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westerngazette.ca TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2015 • WESTERN UNIVERSITY’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER • VOLUME 109 ISSUE 25 ei-c ya later since 1906

Western snags co-ed and all-girls cheerleading titles Both Mustangs cheer squads finished in first at the nationals this past weekend. For one team it was a first, for the other, it continued a longstanding tradition of winning.

SERENA QUINN SPORTS EDITOR @SERENAATGAZETTE Strength, precision and above all, confidence.

This is what you see when you're at a Western cheerleading practice.

It's Tuesday, Dec. 1 and most of the male and female athletes of the co-ed cheerleading team have already arrived at the Power Cheer Gym located across town at 580 Quebec St. Meanwhile, Western's all-girl cheerleading team is also at the gym for their Tuesday night practice and have taken their spot on the the other side of the pull-down door that separates the space into two gyms.

The co-ed team gathers together on the mats, stretching their limbs in preparation for their last practice before heading to Brampton for the Power Cheerleading Athletics University and

MAAILAH BLACKWOOD GAZETTE

Open National Cheerleading Championships on Saturday.

It's 8:58 p.m. — two minutes to practice time — when Mustangs head coach David-Lee Tracey comments, "I don't even have to say a word."

The cheerleaders get up and jog through a number of circuited stretches before getting into position on the floor.

At 9 p.m. the music begins and their first routine of the night gets underway.

Tracey watches the routine like he is a member of the audience. He paces from one side of the floor to the other and back again. He doesn't bark out orders, likely because he doesn't need to.

The team's tumbles are expertly timed, their cupies are captivating and their fliers are flawless. It's clear they've been training hard.

SEE CHEERLEADERS PG.6



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2 • TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2015

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PROFILE NOURA HAMADE

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Noura didn’t grow up with a keen interest in fencing.

She discovered fencing in a funny way, as it began with a ‘try it for free day’ at Brock. The idea initially started with her first-year roommate, who had tried fencing on an eighth-grade field trip and wanted to be on the team.

However, when it came time for the pair to try out for the team, Noura’s roommate bailed last minute due to assignments.

“I decided to tag along because you should try something new when you go to university,” said Noura, “I was like, ‘whatever, I’m dressed and ready,’ so I went to try it.”

GAZETTE ADVERTISING & COMPOSING IAN GREAVES ADVERTISING DIANA WATSON

Noura Hamade has been fencing since the first year of her undergraduate studies at Brock University. Six years later, Noura is the captain of the fencing team at Western and she loves the sport more than ever before.

COMPOSING MAJA ANJOLI-BILIĆ ROBERT ARMSTRONG

After that day, Noura never looked back. Today, she practices three times a week for two and a half hours each session.

Noura graduated from Brock with a bachelors of science in epidemiology and decided to pursue graduate studies at Western. She chose Western for both scholastic and athletic ventures.

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“[Western has] a great epidemiology graduate program and I already knew the coach on the Western team, so I knew they had a great fencing team,” she said.

Fencing for the Western Mustangs during the fall 2015 competition season, Noura placed third in both the Queen’s Open, an individual competition and the RMC tournament, a team competition.

Noura’s choice of weapon is an epee, which is a stabbing weapon. This means she has to hit her opponents with the tips of her sword. As an epeeist, Noura has to be on guard at all times because the entire body is targeted.

What started as a way to get away from the daily stress of classes and studying has now transformed into a genuine love for the sport. Noura enjoys the adrenaline she gets from competitions and says the overall beauty of the sport is one reason why she has kept at it for so many years.

“There’s the psychical aspect of fencing and then there’s a mental aspect to fencing as well,” said Noura. “Fencing is a lot like chess because when you are facing you’re opponent you want to be playing your game and there’s a lot of thinking ahead to make sure that you set up an attack and set up what you’re opponent is going to.”

It is essential to make sure that you are always forcing a reaction from your opponent and not the other way around, she says. She adds that as a fencer, you don’t want to be playing into your opponent’s game — you want them playing into yours.

“The last tournament I went to, I kind of let myself down because I had already given up on myself before I got on the piece and of course that messes up you’re whole game,” Noura said.

Above all, Noura stresses confidence.

“Confidence is key with fencing,” Noura said. “You have to be the one playing your game and if you’re not confident in your own game, then you’d always be reacting to what your opponent is doing.”

■■MAALIAH BLACKWOOD

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WESTERNGAZETTE

Senate reviews scholastic offences for 2014–15

Editorial: New tipping law positive step but not good enough

We’re not feeling the holiday spirit

WESTERNGAZETTE

The provincial government has passed a new bill that would ban employers from “tip-stealing,” but tipping in the service industry remains a flawed idea.  PG 8

A pattern of underreporting was detected as only 199 scholastic offences were reported across all faculties and affiliated colleges.  PG 4

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.

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

The Western community is giddy with glee, gearing up for the festivities — except for our editors due to their holiday pet peeves.  PG 10

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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2015 • 3

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Intramural team names under review New policy to come in place after law school team name controversy HAMZA TARIQ BREAKING NEWS EDITOR @HAMZAATGAZETTE Western Athletics will revise its intramural sports policy after members of a hockey team from the law school were sanctioned under the code of student conduct for their team name.

The name, Dixon Cider, was used by the intramural team for at least two years before being flagged as problematic and reported to the Faculty of Law and Western Athletics on Nov. 19. The name has since been changed.

