Students Think Blah, Blah >> Pg. 2
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WESTERN UNIVERSITY • CANADA’S ONLY DAILY STUDENT NEWSPAPER • FOUNDED 1906
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2014
TOMORROW high -1 low -3 VOLUME 108, ISSUE 50
Brown settles into mayor’s office Hamza Tariq NEWS EDITOR @HamzaAtGazette
Just over a month after his overwhelming victory in the London mayoral race, Matt Brown officially began his term on Monday, along with 11 new city councillors. Brown attributes his success and passion for politics to his grandfather. “My grandfather played a huge role in my life growing up. He was a World War II veteran, second lieutenant, Queen’s Own Rifles. He served most of his time overseas in Holland,” Brown said. in an interview at his new office on Tuesday. After returning from Europe, Brown’s grandfather became a successful businessman in London. However the war changed his perspective on life and the world. He cherished serving the community he lived in and passed on these values to his young grandson. “We used to spend a lot of time together … he would impart lessons and one of his lessons was that the world is run by the people who show up and he would be very serious about it,” Brown said. “He’d say find something you’re passionate about, find something you believe in and show up. And for me that is politics.” Brown was relatively inexperienced when he decided to run for mayor. Some of his opponents, including Roger Caranci and Joe Swan, had served multiple terms
on city council. Brown, on the other hand, had only served on the council for one term, but according to him, it was an eye-opening experience. “I essentially had three choices, as we were approaching the elections for 2014. I had the option of running for my ward seat again and risking the same kind of division and frustration that our community experienced over the past four years. I had the option of stepping away and focusing on other things in this community, or I had the option of stepping up and running for mayor,” he said. Midway through the interview, Andrea Brown, the mayor’s wife dropped in to check in on her husband for her first visit to the mayor’s office. The mayor credits her and their two sons for helping him manage and run a stressful tenmonth long campaign. According to Brown, the family was steadfast during the ups and downs and the long hours of the campaign over the past several months. They made a point to have dinner together everyday at five in the campaign office. “We made a point of ensuring that our two boys, who are eight and five, really understood what we were doing … it was a really was a major focus for us,” he said. However, running for political office requires sacrifices not only from the candidate but also their loved ones. It was no different for Brown. >> see MAYOR pg.3
Iain Boekhoff • GAZETTE
NEWS
ARTS&LIFE
ARTS&LIFE
Baechler reflects on her time in politics Pg. 3
Therapy dogs take down Review: Birdman finds stress level on campus Pg. 5 its wings Pg. 7
OPINIONS Gift cards make the best present Pg. 10
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thegazette • Wednesday, December 3, 2014
Caught on Camera
Winnie Lu • GAZETTE
CROSSWORD By Eugene Sheffer
BLACK LIVES MATTER. Students gathered on Concrete Beach Tuesday evening for a candlelight vigil followed by four-and-ahalf minutes of silence. This time represented the four and a half hours Michael Brown’s body was left dead in public.
Abuse affects work Olivia Zollino NEWS EDITOR @OliviaAtGazette
A recent survey led by Western University’s Faculty of Education examined how domestic violence affects the workplace. The survey, with the help of the Canadian Labour Congress and the Faculty of Information and Media
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Your Weekly Horoscope The week of Dec. 7 – 13
This horoscope is intended for entertainment purposes only.
ARIES - Mar 21/Apr 20 Aries, although you are full of excitement this week, rein in some of those feelings so you can focus on the tasks at hand. Use your energy to your advantage.
LIBRA - Sept 23/Oct 23 Someone may catch you off guard this week, Libra. This person will bring a welcome surprise, so look forward to this unexpected encounter.
TAURUS - Apr 21/May 21 Taurus, motivation may not be strong this week, so begin with some menial tasks around the house and build up to bigger plans. Eventually you will find a groove.
SCORPIO - Oct 24/Nov 22 Back up your promises with decisive action, Scorpio. That’s the only way to prove to others that your word means something and you are committed to honoring your commitments.
GEMINI - May 22/Jun 21 Gemini, try to avoid focusing on just one issue for too long. Sometimes you simply must trust your instincts and forge ahead anyway. Let past experience guide you this week.
SAGITTARIUS - Nov 23/Dec 21 There may be more to the big picture than you are seeing, Sagittarius. Gather the facts before you jump to any conclusions. You may just see things from a different perspective.
CANCER - Jun 22/Jul 22 Cancer, avoid the temptation to take on too many responsibilities this week. If you don’t, you might not get much done. Think before you accept more work.
CAPRICORN - Dec 22/Jan 20 Capricorn, you are riding high and looking to share your good fortune with others. Make the most of this chance to improve the lives of those around you.
LEO - Jul 23/Aug 23 Financial matters are looming and a decision must be made, Leo. Don’t be overcome with anxiety, as all you need to do is carefully examine your finances to come up with a solution.
AQUARIUS - Jan 21/Feb 18 Aquarius, you have an idea about how to tackle a difficult obstacle, but someone crosses your path with a different agenda. Perhaps there’s a way to work together.
