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westerngazette.ca TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2016 • WESTERN UNIVERSITY’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER • VOLUME 110, ISSUE 24 movie being producers dumb since 1906

EDDY AVILA DELIVERS STATE OF THE USC SPEECH PG3

MEN’S HOCKEY BREAKS SEVENGAME LOSING STREAK PG8

DECONSTRUCTING THE DELIGHT OF DYSTOPIAS PG10

LONDON’S EVOLVING LOCAL FOOD SCENE See pg.7 for more

JORDAN MCGAVIN AND JENNY JAY GAZETTE

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2 • TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2016

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AMAN SAYAL

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SENIOR STAFF AMAL MATAN MICHAEL CONLEY

Aman Sayal, unlike most of his university peers, has found that elusive balance.

action on those ideas we had.”

In second year, Aman and his friends decided to start a club which would help its members develop the soft skills Aman lacked in high school.

Juggling school, friends, family and extracurriculars as a third-year interdisciplinary medical science student, Aman feels he has a grasp on his life and he wants to share that knowledge with others.

That’s how “SpeakUp” got off the ground.

One of the main ideas of SpeakUp is that leadership is innate to everyone — sometimes it just takes a bit of practice and brushing up on these skills to really highlight one’s ability. Aman defines soft skills as things like communication, leadership and confidence.

“I try to balance school, going out, extracurriculars and family life, and I feel like once you find that happy medium everything just turns out much better,” Aman said. “If you’re too much into the books you burn out, and if you’re too much into the partying then you’re out of your program. So when I have that happy medium, I feel like I actually do better in school, I’m happier with my student experience and overall I’m just a happier person.”

The club offers a biweekly program where members take part in activities that force them to work on these soft skills. Students will then debrief and analyze the activities so that they understand their importance.

Club leaders will also be citing self-help and psychology books to add credibility to their work.

Aman is an outdoors person. When he isn’t watching horror movies, he’s either golfing or travelling. He has travelled to over 22 different countries and is going to Thailand over the Christmas break.

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Aman has big plans for SpeakUp. He hopes to start inviting guest speakers to their meetings and maybe even introducing the club to other campuses across Canada. For now, SpeakUp is working on recruiting more people to come and check out the club.

He’s also always been ambitious — in high school he wanted to run for student council president, but never really followed through with his plans. One late night in residence in his first year, Aman was talking to a friend about unfulfilled goals and realized a lack of soft skills prevented him from pursuing his dreams in high school.

Aman is proud of what his club has accomplished so far and is excited to share his experiences with others.

“We didn’t really do much, outside of academics we were really focused on school. And we didn’t really know why,” said Aman. “We all had great ideas ... And we ended up getting to the point that we had all these ideas but we just never took the leadership to do something or take

“We’re able to help others where we struggled in life because all of us, we started in a place where we weren’t able to do all of these things and now we are at that place,” Aman said. “[We] got the sense of gratification and satisfaction that we’re able to give back.”

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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2016 • 3

news

Indigenous elder’s band ceremony at Senate earns criticism from “community members”

Avila’s state of USC address highlights advocacy achievements

MOSES MONTERROZA NEWS EDITOR @MOSESMONTZ

MOSES MONTERROZA GAZETTE

RITA RAHMATI NEWS EDITOR @RITARAHMATI University Students’ Council president Eddy Avila gave the annual state of the USC speech on Thursday night, encouraging students to be vocal about issues important to them and highlighting the USC’s commitment to advocating on behalf of students.

“Young voices are extremely powerful,” Avila said. “I am incredibly proud to serve a constituency that is dedicated to using their voices for good.”

While the event has been held in the Mustang Lounge in previous years, this year the speech was in the main UCC atrium. A crowd of students, USC staff and councillors gathered to hear Avila’s address.

Refreshments are always available at the annual address but this year the USC went all out and also brought performers Bryn McCutcheon, Mike Williams and Luke V-W to kick off the event. The speech was also broadcasted live on social media.

USC vice-president Jamie Cleary introduced Avila by stating, “He is the USC president, my running mate and more importantly, my friend Eddy.”

At the start of his speech, Avila acknowledged that there may be a disconnect between some students and the USC. “Some students might not care at all [to attend this event],” Avila said. “We cannot ignore the fact that some students are not

Young voices are extremely powerful. I am incredibly proud to serve a constituency that is dedicated to using their voices for good.

EDDY AVILA USC PRESIDENT

connected to what we are doing.

That is very problematic for us.”

Avila said this year the executive has tried to engage students and took on initiatives like council meet and greets and hosting office hours.

“Too often students feel that they are not being heard or not being acknowledged within our institution, whether that’s seeking help for their mental well-being, or after having experienced sexual violence or feeling marginalized on our campus,” he said.

Avila said an overarching goal of the USC this year has been to find a way to enhance the unique experiences of students.

Avila noted his own experiences growing up as an immigrant and Latino are part of the reason why diversity is so important to him. He acknowledged he is the first Latino USC president but said, “It’s 2016, it should not be a feat.”

Some of the advocacy efforts the USC took on this year include creating a partnership with the Canadian Mental Health Association and engaging students to create Western’s sexual violence

policy.

Avila said the USC has been vocal in representing students, even when in difficult situations and have put an emphasis on advocating for students’ mental health.

“We have tried to find them more support,” Avila said. “We know we are still far from ensuring every student on campus has a holistic health, but we are trying to keep taking steps in that right direction.”

Although not in attendance, a letter sent by London Mayor Matt Brown was read aloud by Cleary.

In the letter, Brown congratulated the executive on their work so far and outlining some student initiatives the city is working on.

“This is truly an exciting time as you brief the student body on the USC’s priorities moving forward,” the letter read.

Brown outlined initiatives including investing in a rapid transit system to help students travel, a project turning Dundas street into a flex street and a new downtown apartment that will be ideal for students.

Also in attendance were Avila’s family and friends.

“I’m very proud of him for all the work he’s put in, he’s definitely very passionate about what he does,” said Avila’s twin brother Danny.

“Seeing him on stage addressing the things he cares about, to me, is very heartwarming.”

Avila concluded his speech by saying, “The state of the USC is good.”

An indigenous band recognition ceremony at the October Senate meeting to acknowledge Western’s first-ever indigenous strategic plan sparked protests from “some members of the community” who took issue with it because Western is a secular school, according to Western President Amit Chakma.

Myrna Kicknosway, a visiting Elder to Western, led the ceremonial indigenous opening in acknowledgement of the Senate approving the strategic plan.

Chakma, who chairs the Senate meetings, mentioned the issue at the November Senate meeting last Friday.

“As you recall, we had an Elder come in and bring greetings to us and some members of our community took issue with that because we are a secular institution,” Chakma said during the Senate meeting.

It is unclear who the “members of the community” were in this case and which senator or senators brought forward the concerns.

After briefly mentioning the issues, Chakma refused to allow debate on it or identify who had brought the concerns forward.

“What was done and what will be done is simply in the spirit of showing respect to the community that we’re trying to represent in our many activities at the university,” Chakma said. “So my expectation is that this is a unique situation and this will not be debated.”

Arjun Singh, student senator-atlarge, said that equating the band recognition to a religious ceremony is not a proper comparison.

“Respecting indigenous rights and their autonomy and their history is not equal to a religion, there’s a big difference,” Singh said. “I think that’s a distinction that a lot of my senate colleagues and people on this campus are getting wrong.”

For Singh, the problem is that a lot of older members who have been

What was done and what will be done is simply in the spirit of showing respect to the community that we’re trying to represent in our many activities at the University. So my expectation is that this is a unique situation and this will not be debated.

AMIT CHAKMA WESTERN UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT

senators for a long time “don’t like anything done out of procedure.”

Chakma said that the decision to have the Elder make an appearance was in respect for the indigenous community.

“In the indigenous community, having an Elder bring greetings, blessing, however one may describe it, is part of the process,” Chakma said. “So we’re trying to be respectful of that.”

