo. Details of the study: As a participant you will be bussed to Galaxy Cinemas in Waterloo and be requested to view 8 short movie clips. Following each clip you will be requested to fill out questionnaires pertaining to the viewing experience. The total time commitment would be about 2 - 2.5 hours and you will be given $20 in appreciation for your involvement in the study. If interested call us at 519-888-4567 ext. 36969 or email Raiju at rjbabu@ uwaterloo.ca. This study has been reviewed by and recevied ethics clearance through the Office of Research Ethics, University of Waterloo. Books to Prisoners — New action group forming at WPIRG. All interested volunteers please send email to bookstoprisoners@lists.wpirg.org. RFL Volunteers Needed — UWaterloo Relay for Life will be held on Friday, March 11 from 7 pm to 7 am in the SLC and we need volunteers. Email uwaterloo.relayforlife@gmail. com for more information. UpTown Waterloo Ice Dogs Festival needs volunteers for their event on Saturday, February 19 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. A fun day of volunteering with an after-party. For info contact Sheila at smconnell@uwaterloo.ca or 519888-4567, ext 33203.
A Natural Way For Hair Removal
Minerva’s Body Sugaring 619 Wild Ginger Ave. Unit C-14
50% Off
(Laurelwood Dr. across from Sir John A MacDonald High School )
Waterloo, ON 519-744-2334 www.mybodysugaring.ca
Your first visit to body sugaring
CAREER SERVICES WORKSHOPS Thursday, February 3, 2011 Work Search Strategies – 2:30 to 4 p.m. TC 1208. Sign up required. Note: since the activities in this workshop build on the material presented in the online Work Search module (under marketing yourself) of the Career Development eManual, you will need to complete the Work Search online module as a first step before registering for this workshop. To access the module, go to cdm.uwaterloo.ca and select the UW student version of the Career Development eManual. Monday, February 7, 2011 Exploring Your Personality Type (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, Part 1) – 2:30 to 4 p.m., TC 1112. Sign up required. Note: there is a materials charge of $10 payable at Career Services prior to the first session. Once you have registered and paid the fee, you will be given information on how to complete the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) online. The online test must be completed at least a day in advance. Tuesday, February 8, 2011 Success on the Job – 2:30 to 4 p.m, TC 1208. Sign up required. Note: this workshop is geared towards students who have limited experience in the work world. Understanding Multiple-Mini Interview (MMI) – 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., TC 1208. Sign up required. Wednesday, February 9, 2011 Successfully Negotiating Job Offers – 2:30 to 4 p.m., TC 1208. Sign up required. Note: this workshop is geared towards graduating students. Thursday, February 10, 2011 The Power of LinkedIn – 2:30 to 3:30 p.m., TC 2218. Sign up required. Thinking About Med School? Perspectives of a Waterloo Grad – 6 to 9 p.m., TC 1208. Sign up required. Monday, February 14, 2011 Exploring Your Personality Type (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, Part 2) – 2:30 to 4:30 p.m., TC 1112. Sign up required one day in advance. Prerequisite: MBTI Part 1. Wednesday, February 16, 2011 Career Interest Assessment (Strong Interest Inventory) – 10 to 11:30 a.m., TC 1112. Sign up required one day in advance. Note: there is a materials charge of $10 payable at Career Services prior to the session. Once you have registered and paid the fee, you will be given information on how to complete the Strong Interest Inventory online. The online test must be completed a few days prior to workshop. Multi-Mini Interview (MMI) Practise Session – 4:30 to 7 p.m., TC 1214. This session will be conducted as a mock MMI. Note: registration is limited. To be eligible for this session you must attend the “Understanding the Mutiple-Mini Interview” workshop and provide a copy of your invitation to a 2010 MMI. Please come to the Career Services front counter, TC 1214, to register for this session. If you ae unable to attend this session, you can also book a “Professional School Mock Interview” through the Career services site by clicking on “appointments.” Monday, February 28, 2011 Interview Skills: Preparing for Questions – 2:30 to 4 p.m. TC 2218. Learn how to improve your performance in the job interview by viewing and discussing taped excerpts of actual interviews. Note: since the activities in this workshop build on the material presented in the online Interview Skills module (under Marketing Yourself) of the Career Development eManual, you will need to complete the interview Skills online module as a first step before registering for this workshop. To access the module, go to cdm.uwaterloo.ca and select the UW student version of the Career Development eManual.
Imprint, Friday, February 4, 2011 ads@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
UPCOMING EVENTS February 1 to 28, 2011 Rotunda Gallery presents “Maps of Obsession” by Collette Broeders. Reception February 3 from 5 to 7 p.m., City Hall, 200 King Street, W., Kitchener. For more info 519-741-3400, ext 3381. Homer Watson House & Gallery presents “Kitchener Waterloo Society of Artists” from February 5 to March 13. For info call 519-748-4377, ext 233 or exhibitions@homerwatson.on.ca. rare Charitable Research Reserve hosts a number of community events that we invite you to participate in. For more info www.raresites.org or 519-650-9336, ext 125. Tuesday, February 8, 2011 KW Theatre auditions are being organized for the spring showing of “Emma,” directed by Rachel Behling. Casting students aged 12 to 22. Please prepare a two-minute monologue of your choice that you feel relfects you best. Dates are February 8, 9, 10 from 7 to 9 p.m. For more info 519-829-0651 or rachelbehling@yahoo.ca. Friday, February 11, 2011 Feel the burn – heat things up with CARL (Community Adult Recreation Leagues) Registration opens today and closes April 7. Early bird of March 18 wins you prizes! For info www.waterloo.ca/carl. Monday, February 14, 2011 Bereaved Families of Ontario-Midwestern Region presents the following workshops at Luther Village on the Park on Mondays at 7 p.m. – “Grief and It’s Legacy” ; February 21 – “What is Typical Grief” ; February 28 – “Changed Relationships” ; March 7 – “Appropriate Support” ; March 14 – “Remembering Those Who have Died” ; March 21 – “Caring Respect.” For more info call 519-603-0196. Tuesday, February 15, 2011 2nd Annual SAF lecture series featuring Deborah Moor, President of Lloyd’s Canada, speaking on “the aftermath of the financial crisis: operating in an era of unmeasurable risks, uneasy regulators and politicians seeking retribution” at Hagey Hall, room 1101, Chartered Accountants Lecture Theatre from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. ; Reception - Don Craig Atrium from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Free event, RSVP seat 519-888-4973. The UW Ballroom Dance Club and Campus Recreation present Vanessa Lawson of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet for a lecture and demonstration on how ballroom influences ballet, from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. in BMH room 1621. This is a free event and all are welcome. For info www.uwbdc.ca or kwballroom@gmail.com. Wednesday, February 16, 2011 2011 Spring/Summer KW Minor Sports registration at Conestoga Mall, 550 King Street, N., Waterloo from 5:30 to 9 p.m. today and on Thursday, February 17. For more info www.waterloo.ca/minorsports. Saturday, February 19, 2011 UpTown Waterloo Ice Dogs Festival from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more info contact Sheila at 519-888-4567, ext 33203 or smcconnell@uwaterloo.ca. March 2011 Need help with your tax return? Free income tax clinics for persons with low incomes Monday and Tuesday evenings in March beginning Tuesday, March 1 at 105 University Ave., E., Suite 2, Waterloo. To book an appointment call Monday or Wednesday 519-885-6640 between 1 and 4 p.m.
STUDENT AWARDS & FINANCIAL AID
February 2011 OSAP will continue to be available for pick up by appointment ONLY from the Student Awards and Financial Aid Office until February 25. For all important deadlines and a full listing of scholarships and awards, please go to our web site, safa.uwaterloo.ca.
Classified HELP WANTED Weekend counsellors and relief staff to work in homes for individuals with developmental challenges. Minimum eight-month commitment. Paid positions. Send resume to Human Resources, K-W Habilitation Services, 108 Sydney Street, Kitchener, ON, N2G 3V2. Heuther Hotel is needing waitstaff/ servers. Please apply with resume to Heuther Hotel, 59 King Street, N., Waterloo.
HOUSING Student rental properties are available for rent close to UW. Clean, upgraded detached houses, townhouses, apartments and true loft space rentals available on many nearby streets including Lester, Sunview, University, and Hazel. Rentals to suit all group size from 1 to 13+. Many start dates available. Please contact Hoffaco Property Management — rent@hoffaco.com (preferred) or 519-885-7910.
Write for...
IMPRINT ARTS
POLITICS FEATURES SPORTS
S W E N
N O I PIN
O SCIENCE
ANYTHING NE:
PHO
519 888 4048
editor@imprint.uwaterloo.ca www.imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Science & Technology University of Waterloo driven to develop better roads The University of Waterloo [has a] long and successful history of expertise in transportation engineering...
“
“
— Adel Sedra, dean of Waterloo Engineering
Chinye Osamusali asst. science & technology editor
L
ast week, the University of Waterloo launched a new position at the Centre for Pavement and Transportation Technology: the Norman W. McLeod Chair in Sustainable Pavement Engineering. A professor of civil and environmental engineering at Waterloo,
Susan Tighe, was given the spot. She has done previous research in fields such as sustainable pavement engineering and management; designing and building safer roads and airfields; and developing and evaluating infrastructure management system components. In 2005, Canada had over $3 trillion worth of public infrastructure. All levels of Canada’s government were trying to direct their focus
towards physical infrastructure such as bridges, roads, and airports. That year, Waterloo opened a lab with a focus towards developing physical infrastructure. The John J. Carrick Pavement Engineering Laboratory of the Centre for Pavement and Transportation Technology (CPATT) allows the collaboration of experts from all related fields: transportation, consulting, construction, and materials engineering. The lab is located in the Engineering 3 Building on the University of Waterloo campus. Other CPATT facilities include a main field lab, a test site at the waste management facility in Waterloo and several satellite test sites. According to the new release, Adel Sedra, the Dean of Waterloo Engineering stated, “The University of Waterloo [has a] long and successful history of expertise in transportation engineering, and in particular, roads and pavements research and education.” The goal of the centre is to provide knowledge for any future investments the government is trying to make in the physical infrastructure field. The lab continues to develop the research that started with a program in the ‘60s in the Civil Engineering department at the university.
Imprint, Friday, February 4, 2011 science@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
The new chair is going to focus on advanced pavement research, collaborative projects with industry, and graduate student teaching and supervision. New technology will be introduced such as Superpave technology, which reduces asphalt pavement rutting and thermal cracking. The end result of all of this will hopefully be safer roads for drivers and a healthier environment, all at the hand of green pavement technology. It is important to find ways to preserve and replace the infrastructure. The Centre for Pavement and Transportation Technology aims to do as such. It is driven by a focus on structural design and safety, new technologies, engineering and its applications, field evaluation methods, and the processing of new data and information. Sedra believes the faculty and facilities is what lead to the success of the centre. “The Centre for Pavement and Transportation Technology has been at the forefront of exceptional research, training, and professional activities. This success is rooted in the experienced and highly skilled faculty members, as well as the state-of-the-art facilities.” —With files from University of Waterloo
Big Screens, Little Screens, 3D Screens Chinye Osamusali asst. science & technology
editor
A 3-D phone without the 3-D glasses
In the aftermath of the Consumer Electronics Show, it was discovered that one of the main trends of the year will be 3-D devices. The setback of most of these devices, however, is that they all require 3-D glasses to work. However, the latest news from the Digital Trends website is that LG is coming out with a new Smartphone, the Optimus 3-D, that has three-dimensional capabilities, no glasses needed. According to Digital Trends, this exciting technology will be revealed at the Mobile World Congress this month. LG is leading the glasses-free 3-D phone revolution, borrowing technology from Nintendo. The parallax barrier is the technology that allows the screen to present a 3-D image. The site also outlined that the phone will not only have top-notch 3-D technology, but it has been rumoured to have many other benefits as well. For example, the Android device will have a dual-lens camera, which allows someone to record a moment and have it played back in 3-D on the screen. The screen will be approximately 11cm and will have a resolution of around 400 x 800 pixels. Digital Trends mentioned that it is important for this phone to be able to turn the 3-D capabilities on and off so that consumers do not develop headaches. Digital Trends assumes the phone’s predecessor, the Optimus 2X, will be the foundation for the other capabilities the phone will have, such as the 8GB of storage and the 1080p video recording/playback. Recently, LG has been surprising the phone world with incredible technology. Their latest phone, the Optimus Black, has a screen that gives the iPhone 4 a run for its money. Digital Trends presumes that if this phone is both affordable and usable, consumers will love it.
Big screen televisions becoming large screen computers
The Digital Trends website points out that the race to perfect the concept of surfing the internet on your television screen is very much still in progress. Along with Google, Sony has been developing the technology to let a person use his/her 24-, 32-, 40- or 46-inch high definition screen to browse favourite websites. The Sony Internet TV, according to Digital Trends, is the most promising technology in its field thus far. As described by the site, Sony’s Internet TV is very similar to Google’s device. It gives access to television and movie streaming sites, such as NetFlix. With Flash, you can access a full Web browser and almost all the same things as if working on a laptop. The user has the option to find connectivity through WiFi or an Ethernet cable. Of course, the user will still be able to watch over-the-air and cable broadcasts so that they can watch live TV while browsing the Web. What makes this device more unique to Sony, as outlined by Digital Trends, is the features that are commonly found on any other Sony device: 1080p upscaling, MPEG noise reduction, and media playback. Sony is also known for offering an environmentally-friendly products. In this case, the Internet TV comes with a lower power consumption option. Sony also offers audio and headphone outputs, video inputs, and USB inputs. As complicated as all of the features sound, the device is simple to start up. One just has to plug in the power cord and turn it on. It takes you through the setup step-by-step. Digital Trends mentions that all of this technology still has a lot of room for improvement, but it is a good concept, and once the holes are fixed, it may become more attractive to consumers.
Alcina Wong
EBook titles surpass paperback in sales
Many people were skeptical when the idea of eBooks was first announced. They thought that these online and computerized versions of popular title will lead to the death of the paperback book. These predictions could be coming true. A recent new release by Amazon.com has claimed that the Kindle books are now the most popular book form that the company sells. Amazon.com does not want to release how many Kindle devices have been sold to consumers. It has only hinted that the result is in the millions. Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com, in a statement, revealed that the sale of books is not decreasing—the sale of eBooks is just increasing. The news release stated that for every 100 paperback copies sold of a book, there were 115 Kindle book editions sold. What may draw consumers to the Kindle “eBook-shelf ” may be the prices and the wide
selection that Amazon.com offers. According to the new release, the Kindle Store has a circulation of over 800,000 books. Almost 85 per cent of these books are sold for less than $10. The selection offered by Kindle is close to that of any other bookstore and provides an abundance of classic novels and bestsellers. There are also free Kindle apps that can be added to Smartphones and computers. These apps allow its users to buy Kindle books, read them right off the screen, and have access to hundreds of newspapers and magazines. The numbers in the news release demonstrates that the increase in sales has benefitted Amazon.com in more than one way. The company’s net income has increased 28 per cent, pushing them over the $1 billion mark for the year 2010. Amazon.com is expecting to continue their impressive growth as it progresses into the new year. —With files from Digital Trends and Amazon.com
Science & Technology
Imprint, Friday, February 4, 2011
13
Going back to basics Ivan Lui staff reporter
Genetic linkages to Parkinson’s disease
Further studies into Parkinson’s disease, a degeneration of the nerves, have revealed more evidence that the disease may be genetic. Five new genes have been found to have an effect on an individual’s chances of having the disease. This new discovery increases the number of genes that have been determined to can affect Parkinson’s to 11. The study, published in the journal Lancet, could potentially aid in narrowing down the search to finding the exact cause of the disease. Once thought to be purely environmental, scientists now know that it is the genetic makeup of an individual that causes the disease to develop. Parkinson’s affects those who are entering the later stages of life. Some believe that a loss of nerve cells in the brain might also cause this disease. “Discovering five new genes is an exciting step forward and will help us understand more about why and how nerve cells die,” said Prof. Nick Wood, from London’s Institute of Neurology and one of the lead researchers of the study. “These findings significantly add to the knowledge base of the increasingly complex picture of the molecules that can cause Parkinson’s. We hope that by studying them more closely, new research avenues will open up.” The study included samples from 12,000 people. While some in the group sample may have chances of developing this disease, it does not mean that they will have the disease later on in their life.
In doing this research, scientists hope that they will find the pathway towards the disease and hopefully prevent it. This can only be done if a specific gene, or genes, can first be identified. Dr. Thomas Gasser of the German Centre for Neurodegenerative Diseases said, “There are more risk factors to Parkinson’s Disease than we had imagined and this is not the end of the story.” Mourning the dead— chimpanzees too?
Research done on chimpanzees that was published in American Journal of Primatology concluded that mother chimpanzees demonstrate unique activity or behaviour towards their dead children. Some examples of such behaviour would be staring down at the body of a dead infant while placing a finger on the neck, or placing the body on a surface and then walking away to stare from a distance. The motherchild relationship is one of the most important in chimpanzee life. Typically, the mother carries a newborn for up to two years. A team studying a group of chimpanzees in the Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage Trust in Zambia observed a mother who had an infant die at 16-months-old. For days after its death, the mother continued to carry the dead infant on her back. It was only after the mother put down the body, which did not respond, that the mother carried it towards the rest of the chimps to have it examined. The study was a collaboration between Dr. Katherine Cronin and Edwin Van Leeuwen from the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguis-
tics, Innocent Chitalu Mulenga from the Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage, and Dr. Mark Bodamer, a professor of Psychology at Gonzaga University in Washington state, USA. Previous studies on chimpanzees and other non-human mammals have yet to show this kind of behaviour. “These data contribute to a small but growing body of data on how non-human primates respond to death,” said Cronin. “We hope these objective accounts will continue to accumulate and eventually allow researchers to take a comprehensive look at the extent to which nonhuman primates understand death, and how they respond to it.” Asia reverses forest loss
While forest loss in Africa and Latin America has increased the demand for food, areas in China, Vietnam, the Philippines, and India have regained some of their forest areas. Although areas within North America and Europe have also seen an increase, Asia’s has been the fastest. Findings came out of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) State of the World Forest report. Environmentalists suggest that, despite the fact that the forests may be returning, the biodiversity within older forested areas should be cared for as well. The initiatives that came with the report were aimed at raising awareness about trees and their conservation. One tactic of the FAO requires pushing world governments to find ways of producing income without having to clear down sections of forests. It would be even better if governments did not chop down trees at all. Forested areas now cover just barely one third of the earth’s
TIME FOR A CHANGE? How about Award Winning Chicken Wings ... Delivered right to your door ...
VOTED BEST WINGS IN K-W, 2 YEARS IN A ROW!!
Courtesy Thomas Lersch/Wikimedia Commons
Researchers observe chimpanzees to further studies on nonhuman primate responses to death surface which is less than 40 million square kilometres. The average loss in the last decade was approximately 50,000 square kilometres. This was an improvement from the 83,000 square kilometre loss experienced during the decade before. Previously, Europe held the record with the most forested area, but now it has been taken over by Asia. “China has increased its forest by three million hectares (30,000 sq km) per year– no country has ever done anything like this before, it’s
an enormous contribution,” said Eduardo Rojas-Briales, assistant director-general of the FAO’s forestry department. “But we can also highlight the case of Vietnam, a small and densely populated country that’s implemented very smart and comprehensive forest reform. Or India, which has not controlled its population as China has and where standards of living are even lower.” —With files from BBC News and Science Daily
GLOBAL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT POSTGRADUATE CERTIFICATE One smart career choice. So many opportunities. The Choice The Global Business Management program prepares you for a wide range of careers. Pursue a career in marketing, finance, advertising, international trade, retail, wholesale or supply chain management, in domestic or international businesses of any size. The Opportunities Two years gives you the time to choose the specific path that is right for you. Two work placements allow you to experience more than just one option before you graduate. Apply now!
www.wingsup.com Waterloo: 65 University Ave., E. ; 519-725-5252 Kitchener: 2399 Kingsway Drive ; 519-893-0202
business.humber.ca
14
News
Imprint, Friday, February 4, 2011
SENATE - AT LARGE WHY HE’S RUNNING: “I am running for Senate because this position will allow me to have a strong voice for, and among all six faculties at University of Waterloo. Overall, I am running for Senate because the undergraduate population needs to be reassured that their interests are being protected, their tuition is being respected, and of course, that they remain the most valuable aspect of this university.” PLATFORM: “With the rising costs of a univer-
sity degree, Waterloo students must be reassured that they are the most important asset of the institution. If elected, I will advocate for student participation and engagement in all aspects of their academic career.”
