Tuesday, March 6, 2018

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westerngazette.ca TUESDAY, MARCH 6, 2018 • WESTERN UNIVERSITY’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER • VOLUME 111, ISSUE 22 inclusion riders since 1906

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BRENDA FUHRMAN

Volume 111, Issue 22 WWW.WESTERNGAZETTE.CA University Community Centre Rm. 263 Western University London, ON, CANADA N6A 3K7 Editorial 519.661.3580 Advertising 519.661.3579

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF AMY O’KRUK @AMYOKRUK

OPINIONS RICHARD JOSEPH WESTERN TV COORDINATOR CONNOR MALBEUF

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GAZETTE ADVERTISING & COMPOSING IAN GREAVES, MANAGER ADVERTISING DIANA WATSON

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The eccentric, soft-spoken visual arts student is more active than many of her peers. When she’s not working on her series of comics, Brenda is a part-time family lawyer.

Brenda has always been eager to further her education, attending school for nursing in her 20s, law in her 40s and visual arts in her 60s.

Her quirky personality comes out through her flamboyant style, which consists of a vintage jacket and John Lennonesque glasses.

Fuhrman’s workspace in the John Labatt Visual Arts Centre reflects her personality. The walls are covered with her bubbly, simplistic drawings, comics and paintings, and the furniture has colourful splashes of paint. Despite being decades older than her peers, Brenda never has a hard time meeting new people and hearing fresh ideas.

Throughout her long, multi-faceted career, the 69-yearold’s focus has always been on mental health. While working as a nurse and lawyer, Brenda says the feeling of helping somebody come back from a state of distress and live a fruitful, independent life is something she finds very rewarding.

“There’s such a stigma when it comes to mental health, and the people I have worked with as a nurse and a lawyer are fantastic. I like the idea that I was able to be in this field, and hopefully help,” Brenda says.

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“If you can draw or you can do something professionally, I have this belief that you should give back or do something with it,” Brenda says.

Currently, Brenda is in the process of creating On My Bus, a series of comics that depict experiences she’s had with London’s city buses. With an observant eye and a pencil in hand, Brenda gets on the number 2 bus every day and sketches the myriad of different characters and scenes that she encounters on her ride.

“The bus is so democratic. There’s a mixture of cultures, earnings and demographics on the bus,” Brenda says.

“You get people going to the methadone clinic. You get high school kids. You get all sorts of people.”

The comics will soon be featured at the @SENDERS Practicum Class Exhibition, which opens up to the public on March 23 at the Artlab Gallery in the John Labatt Visual Arts Centre.

The artist came up with the idea for the comics after spending time over the winter break in Montreal. While riding the bus in Montreal, she was inspired by the wonderful fashion and different culture that she saw on the city’s transit system.

Look out for Brenda on the bus — you could be in her next exhibit.

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Blast from om the past

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CHARLIE O’CONNOR CLARKE

VIDEO LAUREN COLES JOSH MERIFIELD

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Not Brenda Fuhrman.

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SPORTS MIKE DEBOER

PHOTO MICHAEL CONLEY LIAM MCINNIS MAX MAO

Brenda also thinks her work as an artist presents an opportunity to give back. Even before Brenda was a visual arts student, she made time for creative expression through drawing and painting. As a nurse, she would channel her love of art by hosting art sessions with patients.

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CULTURE NICK SOKIC VIVIAN CHENG CARMEN MALLIA GABRIELLE DROLET

WESTERN TV ASSISTANT COORDINATOR SHANNON MARKS

Most people in their late 60s are ready to settle down in life, to maybe retire from their career and to relax with family and friends.

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NEWS SABRINA FRACASSI GRACE TO MARTIN ALLEN HILL DU KAROLINA JALOWSKA

MALLORY THOMPSON GAZETTE

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MANAGING EDITOR OF CONTENT RITA RAHMATI @RITARAHMATI

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MANAGING EDITOR OF DESIGN JORDAN MCGAVIN @JMCGAVIN13

Western’s most horrible man competition 1964 WESTERNGAZETTE

UWOGAZETTE

@UWOGAZETTE

WESTERNGAZETTE

WESTERNGAZETTE

WESTERNTV

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.

RITA RAHMATI MANAGING EDITOR OF CONTENT @RITARAHMATI Back in the day, Western University students could be lauded for being horrible.

Literally horrible. Western used to have a seemingly standard annual winter carnival, but in conjunction with this carnival was a competition called “The most horrible man contest.”

Several male students competed for the notorious title in an effort to raise money for a local charity. At the winter carnival, people donated money to charity for the individual they wanted to win.

Only two years into the competition’s existence, 1964’s motley crüe of contestants developed elaborate names and backgrounds for their horrible man personas.

“Johnny Chapeau” claimed to be the most horrible man not only at Western but also in the entire world. He said he would kill anyone who didn’t like him and claimed to have beaten up a seven-yearold child for touching his motorcycle.

“Singin’ Slimy Sid” boasted of drowning fairies and stealing Somerville House’s silver. Rumour had it, he slithered out of Sydenham Swamp.

Inspired by the likes of Elvis Presley and Ringo Starr, “Deluded Dunc,” aka “Dunc the Nut,” didn’t give a damn about his position at the bottom of the society. The Gazette’s editorial team noted he was the only candidate to run “au naturel.”

Arguably the least popular contestant, “Jacques Rash,” aka “The Rash,” had a terror-filled personality that garnered him zero friends.

“Wanted Dead’s” claims to fame included starting a nursery riot, stealing candy and bootlegging baby formula.

Following his escape from Kingston Playpen, students on campus surely had to keep an eye out for this horrible man.

“Down with Women” was a boastful misogynist, in case you couldn’t tell by the name. He claimed to push female students in front of the bus and once threw water on a drowning girl.

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TUESDAY, MARCH 6, 2018 • 3

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CANADA’S 2018 BUDGET TO FIX NO-FLY LIST, PARTLY THANKS TO WESTERN STUDENTS

For me, it [represents] the triumph of democracy. As youth … we see that our voices are being heard and that we can influence change.

RAYYAN KAMAL THIRD-YEAR MEDICIAL SCIENCES STUDENT AND MEMBER OF NO-FLY LIST KIDS

JUDY BASMAJI CONTRIBUTOR @UWOGAZETTE The 2018 federal budget is allocating $81.4 million to fix Canada’s no-fly list thanks to the efforts of two Western University students among other activists.

Canada’s no-fly list, also known as the Passenger Protect Program, is used to flag individuals who might pose a security threat and to prevent them from boarding flights to or from Canada. For many years, the system was criticized for using only first and last names with no other unique identifiers, such as birth date or passport number, to screen individuals, resulting in many false positives. Falsely flagged individuals undergo extra screening that can result in delays or missed flights.

Third-year medical sciences students Yusuf Ahmed and Rayyan Kamal are members of the No Fly List Kids group; the group contains over 200 individuals whose family members, children in particular, are continuously flagged as false positives.

Due in part to the group’s advocacy efforts, the government allocated $81.4 million of the 2018 federal budget to enhance the Passenger Protect Program.

The goverment will use the money to develop a rigorous screening model and to add a system of redress, where individuals who are falsely flagged are assigned a unique identification number to prevent another false positive. After five years, the government will dedicate $14 million annually to maintain the new system.

King’s principal joining U of T’s St. Michael’s College ROSE BREDIN CONTRIBUTOR @UWOGAZETTE King’s University College’s principal is leaving — and moving on to the University of Toronto.

