Friday, November 28, 2014

Friday November 28, 2014

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

Robert Nanni SPORTS EDITOR @SportsAtGazette

I recall a time in high school when I contemplated trying out for the volleyball team. I was tall and could play pretty well, so nothing was really stopping me – nothing, except that I was gay.

There was no specific event that instilled a belief in me that I couldn’t try out, but I felt a very inherent sense of hostility in sports for the LGBTQ community.

Dr. Laura Misener, a professor in Western’s faculty of health sciences, researches the social impacts of sporting events, primarily the social inclusion of marginalized groups.

“Sport is very much an embedded culture,” Misener explained. “If you participate in a particular type of sport, you act a particular way, you look a particular way and you behave in a particular way.”

Sport culture is a hyper-masculine realm, where deviation from the norm introduces a sense of wrongness, resulting in a lack of belonging.

The founder and executive director of Knock-OUT, a London LGTBQ and sport social enterprise, discussed stigma in high school he experienced after publicly identifying as homosexual.

“I was a hyper-athlete, involved in any sport you can think of,” Cameron-Arthurs shared. “At my first high school, I was captain of the volleyball team.”

After switching high schools and simultaneously coming out, he failed to make it past the first round

of tryouts for his new school’s team.

“When I asked the coach what was up, he explained to me that the boys on the team from the season before had said that if I had made the team they were going to quit, so he had to look out for the team.”

This perpetual feeling of exclusion left the then-adolescent with an internal fear of the realm of sport, something he says he never want anyone else to experience.

In February, Michael Sam made headlines as the first publicly gay man to be drafted to the NFL. After being drafted to the St. Louis Rams 249th overall — a large drop from the 90th place spot that CBS Sports had predicted — and partaking in the Rams’ training camp, he was cut from the team.

In an anonymous interview with Sports Illustrated, an unnamed NFL official called football a “man’sman game,” indicating that the league is “not ready for an openly gay player just yet.”

According to Stephen Thomas, general manager for the Mustangs men’s rugby team, the situation at Western is different.

“If a guy or girl is good enough, then you play them,” he said. “We live in a very liberal society. If the other players are uncomfortable, then shape up or ship out.”

“It’s one thing to have an inclusive environment, but it comes down to, ‘I’ll be okay with you as long as you don’t come near me,’ that’s a very different piece of the puzzle,” Misener said. >> see STIGMA pg.8

NEWS

ARTS&LIFE

GAZETTE CONTEST

USC approves referendums, releases in-camera minutes

Dishing out drunk interviews

Win tickets to Tokyo Police Club, Said the Whale and The Pack A.D.

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VOLUME 108, ISSUE 48

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thegazette • Friday, November 28, 2014

Caught on Camera

Damon Burtt • GAZETTE

ATTENTION WESTERN STUDENTS! Certain areas of campus are being blocked off due to the dangerously high levels of snow.

I, Damon Burtt, would also like to apologize to Western for standing in a blocked off area and endangering my well-being.

CROSSWORD By Eugene Sheffer

OUSA releases new policy Katie Lear NEWS EDITOR @KatieAtGazette

The Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance published their newest policy paper on accountability in post-secondary institutions on Monday.

OUSA’s paper introduced their ideas on whom, for what and in what ways publicly funded universities should be held accountable.

“As primarily public institutions, it is the goal of the paper to hold universities more accountable to both the public and to students,” Jen Carter, OUSA president and USC vice-president external, said.

“This paper recognizes some of the challenges associated with the funding structure to universities.

Over the past several years, students have paid higher tuition and are for the first time ever now paying more than the government for post-secondary education.”

Carter emphasized the importance of students as stakeholders in universities, and suggests they should be given significant decision making ability in their home universities by having more student representatives with voting power on university boards.

According to Carter, Western already aligns with many of OUSA’s suggestions.

“Western is one of the schools that already falls in line with many of these practices. There is high student representation on Western’s board of governors and this involvement is respected by administration.”

The policy paper was written by a steering committee member from Brock University, in collaboration with OUSA’s home office staff before being brought to the General Assembly.

“OUSA is hoping that this policy paper will continue the conversations about accountability and this paper has made some very strong recommendations about what improving the university sector might look like,” Carter said.

News Briefs Solution to puzzle on page 7

Come join us

for news rundown at 10a.m.

in UCC room 263

MMPA

Master of Management & Professional Accounting

• Designed primarily for non-business undergraduates • For careers in Management, Finance and Accounting • Extremely high co-op and permanent placement To learn more about the MMPA Program, attend our information sessions: Tuesday, December 2nd, 2014, 11 am – 1 pm Room 210, University Centre (UCC), Western University Wednesday, December 21st, 2015, 11 am – 1 pm Room 210, University Centre (UCC), Western University

mmpa.utoronto.ca

Western leads Mars project

A team of researchers from Western is getting ready for a new research project beginning this Sunday.

The project is called HiRISE (High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) and involves taking high-resolution images of the surface of Mars from a satellite currently in the planet’s orbit.