VIRGO - Aug 24/Sept 22 PISCES - Feb 19/Mar 20 Spontaneity beckons, Virgo, even though you are a careful Pisces, avoid open conflict without being a pushover planner who puts a lot of thought into your decisions. this week. Find the middle ground and try to Overthinking is more hassle than it’s worth this week. understand another’s perspective. FAMOUS BIRTHDAYS DEC. 8 – Ingrid Michaelson, Singer (35) DEC. 10 – Gonzalo Higuain, Athlete (27) DEC. 12 – Steven Hawley, Astronaut (63)
DEC. 7 – Sara Bareilles, Singer (35) DEC. 9 – Judi Dench, Actress (80) DEC. 11 – Teri Garr, Actress (70) DEC. 13 – Wendie Malick, Actress (64)
Studies, asked 8,429 participants if they have ever experienced domestic violence. One-third responded with yes. Eighty-two per cent said it had negatively impacted their ability to perform at work to their typical standards. Peter Jaffe, Faculty of Education professor, said that many people believe domestic violence and the workplace are disconnected and separate issues. “In one case you’re suffering at home and the workplace is supposed to be something totally apart from your personal life,” Jaffe said. “But the reality is, domestic violence follows people into the workplace both in terms of what actually happens, in terms of threats or harassment, or the aftermath in terms of victims emotional well-being.” The survey, one of the largest of its kind, found that 53.5 per cent of participants said domestic violence continued at work through various means, including abusive phone calls and harassment near the workplace. Transgender/other groups were amongst the most affected, with 64.9 per cent affected by domestic violence in their lifetime. Women were second, with 37.6 per cent. “I think studies like this show us … that domestic violence is not only the problem of individual families living in their individual houses in their own private spaces,” said Katherine McKenna, associate professor of women’s studies and feminist research. Provincial law currently dictates the appropriate steps employers should take if they are aware of domestic violence amongst their workers under Bill 168. However, 8.5 per cent of workers reported on the survey that they were fired as a result of how domestic violence had infiltrated and affected their performance at work. “Our hope is that we can have employers move beyond sort of minimal compliance with this issue into broader prevention strategies and making sure resources are available both for victims and for perpetrators,” Jaffe said. McKenna said that though domestic violence is looked at as a personal problem, it is actually a societal issue. “Labour unions need to think about it, the Canadian government needs to think about it and employers need to think about it. It’s a bigger problem than just somebody’s
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 • Wednesday, December 3, 2014
Mayor Brown off to a running start >> MAYOR continued from pg.1
Taylor Lasota • GAZETTE
Baechler reflects on her time in politics Iain Boekhoff EDITOR-IN-CHIEF @IainAtGazette
It’s a new month and that means another major change for Joni Baechler. A four-term city councillor, she began occupying the mayor’s chair only in late June and now she’s out of politics, she says, for good. Baechler took the severely tarnished mayoral reigns from former Mayor Joe Fontana, who resigned after being convicted of misusing public money. Her main goal during her short time as mayor was to restore the image of city council and trust within the community. “It was really clear to me that when I became mayor one thing the community wanted was trust restored in their government,” Baechler said in an interview on Monday at her home. “So it meant for me that, in terms of council conduct, that we really had to try to pull together and had to try to build a team that would to present to the public that we heard their concerns and that we were going to be positive and optimistic about the future of the city of London.” Baechler said the community reacted positively to her being named mayor and that it was a fairly easy transition. She had been a councillor since 2000 and she knew the ins and outs of city hall, so taking over was actually “quite enjoyable.” Having first been elected a councillor in 2000, Baechler has come a long way since she first entered politics — something she never saw herself doing. “Well I never wanted to be a politician, ever. I didn’t like politics, it was someplace I never really wanted to venture from any kind of career perspective.” She got involved in politics in the mid-’90s after major upheavals in developments around her north London home. She saw that developers had more influence over
the process than city planners and she wanted to change that. “I felt that I would probably have a stronger voice on the inside than on the outside and I also felt that someone needed to be on the inside to change a lot of the policies that I thought weren’t supportive of neighbourhoods and community grassroots-driven policies.”
I
T WAS REALLY CLEAR TO ME THAT WHEN I BECAME MAYOR THAT ONE THING THE COMMUNITY WANTED WAS TRUST RESTORED IN THEIR GOVERNMENT. JONI BAECHLER
FORMER MAYOR OF LONDON
She noted some of the major accomplishments of her time at city hall were the council’s look at urban growth and the cost of urban sprawl to taxpayers and the significant woodland policies designed to protect London’s forests that stood the test of numerous court challenges from developers. She’s now left the mayor’s seat to new mayor, Matt Brown, who assumed office on Monday. She supported Brown during the elections and is excited to see him in her seat. “I think he’s an extraordinary individual – he’s very intelligent, he’s a great collaborator, he’s very witty and he’s not a chest-pounding, aggressive, testosterone-dominated male. He’s the kind of gentleman who will work with colleagues on council, will try to find middle ground where there’s middle ground to be found but will also make a
tough decision when a tough decision needs to be made, such as the Fanshawe College decision to come into the downtown.” She added that she thought London voters sent a message to city hall that “a professional approach is what’s demanded in the city” after they voted in 11 new faces to council. Baechler was noticeably involved on social media and she explained how much of an impact it has had on politics. “Social media has been quite extraordinary,” she said. “Mainstream media will cover kind of the top highlights, but Tweeters and bloggers can provide more content into those stories. And what happens when you have more stories is you have a more informed public and you have people that can react instantaneously to issues, to decisions, to giving you feedback. So it actually makes you a better politician.” When asked if she plans on ever running for mayor outright, Baechler responded with a resounding “no.” “I really believe that once you’re done, you should be finished in politics. I believe in term limits — in fact I think probably a three term limit would be appropriate — I stayed for a fourth, and probably stayed for a bit too long which is why I’m pretty happy to be leaving because I think I’ve worn myself out this last term.” After a whilrlwind five months as mayor, and 14 years on city council, Baechler is taking a well-deserved vacation. She said she plans on spending time for herself. “I want to really have some downtime, I want to get back to doing some of the things I like to do such as art — I’m an artist and I haven’t done much of that,” she said. “It’s just I want to make sure that I don’t jump from one busy calendar to another one, so for me, I really have to get my life back — a better life balance, let’s put it that way.” With files from Olivia Zollino
“I think there is no question that campaigns and living a political life requires sacrifice. That’s something that we realized going into the campaign and what we did was made family a real priority and we made sure that we scheduled enough time for us to be together as a family, all through the entire campaign and also through this transition.” Brown recounted how hectic it has been for him and his campaign team since last January. Months of working 18 hours a day represents the challenges of an election campaign. He was still knocking on doors until 7:30 p.m. on October 27, half an hour before polls closed. “I thought it was going to be extremely close and I felt I needed to everything I possibly could with a fantastic team of volunteers — to deliver the message of positive change,” Brown said. Brown commends the role of his predecessor, Joni Baechler, in leading the city past some turbulent times. He acknowledged the difficulties the interim mayor faced on assuming office due to the resignation of Mayor Joe Fontana after Fontana was convicted of fraud. “She did this community a great service, she helped council and the community through a very difficult time and she returned stability to city hall, and for that I’m grateful,” Brown said. Brown is positive and enthusiastic about London’s new city council. The 2014 municipal elections saw 11 new councillors being elected to council. The public expects stability and focus and a council that can get things done and Brown is confident that the new councillors can deliver. Brown laid out three priorities for himself and the council, the very next day he got elected. Firstly, he focused on developing an orientation program for the city council with the help of senior city staff. The orientation program helped bring the council up to speed and aided the members to effectively
take over their duties from the very beginning, he said. “The second priority … was to get focused on strategic planning right away. We have heard from Londoners, we have heard their hopes, their dreams, their frustrations, their aspirations and now we need to take that information and develop our council’s strategic plan — the plan that will guide us through the next four years.” According to Brown, his third priority is the city budget for 2015. The city council will be spending the next two months developing and approving the budget. London has a sizeable post-secondary student population, which includes both Western University and Fanshawe College. Brown realizes that the city needs to offer students more incentive in terms on job opportunities for them to stay after they graduate. “Focus on jobs, focus on ensuring that this a place that’s attractive — a place that they [students] would choose to live. Focus on making sure that those people who graduate from Western understand that this is their community too and we really hope they stay,” he said. Brown himself has personal experience with younger students. He was a high school teacher before he ran for the city’s top job. Although he’s settling well in his new role, he still feels that he’ll miss teaching. “I will miss seeing the pride on a students faces when they realize they achieved a credit or when they realize that they were going to graduate,” he said. “I worked with students at risk of not graduating, who were living very complicated lives, and to see the look of success on their face — it’s an extremely rewarding thing.” As the interview concluded, the mayor joked with his wife about the lack of artwork in his office and pointed out the gavel on his new desk with the excitement a child has on Christmas morning. It’s early days, but it looks like Brown’s already set to lead London for the next four years.
