Thursday, October 23, 2014

Oh hai, Western!

Brent Holmes investigates the popularity of The Room among Western students. >> pg. 4

thegazette

TODAY high 13 low 2

You’re tearing me apart Lisa since 1906

TOMORROW high 13 low 3

WESTERN UNIVERSITY • CANADA’S ONLY DAILY STUDENT NEWSPAPER • FOUNDED 1906

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2014

VOLUME 108, ISSUE 29

Eligible voters overlooked

>> ELECTION ISSUES 2014 • JOBS

Amy O’Kruk NEWS EDITOR @AmyAtGazette

Taylor Lasota • GAZETTE

Olivia Zollino NEWS EDITOR @uwogazette

The idea of searching for a career is a daunting task many graduating students face as April looms.

While Western University is above Ontario’s average for having graduates with jobs two years after graduation — 93.9 per cent versus 92.2 per cent for the average Ontario university — the jobs these graduates are finding are, for the most part, not in London. Approximately 86 per cent of graduates find career opportunities outside of Forest City.

Students leave the city for a variety of reasons, including personal and professional, according to Jen Carter, vice-president external of the University Students’ Council.

“To begin with, jobs are hard enough to find as it is, and a student’s choice to leave London will very well depend on where their job prospects are best,” Carter said. “As well, London is a smaller town than some and may have less options available for students right now.”

Currently, London seems to be having a bit of an identity crisis.

The city built upon manufacturing has lost many companies that were valuable to the job market. A recent example is the closure of the Kellogg’s facility, resulting in 500 job losses.

While manufacturing is still a large portion of the city, medical research and insurance are starting to dominate London’s economy.

Although London is progressing to become more attractive to graduates, it has a lot of work to do.

Carter noted that London has identified retaining graduates as an issue. Jobs pose a large obstacle when students are deciding where to ground themselves.

Nicole Tate-Hill, program manager at Western Continuing Studies, said she felt pigeonholed when searching for jobs. She was either over-qualified or lacked experience.

But finding a job was not just an issue unique to London.

“I felt my chances in London were as good as they were anywhere else,” Tate-Hill said.

If London wants to retain graduates and grow as a population, the city must distinguish itself from other communities. That is an issue the elected mayor and councillors will have to address.

Jeff Watson, employer relationship developer and team coordinator with the Student Success Centre at Western, said having job creation as a priority is a good political direction for candidates to take.

“We are always enthusiastic to work with our local councillors, economic development boards and chambers of commerce to ensure the young people are integrated into local opportunities,” Watson said.

How these mayoral and councillor candidates go about addressing job creation may make or break not only their campaign, but London, too.

WHAT WARD 6 CANDIDATES ARE SAYING “If we can create a safe, vibrant downtown core it will go a long way toward bringing jobs to the city. We need good transit, good parking and more residents in the core to make this happen. Bus Rapid Transit and urban densification plans are both steps in the right direction.”

Alasdair Beaton “London has both challenges and opportunities in building a city where not just jobs, but careers for new graduates can flourish. The challenges are obvious: there is no natural feature to draw tourists, we are not a provincial capital and it takes two hours to get to Toronto. But there are opportunities too, and the city needs to work with both Fanshawe College and Western to determine what needs to be done to pursue those opportunities.”

Marie Blosh “Specifically for graduates, I would like to see stronger mentorship programs for getting entrepreneurial students to launch their own business here in London. I would also like to see a culture of fostering people to get their start-up companies launched and be successful in our city, including offering short-term subsidies for rent to help soften the blow of beginning a business.

Mike Bloxam “Our lack of jobs is not unique to London. I cannot create jobs but I can create an attitude towards companies

making it more conducive to setting up shop here. Instead of building a shopping outlet along the 401, it should have been thought of as locations for big companies to locate too … in the last election I spoke of a more European style, a four day work week which would open doors for more jobs and it would reduce stress and reduce illness and health costs.

We should be working to live, not living to work.”

Cynthia Etheridge “Retaining young talent in London is incredibly important for our local economy and city council needs to do everything it can to help our smart, talented, driven graduates get fulfilling jobs in London … growing local small and medium size businesses will create more jobs for graduates and hopefully many student entrepreneurs will choose to start their own businesses here.”

Amir Farahi “One way to accomplish this is to support our local business. Further, we need to approach this problem by achieving an education system that is responsive to the workforce.

Many community organizations have suggested that some jobs in the City cannot be filled because of a lack of specific training. We need students and schools alike to direct their minds towards the job market to ensure that students receive the training and skills they need to be competitive and that the jobs we need to fill are filled.”

Phil Squire

If London residents don’t cast their ballot this year, it may not be because of disinterest. With the municipal election fast-approaching this Monday, some eligible voters throughout the city have reported they have yet to receive their voter cards.

The issue stems from a province-wide change to the way the civic election voters list is finalized.

Particularly affected are citizens living in apartment buildings. Alasdair Beaton, a candidate for Ward 6, said from what he can tell there appears to be a serious problem.

“I do have the voter list for Ward 6 and I’ve already found significant shortfalls in voter registration,” Beaton said. “There are 14 Wards in the city of London … if I can find 400 missing voters in one ward I’ve got to wonder how many other voters have been missed across the city.”

Beaton added that when he approached city hall with the issue, he was told they were aware of the problem and were working with the agency that helps provide voter data, the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation.

Terry Day, an account manager at MPAC, said the company’s job is to provide initial data to the city which needs to be later finalized.