Western post-doctoral fellow Dr. Livio Tornabene heads the first Canadian HiRISE team. He has had mission experience spanning back to the Mars Odyssey mission in 2001 and has previously held positions at the University of Arizona and the Smithsonian.

Three Western students are involved in the project — Eric Pilles and Ryan Hopkins at the graduate level and Kayle Hansen at the undergraduate level.

“I wanted to get students involved both at the undergraduate as well as [the graduate] level … to provide them with this unique experience to get involved with a real live mission,” Tornabene said.

The project ends on December 12, but before any pictures are fully released to the public there is a latency period of up to four weeks.

The team will aim for the immediate release of partial images through social media.

There are low chances of the HiRISE mission capturing evidence of any life on Mars, according to Tornabene. Finding such evidence would require bringing samples back, an endeavour researchers have been trying to accomplish for some time.

• Diego Gonzalez

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.

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thegazette • Friday, November 28, 2014

Students’ council goes loco-motion Five motions in council: marching band, O-pass and council structure Kevin Hurren NEWS EDITOR-AT-LARGE

asking for the O-week fee of $90 to be a mandatory fee for incoming students.

The current practice of selling O-passes online over the summer and during Orientation Week didn’t allow for proper planning, explained vice-president student events Sam Kilgour.

Making the fee mandatory also takes a significant burden off of the orientation staff, who have had to invest in advertising O-pass sales to the incoming class.

However, concerns were raised by council about the clarity of the opt-out process. After a few rhetorical changes to the referendum’s wording, the motion passed with 93 per cent approval from council.

MOTION #4: Council Composition Jonathan English, who sits on the university’s board of governors, presented his findings after a comprehensive look at the structure of council. English was appointed earlier this year to oversee this review, and has been consulting various council members, executive, alumni, other university councils and even Gazette editors.

What he found were concerns mainly about the size of council.

With over 60 members, Western’s students’ council is one of the largest in Canada – potentially causing issues of accountability, smooth governance and weighted debate.

The most notable suggestion from English is the removal of the firstyear councillors and voting senators.

After a charged debate, to ensure such changes could be fully thought out, council voted the motion should be tabled. This discussion will continue during a special meeting in January.

MOTION #5: Budget Resolution Because pre-emptive discussions on an improved budget resolution procedure has already taken place during earlier council meetings, this motion passed unanimously.

@KevinAtGazette

On Wednesday night, University Students’ Council members gathered for their monthly meeting, deciding on a handful of potentially contentious motions. Here’s a brief recap of the motions, with more information and a live blog found on The Gazette’s website and in next week’s issues.

MOTION #1: The Mustang Band The first motion to the floor involved the university marching band. Presenting to council earlier this term, the band had requested a 50-cent increase in student fees to help better compete with other schools. The motion requested the entire student body vote on whether or not the fee increase goes through.

In the debate, councillors and members challenged the annual nature of the fee — wondering if a single fund injection would suffice.

USC president Matt Helfand, however, reassured council that the fee could be reviewed every four years.

After including an amendment prompting the council to pursue cost sharing initiatives with the university administration and athletics departments, the motion passed with 80 per cent approval from council.

MOTION #2: Fair Trade Paper Moving forward, council was asked to vote on approving the Fair Trade Advocacy paper presented by the local and campus affairs standing committee.

The paper would ensure USC food services keep up with fair trade standards, as well as lobby the university to do the same. With that in mind, the motion passed with 97 per cent support from council.

MOTION #3: O-Week Pass Fee This motion is for a referendum, which – once again – would open the question to the entire student body during the February USC elections,

Taylor Lasota • GAZETTE

Your Weekly Horoscope

The week of Nov. 30 – Dec.6 This horoscope is intended for entertainment purposes only.

ARIES - Mar 21/Apr 20 Aries, expect to be called into action several times this week. You may prefer to avoid the spotlight, but that won’t be the case this week. Make the most of this opportunity.

LIBRA – Sept 23/Oct 23 Libra, although it’s noble to offer assistance to everyone you meet, you may be struggling to take care of yourself in the process. You must put your needs first.

TAURUS – Apr 21/May 21 Taurus, all of a sudden you are so busy it can be difficult to find a few moments to rest. Thankfully, you are able to keep up with all of the activity.

SCORPIO – Oct 24/Nov 22 A desire to detach from others and be entirely selfsufficient can have some challenges, Scorpio. You don’t need to give up independence to have the support of others.

GEMINI – May 22/Jun 21 Gemini, seek advice from a trusted confidante as you contemplate a major lifestyle change. This person will provide valuable insight as you look to make the best decision possible.

SAGITTARIUS – Nov 23/Dec 21 Sagittarius, your energy levels are high and there is nothing you can’t accomplish this week. Avoid extra caffeine because you’re already buzzing.

CANCER – Jun 22/Jul 22 Cancer, going solo on a project may not seem like the ideal situation. But you don’t want to be distracted this week, so going it alone is the best way to tackle the tasks at hand.