WHY HE’S RUNNING: “I want to make Waterloo
a better university and a better community. I have proven my motivations for helping students and advancing the university though my involvement across campus including three years as a Senator, two years on the Board of Governors, EngSoc President, WEEF Director, and my more than 100 contributions to Imprint.”
PLATFORM:
1. More active student Senators: “Student Senators should take initiative to address the challenges we face. Every decision that comes to Senate has already passed through a council or committee. We can and should still introduce our own priorities to the process.” 2. Fairness for undergraduates: “While I’m
WHY SHE`S RUNNING: “I can bring a lot of
valuable experience to the table, including a seat as 2011-2012 Arts Councillor, current Senator AtLarge, Undergraduate Student Relations Committee member, and Education Advisory Committee member.”
PLATFORM:
1. Greater accountability for tuition fee increases: “Our education is funded primarily by provincial operating grants and tuition money. Because provincial operating grants are decreasing, tuition must increase to maintain the same standards of service provision from year-to-year. I think there needs to be greater transparency and accountability over where the extra 4.5-6 per cent is being spent each year.
MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUE: “The most important issue we will face in the coming year is ensuring that undergraduate students continue to receive an exceptional level of education; we must uphold the expectation that undergraduate students are being supported in both their faculties and by university administration.” INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE: “As I have said
throughout this campaign, I am a strong advocate for student involvement and engagement in all aspects of academics and one’s university career. It is my intention to involve all six faculties in making informed decisions at Senate; this will increase student engagement and strengthen the voice of undergraduate population. More importantly, however, because students will have
sure both we and the admin are proponents of the university, our different perspectives result in different policy decisions. We need to identify issues like this to ensure that undergraduates are treated fairly.” 3. Protecting the undergraduate experience: “As campus gets more crowded and there are more demands on students’ time and resources, we need to work to protect the undergraduate experience and the quality of our education, in and out of the classroom.” MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUE: “Unfortunately, the overriding issue for undergraduate students is the cost of our education. While Senate does not set tuition levels, student Senators can work to ensure that undergraduates are treated fairly
2. Increasing issue awareness 3. Seeking student input on the future of Orientation Week.” MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUE: “Looking forward, I think the biggest issue that myself and the other Senators should address is issue awareness amongst the student body. There are many available yet highly underused channels for dialogue and advocacy between students and decision makers. I think our focus should be promoting these channels in an easy, accessible, and highly visible way.” INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE: “My hope is that one year from now, our student body will have a better idea of how they can get in touch with student representatives to voice their opinions and
a strong voice representing their needs, the university will be able to reaffirm its commitment to providing us with an exceptional quality education, in addition to resources that truly address the issues that students have.” WHY CARE WHAT SENATE DOES: “As I have
mentioned, Senate is the highest academic decision-making board at the university. All aspects of our education and experience are discussed and voted on within Senate. With that being said, it is crucial that students have a powerful representation and a strong voice when engaging in discussions concerning our tuition, the future outlook of programs/departments/faculties, and the overall functioning of the university.”
Jeff Bunn with student-aid policy and change how deregulated tuition is applied to off-term courses.” INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE: “Terms of of-
fice are two years, but in one year I intend for the student body to be better informed about academic issues and better able to offer input to undergraduate Senators.”
WHY CARE WHAT SENATE DOES: “Students do care about what Senate does to the extent that it affects their lives and their educations. The breakdown is a lack of communication. Students aren’t aware of those issues. I receive current Senator Reemah Khalid’s tweets from the Senate chamber. I will add to and build on her work in sharing Senate issues with students.”
Ryan Chen-Wing
concerns. Realistically, I don’t expect students to have a thorough understanding of the governance structure of Feds or UW, but I think they should at least have some idea of who they can contact, for what reasons, and how they can contact that person.” WHY CARE WHAT SENATE DOES: “Senate is
the largest academic decision making body at the university. They control everything from course requirements to important dates to finances (aka your tuition)! These are some of the most powerful and influential factors that govern a student’s life. But students can only begin to care about them if they are informed, so the first step will be implementing my communications strategy as outlined above.”
Heather Mawhinney
SENATE - MATH WHY HE’S RUNNING: “I think I can drastically
improve the transparency of Senate, and help make the student body more informed. I’ve also always had an interest in the happenings of Senate.”
PLATFORM:
1. “Improved transparency 2. “Have multiple communication methods (Facebook, Twitter, office hours, email, in person, other things I’d like to do but can’t guarantee at this moment)
WHY HE’S RUNNING: “I am running primarily because I believe that not enough math students are aware of what’s going on in the larger university scope.” PLATFORM:
1. “I will hold regular office hours somewhere whenever I’m on campus. I will advertise these hours so that students know that they can come talk to me to ask about what is going on and to discuss concerns.” 2. “I will write summaries of each Senate meeting to mathNEWS and to any other convenient places.” 3. “If the Senate’s timing permits it, I would like to deliver a presentation to inform the Senate, which contains most of the highest-
3. “Trying to improve student experience” STUDENT ISSUE: “The biggest issue is lack of understanding what Senate does. Or for something less broad, what role the student transition office will play.”
MOST IMPORTANT
INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE:
“People will know what Senate does, and why it’s important.”
ranking university officials, of the comments and concerns held by math students.” MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUE: “I believe that the biggest issue that will come up before students in the coming year (and in the second year of the math Senator term) is the size of admissions and the resulting impact on class sizes and space availability. There are currently math classes and tutorials being held in PAS and CPH, and this is not a sustainable position for math.” WHY CARE WHAT SENATE DOES: “Students
should care about what the Senate does for all the same reasons that voters should know about any government. While the Senate seems remote
“The transition office will becoming a major success in both increased retention and improving student experience.” WHY CARE WHAT SENATE DOES: “[Students]
should care because every decision will have an effect on them, whether it be in an academic sense, where their money is spent, or what new initiatives get started. I’ll make them care by letting them see what important decisions are made. Seeing is believing as they say.”
Jesse McGinnis
and removed from students, it regularly makes (or at least approves) decisions that directly affect students. More importantly, the presentations and reports at the Senate provide a view into the workings of the university, which often seem mysterious to students. “I will do my best to make students care by being a direct communication channel in both directions for students. A big reason for disillusionment in any government is the perspective of the inability make any influence. If I can help make students feel that they have a voice in the workings of the university and also let them know what’s going on, then I believe that increased interest will follow naturally.”
Sean Hunt
News
Imprint, Friday, February 4, 2011
15
SENATE - ENGINEERING WHY HE’S RUNNING: “Over my past four years here, my tuition has gone up while the quality of my education has gone down. Our classes are crowded; we can’t get enrolled into the courses we want, we interact less with professors, but still our tuition goes up. I’m running to ensure that the education and support services the students expect from the university are available, so that we as students can focus towards earning our degrees.” PLATFORM: “My plan primarily centres on creat-
Trevor Jenkins
ing a united voice among all levels of engineering student representatives, and presenting students’ concerns at all levels of the university. Students do have a large amount of input on academic issues within engineering through the classreps, the VP educations and presidents of EngSoc, Feds councillors, the VP education of Feds, and the engineering Senator. My plan is to bring all these representatives together to ensure that the same
WHY HE’S RUNNING: “I am running for this
position to represent the engineering undergrad students and try and help them with their most precious commodity: time. I want to increase the percentage of students that are aware of Senate decisions by making the information very concisely and readily available to them on the mediums that they frequent: Facebook and Twitter.”
PLATFORM: “My platform is that students need to
be able to express their opinions and know that their opinions are valued. I aim to find some way of allowing [students] to quickly state their opinions in the form of tweets or short emails/texts that can actually find their way to the Senate.”
Jordan Lui
MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUE: “Student space is an issue that is quickly becoming worrisome as most faculties are growing and accepting more students, but few faculties are doing much
WHY HE’S RUNNING: “Education is something
that I’ve always been passionate about. The quality of education and administration is the foundation of student life at any school, Waterloo included. Senate is the place where such major issues, which affect all students (not just engineering ones), are finally discussed and addressed.”
PLATFORM: “I plan to expand the scope of
Ben Selby
the Senator position to include a large, formal network of communication. This involves working with engineering executives and establishing a council of department representatives so that department changes are always monitored. I also plan to expand outgoing communication channels such as using social media to inform students. Lastly, I plan to implement a reliable and accessible paper trail concerning the history of Senate-addressed issues so that students and incoming senators can be better informed on
WHY HE’S RUNNING: “I want to extend the
success I have had as an academic representative to a larger scale. I love meeting people, and as Senator I can continue to network with Waterloo’s talented engineers. I want to help the student body by doing my best to keep the prestigious UW engineering program working effectively for them. This position will be extremely rewarding by offering more responsibility and a fantastic learning opportunity.”
Adhiran Thirmal
message from students is being passed on at all levels, to ensure that the university knows what students actually want.” MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUE: “The biggest issue facing engineering right now is undergraduate and graduate student growth. Each year the faculty sees record enrolment which means crowded classes, more competition to get into courses, more courses taught by grad students, and less interaction between students and instructors. There’s no problem with growing, however we need to make sure it’s controlled, manageable, and that it doesn’t impact the quality of education. Going forward, I would like to see the university tie its growth to key performance indicators (KPIs) to ensure that current students’ needs are being met.” INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE: “In one year’s time,
of anything to facilitate this growth. Engineering is growing particularly well in terms of enrolment as well as buildings; but I believe the focus is quickly shying away from the undergraduate experience and into the graduate experience, as I saw in the planning of the Faculty/Graduate oriented E6 plans. I intend to address this issue by making sure that an undergraduate voice is brought to the table to negotiate these classroom and lab layouts.” INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE: “The student
I hope engineering students will be able to name, off the top of their heads, all the major academic issues that had come up over the past year. Being informed is the first step to being involved, and, as we saw with the students’ reaction to the original proposed changes to Orientation Week, when students care, they’ll be willing to take a stand.” WHY CARE WHAT SENATE DOES: “As the highest
academic body at the university, Senate ultimately controls students’ education. While extra-curricular and intramurals add value to our education, we are all ultimately here to learn and get the best education we can. I hope to help convey the importance of the power Senate has by continuing with Iron Warrior updates, EngSoc meeting announcements, and being readily available to students, whether in POETS, at an event, online, or just in the hallway. I want to make sure students understand what’s going on, and speak up what they have to say.”
or regular submissions to the Iron Warrior/Imprint with longer explanations of Senate decisions, but I also want to keep the shortest possible list of updates that can be tweeted to students to increase the chance that they read them.” WHY CARE WHAT SENATE DOES: “Students
should care about what Senate does because the decisions made there will affect the most fundamental facet of your student experience, your courses.
experience will be especially impacted in the junior engineers, who I feel often take a while to get adjusted to the events and issues of EngSoc, Feds, and Senate. My goal is to try and inform them specifically, so that they will take in interest into the actions of Senate. “I also will be making a concise summary of Senate decisions and how the affect students. I will aim to keep a blog and/
A decision made here can affect what courses will be available in the process of getting your degree, how much you’ll pay for those courses, or who will be teaching those courses. Students often do have strong opinions about the courses that are offered or more commonly the professors who are teaching them, and Senate is where the actions can happen to serve those opinions.”
previous issues and therefore better prepared to deal with upcoming ones.”
the school, more likely to speak up and be heard. Student interest will be easier to defend and the decisions made by Senate will better represent the popular opinion. Working with the senators of other faculties to do the same means students of all faculties can speak up and be satisfied.”
MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUE: “The amount
of study space on campus is something I plan to make a personal issue. While this is not necessarily something that Senate deals with directly, it is certainly one which Senate affects in terms of what department changes are made, the addition of graduate student space, and otherwise. Study space is undoubtedly lacking and this needs to change. This means advocating with Feds councilors and working on a department and faculty level to ensure sufficient study space for students on campus.”
INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE: “My goal is to have
all engineering students know what the Senate is, what is being discussed, and how they can voice their opinions. This means that students will be more informed and interested in current issues at
The extending divide can be resolved by encouraging mentoring programs and workshops (ie. resume critiques, frosh mentoring, etc). Establishing a connection between younger students and upper years is one of the few ways students prosper in the treacherous Waterloo engineering curriculums.” INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE: “Engineering
students will be more aware of issues discussed in Senate, which allows the black box known as PLATFORM: “Inform students about issues that administration to become more transparent. My concern them, and hold administration more proven track record of success in UW student poliaccountable by raising concerns engineering tics began by making the MME department discuss and resolve critical issues that my classmates raised. students have.” My approachable personality and ability to always MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUE: “As the make time for fellow students allows issues to be engineering campus extends further, first years openly raised. I am a man of action who is ready and upper years are getting more disconnected. to get things done.”
WHY CARE WHAT SENATE DOES: “Students should care about what Senate does because the decisions they make directly affect them and right now many students don’t even realize it or know what Senate is. This is the highest academic governing board, the propositions they pass are the ones that everyone has to live with! Senate is where things like a shortened Orientation Week and degree requirement changes are discussed. These are issues that everyone would be affected by, but only a few know about. Finding ways to tell people what Senate is and what is currently being discussed is key to getting people interested in Senate and student politics as a whole.
WHY CARE WHAT SENATE DOES: “Senate is
one of the few connections students have in terms of where their several hundred million dollars will be used. Senators are responsible for collaborating with students about critical issues to make an informed decision on their behalf. My extensive network includes numerous academic representatives, the EngSoc VP education candidate Owen Coutts and EngSoc presidential candidate Alessia Danelon. Giving students access to pertinent information surrounding senate issues through my extensive network will allow students to care. Giving students an opportunity to speak up is a crucial role of the engineering Senator. From LGBTQ people to members of various cultural societies, giving someone a voice is the main prerequisite to getting them to care.”
16
News
Platform: “In short, the goal of my platform is
to identify what the Federation of Students already has and make sure it’s working correctly.”
MOST IMPORTANT STUDENTS ISSUES:
1. Off campus housing: “Bylaw revisions presented by the City of Waterloo at the start of the year clearly targeted the quality and safety of housing, but did so without regard to cost or availability. Working with the city and the university, I hope to push a more balanced revision of the proposal.” 2. Cost of education: “In conjunction with the VPED, I plan to work with OUSA and CASA to push for better cost sharing models and improvements to student loan programs provincially and nationally. In conjunction, I also plan to advocate for the adoption of alternatives to
Imprint, Friday, February 4, 2011
buying textbooks.” 3. Non-academic campus space at a premium: “I plan to continue Brad Moggach’s work on a revised Student Services Complex proposal with a larger share of the building being paid for by the university.” INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE: “The Federation will
be more recognizable in every day student life, and as such I believe that students will be informed and thus able to choose which student life offerings they would like to participate in.”
FEDS’ RELATIONSHIPS: “Feds needs to have a rela-
tionship with the students it serves such that students feel able to access the offerings of their student union, and generally know where to find what they’re looking
for or where to ask for assistance. It also needs to be able to ascertain the opinion of its students much more effectively than at present.” “Feds relationship with the university needs to grow to the point where the student union and university can see each other eye to eye, rather than having the kid type relationship it has now, where the students feel the university is pushing Feds on issues or seeing Feds as subservient to the university.” WHY VOTE FOR HIM: “I’ve been involved in the
Federation of Students as a councillor for the last four years and a director for the past two. I believe that my passion for the position is demonstrated by my past dedication and that students should vote for me based on my passion and experience.
VICE PRESIDENT ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE
PLATFORM: “If elected, I promise to convert Feds
to the gold standard, and escrow all gold in private offshore accounts. For greater financial security, I promise to increase the difficulty of all transactions within Feds tenfold. I will increase waiting times at the Bomber such that students are not pressured to leave, and may better enjoy the friendly atmosphere. Finally, I plan to replace occurrences of red tape with flax yellow tape.”
MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUE: “Students
will face the prospect of an efficient and able group of Feds services working for them. To resolve this issue, I aim to dismantle effective Feds services and
PLATFORM: “My platform outlines actions that would not only continue our corporation to remain fiscally responsible, but also lead to further growth and stability of our corporation. MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUE: “The di-
rection that our agreement with GRT we have is probably going to be the most important issue this upcoming year. The GRT service is one that falls under the portfolio of the VPAF and if elected, I will ensure students continue getting the best service at the lowest prices. I will also consult with students at-large and get feedback about the current service GRT is offering.”
INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE: “I will work towards
educating our student body as to where their fees go, how they are managed and the options they have. Moreover, one year from now I hope to make students experience a much more transparent Feds that they trust, and are proud of.”
replace them with casually organized, ineffective alternatives.”
INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE: “Since it seems that most students do not pay attention to Feds, I doubt the experience of most students will change.” FEDS’ RELATIONSHIPS: “Feds should have a domi-
neering, profiteering relationship with services and businesses. Feds lacks this relationship due to the storage of assets in non-gold form. I will make this relationship happen by converting all financial assets to the gold standard.”
FEDS’ RELATIONSHIPS: “The Federation of Stu-
dents should maintain a professional relationship with its services and businesses. If elected, I will continue the level of professionalism the Federation of Students has with its staff and volunteers by being available to my staff, and providing them the resources they need to work for the best interests of all undergraduate students.”
ACCOUNTABILIT Y OF BUSINESSES AND SERVICES: “I believe our services are accountable
to the Federation of Students. As far being fiscally responsible, historically they have not spent more than budgeted for on average. Under spending however has been an issue with our services.” “Our businesses as a whole have been fiscally responsible and accountable to the Federation of Students. Yes there are those businesses that can should be self sustaining, and not need student money to maintain daily operations such as the
VICE PRESIDENT INTERNAL
PLATFORM: “Essentially, I believe that it is about
empowering the services and clubs into being as successful as I know they can be. My goal, and job, as VP Internal is to support them and provide the resources and contacts for them to improve.”
MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUE: “Services have
limited space, and clubs have little to no space. No one knows the space and resource needs of services, societies and clubs more than the people directly involved in them, and the VP Internal is their voice within the executive body.”
INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE: “Students will be more
aware, and will more directly benefit from the services provided by the Feds services. Club management will be more streamlined and friendly to those looking
PLATFORM: “It should be about knee high and
made of wood once it is complete. It currently lacks completeness because of a volunteer strike among the Rhinos.”
MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUE: “The most
important issue I will face in the upcoming year is the complete lack of fear towards Feds amongst the common students. To address this issue I will work with the other exec to redesign Feds in a renaissance period re-imagining of Gothic architecture. This will serve to inspire students with an appropriate amount of fear and respect when they look upon our seat of power.”
INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE: “After consulting
my Magic 8 ball, the outcome looks murky. I feel
to start a club or get involved with an existing club. Societies will feel that they have someone that they can come to as a resource, a problem solver, and to engage in collaboration initiatives.” STUDENT SUPPORT INITIATIVE HE’D LIKE TO PASS: “The current clubs administration system is
a huge, unwieldy system that is currently too big for those involved. I think that a new strategy needs to be devised that will allow the clubs to be managed more easily, allow for more empowerment of their executives, and to free up time of the VP Internal to work on improving programs for both services and club.”
BEST AND WORST STUDENT LIFE PROGRAMS:
“In my opinion, the best student life program at Waterloo is Campus Recreation. The organization
that many of the Rhino party policies may have unforeseen side-effects on student life. Perhaps the students will revolt under their new overloads, most likely within 30 days of us taking office. Thus once we have taken office, we will alert Police Services to ensure that there is no real problem.” STUDENT SUPPORT INITIATIVE HE’D LIKE TO PASS: “I find that all student support initiatives are
working in the wrong direction. We shouldn’t be supporting students, they should be supporting us.”
