Tuesday, November 7, 2017

The Gazette

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2017

WESTERN UNIVERSITY’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER

SHIP-SHAPED

The Navy’s reservists in our classrooms MICHAEL CONLEY GAZETTE

TRY THE BEST TOTAL-BODY WORKOUT IN LONDON

BODY BY LAGREE 519.472.0008 • bodybylagree.com • 1215 Fanshawe Pk. Rd

ONE WEEK

FREE

ANYTIME IN NOV. WITH STUDENT ID

CALL US TO BOOK

VOLUME 111, ISSUE 10

www.westerngazette.ca

2 • TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2017

profile

•

BRADEN REAM-NEAL

Volume 111, Issue 10 WWW.WESTERNGAZETTE.CA University Community Centre Rm. 263 Western University London, ON, CANADA N6A 3K7 Editorial 519.661.3580 Advertising 519.661.3579

CHARLIE O’CONNOR CLARKE

OPINIONS RICHARD JOSEPH WESTERN TV COORDINATOR CONNOR MALBEUF

VIDEO LAUREN COLES JOSH MERIFIELD INTERACTIVE MEDIA CONNOR CLARK GRAPHICS SISSI CHEN KIIJA GARGARELLO COPY PATTY HU LUCAS SONKE

GAZETTE ADVERTISING & COMPOSING IAN GREAVES, MANAGER ADVERTISING DIANA WATSON

COMPOSING MAJA ANJOLI-BILIĆ ROBERT ARMSTRONG

HIGH 7 LOW -3

HIGH 7 LOW -2

TODAY

TOMORROW

WESTERNGAZETTE

UWOGAZETTE

@UWOGAZETTE

WESTERNGAZETTE

WESTERNGAZETTE

WESTERNTV

At first, Braden was skeptical about doing this interview. He says entrepreneurship already tends to be glamourized.

“People are doing it more for fame and as a resume pad,” says Braden. “I’m supposed to be solving problems for people.”

His desire to solve problems is what led Braden to create two apps — Flare and Yugo Ridesharing — and help establish the Western Entrepreneur Association.

Braden came up with the idea for Flare in high school, recruiting people to help him code. Flare allows users and organizations to share their events in real-time; they are then displayed on maps, allowing users to browse activities in their area. They’ve partnered with organizations, like the Salvation Army, and two hundred clubs on campus, pulling their Facebook events into the app.

It hasn’t been easy. He notes several failed launches, typical for any startup.

“We’ve launched and failed so many different times now it’s insane,” Braden remarks. “But Airbnb launched twelve times and failed.”

One of these launches was at Ryerson University’s Orientation Week, Flare was initially just a nightlife app, helping students find events at bars and clubs. However, it crashed within two minutes from all of the user traffic.

Still though, Braden was humbled when international students approached him asking when the app would be back up. They said they thought it would help them overcome feelings of loneliness and alienation in a new country by helping them find new events and new friends.

Yugo came to him last summer after a particularly long bus ride back home to Toronto. He and a friend created a ride share business model that could compete with Greyhound. They offer the same prices but allow drivers to pick their passenger up directly at the time they desire.

It’s essentially the long distance version of Uber, but with a flat rate. They hosted seventy rides in their first week and were featured on Product Hunt, a website dedicated to helping users discover new products.

His other most important factor to entrepreneurship is knowing how to manage your time. For him, that means only going to the bars about once a month. He has completely stopped watching TV and, when it comes to watching movies, he skips to parts that look exciting. He says he still finds time to hangs out with his roommates and play Halo.

For Braden, one of the biggest misconceptions regarding entrepreneurship is the idea that one major event would dictate the future of the company, as happens many times in shows like Silicon Valley. Instead, their demise often comes from simple forgetfulness as the aspiring entrepreneur slowly stops putting in the hours and loses their passion for the company.

But unlike these other entrepreneurs, Braden and his problem-solving passion show no signs of burning out. He reminds me with a smile that Flare still has many more failures to come before they become truly successful.

“Persistence is key. Its not about looking for opportunity; it’s about making opportunity find you.”

■■NICK SOKIC

Blast from om the past

6 5

SPORTS MIKE DEBOER

PHOTO MICHAEL CONLEY LIAM MCINNIS MAX MAO

I

He started WEA when he realized that it was often difficult for Western students to get the “kick in the pants” they needed to get their companies off the ground. Last year, their community of fifteen entrepreneurial startups had over ten million app downloads and earned over one million in revenue collectively.

2 3

CULTURE AMY SKODAK NICK SOKIC VIVIAN CHENG

WESTERN TV ASSISTANT COORDINATOR SHANNON MARKS

“We ended up pivoting after that and taking a more holistic approach,” he says. “It’s all about us enriching the student experience.” With that, they realized their goal.

4

NEWS SABRINA FRACASSI GRACE TO MARTIN ALLEN HILL DU KAROLINA JALOWSKA

It’s not uncommon for Braden Ream-Neal to put in his headphones, play loud music and go running at 2 a.m. For him, it’s time to de-stress and think — something that’s essential for the third-year Ivey HBA student, co-founder of the Western Entrepreneur Association and app creator.

1

MANAGING EDITOR OF CONTENT RITA RAHMATI @RITARAHMATI

MICHAEL CONLEY GAZETTE

11 12

MANAGING EDITOR OF DESIGN JORDAN MCGAVIN @JMCGAVIN13

10 9 8 7

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF AMY O’KRUK @AMYOKRUK

The Second World War and campus RITA RAHMATI MANAGING EDITOR OF CONTENT @RITARAHMATI

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.

GAZETTE ARCHIVES Laird Bovaird (left) and Gerald Stoner (right)

While in 2017 most students’ biggest stressor is midterms, during the Second World War, students had much bigger issues on their minds.

The majority of Gazette front covers from 1939 to 1945 included war updates and the effect it was having on Western University students.

An October 1941 front page included several articles about the war. One article highlighted the names of all the Western graduates and alumni — who the Gazette

knew of — that had enlisted in the Second World War. Eight months before that, two Gazette staff members were taken away for military training at Camp Borden. A Gazette article noted that the two students, Laird Bovaird and Gerald Stoner, were outstanding students involved in several extracurriculars.

By the end of the war, many Western students and alumni lost their lives. In December 1945 — one month after the war’s end — Western hosted a memorial service to honour the dead. The ceremony took place in Convocation Hall, with faculty, students and relatives of those who served attending.

• www.westerngazette.ca

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2017 • 3

news

Western’s student naval reservists on training, service and remembrance MARTIN ALLEN NEWS EDITOR @_MARTINALLEN Andre Bienvenu was 17 when he joined the navy. Now 27, he has since served across the country and the continent, married a woman he met within navy ranks and started his education at Western University.

Bienvenu, a third-year accounting student, is a master seaman at the HMCS Prevost. The Prevost is London’s naval reserve base, established in 1941.

“I know people all across the country now — any city I go to, I know people I’ve served with,” he said. “But university has been a way to broaden my intellectual horizons.”

Of 150 members, there are about 20 Western student-reservists at the Prevost, and many of the higher ranks require a completed or in-progress university education. Reservists work part-time in the city and can accept contracts for full-time deployment globally, often to Kuwait and Central America.

Student-reservists are with us in our lecture halls, and while they are our peers, reservists have volunteered for a life distant to our own by a thousand leagues.

JOINING THE RESERVES In their first summers, trainees are shaped in the crucible of basic training. Recruits become service members in the eight-week path to discipline, confidence and structure.

Naval cadet Ben Flesher began the recruitment process a year ago, when he was a third-year biology student working an internship at University Hospital. He said that the prospect of getting a job looking through a microscope “paled in comparison” to working at sea.

Flesher spent four months interviewing and being vetted after he contacted the Prevost’s recruitment office. He said that, of 70 members in his training platoon, about 30 were university students.

Much of basic training occurs at a base in Valcartier, Que. Many recruits train the classroom half of the program in London before going to bootcamp in Québec.

Flesher’s basic training schedule began at 5 a.m. and usually ended around 10 p.m., often with over a dozen hours of training in-between — ranging from physical exercise to rifle training.

