Thursday, January 29, 2015

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Throwing around the ol’ granit Sports editor Bradley Metlin tries out curling for the first time >> Pg. 8

thegazette Lalka killing off Greaves since 1906

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

THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015

TODAY high 10 low -10

TOMORROW high 10 low -10 VOLUME 108, ISSUE 65

Lawyers work toward racial equity Kevin Hurren NEWS EDITOR-AT-LARGE @KevinAtGazette

When discussing racial inclusivity, we often refer to getting a “seat at the table.” But what about a seat on the bench? The Law Society of Upper Canada, or LSUC, is hosting public consultations throughout the province to examine ways that discrimination creates barriers in the profession. London’s consultation, which took place on Monday, invited local licensees to express their own experiences and opinions on racially influenced challenges. These consultations are organized by the Challenges Faced by Racialized Licensees Working Group, a coalition of professionals created by LSUC in 2012 to investigate any inequalities. “The advantage of the consultation is that they’re open-ended for a period of time so we can listen, assess and gather input,” said Howard Golblatt, vice-chair of the Working Group. In conjunction with the consultations, the Working Group released a paper titled Developing Strategies for Change: Addressing Challenges Faced by Racialized Licensees. The paper compiles information gathered in a survey sent to 45,000 licensees, both lawyers and paralegals, questioning what they felt impeded their success in the field. Of these responses, 40 per cent of racialized licensees identified their ethnic or racial identity as a barrier to entry into the practice. Additionally, the paper reports that for racialized women, the experience of gender bias is compounded as a consequence of their racial status. >> see LAW pg.3

Inside

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Food trucks for London

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Western names E-learning director

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Old East Village Revitalization P4 CD Review: Sorry 4 the Wait 2

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Men’s Hockey Fights for First

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Courtesy of Team Sophie

GIVE ME YOUR VOLUNTEERS. Slate and campaign members pose at the Team Sophie booth in the UCC atrium. Team Sophie managed to sign up 120 volunteers on the first day of campaigning.

Team Sophie attracts over 100 volunteers Olivia Zollino NEWS EDITOR @OliviaAtGazette

On the first day of campaigning for the next University Students’ Council executive, Team Sophie has already signed up approximately 120 volunteers. Sophie Helpard, candidate for USC president, said that the volunteer surge speaks to her campaign. “This is a community endeavor — not just a political campaign,” she said. “We’re happy that the community is reaching out, especially after we started to share our ideas on Tuesday morning.” Helpard announced her platform and launched her website

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HIS IS A COMMUNITY ENDEAVOR — NOT JUST A POLITICAL CAMPAIGN. SOPHIE HELPARD

USC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE

just after midnight on January 27. Team Sophie used their red launch party in order to offer opportunities to perspective volunteers. “I always find what is easiest is, rather than having us reaching out to the community and the networks we have, is to make a campaign

that people want to be a part of,” Lindsay Banks, Team Sophie volunteer coordinator, said. Helpard said the volunteers will be an asset in spreading the campaign’s message across campus, aid in social media and communicate what students want from the USC. Team Litchfield is taking a different marketing approach. Jack Litchfield’s slate is having a rally on Thursday to announce his platform. “Our campaign is doing a build up as opposed to a flat line, so we expect that based on that to not have as many [volunteers] at the start, but to greatly surpass that as we move through the campaign period, especially with our platform rally tomorrow,” he said.

Aside from his core team of about 40 people, Litchfield said his slate has a large network of volunteers that he cannot quantify. “We are happy with our volunteer base, but at the same time, Team Litchfield is always happy to have more membership and we have lots of avenues to get involved that way,” said Litchfield. Helpard stated that she has a lot of respect for the volunteers who wanted to support Team Sophie but waited until they had all the facts about the campaign. “Once they were solidified with not only who we were but what we were doing, that’s when they jumped on and we’ve just been hitting the ground running from then.”


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thegazette • Thursday, January 29, 2015

Caught on Camera

Amy O’Shea • GAZETTE

CATCHING AIR. Local London snowboarder Chris Fellner shows Western how it’s done by throwing up a W after hitting a jump in Talbot bowl.

Western raises record amount for United Way Drishti Kataria GAZETTE STAFF @uwogazette

Western University announced their final total of donations for their 2014 United Way campaign on Tuesday, revealing that they raised $745,014 in donations. Since 1994, Western has been supporting the London community through United Way of London and Middlesex. Peggy Wakabayashi, campaign co-chair of Western’s United Way campaign, participated in the unveiling of Western’s contribution to the charity on Tuesday. “This year’s campaign set a goal of increasing participation and awareness of United Way on campus,” she said. The major theme of the 2014 campaign, Project 100%, looked

to expand United Way’s reach and inspire more people to contribute. Wakabayashi stated this was accomplished through doubling participation and money raised in the Scotiabank Stairclimb event for United Way, Ivey’s contribution of $80,000 from their lemonade campaign and Schulich School of Medicine and Dentristy’s 15 per cent increase in donations. “If not for Western and the rest of the community coming forward, we’d still have a lot of struggles in our community,” Brad Duncan, London police chief and 2014 campaign chair, said. United Way of London and Middlesex funds over 80 programs to help those in poverty or are at risk. Western’s total donations since 1994 to the United Way of London and Middlesex total $10,216,722. Dayna Munroe, 2014 United

CROSSWORD By Eugene Sheffer

Way Sponsored Employee and staff member in Western engineering, mentioned organizing events and promoting more awareness about the United Way through established student-led events would be effective to continue increasing Western’s involvement. Andrew Lockie, chief executive officer of United Way London and Middlesex said more than anything, they just want to hear from students to see what the organization can do to facilitate a bidding passion for community improvement and how they can connect today’s youth to their passion to community development. “I want to thank the students and the university in general for really stepping up and supporting the community through United Way,” he said.

