Friday, October 14, 2016

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SINCE 1906

westerngazette.ca FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2016 • WESTERN UNIVERSITY’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER • VOLUME 110, ISSUE 12

DID THE DRONE FLOWN IN O-WEEK HAVE A PERMIT? PG3

CHRIS MERCHANT SETTLING INTO QUARTERBACK ROLE PG8

SCOT TOPIC: GAZETTE EDITOR RICHARD JOSEPH TALKS CLASS PG10

Prioritizing your personal well-being

JORDAN MCGAVIN GAZETTE

WIN YOUR TUITION! Western Alumni is giving current Western, Kings, Brescia and Huron students who attend the Western Mustangs’ Homecoming Saturday football game on Saturday, October 22 the chance to win one of three amazing prizes:

Grand Prize:

2nd Prize:

Free tuition for the 2016/17 academic year (up to a maximum value of $8,000!)

Campus Meal Plan credit of $2,000

3rd Prize:

$1,000 gift card for The Book Store at Western

For complete rules, visit: alumni.westernu.ca/win-your-tuition

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BRIAN YAM

Volume 110, Issue 12 WWW.WESTERNGAZETTE.CA University Community Centre Rm. 263 Western University London, ON, CANADA N6A 3K7 Editorial 519.661.3580 Advertising 519.661.3579

HAMZA TARIQ EDITOR-IN-CHIEF @HAMZATARIQ_

KATIE LEAR PRINT MANAGING EDITOR @KATIELEAR_

BRADLEY METLIN DIGITAL MANAGING EDITOR @BRADLEYMETLIN

NEWS SABRINA FRACASSI DRISHTI KATARIA MOSES MONTERROZA RITA RAHMATI GRACE TO CULTURE SAMAH ALI ELLIS KOIFMAN AMY SKODAK ANNIE RUETER CULTURE-AT-LARGE RICHARD JOSEPH SPORTS CHARLIE O’CONNOR CLARKE MIKE DEBOER CLAIRE PALMER MULTIMEDIA MAAILAH BLACKWOOD JENNY JAY AARON MALLETT NATALIE TREFFRY

DIGITAL MEDIA CONNOR CLARK GRAPHICS DANIEL BODDEN SENIOR GRAPHICS JORDAN MCGAVIN FEATURES & GRAPHICS AMY O’KRUK WESTERN TV CONNOR MATTHEW MALBEUF COPY DANIELLE GERRITSE OPINIONS HALA GHONAIM COLUMNISTS JUSTIN DI CAMILLO MARWA HASSAN JACEK ORZYLOWSKI

SENIOR STAFF AMAL MATAN ELLA PURTILL JESSICA WOOLSON

It’s 8 p.m. on a Tuesday night and the UCC basement is alive with the energy of the UWO Breakers club. Brian Yam, president of UWO Breakers, has an eager crowd of break dancers (breakers) watching him dance in the middle of the dance circle (cipher).

Japan and one from Canada, communicate through dance.

“They had no means of communication through [spoken] language,” says Brian. “They were telling each other through movement what they wanted to tell each other.

It was the most amazing thing.”

Brian, a fourth-year BMOS student, seems comfortable holding the attention of the crowd of 40 people — some of whom are first-years new to breaking while others are med-school students and breaking veterans.

But he wasn’t always this comfortable in his own skin.

It was breaking that allowed Brian to bridge cultural barriers and find a community at Western.

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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 creativity involved in breaking is also something that Brian loves. Brian considers breaking more of an art than a sport because breaking involves the constant creation of new moves (labbing).

Beyond the 10-12 hours/week Brian practices his own skills, he also teaches the UWO Breakers for four to five hours.

Brian focuses on teaching basic breaking moves that are the foundation for more advanced moves. When Brian joined UWO Breakers, there wasn’t much formal teaching and the group was segregated in an intimidating way.

Having lived in China for 10 years before moving back to his Vancouver birthplace, Brian describes himself as being “culturally confused.” High school was a difficult time for Brian who claims he is awkward and shy.

“High school was the worst time of my life,” Brian admits.

“I had no confidence, no friends, but I stuck through it and when I came to Western and found that dance community, that was where I wanted to be.”

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Before finding Western’s breaking community, Brian was a varsity badminton athlete. After discovering UWO Breakers during O-Week, Brian branched out from badminton and tried breaking for the first time.

“All the beginners [were] on one side and all the good members just didn’t care about us,” Brian reflects. “They were just doing their own thing; it was very intimidating.”

To deliberately foster a sense of community, Brian plans to organize clubs events throughout the year and encourage club members to compete in UWO Breakers annual competition, Western’s Annual Spring Cipher.

Last year, Brian organized the event that drew breakers from across Canada. Featuring a Red Bull sponsorship and professional DJ, this successful event is one of Brian’s fondest memories at Western.

Brian explains that a huge part of the breaking culture is respect. “Respect is one of the things I’ve learned the most from this culture. Doesn’t matter how good or how bad you are at dance, you have to respect [the breaker] as a person,” he says.

For Brian, breaking is also a way to communicate without language. Brian once witnessed two breakers, one from

Overall, Brian feels at home alongside his fellow breakers. “That’s why I love it so much. We call ourselves extroverted introverts — kinda awkward, but when we are together we are really open,” Brian says with a smile.

■■ANNIE RUETER

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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2016 • 3

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USC & Western unable to produce permits for O-Week drones

BY RITA RAHMATI & HAMZA TARIQ

SCREENSHOTS FROM WESTERN USC DRONE FOOTAGE

In recent times, Campus Police has taken prompt action against illegal drones being flown on campus. The London Police Service also issued a warning about drone safety after a Medevac helicopter had a near miss with a drone while in the air.

But did Western and the University Students’ Council then allow drones to fly over UC Hill during O-Week without the necessary permits?

After more than a month of questions and several interviews both over the phone and email, the only answer The Gazette has found is that neither Western nor the USC are aware if the O-Week drones were flown with a Transport Canada approved Special Flight Operating Certificate, or if they even needed a permit.

DRONES DURING O-WEEK The drone was flown multiple times before and during O-Week to film the Western ‘W’ formation and other orientation events, as seen in the video published by the University Students’ Council on Facebook and Youtube. A third-party company, Brick House Productions was hired to do the aerial filming.

ISSUES WITH FLYING A DRONE ON CAMPUS A prominent drone regulation is that it is prohibited to fly them within nine kilometres of ‘aerodromes.’

Aerodromes include airports, heliports, helipads and other aviation points.

In Western's case, the University Hospital helipad makes the entire campus and its surrounding areas a no-fly zone.

If a SFOC wasn’t acquired, then certain exemption conditions, set out in Canadian Aviation Regulations, apply.

In the video posted by the USC, however, some of these exemption conditions seemingly were not met.

Under the flight conditions section of the regulations, the following rules are outlined.

"The pilot conducting operations under this exemption shall only operate a UAV during daylight hours.”

The video includes aerial shots of night events on UC Hill.

"The pilot operating under this exemption shall only operate a UAV at least five (5) nautical miles from a built up area.”

A number of campus buildings are well within the five nautical

miles or approximately nine kilometres radius.

"The pilot operating under this exemption shall operate a UAV at a lateral distance of at least 100 feet from any building, structure, vehicle, vessel or animal not associated with the operation and at least 100 feet from any person.”

The drone film clearly indicates that the drone is within 100 lateral feet of buildings, structures and people.

"The pilot operating under this exemption shall not operate a UAV over an open-air assembly of persons.”

While the drone falls short of directly hovering over people in the video, it does film aerial shots over O-Week crowds. Even if all the exemption conditions were met, a notification form has to be filled out is available online.

