Wednesday, January 7, 2015

thegazette Too hot for the Internet: Instagram catches up with Mina

Western’s most recent viral celebrity had an emotional 24-hours after his Instagram account was removed for violating Instagram’s terms on Monday but eventually restored Tuesday evening.

Mina Gerges woke up from a nap Monday night to find his Instagram account disabled.

The third-year Media and the Public Interest student recently gained Internet fame for his striking celebrity photo recreations.

He posted a screenshot from his phone to his Twitter account of Instagram informing him his account had been disabled for violating

Instagram’s terms of use.

“I feel like my voice is being taken away from me,” Gerges said in an interview before his account was reinstated.

“I got about 40,000 new followers in two days. With the recent efforts by Instagram to get rid of fake accounts, I think they probably sensed a lot of activity on this one and took it down out of fear that it was spam,” Gerges said.

All of Gerges’ recreations are juxtaposed against the originals, and most of the originals are still up on celebrity accounts.

Gerges said one of his photos has been taken

down before for violating the nudity guidelines.

“If it was because of the content, Instagram would have taken down specific pictures,” Gerges maintains.

While his account being removed was disheartening, Gerges is preparing his next creation regardless.

I’m already on my way to the dollar store because I’m preparing for the picture I’m going to post when I get back,” he said.

• Megan Devlin

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

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2015

VOLUME 108, ISSUE 52

Helpard slate declares Kevin Hurren NEWS EDITOR-AT-LARGE @KevinAtGazette

Though some residual Christmas displays are still up, the University Students’ Council campaign season is right around the corner and a slate has already declared their intention to run.

Sophie Helpard, a third-year political science student at Huron, announced this morning that she will be running for USC president.

Helpard will campaign alongside fourth-year media, theory and production student Alex Benac for vice-president internal, and fourthyear management and organizational studies student Lindsee Perkins for vice-president external.

Though only in third-year, Helpard explained that her desire to lead the next iteration of council

•••

Inside

Dalhousie needs to take more action

P3

Paying for parking at western gets easier with app P3 Radio Western remix contest

P4

Movie Review: The Gambler

P5

Ranting about raves

P6

Men’s volleyball wins gold

P8

stems from her experience as orientation coordinator this year.

“Getting to work in that full-time position was a great opportunity because I got to experience the USC in a way that I hadn’t in the past,” Helpard said.

“I appreciated and understood the goals of the USC even more, and that’s when I was first inspired to run for this position.”

President of the USC, however, isn’t the first position Helpard set her sights on early. As a first-year student, she applied to be Huron Head Soph recognizing changes she wanted to make with the team and putting herself forward regardless of expectations. Working in these positions now shapes the way Helpard will approach the campaign, she said.

Similarly, Perkins’ interest in the external portfolio was developed while working under current vice-president external, Jen Carter.

“In my role as associate vice-president municipal affairs I work a lot with municipal relations but I was fortunate that Jen let me in on all the portfolio’s projects and initiatives,” said Perkins, who, after witnessing positive changes result from Carter’s work, decided to run for the position.

For Benac, this election will mark his second appearance on the ballot.

Last year, the MTP student ran for vice-president internal on Brian Belman’s slate. After losing to Matt Helfand’s team, Benac was then selected as associate vice-president internal. This additional year of work, Benac said, has only enriched

I

WANTED THE BEST PEOPLE FOR THE POSITION, BUT I ALSO WANTED A TEAM THAT WOULD BE ABLE TO WORK COHESIVELY TOGETHER AND SUPPORT MY VISION. SOPHIE HELPARD

USC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE

his commitment to the portfolio — which includes the peer support network and centre.

“When working with Emily, who’s the current vice-president internal, I had an even better opportunity to work closer to those issues, speaking with administration and students,” he said.

But the direct experience that both Perkins and Benac had within their respective portfolios was only part of their appeal as running mates, explained Helpard.

“When I decided that I wanted to be a candidate in the election, I thought about who I wanted on my team I had two criteria: I wanted the best people for the position, but I also wanted a team that would be able to work cohesively together and support my vision.”

Helpard and her slate will begin campaigning when the elections period officially begins on January 27. Other students have until January 26 to announce their candidacy.

Jennifer Feldman • GAZETTE

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thegazette • Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Caught on Camera

Winnie Lu • GAZETTE

INTIMATE RELATIONSHIPS. Here we observe a group of Western students interacting with each other in their natural habitat. Notice how the students demonstrate proper etiquette by keeping their heads down, not making eye contact and not saying anything to each other.

Western leading children’s mental health project Megan Devlin ASSOCIATE EDITOR @MegAtGazette

Western’s faculty of education is spearheading a new initiative to improve children’s mental health.

The project is called the Single Ceiling initiative, and it aims to bring together mental health resources that are currently scattered throughout the community.

In the current system, families may have to navigate upwards of 12 different agencies before finding the care they need. For families with adequate resources, the system is maze-like. For vulnerable families, the system is failing.

Single Ceiling works with its partners, Merrymount Children’s Centre and Child and Youth Network, to open centers attached to schools.

“We know that 1 in every 10 children in this province will experience

a clinically significant mental health disorder,” Vicki Schwean, dean of the faculty of education, said.

Schwean said only 1 out of every 10 of those children ever get any care outside of what they receive in schools.

“Schools have become the de-facto mental health center,” she said.

She said the Single Ceiling initiative will work to build capacity in London communities so that they can provide for their own children to ensure their wellness.

The Child and Youth network already focuses on literacy development, anti-poverty measures, housing and job creation.Western’s initiative will add a mental health and wellness focus to the centers in the London community.

“How do you prevent academic failure? What can you do to

strengthen children’s psychological, social and emotional well-being?”

Schwean said of the initiatives guiding questions.

