Tuesday, January 22, 2019

SINCE 1906 TUESDAY JANUARY 22, 2019 VOLUME 112 ISSUE 17

Western University’s Student Newspaper Cuts may cost $43M PG4

The Owen Sound connection PG8

Rick Mercer at Western PG10 recalculating our osap since 1906

WE S TE R N T O E D U R E AC T S C A AN N OU TIO N NCEMEN T

LIAM AFONSO GAZETTE

profile

TUESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2019 •

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ronald robert

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LIAM MCINNIS GAZETTE

Ron Robert is undertaking some of life’s milestones backward — so he can keep moving forward.

wish that is finally coming true. Born to a poor family in Halifax, he dropped out of high school and started selling newspapers on a street corner at 12 years of age to support his family.

After a winding career as a political journalist, Ron is pursuing his first university degree in political science at the age of 81.

Ron later landed a job at a local radio station and from there, went on to build a prosperous career as a political reporter that lasted over 20 years, covering politics of all levels.

From selling newspapers on the street to working closely with former prime minister Pierre Trudeau, Ron’s life has taken some interesting twists and turns. Unfortunately, it took an unexpected turn for the worse four years ago when he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

He received a phone call after a series of long, tedious tests. The voice at the other end of the line nonchalantly informed Ron of two things: he had Alzheimer’s disease, and his driver’s license would be taken away.

In hindsight, Ron says he should’ve been better prepared after losing multiple siblings to the illness. However, bearing witness to his siblings’ deterioration under the chokehold of the disease gave him the strength and determination to fight back.

“I decided I didn’t want to do like I’ve seen others do, including my brother. They’re diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, and they think it’s a death sentence almost, and they give into it,” says Ron. “I thought, ‘No, I’m not going to give into this sucker. I’ve never given into anything, so why would I start now?’ I thought I’ve got to find out how to fight this thing: keep it at bay, at least.”

Ron needed to keep his mind active. He started learning French for a year, but he felt little improvement. So he decided to attend university. A Western University academic advisor introduced him to King’s University College and its smaller, more intimate campus to ease Ron’s concerns over Western’s size.

Although multiple-choice tests and scholastic writing challenged Ron at first, he quickly started catching up.

His grades soon showed marked improvements along with his long-term memory.

“It’s the testing that makes a difference,” says Ron. “When I first went to Laurier, they suggested perhaps I would rather audit classes, and I thought, ‘No, that’s not gonna make me remember,’ so they agreed to put me into first-year political science, which is a natural for me, of course. That’s the way I made my living for a long time.”

For Ron, a university education is a lifelong bucket

“One of the things that always bothered me [was] that I didn’t have an education,” said Ron. “I always felt a little bit inadequate when I was a reporter, because I was working with a lot of very intelligent people over the years, premieres and presidents... and I always felt I was lacking. I used to buy Reader’s Digest books because they had a vocabulary section. That’s how I worked at building up a better vocabulary.”

While at first he simply intended to complete a few university courses, Ron now has a new bucket wish: to cross that final stage with his young friends. He finds in them hope for a better future.

I basically feel as loving and protective of them as I do of my own,” says Ron. “I see young people that care, young people that want social justice, and they care enough that they do something about it.… This world’s upside down. We’re not leaving you a good place. We’re giving you a lot of work to do, but I think this generation is going to make some great changes.”

As one of the ambassadors and faces of Canada’s Alzheimer’s campaign, he works to spread awareness and provide resources for others impacted by the illness.

Particularly, he is an advocate for increased support programs for caregivers, who perform a 24-hour job without respite. Further, he calls for a reform in research practices to directly involve the “real experts” of an illness; the individuals actually living with it.

“I’m diminished, but I’m not incapacitated,” says Ron. “I can still do a lot of things. Don’t write me when you’re doing research into Alzheimer’s; include us.... Too many times when they’re doing research with us, we’re like patients or objects instead of being a good part of that research.”

The illness might have brought pain into Ron’s life, but it has also brought great new meaning. From taking buses to writing exams, he is confronted with new challenges every day, but he is determined to face them headfirst and stand undefeated.

■■JUDY BASMAJI

WESTERNTV

Western by the Numbers

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38 points scored by Omar Shiddo of the Mustangs men's basketball team this weekend.