The purpose of the indigenous strategic plan 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 will be used as a model to strengthen and build relationships with indigenous communities and to nurture an inclusive campus culture by improving indigenous students’ experience at Western.

Western itself was also built on indigenous grounds where three local First Nations — the Chippewas, Oneida and the Munsee, first settled and used as their traditional beaver hunting grounds.

While Western’s main campus is a secular institution, it was founded on religious values as the Anglican Christian Huron University College is the University’s founding institution. All three of Western affiliates — Kings, Brescia and Huron — still continue to be affiliated with Roman Catholic and Anglican churches.

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4 • TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2016

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Western partners with WHO to research postsurgical care GRACE TO NEWS EDITOR @GRACE_KTO Western is set to be the first official “collaborating centre” to partner with the World Health Organization (WHO) to work towards international research in surgical and anesthesia care.

Western’s Medical Evidence, Decision Integrity and Clinical Impact centre (MEDICI) and department of anesthesia and perioperative medicine are partnering up with WHO. Davy Cheng, chair of the department of anesthesia and perioperative medicine at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, expressed that it was an honour for MEDICI to be involved with WHO. Cheng is one of the co-directors of the new WHO collaborating centre.

The goals of WHO are centred around creating a better life for people around the world, with focuses in infectious diseases, women’s and children’s health and healthy environments.

“There are other centres in Canada that are a collaborating centre,” said Cheng. “But the uniqueness of the centre that we have is the collaboration of surgical care and anesthesia care.”

Janet Martin, assistant professor at Schulich, is also a co-director of the project. She said that she and Cheng will be overseeing research on

Solution to puzzle on page 4

surgery, anesthesia and emergency care around the globe. The research will largely be evidence-based and context-based.

“We’re going to be doing research, both locally and internationally, on advances in surgical and anesthesia care,” said Martin. “This is relevant both to developing countries as well as developed countries.”

Cheng said that Western’s MEDICI centre, established with Martin, was able to capture the attention of WHO with the publications of many guidelines and research papers in the area of surgery.

One of their papers looked into 60 years worth of evidence that was accumulated in surgical and anesthesia worldwide, revealing that 21.4 million surgical procedures were performed around the globe. The findings indicated that perioperative mortality risks were only at a decline in developed countries.

The research data was then used

by WHO to look into the challenges of access to surgical care in underdeveloped countries.

Last year, WHO invited Western to submit an application to be one of the collaborating centres, which was granted in July of this year.

According to Martin, lack of access to basic surgical services accounts for 18 million deaths around the world — more deaths than HIV, AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined.

“It’s really fascinating just how big the global burden is,” said Martin. “Not just for mortality but also for decrease in quality of life of people living with conditions that can be easily treated through surgery and anesthetic types of procedures.”

Both Cheng and Martin believe that the lack of basic surgical and safe anesthesia care is a global crisis. The researchers want to work towards making these services better and it’s how they want to make a difference in the world.

HISTORY 2198B Profit, Power and Conflict: A Global History of Oil

Fridays 10:30 AM-01:30 PM

I

n surveying how oil has been shaping our lives and lifestyle as an indispensable lifeline for a century and a half, in this course, students take on the many actors and events that have shaped the global history of oil.

Our in-class and multi-media powered historical exploration covers vast and diverse topics on oil as a lighting commodity in the 1870s, as the strategic fuel for the most advanced and destructive warfare in struggle for world mastery between the Nazi-led Axis and the Allies, as the vital force of auto-consumerism and global aviation (suburbia, expressways, shopping malls, Hollywood and the Grand Prix and Formula One), and last but not least, as the fundamental ingredient of our plastic conveniences (from Tupperware to smart-phones).

JENNY JAY GAZETTE

London’s Uberregulating bylaw will allow surge pricing DRISHTI KATARIA NEWS EDITOR @DRISHTATGAZETTE London city councillors have given the final green light to Uber regulations, set to come into place in early 2017 in the form of a new bylaw.

Last week, the city council, in a 7–4 vote, directed city staff to write an updated taxi bylaw draft to include app-based transportation services such as Uber. The bylaw is expected to come into place by March 2017.

“I think for the most part it’s going to allow for a larger range of vehicles to be operating, I think it’ll be from a student perspective, a consumer’s perspective as providing more choice in the marketplace and I think people are going to appreciate that,” said Ward 4 councillor Jesse Helmer.

The new bylaw will allow transportation network companies such as Uber to use surge pricing within their apps. Uber and similar transport companies will also not be required to install in-car cameras as is the policy for regular taxi companies.

Maureen Cassidy, Ward 5 councillor, said surge pricing is only allowed for companies that use apps so the customer can know in advance exactly how much they

will be charged. This means taxi companies using apps for their services will also be able to use surge pricing.

However, the new bylaw will still require in-car cameras for regular taxi and limousine services.

Cassidy said that because the Uber app allows the exchange of information between the driver and the passenger, councillors felt these features were adequate for security and in-car cameras were not necessary.

“So when you book a ride with a private vehicle-for-hire through an app there is certain information that is exchanged — so you know who the driver is, their driving record, you know a lot of information about the driver and the passenger,” she said.

The bylaw changes has its critics on council with four councillors voting against it.

“Uber operates illegally in the city of London and we need to ensure there is a fair and equitable playing field for taxi,” said Ward 8 councillor Paul Hubert.

Hubert questioned the rule allowing criminal record checks to be done by a third party of Uber’s choice.

“The second point is that criminal record checks shouldn’t

be outsourced to third party providers but should be done by the [London Police Service],” he said.

He also questioned the logic behind requiring in-car cameras for taxis and not for Uber. He believes the cameras are essential to insure the safety of passengers and drivers.

Jamie Cleary, University Students’ Council vice-president, said it is hard to say whether cameras are essential for safety as there is no data on it.

“Anecdotally we’ve heard from a lot of students that personally they might feel safe but I can’t say to certainty because we don’t have any data on it,” he said.

More information will be available in a year’s time when the LPS reports safety data on Ubers versus taxis and the need for cameras, Cleary added.

Once city staff has drafted the updated bylaw, the council’s community and protective services committee will consider it before it goes to the council for final debate and vote.

“I think this shows that London is moving forward,” Cleary said.

“We’re a creative city and we need to be able to support creative ways either to get around and live in the city and also to work in the city and Uber is just one step in doing that.”

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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2016 • 5

news

Western Engineering partners with Ontario Science Centre for “Wild Weather” exhibit HILL DU GAZETTE STAFF @NEWSATGAZETTE

MAAILAH BLACKWOOD GAZETTE These health sciences students are earning a course credit while lobbying the federal government on climate change.

From left to right: Nicholas Terry, Gurvir Kalsi, Giouzelin Mutlu, Rishika Sharma.

Community Engaged Learning offers real-world opportunities in the classroom SABRINA FRACASSI NEWS EDITOR @SABFRACASSI A group of Western health sciences students are presenting their research on climate change’s effects on public health — not in a lecture hall but in the offices of the local MPs. It all started three months ago when the students enrolled in a course that offered a Community Engaged Learning (CEL) component, where community-related services are integrated within the course.

“A lot of the things that we do for school are project based, so we can get the mark, but I think with going and meeting with someone like that it was more than just, ‘Let’s do it for the project,’ ” said Rashika Sharma, a Western health sciences student and one of five students in the climate change group project.

The CEL course component offered at Western is where students are matched up with community partners and are tasked with completing a project. Specific courses can have CEL incorporated in the syllabus and the completion

of the project goes toward earning a credit.

The health sciences students were connected with Mary Blake Bonn, the founder and group leader of the London chapter of Citizens’ Climate Lobby. The focus of her group was to research and discuss the health effects that climate change is having on people.

“I thought that this CEL project would just be a fantastic way to get some Western students to exercise their political will,” Bonn said.

The group worked on researching different aspects of this topic including socio-economic factors, the role of women, the future of climate change and the state of the Alberta tar sands. The group members then went on to lobby the findings to two of London’s MPs, Irene Mathyssen and Kate Young.

Kelly Hollingshed, Western’s CEL coordinator, discussed the real life applications of taking part of this learning experience.