Food trucks for London Rita Rahmati GAZETTE STAFF @uwogazette

A pilot project for food trucks, which was struck down by the previous city council, is now being drawn up again. Opposition has risen from restaurant owners who fear their businesses will suffer with further expansion of food trucks. Immediately following the announcement of the pilot project, a meeting of 60 downtown restaurateurs took place. They put together a letter arguing that food trucks not be permitted downtown. “They’re worried for their businesses and I certainly don’t want to see anybody lose their business as a direct result of this,” Maureen Cassidy, deputy mayor and Ward 5 councillor, said. Chris Bunting, co-owner of the

Solution to puzzle on page 7

Goodah Gastro Truck that operates on campus during the week, said he understood restaurant owners’ concerns. “I think it’s normal, I think it’s part of the process. I mean whenever you see some type of significant change that you’re not sure how it’s going to impact your business or the businesses around you there’s going to be concerns.” There are numerous considerations for the pilot project including locations trucks will be permitted and whether the city of London will play a large part in micromanaging trucks. For example, in Toronto, the city plays a large role in the implementation of food trucks as carts having to be rented or bought from the city. Cassidy dislikes that level of micromanaging and would not want to see London follow Toronto’s route. The original pilot project was heavily amended by the last council and ultimately voted down. One amendment, which will be of large concern again this time, was prohibiting any food trucks on Richmond St. whatsoever. “I would like to see the original report. My desire at the end of this is to see the best quality products that we can get in downtown London, the best quality food trucks,” Cassidy said.

Some of the benefits for food trucks included increased flexibility and more options such as late night services. Chris said food trucks benefit from being in groups as they can create buzz and plan events together. There is potential that food truck expansion will benefit numerous types of downtown London businesses. Looking at the bigger picture Cassidy believes food trucks could entice more people to go downtown. “If we can get more people downtown then everyone wins, existing businesses, new businesses, everybody,” said Cassidy. Chris shared similar sentiments, “When you look at other cities, food trucks flourish and thrive right next to food trucks and everybody’s better for it.” The fine print of the pilot project has not been established yet and a decision on the future of food trucks in London will made soon. Until then Chris said, “We’re having a lot of fun here at UWO.”

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 Winnie Lu • GAZETTE

519-858-2525 • themarq.ca • 75 Ann St.


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thegazette • Thursday, January 29, 2015

Law Society to promote diversity >> LAW continued from pg.1

Courtesy of Western News

E-LEARNING, COMING UP NEXT. Gavan Watson, Western’s new associate director of e-learning, has big ideas about how online technologies can benefit students and course instructors.

Western creates director of e-learning Amy O’Kruk NEWS EDITOR

@AmyAtGazette

Western is exploring new educational frontiers with the creation of an associate director of e-learning position that’s set on getting students engaged with course content inside and out of the classroom. Gavan Watson, a former educational developer at the University of Guelph, has been appointed to the job. Watson’s experience teaching as a graduate student and later exploration of effective teaching practices interested him in the benefits of using interactive technologies with students. “[E-learning] is new, it’s not the kind of thing that everyone has an equal amount of expertise in,” Watson said. “There are opportunities here to support faculty members, instructors and graduate students if they’re interested in incorporating technology into their teaching to improve student learning.” Watson also serves as the chair of the Council of Ontario Educational

Developers. The creation of his role at Western stems, in part, from a 2013 report to the provost that made recommendations regarding the future of e-learning at the university.

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NSTEAD OF SIMPLY SUBMITTING AN ESSAY YOU MIGHT BE CREATING A NEW WEBSITE, OR A YOUTUBE VIDEO DEMONSTRATING WHAT YOU’VE LEARNED. GAVAN WATSON

NEW ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF E-LEARNING

“For undergraduate students, a growth in blended courses is one of the big opportunities in the next few years,” Watson said. “That’s where some of the course would be taught in a face-to-face classroom and other components would be online.” So far, the e-learning director has run lunch and learns for faculty members and, along with Western’s

Instructional Technology Resource Centre, has offered orientations for new course instructors that introduces them to using e-learning tools on campus and online. Watson points to three major advantages with online tools and learning: schedule flexibility, diversity in course participants due to fewer geographic barriers and the opportunity for students to complete assessments in creative ways. “Instead of simply submitting an essay you might be creating a new website, or a Youtube video demonstrating what you’ve learned,” Watson said. Watson added that aside from his own ideas, he’s also interested in consulting students about how they like to learn and what students think e-learning should look like at Western. “This isn’t a job that’s simply for faculty members and instructors,” Watson said. “It’s also important for students to be able to communicate how and why they want to learn using technology. I’ll be looking to involve student voices as I continue the job.