“We provide them with the preliminary list of electors which is a list that they can use to start to create the eligible voters list,” Day said. “It’s the city’s responsibility once we provide them with the preliminary list of electors.”

>> see ELIGIBLE pg. 2

Inside

•••

Choosing classy costumes

• P3

October Mayor Madness: Dennis Perry

• P3

Head to Head: See The Room in theatres or by yourself?

• P5

Head to Head: Intervention against ISIS?

• P6

Men’s Lacrosse defeats Laurentian

• P7

Women’s hockey defeats Team China

• P8

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thegazette • Thursday, October 23, 2014

Caught on Camera

CROSSWORD By Eugene Sheffer Kelly Samuel • GAZETTE

BEARLY HUMAN – AN S.O.S. Sugar Crisp was on campus yesterday giving away free boxes of cereal to economically challenged students. All that was required of students was a tweet mentioning Sugar Crisp and a photo of the stand. What you didn’t know is that this isn’t just a costume. This is a half-man, half-bear, doomed to be paraded around campuses with a perma-smile on. Mascots have feelings too. Never forget.

Ward 6 candidate speaks on campus Mathura Thiyagarajah CONTRIBUTOR @uwogazette

Solution to puzzle on page 7

4 Pizzas

Getting students to care about politics and to vote in the upcoming municipal elections was the theme of Amir Farahi’s Tuesday speech on campus.

Farahi, who is a Ward 6 candidate and Western student himself, spoke to students about young voters’ apathy.

In his speech, Farahi denounced the belief that young people are apathetic about their government.

Rather, students do not believe they have a voice since candidates have ignored them in past elections.

“By engaging with young voters, more students will make an effort to vote and we will send a clear message on October 27 that the idea about youth not caring

about politics is simply a myth,” Farahi said. “It’s just that we need people of integrity who are willing to stand up for those who don’t have representation.”

In the last municipal election, voter turnout amongst students totalled 1.73 per cent out of 30,000 students.

Farahi recounted advice from prominent stakeholders of the city that he should neglect young voters due to their low voter turnout.

Instead, Farahi has reached out to students in residences and throughout campus, going door-to-door during his candidacy.

“The feedback from young people has been tremendous. I think a lot of people have heard this message and that a lot of the young people are excited and eager to vote,” Farahi said.

MEDIUM Many not registered

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to vote in election >> ELIGIBLE continued from pg.1

Beaton noted that an apartment building that is especially impacted, 1 Grosvenor Gate, is populated by some residents who have lived there for decades. He elaborated saying this year’s mix-up has a chance to compromise voter turnout across the city.

“A voter card reminds a person that there’s an election coming up, it tells them that they’re a registered voter and most importantly it tells them where to go and vote,” Beaton said.

The city reported the number of eligible voters for this election is 256,930, down from 262,028 in the last election.

Although the problem might not be resolved in time for the election, Beaton said the city will be reaching out to management at compromised apartment buildings in an effort to let residents know what’s happening. Beaton will also be distributing informational flyers in Ward 6.

T

HERE ARE 14 WARDS IN THE CITY OF LONDON … IF I CAN FIND 400 MISSING VOTERS IN ONE WARD I’VE GOT TO WONDER HOW MANY OTHER VOTERS HAVE BEEN MISSED ACROSS THE CITY. ALASDAIR BEATON WARD 6 CANDIDATE

Regardless of if eligible electors have their voter card or not, they will still be welcome at the polls as long as they have the proper identification. Overlooked Londoners who are unsure of their eligibility can visit www.voterlookup.ca to find out.

The Cryptoquip is a substitution cipher in which one letter stands for another. If you think that X equals O, it will equal O throughout the puzzle. Single letters, short words and words using an apostrophe give you clues to locating vowels. Solution is by trial and error. © 2002 by Kings Features Syndicate, Inc.

•3

thegazette • Thursday, October 23, 2014

Conscious costume choices for this Halloween Kevin Hurren NEWS EDITOR-AT-LARGE @KevinAtGazette

With only one week left until Halloween celebrations begin, many are struggling to find last minute costume ideas. But this week, the University Students’ Council is advising students to be critical of a costume before it becomes more trick than treat.

The Question Your Costume campaign, facilitated by Ethnocultural Support Services, aims to raise awareness around costumes that perpetuate harmful stereotypes or degrade cultural traditions.

According to Ethnocultural Support Services coordinator Surer Mohamed, the campaign is a way to make ideas of cultural appropriation more accessible to students.

“Cultural appropriation is basically when members of what might be considered a dominate group feel they have the license to take and use elements of marginalized cultures,” explained Mohamed.

These elements, however, are often exaggerated – creating stereotypes and caricatures of a community, she said.

Though the campaign has similarities with the popular Ohio University movement, We’re A Culture, Not A Costume, Mohamed said this week’s work is a consequence of what took place at the university last Halloween.

Specifically, the Halloween

pop-up shop in the basement of the University Community Centre sold, according to Mohamed, costumes that received some backlash.

“A lot of people felt that the costumes there were extremely inappropriate, so this year we’re being proactive about it.”

This proactive approach is important for Valerie Parrett, another Ethnocultural Support Service executive member.

A number of costumes are blatantly racist, but Parrett says that’s not the only concern.

“A lot of these costumes are also sexualized. So it’s not just the geisha costume, it’s the ‘sexy geisha’ costume – and that’s not okay,” Parrett said.