King’s announced Thursday that principal David Sylvester will not seek a third term. Sylvester has been the principal of the affiliate since 2009.

“It’s important to take on new challenges and commit yourself to something for 10 years, struggle with it, grow with it and then open a new chapter. I think it’s really healthy for a president and their institution to work two terms,” Sylvester said.

Sylvester will serve as the incoming president and vice-chancellor of the University of St. Michael’s College, one of U of T’s affiliate colleges, starting on Aug. 1, 2018.

Sylvester said his focus will remain on King’s until his term ends. He also emphasized he will be present at the King’s convocation in June, an event he described as “really wonderful” thanks to the relationships he has formed with the students over the years.

When asked what he will miss most, Sylvester’s immediate answer was: “Absolutely the students. King’s has a long history going back to the ‘60s of bringing students into the important decisions of an

institution,” Sylvester said. “I’ve been very, very fortunate to work with some incredible student leaders and work very closely with the student council.”

The KUC board of directors created a principal selection committee on Feb. 28 to start the process of finding Sylvester’s successor; the process will include students, faculty, staff, board members and alumni representatives. Sylvester’s last day at King’s will be July 31.

“My hope is to leave King’s in good shape for the next woman or man that will take on the leadership,” Sylvester said. “If I were the next principal, I would be very excited because King’s is firing on all cylinders.”

“It’s a huge victory for the people in our group as they no longer have to face delays and undergo extra security or undue scrutiny,” said Kamal. “We were very happy to see that we’ve made it to the finish line, but it’s also a start. The next step is to see it through and make sure that it does get implemented.”

“It started out with a tweet from one of our group members whose son was flagged,” said Ahmed. “Then a couple of other families joined and then we joined, and it’s really amazing how much we’ve accomplished.”

Ahmed has been falsely flagged and detained in airports numerous times throughout his life. Regular 40-minute delays at airports felt “like an eternity” because of the looks and the stigma of being constantly singled out for additional screening.

In the past year, Ahmed and Kamal played an active role in drawing attention to the broken system by quantifying its effects on Canadian citizens. Using a conservative calculation, they estimated around 100,000 Canadians have the potential to be falsely flagged in airports as a security threat.

Ahmed explained the problem will persist for at least another few years as the funding is back-loaded over a five-year period. Of the $81.4 million, only $8 million will go out this year. Another $16 million will go out in 2019-20.

Still, Ahmed and Kamal are optimistic now that it has been passed in the federal budget.

“We’re grateful they heard us and got our issue resolved,” said Kamal. “For me, it [represents] the triumph of democracy. As , … we see that our voices are being heard and that we can influence change.”

Celebrating 140 years Founder’s Day Coffee Break Wednesday, March 7, 9:30 to 11 a.m.

The Spoke, UCC Wear your purple and join fellow staff, students, faculty and alumni at our annual Founder’s Day Community Coffee Break, where we celebrate Western’s founding 140 years ago.

Enjoy complimentary hot and cold beverages, purple & white donuts, live music by Rick McGhie and a picture at our photo booth.

Please register by Monday, March 5 at westernconnect.ca/coffeebreak.

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FEDERAL BUDGET MAKES HUGE INVESTMENT IN SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH The 2018 federal budget included a funding boost for science, health and humanities research, impacting universities across the Canada.

Announced Feb. 27, the Trudeau government is committing $3.8 billion over the next five years to fund a range of science programs.

Lisa Saksida, a professor and researcher at Western University, is confident that things are headed in the right direction.

“The need for more funding of fundamental scientific research is something that scientists across Canada have been voicing concerns about for some time,” Saksida said. “The government’s decision to invest shows that they listened and that they recognize the importance of fundamental scientific research both to innovation and the community more generally.”

A large part of the funding is earmarked for the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Natural Sciences and

Engineering Research Council, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

These councils invest annually in Canadian universities.

The government will also invest in independent research.

Annually, approximately 1,200 individual research grants are given out to members of the Western community.

“An important part of the budget is the emphasis on investigator-led work, where the science is driven by the scientists as opposed to special initiatives,” Saksida said.

The 2018 Liberal budget also places an emphasis on equity and diversity in the sciences.

Saksida said that this is a part of the Canadian government’s progressive attitude: encouraging the representation of women, indigenous peoples, members of visible minorities, people with disabilities and LGBTQ2+ members in scientific disciplines.

“At a time when funding for the sciences is under strain in most places in the world, it is heartening to see Canada being progressive in this area,” she said.

■■ CASSANDRA COLEMAN

CROSSWORD SOLUTION Solution to puzzle on page 11

USC 2019 budget explained

LIAM AFONSO GAZETTE

SABRINA FRACASSI NEWS EDITOR @SABFRACASSI

from last year’s budget, inflation and the Ontario minimum wage hike.

The University Students’ Council passed their 2018-19 budget on Feb. 28, which includes a student fee increase of roughly $30.

Student fees will be going up from $828.77 to $867.37 for firstyear students and from $738.77 to $767.37 for upper-year students, resulting in a $38.60 and $28.60 increase respectively.

These fees fund the USC and its services, like the health and dental plan, and operations, like The Spoke and the Wave.

There are a few major reasons the fee increased, including a deficit

DEFICIT Part of the fee increase is the result of an error found in last year’s budget.

While creating the 2019 budget, USC secretary treasurer, Erin McCauley, realized that roughly $140,000 of revenue in last year’s budget was accounted for twice, creating a false surplus.

The mistake was made in the corporate/administrative promotions and commercial partnerships line that’s related to the bus pass and health plan administrative fees.

“We would have needed an extra $140,000 from somewhere else to cover that department,” McCauley said.

Isaac Jacobi, the 2016–17 secretary treasurer, attributes the error to a difficult and poorly organized budget process last year.

“The day before the final approval, I found an error that would have cost the USC another $260,000,” Jacobi said. “I was a little bit more involved in catching errors ... than I would have liked to be.”

McCauley said she felt adequately supported in her role and throughout this year’s budget process. She said a lack of communication can contribute to budget errors, like last year’s.

The error will increase the USC’s base student fee by $5.18 for main campus students. In the budget, the increase is described as a change to reflect the true cost of the organization.

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MINIMUM WAGE AND INFLATION McCauley also pointed to the minimum wage increase as a reason for the student fee increase. The minimum wage in Ontario was increased from $11.60 to $14 starting in January 2018.

“Since minimum wage was an unexpected change, it wasn’t budgeted for this year, so ... we’re doing our best to retroactively fix the issues with minimum wage,” McCauley said. “There wasn’t as much long-term planning since

the legislature just came through.

We weren’t prepared to take this hit this year.”

In response to the $14 minimum wage, USC-run operations, like The Spoke and the Wave have increased prices.

McCauley said the USC will re-evaluate its higher wage costs — and how price increases may have offset those costs — during next year’s budget cycle.

Inflation also played a role in the USC fee increase. The combined costs of inflation across all USC departments, services and operations resulted in $14.75 of the overall increase.

O-WEEK Finally, first-year students are seeing a larger hike than upper-year students due to an increase in the Orientation Week fee. The O-Week fee was originally $90, but the Orientation Advisory Committee decided to increase the fee by $10 to offset inflation, something that hadn’t been taken into account for several years. The Orientation Week fee is now $100.

NEXT STEPS Although the student fee increase is mostly the result of inflation and Ontario’s minimum wage increase, McCauley said she tweaked the budget process this year to avoid mistakes like last year’s $140,000 error.