The project will start with research and a community needs analysis over the next six months.

One the communities’ strengths, weaknesses and needs are identified, community workers trained by staff at Western will use evidence-based interventions to improve children’s mental health.

Schwean said they will be focusing on primary prevention and promotion programs.

“It’s more desirable to stop negative trajectories in the early stages than to wait until the child is really sick [before helping],” Schwean said.

The faculty of education has collected close to $200,000 of its $3-million fundraising goal so far.

has the potential to give a lot back to local organizations.

“It’s a great way to draw the whole student body together through a fun event because there’s the ball aspect to charity ball so students get to go out and have fun, but … also give back to the community,” Mukri said.

“Last year they raised about $20,000 for Arts For All Kids.”

Tickets went on sale yesterday and will be sold in the University Community Centre until the end of the week and again on Jan. 29 and Jan. 30. Students can also purchase tickets online or at Western Connections.

As far as pricing goes, tickets are $35 per student or they can be purchased at a group rate of 10 for $300.

The VIP package is available for $75 per student. Mukri said the aim of this year Charity Ball is to highlight the true purpose of the function while creating a fun experience for students. “[Charity Ball] ties multiple things together and also exposes students to a charity,” Mukri said.

“We’re trying to bring it back to the charity while keeping in mind charity ‘ball.’ ” • Amy O’Kruk

the effects of different class sizes in their online courses, so they did this experiment over the course of a couple of terms where they randomly made sections of their classes bigger and smaller,” Christopher Doss, one of the study’s co-authors, said.

The study also added that student persistence in the course is not affected by the class being online and nor does it affect the likelihood of students enrolling in future courses.

“The study can give us a good idea of exactly what the effect was but it can’t tell the mechanisms behind it,” Doss continued.

“The one thing we can say is that the effect of peers on each other is not likely contaminating any of the results [such as GPA].”

Although the study cannot really explain why this is the case, this study adds to our understanding of online courses and suggests that small changes in online class size are not likely to have an effect on student outcomes.

The study was conducted in the online sections of courses offered by DeVry University in the United States and tracked outcomes of more than 100,000 students both at the undergraduate and graduate level.

Doss stated that the paper is still going through the peer review process and the researchers involved with the study are currently soliciting feedback and suggestions from colleagues and hope to submit it to a peer review process in late February.

• Usman Javed

CROSSWORD By Eugene Sheffer

News Briefs

Charity Ball tickets go on sale

Dust off your high heels and pick out a bow tie because Western’s annual Charity Ball is just around the corner.

Charity Ball, Western’s largest student formal event, is set to go down on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2015. This year, the function will be supporting a local charity called Growing Chefs Ontario, an organization based in London that unites chefs, growers and community members in children’s food education projects.

New to the event will be the introduction of a VIP section for certain party goers. University Students’ Council charity ball coordinator, Imraan Mukri, said the VIP lounge will feature a private sitting area, its own DJ, coat check, appetizers and drinks, like wine and champagne, to create an authentic VIP atmosphere.

Mukri also explained the theme for this year’s ball will be a secret garden, a compliment to the Charity Ball’s funding recipient, Growing Chefs Ontario. Mukri added the ball

Solution to puzzle on page 7

Class sizes don’t affect grades in online courses

A Stanford study presented at the Annual American Economic Association suggests that an increase in online class sizes does not have an impact on student grades.

“DeVry was interested in learning

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.

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

•3

thegazette • Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Dalhousie needs strong response Olive Oil

Olivia Zollino NEWS EDITOR @OliviaAtGazette

Dalhousie University decided yesterday to temporarily suspend 13 male dentistry students from clinical activities weeks after four professors made complaints over a misogynistic Facebook group.

Posts on the 2015 DDS Gentlemen’s Club page allegedly made references to various women in the program and had several offensive posts, including a poll on women they would have “hate” sex with and made light about using chloroform on women.

The suspension is pending consideration by the faculty of dentistry’s academic standards class committee.

Dalhousie released a statement citing that, “the suspension is necessary to ensure a safe and supportive environment for patients and classmates who participate in the clinics.”

Without completion of clinical activities, the students would be prohibited from graduating for not fulfilling requirements.

The statement continued that various options are being explored, including a restorative justice process in order to “repair the harm caused by this offensive behaviour.”

But, is the suspension enough?

Repairing harm seems unlikely if these students, despite being suspended, are kept in program affiliation with the female students that were the subject of this cyber harassment.

If the students aren’t able to graduate because of this suspension, why not expel them? Expulsion

I

F THESE STUDENTS DO CONTINUE ON THEIR CAREER PATH, THE WOMEN AFFECTED WILL CONTINUE TO BE VICTIMS OF A SOCIETY THAT TURNS ITS BACK ON SEXUAL ASSAULT AND HARRASMENT. would be an effective punishment because it would be reflected on their academic record, thus making them unlikely candidates to be accepted into another school to finish their degrees.

Many have come to the defense of the 13 Dalhousie dentistry students, stating that the Facebook page was simply a collection of crude jokes with no intent to pursue them. But what message would Dalhousie be sending to their female students if these men were simply given a slap on the wrist?

Their statements were simply unacceptable and they should be a proportionate punishment. Hate sex seems synonymous with rape.

After all, it is the act of exerting your dominance in a sexual manner against someone you consider inferior. Coupled with comments about chloroform and directly naming women, how could these female students feel safe or justified in any manner unless the 13 culprits were reprimanded in a way that proved Dalhousie stood for the safety of all their students. Whether or not the students intended on following through with these actions is irrelevant.

Additionally, there should be guidelines set in place for incidents such as these. California recently passed a law regarding sexual consent, stating that only yes means yes. Yet many Canadian universities

Courtesy of Hilory Beaumont

have neglected to even establish sexual assault and harassment policies. Ontario universities have just announced that they plan on creating policies to address sexual violence on campus, which is a start in the right direction.