Iain Boekhoff • GAZETTE
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4 •
thegazette • Wednesday, December 3, 2014
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Courtesy of Danika Kimberly
JUSTICE FOR MISSING AND MURDERED INDIGENOUS WOMEN. A day-long event bringing awareness to the number of Indigenous women who have gone missing or been murdered was held in the UCC on Tuesday. The UCC was filled with black cutout faces along the walls and staircases to show the over 1,000 women who have been murdered in the past 32 years.
Students raise awareness for murdered Indigenous women Katie Lear NEWS EDITOR @KatieAtGazette
Why pursue
graduate studies at Queen’s engineering?
Because we have the programs that will take you
where you want to go.
Western’s Women’s Issues Network, in partnership with the First Nations Student Association and Indigenous Services, held an awareness campaign in the University Community Centre on Tuesday afternoon. The students passed out fliers to bring to attention the 1,017 Indigenous women and girls across Canada that have been murdered between 1980 and 2012. They also hung 1,000 profiles of girls and women around the interior of the UCC to visually represent the women while representatives from the First Nations Students’ Association sang, danced and played drums to attract attention. “What we really wanted to do was bring awareness to what these people [WIN] are trying to do for
us [FSNA] — just raise awareness because we don’t know who’s next,” FNSA first-year representative Donika Stonefish said. “It could be a sister, it could be an aunt, it could be our mom, it could be our niece, it could be us. We really want to raise awareness and we want an inquiry into the fact that no one is doing anything about these women that are going missing — and not just women, girls.” The fliers that WIN and FSNA handed out to passing students detailed that while 1,017 is the official count of murdered women, gaps in reporting could mean that the number could be as high as 5,000. Fourth-year Six Nations student Stevie Jonathan explained that while awareness is the first step, the situation isn’t easily solved. “A lot of people have been coming up to me and saying, ‘How can we solve this issue?’ but it’s
something that is so structural and ongoing that we need to have a conversation about it,” Jonathan said. The students involved in the campaign added that recognition from the federal government is a major step to solving the crisis. “We want to be able to feel safe in our own country. Aid is being offered to other countries and it’s not being recognized in our own country that this is actually happening,” Stonefish added. According to WIN coordinator Rishita Apsani, WIN’s annual awareness day placed a priority on intersectionality this year. “We really wanted to highlight the fact that gender intersects with various other things, and race is one of them,” she said. “Indigenous women are a segment of society that is always overlooked. We have a responsibility to really pay attention and speak out.”
Multiple formats for multiple choice exams Megan Devlin ONLINE EDITOR @MegAtGazette
Ibrahim Nour Eldin, Sc’12, MEng’13
Whether it’s an MEng to further career goals, an MASc to explore an interest in research, or a PhD to pursue the highest degree in the profession, Queen’s engineering has the right program for you. Visit www.engineering.queensu.ca/whygradstudies to view profiles of current students and recent graduates and find out more.
First-year biology students were the first to taste a new two-stage multiple choice exam format at Western. The first stage is an individual exam, and the second stage is a group portion. Each group of three to five students received a new copy of the test. This second test was composed of a subset of questions from the first stage of the exam. The group then collaborated to decide on their answer. The second stage used Immediate Feedback Assessment Technique cards. Similar to lottery scratch cards, IFAT cards reveal if an answer is correct or not once scratched. In Biology 1001A and 1201A, a star is revealed if the answer is correct. If the group is incorrect on their first try, they discuss their second choice and scratch that one, hoping to find the star. The process gets repeated until the students discover the correct answer. More points are awarded for questions with only one answer scratched. “There’s a philosophy of education that says testing shouldn’t just be about ranking, but should
also be an opportunity for learning,” Jennifer Waugh, a lecturer for Biology 1201A, said. “This two-stage exam gives students an opportunity to learn something during the testing process.” Brett Gilley, an instructor in the department of earth, ocean and atmospheric sciences at the University of British Columbia, pioneered the two-stage technique. He told The Gazette he loved the passionate discussion students engaged in around the material during the second portion. No formal statistical analysis has been conducted at Western to see if this exam style can improve retention, but Waugh said initial anecdotal results are promising. “We’re finding that there’s greater collaboration among students, camaraderie, and that they’re helping each other a lot more than when we didn’t have group exams,” she said Waugh mentioned students even exchanged high-fives during the group portion of the exam. The exam groups aren’t formed arbitrarily. Groups are formed based on students who have been working together in their lab and tutorial sections. Not all two-stage exams have preformed groups, but at Western this strategy allowed students to
iron-out kinks before the exam. “They have developed group dynamics and have some strategies for group work prior to heading into the exam,” Waugh said. Waugh said this new exam style wasn’t just implemented on a whim, but was actually based recommended by the Ontario Consortium of Undergraduate Biology Educators based on research out of the Carl Wieman Science Education Initiative, an organization with the goal to improve undergraduate science education. They looked at a similar exam re-vamp in a second-year genetics course at UBC. Students wrote an individual midterm in class on a Monday, and then during their weekly tutorial meetings they re-wrote the midterm in groups. Once complete, they were given an answer key and a self-reflection sheet. When asked for feedback, 50 per cent of student said the new exam format was helpful. They said the liked discussing how to solve the problem with others, figuring out where they went wrong and getting feedback so quickly. Biology 1001A and 1201A students will face another two-stage multiple choice test for their final exam.