One of the changes in this year’s budget is its setup. McCauley decided to clearly organize the budget by department totals.

“I think that last year was an excellent document to show the themes and the strategic direction of the organization, but it wasn’t necessarily that clear to show department totals and allocations of fees and revenues,” McCauley said.

She also said that she will continue to work with the finance department to ensure open lines of communication continue.

The full budget will be released to students after its approved by Western’s Board of Governors later this month.

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TUESDAY, MARCH 6, 2018 • 5

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Meet your student programs officer candidates

RICHELLE AIKINS Fourth Year, Honors Specialization in Health Studies What are three important goals you hope to accomplish during your term?

1. Increase engagement with students who are unfamiliar with the University Students’ Council 2. Build strong relationships with stakeholders on campus 3. Provide more educational programming Why are you running for Student Programs Officer this year?

Through my years of experience in the orientation program, I realized my passion for programming and tailoring events to student feedback.

Leading the Charity Orientation team was a fulfilling experience because of the tight-knit team environment we had and watching how driven these students were to achieve our goals set out as a team.

I applied for associate, programming to expand beyond Orientation Week programming and focus on campus-wide programming. I am inspired daily by the diverse students I have gotten to work with and have loved the experience of helping the Student Programs Officer plan concerts and large events. I am running for the SPO position to create a positive environment for everyone in the portfolio and to provide fun and appealing events to the whole student body to enjoy. I would be grateful for the opportunity to be a resource for all students and am excited to get started!

TAMARA KLJAKIC Fourth Year, Honours Double Major in Psychology and Criminology What are three important goals you hope to accomplish during your term?

1. Engage the overall student body that may not be in student

leadership positions 2. Empower students and encourage more collaboration on campus 3. Improve data collection and feedback mechanisms Why are you running for Student Programs Officer this year?

My university career has been defined by the programs that the University Students’ Council (and specifically the Student Programs Officer) offers. From being a club member, executive and USC associate clubs, to being a soph within the orientation program for three years, I would not be the person I am today without these opportunities. I hope to give back to a community that has affected my life in so many ways and the chance to work for students is something that really excites me.

Not only has this portfolio given me a passion for this organization, but it has also provided me with the necessary skills to be the best SPO I can be. I am confident that I am best suited to tackle this position and make the portfolio as successful as possible for our student body.

ALEX MARSHALL Fifth Year, Major in Health Studies with a Minor in Psychology What are three important goals you hope to accomplish during your term?

1. Engage the student body at large 2. Increase educational programming opportunities 3. Ensure the health and wellness of our students is a primary focus Why are you running for Student Programs Officer this year?

I am running for Student Programs Officer for multiple reasons: for the people, for the programming and for the students. It was in my third year that I became most involved within the University Students’ Council at Western University. Throughout this time, I got to meet many of the talented and passionate people who make our student experience. It was and is the very energy and drive that these individuals continue to instill upon me that motivated me to run for this

position. Western is famous for having the best student experience, and I believe the programming we offer is one of the primary reasons for that. Additionally, our students are the ones who continue to rave about Western and the opportunities this university provides. I want to be a part of a team of like-minded and hard working leaders to create a Western student experience that our students not only enjoy, but are proud of.

BENJAMIN ABNETT Fourth Year, Kinesiology with Honors Specialization in Sport Management What are three important goals you hope to accomplish during your term?

1. Get the ball rolling on mental health first-aid training for our student leaders 2. Establish a “Friends of the USC” database, as mentioned in my platform 3. Make the Snowy Saddle game that began this year an opportunity for a recurring winter Homecomingtype event Why are you running for Student Programs Officer this year?

I am running for Student Programs Officer this year because I want to be able to give every student the opportunities and avenues to have an incredible student experience here at Western University.

Through my involvement on the University Students’ Council this year, it has been evident that this is something that is not necessarily currently happening. I really believe that it is important to hear what our students — every student — wants to see happen. Although I do not believe that it is the SPO that is creating all of these amazing student experiences for everyone here at Western, I do believe the SPO is able to create those opportunities and avenues for involvement for students. I have had such an unforgettable student experience, and it would be amazing to be able to assist with students creating this experience for themselves as well as others.

CARINA GABRIELE Fourth Year, Honors Specialization in Women’s Studies and Major in English Language and Literature What are three important goals you hope to accomplish during your term?

1. Comprehensive clubs policy reform to rectify the problems endemic to the clubs system 2. Support sophs both in the training and financial support they receive 3. Improving sexual violence education on campus Why are you running for Student Programs Officer this year?

I am running for Student Programs Officer because I truly believe in the capacity of our student leaders, and I want to help them achieve their goals while providing the resources, support and programming that make our campus community so exceptional.

The SPO portfolio’s various events, training sessions, awareness and advocacy initiatives would not be possible without our passionate coordinators and associates who do great work addressing the needs of Western University students. I want to ensure they have the support and tools necessary to do their jobs. I also see places for positive change in the work that the University Students’ Council does, and I believe that I can facilitate this change. I’d like to work with our councils, clubs and student leaders to facilitate collaborations, foster better communication channels and provide a more efficient way of doing programming. As SPO, I know that I can provide the leadership required to both bring about change, and support and empower our students.

Gender neutral washrooms now in UCC VIVIAN CHENG CULTURE EDITOR @VIVIANCHENG20 Students walking through the University Community Centre should keep an eye out for the new additions — gender neutral washrooms.

Implemented on Feb. 28, the gender-neutral, converted washrooms are on the ground floor adjacent to the UCC Starbucks.

These renovations came after months of advocacy and consultations. The University Students’ Council tasked its 2017–18 executive with devising a plan to create new and more accessible gender neutral washrooms on campus in March 2017. Previously, the sole multi-user, all-gender washroom was located in the FIMS and Nursing Building, which opened in January 2017.

Campus groups such as Pride Western and Ally Western played a

role during the consultations.

USC vice-president Landon Tulk led the USC’s efforts to implement the washrooms. He explained that the converted women’s washroom remains relatively unchanged; however, signage has been updated. Tulk said that the converted men’s washroom now has dividers between the urinals and sanitary waste disposals in the stalls.

“I’m ecstatic we’ve got the point where the washrooms are functional and ready to use,” Tulk said. “This is a big move for our campus. We didn’t set the precedent for this, ... but it was clear this was priority for students.”

Layne Clarke, third-year anthropology student and Spectrum president, said the gender neutral washrooms are important for many reasons, especially student safety. Clarke said washrooms are often precarious and potentially

dangerous sites for gender non-conforming individuals.

“Trans people are often harassed in bathrooms, and not just trans people; non-conforming cisgender people have also been harassed.

This is really important to a lot of people,” Clarke said. Spectrum is helping spearhead the communications effort to let students know that gender neutral washroom options are now available in the UCC and why they’re important.

Clarke said the next step would be ensuring it’s standard for all of Western University’s future buildings to include gender neutral bathrooms.

“The safety of trans people is really important,” Clarke said. “It’s to ensure that people feel free to go into these spaces and don’t feel endangered. While gender neutral washrooms aren’t the be-all, end-all for safety, it’s a good step forward.”

LESLIE RUGGERI Fourth Year, Specialization in Sociology What are three important goals you hope to accomplish during your term?

1. Increased emphasis on accessibility and inclusion 2. Increase in communication and collaboration 3. Empowering students by fostering an environment where all voices are treated equally Why are you running for Student Programs Officer this year?