CAPRICORN – Dec 22/Jan 20 Find a balance between caution and carelessness, Capricorn. You cannot control every situation, and this week you may have something unexpected come your way.

LEO – Jul 23/Aug 23 AQUARIUS – Jan 21/Feb 18 Leo, following your gut may not always work out, but Aquarius, if you’re on the lookout for new work opportunities, look no further than your own this week everything works out for the best. Curb supervisor for guidance. He or she may be your impulsiveness as much as you can, though. biggest ally.

PISCES – Feb 19/Mar 20 You have boundless creativity, Pisces, and this week you get to channel it into a special project. Don’t overextend yourself until everything gets done.

FAMOUS BIRTHDAYS NOV. 30 – Kaley Cuoco, Actress (29) DEC. 1 – Bette Midler, Actress (69) DEC. 2 – Monica Seles, Athlete (41))

DEC. 3 – Julianne Moore, Actress (54) DEC. 4 – Carlos Gomez, Athlete (29) DEC. 5 – Paula Patton, Actress (39) DEC. 6 – Judd Apatow, Director (47)

Luxury Student Housing 519-858-2525 • themarq.ca • 75 Ann St.

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements. They are available at the USC office.

141128

VIRGO – Aug 24/Sept 22 Virgo, although you might be dreaming of a lavish vacation and an escape from the daily grind, it’s just not possible at this time. Start saving for this dream excursion.

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thegazette • Friday, November 28, 2014

arts&life

songmeanings The Tragically Hip’s “Courage (For Hugh MacLennan)” lifts its third verse from a passage in Canadian author Hugh MacLennan’s 1959 novel, The Watch That Ends the Night.

Needls navigates haystack of sales leads Conrad Floryan ARTS AND LIFE EDITOR @ConradAtGazette

Where to get it Wide brim Hat — Richmond Row Aden’s hat is from Guess, However, hats like this can also be found at several of the vintage shops on Richmond Row for those looking for good deals.

Turtleneck Sweater — Thrift Shop Aden’s sweater is from a thrift shop. However, similar sweaters are sold at a variety of locations, including Express and Urban Outfitters.

Pleather Pants — H&M Pleather pants like these can be found at H&M where Aden found hers, as well as Urban Planet, which sells several pleather pants and leggings for lower prices.

Shoulder Bag — Winners Aldo is always a great place to check out for bags and accessories. However, Winners also offers many brand-name bags for less.

Kelly Samuel • GAZETTE

T

hird-year psychology student Ilhan Aden demonstrates that a fashionable outfit doesn’t always come from mainstream stores.

“I’m a huge thrifter, so I like to mix and match brands with thrifted items,” explains Aden.

By combining vintage treasures with brand name pieces, Aden pulls off a unique and trendy look.

“The sweater I’m wearing is a thrifted one, the pleather pants are from H&M and this is a Guess hat,” says Aden.

While all the pieces in her outfit came from a variety of stores,

and a range of prices, they all come together to create a unified and distinct look.

She layers her turtleneck sweater with a plaid scarf, perfect for winter. However, a sweater like this can be worn in many ways, such as accessorized with chunky necklaces.

“My favourite item is my hat – I love it. It is absolutely my favourite hat,” says Aden.

It’s easy to see why Aden is gushing over this hat. It’s stylish and it’s different; while other Western students are wearing knitted headbands and beanies, Aden is

making a statement by staying true to her one-of-a kind style.

When asked how others could emulate her style, Aden explains what the look she hopes to achieve with her outfits.

“I’m a huge street style kind of person so I like to keep it casual and fun but still have a little bit of formal wear,” says Aden. “So a classier street style I would go by.”

Two years ago, Western graduate Justin Hartzman was sitting around with his colleagues brainstorming how to grow his web companies: All You Can Eat Internet, an agency for developing websites; and TicketFlow, the number one brokerage of web businesses in the world.

They were poking around on Facebook when Hartzman and his wife noticed an abundance of job solicitations on the platform. He had a revelation.

“Maybe we should look at our own social networks and see if we can drum up business from that?” he said.

They had their developers write a script that combined Hartzman’s Facebook wall all day for key phrases like “need a graphic designer.”

Within three days they landed a $60,000 customer. Another revelation surfaced.

“I thought, ‘This would work in so many other industries,’ we did some testing and that’s where Needls was born,’ ” revealed Hartzman.

Needls helps small businesses, independent professionals and entrepreneurs gain more business through social media. The proprietary algorithm employs a user-defined list of keywords to filter through Facebook and Twitter (with plans to branch out into further social media platforms) to deliver real time sales leads. Although similar products exist, Needls stands out by being affordable to small business.

“We’re trying to build the absolute best product to help small businesses grow because they’re an underserved market,” Hartzman explained.

Big companies have had great success employing lead generator tools to stimulate leads via social media. According to needls.com, leads from social media produce 71

per cent more sales than traditional sources.