“There had been anecdotal evidence in respect to pressures in entry advancement and progress faced by licensees, but the purpose of this undertaking was to go beyond what was anecdotal and to take a look at it in systemic ways,” Golblatt explained. As such, Golblatt and the Working Group are encouraging both individuals and organizations to contribute to the discussion. One group taking advantage of the opportunity is the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers. Lai-King Hum, president of FACL and a London resident, is optimistic about the consultation process. “It’s a great first step, because among racialized lawyers we know this [discrimination] happens but other people don’t know so I think an excellent thing is raising awareness of these challenges,” she said. Within FACL, Hum works to address some of the gaps in the field caused by racial intolerance. Networking, she said, is a significant contribution to the lack of inclusion in the field. Hum uses the example of articling, explaining that the more lawyers, students or graduates work the greater their chances of getting hired are. According to Hum, however, non-Anglo names are often

skipped over by senior lawyers who may not feel comfortable working with that individual or pronouncing that name. “This is an example of a missed

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T’S A GREAT FIRST STEP, BECAUSE AMONG RACIALIZED LAWYERS WE KNOW THIS [DISCRIMINATION] HAPPENS BUT OTHER PEOPLE DON’T KNOW SO I THINK AN EXCELLENT THING IS RAISING AWARENESS OF THESE CHALLENGES. LAI-KING HUM

PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERATION OF ASIAN CANADIAN LAWYERS

opportunity to showcase a student’s talent … little things like that chip away at the lived experience of a racialized lawyer,” Hum said. LSUC and the Working Group will be gathering comments and suggestions until March 1, when a second draft of the paper will be released outlining what the next stages for the profession need to be. “It’s one thing to identify the issues, the real task before us now is what do we do about it in a real and meaningful way,” concluded Golblatt.

News Briefs

Book club series back in business

Western University’s Alumni Relations is bringing back their book club series, Western Reads. Western Reads began in 2003 and connected Western alumni with the London community and works by Canadian authors. The book club stopped running in 2009, but it has recently been restarted. Trista Walker, executive director of alumni relations, said she is excited to see the revival of Western Reads. “It wasn’t until we stopped doing it that we realized the impact it was having,” she said. Walker added that although attendance was decreasing, many were taking up their own personal book clubs in their homes and hometown libraries. The first event will take place on February 25, facilitated by Jason Winders, editor of Western News. The club will discuss Lynn Coady’s collection of short stories, Hellgoing. “We want alumni to enjoy the best alumni experience. The reason we like a book club event is because it’s a way to have life long learning attached to the program,” she said.

Walker said that they are introducing a new element to integrate alumni into the discussion that was not accessible prior to 2009 — social media. “We were not aware of the impact we were making when we took it away, so we’re really excited about bringing it back,” Walker said. • Olivia Zollino

Boycott beer cans

The United Steel Workers and Ontario Federation of Labour’s ‘Beer Can Boycott’ has arrived in London. The boycott supports Toronto factory workers at Crown Holding, an American multinational corporation and one of the largest beer can manufacturers. The workers have been on strike for 17 months, after Crown Holding began demanding a 42 per cent cut on starting wages, largely affecting youth entering the work force. “These much older workers basically took a stand for the next generation,” Joe Dexler, head of USW Strategic Campaigns, said. “After that, the company has come back and said they’re going to cut everyone’s wages from 30, to 40, to 50 per cent.”

Crown Holding is also asking the unions to ratify a new labour agreement where most of the workers will not be getting their jobs back. “This is American-style union busting,” Dexler said. “This will have wide range implications for the future of labour relations throughout the province.” He is worried that other companies may begin to emulate this form of labour relations and is calling the Western and London community to action. “We cannot win this alone … this is not the kind of Ontario we want for the future of our province.” Dexler hopes to meet with student groups at Western to encourage them to join the boycott on beer cans and encourage them not to use products of the boycott. These companies include Molson, Coors and Labatt (specific labels: Moosehead and Budweiser), as well as some craft breweries, the largest of these being Steamwhistle. To learn more about the Bottles Not Cans campaign, visit www. bottlesnotcans.ca. • Julie Hambleton

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thegazette • Thursday, January 29, 2015

arts&life

oscarhype If Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu wins Best Director for Birdman at the Oscars this year, he would be the second Hispanic/Mexican director to win Best Director — the first was Alfonso Cuaron for last year’s space thriller, Gravity.

