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westerngazette.ca TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2016 • WESTERN UNIVERSITY’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER • VOLUME 110, ISSUE 16 forgetting timelines since 1906

SENATE APPROVES INDIGENOUS STRATEGIC PLAN PG5

WORDSFEST COMING TO LONDON PG7

MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY TAKE OUA GOLD PG10

BIKING WOES

Ever since Western upgraded parking lots on campus this summer, some cyclists have been left in the cold.

SEE PAGE 4 FOR MORE. JENNY JAY GAZETTE

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2 • TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2016

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ALEX LAM

Volume 110, Issue 16 WWW.WESTERNGAZETTE.CA University Community Centre Rm. 263 Western University London, ON, CANADA N6A 3K7 Editorial 519.661.3580 Advertising 519.661.3579

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A

COURTESY OF MATT TRAN

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

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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.

Alex Lam’s interest in photography was first sparked after taking a photography course in high school. Thousands of shutter clicks later, the third-year popular music studies student can’t seem to put his camera down.

He began to pursue his hobby in the summer after his first year of university. Alex, originally an aspiring musician, decided to take a break from playing guitar and drums to switch things up. His affinity for photography escalated quickly after he spent nearly all his savings on a Canon 5D Mark III.

Lam’s photos reflect his own love for music and the art of performance, subjects that are the focus of his studies in school. It was only natural for him to combine his interest in music with photography.

For Alex, photography is not just a creative outlet, but it also serves as a way for him to connect with people he would have otherwise never talked to, including bands he grew up listening too.

“Art is a language, and I’m pretty sure a lot of artists would agree too,” says Alex. “It’s a way of connecting with people. I’m more so an introvert, I feel like photography has put me into situations that I probably would not have done unless I was forced to.”

“I started shooting for hip hop artists around Toronto,” says Alex. “That’s how I started practicing, and then towards second year, I applied for an application to be a volunteer at the USC.” Lam later began working with London Fuse, shooting concerts at the London Music Hall and Rum Runners. He began reaching out to bands, shooting their portraits and shows. On occasion, he would shoot video for bands playing live on CHRW. Eventually, he transitioned from working as a volunteer to working as an intern for the USC. His work didn’t go unnoticed either.

“There’s never been a no from any band,” says Alex. “I pretty much got the shoot with every band that I wanted to shoot.”

Throughout this time, Alex garnered a significant Instagram following with 1,352 followers and 400 posts to date.

blacks in a carefully curated Instagram page. Put together, his photos capture both eerie and beautiful moments.

Balancing art, music and school, however, can be challenging. That’s why Alex has decided to focus a little more on his studies.

“I was shooting a lot last year, so my grades weren’t what I expected them to be,” says Alex. “I kind of now understand the whole idea of paying for school and the expenses, along with your social life and your own health.”

Alex says that if he’s going to invest all his money in education, he should probably invest himself into it too.

For those looking to follow the footsteps of Alex, his advice is to just start.

Inspired by Adam Elmakias, Alex’s photos are moody, contrasty and at times ephemeral, depicting artists in clouds of smoke, screaming into microphones and voraciously strumming guitars.

“We’re born in this age where we have everything accessible to us,” says Alex. “Honestly, it’s the kind of thing where you just have to go for it. You’ve just got to stop procrastinating and push yourself.”

With unique and accentuating edits, Alex incorporates cool colours, bright and luminous tones and crushed

■■MOSES MONTERROZA

HIGH 19 LOW 11

HIGH 17 LOW 11

HIGH 13 LOW 5

TODAY

TOMORROW

THURSDAY

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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2016 • 3

news

USC speaks in favour of Uber at city council’s public consultation DRISHTI KATARIA NEWS EDITOR @DRISHTATGAZETTE

JENNY JAY GAZETTE

SPC cards no-show at Western SABRINA FRACASSI NEWS EDITOR @SABFRACASSI The Student Price Card allows students to receive deals at thousands of retail and food locations across Canada, lasts an entire year and you can purchase it for only $10 plus tax.

With over 28,000 students attending the University, Western has not taken initiative to implement an SPC card partnership.

SPC has teamed up with many food vendors over the years. Mucho Burrito, Booster Juice, Harvey’s, Pizza Pizza, Pita Pit and Manchu Wok are examples of vendors which usually accept SPC — and they’re all located on campus. However, despite their association with SPC, the discount is not recognized at Western.

The Gazette reached out to director of hospitality services Frank Miller, to ask why Western does not use the SPC cards. The answer was simple: they did not know it existed.

“It’s because I’ve never heard of it,” Miller said. “We’ve never been approached.”

Miller did recognize that there is an opportunity for the card to be introduced to campus. However, he noted that there already are other discount promotions currently in place including the tax-free payment when using a WesternOne card.

“Whether we can add one more item on it, I don’t know, but we’re going to check it out,” Miller said.

It is important to note that there are post-secondary institutions across Canada who do offer SPC deals on various campus products.

Western develops memory device thinner than hair MARTIN ALLEN CONTRUBUTOR @UWOGAZETTE At the heart of every piece of mobile technology, a miniscule memory device stores all the data needed for the product to run. Western scientists Giovanni Fanchini and Joe Gilroy have developed a new polymer layer in the prototype that is only 10 nanometers — 10,000 times thinner than a human hair.

The standard device found in a flash drive ranges between 30 to 80nm, and IBM and other industry competitors have created products that are as thin as 15nm. Gilroy said that with their 10nm product, they are “pushing the boundaries” of material design for memory devices.

The discovery was carried out between both Gilroy’s lab and Fanchini’s lab, where they were assisted by two PhD students, Sabastine Ezugwu and Joseph Paquette. Gilroy said a process like this one takes between six and eight months, split between the two

facilities.

According to Gilroy said it was too early to tell whether or not the research will gain the attention it deserves, as it was made public only recently, and work like this can often take months to be heavily cited.

Gilroy and his team plan on spending more time on furthering the concept by making the product thinner and increasing the concept’s commercial potential by make its manufacturing cheaper and on a larger scale.

Gilroy stressed that the development was a collaborative effort stressing the credit of Ezugwu and Paquette, and said that while he and Fanchini guide the research, “they’re the ones who do the work on the ground.”

He explained this sort of applied research is crucial, and leads to developments and discoveries that contain the future of information in less than a hair’s breadth.

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York University, for example, offers 10 per cent off of regular priced university clothing items when you present your SPC card. Some other institutions who offer SPC discounts include Fanshawe College, University of Manitoba, Simon Fraser University and Medicine Hat College.

Pasang Sherpa, SPC channel account manager, specializes in teaming up with high schools and post-secondary institutions.

“If a post-secondary institution like Western wants to get involved with us, they can just contact me and we could work out the details on what that kind of partnership would look like. We definitely welcome campuses and the student unions in those campuses to contact us,” said Sherpa.

Last Wednesday, University Students’ Council vice-president Jamie Cleary spoke about the importance of Uber to Western students at a public participation meeting held at Centennial Hall.

The meeting was held by the community and protective services committee, a city council standing committee that deals with emergency services, community services and public safety.

According to Cleary, there were over a 100 people at the meeting giving their thoughts on the proposed amendments to the vehicle-for-hire bylaw, which would create similar conditions for city taxis and Uber drivers.

In July, London city staff put forward recommendations for the bylaw with the purpose to level the playing field for Uber and London’s taxis.

However, the city council turned down recommendations that would ban surge pricing and required in-car cameras. Cleary

supported the council’s actions on the recommendations.

“We were speaking in favour of the amendments specifically because we do see the value that Uber brings to the city of London, specifically students, who are generally quite favourable of Uber, especially for its affordability and its use of service,” Cleary said.

There were various people giving speeches at the meeting including members of the public, people from taxi corporations, people who work for Uber and Uber drivers.