SISSI CHEN GAZETTE

250 attendees for Rick Mercer's speech at the Social Science Students’ Council’s Annual Symposium on Sunday

41 million dollars in losses Western anticipates from the Ontario tuition cuts.

3 •

news

• TUESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2019

Western researched with megacorp deemed security risk MARTIN ALLEN NEWS EDITOR @MTRALLEN Western said it researched with telecommunications giant Huawei, which is believed by many intelligence agencies, including Canada’s, to be an ally of the Chinese state.

The world’s second largest manufacturer of smartphones, Huawei has drawn controversy wherever it has spread its enormous research and development networks — often into universities in the Western world, whose academics work with Huawei scientists.

The United States, Australia and New Zealand all bar or limit research with the company, but Canada does not. These countries, along with the United Kingdom, were also present in July and April of 2017 when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was briefed by the countries’ spy directors about Huawei’s risks to national security.

According to a Globe and Mail report, “many in the international intelligence community consider Huawei to be closely linked to a Chinese government seen as one of the leading state sponsors of cyberattacks and corporate espionage.”

Later, in October 2018, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service briefed the U15 — an association of Canada’s top research-intensive universities — with the same message. Western’s former vice-president of research John

Capone could not attend the meeting and Western was notified by other means.

Amid CSIS’ warnings, a number of top Canadian universities — including the University of Waterloo, the University of British Columbia and McGill University — have worked with Huawei.

Western University confirmed Tuesday that it has researched with the company in the past, though they are not currently. They declined to say when the research took place or who took part.

“Western’s usual process for accepting and supporting research empowers ... our researchers to decide whether or not to take on projects,” said Keith Marnoch, Western’s director of media relations. “We are in regular communication with the government of Canada, the U15 and Universities Canada regarding how academic research may impact national security issues.”

Beyond security concerns, Huawei has been repeatedly accused of intellectual property theft, and its research with Canadian universities has largely assigned IP rights to Huawei, even though the work is underwritten by tax dollars.

The company is also the nexus of an international skirmish between the U.S. and China which recently entangled Canada. In December, a Huawei executive was arrested in Vancouver for extradition to the

MARTIN ALLEN GAZETTE Campus between D.B. Weldon Library and the University Community Centre, Jan. 17, 2019.

U.S., who allege the company broke trade sanctions against Iran. Since the arrest, a dozen Canadians in China have been detained in retaliation, and one was recently re-sentenced to death after an earlier drug trafficking conviction.

WHAT HUAWEI WANTS Huawei became the world’s number-one manufacturer of telecommunications equipment in 2012 — the hardware that moves cell and internet signals around the globe.

Huawei is in search of market dominance over highly-anticipated 5G technology for smartphones, which

is set to carry more data and do it faster than 4G. Huawei spent a quarter of its Canadian research and development budget on the pursuit in 2018: 566 Huawei employees in Canada now wield triple the funding they did in 2014.

The leaders of all six American intelligence chiefs specifically warned the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee that Huawei’s 5G technology could be used for espionage.

Two senators on the committee then called on Trudeau to halt Huawei’s 5G progress in Canada.

Canada’s intelligence experts have expressed similar concerns.

“It is hard for me to believe that a company such as Huawei would not do the bidding of the Chinese government and would not build trapdoors into its technology on behalf of the Chinese government,” a former director of CSIS told the Globe.

Concerns like these culminated in the U15 warning in October. Since the meeting, Queen’s University confirmed they are taking on projects with Huawei, though they did not say if they were related to 5G research. Twenty academics from McGill scheduled a follow-up meeting with CSIS officials.

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news

TUESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2019 •

• 4

Western could lose $43m by 2021 from tuition price cuts MARTIN ALLEN NEWS EDITOR @MTRALLEN Western is poised to lose $10 million more in funding than they expected as part of a surprise, sweeping new tuition framework the Ontario government announced Thursday.

University president Amit Chakma spoke on the cuts in a Senate meeting Friday. He said Western University met with a provincial official and was briefed that $268 million from their budget will be subject to the new 10 per cent tuition cost cut. In their modelling of future budgets, they had assumed tuition prices would increase by the normal three per cent annually.