Acting Sub-Lt. Jesse De Dreu, a third-year BMOS student at Huron University College, said during some of his basic training in summer 2016, time for the washroom was even regulated.

“It’s still kind of like the movies: they try and break you down and build you back up as a team,” he said. “But you develop very close relationships with everyone in your divisions and sections.”

Flesher said he was burning upwards of 5,500 calories every day; young men usually burn around 3,000. Flesher’s final examination at the end of basic lasted four days with rarely more than 20 minute-increments to sleep throughout.

De Dreu, now a don at Huron’s Southwest Residence, said his military experience, basic particularly, gave him enough confidence and interpersonal skills to “get him out of [his] shell”.

MICHAEL CONLEY GAZETTE Naval Cadets Ben Flesher and Thomas Mingle and Master Seaman Andre Bienvenu at the Prevost (From left to right).

“Usually, you can wait for people to draw you out, but in boot-camp, there’s no time for that,” he said.

A RESERVIST’S SERVICE Post-basic training, a reservist has diverse possibilities for their future: continued training, instruction and deployment are all voyages on which a Prevost member can embark.

Since his own basic training, Bienvenu has become a basic instructor and trained many of the recruits coming from the Prevost this summer.

Bienvenu also has a history of deployment. He worked the navy’s maritime security at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. While stationed in Victoria B.C., he collaborated internationally with different navies and directed personnel on aU.S. aircraft carrier. In 2014, he was stationed on an aircraft carrier in Guatemala and was part of Operation CARIBBE, a Canadian co-operation on a U.S. anti-drug effort, which seized or prevented the trafficking of almost 5,500 kilograms of cocaine and around 500 kilograms of marijuana.

Currently, Bienvenu works in the Prevost two nights a week, preparing and facilitating the reservist’s training.

Able Seaman Hunter Johnson, fourth-year media, information and technoculture student, trains every Wednesday night for three hours — like Flesher, De Dreu and other reservists. Training for different navy futures and career paths varies for each reservist’s trade and rank.

With an interest in media, she has previously worked for CHRW, Western’s student radio station.

Johnson said she was considering entering public affairs positions in the military.

Flesher said he was hoping to be stationed out on a ship within

a few years, and De Dreu said he is considering contract work as well.

Student-reservists can also use their work to finance their tuition.

De Dreu and Bienvenu both said their service also helps pay for school. The Prevost proffers $2,000 tuition reimbursements to some of its student members.

They all emphasized that they benefited from their navy experiences in personal, immaterial ways as well. Since Flesher’s time with the navy’s rigid scheduling, he plans his schoolwork by the day, and, in some cases, by the hour, for his whole year. Johnson, with all the others, said her time in the navy has given her structure in her life and assurance in herself.

“Before, I was unconfident and just floating through school,” Johnson said. “I feel more physically and mentally healthy — and though I’ve gained confidence, I have also been humbled, and I appreciate people who have more experiences than me.”

CONNECTING WITH CANADIANS Bienvenu said that the Prevost has a “Connect with Canadians” mantra, and is working to spread the word about the reserves, with students particularly in mind.

“It’s a time of growth for us. We’re looking to expand our ranks and to attract new people with different skill-sets and from different walks of life,” he said. “Now is a good time to get involved.”

According to Flesher, the Prevost’s eagerness in recruiting was part of the reason he chose the navy over other branches of the military.

Many of of Johnson’s friends did not know Canada had a navy until she told them she was in it.

During Veterans’ Week — Nov. 5 to 11 — many members of the Prevost will wear their naval

uniforms on Western’s campus.

Bienvenu said he encourages anyone who sees them to approach them and ask questions about their navy experience. For these reservists, the 11 holds special significance.

“Having the privledge of serving in the navy for 10 years, I’ve served with countless thousands of people, some of who have made massive conrtbutions to this country that I can’t thank them enough for,” said Bienvenu. “[Remembrance Day] is about saying thank you to those that serve our country and put themselves on the line for us.”

DON’T JUST FIX IT

VAPE & 420

519.601.4700

smokelessjoes.com TUE-FRI 11-8 • SAT-SUN 11-7 208 Piccadilly St., UNIT 4

REPEAR

Repear Technical Services is here to help with any tech need.

From iPhone to Android, Mac to PC, Repear does it all. Affordable service and reliable support will have you feeling at ease with any technology issue.

Repairs

Diagnostics

Training

Upgrades

Data Recovery

Support

REPEAR.CA INFO@REPEAR.CA • 519-281-6425

www.westerngazette.ca

4 • TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2017

news

•

Canadian universities to make demographic data public GRACE TO NEWS EDITOR @GRACEKTOE Canadian universities are going to publicize demographic data about students, staff and faculty as part of a plan to increase campus diversity.

The move comes as part of a five-year Action Plan for Inclusive Excellence aimed at promoting equity, diversity and inclusion in campus communities. University presidents across the country agreed to the plan last week.

Western University’s vice-provost of academic planning, policy and faculty, Kim Campbell said Western has always been committed to equity.

“In our faculty recruitment and retention report, we look critically at the representation of women in the professoriate,” Campbell said in an email. “Our overall percentage of women at Western is comparable to the other ‘U15’ universities ... but we all can do better and have many

procedures and policies to improve the representation of women in the professoriate.”

Campbell reported that women currently make up approximately 45 per cent of Western’s assistant professors but Western’s overall faculty have a much lower percentage of women.

In the 2015 report performed by Equity & Human Rights Services at Western on faculty members, visible minorities comprise 15.7 per cent, Aboriginal persons represent 0.5 per cent and persons with disabilities make up three per cent. The report noted that Aboriginal persons and persons with disabilities are significantly under-represented at the faculty level.

According to a statement released

by Universities Canada, Canadian universities are hoping to attract and retain faculty, staff and students from different backgrounds in order to reflect the diversity of the country on campuses. They acknowledge

MICHAEL CONLEY GAZETTE

the importance of developing and maintaining inclusion at all levels of the university with under-represented groups, such as women, visible minorities, indigenous peoples and people with disabilities.

“The information that we gather through member surveys and federal and provincial statistics will be an important way to measure progress,” explained Pari Johnston, vice president of policy and public affairs at Universities Canada in an email.

“We will roll up this data to present

a national picture on what progress has been made, to motivate further action and to determine what areas need more work.”

An advisory group of institutional leaders will give advice and expertise on the action plan, said Johnston. In the next five years, Universities Canada will survey all member institutions twice — once in late 2018 and again in 2022 — to determine progress and future areas of improvement.

At Western, Campbell

emphasized that a great deal of energy goes towards equitable hiring practices and policies, as demonstrated by Western’s policies and procedures that can be found listed on Equity & Human Rights Services website.

“I think that as a university, we should be reflecting on ideas and research from a variety of lenses,” said Campbell. “I think diversity in our lenses gives our best academic products in terms of people doing their best research.”

London among 14 Ontario cities to sell cannabis in July HILL DU NEWS EDITOR @HXDU638 London has been selected as one of 14 Ontario municipalities to have stand-alone cannabis stores

by July 2018.

Within the next few weeks, the Ontario Ministry of Finance and LCBO will be meeting with City of London staff to discuss the guidelines and process for siting stores.

“I am really interested in what the regulations are going to be about those particular stores,” said Ward 6 councillor Phil Squire. “In particular, how big those stores are going to be and where they will be located.”

Squire added that the cannabis program will be largely managed by the provincial government and is likely to be regulated in a similar way as liquor.

In terms of helping the provincial government implement the program, Squire says London is prepared.

“I think staff will know pretty well what the concerns of the city will be; it’s not the first time we had to deal

with sensitive retail operations,” Squire said. “From our point of view, we will take the normal steps we take with any new business in London.”

According to LCBO’s cannabis updates, a public notice will be posted online and at the physical site once a specific store location has been identified. The public can submit questions and comments to LCBO before the site is confirmed.

Toronto, Mississauga and Ottawa are among some of the other municipalities selected for cannabis stores.

KAROLINA JALOWSKA GAZETTE

I think staff will know pretty well what the concerns of the city will be; it’s not the first time we had to deal with sensitive retail operations.