“I think you had mixed perspectives and I think it was really nice to see the council and the committee really listening to the perspectives of everyone and everybody being also quite respectful of each others’ opinions and ideas,” Cleary said.

A final decision will be made on the proposed amendment through a vote at the upcoming committee meeting on Nov. 7.

“I was really happy to speak on behalf of students and be there and I think city council received it quite well,” Cleary said.

Solution to puzzle on page 9

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4 • TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2016

news

CYCLISTS FEELING LEFT OUT AFTER SUMMER PARKING CHANGES JENNY JAY GAZETTE

AMY O’KRUK GRAPHICS AND FEATURES EDITOR @AMYOKRUK The days of smooth riding around campus are over, according to some campus cyclists.

Chris Vandelaar and Joel Eckert, two staff members in Western’s Faculty of Engineering, point to Western’s summer parking renovations as the root of the problem.

During the renovations, the parking gates in several Western lots were extended to 10 feet, forcing the cyclists trying to enter these lots to ride on the sidewalk or dismount.

“Up until now, there’s been access for cyclists,” said Vandelaar.

“I’m not suggesting that once I get on my bike I should never have to get off for any reason, but ... this is an operational issue with their new system and they need to find a solution because they’re restricting a whole means of transportation.”

Despite t hese concerns, Western Facilities Management communications officer, Bradon Watson, said the gates were lengthened for good reason. Watson said Facilities Management observed that with the old parking infrastructure, some vehicles would mount the curb to get around the gate arm while the lot was unattended.

“If you see it, it’s often happening more when you’re not around,” Watson said, adding Facilities Management didn’t keep a record of the number of curb-hopping incidents. “It’s very dangerous, and it really only takes one or two people for it to be a real problem, so that was one of the reasons we wanted to maintain the length of the gate arm.”

But Vandelaar and Eckert

said campus bike accessibility is overlooked in other areas too.

Vandelaar said although Western pushes for green “LEED” building certification around campus, it doesn’t provide close to enough covered and secured bike lockers. Currently, there are only nine places where students, staff and faculty can find covered bike racks, and there are none at Brescia University College or King’s University College. If you want to rent one of these lockers, there’s a waiting list. Right now, no lockers will open up until spring, according to Parking and Visitor Services.

“It seems like there are more cyclists coming on campus and once that demand starts to rise we have to accommodate that with the proper infrastructure.”

BRANDON WATSON WESTERN FACILITIES MANAGEMENT COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER

Further, while there are a couple of bike lanes painted on campus, Vandelaar and Eckert said there’s hardly any leading into it. Major throughways like Sarnia Road, Western Road and Wharncliffe Road all lack bike lanes or bike route signage.

“We put a ton of money into wellness … and it isn’t built

into people’s lives,” Eckert said.

“Whereas something such as cycling from home to work, you don’t have that stress piece. It’s built into your life.”

But these points, Watson said, are on Western’s radar, especially providing more covered bike lockers.

“I do know it’s on the radar, and it’s something that they’re definitely looking into having more of because there is demand for it,” Watson said about the lockers. “It seems like there are more cyclists coming on campus and once that demand starts to rise we have to accommodate that with the proper infrastructure.”

As for more bike lanes, that’s a joint project with the City of London. Watson said it’s a need addressed in Western’s 2015 master plan. The plan admits the cycling network linking the campus to surrounding areas is “incomplete,” particularly along Western Road and Huron Drive.

Watson added initiatives like removing motorists from Oxford Drive and alumni circle are on the horizon.

“The future for active transportation is pretty bright,” he said. “It’s something that seems to be of great interest for Western to develop.”

But for now, Vandelaar and Eckert are still holding out hope Western will reconsider the 10-foot parking gates.

“They’re making it difficult for everybody to try and control a few,” said Vandelaar. “If someone is willing to drive on the sidewalk to avoid a few dollar fee then who knows where they’ll stop?

Whereas, most of us are law-abiding and willing to cooperate with the system.”

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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2016 • 5

news

USC council discusses lots of things MOSES MONTERROZA NEWS EDITOR @MOSESMONTZ

COURTESY OF WESTERN UNIVERSITY

Western approves first-ever indigenous strategic plan RITA RAHMATI NEWS EDITOR @RITARAHMATI Western’s first-ever indigenous strategic plan was approved by the University Senate at its last meeting on Oct. 21.

The purpose, as stated in the plan draft, is to “elevate indigenous voices and agency to engage all faculty, staff, students and communities in advancing excellence in indigenous research, education, and campus life.”

The plan was presented and approved at Western’s Senate in late October and is pending final approval from the Board of Governors.

“The goal of the strategic plan is to leverage what we’re already doing well and identify the gap and try to work to continue to resource and improve on all of these types of things,” said Rick Ezekiel, director of research, assessment and planning in the student experience office.

The plan states a number of strategic directions including strengthening and building relationships with indigenous communities, nurturing an inclusive campus culture and improving indigenous students’ experience at Western.

Ezekiel added that a goal of the plan is to ensure that indigenous faculty, staff and students at Western have equal access to services and an equal likelihood to have a positive experience during their time at Western.

Ezekiel said the plan has been in the works for approximately two years, and part of his role was to overlook the consultation process.

In the fall of 2014, the planning

process began by reviewing existing data on campus and at other institutions.

Following in the fall of 2015, campus-wide consultations with students, faculty and staff took place in the form of focus groups. Ezekiel said over 600 people were consulted.

Research and consultations with other institutions took place, including the University of Saskatchewan, the University of Manitoba and the University of British Columbia.

But Ezekiel noted “The process of developing an indigenous strategic plan is necessarily local. It really needs to involve conversations with the local indigenous communities and address local needs at our institution.”

The timing of the plan parallels the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada and their calls to action on education, including: • Federal government to provide adequate funding to end the backlog of First Nations students seeking a post-secondary education • Protecting the right to Aboriginal languages, including the teaching of Aboriginal languages as credit courses • Post-secondary institutions creating university and college degree and diploma programs in Aboriginal languages Under the indigenous teaching and learning strategic direction, the plan says strategies to increase indigenous content in undergraduate programs will be looked at, including the possibility of mandatory courses. Two Canadian institutions (University of Winnipeg and Lakehead University) have added an

indigenous course requirement to their curriculums.

Ezekiel said certain logistical factors need to be ironed out before Western could take on similar measures. The capacity of professors to teach the material needs to be organized and Western needs to further look into approaches at different institutions.

For example, Ezekiel said, embedding indigenous content into courses in each faculty and program has been effective at other institutions and would enable students to learn about indigenous studies within their own field. The Faculty of Education has already made it mandatory to take a course in indigenous studies in order to graduate.

Echoing parts of the plan, Chantelle Richmond, a geography professor and indigenous faculty member, said it is important for Western to hire more indigenous faculty. Currently, only 0.5 per cent of Western’s faculty is indigenous.

Ezekiel said he predicts annual reviews of the plan.

“Strategic plans are going to be important for building the ideas and building the framework to operationalize this, but at the end of the day it’s only going to be an idea or it’s only going to be nice work on paper, until we actually see it materialize,” Richmond said.

Ezekiel noted the plan would demonstrate Western’s institutional commitment to enriching the experiences of indigenous individuals on campus, as soon as it is passed at the Board of Governors, Western’s highest authoritative body.

MENTAL HEALTH INITIATIVES A mental health strategist, Debbi Chiodo, asked USC councillors for advice on how Western can improve mental health services for a strategic plan to be issued next fall.

Councillors discussed improving the quality of counsellors, providing information on mental health services to first-year students at the outset, updating literature on mental health to include more information and that professors should be trained to identify and help with mental health issues.