Though they anticipated the Progressive Conservatives to cut them by up to $30 million for 2021,

Western’s new figure is $43 million.

“The short answer is: yesterday’s announcement is more severe than we had planned,” said provost Andrew Hrymak, taking questions from senators.

Chakma added that they were told that government grants, a crucial revenue source for universities, are not expected to change.

But he insisted that until Western has a government order “in writing,” no one can be sure of the specifics. Universities were put in a similar position in September, when the government mandated via a press release that they make free speech policies; in that month’s senate meeting, administration officials could not yet answer crucial questions the province’s release raised.

Western will spread its total cuts across two years’ budgets and

could reach into their surplus, he said.

Senators did not ask the president about the pricing of international student tuition, which is not affected by the PCs new framework; though, previous frameworks did not regulate them either. After the meeting, Hrymak said that Western has increased international fees in keeping with other Ontario universities and that different disciplines call for different prices.

“It’s a balance: if we price tuition too high, and they have alternatives, then they will go to other providers. We also want to make sure we’re capturing the appropriate amount of tuition revenue to support the programs,” he said.

“It’s not going to be borne by one group to address what happened yesterday.”

MARTIN ALLEN GAZETTE President Chakma addresses senators about upcoming cuts at January’s Senate meeting, Jan. 18, 2019.

Tuition price cuts were one of several changes announced in a bombshell press conference held

by Ontario’s minister for training, colleges and universities, Merrilee Fullerton, on Thursday. She also

revealed that the PCs would axe a Liberal-era free tuition program for students whose families earn less than $50,000 and that students can now opt out of ancillary fees, which fund many student services.

Western students attend competitive Japanese summer research program NOJOUD AL MALLEES NEWS CONTRIBUTOR @NOJOUDALMALLEES

MICHAEL CONLEY GAZETTE

Western says lawyers filed without consulting MARTIN ALLEN NEWS EDITOR @MTRALLEN Western has switched lawyers and will re-file their defence in a suit against The Spoke after their first filing attempted to blame a deceased student for her own death.

In a statement issued Thursday, Western University said the lawyers who made the original filings did so without consulting them. The original filing said Andrea Christidis — who was killed by a drunk driver on campus in 2015 — was negligent herself.

The statement says a new defence will be filed in the coming weeks. It adds that Western does not support “certain contents” in the original filing.

“Andrea’s death was a terrible tragedy, a tragedy that continues to resonate with many people on and

off campus,” it reads. “Our deepest sympathy goes out to Andrea’s family and friends and all those impacted by her death.”

The suit was brought forward by Christidis’ family against Western and the University Students’ Council given their responsibility for The Spoke. While the USC manages the bar, they require Western for its liquor license.

It began in October of 2017 after a public criminal trial of the driver, Jared DeJong, who pleaded guilty in 2016 and was sentenced to five years in prison with a 10-year driving ban.

DeJong and his father are also defendants in the suit, though they are separate from Western and the USC. In the statement, Western says Black Sutherland LLP will now represent them. Previously, it was Torkin Manes LLP.

CROSSWORD SOLUTION Solution to puzzle on page 11

Two Western University students were among four Canadians to attend the Amgen Scholars Asia Program, a 10-week international scientific research experience, during the summer of 2018.

Amgen offers research opportunities in science and biotechnology to undergraduate students through their various regional programs hosted by world-renowned universities. Megan Lam and Madalina Benea, both in their third year at Western, were selected from more than 5,700 applicants to participate in the Asia stream of the competitive program.

Lam, who is currently pursuing a major in medical sciences, attended the Kyoto University program in Japan where she focused her research project on neurogenesis — the formation of new neurons — in adults.

“It was a really big learning curve, being put into a lab where very few people spoke English and doing research on something I really didn’t know anything about,” she said.

Lam described the program as not only a valuable learning opportunity for science students, but as a confidence-building experience.

“I feel like living in another

country for two months … was something that showed myself that I could do all these things and survive in a foreign country,” said Lam. Benea, a student at the Ivey Business School, was enrolled in the food and nutrition program at Brescia University College before attending the Amgen program at the University of Tokyo. There, she took part in a food biotechnology lab where she accessed equipment usually reserved for graduate students.

“Going in, I had never had a lab experience, … so it really opened my eyes to what it would mean to do a master’s or go on to a PhD,” she said.