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thegazette • Wednesday, December 3, 2014
arts&life
saywhat? “If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man.”
• Mark Twain
Helping students get through their ruff patches
Therapy dogs are a common sight on campus during exam time. Online Editor Megan Devlin investigates how our furry friends help us and how we help them.
Taylor Lasota, Jennifer Feldman • GAZETTE
It’s therapy dog day in the Mustang Lounge. Emma, a golden-retriever, travels around the circle of students, greeting each one and looking for a pet. Satisfied with one scratcher, she rolls onto her back and asks for a belly rub. Her tongue pokes out of her mouth, and her soft brown eyes look happy. A little ways over, Callie is more reserved. The bichon-frise stands calm and elegant and allows students to rub her face and body, gently sniffing each set of fingers. But, as soon as she hears a camera click, she becomes suddenly alert. She lifts one paw and points her nose at the camera — striking a pose. “I forgot to tell you, she’s a ham,” Pat Skidmore-Skuce, her handler, laughs. Emma and Callie are exactly the type of dogs St. John’s Ambulance looks for in its therapy dog program. “If you have a dog that just loves people and is very outgoing and friendly then that’s the dog we want — as long as there’s no aggression,” says Leslie Jack, provincial therapy dog advisor in Ontario for SJA. SJA evaluates dogs and their handlers in 12 modules before letting them into the therapy dog program. The selection process starts with an evaluator feeling the dog’s ears and paws. “Dogs don’t like their paws felt,” Jack explains. The SJA test to see if the dog can handle canes, walkers, wheel chairs, IV poles, crutches, bright scrubs, white coats, bags and sunglasses — some common items in hospitals that can put a dog off. It’s also important that a therapy dog can recover from loud noises. “We’ll drop a stainless steel bowl or a bag of empty cans that sounds like a bedpan dropping or a cart going over. They can startle, but they need to recover,” Jack explains. Both Callie and Emma frequent hospices and retirement homes, but Janet Jones, Emma’s handler, says school visits are her favourite. “There’s such a contrast going to a retirement home. We visit people in their rooms and it’s a very quiet, shorter visit. Here she could sit forever and be scratched and she’d love it,” Jones says. The students in the Mustang Lounge certainly enjoy playing with Emma, too. “[Emma is] lovely. She’s just the sweetest thing. Every time a new person comes to the circle she comes and greets them — new best friends,” Emily Wood, a second-year English student says.
E
MMA IS] LOVELY. SHE’S JUST THE SWEETEST THING. EVERY TIME A NEW PERSON COMES TO THE CIRCLE SHE COMES AND GREETS THEM — NEW BEST FRIENDS. EMILY WOOD
ENGLISH II
“I miss my own dog so I thought seeing somebody else’s might be a nice treat before I go back home and see my own.” Emily is in the middle of essay season, but she said seeing the dogs has brought her stress level down. “Before it was at about a seven or an eight, and now it’s like a three or a four. I’m very happy right now,” Wood says. But can therapy dogs actually help people? Or are we just blinded by our own enthusiasm for our fourlegged friends? Empirical research says that the presence of a mellow companion animal can, in fact, reduce stress. Physiological stress measures such as heart rate, blood pressure and observable signs of anxiety are improved by interacting with a dog. In a study looking at older adults with dementia, agitated behaviours significantly decreased after three weeks of participating in daily animal-assisted therapy — pro-social interaction even increased. Skidmore-Skuce, Callie’s handler, says she likes visiting the hospice on Windermere best. “They seem to be in need,” she says. “People tend to melt. They tend to let down their defenses and just enjoy her.” “It’s amazing what we can say to a dog that we can’t say to each other,” Jack says. Lawyers requesting therapy animals to sit at the stand with child witnesses to calm their nerves as they testify have even approached her. In fact, a study found that a dog could comfort small children even more than the presence of a trusted adult when reading aloud or having a medical exam. In addition to visiting Western, SJA therapy dogs also visit schools and libraries for their Paws for Stories program. A North Carolina study paired
15 second-graders struggling with reading with a therapy dog for 20 minutes each week. After 13 months, most students gained at least two grade levels, with some gaining up to four grade levels. Can seeing a therapy dog for 10 minutes in the Mustang Lounge have the same effect? Probably not. Animal-assisted therapy is usually planned for an individual as part of a curriculum. The SJA dog visits probably would not qualify, but instead would be called an animal-assisted activity. “Animal-assisted activities are often offered to a group of children on a short-term bases,” a report by Jalongo, Astoring and Bombo reads. While playing with Emma for 10 minutes may not increase a university student’s reading level, it definitely provides a happy break during exam season. “I came just to kind of forget what I’m doing right now and to focus on being happy… It’s just such a soothing presence,” Marilyn Addlington, a second-year English student says. As much as therapy dogs help us, we might be helping them, too. One study sampled therapy dogs’ saliva on days when they had therapy sessions and days when they didn’t. They found higher cortisol levels in the saliva from therapy session days. Cortisol is a signal of physiological arousal. This arousal could come from stress, but it could also come from excitement. Callie and Emma wore their red and white SJA therapy dog bandanas to the Mustang Lounge on Friday, but they often wear red vests during community outreach. “Our vests say ‘please pet me I’m a therapy dog,’ ” Jack says. She found that if dogs didn’t put the inviting vests on, people didn’t want to pet the dogs because they thought they were service dogs. She stressed her therapy dogs were different than service dogs. Service dogs perform a service for their handler, and need to be highly intelligent. Therapy dogs, on the other hand, are there to make you happy, making their demeanour their most important characteristic. Skidmore-Skuce trained a seeing-eye-dog before she had Callie. “They give them to you for a year and you raise them and teach them 35-pages worth of stuff and then you give them back — that breaks your heart,” she says. Callie, Skidmore-Skuce says, isn’t quite as sharp as a service dog, but that she’s more calm and gentle. That’s all a therapy dog needs to be. “No matter why it hurts, a dog can help,” Jack concludes.