COUNCIL MOTIONS TO UPDATE THE ADVOCACY STANDING COMMITTEE AND CAUCUSES TERMS OF REFERENCE Motion passed unanimously to allow USC caucuses to submit non-binding recommendations to the local campus and standing affair committee of council.

This includes the three caucuses: first year caucus, mature and transfer students’ caucus, and international students caucus.

SPEAKER OF COUNCIL GETS TERMS OF REFERENCE Council unanimously passed a motion to give the speaker of council a terms of reference which is a detailed job description that includes powers, responsibilities, accountability and disciplinary processes.

COUNCILLOR TERMS OF REFERENCE Motion to provide councillors with a terms of reference passed despite concern over a section that states councillors must “vote in the best interests of the University Students’ Council.”

Health sciences president Riley

Garno stated “I’m here to look out for students,” also mentioning that he will always put his constituency first.

In response secretary treasurer Isaac Jacobi said that voting in the best interest of the USC is because of legal implications, though he could not specify which laws at the meeting itself.

A motion was unanimously passed to remove the sentence stating: “Councillors are accountable to act and vote in the best interests of the USC.” EXECUTIVE OFFICER’S SALARY POLICY Motion passed to amend the executive officer salaries procedure. This included executive salaries to be adjusted in accordance to the Consumer Price Index.

EXECUTIVE REPORTS USC president Eddie Avila conducted a straw poll on various subjects to flesh out the interests of the council.

Vice-president Jamie Cleary spoke about attending joint advisory council on indigenous learning and presenting to city council on matters regarding Uber and pedestrian safety.

Student programs officer Allie Adamo mentioned she found a club space located in front of Spirit Hair in the UCC basement and that Charity Ball will not be on campus this year. No details on its location were provided.

Secretary treasurer Isaac Jacobi discussed upcoming USC election nominations set to be two weeks earlier on Dec. 5 and his plans to organize the USC budget.

Communications officer Emily Ross talked about allowing USC executives to hold office hours for more interaction with students.

Bright future for Huron College SABRINA FRACASSI NEWS EDITOR @SABFRACASSI Huron University College principal Dr. Barry Craig announced the commencement of a new and unique program which combines the disciplines of a liberal arts and a business degree.

The program will be taken in conjunction with all other majors and minors offered at Huron. There will also be a volunteer requirement to the program to encourage involvement in the London community.

Craig was appointed to be the 17th principal of Huron on July 1, 2016. According to Craig, he devoted himself to the importance of a liberal arts degree right from the get-go.

“When I was an 18 year old, which was many years ago, I was sort of drifting, I think, without any

purpose in life and I went to a liberal arts college and I think it actually saved my life,” said Craig. “It showed me that ideas were important, that I could think seriously about things that mattered in society, questions of justice and so on, and it brought out — I think — the best in me.”

Once he assumed the role, he realized how many alumni go on to pursue business in one way or another — whether in the workforce or through further studies.

According to Craig, this is the first university undergraduate program of this kind in Canada.

Craig’s main goal is to challenge students to think about social responsibility and hopefully provide them with insight and compassion that they will take with them into the real world.

“What we want to do here at

Huron is not just encourage people to get a degree or just encourage people to make money in their career, but encourage people to give back and work towards the better society. That’s what I think we want to have at the heart of what we’re doing here at Huron,” Craig said.

Huron is now in the works of appealing to donors and community members to support the program. These resources will be used towards creating and implementing the new program which is expected to start in the fall of 2017.

Along with seeking out donations from other donors, Craig and his wife have personally donated $25,000. Craig will be putting this money towards extending opportunities to indigenous students across Canada.

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6 • TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2016

opinions

•

Has Instagram’s #Fitspo gone too far?

Skodak Moment

AMY SKODAK CULTURE EDITOR @AMYSKODAK When I decided to get serious about my health about a year ago, I knew I would need some visual motivation to stay on track with my goals. I am a big fan of inspirational quotes, and I thrive off of daily, positive reminders, so naturally I started following the ‘fitspiration’ or ‘fitspo’ accounts on Instagram.

I was drawn to their colourful images of beautiful avocado toast and motivational sayings. Because I have somewhat of an “all or nothing” personality, I followed a lot.

Soon afterwards, my Instagram feed was full of washboard abs, fruit salads and protein pancake recipes.

Images of post-workout bodies in Nike pro shorts paired with captions that read: “Strive for progress, not perfection” or “Workout because you love your body” gave me the impression I had found a positive online community focused more on fitness than being thin.

I was wrong.

While fitspo is meant to inspire a healthy lifestyle, I can see how quotes along the lines of: “What do you want more, the food you’ve been craving for days or the body you’ve been craving for months?” can be triggering for disordered eating.

Likewise, fitspo can look different on everyone. Yet according to most fitspo photos, “healthy” looks like a thin-waisted model in trendy workout attire. Not to mention, mantras like “Suck it up now so you won’t have to suck it in later” makes working out seem more like a chore than a routine to maintain physical wellness.

Now, I understand that there are

some Instagram profiles that are genuinely focused on health and well being, and those I applaud and will continue to follow. I have nothing against healthy, fit people wanting to show off all their hard work (heck, I’d probably do the same thing), what irks me are the not-so-genuine accounts that have triggering undertones.

If exercising comes with tears and self-loathing — it isn’t healthy.

I know, because that used to be me.

There was a point in my life where excessive exercise completely took over. Only I never felt fulfilled, I never felt strong and I never felt like what I was doing was ever good enough.

As I started to see all of these perfectly toned bodies with quotes that weren’t positive, I didn’t feel motivated to go to the gym and be healthy.

Rather, I felt disgusted by my own body. I felt upset every time I looked in the mirror because it didn’t reflect the kind of figure I thought I should have. I started to think, “Maybe if I just skipped breakfast or lunch” then I would look like these other girls — then I would feel confident and thin enough to go to the gym more often, then I would be happier.

That’s when I saw a red flag.

In my effort to be healthy, my thoughts and anxieties, fuelled by perfectionism and these “motivational” accounts, were about to send me back into the downward spiral I had worked so hard to crawl out of.

Don’t get me wrong, I still love scrolling through new meal prep ideas and yoga routines. Avocado toast is my favourite breakfast, and my roommate and I frequently make zucchini noodles. I think it all just comes down to balance.

I don’t plan on deleting all of the fitspo accounts that I currently follow and I don’t expect the trend to die anytime soon. However, what I hope is for people to remain mindful and aware of the questionable habits that fitspo encourages.

A rose by any other name King Lear KATIE LEAR PRINT MANAGING EDITOR @KATIELEAR_ Whenever someone asks me what my name is, there’s an invisible asterisk hanging in the air next to my response. People often say that they’re different versions of themselves around different people, but in my case, I’m actually known as someone different depending on who you ask.

I was born Emma Kate Lear, but my friends know me as Katie.

Professors get the best of both worlds: a hybrid “Emma Kate ‘Katie’ Lear.” I hope they read the hidden subtext: “Sorry for this confusion; just pay attention to Lear and it’ll be fine.”

When people find out that I have a different first name, instead of wondering if I’m in the witness protection program (only one person has done that so far), most people ask me the following question: What’s my real name?

The truth is, I don’t know. I’m just

as confused as the poor TA trying to match my name to the class list.

When I brought up this headache of a situationto my mother, she offered an obvious solution.

Why not change my name? If you’d given me the option to change my name before my mother brought it up, I would’ve thought my family would be opposed to the idea. But it was evident that neither of my parents really cared what I did with my given names.

So I have options. I could swap Emma and Kate, but Kate Emma Lear doesn’t flow nearly as nicely off the tongue. I could make Kate my first name and find another middle name altogether, but I have enough names to deal with, I certainly don’t need to throw in another one. Of course, going by Emma is also an option, but then who’s to say that that’s where the change ends? I could change the name I go by to be something else other than Emma or Kate entirely. I’ve certainly got time to think about it before I leave university and enter another stage of my life.