I am running for Student Programs Officer because I’ve directly seen and felt how much of an impact this portfolio can have on students. I think that learning goes outside the classroom at Western Univeristy, and the University Students’ Council does such a great job of creating opportunities for experiential learning that truly enhance the student experience.

While I have had a fantastic experience throughout my four years here, I also recognize that many students feel like they can’t connect with the USC and the services it has to offer.

As your SPO, I would empower our student leaders to pursue their passions to help create programs and services that allow all students to find their place here at Western.

I’m running to be your SPO because I want to help all students feel like they matter here at Western and that the USC will do everything it can to make Western feel like home.

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feature

•

Investigating Atlanta

GABRIELLE DROLET CULTURE EDITOR @GABRIELLEDROLET It’s 8:30 p.m. in a study room at King’s University College. Six undergraduate and graduate students, a Western alum and a professor sit around a table, looking up at a slideshow with statistics and articles about murders in Atlanta. A student flips through the slides, outlining cases.

The others take notes, nodding along at grizzly details as they give their input. A question hangs in the air — how are the murders connected?

This is Western University’s Cold Case Society, a collective of students that analyzes data from unsolved U.S. homicide cases. Established in 2010 by Michael Arntfield, a Western professor, criminologist and former police officer, the group focuses on finding patterns in homicide cases that may go undetected by police departments.

Since the fall of 2016, the group has been working on a group of

potential serial killings that span nearly 40 years. Between 1976 and 2013, 130 women were strangled to death in Atlanta, Ga. This is the largest cluster of strangulation homicides in American history — and 100 of the cases remain unsolved.

Through the use of algorithms and critical analysis, the CCS is searching for answers.

The CCS looks for patterns using data from the Murder Accountability Project, the world’s largest homicide database. MAP uses algorithms to group murders together based on factors such as cause of death, date of the murder, and age and ethnicity of the victim, allowing investigators to parse the relevant data to search for patterns.

Arntfield co-administers MAP, and when he noticed the number of unsolved strangulations in Atlanta, he wondered if the cases could be the result of serial killings.

However, the database is just a starting point. MAP presents

homicide victims merely as statistics, leaving the CCS to determine patterns among the cases and assign narratives. Once MAP illuminated the homicide patterns in Atlanta, Arntfield and his students investigated further to find details about the victims, including their names and occupations.

“We need to be able to assign biographical details and narratives in order to understand,” Arntfield stated. “Are all 100 maybe the same killer? Is there diversity among the victims that’s sufficiently compelling and that we should begin looking at multiple offenders? That’s what the students do. They begin finding names, and they begin building profiles.”

Brikena Qamili, a former Western psychology student who now attends Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, is leading the CCS’s Atlanta investigation. She explained that since the CCS started their investigation, they’ve made great progress in

finding those biographical details — a task which proved to be incredibly difficult.

In the first stages of the investigation, the group worked closely with the Atlanta Police Department to learn more about each victim.

Though the police department was initially surprised, they were helpful and diligent.

“We brought that to their attention,” Qamili said. “They helped us come up with the victim names that corresponded to the statistics.”

Finding names proved to be integral to the investigation, but the process itself was long and arduous.

Since many of the murders occurred before cases were recorded online, both students and APD analysts searched through records manually to find the details they needed. The records they used include “murder books” dating back to the 1970s, which are handwritten notebooks that detectives use to describe specific cases in great detail.

• www.westerngazette.ca

TUESDAY, MARCH 6, 2018 • 7

a’s unsolved murders

JOSH MERIFIELD GAZETTE Left to right: Maryam Khan, Lexi Rumer, Erica Molinaro, Stacy Van Acker, Prof. Neisha Cushing, Olivia Lindner, Dennis Lee. Not pictured: Emily Kingsmill and Brikena Qamili.

Ultimately, by working closely with the APD, the CCS found names for 44 of the 100 victims. Once they had those names, the next step was to search for viable connections between the victims based on factors like where they lived, their jobs and their hobbies. Finding commonalities between victims is a process called “victimology,” and it enables detectives to see if victims might be linked to one common offender.

Arntfield explained that some of the victims share more than one commonality. Many of them are African American sex workers between the ages of 13 and 30 — a minority group of women that is statistically more at risk when it comes to violent crimes. Beyond a predisposition to risk, the CCS is searching for more connections.

Both Qamili and Arntfield speculated that they’re dealing with more than one serial killer.

Qamili explained that serial killers generally tend to be consistent

in their patterns of behaviour. For example, a serial killer who focuses on elderly victims won’t usually go for a young victim, and certain killers pose their victims meticulously as though they’re leaving behind a signature. Qamili and Arntfield believe that four or five serial killers may be responsible for the 120 homicides that occurred.

One group within the larger cluster consists of a small number of senior women who were all found in the same areas and in similar housing conditions, like apartments that had poor security.

“In such situations, we can pretty much conclude that it was one serial killer for that cohort,” Qamili said. “It is very unlikely for one serial killer to be so all over the map.”

Qamili speculated that it’s possible that some of the serial killers, especially those that were active in the 2000s, are still active today.

“You can have ‘cooling-off periods,’ which means that a serial killer

could be active for two slayings and then stop for a long period of time,” she explained.

Beyond the sheer number of unsolved cases, what sets the Atlanta strangulations apart is the amount of time it took for someone to notice them. Qamili speculated these cases went unsolved for so long because the APD wasn’t ready to admit they had serial killers on their hands.

Since Atlanta faced a prolific child murderer in the ‘70s — a case sensationalized by the media — the police department might not have wanted to admit that other similar problems were surfacing.

However, despite the time spent helping the CCS investigate the strangulations, the APD doesn’t believe the 100 cold cases are linked by serial killers at all. Carlos Campos, the department’s director of public affairs, said that while the APD is familiar with Arntfield and the CCS’s work, the department doesn’t see patterns connecting the cases.

“To be clear, not all of these cases are in the city of Atlanta: some of them fall out of our jurisdiction,” Campos said in an email. “In the cases that are within our jurisdiction, we candidly do not see patterns that we believe are consistent with a serial killer. The fact that we do not see such a pattern does not, by any means, indicate we would consider these cases closed.”

The Atlanta strangulation cases remain open, and Arntfield and the CCS have no plans to stop investigating them. He has a lead he will be exploring in Atlanta in the near future.

“You can know a location on Google Maps, but until you’re there, until you can see what’s going on, until you talk to locals who have been there for generations, you don’t get the full gist of what’s happening,” Qamili explained. “This is an ongoing case for us.… You haven’t heard the last of the Atlanta strangulation killings.”

www.westerngazette.ca

8 • TUESDAY, MARCH 6, 2018

sports

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Mustangs set to play Queen’s in fierce McCaw Cup showdown CHARLIE O’CONNOR CLARKE SPORTS EDITOR @CHARLIEJCLARKE

When the Western Mustangs women’s hockey team takes to the ice at the U Sports national championship in two weeks, they’ll have earned it. Even if they weren’t hosting the tournament, a spot in the Ontario University Athletics final would be enough to qualify them.

The Mustangs beat the Guelph Gryphons 3–2 in overtime on Friday, completing their sweep of the semifinal series. Now, they’re looking ahead to a date with the Queen’s Gaels for the McCaw Cup on Saturday, March 10.

Western wasn’t favoured against Guelph, and certainly nobody expected them to sweep the two-time defending champions.

Of course, both games could’ve gone either way; each contest was decided by just one goal. The Gryphons were, on multiple occasions, just inches away from scoring in overtime on Friday.