PHIL SQUIRE WARD 6 COUNCILLOR

FOR THE LONG HAUL. Ethan Kellough stands next to his winning design of Western University’s Canada 150 time capsule on Nov. 2, 2017.

Student designs Western’s Canada 150 time capsule KAROLINA JALOWSKA NEWS EDITOR @KJALOWSK

CROSSWORD SOLUTION Solution to puzzle on page 11

There’s a lot of pressure that comes with designing Western University’s Canada 150 time capsule — you have to create something that will last 50 years.

For Western student Ethan Kellough, this was his task as the time capsule’s sole-designer. The time capsule project celebrates Canada’s 150th by storing messages from staff, faculty, alumni, students and the wider community. This time capsule will be stored at D.B. Weldon Library and will be opened in 50 years.

Kellough, a fifth-year mechanical engineering student, got the chance to design the capsule after he won a contest. The Western-run contest asked engineering students to submit designs for the time capsule.

Kellough’s time capsule is designed to look like the trunk of a maple tree. Silhouettes of maples

leaves are cut into sheets of metal, surrounding the capsule to look like a tree’s canopy. The design represents both Canada and Western because of the maple trees on campus.

“It’s something that both represents Western and the Canada 150 brand,” Kellough said. “The maple tree [marks] the innovations that Western has created and how the encapsulated [items] in the time capsule have contributed to the growth of Canadian society.”

The design of the time capsule had a few constraints: it had to last in the sunlight for 50 years, weigh less than 50 lbs, have an opening of at least five inches across and a few others constraints.

The material of the tree and time capsule itself is made out of aircraft-grade aluminum in order to maintain its light weight. University Machine Services, an on campus machine shop, manufactured the time capsule.

“It took over 100 hours to do the design and complete the design, from researching and coming up with the ideas and then creating the model,” Kellough said.

Unique to the Western time capsule, it won’t be buried underground like traditional time capsules. It will be on display outside of the Archives at Weldon library, visible to students and the community for the next 50 years. The time capsule is currently completed and stored at the Spencer Engineering Building.

“You only get to do stuff like this every so often. Nobody does time capsules or cares about Canada’s 151st birthday,” Kellough said. “This kind of opportunity only comes around every once in a while, so that makes it unique.”

To include your own personal message in the time capsule email community relations specialist Jo Ann Johnston at joann.johnston@ uwo.ca.

• www.westerngazette.ca

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2017 • 5

opinions

have your say The Gazette asked students to reflect on what Remembrance Day means to them

Declan Hodgins

THIRD-YEAR, IVEY “[It means] recognizing what others did for us to save our countries.”

Mallory Thompson

THIRD-YEAR, MEDIA, INFORMATION AND TECHNOCULTURE “[I] remember the soldiers who have fallen: a lot of my family members fought for their countries and made a difference so we could live free and peacefully.”

Taylor Arruda

FIRST-YEAR, MEDICAL SCIENCES “It is the most basic and simplest way that we can show our gratitude towards the fallen soldiers even though it was a long time ago. It is such a horrible thing they had to go through in order to protect us.”

Samuel Wei

FIRST-YEAR, MEDICAL SCIENCES “It’s a time to reflect on what soldiers have done for us and on the sacrifice they have made, especially for not only themselves but also the countries and their loved ones. We should honour their braveness during that time.”

Beth Gulilat

THIRD-YEAR, MEDICAL SCIENCE “It’s our duty as Canadian citizens to commemorate and understand the history behind Remembrance Day and also learn about the history behind World War I and World War II.”

FIRST LAST GAZETTE

MICHAEL CONLEY GAZETTE

‘Zombie bill’ should be sent back to the grave

BY

BY GAZETTE GAZETTE EDITORIAL EDITORIAL BOARD BOARD

An Ontario MPP is set to propose the “Phones Down, Heads Up Act,” which will fine distracted pedestrians up to $50 for crossing a road while using electronic devices. A subsequent offense would rack up a fine of $75 and a third would be $125.

Further, this bill would put the onus on the pedestrians — the victims of the accidents — rather than the drivers. Surely distracted drivers, or better infrastructure, should be the target of pedestrian safety laws. After all, distracted driving is the number one cause of deaths on Ontario’s roadways. In the province last year, the OPP attributed 65 deaths to distracted driving, more than those caused by drunk driving, speeding or unworn seatbelts.

The bill is certainly well-intentioned, aiming to reduce accidents by discouraging distracted walkers.

In 2016, 42 pedestrians were killed in Toronto; a 2015 report found that inattentive pedestrians were “40 per cent more likely to be injured or killed in a collision with a vehicle.”

Then again, maybe enforcement’s not the point: like jaywalking, this is an attempt to provide a legal disincentive for an obviously unsafe practice.

Jaywalking is also rarely enforced, but it still serves as a societally-endorsed warning against crossing in traffic.

However, its intentions are far outweighed by its many flaws. For one thing, it’s too specific: it would make more sense as a bill legislating against distracted crossing, rather than one targeting cellphones or electronic devices in particular. Why is crossing the road reading a book, for example, any better than an iPhone?

In Ontario, 11 out of 95 pedestrian deaths in 2010 involved “people distracted by a cellphone or electronic device.” While that’s not an insignificant number, it’s not enough to warrant this sort of sweeping legislation. The use of taxpayer money, legislative overreach and enforcement obstacles all point to this being a pointless bit of signalling. You can’t legislate every problem away, after all.

If one MPP has his way, using your phone while crossing the road is about to become illegal — but the “zombie bill” misses the mark.

Enforcement of this bill would be nigh on impossible, unless we have an officer on every street corner.

What if you’re looking for directions on your phone or quickly checking a text message? How about checking the time or scrolling through a music library?

It’s unclear what will constitute a violation of the proposed law and how police will determine them.

Yes, it’s primarily meant to send a message: but it’s a message to the wrong people. Return to sender, Ontario. Let’s focus on the people in the 10-tonne, hurtling boxes of steel, not the pedestrians on crosswalks.

Editorials are decided by a majority of the editorial board and are written by a member of the editorial board but are not necessarily the expressed opinion of each editorial board member. All other opinions are strictly those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the USC, The Gazette, its editors or staff. To submit a letter, go to westerngazette.ca and click on “Contact.”

Activism without action is futile Shooter McGavin JORDAN MCGAVIN MANAGING EDITOR OF DESIGN @JMCGAVIN13 Another day, another problem, another hashtag.

As a Faculty of Information and Media Studies graduate, I’m an expert Facebooker, obviously.

I also consider myself a cynic and a realist. So when I see another trending hashtag, anot her

Facebook post or another profile photo overlay, I can’t help but roll my eyes.

I’m not outright condemning “slacktivism” — when people show their support for a political or social cause through small actions online, like signing an online petition or liking a Facebook page. Advocacy is good.

The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge and #BellLetsTalk are examples of social media advocacy that spurred real life outcomes. They’ve both stirred up conversations, prompted action and generated funds.

I do, however, draw issue with slacktivism when it fails to transfer

to the real world — when it fails to amount to anything truly meaningful and solely exists to give us a virtual pat on the back for doing out part. For example, hashtags like #Kony2012 and #BringBackOurGirls — while well-intentioned — were useless in terms of accomplishing anything. Joseph Kony, the Ugandan warlord, is still at large and the 276 girls abducted in Chibok, Nigeria are still either missing or dead.

Participating in slacktivism that doesn’t result in action is like a blanket of false security. We feel good about ourselves because we think we’re doing something to help bring about change — and

something is better than nothing.

Except it’s not.

Slacktivism can create an illusion that the world will be OK, and we as individuals are absolved of inaction. The fact that #BringBackOurGirls was trending across the internet doesn’t mean we can collectively wipe our hands of the issue because of a job well done. In a similar fashion, overlaying the colours of a flag on your Facebook profile picture isn’t going to help end terrorism.

I don’t disagree with using social media as a platform for advocacy. Social media is an igniter; it can spark conversation and debate on issues that need to

be addressed. For issues that only need awareness and dialogue, social media is perfectly suited to nurture these discussions.