Hartzman seeks to create a userfriendly experience to efficiently help small businesses get a piece of the pie. The real time lead alerts sent directly to the user’s mail inbox shorten the traditionally long sales cycle. Users can also specify the geographical range of their target market.

“We’re trying to provide them with the tools that allow them to do their business better by not changing their business,” Hartzman commented.

Last Friday, Needls launched for a list of 400 agencies. Over 50 per cent of those contacts were converted into yearlong paying accounts. The company will be expanding to a broader cluster of clients on December 2. Hartzman is thrilled with the response thus far.

“It’s a little bit overwhelming to be honest,” he revealed. “It’s a very large growth path at this minute.”

Hartzman has come a long way since graduating from Western in 2005 with a Bachelors in Business Communication and BMOS. He recommends that students aiming to run their own business in the future appreciate their university courses even if they seem irrelevant.

Students can apply the principles of any subject area to learn how to operate a company. Delegation is another crucial skill.

“I know what I know and I know what I don’t know and I know the people to fill in the gaps of the stuff that I don’t know,” he explained.

Hartzman emphasizes that students need to be proactive in pursuing their dreams and be willing to sacrifice to make a full commitment.

It’s that kind of dedication that has made Needls a success so far as it shimmers in the rays of a bright future.

“It’s been a process of growth that’s really quickly happening and we’re just excited to help those businesses grow,” said Hartzman.

For students wondering how to make their casual outfit become a more formal look, Aden’s advice is to “add a little heels and you’re good.”

• Jennafer Freeman

Courtesy of Justin Hartzman

Kelly Samuel • GAZETTE

I NEEDLS TO SHOW YOU SOMETHING. Western grad Justin Hartzman created Needls to give small businesses, independent professionals and entrepreneurs better access to social media.

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thegazette • Friday, November 28, 2014

On disc > 1989

Courtesy of Pat Greenalld

Dishing out drunk dialogues Nathan Kanter SPORTS EDITOR @NathanAtGazette

He is a man with over 6,000 YouTube subscribers and over 315,000 total YouTube views. He travels across Ontario asking such challenging questions as “What is the capital of Canada?” or “What animal is on the loonie?” He receives such baffling answers as “Quebec!” or “A beaver!”

His name is Pat Greenall, more commonly known as “The Interview Guy” although, as he tells The Gazette, he’d rather not be called that.

“I purposefully make my social media ‘Pat Greenall’ so people can remember my name and everybody calls me ‘the interview guy,’ “ Greenall says. “I was debating just changing it to ‘the interview guy.’ “ Greenall posted his first “Downtown Richmond Interviews” video to YouTube at the end of this past summer and since then has added almost 10 other “drunk interviews.” He says the idea isn’t new, but it’s new to the area.

“Me and my friends mess with people all the time ... and one day we were all like, ‘Why don’t we film it?’”

Greenall said. “[So] I figured it was the right time and the right place and then I saw a couple other people doing interview style videos but they were interviewing sober people, and

I was like, ‘I feel this would be way funnier if they were drunk.’ “ His biggest view count by far is his Western Homecoming video, which has garnered nearly 115,000 views.

“I didn’t think Western’s Homecoming was going to be that big of a video,” he said. “I just did it because I thought it would be funny, just like every other one.”

The process of shooting a video is simple: Pat gets a bunch of buddies and heads downtown with a couple cameras and a light.

“I usually bring six to eight friends with me and then we all just walk around because then they can herd people,” he said. “There are people who are like, ‘Oh I want to be in the video,’ or there are people who are like, ‘I don’t want to be in the video,’ so it kind of makes it easier to herd the people that want to be in the video when I have more people.”

Choosing what goes in and what doesn’t is the biggest challenge for Pat, who must use his discretion.

“If somebody says something that I’m like, ‘Woah, that’s crazy, this is probably going to put you in jail if I actually put your face on here,’ then I will block their face out,” Greenall explained.

However, he quickly notes that he’s not obligated to do so.

“I technically don’t even have to because if you’re on public property

you can film anybody that you want without their consent,” he said.

“I really abuse that,” he admits.

He also admits there are some people – though not many – who don’t appreciate what he does.

“I get the ‘you’re the guy who exploits!’ or ‘exploiting drunk people!’ I get that every so often but not very common,” he said.

And his message to those people is simple.

“People are always like, ‘Oh you’re misrepresenting the university or you’re misrepresenting London’ but ultimately you guys are representing yourselves, I’m just filming it,” he said. “Everyone knows what happens down here, I just filmed it. That’s the only difference. I wouldn’t say anyone is being misrepresented or anything. I think they’re just doing it themselves.”

Overall, he has received far more positive comments than negative, which is why he has more plans on the horizon. Greenall is going to 12 Barz in Guelph tonight and then to Toronto the next day to Union nightclub. He’s also already committed to doing St. Patrick’s Day here in London.

So if you do happen to run into Greenall some time in the future, do him – and yourself – a favour and don’t call him “The Interview Guy.” Call him Pat.