Now, though, that’s behind them. The Mustangs have a week to prepare for their trip to Kingston, where they’ll try to win the McCaw Cup for the first time since 2015.

“Last year, after a heartbreaking loss in the first round of the playoffs, this is quite a comeback,” said Mustangs forward Ali Beres, referencing their loss to the Waterloo Warriors in 2017.

Western enters this one-game final with Queen’s as the underdogs again, despite riding a 10-game win streak. That’s because the Gaels finished first in the OUA, losing in regulation just three times all season.

The Gaels’ path to the final was just as tough, if not tougher, than Western’s. They needed all three games to beat Waterloo in the first round, and then they won by just

one goal in both their semifinal games.

Queen’s and Western played twice this year, both teams winning on the road. The Gaels won 4–0 at Thompson Arena back in November, and the Mustangs returned the favour with a 3–0 shutout in late January. That win in Kingston was actually the start of Western’s current 10-game winning streak.

With just under a week until the championship game, the Mustangs have their work cut out for them.

“We want to make sure they’re getting rest,” said head coach Kelly Paton about the plan for her players this week. “We probably won’t spend a ton of time on the ice, but we’re going to really focus on trying to teach through video.”

This playoff run has definitely been taxing on the Mustangs, with two games going to double overtime. So they might get better value out of studying up on their opponents than they would from practicing every day.

The Mustangs can likely learn a lot from reviewing their games against the Gaels. If they can figure out what worked for them in January and what didn’t in November, they’ll have a chance.

Immediately after the win on Friday, Paton began analyzing Queen’s and what her team can do against them.

“They’re a team that has a very shot-first mentality,” she said. “So it’s just controlling our gap and defending the rush well, getting good box-outs around the net.”

She’s right that Queen’s loves to shoot the puck. The Gaels took the second-most shots in the OUA this season, testing opposing goalies 730 times. That means Western’s netminder, Carmen Lasis, might have a busy night on Saturday.

Thankfully, Lasis should be up

MICHAEL CONLEY GAZETTE Mustangs’ April Clark powers toward University of Guelph’s net in their second playoff matchup, March 3.

to the task. She was a rock against Guelph, making 40 saves in the series-clinching game — the second time she’s stopped 40 or more in these playoffs.

Down at the other end, though, Queen’s has a brick wall of their own. Stephanie Pascal is one of the top goaltenders in the country, being named U Sports female athlete of the month in January.

She leads all OUA goalies with a .963 save percentage in the playoffs, averaging less than one goal against per game.

Queen’s can keep goals out of their own net, but unfortunately for Western, Queen’s can score a few themselves, too. Katrina Manoukarakis led the OUA with 15 goals and 30 points this season, and Addi Halladay has five points in five games in the playoffs.

That said, nobody is hotter right now than Western’s own Alyssa Chiarello, who leads the league with six playoff points in four games.

The Mustangs are on the

MICHAEL CONLEY GAZETTE The Western Mustangs women’s hockey team celebrates their double overtime series-clinching win against the University of Guelph, March 2.

trajectory they want to be on heading into nationals. They’re probably playing the best hockey they’ve played all year, just at the right time, and they’re hoping that can peak at the U Sports tournament.

Still, Paton doesn’t want them to lose sight of the work they need to do for that to happen.

“We’re still working to play a

full 60 minutes,” she said. “There’s certain concepts and certain strategies that are becoming a lot more natural at this point in the season.”

The Mustangs will try to win the McCaw Cup and hopefully improve their seeding for nationals, on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at the Kingston Memorial Arena.

Women’s volleyball advances to OUA semifinals ALEX LEE CONTRIBUTOR @SPORTSATGAZETTE

LIAM MCINNIS GAZETTE Mustangs middle and right side, Kristina Curcin, tips the ball over the net in their quarter-final matchup against the Queen’s Gaels on March 3.

With a convincing 3–1 set win over the Queen’s Gaels on Saturday, the Western Mustangs women’s volleyball team is one step closer to the Quigley Cup. The Mustangs haven’t won an Ontario University Athletics championship since the 2010–11 season, but they’re feeling optimistic about their chances going into the semifinals.

“We’ve got players that know how to play in a climatic environment,” said Mustangs head coach Melissa Bartlett. “We have the experience of being so close to winning the championship last year that is totally motivating.”

Third-year outside hitter and middle, Kelsey Veltman, led the game with 19 kills and provided momentum for the Mustangs after their slow starts during the first and second sets. Fourth-year libero, Courtney Sestric, had 27 digs in total, and her performance benefited the Mustangs’ defensive game tremendously, particularly during the third and fourth sets.

Second-year middle, Danielle Grasman, suffered an ankle injury

midway through the second set and did not return for the rest of the game.

“The injury really shut everybody’s psyche down,” said sophomore middle, Kate Ferguson. “I was a bit nervous. It rattled our game plan, and we had to come back with our energy high into the fourth set.”

There is currently no update on how serious Grasman’s injury is, or whether she will return for the rest of the playoffs. She will see a doctor on March 5.

The Gaels had no answers for Veltman’s offensive versatility in the first set. The Mustangs gave themselves a head start in a tightly contested first two sets, 25–23 and 26–24, but the Gaels took the momentum back with a lopsided 25–16 win in the third. Queen’s outside hitters, Julia Wiercigroch and Shannon Neville, combined for 24 kills and proved to be formidable forces offensively, throwing the Mustangs off-guard.

“They made a great adjustment and spun their lineup so that our matchups were very different,” noted Bartlett about the Gaels’ offensive barrage in the third set. “Previously, we had Kelsey

hitting against their setter, but they switched that around completely, and we just didn’t respond fast enough.”

The Mustangs made necessary changes with Ferguson replacing Grasman in the lineup, resulting in their best defensive performance of the game. With their passing, serving and hitting far more polished, the Mustangs dominated the fourth set with a score of 25–18.

“It was really big that our adjustments came at the right time, especially in that fourth set,” said Mustangs setter, Jessica Lam, who had game-high 37 assists. “It took the third set to learn their tendencies with their new lineup and system.”

Even with the possibility of being short-handed without Grasman, the Mustangs only seem to be more invigorated after their quarter-final victory as the OUA women’s volleyball season narrows down to four teams with the Quigley Cup up for grabs.

The Mustangs will play their semifinal matchup against the Ryerson Rams, who went 19–0 in the regular season. The game is scheduled for March 9 at 6 p.m. in Toronto.

• www.westerngazette.ca

TUESDAY, MARCH 6, 2018 • 9

opinions

Canada isn’t a safe haven Gift of Gab

GABRIELLE DROLET CULTURE EDITOR @GABRIELLEDROLET At this point, American mass shootings hardly come as a surprise. We can practically predict the headlines: “mentally unstable man kills [number], harms [number] with assault rifle.”

It’s clear that loose gun laws in the United States are a deep-rooted societal problem. Considering the sheer number of recent American mass shootings, Canada seems like a safe alternative to our southern neighbours.

Gun violence isn’t the only factor that makes Canada seem like a safer, less violent and generally nicer version of the United States.

In the wake of Trump’s election, people idealized Canada as a safe haven, free of the bigotry.

Unfortunately, Canada isn’t as much of a safe haven as you might think.

The idea that Canada is a bright country with nothing but maplesyrup, colourful money and mutual respect has been around for a while. It was recently popularized in 2015 when Trudeau was elected along with his picture-perfect hair and his optimistic liberal ideas, which included everything from normalizing feminism to his commitment to international peace. Trudeau became a symbol of everything the nation could be: accepting, kind and open-minded.