However, there needs to be an endgame. There needs to be tangible change at the end of the tunnel — especially in crisis situations. The list of social, political and economic problems runs long, and simply turning them into trending topics on the internet isn’t going to solve them. If we do decide to show our support online, let’s make every effort to follow up with action — whether that’s donating your time or your money to a cause.

Let’s take the slack out of slacktivism.

www.westerngazette.ca

6 • TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2017

feature

Wordsfest 2017 Exploring poetry through sound and performance AMY SKODAK GAZETTE

FOREST MURAN CONTRIBUTOR @UWOGAZETTE One of the most unique events at this year’s Wordsfest wasn’t just about the words — it was about the words and the music.

At Museum London on Saturday afternoon, Tom Cull, London’s poet laureate and Western University assistant professor, hosted the event Sound and Poetry. Cull used the event as an opportunity to “shine the light on up-and-coming poets and artists,” choosing the performers for four acts, each navigating the intersection of sound and poetry.

The four groups assembled were a spoken word soundscape

by Alex Schmoll and Angie Quick, a poetry reading and a drum solo

by Erik Mandawe and Jessica Hay, a fusion of folk music and modernist poetry by David Janzen and an improv composition conceived by Max Lucas and Faith Patrick.

In the first performance, Quick’s ruminations on meaning, beauty and modern identity were hauntingly complemented by Schmoll’s synth-rich soundscape. Ethereal video shots of water were projected on a screen, contributing to the act’s contemplative mood.

Mandawe’s and Hay’s angles were different. The collaborators produced a moving antiphonal poetry performance that centred around a metaphor comparing the Earth, the state and its people to a dysfunctional family. The performance concluded with Mandawe performing a 1968 folk song from the American Indian Movement on a Cree hand drum.

Mandewe, used to musical performances, was attracted to the

idea of working with poetry.

“Music, just like poetry, is a language. Just like the Earth expresses itself through the sound of the river or the wind, we also have many ways of expressing ourselves,” Mandawe said.

Janzen performed three songs on guitar as a part of his Folk Modern project. Janzen’s project was partly inspired by Bob Dylan’s 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature. The seeming incongruity of awarding a musician a prize for literature fascinated Janzen and led him and collaborator Andy Verboom to explore pairing modern poetry with Bob Dylan-esque folk tunes.

The last performance was a mind-bender for the audience.

Lucas and Patrick’s composition, Hands, was part card game, part musical performance.

Throughout the work, Patrick dealt cards to performers. Evoked by the words on the cards, the performers transformed their feelings into music.

“There was a musical goal to the notation,” said vocalist and Western Faculty of Music graduate Christina Willatt. “But for the audience, the performance wouldn’t be the same without the cards. There is a mystery about it.”

Willatt, like every artist at the event, was thinking about the relationship between sound and poetry.

“Language has both an oral and aural quality to it,” said Cull.

“Sound and language always haunt each other.”

Cull’s most recent poetry collection, Bad Animals, will be released soon by local publisher Insomniac Press Inc.

AMY SKODAK GAZETTE

M.J. Kidnie talks Shakespeare NICK SOKIC CULTURE EDITOR @NICKATGAZETTE This weekend’s Wordsfest featured the first public display of Western University’s newly acquired Shakespearean collection, Fourth Folio, published in 1685. This collection of plays, including six that were wrongly attributed to Shakespeare at the time, was on display at Museum London. The display was accompanied by a talk from Western English professor M.J. Kidnie on the book and its importance.

Kidnie, whose research specializes on the plays of Shakespeare and his contemporaries Ben Middleton and Thomas Jonson, let her passion shine during her lecture. Having done plenty of research with computerized versions of old books, such as Fourth Folio, Kidnie reiterated its importance to Western’s scholarly archives.

“Working in rare book collections is certainly one of the joys of scholarly research,” Kidnie says.

“The camera really does lie when you’re doing this kind of detailed work. There’s no substitute for the real thing.”

When it comes to the importance of this particular book, Kidnie puts forth the old adage that beauty lies in the beholder’s eye. Yet, the folio’s status as the fourth edition of Shakespeare’s works means it is

often overlooked by literary scholars in favour of the first or second editions.

In fact, fellow Western English professor James Purkis argues that this folio is the second most important, after the first, as there is evidence it was edited in the modern sense — meaning it received a level of proofreading that did not usually happen at the time. Kidnie relates this to the idea of adaptation — no matter how carefully you copy something, changes will always occur.

Kidnie points to all four folios as being primarily responsible for the mythology surrounding Shakespeare.

“We’re not just talking about content,” Kidnie says. “We’re talking about something that’s really hard to put your finger on, but let’s call it aura.”

These documents helped cement Shakespeare’s status as a literary and theatrical genius.

Kidnie’s talk emphasized just how important the folio is to literary work and to Western itself. It’s in that spirit that Purkis plans to include the folio in his grad course.

Anyone interested in viewing Fourth Folio can visit the Archives and Research Collection Centre in D.B. Weldon Library, room 140.

Registration is required for each visit.

•

• www.westerngazette.ca

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2017 • 7

Guerrilla Poetry takes over downtown London GABRIELLE DROLET CONTRIBUTOR @UWOGAZETTE

While you normally wouldn’t associate guerrilla and poetry, on Nov. 4, just that happened as a small group of poets took over downtown London.

Guerrilla Poetry was part of Wordsfest, London’s annual literary and creative arts festival.

On Saturday afternoon, a small group of London poets gathered downtown and took turns reciting poetry. While some recited their own works, others read aloud their favourite classics.

Jaime Bremes Reyes, Guerrilla Poetry’s event coordinator, has been involved with the event since it first started three years ago. He said Guerrilla Poetry attracted him because he’s from Latin America, a place with a history of social and poetic movements.

“Poetry can be a powerful tool to get people interested in any cause,” he said.

Bremes Reyes believes poetry can be especially important in places like downtown London, where passersby often see aggressive preachers yelling in the streets.

“It’s good to combat that aggression with verse, poetry and

kindness,” he said. “This is all about the community and getting people to come together.”

The group took turns reciting poems in different locations throughout downtown, starting at Covent Garden Market. Despite the cold weather, a small crowd gathered to listen to the poetry being recited.

Joan Clayton, a London resident who has participated in Guerrilla Poetry since it first started, said poetry is a simple tool to share ideas and emotions which is why people are often drawn to it.

“Anybody can write a poem, and I think we all might have a desire to write or to listen to poetry when we’re feeling any sort of emotion,” she said.

This year, Clayton read a collection of her own poetry as well as some of her favourites, including The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe. She said participating in poetry events throughout London has become one of her favourite hobbies over the last few years.

Although many have participated in the event before, Guerrilla Poetry also creates a platform for those who aren’t used to reading their poems in front of crowds.

“I hope this will help me

GABRIELLE DROLET GAZETTE

develop a little bit of courage when it comes to speaking out in public and to making myself heard,” said Catherine O’Neill, who has only recently become involved in the local poetry community.

O’Neill explained while performing poetry in front of people can be intimidating, it’s ultimately a rewarding experience.

“I’m new to London, and in

just the year that I’ve been here, the poetic community has been so welcoming and wonderful,” she said. “I’m very grateful for it.”

Another guerrilla poet Colin Lee is also new to London’s poetic community, even though he’s lived in the city for 17 years. For him, poetry has become a fun hobby as well as a way to meet like-minded people.

“Poetry is telling stories in a different format. There’s just the fun of writing it and reading it and getting to share it afterwards,” he explained. “People might get a chuckle out of these, which is all I can hope for.”

Though the group of poets was small, they brought poetry into the lives of every passerby — even if only for a few minutes.

Indigenous voices take the forefront CARMEN MALLIA CONTRIBUTOR @UWOGAZETTE

SISSI CHEN GAZETTE

For indigenous citizens across the country, Canadian culture has been an artifact of colonial erasure and a painstakingly maintained enterprise of bringing some stories to light, while keeping others hidden in the dark.

Two indigenous writers on the Wordsfest panel, journalist Tanya Talaga and poet Liz Howard, have spent their careers building an infrastructure to communicate First Nations stories that are so often excluded from Canadian history.