Students who were part of the team are being dealt with under Western’s student code of conduct but the University has refused to release what sanctions are being handed out to the team members, citing privacy concerns.

Iain Scott, dean of the Faculty of Law, said he was unaware of the intramural team name approval process, which falls under the purview of Western Athletics.

The current intramural guideline states, “When choosing a team name/photo/uniform, please ensure it is in good taste and is not offensive to individuals or groups on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, disability,

age, gender, sexual orientation, or culture. We ask that all team names/ photos/uniforms not contain profanity, racial slurs, sexual innuendo, references to drugs or alcohol, or other words that may be offensive or otherwise degrading in nature.”

“A further review of other names [is underway] and research is going into some of the team names that we don’t really have the background on,” said Therese Quigley, Western’s director of sports and recreation services. “They will be removed if found inappropriate or in contravention to our policy.”

Under the old policy, intramural teams would send in their names for approval to the sport convener.

The convener would then bring forward any concerns to the intramural coordinator and assistant coordinator, who would review the name at that point.

According to Quigley, this put too much responsibility on the sport convener to review, research and make a decision if a team name was problematic.

Under the new policy, conveners of different sports will sit down as a group with the intramural coordinator and assistant coordinator and go through every single name to approve them.

A further review of other names [is underway] and research is going into some of the team names that we don’t really have the background on, They will be removed if found inappropriate or in contravention to our policy.”

THERESE QUIGLEY WESTERN’S DIRECTOR OF SPORTS AND RECREATION SERVICES

“If there is some question regarding a name, there will be a group assigned to do research,” Quigley added.

Although the law students are being disciplined for being a part of Dixon Cider, no action is being taken against the conveners or coordinators who approved and oversaw the name for the past two years. Under the old policy, conveners were supposed to randomly double-check team names every week and make any necessary changes that were needed.

“I think it was something that missed the screening process,” Quigley said. “I am very confident this was not a deliberate attempt to get around the system or the policy.”

Previously, the intramural team names could be changed online by the team captains after being approved by the conveners and coordinators. Now, team captains will not have access to the name changing process online and will have to file for a new name request with the sport convener.

According to Scott, the law faculty is treating this incident as an educational experience and is trying to improve the environment in the law school for students and faculty members.

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“What we have been focused on and what I have been reporting to the faculty and the students on is our efforts to improve our climate going forward,” he said, “so that we have a culture which is one of mutual respect and we don’t engage in any activity that’s demeaning to anyone.”

Quigley said Western Athletics is committed to maintaining the integrity of the intramural system.

“We feel strongly that we aspire to be better than that as Mustangs and as Canadians,” she said. “We will ensure that this process is filtering out the kind of names, behaviours, photos that really are not consistent with what our programs are promoting and aspiring to be.” n

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Beer coming to a grocery store near you in 2016 RITA RAHMATI ARTS & LIFE EDITOR @RITAATGAZETTE Beer lovers across the province have much to celebrate — beer will be sold in Ontario grocery stores starting in the new year.

Larger quantities of beer will remain only at the Beer Store, but some grocery stores will sell sixpacks of beer, the provincial government said in their announcement.

Of the Western students asked about the development, many expressed excitement over the opportunity to purchase beer in stores. Jack Trembath, a third-year political science student, said he was “definitely [happy]. It will make it more convenient.”

The 13 companies approved for selling beer are: Coppa’s Fresh Market, Farm Boy 2012 Inc., Galleria Supermarket, Hanahreum Mart Inc., J & B La Mantia Ltd., Loblaws Inc., Longo Brothers Fruit Market

Inc., Metro Ontario Inc., MichaelAngelos Market Place Inc., Pino’s Get Fresh, Sobeys Capital Incorporated, Starsky Fine Foods Hamilton Inc. and Wal-Mart Canada Corp.

“My initial reaction was that I was cautiously optimistic. From the get-go it’s hard to imagine how it’s going to work,” said Steven Nazarian, vice-president and co-owner of Forked River Brewing Company.

Forked River is one of many craft brewers hoping to get their products into grocery stores. Nazarian is engaging in talks to make this happen, but for now no final details are known.

John White, a King’s business professor, said he thinks small breweries will benefit greatly from the new market opportunity. He explained beer restaurants such as Toboggan purchased large quantities of beer through the Beer Store, but had to pay higher prices than non-commercial buyers.

Nazarian said grocery stores will likely use a distribution system separate from the LCBO and Beer Store.

Details of the system have yet to be released.

“There are a lot of breweries in Ontario and grocery stores [that] are probably not going to want to have to deal with each one of them on an individual basis,” Nazarian said.

“We’re still waiting on how that’s going to work exactly.”

Nazarian said pricing with the LCBO is finished, but the integration with grocery stores has yet to be completed.

As negotiations are ongoing, grocery stores are not permitted to speak about the expansion as outlined in the government’s announcement. The Retail Council of Ontario said they have not determined exactly which locations will get beer, but this information should be released within the next few weeks. n

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4 • TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2015

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Scholastic offences underreported at Western HAMZA TARIQ BREAKING NEWS EDITOR @HAMZAATGAZETTE The office of the vice-provost academics reported 199 scholastic offences at Western between June 2014-15 at the Senate meeting last Friday.