Benea acknowledged that the program’s competitiveness may seem intimidating but encouraged those interested in research to apply.

“I think it’s a program to explore

your options,” said Benea. “No one expects you to be the next Einstein.

They just want to see that you’re interested in this field, you work hard [and] you have initiative.”

All expenses of the Asia Program, including flights and accommodation, were included. In addition, students were provided with a stipend to cover other living costs for the 10-week period.

For the summer of 2019, the Asia Program has been expanded to two additional universities, including the National University of Singapore and Tsinghua University.

While Canadian students were previously only eligible to apply for the Asia Program, Amgen is now offering a Canadian program hosted by the University of Toronto.

Applications for both programs are due on Feb. 1.

MARTIN ALLEN GAZETTE Megan Lam (left) and Madalina Benea, Jan. 14, 2019.

Distracted driving penalties increase RANIA OSMAN NEWS CONTRIBUTOR @_RANIAOSMAN_ New changes to distracted driving penalties took effect on Jan. 1, 2019 as part of Ontario’s Bill 174 cannabis and road safety legislation.

Following the legalization of recreational cannabis across Canada, these new rules were made under the Cannabis, Smoke-Free Ontario and Road Safety Statute Law Amendment Act to ensure road safety.

For A to G and M licence holders, penalties depend on conviction level: • First conviction: fine of $615 up to $1,000, three demerit points and a three-day licence suspension.

• Second conviction: fine of $615 up to $2,000, six demerit points and a seven-day licence suspension.

• Third conviction: fine of $615 up to $3,000, six demerit points and a 30-day licence suspension.

According to Sgt. Sean Harding of the Traffic Management Unit at the London Police Service, novice drivers face the same convictions without any demerit points. However, they will face a 30-day licence suspension on their first conviction, a 90-day suspension on their second conviction and a cancellation of licence on their third conviction.

The law stresses the importance of refraining from driving under the influence of any drug or substance, which could lead to a short-term licence suspension, especially for novice drivers.

When asked how frequently university students are pulled over for distracted driving, Harding said it’s

not part of the course of penalization to ask for a driver’s profession, so the number of students pulled over is unclear.

“There are no statistics of the occupation of the people who are receiving these tickets. It could be during certain times, but on average, it is not something we look into regarding students,” he said.

Staff Sgt. J.C. Aubin, Campus Police operations leader, said distracted driving incidents are infrequent on campus. When asked about previous penalties for distracted driving incidents involving students, he said that there were very few cases.

“Most traffic coming through campus isn’t students,” Aubin said.

“And we haven’t charged for [distracted driving] yet this year.”

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opinions

• TUESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2019

Ford jeopardizing student media Gift of Gab

GABRIELLE DROLET OPINIONS EDITOR @GABRIELLEDROLET As published in the Toronto Star, Jan. 18, 2019.

Student newspapers are integral to the university communities they cover. While big media organizations don’t have the capacity to cover everything happening on campuses, student journalists offer comprehensive coverage of their schools.

But under Premier Doug Ford’s government, student media might not survive. Ford recently announced a slew of changes to post-secondary funding and costs. At a glance, some of these changes seem positive. These include the Student Choice Initiative, which will allow post-secondary students “to choose which student fees they want to pay and how that money will be allocated.”

In theory, having the power to pick and choose which fees to pay is nice. But the reality is that students fees are essential to the university experience — and those paying the fees might not realize that.

Ancillary fees are responsible for funding student government: which, in turn, controls everything from bus passes to campus coffee shops and newspapers.

When students opt-out of paying those fees, it will profoundly affect their student experience in the long-run.

I’m the opinions editor at Western University’s student newspaper, the Gazette. My work with the Gazette and the community that accompany it have defined my university experience.

I didn’t realize I was interested in writing until I started volunteering with the paper, and I’ve been passionate about journalism ever since.

As someone whose work and life will be directly impacted by the loss of mandatory ancillary fees, I’m gutted. If students opt out of their fees, campus media outlets won’t be able to function properly — without the means to pay young journalists or to purchase equipment, such as cameras and recorders, comprehensive coverage of campus news is going to suffer.