BEST AND WORST STUDENT LIFE PROGRAMS:
“I spent 20 minutes and asked around, no one I talked to has any idea what student life offers as programs. I now believe that since no-one can name any of the services, I will take the stance that
PRESIDENT
Matt Colphon Ian Charlesworth
PLATFORM: “My platform is about one foot high, made of wood, and still under construction. The campaign volunteer who was building it has, in a truly Rhino fashion, not fulfilled promises to have it done by the end of January.” MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUES: 1. Increasing cost of utility bills: “If elected, I will lobby the university to move its main campus to Dubai, where heating bills are a significantly smaller part of the average student’s budget.” 2. Inaccessibility, or inconvenience of accessing, certain areas of campus: “For example, reaching the 10th floor of the DP Library during a power outage requires navigating an unacceptable number of stairs. Thus if elected, I will organise protests to force the Canadian government to consider repeal-
ACCOUNTABILITY OF BUSINESSES AND SERVICES:
PLATFORM: “It is about one foot high, three inches
WHY VOTE IN THE ELECTION: “To prevent
MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUE: “I haven’t
“Feds businesses and services are quite poor in this manner. The issue will be resolved with more gold.”
square on top, and made of scrap wood scrounged in the engineering shops.”
takeover of Feds executive positions by unqualified or maniacal candidates.”
seen enough of Canada as an international student. I intend to address this by expanding OUSA and CASA’s subcommittees and special focus groups, so that I may attend more policy conferences on student dime to see more of Canada.”
WHY VOTE FOR HIM: “Who said I am the best
candidate for VPAF? Why would students vote for me?”
NOTE: “It is Rhinoceros platform promise to keep
no promises.”
INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE: “They’ll have pictures
Bomber.”
Edgar Bering
WHY VOTE IN THE ELECTION: “Because it’s the
officials that you put in to office that will shape the future of the businesses, services and support you will be using every day during your university career.”
WHY VOTE FOR HIM: “Having the opportunity to serve as a councillor, sitting on numerous committees within the Federation of Students, alongside taking part in extra-curricular activities, work, and studies in business and mathematics, I feel that I have the experience needed to make me a qualified candidate for filling the portfolio of VPAF. My experience working closely with UW clubs, societies, staff, students, faculties, administration and the Feds itself, the diverse knowledge, industry experience and technical skills Team Real and myself possess, will help contribute to further growth and betterment of the Feds.”
of me touring Canada. Also, closer to home, with rents going up I will make supplies to construct slum housing available to students so they can build leantos and squat on north campus until rents go down.”
Marc Burns
PLATFORM: “In addition to raising the profile of the
VP Education role and making it more accessible to students, I have divided my platform into the three key areas that are influenced by the Vice President of Education: affordability & accessibility, education quality, and co-op.
MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUE:
Prashant Patel Natalie Cockburn
1. Affordability of education: “Currently there are three major issues threatening the overall affordability of education: tuition prices, access to student funding, and accessibility of student housing.” 2. Education quality: “There is a huge gap between the expectations of administration/ faculty and students in terms of what constitutes a quality classroom experience. Students need PLATFORM: “Not including the obvious things such
as lobbying to different levels of government on a number of different issues and making sure students are getting what they pay for from a quality of education standpoint, my platform is to do what’s best for students from all forms and inform students of what the VP Education can do for you.”
is nearly entirely student run, and it is a great way to make money, stay active, and generally blow off some steam while having some fun with friends.” “I think all student life programs have an intent to make the student experience better, and to call them terrible does a disservice to the people that dedicate their time to that. Having said that, the student life program that needs the most work or improvement, in my opinion, is Warrior Weekends. While a great and necessary concept, I think there are a few fundamental problems.”
MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUE: “Unfortu-
nately, it is hard to predict the issues of tomorrow but in general there are many continuing issues that students continue to suffer with. One of the big issues are that of student success which starts with financial success. Student’s need to become more aware of the financial resources available to them from a wide variety of sources but specifically OSAP.”
WHY VOTE FOR HIM: “I am the best student for the
position because I have the experience and the track record to improve the quality of student life on this campus.”
Luke Burke
Andre Magalhaes
from now students will better understand everything PLATFORM:
1. “[To] use my past experience with student government to take an aggressive stance with the university on its implementation of policy, be it on PD, or co-op, or tuition, or social spaces on campus. 2. “[A] rigorous dedication to cost-cutting and reduction of waste wherever it is found. 3. “[A] dedication to improving the student experience at UWaterloo.”
none of them do anything that effects student life in a large scale.” WHY VOTE FOR HIM: “There are several key
reasons: 1. I have an awesome hat. 2. I don’t often run for Feds, but when I do, I win (at least metaphorically). 3. I will strive to save your life during the zombie apocalypse. 4. Failing Number 3, I will mourn your loss for at least five minutes before moving on. 5. It is rumoured that my beard has more experience than some of the other candidates. 6. I am possibly the most interesting man in this election.”
INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE: “If elected, a year
MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUE: “The most
John Stevenson Brian Maloney
important issue that students will face in the coming future is the continued dramatic rise in the costs associated with being an undergraduate. I feel that the Federation of Students’ finance should be in a reasonable position before we can claim to authoritatively represent the students of this university to the administration.”
ing the law of gravity, and make it clear that this is a voting issue in the upcoming national election. 3. Increasing difficult exams, lack of easy-toland and low-effort co-op jobs: To address both problems simultaneously, I will seek an agreement with the university whereby each undergraduate student will be paid the salary of a TA and granted co-op credit to mark his or her own exams. INFLUENCE ONTHE FUTURE: “Whereas now, the average University of Waterloo student is apathetic of Feds, at least somewhat motivated to study, and unable to crush rocks with the power of thought alone, in one year I hope to see that every University of Waterloo undergraduate recognises Feds as a name to be feared and awed, has no motivation to study, and has spent no less than 13 hours per day rollerblading down Ring Road.”
17
FEDS’RELATIONSHIPS: “I think that Feds relationship with the students should be much like that between a mother bear and her cub. That is, the student should be utterly unable to cope with the world without Feds there to guide them and tell them what to think, and Feds should actively seek to maul anyone else attempting to influence students thoughts, including (but not limited to) the media, their friends, politicians, their families, the spirits of their ancestors, and François Fillon. Feds relationship with the university, on the other hand, should be one of grudging surrender.” WHY VOTE FOR HIM: As we all know, the most exciting time of year is the Feds election. If elected, I have pledged to resign from office causing another election. Further, elections are a jolly good time, and it’s always great to have more of them.
VICE PRESIDENT EDUCATION
EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVE HE’D LIKE TO PASS: “A UW Moon program. The space program would alleviate the co-op jobs problem, provide vital research funds to professors and distract them from teaching classes, and bring prestige to the university administrators.”
BEST AND WORST EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS: “I
think the best program is co-op, and in particular the way the engineers have implemented the PD component. PD Eng is almost perfect, the only problem it has is they forgot a period in one memo about it, thus making it incomplete and requiring re-submission. “I think the worst educational program is the broad abundance of readings and seminar courses. These small, student-focused classes, give students the false impression that professors and the university to be better.”
INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE: “There will be a much stronger sense of community for UWaterloo students.Along with my fellow-executive I will work to make Feds more integrated into the daily lives of students, a priority that is integrated into Team REAL’s entire platform. I will also work to improve the overall relationship with the City of Waterloo, such that students feel a stronger sense of community and feel more at home in their city at large.” EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVE SHE’D LIKE TO PASS: “I would like to see a number of strategies for improved faculty-student engagement in the classroom implemented this year. The dissonance between faculty and studentsleads to a much lower perceived value by students.”
that the VP Education can do for them as well as every issue they have worked on for the students.” EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVE HE’D LIKE TO PASS:
“One of the most important initiatives is that of continued quality of education given to students both from the quality of teaching from professors and TAs as well as extracurricular tutoring services for students in need or looking ofor enrichment because the main reason students come to university is higher learning and its important to continually asset whether what is being provided is actually higher learning.” BEST AND WORST EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS:
at large actually care about them, which is a dangerous notion.” WHY VOTE IN THE ELECTION: “Without votes
the student government appears to be illegitimate. Students voting legitimizes my planned corruption. I guess if students for some insane reason didn’t want a corrupt government they could vote against that too, but really, anyone who has a problem with a corrupt government should contact me about receiving kickbacks. I’m sure that will change their mind.”
WHY VOTE FOR HIM: “I’m honest. I’ve made no attempts to sugar coat any of my more controversial positions. I promise to resign if elected. I promise to keep none of my promises. With a promise like that, students will not be let down.” WHY VOTE IN THE ELECTION: “It is critical that students vote in the Feds election, as we are your voice in all student issues, and your liaison to faculty and administration. It is not only important that students vote, but that students make an informed decision about who and what it is they are voting for.” WHY VOTE FOR HER: “Through my personal experiences with advocating for education quality, I have become energized and devoted to affordable and high quality education. Over the last six months I have worked hard to gain a deep understanding of the education portfolio, build relationships with the students currently involved, and to become educated on all of the critical issues and the ways in which they impact the UWaterloo student community.”
fix such as some employers treating co-op students as cheap labour oppose to helping society by teaching new skills to young minds or more specifically, having employers not treat students equally to that of other employees and taking advantage of the fact that they are not covered under the Employment Standard’s Act of Ontario.” WHY VOTE FOR HIM: “I’m the best candidate for the position because I am by far the most experienced. Many people make promises that they may or may not keep but I’ve proven through my positions to do my job the best way possible.”
“At the same time, I would consider [the co-op program] to be the best and the worst. Waterloo is known world wide for its co-op program and there is no doubt in my mind that it is an amazing program but there are also many issues with it that need to be
WHY VOTE IN THE ELECTION: “It’s important for students to vote in the Feds election because they are paying Feds term after term and they should have a say as to how their money is being spent and who will be responsible for that money.”
INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE: “I hope to stress the need for a personal relationship with the university administration. Confrontation has not proven to be effective. The student experience at UWaterloo should be much more transparent and enjoyable. Students need not fear Federation waste or ineffectiveness.”
by the wayside, even though they remain the largest faculty on campus with no chance to express their pan-arts pride. Environment, on the other hand, is a lesson in optimism and the value of faculty leadership. Environment might be relatively tiny, but the optimism provided by quality leadership from the university is infectious at times.”
EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVE HE’D LIKE TO PASS: “I support the expansion of [the co-op] program, the retirement of JobMine (good riddance!), the introduction of WaterlooWorks, and the restructuring of CECS. There is an immense value in this program and I believe it is the best way to set UWaterloo apart from the rest of the pack.” BEST AND WORST EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS:
“Arts students are routinely taught in gigantic class sizes, with practically no opportunity to meet and form a relationship with often distant professors. Arts students can be routinely browbeaten and thrown
WHY VOTE IN THE ELECTION: “The Federation controls vast sums of money and resources, and it is every voter’s duty to make sure these are applied efficiently and not wasted.” WHY VOTE FOR HIM: “I feel my experience with
the Arts Student Union is crucial; I have already met the people I would conceivably work with in this new position. This experience combined with my fervour to always stamp out waste is the one conceivable reason that a reasonable UWaterloo student should vote for me.”
18
News
Imprint, Friday, February 4, 2011
COUNCIL - SCIENCE PLATFORM: “There is a lack of communication
I’m finding between the current councillors which is effecting the communication between the undergrad students and Feds. I’ve already been working on trying to get the current councillors working more cohesively, but there is still much more work to do. Secondly, undergraduate students don’t understand specifically what we do as councillors, as well what Feds does for them. ”
MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUE: “One
of the most important issue is the Grand River Transit System. The busses seem to get more crammed with students and are just an overall unpleasant service that we’re paying for. I am already preparing to sit down with the current VP AF Sarah Cook on Wednesday to discuss the issues. She is also going to talk to me about possible changes to the routes that students use on a regular basis. Hopefully giving her the input I’ve received will help improve the quality of transportation for all undergraduate students.”
PLATFORM: “My platform consists of three main objectives. The first is to create a unified voice through centralized communication with the departmental clubs, SciSOC, Senate and Feds. My second platform point is to implement a consistent, tangible method by which students receive information from Feds. My third initiative will be to increase student awareness of the Campus Master Plan that was renewed in 2009. Through my first two platform goals, I hope to be able to engage students in conversations about this plan and discuss ways it can benefit them..”
MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUE: “One of
PLATFORM: “I am looking to increase com-
and then keeping them well-informed of issues and opportunities. Lastly, I would like to create school passion and pride, and use Feds as a platform to do so. Please view dubeforcouncil. tumblr.com for a more details on how I plan to make this happen.”
the largest issues is the lack of knowledge and understanding of potential leadership opportunities. I have met several students who are looking for ways to become involved in extra-curricular activities within Science and uWaterloo as a whole. As a councilor, I would have the unique opportunity to advertise Feds and Science specific leadership opportunities. I have concrete plans and ideas on how to deliver information to Science students and promote new opportunities to large groups of students who normally do not hear about potential extra-curricular opportunities. Through these initia-
INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE: “I am planning on promoting all the sub committee’s that Feds has to my fellow undergrad students, to show them all the opportunities they have to get involved with their student government. I am hoping in a year that more students (especially the incoming first years) will understand more clearly what Feds does.”
Ryan Cuzzi tives, we could encourage student involvement in leadership, which will promote new ideas within Feds and the University.” INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE: “I hope to increase
student exposure to Feds, SciSOC and various leadership opportunities within the faculty. An increased presence by Science councilors at events within student society, students will hopefully feel encouraged to explore the various opportunities and experiences that Feds and other societies and clubs can offer.”
student space, that it will be able to accommodate needs of a societal office, lounge, as well as the CnD.”
munication and knowledge of the students of the University of Waterloo. I plan to use my vast experiences on campus to create connections and make students aware of opportunities to get involved on campus, as well as issues currently being worked on through Feds. I hope to communicate this information mostly through social media platforms such as facebook, twitter and tumblr. I want to have a special focus on getting first years involved and informed, starting with orientation week and telling them what Feds is,
MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUE: “Every year enrollment is increasing for science, yet we have not seen an increase in student academic space, student study space, or student lounge space. If the space is planned and built to be
have done this before will be a large asset. There is no transition time for me in the summer, which is when I hope to make a lot of change within the university. I really hope to increase awareness of Feds and everything they do, and I would like to increase awareness of what a councillor does. ”
PLATFORM: “My platform has three pillars;
MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUE: “I think
in this new building.”
quality, communication, and space. I want to work with faculty and administrators to develop a Teaching Assistant training program within the Faculty of Science. I want to improve communication between Feds, the student body, and faculty by developing new outreach techniques such as blogging and writing for on campus publications. And finally, I want to improve the quality of student space by maintaining the space we already have and getting the student foot in the door now with the new science buildings being developed.” PLATFORM: “Science councillors need to work
together as a team to increase the awareness that a team of councillors exists to serve students. Science councillors should start by meeting the primary responsibly of a science councillor which is being present at science club meetings, events, and other gatherings targeted towards science students. There they will be able to talk to students about what they can do for them.”
the most important issue students will face next year will be the lack of student space. A new student services complex is being developed by Feds and I’m eager to see what it looks like and how I can help develop the building into something that better suits the needs of our students. Further more, a building is being developed within the Faculty of Science that undergraduates should play a large role in. A better location for SciSOC, the Science CnD, first year labs, and study space are all things that I think should be implemented
MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUE: “There is the need for a strategic plan to communicate effectively in a timely manner across the various parties involved before major decisions can be made (i.e communicating between FEDS, the student body and administration). I would like to collaborate with other FEDS representatives to improve the flaws of our communication system.”
Jonathan Cluett
INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE: “The fact that I
Nicole Dube
INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE: “Hopefully
students will have a higher quality education as well as the knowledge that there will be amble student space in upcoming buildings. I think the TA training program could go a long way if implemented correctly. If our TAs don’t know how to communicate in the ways that get you to learn, then the system is failing you. I want to create a program that educates our educators on how to help you learn.”
Kristen Leal
INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE: “I am a strong
believer in that university experience is not just about attending lectures, reading textbooks and writing exams. I am passionate in being involved in my community and on campus. After one year, I hope to see an increase in the population of science students in their awareness of FEDS, the role of a science councillor and involvement on campus.”
Alice Li
COUNCIL - ENVIRONMENT PLATFORM: “Increasing awareness of Feds within environment and ensure ENVers, especially first-years, have access to opportunities to help improve their campus community. I also feel that Feds has broken their promise to ensure greater sustainability and improved efficiency in their operations, and I will help ensure our Feds fee is budgeted effectively and helps to reduce UW’s ecological footprint.” MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUE: “The PLATFORM: “I have created the es video crew, also known as the esvc. It’s primary function will be to create videos that will update environment students on matters related to Feds and ESS governance. It will also provide the program associations the chance to create 15-20 second promos for their faculty wide events, that can be played as commercials throughout the video.” MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUE: “The Feds
long range plan, that has been in development for over
university has identified the issue of student retention and student success as being of utmost importance, and I fully agree with their assessment. We constantly hear that uWaterloo does not have an enriching and balanced student life that helps to ensure that students continue to enjoy studying at UW. In my own experience, becoming involved and feeling like I had a stake in my community gave meaning to my undergraduate experience. This explains why I believe that it is a role of Student Councillors to encourage two years of executives - originating when Alan Babor was president. It looks at how it can move Feds forward in a more directed fashion than in years past. The goal of the long range plan is that it would last for many years and as each group of executives come in they can assess how they will impact Feds towards this plan. So instead of constantly changing what we are doing as a group, we would be moving towards this ultimate goal - which will be the long range plan. As environment Feds councillor, I intend on creating videos with the esvc, highlighting the major components of the plan
students to become more involved in student life, and providing them with improved accessibility to Feds Clubs and Services and other volunteer opportunities.” INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE: “In regards to
my previous answer, I feel that as Feds embraces a philosophy of increased accessibility and encourages student involvement, undergraduates will have a much more enriching experience at UWaterloo.”
Marc LeBlanc
to ensure that environment students are informed.” INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE: “My vision is that
through the esvc, Env students will be fully aware to what is going on the regards to Feds and ESS, as well as be up to date with all the events that are happening. While most environment students will not care to get involved, I want them to be informed and able to express opinions on matters that relate to us as students of the faculty of environment and the University of Waterloo”
Robert Savoy
News
Imprint, Friday, February 4, 2011
19
COUNCIL - ENGINEERING PLATFORM: “My goals for council are to cre-
Syed Albiz
ate an environment of open hostility towards Feds council from all constituents, leaving the councilor position as a coveted, intensely sought-after seat granting power beyond a student’s wildest dreams. I want [students] to be so distrustful, hostile, and spiteful that they watch our every move, demand justification at every turn, and hold us to a higher standard out of fear that if left to our own devices, we will find a way to steal every penny of their Feds fee for ourselves. My platform, however, is three foot square, one foot high, machined out of the
PLATFORM: “I have two goals for the next year.
The first is to help engineering students understand the value of Feds and get them involved. Secondly, I want to bring about change to the Federation and start making it work for engineers. Most students feel there is a strong disconnect between the average student and the Federation and I want to figure out why that is, how we can fix it, and work on making things better.”
Trevor Jenkins
MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUE: “With a provincial election coming up this October, the
PLATFORM: “My platform is built around open
communication. I want to be available for engineering students to be able to voice their concerns in Feds Council but also have the voices of the Feds Council be heard by engineering students.”
MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUE: “Any Feds
issues that come up in the coming year will be of
scrap lumber from a discarded hutch found at a surplus sale.” MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUE: “Students
are facing difficult times. Rents are going up, food is scarce and expensive, and co-op positions are scarce. I intend to fix everything. I intend to make as many promises as necessary to placate my constituents into lasting through another year of being pushed around and abused by people in power until they elect someone else to do it all again next year.”
INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE: “I feel that the current student atmosphere is one of apathy and disinterest, and I hope to change that drastically either through a council seat, or various other means. The ideal UWaterloo student experience, as I see it, would be one of utter subjugation and terror, where students act as cogs in a machine, churning through their shifts in their gray, standard issue fee-subsidized coveralls, heads down, and working hard, without having to stop to worry about what their student government is up to, if only because those kinds of questions get dealt with harshly.”
lobbying efforts of the Federation through our provincial partner will be critical. The Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) is our partner, and has proven to be extremely effective. We must ensure that they’re getting out to the political parties and telling them how to make our education better. Student-friendly post-secondary education platforms are a must this fall, and through working collaboratively with whomever is elected the new VP-Education of the Federation, I am sure we can achieve this.”
INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE: “In one year’s time,
importance to any students, but as engineering councilor bringing them to engineering students will be key for me. Having that communication line open between Feds and engineering students will allow me to address the issues that arise. Some issues coming up are the Feds dental and health plan renewals as well as the GRT bus pass. Using multiple venues of communication, I would
try to garner as much feedback as possible from engineering students to make the re-negotiations work in the favour of the students.”
I hope students will understand more about what the Federation does, how they can get involved, and how they can change how it works. There are numerous committee opportunities that I’ve advertised over the past year, through the mailing list and Iron Warrior updates, that students choose not to get involved with. These committees are what actually run the Federation and I’ve come to understand that most students don’t realize this so I hope by educating students we can get more engineers helping to run Feds.”
INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE: “One year from
now engineering students will have a better link with the Federation of Students and be communicating more openly.”
Juzer Sharafali
COUNCIL - MATH PLATFORM: “I believe that math students need
accurate representation on Feds. If elected, I will be sure to create and maintain proper and effective communication channels with my constituents, thus ensuring that I can represent them at meetings and raise any concerns they may have.”
MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUE: “The
most important issue students will face in the next year is communication with their councilors, the same problem they have faced for a long time now. I firmly believe that the biggest issue with Feds at the moment is that students are not aware of what they do, and what they can do. I will raise awareness by writing articles in mathNEWS regularly, and using the mailing list
to provide updates when appropriate.” INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE: “It is my hope
that students will become more aware of Feds, and what they can do. It is my number one goal to change this.”
Josh Shabtai PLATFORM: “My platform, shared with the rest
of the Rhino Party, is three feet square, one foot high, and made of scrap wood collected from the floor of the engineering shops.”
Qifan Xi
MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUE: “The most important issue my constituents will face in the coming year is the dangerous decrease in student apathy. Voter turnout this year may be as high as 15 per cent, and some students could actually endeavour to find out what their student
PLATFORM: “Five tonnes of flax.” MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUE: “Five
INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE: “If elected,
one year from now students will no longer see their Feds fees being spent to marginally improve student life at Waterloo. Instead, they will see none of their non-refundable Feds fees go towards that goal; I will ensure that all Feds revenue goes towards special interest projects that primarily benefit me and my Rhino Party colleagues. Any fellow councilors who object to this plan will be silenced via cash bribes, also funded by student fees.”
UNAVAILABLE FOR COMMENT
tonnes of flax.”
Council - Math
Council - Engineering
INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE: “Five tonnes of
•
Gavin Grace
•
Yousif Al-Khder
•
Alexandra Russell
•
Erica Janitz
flax.”
Jesse Onland
fees are spent on. This unacceptable and alarming trend in awareness must be quashed immediately to ensure that Feds operates in a veil of secrecy as it has always done. To this end, I will cease operation of school newspaper editorial sections, disband all Feds promotional events and organizations, and obfuscate meeting minutes and documentation in nine additional layers of bureaucracy.”
Arts & Entertainment
Imprint, Friday, February 4, 2011 arts@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
FASS of the Titans
“My first goal is to entertain the cast and crew [because] it has to be fun for them.” — FASS director Stephen Skrzydlo. Full review, page 23.
Eleonora Meszaros
U imprint intern
W, prepare for a FASSkicking because the FASS (Faculty, Alumni, Students, and Staff) Theatre Company is back for yet another year to deliver successful comedy on February 3-5 with the original production of FASS of the Titans. Set in two different worlds, the play aims to entertain not only the audience, but also the 110 members of the cast and crew by keeping things light throughout the month of casting and rehearsals. courtesy FASS
Photos ELeonora meszaros
14
News
Imprint, Friday, February 4, 2011
SENATE - AT LARGE WHY HE’S RUNNING: “I am running for Senate because this position will allow me to have a strong voice for, and among all six faculties at University of Waterloo. Overall, I am running for Senate because the undergraduate population needs to be reassured that their interests are being protected, their tuition is being respected, and of course, that they remain the most valuable aspect of this university.” PLATFORM: “With the rising costs of a
university degree, Waterloo students must be reassured that they are the most important asset of the institution. If elected, I will advocate for student participation and engagement in all aspects of their academic career.”
WHY HE’S RUNNING: “I want to make Waterloo
a better university and a better community. I have proven my motivations for helping students and advancing the university though my involvement across campus including three years as a Senator, two years on the Board of Governors, EngSoc President, WEEF Director, and my more than 100 contributions to Imprint.”
PLATFORM:
1. More active student Senators: “Student Senators should take initiative to address the challenges we face. Every decision that comes to Senate has already passed through a council or committee. We can and should still introduce our own priorities to the process.” 2. Fairness for undergraduates: “While I’m
WHY SHE`S RUNNING: “I can bring a lot of
valuable experience to the table, including a seat as 2011-2012 Arts Councillor, current Senator At-Large, Undergraduate Student Relations Committee member, and Education Advisory Committee member.”
PLATFORM:
1. Greater accountability for tuition fee increases: “Our education is funded primarily by provincial operating grants and tuition money. Because provincial operating grants are decreasing, tuition must increase to maintain the same standards of service provision from year-to-year. I think there needs to be greater transparency and accountability over where the extra 4.5-6 per
MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUE: “The most important issue we will face in the coming year is ensuring that undergraduate students continue to receive an exceptional level of education; we must uphold the expectation that undergraduate students are being supported in both their faculties and by university administration.” INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE: “As I have said
throughout this campaign, I am a strong advocate for student involvement and engagement in all aspects of academics and one’s university career. It is my intention to involve all six faculties in making informed decisions at Senate; this will increase student engagement and strengthen the voice of undergraduate population. More importantly, however, because students will
sure both we and the admin are proponents of the university, our different perspectives result in different policy decisions. We need to identify issues like this to ensure that undergraduates are treated fairly.” 3. Protecting the undergraduate experience: “As campus gets more crowded and there are more demands on students’ time and resources, we need to work to protect the undergraduate experience and the quality of our education, in and out of the classroom.” MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUE: “Unfortunately, the overriding issue for undergraduate students is the cost of our education. While Senate does not set tuition levels, student Senators can work to ensure that undergraduates are treated
cent is being spent each year. 2. Increasing issue awareness 3. Seeking student input on the future of Orientation Week.” MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUE: “Looking forward, I think the biggest issue that myself and the other Senators should address is issue awareness amongst the student body. There are many available yet highly underused channels for dialogue and advocacy between students and decision makers. I think our focus should be promoting these channels in an easy, accessible, and highly visible way.” INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE: “My hope is that one year from now, our student body will have a better idea of how they can get in touch with student
have a strong voice representing their needs, the university will be able to reaffirm its commitment to providing us with an exceptional quality education, in addition to resources that truly address the issues that students have.” WHY CARE WHAT SENATE DOES: “As I have
mentioned, Senate is the highest academic decision-making board at the university. All aspects of our education and experience are discussed and voted on within Senate. With that being said, it is crucial that students have a powerful representation and a strong voice when engaging in discussions concerning our tuition, the future outlook of programs/departments/ faculties, and the overall functioning of the university.”
Jeff Bunn
fairly with student-aid policy and change how deregulated tuition is applied to off-term courses.” INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE: “Terms of office
are two years, but in one year I intend for the student body to be better informed about academic issues and better able to offer input to undergraduate Senators.”
WHY CARE WHAT SENATE DOES: “Students do care about what Senate does to the extent that it affects their lives and their educations. The breakdown is a lack of communication. Students aren’t aware of those issues. I receive current Senator Reemah Khalid’s tweets from the Senate chamber. I will add to and build on her work in sharing Senate issues with students.”
Ryan Chen-Wing
representatives to voice their opinions and concerns. Realistically, I don’t expect students to have a thorough understanding of the governance structure of Feds or UW, but I think they should at least have some idea of who they can contact, for what reasons, and how they can contact that person.” WHY CARE WHAT SENATE DOES: “Senate is
the largest academic decision making body at the university. They control everything from course requirements to important dates to finances (aka your tuition)! These are some of the most powerful and influential factors that govern a student’s life. But students can only begin to care about them if they are informed, so the first step will be implementing my communications strategy as outlined above.”
Heather Mawhinney
SENATE - MATH WHY HE’S RUNNING: “I think I can drastically
improve the transparency of Senate, and help make the student body more informed. I’ve also always had an interest in the happenings of Senate.”
PLATFORM:
1. “Improved transparency 2. “Have multiple communication methods (Facebook, Twitter, office hours, email, in person, other things I’d like to do but can’t
WHY HE’S RUNNING: “I am running primarily because I believe that not enough math students are aware of what’s going on in the larger university scope.” PLATFORM:
1. “I will hold regular office hours somewhere whenever I’m on campus. I will advertise these hours so that students know that they can come talk to me to ask about what is going on and to discuss concerns.” 2. “I will write summaries of each Senate meeting to mathNEWS and to any other convenient places.” 3. “If the Senate’s timing permits it, I would like to deliver a presentation to inform the Senate, which contains most of the
guarantee at this moment) 3. “Trying to improve student experience” STUDENT ISSUE: “The biggest issue is lack of understanding what Senate does. Or for something less broad, what role the student transition office will play.”
MOST IMPORTANT
INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE:
1. “People will know what Senate does, and why it’s important.”
highest-ranking university officials, of the comments and concerns held by math students.” IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUE: “I believe that the biggest issue that will come up before students in the coming year (and in the second year of the math Senator term) is the size of admissions and the resulting impact on class sizes and space availability. There are currently math classes and tutorials being held in PAS and CPH, and this is not a sustainable position for math.”
MOST
WHY CARE WHAT SENATE DOES: “Students
should care about what the Senate does for all the same reasons that voters should know about
2. “The transition office will becoming a major success in both increased retention and improving student experience.” WHY CARE WHAT SENATE DOES: “[Students]
should care because every decision will have an effect on them, whether it be in an academic sense, where their money is spent, or what new initiatives get started. I’ll make them care by letting them see what important decisions are made. Seeing is believing as they say.”
Jesse McGinnis
any government. While the Senate seems remote and removed from students, it regularly makes (or at least approves) decisions that directly affect students. More importantly, the presentations and reports at the Senate provide a view into the workings of the university, which often seem mysterious to students. “I will do my best to make students care by being a direct communication channel in both directions for students. A big reason for disillusionment in any government is the perspective of the inability make any influence. If I can help make students feel that they have a voice in the workings of the university and also let them know what’s going on, then I believe that increased interest will follow naturally.”
Sean Hunt
News
Imprint, Friday, February 4, 2011
15
SENATE - ENGINEERING WHY HE’S RUNNING: “Over my past four years
here, my tuition has gone up while the quality of my education has gone down. Our classes are crowded; we can’t get enrolled into the courses we want, we interact less with professors, but still our tuition goes up. I’m running to ensure that the education and support services the students expect from the university are available, so that we as students can focus towards earning our degrees.”
PLATFORM: “My plan primarily centres on creating
Trevor Jenkins
a united voice among all levels of engineering student representatives, and presenting students’ concerns at all levels of the university. Students do have a large amount of input on academic issues within engineering through the classreps, the VP educations and presidents of EngSoc, Feds councillors, the VP education of Feds, and the engineering Senator. My plan is to bring all these representatives together to ensure that the same message from students is being
WHY HE’S RUNNING: “I am running for this
position to represent the engineering undergrad students and try and help them with their most precious commodity: time. I want to increase the percentage of students that are aware of Senate decisions by making the information very concisely and readily available to them on the mediums that they frequent: Facebook and Twitter.”
PLATFORM: “My platform is that students need
to be able to express their opinions and know that their opinions are valued. I aim to find some way of allowing [students] to quickly state their opinions in the form of tweets or short emails/texts that can actually find their way to the Senate.”
Jordan Lui
MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUE: “Student space is an issue that is quickly becoming worrisome as most faculties are growing and accepting more students, but few faculties
WHY HE’S RUNNING: “Education is something
that I’ve always been passionate about. The quality of education and administration is the foundation of student life at any school, Waterloo included. Senate is the place where such major issues, which affect all students (not just engineering ones), are finally discussed and addressed.”
PLATFORM: “I plan to expand the scope of the
Ben Selby
Senator position to include a large, formal network of communication. This involves working with engineering executives and establishing a council of department representatives so that department changes are always monitored. I also plan to expand outgoing communication channels such as using social media to inform students. Lastly, I plan to implement a reliable and accessible paper trail concerning the history of Senate-addressed issues so that students and incoming senators can be better informed on previous issues and
WHY HE’S RUNNING: “I want to extend the
success I have had as an academic representative to a larger scale. I love meeting people, and as Senator I can continue to network with Waterloo’s talented engineers. I want to help the student body by doing my best to keep the prestigious UW engineering program working effectively for them. This position will be extremely rewarding by offering more responsibility and a fantastic learning opportunity.”
Adhiran Thirmal
passed on at all levels, to ensure that the university knows what students actually want.” MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUE: “The
biggest issue facing engineering right now is undergraduate and graduate student growth. Each year the faculty sees record enrolment which means crowded classes, more competition to get into courses, more courses taught by grad students, and less interaction between students and instructors. There’s no problem with growing, however we need to make sure it’s controlled, manageable, and that it doesn’t impact the quality of education. Going forward, I would like to see the university tie its growth to key performance indicators (KPIs) to ensure that current students’ needs are being met.”
INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE: “In one year’s time,
I hope engineering students will be able to name, off the top of their heads, all the major academic issues
are doing much of anything to facilitate this growth. Engineering is growing particularly well in terms of enrolment as well as buildings; but I believe the focus is quickly shying away from the undergraduate experience and into the graduate experience, as I saw in the planning of the Faculty/Graduate oriented E6 plans. I intend to address this issue by making sure that an undergraduate voice is brought to the table to negotiate these classroom and lab layouts.” INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE: “The student
experience will be especially impacted in the junior engineers, who I feel often take a while to get adjusted to the events and issues of EngSoc, Feds, and Senate. My goal is to try and inform them specifically, so that they will take in interest into the actions of Senate. “I also will be making a concise summary of Senate decisions and how the affect students. I will aim to keep a blog and/
therefore better prepared to deal with upcoming ones.” MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUE: “The
amount of study space on campus is something I plan to make a personal issue. While this is not necessarily something that Senate deals with directly, it is certainly one which Senate affects in terms of what department changes are made, the addition of graduate student space, and otherwise. Study space is undoubtedly lacking and this needs to change. This means advocating with Feds councilors and working on a department and faculty level to ensure sufficient study space for students on campus.”
INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE: “My goal is to have all engineering students know what the Senate is, what is being discussed, and how they can voice their opinions. This means that students will be more informed and interested in current issues at the
disconnected. The extending divide can be resolved by encouraging mentoring programs and workshops (ie. resume critiques, frosh mentoring, etc). Establishing a connection between younger students and upper years is one of the few ways students prosper in the treacherous Waterloo engineering curriculums.”
INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE: “Engineering students will be more aware of issues discussed in Senate, which allows the black box known as PLATFORM: “Inform students about issues that administration to become more transparent. My concern them, and hold administration more proven track record of success in UW student accountable by raising concerns engineering politics began by making the MME department discuss and resolve critical issues that my students have.” classmates raised. My approachable personality MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUE: “As and ability to always make time for fellow the engineering campus extends further, students allows issues to be openly raised. I am first years and upper years are getting more a man of action who is ready to get things done.”
that had come up over the past year. Being informed is the first step to being involved, and, as we saw with the students’ reaction to the original proposed changes to Orientation Week, when students care, they’ll be willing to take a stand.” WHY CARE WHAT SENATE DOES: “As the highest
academic body at the university, Senate ultimately controls students’ education. While extra-curricular and intramurals add value to our education, we are all ultimately here to learn and get the best education we can. I hope to help convey the importance of the power Senate has by continuing with Iron Warrior updates, EngSoc meeting announcements, and being readily available to students, whether in POETS, at an event, online, or just in the hallway. I want to make sure students understand what’s going on, and speak up what they have to say.”
or regular submissions to the Iron Warrior/Imprint with longer explanations of Senate decisions, but I also want to keep the shortest possible list of updates that can be tweeted to students to increase the chance that they read them.” WHY CARE WHAT SENATE DOES: “Students
should care about what Senate does because the decisions made there will affect the most fundamental facet of your student experience, your courses. A decision made here can affect what courses will be available in the process of getting your degree, how much you’ll pay for those courses, or who will be teaching those courses. Students often do have strong opinions about the courses that are offered or more commonly the professors who are teaching them, and Senate is where the actions can happen to serve those opinions.”
school, more likely to speak up and be heard. Student interest will be easier to defend and the decisions made by Senate will better represent the popular opinion. Working with the senators of other faculties to do the same means students of all faculties can speak up and be satisfied.” WHY CARE WHAT SENATE DOES: “Students should care about what Senate does because the decisions they make directly affect them and right now many students don’t even realize it or know what Senate is. This is the highest academic governing board, the propositions they pass are the ones that everyone has to live with! Senate is where things like a shortened Orientation Week and degree requirement changes are discussed. These are issues that everyone would be affected by, but only a few know about. Finding ways to tell people what Senate is and what is currently being discussed is key to getting people interested in Senate and student politics as a whole.
WHY CARE WHAT SENATE DOES: “Senate is one of the few connections students have in terms of where their several hundred million dollars will be used. Senators are responsible for collaborating with students about critical issues to make an informed decision on their behalf. My extensive network includes numerous academic representatives, the EngSoc VP education candidate Owen Coutts and EngSoc presidential candidate Alessia Danelon. Giving students access to pertinent information surrounding senate issues through my extensive network will allow students to care. Giving students an opportunity to speak up is a crucial role of the engineering Senator. From LGBTQ people to members of various cultural societies, giving someone a voice is the main prerequisite to getting them to care.”
Arts & Entertainment
Prepare for a FASSkicking: continued from page 21
Imprint, Friday, February 4, 2011
“
Eleonora Meszaros
“My first goal is to entertain the cast and crew [because] it has to be fun for them,” said director Stephen “Snuggles” Skrzydlo. “Every role has to be rewarding, whether you’re only available for one hour once a week or you’ve got three nights of rehearsals singing, dancing, [and] acting.” Since March, FASS has been hard at work developing a script around the set theme: myths and legends. Chief scriptwriter Matt Thorne and several other members of FASS worked until December on the script, which chronicles a series of events which occur after a couple of students break into a Large Hadron Collider. Basically, a switch occurs and UW students, along with people from the real world, end up finding themselves in the myth world. Meanwhile, gods from mostly Norse and Greek mythology find themselves on the UW campus and “some interesting things occur,” according to Skrzydlo. “We have Zeus trying to pick up women for the first time and failing. He ends up interacting with Tiger
Woods, which leads to an interesting conversation,” he said. Other memorable celebrities featured in the plot include a drunken Lindsay Lohan, womanizer Charlie Sheen, hip-thrusting Elvis Presley, and even a few hilarious moments from Sean Connery. On the other end of the spectrum, UW students begin to get a taste of the myth world. “We’ve got a character from the real world trying to become a god. [When it happens,] it turns out his powers are related to certain things,” Skrzydlo said of the surprising outcomes the new god faces. “By the end, they’re all trying to get home. We have a big, epic conclusion where we wrap most of our plot up.” Without giving too much of the storyline away, one thing must be said: FASS definitely does a great job of providing laughs throughout the entire three hours on stage, whether they come from student snowboarders on magic mushrooms, an Old Spice spiel featuring a centaur, or my personal favourite character, “Robin in da Hood” (Where my
...one thing must be said: FASS definitely does a great job of providing laughs throughout...