The offences are collected from all faculties and affiliated colleges at the University. In the event of a recorded offence, the sanction is determined by the department chair or the director of the school.

Plagiarism is the most commonly reported offence across all faculties.

Other offences reported this year include improperly obtaining an exam paper, collusion on written assignments, inappropriate behaviour during an exam, falsifying a medical note, impersonation during an exam and duplicate submission of an essay to a second course.

The faculty of social science had the most number of offences with 81 reported incidents. On the other hand, faculties including Ivey HBA, Law, Medicine and Dentistry, and medical science reported zero offences.

According to John Doerksen, Western’s vice-provost academic programs, the reported numbers

show a pattern of underreporting of scholastic offences.

“It seems to me that there is some underreporting in general,” he said.

“If you consider that we have … a student population of 37,000 or more and to think that we have only about 150-200 instances of scholastic offences, it’s probably being quite optimistic and so I think that we probably see some evidence of underreporting.”

The reporting of scholastic offences is decentralized at Western as offences are dealt mostly on a program level. Doerksen’s office is responsible for collecting the data of scholastic offences that are reported by the faculties.

Doerksen said in most cases, underreporting occurs because instructors might deal with the student directly and not process the offence through the official channels.

“Let’s say there is evidence a student plagiarized on a section of the essay and so in some cases what might happen is that instructor might be more inclined to say please revise and resubmit and I will dock you a certain percentage on that paper,” he said, “but not actually bring that offence

through the process that Senate has laid out — that’s what I mean by underreporting.”

Doerksen added that his office encourages university colleagues to go through the Senate approved policy.

Students have the opportunity to appeal scholastic sanctions if they think they have wrongly or unfairly been reported or sanctioned. The appeal first goes to the dean’s office within the faculty and after that it goes to the Senate Review Board Academic. All appeals that, reach the SRBA are reported to the Senate once a year. n

If you consider that we have … a student population of 37,000 or more and to think that we have only about 150200 instances of scholastic offences, it’s probably being quite optimistic and so I think that we probably see some evidence of underreporting.

JOHN DOERKSEN WESTERN’S VICE-PROVOST ACADEMIC PROGRAMS

JENNIFER FELDMAN GAZETTE

Senate reviews funding formula Western to hold memorial for student AMY O’KRUK NEWS EDITOR @AMYATGAZETTE

Western senators talked dollar and cents at the last senate meeting on Friday Dec. 4. Out of the meeting’s agenda items, the university’s funding formula review and academic priorities fund took centre stage.

WESTERN FUNDING FORMULA REVIEW At the meeting, provost Janice Deakin updated Western senators on the university’s funding formula review task force’s progress.

The task force formed last spring to help the Ontario’s Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities after it launched a province-wide university funding formula review.

Although Deakin noted the task force’s report will be pushed back into the new year, she said the committee’s consultations so far revealed community consensus on issues like the importance of experiential learning, that teaching and research should be given

equal weight and the need for predictable and stable funding. On the other hand, Deakin reported there is less agreement over how learning outcomes should be measured and moving forward, it’s unclear to the extent in which enrolment based funding will be part of the new funding formula.

ACADEMIC PRIORITIES FUND After Deakin revealed the final report from Western’s budget task force will also be pushed back to early 2016, the conversation shifted to Western’s academic priorities fund (AFP) — incremental and one-time funds awarded to faculties based on their priorities in areas like research, teaching or internationalization as expressed in the faculty’s annual academic plans.

Senator and Western professor Nick Dyer-Witheford questioned Deakin about the AFP’s distribution.

“Not all faculties get [funds for] their first priorities,” Dyer-Witheford said. “There is a lot of unevenness in

the allocations, especially when that money goes into base budgets — it can make a significant difference.…

Would it not be better if the allocation of the APF was less of a black box affair and more transparent in terms of the reasons for and the principles guiding its allocation?”

Deakin’s response was that distributing the APF based on guidelines that are too specific hurts the fund’s ability to respond to the university faculties’ complex needs.

“It isn’t done by formula,” she said. “It’s done based on an analysis of what’s been asked for and what is the historic [net] contributions of a particular faculty to the university.”

Deakin added the AFP’s funds are quite limited compared to Western’s total operating budget.

“We’re talking about 1.5-million dollars on a base budget of $700-million and so choices need to be made,” she said. “I don’t do it in a black box, I discuss it with each of the deans.” n

KATIE LEAR NEWS EDITOR @KATIEATGAZETTE The Western community will come together to mourn deceased student Craig Sandre this Thursday.

Sandre, a fourth-year political science student, died by suicide on Nov. 15. His loss was felt throughout the community as he was a familiar face on campus, being a part of the social science soph team.

“Craig was very active on campus in a variety of roles, whether it be through the orientation program or working at the Spoke and he touched many people at Western,” vice-president student events Taryn Scripnick said in an e-mail. “We wanted to provide the opportunity for everyone to remember him, together.”

According to Scripnick, the

memorial will include friends, staff and other members of the community speaking about their memories of Sandre. There will also be a condolences book available at the service and anyone who wishes to can bring sympathy cards.

Attendants are asked to wear denim in Sandre’s honour.

“We were told by friends that he was someone who loved to wear ‘j-shorts,’ jean shorts,” Scripnick said. “With the family’s blessing we felt it would be a nice memory to have everyone be in denim to remember him since it was something he loved. We really wanted his memory and his favourite things to be reflected at the memorial.”