Keeping your head up Texting giving rise to spine problems Robert Nanni SPORTS EDITOR @RobertAtGazette

Most smartphone users spend up to four hours per day texting, tweeting and Snapchatting duck-faced selfies to their best friends. Yet what they might not realize is the immense pressure being placed on their spine as they tilt their heads to sift through the world of social media and that it is a leading cause in developing text neck. Text neck describes spinal problems created by bending the neck to send text messages or use handheld electronic devices. This new phenomenon was identified by Dr. Dean Fishman on The Doctors and has been recognized as a growing problem. Bing Howenstein is the founder and CEO of BackJoy, a company that works against the detriments of poor posture. Howenstein explains how text neck is acquired, specifically in today’s generation. “Text neck is the result and image of being on your smartphone, staring down at it, going through your emails and Instagram for a prolonged period of time,” says Howenstein. “And by that I mean for more than a couple of minutes.” The problem arises as one’s head is tilted downward, looking at his or her phone to go through timelines and texts galore. While the average head weighs 10 to 12 pounds, an increasingly sharp tilt results in a greater pressure being applied on the cervical vertebrae in the neck area. “If you’re leaning over 15 degrees, which is just glancing down, you’re increasing that load from 10 to almost 27 pounds on your neck,” Howenstein explains. “If you lean all the way down, almost getting your chin touching your chest, that’s 60 pounds of pressure.” Although the weight of one’s

head poses little concern when balanced appropriately atop the spine, holding it in unnatural positions for prolonged periods of time adds a considerable amount of load to the neck, back and body as a whole. “Text neck adds pressure to the spine and nervous system, as well as the integrity of the spinal cord,” says Dr. Landon Burden, an on-campus chiropractor in the basement of the UCC. “It also affects the muscles that are attached to the spine.” The concerns of text neck originate from chronic back pain and extend to joint-and-tissue related damages, spinal disfigurements, and can contribute to osteoporosis, arthritis, high blood pressure and other cardiovascular health concerns. “Think about your body as a machine,” suggests Howenstein. “When you don’t allow it to work the way it was designed, you’re going to create a whole host of issues.” Few realize the debilitating status of their handheld cripplers and the long-term effects at stake. While Howenstein offers various solutions to the issue at hand, the onus is ultimately upon the individual. “You need to take moments to stretch back, get up and keep moving, reminding yourself to not be in those same positions all day long,” says Howenstein. “This is a decision, in the same way one might choose to eat gluten-free one might also decide to live with good posture.” While preventative measures such as stretching and maintaining positive bodily health are key to overcoming the back-ache blues of text neck, the situation has the potential to get out of control. “Keeping yourself limber and in good shape will donate to good posture by alleviating those pressures,” says Howenstein. “If you’re getting to a point where you’re creating

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HEN YOU TEXT YOU NORMALLY HAVE YOUR HEAD DOWN THE BEST THING TO DO IS TAKE BREAKS, MAKE SURE YOU’RE EXERCISING AND STRETCHING THE MUSCLES IN THAT CHRONIC POSITION. DR. LANDON BURDEN

ON-CAMPUS CHIROPRACTOR AT WESTERN

some damage, you might have to consider physical therapy.” Despite ergonomics being an impactful field in office cultures, Howenstein maintains that people simply do not use their equipment in an effective manner. The body’s natural slump after a long day is a classic sign of humanity, but can definitely be prevented. “When you text you normally have your head down,” Dr. Burden explains. “The best thing to do is take breaks, make sure you’re exercising and stretching the muscles in that chronic position.” As Howenstein aims to use BackJoy to “fix the way the world sits, stands, sleeps and moves,” he advocates that students be wary of their position and stance while frequenting social media outlets. “We don’t realize what we’re doing to ourselves but we’re doing quite a lot,” Howenstein says. “Good posture is something you can do really easily, and everybody else can too.”

Winnie Lu • GAZETTE

Photo provided by Victoria Fraser

Artisans revitalize the Old East Village Victoria Fraser CONTRIBUTOR @uwogazette

Western students and alumni are definitely not strangers to the warning not to go East of Adelaide. Warning people to avoid the other side of the tracks has been established as a part of the Western culture. This belief, however, is not reflected in the businesses of the Old East Village. The OEV was recently named people’s choice for greatest neighbourhood by the organization Great Places in Canada. Over the years the OEV has slowly transformed, becoming home to unique arts organizations, local restaurants and shopping experiences. “It is rapidly becoming London’s top culture hub,” Susan McElroy, a business owner in the OEV, says. “Wortley is nice too, of course, but there is something about this place. Whenever I come home from the OEV, my husband says I seem even happier.” Changes are happening in the OEV that are making it a central focus of London’s greater community. During the summer, the London Fringe Festival has expanded to the OEV. “With the Fringe [Festival] now coming and other arts and culture activities and community-based events taking place, the OEV is a shining example of neighbourhood revitalization,” Faith Coates, general manager of the Palace Theatre, says. The transition Coates speaks of is similar to that of the urban village. This is a theory in city planning and cultural development that describes how run-down neighbourhoods are revitalized by artists to become hip and trendy. The OEV is well on its way to becoming the urban village by repurposing, rebuilding and rejuvenating the buildings, the community and the culture. “I believe within the next five years the OEV will be the place for entertainment, culture, unique restaurants and shopping experiences in London. The OEV and the changes to date have been amazing. The

community itself gets out, supports and encourages cultural activities and they let the rest of London know how forward thinking the OEV is,” Coates says. In late November, 2014 five Western students signed up to visit the OEV to see it for themselves. Visiting six of the neighbourhood’s attractions, the group’s opinions of “East of Adelaide” rapidly transformed.