“We see a need for this,” she said. “Students want these experiences in the community, they want to learn outside of the classroom which is what experiential learning

is all about and CEL is one of the options for experiential learning.”

Hollingshed also highlighted that there have been cases since the beginning of the CEL program about eight years ago where students have acquired long-term advantages including important reference letters and continued volunteer experiences.

She also noted that there have been students who gained permanent employment with their CEL employers once the course was complete.

This year there are 40 courses offered at Western that include a CEL component in their syllabi.

However, Hollingshed noted that her team is already receiving requests from professors of all faculties to introduce CEL into their own courses for the next academic year.

The CEL experience is something group member Nicholas Terry will remember for a long time.

“It was exciting because I really felt like I was making a difference and that what I was doing today could lead to change,” said Terry.

“Wild Weather,” an exhibition on the science behind weather occurrences including thunderstorms, hurricanes, summer heat waves and blizzards, is currently running at the Ontario Science Centre with support from Western Engineering.

According to a Western media release, visitors at the science centre can “experience what it’s like to fly a research aircraft through a hurricane, view the destruction caused by tornadoes, follow turbulent cloud formations and lightning strikes, become a citizen scientist in the midst of a raging winter storm and meet a researcher studying the force of wind in the lab.”

The exhibition runs from Oct. 5 to and Jan. 7, 2017.

“They were looking to do an exhibit related to wind, and because Western University is a leading expert with respect to wind, they asked us to be a knowledge partner,” said Joanne Moniz, outreach programs coordinator for Western Engineering.

“This partnership is primarily an outreach partnership, as well as a general public exhibit,” said Moniz.

“It has really allowed us to widen our reach with respect to talking about wind engineering.”

Moniz said that wind engineering has great influence in urban planning with applications that reach into civil engineering and

infrastructure design.

“It’s very much an up-and-coming program, and a lot of our students have shown an interest in wind engineering because of the structures that are being built; highrises, skyscrapers, bridges, city planning in general,” Moniz said.

Moniz said that Western’s two state of the art facilities, the boundary layer wind tunnel and WindEEE dome, has made it a leader in wind engineering and research.

Moniz added that these two facilities are also a rich source of opportunities for students to get involved in wind research.

According to Moniz, this is not the first time Western Engineering has participated in a partnership with a purpose of community outreach. An ongoing example would be the Women in EngineeringHydro One “consortium” involving Western University, three other universities, and Hydro One. “One of the big things coming up for Western Engineering is that we’re hosting a field trip day for grade 10 and 11 students at the science centre,” said Moniz.

The community event provides admission for 200 high school students where they will attend talks by the Western Engineering faculty and George Kourounis, a well-known “storm chaser” and Canadian film producer who specializes in documenting extreme weather and natural disasters.

KYLE PORTER GAZETTE

Most happening party in town: USC council meets this Wednesday RITA RAHMATI NEWS EDITOR @RITARAHMATI This week’s University Students’ Council meeting has a jam-packed agenda as councillors will discuss mental health, sexual violence and changing the nature of committee appointments.

To start off the meeting, three presentations will be given by the USC executive: Western’s mental health policy, Western’s sexual violence policy and the USC’s annual report on all the good stuff the USC does.

As mandated by the Ontario government, all post-secondary Ontario institutions must have a sexual violence policy that has been drafted through consultations with students formed by the new year.

USC communications officer Emily Ross will present the University’s sexual violence policy and then councillors will have an opportunity to discuss it.

“The government is mandating

that it goes through students,” said Isaac Jacobi, USC secretary treasurer. “We’re giving our support for the policy.”

He added that councillors will be able to make recommendations and discuss any contentious issues.

Also on the agenda is efforts to make council appointments more clear and transparent.

Ivey councillor David DiBrina is bringing forth a motion on a standing resolution of council.

DiBrina’s motion states: “The nature of executive appointments are problematic for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to a lack of transparency, accountability and a fair process.”

Currently, many committee appointments are made by the USC executive, which brings into play the potential for favouritism.

The motion asks for appointments to be available to all students with the executive selecting the top five best candidates and then council voting on the representative.

LOGAN LY GAZETTE

Additionally, as per the request of councillors at last month’s USC meeting, constituencies council presidents’ terms of reference has been drafted. Example of constituency presidents include social science and health science presidents.

The terms of reference outlines the responsibilities of a president and specifies the differences

between their role and the role of councillors. For example, presidents have the option of joining a standing committee whereas councillors are required to join a standing committee of council.

DiBrina will also be presenting the USC’s advocacy policy topics on behalf of the advocacy standing committee. They will be discussing mental health and pedestrian

safety on campus and student mobility in London.

The meeting will take place Wednesday night at 7 p.m. in the UCC’s community room (room 269).

Jacobi predicts it will be a long one and we have no doubts about it. Follow @NewsAtGazette for live coverage.

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6 • TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2016

opinions

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Winning isn’t everything, but let’s not pretend it isn’t something This Just In JUSTIN DI CAMILLO COLUMNIST @UWOGAZETTE There are no winners or losers, so long as you have fun.

This is the message we are teaching today’s youth in an effort to protect their feelings, but are we doing them any good by shielding them from reality?

In this ever-growing politically correct world we live in, it seems we are taking more and more precautions to alleviate the sensitive from any negativity.

Competition is healthy, and experiencing it in adolescence allows it to become a tool to drive one to success. In my experience of watching television programs and reading about successful people, one common thread among them is that they did not gain their wealth overnight, rather, it involves a climb to the top. Entrepreneurs constantly get doors slammed in their face and Hollywood stars face rejection before landing their breakthrough role, but the fight to succeed, even after numerous losses is what encourages people to strive for the highest peak. The introduction to competition at a young age and the experience of losing is what helps generate thick skin, a quality that is largely absent in this current generation.

Utilizing tactics such as participation awards to make everyone feel like they’ve won is very common nowadays, but this false lesson that everyone is a winner is absolutely counterproductive. Unfortunately, in life there will always be winners and losers. However, learning this at a young age is critical for character development as it not only helps you strive for achievement, but it will also teach you to cope with failure. While feeling support is certainly something everyone should have, an overly-sheltered environment that shields individuals from having to deal with failure is not helpful.

It does not teach you to overcome these encounters but rather puts a blanket over them as if it never occurred. A strategy that will not help you grow.

Having joined intramural dodgeball this semester, my team had first-hand experience with losing — lots of it. Following a string of losses, a six-game losing streak to be exact, my team and I were frankly feeling pretty crummy. Being at the bottom of the leaderboard is obviously not where we wanted to be. It seemed that some of the team was starting to lose hope, succumbing to the inevitable fate that the team would just continue this trend.

As we lined up like lambs to the slaughter, ready to face the final team of the night, we experienced a true underdog story. Despite the losing seat being familiar and ready to be occupied by us once again, we played our hearts out and managed to pull off our first win. At that moment, something magical happened. As corny as it sounds, each member of the team felt something inside and the fire to win burned stronger than ever.

True joy filled the court as we high-fived each other with pride.

Yes, this short-lived moment of bliss ended after the opposing team crushed us in the next two rounds, but that is not the moral of this column. In order to truly appreciate the gratification of a win, the experience of losing is vital. Had we not been in such a dismal position from the previous month of losing or if the games had been purely recreational, perhaps this moment would not have been as sentimental. Even the referee couldn’t help but crack a smile, sadly knowing how much we had gone through each week.

In the real world, away from the sheltered environment of participation awards and safe spaces, are endeavours that will not always herald the outcomes you seek.

Competition is a good thing. It improves teamwork, motivates success and it feels great to win.

But it in any arena where winning is an option, losing is too, and that is something that children (and adults too) ought to remember, rather than pretending that failure does not exist.

KYLE PORTER GAZETTE

In defence of Marie Henein

BY AMY O’KRUK

Last March, the Jian Ghomeshi trial was in full swing.

Henein summed it up last March.

It was nine days before he would be acquitted of all counts of sexual assault, and Marie Henein was at Western Law.