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thegazette • Wednesday, December 3, 2014
Gazettte Recipes
The Essentials > Best of Holiday Break > Student Christmas on a Budget BEST GIFT
Golden Harvest Soup Number of Servings: 6
This soup is to have on a chilly day while studying for exams. It's different than your average Chicken Noodle or Broccoli Cheddar and extremely satisfying.
Ingredients
Directions
•62 ml (1/4 cup) butter (you can use margarine or oil) •1 large spanish onion, chopped •2 leeks (white part only) chopped •1 large Potato, peeled and chopped •250 ml (1 cup) thinly sliced, or diced carrots (2 carrots) •500 ml (2 cups) diced butternut squash •750 ml (3 cups) chicken broth (vegetable or turkey is okay too) •375 ml (1 1/2 cups) cream optional •5 ml (1 tsp) nutmeg •2.5 ml (½ tsp) cinnamon •Salt and pepper to taste
1.) In a large heavy pot, melt butter and cook onion and leeks until softened but not browned. Stir in potato, carrots and squash. Cook, stirring constantly, for 2-3 minutes. Pour in chicken broth, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes or until vegetables are very tender.
Alcohol
DVDs
Homemade Bouquet
Some may say that giving alcohol for a Christmas gift is thoughtless and over done, but this just isn’t true. It’s a practical gift that can be paired with other items to make it a little more thoughtful. A mason jar filled with hot chocolate mix and marshmallows can be paired with a mini bottle of baileys to create a perfect gift. A six-pack of beer bottles can be dressed up as cute, little reindeer with some pipe cleaners antlers, and some googly eyes.
A DVD is the perfect gift idea for students who want to show there loved ones they care without having to actually care enough to think of a better gift. The best $5 DVDs are indistinguishable from $20 DVDs so rummaging through the discount bin is worth the extra two minutes. It’s a synch to find a DVD that suits any recipient — Apocalypse Now for Dad, Drive for the chauffeur, and for the Grinches there’s a certain Jim Carrey movie.
With exams and stress filling up December, sometimes your closest friends need a reminder that they are loved and cherished, so behold the homemade bouquet. Whether it’s made of kale because you appreciate your best friend’s veganism, or a bouquet of pencils because you know your roommate always forgets to take one for an exam, this gift can be not just thoughtful, but funny too.
2.) Puree in food processor or blender until very smooth. Return to saucepan. Can be prepared ahead to this point and saved, cover and refrigerate. Reheat before continuing with recipe. 3.) Stir in cream to desired consistency, heat until very hot but do not boil! Add nutmeg and cinnamon. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Recipe by Jonathan Pollard, Graphic by Jennifer Feldman • GAZETTE
4 Pizzas MEDIUM
Thanks to Jonathan Pollard for cooking many of our recipes for the editorial board.
2 toppings on each 2 FREE Dipping Sauces
19
$
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Winnie Lu • GAZETTE
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BEST DECORATION Sharpie Plates
Cutlery
Horrible Photos
One great idea for homemade Christmas decor is Sharpie dishes. These are easy and cheap to make and are sure to impress even your most creative friends. You can free-hand Christmas designs, or you can trace stencils of Christmas ornaments or reindeer. Once your design is complete, just throw them in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until your fancy, homemade Christmas decor is ready.
Most students lack the time to purchase a Christmas tree, let alone decorate one. For the lucky ones with low expectations, turning that tame little fern into a piece of art is no sweat. Take the cutlery drawer and make it rain utensils all over that sapling. The more roommates you have, the better. Most of the silverware will fall to the ground so repeat as necessary. It’s the closest a tree will come to rocking a gold chain.
So you managed to chop down a Christmas tree in the dead of the night, and now it’s time to decorate your illegal sapling. The best way to give your tree some character is to decorate it with all of the ugliest photos your roommates and you have taken together. A piece of twine to clip the photos on will work wonders and you wrap it around the tree as your Christmas spirit rings.
Taylor Lasota • GAZETTE
BEST MEAL
Since 1918
POSITIVELY AUTHORIZED DEALER
Kraft Dinner
Milk and Cookies
Chocolate
Don’t go all out and make a gourmet Christmas meal. Wait for your parents to do it, you wont be able to pull it off like they can. Instead, save your money and time and enjoy an easy meal with all of your friends. Kraft Dinner is cheap, delicious and suitable for feeding large groups of hungry students. Finish the meal with Christmas movies and wine – this is sure to be far more satisfying then anything you and your roommates would’ve tried to cook up for dinner.
Milk and cookies is the feast of choice for Mr. Santa Claus, one of the most legendary human beings ever. Why not eat like a real champion? A pack of cookie dough and a carton of milk from Wal-Mart costs pennies and results in a banquet that rivals any roast turkey. Milk and cookies are a versatile meal perfect for any time of day — Oreos with eggnog for breakfast is a Christmas classic. Sorry Santa, those are MY COOKIES!
Christmas is a time filled with sugar and gluttony. Since you’ve already spent all your money on either Christmas gifts, or shopping for yourself in the process of buying Christmas gifts, what’s spending a little more on excessive amounts of candy canes and Lindt chocolate? Twenty bucks on chocolates is still cheaper than a whole turkey and filling enough to keep the Christmas spirit going.