Since then, the media has tended to present Canada as a beacon of hope and acceptance. Whether it’s on late-night TV sketches or popular clothing brands that capitalize on Canada’s reputation, pop culture loves to stereotype Canada as nothing but nice.

Most recently in pop culture, Canada’s reputation as a safe haven was heightened by The Handmaid’s Tale, the award-winning series that made waves at January’s Golden Globes. In the show’s first season, characters flee to Canada to escape the systematic oppression present in the United States. Whereas dystopian America is a bleak landscape centred around the abuse of women

and the rise of autocracy, Canada remains a free country where, for the most part, people live comfortably.

Certainly, this romanticized version of Canada has a sliver of truth to it. Canada is, in a lot of ways, a safer and more inclusive country than the United States.

For example, gay marriage was legalized nationally here 10 years before it was in the United States, and our healthcare system is comparatively easy to access.

But Canadian bigotry still exists. To ignore it, or paint over it with a utopian brush, is a disservice to its victims.

Since we’re constantly saturated with American media and news stories, it can be hard to pay attention to the events that are actually taking place here.

However, events happening under Trump’s administration are often mirrored in Canada.

While the Charlottesville, Va. riots were taking place in Virginia last summer, Canada had its own slew of white-nationalist events and controversies, many of which occurred on Ontario university campuses. While Trump tried to enforce a trans military ban, LGBTQ2+ individuals were disappearing from Toronto’s gay community, put signs of a serial killer that were ignored by Toronto police. While discourse surrounding Trump’s travel ban was taking place, an anti-Islamic rally was occurring right here in London, Ont. As students, we have a responsibility to include nuanced representations of Canada in our narratives. Our roles as young, educated individuals is to call out the issues present in our society and culture. We need to take a step back and acknowledge that bigotry is still present among the Tim Hortons and beaver dams of the Great White North.

Presenting Canada as perfectly “nice” in our narratives is irresponsible. By celebrating Canada as an accepting, tolerant utopia, we gloss over the fact that the marginalized still have reasons to fear discrimination — we dismiss our responsibility to do better and push for our own social change.

Sure, we’re better than our neighbours, but we’re nowhere close to perfect.

TAYLOR LASOTA GAZETTE

Western’s sexual violence reporting education better than most, but there’s room to grow

BY GAZETTE EDITORIAL BOARD A recent Maclean’s report shed light on campus sexual assault resources — and it’s clear Canadian universities could be doing more.

place, such as campus police, University Hospital and Student Health Services, it can be daunting and confusing to know which is the best resource.

Maclean’s surveyed 23,000 students, asking undergraduates about how their university educated them about resources and procedures on sexual assault. In response to the question “Who educated you on how to report a sexual assault?”

Western University students responded:

To be fair, the university is aware of this problem, and it appears to be working to remedy it. The university introduced the Wellness Education Centre and a sexual violence prevention education coordinator in 2016. Both the centre and the coordinator are meant to act as touchpoints for students to access on and off campus resources.

However, the centre and coordinator could be better promoted. It’s unclear how many students are aware of the WEC’s role as a one-stop shop for students seeking help.

26 per cent reported no one 49 per cent reported university staff 27 per cent reported student union 25 per cent reported student group 11 per cent reported peers, and Nine per cent reported not sure Compared to other Canadian universities, Western fared well. Several universities, such as the University of Prince Edward Island, had 47 per cent of students respond stating no one had educated them on how to report sexual assault. According to the survey, Western undergraduates get more exposure to this information than many other student bodies.

However, while education is key, there is certainly room for improvement when it comes to other issues surrounding campus sexual assault.

For one, Western needs to consolidate its resources. While support is available, many students have long expressed their confusion about where to go and who to talk to. With many resources in

The university could also be more transparent when it comes to its sexual violence reporting statistics. As presented in Western’s sexual violence policy, students intending to file a report are currently directed to five different offices: Equity and Human Rights Services, the judicial affairs coordinator, Residence Life Office, the sexual violence prevention education coordinator and Campus Community Police Services. Western only releases reports from campus police and Equity and Human Rights Services, making it hard to know the extent of reported sexual violence incidents on campus.

One bright spot on the horizon is a survey initiative from the provincial government. Between February and March 2018, a survey will give post-secondary students in Ontario the opportunity to provide feedback on the topic of sexual violence on and around their campuses. The results will help us know what Western’s doing well and where there’s room to improve.

Let the data point the way.

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.”

we get letters

Enough is enough: prioritize mental health on campus This letter is a long-time coming — the amount of times I have sat down to write these sentiments is almost too high to count. In the face of so many deaths on campus, it is difficult to put the emotions that are associated with a friend taking their own life into words.

The overwhelming grief, guilt and rage cannot be adequately captured with the English language, but at some point, we have to be brave enough to try.

In my time at Western University, I have heard many

things following the suicide of my peers; I have heard what a shameful loss of life it is. I have heard empty platitudes about how we must do better that are followed by no action. I have seen the university and the University Students’ Council pass resolutions to do better and conscientiously not follow through with their commitments.

I have heard a residence manager suggest to a student that mental illness is like a broken leg because it is better dealt with off-campus. Most troubling, I have heard nothing at

all — business as usual.

But, this is not a usual that I think any student or staff should accept. Western University does have a chance to improve. And it must. The recent USC and Senate elections have shown that student leaders have made mental health a priority. The university’s Mental Health Strategic Plan has given us hope as well. However, we as students must not allow these signs of progress to remain empty gestures.

We must speak up and hold our leaders and university accountable

for ensuring that our mental health is a priority. We must emphasize that Western must invest in our mental health because an investment in this resource is an investment in our academic success. We must emphasize that saying a final goodbye to even one of our peers is too many.

So, while it is hardly possible to find the correct words when faced with a situation as wicked as the death of our friends, I challenge the students, leaders and the faculty at Western University

to at least say “enough is enough,” and do everything in their power to ensure that we do not lose any more of our friends to the suicide epidemic that continues unspoken on our campus.

RILEY GARNO INCOMING FACULTY OF HEALTH SCIENCES SENATOR, FOURTH-YEAR HONORS BACHELOR OF HEALTH SCIENCES AND HONORS BACHELOR OF POLITICAL SCIENCES STUDENT

www.westerngazette.ca

10 • TUESDAY, MARCH 6, 2018

culture

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Rebels with a cause: Spur fashion show brings revolution to the runway

LIAM MCINNIS GAZETTE

‘95% Invisible’ explores the ethics of hidden art VIVIAN CHENG @VIVIANCHENG CULTURE EDITOR

COURTESY OF EITHAN LUE CHEE LIP

GABRIELLE DROLET CULTURE EDITOR @GABRIELLEDROLET Many of today’s fashion trends once symbolized rebellion: denim was outlawed during the prohibition, bikinis were a result of the sexual revolution and androgynous fashion was controversial when it first emerged in pop culture. The Purple Spur Society’s upcoming fashion show, “Revolt,” is bringing all of these styles to light with a runway show that spotlights the rebellion and empowerment attached to clothing.

Broderick Lomax, the show’s executive director, says “Revolt” will explore eras when clothing played a role in social movements, emphasizing how outward appearances can incite systemic change.

“We’re exploring different times in which certain styles weren’t allowed, and people kind of stepped off and built their own empowerment through wearing certain fashions,” says Lomax.