If an SFOC was acquired, it would have detailed out the parameters the drone operator could operate in, including how close the drone could get to crowds and buildings.

DRONE FLYING REGULATIONS According to Transport Canada regulations, drone operators require a Special Flight Operations Certificate if a drone is over 35 kg and is being flown for the “fun of flying.”

A SFOC is also required if the drone is being used for “work and research” purposes and weighs over 25 kg. The SFOC is still required if the drone is under 2 kg, or between 2 kg and 25 kg and the operator doesn’t meet the exemptions set out by Transport Canada.

WHAT IS A SFOC AND HOW DO YOU APPLY FOR ONE? A SFOC states the specific conditions under which a drone may be operated and is submitted to the Civil Aviation Regional Offices.

"Each certificate we issue contains specific terms on what the operator is and is not allowed to do,” said Transport Canada spokesperson Natasha Gauthier. “This can include restrictions and requirements such as maximum allowed altitude, mandatory communications with air traffic control, and minimum required distances from crowds, aerodromes, and buildings.”

Gauthier added that exemptions to obtaining SFOCs may only be given in very low risk situations — including conditions such as not

flying near any buildings or people.

WESTERN AND USC’S RESPONSE Ever since The Gazette began reaching out to the different parties in September, no one has been able to confirm the existence of a SFOC for the O-Week drones.

“I can’t say if there was or there wasn’t [a SFOC], because that wasn’t brought up to me,” said Emily Ross, USC communications officer.

According to Ross, the permission to fly the drone was provided

by Campus Police and she believed drone regulation on campus fell under their jurisdiction.

“Any drone that takes off this property is going to get cleared by us or is going to get us responding,” said Sergeant Ryan Austin of Campus Police.

As Western's campus is private property, Campus Police can give permission to fly drones over the University if all other requirements have been met. But permits such as the SFOC, fall under Transport Canada and cannot be doled out

by Campus Police.

"If you’re using your drone for work or research, you need an SFOC even if you are flying over your own property,” Gauthier said.

The drone used in the USC video falls under the ‘work’ or commercial category.

Austin said he did not see a SFOC for the O-Week drone flights himself. He was informed by his superiors that the required permits were in place.

However, when director of Campus Police John Carson, was interviewed for this story, he stated that he also had not seen a SFOC for the O-Week flights and he wasn’t sure if it existed.

Sandasha Bough, London Police Service media officer explained that the LPS itself does not have jurisdiction to give special permission for drones to be operated.

“Even ourselves, we would have to apply and have a special permit in order to fly one of them,” Bough said.

According to Austin, the drone’s path was communicated to the hospital’s helipad authorities.

Communicating with helipad authorities directly, however, does not circumvent the SFOC requirement.

According to Transport Canada’s staff instruction regulations (SI No.

623-001), section 8.7 623.65(d)(3) (g), permission to access private property and permission from aerodrome authorities is considered for developing a security plan for the area the drone will be flown over, as part of the SFOC application. There is no available process for seeking direct permission from the local authorities and avoiding the SFOC altogether.

Carson said that Campus Police ensured that the drone wasn’t flown directly over people. Austin also said an appropriate height was maintained when the drone was in the air.

He added that he is in the process of putting together a drone policy based on Transport Canada regulations for Western’s campus.

The private company hired for the filming, Brick House Productions, was also contacted to ask if a SFOC was obtained. Brick House representative Evan Couch directed The Gazette to Terry Rice, director marketing and creative services at Western’s communications and public affairs office.

Rice could not be reached for comment despite multiple attempts to reach him before the publication of this story.

Western's media and community relations director, Keith Marnoch, speaking in lieu of Rice, said all required precautions were taken before the drone was flown.

“On our private property, here on Western, we did everything that we felt was needed to do, by putting safety [first] and by being in touch with those people that were directly involved,” he said.

Marnoch, however, couldn’t confirm if a SFOC was acquired for the O-Week drone flights.

SO IS THERE A SFOC OR NO? AND WHY DOES IT EVEN MATTER? Not following the regulations set out by Transport Canada can result in up to $25,000 in fines and/or jail time. Gauthier said that these rules apply to all sizes of drone used for any purpose.

If an incident is reported to Transport Canada, one of their inspectors will verify if the regulations were followed. If the operators were unaware of the regulations, they’ll be educated about the risks involved and enforcement action, including fines may be levied.

"Transport Canada can issue fines up to $5,000 for an individual and $25,000 for a business if an operator flies an unmanned aircraft without an SFOC when they should have one,” she added. “If an operator does not follow the requirements of their SFOC, we can issue fines of up to $3,000 for an individual and $15,000 for a business.”

As far as the existence of the elusive SFOC is concerned, your guess is as good as ours.

It appears that both the USC and Western have an inadequate understanding of Transport Canada’s drone regulations. n

Solution to puzzle on page 11

YOU can

TEACH YOGA

and deepen your practice DevaTree School of Yoga | www.devatree.com

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4 • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2016

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Western study shows negative effect of weed use MOSES MONTERROZA NEWS EDITOR @MOSESMONTZ

It may be time to cut down on those dutchies and buds, at least if you’re a teenager.

In a recent study conducted by Dr. Elizabeth Osuch, Rea Chair of Affective Disorders at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at Western and Canadian leader in both mood and anxiety disorders and the effects of marijuana, found that early marijuana use may result in abnormal brain function and lower IQ scores.

In the study, four groups of youth underwent behavioural and cognitive testing including IQ testing as well as brain scanning. Each group was divided accordingly: those with depression who weren’t marijuana users; those with depression who were frequent users; those who were frequent users without depression; and healthy individuals who didn’t smoke at all.

The groups were later categorised by age: those who use before 17 and those who began using it later or not at all.

According to the study, brain scans showed differences in brain function in areas that relate to reward processing and motor control. They also discovered that marijuana didn’t correct brain function deficits of depression, and that in some regions it made them worse.

The study also revealed that IQ scores for early onset smokers were 105.8 compared to 111.9 for late smokers and non-users, a statistically significant difference said Osuch.

Interestingly, older users who

DANIEL BODDEN GAZETTE

smoked later in life revealed different results.

“People who started using at an older age – in this case over 17 – did not have lower IQ and those people did not have abnormal or risk gene variation either,” explains Osuch.

Through genetic testing on patients, the study also found a certain genetic variation of the gene that produces Brain Derived Neurotropic Factor (BDNF), which is involved in brain development and memory and more. The variation was found disproportionately

Western gets $45 million grant from federal government SABRINA FRACASSI NEWS EDITOR @SABFRACASSI Western received a $45 million grant from the federal government in September which will go towards the construction of the University’s two latest buildings.

Western will be matching the grant, so $90 million will be contributed towards the new projects.

The funding will go into the construction of the Western Interdisciplinary Research Building and the Three C+ Innovation Centre.

The two new projects focus on interdisciplinary collaboration.

The Western Interdisciplinary Research Building will be home to collaborative projects between the Rotman Institute of Philosophy and the Brain and Mind Institute.

In addition to classroom space for students to use, there will also be a space provided for aspiring entrepreneurs to come together and put their ideas into practice.

Peter Fragiskatos, MP for London North Centre, noted how important this interdisciplinary dialogue is to research today.

“Any effort that brings together those in the natural science and those in the humanities is absolutely central to meaningful research because, I have seen it myself, where researchers who could be engaged in a dialogue are not because there is this perception that their work has nothing in common when in fact it’s quite the opposite,” Fragiskatos said.

The Three C+ Innovation Centre will allocate space for the Engineering program. According to Peter White, Western’s executive

director of government relations, the building will provide state-ofthe-art labs and infrastructure.