Both Mohamed and Parrett encourage students to visit the UCC booth sometime in the next few days or contact Ethnocultural Support Services to learn more about what implications a costume might have.

It’s this learning aspect of the campaign that Emily Addison, USC vice-president internal, supports.

“One of the things I really like about this campaign is that it’s not forcing anything on students – the goal is purely educational,” Addison said.

“That’s really the responsibility of USC coordinators, to provide important information so students can make the right decision.”

But this decision can often make the difference between a good Halloween and a bad one.

Kelly Samuel • GAZETTE

When a student sees a costume at a party or event that plays on cultural stereotypes, Mohamed said, it takes that space away from the individual – an unfortunate experience that has happened to her personally.

“You’re standing there and you question, don’t you see me? Don’t you see that this is going to be a problem for me? It feels like people don’t even recognize you’re a part of this space – a space we share.”

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Join us to find out more at Western University on Friday October 24.

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WHEN: LOCATION:

This is the eleventh of eleven mayoral candidate profiles.

CONTACT:

We hope to see you there!

Name: Dennis Perry Number: 226-378-5711 Twitter: @DennisforLondon YouTube: www.youtube.com /c h a n n e l / U C Wa qY M F Y _ mfrw38MaEOLd6w ABOUT THE CANDIDATE

Not every mayoral candidate has, or needs to have, diverse political experiences.

Some just need to have a vision for the city, and that’s exactly what candidate Dennis Perry brings to this election.

Perry, a graduate from Medix’s Massage Therapy program, has worked at an auto shop for the last six years. Now, he turns his sights on city hall due to a belief that the council should get back to focusing on what’s best for London.

Perry’s working man experience gives him a unique perspective for municipal affairs. He sees council as employees of the city’s residents, and as such should be performing at levels that the people dictate.

Instead of focusing on monetary concerns, Perry hopes to redirect council’s attention to a one-on-one, humanistic relation to their role as public servants.

Friday 24 October 2014 at 12.30pm Room 3134, Western Student Services Building (WSS) Please RSVP to NZCC by emailing recruitment@nzchiro.co.nz

Courtesy of Dennis Perry

ABOUT THE PLATFORM

Because of Perry’s humble campaign, many of his platform points revolve around small-scale accomplishments.

These include fixing the infrastructure for London’s bike lanes, improving points in the sewer system and fostering a better relationship with the London Transit Committee.

That said, Perry also touches on larger goals. Technology, for

instance, is a priority for the candidate, who hopes to attract a new wave of modern business to London.

On the note of technology, Perry also prioritizes high speed internet in public spaces, recognizing the reliance on gadgets that many Londoners now have. Making these spaces more accessible, he says, can create better associations about the city council and London as a whole.

4 •

thegazette • Thursday, October 23, 2014

arts&life

saywhat?

“You can love someone deep inside your heart and there is nothing wrong with it. If a lot of people loved each other, the world would be a better place to live.”

• Tommy Wiseau

Deputy Editor Mike Laine • GAZETTE

I

t’s after midnight on a Saturday morning at Western Film. The audience bristles with anticipation, arming themselves with plastic weaponry and waiting for the excuse chance to go crazy.

The camera pans to a side-table and on it — a file photo of a spoon.

A cacophony of “SPOON!” erupts from the theatregoers. A volley of plastic spoons falls towards the screen. From the balcony, somebody tips over a full Western trough burying the audience below in popcorn.

From the back of the theatre, someone slings spoons into the heads of those in front of him. Near the front of the auditorium, a man stands up holding a plastic spork. “This isn’t a spoon! Who throws a spork?!” he shouts, only to be pelted with dozens of the plastic utensils.

To some, it may sound like madness, but it’s really just another normal screening of the cult film, The Room.

“I started three or four years ago when I first brought the midnight movies back. I got a whole bunch of requests from students [for The Room]. I had never heard of the movie — at first I thought [the requests] were jokes,” recalls James Waite, manager of Western Film. “I showed it the first time in October or November, and we had 300 people show up.”

Hailed as the worst film ever made, The Room was produced,

directed, written and acted in by the enigmatic Tommy Wiseau in 2003.

“What The Room has going for it is that it is so interactive,” explains Greg Sestero, who stars as Mark in the film and also helped produce the film.

Last year, Sestero published The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside The Room, The Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made recalling the film’s chaotic production.

“I think The Room comes from one mind and it makes every possible wrong decision that you could and it did it so well,” Sestero comments.

One of those decisions caught on in a way nobody expected. Sestero relates in his book that nobody bothered to change the file photos in the frames decorating one of the sets, leaving pictures of spoons in the frames. Whenever those pictures appear, audiences will throw plastic spoons at the screen.

“There’s literally thousands of spoons on the floor. People will come in with several packages of 500 spoons. The last couple times, there have been people who take [the spoons] with them [at the end of the night] to bring them back the next time,” says Waites.

According to Sestero, the trend was started by the film’s original fan base.

“They were film students and they couldn’t believe what they were watching since [the film] did

everything wrong,” Sestero recalls.

“They had a few screenings and they noticed the spoons that were sitting there and they started questioning.

At the very last screening, they decided to make fun of it and bring plastic spoons and start throwing them at the screen, and that ended up catching on.”

Just over 10 years after its release, The Room has grown in popularity and is even a challenger to the arguably most popular cult film, The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Western Film screens the film two to three times per term, seeing between 100 – 200 students coming out to each screening. Its popularity appears to be largely due to a loyal fan base.