On Sunday afternoon, spectators from across Ontario gathered at Museum London to hear Talaga’s and Howard’s stories, who both feel their culture always gets washed away.

Wordsfest acted as the perfect platform for Talaga and Howard to tell both in-depth and abstract stories and to create a serious dialogue surrounding indigenous issues.

All eyes were drawn to the dimly lit black podium where Talaga and Howard took turns reading excerpts from their empowering and unique stories of historical continuity, fear and love.

“These stories are so close to my heritage because it’s important to make sure that all voices are heard,” said Talaga, who was solemn but powerful and energetic throughout her reading. “For a long time, we’ve only been hearing voices from one side of the spectrum.”

Talaga is a veteran, award-winning journalist at the Toronto Star and the writer of a critically acclaimed non-fiction novel, Seven Fallen Feathers: Racism, Deaths,

CARMEN MALLIA GAZETTE

and Hard Truths in a Northern City.

The book, which was released in September of this year, uses sweeping narrative to highlight Talaga’s investigation into the deaths of seven indigenous teenagers, all of whom died between 2000 and 2011 in Thunder Bay, Ont. after being sent there to go to school since education was unavailable in their indigenous communities.

“I always saw what was happening in Thunder Bay as much deeper than regular stories, and it always seemed to me that people didn’t understand the Anishinaabe tradition that’s out there,” Talaga explained using sad but empowering rhetoric as she described the undercurrent of racism that runs though Canadian society.

Following Tanya’s reading, Howard took the stage to deliver four of her illustrative poems from her critically-acclaimed book, Infinite Citizen of the Shaking Tent, a collection of poetry that

illustrates how her upbringing in Chapleau, Northern Ont. has made an unforgettable mark on her identity.

As she read “Thinktent”, a story that delves into the dynamic consciousness between individualism and “the other,” Howard’s fluid use of language and poetic rhetoric alongside her soft-spoken voice drew the audience toward her.

“My own heritage wasn’t revealed to me until I was seven or eight, and over the course of my life, I had to understand what [estrangement] meant to me,” explained Howard. “Poetry was always the medium through which I could work through those feelings.”

Howard has essentially perfected her craft within poetry through her ambitious debut collection, and her work has not gone unnoticed. Winning the 2016 Canadian Griffin Poetry Prize, one of the world’s richest poetry awards,

Howard solidified her name within the poetry world.

Both speakers delivered passionate readings that will surely resonate with viewers and change their views of Canadian history by introducing the indigenous side of the story.

For Talaga, it is important that non-indigenous Canadians understand that there is two sides to every story and that not everyone has a chance to see the truth.

“People don’t know about residential schools. People don’t know about treaties. People don’t know about an entire side of Canadian history that’s been buried and ignored for so long,” said Talaga.

Most accounts of Canadian history have forgotten about indigenous cultures and communities.

However Wordsfest has opened up a platform for indigenous voices, and for Talaga and Howard, indigenous voices within literature are only getting louder and stronger.

www.westerngazette.ca

8 • TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2017

sports

•

WEEKEND RECAP

Women’s rowing, men’s lacrosse crowned champ JORDAN MCGAVIN MANAGING EDITOR OF DESIGN @JMCGAVIN13 It was a strong weekend for the Mustangs. The women’s rowing team won their fifth consecutive national title at the Canadian University Rowing Championships in Victoria, B.C. Back in Ontario, the men’s lacrosse team was crowned provincial champions for the second year in a row.

BASKETBALL (WOMEN’S) The Mustangs women’s basketball team won both their contests this weekend, a pair of home games against the Toronto Varsity Blues and the Ryerson Rams. The Mustangs beat the Varsity Blues 60–59 and the Rams 66–55. They are now riding a three-game win streak as they look

ahead to their next match, a home game against the Windsor Lancers.

BASKETBALL (MEN’S) The men’s basketball team split their games this weekend, losing 53–66 to the Varsity Blues on Friday and then bouncing back on Saturday to tally a win over the Rams with a score of 62–59. Six consecutive points in the dying seconds by Omar Shiddo secured the win. The team is back in action on Wednesday as the take on the Lancers here at home.

FOOTBALL After a bye week, the Mustangs football team was back at it this weekend, taking on the Guelph Gryphons in an Ontario University Athletics semifinal clash. The Mustangs came out victorious, trouncing the Gryphons 66–12. With the win, the Mustangs move onto the 110th Yates Cup where they’ll meet none other

than the Laurier Golden Hawks.

Kickoff is Nov. 11 at 1 p.m. at TD Stadium.

HOCKEY (MEN’S) A shaky 1–4 start to the season improved to 3–4 this weekend thanks to a pair of wins. The Mustangs won 4–2 over Windsor and 3–2 over Laurier. Rookie goaltender Zach Springer played his first two games as a Mustang this weekend and won them both. Springer and the improved special teams helped the Mustangs claim the wins this weekend.

HOCKEY (WOMEN’S) The Mustangs women’s hockey team split their games this weekend. They lost 2–1 to the Varsity Blues on Friday but bounced back on Saturday to beat the Rams 3–2 in overtime. Next is a pair of home games against the University of

JORDAN MCGAVIN Mustangs centre Kolten Olynek squares-up for a face off against Danny Hanlon of the Laurier Golden Hawks, Nov. 4, 2017.

Ontario Institute of Technology Ridgebacks and Queen’s Gaels.

LACROSSE (MEN’S) For the second year in a row, the men’s lacrosse team has been awarded the Baggataway Cup and crowned provincial champions.

The Mustangs beat Queen’s in the quarter-finals, 13–6, then went on to beat the McGill Redmen 14–11 to earn their spot in the championship game against the Brock Badgers. The ensuing game needed double-overtime to determine a winner, but the Mustangs overcame, winning the game 16–14.

ROWING The university rowing season came to an end this weekend as the Mustangs travelled to Victoria, B.C., for the Canadian University Rowing Championships. The women’s team finished first, capturing their fifth

consecutive national title. The men’s team performed well too, placing third overall.

SOCCER (WOMEN’S) The Mustangs women’s soccer team was in Oshawa this weekend for some final four action. The team won their semifinal game against the Gaels, 1–0, to advance to the finals against the Gryphons — the team that handed the Mustangs their only loss of the regular season. Tied at 1 after 90 minutes and extra time, the OUA championship game would be decided by penalty kicks. Guelph prevailed, winning the game 2–1. The Mustangs claimed silver and will now prepare for their game against Laval University in the U Sports championships.

Not included: ringette, squash and wrestling.

MICHAEL CONLEY Mustangs’ Laura Graham moves to block her University of Toronto counterpart during their game at Alumni Hall, Nov. 3, 2017.

Mustangs play like Vanier Cup contenders in win over Guelph MIKE DEBOER SPORTS EDITOR @MIKEDBOER

LIAM MCINNIS Mustangs defensive lineman Jimmy Hawley pushes through the opposing Guelph forces in a semifinal game on Nov. 4, 2017.

There’s a song that the Western Mustangs football team sings in their locker room after wins. It’s almost inaudible to anyone outside of the dressing room — a raucous fight song, a victory ballad that has probably been passed down through the program for decades.

On Saturday, it was as loud as it’s been sung this season. The Mustangs had just dismantled the Guelph Gryphons in a game that was supposed to be close but ended in a 66–12 demolition.

Nobody expected that score. Not the players, coaches, fans or media in the press box.

The win was expected, of course.

The Mustangs are currently the best team in Ontario University Athletics, with an unstoppable combination of relentless defence and dynamic, balanced offence.

But to beat a team like Guelph, who took the Mustangs to overtime on Labor Day, by 54 points is something else entirely. The Mustangs emerged as a legitimate national championship contender after their near-perfect performance.

“It was a complete team victory,” said Mustangs head coach Greg Marshall. “I’ve coached football for a long time, and I don’t think I’ve seen as dominant a defensive

performance as that game there.

I’ve seen them, but not against good offences like Guelph ... It was as good a game as I’ve ever seen.”

This coming from a coach who has won nine Yates Cups as a head coach at McMaster University and Western University, and who has seen some of the greatest players in Mustangs football history play under his tutelage.