“It is the lawyer who is at the vanguard of every fight for individual liberty, every fight against injustice, however unpopular the cause,” she said. “It wouldn’t be a fight if it was popular.”

I tried to slip into the lecture hall, but not even standing room was left — I settled in to watch the video stream in a nearby room. I was covering Henein’s keynote speech for The Gazette, and although I was mildly curious about the spectacle surrounding the Ghomeshi trial, I’ve never had a run-in with the law, nor do I have plans to pursue a career in it.

Many times in the months that followed I felt inspired by Henein.

But I’ll get to that in a bit. Last week the St. Francis Xavier University’s student newspaper, The Xaverian Weekly, published an opinion piece about the lawyer. In the article, the writer Jasmine Cormier denounces her university’s decision to live stream a presentation Henein will give at Bishop’s University in February.

According to Cormier, StFX’s selection of Henein as a guest lecturer serves to perpetuate rape culture.

In a later interview, Cormier said she wrote the article because she thinks StFX’s choice to feature Henein is “a disservice to students who are victims of sexual violence, who should feel safe coming forward.” For Cormier, Henein’s role in the Ghomeshi trial reveals the lawyer’s disregard for victims of sexual violence.

Cormier’s article misses the mark.

To say that Henein’s cross-examination of Ghomeshi’s alleged victims amounts to victim blaming and manipulation is to fundamentally misunderstand the role of a Canadian defence counsel and the rights of the accused.

The accused have the right to be defended by a skilled and capable advocate, and the defence counsel’s job is to collect evidence and put the truth to the most vigorous tests. Criminal cases presume the innocence of the accused because our legal system’s painfully human — it’s fallible.

At its root, Cormier’s argument distorts Henein’s involvement in the trial, stating that defending someone accused of sexual assault is as good as supporting sexual assault itself.

Comier isn’t the first one to vilify the lawyer. Many others have accused Henein of “betraying her sex,” prompting her to respond to the criticism on the CBC’s The National at the end of last March.

And although I, too, think the trial’s outcome is a deterrent for future sexual violence survivors who’ve now been exposed to the slim chances of a conviction, pinning the blame on Henein draws attention away from the real problem. It isn’t Henein who failed sexual assault victims — it’s our legal system.

If Cormier wants to create safer environments for sexual assault survivors, then she should change her tactic to promoting Canadian law reform. One suggestion’s been to create a specialized court to deal with sexual assault cases, like those designed for young offenders or those with mental health problems.

Going after Henein won’t make future sexual assault cases easier for victims. As many have argued, Canadians are faced with a legal system that’s inherently unable to handle the unique challenges of sexual violence cases. This is what deserves challenging.

And to any students — especially the women — wondering if Henein’s speech will be worth watching in February, I hope you tune in.

Leaving her lecture at Western last March, I felt bolder.

Here was a woman who refused to be torn down.

Here was a woman who introduced a simple and uncomfortable idea to me: It’s okay to not only occupy a space but to own it — no apologies necessary.

Women, you need to step up your game Hala At Your Girl HALA GHONAIM OPINIONS EDITOR @HALAGHONAIM Women, before you point fingers, make sure your hands are clean.

Although we rally for equality, society continues to overlook a woman’s mental capacity in favour of her outer appearance. With patriarchy dominating today’s narrative, you’d think women would naturally band together when the world is against their tide. But, unfortunately intra-group hate is real – greed, jealousy and irrationality get the best of us.

Less than two weeks ago, a 29-year-old Toronto native became the first hijab-wearing news reporter to anchor a major evening newscast in Canada. Months prior, a 22-year-old American woman made international headlines after she was featured in Playboy wearing a hijab in modest attire. As an aspiring Muslim journalist, these two young women are inspirational figures to me. However, the influx of backlash coming from people, and especially, women was astonishing. Whether it was high-profile women releasing responses imposing their definition of feminism, or online trolls hating on the technicalities such as looks or minuscule details, negative remarks were spewing from every direction.

Recently, I’ve noticed a lot of women posting statuses of female

support on Facebook, or sharing events meant to empower women.

However, when it comes down to it, women resort to selfishness, when they can’t afford to do so. Our society continues to pit us against each other, but this is a notion that we can choose to reject. If we want to see women in better leadership positions, we need to stop questioning each others’ intentions and start unconditionally supporting each other.

I’ve recently started feeling the wrath of woman-on-woman hate after four years of prepping my resumé for the tedious job hunt.

When the good news rolled in for me, my long-term female friends weren’t too eager to congratulate.

Jealousy has surpassed material possession, and it’s growing through career and status-driven hatred.

I understand we’re taught to compete with one another from an early age, but there isn’t room for unhealthy woman-on-woman greed in a man’s world today. We need to suppress any negative feelings that surface and actively make the effort to go above and beyond to help women succeed.

Women need to re-evaluate their definition of support and transform that into a celebration of women’s accomplishments.

We need to question the type of abstract feminism seeping into everyday conversations. We hold panels, discussions and lecture series to shove this idea down people’s throats. We work so hard to remind people of our existence, but we talk more than we make make physical efforts.

Unfortunately, many women

bathe in the idea of supporting other women, but fail to pass the physical challenge. We need to disjoint ourselves from abstract ideas that we’re selling and take time.

There is a dire need for female support groups in physical spaces, and small acts of solidarity such as complimenting women on their accomplishments, rather than looks, can go a long way.

It’s one thing to attend a panel series about women in power, and it’s another thing to push selfishness aside for someone else’s good. Competition is healthy, but we need to collaborate our efforts to help women succeed in leadership positions.

Although feminism has brought people away from linear gender norms, it’s time for women to practice what they preach.

• www.westerngazette.ca

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2016 • 7

feature

Local food movement takes root in Forest City

COURTESY OF DYLAN DAKOTA

ELLIS KOIFMAN CULTURE EDITOR @ELLIS_KOIFMAN Talissa Watson has bags and bags of frozen fruits and veggies in her freezer.

Growing up in Caledon, Ontario, the second-year social science student’s backyard bordered on farmland. She saw her neighbouring farmers put in long days and the effect that imported produce had on their livelihoods.

For Watson’s family, eating local just made sense.

“Smaller farms are being run by people that you can relate to because they’re in your area; their family is just like you and they’re trying to support the local foods movement,” Watson says. She remembers the bundles and cartons of local kale and strawberries her family would buy toward the end of the season, freezing them to eat throughout the winter.

At university, Watson does her best to keep supporting the local movement. She’ll grab local, frozen produce when she’s back in Caledon and keeps pre-cut vegetables on-hand, like squash or celery, so she can throw them together for a quick meal.

But Watson’s not the only champion of the local food movement — it’s something that has picked up momentum in London in recent years. The movement is about connecting a community’s food producers and consumers to help create sustainable food networks. The added bonus is the local food movement helps the community’s economy, health and carbon footprint too.

In fact, Western students have probably experienced the movement without realizing it. Terms like “plant-based,” “organic” and “farm to fork” are all tied to the movement and are popping up on more menus and signs every day.

But is the local food movement just another fad, or a trend that’s here to stay?

The local movement The Western Fair Grounds are transformed.

People from all backgrounds squeeze into the Convention Centre.

Vendors’ products range from local Portobello burgers to Booch, a London-based Kombucha iced tea.

It’s a sign the local movement has taken root in the Forest City. At the November event, over 7,000 came out to the festival — including 1,000 in the first 15 minutes — to celebrate veganism, farm to fork and food wellness.

For third-year psychology student Sally Zheng, VegFest was her first encounter with the local movement.

“Eating locally, I think most of the vendors promoted that,” she said. “You get to know where your food is coming from, and you’re also benefitting the people who grow it.”

But Zheng wasn’t the only one whose eyes were opened by the festival. After leaving last year’s VegFest, Glenn Whitehead knew change was coming.

“It was last November, and I turned to my wife, and I said, ‘Wow,

I don’t know what I’m going to do in this vegan moment, but I’m going to do something,’” he says.