GGGFF Taylor Swift 1989 Big Machine Taylor Swift has been gradually drifting away from the country genre ever since her professional debut, but her most recent album, 1989, is severing all former ties. Influenced by music released in the same year she was born, Swift carefully masterminded this evolutionary step i n her musical career — and it is paying off.

From the very first track, Welcome to New York, her new, synthesized pop sound demands attention. The album echoes the sound of her previous album Red’s hit songs I Knew You Were Trouble and 22. However, Swift concentrates on maintaining an energetic vibe flowing throughout all 13 songs, reflected in her first-released single, Shake It Off. Though Swift has experimented with different genres in the past, there is a clear and pure pop focus here.

Of course it would not be a Swift album without fans whispering rumours about which song is about which celebrity ex-boyfriend. Style could not be a more obvious example. The song title alone is practically slapping you in the face, screaming for you to recall her short-lived romance with Harry Styles. Swift practically serenades fans with her diary, not sparing any personal details with the honest and detailed nature of her song writing.

However, the hype that surrounds the album is not as fixated with the artist’s romantic life, but rather, with her ability to get you to

sing along. There aren’t any overthe-top love ballads she’s had in the past. 1989 is not a typical Swift album you would grab when you are in despair. Rather, its catchy lyrics and top-40 beat makes it an irresistible dance album and a great album to listen to with friends.

Bad Blood is a highlight from the album. From the moment the song begins, the beat hooks you and Swift’s strong vocals pull you in — there’s no escape.

Other notable songs include Wildest Dreams and her second single, Blank Space. The constant use of repetition in songs such as in Out of the Woods however, make it seem as though Swift had a writing slump and instead of deriving new lyrics, she just incessantly repeats three sentences. Though pop is meant to be catchy and enticing, there is a fine line between memorable and annoying.

1989 is pop in every sense of the word. The synthpop is effortlessly merged with her classically emotional lyrical style. Though not a perfect album, it achieves what Swift set out to create.

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thegazette • Friday, November 28, 2014

opinions

I’d rather have a gay guy who can play than a straight guy who can’t play.

• Charles Barkley

Accommodation Education, or intimidation? support needed for Abracadabra Al-Azem LGBTQ athletes

Apology for not paying attention at Change Camp

When football player, Michael Sam, came out as gay last year, the public started buzzing about what it means to be a homosexual sports player. New York Giants star Terrell Thomas said the National Football League wasn’t ready for a gay player, the locker room is different. On the other hand, the announcement from NBA veteran Jason Collins that he was homosexual received a public endorsement from U.S. president Barack Obama.

It’s clear that a stigma still definitely exists with respect to homosexual athletes. Readers need only to look at the comment sections on articles about Michael Sam, to confirm that while many people feel no prejudice towards homosexuals, sport stars or otherwise, it’s still out there.

Sexuality bias can also be seen through the hyper-masculinity promoted by football sportscasters and the stereotypes associated with locker room talk. Society often equates men who participate in sports like figure skating or cheerleading as more feminine or gay.

Some of the stigma comes from the misconception that if you’re gay in the locker room, you’ll act on that sexuality or lack self-control. Others are afraid that because of homophobic teammates, it could break up the solidarity of the team.

These arguments rely on false premise that people are incapable of restraining their desire or that a sports player’s sexuality defines their every action. It reality, just because an athlete is gay doesn’t mean they automatically view their teammates as romantic partners, they are still perfectly capable of seeing them as exactly what they are — teammates.

Right now, sports culture perpetuates an image and an environment where homophobic or aggressive remarks can often be considered okay. This environment, however, is slowly changing. While in the past race was just as — if not more — controversial topic, by slowly increasing diversity in athletics, the stigma was alleviated and instead solidarity and acceptance developed. Sports leagues’ public support of gay athletes is essential to overcoming the stigma.

Another solution is promoting more acceptance at a team’s roots — the players. Seniors often try and set the tone for newbies and it’s essential team members enter new environments while carrying a belief in equity from the previous one.

Many people are okay with homosexuality in sports, but there’s room for improvement. Players need to be educated outside of the locker room in order to contribute to an inclusive and supportive environment within it.

• Gazette Editorial Board

To the editor: In Thursday’s Gazette, a letter was published from a concerned student who attended USC Change Camp, and noted instances where Emerson Tithecott and I were checking our cell phones, rather than devoting full attention to our surroundings. For that, we apologize. As members of the USC executive, we have an obligation to our students, and despite how busy we may be, nothing should take priority over listening to them. For this we apologize and pledge to redouble our efforts and our commitment to student feedback. Programs like ChangeCamp are invaluable to the USC executive, and provide an important vehicle to help guide our advocacy efforts.

The suggestion that the USC does not take the issue of student well-being to be a priority is one that is certainly worth clarifying. Since taking office, difficult changes to USC services to enhance student well-being have been undertaken, and discussions with the university around student wellbeing (particularly around mental health) have been constant and multi-faceted.