Dalhousie University has a sexual harassment policy that includes informal and formal procedures for complaints, but was last revised in June 2009 and seems outdated for the current need.

If the 13 students are not expelled, they are being given a get out of jail free card.

It is a difficult decision that Dalhousie should make. Potentially ending the careers of 13 men is unfortunate and it’s good to see that Dalhousie is taking the state of their mental health seriously when dealing with this situation. But if these students do continue on their career path, the women affected will continue to be victims of a society that turns its back on sexual assault and harassment.

Hopefully, Dalhousie will not let this show go on.

New parking app lets users pay by cell Hamza Tariq NEWS EDITOR @HamzaAtGazette

The meeting is running late and you’re worried that the parking meter will run out? Well you can relax now by adding more time and avoiding that ticket by using the new parking smartphone app introduced by Western’s parking and visitor services.

The app was developed by HonkMobile and is available in a number of locations in Canada and the United States. It has become increasingly popular in Ontario, and Western’s parking lots are the first to use it in London. The app also featured on CBC’s business entrepreneurs’ show, Dragons’ Den. Currently being run as a pilot project, the app is only available at Weldon Library, Support Services building and Medical Sciences building parking lots.

According to Mark Van Den

Bossche, manager of parking and visitor services at Western, the use of the app will be expanded to other lots on campus, depending on the success of the pilot.

The app was introduced in November last year and will run until April, after which a decision will be made about its future over the summer break.

“Its been used about 60 times — mostly in the Weldon library lot, which I’m assuming are mostly students. They find it very convenient to not have to go back to the car and put a piece of paper in,” Van Den Bossche said.

The app is free and can be downloaded directly on iPhones.

For all other smartphones, there is a download option available on HonkMobile’s website. The app requires the user’s account, vehicle and credit card information to process payments.

After entering and parking in a lot, the app user can enter the zone

and parking time on their phones and the payment is processed. The machines in the parking lot provide the user with the zone they are parked in. The app then sends reminders 15 minutes before the parking time expires and users have the option to add more time. The user is allowed to extend the parking time to as long as the parking lot’s hours of operation allow.

“That’s it, nothing goes in your window — you just walk away,” Van Den Bossche said.

T

HEY FIND IT VERY CONVENIENT TO NOT HAVE TO GO BACK TO THE CAR AND PUT A PIECE OF PAPER IN. MARK VAN DEN BOSSCHE

4 •

thegazette • Wednesday, January 7, 2015

arts&life

saywhat?

“I remixed a remix. It was back to normal.”

• Mitch Hedberg

>> VIDEO GAMES > SHADOW OF MORDOR

Kelly Samuel • GAZETTE

CHRW Presents: Remixes Students invited to remix hits of local album Conrad Floryan ARTS AND LIFE EDITOR @ConradAtGazette

The next Dr. Dre or David Guetta could be anonymously wandering around campus. CHRW is giving up-and-coming London producers the opportunity to showcase their skills in the inaugural Radio Western Remix Competition.

Last year CHRW Radio Western built a new studio funded by a government grant.

“We did a compilation album of different artists around town in London to promote the studio and get the studio used,” said Alex Foster Roman, CHRW’s production coordinator.

The LDN compilation album showcased 14 different local artists and helped them record their original songs for free.

“We ended up taking six of those songs, stemmed it down and then gave it to the community to see what else new they can come up with besides the producers and interns we had at the project,” explained Derek Leung, CHRW’s marketing director.

Roman says the songs were selected based on which ones would be easier to remix. For instance, they selected a hip-hop song because he believes hip-hop lends itself to remixing.

“It’s kind of whatever felt right for a remix,” said Roman.

The six tracks are available for free download on chrwradio.ca/remix.

Applicants can submit remixes, mash-ups and covers of the six tracks on YouTube, SoundCloud or other

online media players. To be eligible for the $250 Grand Prize or the $50 fan favorite prize, applicants must live and/or attend school in London.

Submissions are due January 11 and public voting will end on January 25.

Submissions are being judged by a panel of producers and music directors at CHRW. “Producers come from all around London so you’ll get professional feedback and a professional jury to judge what the best remix is and people are able to vote online as well,” added Leung.

Roman thinks winning the contest would look great on a resume and the project is an excellent opportunity for fledgling producers to hone their skills and get their name out there. It’s an exciting experience that challenges artists to stem out of their realm.

“You can take the song and do whatever you want with it really creatively and express what you have in your head,” added Leung.

For years CHRW has organized a host of music contests such as a “battle of the bands” and singing competitions but with the advent of accessible technology used to produce music, they initiated the remix challenge to reflect the shifting musical landscape.

“Anybody can make a track on their laptop nowadays while 20 years ago you needed much more money and time and even a full studio space,” Leung explained. “Now you can see that a lot of the popular DJs these days make music just through their laptop.”

Leung expands that while electronically-produced music is usually

P

RODUCERS COME FROM ALL AROUND LONDON SO YOU’LL GET PROFESSIONAL FEEDBACK AND A PROFESSIONAL JURY TO JUDGE WHAT THE BEST REMIX IS AND PEOPLE ARE ABLE TO VOTE ONLINE AS WELL. DEREK LEUNG

CHRW RADIO WESTERN MARKETING DIRECTOR

associated with hip hop beats or dance tunes, any genre can be produced on a laptop.

Contingent on the success of the remix competition, Radio Western is exploring ideas for new contests that capture London listeners’ attention. Leung believes it’s essential to observe what genres music fans and producers are currently passionate about and cater to the cutting edge.

“We’re trying to do this remix competition to do something new and doing something that everyone has access to nowadays,” concluded Leung.