But perhaps, strangely, I’m still attached to my first name. The name Emma is something like an established aunt whom you’ve never met but heard she’s successful. Someone

JENNY JAY GAZETTE The ruins of Tintern Abbey, photographed mid-June, 2016, lies on the Welsh side of the border between Wales and Gloucestershire, United Kingdom.

Jenny From The Block

The grass is flourishing on my side

BY JENNY JAY It’s supposed to be the only expense that makes you richer. It’s about finding yourself and becoming self-reflective. It’s also something that when you do it, we want to share with the people in our lives — but people, I have learned, don’t want to hear your stories.

My relationship with travelling is a fond one. I have spent my last three summers exploring — from the great white north of the Yukon, the West-Midlands of England, to the land down-under — I have only seen a fragment of the world. I have, unabashedly, done the stereotypical Europe backpacking trip. Hostels became by best friend and I proudly wear the flags of the countries I have explored on my back.

By virtue of who I am, I wear my heart on my sleeve, but there is no doubt that over the years, my travels have changed me — because they have. They gave me my independence. They have opened my eyes to new experiences. They have also, unexpectedly, made me quieter.

In the middle of all of the incredible experiences I was having, I realized I wasn’t ready for one of the harsher realities of travelling. It startled me to realize that the grass was greener on the other side — green with envy, that is.

I began to notice that not everyone wanted to hear my stories. Not everyone wanted to know that I have been places where they have never been, or worse, where they may never go. Upon returning home after my second summer in Europe, many acquaintances greeted me with variations of “I saw you travelled this summer — I’m so jealous.”

To me, there was so much left unsaid in those statements. There was a an untold accusation that because I had travelled, I must be privileged. There was an overwhelming feeling of “we’re glad you did that, and that’s great for you — but we don’t want to hear about it.”

There were of course, the handful of people who actually wanted to hear about my stories. These are the people that made me realize that in the process of sharing my experiences, I was growing. It was in these conversations, I was able to be self-reflective.

However, I still had to be careful. Anecdotes that began with “When I was in Prague,” “Once, in Paris,” or “When I was living in England,” would instantly be deemed as pretentious, and even I couldn’t pretend otherwise. who isn’t relevant to your day-to-day life, but is still a part of who you are.

To me, Emma is a facet of my identity in the same way that others may connect with important symbols, personality types, colours or anything else to their identity. Not something immediately present to the public, but there nonetheless.

The fact that my parents decided when I was two years old that I “didn’t seem like an Emma” doesn’t change who I am; I’m just someone with multiple names. My relationship to one name is different than

Instead, I learned how to internalize my stories.

I learned that people didn’t want to hear how their judgments on me were inaccurate. There was no point explaining that I worked full-time jobs during my summers in these new places. The struggles of moving to a new country alone were dismissed, because after all, wasn’t I was seeing the world? The very real experiences of culture-shock were never heard, because there was the feeling that no one wanted to listen in the first place.

Even now, as I write this, I hear the criticisms I already know I’m going to get. She’s complaining about such a first world problem. Oh, because moving to England must have been SO hard as a born-Canadian. At least she got to travel.

The worst part about realizing these thoughts that trickle through the minds of those around me, is realizing that I echo them. By sharing my stories, I fear I make people uncomfortable because they haven’t experienced the same things that I have. I am wary of sounding pretentious.

Recently, I began to realize that in being quieter, I forgot the importance of being able to acknowledge my growth. I began to notice the tendencies in myself and my peers to belittle ourselves, because we are too scared of making people uncomfortable with our accomplishments. We are afraid to be proud of ourselves, because there is narcissism attached to sharing our successes and experiences.

We live in a society that wants to know that we are doing well, but not too well. The grass is consistently greener with envy on the other side, for fear that our peers are going more places, doing more incredible things, and experiencing the world in a way that we might be failing to.

I want to challenge that. I am tired of being quiet.

There is of course, a balance between humility and expression. I have realized, however, that the phrase ‘the grass is greener on the other side’ is there to remind us of the fact that we should appreciate what we do have.

There are always going to be people who are envious of our successes — whether they come in the form of travel, a new job, or in finding happiness. I don’t know how to propose we change this dialogue.

I don’t have many answers.

What I do know is this: the grass is flourishing on my side, and I’m no longer scared to share that.

my relationship to another regardless of which one I use. But more than anything, names have less of a bearing on identity for me.

While I know that other people may be uncomfortable with their name for other reasons, I wouldn’t want to speak for them or offer some tidy, gift-wrapped solution. After all, names are personal – however that personal relationship manifests.

One thing I do know is that my name is not an important marker of my identity, compared to how my friends’ names seem to be to them.

I could say my name is something completely different tomorrow and be totally okay with that. Whatever I’m being called on any given day doesn’t change who I am. My identity is more centred on what I do, the worth that I contribute and the kind of person I am. And that’s what works for me.

So I'll be hanging onto the complicated version of my name, because at the end of the day, neither of them on their own fit me nearly as well as the enigma of the combination.

• www.westerngazette.ca

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2016 • 7

culture

WordsFest set to engage London community ANNIE RUETER CULTURE EDITOR @ANNIERUETER1 Picture your favourite books all in one room. Now, picture meeting all of their authors simultaneously in one weekend.

London’s own literary and creative arts festival, Words, has a similar effect; in its third year, Words brings a notable array of authors and members of the literary community to Museum London for a weekend of literary bliss.

The weekend consists of interviews and panel discussions between members of London’s creative arts community and figures from across Canada.

But Josh Lambier, artistic director of Words and current PhD student at Western, emphasizes that the literary festival isn’t just for English majors.

Some of the authors are scientists who incorporate their work into the creative arts. Shane Neilson, for example, is a family physician whose poetry focuses on pain, mental illness and disability; Madhur Anand is an environmental science professor at University of Guelph who writes poetry focusing on nature.

Among the other notable authors attending is Emma Donoghue, whose screenplay Room (adapted from her novel by the same name) was recently nominated for an Oscar. The best-selling novelist currently resides here in London and has donated copies of her original

JENNY JAY GAZETTE

screenplays to Western Archives.

Steve Paikin, acclaimed Canadian journalist and current host of TVO’s The Agenda, will also be in conversation with former mayor of London, Anne Marie DeCiccoBest — an interesting turn of tables notes Lambier, as Paikin typically interviews politicians.

In addition to the new panels of authors, Words has made a few changes from prior years. The Souwesto Local Authors’ Book Fair, located upstairs in the museum, will now have extended hours and include works from 40 Canadian

authors who write for smaller publications.

Lambier says Words has arranged “creative pairings” this year in hopes of bringing together artistic and literary voices from the university and the community. One pairing is Bryce Traister, the chair of the Western English department and Donoghue, who will discuss her new novel, The Wonder.

Words will also host poetry events such as guerrilla poetry, where festival attendees read poetry in teams in unexpected places along Dundas Street, and a Saturday night event

called Poetry Live! This event will see a coming together of London’s three most prominent poetry groups: London Poetry Slam, London Open Mic Poetry and Poetry London.

Attendees of the festival can sign up to read their own poetry, regardless of the style they write in.

In terms of the goals of Words, Lambier hopes that the festival can bridge the gap between university education and the local London community.

“One of the things I noticed half way through my PhD was a significant disconnection between civic

Western’s got a lot of spirit, but it can be different for everyone AMEENA ABID CONTRIBUTOR @GAZETTECULTURE School spirit. Purple Pride. Best Student Experience. Whatever you call it, Western is supposedly great at it and while it may be easy to quote how well we rank for school spirit, defining what that phenomena is proves to be a bit more difficult.