The service will be held in the Mustang Lounge on Thursday, Nov. 10 at 12 p.m. and is expecting around 350 guests from the Western community. n

B l a c k H i sto r y Mo nth at M c I nt o s h G a l l e r y TH E J OH N A ND S UZ A N N E K AUF M A N N C OL L E C TI ON OF A F R I C A N A R T an d K A RIN J ON E S : W O R N January 21 – March 12, 2016 Your input matters! We’re looking for volunteers to assist with programming.

For more information contact Lucas Cabral at lcabral3@uwo.ca an Ontario government agency un organisme du gouvernement de l’Ontario

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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2015 • 5

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Veltman sets sights on pro volleyball SHANE ROBERTS SPORTS EDITOR @SHANEATGAZETTE For years, Kelsey Veltman has dreamed of playing volleyball at a professional level.

While playing professional sports is common in her family, it doesn't happen to be volleyball; her father, uncle and cousin have all played in the National Lacrosse League.

Veltman, now in her second year at Western, played lacrosse growing up but found it just didn't feel right.

"I got into lacrosse at a really young age — in kindergarten I was playing on a boys’ team," Veltman explained.

"Then finally when I reached grade nine, I was already 6-1 and the average height in lacrosse, I swear, is 5-4, so I was standing out like a giant and I just felt so insecure. I was just like, 'I can't do this anymore.' " At first her family was disappointed that she didn't want to play lacrosse, but after many years of success Veltman jokes how she's no longer the "family burden."

If Veltman does go on to play at a professional level, she doesn't have to look far for advice. Her current coach at Western is 28-yearold Melissa Bartlett, who played professional volleyball in Spain in 2008 and 2009.

"Everything she tells me I feel is just so important," said Veltman.

"Some other girls on our team want to play pro as well in the future, so she's also a really good asset to have."

Bartlett has not been the sole influence on Veltman's desire to play pro – it has been a longtime goal of hers.

"I think about it all the time.

When I was like 15 it was already my goal to go play professionally," she said. "I went to go watch Canada versus Netherlands when I was really young and I [have been] just so inspired since then."

Veltman hopes her career could return her to her family's roots.

"Maybe somewhere in the Netherlands where my family is from would be so much fun [to go back],” she said. “Getting paid to do something you love everyday would just be the experience of a lifetime.”

So far, Veltman is on the right track to success. Last year, in her first season with the Mustangs, she was named the Ontario University Athletics west division player of the year and was named to the Canadian Interuniversity Sport allrookie team.

I think about it all the time.

When I was like 15 it was already my goal to go play professionally…. I went to go watch Canada versus Netherlands when I was really young and I [have been] just so inspired since then.”

KELSEY VELTMAN MUSTANG MIDDLE HITTER

Veltman recorded 199 kills on the season, seventh best in the entire OUA and a .307 hitting percentage, also seventh best in the OUA. Before putting up these impressive numbers as a rookie, Veltman was unsure she would be bringing her talents to Western. Coming out of high school, many schools, including Division-1 schools in the United States, were interested in recruiting her.

Unlike many other top athletes in Canada, Veltman decided to stay in her home country for collegiate athletics. The largest factor in Veltman's decision to come to Western was her previous experience playing for coach Bartlett on Team Ontario.

Another factor in her decision to stay in Ontario was the funding she receives from the Quest for Gold program, an Ontario based program that provides financial support to high-performance amateur athletes who stay and train in Canada.

Before she sets her sights on her future aspirations, Veltman will be trying to help the Mustangs compete with the best teams in the OUA in the new year. The team, currently finished for the holidays, is out to a fast start with a 7–2 record. They return to action on Jan. 16 against the Waterloo Warriors.

Their first big test will come on Jan. 30 when they face the 8–1 McMaster Marauders at Alumni Hall. Last year, Western upset the top-ranked Marauders in the playoffs before finishing third in Ontario.

This season is sure to be an exciting one for Veltman and the rest of the Mustangs. She will undoubtedly be a central part of the Western offence for the next few years. After that, who knows, maybe she'll find herself following her dream – and in her coach's footsteps – by playing pro in Europe. n

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COURTESY OF IZABELA SWIRSKI

Practice, experience propel cheerleading team to success  CHEERLEADERS CONTINUED FROM PG.1

“We practice a lot,” third-year female cheerleader J.J. Peterson says. “Right now we’re practicing five times a week: on Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.”

The rigorous practice schedule certainly showed that the Mustangs were serious about executing their routines.

When asked if he had any doubts going into this national championship, Tracey said it plain and simple: “I doubt we’re going to lose."

While the Western co-ed team is the squad we see out at Mustangs football games — often performing their iconic helicopter stunt — Western has a competitive all-girls cheerleading team as well, which also competed in the national championship this past weekend.

Before Saturday’s competition, the all-girls team had struggled to win a national title but head coach Kurtis Ford had high hopes this time around.

“I’m feeling the most prepared that I’ve ever been with any team that I’ve ever coached,” he said last Tuesday.

The Western co-ed team and the Western all-girls team both practice at the Power Cheer Gym at the same time, which gives both teams the opportunity to watch and learn from one another.

On Tuesday, the all-girls team piled into the front gym to watch the co-ed team perform their routine. Afterwards, it was the all-girls' turn to take the floor to show the co-ed team what they had been working on.