Submissions for CHRW’s Remix Competition are due on Sunday, Jan. 11. Voting for the remixes will occur from Monday, Jan. 12 to Sunday, Jan. 19. The grand prize winner will win $250 and there will be a $50 award for the fan favourite.

GGGGF Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor Consoles: Windows, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One Developer: Monolith Publisher: Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment A year ago, if you said that a video game based off of J.R.R. Tolkien’s nerd bibles and Peter Jackson’s adaptations would be on the list of best video games of 2014, you’d probably be the laughing stock of the Shire — or whatever other kin realm you happen to inhabit. Brace yourselves for a shock because Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor has been hailed as one of the games of the year and it deserves most of the praise.

Shadow of Mordor is set between the events of Jackson’s Hobbit and Lord of the Rings trilogies and barebones enough to be able to follow.

You play as Talion (Troy Baker), a ranger stationed on the Black Gate. When he and his family are killed by the Black Hand of Sauron (Nolan North), he is turned into a wraith and possessed by the spirit of Celebrimbor (Alastair Duncan), the elf lord responsible for forging the rings of power. With Sauron’s power returning to Mordor, the undead Talion/Celebrimbor set off to try and prevent his return.

Shadow of Mordor combines the stealth gameplay of Assassin’s Creed with the combat system of Arkham Asylum to forge a game that could appeal to even those not into The Lord of the Rings series. The gameplay styles whether stealth, archery or swordplay hack-and-slash are fun and it’s easy to want to run away hacking at as many orcs as possible to level up your abilities.

Tactically, the game works even better with an orc hierarchy system that can be manipulated. You can interrogate minions to learn the weak points of bosses and later in

the game mind-control orcs to put them in the hierarchy.

The game offers two environments to play in. Udûn and the Black Gate are bleak and grey, but to contrast, the second half of the game is set in Queen Marwen’s (Claudia Black) land of Núrn, a lush green area of Mordor that provides a much more compelling environment.

The second half of the game also introduces a number of fun secondary characters. A crazy dwarf hunter named Torvin (Adam Croasdell) provides the game’s much-needed comic relief. He single-handedly manages to scene-steal every part of the game he’s in. Lithariel (Abigail Marlowe) is also brought in as a kind of love-interest, albeit an unrequited one since Talion is too shy to ask if she’s into a necrophilia threesome with a elf spirit.

The game even manages to handle the overall themes in J.R.R. Tolkien’s monoliths of nerd culture really well, which makes the stupidity of the ending unbearable. Being aware of Sauron’s inevitable return to Mordor makes the victories of the game’s plot feel marred by the same sense of loss that comes at the end of The Lord of the Rings — Sauron is defeated but the elves must leave.

In Shadow of Mordor, this idea is encapsulated by Queen Marwen of Núrn, whose reign is fraught with knowing that Sauron’s return will mean an inevitable exodus to Gondor — (SPOILER ALERT!) or it would had the game not decided to unceremoniously kill her and her would-be love-interest daughter, Lithariel, off-screen at the end of the game.

This being at best Tolkien fan-fiction based off of the art and imagery of Peter Jackson’s film series, one wouldn’t expect the writing to be of the same legendary quality of The Lord of the Rings. Shadow of Mordor, however, stumbles into the dark and gritty anti-hero atmosphere that games such as Gears of War subscribe to — everything has to be depressing and hopeless for the sake of being depressing and hopeless, like that emo friend you tried to avoid in high school.

Overall, Shadow of Mordor is a fun, engaging action-adventure sandbox that provides plenty of fun gameplay and works on a plot and thematics level right up until the ending. Hopefully any sequels Monolith decides to make will double down with more iconic Middle-Earth settings and better writing.

• Brent Holmes

Courtesy of Monolith

•5

thegazette • Wednesday, January 7, 2015

LIFE & WELLNESS

WEALTH

WHAT’S HOT

MEDIA

LOVE

Clocky. He’s the alarm clock we all knew we wanted, without knowing he existed.

Clocky lets you snooze only once, but will then jump off your desk and run around the room until you drag yourself out of bed to turn him off.

Maybe it’s the image of the frantic, overworked, under-slept Mustang student running around trying to find the dumb clock that makes this a must have. It’s guaranteed to at least have you up (although maybe a little irritated) for that 8:30 a.m. lab.

Variations of clocky include a clock that sets off a helicopter top that you have to catch, the rocket launcher alarm clock or even the carpet alarm clock that forces you to stand up to turn it off.

• Jenny Jay

“Do to others as you would have them do to you.” For students set on getting rich and blowing gold all over the place, it’s essential to follow The Golden Rule: sharing.

Sure, sharing is kind, but more importantly it saves money.

Carpooling, borrowing textbooks and DVDs from friends and lending unwanted clothing are just a few easy steps to plumping up that anorexic wallet. This dollar bill utopia only functions if citizens are as willing to share as they are eager to receive assistance. It’s the same principle as Christmas — when we exchange gifts everyone goes to sleep happy, fat and rich. Although there wasn’t a white Christmas this year, January is looking golden.

• Conrad Floryan

One of the most pressing things on every student’s mind this week are their dreaded New Year’s resolutions. These resolutions may include a number of things, like going to the gym more often, getting to class on time or even getting to class at all. No matter what you are looking to accomplish, there are three simple steps you can use to make sure you follow through.

First of all, make your goals specific and attainable — this way you’ll be able to track your progress. Secondly, include others in your plans. Whether you’re simply sharing your goals with someone else or finding a workout buddy, this will make you more accountable. And finally, always remember to reward yourself.

• Jennafer Freeman

Poutine > Putin. The hilarious joke was seen as a loyal Canadian fan brought a sign to the Canada versus Russia game for the World Junior Hockey Championship.