How do you describe what Western does best?

The easiest answer would be to look to O-Week and Homecoming, where the most physical displays of school spirit can be seen.

Harnaz Lally, a second-year psychology and criminology student, explains that her visits to other universities showed her that nothing compares to how Western celebrates its events.

“Even around campus, you see school spirit everywhere. People wear purple stuff everywhere. You have Homecoming, which is insane; everyone goes all out,” says Harnaz.

Speech pathology grad student Christina Venier is a bit skeptical of how inclusive this idea of school spirit may be.

“I think it’s a good experience if you’re someone who’s outgoing but I think a lot of people get left behind in that. I do think they’re doing a better job than they were when I was

in first year though, with providing alternative events to these students” Coco Zhu, a fourth-year political science student, expands the idea of school spirit beyond simply being proud of a school. She believes having a diverse range of programming allows students to meet various people and eventually develop lasting friendships.

“To me, school spirit means having a diverse range of opportunities that would meet the interests of various people. Being at Western gives you an opportunity to connect with people you would otherwise have been unable to and develop some lasting friendships along the way,” says Zhu. Zhu adds that being at Western gives students the freedom to explore without judgment.

“We’re all in the same stages of our lives and that makes us more comfortable making mistakes because we know the guy or girl next to you is not going to say ‘You were stupid for trying out that thing last night’,” Zhu explains.

UBC transfer and third-year HBA student Justin Yu mentions that Western’s student experience may have something to with the the fact that most students have moved to London or live in London to go to school here. He mentions that

Western’s population seems to be more connected than that of his old school’s.

“I think it’s really cool how everyone is part of this collective Western identity. When I go back to Vancouver and meet someone who also goes to Western, there’s this sort of instant connection between the two of us, and I think that’s something to be appreciated,” says Yu. Some students however, identify more with the small communities within Western than the university at large.

“I don’t think I necessarily represent Western as a university; it’s nice and it’s big and it gets lots of funding so there’s lots of events, but I think the individual programs are more impressive. ...I found that my women’s studies program was a nice little pocket in Western and where I felt I belonged,” Venier recalls about her undergraduate years.

Every student who comes to university seems to be looking for that little corner where everything makes sense — be it a club, a community, or a program. As a few students mentioned, perhaps Western’s school spirit is the thing that gives students the encouragement and opportunity to find themselves in their four or more years they spend here.

SHOW YOUR GAZETTE SPIRIT! Write for Culture! volunteer@westerngazette.ca

DANIEL BODDEN GAZETTE

life — the city — and the academic study of literature,” Lambier says.

Through his work with the Public Humanities project at Western, Lambier has identified Western professors and chairs that are “champions of broader public conversation.” Lambier is hopeful that the Western bubble may be popped through Words.

Words is taking place Friday Nov. 4 to Sunday Nov. 6 at Museum London. All events are free with the exception of the opening reception on Friday evening, which is $15 for students.

www.westerngazette.ca

8 • TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2016

culture

•

A wonderful night with pop duo ‘Oh Wonder’ JEN TOMBS CONTRIBUTOR @GAZETTECULTURE In the line outside London Music Hall, there’s an atmosphere of anticipation warming the cold evening air.

There’s a youthful crowd in line to see Oh Wonder. One teenage girl even holds a record for the band to sign. It’s clear that Oh Wonder built up a wide and devoted following.

The band, indie pop duo Josephine Gucht and Anthony West, rose to fame after recording one song per month for a year in their home studio in London, England.

Inside the cramped venue, opening act Elliot Moss warmed up the audience with instrumental tunes that changed between between electro, pop and rock. Moss, an instrumentalist and singer-songwriter from New York, captivated the crowd with his soulful vocals and guitar. By the time Oh Wonder took the stage, the venue was packed and buzzing.

The duo opened with “Livewire,” one of the most memorable tracks from their debut self-titled album.

The song’s performance was chilled out and rhythmic, with vocals dipping and rising to create beautiful melodies. The duo seemed immediately comfortable onstage, dancing in front of the simple set with a illuminated O and W background, encouraging the audience to clap along – not that the audience needed any prompting.

A number of crowd pleasers followed, like the perfectly crafted and catchy indie pop belters “Lose It,” “Without You” and “Drive”, all performed with enthusiasm as the audience sang along. There were also more low-key and mellow moments provided by “All We Do,” “Heart Hope” and “Shark,” which all let Gucht’s powerful and heartfelt

CONNOR MALBEUF GAZETTE Oh Wonder ready to be interviewed. Western TV Entertainment Reporter Rachael Jones gets ready to ask Josephine Gucht and Anthony West about their music — check out their video on Western TV’s Facebook page.

vocals shine through.

The short setlist was unsurprising; all 11 songs were from Oh Wonder’s debut album and were standardly engineered. At times the show did feel a little programmed and robotic; but that didn’t matter.

All the band really had to do was turn up and sing and their onstage chemistry and crowd reaction provided the celebratory feel of the night.

It helped, too, that Gucht and

West were genuinely excited and full of energy, even at times in awe of their relatively new fame.

Communication with the audience came across as personal — West, at one point, offered an anecdote about finding out he was a Canadian citizen without knowing it.

Before beginning “All We Do,” Gucht shared heartfelt words for the audience: “Believe in yourself, believe in others, believe the impossible.”

It was a fitting message for the introspective song and also gave the concert an intimate feel. There was always a sense of connection and communication between band and crowd.

The set ended with “Technicolour Beat” which dialed down the energy a little to provide a gentle, wistful melody paired with dramatic rhythms and resonating bass along with the occasional screams from the crowd. Overall it provided a

dramatic finish, one which brought the audience and band together in a moment of connection and presence in the moment.

It was a fitting end to a performance that switched effortlessly between upbeat, energetic tracks, and the simpler, more expressive ones. Oh Wonder themselves came across both as skilled musicians and entertainers, and everyone went home happy.

Why does it always seem to take longer on a return trip? Netflix and chill?

FARAH BADR THE VARSITY TORONTO – Dr. Sam Maglio, assistant professor of marketing at UTSC, and Cherrie Kwok, undergraduate student, have recently delved into the science behind the curious yet universally familiar sensation: the return trip effect.

The phenomenon dictates that outbound trips away from home or other strongly familiar places feel longer than inbound trips with home as the final destination, even if that is physically not the case.

Maglio hypothesized that the uncertainty and ambiguity associated with outbound trips is the culprit behind this effect and sought to investigate it. “The return trip phenomenon has a lot to it, a lot of moving parts that cause outbound trips to feel longer than inbound trips. Your trip home ends sooner because what counts as being home might include being on your street, or getting off of the highway at your exit,” Maglio explained.

Three studies were designed to look into this effect. The first involved asking online subjects sorted in two groups to envision a trip to a friend-hosted party at a favourite restaurant. The two groups were respectively informed that they either knew or did not know information about the event; for example, the food served or the

people attending.

In the second study, subjects watched a seven-minute video made by the researchers depicting a car trip in first person. One group was told to imagine that the trip is from school to home, where an unknown lady was awaiting them. The second group was told to imagine that the lady was their aunt.

The final study directed the recruited subjects to a room only to be then escorted by the researchers to a second room where they were expected to complete a mundane ‘pseudo-test.’ One group was aware of the task awaiting them, while the other group was oblivious.

In all three studies, the subjects were protected from ‘time telling’ cues, and were later asked to report the time their ‘envisioned’ or ‘actual’ trips took. The groups expecting undefined circumstances — a surprise party, a strange lady, and a mystery test — reported the journeys to be longer than the other groups.