The Mustangs made Guelph look like an OUA bottom feeder. If the Mustangs play like that against the Laval Rouge-et-Or, the Calgary Dinos or any of the goliaths they could face in a potential Vanier Cup, they could take home the Canadian crown.

The Mustangs’ defence has been acclaimed all season and showed why they deserve all the praise that’s heaped upon them. The Mustangs limited the Gryphons to just 143 yards of total offence.

It’s the defence that can win this team a Vanier Cup, the seventh in the program’s history. It’s the defence that can shut down those high-octane offences out west and in “La belle province.”

On the other side of the ball, the Mustangs offence took care of business as they have so often done in the second half of the season. Offensive coordinator Steve Snyder has his unit working like a well-oiled machine, as the Mustangs compiled 262 rushing yards and quarterback Chris

Merchant went 13-of-17 for 268 yards.

Much of the offensive success is due to the offensive line, who have owned the push throughout the season. This has allowed the Western running backs to find their holes while also giving Merchant time in the pocket to make throws.

While the offensive line doesn’t get much of the praise, running back Cedric Joseph knows how important they are.

“I just have to give it up to the offensive line; for me, they had a pretty good game,” said Joseph, who found the end zone four times on Saturday. “It’s really easy for us as skilled players when the offensive line does a really good job blocking upfront and lets us do our thing.”

Now the Mustangs are where they’ve wanted to be for the last 357 days, with a date for revenge on the horizon. Playing for a Yates Cup is always special. Playing for a Yates Cup against the team that stole it from the Mustangs, in the most dramatic of fashions last year, is something else entirely.

“I’m glad it’s the Golden Hawks, there’s no one I’d rather face,” said defensive lineman Mitchell Stadnyk.

“They are a good football team, but we think that they’re another team that think they have our number, and we need to prove to a lot of people that we are the best team in Ontario, and we prove that every week.”

• www.westerngazette.ca

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2017 • 9

sports

Men’s Groundbreaking concussion discoveries hockey rallies for comeback win over Laurier CHARLIE O’CONNOR CLARKE SPORTS EDITOR @CHARLIEJCLARKE

TIM CHAPMAN CONTRIBUTOR @UWOGAZETTE The Western Mustangs men’s hockey special teams shot down the high-flying Laurier Golden Hawks, with a 3–2 win on Saturday night at Thompson Arena. A pair of thirdperiod power play goals secured the win for Western University.

Western came out running in the first period and had a number of great stretch passes through the neutral zone to create opportunities.

However, the Mustangs struggled to break out of their own end at times.

Laurier University’s Brandon Robinson opened the scoring just after the halfway mark of the first, firing one high-blocker-side past Mustangs rookie goaltender Zach Springer.

Springer was peppered by a persistent Laurier offence and did well to keep the score at 1–0 after twenty minutes of play.

Early in the second period, Robinson found himself open in the slot and scored his second of the game, making it 2–0 for the Hawks.

Less than three minutes later, Scott Teskey found the back of the net for the Mustangs, cutting Laurier’s lead in half.

Teskey’s goal, his first of the year, shifted the momentum of the game. The Mustangs offence started to click, and before the end of the second, they scored once more.

However, an early whistle meant the goal was disallowed, leaving Laurier up 2–1 at the end of the second.

Halfway through the third, Rab Polesello capitalized on a Mustangs power play, their fifth of the night, tying the game at two.

After that, penalties proved to be costly for Laurier as they gave Western yet another power play. This time, veteran centre Cody Brown capitalized on the man advantage, firing home the game-winner halfway through third period.

“If the Mustangs are going to win hockey games, that line needs to produce a lot for us,” said Mustangs assistant coach Patrick Ouellet.

Western’s special teams struggled early in the season, but three successful penalty kills and two power play goals on the night could suggest things are starting to come together.

“It showed last night and tonight for sure,” said Brown. “We faced two good teams, and scoring two power play goals tonight in the third period, being down 2–1, really helped us get the victory.”

The pair of wins over the weekend improves the Mustangs record to 3–4–0. For goaltender Zach Springer — a new addition to the roster — it’s his second win in as many games.

“Everything’s happened really quickly over the past couple of days,” said Springer. “With [coach] Singer coming to watch me on Wednesday with my team, to getting right into things Friday and here today. It’s just awesome to get back-to-back wins and give the boys a bit of confidence heading into next weekend.”

Next, the Mustangs play the Toronto Varsity Blues on Nov. 8. at Thompson Arena.

According to a group of Western University researchers, young hockey players might be returning to the ice too soon after sustaining concussions. This is just one of a slew of major, head-injury-related findings coming out of Western’s Robarts Research Institute in the last year.

On Oct. 25, a team featuring Ravi Menon, Douglas Fraser and PhD candidate Kathryn Manning of Western University published an article in Neurology about changes in the brain activity of Bantam-aged (11-14-years-old) hockey players after suffering a concussion. Using an MRI, they found that there are still effects on the brain three months after the injury often after a player has returned to the ice.

“After the injury, we see some changes in the white matter, or wiring of the brain, particularly a change in the amount of diffusion,”

said Manning. “By three months post-concussion, this disruption remains, and we also see changes in the way the brain is functionally organized.”

According to Manning, researchers aren’t quite sure what this means yet. She says they need to continue looking into whether these changes are a healthy response or whether they indicate that players are being sent back to play too early.

Nonetheless, this could have a huge impact in the sports science community. If the Robarts study does indeed mean that players are at risk by going back to play too early, the ripple effect around the world of minor hockey could change the way concussed players are treated.

This discovery’s legacy in the field of pediatric concussion research might be similar to that of another Western-based finding published last November. That research, published in Metabolomics, found a new way of diagnosing brain injuries using a blood test.

Western researchers Douglas

Fraser and Mark Daley led the project, which resulted in a clinical test that can determine whether or not someone is concussed with 90 per cent accuracy.

According to Daley though, that’s not quite good enough.

“90 per cent sounds great, but then you realize that you’re misdiagnosing one in 10 people,” he pointed out. “From a clinical utility standpoint, it’s nowhere near good enough, but it’s really interesting that it works at all.”

Right now, the most effective test is still a questionnaire called the SCAT3, which can check for concussions very quickly. The problem is the competitive nature of sports.

“If there’s a talent scout there that day and I took a really bad hit to the head, I’m not going to be honest with my coach because there’s this perverse incentive to keep playing,” said Daley. “But if you get a second hit right after you’ve been injured, that’s when you have the highest likelihood of a chronic negative outcome.”

Since this study was published

about a year ago, it’s easier to see what the reaction has been. Daley and Fraser’s study was extremely popular, earning Daley a spot on the front page of the Globe and Mail’s sports section.

Daley says their research will continue for a while as they try to optimize the blood test. Since they’re limited to similarly-aged male hockey players, only a small sample of who have concussions, their work is slow.

The work is worth it though.

Daley says Fraser convinced him to join the project when Fraser invited him to visit the pediatric ICU at Victoria Hospital in London. There, he encountered a child who had suffered a traumatic brain injury after falling off his bike.

“I saw the effect that was having on the family,” said Daley.

“You spend a couple hours in that environment and you leave feeling like if there’s any way I can help, I want to help.”

The eCampusOntario Open Textbook Library is a virtual resource that contains nearly 200 textbooks that are available at no cost.

That's right, free.

For everyone, forever.

So whether you need to use the library to fulfill a required reading, find research

Like Pandora's Box, some things are meant to stay closed.

TEXTBOOKS AREN'T ONE OF THOSE THINGS.

material, or support a personal interest, you'll find resources available in a variety of user-friendly formats, so you can study anywhere, on any device. They also make for great coffee table books!

Ask your faculty about adopting an open textbook for your class today.

Visit the Open Textbook Library at eCampusOntario.ca

www.westerngazette.ca

10 • TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2017

culture

•

Silverstein frontman talks about upcoming London show and partying at Western CARMEN MALIA CONTRIBUTOR @UWOGAZETTE

SISSI CHEN GAZETTE

Hack Western returns for fourth year VIVIAN CHENG CULTURE EDITOR @VIVIANCHENG20 Last year, four Western University students emerged victorious at Hack Western, Western’s annual hackathon.