The image quickly exploded over Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr as Canadians recognized that one of our greatest inventions was obviously greater than infamous Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Fans have posted images of Putin swimming through a bowl of poutine or using his face as curds.

What’s better than Putin’s rocking body? Potatoes. What’s better than Putin’s foreign policy? Gravy.

What’s better than his views on homosexuality? Cheese curds.

Poutine is purified, artery-clogging greatness and better than Putin any day of the week.

• Jenny Jay

Once again confirming that the idea of love is a superficial idea based on lies and unrealistic expectations, romance schlock-spewer Nicholas Sparks separated from his wife after 25 years of marriage.

The author has been responsible for 17 unbearable novels, which have been adapted into a collection of even-more unbearable films including The Notebook, A Walk to Remember, The Lucky One, Message in a Bottle, Dear John, Nights in Rodanthe and Safe Haven.

Unfortunately, this development is unlikely to do any damage to the popularity of films based off of Spark’s novels, much to the chagrin of boyfriends and film critics everywhere. An adaptation of The Longest Ride is slated to be released in April.

• Brent Holmes Graphic by Leona Refugia

IN THEATRES >> THE GAMBLER

Courtesy of Paramount

Not betting on this film Erik Bazjert GAZETTE STAFF

HFFFF The Gambler Director: Rupert Wyatt Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Brie Larson, John Goodman The Gambler should be screened in problem gambling help clinics all across the world. Truly, there has never been a film that so accurately materializes a serious issue for audiences this well. The film, ingeniously, drains the audience out of their money by demanding far too much for a ticket. In a work of meta brilliance, the film knows full well that paying anything to see The Gambler is far too much. Then, as you hope your bet will pay off, the film plays its hand and gives you nothing in return. Moviegoers leave cold, empty and miserable, understanding all the pain and emptiness that comes from this crippling addiction.

The film stars former underwear model Mark Walhberg as Jim Bennett, a college English professor who gambles in dangerous and seedy facilities. He gets himself into quite a bit of trouble with various

gangsters, who threaten his family and a young woman he loves (Brie Larson). Those familiar with any crime movie ever made will find the plot of The Gambler to be monotonous, boring and cripplingly slow.

However, this is done purposefully.

Audiences will experience the true suffering of an endless gambling problem by suffering along with an endless movie! It’s a stroke of genius!

The Gambler features some of the greatest acting ever committed to film. In order to achieve director Rupert Wyatt’s vision of total monotony, Mark Wahlberg delivers a lifeless performance. This is incredible work from the usually stellar actor, whose performance works in conjunction with the screenplay, which gives him absolutely nothing interesting to do or say. Brie Larson, who delivered an emotionally raw performance in last year’s Short Term 12, also has nothing to do here. This is a great touch, because now the audience is given no protagonist to latch onto, thus ensuring their feeling of crippling boredom and eventual depression by the time the film ends. The only flaw in the mix is John Goodman, who’s fascinating and instantly likeable

character tarnishes the director’s vision of monotony.

Like problem gambling itself, The Gambler is seemingly never ending. Addiction is a cold, frustrating and never ending cycle, just as the film is a cold, frustrating, never ending exercise in clichés. Problem gamblers are also disoriented and betrayed when they come into great sums of money, only to lose it to the demon that hangs over their shoulder. Wyatt achieves this by directing the film in the most disorienting way possible, constantly teasing at an artistic approach to filmmaking, only to treat the rest of the action as if it were a television program. This disorientation is complimented by ignoring time-honoured filmmaking trademarks such as believable characters, motivations and backstories. The audience has no idea why Bennett is gambling. This is a great thing that in no way totally derails the film into complete and utter oblivion.

Problem gambling is an issue that affects a large number of good people every day. Thanks to The Gambler, it is finally possible to understand all the pain they are going through, for those not currently suffering.

Students living in the age of the selfie have been victims of that awkward-angle, double chin photo.

Some begin to question whether their double chin was simply the result of a bad angle, or worse, if all those nights of drinking have started to add up, resulting in a permanent double chin.

Like other health and fitness myths, a myth about getting rid of double chins began to circulate on health trend websites.

The myth: chewing gum can help reduce the appearance of a double chin.

While chewing obviously includes some sort of muscle movement, specifically in the jaw, unlike chewing food, which leads to calorie consumption, chewing gum would allow the jaw muscles work without that extra calorie intake.

Sit-ups lead to abs don’t they? So why wouldn’t chewing gum lead to a more defined chin?

Unfortunately, this myth is false.

Natalie Neilands, a personal trainer at the London Southdale Goodlife, said that she does not believe chewing gum can be related to any weight loss.

“I don’t think there would be any kind of weight loss significant to moving your jaw or every time we eat we would be losing weight,” said Neilands.

According to Neilands, avid gum chewers are more likely to adopt this habit out of nervousness, rather than a true attempt at getting any chin exercise.

“I think it’s more of a mental thing for people that are kind of nervous or have high anxiety, for people who enjoy chewing gum more than the general population,” said Neilands.

I

DON’T THINK THERE WOULD BE ANY KIND OF WEIGHT LOSS SIGNIFICANT TO MOVING YOUR JAW OR EVERY TIME WE EAT WE WOULD BE LOSING WEIGHT. NATALIE NEILANDS

PERSONAL TRAINER AT LONDON SOUTHDALE GOODLIFE

Neilands is not alone in asserting that it is not possible to spot-reduce fat. Tips from health blogs, such as Get-Fit Guy, agree that fat cannot be burned from just one area of the body.

Despite the myth being false, there are many who still believe that spot-reducing fat is possible.

A 2001 study done by the State University of New York focused on middle school students’ conception of fitness. It determined that most commonly students believed “spot reducing and fat loss through sweating are possible, in spite of an abundance of evidence to the contrary.”