“It’s something that we just don’t have room for today in the existing engineering facility so I know the engineering faculty is very excited,” White said.

The federal grant is coming from The Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Fund, which consists of $2 billion that will go towards infrastructure projects in post-secondary institutions across Canada. It was approved in the 2016 federal budget.

The government opened up applications to all post-secondary institutions in June of this year.

Western dedicated itself to putting forward a sound proposal which highlighted already well thought out plans. White noted that this gave Western a leg up.

White also noted that although the funding is coming primarily from the federal government, there is also some provincial funding being provided. The provincial funding will be used for the refurbishment of existing buildings.

Fragiskatos commented about the importance that this funding will have not only for Western but also for London and Canada as a whole.

“If Canada is going to compete in the global economy we have to focus on research and innovation.

So when we invest in research and innovation, we position ourselves globally to really grow our economy and that is what [the strategic fund] is all about and if you look at the projects at Western, that’s exactly what you have,” Fragiskatos said.

in youth who used marijuana from an early age.

“People with that variation of that gene are more likely to use marijuana at an early age,” Osuch said. “We also found an association between early onset use and a lower IQ. But connecting that gene and the lower IQ is a more sophisticated, longitudinal study that involves molecular analysis of mechanisms.”

The growing demand in marijuana research has been the result of increasingly more potent strands

of the drug. Also, with legalization looming in the background of Canadian legislation, it’s no wonder more people are talking about it.

“One of the things you might want to know is that marijuana has changed,” Osuch said. “They’ve made it stronger. So any potential negative effects have been accentuated. So what was once a relatively harmless substance, as far as we know, has now become potentially not as harmless, particularly for the developing brain.”

There’s still a lot of research that

needs to be done in understanding the longitudinal effects of marijuana and whether or not its effects are irreversible and long-term.

“It’s like the tobacco issue,” Osuch said. “What we don’t want is 20 years down the road to find out all of these horrible things that marijuana did, similarly to tobacco, but specific to marijuana, and then have to backpedal on this stuff.”

So the next time you’ve got that bong toke lined up, maybe consider resuming that sesh in your 20s or 30s.

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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2016 • 5

opinions

Issa Rae and following my passion Stop!

Samah time!

SAMAH ALI CULTURE EDITOR @SISTERSAMAH I am a student — currently.

I wake up every morning dazed with sleep and the weight of readings, and I make my way to school in a routine fashion.

This is my life right now but the daunting thought coming after my last evaluation is a looming reality I’m excited to take on. No, I do not know what I want to do, but I have an idea – and it’s production.

As a child I grew up writing — whether it was a sequel to The Lizzie McGuire Movie or a menial take on my life as a child. Popular opinion pushed me into sciences assuring a high paying job and a life of success.

I entered university with this dream and quickly realized my interest in sciences was all fluff. There was something more, an itch I hadn›t scratched in almost 10 years, and that was to open a screenplay template and start writing again.

This time it was more furious: words spilled onto my screen of what I had seen and what I wanted to see around me. It was a world that I had never seen on television before and I was excited to explore more, maybe even share with the world.

The world that I was creating dripped with diasporic longing and awkwardness from growing up black in predominantly white environments. Watching this story on television was a fantasy, but I remember stumbling on a web series in my late teens featuring a black girl dealing with the same themes.

This series was The MisAdventures of Awkward Black Girl.

Created, featured, produced

and ran by Issa Rae, the web series debuted J, an awkward black girl navigating through work and social life. The show immediately captured my attention as I watched the fan base grow and Issa Rae slowly rise into the spotlight. And as she climbed, she brought people with her, producing other web series and cameo-ing in her friend’s projects.

Five years after launching ABG, Issa now has a new show Insecure premiering on HBO bringing the same group with her and new people along the way.

Watching her do this was chilling — it was a tangible, realistic journey I could only dream to follow, and after seeing Rae accomplish so much, I knew it was possible.

Like her, I live in a diasporic household with parent’s who wanted their American Dream manifested through my success.

Not going down the conventional route is something anyone who has these pressures would understand and watching Rae achieve so much within a decade lightens my heart.

Seeing a young, black, Senegalese woman launch into studio producing with arguably the best television network is a true inspiration.

Someone relatable, someone real, letting people like me know this can happen.

I may be a student today, drowning in readings and eating questionable meals between classes, but what matters is what I strive for in the future. I may not become the next Issa Rae, but seeing her face on my television screen is enough.

It’s reassuring, inspiring and a manifestation of the choices I’ve made throughout my life. From leaving the sciences to being interested in production Rae is someone I look up to.

Her story is an attainable truth.

Something I can think about the next time my eyes are burning from a late night of readings.

Insecure plays every Monday on HBO 10:30 p.m. ET/9:30 p.m. PT.

DANIEL BODDEN GAZETTE

Immortality: Is it really that appealing?

Jack the Hack

JACEK ORZYŁOWSKI COLUMNIST @UWOGAZETTE If you had the chance to see all of Time pass before your eyes, would you take it?

Personally, I like our little slice of Time right here just fine. The world has never been so very unique— global crime is the lowest it’s ever been, technology is developing exponentially, and science fiction is becoming a dominant religion in the US. I expect to have a lot of fun messing about with this kind of setup here on Earth.

But maybe you think Scientology is a plague of alien zealotry and you don’t want to live on this planet anymore. Or maybe capital-T time interests you a bit more than Futurama quotes spouted by some tripping column writer. In that case, I’ve got some legitimate science below to inspire you. You can trust it, too. This is what I do on bored nights instead of going to dollar beers—I scour the internet for fascinating

phenomena so I can nerd out with you people.

Let’s get this out of the way first— you can totally (though theoretically) see all of Time. All of it. But first let me explain some physics at you.

Physics is dependent on your frame of reference. If you see a bullet train pass you by, it’s moving relative to the ground and you. But if you’re on the train, the ground moves relative to you and the train. Try it, sometime — jump on someone’s longboard on campus and watch your whole perspective change!

This basic premise gets a little extreme when one applies it to supermassive black holes, because of their mind-boggling gravity (which slows time down to a crawl).

If you’re outside of the hole’s event horizon (the dividing point where not even light escapes the black hole’s gravitational pull) while watching someone fall in, they will take literally forever to tumble into it. On the flip-side, if you’re within the event horizon, forever will pass before your eyes in the Time it takes to fall in. Forever is an awesome concept, in the oldest sense of the word. It both intrigues and terrifies people.

When asked the same question that started off this piece, Edgar Flores, a fourth-year actuarial

sciences student, had an intriguing response: “I would [take the chance] — I could be like a god; watch all of Time pass and do nothing about it.”

As he considered the implications of godhood, however, Edgar caught onto the downside quickly as well— “To live forever without aspiring to change someone or something seems empty, without any purpose.”

Besides that, nobody knows what happens when you fall into a black hole (the scientific consensus is death). It also bears mentioning that Edgar is right—you would not be able to affect anything you see happening—it could very well be quite traumatic to watch the Universe unravel with no way to affect Time’s inexorable march onward. Hence why I would stay put right now—I get bored just watching. And at least on Earth I might get to achieve the papacy of Scientology or even something helpful.

Either way, Time is running out.

If you want to reach our nearest supermassive black hole (160 million light years away) then you better get to work revolutionizing space travel so you can get there in your lifetime. Otherwise, you should get to work anyways, and revolutionize something else. Just because the Universe and all of us are slowly dying is no excuse to slack off.

Depression isn’t the end; talk about it Ellis in Wonderland

ELLIS KOIFMAN CULTURE EDITOR @ELLIS_KOIFMAN Depression, anxiety, addiction, self-harm. All of us are familiar with these terms and the struggles associated with them; be it through personal experience or through close friends and family.