Over the past few years, I’ve watched my friends pour so much time into stories that have been crucial for our readers, ranging from short briefs to long-running investigative feature. These stories wouldn’t have been possible without the funding we get from ancillary fees. And while this is a huge loss for the student

journalists who love what they do, it’s also a huge loss for Canadian media as a whole.

Student newspapers are crucial in informing students and the public about what is happening on their campuses. They also serve as training grounds for the young journalists who go on to work at legacy media outlets.

And, perhaps most importantly, publications like the Gazette are responsible for holding elected officials accountable, both at a campus level and a provincial level. Student publications educate their respective campuses about the government’s actions and what they mean for young Canadians. Since he started campaigning, the Gazette has published multiple editorials and news pieces about how Ford’s policies impact students.

Ford has always had a bad relationship with the media outlets who hold him accountable, so this opt-out option isn’t necessarily surprising. But beyond impacting student journalism, the Student Choice Initiative will also impact just about everything else that happens outside of the classroom at post-secondary institutions.

The Orientation-Week programming that welcomes firstyear students will suffer; campus events like concerts will suffer; clubs and student groups will suffer; everything that makes a university experience unique and exciting will suffer.

Students — especially those in first year — won’t recognize the implications of opting-out of ancillary fees. Given the option not to pay them, it makes sense that they wouldn’t. But the student experience is defined by more than academics: students benefit from the initiatives and activities they’re involved in over the course of their degrees.

Participating in clubs and events can bolster students’ professional resumes and build a sense of community. It can set students up for a successful future, and make their time at university more enjoyable all-around.

My job at the Gazette is integral to my experience at Western.

But it’s also integral to my future: once I graduate, my experience with student journalism will propel me farther than my degree ever will. I genuinely believe that campus media is essential for every post-secondary institution, and its funding shouldn’t be up for debate. And while I feel this way about my student newspaper, other students will feel similarly about their own extracurriculars, whatever they may be.

The Student Choice Initiative could be disastrous for the students that ancillary fees benefit. While the choice to opt-out of paying ancillary fees seems democratic, it’s not a choice students should be allowed to make — for their own good.

MAX MAO GAZETTE The 2018-19 USC president Mitchell Pratt and vice-president Danny Chang as team Pratt-Chang during last year’s USC elections, Jan. 22, 2018.

USC elections are worth following

BY GAZETTE EDITORIAL BOARD

The University Students’ Council election season is here — slates are announced, campaigning starts on Jan. 21 and students will have the opportunity to vote on Feb. 4 and 5.

But will they?

Last year, only 23 per cent of the Western student body voted in the USC elections. While it’s easy to blame the lack of voters on student complacency, the reality is that many might not even know what the USC is or what exactly it does.

Western University’s student government has a hand in just about everything that happens on campus. The USC is behind advocacy concerning sexual violence prevention and mental health improvements, oversight of inclusivity programming through organizations such as Pride Western, services like bus passes and food support, campus stores and restaurants, and big events like O-Week and Purple Fest. Every year, as candidates start campaigning, their platforms are usually based on changes or alterations within these areas.

consent education campaign supported by Anova of London, research and recommendations for improvements to Western’s sexual violence policy, advocacy for increased mental health supports on campus and changes to Purple Fest, which became Canada’s biggest university concert.

Of course, there’s no guarantee that elected slates will follow through on their promises. But by following the elections, students learn more about the way their campus functions. Voting allows them to make choices that may have long-term impacts — when given the opportunity to vote, it’s worth taking advantage of.

As of right now, it appears the USC elections’ biggest issue is a lack of education. Through initiatives such as WesternVotes, the USC is attempting to grow campus’ political interest and awareness.

But more must be done, and it’s up to the USC to engage students in all years and across all areas of campus life to better understand their needs and meet them where they’re at.

Overall, the USC is Western students’ outlet for voicing concerns and seeing that their student experience may reach its full potential.

And in the meantime, students who are engaged can share information with friends and stay on top of political happenings. Because our government’s actions matter, and their accountability is our shared responsibility.

In the last year, Western saw tangible changes implemented by our current USC, which is led by 2018 USC election winners president Mitchell Pratt and vice-president Danny Chang. These include a

This election season, prioritize paying attention and make your vote count.

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.”