Throughout the routine the cheerleaders that now formed an audience cheered and clapped at every well-executed move.

The environment of Tuesday’s practice, the last one at their home gym before competition, was not a

PHOTOS: MAAILAH BLACKWOOD GAZETTE

place of stress or extreme pressure.

Rather, it was a space of confidence and encouragement amongst both teams.

While their year-round training has certainly contributed to a large part of the team’s confidence, they also have another thing going for them: a history of success. And not just a history — a long history of success.

Heading into this past weekend the Mustangs were looking to pick up their eighth consecutive national title and their 30th banner since the inception of the Canadian championship in 1985.

We are just technically superior. We have bigger guys, smaller girls, better gymnastics.

DAVID-LEE TRACEY HEAD COACH, MUSTANGS CO-ED CHEERLEADING TEAM

Twenty-nine national titles in 30 years certainly adds a degree of confidence that other teams in the country just can’t relate to. But what is it that makes the Mustangs so good? How have they been so good for so long?

Tracey chalks it up to three things: consistency, great recruiting and great foresight.

The consistency is due to Tracey — he is the only coach in the history of the program. When he joined the team as a fourth-year student back in 1979, there was no coach and only a team captain — a position Tracey soon found himself in.

After being elected as the team captain by the members of the cheerleading team, Tracey graduated from Western but didn't leave the team behind. Instead, he

transitioned into the role of coach.

"There just wasn't such a thing prior to me and I just evolved into it," Tracey said. "I hung around longer than anyone else and kind of just got good at it."

With someone who has devoted the last 36 years of his life to the Western cheerleading team, the Mustangs have continuously excelled under his leadership.

“There is no question that having a constant coach over that period of time makes a big, big difference,” Tracey said.

But experience also brings with it a certain way of doing things and Tracey has his system perfected down to a T, which starts with bringing top athletes to the program.

“I was an all-star cheerleader before [Western]," Peterson said.

“I always knew about Western. I had been to nationals before and saw the team and it made me want to go there.

“Obviously you want to be on a first-place team and so it’s a never-ending cycle where people see us and want to join the team,” she added.

Peterson was not the only cheerleader who had known about Western’s legacy and wanted to be a part of it.

Third-year cheerleader Lindsay Braithwaite also attributes a large part of Western’s success to the high-performance athletes the program brings in.

“It’s that legacy," she said. "It attracts good athletes and I think that’s a big reason why we’ve been able to keep up for so long.”

On the off-chance that an incoming cheerleader has not heard of the Western Mustangs cheerleading team, Tracey says both the school and the program speak for themselves.

“The university can sell itself,”

he said. “But once they see the team and the vibe of the team and the athleticism of the team — that’s our retention right there. We sell a very, very athletic product.”

With Tracey recruiting high-caliber athletes year after year, the Mustangs certainly have a competitive edge over the rest of their opponents.

"What sets Western apart is [the fact that] we are just technically superior,” Tracey said. “We have bigger guys, smaller girls, better gymnastics.”

And while the talent is certainly there before the athletes even make it onto the Mustangs roster, Tracey and the team hold true to the saying that practice makes perfect.

Obviously you want to be on a first-place team and so it’s a never-ending cycle where people see us and want to join the team J.J. PETERSON THIRD YEAR FEMALE CHEERLEADER

Practice was more important than ever for the Mustangs this time around as a new change to the scoring system judged teams on their technical execution of routines.

“It’s very, very execution oriented,” Tracey said. “We could be the most dynamic, phenomenal thing in the world but every time you bring something down it’s going to really hurt you this year. We have to be really, really disciplined."

While the new scoring system had the potential to pose a challenge to the Mustangs this year, Tracey’s foresight into what the judges would be looking for helped the team prepare.

“We’ve been on top of this

[change] since back in June,” Tracey said at last Tuesday's practice. “We are going to make sure we don’t do the things that aren't of value and do more of the things that are of value. We make sure we don’t make a mistake.”

Tracey's team did not disappoint on Saturday, as they clinched their eighth consecutive national banner to remain the best team in the country. The team secured the top spot in their event by scoring the highest single run point total with a 94.45 out of 100.

While Western is consistently the team to beat in the co-ed division, the toughest opponent in the all-girls category has typically been the Laurier Golden Hawks. Laurier went in to this year's championship looking to extend their seven-year winning streak but Western's allgirls squad were aiming to stop them in their tracks.

After performing two difficult runs, the Mustangs scored 184.65 in total to beat out the Golden Hawks by 1.95 points and take home the title for the first time in program history.

"Sheer joy is probably the best way to describe it," Ford said following his team's win. "Just seeing the genuine look of happiness and accomplishments on the faces of every one of my team members is indescribable."

Ford even admitted he went in to the weekend not expecting to win.

"I didn't think we would be able to pull off a victory since Laurier has been very, very good in the past," he said. "They were very good this year but we were just better."