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BELIEVE WITHIN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS THE OLD EAST VILLAGE WILL BE THE PLACE FOR ENTERTAINMENT, CULTURE, UNIQUE RESTAURANTS AND SHOPPING EXPERIENCES IN LONDON. THE OEV AND THE CHANGES TO DATE HAVE BEEN AMAZING. FAITH COATES

GENERAL MANAGER OF THE PALACE THEATRE

Even if you have gone to the OEV or go there fairly regularly, it is easy to let the East of Adelaide stigma blind you to the transformation that is happening, explains fourthyear Psychology student Lindsay Clayborn. “I feel like it’s this cool edgy urban hub that is really coming into its own. I go to the Farmers market almost every weekend, which I love, but I don’t know why I never stopped to notice the rest of the neighbourhood and how interesting it is,” Clayborn says. “This is a neighbourhood. Rarely do you get panhandled or approached for money. You are far more likely to have someone say ‘hello’ and ‘enjoy your evening.’ People live and work here and that makes all the difference in the world to the way the community interacts,” Coates adds.


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thegazette • Thursday, January 29, 2015

ON DISC >> SORRY 4 THE WAIT 2

GGGFF Artist: Lil Wayne Album: Sorry 4 the Wait 2 Label: Young Money

Courtesy of Microsoft

At last week’s press conference, Microsoft introduced some of the coolest new technology the personal computer industry has seen for quite some time. The event began with a live demonstration of Windows 10, but the highlight of the show was the announcement of Windows Holographic. With Windows Holographic, you can see and interact with 3-D images that perfectly adapt to your surroundings; you can pinch them, pull them, tap them and flick them away, just as you would on your laptop. To interact with the holograms, you have to wear a special headset called the “HoloLens.” The HoloLens is itself a computer. It runs Windows 10 and is equipped with a special

chip called a holographic processing unit. The HoloLens also understands where you’re looking, recognizes your gestures and voice, and can map your surroundings. It’s difficult to explain what the wearer of a HoloLens sees to someone who hasn’t watched Microsoft’s demo. The best way to explain it would be to start by imagining the app icons as seen on the Windows 8.1 dashboard. Now look at the walls of your room, and imagine that same Windows dashboard dispersed around your room, with the app icons being situated on the wall. If that explanation didn’t help, then watching the video should clear things up. It is important to note that HoloLens is an augmented reality headset, which should not be

confused with virtual reality headsets. Augmented reality is the blending of virtual reality and real life, while virtual reality is all about the creation of a virtual world. Oculus Rift is an example of a virtual reality headset. Microsoft didn’t give a precise date for when Windows Holographic and HoloLens would come to market, but the company said it would be available “within the Windows 10 timeframe.” Windows 10 is expected to go on sale later this year. Microsoft surprised and impressed the tech world with its hologram announcement, while reminding us of something we all seem to have forgotten – that Microsoft shouldn’t be discounted when it comes to innovation. • Shachar Dahan

Test Drive Your Career

It’s Weezy season once again. As The Carter V languishes in limbo while Birdman and Lil Wayne sort out their disputes, the Young Money CEO appeases his faithful following with Sorry 4 the Wait 2. Wayne’s latest is par for the course as far as his mixtapes go, meaning there’s a couple standout records and highlight bars peppered throughout 17 tracks of mostly filler. He recycles too many top-40 beats like Bobby Shmurda’s Hot Nigga and O.T. Genasis’s Coco without improving on the initial formula. There are only four original compositions, but they include the standout track Used To featuring Drake and Riff Raff. Although Riff has been much maligned by hip hop erudites questioning his credibility, he has been steadily expanding his fan base over the last few years and he’s developed into one of the most engaging voices in the rap game. Hamilton’s 18-yearold phenom WondaGurl composes the menacing instrumental and proves why she’s one of the fastest rising rap producers.

Wayne spits vintage loony bars like “Rap game Shakespeare, go Hamlet!” and “When I met codeine, it was love at first Sprite.” He continues to distinguish himself within a genre crammed with generic pretenders with absurdist, inventive lyrics. While Wayne seldom forays outside of his street-tough persona, he doesn’t have to. He’s creative enough to remain engaging while crafting infinite lyrical declarations of the same old message — “I’m awesome and screw everyone else.” This is Wayne’s first extended release since his codeine-induced life-threatening health scares in spring 2013. Those wondering whether his issues would produce a more mature, levelheaded Tuchi need not worry — he’s as wild as always. At 32-years-old and after 20 years in the game, he’s still a rock star spitting out whatever his inner child feeds him without any second thoughts. Fans of Lil Wayne will be satisfied with this appetizer mixtape until The Carter V drops and detractors will have more ammunition to draw from. Wayne’s strength and weakness lies in his commitment to staying true to himself and refusing to evolve. Since he grew from a standard lyricist with extra charisma to a hip hop Salvador Dali after Carter III dropped in 2008, he’s been repeating himself over and over. While he sometimes sounds complacent, this actually works to his advantage — he’s charming because he feels effortless. As a work of art Sorry 4 the Wait 2 isn’t much, but it delivers the swagger that keeps Lil Wayne in the pop culture headlines. There are three guarantees in life — death, taxes and Weezy. • Conrad Floryan