Western Film’s second screening of The Room this school year will be on Friday night, but it is not the only cult screening happening this week. Tonight, Rainbow Cinemas will be screening The Rocky Horror Picture Show as part of a charity event for The Regional HIV/AIDS Connection. The event has been held for six years and sees upwards of 180 people from all age groups coming out to see the film.

“The Rocky Horror Picture Show is this call to people to get their freak on,” says Natalie Herbert, fund development coordinator for The Regional HIV/AIDS Connection.

“We thought that is a great match with us as an organization that talks about sexuality and drugs as the main way that HIV is transmitted.

We also don’t want to be seen as an organization that is about no fun.” “[The Regional HIV/AIDS Connection] do a fantastic job. One of the best I’ve ever seen. They seat the audience with people who know exactly what to do and it’s just a nonstop fun event,” says Dean De Abreu, manager at Rainbow Cinemas in London.

Like The Room, The Rocky Horror Picture Show is known for its audience interaction. From costumes to props, the Time Warp to a call-andresponse script, the film sees audience members throwing rice at the screen and actively participating in the screening.

“It’s the classic. It’s probably the most popular cult film. I’m not even sure why I love it but it’s tons of fun,” De Abreu notes.

To Herbert, what makes Rocky Horror popular is this audience interaction.

“It’s not just this passive viewing experience,” says Herbert. “I think that’s what it is about cult films — it’s the sameness, you get to go back and relive it over and over again. It’s the same and new each time and I think that’s part of the appeal of going back to something that is really unique. It speaks to people on a really unique level even though at first glance, it’s a really kitschy film.”

For Dr. Michael Raine, a film studies professor at Western, films like The Room and The Rocky Horror Picture Show represent a

shift towards “cinema beyond the screen.”

“I think cult films allow people to “perform sociality” — we’re always social but these events stage it — we become aware of being part of a crowd,” Raine writes via email.

Raine teaches several cult films in his “World Cinema” class including Sukiyaki Western Django and Tears of the Black Tiger. He believes cult films are often popular because they speak to cultural moments.

“I dispute that they’re all bad films. I think Rocky Horror spoke to a certain cultural moment where gender and sexuality was coming into question and even though its picture of liberation is no longer right-on, it spoke to people who didn’t want to be like the straights in the film,” Raine writes.

Despite the audience participation involved in cult films like The Room and Rocky Horror, not all cult films rely on the same audience involvement, such as Blade Runner or The Big Lebowski.

“There’s different kinds of cult films — there’s the traditional kind of cult film, like Rocky Horror and The Room, that have this following.

They tend to be bad movies that are fun to watch,” Waites explains.

“There are other kinds that are movies that should be seen on the big screen — like Blade Runner, for example.” >> see CULT pg.5

•5

thegazette • Thursday, October 23, 2014

94.9 CHRW TOP 10 1

Holmes is on the Case

Brent Holmes DEPUTY EDITOR @BrentAtGazette

I can still remember the first time I saw The Lord of the Rings in theatres with a packed audience on its opening Friday night. Having read the book, I turned to my terrified father as the orc army marched on Helm’s Deep and whispered, “Don’t worry, they win this one.” Then experienced the collective shock and shouted “Oh shit” when the wall blew up.

Despite the new ability to watch movies everywhere — on your computer, your phone and soon probably, your microwave — nothing compares to seeing a film on the big screen. Films were originally something that was always watched with an audience, and as cult films like The Room demonstrate, the audience is what really shapes a film.

Seeing The Room in theatres does not take away from understanding how bad of a film it is — after the 15 minutes of lengthy sex scenes that punctuate the first 45 minutes, nobody will think the film is good.

A key thing about The Room is that nobody expected this film to be seen by anyone. This film would

not have the following it has without the film students who started throwing spoons and mocking it at one of the screenings. If it weren’t for them, nobody would be talking about The Room — I think this speaks to a larger reality in cinema culture.

As a film critic, a key frustration for me is audiences are the defining quality of every movie. When a film like the latest god-awful Transformers movie blows away the box office, it means there will be sequels. When an independent film gets momentum through word-ofmouth promotion, it means wider distribution deals. The Room is becoming a Western tradition because of the students who asked that it be screened at Western Film and the people who go to see it over and over again.

The best way to really understand a film is to see it with an audience, whether it is the year’s best film or an outrageously bad cult film. When Cameron Bailey, director of the Toronto International Film Festival, spoke at Museum London in April, he noted that being able to interact with filmmakers and other members of the audience shaped festivalgoers’ experience of films like 12 Years A Slave and Gravity.

The ability to talk and engage with others is what festivals like TIFF use as a draw to get people to engage with cinema, regardless of what film it is, the experience is shaped by the people around you just as much, if not more, than the films themselves.

Audiences create cult film experience >> CULT continued from pg.4

“I think The Big Lebowski is actually a very good movie, it’s just a little off-beat and ahead of its time,” Sestero comments. “I think that’s a cult film for the right reasons and I think The Room is a cult film because it’s so sincere in what it is trying to accomplish, and so unexplained and so bad.”

Raine notes that The Big Lebowski works both as a stoner movie but also speaks to a certain time and place, like Rocky Horror, because of its “nostalgia for hippy thinking, before the market took over everything.”

What is universal about cult films is that they are about more than the films themselves, but how audiences interact with what is on screen.

“You can’t make a cult movie,” Waites says. “They have to develop on their own. That’s how you get things like Showgirls, which is another bad movie that people love to laugh at. Rocky Horror was a serious movie to start with, the whole thing with the lines and the props just sort of developed on its own later.”