Luckily, there are other ways to get rid of that annoying double chin.

“I’d say cut back on carbohydrates and get yourself into an active lifestyle,” said Neilands.

Neilands suggests focusing on weight training and doing more interval training in order to reduce the fat percentage in the body and get rid of that double chin.

• Jennafer Freeman

6 •

thegazette • Wednesday, January 7, 2015

opinions

“There’s something therapeutic about nudity ... Take away the Gucci or Levi’s and we’re all the same.”

• Kevin Bacon

>> OUR VIEW

We get letters!

Instagram policy needs a change

Mustangs need to treat all animals well

Yes, we’re still talking about Mina Gerges.

Not because of a clever new photo recreation posted on his recently viral Instagram account, @keepingupwithmina.

Instead, we are talking about the third-year media student because his entire account was removed temporarily

by Instagram from Monday to Tuesday night.

While the suspension was probably due to the high number of followers he received in a short period of time, it also prompted questions about Instagram’s community policies due to the provocative nature of Gerges’ photos.

Instagram’s basic terms of use say that users cannot post “nude, partially nude … pornographic or sexually suggestive photos” on its website.

On a first reading, this policy seems well-intentioned but ambiguous — what is partially nude defined as? Sexually suggestive?

And taken in context of how people use the site, they are downright bizarre. The number of celebrities, let alone regular users worldwide who have shared images that leave very little to the imagination leave little doubt that this policy is, for the most part, ignored and unenforced.

More problems surface when the policy is enforced by Instagram. One prime example is the fact that they take down photos displaying female nipples but leave male nipples up. Their enforcement practices reinforce long-standing but sexist societal norms.

Instagram may be an unlikely place to look to for leadership when it comes to changing societal attitudes, but Facebook, Instagram’s parent company, was unafraid to implement a wider range of genders users can identify as to reflect our society’s changing views.

While users as young as 13 can use the site, and there are certainly very strong legal and ethical reasons why Instagram should not allow young users to create or view content that could be pornographic, there are ways that it can allow users to create and view mature content. Youtube, for example, has a reporting system where users can flag a video as 18-plus and users have to confirm their age before they can view a video. This system isn’t perfect, but it’s at least clear to people, including teenagers, that what they are seeking is mature content.

If Instagram hopes to remain fair and responsible for their users, they need to clarify and modify their rules that, in their current state, are inconsistent.

Until that time comes, we wish luck to Gerges, and we can’t wait to see his next charming creation.

• Gazette Editoral Board

thegazette

Volume 108, Issue 52 www.westerngazette.ca

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

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

The Gazette is owned and published by the University Students’ Council.

Winnie Lu • GAZETTE

Rethinking rave as a form of resistance Devlin’s Advocate

Megan Devlin ASSOCIATE EDITOR @MegAtGazette

“We are one.”

Those words flashed across the giant screen attached to the Veld stage during Above & Beyond’s closing set for the 2013 festival. It’s one of the trance group’s quirky trademarks — to touch-type spiritual or funny messages that feed into the LED backdrop for the crowd to read.

But are we really “one?”

Rave has exploded among youth worldwide, including Western students, over the past few years. Just last night, the Chainsmokers played for a frenzied crowd at London Music Hall. Rave creates an intense sensory experience — sound loud enough vibrate through your entire body, intense light shows and body contact with friends and strangers alike.

While some argue that rave allows people to reconnect with community, I argue that the newest music craze is just another product to be consumed.

According to Helen Evans’ dissertation on rave culture, rave has become an element of popular culture. It cannot be considered a subculture because it is not subversive.

Electronic Dance Music concerts and festivals have turned into the latest product for consumption by youth. Ticket prices now reflect a profit imperative, and the music itself comes dangerously close to Adorno’s definition of popular music: predictable and comfortable, a tool for controlling the masses.

The sense of unity peddled by phrases

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.

like “we are one” and a false sense of closeness created by ecstasy obscure the real nature of rave: that rave is spectacle.

“The spectacle is not a collection of images,” philosopher Guy Debord writes about his theory, the society of spectacle.

“Rather, it is a social relationship between people that is mediated by images.”

Spectacle isolates. In the society of the spectacle, as in rave, the only thing that unites people is the mutual consumption of the same set of images.

At a rave, one is not unified with anyone else in the crowd. Rather, every person in the crowd is in a relationship with the DJs sounds and images. No person is united with any other person outside of the stream of images and sounds emanating from the stage.

Debord described society of spectacle as one in which “all that was once directly lived has become mere representation.”

Another defining characteristic of the society of spectacle is that its means and ends are production and consumption.

This is particularly apparent in festival after-movies. That which was once lived — the sweaty, euphoric dance party — is now a movie meant to inspire similar feelings, and, most importantly, get you to buy tickets to next year’s show.

Evans argues that rave music can be seen as a representation of the relationship between humans and machines.

“By taking sounds from life and distorting them with modern technology, rave can express a very real fear of technology,” she writes.

Rave can feel like a liberating practice.

We may think we are getting in touch with our inner spirituality, but in reality we are feeding more and more into the societal machine of consumption. You can enjoy rave, like you enjoy other elements of a society of spectacle. I enjoy rave very much. Just don’t go thinking you’re part of a counter-culture.

Gazette Composing & Gazette Advertising Ian Greaves, Manager Маја Анјоли-Билић

Robert Armstrong Diana Watson

Gazette Staff 2014-2015 Mohammad Abrar Abdul Hanan, Suhaib Al-Azem, Eric Bajzert, Sarah Botelho, Damon Burtt, Tabitha Chan, Jonathan Dunn, Spencer Fairweather, Sam Frankel, Kevin Heslop, Richard Joseph, Drishti Kataria, Sara Mai Chitty, Soheil Milani, Mackenzie Morrison, Amy O’Shea, Vidhant Pal, Kyle Porter, Lily Robinson, Alex Seger, Tiffany Shepherd, Tristan Wu

News Amy O’Kruk Hamza Tariq Katie Lear Olivia Zollino News-at-large Kevin Hurren Opinions Nusaiba Al-Azem Arts & Life Conrad Floryan Jennafer Freeman Jenny Jay Sports Bradley Metlin Nathan Kanter Robert Nanni Jr.