This very first win for the girlsonly team appears to be the start of something special, but they've got a ways to go to catch their co-ed counterparts; eight straight championships and 30 in 31 years is not an easy feat to top. n

• www.westerngazette.ca

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2015 • 7

䌀刀唀匀䠀 吀䠀伀匀䔀 䔀堀䄀䴀匀℀

愀渀搀 攀渀樀漀礀 礀漀甀爀 栀漀氀椀搀愀礀猀

圀䔀ᤠ刀䔀 䠀䤀刀䤀一䜀 䄀倀倀䰀夀 一伀圀

一漀琀 漀渀氀礀 椀猀 䀀䤀渀昀漀吀攀挀栀刀䜀 琀栀攀 眀漀爀氀搀ᤠ猀 昀愀猀琀攀猀琀 最爀漀眀椀渀最 䤀吀 爀攀猀攀愀爀挀栀 愀渀搀 愀搀瘀椀猀漀爀礀 ǻ爀洀Ⰰ 眀攀 愀爀攀 挀漀渀猀椀猀琀攀渀琀氀礀 瘀漀琀攀搀 愀猀 漀渀攀 漀昀 䌀愀渀愀搀愀ᤠ猀 戀攀猀琀 瀀氀愀挀攀猀 琀漀 眀漀爀欀⸀

椀渀昀漀琀攀挀栀⸀挀漀洀⼀戀攀猀琀樀漀戀攀瘀攀爀

www.westerngazette.ca

8 • TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2015

insightopinions

•

How adulting stole Christmas!

Breaking Brad

BRADLEY METLIN OPINIONS EDITOR @BRADATGAZETTE There’s a famous scene in How the Grinch Stole Christmas! where the title curmudgeon’s heart grows at a medically unrealistic rate after becoming enamoured with Christmas spirit. With Christmas nearly two weeks away, I’m looking at this animated moment with increasing scepticism about the power of Christmas to make one feel euphoric.

Some have chalked my increased apathy to the holiday season to mere growing up; obviously you would be more excited as a child, they say.

Realistically, there’s probably some truth to this.

Gift opening is one of the elements that people point to as a reason that Christmas is losing their lustre but I disagree. Being older, I participate in secret Santa gift exchanges with my friends where the sentimentality and thought behind a present are more important. No longer am I a wide-eyed kid ripping wrapping paper off a new Gameboy.

Maybe it’s the family dinners?

Reaching adulthood can make these events problematic as you start to develop opinions about people rather than the simplistic adolescent outlook that everyone in your family is amazing. Yet, seeing everyone outweighs the uncomfortable conversation that can happen in-between the calls to pass the gravy.

I’m at a loss for why Christmas isn’t so enjoyable — the common theories don’t ring true for me.

Being at Western before you head home for the break, we’re bombarded with exam stress. All your

friends are too busy to spend time with you because they’ve barricaded themselves in a Weldon cubicle and don’t want contact with the outside world.

There’s no build up to the holiday season when you’re in university.

People are shackled to their schoolwork or when they do have relief, would rather head to Richmond Row. When I was in elementary school, we would all celebrate the upcoming break by spending more “quality time” together. Yet, spending meaningful time with my close friends in December while at Western has become next to impossible.

My doe-eyed childhood where I look at Christmas with an unparalleled level of excitement is over but it’s because of a lack of connection.

I understand exams are important but people need to take breaks and remember the importance of spending time with those who lift them up.

This is especially important during the stressful times. We need to ask ourselves if an extra few per cent on an exam is more important than maintaining positive mental health?

I don’t think so.

Christmas and pretty much any holiday (or break from school for that matter) is about spending time with the ones you care about. While the nice dinners, secret Santas, advent calendars and all the other arbitrary “fun” things still hype the holidays up, that has not changed.

What has changed is the lack of time beforehand to properly appreciate the ones around us. Make hot chocolate one day and watch a movie with your roommates, go out skating, play a board game together — have interaction.

The Grinch’s heart growth by three sizes was due to Whoville embracing the “true meaning of Christmas.” As we enter exam season, remember that togetherness above all represents the spirit of the holiday season — and that doesn’t change regardless of age. n

MAAILAH BLACKWOOD GAZETTE

New tipping law a step forward but won’t fix systematic issues

BY GAZETTE EDITORIAL BOARD Yesterday, the Ontario legislature passed a new bill through third reading that would ban employers from withholding tips from servers. The bill allows managers to organize a tip-pooling system but they can't participate themselves, unless they serve as well.

This is a positive step forward, particularly for young people and students, who are often the people we see waiting on us at restaurants. It will allow waiters and waitresses to keep more of their tips, which in turn may lead to better service as there is a more direct correlation between their work and gratuity.

Current Ontario law has set the minimum wage at $11.25 an hour, yet liquor servers are only entitled to $9.80 an hour. This discrepancy seems to exist because of the presumption that servers will receive tips.

Tipping, however, is a reward for good service and is not a natural extension of the cheque for some people. This inherent subjectivity could penalize those who are new at their job or are simply having a bad day.

While this new law in Ontario is a positive development in the restaurant industry, it will only make a marginal difference.

These discrepancies in minimum wage for servers are seemingly unfair. Raising the minimum wage

of liquor servers’ might level the playing field for waiters and waitresses in an environment where tips aren’t guaranteed.

However, by paying servers minimum wage, Canada’s tipping culture most likely won’t change. Even if it did, would that matter? While some may critique such a change as allowing servers to make a lot of money due to theirs tips, is that an inherently bad thing?

There is nothing wrong with helping “the little guy” out.

There are some restaurants in the United States that have banned tipping in favour of giving their employees benefits and more livable wages. While the results have been mixed — some servers enjoy the control of the tip system and some patrons have a problem not controlling their tip — it’s definitely something to explore.