A few weeks later, Whitehead bought the space that would become Plant Matter Kitchen — a popular vegan comfort food restaurant in Wortley Village. Whitehead says the restaurant gets all of its ingredients from dozens of local businesses, which deliver boxes of fresh produce, oils and more into the open-concept kitchen that is in full view of the customers.

“There is a shift happening in people’s food and people’s choices,” he says. “Whether it’s health, social, ethical or environmental — all of the different reasons you might be a vegan — they’re all valid.”

Beyond Plant Matter Kitchen, London’s local food movement has grown rapidly. The Only on King helped kick things off a few years ago by introducing a locally-sourced menu and since then other restaurants, like Glassroots, the Root Cellar and McVegan food truck, have followed suit.

For Glassroots, it’s also about serving up nutritious options, according to co-owner and chef Yoda Olinyk — and the research backs her up. Studies suggest vegetables can lose their nutritional value immediately after being picked and during storage.

And although many students’ go-to will always be frozen pizza, other undergrads are latching on to these new locally-sourced restaurants. Since Glassroots and Plant Matter Kitchen opened this year, Western’s Vegan Society’s has hosted joint events with both restaurants.

“I feel like students care about the local movement,” Zheng said.

“It’s brought to their attention, but they don’t know how to get involved.”

The buzz behind the buzzwords Buzzwords may be part of the reason why student engagement with the movement is slowly picking up steam.

With restaurants offering local certified angus beef, and independent restaurants like Glassroots offering local tomatoes, it’s easy to question what “local” really means.

As it turns out, there’s no clear definition for the word — at least in the culinary world.

“You could say the word local and it could literally mean it’s from Canada,” Olinyk says. “For me the word local means somewhere than I could drive to in less than an hour, going to the farm yourself or getting the farmer to deliver it.”

Olinyk added that one of the local food movement’s struggles happens when restaurants jump onto the bandwagon and use buzzwords, like farm to fork and locally-sourced, without actually buying their food from somewhere nearby. She says the only way to know is for customers to ask.

Places like Glassroots and Plant Matter Kitchen are happy to give customers the rundown. Glassroots will even give customers their farmers’

numbers to call up anytime.

“We source from probably no less than 20 or 25 local companies as opposed to getting one truck to deliver everything every day,” Whitehead says. “It’s a lot of extra work, but it’s important that we have relationships with all of those small local London businesses and the people they employ to create a community and a better London.”

It’s companies that ambiguously brand items “local,” like discovering your local beef is actually from Alberta, that get in the way of a clear meaning and true value behind the word “local.”

The Western movement But the local food movement isn’t limited to off-campus locations.

On campus, Western University isn’t tossing buzzwords around — it offers everything from its own honey to exclusively local apples.

Western’s Hospitality Services recognizes the local movement is growing and here to stay. Every summer, they hire a master’s student in environment and sustainability to vet what kind of food Western is purchasing and where that food is from.

Most notably, Western’s “GREEN dining option,” the Green Leaf Café, gets many of its ingredients from within about 40 kilometres from Western. In fact, the café even sources its honey from an on-campus bee garden behind North Campus Building — a hyper-local source.

“If you look at what we’ve done since 2007, it’s staggering,” said Anne Zok, a Hospitality Services nutrition manager and sustainability committee member. She said in 2012, the Ontario government’s Local Food Fund project did an assessment of Hospitality Services that found up to 40 per cent of their food was locally sourced.

“Since then, we have grown that,” she said, adding their turkey and beef now come from Hayter’s and Norpac, both near London. “When it comes to local I think we’re doing pretty well.”

This past year, the environment and sustainability master’s student convinced Hospitality Services to pledge to purchase only local apples.

While this reduces the variety, they believe students are receiving healthier apples as they are grown for optimal nutrition rather than storage time. Residences are also making an effort — Saugeen has an urban cultivator, an incubator that stands on a counter and can grow sprouts, herbs and lettuce in plain view.

For Watson, buying local food is all about strengthening your community — she says it goes back to caring for people that are nearby and even far away through advocating for fair trade.

“For me, it’s a better choice because buying local is supportive of our Canadian agricultural infrastructure,” she says. “I don’t believe that you should look down on someone for not living this life, but I feel a lot more people would choose it if they learned a bit more about the local food movement’s importance.”

COURTESY OF FOOD AND HOSPITALITY SERVICES

DYLAN DAKOTA GAZETTE COURTESY OF DYLAN DAKOTA

COURTESY OF DYLAN DAKOTA

www.westerngazette.ca

8 • TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2016

sports

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Men’s hockey earns a win after losing streak CHARLIE O’CONNOR CLARKE SPORTS EDITOR @CHARLIEJCLARKE After a tough seven-game losing skid, the Mustangs men’s hockey team finally bounced back on Friday with a 6–3 win over the Laurentian Voyageurs. In front of more than 1,500 in attendance for the traditional school day game, Western’s offence rediscovered their scoring touch.

“We really needed a win tonight,” said captain Matt Marantz, who sealed the deal on Friday with an empty-net goal.

The Mustangs were defeated again on Saturday night by Nipissing, but breaking the streak made it a positive weekend overall. The slump was the worst in recent Western memory, with coach Clarke Singer claiming that the program hadn’t seen a stretch like it in 18 years.

A dry spell like that takes a heavy toll on a team, who at times seemed unlikely to ever catch a break.

“Throughout the games we lost we did lots of good things,” said Singer. “We lost one in a shootout, lost one in overtime, took Carleton right to the end. I thought we deserved better during that streak but still they were losses. I think it was piling up emotionally on us.”

There were times during the last month where the Mustangs

almost seemed cursed. They managed over 30 shots in all except for two of their losses, but had just 10 goals during the entire stretch. It was only a matter of time until the floodgates opened, and open they did on Friday morning.

Western jumped out to a threegoal lead in the first period against Laurentian, who battled back in the second to tie it at three. The Mustangs’ offence was clicking all game, though, as they wound up with six goals on 31 shots.

Winger Luke Karaim scored twice for the home team, also adding an assist, and was named Mustangs Athlete of the Week on Monday for his contribution.

“We’ve been doing good things and we really played with the energy today that the kids brought,” said Karaim. “Didn’t know what it felt like to win for a while but it certainly feels nicer.”

Coach Singer was happy to see his team play more aggressively in the offensive zone on Friday.

The Mustangs have been able to score off the rush this season, but securing possession and cycling the puck has been a problem.

Despite the majority of Western’s goals still coming off high-speed rush plays, the team was more able to chase down the puck in Laurentian’s end.

“Often times when we have to go get the puck we’re not great at forechecking,” said Singer. “A lot

AARON MALLETT GAZETTE

of goals we created weren’t off the rush, they were off down-low plays, cycling it, moving it to the D.” Goaltender Luke Peressini recorded his first Ontario University Athletics win after struggling to start his career as a Mustang. The team awarded him the game puck after his 23-save performance as

he finally found the win column.

Continuing to score will be key for the Mustangs, for whom defence has not been an issue this year. Despite a young core of blueliners, Western has done well in their own zone. Now that the forwards have shown they can put the puck in the net, the team’s fortunes

may turn around.

The Mustangs have a lot of work to do, hanging on to the eighth and final playoff spot in the OUA West by a single point, but have a long season left to play. They’ll play two more games before the winter break, followed by 11 more in January and February.

Sorrows continue for men’s basketball MIKE DEBOER SPORTS EDITOR @MIKEATGAZETTE

JENNY JAY GAZETTE

Women’s hockey suffers 8–1 loss CLAIRE PALMER SPORTS EDITOR @CLAIREATGAZETTE Women’s hockey dropped an 8–1 decision against the Windsor Lancers at home this Sunday. The team closed out the first half of their season at .500, and are 5–2–6–1. In their last five games, they have three wins and two losses.

“Windsor wanted to win more than we did,” said Mustangs head coach Kelly Paton. “We need a little more effort and compete level in order to compete hard.”

The team ran into trouble early on in the game, going down 2–0 by the end of the first period. The Lancers set the tone for the game, and dictated the pace of play for the rest of the game.