My experience with depression likely began while I was in high school, though it could have been much earlier – it’s hard to tell with this sort of thing.

Now that I’m in my fifth year of university I’ve come to deal with my depression by learning to open up and talk to people about it.

When I was in first year, I found problems both new and old brought

me down.

Despite being away from an environment controlled by my parents, I still heavily relied upon them and only put in effort for anything when it was to please them.

In combination with my depression, which made me feel unmotivated to do anything but lie in bed and over-think every detail of my life, my growing inability to act autonomously tightened the bubble that I felt trapped in.

Upon reaching second year, I was nearly at my breaking point.

I had been kicked out of my program due to poor grades.

Every conversation turned into criticism and any sense of independence I had gained from moving to a different city for university quickly dissipated.

Nothing I did seemed to be right. I stopped trusting myself and succumbed entirely to the will of others.

I felt like a prisoner.

There was no hope. I couldn’t do

anything to escape my fate.

Every day I withdrew more from my friends. I would smile to them on the outside while crying on the inside – just as I had practiced in the mirror.

The combination of self-doubt from my past failures and my debilitating sense of worthlessness born from my depression pushed me over the edge.

One cold winter morning in February of my second year I was on a lonely walk. Most friends and other students had gone home for reading week. Wind buffeted my face and I was severely underdressed for the weather, but I didn’t care – I barely even noticed.

I was hopeless and broken. No one loved me. No one even cared about me.

I had lost my sense of self and felt like it was never going to get better.

So why not just end it?

I stepped up to the side of a bridge and gazed into the rocky

water.

I felt the urge to throw myself into it.

By some miracle, some flicker of hope, I broke free of that urge and decided to take back my future, no matter what it took. My entire ideology had changed in an instant.

When I stepped away from that bridge, I knew I had just overcome a huge obstacle in my life.

I started talking to friends and opening up about these issues.

Not only that but I started getting feedback from people with similar experiences, I felt less alone.

Most importantly, I was happy.

I wish I could end the article here, but I can’t.

In third year, I pushed away friends and instead embraced a relationship destined to fail. Over its course I came to feel unwanted, lost my sense of autonomy and the river of emotions that I had walked away from the previous year came rushing back.

Thankfully, the Reach Out

helpline at mental health addictions crisis services is filled with amazing people.

I called them several times during the following months.

In my fourth year the relationship quickly ended and I felt as if a great weight had been lifted from my shoulders. My depression was barely noticeable.

Through friends, family and therapy I managed to crawl out of the tunnel of my own mind in which I was trapped. Getting out of bed was no longer the hardest thing for me.

These days I occasionally suffer bouts of depression, but what would have once taken weeks to overcome now takes less than a day.

I cannot stress enough how much therapy, friends and family can make all the difference.

Talking to someone is everything. It means the world.

Today, life keeps going. I keep going.

6 • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2016

feature

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•

Gazette editors give Danielle Gerritse: Have faith in yourself.

You are an incredible human being. You’ve come this far and you’re still standing. Chances are, you’ve been through so much worse than this. These days or weeks might feel like everything is collapsing on you, making you feel like you can’t do any of it, let alone all of it. But this time is here to challenge you, to push you to be the best version of yourself. Remember that you are capable, that you have what it takes to get through this. Channel the things that give you inner strength — your friends, your family, exercise, yoga, meditation, your hobbies, healthy food — and make time for them. Use self-care. This is just as important as it is to study and write those essays. If you aren’t grounded or focused, you’ll spin your wheels too hard and exhaust yourself before you get a chance to tackle that mountain in front of you. Remember that help is always around if you need it. Western has great resources — academic counsellors, professors who care — this system is here to help you succeed, not fail. I assure you — you can do this. You just have to have a little faith in yourself.

Ellis Koifman: For a long time I tried so hard to be something else, to fit into other people’s ideals.

But after years of living like that I learned to love and accept myself for who I am.

Doing so has made life a lot easier and made me a lot happier in general. Day-today life has become more about following my own ambitions and trusting the direction I choose to take. So when times get tough – and they will – I know I am strong enough to bounce back without doubting my ability to do so every step of the way.

Katie Lear: The best piece of advice I can offer is that time is on your side. It’s cliché, but true — this too shall pass. Whatever is on your mind right now might hurt like a fucker, but put it into context. Is this going to matter in 10 days? 10 months? 10 years? Things get better. Even if waking up in the morning is your only achievement all day, time will drag you kicking and screaming into the future. The only way to guarantee things won’t ever get better is to take your life, but the chance that it will in the future is worth fighting for. Take a breath, take a nap, stop beating yourself up for what has passed, and find small pieces of happy that carry you through.

JORDAN MCGAVIN GAZETTE

Rita Rahmati: To any student feeling down, stressed or unloved I say: y an age of social media often makes us think everyone else time. They post photos of their vacations, party outfits an they aren’t as happy-go-lucky as they seem. Just rememb fect or easy. We each have worries and stressors in our li we handle things. I personally try to look on the positive sometimes I need a good cry and life chat with a close frie Determine for yourself what works for you to deal with ha know there are resources and people out there — you’re not

Hala Ghonaim: To you, the one who attempts to flush away you put your head on the pillow. To you, wh in the pit of your stomach when most vulnerab – but there’s more that’s eating up your mind. stant smiles and reassurances, you’ve found yo ple to acknowledge their weaknesses; but, ther curities. You may never get past the “hard part lust, and perhaps fall in love with yourself. It

Annie Rueter: When I’m stressed, I run. To clear my head, to burn off any builttime for myself and elevate my mood. When I mentally replay my exercise can help me focus on one task at a time. Tunnel vision isn’t during midterms – knocking off one task at a time makes me work plished. The feeling of stress isn’t always a negative thing and can ac only up until a certain point. And when that point hits, that’s when I hit the trails for some fresh air to bring me back to a clear head.

• www.westerngazette.ca

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2016 • 7

e advice for self-care

you’re not alone. Living in e is always having a great nd delicious food, but I bet ber that no one’s life is perlives, but it’s all about how side of most situations, but end or relative to feel better. ard times and please always in this alone.

all the thoughts that overflow in your mind when ho can’t come to terms with the emptiness you feel ble. You’re swallowed up in the pre-midterm rush Somewhere between the prolonged routine of conourself trapped in hate. It’s difficult for a lot of peore is a strength in recognizing and embracing inset” but acceptance is the first step to escape hate, find t would be a grave mistake to think you are alone.

-up nervous energy, to make some y to-do list and feel overwhelmed, necessarily a bad thing, especially k more efficiently and feel accomctually be motivating at times, but I lace up, pop in headphones and

Amy Skodak: With a history of anxiety, disordered eating and stress, some days are better than others. While it may come as a surprise, I have many memories of high school and first year feeling very alone and unstable in the face of my personal struggles. Sometimes it was easier to simply sleep in, skip out on plans and use Netflix as a distraction for reality. But anyone who has experienced mental illness will understand how toxic of an environment seclusion can be – and that it can do a number on your confidence and self-worth. So I tried distracting myself in other ways instead.

I chose to walk off my anxiety outside in nature, started to cultivate self-love by participating in activities that lifted my spirits and surrounded myself with positive people who would help to push me forward and keep me motivated. Distractions became as much of a coping mechanism for me as journaling, making to-do lists or talking to a friend. I’m not perfect and I sometimes forget to slow down, take a breath and put things in perspective. But I am learning to really listen to what my body needs, and I feel that’s an important thing to do to maintain a healthy life.

Samah Ali: Reach out to friends. Seriously, reach out to them.