Vocaloids:
“
22
merry men at, yo?). They even shed some light on Imprint, deemed the “favourite paper ever.” Who can argue with logic like that? FASS is known for their commitment to delivering witty jokes and memorable punchlines for audiences with their yearly comedic stylings, which have featured original FASS plays each year for decades. Since its formation in 1962, FASS has provided the opportunity for any faculty, alumni, student, and staff member on campus to bring the production to life. “Everyone who comes out for an audition gets a part, guaranteed,” Skrzydlo said. “If anyone is interested in the theatre, this is great, as far as opportunity goes.” This year’s production of FASS of the Titans saw its opening night on Thursday, and the heckling show will be tonight at 8 p.m. at Hagey Hall, followed by two shows on Saturday. “Traditionally, older FASSies and anyone interested in audience participation will come out and see that show,” Skrzydlo said. “It’s interesting to hear what they say and what they add — some of them are funny and some of them aren’t but... you’ve got to have the full gamut in order to have anything.” And if FASS of the Titans provides nothing else, the full gamut is there, start to finish.
Step aside Autotune
photo courtesy zerochan.net
Martin Lui reporter
As a singing superstar with a synthesized voice, Vocaloids provide music producers with an alternative to hiring a full-time voice actor. Japan’s Yamaha developers, Crypton Future Media, published a voice synthesizer capable of pronouncing any syllable in a variety of tones along with their instrument-playing software. Hatsune Miku is the first of Yamaha’s Vocaloid characters. Voiced by Saki Fujita, it was made for singing a suggested genre of pop or dance. Hatsune Miku is portrayed as a 16-year-old twin tail female voice synthesizer with a cute face. She is often seen wearing a techno style school girl uniform with knee socks. Her popularity first came when she was seen swinging a leek singing "Level Polka" on Japanese video commenting board Nico Nico Douga. It further grew when she sang "World Is Mine" and "Love is War." Both songs were backed up by exceptional artwork and a voice almost identical to that of a human.
Teach English Abroad TESOL/TESL Teacher Training Certification Courses • Intensive 60-Hour Program • Classroom Management Techniques • Detailed Lesson Planning • ESL Skills Development • Comprehensive Teaching Materials • Interactive Teaching Practicum • Internationally Recognized Certificate • Teacher Placement Service • Money-Back Guarantee Included • Thousands of Satisfied Students
OXFORD SEMINARS 1-800-269-6719/416-924-3240
www.oxfordseminars.ca
Following Hatsune Miku’s footsteps the following year were a pair of voices, one male and one female, called Kagamine Rin and Len. The first names of the Vocaloid pair mean right and left, respectively. The characters resemble a mirror of each other as they both were recorded by the same voice actress, Asami Shimoda. The pair is most famous for being useful in a variety of music genres. The highlight of the character was Rin singing "Meltdown." Currently, the latest released synthesized voice produced by Yamaha is a 20-year-old pink haired female voiced by Yu Asakawa; it is most suited for jazz or housedance music. The opportunity to play with open source software is common in Japan. Outside of Asia, software and other copyright material keeps mascot characters from being publically used. Users must pay high royalty fees to use a character’s name legally. However, Yamaha’s open source opportunity gave artists an opportunity to use the names of characters freely without the worry of paying royalties. This not only boosted the artist’s ability to be creative, but branded a positive name for the original character holder, Yamaha. Vocaloids are not new. The first generation of Vocaloids were produced by Yamaha in Spain. They made a simultaneous male and female release. However, the pioneers were not influential due to limited development by individual producers. After the spawn of Vocaloid celebrities like Hatsune Miku, the popularity of the older generation characters are being recognized. Vocaloid characters were not just limited to singing. An open source program, Miku Dance, is a software for Vocaloid characters that lets them dance to their song. This transitioned from still images of characters to music videos, further promoting the Vocaloid line of characters. Vocaloids consistently dominate the top charts of Nico Nico Douga video boards. To celebrate the success with fans, concerts were held in Japan with Vocaloid characters singing their most popular songs to their fans. Publications worldwide noted Hatsune Miku as an inspirational virtual idol for her charming synthesized voice.
16
News
Platform: “In short, the goal of my platform is
to identify what the Federation of Students already has and make sure it’s working correctly.”
MOST IMPORTANT STUDENTS ISSUES:
1. Off campus housing: “Bylaw revisions presented by the City of Waterloo at the start of the year clearly targeted the quality and safety of housing, but did so without regard to cost or availability. Working with the city and the university, I hope to push a more balanced revision of the proposal.” 2. Cost of education: “In conjunction with the VPED, I plan to work with OUSA and CASA to push for better cost sharing models and improvements to student loan programs provincially and nationally. In conjunction, I also plan to advocate for the adoption of alternatives to
Imprint, Friday, February 4, 2011
buying textbooks.” 3. Non-academic campus space at a premium: “I plan to continue Brad Moggach’s work on a revised Student Services Complex proposal with a larger share of the building being paid for by the university.” INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE: “The Federation will
be more recognizable in every day student life, and as such I believe that students will be informed and thus able to choose which student life offerings they would like to participate in.”
FEDS’ RELATIONSHIPS: “Feds needs to have a rela-
tionship with the students it serves such that students feel able to access the offerings of their student union, and generally know where to find what they’re looking
for or where to ask for assistance. It also needs to be able to ascertain the opinion of its students much more effectively than at present.” “Feds relationship with the university needs to grow to the point where the student union and university can see each other eye to eye, rather than having the kid type relationship it has now, where the students feel the university is pushing Feds on issues or seeing Feds as subservient to the university.” WHY VOTE FOR HIM: “I’ve been involved in the
Federation of Students as a councillor for the last four years and a director for the past two. I believe that my passion for the position is demonstrated by my past dedication and that students should vote for me based on my passion and experience.
VICE PRESIDENT ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE
PLATFORM: “If elected, I promise to convert Feds
to the gold standard, and escrow all gold in private offshore accounts. For greater financial security, I promise to increase the difficulty of all transactions within Feds tenfold. I will increase waiting times at the Bomber such that students are not pressured to leave, and may better enjoy the friendly atmosphere. Finally, I plan to replace occurrences of red tape with flax yellow tape.”
MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUE: “Students
will face the prospect of an efficient and able group of Feds services working for them. To resolve this issue, I aim to dismantle effective Feds services and
PLATFORM: “My platform outlines actions that would not only continue our corporation to remain fiscally responsible, but also lead to further growth and stability of our corporation. MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUE: “The di-
rection that our agreement with GRT we have is probably going to be the most important issue this upcoming year. The GRT service is one that falls under the portfolio of the VPAF and if elected, I will ensure students continue getting the best service at the lowest prices. I will also consult with students at-large and get feedback about the current service GRT is offering.”
INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE: “I will work towards
educating our student body as to where their fees go, how they are managed and the options they have. Moreover, one year from now I hope to make students experience a much more transparent Feds that they trust, and are proud of.”
replace them with casually organized, ineffective alternatives.”
INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE: “Since it seems that most students do not pay attention to Feds, I doubt the experience of most students will change.” FEDS’ RELATIONSHIPS: “Feds should have a domi-
neering, profiteering relationship with services and businesses. Feds lacks this relationship due to the storage of assets in non-gold form. I will make this relationship happen by converting all financial assets to the gold standard.”
FEDS’ RELATIONSHIPS: “The Federation of Stu-
dents should maintain a professional relationship with its services and businesses. If elected, I will continue the level of professionalism the Federation of Students has with its staff and volunteers by being available to my staff, and providing them the resources they need to work for the best interests of all undergraduate students.”
ACCOUNTABILIT Y OF BUSINESSES AND SERVICES: “I believe our services are accountable
to the Federation of Students. As far being fiscally responsible, historically they have not spent more than budgeted for on average. Under spending however has been an issue with our services.” “Our businesses as a whole have been fiscally responsible and accountable to the Federation of Students. Yes there are those businesses that can should be self sustaining, and not need student money to maintain daily operations such as the
VICE PRESIDENT INTERNAL
PLATFORM: “Essentially, I believe that it is about
empowering the services and clubs into being as successful as I know they can be. My goal, and job, as VP Internal is to support them and provide the resources and contacts for them to improve.”
MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUE: “Services have
limited space, and clubs have little to no space. No one knows the space and resource needs of services, societies and clubs more than the people directly involved in them, and the VP Internal is their voice within the executive body.”
INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE: “Students will be more
aware, and will more directly benefit from the services provided by the Feds services. Club management will be more streamlined and friendly to those looking
PLATFORM: “It should be about knee high and
made of wood once it is complete. It currently lacks completeness because of a volunteer strike among the Rhinos.”
MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUE: “The most
important issue I will face in the upcoming year is the complete lack of fear towards Feds amongst the common students. To address this issue I will work with the other exec to redesign Feds in a renaissance period re-imagining of Gothic architecture. This will serve to inspire students with an appropriate amount of fear and respect when they look upon our seat of power.”
INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE: “After consulting
my Magic 8 ball, the outcome looks murky. I feel
to start a club or get involved with an existing club. Societies will feel that they have someone that they can come to as a resource, a problem solver, and to engage in collaboration initiatives.” STUDENT SUPPORT INITIATIVE HE’D LIKE TO PASS: “The current clubs administration system is
a huge, unwieldy system that is currently too big for those involved. I think that a new strategy needs to be devised that will allow the clubs to be managed more easily, allow for more empowerment of their executives, and to free up time of the VP Internal to work on improving programs for both services and club.”
BEST AND WORST STUDENT LIFE PROGRAMS:
“In my opinion, the best student life program at Waterloo is Campus Recreation. The organization
that many of the Rhino party policies may have unforeseen side-effects on student life. Perhaps the students will revolt under their new overloads, most likely within 30 days of us taking office. Thus once we have taken office, we will alert Police Services to ensure that there is no real problem.” STUDENT SUPPORT INITIATIVE HE’D LIKE TO PASS: “I find that all student support initiatives are
working in the wrong direction. We shouldn’t be supporting students, they should be supporting us.”
BEST AND WORST STUDENT LIFE PROGRAMS:
“I spent 20 minutes and asked around, no one I talked to has any idea what student life offers as programs. I now believe that since no-one can name any of the services, I will take the stance that
PRESIDENT
Matt Colphon Ian Charlesworth
PLATFORM: “My platform is about one foot high, made of wood, and still under construction. The campaign volunteer who was building it has, in a truly Rhino fashion, not fulfilled promises to have it done by the end of January.” MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUES: 1. Increasing cost of utility bills: “If elected, I will lobby the university to move its main campus to Dubai, where heating bills are a significantly smaller part of the average student’s budget.” 2. Inaccessibility, or inconvenience of accessing, certain areas of campus: “For example, reaching the 10th floor of the DP Library during a power outage requires navigating an unacceptable number of stairs. Thus if elected, I will organise protests to force the Canadian government to consider repeal-
ACCOUNTABILITY OF BUSINESSES AND SERVICES:
PLATFORM: “It is about one foot high, three inches
WHY VOTE IN THE ELECTION: “To prevent
MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUE: “I haven’t
“Feds businesses and services are quite poor in this manner. The issue will be resolved with more gold.”
square on top, and made of scrap wood scrounged in the engineering shops.”
takeover of Feds executive positions by unqualified or maniacal candidates.”
seen enough of Canada as an international student. I intend to address this by expanding OUSA and CASA’s subcommittees and special focus groups, so that I may attend more policy conferences on student dime to see more of Canada.”
WHY VOTE FOR HIM: “Who said I am the best
candidate for VPAF? Why would students vote for me?”
NOTE: “It is Rhinoceros platform promise to keep
no promises.”
INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE: “They’ll have pictures
Bomber.”
Edgar Bering
WHY VOTE IN THE ELECTION: “Because it’s the
officials that you put in to office that will shape the future of the businesses, services and support you will be using every day during your university career.”
WHY VOTE FOR HIM: “Having the opportunity to serve as a councillor, sitting on numerous committees within the Federation of Students, alongside taking part in extra-curricular activities, work, and studies in business and mathematics, I feel that I have the experience needed to make me a qualified candidate for filling the portfolio of VPAF. My experience working closely with UW clubs, societies, staff, students, faculties, administration and the Feds itself, the diverse knowledge, industry experience and technical skills Team Real and myself possess, will help contribute to further growth and betterment of the Feds.”
of me touring Canada. Also, closer to home, with rents going up I will make supplies to construct slum housing available to students so they can build leantos and squat on north campus until rents go down.”
Marc Burns
PLATFORM: “In addition to raising the profile of the
VP Education role and making it more accessible to students, I have divided my platform into the three key areas that are influenced by the Vice President of Education: affordability & accessibility, education quality, and co-op.
MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUE:
Prashant Patel Natalie Cockburn
1. Affordability of education: “Currently there are three major issues threatening the overall affordability of education: tuition prices, access to student funding, and accessibility of student housing.” 2. Education quality: “There is a huge gap between the expectations of administration/ faculty and students in terms of what constitutes a quality classroom experience. Students need PLATFORM: “Not including the obvious things such
as lobbying to different levels of government on a number of different issues and making sure students are getting what they pay for from a quality of education standpoint, my platform is to do what’s best for students from all forms and inform students of what the VP Education can do for you.”
is nearly entirely student run, and it is a great way to make money, stay active, and generally blow off some steam while having some fun with friends.” “I think all student life programs have an intent to make the student experience better, and to call them terrible does a disservice to the people that dedicate their time to that. Having said that, the student life program that needs the most work or improvement, in my opinion, is Warrior Weekends. While a great and necessary concept, I think there are a few fundamental problems.”
MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUE: “Unfortu-
nately, it is hard to predict the issues of tomorrow but in general there are many continuing issues that students continue to suffer with. One of the big issues are that of student success which starts with financial success. Student’s need to become more aware of the financial resources available to them from a wide variety of sources but specifically OSAP.”
WHY VOTE FOR HIM: “I am the best student for the
position because I have the experience and the track record to improve the quality of student life on this campus.”
Luke Burke
Andre Magalhaes
from now students will better understand everything PLATFORM:
1. “[To] use my past experience with student government to take an aggressive stance with the university on its implementation of policy, be it on PD, or co-op, or tuition, or social spaces on campus. 2. “[A] rigorous dedication to cost-cutting and reduction of waste wherever it is found. 3. “[A] dedication to improving the student experience at UWaterloo.”
none of them do anything that effects student life in a large scale.” WHY VOTE FOR HIM: “There are several key
reasons: 1. I have an awesome hat. 2. I don’t often run for Feds, but when I do, I win (at least metaphorically). 3. I will strive to save your life during the zombie apocalypse. 4. Failing Number 3, I will mourn your loss for at least five minutes before moving on. 5. It is rumoured that my beard has more experience than some of the other candidates. 6. I am possibly the most interesting man in this election.”
INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE: “If elected, a year
MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUE: “The most
John Stevenson Brian Maloney
important issue that students will face in the coming future is the continued dramatic rise in the costs associated with being an undergraduate. I feel that the Federation of Students’ finance should be in a reasonable position before we can claim to authoritatively represent the students of this university to the administration.”
ing the law of gravity, and make it clear that this is a voting issue in the upcoming national election. 3. Increasing difficult exams, lack of easy-toland and low-effort co-op jobs: To address both problems simultaneously, I will seek an agreement with the university whereby each undergraduate student will be paid the salary of a TA and granted co-op credit to mark his or her own exams. INFLUENCE ONTHE FUTURE: “Whereas now, the average University of Waterloo student is apathetic of Feds, at least somewhat motivated to study, and unable to crush rocks with the power of thought alone, in one year I hope to see that every University of Waterloo undergraduate recognises Feds as a name to be feared and awed, has no motivation to study, and has spent no less than 13 hours per day rollerblading down Ring Road.”
17
FEDS’RELATIONSHIPS: “I think that Feds relationship with the students should be much like that between a mother bear and her cub. That is, the student should be utterly unable to cope with the world without Feds there to guide them and tell them what to think, and Feds should actively seek to maul anyone else attempting to influence students thoughts, including (but not limited to) the media, their friends, politicians, their families, the spirits of their ancestors, and François Fillon. Feds relationship with the university, on the other hand, should be one of grudging surrender.” WHY VOTE FOR HIM: As we all know, the most exciting time of year is the Feds election. If elected, I have pledged to resign from office causing another election. Further, elections are a jolly good time, and it’s always great to have more of them.
VICE PRESIDENT EDUCATION
EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVE HE’D LIKE TO PASS: “A UW Moon program. The space program would alleviate the co-op jobs problem, provide vital research funds to professors and distract them from teaching classes, and bring prestige to the university administrators.”
BEST AND WORST EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS: “I
think the best program is co-op, and in particular the way the engineers have implemented the PD component. PD Eng is almost perfect, the only problem it has is they forgot a period in one memo about it, thus making it incomplete and requiring re-submission. “I think the worst educational program is the broad abundance of readings and seminar courses. These small, student-focused classes, give students the false impression that professors and the university to be better.”
INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE: “There will be a much stronger sense of community for UWaterloo students.Along with my fellow-executive I will work to make Feds more integrated into the daily lives of students, a priority that is integrated into Team REAL’s entire platform. I will also work to improve the overall relationship with the City of Waterloo, such that students feel a stronger sense of community and feel more at home in their city at large.” EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVE SHE’D LIKE TO PASS: “I would like to see a number of strategies for improved faculty-student engagement in the classroom implemented this year. The dissonance between faculty and studentsleads to a much lower perceived value by students.”
that the VP Education can do for them as well as every issue they have worked on for the students.” EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVE HE’D LIKE TO PASS:
“One of the most important initiatives is that of continued quality of education given to students both from the quality of teaching from professors and TAs as well as extracurricular tutoring services for students in need or looking ofor enrichment because the main reason students come to university is higher learning and its important to continually asset whether what is being provided is actually higher learning.” BEST AND WORST EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS:
at large actually care about them, which is a dangerous notion.” WHY VOTE IN THE ELECTION: “Without votes
the student government appears to be illegitimate. Students voting legitimizes my planned corruption. I guess if students for some insane reason didn’t want a corrupt government they could vote against that too, but really, anyone who has a problem with a corrupt government should contact me about receiving kickbacks. I’m sure that will change their mind.”
WHY VOTE FOR HIM: “I’m honest. I’ve made no attempts to sugar coat any of my more controversial positions. I promise to resign if elected. I promise to keep none of my promises. With a promise like that, students will not be let down.” WHY VOTE IN THE ELECTION: “It is critical that students vote in the Feds election, as we are your voice in all student issues, and your liaison to faculty and administration. It is not only important that students vote, but that students make an informed decision about who and what it is they are voting for.” WHY VOTE FOR HER: “Through my personal experiences with advocating for education quality, I have become energized and devoted to affordable and high quality education. Over the last six months I have worked hard to gain a deep understanding of the education portfolio, build relationships with the students currently involved, and to become educated on all of the critical issues and the ways in which they impact the UWaterloo student community.”
fix such as some employers treating co-op students as cheap labour oppose to helping society by teaching new skills to young minds or more specifically, having employers not treat students equally to that of other employees and taking advantage of the fact that they are not covered under the Employment Standard’s Act of Ontario.” WHY VOTE FOR HIM: “I’m the best candidate for the position because I am by far the most experienced. Many people make promises that they may or may not keep but I’ve proven through my positions to do my job the best way possible.”
“At the same time, I would consider [the co-op program] to be the best and the worst. Waterloo is known world wide for its co-op program and there is no doubt in my mind that it is an amazing program but there are also many issues with it that need to be
WHY VOTE IN THE ELECTION: “It’s important for students to vote in the Feds election because they are paying Feds term after term and they should have a say as to how their money is being spent and who will be responsible for that money.”
INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE: “I hope to stress the need for a personal relationship with the university administration. Confrontation has not proven to be effective. The student experience at UWaterloo should be much more transparent and enjoyable. Students need not fear Federation waste or ineffectiveness.”
by the wayside, even though they remain the largest faculty on campus with no chance to express their pan-arts pride. Environment, on the other hand, is a lesson in optimism and the value of faculty leadership. Environment might be relatively tiny, but the optimism provided by quality leadership from the university is infectious at times.”
EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVE HE’D LIKE TO PASS: “I support the expansion of [the co-op] program, the retirement of JobMine (good riddance!), the introduction of WaterlooWorks, and the restructuring of CECS. There is an immense value in this program and I believe it is the best way to set UWaterloo apart from the rest of the pack.” BEST AND WORST EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS:
“Arts students are routinely taught in gigantic class sizes, with practically no opportunity to meet and form a relationship with often distant professors. Arts students can be routinely browbeaten and thrown
WHY VOTE IN THE ELECTION: “The Federation controls vast sums of money and resources, and it is every voter’s duty to make sure these are applied efficiently and not wasted.” WHY VOTE FOR HIM: “I feel my experience with
the Arts Student Union is crucial; I have already met the people I would conceivably work with in this new position. This experience combined with my fervour to always stamp out waste is the one conceivable reason that a reasonable UWaterloo student should vote for me.”
18
News
Imprint, Friday, February 4, 2011
COUNCIL - SCIENCE PLATFORM: “There is a lack of communication
I’m finding between the current councillors which is effecting the communication between the undergrad students and Feds. I’ve already been working on trying to get the current councillors working more cohesively, but there is still much more work to do. Secondly, undergraduate students don’t understand specifically what we do as councillors, as well what Feds does for them. ”
PLATFORM: “My platform consists of three
main objectives. The first is to create a unified voice through centralized communication with the departmental clubs, SciSOC, Senate and Feds. My second platform point is to implement a consistent, tangible method by which students receive information from Feds. My third initiative will be to increase student awareness of the Campus Master Plan that was renewed in 2009. Through my first two platform goals, I hope to be able to engage students in conversations about this plan and discuss ways it can benefit them..”
PLATFORM: “I am looking to increase
communication and knowledge of the students of the University of Waterloo. I plan to use my vast experiences on campus to create connections and make students aware of opportunities to get involved on campus, as well as issues currently being worked on through Feds. I hope to communicate this information mostly through social media platforms such as facebook, twitter and tumblr. I want to have a special focus on getting first years involved and informed, starting with orientation week and telling them what
MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUE: “One
of the most important issue is the Grand River Transit System. The busses seem to get more crammed with students and are just an overall unpleasant service that we’re paying for. I am already preparing to sit down with the current VP AF Sarah Cook on Wednesday to discuss the issues. She is also going to talk to me about possible changes to the routes that students use on a regular basis. Hopefully giving her the input I’ve received
MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUE: “One
of the largest issues is the lack of knowledge and understanding of potential leadership opportunities. I have met several students who are looking for ways to become involved in extracurricular activities within Science and uWaterloo as a whole. As a councilor, I would have the unique opportunity to advertise Feds and Science specific leadership opportunities. I have concrete plans and ideas on how to deliver information to Science students and promote new opportunities to large groups of students who normally do not hear about potential extra-curricular
Feds is, and then keeping them well-informed of issues and opportunities. Lastly, I would like to create school passion and pride, and use Feds as a platform to do so. Please view dubeforcouncil. tumblr.com for a more details on how I plan to make this happen.”
will help improve the quality of transportation for all undergraduate students.” INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE: “I am planning
on promoting all the sub committee’s that Feds has to my fellow undergrad students, to show them all the opportunities they have to get involved with their student government. I am hoping in a year that more students (especially the incoming first years) will understand more clearly what Feds does.”
opportunities. Through these initiatives, we could encourage student involvement in leadership, which will promote new ideas within Feds and the University.” INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE: “I hope to
increase student exposure to Feds, SciSOC and various leadership opportunities within the faculty. An increased presence by Science councilors at events within student society, students will hopefully feel encouraged to explore the various opportunities and experiences that Feds and other societies and clubs can offer.”
INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE: “The fact that I
year enrollment is increasing for science, yet we have not seen an increase in student academic space, student study space, or student lounge space.
PLATFORM: “My platform has three pillars; quality, communication, and space. I want to work with faculty and administrators to develop a Teaching Assistant training program within the Faculty of Science. I want to improve communication between Feds, the student body, and faculty by developing new outreach techniques such as blogging and writing for on campus publications. And finally, I want to improve the quality of student space by maintaining the space we already have and getting the student foot in the door now with the new science buildings being developed.”
MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUE: “I think
should be implemented in this new building.”
PLATFORM: “Science councillors need to work
MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUE: “There
together as a team to increase the awareness that a team of councillors exists to serve students. Science councillors should start by meeting the primary responsibly of a science councillor which is being present at science club meetings, events, and other gatherings targeted towards science students. There they will be able to talk to students about what they can do for them.”
the most important issue students will face next year will be the lack of student space. A new student services complex is being developed by Feds and I’m eager to see what it looks like and how I can help develop the building into something that better suits the needs of our students. Further more, a building is being developed within the Faculty of Science that undergraduates should play a large role in. A better location for SciSOC, the Science CnD, first year labs, and study space are all things that I think
is the need for a strategic plan to communicate effectively in a timely manner across the various parties involved before major decisions can be made (i.e communicating between FEDS, the student body and administration). I would like to collaborate with other FEDS representatives to improve the flaws of our communication system.”
Jonathan Cluett
If the space is planned and built to be student space, that it will be able to accommodate needs of a societal office, lounge, as well as the CnD.” have done this before will be a large asset. There is no transition time for me in the summer, which is when I hope to make a lot of change within the university. I really hope to increase awareness of Feds and everything they do, and I would like to increase awareness of what a councillor does. ”
MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUE: “Every
Ryan Cuzzi
Nicole Dube
INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE: “Hopefully stu-
dents will have a higher quality education as well as the knowledge that there will be amble student space in upcoming buildings. I think the TA training program could go a long way if implemented correctly. If our TAs don’t know how to communicate in the ways that get you to learn, then the system is failing you. I want to create a program that educates our educators on how to help you learn.”
Kristen Leal
INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE: “I am a strong
believer in that university experience is not just about attending lectures, reading textbooks and writing exams. I am passionate in being involved in my community and on campus. After one year, I hope to see an increase in the population of science students in their awareness of FEDS, the role of a science councillor and involvement on campus.”
Alice Li
COUNCIL - ENVIRONMENT PLATFORM: “Increasing awareness of Feds within environment and ensure ENVers, especially firstyears, have access to opportunities to help improve their campus community. I also feel that Feds has broken their promise to ensure greater sustainability and improved efficiency in their operations, and I will help ensure our Feds fee is budgeted effectively and helps to reduce UW’s ecological footprint.” MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUE: “The
university has identified the issue of student
PLATFORM: “I have created the es video crew, also known as the esvc. It’s primary function will be to create videos that will update environment students on matters related to Feds and ESS governance. It will also provide the program associations the chance to create 15-20 second promos for their faculty wide events, that can be played as commercials throughout the video.” MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUE: “The Feds
long range plan, that has been in development for over
retention and student success as being of utmost importance, and I fully agree with their assessment. We constantly hear that uWaterloo does not have an enriching and balanced student life that helps to ensure that students continue to enjoy studying at UW. In my own experience, becoming involved and feeling like I had a stake in my community gave meaning to my undergraduate experience. This explains why I believe that it is a role of Student Councillors to encourage students two years of executives - originating when Alan Babor was president. It looks at how it can move Feds forward in a more directed fashion than in years past. The goal of the long range plan is that it would last for many years and as each group of executives come in they can assess how they will impact Feds towards this plan. So instead of constantly changing what we are doing as a group, we would be moving towards this ultimate goal - which will be the long range plan. As environment Feds councillor, I intend on creating videos with the esvc, highlighting the major components of the plan
to become more involved in student life, and providing them with improved accessibility to Feds Clubs and Services and other volunteer opportunities.” INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE: “In regards to my previous answer, I feel that as Feds embraces a philosophy of increased accessibility and encourages student involvement, undergraduates will have a much more enriching experience at UWaterloo.”
Marc LeBlanc
to ensure that environment students are informed.” INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE: “My vision is that
through the esvc, Env students will be fully aware to what is going on the regards to Feds and ESS, as well as be up to date with all the events that are happening. While most environment students will not care to get involved, I want them to be informed and able to express opinions on matters that relate to us as students of the faculty of environment and the University of Waterloo”
Robert Savoy
Arts & Entertainment
Imprint, Friday, February 4, 2011
Can you say, road trip?
23
It’s never too early, or too chilly, to start planning for spring and summer festivals Paul McGeown asst. arts editor
Snow got you down? The recent onslaught might have you reaching for a shotgun (to clear the snow from your front steps, of course). But here’s a happy thought: the summer festival season is essentially two months away. For those not blowing OSAP funds on a reading week trip to Cancun, now is not a bad time to start planning for sun, tunes, and overpriced beer. Some line-ups are still tentative at this point, but with the release of the official Coachella line-up, online message boards are brimming with speculation. We provide you with a run-down of the biggest festivals, and the artists who will (read: might) play them.
10 years old this summer, expect the eventual headliners to have a little more punch; the Radiohead rumour might have something to it.
Lollapalooza turns 20 this year, and the festival is celebrating by expanding; internationally. In addition to the “original” Lollapalooza in Chicago, Aug. 5-7, there will be a Lollapalooza Chile on April 2 and 3. Details on the Chicago run are sketchy, but “Lolla Chile” is confirmed: Kanye West, The National, 30 Seconds to Mars, and Deftones highlight a line-up with several other high-profile artists. Edgefest Toronto July 9
Coachella Indio, California April 15-17
courtesy articlesbase.com
One word describes Coachella this year: huge. The Indio, California festival has outdone itself this year, compiling a stellar — and Canadian-heavy — line-up. Southern rockers Kings of Leon headline on Friday; Montreal-based Arcade Fire headline Saturday; Kanye West and the Strokes will close out the festival on Sunday. The Can-con at Coachella includes Broken Social Scene, Gord Downie (touring behind his recent solo effort), and Death from Above 1979 (yes, it’s a reunion). Bonnaroo Manchester, Tennessee June 9-12 There isn’t an official line-up for Bonnaroo yet, but rumours abound, and we should see a solidified list of acts by mid-February. Among those rumoured to be playing are: Against Me!, Cage the Elephant, Florence and the Machine, and Mumford and Sons. However, given that Bonnaroo is
The line-up is still up in the air, but Reading always delivers.
Reading England August 27-29 With Leeds Festival, Reading is one of the two penultimate music festivals held in England, and has played host to a number of famous performances — Nirvana in 1992, most notably. Organizers say the three headliners have been booked, but the official announcement is still weeks away. It’s thought that Muse, Green Day, and My Chemical Romance will headline, although Foo Fighters — who are popular among Brits and have an album due in 2011 — are strong candidates as well.
A fandom call to arms: “let’s salt and burn CW”
Caitlin McIntyre arts editor
I
n recent years, there’s been an exciting push by the mainstream media towards specialized television shows, specifically of the sci-fi, horror, and superhero variety. Part of this push can be attributed to the loyal fanbases that avidly follow and promote these genres of entertainment. It’s still quite the relief for nerds around the world to see shows like Supernatural and Smallville become such heavy hitters on the television market. Last week, until, the CW network made a last-ditch decision which served to set back the faith that fans have gained in the modern broadcast world. On the evening of Thursday, Jan. 27, the network released its deci-
Lollapalooza Chile, Chicago April 2-3, Aug. 5-7
courtesy thetvaddict.com
sion to push the midseason re-starts of both Smallville and Supernatural from their air date on the 28th. Why did they make these seemingly last-minute changes to a schedule that had been set for so long? To make room for some re-runs of the fledgling show Nikita, and CW’s blood-sucking hit series, The Vampire Diaries. That’s right, they post poned some brand new ready-to-air episodes...for re-runs. Needless to say, hardcore fans of both Smallville and Supernatural were furious with the change. Although their fanbases are relatively small, they make up for their size in their vigor and dedication. As such, the backlash from the change was nothing short of intense. Twitter, Livejournal, and Tumblr were bombarded with cries of disbelief and violent sentiments
towards the CW. Supernatural fans bombarded Twitter with humourous tags like #SaltAndBurnCW and #TheCWSucks, re-tweeting their vows to get revenge on the network in almost immeasurable numbers. In releases on websites such as Zap2it and ksitetv, CW cited a need to compensate for a loss potential ratings from competing time slots of Nikita and The Vampire Diaries with classic television super power American Idol. Their decision was pre-emptive, however, as neither show suffered in their ratings and the repeat on Friday night proved to be an exercise in futility. To an extent, this whole debacle can be viewed as disappointing for fans of non-conventional media. These specialized television shows have proven themselves again and again, being renewed season after season despite the challenges they faced. Even being moved to the Friday night “death spot” didn’t seemed to faze these determined programs. Yet, at even the slightest opportunity to promote what’s popular, CW didn’t seem to hesitate to toss these veterans aside. While you can’t exactly blame the company for trying to milk its teenaged-vampire cash cow, it hurts to see that diehard fans can be so easily cast aside in order to please the mainstream. With such a visibly overwhelming backlash to their seemingly thoughtless actions, however, maybe CW will think twice next time before casting off those little shows that could.
Edgefest returns from a one year hiatus in 2011, and it signals Edgefest’s return as a relevant event (never mind being the most practical option for 519 residents). It may be a single day, but the line-up is a strong mix of Canadian-born favourites and international superstars. Bands like the Weakerthans and Arkells will play alonside Rise Against and — in a significant coup for Edgefest organizers — A Perfect Circle. Hillside Festival Guelph The Hillside Inside Festival runs this weekend (Friday Feb. 4 and 5); it acts as a prelude to the weekend-long event in the middle of summer. Few details abound regarding the summer edition, but notable performers in past years included Can-con favourites like Constantines, Gord Downie, Sam Roberts, and Sloan. With files from coachella.com, festival-outlook.consequenceofsound.com, and lollapalooza.com
News
Imprint, Friday, February 4, 2011
19
COUNCIL - ENGINEERING PLATFORM: “My goals for council are to cre-
Syed Albiz
ate an environment of open hostility towards Feds council from all constituents, leaving the councilor position as a coveted, intensely sought-after seat granting power beyond a student’s wildest dreams. I want [students] to be so distrustful, hostile, and spiteful that they watch our every move, demand justification at every turn, and hold us to a higher standard out of fear that if left to our own devices, we will find a way to steal every penny of their Feds fee for ourselves. My platform, however, is three foot square, one foot high, machined out of the
PLATFORM: “I have two goals for the next year.
The first is to help engineering students understand the value of Feds and get them involved. Secondly, I want to bring about change to the Federation and start making it work for engineers. Most students feel there is a strong disconnect between the average student and the Federation and I want to figure out why that is, how we can fix it, and work on making things better.”
Trevor Jenkins
MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUE: “With a provincial election coming up this October, the
PLATFORM: “My platform is built around open
communication. I want to be available for engineering students to be able to voice their concerns in Feds Council but also have the voices of the Feds Council be heard by engineering students.”
MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUE: “Any Feds
issues that come up in the coming year will be of
scrap lumber from a discarded hutch found at a surplus sale.” MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUE: “Students
are facing difficult times. Rents are going up, food is scarce and expensive, and co-op positions are scarce. I intend to fix everything. I intend to make as many promises as necessary to placate my constituents into lasting through another year of being pushed around and abused by people in power until they elect someone else to do it all again next year.”
INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE: “I feel that the current student atmosphere is one of apathy and disinterest, and I hope to change that drastically either through a council seat, or various other means. The ideal UWaterloo student experience, as I see it, would be one of utter subjugation and terror, where students act as cogs in a machine, churning through their shifts in their gray, standard issue fee-subsidized coveralls, heads down, and working hard, without having to stop to worry about what their student government is up to, if only because those kinds of questions get dealt with harshly.”
lobbying efforts of the Federation through our provincial partner will be critical. The Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) is our partner, and has proven to be extremely effective. We must ensure that they’re getting out to the political parties and telling them how to make our education better. Student-friendly post-secondary education platforms are a must this fall, and through working collaboratively with whomever is elected the new VP-Education of the Federation, I am sure we can achieve this.”
INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE: “In one year’s time,
importance to any students, but as engineering councilor bringing them to engineering students will be key for me. Having that communication line open between Feds and engineering students will allow me to address the issues that arise. Some issues coming up are the Feds dental and health plan renewals as well as the GRT bus pass. Using multiple venues of communication, I would
try to garner as much feedback as possible from engineering students to make the re-negotiations work in the favour of the students.”
I hope students will understand more about what the Federation does, how they can get involved, and how they can change how it works. There are numerous committee opportunities that I’ve advertised over the past year, through the mailing list and Iron Warrior updates, that students choose not to get involved with. These committees are what actually run the Federation and I’ve come to understand that most students don’t realize this so I hope by educating students we can get more engineers helping to run Feds.”
INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE: “One year from
now engineering students will have a better link with the Federation of Students and be communicating more openly.”
Juzer Sharafali
COUNCIL - MATH PLATFORM: “I believe that math students need
accurate representation on Feds. If elected, I will be sure to create and maintain proper and effective communication channels with my constituents, thus ensuring that I can represent them at meetings and raise any concerns they may have.”
MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUE: “The
most important issue students will face in the next year is communication with their councilors, the same problem they have faced for a long time now. I firmly believe that the biggest issue with Feds at the moment is that students are not aware of what they do, and what they can do. I will raise awareness by writing articles in mathNEWS regularly, and using the mailing list
to provide updates when appropriate.” INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE: “It is my hope
that students will become more aware of Feds, and what they can do. It is my number one goal to change this.”
Josh Shabtai PLATFORM: “My platform, shared with the rest
of the Rhino Party, is three feet square, one foot high, and made of scrap wood collected from the floor of the engineering shops.”
Qifan Xi
MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUE: “The most important issue my constituents will face in the coming year is the dangerous decrease in student apathy. Voter turnout this year may be as high as 15 per cent, and some students could actually endeavour to find out what their student
PLATFORM: “Five tonnes of flax.” MOST IMPORTANT STUDENT ISSUE: “Five
INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE: “If elected,
one year from now students will no longer see their Feds fees being spent to marginally improve student life at Waterloo. Instead, they will see none of their non-refundable Feds fees go towards that goal; I will ensure that all Feds revenue goes towards special interest projects that primarily benefit me and my Rhino Party colleagues. Any fellow councilors who object to this plan will be silenced via cash bribes, also funded by student fees.”
UNAVAILABLE FOR COMMENT
tonnes of flax.”
Council - Math
Council - Engineering
INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE: “Five tonnes of
•
Gavin Grace
•
Yousif Al-Khder
•
Alexandra Russell
•
Erica Janitz
flax.”
Jesse Onland
fees are spent on. This unacceptable and alarming trend in awareness must be quashed immediately to ensure that Feds operates in a veil of secrecy as it has always done. To this end, I will cease operation of school newspaper editorial sections, disband all Feds promotional events and organizations, and obfuscate meeting minutes and documentation in nine additional layers of bureaucracy.”
Arts & Entertainment
24
Imprint, Friday, February 4, 2011
127 Hours Danny Boyle Film4 Productions/HandMade Films
I
f James Franco doesn’t win the award for Best Actor at this year’s Oscars, I will lose all faith in the Academy. In this adaptation of Aron Ralston’s autobiography, Between a Rock and a Hard Place, director Danny Boyle tells the tale of a brave canyoneer. Boyle legitimizes his status as one of the best directors in the film industry today after his Academy Award winning success, Slumdog Millionaire. Set in Blue John Canyon, Utah, the opening scene of the film immediately transports viewers to a real world scenario which ultimately unravels as one of the greatest struggles of mankind: the ability to survive under conditions beyond our expectations. As the tagline of the film reads, “There is no force on Earth more powerful than the will to live.” With intense delivery, the Boyle-Franco duo creates an unbelievably real, emotionally raw viewing experience. In a mere 15 minutes into opening, the conflict of the plot is immediately laid down when Aron Ralston’s right arm is trapped by a boulder. Alone in the middle of nowhere, the rest of the film focuses on the five days that Ralston struggles to free himself. From the moment when he gets stuck, the emotional delivery begins. It was the turning point in the plot: the theatre was silent, motionless. Had it not been for the hint of comedy throughout some of the calmer scenes, I probably would not have been able to make it through the film (Note: be sure you can stomach graphic scenes if you’re planning on seeing this one — which you definitely should).