“I think it’s just the word of mouth,” Sestero comments. “There’s nothing out there really like [The Room]. I feel like people just want to show their friends and experience it again. It’s the kind of movie you want to yell stuff at and pick apart.

It’s not the type of movie you can find easily and that makes it more fun to share.”

Reflecting on Rocky Horror, Herbert posits that these kinds of films allow viewers to step outside of ‘normal.’

“It’s a group experience that takes you out of yourself,” she says.

For some, the popularity of certain cult films remains elusive.

“I don’t get The Room, but it is super popular right now,” says De Abreu. “I think everyone has their guilty pleasure list — films nobody will say are good but we love watching over and over and over.”

“As for the bad films [such as The Room] ... I don’t know. People like to feel superior?” Raine jokes. “Feels more like the college wags than like the films that go on to be ‘classic’ cult films.”

For The Room, it’s popularity will likely continue as word of mouth continues to spread. A film adaptation of Sestero’s book, with James Franco starring as Tommy Wiseau, will likely only increase the amount of attention this film has received.

“I heard of students coming to The Room referring to it as a new Western tradition, sort of like going to Rick McGhee,” Waites says. “I find that kind of interesting the way that has just developed on its own.

I haven’t tried to do that. The Room just developed on it’s own.”

“Everyone pretty much is in the same space when they are in the movie theatre watching The Room.

When you watch it with an audience, it comes alive,” Sestero says.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show will be playing at Rainbow Cinemas tonight at 7:30. Tickets are $20 and the theatre recommends buying them in advance.

The Room will be playing at Western Film on Friday at midnight.

Tickets are $5 or free if you come dressed in costume. Bring your own spoons.

World of Raycraft Richard Raycraft MANAGING EDITOR @RichAtGazette

Let’s be clear: The Room is a terrible, terrible movie. I have no hesitation saying that it is the worst movie I have ever seen in my life. One can barely absorb its unabashed terribleness after watching it. To say the script, acting and cinematography are awful is too soft. It was written and directed by the star, the enigmatic Tommy Wiseau, who delivers lines so poorly they frequently become inside jokes between friends. The movie was so bad that upon its release more than half of the audience walked out in the first few minutes.

And yet, I enjoyed The Room immensely upon viewing it.

Evidently many others have too, considering that movie-goers now line up by the hundreds to see it rather than walking out.

The question many grapple with, more than a decade after The Room’s premiere, is exactly why people enjoy something so terrible.

On the surface, the answer is simple. My friends and I enjoyed The Room because it’s funny for the aforementioned reasons. It’s stupid; silly. But I think the reasons it’s become a big hit are more

complex than that — it’s so bad it breaks new boundaries in what is possible. I found it hard to believe anything so strange could have possibly arose at all.

This is ultimately the reason one must experience The Room alone or with a few friends when first viewing it. It’s become a cult film with its own traditions, but it’s important to remember that, at its origin, it was simply an unbelievably bad movie, and not an ironically good one. Yes, audiences interact with the film. In an interview with The Gazette this week, co-star Greg Sestero said this is why he believes The Room works — it’s incredibly interactive. But he himself admits that it didn’t start out that way, with that purpose. It was just a bizarre film that befuddled everyone who watched it.

This isn’t to say one shouldn’t see a cult film screening of The Room.

You’d miss out on an interesting experience if you didn’t. My point is you’d also be missing out if you don’t see the raw, bare film prior to in all its horrible glory. The terrible lines aren’t followed by shouts. Your view of the dismal acting and cinematography isn’t obscure by a swarm of spoons. It’s just you, your disbelief and Tommy Wiseau. There’s never been a movie like The Room, and there never will be again.

So please, if you’ve never seen The Room before, and you plan on going to a screening, watch the movie on it’s own. It’s terrible, and you should experience that before you enjoy it as a cult film.

2

A-Fos and the Rude Youth Trying to Be Better The New Pornographers Bill Brusers

3 Banks Godess

4 Saukrates Amani

5 Shabazz Lese Majestey

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Various CHRW presents: LND

7 Pat Maloney Repotting

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thegazette • Thursday, October 23, 2014

opinions City leadership required for London to prosper Western University graduates looking for work are finding it outside of London and it’s a shame because the number and quality of graduates the university produces could really contribute to the city.

Whether it’s part-time jobs during the school year, summer jobs or full-time jobs after graduation, many students have to look outside of London to find work.

A large part of the problem is that students are not able to get a job in the field of their degree. Rarely can students get a job in London that will contribute to future career goals and they often travel to the GTA to find employment in their fields.

London’s low retention of students has long been an issue in municipal politics. Candidates for mayoral and councillor positions will need to have ideas and policies to help London attract more jobs and, by extension, retain graduates.

But what can London do to create jobs and careers for graduates? Any solution will require a lot of work from the programs Western offers and the businesses London can bring into the city.

In comparison to other city regions in Ontario, the Tri-Cities area has established a niche market in the tech industry. This, combined with effective co-op programs, help Laurier and Waterloo students find jobs in their fields post-graduation.

The major advantage to these kinds of programs is that they can get students engaged with the larger city community while still in school. If more students could find a job in their field after graduating, it may help to keep some living in London.

London’s economy is heavily based on manufacturing — an industry that has been pummelled for decades. The city needs to drastically revitalize its economy. London could build a niche market around science and research to capitalize on Western’s heavy emphasis on research. As of right now, this resource has not been used effectively.