While the process may be slow, the calls for improved mental health resources by the USC are taken very seriously by the university, and I know that we will see continual improvements in the years to come.

However, the suggestion that I am uncaring towards the struggles of those suffering from mental health issues, or that I do not understand the gravity and tragedy of suicide, is saddening, offensive and patently false. This is something that hits far too close to home, far too recently for me to ignore such a bold and unfathomable claim.

For checking my phone, I apologize and I pledge to do better. However, regardless of my status of USC president, I urge this letter writer to take greater care when making such harsh and hurtful character attacks.

• Matt Helfand

Nusaiba Al-Azem OPINIONS EDITOR @NusAtGazette

You know what would be amazing? If just once a minority could ask for religious accommodation without the world dissolving into hysterics.

I invite you to imagine a world in which a person could note that their surroundings were not conducive to their constitutional freedom of practicing their faith, approach proper administrative personnel regarding the issue and get their conditions tweaked to protect that freedom. Wouldn’t that be something?

Instead, over the course of my four years studying at Western, it seems every year there’s a new “controversy” associated with religious accommodation. This year, it’s controversy over the Muslim prayer space and chaplain offices being moved to the University Community Centre basement.

As a religious minority myself, I’d like to fill you all in on a little secret of mine.

And I’d like to preface that this is just my personal experience — other people may not feel the way I do, though I know some agree.

When I have to ask for religious accommodation, it’s actually kind of degrading.

I’ll paint the scene for you: I enter a classroom, really excited to dedicate the next three hours of my life to whatever the particular subject matter is that day. As my peers take their seats around me, thinking about a variety of things, some school-related, others completely unrelated to academia, do you know what I’m thinking most of the time? I’m thinking, “When will this class end in relation to whenever the next prayer time is?”

You see, Muslims pray five times a day.

We pray within allotted time frames that shift daily according to the lunar calendar. So while early on in the semester the three-hour block for a particular class might be inconsequential, towards the end of the semester I could find myself scrambling to try to fit in two prayers in that class time.

I’ll ponder quietly to myself, wondering if I should just slip out pretending I

have to use the washroom twice and miss out on the lessons my professor imparts during this time. I’ll question whether or not he or she will give us a break that makes those prayers work without my absences. I’ll wonder if I should tell the professor what I’m doing so he or she doesn’t think I’m being disrespectful of class time.

Finally, I’ll come around full circle and get to a place that’s almost akin to resentment of my peers who don’t need to have this dance during every class, who don’t need to wonder if it’ll negatively impact their relationship with their professor and ultimately their academic success.

That’s just one example. Every religious accommodation, whether for the specific order certain foods have to be consumed or regarding blood-transfusion, for all faiths, comes after a heck of a lot of these mental dances before the person decides they really need some kind of outside help to facilitate protection of their values.

I’ve written about religious accommodation before, but I’ve never really addressed how belittled I feel that I need to go seek permission to practice my belief. I need to essentially beg and plead to justify somebody upholding the Ontario Human Rights Commission’s duty to accommodate.

And do you know what makes that belittlement turn into degradation? An uproar happening every time an accommodation is asked for.

The OHRC is very specific about the principles behind the duty to accommodate (which includes accommodating for reasons of disability, sex, family status, age and creed or religion). It identifies those principles as respecting the dignity of a person, individualization according to each unique need and inclusion by removing barriers. That decorum religious minorities have to consider before timidly asking for accommodation? It’s not exactly facilitative of dignity.

So in terms of the chaplains resigning, whether or not it was their intention to elicit these feelings, whether or not they were justified in their protest, whether or not you think having a Muslim prayer space is fair, I ask that we all just be a little bit more considerate of the principles behind accommodation — of respecting dignity, individualization and inclusion.

Putting religious minorities through a constant routine of asking, begging and justifying does not uphold any of those principles.

Do you have letters to life?

Send them to us!

wgaz.ca/dearlife

Re: “Our USC executives should be listening to us and not be on their phones,” published on Thursday, Nov. 27, 2014

USC President

Dear Life Your anonymous letters to life

Dear Life, The USC is debating motions in camera? Geez. And I thought their illegitimate president was bad enough.

Dear Life, Can we start a petition to remove all these posters of white people from our buildings?

I thought this was supposed to be a ‘diverse’ campus. So much for representation… wgaz.ca/dearlife

thegazette

Volume 108, Issue 48 www.westerngazette.ca

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•7

thegazette • Friday, November 28, 2014

sports

gameday The Mustangs men’s volleyball team looks to move to the top of the pack from their current ranking of sixth. With games against Ryerson and the University of Toronto this weekend — ranked third and ninth respectively — Western could do it.

Rundown >> The Mustangs women’s basketball team lost to the seventh-ranked McMaster Marauders 65–51 on Wednesday • They fall to a record of 2–5.

Knights’ Mitchell Marner: Team Canada bound?

Nathan Kanter SPORTS EDITOR @NathanAtGazette

Mitchell Marner could join the company of some elite names: Sidney Crosby, Jonathan Toews, Drew Doughty, Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Tavares, among others.