In 36 hours, Andy Keech, Ivan Hyung, Michael Burgess and Daniela Arcese designed a braille printer made of Lego pieces. The printer translated text from a computer into braille and printed it on paper.

This year, Hack Western returns from Nov. 17 to 19 in the Althouse Faculty of Education Building.

Contrary to what it sounds like, hackathons don’t involve hacking into computers. Instead, they’re about making small improvements to today’s technology.

“Hackathons have created the best environment for innovation.

They’re supportive and fun. The school provides education and lots of different resources, and you can win prizes,” says Amy Xu, co-coordinator and fourth-year Ivey student.

Students from all around North America come to Western to skip out on sleep and build a software or hardware project from scratch, showcasing what they’ve built. Although the University of Waterloo’s hackathon is the largest, Western’s is growing.

“It’s a great opportunity to engage with all technical students.

You’re able to learn valuable skills,” says Joy Pak, Hack Western co-coordinator and fourth-year student.

Throughout the competition, students have the opportunity to attend workshops, to gain mentorship and to interact with people in the industry. The coordinators also organize fun activities like karaoke or cup stacking to ensure that students aren’t sitting down and working for the entire time. Pak mentions that, at the end of the competition, sponsors like Deloitte and Scotiabank, can recruit students.

This year’s theme is “Ideas to Reality.” Xu says that the theme

Hackathons are important because students can build their skills. Students learn theory in the classroom ... but you need to know how to use those skills.

JOY PAK

HACK WESTERN COORDINATOR AND A FOURTH-YEAR STUDENT encourages students to start their own companies based on their ideas.

For students who attend the hackathon, the event and accommodations are free. The application period has already finished, but to apply for next year, students can fill out an application on the Hack Western website.

“Hackathons are important because students can build their skills. Students learn theory in the classroom ... but you need to know how to use those skills,” Pak says. “In the classroom, you don’t get to work on projects, and you don’t learn how to build an app.”

There is nothing more Canadian than drinking a double-double from Timmies, eating a bag of ketchup chips and going to a Silverstein concert.

Over the last decade, Ontario post-hardcore pioneers Silverstein have gone from performing at small clubs in their hometown of Burlington, Ont. to sold out concert halls internationally, putting Canada on the map in the hardcore-punk world. Silverstein’s rise to fame is arguably due to their euphoric melodies and heavy-hitting breakdowns that enthral concert-goers.

The band just embarked on a 13-day Canadian tour that spans from Montreal to Vancouver, and they will be closing the trek with a bang at the London Music Hall on Nov. 25.

“We have a great history in London. Before we were playing Toronto regularly, we were playing London a lot more,” said the band’s powerhouse vocalist, Shane Told. “We’ve been booking shows here for 16 years.”

Told holds London close to his heart, having spent his early years playing shows at Western University and partying with the Mustangs.

“We partied hard with the Western students; we took a little trip to Saugeen once after a show at the Spoke and it was a blast!”

The tour is in support of the bands ninth studio album, Dead Reflection, which is the perfect combination of melodic sing-alongs and monstrous guitar riffs that the band has so fluently

crafted since they initially formed in 2000.

During the writing process, Told was going through a difficult break-up. However, after the band embarked on a tour cycle across Europe, he realized that touring and writing was a therapeutic outlet that could help him get out of this dark flux and inspire his art.

“I have value; my life has value again,” Told recalled. “That’s how I felt. It helped me break out of the funk, and it helped pave the way to record Dead Reflection.”

Fans can expect to hear new pop-ridden tracks like “The Afterglow” and “Whiplash,” as well as older screamo tracks that originally put the band on the map. Told describes this tour run as a celebration of Silverstein’s entire career.

“We’re able to play some of the heaviest shit you’ve ever heard, and then a song or two later we can play a soft, kind of emotional, acoustic ballad,” said Told, who is diligent to point out the dynamic genre that sets Silverstein apart from other bands.

Silverstein will also be joined

by Oakville, Ont. pop-punk outfit Seaway and Toronto boys Like Pacific for a night of rhythmic sing-alongs, grotesque mosh pits and raved crowdsurfing.

Silverstein is a band that has been non-stop for the past sixteen years, and if you enjoy exciting music and Canadian culture, get a double-double and come down to the London Music Hall on Nov. 25 for a thrilling show.

Tickets for the tour can be purchased through Silverstein’s website. Get ready to mosh.

McIntosh Gallery to celebrate Remembrance Day AMY SKODAK CULTURE EDITOR @AMYSKODAK Western University’s wartime contributions will be recognized as part of the McIntosh Gallery’s new book launch, Behind the Lines, on Nov. 9.

“The book comes out of the two exhibitions we presented earlier this year as part of our 75th anniversary,” explains Catherine Elliot Shaw, McIntosh gallery curator. The gallery’s anniversary coincides with Canada 150, resulting in a year-long project to commemorate Western and Canadian art and war contributions.

Recent McIntosh exhibitions Battlefields of my Ancestors – by Shelly Niro — Governor General’s Award winner — and In the beginning, 1942 and Behind the Lines: Canada’s Homefront During the First and Second World Wars make up the framework of the publication.

“I started thinking about how all of our focus seems to be oversees, primarily in Europe,” says Shaw. “And I thought, what was going on in Canada across the nation to support those two world wars?”

As Shaw discovered, there was a lot going on that impacted Canada, its society and the role of women. She notes, for example, that over 20,000 women worked in munitions factories during the First World War. “That led to a huge change which really solidified during the Second World War as more women took on those kinds of roles and eventually led to the women’s movement,” she adds.

Shaw hopes that the publication will give people an understanding not only of what went on across the country but also here at Western.

“Things like the development of radar and women coming to be trained in laboratory techniques in chemistry so that they could go and help develop synthetic

rubber in Sarnia, which was absolutely crucial to winning the second World War.” Shaw adds that the exhibits reproduced in the publication use the selected artworks to tell the stories of ordinary people and what they did to support the war efforts during both global conflicts.

Behind the Lines also includes insights from local historians, Western scholars and fourth-year anthropology student Olivia Chlebicki.

In her third year, Chlebicki was a work-study student at McIntosh Gallery, helping Shaw conduct research for the McIntsoh Canada 150 programming and paying particular attention to a barrage map held in Western’s Map and Data Centre. The artifact shows the fire plan of the Canadian Machine Gun Corps during the Battle of the Canal du Nord and was displayed in the Behind the Lines exhibit.

“You don’t get these opportunities as a student often.

I felt really honoured,” she says.

Other topics in the book include First Nations peoples’ involvement, women in the workforce, Japanese internment camps and artists’ depictions of the home front, providing an unprecedented resource for Londoners and Canadians as a whole. “[These] kinds of stories are becoming more and more important to understanding how we have arrived here in 2017 as a nation,” says Shaw. “The kinds of activities that were tremendously important to the war effort, but also those stories that essentially were not our shining hour as they related to the Japanese Internees [for example].”

The upcoming Behind the Lines publication pays tribute to the research being done at Western and shows how McIntosh Gallery has used the arts to discuss Canadians’ contributions to the war effort.

• www.westerngazette.ca

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2017 • 11

culture

The five people you’ll meet in biz 2257 ARI MATCHEN GAZETTE STAFF Business 2257 is one of the most demanding courses at Western.

Many find it intimidating to participate in class discussion, but as you meet the people in your section, you’ll realize that a couple of them are just like you. Here are the five types of people you’ll meet in Business 2257.

The brain This student knows they’re going to Ivey Business School and makes sure everyone else knows it too.

When the lecturer describes the accounting process, they casually chime in with stories from their summer internship at Procter & Gamble. They don’t do the cases, but somehow they can do cost of goods available for sale on the spot. Maybe they’ll let you be in their feasibility project group, but probably not.

The mooch You worked hard to fill in your opening balances, to post your

transactions and to maybe even make it to closing entries, but this kid thinks you’ll give up all those potential participation grades for free. You receive this Facebook message at 11:45 p.m. the night before class: “Yo, did you do the the case for tomorrow?”