To the editor: I am writing to express my confusion and horror over two cases of animal neglect on campus. During the exam period, I noticed an elaborate hamster cage in the bushes in front of Concrete Beach. I looked for the little guy to no avail.

Then my sister was getting off the bus at Weldon and noticed a little kitten in the bushes. He was presumably abandoned because we could see a crate in the bushes as well. What would posses someone to leave their pet out in the cold? Come on, people! And of all places on a university campus!

We contacted London Animal Services and they could have rescued him if he was in the crate. We left him water and crackers and noticed other container lids that others left for the same intent.

If you see this kitty in his crate or witness any other cases of animal neglect stop and call the emergency pet number at (519) 685-1330 or the Humane Society at (519) 451-0630.

Megan Hertner History III

Dear Life Your anonymous letters to life

Dear Life, Tbh, you never gave me lemons. Or called for that matter…

Dear Life, It’s time The Gazette writes some decent stuff.

Dear Life, It’s hilarious and awesome that Porsche advertises to students.

Dear Life, How am I supposed to survive, let alone function cognitively, in this kind of weather? It’s uninhabitable.

Dear Life, Ugh USC elections season… brace yourselves.

Dear Life, It’s way too early in the semester for me to be already falling asleep on the bus. wgaz.ca/dearlife

Online Megan Devlin Photography Kelly Samuel Taylor Lasota Winnie Lu Graphics Jennifer Feldman Illustrations Christopher Miszczak Kirstyn Culbert-Kviring Graphics/Video Mike Laine Marketing and Recruitment Coordinator Vivian Liu

• Please recycle this newspaper •

•7

thegazette • Wednesday, January 7, 2015

sports

saywhat?

“One of the things you’ve all heard me talk about is consistency.

We all agree we had some good stretches here but I can’t stand here and tell you our group’s been consistent.”

• Toronto Maple Leafs GM Dave Nonis, regarding the firing of coach Randy Carlyle.

Rundown >> Western Mustangs defensive lineman Daryl Waud has been listed as the top CIS player available for the 2015 Canadian Football League draft > He is a threetime OUA all-star and two-time CIS all-Canadian.

Mustangs take on division-leading Lancers Richard Raycraft MANAGING EDITOR @RichAtGazette

Both the men’s and women’s basketball teams will be in Windsor tonight to take on the Lancers. The women will tip off at 6 p.m. followed by the men at 8 p.m.

It’ll be a tough contest for the women’s team, as the Lancers are undefeated at 7–0 and stand tall atop the Ontario University Athletics’ west division. That’s far ahead of the Mustangs, third in the division at a record of 2–6.

The Mustangs are coming off two losses in the Windsor Holiday Classic tournament, falling to McMaster 63–50 and Calgary 76–60.

They’ve also dropped their last two regular season games to McMaster (65–51) and Brock (80–72) for an extended cold streak.

The ‘Stangs will look to the offensive talents of top point-scorer guard Caroline Wolynski, who’s averaging 10.9 points-per-game. She’s followed closely by guards Mackenzie Puklicz (9.9) and Maddy Horst (9.8).

A vulnerable Mustangs defence may have trouble stopping the high-powered Lancers, however.

Guard Korissa Williams is the second highest point scorer in the OUA at 19.6 ppg. She’s also supported by guard Jocelyn LaRocque at 15.2 ppg — both far ahead of any Mustangs player.

Windsor had the upper hand in the last contest in early November, pounding the ‘Stangs 88–41.

The men’s game is far more contentious with the Lancers (5–2) at first place in the west division and the Mustangs following them closely at a record of 5–3. This is a match with serious implications.

The Mustangs haven’t played since the end of November, so rust may be an issue early in the contest. They are coming off of a win, however, beating the hapless Brock Badgers by a score of 76–66. They are led by forward Greg Morrow who has average 19.2 points-per-game.

As with the women’s game, Western faces an intimidating opponent. The Lancers played a number of exhibition games south of the border over the break, so they may be more prepared up for a return to regular season play. Prior to that they lost to the McMaster Marauders 84–72.

Windsor boasts the OUA’s fourth-highest scorer, Rotimi Osuntola who has 21.1 ppg. Despite the Mustangs’ game in hand on the Lancers, Windsor has outscored Western 592–570m this season, so the ‘Stangs defence will have to be solid to keep the contest close.

Both games are available to watch on OUA.tv.

Intern for SPORTS sports@ westerngazette.ca

GP

Record

PF

PA

PTS

Windsor

7

7-0

571

407

14

Laurier

7

6-1

517

415

12

Western

8

2-6

464

527

4

Waterloo

7

1-6

405

492

2

Algoma

7

0-7

274

532

0

Jennafer Feldman • GAZETTE

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8 •

thegazette • Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Mustangs strike gold in York tournament Robert Nanni SPORTS EDITOR @robertnanni

After a three-day stay at York University this past weekend, the Western Mustangs men’s volleyball team took home the gold in the York Excalibur Tournament.

Friday’s game saw a tight battle against the Ryerson Rams, resulting in an unfortunate 3–1 loss for the Mustangs. Although this game did not count for tournament progression, it was still one that had to be played.

“It’s just the way the format of the tournament goes,” Jim Sage, Mustangs coach, said. “Whether you lose or win the first game of the tournament, you still play on Saturday in what would be a semifinal.”