What do all these players have in common? They all suited up for Team Canada at the World Juniors before they had been drafted to the National Hockey League – something 17-yearold Marner is hoping to do as well. “Going [to the World Juniors] right now would obviously be special,� Marner said. “I want to show them that I’m good enough to play at that level and I’m not afraid to play against older guys.�

Marner is currently fourth in Ontario Hockey League scoring, with an incredible 21 goals and 23 assists in just 23 games. In 64 games last season – Marner’s first year in the OHL – he only scored 13 goals.

But this season has more to do with opportunity than anything else.

It’s not like he didn’t have the skill last year, he just wasn’t playing the same minutes because the Knights had too much forward depth.

Not so this year. Gone is Bo Horvat, now with the Vancouver Canucks for good. Gone is Chris Tierney, now with the San Jose Sharks organization. Gone are Josh Anderson, Ryan Rupert, Gemel Smith and Brett Welychka.

But right above Marner in the OHL’s top scorer’s list is the one London Knight who is back for another year – Max Domi. And boy is Marner glad. “All my points are really coming from him,� Marner said. “He’s helping me out a lot on the ice and in practice he’s really helping me out.

He’s teaching me new things.�

The odd thing is Domi and Marner don’t actually play on the same line, other than on the powerplay. But there’s still the possibility of both of them suiting up for their country because they know each other.

Domi has put up an incredible 47 points in just 21 games, and at 19 years old, is almost a shoe in for the team. Marner, however, is very much on the bubble.

With Team Canada’s roster announcement not too far away – perhaps a week, given that camp opens December 11 – Marner has a few more games to prove he belongs. And he does have experience playing for Canada – at the Under-18 Ivan Hlinka Tournament held this past summer. “Putting that maple leaf on your chest for the first time you want to win gold,� Marner said. “They told us, ‘it’s all on you guys right now, no pressure or anything but go out there and win a gold because you deserve it.’ �

And that’s exactly what they did.

Marner put up seven points in five games, and even played through two injuries in order to capture gold. “In the main camp I got eight stitches in my groin and then when I went there for my first game against [the Czech Republic] for preseason,

I kind of did my hip in a lot,â€? Marner said. “When you start playing the game you love you kind of just forget about all the other things ‌ I was lucky enough to be in that tournament so I didn’t want to take it for granted.â€?

Marner knows he’s good enough to make the team, but there’s an awful lot of talent in the junior ranks.

There are also other draft-eligible players likely to play as Connor McDavid is expected to recover from a hand injury in time and his Erie Otters teammate Dylan Strome is leading the OHL in scoring seven points ahead of Marner.

If the coaches decide they can only take so many 17-year-olds, Marner may find himself on the short end of the stick. He’ll have a chance tonight to go head-to-head with Strome, as the Otters come to London to take on the Knights. Perhaps if Marner makes a statement, he can force his way onto the team. “I want to prove that I’m better than what everyone thinks,� he said. “I’m not a small guy. I’ll play big and I’ll be intimidating out there and I’ll be a threat every time I go out on the ice.�

Claus Andersen LONDON KNIGHTS/GETTYIMAGES

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UPCOMING EVENTS IN COOPERATION WITH Western University, the Canadian Latin American Association will host a bullying awareness event to educate people about bullying and its language on November 29th (1-4pm) in the Goodwill building downtown. Performers and guest speakers will be present. Everyone is welcome to attend.

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.

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thegazette • Friday, November 28, 2014

Tackling homophobia on the field

for all who want to partake. They act to dispel the false belief that an Concerns arise through fears of individual cannot be athletic and peeking in locker rooms and the LGBTQ. The hope is to shatter the physical contact inherent in many barrier between jock and queer.

The LGBTQ community in sports. This results emasculation anxiety among many male athletes. London has recently taken a similar “There’s a misunderstanding of step forward with the foundation of queer desire,” said Kyle Simons, Knock-OUT. “Knock-OUT approaches the Pride Western coordinator. “There’s this expectation that, because some- idea of equality in sport from three one likes a certain sex, they’re def- different angles,” Cameron-Arthurs initely going to be attracted to all explained. “Speaking at schools, people of that sex.” hosting informative forums and Although primarily seen in male putting together sporting events.”

The organization came about sports, this heteronormative ideology of exclusion against LGBTQ ath- shortly after Cameron-Arthurs letes is hardly limited to one gender. hosted London’s first LGBTQ“Even in women’s sport, the cul- straight alliance volleyball tournature is still built on the masculine ment back in May, called Uncaged. traits of aggression and intensity,” The event was a pilot project testing the viability Misener said. of Knock-OUT, “The assumption often goes and the turnout that you are a indicated a need female gay athfor this comNTERNALLY, IT TOOK lete, and that’s munity-based ME TWO YEARS resource. just the way it is.”