During a pilot study, the researchers interestingly noted that subjects with predictable domestic lives experienced the return trip effect more strongly. Maglio thinks that this suggests that uncertainty doesn’t just impact time perception of single-shot trips, but it also seems to have an effect at a recurring, everyday level.

“I think that the most big-picture

contribution here is showcasing that our perception of time is impacted by a wider array of factors than previously understood,” Maglio said.

He also emphasized that his study’s methodology differed from commonly adopted methods in the field of time perception: “In most of the research… you expose people to something in the present moment, like looking at a happy face or listening to an annoying sound, and then ask them how long that present moment felt. Here, we weren’t really doing anything to the present but, instead, were creating variation in the future.”

Maglio believes that any kind of time, not just travel time, should respond similarly to uncertainty.

“Say your favorite season is fall, and you really want to savor every day of this perfectly pleasant fall week before the weather starts to get colder. Buy a lottery ticket for next week’s drawing. The $2 might be a small price to pay for building some uncertainty into your life in a way that should make time slow down, even if just a little bit.”

In the future, the team hopes to explore the effect of uncertainty on risk-taking behaviour and recollection of past events. They also aim to investigate whether these responses can be tracked by looking at heart rate changes, or even attributed to particular biological processes.

SAMAH ALI CULTURE EDTIOR @SISTERSAMAH PROGRAMME: 13th NETWORK: Netflix original.

Director: Ava DuVernay GENRE: Documentary SYNOPSIS: Dissecting the unbalanced racial equilibrium in America’s mass incarceration system, 13th highlights the clause in the 13th Amendment allowing slavery to continue while in jail and its historical significance.

MY TAKE: This documentary is beautifully shot, bursting with information, and heavy as hell.

Visionary filmmaker Ava DuVernay applies the same captivating cinematography and pace used in Selma and adapts it to her latest project 13th. It serves the documentary very well as interviews don’t appear stagnant while participants share the corrupt history of the United States and their tumultuous relationship with the past events. Most of us know about the emancipation proclamation freeing enslaved people, but there is an exception in

the amendment saying that one can still remain enslaved if incarcerated.

Explaining this, 13th whips you through 200 years of history showing the increasing amount of black people targeted for petty crimes with longer incarceration periods and higher bails to prevent the escape from the twisted system. It’s heavy and a lot of material, something you need to prepare yourself for before clicking play.

Cinematically, this documentary is flawless. DuVernay and her team encapsulate you in a 100-minute feature taking you through recent American presidents and their campaigns targeting liberal whites and people of colour. Interviewing major political analysts and historians, the most relevant being the author of The New Jim Crow Michelle Alexander, 13th serves its purpose as giving you history interlaced with heart-wrenching stories and contemporary movements like BlackLivesMatter.

WORTH THE NETFLIX?: Absolutely.

WORTH THE CHILL?: Don’t do it. It’s

too heavy for that.

WANT TO CHILL WITH US? volunteer@westerngazette.ca

• www.westerngazette.ca

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2016 • 9

culture

Fashion forward: Beating the rainy-day blues

R

around for decades; you can wear it under a suit, on its own or wear it like Tyler does under his coat. If you don’t have one yet, look into purchasing one for yourself — a turtleneck is a classic, not a fad, so you will have ample opportunities to get wear out of it. Grey pants like Tyler’s may not be in everyone’s closet, but their ability to match with many colours is noteworthy.

The work comes in when choosing your key statement pieces. Deciding whether to look formal or casual is all in the jacket and shoes. Note that you can throw on a blazer and dress shoes on this outfit to dress it up, or a trench and chelsea boot like Tyler did and achieve that everyday look. A long-line black trench coat is not only modern, but also versatile, allowing you to throw it on to any look. Coats like these are always assumed to come at a price, but you can actually find a well-made coat for an affordable

ainy days are mostly hated. They’re wet, gloomy and it’s assumed that the most practical outfit for days like these is a bright yellow raincoat. Tyler Gowan, a second-year criminology student, shows us how he dresses up for those days with a functional but stylish fit to compliment the weather.

When you break down this very chic yet “businessman dad look” you are left with staple everyday pieces.

By pairing these simple items, you can achieve that polished, modern formal look with ease. Once completed, this look will give you the ability to attend class in the afternoon and rush over to dinner at 7 p.m., fitting seamlessly into each setting.

Starting with the basics, Tyler wears a black turtleneck and ash grey jeans. Simple enough, and easy to recreate. Black turtlenecks have been

price, so be savvy and shop around before you buy.

Any high-cut boot is in style right now for men — it gives a more structured look to the pant especially when the pants are rolled at the cuff. Tyler’s chelsea boot — one of the more wellknown high-cut boots — makes this outfit more casual but still stylish.

As you can tell, Tyler loves his accessories. From his belt to his scarf, and of course his stunning backpack, he is decked out in lavish accessories that unfortunately come at a price.

However, it’s important to remember that looking fashionable does not mean you have to spend a ton of money on designer labels. If you are on a budget, always try shop for items that imitate that expensive chic look.

Want to give this look a try? Tyler suggests using the app Lookbook for inspiration, and to always remember that less is more.

■■GIULIA TATANGELO

Where to get it Turtleneck: TopMan Buy yourself one, you won’t regret it!

Pants: Levi’s

These jeans are actually really stretchy, so you’ll look — and feel — good.

Chelsea boots: TopMan These boots come in several different styles, textures and colours so choose the most versatile pair that will work best for you and your style.

Belt: Hermes Scarf: Louis Vuitton Jacket: Zara

Remember it’s the look that matters not the price, so check places like Zara or Forever 21 for an expensive yet affordable look.

Bag: Buscemi PhD bag

PHOTOS BY JENNY JAY GAZETTE

Importance of sleep left under the covers AMY SKODAK CULTURE EDITOR @AMYSKODAK While it may not seem risky to pull an all-nighter at Weldon and then spend the morning throwing back coffees to stay awake, it’s silently wreaking havoc on your body and is not a sustainable way to function.

Fourth-year MIT student Lindsay Craven rarely falls asleep before 11:30 p.m. but makes sure to get at least eight hours.

“I need a lot of sleep to function,” she says. She admits this was not the case in first year though, when her roommate who stayed up until 5 a.m. made a full night’s sleep a rarity.

“On a psychological level, it reduces your ability to concentrate during the day, stay alert, respond to events in your outside world and so it will impact your performance in the classroom,” says Western psychology professor J. Bruce Morton.

“It will impact your ability to drive a vehicle too and make you more accident prone.”

Morton also stresses the importance of going to bed and waking up at the same time every day because it supports primitive parts of the biological clocks in our brains.

“If you start messing with those responses they can become seriously imbalanced and it takes a long time to get them back on track,” he says.

Eventually, drowsiness will put your personal relationships, motivation and health in jeopardy.

The lack of sleep amongst students is something particularly concerning for Western’s sleep lab

manager, Laura Ray. “Research suggests that mild sleep deprivation can increase your risk of anxiety, depression, moodiness and reduce your ability to manage stress,” Ray says.

Ever wonder why everyone seems to get sick between the end of September and mid-October? It’s not a coincidence that this is also when midterms fall. Ray explains that lack of sleep increases the chance of illness because it weakens the immune system.

Staying up late every once in a while is nearly inevitable with academics, extracurriculars, part-time jobs and maintaining a social life.

But when everything builds up and you’re sleep-deprived, it won’t be as easy to manage overwhelming situations or learn new things.

“Of particular importance to our lab is the effect of sleep on memory,” says Ray. “During sleep is when memory consolidation and enhancement occurs, so, sleep loss can result in students being less able to concentrate and retain new information.”

Ray suggests getting about eight hours of sleep as regularly as possible to maintain good sleep habits.