Franco is incendiary; his struggles on screen kept me on the edge of my seat for the full duration of the movie. I will never forget the rush of emotions I experienced while viewing 127 Hours — I laughed, I cried, and I was deeply moved by the determination on screen. Franco’s acting, coupled with the camera angles and the split screen production that shows multiple angles of a scene provided an opportunity for viewers to have a very personal connection to Franco’s character. Certain moments in the film are set up in a way that Franco speaks directly to viewers, reaching out and pulling everyone into the situation with him. Written by A.R. Rahman, the original musical score impeccably brings together what the movie needs most: the perfect background music. With a mix of genres and contributions from artists like Free Blood, Bill Withers, and Dido, the audio experience becomes very powerful and intense. Most notably, it is “Liberation,” the track which accompanies the climatic scene of the film, that shook me to the bone. The film 127 Hours is one of the most powerful films I have ever had the chance to experience; you cannot simply watch it, you must experience it. With plenty of lessons to be learned throughout, this movie will force you to reflect upon your life and rearrange your priorities where necessary. Most importantly, it will teach you a big life lesson: never be naive enough to think you can handle everything by yourself unless you’re willing to face the consequences.
— Eleonora Meszaros
APPLY TODAY! Be a Don, Front Desk Assistant, or Peer Leader! be a part of...
THE HOUSING AND RESIDENCES TEAM! Applications open on January 18th and end on February 8th. Fall 2011 and Winter 2012 applications available online at:
housing.uwaterloo.ca
Arts & Entertainment
Imprint, Friday, February 4, 2011
25
Watch out Internet gamers ilui@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
D
o you play games on Facebook? Play Call of Duty on a desktop, or on an Xbox/PS3? What about playing games on your iPhone/iPod, but it requires you to be attached to the internet (ex. Zombie Farm)? At one point or another you must play games that require the usage of the internet, and soon, my good reader, you will be confined to what games you can play, and what games you cannot play.
To be perfectly fair to my good reader, this week’s The Prick with a Joystick won’t be wielding his joystick in hand while forcing myself upon you; rather, I’m just going to be a prick about things. What things specifically? The recent approved increased charges on our internet usage. The Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) allowed a decision to go through that will charge us more for internet usage. This is known as “usage-based billing.” Basically, you pay more as you want to use more data that flows on the internet. I know this may seem very trivial, but hear me out. Most of you surf the web, fairly obvious, but why do you surf the web? Movies, television, Youtube, Netflix, downloading “random” stuff that starts with the letter “P”? It’s okay, your secrets are safe with me (no matter how many copyrights rules you break). The problem with having a limited internet usage comes from the fact that you will break your bandwidth limit, and then have to pay more. On top of all those episodes of Jersey Shore or Gossip Girl that you have watched, there’s always the fact that some of you guys leave Facebook games on while watching these shows. What happens when you have these games on? You use bandwidth. What happens when you use bandwidth? Well you’re essentially paying for a service. The most important thing, however, is, what happens when you go over your bandwidth
limit. You get charged more. I know that might not sound too important to most of you, but think about it this way. You already pay $50 a month for internet access. Along with these $50, you get usually about 60 gigabytes to use. Put into perspective, if you are downloading any typical movie, you spend about one gigabyte. If you download a season of Vampire Diaries, with about 25 episodes in it, costing you about 700 megabytes each, then you’re looking at about 17,500 megabytes. That’s about 15 gigabytes. Now all of you have roommates: imagine sharing those 60 gigabytes between three or four of you. That’s a pain in the behind place isn’t it? Well that’s just great, isn’t it? Most of you probably have no problem with any of these “internet limits” because you will just pay it off. What’s wrong with paying extra then? The problem is, Canadians already pay a lot for internet usage. We pay about $6.50 for 7.6 mbps (megabytes per second). That’s not too bad, you’d think, seeing as how Mexico pays $3.33 for 4.8 mbps; we are being compared to Mexico now? I guess it was only eventual that we would be compared to a country full of people that can’t even maintain their homes. Hey, maybe we should start jumping the fence between here and America. I can’t wait to try out my parkour skills.
I guess I can’t complain, but that’s all I have done this article. I’ve only tried to make the public more aware of what’s happening. So in balancing things, here’s a dick joke.
graphics Majuratan Sadagopan
Chemist Electrician Physicist Software engineer
POSTGRADUATE CERTIFICAT ES Financial Planning Global Business Management Human Resources Management International Development International Marketing Marketing Management Public Administration
Audiology technician
See where your love of video games can take you.
Fibre optics technician
Electrical engineer
Computer analyst
Industrial designer
Laser technician
Plastics technician
Consumer products designer
Instrumentation engineer
Plastics moulding technician
Supply chain manager
Electronics engineer
Vice president of marketing
To o l d e s i g n e r
Computer game developer
Financial auditor
Graphic designer
Turn your passion into a career.
Patent law yer Cryptanalyst Software technician Plant engineer Mechanical drafter
Manufacturing engineer Merchandiser Quality control technician
With a range of grants, scholarships and loans, keeping your career goals on track may be easier than you think.
ontario.ca/myfuture
business.humber.ca
Paid for by the Government of Ontario
Date: January 2011
Studio Docket: 31012485
Ad #: motcu_2466_11_C_005_c
Colour: B/W
Publicati Ottawa, U Kingston Oshawa, Toronto, Toronto, Toronto, Toronto, Toronto, St. Cathe Welland, Waterloo Waterloo London, Windsor, Thunder London, Kitchene London, Metro To Toronto, Toronto, Kingston Kitchene Ottawa, C
Sports & Living
Imprint, Friday, February 4, 2011 sports@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Rising to the challenge Confusion reigns at midpoint of NBA season
W
Heading into their most important game of the season to date, the Warriors had a little vote of confidence as they were set to take their home court in front of a packed house on Fantastic Alumni Day. With the win, Waterloo would be tied with the Mustangs for the final playoff spot in the OUA West as they looked ahead to their clash with the first place Lakehead Thunderwolves. The 800-plus Waterloo fans who made their way to the PAC for some university hoops had to be impressed with their home team’s effort, as the game seemed to be in the Warriors’ hands from the start. Their 19-1 run to open the game had the fans jumping out of their seats early, and the margin was too wide as Western never had the ability to regroup.
hen the third season of Jersey Shore started up, it was hard to know who would carry the show’s plotline. Six episodes in, the clear MVP has been…J-Woww? If you had asked a fan to guess who this season’s drama and excitement would be centered around, an answer of J-Woww would have been as likely as a new Will Ferrell movie actually being funny — in other words, the same chances of an NBA fan answering Derrick Rose or Amare Stoudamire when asked who they thought the NBA’s MVP would be at the midpoint of the season. But that’s where we’re at with this year’s NBA season, two unlikely top candidates for the MVP trophy and a league that’s harder to figure out than Ryan Reynolds leaving Scarlett Johansson for Sandra Bullock. I mean, at this point, who is the NBA’s top team? The one with the best record is the San Antonio Spurs, but I’m not sure I trust Manu Ginobilli to stay healthy the rest of the way — and let’s face it, Tim Duncan has seen better days. The best choice is probably the Boston Celtics, a team that is deep, experienced, and talented at every position; yet an injury to the creaky Kevin Garnett or lanky Paul Pierce could derail their season swiftly. Then there are the LA Lakers, the most confusing team of all. The Lakers have beat up on bad teams all season long, and yet, fallen to all the championship contenders. Kobe has admitted he has very little cartilage in his knee and Ron Artest looks as though he’s been replaced by a zombie, but you can never count out the defending champions. And that’s without including the Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls, Orlando Magic, or Oklahoma City Thunder in the conversation — all teams that, with the right blend of maturation and health, could make a realistic run at the championship.
See BASKETBALL, page 29
See JAY-TOP, page 29
Robert Dziarmaga
Warriors put on a show at 12th annual Alumni Day
Above: Waterloo forward Tim Rossy drives to the basket between two Western Mustang defenders. The team won 93-72.
Michael Markovski reporter
T
Right: Second-year point guard Saraya Hickey lays in two of her five points, as the lady Warriors lost to the Mustangs, 76-51. banner_ad_v6.qxd:Layout 1
2/1/11
11:53 AM
Page 1
he Waterloo Warriors were involved in yet another tightly contested battle when they squared off against the McMaster Marauders on Jan. 26. However, it was a three-pointer by Scott Laws that catapulted McMaster on top in the dying seconds, as they held on to win by a final score of 93-90. Warriors’ forward Tim Rossy had another outstanding game to lead his team, scoring 23 points. He also added 10 rebounds. Cam McIntyre continued his stellar play as well, as he scored 18 points and grabbed five boards. The loss for the Warriors had them outside of the playoff bubble by one game as they prepared to face the Western Mustangs in a crucial tilt on Jan. 29.
Robert Dziarmaga
ATHLETES OF THE WEEK PRESENTS...
THIS WEEK IN
ATHLETICS RECREATION AND
FEBRUARY 5
(W) HOCKEY VS WINDSOR LANCERS 2:00 PM, CIF ARENA
FEBRUARY 4
FEBRUARY 5
VS LAKEHEAD THUNDERWOLVES
VS LAKEHEAD THUNDERWOLVES
FEBRUARY 6
(W) 6:00 PM, (M) 8:00 PM PAC GYM
(W) 6:00 PM, (M) 8:00 PM PAC GYM
VS WESTERN MUSTANGS 2:00 PM, CIF ARENA
BASKETBALL
BASKETBALL
(W) HOCKEY
JOANNA
EVAN
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
MEN’S SWIMMING
MELTZER
DZIK
Sports & Living
Imprint, Friday, February 4, 2011
Those medalin’ kids
Black and Gold are twice silver and once bronze at Montreal meet
Courtesy Adam Scotti / McGill Tribune
Chantal Pilon competes in the pentathalon at the McGill Team Challenge. Pilon finished 10th overall in her first competition. Ron Kielstra asst. sports & living editor
A
nother meet, another medal. Such is life for Shlomo Dunyo and the rest of the Waterloo Warrior track and field team these days. The Warriors travelled to Montreal over the weekend for the annual McGill Team Challenge, one of the most competitive team meets in the country, and against top competition the Warriors took home two silvers and a bronze medal. Warrior sprinter Schlomo Dunyo proved his worth against a top field in the 60 metre dash with a run of 6.90 seconds. He also set a new personal best in the 300 metre dash with a time of 35.60 seconds, a time that ranks the top 15 in the CIS. Dunyo also teamed with Jacob Muirhead, Luke Govia, and Ben Terejenko in the 4x200 metre event, and the quartet dashed their way to a bronze medal. Schlomo set a personal best split of 21.9 seconds, the second fastest time on the Warriors all-time list.
The team then took home the silver in the 4x400 metre relay, in a time of 3:22:77 — and this time it was Terejenko who moved up the Warrior record books, dropping his 400 metre split by 1.2 seconds to 49.9 seconds. But it wasn’t just the boys having all the fun. Rookie Naomi Lance was the top Warrior in all three of her events (60 metre dash, 300 metre run, 4x400 metre relay), captain Nancy Sprietzer came within 9 cm of her personal best in the triple jump, and first-year arts and business student Marian AgyeiGyamera cracked the 10 metre barrier to set a personal best in the shotput. Waterloo’s pentathaletes finished the meet off on a good note, as Justin Conlon broke the 3,000 point mark in his events with a 3,040 point performance — a performance that vaulted him into 10th place in the nation. And his counterpart, Chantel Pilon, demolished her personal best in the long jump and finished 10th place in her first competition. sports@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Warriors Athletics hosts “Ultimate Warrior Showdown” Chester Yang asst. sports & living editor
I
n front of a packed house at the CIF on Jan. 15, the men’s hockey team took the third edition of the battle of Waterloo against their bitter rivals, the Laurier Golden Hawks. Unlike most other home games, though, they weren’t the only Waterloo students who were shooting the puck. The game against Laurier was the first of five designated Warriors varsity sports events where a school spirit event, the “Ultimate Warrior Showdown,” is taking place. The five events will reward fans who show up in Warriors team colours ( black and gold) with the opportunity to be chosen to take part in a skills contest during the break. The winners will be invited to the final event on Feb. 16, where the prize includes a 32” Panasonic TV. In the first event, six contestants competed in a shootout during the second intermission trying to shoot as many pucks as they could into the net from the blue line, in a fixed amount of time. After the dust had settled, the top two finalists were chosen to move onto the finals. The Warrior spirit was not limited to students only, however, as the crowd
also included younger children, staff and faculty members, some of whom have been showing their spirit for a long time. “I’ve been coming to every home game for over a decade now,” said Prof. Maryann Vaughan, pointing to the a spot at in the corner. “That is my spot where I stand every game.” The second Ulitmate Warrior Showdown event took place during thse annual Alumni Day basketball game, leaving interested fans with only three more events to qualify. Anyone interested in participating is invited to attened any one of the games listed below, decked out in the Warriors’ colours. There will also be a wild-card contestant selected at random, so even fans who do not get into the skills event can make the finals.
Shock at the Transfer Window
A
fhamdani@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
t the time of writing this article, I have just witnessed and followed probably the most mesmerizing, shocking, and tumultuous January transfer window ever. This transfer window not only involved big name moves, but shirt burnings, protesting, and transfers that you would never expect to occur even in the darkest hour. The biggest talking point no doubt is Fernando Torres, taking the M6 all the way from Liverpool to London, where he will now be taking his talent to the Chelsea Football Club, for a staggering sum of £50 million. This move is highly significant in both football and monetary terms. First, it proves that loyalty does not exist within the modern game anymore and secondly, it proves that clubs are willing to pay ridiculous amounts of cash for players. My latter point is supported with the decision by Liverpool to replace Torres with a £35 million bid to now former Newcastle striker, Andy Carroll. While Carroll has been a revelation in the EPL, most would agree that Liverpool paid about £20 million too much. I, for one, smacked my head against the table when I heard what was actually paid. Chelsea fans, however, cannot be blamed for dancing with glee after this coup from Liverpool. Torres, along with Drogba and Anelka, probably
now have the second most deadly attack in Europe after Barcelona. With Chelsea splashing another cool £21 million on David Luiz from Benfica, the Blues have certainly signalled their intent. On the other hand, Liverpool fans have taken the news of their beloved star leaving with anger and resentment, and some have taken to the streets of Merseyside burning Torres jerseys while chanting vulgarity that not even Ricky Gervais would find acceptable. This leaves for a mouth-watering clash between the two teams when they meet in two days time at Stamford Bridge. Bets on Torres scoring the winner in the last minute anyone? While Fernando Torres was the main talking point, other clubs were busy in the market as well. A signing that impressed me was Japanese left back Yuton Nagatomo to Inter Milan. The nippy defender was instrumental for Japan at the Asia Cup, assisting with a cross which helped score the decisive goal in the final. Inter Milan coach Leonardo will be hoping that Yuton can help strengthen a somewhat leaky Inter Milan defence. AC Milan continue their policy on signing veteran defenders by signing Juventus centre back Nicola Legrottaglie for €1 million. This move may turn out to be a bargain, as Legrottaglie is a wily experienced
campaigner in Serie A and has been one of Juventus’ main players for the better part of a decade. On the German front, Ryan Babel was another notable departure from Liverpool, as he agreed to terms with Hoffenheim for around £6 million. Bayern Munich also splashed heavy cash, as they spent €15 million for Luis Gustavo. Bayern fans will be hoping that Gustavo can help the Munich team as they lie in third position, 14 points away from the leaders, a frustrating position for both Louis Van Gaal and his star studded team. So what is the final verdict on this transfer window? For one, it is unbelievable that so much cash has been spent in January, a time when not many clubs allow their players to leave. It is fair to assume that there may not be one like it in the near future. Notable clubs who did not make any major transfers include Barcelona, Arsenal, Manchester United, and Juventus, although the latter did try to sign Karim Benzema on loan. Both Barcelona and United, however, sit on top of their respective leagues. With inflated prices in January, these clubs did well to keep their wallets closed until the summer where they are for sure to invest heavily again. Until the next transfer window, it is going to be interesting to see how Torres and company get along with their new clubs.
One Year
to a Great
Career
Your degree or diploma is a great foundation — now get the job-specific skills employers are looking for in as little as eight months. Sheridan offers 22 post-graduate programs that will prepare you for a career in business, management, communications, or digital media. A variety of other diploma and degree progams are also available. Get the rewarding job you want & shine brighter.
Post-grad
OPEN HOUSE!
FEB. 24, 2011 6–7:30 P.M. Register online today!
Sun. Feb. 6, 2011 @ 2 p.m. (CIF) Women’s Hockey vs. Western Sat. Feb. 12, 2011 @ 6 p.m./ 8 p.m. (PAC) Men’s and Women’s Volleyball vs. York Wed. Feb. 16, 2011 @ 6 p.m./8 p.m. (PAC) Men’s and Women’s Basketball vs. Laurier “Battle of Waterloo” sports@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
27
postgrad.sheridaninstitute.ca
28 Sports & Living Men’s Hockey: Playoffs quickly approach for Warriors Chester Yang asst. sports & living editor
W
ith just two games remaining in the regular season, the Warriors are not resting on their laurels to just coast into the playoffs. “We’ve got to win the next three games,” said Warriors forward Jarret Schnurr. “Take it one game at a time.” The Warriors finished their road trip last night when they visited Guelph. The Gryphons were just three points behind them in the standings. In the competitive OUA West, every point counts; just six points separate the third place team with the eighth. Heading into the game last night, the Warriors had dropped their previous three decisions, losing at Windsor, Brock, and UOIT respectively. “Bit of a rough patch recently, with a few players being away and coach being away,” said forward Cory Fraser. Team captain Chris Ray and assistant captain Kyle Sonnenburg are both in Turkey participating in the World University Games as part
of Team Canada’s entry for men’s hockey. Brian Bourque, the head coach of the Warriors, is also overseas as the general manager of the squad. Without their leading scorer and arguably their best defenseman, the Warriors relied on a more balanced attack to lead the scoring. Five Warriors combined to score the six goals the team mustered in the 4-3 losses against Brock and UOIT. Schnurr, who returned from a concussion suffered in their second tilt against UOIT this season, made his mark by scoring in both games. The final two games against the Warriors will see them play host to the Lakehead Thunderwolves in a back-to-back series on Feb. 11 and 12. The Thunderwolves currently sit just one point ahead of the Warriors, but have a game in hand. The back-to-back games frame the Warriors’ season; they opened the season with a two-game set against the same Lakehead team in Thunder Bay. “It’s always a good game when we play against [Lakehead],” said Schnurr. When the regular season wraps up on Saturday, the team won’t have a lot
of time to rest. The playoffs begin the following Wednesday. “The older guys on the team knows how quick it can be. You’ve got to win the first game. If you don’t, you’re behind the eight-ball right away,” said Fraser, who is in his fifth year with the team. He was a part of the nationally-ranked team last year, with aspirations of going to the nationals. Instead, it was a disappointing finish against the Windsor Lancers. “We lost last year in three [games], in double overtime,” said Fraser. “It just comes down to who’s ready and who’s playing best at that time of year.” This year, the team hopes it will be different. Finishing top four in the OUA West will guarantee the Warriors’ home ice advantage, giving them up to two games at home where the Warriors excelled this year. The prospect of having a rink full of fans cheering for the black and gold appeals a lot to Fraser. “It’s a small rink, so the more people you get into it the louder it seems. It’s great to see more fans at the game.” sports@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Imprint, Friday, February 4, 2011
Women’s Hockey: Losses mounting after winless weekend Namish Modi
T
reporter
he women’s hockey team continued to struggle this season with another two losses. Brock handled the Warriors quite easily, coming up with a 6-3 victory on Thursday, Jan. 27. The Badgers came roaring out the gate and held a commanding 5-0 lead halfway through the second period. Forward Kelly Walker of Brock continued her torrid pace on the season, contributing two goals and an assist in the contest. Walker leads the OUA in scoring with 19 goals and 19 assists in 23 games, well above a point per game pace. Walker is also one of the smaller players with the league, standing at five foot three inches. Right wing Courtney Sutherland also had a great game notching two goals for Brock. Left wing Karolyn McIlmoyle notched three helpers. Waterloo attempted to comeback in the game with three goals in the third, but Brock proved to be too much on this night. Waterloo’s scoring came from forwards Mandy Harrop and Brittany Holland, along with a goal and assist from defenseman Ona Mezenberg. Brock outshot Waterloo by a wide margin on the game, 39-17. War-
riors goaltender Martina Michaud was pulled in the third period after making 22 saves on 28 shots. Badgers Kim Jory was credited with the victory, stopping 14 of 17 shots. The Warriors played much better on Sunday, but it still did not result in a victory. The Guelph Gryphons defeated Waterloo 2-1 in a tightly contested affair. Warrior goaltender Emma Meanor provided a solid effort, stopping 38 shots in a losing cause. Guelph scored the first two goals of the game with tallies by Dayna Kanis and Patricia Harris. Sarah McCorquodale notched the only marker for Waterloo with a goal late in the second period. Gryphons goaltender Brooke Siddall was credited with the victory, making 18 saves. The win improved the Gryphons record to 14-6-3, while the loss dropped Waterloo to 4-18-2, last place in Ontario. Laurier leads Ontario with 21 wins and 43 points, while Brock is a close second with 40 points. Waterloo will close out their home schedule this weekend with games on Feb. 5 and 6 against the Windsor Lancers and Western Mustangs, respectively. sports@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Warriors swim past Badgers Jonathan Ng reporter
A
Courtesy Omar Mosquera/ Brock Press
From left: Warriors’ swimmers Andrew Lee, Tristan Lehari and Tim Holland dive for the Men’s 200 metres breaststroke
NOW ACCEPTING
WATCARDS
sports@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
OPEN LATE: Monday - Thursday 12 am Friday - Saturday 3 am Sunday 12 am
CALL 519-747-7300 Monday Madness
$10.99 Large 4 Topping Pizza
450 Columbia Street West, Waterloo
fter completing their last tune up swim meet at Brock University against the hometown Badgers and the University of Western Ontario Mustangs, both the men’s and women’s Warrior swim teams now head to the OUA championships. Having been defeated by Brock at last year’s OUA championships, the female Warriors were able to come away with a victory over Brock. The Waterloo men were also successful against Brock, and although both Waterloo teams beat out Brock, they were unsuccessful in also coming away with victories against the Mustangs. Despite the loss to the Mustangs, both Waterloo teams swam well and made progress to meeting season goals after a disappointing performance at last weekend’s University of Toronto event. Wesley Greig led the men’s team by placing second in the 50m breaststroke and 200m individual medley.