• Jennafer Freeman
• Conrad Floryan
• Jenny Jay
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thegazette • Wednesday, December 3, 2014
>> IN THEATRES > BIRDMAN
Iñárritu and actors spread their wings Robert Crocco CONTRIBUTOR @uwogazette
GGGGH Director: Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu Starring: Michael Keaton, Zach Galifianakis, Edward Norton, Emma Stone, Naomi Watts Mexican film maker Alejandro González Iñárritu’s latest effort is not like his usual socio-politically-conscious films like Amores Perros, 21 Grams, Babel and Biutiful. Birdman is instead a dark comedy about a small production trying to open on Broadway. Riggan (Michael Keaton) is an aging actor desperate to regain the popularity he once received as an iconic superhero in the prime of his career. This will have greater meaning for viewers raised with Keaton as Batman. Riggan believes performing on Broadway will finally prove his worth as an actor, so he refinances his house in one lastditch attempt to adapt, star and direct a Broadway play. Iñárritu’s use of the Steadicam makes the film appear as though it was filmed in one continuous shot. The film’s stylistic ambition results in a picture that is weaved together with actors that mingle and mesh on camera like players that mingle and mesh on stage. Iñárritu captures the play-making process in a pseudo-documentary style — in fact, the film does not ever appear to cut. Birdman also relies on cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki (Gravity), who guides the camera seamlessly through scenes that showcase the acting skills of Naomi Watts, Emma Stone, Zach Galifianakis, Edward Norton and Michael Keaton. The long take and lack of cutting allow these actors to develop a genuine
sense of chemistry onscreen similar to that of real stage actors. The pulse of the film, which is marvellously improvised and composed by professional jazz drummer Antonio Sanchez, guides the seamless relationship between actor and camera in Birdman. Sanchez’s drum score provides a cadence to the film’s running narrative and maneuvers the camera with purpose from one scene to the next. The jazzy drum score also showcases Iñárritu’s ability to blend style and performance and encapsulate the emotions in the film through Sanchez’s drums exclusively. Birdman is ultimately a satire about Hollywood’s obsession with superheroes and one man’s quest to overcome his insecurities as an artist by proving he is a worthy stage actor. As Mike (Ed Notion) “eloquently” says to Riggan, “popularity is the sluttier cousin of prestige.” Riggan’s sense of self-worth is bound to the success of the play, and the closer the production comes to opening night the more amusing the film becomes. Birdman showcases true antics behind the curtains of a dysfunctional stage production that is teetering on the brink of collapse. There is something endearing to Riggan’s plight, even if it solely serves to validate his inflated sense of self — Riggan is courageous in his own way. Not since Robert Altman’s Prairie Home Companion has there been such a hysterical portrayal of what happens behind the scenes of a theatre production. Iñárritu has reinvented himself with a comedy that is layered seamlessly with style and enhanced by the performance of the actors. Birdman is playing at Rainbow this week at 12:50, 3:30, 7:05 and 9:35 p.m.
Picasso, Chagall visit UWO
Conrad Floryan • GAZETTE
Richard Joseph GAZETTE STAFF @uwogazette
The Grant and Peggy Reuber Collection of International Works on Paper is on display to the public for the first time at the McIntosh Gallery. The exhibit, on until December 6, showcases the work of many internationally acclaimed artists, including Pablo Picasso and Toulouse-Lautrec. The husband and wife, explains Museum Curator Catherine Shaw, had very different tastes in art, so there is a remarkable diversity in the collection. Grant Reuber, former Economics professor and Chancellor of Western University, tended towards artwork in the Western canon — prints from Toulouse-Lautrec, Whistler and Renoir are on display. Peggy Reuber, on the other hand, focused on more contemporary artists from the Canadian sphere, including Clarence Gagnon and David Milne. Dominating the right-hand wall is British artist Richard Hamilton’s etching Picasso’s Meniñas, which features recognizable figures from many of Picasso’s famous works. Hamilton’s etching is playful, but not quite pastiche — he pays homage to Picasso’s series of works Las
Meniñas, itself a reference to the monumental work and magnum opus of Velazquez with the same title. “Hamilton wanted to acknowledge the mastery of one master through the work of another master,” writes Brad Morosan, department of visual arts MA candidate. The theme of homage is a common one in the collection: Picasso’s Le Déjeuner sur L’Herbe is a study, a reworking, of the infamous Monet painting of the same name that provoked such outrage when first displayed. In fact, this work is one of over a hundred artistic studies Picasso did on Monet’s controversial painting.
Also on display are the bizarre and fascinating illustrations of the French artist Marc Chagall for Nikolai Gogol’s 1848 work Dead Souls, a satire of mid-19th-century provincial life in Russia. The etchings are a significant departure from Chagall’s usual, colourful works — the stark black-and-white style features non-realistic caricatures, acting as “picture-poems that act as a complement to Gogol’s novel,” according to Morosan. A lifework of careful, dedicated artistic study has produced this remarkable collection. The exhibit runs until December 6, and the gallery is open to all students.
Ph: 519.601.1322 Cell: 519.495.7372
Bobby Bryanton
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Thanks to all of Arts and Life's staff writers for a wonderful first term. Have a fun and safe holidays and we will see you in 2015. Best of luck on your exams. From The Gazete's Arts & LIfe Editors
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thegazette • Wednesday, December 3, 2014
comics
› Thomas Edison: Relentless Inventiveness Failure is no biggie. Just ask Edison. If he stopped at failure, he would never have moved on to invent a little thing called the light bulb. So if you’ve failed a class somewhere else, or have a scheduling conflict, come on over. You can catch up with our world-recognized online courses, then move on to bigger successes. Talk about a light bulb moment.
open. online. everywhere. Learn more @ athabascau.ca/edison/ontario
• Alan Moore
By Levin C. Handy (per http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cwpbh.04326) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
“ The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.”
Comics are more energetic, more vital than novels. They are these seductive visual tracts, they are fast.
•9
thegazette • Wednesday, December 3, 2014
Crush those exams & enjoy your holidays
We look forward to meeting you in the New Year Your Career awaits at Info-Tech Info-Tech hired 40+ leading Western Grads last year and is looking for more. Positions now available for Dean’s List, Ivey Grads and Top Varsity Athletes in our London and Toronto Offices.
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thegazette • Wednesday, December 3, 2014
opinions We Get Letters!
Where is equal opportunity for prayer?