These people can be your lifeline during times of stress and despair. We’re all drowning in readings and they understand the pressures too. Talking to them and de-stressing can be the best thing when school pushes you down and you can’t bear the weight.

My roommates, who I am lucky enough to call my best friends, are the core reason why I stay at Western. Without them, I wouldn’t be here, nor would I be pushing through the depths of winter. They ask me simple things: have I eaten? When was the last time I slept properly? — and it matters. From small reminders of self-care to deep chats about racial prejudice all being a product of a skin cell, they are there for me and I thank them for it.

Natalie Treffry: I’ve struggled with mental health, among other things, for the past few years now, and the main thing that I’ve realized was holding me back from getting any better was the fact that I didn’t reach out to anyone. I didn’t talk to my friends or my parents about what I was going through for such a long time, and everything became bottled up inside of me. Eventually, I reached out to a friend, who had actually confided in me first, and once I told them what I was feeling I felt a weight being lifted off my shoulders. I have found that it is so important to externalize what you are feeling inside and reach out for help because it is a lot harder to get better on your own than with someone else’s help.

www.westerngazette.ca

8 • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2016

sports

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Merchant shines as Mustangs quarterback MIKE DEBOER SPORTS EDITOR @MIKEATGAZETTE Chris Merchant is the typical quarterback in many ways. He’s not flashy, but he’s efficient and has a cannon of an arm. He’s everything the Mustangs needed this season.

The quarterback position was a source of controversy at the start of the season, as both Merchant and Bone competed for the starting job.

Merchant also had to reintegrate himself into the Canadian game after a season at the University of Buffalo. Throughout it all he’s shown incredible maturity.

“Most of the players in our offence have been here for a few years and know it, so the onus is on Chris to catch up which is not an easy thing to do when everyone’s been doing the same thing for years now,” said head coach Greg Marshall on his quarterback.

His progression in a Mustangs jersey has been quick but not without bumps. At times Merchant looked more like a game manager, simply in the role of not making mistakes. But now with the playoffs on the horizon, Merchant has evolved into a game changer with the arm to throw downfield and the intelligence to understand the opposing defence’s deficiencies.

“I think it’s just making good decisions with the ball, knowing what the defence is doing and that starts with watching film and getting in and understanding what they’re doing before we actually get onto the field,” says Merchant on what has allowed him to torch OUA defences. “I think it’s more of a mental thing over a physical thing.”

Merchant’s goals to improve this season are simple: show up to practice and improve every single day. It’s his focus on the little details of the game that has allowed him to produce on the big stage.

“Each week I just come into practice and try to get better a little at a time, kind of like a one per cent goal each day and that kind of builds up,” Merchant said. “I hope

MAAILAH BLACKWOOD GAZETTE

to continue to get better in the next couple weeks and see how it goes.”

Merchant currently sits eighth in the OUA in yards per game with 208.8, but a 322-yard game against Guelph and a 360-yard effort against Laurier have vaulted him into the ranks of the top quarterbacks in the province.

His efficiency is evident in his 65.2 per cent completion percentage, good enough to be third in the OUA. He ranks third in the OUA in touchdowns (12) and has thrown only two interceptions, ranking him first in the OUA amongst quarterbacks with at least 100 pass attempts.

Merchant also runs the ball well, not taking too much risk and knowing when the defence can be penetrated by a short run to move the chains. He has 215 rushing yards and three touchdowns so far this season.

It’s this ability to run the ball that gives Merchant the room to

hit open receivers downfield.

“He’s putting the ball in places where they can make the catch,” said Marshall. “Sometimes it’s not easy to do, but he’s got really good touch on the ball. I think the threat of him pulling the ball down and taking off with it is always there so that helps as well. But he’s really made good decisions.”

Merchant now feels comfortable in the Mustangs offence as his teammates have welcomed him and the coaching staff has aided him in his evolution behind centre.

“It’s always good to have a great coaching staff to try and help you in your development and try to help you achieve your goals and get better each week,” Merchant said. “They’re always there for support, trying to make my job as easy as possible and I think that I’ve improved both mentally and physically as a quarterback this season so coach [Greg] Marshall and coach [Jamie] Bone have been

huge for me.”

The Mustangs are ranked third in the nation at 5-1, with four straight wins after a loss to Carleton on Sept. 4.

Looking back, that loss may have been important beyond being the only blemish on the Mustangs record this season: Merchant admits the team has increased its focus since falling to the Ravens in the nation’s capital.

The adversity strengthened the Mustangs.

“I hate to say it but that was probably a good thing for us coming in because we all thought that we were going to be the best team in the country right off the bat and obviously that was a wake-up call,” Merchant explained. “So from there on we’ve been really focused on achieving our goals each week.”

Coming into 2016 the quarterback position was a question mark, a potential obstacle for a Vanier Cup run. But Merchant

has answered those questions.

He’s been patient in the pocket, avoiding getting flustered as the rush surrounds him. This profound calmness amongst the chaos sets him apart from many quarterbacks in the OUA. Any quarterback entering a blue-blood, powerhouse program like Western faces the pressures of carrying on the torch for quarterbacks like Michael Faulds and Will Finch. Marshall believes that Merchant has handled himself well amidst the great expectations.

“There’s always pressure to come to a team that has high expectations,” Marshall said.

“Football is a sport where the quarterback position is so crucial to the teams success. There’s always gonna be that pressure and I think he’s handled it very well.”

Chris Merchant has come full circle, but there’s a sense that this is only the beginning.

Softball defended national silver medal CLAIRE PALMER SPORTS EDITOR @CLAIREATGAZETTE

MEREDITH WANG GAZETTE

This weekend the Mustangs defended their national silver medal after falling 1-0 to the University of Saskatchewan this Sunday in Saskatoon. It was the team’s only loss of the season, and they are now 30-1. The team’s success in recent years has allowed them to continue to build into one of the most consistently dominant programs around.

“It’s become much easier to attract good softball players to Western as our record has gotten better,” said Lemon.

The team has strong defence and pitching, which are key tools in their success over the years. The 1-0 loss to Saskatchewan was the only run that the team had given up for the whole tournament. In fact, the team has not conceded a run since Sept.

25 when they beat the York Lions 10-1.

The team struggled offensively and will be looking to improve in that aspect of the game heading into provincials.

“I’d say we need to work on run production, scoring runners in

scoring position, moving from the indoor facility back outdoors where we’re used to playing so it’ll definitely give us more of an advantage to what we had last week,” said third year player Courtney Reynolds.

One factor that caused the Mustangs offence to struggle was the fact that the tournament was held indoors on a smaller field.

“Half the outfield was cut off so it was tougher to get hits to the outfield and tougher to get hits in general,” said Reynolds. “The ball bounced a lot easier to the fielders which was nice when you were fielding, and the base paths were longer than we expected so we weren’t able to bunt because it was just too long of a run to first base.”

“We have very strong pitching and in practice we go over all of the scenarios that can happen defensively, many times,” said Lemon.

Now that the national tournament is over, the Mustangs will have one week to prepare before the provincial tournament this coming weekend. Provincials is different from nationals, as it will only have the top eight university teams in Ontario competing, and will not have any colleges in the

tournament.

“Those teams are certainly going to be difficult,” said Lemon. “These teams will probably be more difficult than they were when we faced them, because generally teams improve over the season.”

Lemon is hoping that the team can rally from nationals and continue improving in practice this week so that they can come back strong for provincials.

“You can always improve, I always say I’m pleased but not satisfied,” said Lemon. “We’re a strong team and if we play like we can we’re going to be a formidable opponent for anybody.”