Improving the quality of the jobs in London needs a leader who can bring together the city, businesses and Western. Cities like Mississagua have been able to draw in businesses with effective city leadership and smart policy — why not London? It’s difficult, but with the right approach London too could become an attractive, growing city.

• Gazette Editorial Board

thegazette

Volume 108, Issue 29 www.westerngazette.ca

Iain Boekhoff Editor-In-Chief Brent Holmes Deputy Editor Richard Raycraft Managing Editor

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Intervention only works when the people concerned seem to be keen for peace.

• Nelson Mandela

Breaking Brad

Abracadabra Al-Azem

Bradley Metlin SPORTS EDITOR

Nusaiba Al-Azem OPINIONS EDITOR

@BradAtGazette

@NusAtGazette

The media has a habit of sensationalizing stories, which some will argue they have done in the the reporting of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). There are undeniably sensational elements of the story that need to be told, such as the beheadings of journalists. It’s intense subject matter but this heinous activity has sparked a debate on how Canada should react.

ISIS is splinter group of al-Qaeda with a purpose of creating an Islamic state within Iraq and Syria. They have been known to carry out public executions, displays of extreme faith and large scale kidnapping — including in May of this year when 140 Kurdish schoolboys were kidnapped from Syria.

Not only does ISIS invoke terror within their communities but they are using their 20,000–30,000 fighters to seize control of cities and towns from south of Baghdad to the Mediterranean.

Their means are extreme and they are destabilizing efforts within the region to move forward peacefully.

While some will inevitably object, I support a Canadian military presence in the region in order to impede and stop the spread of ISIS. Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced earlier this month that he would send over 600 members of the Canadian military to the region. Prime Minister Harper has my support for a number of reasons.

Most importantly, the risk to Canadian personnel is relatively low. Military experts believe that whether on the ground or in the air, the Canadian military should be fairly safe. If this were a high risk mission, I would have more trepidation about quickly sending our men and women of the military off to the region but given the assessment, I’m much more receptive to the prime minister’s plan.

Additionally, this situation is not 2003. This is not an instance of the Western world blindly aiming at the “terrorists.” Canada would be working with the United States, France, The United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, The United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Australia and other nations. Moreover, Iran is also working independently to stop ISIS. This is a global effort aimed to help protect a region — this is not blind aggression as we saw in 2003 with the Iraq War. Prime Minister Harper noted in the House of Commons, “one could say that while the mission is evidently necessary, we don’t have to be the ones doing it because others will. But throughout our history, that has never been the Canadian way.”

Some will disagree with Harper and note that Canada is a peacekeeping nation that doesn’t really involve itself in military offensives. Indeed, Canadians would ideally forge the way through diplomacy in many situations. With ISIS, however, this is a radical insurrection. Canada must participate in a proactive way to assist in establishing peace within the region.

I never want to see the Canadian military put at unnecessary risk. That said, as Canadians we react. As Canadians we strive to make the world a better and more stable place. This is not a mere knee-jerk reaction to three journalists being beheaded.

Rather, this is a thought through plan to stop a radical threat before it permanently obstructs harmony in Iraq and Syria.

It seems I went to sleep one night two weeks ago and woke up in 2003 to Canadian officials debating going to war, alongside America, in Iraq — only this time, we’ve made the wrong choice.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s office insists that the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) — which I will hereto refer to using the name Iraqis and Syrians themselves call the anything-but-Islamic group, Daesh — is a “direct threat.” Harper’s spokesperson Jason MacDonald pulled on some heartstrings with his fervent cry that “innocent children, women, men and religious minorities live in fear of these terrorists.”

That’s all very true. Nobody disputes that Daesh has engaged in deplorable and horrific acts of violence, and that it is adding chaos to an already unstable region.

But is care for the innocent children, women and men living in fear an argument that really holds for Harper? Not after largely sitting on the sidelines for three years while the Assad government has butchered, raped and tortured civilians in the hundreds of thousands in the same exact region he’s currently apparently so concerned about. Innocent children, women, men and religious minorities live in fear of Daesh now, but they’ve been consistently living in fear of the Assad regime for years and we didn’t jump to our CF-18s.

That’s not even addressing the fact that attempting to paint Daesh as an actual and imminent threat to Canada is blatantly wrong, irresponsible and sensationalist of our government.

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service director Michel Coulombe told the House of Commons public safety committee that there is “no information indicating an imminent attack.”

We’re talking about a group of bandits in the middle of the desert, thousands of miles away. They have no foreign military or political support, and in fact, are securing weapons largely because the West keeps accidently arming them.

If we want to make the claim that these groups romanticize terrorism in the eyes of impressionable Canadian (or international) youth, that’s fine — but then the issue is not with Daesh, rather an ideological war that cannot be won by arbitrarily bombing certain groups. If anything, engaging in violence would only legitimize these groups in the eyes of their supporters. Do you know what creates terrorists out of innocent young men and women in the Middle East? I know what doesn’t: not bombing their countries.

This is not to minimalize the strength of the group – Daesh is dangerous. But it’s important to understand that their ability to “conquer” lands in Iraq and Syria does not speak to the strength of their group, rather the weakness of the general region. So why are we addressing this symptomatically? If you squash Daesh, you will get something else eventually, because you don’t address the conditions that are nurturing these groups.

So if Harper is signing up for this war to hop on board the American train wreck of foreign interventions, let’s just call it what it is, because to call this an attempt at stability is insulting.