Seeing an opportunity to give his entire team some playing experience, Sage played a mix of veterans and first-years to give the entire team a chance to play. Despite not winning the game, these frequently benched players had a chance to gain some experience before the second half of the regulation season restarts.

“With Ryerson it was close, back and forth, and we had a lot of opportunities, but it was mostly an opportunity to give some first-years the playing time that the starters get,” Sage said.

Leading up to the game on Friday, the team scrimmaged against each other for practice from late December up until New Year’s Day. This practice continued on Saturday with some inner-squad scrimmage following a default by

Jonathan Dunn • GAZETTE

Waterloo Warriors.

A combination of poor weather and the Warriors’ choice to return home each night instead of staying in a hotel rendered them unable to return to York for the competition.

This resulted in a 3–0 default win for the Mustangs, thrusting them forward into the finals against the York Lions.

While Sunday’s game against York initially saw a few blowout sets on each side, the later sets were much more controlled and tightly

played. The game had some close moments, but the Mustangs ultimately dominated as they finished 3–1 for the win of the game and the tournament.

“I was really pleased with our effort against York, being a top three team in Ontario that we struggled with in the regular season,” Sage commented.

After losing 1—3 to the Lions at home on November 22, the Mustangs finally evened out the score in this tournament.

Sage identified outside hitter Justin Scapinello as the tournament MVP and Matt Hooker as an All-Star starter, both heavily aiding the team in their final game win against the Lions.

Winning this tournament started off the second half of the Mustangs’ season on a positive note, as Sage noted that this past weekend was “very important to the team’s confidence and preparation going into a big game against Windsor this week.”

The ‘Stangs will face the Windsor Lancers on Friday night at 7:00 p.m., marking their first regulation game of the 2015 year, in an attempt to increase their current 50 per cent win record. The game is followed by a Saturday night game against the McMaster Marauders.

“We’re really focusing in on Friday’s match first and foremost, and then McMaster,” said Sage.

“With McMaster being first in the country, this weekend is going to be a battle – it’s a huge rivalry.”

Carlyle axing was only a matter of time Kant Touch This

Nathan Kanter SPORTS EDITOR @NathanAtGazette

Consistency, consistency, consistency. The Leafs lacked consistency.

That was the message from general manager Dave Nonis this morning when he announced the firing of head coach Randy Carlyle.

“I think we’d all agree that we’ve shown some good periods, some good stretches, but I don’t think I can stand here in front of you and say we’ve been consistent,” Nonis said at a press conference. “We felt at this point that we needed to make a change.”

With the Leafs in the midst of a 2–7–0 slide, there was certainly the possibility of Carlyle being let go.

But to many – myself included – it did come as a shock for him to be fired so soon. After all, the Leafs still occupy a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, albeit the final wild card spot, with a 21–16–3 record.

But was it really that surprising?

When the Leafs re-signed Carlyle for two years this past off-season it was clear he was on a short leash.

Toronto’s defensive woes last season were well documented, and many questioned Carlyle’s old coaching style and refusal to play a puck possession game. Brendan Shanahan, now the Leafs president and alternate governor, made

a statement when he hired Kyle Dubas as assistant general manager, a youngster who strongly believes in analytics, and gave him his own team to work with.

So when Carlyle got the rather surprising summer extension, it came with a warning: if he didn’t change the team’s puck possession numbers, things wouldn’t last long.

And they didn’t.

Toronto is currently 28th in the NHL in Corsi for percentage at 44.5 per cent, meaning they give up a heck of a lot more shot attempts than they fire at their opponents.

Last year they were even worse, finishing dead last in the entire NHL at 42.9 per cent. Corsi includes shots on goal, missed shots and blocked shots – but only five-on-five – and is now widely accepted across the league as a good indicator of a strong team because you need to possess the puck to get attempts on goal, and the more attempts you have, the more you control the puck, and thus the play. The top possession teams in the league, Chicago and Los Angeles, have a Corsi for percentage above 54 this season, and have consistently been at or around that mark the past few seasons.

Toronto has also scored the second most goals in the league in 2014–15 with 130. This may sound good, but what the analytics people will tell you – and frankly, I agree – is that it has simply been good luck because of their abnormally high team shooting percentage.

The team is scoring at the best rate in the league – on 9.49 per cent of their shots – so the thinking is that number will start to even out with

Bernard Weil • GETTY IMAGES

time and thus drop. Toronto will be in trouble when they can’t score goals, seeing as they continually get out shot game after game.

So Carlyle probably knew it was coming. The horrendous effort this past Saturday against the Winnipeg Jets, a team with half of its blueline on injured reserve, said it all. Not only did Toronto give up 40 shots on goal and leave Reimer out to dry, but they only managed 21 shots on goal of their own. They had 36 Corsi attempts for, while the Jets managed 70, for an ugly Corsi for percentage of 33.9. It may have been just one game, but it really did paint a fairly

accurate picture of what Carlyle did with this Maple Leaf team during his entire time as coach, despite a 91–78–19 record.

For at least the next little while assistants Peter Horachek and Steve Spott will handle the coaching duties, starting tonight against a red hot Capitals team that has gone 10–1–3 in its last 14 games.

The attention now turns to the players, to see how they respond.

Many in the Toronto media feel the real problem isn’t coaching, but the core of Dion Phaneuf and Phil Kessel. When this was brought up in the press conference, Nonis made it

clear no player is untouchable.

“People think that players are set in stone. I’ve said before, players are moveable. None of them have full no-moves,” he said. “If there’s a player move that makes us better we’ll look to do it. But this doesn’t change anything. This wasn’t about the core not listening to Randy or anything like that.”

Hopefully that message puts some pressure on the players. And if they don’t get it, let’s hope some major player changes happen. For real, this time.