Looking for work experience? Consider the DeGroote MBA The DeGroote Co-op program provides students with the opportunity to gain 12 months of valuable paid work experience over the 28 month program. Students in our program earn an average of $45,000 during the three work terms. This program is for you if you are a recent graduate with little or no work experience and you are looking to gain a competitive advantage in the workforce. We are coming to Western University on Thursday, February 26th for an information session on the program. If you cannot make the session we will be back on March 10th for an information table in the UCC Atrium. Please see your Career Centre for more details and to register.

mba.degroote.mcmaster.ca


6 •

thegazette • Thursday, January 29, 2015

opinions

One in four of us will have a mental illness at some point. That is a lot of people.

• Alistair Campbell

Please see the #BellLetsReallyTalk The decision slates debate We get letters!

King Lear World of Raycraft Katie Lear NEWS EDITOR @KateAtGazette

Richard Raycraft MANAGING EDITOR @RichAtGazette

As a political junkie, I love debates. There’s something about seeing someone have their views challenged and clarified that, to me, adds a lot to campaigns. This is true of any level of government — federal, provincial, student government — it doesn’t matter, the basic idea is the same. Every candidate or government has certain perspectives, policy proposals and ideals and debates are their best chance to bring them to a wide, general audience. There are issues, of course. The rise of political marketing and advertising means more buzzwords, more sound bites and less elaboration. Luckily, viewers and journalists are becoming more educated on sounding these out and pressuring politicians to come up with real answers. It’s not the real problem. The real problem is apathy. Gone are the days when families would gather 'round the black and white, rabbit-eared television set to watch the front-runners fight in an intellectual judo match. Voter apathy is at an all-time high — they don’t know the issues, the policies, the candidates — and this trend has made its way into debate viewership. Considering that, as I said, televised and broadcast debates have the most potential to bring these people and their ideas to a wide audience, this is a very real threat to our democracy. Western is no exception. The campaign to take the reigns of our student government — which oversees a budget of tens of millions of dollars — has begun. We have two slates consisting of six candidates total, all of whom are very talented and experienced individuals. They have some ideas on how to spend that money of yours and how to administer the services most of you use on a regular, if not daily, basis. While you might stop by their booths or glaze over their pamphlets, the debates are your chance to hear them out and see them in action. Trust me, nothing is more deflating as a journalist than to see our student politicians and advocates speaking at an event where everyone showed up dressed as an empty seat. While the debates are live-streamed online, they rarely attract more than a few hundred viewers. For an institution of 30,000 undergraduates this is pathetic. Low attendance at debates has been a focus for the last couple years. It’s time to change that. There are only two scheduled so far over the next two weeks, and I personally would like to see them full. Not only will this energize and pressure our candidates, it will bring undergraduate students together as a community. So ask questions, maybe sip a coffee, and make these candidates earn your vote! The Media Debate takes place today at 3:30. All are welcome.

thegazette

Volume 108, Issue 65 www.westerngazette.ca

Iain Boekhoff Presenter-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.

I’m not someone who’s known for mincing my words all that often, so I’m going to make this as clear as possible: I am glad for Bell’s Let’s Talk campaign. As of 6:30p.m. Wednesday night, Bell’s website shows 84,692,155 total interactions. At five cents for each interaction, we’re talking $4,234,607.75 towards mental health. But the more important number for me is that first one. It’s probably unlikely that every one of the 84,692,155 interactions are unique, but even if only a quarter of them are, that’s roughly 21,173,038 people talking about mental wellness. With all of the attention that mental health has been given in the past 10 years, it isn’t a surprise that this issue has reached this number of people and touched them enough to being committed to #EndTheStigma. In contrast, when I was in high school, wellness was a joke. My friends and I would laugh about being too busy with work to eat, taking pride in our all-nighters and when asking anyone how they were, everyone would say ‘tired’ without fail. If someone said ‘great!’ it was suspected to be a lie. In university, I’ve been surprised by our shift for the better. I’ve had numerous conversations with friends who have mentioned histories of depression or anxiety and their bravery should in no way be minimized. But I’ve noticed something about the disorders that have made their way into more public conversation: they’re not psychotic. The public discourse about mental illness hasn’t improved on all fronts; rather, it has been split. I would argue that we’ve redefined