Third year infielder Robyn Wood shares Lemon’s sentiment. The team still expects to be at the top at the OUA Championships.

“I think we fought really hard, it was just extra innings and the player who hit in the winning run was a former player of ours,” said Wood. “We didn’t all hate her cause she’s a good person but obviously we were upset but the team morale is still high and we’re ready go win provincials.”

The team will be competing at provincials in Innerkip, Ontario, from Oct. 14 until Oct. 16.

• www.westerngazette.ca

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2016 • 9

sports

Men’s basketball team names captains MIKE DEBOER SPORTS EDITOR @MIKEATGAZETTE

AARON MALLETT GAZETTE

Intramural referees deserve more appreciation CHARLIE O’CONNOR CLARKE SPORTS EDITOR @CHARLIEJCLARKE Red-shirted referees are a staple of Western’s intramural program. For all 17 sports, two of the 200-some student refs are assigned to oversee each game and keep things running smoothly.

As student jobs go, refereeing intramurals is pretty good. It’s all on campus, and doesn’t require a lot of experience to get into. Western provides much of training required.

Hockey being the only sport that requires an official certification.

When it comes to game time, the refs are well-equipped with game management tactics, a full comprehension of the rules, and are even trained in basic first aid to assist with injuries.

The life of a referee, though, is notoriously tough and requires a thick skin. Since refs are peers to the players, it can be hard to earn their respect.

“If you’ve played sports, you know people are never happy with calls,” said Guy Schultz, Western’s intramural coordinator. “They’ll try

to get under your skin, and sometimes they’ll attack you personally too, so all of a sudden you’re arguing whether or not you double-dribbled, and next thing you know the guy’s saying something about your mother.”

Schultz explained that Western works hard to train referees how to deal with such situations. Refs are taught strategies for diffusing situations or dealing with aggressive players and have several tools at their disposal if things get out of hand.

In the past, players have been suspended from their sport for abusing referees and games have been called off when fights have broken out. Schultz added that basketball, hockey and soccer are the three sports that see the most aggressive confrontations.

“People get super competitive,” said fourth year Kinesiology student Maggie Devine, an inner tube water polo ref. “It’s intramurals but they treat it like it’s the NBA.” Putting up with disrespect from players isn’t for everyone, as Schultz knows. Every year, referees quit because the pressure becomes too

much.

“Participants need to appreciate [the refs] more,” he said. “Some of them just picked up reffing, so it would be interesting if we could take a participant and put them in the ref’s shoes.”

Second-year BMOS student Nadim Mansour, who started refereeing dodgeball and ultimate frisbee this year, has already experienced a lot of confrontation.

In one game, a player yelled at him over a call to the point that the rest of the players stopped to watch. “[Refereeing] will probably come in useful when raising kids,” he joked. “I’m not saying players are kids, but sometimes in the heat of the moment things get emotional.”

Both Mansour and Devine say they still love their job, as difficult as it can be. For students who want to get involved in sports, there are few better opportunities.

“The refs all back each other,” said Devine, “and the convenor always has your back too.”

“It’s pretty stressful sometimes, but it’s worth it,” added Mansour. “I’d really appreciate if players respected us more. We value our job.”

Sports fans lose out by not embracing female fans Coach Clarter

CLAIRE PALMER SPORTS EDITOR @CLAIREATGAZETTE Getting called the Donald Trump of the sports world is never a good feeling. Being accused of rambling on, not knowing what you’re talking about and stating facts that simply aren’t true can cut deep to a passionate sports fan. Many female sports fans go through this at some point or another, dealing with doubt and the accusations of not being ‘real sports fans’ that male fans simply don’t have to experience.

I’m sorry I don’t know Mike Babcock’s blood type and that I can’t name all the players on the 1993 Blue Jays World’s Series roster.

Not knowing these things shouldn’t exclude me from being considered a sports fan, and yet to some it’s reason enough to discredit my passion.

This isn’t just limited to ridiculous questions meant to test my sports IQ. It also goes for all the ridiculous pink merchandise sold by teams in an effort to target the female demographic. No, I don’t want a lacy Oakland Athletics thong, I want a proper jersey that isn’t pink or cinched at the waist. I want to wear my team’s proper colours with pride, and I don’t want to feel like I’m going to be bombarded with stupid questions testing my knowledge of my team just for wearing it.

A ‘real sports fan’ is someone with passion. It’s someone who cares, to any degree, about any sport or team. It’s someone who considers themselves a sports fan. Sports isn’t an exclusive club that you have to worm your way in through admissions tests and knowledge tests. If you enjoy sports in any way, congrats: you’re a sports fan.

It’s not a boy’s club with a ‘No Girls Allowed’ sign poorly painted on the front door. Sports are for everyone. It’s a community for people with similar interests, no matter how invested you are, or how knowledgeable someone is.

Little kids playing road hockey in the streets are sports fans, and the casual watchers are also sports fans.

If there’s interest, you’ll fit right in.

By disenfranchising female fans with this stupid boy’s club shtick, the sports community is losing a whole group of knowledgeable people who want to contribute. As more and more women get involved in sports media, like Sportsnet host Jackie Redmond and Sportscentre host Tessa Bonhomme, it is becoming evident that women have a lot to offer the sports world. It’s about time they get welcomed into the community with some respect, instead of with demeaning comments and questions.

It’s frustrating and upsetting to constantly be doubted and judged based on your gender. Although this may seem like a small problem in the grand scheme of things, for those affected, it can be very upsetting. Female sports fans are just sports fans, and should be treated the same as anyone else.

The Western Mustangs men’s basketball team will be young and inexperienced when the 2016-17 season rolls around.

Lead ing t h is new-look Mustangs team that lost three key players from last year will be Eric McDonald and Alex Coote who are excited to lead the program into a new era.

McDonald, a fourth-year social science student, understands the significance of being named a captain of such a historically significant university basketball program.

“It’s a huge honour honestly,” said McDonald. “This is a storied program that’s always been really successful so it’s definitely not something I take lightly. A lot of people told me they expected me to be the captain cause I’m the oldest guy on the team. It’s not something I wanted to just assume would happen but something that I earned.

It’s something I’m really proud of.”

Losing the likes of Greg Morrow, the most prolific scorer in the history of Western basketball, and Tony Spiridis, an energetic leader and defender for the squad, leaves a massive void in the program.

But McDonald and Coote hope they have learned enough from their predecessors to bring together a young team and overcome the questions surrounding the season.

“The team is way different this year for sure,” said Coote, a thirdyear engineering student. “It’s weird not having those guys here since they’ve been here since day one. They all had different leadership aspects, Tony was out there and Greg was quiet and led by example and all that. They taught

a lot of lessons.”

The two captains will try to take some of those lessons of being effective captains, being vocal and displaying leadership through action, and allow the Mustangs to make another push at a playoff appearance.

“I think for both me and Coote it’s gonna be huge cause we’re really young so we’ve been trying to get these guys up to speed with all our system,”McDonald said about how important their captaincy is for this Mustangs team. “So it really is showing leadership through your actions but most of it actually is talking through things, telling them what they’re doing wrong and a lot of it is gonna be vocal stuff with me and him but they’re doing great so far.”

Coote expects the Mustangs to exceed expectations this season.

While the team doesn’t have the experience of the nation’s powerhouse programs, the Mustangs are talented and have the youthful energy to compete in the OUA. “I think our guys are taking to it pretty well and I think we could surprise some teams for sure,” said Coote. “I mean it is a different year and we have a whole new group and a whole different set of expectations but there’s some talent and the guys are picking everything up pretty quick so it’s exciting.”

The Mustangs open their season on Nov. 5 against Guelph. In what many expect to be a rebuilding year as the program moves on from that stellar graduating class of 2016, the Mustangs will have nothing to lose this season.