Under the current system, it is our obligation to tip for good service. While managers will no longer be able to steal tips from their servers, at many restaurants, tip-sharing cuts into the gratuity and comes at the waiter’s expense.

Let us not argue about whether or not servers deserve a tip. Ontario legislation is moving in a positive direction for servers, but we should examine those in charge of the system that profit off of them instead. n

DEARLIFE YOUR ANONYMOUS LETTERS DEAR LIFE,

Why does Fanshawe have to be so far away? I’m an MTP student. I do not have time for this.

DEAR LIFE,

John Stamos’ butt is in Paper magazine…Uncle Jesse! Wow! You could fill my house…

DEAR LIFE,

DEAR LIFE,

Why do more people not watch 30 Rock? Tina Fey is a genius and it is such a good show like come on people! It’s better than Parks and Rec.

DEAR LIFE,

As exam schedule creeps up, my sleep schedule creeps down.

DEAR LIFE,

I want midnight breakfast in the UCC to happen ASAP please. Sophie Helpard, I need answers!

DEAR LIFE,

I’m an Adele-phile

DEAR LIFE,

Gingerbread houses are meant to be eaten.

I’m hungry.

WGAZ.CA/DEARLIFE Courtesy of Warner Brothers BEING AN ADULT DURING THE HOLIDAYS. Once you reach university, it’s hard to appreciate the Christmas season so being a Grinch is a lot easier…right?

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.”

• www.westerngazette.ca

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2015 • 9

experience

Gingerbread decorating 101 RITA RAHMATI NEWS EDITOR @RITAATGAZETTE In theory, making a gingerbread house is an easy, fun and festive activity.

For the holidays, a few editors at The Gazette decided to embark on making a gingerbread house. What we found was this is by no means an easy task.

Let me start off by cautioning you to read the instructions before you start making your gingerbread house. We were too excited and as a result, did not properly make the piping bag. The tip of the piping bag is supposed to go inside the bag, not on the outside.

In purchasing your gingerbread house, don’t skimp out. Find a package that includes icing, an icing bag, pre-baked gingerbread

KYLE PORTER GAZETTE

pieces and good candy (i.e. gumdrops, candy swirls, etc.).

Before you start decorating, make sure to turn on your fireplace – or play a Youtube video of a fireplace – and play the Michael Bublé Christmas album. This is a must.

Moving on, I warn you to never leave the piping bag alone on a table, unless it’s tied with an elastic band.

I put our bag on the table and half the icing fell out. In order to have enough icing to finish the house, I had to scoop the icing back in the bag. Hence, I would not recommend eating our gingerbread house.

When putting together the house, it’s good to let the icing set before beginning to decorate the walls and roof.

It’s a nice sentiment to let everyone join in and decorate, but leave

the important parts of the house, like the highly visible roof, to the “professional” decorators. If you want to let your messy friends help decorate, then let them do the easy stuff like sticking on gumdrops. If a sloppy person helps out, then just wait until they look away, scrape off their mess and re-do it. That’s what we did. Gingerbread decorating is a cut-throat business.

Don’t merely stick to decorating the gingerbread house. Personally, my favourite part of our gingerbread house is the winding path at the front covered with cobblestone sweet-tarts and snowmen. Adding a lawn gives your gingerbread house that special oomph.

Above all, have fun with it. Get creative and play around with design.

Just try not to get too stressed out. n

Netflix and chill?

COURTESY OF UNIVERSAL STUDIOS

SAMAH ALI ARTS & LIFE EDITOR @SAMAHATGAZETTE PROGRAM: Love Actually STARS: Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Laura Linney, Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson, Liam Neeson, Keira Knightley, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Andrew Lincoln, every British actor DIRECTOR: Richard Curtis YEAR: 2003 GENRE: Romantic Comedy SYNOPSIS: A collection of people in London look for love around the holiday season. Essentially, this is the movie that started the trend of weaving characters’ storylines before He’s Just Not That Into You. MY TAKE: It’s the holiday season, I have the holi-daze and all I want to watch is Love Actually.

I honestly believe one cannot get sick of this movie. Love Actually elegantly transitions between the lives of eight couples and hopeless romantics

during the holiday season because, of course, the holidays are all about joy and love and all that gushy stuff.

With beautiful voice-overs from Hugh Grant that begin and end the flick, it’s hard to not get caught in the feels while watching Love Actually.

In true British fashion, every element of this movie is seamless. The music, screenplay, cinematography and directing all compliment each other and add to the dramatic realism of each storyline. Not every plot line is drenched in overwhelming happiness; some end in sadness, some go unresolved and some end off with the couple riding off into the proverbial sunset. Love Actually is a collection of various love stories and warms your heart even on the coldest of nights.

WORTH THE NETFLIX?: One hundred per cent times a million, absolutely yes.

WORTH THE CHILL?: After the credits start rolling.

www.westerngazette.ca

10 • TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2015

experience

•

Holiday Pet Peeves We’re all getting into the holi-daze but not everything is as joyful as the season. There are many things that are annoying about the holiday season so we let you know our top pet peeves.

AWKWARD INTERACTIONS WITH FAMILY MEMBERS

BEING A RELIGIOUS MINORITY

THE PERILS OF GIFT SHOPPING

JINGLE HELL

YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH!