Morton acknowledges that missing out on sleep for social events and academics has become a part of university life, especially when you’re out until 3 a.m. on the weekends. “I’m not trying to suggest that you should tuck yourself in every night at 10:30,” she says, “but be aware that that comes at a cost of compromising your sleep.”

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UPCOMING EVENTS

PUT YOUR SUDOKU SAVVY TO THE TEST! To solve a sudoku, the numbers 1 through 9 must fill each row, column and box. Each number can appear only once in each row, column and box. You can figure out the order in which the numbers will appear by using the numeric clues already provided in the boxes.

For solution, turn to page 3

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.

SAT. NOV. 5 London Central Lioness Annual Christmas Bazaar, 11.00-2.00 pm will be held at St. Luke’s Church, 1204 Richmond N. at Bernard. Books, bake table, treasures, DVD’s etc. Good quality Christmas gifts. Refreshments, free admission. Enter off Bernard. The premises are wheelchair and handicapped accessible. All funds raised are used for the benefit of the community.

SERVICES BUSINESS 2257 TUTOR seeking students looking to maximize their 2257 grade. My qualifications include: Achieving a 94% in 2257, 8+ years of tutoring experience, and Economics TA of the Year. Contact: trooney3@uwo.ca

ANNOUNCEMENTS BLOOD DONOR CLINIC Community Room, UCC 2nd floor. Wed. Oct. 19, 11am - 4pm; Wed. Nov. 9, 11am - 4pm. Call or click to book your appointment.

1-888-2-DONATE. Blood.ca TIPS ON HOW TO AVOID BEING PHISHED 1. Never respond to emails that request personal financial information. Reputable companies don't ask for passwords or account details in an email.

2. Visit banks' websites by typing the URL into the address bar. Phishers use links within emails to direct victims to a fake site. If you suspect an email is bogus, do not follow any embedded links within it.

3. Keep a regular check on your accounts Regularly log into your online accounts, and check your statements. Report any suspicous transactions to your bank or credit card provider.

YOU HAVE THE POWER TO GIVE LIFE E WESTERN UCC • 2ND FLOOR COMMUNITY ROOM Wednesday, Nov. 9, 11am – 4pm Thursday, Nov. 17, 11am – 4pm

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10 • TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2016

sports

•

Four women’s rugby players named OUA All-Stars; Weller receives coach of the year CHARLIE O’CONNOR CLARKE SPORTS EDITOR @CHARLIEJCLARKE

COURTESY OF MARTIN BAZYL

Men’s cross country team takes OUA gold MIKE DEBOER SPORTS EDITOR @MIKEATGAZETTE It was a long 28-year drought for the Western Mustangs men’s cross country team, as the Guelph Gryphons and Windsor Lancers dominated the province en route to a combined 22 Ontario University Athletics titles during that.

But on Sunday at Centennial Park in Toronto, the Western Mustangs returned to the top of the OUA with a vengeance, bringing home the seventh provincial championship in the program’s history.

The Mustangs took down Windsor and 11-time reigning champion Guelph Gryphons with a solid performance from all seven of their runners. Western had 53 points in the event, while Windsor finished in second with 60 points and Guelph took home the bronze medal with 72 points.

The Mustangs were led by Jack Sheffar who placed third overall with a time of 30:48.5 while Ben Carson finished sixth overall with

“In cross country, especially at OUA’s and [Nationals] you’re not gonna win a team championship unless you have some really strong individuals on your team,” said Schultz. “So having one or two is really good but having three is amazing.”

GUY SCHULTZ HEAD COACH

a time of 30:57. Chris Balestrini finished out the Mustangs top three with a time of 31:04.7 and an eighth place finish.

Head coach Guy Schultz saw the performance of his top three runners as vital in the Mustangs taking home the OUA banner.

“In cross country, especially at OUA’s and [Nationals] you’re not gonna win a team championship unless you have some really strong individuals on your team,” said Schultz. “So having one or two is really good but having three is amazing.”

OUA Rookie of the Year Muhumed Sirage had a strong final two kilometres of the race, picking off competitors and playing a key role in the Mustangs championship while finishing 15th in the race with a time of 31:72.1. “[Sirage] made a huge difference because with 3k to go we were in second place and [Sirage] picked up five or six guys that helped us win the championship in the end,” said Shultz on his rookie’s performance. “[Sirage] has been a great addition to the team; he was Rookie of the Year and a lot of teams would have picked him up across the country cause he’s that good and that talented.”

Although only the top five individual times for each team go toward the overall score, Schultz was impressed with his sixth and seventh runners who competed admirably. All of the Mustangs runners finished in the top 25.

“It’s amazing to be able to count on all of your seven runners,” said Schultz. “Only five count in the team score but to have seven as strong as we did, our seventh guy was 25th overall and our sixth and seventh runners displaced the fifth runners of a couple other teams which actually pushed their score up so in the end they helped us get a few points.”

The Mustangs came into the OUA championship ranked sixth in the nation and third in the province behind Guelph and Windsor.

According to leading Mustang Jack Sheffar, who put together a dominant season for Western, the Mustangs had the firm belief that they could compete for the OUA

title.

“It’s been 28 years since Western last won OUAs so it feels really good,” said Sheffar. “Obviously all the guys are really excited and we had the goal at the beginning of the year that that was something we wanted to achieve and whether or not other schools or other people believed in us we had that belief around the team that we would get it done.”

The Mustangs now move forward to the U Sports championships in Quebec City on Nov. 12.

While Western is looking to compete for the national title, the stiffer competition will provide a tougher challenge for the Mustangs.

“We’ll be up there at [Nationals] but it’s gonna be tough,” said Schultz. “Even though we beat Windsor and Guelph we only won the race in the last two kilometres so you never know what could happen in a cross country race and there’s some other strong teams out there like Laval, Victoria and Trinity Western who are all very good teams and they’re probably just as deep as us. “ The course in Quebec City is also a difficult one to run under difficult conditions and fickle mid-November weather.

“The other thing that will come into play is the course because when we go to Quebec City for Nationals there’s usually snow and rain and its pretty muddy,” said Schultz. “And the women run first, the men run second and it’s even muddier for the men on the course and the last time we went in 2010 or 2011 it was minus eight so the conditions will play into the race as well so the guys will need to be mentally ready.”

For now the Mustangs will celebrate their OUA title and the ending of a drought. The fact that they defeated Windsor and Guelph en route to the championship makes it all the more sweeter.

“It feels amazing to be able to beat Windsor,” said Schultz. “But even more so Guelph because they had all those running championships in a row and they’re a very talented team.”

The Mustangs women’s rugby team finished the 2016 season on Saturday when they won their third consecutive Ontario University Athletics bronze medal with a 27-20 win over the Queen’s Gaels. Western came out strong in the first half at Alumni Field, building up a 17-10 lead in the first 40 minutes.

Western was buoyed heading into the game by their performance against the national champion McMaster a week before. The Marauders shut them out 29-0 despite strong systematic play from the Mustangs.

In the week preceding the bronze medal matchup, four Western players were named OUA All-Stars after their 3-2 season that saw them finish second in the Shiels Division.

Head coach John Weller had no shortage of good things to say about all four of Lexi Smith, Paige Farries, Nikki Case and Veronica Harrigan.

Weller believes that Smith, who plays scrum half for the Mustangs, deserves to finally be recognized for what she brings to the team. “[Smith] is the glue that keeps us together,” he said. “She makes a lot of tactical decisions, and passes to teammates a lot in gameplay. It’s hard to say exactly what she brings to the team; she does so much for the team but maybe not all of it [gets] recognized.”

Farries was Western’s top scorer this season and also contributed in defence from her centre position.

Her role has been to exploit gaps in the opposition’s lineup and she has scored 11 tries for the Mustangs this year.

Case, a former OUA rookie of the year and Western’s captain, has played a huge role in leading her team this year.