The men were also helped by Evan Dzik, placing second in both the 50m butterfly and 50m freestyle. Other notables included Greg Gambino, who placed second in the 100m freestyle with a time of 54.0s, and Andrew Lee, who was third in the 200m breaststroke, 200m individual medley and 200m backstroke. In addition, Darius Ling and Alex Johnson had fast times in their respective events, and could challenge at the OUA Championships. The women’s team also produced some strong performances, including Bronwyn Kemp, who posted a time of 2:42.9 in the 200m breaststroke – narrowly missing the CIS qualifying time. Kelley desTombe also had a weekend to remember, with new career bests in the 50m and 100m freestyle events. Other names on the women’s team deserving of honourable mention included Stephanie Braxmeier and Karina Sils, both posting fast times as well.
Coupon Code 4201
2-for-1 Tuesdays
Buy any Medium or Large Pizza and get the
2nd Pizza FREE
(same size or smaller, same or fewer toppings) No Feast Pizzas Included
Coupon Code 8521
Late Night Special 7 nights/week till 1 am
$9.99 After 9:00 pm Large 3 Item Pizza
Coupon Code LT01
Sports & Living
Imprint, Friday, February 4, 2011
29
Jay-Top: Derrick Rose should be an all-star But what’s been most amazing so far has been the unreal play of Rose, the point guard for the Chicago Bulls, who appears to be the lead candidate for MVP thus far. Bill Simmons of ESPN mentioned that he’d heard Rose was pissed off this summer when Dwayne Wade wouldn’t return his calls. Wade flirted all summer with the idea of joining his hometown team as if the Bulls were Jennifer Aniston at a singles bar, yet didn’t pull the
trigger, ending up in Miami where he and Lebron formed their super team. Rose, on the other hand, was shafted to the side, almost as though to say, “you’re not one of the big boys yet.” Apparently, Rose took that personally, and it’s becoming evident on the court. He has played basketball at a level that the city of Chicago hasn’t seen since, dare I say, the great Air Jordan was leaping around the United Centre. It has truly been inspired, yet surprising play. In a league where heavyweights like Durant, Kobe, LeBron, Wade and Nowitski reside,
the fact that Rose clearly has meant the most to his team, and the most to his city, has been unquestionably the surprise of the year. Kick in the play of rookie Blake Griffin, and we have a season that has revealed yet another new crop of NBA stars. So while the NBA continues to confuse me like my Calculus 3 assignments, at least there’s one thing that’s undeniably certain — the future is shining bright for this league, and for its fans. sports@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Basketball: Men’s team crushes the Mustangs Continued from page 26
“It’s always important to have a good start and with a big crowd behind us we were able to feed off their energy for the rest of the game,” said Coach Kieswetter when he was asked how important the opening run was for the Warriors getting the win. After an outstanding first quarter where the Warriors held McMaster to an unthinkable 10 per cent shooting from the field, the Marauders managed to keep their composure and outscore the Warriors by a single point in the second quarter. Waterloo headed into the locker room with a sizeable 44-29 lead as the crowd cheered them off the court. A 15-point gap didn’t seem to have Waterloo feeling too comfortable to start the second half, as they stepped out of the gate on fire and added to their lead in a big way. The quarter
saw them shoot a dazzling 67 per cent from the field, going six for nine from long distance. The game was all but over going into the final quarter as the Warriors held a commanding 72-47 lead. The fourth quarter featured some unusual faces for the Warriors, as some freshman were given some playing time and the game wound down with the Warriors capturing one of their most complete and impressive victories of the season. The game finished with Waterloo shooting a superb 49 per cent in comparison to Western’s 38 per cent effort. The Mustangs were also outhustled on the glass, as they lost the battle of the boards by a decisive 45-33 margin. “We were able to keep the ball moving and find the open shooters, so we didn’t have to rush the shots. Our execution and especially our
‘screening’ was effective in getting players open,” Coach Kieswetter said. Cam McIntyre led his team in scoring once again with 18 points. Five other Warriors’ finished in double figures, with Brendan Smith putting up a career high 16 points. Alan Goodhoofd was impressive with 15 points and led all players with 13 rebounds. The win came against an important opponent, as the Warriors are now tied with the Mustangs for the final playoff spot in the OUA West. The timing of the win was also key, as the Waterloo Warriors are set to face the number one team in the conference in back to back tilts at the PAC this weekend. Be sure to support the team as they face the Lakehead Thunderwolves on Friday and Saturday. Both games are scheduled for an 8 p.m. tip off. sports@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Warriors split weekend, keep playoff hopes alive
Meaghan Loveday (#2) goes up for a spike against the Brock Badgers. Tory Auld reporter
T
he women’s volleyball team had a crucial doubleheader this weekend. The squad’s first game on Friday was against the Brock Badgers, who are currently ranked one position ahead of the Warriors in the Western Division standings. Friday’s opener was followed on Saturday with a match against the University of Ottawa Gee Gees. These two games were critical in determining whether or not the Warriors’ playoff hopes were still alive. The Warriors started the game off strong against the Badgers, winning an epic first set 29-27, finishing off the set with a nice diving play by veteran Katie Spack and incredible spikes by all-star Laura Klein. After taking an early lead in the beginning of the second set, the momentum seemed to have carried over from the first set. Unfortunately, the Warriors strong start and solid team play were not enough to take the second set with Brock barely taking it 26-24.
The third set was another classic confrontation. The set was extremely close until the Warriors fought out of the 10-10 tie game with several nice plays by freshman Meaghan Loveday, including two rejected spikes in a row followed by a memorable spike. Brock had no answer and the Warriors took the third set 25-20. Though the fourth and fifth sets were tight, the Warriors were unable to beat the higher seeded Badgers, losing three sets to two. After a close loss, the Warriors did not hold their heads down. When asked how the team would respond to the setback, Kitchener native Laura Klein replied the squad would, “try to focus on our side, better passing and blocking, continuing to play hard and with energy, and playing to win.” Saturday’s match up against the Gee Gees did not start off well for the Warriors. Ottawa took the first set 25-20 and the second set 25-18. The third set was a different story. To start the comeback, the Warriors fought back to win the toughest set of the weekend 27-25. The Warriors
Ted Fleming
then went on to win the fourth set 25-21, with a heads up play by Kayla Ng sneaking it over the middle with a light volley, and two beautiful spikes by freshman Danielle Kamps. The fifth set was more of the same, with Waterloo taking the set 15-11, winning the game three sets to two, and more importantly, splitting the weekend with a win and a loss and keeping their playoff hopes alive. Although the Warriors were unable to take the first match of the double header against the Brock Badgers, head coach Gabriele Jobst was very happy with her team’s three set comeback against the Ottawa Gee Gees. “The comeback was fabulous, we made some good line up changes, picked it up, played with tenacity, we didn’t give up. It’s important for our young team to know it is still possible to come back from behind.” The team’s next match is an away game on Feb. 4 against the Windsor Lancers, followed by a game on Feb. 5 versus the Western Mustangs. sports@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Fearless Football Forecasts
“
jsmith@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
The [Super Bowl] MVP trophy will be awarded to an offensive player even though a defensive player was more deserving.
I
t turns out that Novak Djokovic is playing a different level of tennis right now than anybody else on the men’s tour, except maybe the oft-injured Rafael Nadal. No disrespect to David Ferrer, but if Nadal was at full strength for their quarter-final, Ferrer would have been destroyed. It’s a shame that Nadal didn’t make the final because watching Andy Murray half-heartedly attempt to win a major was downright embarrassing. But to talk about how poor Andy Murray was does a disservice to how great Djokovic played. He played a near-perfect match against Federer in the semis and followed it up with an even better final match. His defense was on par with anybody on the ATP right now, and that was probably the difference between him winning in straight sets, and winning in five. The match wasn’t going to be won by Murray, that much was clear from the first set. Even when Murray was winning points he didn’t look like the better player, and in a five set match the better player will almost always prevail. For all of Novak’s past misgivings (he’s retired during a match at three of the four majors) it’s nice to see him get his second Grand Slam title. Some people will tell you that he needs to beat Nadal or Federer in the finals of a major to really validate himself, but that’s untrue. He knocked off Federer in straight sets to get to the final, and that should be validation enough. What will really be interesting, moving forward to the clay court season, is how Djokovic will fare against Nadal (should he be healthy) on the red clay of Roland Garros. He has the type of game that can be effective on clay, but it’s whether or not he can avoid the players that thrive on clay like Jurgen Melzer, who outlasted Djokovic in last yearès French Open quarterfinals. One thing is for certain: the Grand Slam tournaments in 2011 are far more compelling than in any other year, due to the inevitable decline of Federer, the wear and tear on Nadal, and the rise of some young powerhouses (Tomas Berdych comes to mind). But for anyone who watched the final last Sunday, you have to be praying that Andy Murray doesn’t find his way into any more championship matches anytime soon... First Down... Kim Clijsters is holding women’s tennis together at the moment, and that’s not a good sign for the tour. The Williams sisters don’t play enough to be a factor, Li Na and Francesca Schiavone are nice stories but each is pushing 30
“
Continued from page 26
which is ancient for a tennis player, and Caroline Wozniacki seems to be taking a page out of Andy Murray’s playbook. There just aren’t that many players worth watching on tour... Super Bowl Prediction (I): If the Steelers win, Ben Roethlisberger will be mentioned in the same breath (undeservedly) as legends like Joe Montana and John Elway. If the Packers win, Aaron Rodgers will be given the “Tom Brady treatment,” meaning he will be classified a winner for the rest of career, regardless of whether he is playing well or not, and team success will be attributed to him while failure will be shuffled aside with comments such as, “You know he’s a winner because he hates to lose ...” Seventh Inning Stretch... The funny thing about this Toronto Blue Jays off-season is the amount of high-quality transactions going on, but most of them are under the radar to the casual fan. Acquiring Frank Francisco wasn’t just a roster fill: he’s a stud out of the pen and was undervalued because of his lack of save opportunities. The fact that he was essentially part of the Vernon Wells trade just makes the deal that much better. Clearly, Francisco was the original target and Mike Napoli was just the intermediary through which they needed to acquire him. Smart shopping by AA... Super Bowl Prediction (II): The MVP trophy will be awarded to an offensive player even though a defensive player was more deserving. With Clay Matthews, Troy Polomalu, and James Harrison on the field (among other great defensive players), it’s not that farfetched... Overtime... As is usually the case with this time of year, nobody is quite sure of what to do during Super Bowl week. It’s tempting to buy into the hype, watching interviews and reading analyses, but in reality, it’s just one game out of many, so just relax and let the game come to you. It’ll be better for everyone that way. Super Bowl Prediction (III): There will be an inordinate amount of clips of Brett Favre in his first Super Bowl, and many references will be made and comparisons drawn between Favre and Rodgers... Shout out of the Week: A political shout out to ASU president and friend of “The Rundown,” Rob Fry, for a classy exit from the race for VP Internal. A tough situation handled with a lot of class.
30
Sports & Living
Imprint, Friday, February 4, 2011
Is this a part of a healthy lifestyle? Wall-sized fast food ad raises eyebrows at CIF Jazzdane Clarke reporter
W
alking into a fitness room, you’d expect to see elliptical machines, treadmills, free weights and so much more. But what if you also saw huge burger staring you in the face? Well, such is the case with the advertisement from Burger King, which is located on a wall in the CIF fitness room. I love to eat burgers ever so often, but does this seem like the right place to advertise? “I don’t like it... it’s not an appropriate place for that type of marketing,” said Jessi Murphy-Wood, a 2A Recreation and Leisure student. “Whoever was responsible for the ad hasn’t stayed true to the values and overall image of the facility.” But does this ad actually contradict any rules or policies set by the school? Not according to the policies that the athletic department have currently implemented. Bob Copeland, director of Athletics, commented by saying that “[the] policies [that we have in place] don’t allow alcohol or tobacco advertising, so with those perimeters they place the ads as apart of our agreement.” When referring to they, Copeland is alluding to the marketing company that placed the adver-
tisement in CIF. Through further conversation, Copeland described the working relationship between the athletic department and the marketing company. “We work with a marketing company that actually places the ad. We don’t have a relationship with Burger King or a lot of the ads [that we post]. They place the ads and we have a marketing agreement with them,” he said. And with the recent experiences that the athletic department has had with performance enhancing drugs, the department will most likely be changing policies concerning advertising and its policies. For example, Copeland mentioned that changing policies to disallow the advertising of nutritional supplements could be enforced because a lot of those supplements were found to contain harmful ingredients and could be easily spiked. With that being said, the ad hasn’t received many negative comments. In fact, there has only been one negative comment reported to the athletic department, making it clear that either people using the facility don’t really care, or they don’t have a means in which to voice their opinion. sports@imprint.uwaterloo.com
Robert Dziarmaga
Postgraduate Program
Campus Rec introduces new Muay Thai program for students
Jonathan Ng
e d a r g M up e e r g e d r u o y e r o m for reporter
Are you A Kinesiology grAduAte? Then take the Exercise Science and Lifestyle Management Postgraduate program and build on the knowledge you have acquired in your university undergraduate degree. The program will provide in-depth, hands-on experience in the areas of health and lifestyle counselling, fitness assessment, exercise prescription for healthy and clinical populations, and more. You’ll learn in small groups that are instructed by expert faculty who are currently employed in the fitness and health industry. Learn more at our information sessions. For details visit humber.ca/fitness
more for you at Humber
uay T hai, or Thai boxing, a sport in which two people kick, punch, knee and elbow each other in a ring, is now being offered at UW. Seemingly brutal at first glance, Muay Thai is a culture, religion, and way of life for those who practice the martial art. In addition, many treat Muay Thai as both mental and physical fitness. UW’s Muay Thai program is led by Jay Bathija (Poo Choi Kru, or head instructor) and Andrew Poon (Kru Yai, or assistant instructor), both from Victory Muay Thai in Guelph. “The idea is to inspire people to do more, better, mentally and physically. Somewhere in all those pushups and sweat, you find strength and focus for school, relationships, whatever,” said Poon, who originally entered Toronto’s Siam No. 1 Muay Thai Academy searching for inspiration himself, out of shape and unfocused academically. “I got into Muay Thai at a shitty time in life, just to get back in shape,” said Poon. “But going deeper in the sport, I learned that it’s mental just as much as it is physical. It fired me up in all aspects of life.” Recently, Muay Thai was put on display for students in the SLC, where athletes from Victory Muay Thai, including Poon, put on a live demonstration of the martial art. Some students, including Karolyn Xie, were lucky enough to try the sport out for themselves. “It’s really tiring, but tons of fun,” Xie said.
Andrew Poon demonstrates Muay Thai in the SLC
“I w a s s o r e f o r d ay s. But it was totally worth it,” Phoebe Liu, a health studies major who trained with Poon before, added. UW’s Muay Thai classes started on Thursday, Jan. 20, and are being held for eight weeks this term. With enough demand, further classes at different time slots will be added. Aimed at beginner to intermediate students, each class starts conditioning, including skipping, challenging aerobics, calisthenics, and stretching, and finishes with techniques training, including footwork, punches, kicks, knees, and defense.
Courtesy Phoebe Liu
Interested students can register in the PAC athletics office with their WatCard. Fees are $50 for one class per week, or $80 for two classes per week. sports@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Comics & Distractions
Imprint, Friday, February 4, 2011
31
If you could create a new Feds executive position, what would it be? By Robert Dziarmaga and Felicia Rahaman
“Co-ordinator of Food Services.” Evan Chan 3B Speech Communication
“Feds ombudsperson to make sure Feds are doing their job properly.” Andrew Moull 4B History/Political Science
“VP of naptime.” Tegan Holderness 1B Science
“I don’t know.” Nilani Logeswaran 4B Arts and Business Canadian Marketing 100 Yonge Street, 6th Floor Toronto, ON M5C 2W1
File Name: sb_SPSP_10_3125x7_5_Waterloo_2 Size: 10.5” x 7” Type Safety : Colours: CMYK - 4 colour, PMS 485
By Mika Ilic and Majuratan Sadagopan
Publication: Imprint Material Deadline: Aug. 16, 2010 Insertion dates: Sept 3, 2010 Initials: SP
CHECK OUT VIDEO CAMPUS QUESTION AT IMPRINT.UWATERLOO.CA
We’re as committed to your education as you are Scotia Professional ® Student Plan is a comprehensive package of financial solutions designed to meet the unique needs and goals of professional students. Scotiabank provides: • Excellent program limits and rates • No fee plan account • No principal payment until 12 months after graduation • Choice of No-fee ScotiaGold ® VISA* card or No-fee Scotia Moneyback® VISA* card • On-line financial training modules for students.
® Registered trademarks of The Bank of Nova Scotia. * Visa Int/Lic. User The Bank of Nova Scotia.
Contact your Scotiabank faculty representative for further information. Paul Smith 519-571-6400 paulg.smith@scotiabank.com www.scotiabank.com/studentprofessional
32
Comics & Distractions
Imprint, Friday, February 4, 2011
MICHAEL TO (mto@imprint.uwaterloo.ca)
GEOFFREY HILL (distractions@imprint.uwaterloo.ca)
OUT OF CONTEXT
PAUL MCGEOWN (pmcgeown@imprint.uwaterloo.ca)
JON KIM (distractions@imprint.uwaterloo.ca)