With Coote and McDonald filling the captains roles, the Mustangs will have the competent leadership required to succeed on the court.

www.westerngazette.ca

10 • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2016

culture

School’s in: we’re talking class RICHARD JOSEPH CULTURE EDITOR-AT-LARGE @RJATGAZETTE Alright, you debauched Canadian sinners, strap your thinking caps on because we’re going to delve into something of substance for a change. Let’s talk about class, baby.

There’s a path that cuts through the middle of the Old Course in St Andrews, where the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship is currently being held — host to such stars as Hugh Grant, Andy Garcia and Jamie Dornan. It’s a very convenient path, because it takes you straight to the beach. I can see the end, the glorious sunswept West Sands, but if I start to walk along that path I get hastily ushered back because they’re about to tee off, sir. Talk about a poignant metaphor for middle-class existence, right?

Let’s not kid ourselves. Back home, Western is brimming with rich, predominantly white daddy’s girl/boy types — and that’s not to knock them, some of them are very dear friends of mine (especially if they have a pool). And the University itself has some hilariously misguided classpirations, like rebranding itself from UWO to Western University to sound more posh.

But St. Andrews makes Western look like that inner-city school from Bring it On (except, you know, white).

“Oh, your parents are successful lawyers in Toronto? That’s nice, my dad is literally a lord and we holiday on an island that we own.” Posh is the name of the game. Remember, Prince William went here, as every storefront in the entire town proclaims proudly. Seriously, how is that the main selling point?

My point is that socioeconomic class, while certainly an issue in Canada, is a goddamn elephant in the U.K. It’s woven into the ancient fabric of society in a way that we, in our upstart constitutional-democratic colony, cannot even imagine.

Now, that’s not to say I’m living in a Jane Austen novel. Class distinction pales slightly under the democratizing force of education — you can’t think with a peerage, after all — but it’s an ever-present issue that most people conveniently ignore for the sake of getting along, like the massive pimple on your forehead.

Part of me is intimidated by it, and part of me is amused by it.

I realize everyone thinks they’re middle-class, but my family is firmly wedged into that particular category: immigrants in a new country, academics, etc. So when I come here and people my age (and often younger) are wearing suits that cost more than a Honda Civic, I want to laugh and cry at the same time.

They’re so absurd, strutting around like birds of paradise, puffed up with privilege, but they can go their whole lives without wondering should I really get another £4 shot of tequila?

Here’s an interesting tidbit for you: the ludicrously old-moneywealthy are often worse dressed than the nouveau riche, precisely because they have nothing to prove to us peasants. Yesterday, I saw a guy in tennis shorts and a tweed jacket

leaving a restaurant and immediately knew he owned vast tracts of land.

Now, I try not to get political, because I don’t want to hurt the feelings of the rabidly opinionated rightwing white men of Western, but they can’t lynch me from Canada, eh? At the recent Tory conference here in the U.K., Prime Minister Theresa May stated her future Britain was based on “the values of fairness and opportunity, where everyone plays by the same rules and where every single person — regardless of their background, or that of their parents — is given the chance to be all they want to be.”

I want to resist comparing her to the only other female prime minister of Britain, but the similarities are undeniable. Thatcher, also speaking at a Conservative Party Conference in 1975, espoused similar sentiments.

“Our capitalist system produces a far higher standard of prosperity and happiness because it believes in incentive and opportunity,” she claimed.

Opportunity! That ancient, hackneyed myth pervading American politics as much as the Tory’s, that the capitalist West is a level playing ground for all to thrive in. How conveniently this sort of rhetoric sweeps under the rug centuries of colonialist history, systematic racism and sexism, and of course socioeconomic class. And with the same breath, May proposes reintroducing grammar schools, a surefire way to entrench class differences even further.

Here at St. Andrews, we have the secretive “Kate Kennedy Club.”

Ostensibly, they’re a philanthropic bunch who organize a few formals; further digging, however, reveals a highly exclusive, elitist organization who only began to allow women to join in 2012. They have been compared to the Bullingdon Club, a similarly selective, aristocratic, Oxford-based society which David Cameron, George Osborne and Boris Johnson once belonged to.

The rumour goes that you have to show the KK Club your bank balance in order for them to consider you as a member.

Is there a point to all this, you ask?

Canada has its own set of problems, but we don’t have to deal with these antediluvian ideals of class, at least, not to the same extent as Britain. And far from modernizing, I don’t think the class system is going anywhere soon, particularly with May as the PM. It’s everywhere I look in this country, and it’s looming at the back of everyone’s mind, conscious or subconscious. All this is enough to make me downright patriotic about our snowy wasteland of a nation.

“Class distinctions do not die; they merely learn new ways of expressing themselves,” wrote Richard Hoggart in 1989. “Each decade, we shiftily declare we have buried class; each decade the coffin stays empty.”

In conclusion: don’t let your background define you. Aspire to something greater than yourself, like Hugh Grant. Speaking of which, I’m going to go hunt for him in the golf course now. Think he’d take a selfie with me?

•

More resources and support for survivors SAMAH ALI CULTURE EDITOR @SISTERSAMAH Looking into Western’s support services on campus can be confusing, especially when seeking services specializing with sexual assault.

To offer more support for students, Angela Treglia’s new role as sexual violence prevention education coordinator collaborates with students, faculty and the London community to boost sexual violence education and point survivors in the right direction.

The position focuses on campus education and resources for survivors. It is also an opportunity for survivors to curate a program meeting their needs regarding an assault, whether in the past or this year.

“Every person who has been subjected to violence has different needs and they really need to drive that process,” Treglia begins. “So I also help them understand their options and think through what they may need so we can come to some sort of plan to support them and what they choose as well as what they think would be helpful for them.”

The new position differs from Equity and Human Rights Services by exclusively offering support to sexual violence survivors while EHRS gives students and faculty options with situations violating Western’s non-discrimination and harassment policy. If an experience goes against the code, EHRS director Larissa Bartlett recommends one should file a formal complaint going through vice-president human resources Jane O’Brien.

Similar to EHRS, Treglia offers students a variety of options and

resources to begin the healing process.

She recommends people contact her by email, phone her or drop by her office in Wellness and Education Centre located on the bottom floor of UCC. After the first meeting, Treglia will curate a program with survivors giving them options and outlets catered to their needs. This means programs will vary between people as some may feel comfortable with on-campus resources while others may seek off-campus help.

“When coming to speak with me you won’t have to take any specific roots or actions, it’s really about understanding your options so you can make informed choices about what is the best path for you at that moment in time,” Treglia says.

Some of the on-campus resources can be accessed through psychological services, student health services, residence counselling. Treglia also recommends off-campus resources at St. Joseph’s Hospital’s Regional Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Treatment Centre and Sexual Assault Centre London.

Treglia continues saying, “Speaking to those individuals who are wondering what to do, they’re not sure where to turn, know that you can always reach out to me and I can help you figure out what that may look like for you.”

Specializing with sexual violence reduces the confusion one may feel and offers another resource to reach out to instead of bouncing from office to office. The sexual violence education coordinator is another position to make students’ experiences on campus better, no matter their situation.

Is our wellness program working?

AMY SKODAK CULTURE EDITOR @AMYSKODAK The first week of October was Wellness week but if this is news to you, you’re not alone. With the recent opening of the Wellness Education Centre in the UCC, there have been many events to promote resources for physical and mental well being. The issue now is whether or not these resources are being advertised well enough on campus.

First-year engineer student Farah Selim doesn’t know what the centre is or that they hosted an awareness week. She wishes she had been better informed so that she could have been able to participate.