If you say yes, they’ll want a picture of your T-Charts. If you say no, it will be awkward if you participate in class tomorrow. Pro tip: play it safe and pretend you never saw it.

The hungover one It’s Tuesday morning, and they stumble in just as class starts. You can tell by their dark sunglasses that they were at Jack’s dollar beers last night — and so can everyone else. Pretty soon you can’t tell if they’re leaning back in their chair or actually sleeping. Either way, they’re praying they don’t get cold called to talk about the residual value of production machinery.

The ghost What’s their name again? They sit

in the back corner, never raise their hand and never do the cases. The first time you realize they exist is before your exam when they ask, “Wait, we were allowed a cheat sheet?” With the amount of people that love to hear themselves talk, this may be the most likeable person in your section.

The participation seeker No one loves participating like this student who speaks at least five times a class and is visibly upset when they aren’t picked. They’re always ready to answer easy questions like, “Who are we today?” and “What is the opening balance of inventory?” They’re also willing to ask ridiculous questions just so that they can get check marks.

Classic comments include: • Is it okay if I made that into two transactions?

• What if I depreciated this asset first?

• If I got the same answer can I do it my way?

SISSI CHEN GAZETTE

Weekly coffee house hits the Wave NICK SOKIC CULTURE EDITOR @NICKATGAZETTE Walk into The Wave on a Friday afternoon, and you’ll find it transformed into an in-vogue coffee house reminiscent of a bustling downtown music scene. The already dimmed lighting lends itself to the Grenwich-Village-in-the-’60s atmosphere as customers dine and student musicians ply their trade.

This setup is all thanks to Paulina Zuczek, a third-year popular music studies student who, along with Wave manager Chris Cervoni, set up the weekly series.

Zuczek, an employee at the Wave, says Cervoni had an off-campus musician perform on Fridays last year but always wanted a student-focused day.

“He didn’t have any idea that I sing, but I had an opportunity at USC Charity’s Dine in the Dark at The Wave last year,” says Zuczek.

“He approached me after, and we started right in September.”

Many other musicians have approached Zuczek and Cervoni about performing alternating sets and they encourage anyone interested to get in touch. The performance is also paid: $100 per performer for two hours of work. Last Friday’s session featured Zuczek on the keyboard and vocals with fourth-year geology student Colin Aerts on his acoustic guitar, showcasing his own

laid-back and soulful collection of covers.

“I prefer to do covers here because the crowd prefers things they know,” says Zuczek. “I’m the radio. People react to the live music vibe.”

Some of these covers included James Bay’s “Hold Back the River,” Rihanna’s “Love on the Brain,” a soulful version of Van Morrison’s “Brown-Eyed Girl” and the Zuton’s “Valerie.”

In the same spirit, she has an album of Polish musical covers from her heritage up on her website and has been practicing music since she was five. It started with singing in church choirs, encouraged by her musician father, eventuallylearning piano at age six. The vocal training began when she was 10, but it was only after singing a song she wrote for her music teacher at 13 that she decided music would be her life.

Coming into university, Zuczek started offering vocal and piano lessons when she could. According to her, that mentorship is part of the cycle for those that are classically trained. While she wants her students to feel the same passion as she does, she is also against the constant grind, as “music is a free art.”

Though the lessons are not fulltime, given her various commitments, it’s still a part of her overall pull to music and to one day finding a place in the industry.

“I’m not saying I want to be the next Lady Gaga or Taylor Swift,” says Zuczek. “But something that can pay the bills and make me happy.”

Any interested musicians can contact manager Chris Cervoni at 519-661-2111x83007 or email at ccervon@uwo.ca. The performances themselves are on every Friday between 12 and 2 p.m. at the Wave.

TEACH YOGA

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

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

theGazette EMPLOYMENT

classifieds

GYMWORLD-GYMNASTICS CLUB IN NORTH /WEST London has expanded into our new facility at 1712 Hyde Park Rd, and are hiring for gymnastics coaches. On bus route. Days, evenings and/or weekends. Work as little as 3 hours per week or as many as 20 hours. Great pay. Please call tel:519-474-4960 or e-mail to mailto:info@gymworld.ca.

WANTED INTERESTED IN WOODWORKING? Live in the Westmount area? London senior looking for assistance and a workspace with a table and electrical to complete a woodworking project. Commitment would be one night a week, a small stipend is available. Contact Alan 519-660-1442.

UPCOMING EVENTS BLOOD DONOR CLINIC: Community Room, UCC 2nd floor. Tues. Nov. 21 11am-4pm, Wed. Nov. 22 11am-4pm, Wed. Nov. 29 10am-3pm, Thurs. Nov. 30 11am-4pm. New donors needed. Book your appointment at blood.ca. Canadian Blood Services.

SERVICES STRESSED? ANXIOUS? BOOK your Reiki session now to help you unwind and relax. PH: 519-4948545 Web: https://radiantreiki.ca Western students receive 15% off all services.

ANNOUNCEMENTS K?< I<;<DGK@FE K ?< I<;<DGK@FE

$$ Yp ;Xm`[ CXni\eZ\ :X[\ $ Yp ;Xm`[ CXni\eZ\ :X[\ $ Complete text of my new English langua language ge political novel set in Russia and America, 2017, now posted at my website

LIAM MCINNIS GAZETTE

YOU can

~ w z{ x w z

ILJJ@8 N@CC 9< =I<<%

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 4

www.westerngazette.ca

12 • TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2017

games

PHOTO OF THE DAY

GAZETTE CROSSWORD

MICHAEL CONLEY POPPY-LAR HISTORY. Kara Brown, graduate program advisor of Western University’s history department, reaches for a book on a shelf in the department’s World War collection, Nov. 3, 2017.

WORD SEARCH

RESPIRATORY CARTILAGE WORD SEARCH CELLS DILATE ALA DUCT ALVEOLUS DYSPNEA AORTA EXPIRATION APEX FAUCES ARTERY GLOTTIS BREATH HYPERTENSION BRIDGE INHALE BRONCHIAL INSPIRATION CARDIAC LARYNX

•

CLUES ACROSS 1. Protective crust 5. Federal poverty level 8. “NCIS” network 11. This many makes a trio 13. Geological time 14. Populous Colombian city 15. Interviewer Morgan 16. More (Spanish) 17. Not close 18. Confined 20. __ Farrow, actress 21. One point east of southeast 22. Kinetic and elastic are two 25. Taking possession of a property 30. Associate of same rank 31. Uganda 32. Heads the department 33. Assistants 38. I (German) 41. Small vessel 43. Home to Deadwood 45. Vetoed 47. Wings 49. Vestment 50. Heavy cavalry sword 55. Deer native to Japan 56. Spy agency 57. Was hurting 59. Famous New Yorker film critic 60. Liquefied natural gas 61. Jewish spiritual leader 62. Male offspring 63. Sense of self-esteem 64. Cheek

For crossword solution, see page 4

LUNGS NOSE NOSTRILS

PALPITATION PHARYNX PULMONARY



PULSE RESPIRATORY SAC

SEPTUM SYNCOPE TRACHEA

VOCAL VOLUME

For solution go to westerngazette.ca/solution

CLUES DOWN 1. Engine additive 2. Fashionable 3. Region 4. “Friday Night Lights” director Peter 5. __ fatale, French seductresses 6. A treeless grassy plain 7. Large flat rectangular strips of pasta 8. Eating houses 9. Divulge a secret 10. Beget 12. Midway between east and southeast 14. Container for shipping 19. Deceased basketballer Bison __ 23. Neither 24. Large lizard 25. Licenses TV stations 26. Express delight 27. Refusal of medical assistance 28. Upon 29. Bright or deep red 34. A way to sign 35. Zhou Dynasty state 36. Shock therapy 37. Ocean 39. Basketlike boat 40. Irish sport 41. Doctor 42. Middle day 44. Autonomous island 45. Made of wood 46. Meat from a calf 47. Inquires 48. Chinese dynasty 51. Swiss river 52. Prejudice 53. “The Wire” actor Idris 54. Resistance fighters 58. Criticize