“I thought the first 10 minutes of the period we pushed back a little bit,” said Paton. “When they got another one on us, that took the wind out of our sails.”

The Mustangs get away from them in the second period, as the Lancers added three more goals to their lead before the Megan Taylor wormed her way onto the score sheet, scoring on the power play and ruining the shutout for the Lancers.

The Lancers added to their lead a minute later, closing out the period with a 6–1 lead.

“Heading into this game, we

weren’t quite ready I think,” said Taylor, a fourth-year forward. “We had a lot of missed opportunities at the beginning of the game that we should’ve buried.”

A goaltending change halfway through the game did nothing to solve the Mustangs defensive woes.

After Katie Jacobs allowed three goals on 17 shots, Tareya Webster got the nod to finish the game, allowing five goals on 12 shots.

Of the eight goals scored against the Mustangs, two were on power play goals. The third period proved to be a bit better defensively for the Mustangs, as they held the Lancers to nine shots on net, while Webster only allowed two goals.

“We didn’t really do much to support those guys we left them out to dry a couple times,” said Paton.

“Sometimes making a goaltending change midway through game switches the momentum back our way, but you can’t fault them for any of the goals.”

The Lancers goaltender Molly Jenkins played phenomenally, turning away 23 of 24 shots on net. Her ability to make key saves kept the momentum with the Lancers, and did not allow the Mustangs to crawl their way back into the game.

“We’ve been playing this well for a while and we’ve had some struggle in goal,” said Windsor head coach Jim

Hunter. “Today early in the game we had a couple saves and it just gave us an opportunity to get going.”

After playing Waterloo the day before, earning 2–1 win in double overtime, the team looked tired.

The Lancers skated circles around the Mustangs, catching them flatfooted on several occasions.

“We took away the neutral zone, they like to put in the puck in the middle of the ice and we stepped up the pace,” said Hunter. “We kept the puck out of the neutral zone, and kept the pace up and took the speed away form the neutral zone.”

The team is currently sitting in fifth in the OUA, with seven wins and seven losses. With a new coach at the helm, and without a definite starting goalie, the team is still looking to find its stride. The team has built a bit of momentum off of their three game winning streak prior to this game, and are looking to build steam in the second half of their season.

“Outside of this game, I think the last three games we played we’ve built some momentum for ourselves,” said Paton. “We’ll try to use those as a good example moving forward. Nice thing is that we have the second half to kind of build forward.”

The season resumes on Jan. 7, when the team takes on the Ryerson Rams at home.

The Western Mustangs men’s basketball season of heartbreak continued on Saturday afternoon.

Their road matchup with the Waterloo Warriors was supposed to be the game to get the team back on track after a double overtime loss to the Laurier Golden Hawks that saw the Mustangs miss two easy layups that would have won the game.

The Warriors were supposed to be the perfect opponent to face in order to turn the Mustangs season around. But as Waterloo’s Ben Davis hit a shot with time expiring in the fourth quarter, the Mustangs fell to 1–5 in what has become routine difficult defeats for head coach Brad Campbell’s squad.

The Mustangs keep finding ways to lose games. An 82–81 loss to Waterloo might be the most difficult of them all.

For captain Eric McDonald, the only fourth-year on the team and one of the squad’s co-captains, the Mustangs’ struggles have been difficult to watch on the bench. He’s been out of the lineup with an injury since Nov. 12.

“It’s been unbelievably hard to watch the start of this season from the bench,” said McDonald. “This isn’t how I imagined my last year would be going but it’s letting me work on being more of a vocal leader and seeing things a little differently than I would if I was on the court.”

“It’s tough to stay patient and wait for my time to get back out there,” he added. “I can’t wait to get back on the court, this has been incredibly frustrating.”

Again the Mustangs found an offensive spark from Eriq Jenkins who has been outstanding as the

go-to scorer for a team that lost its program cornerstone and all-time leading scorer in Greg Morrow after last season.

Jenkins had 22 points, nine rebounds, five assists and five steals in the Mustangs’ losing effort. He has been lethal offensively throughout the year, averaging 17.8 points per game and 6.5 rebounds per game.

Along with Jenkins, Jedson Tavernier scored 14 points against Waterloo on 55 per cent shooting for the Mustangs. Tavernier, currently in his third year of college basketball, is frustrated but also optimistic that the team can begin playing with a chip on their shoulder.

“I do feel optimistic about the remainder of the season because I know that once we clean a few things up we will be able to finish these games and get some W’s,” said Tavernier. “I think that being so close and having things go wrong in the final moments of games makes our team hungrier and willing to do whatever it takes to get over this hump.”

While it’s easier said than done, losing the first and fourth quarters to the Warriors shows how difficult it is for the Mustangs to put together a full 40-minute effort.

“We’re starting to execute a little better on offence which is a good sign so we just have to continue to work on the little details that will help create a bigger lead at the end of the game so we’re not constantly fighting for a win in the last minutes of the game,” said McDonald about what it will take for the Mustangs to turn their season around.

“We’re a young team and we’re learning the hard way but we have to focus for four full quarters to win in this league.”

• www.westerngazette.ca

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2016 • 9

sports

Women’s volleyball overpower McMaster CLAIRE PALMER SPORTS EDITOR @CLAIREATGAZETTE The tenth-ranked women’s volleyball team in the country capped off the first half of their season 8–0 after defeating the third ranked McMaster Marauders on Saturday.

The Mustangs took the game in straight sets 25–21, 25–22, 25–17.

“We’re 8–0, you can’t really ask for more than that,” said Mustangs head coach Melissa Bartlett in a post-game interview. “We’re happy to be leading the West division heading into Christmas.”

The team was helped to victory by the strong performance from third-year right side Aja Gyimah, with 13 kills and two blocks, posting a .440 hitting percentage. Her strong performance was enough to earn her female athlete of the week.

“They did everything that we expected them to do, we just executed our game plan perfectly,” said Gyimah after the game. “We wanted to block across the dig line, so that the hitters hit where they want to hit, but then stick a defender there so we can just dig it up.”

The Marauders proved to be an equal match, taking early leads in the first two sets and forcing the Mustangs to come back both times.

During the second set, McMaster held a commanding seven-point lead, before the Mustangs took the set 25–22.

“Melissa just told us that we’ve got to take them 2–1 every point,” said Gyimah. “Every two points for

FAYADH AHMED GAZETTE Mustang right side Aja Gyimah (#18) jumps to spike the ball in a previous game this season against Lakehead.

every one they score, and not to give up and keep fighting.”

Despite the point deficits, the Mustangs played a tight game, making a mere 13 errors over the course of three sets in contrast to McMaster’s 23.

“There’s some situational times where we made some errors, we had a few serve receive errors as well,” said Bartlett. “But we were able to pull ourselves out of them faster than we have in previous matches.”

The team was well prepared for the McMaster squad, who were previously undefeated until the Mustangs handed them their first loss of the season. The Mustangs exploited the Marauders’ shallow defence and played to their few weaknesses.

“I think as attackers heading into set two, we said ‘hey, let’s remember what our offensive game plan is,’ ” said Bartlett. “Aja [Gyimah] had a great offensive match, really exploited that deep corner spot.”

This game marks another chapter in the heated McMaster-Western rivalry in women’s volleyball.

McMaster has consistently been ranked higher than the Mustangs, despite the fact that the purple and white have eliminated the Marauders from medal contention two years in a row in the playoffs.

“Because we’ve always been headto-head with Mac, it’s a big accomplishment for our team, especially doing it in three,” said Gyimah. “It

feels like were sticking it to USports, and showing them that we should be higher ranked than we are.”

The team will have to face off against McMaster one more time this season — Jan. 21 at McMaster.

Every win and every point counts against McMaster, as it might affect on which team gets to host the final four come February.