As Western University’s largest and oldest social club, Purple Spur tends to host some of the biggest events on campus. Last year’s fashion show, “Mirage,” sold out its 300 seats at London Music Hall in just two days. “Revolt” promises to be even bigger: the night of revolution and rebellion will take place at the London Convention Centre, a space with the capacity for 600 audience members.

Ella Bender, the show’s model manager, explains that the venue isn’t the only thing that’s different this year. Spur plans to enhance every aspect of the night, from the number of models to the items of clothing shown off on the runway.

“We added a lot more models this year — we usually have around 90, but we’re pushing 130 this year. The vibe this year was kind of ‘go big or go home,’ ” Bender says. “We have a lot more people that we’re anticipating to come, and we’ve reached out to a lot of new clothing companies that we’re really excited to work with.”

We’re exploring different times in which certain styles weren’t allowed, and people kind of stepped off and built their own empowerment through wearing certain fashions.

BRODERICK LOMAX EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF “REVOLT”

With a bigger venue, more clothing and more audience members comes more money. As a school club that preaches a rich sense of community, Purple Spur donates the funds of their fashion show to a different charitable organization every year. While last year’s show raised $25,000 to support the Special Olympics Canada Foundation, “Revolt” will raise money for the Ontario Federation for Cerebral Palsy.

“Each year, we pick something that connects really closely with the club, and we donate all of our proceeds towards it,” says Lomax. He hopes that by working with OFCP, the fashion show can help fund programs that assist 34,000 individuals in Ontario who live with cerebral palsy.

The fashion show’s executive members — a group of 50 student volunteers — emphasize that community, in all respects, is the most important part of “Revolt.” The show is able to run with the help of sponsorship from different Londonbased companies, and the clothing featured on the runway is borrowed from a variety of clothing stores like Urban Outfitters.

The executives hope that by showcasing rebellion and revolt on their runway, they can inspire a sense of empowerment in all who attend.

Tickets for the Spur fashion show can be purchased for $30 general admission or $50 for VIP on the Spur website.

Walk into the “95% Invisible” exhibit, and you’ll be greeted by a set of evenly spaced industrial crates in a brightly lit space. It’s an exhibit that explores the ethics of art storage; it tells us a story of what happens to art when it’s not on display.

According to Kirsty Robertson, a museum studies and contemporary art professor, 95 per cent of museum art and artifacts remain hidden in storage.

This minimalist setting contains boxes of various sizes, and the space feels bare due to the small paintings, photographs and quotes placed on the walls.

Right in the centre of the exhibit, your eyes are drawn to a large shipping container playing a film by Braden King, a New York based film maker, that looks at the greatest art collection that is stored at the

Geneva Free Port, Switzerland.

“95% Invisible” is a project curated by the students in a fourth-year museum and curatorial practicum class. Nicholas Cote, a fourth-year art history and studio art student, was involved in a lot of the aesthetic design. He says the idea came from ethical issues pertaining to art and culture being unavailable to the general public.

“Museums are public institutions, but they’re really only held accountable to their board of directors and not the public at large.

It’s interesting to see where artwork is and who decides what is shown,” says Cote.

But there’s more than meets the eye. This exhibit combines the virtual space with the physical space. Visitors can download the “95% Invisible” app and point their phones at photographs on the wall to get more information about each piece of work.

This is the first year that an art exhibit contains an interactive component to it. Sarah Rooth, fourth-year art history and museum studies student, says the technological aspect makes the subject of museum studies more modern and attractive.

When you point your phone at the photograph, a drawer pops out to simulate art that’s packed up in storage.The app also contains audio files to explain more about each piece of artwork.

There’s also a website that contains the exhibit online for individuals who may not have access to the show.

“This exhibit is a fun way to interact with museums if you’re not super familiar with them,” says Rooth.

The exhibit runs from March 1 to 15, 2018 at the Artlab Gallery in the John Labatt Visual Arts Centre.

15 years later, Canada still loves Kenny vs. Spenny CARMEN MALLIA CULTURE EDITOR @CARMMALLIA Notorious for their adversarial brand of comedy, Kenny Hotz and Spencer “Spenny” Rice are the only Canadian icons to become famous by dosing each other with LSD and appearing naked on national television.

To understate the case, Kenny vs. Spenny isn’t your typical Canadian comedy. The show is based on a simple premise: each episode, the two Toronto natives take part in absurd (and sometimes illegal) competitions, and the loser of each rivalry must suffer a humiliation that is chosen by their opponent. In the past, these have included a burial in cow manure and bobbing for apples in the toilet.

The oddly engaging premise followed Hotz and Rice as they competed in pointless competitions for bragging rights in categories such as who could wear a gorilla suit the longest, who could smoke more weed and who could blow the biggest fart.

“It was a very sadistic show in a sense, especially my end of it,” Rice says.

Even though the last episode

aired in 2010, the duo have since adapted their love-hate relationship in the form of a cross-Canada live tour. The tour will stop in London, Ont. on March 9 at the London Music Hall.

“I’ve always been an easy target for [Kenny] because I’m an only child. I never had a brother teasing me when I was growing up, so I’ve always been naive,” Rice says.

The duo’s humour has sparked a “reality sitcom” revolution in Canadian comedy that uses plucky, untamed characters and low-budget network contracts to produce cutting-edge humour.

The outrageous and authentic competitions performed on the television series opened the floodgates for a new, unorthodox form of Canadian comedy: one that favours nocuous stupidity and madcap aspirations. Today, it’s been picked up by popular Canadian shows, including Letterkenny and VICELAND’s Nirvanna the Band the Show.

Throughout the reality series, Hotz constantly devised schemes that involved cheating, while a fragile Rice was trying to be an honest, respectable competitor.

Rice says he always felt a sense of anxiety when shooting with

Hotz, almost leaving the show three or four times because he couldn’t handle it. Hotz took unforeseen strides to win each battle against Rice. He forged a government document stating that Rice was HIV-positive, blasted Rice with radiation and laced Rice’s orange juice with LSD. According to Rice, their live show is based on improv. He urges Londoners to come out because it will offer them a glimpse into the dysfunctional relationship between him and Hotz. During the live show, the duo will also show unaired scenes, interact with fans and perform live humiliations.

Whether you love them or hate them, Rice and Hotz have graced the international comedy scene with their low-budget, do-it-yourself series that is steeped in sexual innuendos and frat boy humour.

Rice says he would never say no to revitalizing the show for one more season. To him, comedy is a way of coping with “the grim realities of the world.”

“I would never say never. The older we get, the funnier we are,” says Rice.

Kenny vs. Spenny will come to London Music Hall on March 9, 2018.

• www.westerngazette.ca

TUESDAY, MARCH 6, 2018 • 11

culture

Western student producing independent ‘Gatsby’ play NICK SOKIC CULTURE EDITOR @NICKATGAZETTE Between Theatre Western, King’s Players and the Huron Underground Dramatic Society, there are plenty of opportunities at Western University for those interested in the performing arts, which is necessary in many ways.

Play production is a huge effort with a lot of moving parts, so it can be difficult for one person to put it all together, but that’s exactly what Paul Scala, fourth-year student at the School for Advanced Studies in the Arts and Humanities, has set out to do.

Scala is in the midst of producing of Simon Levy’s play adaptation of The Great Gatsby. As director, every casting and staging decision comes down to him.

The idea of producing a play independently, without the backing of any company, came to Scala after acting in a number of plays with Theatre Western. His first role was in theatre rendition of 12 Angry Men after deciding to audition the night before, and it was there that

he fell in love with the stage.