KATIE LEAR: There’s nothing like the holiday season for getting families together. They crowd around a table crammed with food — likely a turkey roasted to perfection — and, if your family gatherings go anything like mine do, there’ll be at least one person roasted as well.

The holidays are ripe for catching up on life events, given that Thanksgiving was likely the last get-together. So come the dreaded questions: “Are you dating anyone yet?”; “Are you still studying for that arts degree?”; “What are you going to do after your degree?” Laced with judgment, these questions are a proverbial minefield — no matter what you say, there will always be one cousin who sets the standard.

Maybe they’re aiming for law school and are engaged to an ex-swimsuit model. Ultimately, it could be worse — you could be talking politics.

SAMAH ALI: Oh yes, it’s that time of year again! It’s the time of year when I am constantly harassed with propaganda for holidays I don’t celebrate or when people assume I celebrate Kwanza. No, I don’t celebrate X holiday but thanks for the late Eid Mubarak.

Being a religious minority during this time of year is always filled with awkward exchanges of ‘Merry Christmas,’ only to know you will have a very anti-climactic Christmas morning followed up by a night at the cinema with people just like you. You don’t celebrate Christmas either? SQUAD! As much as I love the Starbucks drinks and the music, it’s funny to watch as an outsider on Christmas — or shall I call it Annual Mass Text Day — when people are more concerned about gifts then actually attending church. Remember when Christmas was a religious holiday?

Me neither.

ROBERT NANNI: Whether or not you celebrate Christmas, you’ve likely been roped into a Secret Santa gift exchange and are taxed with finding “the perfect gift.” So you scurry to Masonville, browse endless online pseudo-sales and sift through Pinterest pages of DIY crap that you’ll never actually do, all in the hopes of finding something your friend might actually appreciate.

Is a gift card impersonal? Do you know them well enough to get something better? And arguably the worst; what if your gift doesn’t match up to everyone else’s? Nothing causes more internal screaming than receiving a well-thought out gift while handing someone a $20 Tim’s card and a smile. But if it does come down to that, make sure you have a funny card — maybe that joke about Santa’s jingle bells will make them forget how ho-ho-horrible your gift was.

RICHARD JOSEPH: I appreciate the odd Christmas carol. I’ll even belt out the Twelve Days of Christmas after a few glasses of eggnog. But when every department store in the developed world is playing the same five pop-Christmas chart-toppers, I feel that old yuletide psychosis setting in.

There’s just something about the faux-happy crooning, the unashamed, utterly artificial, hedonistic celebration of consumerism that grates on my nerves. They’re melodically irritating, lyrically predictable and morally reprehensible. No, really — hell is just Taylor Swift’s cover of Last Christmas on loop. On that note, does every single carol really have to be reimagined by the most topical artist of the year? And if so, where’s Kendrick Lamar’s Santa Baby?

MOSES MONTERROZA: In grade three I distinctly remember one of my classmates vehemently proselytize the existence of Santa. He cited Christmas carol scripture claiming that his gift giving saint had heard his prayers and delivered him that coveted hot wheels race car track.

I also remember my evil ass scolding him; “are you dumb? Why would some fat idiot spend all his time giving gifts to losers like you?”

It always struck me as odd that parents would make up some mythical figure only to later crush their children’s dreams. As a kid, I felt like a wise sage, bringing forth the realities of the world to these benighted children. I was like Socrates, chastised for my quest for truth.

If there’s a lesson here, it’s that you should stop lying to your kids.

Because the last thing you want is another me making your naive child run home crying and questioning the existence of everything.

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

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VOLUNTEERS WANTED

LONDON SENIOR SEEKING a volunteer helper to assist with completion of woodworking projects. On Wonderland 10 bus route. Will pay $5/hr for up to 3 hrs help 1 night/wk. Also looking to rent space for woodworking projects in Westmount Shopping Centre area one evening a week. A garage or workshop space would be ideal. Contact Alan 519-660-1442.

UPCOMING EVENTS DANCE CLASSES AT DANCE STEPS- 275 Colborne St. between York and Horton Accessible by bus. Ballet, Jazz, Hip-Hop drop in or join a session. www.dancestepslondon.ca or contact us dance_steps@hotmail.com, 519-645-8515.

EVENTS CALENDAR DECEMBER

8

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The Bros. Landreth

AEOLIAN HALL PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE

Jessica Mitchell

LONDON MUSIC HALL

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SERVICES DECEMBER

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11 • TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2015

experiencegames

PHOTO OF THE DAY

•

CROSSWORD BY EUGENE SHEFFER

KYLE PORTER GAZETTE RED HOT ROCK AND ROLL. The Elwins playing at London venue, Call the Office, on Dec. 02

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12 • TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2015

#fairdealforTAs

•

#uwoprecarity

Extraordinary precarity

starts

here.

Dinesh Valluri, MSc 2015, PhD 2019 Increasingly high international student fees makes completing your studies post-funding very precarious

Be Extraordinarily Uncertain.

The campaign for a fair deal for Teaching Assistants

PSAC 610 supports Post-Doctoral Fellow’s extraordinary efforts to gain job protection in an age of precarity.

International students pay double the tuition of domestic students, and if they go beyond their funding period are expected to pay upwards of $18,000 in tuition.

With new immigration laws, international students are unable to obtain permanent residency before completing their studies and are left in the precarious position of taking on extreme costs to complete their studies. What is the university doing for international students?

International student TAs are Extraordinarily Precarious