Medicine II
Chaplains were justified to protest Re: “University chaplains resign over changes to office and Muslim prayer space,” Tuesday, November 15, 2014 To the editor: I am deeply saddened by this article — not only by the resignation of the Chaplains but by the issue itself. I am VP communications for a Christian Club on campus called Power to Change and am in communication with several other Christian clubs. Our club is growing in numbers, not because of publicity but because of the numbers of believers on campus. Prayer is something we hold very dear to us, as it is our direct communication with God. We have utilized the multifaith space on multiple occasions, for spontaneous prayer or gatherings. The assumption that it is only used by the Muslim community is false. I have been a part of Power to Change for four years and been an executive for two of those years. I was never approached about this decision, and there wasn’t even wind of a discussion that this was happening. I feel the voices of the other clubs were not heard — or actually even sought out to be heard. I believe this is a step backward for Western University. I have never been one to stir up trouble or point the finger and whine saying, “that’s not fair” like a toddler on a playground. This is a matter of principle in that every club should be given the same opportunity and privileges. I sincerely hope that this matter is reconsidered with the input of the other faith/religious clubs on campus. • Rachael Ernst
• Calvin Coolidge
Gift cards: the gift that keeps on giving The God King
Re: “University chaplains resign over changes to office and Muslim prayer space,” Tuesday, November 15, 2014 To the editor: I am 100 per cent in agreement with the decision that the chaplains made to protest. I don’t feel this way because I don’t want Muslims to have a designated prayer space — they should. But removing the multi-faith space tells me that while Western is willing to accommodate Muslim practices, they fail to consider the needs of students of other faiths and spiritual practices. Why don’t Christians have a designated prayer room? Catholics? Buddhists for meditation? There isn’t one. Why? That was the purpose of the multi-faith room — to allow students of different faiths or spiritual practices to easily find a quiet space where they can meditate and pray without having to book a room in advance. Frankly, the space enables students to practice their beliefs more easily. That is the purpose of the prayer room for Muslims and that is the purpose of the multi-faith space. You take away one that caters to many different groups and leave one that has an extremely specific focus — that doesn’t sound inclusive or accommodating to me; that sounds like discrimination. Hannah Ernst
Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.
Conrad Floryan ARTS AND LIFE EDITOR @ConradAtGazette
According to a survey by the National Retail Foundation, about 80 per cent of Canadians will purchase at least one gift card in the upcoming holiday season. That makes sense to me because it’s quite possible that they are the ultimate modern Christmas present. Unless you don’t have any friends (my condolences), you know that choosing a gift for a loved one can be a challenge. If only it was as easy as picking a gift for a dear enemy — like a rusty chain, maybe a crate filled with grass clippings if they’ve been naughty enough. Physical gifts have many drawbacks. First off, if the recipient is unhappy with the giver’s choice of gift, the giver ends up looking like they don’t care, even though it’s possible that they agonized for ages about what to purchase. Secondly, many presents are useless and a waste of money. Now let’s skip all the way to reason number 87 why gifts suck: even if the giver has gone the extra mile and managed to align all the variables for the perfect present, they have now set a dangerous precedent. The receiver will hence expect this type of giving and this will inevitably lead to disappointment for everyone involved. A classic solution to the gift dilemma that has been employed for birthday parties for teenagers since the Renaissance is to give some cash, usually tucked into a card from Loblaw’s if the receiver is nice enough, or No Frills if they’re more of a friend of a friend. However, this ploy isn’t festive enough to work as an adequate Christmas gift, unless you spice up your cash with a little holiday cheer. “I don’t know what to get Grandma this year and I really want her to have an awesome Christmas.” Well my friend,
nothing says “awesome Christmas” like a dollar sign-christened duffle bag, stuffed with bills like a Christmas turkey. For the gift giver on a budget, how about folding those bills into a roll with an elastic band like Al Pacino in Donnie Brasco. In all seriousness, while cash isn’t very creative, it is an efficient gift and a little personal twist shows that you care; but it’s possible to step it up another notch. A gift card allows a happy medium where the giver can somewhat personalize the present while still affording the receiver the opportunity to customize the gift to his/her personal and often indiscernible tastes. Who knew that upon receiving a $100 gift certificate to Future Shop Grandma would use it to buy Grand Theft Auto V? And just think: she would have never imagined that anything could top the duffle bag full of cash that she got last Christmas. Gift cards have a bad rap as being boring — this is because most gift cards are safe choices but it is possible to be creative. Cousin Jimmy would never have considered getting a straight razor shave but now that he’s cashed in his gift certificate for a free shave at the local barber shop, he has the freshest face on the block and he looks so cool that he doesn’t even miss all the blood he lost. At the end of the day, there’s nothing quite like unwrapping a big package that’s been denting a pothole under the Christmas tree. The challenge and element of risk in selecting a present constitutes much of the cache of the gift exchange ritual. Being surprised with that perfect gift from a loved one is a magical feeling that no East Side Mario’s gift certificate could ever equal. When thinking about gift ideas, it’s best to have a healthy mix of tangible presents and gift cards. This year you got Grandma a gift certificate, so next year you could give her those tube socks she’s been dreaming of. Anyway, the real gift is having loved ones to give things to. What do you think gift cards? Let us know at opinions@westerngazette.ca or @ConradAtGazette
Volume 108, Issue 50 www.westerngazette.ca
Iain Boekhoff Santa Claus Brent Holmes Elf Richard Raycraft Mrs. Claus
Contact: www.westerngazette.ca University Community Centre Rm. 263 The University of Western Ontario London, ON, CANADA N6A 3K7 Editorial Offices: (519) 661-3580 Advertising Dept.: (519) 661-3579
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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. To submit a letter, go to westerngazette.ca and click on “Contact.” All articles, letters, photographs, graphics, illustrations and cartoons published in The Gazette, both in the newspaper and online versions, are the property of The Gazette. By submitting any such material to The Gazette for publication, you grant to The Gazette a non-exclusive, world-wide, royalty-free, irrevocable license to publish such material in perpetuity in any media, including but not limited to, The Gazette‘s hard copy and online archives.