“I’ve never produced a play before, so why not?” says Scala. “It’s something that I think benefits not just myself but everyone involved by giving opportunities to people like I was given my first time acting.”

Even getting the play past the idea stage was a daunting task in terms of funding. Scala turned to his friends and frat brothers at Kappa Sigma for cash, which also allowed him to maintain his creative freedom. Premiering the show at the Palace Theatre in London, Ont. was as easy as asking them, with Scala’s production being one of the few plays not put on by their in-house group, London Community Players.

“I think it marks a sign of their willingness to open the doors to a new generation of people that want to be in theatre,” says Scala.

As director, Scala has brought together a stage manager, a producer and 12 cast members, as well as composer Kevin Gibson, a second-year music composition master’s student.

Gibson’s solo piano performance for

SISSI CHEN GAZETTE

the play marks his first time composing an original score for theatre.

“It’s gonna sound like the classic jazz you would hear, but there will be a bit of a modern twist to it,” says Gibson. “Even though [The Great Gatsby] has a happy environment on the surface, you can tell there’s some kind of drama. That’s what I try to express in my music using Gershwin’s

‘Rhapsody in Blue’ as a model.”

Scala says the biggest challenge he’s faced in adapting Levy’s script is in its prescriptiveness. Unlike the novel, Scala’s play won’t have a narrator. He wants the audience to be able to interpret the performance for themselves.

For a first-time independent production, The Great Gatsby is a

perfect fit.

“It occurred to me that I think [it] can be done with the right sense of determination and support, so Gatsby has always spoken to me,” says Scala.

The Great Gatsby will play at the Palace Theatre in London, Ont. from April 4 to 8.

Instagram curator and model Ruby Benson talks post-grad success CARMEN MALLIA CULTURE EDITOR @CARMMALLIA After graduating in 2013 from Western University with a degree in media, information and technoculture in 2013, Ruby Benson had no idea what she wanted to do with her life.

The Toronto native couldn’t see herself going the corporate route because she wanted to establish a career centred around creativity.

Benson dabbled in modelling during her childhood — appearing in commercials for Kraft Dinner and other brands — but she did not want to limit herself to just modelling.

“I was always trying to figure out how I could put what I learned in school together with my passion for modelling, styling, photography, writing and journalism,” says Benson.

While working a nine-to-five job with Parisian clothing company The Kooples after finishing school, she did what any other 21-year-old striving to work in the cut-throat media industry would do — she created a blog.

Her edgy style and authentic attitude was channeled through “Rags & Ruby,” a personal website where she could show off her writing, photography, modelling and digital content creation skills, which encapsulate her persona and love for storytelling.

Fast forward five years, and Benson has a portfolio jam-packed with creative content, working for some of the biggest names in the fashion industry and gaining 10 to 15 thousand views on each blog post. From illustrious luxury brands like Gucci to streetwear companies like Adidas, Nike and Converse, Benson has used her creative blog and Instagram to make a living wearing recognized brands.

Easy access to social media has turned fashion models into influential digital publishers, some of who have a larger audience outreach than traditional brands and magazines.

With over 50,000 followers on Instagram, Benson is part of the influential group of bloggers who use their popularity to partner on ad campaigns with well-known brands, turning digital content creation into a paying job. She has also been a speaker on a number of social media panels and has used her website to create a dialogue around feminism in the millennial age.

Last year, Benson had the opportunity to work on a creative project for Gucci in Toronto. She was overjoyed when she got to wear a $50,000 fur jacket that’s been worn

by Beyoncé.

Benson also spent the summer of 2015 managing social media and writing articles for Complex Canada.

According to Benson, some Toronto-based models cannot rely solely on modelling; some work part-time jobs, are students or work full-time careers in other industries.

With that said, Benson is humbled that she can make a living focusing solely on blogging, modelling and Instagram content creation.

“I think it’s all about your work ethic and how much you really want it because at the end of the day, anything can happen,” Benson says.

According to Benson, a modelling or social media content creation paycheque can range anywhere from hundreds to thousands of dollars per shoot.

“Sometimes you have made enough money to sustain yourself for an entire month from just one job, whereas for lower budget jobs that pay around $500 for a day’s work, you obviously have to find other means of income to sustain yourself or just have to book more jobs that month,” says Benson.

The freedom that comes with being self-employed also means Benson can spend the year travelling to Iceland, Costa Rica and Los Angeles to shoot photos.

As the thirst for authentic personal branding continues to grow, Benson has taken to social media

to engage directly with her fans by promoting her simplistic and swagger-fuelled fashion style. She encourages students who want to

follow the same path to create truthful content and to never lose hope when told “no.”

“Not everyone is going to like

what you do; you have to be your biggest fan because you need confidence in your dreams and in what you want to do,” Benson says.

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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

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12 • TUESDAY, MARCH 6, 2018

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PHOTO OF THE DAY

GAZETTE CROSSWORD

LIAM MCINNIS GAZETTE Rick McGhie performs one of the closing numbers at Rick Blues: The Musical in the Mustang Lounge on March 3.

WORD SEARCH

ISLAND VACATION WORD SEARCH BEACH BIRDS BLUE BOARDWALK BOATING CONCH CORAL COVE CRUISE

CULTURE DESTINATION DOCK DUNE EXPLORE FISH FOLIAGE GULL HUMIDITY ISLAND LUSH OCEAN

•

CLUES ACROSS 1. Nocturnal rodents 6. “Sin City” actress Jessica 10. Strong dark beer 14. Nebraska city 15. Inclined to avoid conflict 17. Mistaken belief 19. Expresses disgust 20. Greek goddess of the dawn 21. Cranky 22. Boy who wouldn’t grow up 23. Scots for “home” 24. Turfs 26. Countries 29. The duration of something 31. Pastries 32. Golf score 34. Reasonable 35. Female parents 37. Art __, around 1920 38. Beloved sandwich 39. Damaged 40. Long time 41. One who rears 43. Without 45. Occupational safety and health act 46. Political action committee 47. Geological period 49. Swiss river 50. Type of mathematical graph 53. Doctors are sworn to it 57. One’s concerns 58. Type of wrap 59. Foray 60. Born of 61. A temporary police force

For crossword solution, see page 11

PALM PEBBLES PENINSULA

SAND SCUBA SEASHELLS



SHORELINE SNORKEL SUNSHINE

SWIMSUIT TIDE TROPICS

CLUES DOWN 1. __ and circumstance 2. Bowfin fish 3. Ready money 4. Expression of satisfaction 5. A person who lacks good judgment 6. Cooks where one 7. Majors and Oswald 8. __ humbug 9. Salts 10. Type of hound 11. A notice of someone’s death 12. Disgust with sweetness 13. Barbie’s friend 16. Rectal procedures 18. Partner to carrots 22. Group of cops (abbr.)

23. First Chinese dynasty 24. A favorite of children 25. Being a single unit or thing 27. Fencing swords 28. New England river 29. Sino-Soviet block (abbr.)

30. Insect feeler 31. Payment (abbr.)

33. Director Howard 35. Large deep-bodied fish 36. Architectural term describing pillars 37. Chargers legend Fouts 39. Awaken 42. Covered 43. Frock 44. Cools a home 46. Congratulatory gestures 47. __ fide 48. Ancient Incan sun god 49. Card players’ move: __ up 50. Gentlemen 51. Educational organizations 52. Actress Daly 53. Southern sky constellation (abbr.)

54. Midway between east and southeast 55. Small European viper 56. Language close to Thai

VACATION WARMTH WAVES

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