To put it in the indelicate but perfect words of a hipster bumper sticker, “bombing for peace is like fucking for virginity.”

Editorials are decided by a majority of the editorial board and are written by a member of the editorial board but are not necessarily the expressed opinion of each editorial board member. All other opinions are strictly those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the USC, The Gazette, its editors or staff.

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• Please recycle this newspaper •

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thegazette • Thursday, October 23, 2014

sports

tweetoftheweek I’m officially a KC @Royals fan for the next 2 weeks. I urge everyone else to join the bandwagon. DOWN WITH THE GIANTS!!!

• Scott Warner (@ScottWarner18) perfectly encapsulating the sudden fascination with the Kansas City Royals before game one of the World Series.

Rundown >> The Western Mustangs placed third for women and fourth for men in the Ontario University Athletics golf championships • Jesse Mercer earned the title of female OUA First-Team All-Star.

Mustangs’ lacrosse lacerates Laurentian Suhaib Al-Azem GAZETTE STAFF @SportsAtGazette

The Western men’s Lacrosse team proved that nothing beats the Mustangs spirit last Saturday against the Laurentian Voyageurs. Although it was raining and the temperature was close to freezing, the men shouldered through the discomfort to dominate the Voyageurs in a 11–5 game.

The victory puts the Mustangs at a record of 8–2 on the season.

Midfielder Dylan Ham led the way for the ‘Stangs with three goals.

Attack Ryan McCrory also had a good day on the field with two goals and two assists.

Right from the start, the Mustangs were aggressive on the field, scoring within the first two minutes of the first quarter.

The offensive pressure transcended the quarter gap, and the ‘Stangs were strong on the attack.

But the aggression hindered their play, with a multitude of penalties for both teams. Not only was Western strong on their offensive, but they largely shut down the Voyageurs defensively. Defenceman Matt Spranger intercepted a dangerous pass which later prompted a goal for Western. When complimented for

his gameplay, Spranger was modest in his excellence, attributing the goal to the team makeup.

“Our team has a lot of depth, I think that’s one of our strengths but we defiantly got some guys in that don’t usually get as much touches as today, which is good for the team and gives everyone a chance to learn the systems better, and get better as a team,” said Spranger. “When the team is better, the players get better.”

It was the second stanza when it began to rain, making the turf slippery and difficult to run on.

Despite this, Western managed to score again and again to give them a 7–1 edge at half-time. Despite the difficult conditions, the teams toughed it out.

Water wasn’t the only thing raining on the field. It was challenging to distinguish which team was collecting the most yellow flags. Unlike in most sports where a yellow flag is a warning, in lacrosse, a yellow flag is a penalty. It was these penalties that gave Laurentian the chance to score another goal, but Western held them off and scored three goals of their own. It was the third quarter of the game, that the Mustangs chemistry began to fade and the Voyageurs started to work on their own.

Despite having 12 fewer players

Jonathan Dunn • GAZETTE

than the Mustangs to substitute, Voyageurs scored three goals, two Laurentian didn’t have trouble of which were scored on the powerkeeping pace in the later quarters. plays. In the face of all the power Strangely, it was only during the later plays, the Mustangs still managed parts of the game that Laurentian to score a goal shorthanded courtesy actually began to score. of attack Connor Gamble.

The final quarter wasn’t a good “We just prepared a little betone for Western. The Mustangs took ter. Come out; get a better warm six penalties whereas Laurentian had up, get your legs hot, and I think none. The majority of these penal- it all started in the warm up. We ties were minor ones, only resulting did a very good job of pushing the in one or two minute powerplays. ball in transitions. It starts with the That meant that for seven minutes turnovers in our end and gives us of play Western was down one or a chance to push the ball up the more players. Consequently, the8:11field, Class_3x105_141022_GZ 10/22/14 PM Page so it all 1 starts in the defence,”

Spranger said. “I think we can just stay focused throughout the whole game especially in games where were up a few goals, I think it’s pretty easy to let your guard down and let the other team back into the game.”

Zach Grace and Michael Brown split goaltending duties for the Mustangs, stopping 14 and eight shots respectively as the Mustangs were outshot 22–19 in the contest.

The Mustangs are in action against Guelph on the road this Saturday.

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UPCOMING EVENTS

PUT YOUR SUDOKU SAVVY TO THE TEST! To solve a sudoku, the numbers 1 through 9 must fill each row, column and box. Each number can appear only once in each row, column and box. You can figure out the order in which the numbers will appear by using the numeric clues already provided in the boxes.

For solution, turn to page 2

ST. LUKE’S CHURCH, 1204 Richmond at Bernard (just north of the University Gates), will be holding their annual Ham and Scalloped Potato Supper plus dessert and beverage on Friday, Oct. 24 from 5 to 7pm. Cost: adults $12, children 6-12 $6, children under 6 free.

Jennifer Feldman • GAZETTE

STARTS AT

FREE PARKI N G

An interactive talk for first year students on everything you need to know about how to have Great (and safe) sex from your friendly and knowledgeable Obstetrics & Gynecology doctors!

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Talk will be held October 23rd at 7pm!

Check posters in campus residences for locations. Don’t miss out on this Great opportunity for Great Sex!

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thegazette • Thursday, October 23, 2014

Mustangs defeat China 4–1 in annual match Austin Wu CONTRIBUTOR @SportsAtGazette

After a slow start out of the gate, the Western Mustangs women’s hockey team capped off an exhibition match versus China’s national team with a 4–1 victory on Sunday at Thompson Arena.