The team will resume their season on Jan. 15 when they hit the road to take on the Windsor Lancers.

www.westerngazette.ca

10 • TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2016

culture

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Unravelling the dark dystopian craze JEN TOMBS GAZETTE STAFF @GAZETTECULTURE

COURTESY OF THE GRAND THEATRE

Reimagining The Wizard of Oz at the Grand Theatre MOSES MONTERROZA NEWS EDITOR @MOSESMONTZ GGGGF Most of us know the story of The Wizard of Oz; the characters of Dorothy, Tin Man, Scarecrow and the Cowardly Lion, as well as the song “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” are etched into our minds.

But seeing this nostalgic story played out live and on a theatre stage is a completely different experience: It’s much more immersive. Director Rick Miller, who previously worked on Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, makes the experience unique by adding a clever multimedia aspect to the show.

Through projections, film manipulation, live video feeds and illusions, Miller recreates the 1930s Hollywood glam look in a way that’s amusing, fun and beautiful. With projection screens the sets are diverse, ranging from sepia-toned farmlands to vibrant and colourful settings like Munchkinland, coupled with great performances, this show is an all around happy-go-lucky experience.

Michelle Bouey, who plays Dorothy, brings all of the charm and enthusiasm that you would

expect from the character. With a soft and warm singing voice and a childish disposition, she fits the part like a glove. Her companions, Scarecrow, Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion, played by Kyle Blair, Marcus Nance and Bruce Dow respectively, offer wonderfully accurate performances of each character.

When playing Scarecrow, Blair stumbles, wriggles and dances like he weighs nothing. Tin Man clinks and clanks whenever he moves his rusted arms and legs, and the Cowardly Lion hilariously parades around the stage like a big cowardly stuffed animal.

Toto, an actual dog actor played

by Neddy Shevchenko definitely stole the show, attracting “ooh’s and ‘aww’s” from the crowd whenever he scurried across the stage and into Dorothy’s arms.

While most of the performances were nearly flawless, the Wicked Witch of the West, played

by Carly Street, suffered a few slips and mishaps along the show. It was difficult to tell whether Street was trying to play an awkward and funny villain, like a Dr. Evil or a Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz, or whether she was simply messing up lines.

In terms of the blocking, choreography and singing, everything was sound on all fronts. In

general, the show ran smoothly even with all of the stage effects and projections.

While it’s nearly impossible to recreate The Wizard of Oz in a way that’s new to viewers, Miller still manages to make the show feel new by using techniques that are unique only to theatre, like props, set design and lights.

Miller also switches up the character of Oz, played by George Masswohl, by making him a film director. In a written statement found in the program, Miller says that “Our Wizard is a film director, and the Wicked Witch of the West is his onscreen villain.”

Using Oz in this way, Miller expands on the idea of illusion and self-deceit. Both Oz and the Wicked Witch know how to “get the shot,” as Miller explains in the program, often playing with the camera and acknowledging it.

When the curtain falls, however and Oz is found out to be a fake, it becomes clear just how far off we can be with what we think is true.

The Wizard of Oz is definitely a kids’ show, but looking past the singing Munchkins and the crazy antics, the core message of this American classic still hits home: that what we dream of is ultimately already inside of us.

The Wizard of Oz runs at the Grand Theatre until Dec. 31.

North America has recently seen a boom in dark and apocalyptic films and novels, particularly dystopian stories that feature totalitarian governments, mass surveillance and sinister technology.

The Hunger Games and Divergent, for example, are both hugely popular dystopian novels.

A new addition to the genre is Black Mirror, a television show with an international audience that acts as a kind of internet-age Twilight Zone and recently had its third season picked up by Netflix.

This increased interest in dystopian stories is apparent here at Western. There’s now an English course on girlhood in young adult dystopian fiction and both a film course and a history course on zombie apocalypse narratives.

Perhaps this popularity is because dystopias comment on where we are as a society.

Miranda Green-Barteet, professor of English and women’s studies at Western, teaches the class on young adult dystopian fiction and says she “kind of wonders if we’re not living in a dystopian world right now.”

Dystopias show a “general fear that things are out of control for most people” says MIT professor Tim Blackmore, whose research on war and capitalism tie into elements of dystopia. He says they present a world to us which is very dangerous and sadistic, brutal, and apparently without meaning.

The popularity of the genre could be evidence that this is indeed an anxiety in our society.

After all, 2016 has been a year of unexpected events and political turmoil.

Black Mirror is often remarked upon for the uncanny way in which it predicts the future. A relevant example is an episode that portrays a cartoon character being elected as prime minister based on his crude insults which were seen as a rejection of the establishment. It’s easy to compare this to the shocking results of the U.S. election.

Dystopian narratives feature an “awakening, or epiphany...

that society is imperfect,” says Green-Barteet. Are more readers identifying with this ‘awakening’ in our current cultural and political moment?

In our media and technology saturated culture, this image of the world and our anxieties also manifests itself in what Blackmore sees as “the incredible amount of data that pours through social networks on a daily basis,” adding that this is likely what people are afraid of.

While they often focus on the fear surrounding current technology, dystopias, for all their popularity right now, are part of an older literary tradition — dark, scary tales meant to spook readers.

And, in the end, says Blackmore, those stories teach us that “the world will punish you and it won’t make any sense particularly. You’ll just be eaten by a wolf.”

If this is the world that the stories we enjoy reflect back at us, then our world is a dark one. But despite the fear that dystopian stories create, they also reassure us.

“We see a lot of issues that are going on in our own world in these books and it might be maybe a bit comforting to think it isn’t that bad yet,” says Green-Barteet.

Blackmore summarises the appeal of dystopian narratives, despite the darkness and bleakness that surrounds them. “The function of dystopia is ultimately reassuring, as odd as that sounds… no matter how bad it gets, people do survive.”

With files from Ameena Abid

We see a lot of issues that are going on in our own world in these books and it might be maybe a bit comforting to think it isn’t that bad yet.

MIRANDA GREEN-BARTEET PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH AND WOMEN’S STUDIES

Movember motivates male health awareness DIEGO GONZALEZ GAZETTE STAFF @GAZETTECULTURE As moustaches reach their peak fullness across campus, it’s clear that the annual “Movember” campaign is coming to a conclusion.

Started in Australia in 2003 by a group of friends who wondered why moustaches had gone out of style, they decided to grow out their facial hair for charity the next year. As the years passed, Movember gained more prominence with hundreds of millions of participants.

Over the past month, Western students have been raising awareness and funds for men’s health issues, including prostate

cancer, mental illness and suicide prevention.

“I think [the campaign] is really important because men in general ... don’t like to talk about stuff,” says Chris Kowalski, a graduate health sciences student.

This year, the Movember campaign hits particularly close to home for Kowalski. His father was recently battling prostate cancer.

“He got it checked out early enough that he was able to get an operation,” says Kowalski. “He’s officially cancer free now, for a month now. Hopefully it’ll keep that way.”

While Kowalski understands that people may be aware of what the moustaches represent, he

believes that the true reason men are encouraged to grow their facial hair is being forgotten.

“Nobody looks at what issues are happening. Nobody knows the mental health issues that are also going on, [the issues] that Movember also represents. It’s just purely just [a] moustache… It’s just not at all associated with the actual cause anymore. I think that’s kind of important to keep up again,” Kowalski says.

Other students stress the importance that awareness has in the Movember campaign this month.

Chris Gutierrez, third-year biology student sporting a ‘stache, thinks the visible symbol of support

for the cause is important.

“It might not exactly cause you to donate, but at least you’re aware and it’s in your mind,” Gutierrez says. “I think that’s the main thing… especially as we get older.”

Several organizations around Western are involved in raising support this month, including clubs such as the Cancer Awareness Society and Active Minds UWO. Ryan Henderson, president at Active Minds, an organization that aims to reduce the stigma surrounding mental illness, adds that his organization has had a successful campaign this last month to raise awareness. Men from around campus were photographed and quoted as they explained their

experiences with mental health.

The photos have accumulated over 1,000 Facebook likes.

“We pride ourselves in playing our part to move the conversation around mental health forward for all students,” Henderson says.

Kowalski believes that publicity on its own, in the form of men participating in growing out their own facial hair, is sufficient effort from “Movember” participants if it means men will realize they should be screened for various cancers that may affect them.