“I just stick to what I know I’m good at,” said Case. “Running really hard and trying to hit people on the outside. This year I’m trying to work on my tackling skills and being more

COURTESY OF WESTERN SPORTS INFO

assertive in the contact point.”

Case’s leadership has been a huge part of the Mustangs’ success in her three years on the team so far, having won the bronze medal in each.

Harrigan has been a force to be reckoned with in the front row of Western’s scrum. Weller has come to rely on her defensive play, as well as her lethal ability to carry the ball through opposing defensive lines.

Being named an All-Star in just her second year is impressive, after an excellent performance this year.

“It means a lot to me,” said Harrigan. “I don’t think it would be possible without all the hard work from my teammates and the support from them, as well as from my coaches. We’re basically like a family at Western.”

In the same announcement that named the group of Mustang AllStars, John Weller was himself named the Shiels Division coach of the year. This year was his first season at the helm for Western after taking over from Natascha Wesch, who retired after 22 years in charge.

Weller’s career as a referee (before he became a coach) is the source of his elite technical knowledge. For example, he’s taught the Mustangs how to use the maul — a scrum-like play where the defence holds up the opposing ball-carrier.

“There’s a lot of rules that a lot of teams don’t actually know very well,” said Case. “It can lead to a turnover if you successfully instigate a maul and the other team is unable to get the ball out. Teams get very frustrated with us because they don’t know the rules.” “[Weller] is a little more laid back than [coaches] we’ve had in previous years but it works,” added Harrigan.

To Weller, the award is more a reflection of his coaching staff than his own merit. The team has brought in specialists throughout the year, for details from sprinting to nutrition.

“The quality of the coaching staff is spoken to by that award,” he said. “Going forward we’re building a foundation to improve [on the bronze medal] in years coming.”

• www.westerngazette.ca

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2016 • 11

sports

COURTESY OF VIKTORIA GUTHEIL

Field hockey claims OUA bronze on home turf

KYLE PORTER GAZETTE

Men’s basketball Mustangs look to contend in 2016 MATTHEW GRYFE CONTRIBUTOR @SPORTSATGAZETTE

When the Western men’s basketball team takes the floor for their regular season opener this Saturday at Alumni Hall, it will be a very different Mustangs team than the ones we have seen in seasons past.

The departures of the Mustangs’ three leading scorers from last season, including Western’s all-time scoring leader, Greg Morrow along with vocal leader Tony Spiridis and low-post scorer Peter Scholtes, leave this team young and inexperienced, causing many to view this as a rebuilding year for the program.

Last season the Mustangs had a relatively successful campaign, hosting a playoff game against Lakehead after finishing the regular season 11-9. Unfortunately, the Mustangs could not pull off the victory at home and their season came to an end after a late three-point shot sealed the win for Lakehead.

This year, despite their relative inexperience, head coach Brad Campbell has high expectations for this group while acknowledging that they will have to find new ways to win games this season.

“As a goal, hosting a playoff game this year would be a great achievement for this group,” Campbell said.

Campbell recognizes that the team will need effort throughout the lineup for the Mustangs to compete in Ontario University Athletics.

“We’re probably a little deeper this year but don’t have those one or two key guys,” Campbell added.

“So if we’re going to be successful it is going to have to be a collective effort and we will need to have a lot of guys scoring in double figures as opposed to one or two that have over 20.”

To start the season, the Mustangs are expected to roll out Alex Coote, Jedson Tavernier, Alex Otzyv, Nik Farkic and Eriq Jenkins as their starting five, a group with only six years of collective experience in the Canadian college game. What this group lacks in experience they will attempt to make up for with tempo and energy.

“We are trying to play at a faster pace this season, especially offensively,” explained Campbell. “We think we are going to get it to a point where we are very tough to

play against.”

A factor in the starting five who could play a huge role in the outcome of this Mustang’s season is 6’0” guard Eriq Jenkins. Jenkins is a Windsor, Ontario native who recently transferred to the program from Le Moyne College – a Division II National Collegiate Athletic Association school based in Syracuse, New York.

He is an extremely athletic guard who will be called upon to produce in a number of different facets of the game in order for the team to succeed. Although he likely can’t replace the scoring of Greg Morrow or the defense of Tom Filgiano single handedly, Jenkins will be a crucial part of a group of players who will need to step up to make up for these key personnel losses.

This season will also feature some rookies playing prominent roles for the Mustangs with the recruitments of Ontario-born guards Omar Shiddo and Tyler Thomson. Both of these players are highly regarded recruits who will be expected to come off the bench and produce for the Mustangs on both sides of the floor. Although they will likely contribute this season, what is more intriguing is their potential as cornerstone pieces of this program for the next five years.

This year’s U Sports campaign begins this Nov. 5 at home against the Guelph Gryphons, which could prove to be a difficult opener for these Mustangs. The Gryphons are a defensively sound, well-coached team but most importantly they return all five starters from a team that defeated the Mustangs last year in Guelph. If the Mustangs want to be a serious threat this season they have to take care of business and take down more experienced groups, starting this Saturday.

Another game to look forward to this season is Jan. 6 at home vs Queen’s, where the Mustangs will look to avenge last season’s OT loss to the rival Gaels. Additionally, Western is slated for a home and home against their rivals, the Windsor Lancers, on Jan. 11 and Jan. 14.

This season will be an exciting one as the Mustangs try to prove to the U Sports world that this young, inexperienced team can compete.

CLAIRE PALMER SPORTS EDITOR @CLAIREATGAZETTE

After going 2-6-4 in the regular season, finishing in second last, the underdog Western Mustangs field hockey team finished on the podium with a bronze medal.

The Mustangs upset the thirdranked York Lions 1-0 in the quarterfinals on Friday in the shoot out, with two penalty goals from exchange student Tamara Evans.

They fell to the Guelph Gryphons 1-0 in the semifinals on Saturday, after a late second half goal from Guelph’s Olivia Lane, the MVP of the league.

On day three of the tournament, the Mustangs claimed bronze over the Waterloo Warriors, with Evans hammering it home past the goalie of the year in the 58th minute.

“It feels extra special knowing the path that we took to get to that bronze medal,” said Mustangs head coach Jeff Pacheco. “The girls have put in a lot of effort over not just this year, but the past few years as well.”

After a mediocre regular season,

the Mustangs were determined to play their best on their home turf, as Western hosted the OUA championship at TD stadium.

“Having a lot of pride as an athlete and wearing the Mustang colours, we knew that we had to represent really well at home,” said Pacheco. “It wasn’t necessarily about how we started the season, it was more about how we finished.”

Being the underdogs may have given the Mustangs a slight advantage over their competition, who may have taken the Mustangs for an easy win. The Mustangs, on the other hand, prepared for every team to be a worthy opponent and played with passion.

“There was just so much passion and emotion from all of the girls, this is something that nobody really ever thought would happen,” said team captain Emily Cozens. “We came in fully prepared, we did lots of video on our opponents, we knew what their tactics were, and we stuck to our game plan.”

For Cozens, the bronze medal win means she has come full circle

during her time with the team.

Cozens first year with the team was the last time the team competed in a medal game, failing to win the bronze. This game was a shot at redemption, and the team managed to capture the bronze this time.

“It’s kind of interesting to see how things have turned around here in my fourth year,” said Cozens.

“Playing my final game in the same situation that I was in in first year, but it feels just a little bit different this time.

They may not be going to the U Sports championship, but the bronze medal is the first sign of success that is to come. In recent memory, the field hockey team has not had the kind of success that they were used to in the past, but this is a sign of the upwards slope that the team is on.

“If we can carry that passion that we played with this weekend into regular season games, if we can learn to harness that emotion,” Pacheco said. “There should be more good things to come for this program.”

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