Knock-OUT W o m e n TO PERSONALLY exhibiting the serves to inform STOP WORRYING SO masculine energy with words and actions. so revered in MUCH ABOUT THE GAY They provide male sports are THING IN WESTERN coaches, athteased for being ATHLETICS. I WAS letes, gym a dyke or butch teachers and and are stigma- SO HUNG UP ON IT other intertized for doing BECAUSE OF PAST ested parties exactly what is EXPERIENCES, BUT with pertinent expected from information men. Whether NO ONE WAS REALLY and resources, male or female, WORRYING BUT ME. straying from SIMON MILLS and then apply FOURTH-YEAR WATER POLO ATHLETE this knowledge the age-old defon the field. initions of what it means to be Misener supa man or a woman makes people ports this plan of action, identifying uncomfortable. the academic realm of university “Sports are tied to this locker sport to be less problematic than room culture of camaraderie, and professional sport based on the culthere is a belief that queer people ture attached to each environment. seem to disrupt this environment,” “We position these athletes as Simons explained. primarily here for education with Simon Mills, a fourth-year water sport as an afterthought … at the polo athlete who is gay, feels that professional level, the culture chanWestern athletes handle this situa- ges and perpetuates an openness tion appropriately. in which it is deemed okay to be “Internally, it took me two years derogatory.”

Cameron-Arthurs echoes to personally stop worrying so much about the gay thing in Western ath- Misener’s understanding of letics,” Mills said. “I was so hung up expected behaviours and prohibion it because of past experiences, tions regarding the social inclusion but no one was really worrying but of LGBTQ athletes. As long as different is equated with wrong, there me.”

To help combat locker-room will be no solace for this oppressed worries, there are several worldwide group. organizations that work to alleviate “We have role models, especially social stigma surrounding LGBTQ in male sports, where ‘macho-ness’ athletes. is very important to us,” he said.

The Bingham Cup, first played “That sort of image doesn’t necesin 2002, is now well-known as the sarily fit well with our expectations biennial world cup of gay rugby. It of someone who is gay or bisexual stemmed from a need for gay ath- or transgender.”

In people ignorant to the potenletes to be able to play contact sports without the risk of a homophobic tial overlap between queer and athenvironment. lete, this inner conflict can result in “Rugby is one sport with a very isolation and bullying. Cameronhigh level of intimacy, so there is a Arthurs indicates these ignorant historical stigma against involve- parties will project their lack of ment of certain individuals,” understanding, and the fear of the Misener said. “However, ironic- misunderstood will persist. ally, these solutions are not very “A lot can be solved with educainclusive.” tion and awareness, but that’s where Misener suggested the tour- we’re seriously lacking right now,” nament acts more as an inclusive Cameron-Arthurs stated. “There’s environment for a traditionally not enough people talking about it excluded group. Perhaps a more – that’s where Knock-OUT steps in.” viable step in the right direction is Misener, however, believes it is the Gay Games, best described as about more than just discussion – an alternative Olympics. talk is meaningless without action.

Regardless of age, race, religion, “Education and sensitivity are skill or sexuality, the Gay Games definitely big parts of the solution,” provide an inclusive environment Misener said. “But until mainstream >> STIGMA continued from pg.1

I

Courtesy of Ashleigh Mould

YOU CAN PLAY. Participants of Pride House hold a banner. Pride House is dedicated to promoting equality in sport — it welcomes LGBTQ athletes, fans and their allies during international sporting events.

media changes the way they represent professional sport, I don’t think we’re going to see any real significant changes in the culture of sport.”

The media portrays sport role models as uber-masculine, aggressive, heteronormative beings. These dictate our feelings toward the culture of sport. This perpetuates more of these same athletes whom the media then portray in that same light.

Through this cycle, certain behaviours and discourse are perpetuated within the locker room culture surrounding sport.

“In first-year, it was common to hear things like ‘faggot’ and ‘that’s so gay’ in the change room,” said Scott Buttenham, a fourth-year co-captain of the men’s swim team who is gay. “Over the years, these words

were phased out.”

While this may be true, KnockOUT approaches this inherently flawed cycle by talking people — it is a grassroots organization. It moves from the bottom-up to tackle the hyper-masculine subculture rather than attacking the big corporations of sport.

“Affecting change on a small scale will eventually build up and snowball,” Cameron-Arthurs says.

I attended Knock-OUT’s first Inclusion in Sport Forum on Wednesday night, organized in association with Pride House Toronto.

The evening featured both personal and informative discourse, and generated a sense of community. About 30 Londoners listened to a panel consisting of Special Olympics London ambassador Scott Mitchell,

para-athlete Jeff Dennis, education coordinator for the Professional Golf Association of Canada Matt Allen and Dr. Misener.

The overarching themes included barriers to inclusivity and a discussion on how to overcome these obstacles. During a break, attendants wrote on chart paper their own definition of inclusivity.

Despite sport having the potential to be a great pathway for social change, the lack of strategies and resources to maximize this opportunity result in a persisting stigma.

“Individuals define their own inclusion,” Misener stated before the break. “What they need personally is what it means to them, and that should be respected.”