what ‘crazy’ is, and by doing so, we’ve thrown those with psychoses under the bus. Especially in media (Criminal Minds and The Dark Knight come to mind), these narratives are centred around “this person is having hallucinations, they need to be institutionalized” — which strips that person of any autonomy just because they’re “crazy.” This “crazy” is pitched as scary to viewers. And because viewers don’t exist in a void, the conversation about those who are “crazy” becomes one of fear outside of a scripted story in a world where perceptions matter. Psychoses, hallucinations — anything that indicates a break with reality — are seen as frightening as the perception becomes that these people are dangerously unpredictable. The stereotype becomes that anyone with a psychotic disorder or even a psychotic break is one step away from killing anyone in their path. And in case this isn’t clear enough already, not only is this wildly inaccurate but it’s grossly unfair to those with mental illnesses. This unequal treatment of mental illnesses as a group proves that abolishing stigma still has a long way to go, beyond conversations about the disorders we’re comfortable with. If we’re going to address the problem of stigma against mental illness, we can’t just pick and choose what mental illnesses are okay to talk about. Just because what people have learned about mental illnesses with psychoses has been primarily fear-mongering and demonizing, it doesn’t mean that these ideas are close to reality — just as we understand that a law enforcement officer’s job is not really as glorified as it is on TV. Ending stigma against mental illness is vitally important and I’m elated that the conversation on it is so widespread. But ending stigma has to involve ending stigma for all mental illnesses, not just the ones that don’t make us uncomfortable.

Tweets of the week

@ShelbyLee79 Mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of. Neither is talking about it #BellLetsTalk @ uwogazette @ActiveMindsUWO 1 in 5 Canadians will suffer from mental illness in their life. But 5 in 5 Canadians are affected! @uwogazette #BellLetsTalk

@JelenaBelieveIt I’m not on campus @ uwogazette… I’m just OffCampus *cough* in Toronto *cough* but can I still get published in the paper? #BellLetsTalk @S_Blair1 @uwogazette Why not finish all tweets today with #BellLetsTalk?

Follow and tweet your thoughts to @uwogazette

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.

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, Devin Golets, 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 campaign was ethical

Re: “USC playing with technicalities — again,” Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2015 To the editor: My name is Kevin Chao, and I would like to personally address the concerns voiced by The Gazette editorial board in yesterday’s issue. In that column, The Gazette criticized my choice to support Team Sophie while continuing my role as an associate vice-president public affairs for the University Students’ Council. It was made clear to me by government services, the elections committee and HR that my decision of whether or not to take a leave of absence was mine and mine alone. Each party I spoke with agreed that it was within my rights as a part-time USC employee to support a slate as long as I didn’t use my position to their advantage. I took the steps necessary to make sure there was no conflict of interest. In December, my supervisor and I agreed that during January and February my work would be comprised exclusively of non-election tasks. None of my knowledge or resources as an AVP were applied to the Team Sophie campaign or platform. Team Sophie’s ideas, vision and plans were all conceived entirely by the three candidates. Thus far, my contributions to the campaign have been editing the platform for grammar and phrasing as well as my personal endorsement. I believe it was wrong of The Gazette to frame my decisions as a disregard of ethical conduct. The Gazette has every right to critique my judgment and print their opinions, but to publicly criticize my ethics and values without the full picture — or even directly speaking to me — is defamation of character. While I believe there is no conflict of interest, as of today, I have taken a leave of absence from my USC position until the end of the election period. I may be within my rights to continue working while supporting a campaign but if public opinion differs I have no concerns with temporarily removing myself from the USC. I would rather leave no room for speculation and would hate to draw any more focus away from the campaigns these two slates are running. Expect to see me in the UCC atrium campaigning. Kevin Chao USC associate vice-president public affairs

Write us letters! opinions@ westerngazette.ca Associate 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 • Thursday, January 29, 2015

sports

thursdaytweet What will snap first? Me or the Leafs’ losing streak? I’d place your bets on the former. #TMLtalk

• @feedthefish79, on tonight’s game against the New Jersey Devils

Rundown >> Mustang Days, the winter celebration of Western Mustang athletics, returns to Western this weekend: Six different Mustang teams will be hosting games over a four-day span.

’Stangs ready to fight for first place Devin Golets SPORTS EDITOR @DevinGolets

The men’s hockey team has perhaps their biggest game of the year tonight when they host the Windsor Lancers. Sitting two points back, a regulation win would send Western into a tie with Windsor for first in the Ontario University Athletics west division. Western has finished first in the West each of the past five seasons. While it would be nice to extend that streak, the team knows that finishing first has other perks as well. “It’s more so about home ice,� defenceman Matt Paltridge said. “Especially since we’ve been quite successful at Thompson Arena. In a shortened playoff series, home ice is everything. We want to eliminate as much travel as possible.� The ‘Stangs will be looking to bounce back after last Friday’s 1–0 loss to the York Lions. Despite throwing 30 shots on net, the team was unable to make a mark on the scoreboard. Luckily, the team had some help from around the league as Windsor was also shutout on Saturday, allowing Western to keep pace. “Our friends in Laurier did help us out to soften the blow from that York loss,� forward Ryan Kirk said. “But Windsor’s a good team, it’ll be a faster game than York. If we come to play, I think we can beat anyone. I have faith in us.� Fans can expect a playoff-type atmosphere tonight. With only four games remaining in the season, the points on the line are all the more important. “It’s a pretty big weekend in general,� Kirk said. “We could finish this weekend in first or we could finish in third.� The last time these two teams faced off was in December, when Western came back from being down 3–1 to win 4–3. Luke Karaim scored twice in the third period to secure the victory, but he will be out of the lineup tonight with concussion symptoms endured in a game against Brock last Wednesday. One thing the Mustangs will have to look out for is Windsor’s offensive attack. With 97 goals scored, the Lancers have the top offence in the west, and second in the entire OUA. They are led by forward Spencer Pommells, who is at the top of the OUA with 43 points. As a native of Tecumseh, Paltridge knows what to expect from many of the players he grew up playing with in the Windsor area. “I’m really close with a lot of guys on their team,� he said. “The biggest thing with them is chemistry. They play well as a team. Parker [Van Buskirk] is one of the better goalies in the country. They cut down on turnovers and take advantage of opportunities, so we need to play disciplined.� You can watch Western and Windsor battle for first place tonight at Thompson Arena. Puck drop is at 7 p.m. and students can watch for free.