With “Movember” wrapping up this week, the campaign at Western has embraced a more holistic view of promoting men’s health and wellness.

• www.westerngazette.ca

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2016 • 11

culture

Is your festive coffee cup going in the right bin?

ANNIE RUETER CULTURE EDITOR @ANNIERUETER1 Sophie Merritt and her classmates pull on gloves and snap on masks as they begin the task of completing a waste audit.

A waste audit involves sorting through the contents of garbage bags pulled from various buildings across Western’s campus. The results are surprising — and likely include your festive holiday coffee cup.

“We ripped through those garbage bags and the main two things we saw were the hand paper towels from the bathrooms and coffee cups — two things that are recycle or compostable,” says Merritt, who is completing her master’s in environment and sustainability.

As the EnviroWestern liaison officer and co-president of the Environment and Sustainability Society, Merritt sees the challenges facing Western’s waste management program.

A coffee cup, for example, is a recyclable item that is still mistakenly thrown into the trash despite being a recyclable ‘container’ in London since 2014.

Prior to the introduction of the coffee cup recycling program, an average of 12,000 coffee cups were disposed of daily on campus, many of them improperly.

“A lot of students maybe don’t know, it’s not in the forefront for them,” Merritt says about students improperly disposing of waste.

Festive cups and contests like Roll up the Rim to Win also encourage consumption of coffee cups on campus. To help combat this consumption, EnviroWestern introduced Refill to Win, which enters

students into a raffle who use a reusable mug.

David Cano, manager of sustainability at Western Facilities Management, explains that Western is currently aligned with London’s waste disposal system. On campus, students are faced with the choice to sort their waste into garbage, recyclable containers or paper. Compost is also available at on-campus eateries and residences.

Cano explains that it can be difficult to get students on the same page.

“We understand that reaching out to current generations, they change every four years and come from different cities and counties that have specific waste management programs,” he says. “So using our standard can be difficult to communicate to students.”

Merritt values the effort made

by Facilities Management to educate students about proper waste disposal. But unfortunately, some of the efforts such as new signage on bins — which includes pictures of appropriate items — have gone unanswered.

While Merritt says many students are open to learning about environmental wwsustainability, she acknowledges that convenience often trumps.

Bringing in a disposable mug, for example, will earn students a ten-cent discount from hospitality services when they purchase a hot beverage; but the inconvenience of washing a reusable mug is less appealing than drinking from a festive holiday cup and disposing of it once the drink is gone.

While other initiatives such as

JENNY JAY GAZETTE

the effort to reduce disposable water bottles on campus have been highly successful, the recycling program is still going through some pilot projects to improve waste diversion from landfills and meet Western’s goal of 90 per cent landfill diversion by 2022.

These pilot programs, such as taller and better-signed waste disposal bins outside Weldon, test to see what students respond well to in terms of accurate sorting.

“We’ve heard from some studies that mention you have half a second between when you are trying to throw something out to the garbage and then actually doing it,” Cano says. With that in mind, there

is limited text on the bins to minimize time spent sorting.

Merritt herself has gone one step further and has tried going waste free. To minimize food packaging waste, she shops at farmers markets using only a reusable bag — no individual bags for each type of produce needed.

“The key for me is that I don’t get any plastics from that,” Merritt says. In terms of cost, Merritt says, “I bought a huge bag of veggies and fruits that lasted me two weeks and that was $20.”

Merritt has also cut off the bottoms of green onions, lettuce and various herbs and successfully planted them in her home, avoid-

ing the cost of having to purchase these items. She has even used old candle holders as planter pots.

“It’s pretty neat,” Merrit says on the quick growth of the plants. “It also makes your food way more enjoyable and you might actually be more interested in eating healthier if those herbs and onions etc. are right there.”

Through continued education and student engagement, students can learn to treat this city more like a home to be cared for rather a place to pass through in four years.

Like Merritt says, “I think its easy changes that can make a significant impact.”

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

Netflix and chill? theGazette BRADLEY METLIN DIGITAL MANAGING EDITOR @BRADLEYMETLIN PROGRAM: Broadchurch STARRING: David Tennant, Olivia Colman SEASONS: Two GENRE: Crime drama SYNOPSIS: Two detectives investigate the murder of a young boy after his body is found on the beach of an idyllic small British town.

MY TAKE: Excuse me while I dab my eyes with some tissue. The final episode of the first season will make you cry — or at the very least, it will make you misty-eyed. Broadchurch is an absolute ride from start to finish.

Tightly written and expertly structured, the suspense extends across the first season’s eight episodes. While the plot is a fairly typical whodunnit format, the emotional oomph is undeniable.

The show does a fantastic job of making you feel like you’re part of the small town of Broadchurch.

These characters feel familiar, like people you know in your own life.

The multi-layered characterizations begin from the first episode, transcending any sort of archetypes.

Broadchurch’s performances are spectacular. Seriously, you could marvel at virtually everyone in this series. Everyone is that good. Despite the strength of the ensemble, one actress stands

above the rest.

Colman’s performance as Ellie Miller is the heart of the show. Her acting in every scene is absolutely thrilling. I could heap every single compliment at her performance and still, I don’t know if would do the performance justice. It’s one for the ages.

Entertainment Weekly has described the show as a “bona fide national obsession” in the UK. If Canadians were smart, we would make it a national obsession here too.

This brings me to the unfortunate part about Broadchurch — they made more than one season. If only everyone realized this is the type of show that should have ended after the reveal of the murderer. Instead, the strong viewership in the UK prompted more episodes.

While it’s not an awful effort, the second season is certainly a step down from the brilliance of the first season. There are certainly parts of the second season that are memorable, but its plot is split between a murder trial (decently interesting) and another periphery murder case (decently bland).

So either stop your Netflix after the last episode of season one or prepare for a bit of a decline in quality.

WORTH THE NETFLIX?: Absolutely.

WORTH THE CHILL?: No. Homicide and tears are not aphrodisiacs.

EMPLOYMENT

classifieds

GYMNASTICS COACHES REQUIRED. Gymworld Gymnastics is expanding into a new facility in North West London. Recreational and Competitive coaching positions available. Great pay, flexible hours and on a bus route. Please reply to Ildi at info@gymworld.ca.

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

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 11

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

SAT. DEC. 3 St. Luke’s Anglican Church, 1204 Richmond St. N at Bernard, Old Fashioned Christmas Bazaar & Silent Auction. 12 noon - 3.00 p.m. Tea Room, chilli lunch available for purchase. Jewellery, books, preserves, marmalade and Christmas baking etc. Enter off Bernard. St. Luke’s is wheel chair accessible.

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

THE CANADA NETWORK IMMIGRATION EARL BLANEY, RCIC. ICCRC MEMBER

• Immigration Agency • International Student Specialist • PR Applications • Ontario Provincial Nominee Applications • Refused Immigration Applications — Reapply • Spousal Entry Permits

519.702.5485

info@thecanadanetwork.com

WESTERN UNIVERSITY DISCOUNT — 15% DISCOUNT TO: STUDENTS, ALUMNI, FACULTY

www.westerngazette.ca

12 • TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2016

games

PHOTO OF THE DAY

CROSSWORD BY EUGENE SHEFFER

JENNY JAY GAZETTE When dawn breaks, students pulling all-nighters on campus are treated to picturesque sunrises over UC hill, reinstating bursts of motivation.

WORD SEARCH

DIABETES WORD CREATININE SEARCH DIABETES DIABETOLOGIST ACUTE EDEMA ALBUMINURIA ENZYME AMYLIN FASTING BOLUS FRUCTOSE BORDERLINE GLAUCOMA CALORIES GLUCOSE CHRONIC GRAM CIRCULATION HORMONE COMPLICATIONS HYPERGLYCEMIA

INSULIN KETONE KIDNEY

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

METER MONITORING NEUROPATHY

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For solution go to westerngazette.ca/solution

Thank you!

Toboggan Brewing Co (www.tobogganbrewing.com) and the Mystery Escape Room (www.mysteryescaperooms.com) for supporting #experiencepurple

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