Other students are disappointed that the events only lasted for one week. Tina Lin, second-year neuroscience student, was aware of the therapy dog visits, free massages and mindfulness activities that took place, but was unable to attend due to her schedule. She says that if the centre offered more frequent events, she would definitely attend.

“I know that there are resources available, but when it comes to more serious problems like depression I think it’s lacking a little,” Lin admits. “I know a lot of people who

are struggling with mental illness and if they want to see a psychiatrist they have to wait a long time.”

The time-consuming wait list for resources has been an issue for some time now, but as PhD student and wellness coordinator at the wellness education centre Melanie-Anne Atkins explains, it is something the centre is working to remedy this year.

Atkins explains that she and a team of volunteers have been working for the past eight months to update resources on their website, and provide opportunities for students to take practical steps toward improving mental health.

“Last year it was really sad to see that students were falling through the cracks and not being able to access resources,” says Atkins.

She says that while the general upset around limited resources for students last year was upsetting, it at least demonstrated that wellness is something frequently on student’s minds.

“I think that it showed how passionate people were about having access to good care,” Atkins explains. “If students didn’t care about it, it wouldn’t have gained as much traction as it did. So it proves that students really do care about mental health and they do want it

TAYLOR LASOTA GAZETTE

to stay an issue,” she adds.

Some students are still unaware of the center’s growing resources, but peer wellness educator, Richard Truong, suggests that those who need support are the ones actively seeking it out and finding it.

Truong says that it’s been exciting to see that students are coming in looking for resources and taking initiative to help themselves.

He’s noticed the most popular requests are nutrition services with their dietician and psychological services.

“We do try to refer to the drop-in counselling because it’s more readily available,” Truong says,

admitting that psychological services are currently full. “We know many other resources that students can go to that address their needs or that can act as an in-between time if they’re waiting to get an appointment for a psychologist,” he explains. “That way they can always be active and proactive with their wellness now.”

Navigating resources on campus can be tricky but the Wellness Education Center is trying to light the way. With mental health awareness gaining more exposure, only time will tell if students will take advantage of these new programs and seek help as needed.

• www.westerngazette.ca

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2016 • 11

culture

GIULIA TATENGELO CONTRIBUTOR @GAZETTECULTURE

JENNY JAY GAZETTE

Stress on the horizon ELLIS KOIFMAN CULTURE EDITOR @ELLIS_KOIFMAN

With midterms on the horizon, stress plays a big part in our daily lives and really brings our moods down. That said, stress doesn’t always have negative effects on your health — oftentimes it can give you a push in the right direction and help get things done.

All university students are familiar with being stressed out.

Sometimes it’s because of procrastination, other times it’s because of having too much on your plate, and it can even come from family and friends.

However, this stress is not always a bad thing. “[Stress] can be mobilizing,” says Western professor of clinical psychology Leora Swartzman. “It can give you a burst of energy.”

When an individual makes use of the energy that comes from such stress, it drives them toward action. University students may be inclined to think stress is the enemy, but to a certain point it can be the only thing keeping you afloat.

Emma Phillips, a second-year double major in popular music and film, agrees, adding that stress can make you work harder.

“As a performer, if you put stress on yourself to do a good job at a show and that makes you practice harder and work harder, and then subsequently do better, then I think that’s good,” says Phillips.

This positive side of stress unfortunately only exists to a certain point, after which the stress becomes too much and starts to have a negative impact on your life.

The effects of negative stress, as Swartzman explains, can have serious health ramifications if not dealt with in the long term.

“Eventually your resources get depleted, the endocrine system kicks in and you have chronic cortisol elevations, [resulting in] immune system dysfunction,” says Swartzman.

People get into trouble when they avoid and ignore what’s causing them stress — be it academics,

social life or something else says Swartzman. Students need not worry about this so long as they use proper coping strategies to deal with and minimize the stress.

Swartzman explains that the stressors most often faced by students are academic ones, such as an upcoming exam. They are best dealt with by taking a problem-focused strategy — going to study groups, talking to the professor and reviewing the material.

If there are several stressors at once, doing proper appraisal of the situation is key, explains Swartzman. You have to ask yourself, “Does this matter? What’s at stake here?” and, “Which are the ones I can actually do something about?”

When the stressor is something important but you can’t do anything about it, such as applications for grad school you’ve already sent in, the best thing to do is emotion focused coping by distracting yourself in a healthy way, rather than distractions such as drinking.

“There are other distraction strategies that you can use that would serve to dampen your emotional response but wouldn’t necessarily be harmful,” says Swartzman.

Some examples include meditation, yoga, watching Netflix, going for coffee with friends and the variety of mindfulness groups and resources the SDC offered at Western.

London-based psychologist Joel Herscovitch says if all else fails, the main treatment is cognitive behaviour therapy, involving working on changes in your lifestyle and way of thinking to prevent yourself from creating unnecessary stress.

“The kind of person who says ‘oh, I’m going to fail the exam’,” says Herscovitch. “That kind of thinking needs to be addressed and that’s the part you can control.”

Stress is only a problem when you let it build up for a long time without dealing with what’s causing it. So long as you deal with it head on and keep mindfulness strategies in mind, it’s easier to trust everything will work out.

Most of us dreaded getting handme-downs but third-year MIT student Jen Lee says she looks forward to receiving hers from the women in her family who share the same passions for fashion and vintage designer pieces.

It’s incredible to hear the story each item of clothing holds, being passed through generations and across countries. Jen and her family of savvy shoppers have gathered a collection of pieces that perfectly demonstrate how looks can come back in style years later.

In this look Jen, drapes a long line, open, romantic jacket over her more structured outfit. The sweater is flirty and fun as it sways down to her knees allowing body to her look.

The salmon colour of the jacket adds a pop of colour to the look and accentuates the Fendi label on her T-shirt. The shirt?

You guessed it — a passed down item from her mother.

Previously bought at a Fendi store, Jen’s mom may have spent a little extra money on the simple shirt but it’s proof that a designer piece rarely goes out of style.

Sticking with structure and functionality, Jen wears a belted pair of pleated shorts with the T-shirt tucked in. The shorts with the longer length of the sweater add dimension to the outfit. Throw on a simple

or statement belt and it creates a split between two items blending together and looking like one.

Jen’s accessories are unique and stand out. Each piece has been passed down through generations and shared across countries like Korea, Australia and Malaysia with each carrying a story of their own. Pictured here is Jen’s recently received bag from her grandmother.

The purse is a vintage Prada, bought the same year she was born and gifted to her on her 20th birthday.

Are you moved by the stories, meaning and history each piece holds? Designer items aren’t cheap but the women in Jen’s family have proven you can get longevity out of an item with the proper care.

WANT TO GIVE THIS LOOK A TRY?

JENNY JAY GAZETTE

SUNGLASSES: MIU MIU. SWEATER: Zara. Also known as a pyjama style overshirt. Try aiming for long line sweaters and jackets, they look chic and trendy versus the regular torso cut.

SHIRT: Fendi. If you don’t own a time machine, don’t fret. Designers such as Fendi always sell simple shirts with their name on it.

BELT: Cartier.

SHORTS: H&M. These shorts are a great buy. Their boxy fit is all the rage right now because they can be dressed up and down, shirt tucked in or out. Possibilities: endless.

BAG: Vintage Prada. May hurt dishing out that kind of cash, but Jen’s family proves it’s worth generations of wear.

BRACELET: Gucci.

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12 • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2016

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AARON MALLETT GAZETTE Western has a fight song? Yes, indeed we do. In case you want to sing it to your heart’s content and show your school pride – you can get this little ditty on the back of a shirt in the purple store.

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