Taylor Lasota • GAZETTE

To place your classifed ad, please contact us at 519-661-3579 or adoffice@uwo.ca

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8 •

thegazette • Thursday, January 29, 2015

Who knew throwing rocks could be so fun? Breaking Brad

Bradley Metlin SPORTS EDITOR @BradAtGazette

When I was speaking to my American friend this past Saturday, he asked how I was spending my day. I replied that I was curling for the first time and his response was quick — “that’s so Canadian.” Thinking about the comment, it makes sense. I remember how riled up about Jennifer Jones I was during the 2014 Winter Olympics. Of course, the men won as well but it’s much easier to remember the women’s skip. Indeed, on my team, Jones was someone we hoped to aspire to. On a Saturday, a wakeup time of seven in the morning almost seems like a cruel joke but alas, the trip to the London Curling Club warranted such an inexplicably early time to rise. My team featured another person who had never been in a curling club, someone who had only done it once before and our skip who had approximately half a year of experience. Conversely, the other team had two players who brought their own brooms. They would be our last game of the day. Suffice to say, we laughed at the prospect of our impending slaughter.

Organized by Western’s Mixed Curling Club, their annual bonspiel (which is what they use instead of tournament in curling — the more you know!) features a mix of skill levels and is mostly fun. Scores aren’t recorded and everyone plays seriously but is ridiculously friendly. Curling is a respectable sport that does not feature a hyper competitive nature. Getting on the ice and learning to throw a rock was a comical experience to say the least. A rubber like slipper is put on one of your feet (a slider) to make your foot movable on the ice. Walking with that on one of your feet is pretty tough. It does, however, allow for adequate momentum when hurling a 40-pound rock down a sheet of ice. Anyway, our first game seemed like a team that was evenly matched for us, if not a little better. We began the match and to my surprise, we ended up managing to not make complete fools of ourselves. We were throwing rocks with some degree of accuracy! We managed to land some of the shots we wanted! After the first two ends, we were leading 2–0. It was some sort of miracle that we managed to do so well. It wasn’t even like the other team was bad — there were times when we definitely got lucky. Elements of curling are definitely exhausting. As evident by my copious amount of sore muscles the next day, it is a workout. The more experienced players will tell you that short, vigorous sweeps

Ryan Nippard • Bradley Metlin • Katelyn Cox • Sid Aiyar

of the room are better than wide, slower ones. So you’re essentially scrubbing the ice and hoping that the friction you provide makes a difference. As the match was coming to an end, we realized we had left too many of our opponent’s rocks in the house. They had the hammer for the final end and could likely add some points. In the end, we finished 4–2. We managed to pull

out a victory and it tasted fantastic. By the time we got to our final game — against our friends with years of experience — we had a mixed record of wins and losses. Our spirits had been tempered but we were having a lot of fun and surprised we still had managed some success. In the end, they beat us by only one point. Facing a team with heaps more experience than us, we were

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impressed. Curling is a sport that seems simple and easy but in reality, you get a workout. It’s fun because you’re competitive but when the match ends, it’s entirely cordial and respectful — something more sports need.

Mustangs streamline Badger Invitational Robert Nanni SPORTS EDITOR @robertnanni

The Western men’s and women’s swimming teams headed to Brock University this past weekend to face off against the Brock Badgers and Waterloo Warriors in the Badger Invitational. Of the 23 meets the teams participated in, the Mustangs swam away with 18 first-place finishes, scoring all top three positions in seven different events. Some of the wins included Alana Colgan and Alex Bartley, who took the first-place win for the 200m backstroke. They swam 2:22.65 and 2:11.25, respectively. Dominating the 400m freestyle was Briana Kilty, who was the only

top-three female Mustang and coming in first for the event, with a final time of 4:34.73. She was also the only Mustang to compete in either gender’s 400 m freestyle event, beating out her competition by nearly 10 seconds. The Mustangs women’s A and B Teams grabbed first and second place respectively in the 300m medley relay, setting a positive note for the first event. The Men’s A Team finishing the race with 2:52.58 on the clock, snagging the second gold of the meet with half a second above the Warriors’ A Team. The team heads to the University of Ottawa next weekend, where they will compete in the OUA Championships. Name • GAZETTE


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