Your anonymous letters to life
Dear Life, It’s December and the Booster Juice doesn’t yet have the Eggnog smoothie… DISAPPOINTED! Dear Life, Criticize Helfand all you want… I’m just glad these idiots complaining will never have the courage to run for any position. Dear Life, With The Gazette cleared of any wrongdoing, can we now expect Megan Walker, SOGS, the GTA Union and the rest of the professional umbrage-takers to issue an apology for being wrong as usual? Dear Life, Knowing student dollars were spent in the legal review of the Frosh Issue is appalling. USC is just like a real government — quick to spend other people’s money. I dare you to post the cost of it but know you won’t. Dear Life, On behalf of the USC we apologize for inappropriate language used by Spoke employees. We will be looking into this incident. — Matt Helfand Dear Life, Looking at the TA Union Twitter account and it seems that they are the masters of ripping things out of context to fit their own world view. What happened to higher level thinking? How did they even get to be TA's? Or maybe they’re just all sexually frustrated? wgaz.ca/dearlife
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thegazette • Wednesday, December 3, 2014
sports
saywhat? “It treats my body kind of silly and throws it off. [Now], it’s grass and dirt. I’m excited.â€? • Brett Lawrie, departing Toronto Blue Jays player on the problematic turf fields at the Rogers Centre and the prospect of playing on actual grass.
Rundown >> The women’s squash team recorded three wins and one loss this past weekend at the University Jesters Crossover event • Western came third overall and sits at the top of the women’s division with 41 points.
Double loss marks end of 2014 for ‘Stangs Robert Nanni SPORTS EDITOR @robertnanni
The Mustangs women’s basketball team faced the McMaster Marauders on Wednesday Nov.26 in hopes of continuing their twogame win streak but suffered a tough 65–51 loss. Despite three extremely close quarters throughout the game, the third quarter proved to be the Mustangs downfall. The 24–13 third quarter was the real game-changer as the Marauders soared above the Mustangs. The critical factor of the game was Western’s seven turnovers in the third period compared to McMaster’s one. The Marauders capitalized on these turnovers as their forward Clare Kenney shot 54 per cent from the field. Heading into the final 10 minutes of the game, the Marauders led with a 10-point advantage. This was enough of a cushion as the Marauders defended against Western’s improved fourth-quarter offence and came away with the win. Mustang guard Maddy Horst scored 16 points, the highest on the team. She was third overall in the game behind Marauders forward Kenney and Danielle Bolago with
17 and 18 points, respectively In Saturday night’s game against the Brock Badgers, the ‘Stangs hoped to come back after their devastating loss but were disappointed once more with a 80–72 defeat. The third period proved to be once again problematic as the women were outscored 29–14. Despite Horst once again leading her team with 15 points and tying game-high scorer Marauder Kayla Santilli, she fell short in working with her team for the win. Western’s five turnovers in the third period allowed Brock to take advantage of the game, as they had a 60 per cent shooting success rate and took a 13-point lead. As per usual, the Mustangs picked up in the fourth period in an attempt to salvage the contest, but it was to to no avail. Despite outshooting Brock 19–14 by an 11-point effort by Horst, they couldn’t overcome their third-period faults. The Mustangs now place third in the Ontario University Athletics east division behind second-place Laurier and first-place Windsor, despite Western’s lagging 2–6 record. These two games mark the final regular season games of 2014. The ‘Stangs return on Wednesday, Jan. 7 at Windsor to face the Lancers in an attempt to break this two-game skid.
Kyle Porter • GAZETTE
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thegazette Waterloo Warriors First, let’s talk about the elephant in the room — yes, the University of Waterloo does have sports teams. I know. I was surprised to find out myself. Given this shocking revelation, our logo design journey takes us to Waterloo, Ontario. This is a basic logo at its finest. Looking at it doesn’t stir much emotion. This plainness is what inspires me to write about it because given a name like “Warriors,� they could really step up their game. I understand that the people at Waterloo might be too busy with their co-op and rigid math courses to focus on trivial things like logo design but they surely must pay attention. In the past few years, there has been a logo revamp but it was merely to modernize already pre-existing problems. For instance, the helmet placed so prominently on the logo reminds me of the (much more
prominent, particularly regarding athletics) Michigan State Spartans logo. It’s like if the Florida Panthers started using a logo that resembled that of the Montreal Canadiens — it’s a different calibre when it comes to reputation. On a typography basis, it seems to be a common rule nowadays that making the first and last letters in a logo larger is utterly stupid. Overall, Wa t e r l o o suffers because they are trying to create a brand out of one of the most common images that exists. That Spartanesque helmet is used so widely in the world of athletics that it makes limited sense for Waterloo to try and curve out a place within that scheme. It would be much more prudent — considering there is a perceived lack of focus on athletics — for the Warriors to go creative and get a brand going that actually sparks pride and conversation. • Bradley Metlin
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VOLUNTEERS WANTED SEEKING GAY, LESBIAN, bisexual, and other sexual minority individuals over the age of 18 for a study on perceptions of discrimination. Participants will complete a set of questionnaires in the Love Lab at Western University. This should take no more than 30 minutes, and participants will receive monetary compensation in appreciation for their contribution. If interested, email: uwodiscriminationstudy@gmail.com. LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEERS for our math tutoring club in the north core/old north neighbourhood. No experience or math skill required, as all training and resources will be provided. For more info, contact Devin Hanes d.hanes@tvdsb.on.ca
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
UPCOMING EVENTS DANCE CLASSES AT DANCE STEPS- 275 Colborne St. between York and Horton Accessible by bus. Ballet, Jazz, Hip-Hop drop in or join a session. www.dancestepslondon.ca or contact us dance_steps@hotmail.com, 519-645-8515.
SERVICES NEED HELP APPEALING a grade on an assignment or exam? We are here to help you through the appeal process. Email studentappeals@westernusc.ca for more information.
TRAVEL 2015. SAIL THE Greek islands and have fun in the sun on a private yacht!. Six students per group. Cost 375 Euro per person. Breakfast included. Email Steve at info@sailgreece.ca.
ANNOUNCEMENTS SAT. DEC. 6. St. Luke’s Church (Broughdale), just north of the University Gates, will be holding their annual Christmas Bazaar & Silent Auction 12:00 3:00 p.m. Bake table, treasures, jewellery, books, silent auction. Tea Room, a chili lunch will be available for a small fee. Admission free. Wheel chair accessible.
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thegazette • Wednesday, December 3, 2014