The annual showdown, usually a blowout in favour of the Mustangs, was a lot closer than past contests. The team from the Far East even took the lead early in the game and held it until the middle of the second period.

While Western did claim the victory, it was far from perfect.

Mustangs’ winger Brittany Clapham believes there was a similar pattern the team needs to improve upon.

“I think we were a little slow in the beginning of the game,” she said, “but the first period is always our weakness.”

Chris Higgins, Mustangs coach, echoed similar insights.

“Slow first period,” he said. “Then we started to play pretty well. We controlled the puck pretty well, cycled it down low and finally started to put some pucks in the net.”

In what appeared to be a threatening attack, Team China came out to a roaring start, firing on all cylinders. It was evident that they had the fresher legs. Shortly after puck drop, the ice tilted in China’s favour, as the puck found the back of the net on a broken play, resulting in a 1–0 lead for Team China.

It took the Mustangs an entire period to get settled in, but they were able to score their first goal, shorthanded, in the second period. With an aggressive forecheck, Stacey Scott bumped the defender off the puck behind the net and gently passed it to Ally Galloway, who was left alone in front of the net. Galloway made no mistake and buried the puck to even the game at one.

Going into the third period, the

Mustangs had great confidence despite being held at a stalemate.

Coach Higgins made it clear he didn’t make any tactical changes for the third.

“We just played our regular game,” he said. “We didn’t change anything. We knew that they were starting to tire and we knew that we were running four lines and we knew we were starting to take over the game.”

The confidence that was instilled in this team was evident, as the offence came alive in the third period. It became a matter of being in the right place at the right time, resulting in three third period goals.

A goal and an assist by Brittany Clapham helped seal the victory for the Mustangs, though she felt her goal was fairly simple.

“It was a big scramble in front of the net and someone just kind of poked it loose and it just sat in the crease and I just poked it in,” she explained.

As the annual Western versus Team China exhibition match came to an end, it was all smiles for both teams, especially after a thrilling friendly shootout that featured seven players from their respective squads. It was won by Team China.

As a three month training stint, Team China made the journey to North America to prepare for the World Cup of Women’s Hockey next year. Most important of all, Team China’s coach Zhang Zhinan had only one expectation when facing stiff competition.

“We hope our team makes good progress by playing teams like Western, who are at a very good level,” he said through a translator.

The Mustangs team meanwhile heads north for a road swing in North Bay and Sudbury against Nipissing and Laurentian this upcoming weekend.

Mustangs forward Brittany Clapham

Iain Boekhoff • GAZETTE

Formula one revs up engines in Springett Nathan Kanter SPORTS EDITOR @NathanAtGazette

The sound of a revving engine was loud and clear this past Sunday at the Springett parking lot on the West end of campus. That’s because Western’s formula racing team was holding its annual extended appreciation day for its alumni and many sponsors.

Those who attended got the chance to check out and drive the sleek racing car, which was designed and built entirely by students last year. It was the last day the 2014 car would be out on the track, making it a farewell party of sorts.

Matt Crossan, executive manager of the club, acknowledged how the event was beneficial for

some sponsors who hadn’t been in touch with Western Formula Racing in a while.

“A lot of sponsors hadn’t seen the car so it was their chance to actually see their parts on the car and how it works in the whole,” he said.

Crossan noticed many sponsors seemed to have one reaction in common. “’Wow, for the most part,” he said.

“Driving the car for the first time they were like, ‘I had no idea it was this awesome.’ It was pretty great.”

Driving a vehicle that can go 0–100 km/h in 3.5 seconds can certainly be exhilarating – or scary – depending on how you look at it.

The vehicle tops out at 150 km/h, weighs less than 226kg, and at 120 km/h it even has enough down-force to drive upside down. A friendly

reminder that students built the darn thing. Let that sink in for a bit.

Throughout the day awards were also given out, including fastest time, best spin out and the “Mr. Plow” award for whoever hit the most cones. It was the first year awards were given out.

In the end many members of the team agreed how important it is to host such an event, including team manager Alison Waters.

“The sponsors do so much for us and we want to show that we really value what we do” she said. “One of those ways is to share our mutual appreciation for driving the car.”

Crossan also noted the importance of reminding alumni that they built a foundation for them.

“For alumni we know they’ve been around for a long time, been

through this team and put a lot into making this team what it is today,” he said. “It’s our way of saying thank you.”

One of those alumni is George Konstantinopoulos.

After graduating from undergrad at Western in 2007, he has now returned to do a master’s degree part-time and help out with the club once again.

He had a huge hand in building the 2003 Western Formula Racing car, which was also on hand on Sunday.

Konstantinopoulos explained that aerodynamics – there are wings on the 2014 model – were a main reason for the “lower” top speed of the 2003 model, at only 130 km/h. The car was always intended to go slower, and make up ground on the corners, but he also said

technology has already come a long way in the past 10 years. “[The 2003 car] is not quite as fast as the new one in large part because of the [aerodynamics] and also because mechanically we’ve learned a lot over the years as well,” he said.

Konstantinopoulos is currently working part-time for one of the clubs sponsors, Armatec Survivability, while he does his master’s degree.

This allows him to stay involved with the club on a regular basis.

“I think all alumni and all sponsors love to be involved in some way,” he said. “I’m just really happy to see the students enjoying themselves.”

Western Formula Racing will start designing their 2015 model in January.