Student journalism matters Magic Mike MIKE DEBOER MANAGING EDITOR @UWOGAZETTE You can see it in their eyes, red from squinting at screens for hours on end. You can hear it in their shouts lobbed across the room as sections collaborate, commiserate and help the work along. It’s imbued in first drafts, on crumpled mock-ups and atop stacks of newly-printed Tuesday editions.

The drive.

The editors at the Gazette barely get paid. Volunteers get nothing at all. There is rarely academic credit

associated with participation. Most reporters don’t have name recognition around campus, so it isn’t about glory.

They do it for something more.

Listen to the testimony of any Gazette staffer that’s graced the pages of this paper since its inception in 1906, and you’ll know why twenty-some busy students pack themselves into a room of computers for six, seven, eight hours, trudging through stories, sources, transcriptions and edits. There’s something more. There’s something that makes the dark circles worth it. There’s a reason they come back week after week, year after year. They love what they do — and more importantly, they represent something meaningful; accountability, transparency and, ultimately, the truth.

The Margaret Mead quote emblazoned on countless community service and walkathon T-shirts goes like this: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.” As cliche as it sounds, for the writers, editors and staff of the Gazette, there is truth behind these words.

See their discourse immortalized in print and online. Listen to the conversation their words inspire. Watch the way they flip through today’s issues with equal parts pride and fine-toothed scrutiny, and you’ll never doubt for a minute that a group of thoughtful, committed students can change their school and each other.…

To read the rest of this article, please visit www.WesternGazette.ca.

feature

TUESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2019 •

• 6

7 •

‘We need OSAP’: Ford’s announcement cuts through campus

POST-GRADUATION

Ford’s new policy means students who graduate in 2020 will no longer have the opportunity to stabilize themselves financially within a six-month period prior to paying their student debts. This could put pressure on students as some may need to work precarious jobs in fields they are not necessarily passionate about in order to start paying their student debts.

“Doug Ford thinks that people should be searching for a job while they’re studying for their final exams,” said Kernaghan. “Graduating from university should be a hopeful time, an optimistic time. It shouldn’t be a time of anxiety. You shouldn’t be worrying about paying off your student debt before you’ve even had a chance to attend your convocation ceremony.”

Even though some students might find jobs immediately after graduation, it may be harder for them to find a better job or move up the “professional” ladder with the preoccupation of loans repayment.

Mitch Pratt, USC president, said in a statement, “The USC and this executive, are committed to ensuring that the daily differences we strive to make in your life, through our various services, do not disappear. We’re here to listen as we gather more information and find answers on your behalf.”

By Kristin Lee

S

itting back has never evoked change. That’s why about 100 Western students protested on Friday at Concrete Beach to show their concerns about the Progressive Conservative government’s new policy changes, which may have huge impacts on Ontario’s education system.

Premier Doug Ford’s new tuition policy changes include eliminating free tuition for low-income students, reducing tuition fees by 10 per cent for the 2019 academic year, eliminating the six-month grace period to repay loans and implementing mandatory and optional student fees, among a slew of other changes. This means students relying on the Ontario Student Assistance Program must worry about paying off their student debts even before they graduate, whereas before, students had six months to repay their loans without accruing interest.

AROUND CAMPUS

But it’s not just students who are affected: staff, faculty and university education as a whole may suffer from this change.

WESTERN’S CUTS

According to the Toronto Star, a 10 per cent tuition cut would take about $360 million away from universities and $80 million from colleges.

With a 10 per cent tuition decrease, universities and colleges may see larger classes, cancelled courses, more contract faculty and precarious work as administrations struggle to deal with the impacts of revenue cuts. “[Students] are also graduating immediately having to pay interest, and the Doug Ford changes will make that debt even greater,” said Peggy Sattler, MPP of London West, at the student protest.

Furthermore, the government also included a stipulation that allows students to opt-out of certain ancillary fees which are deemed “non-essential.”

The Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance said that they understand the government’s desire to save students money by providing them with an option to opt-out of non-tuition ancillary fees. However, OUSA strongly emphasizes that this “provision will not only reduce the levels of essential student services and make support services more expensive

LIAM MCINNIS GAZETTE

for individual students,” but will also shift the need for such services onto the provincial government.

At Western, this could potentially impact the University Students’ Council’s ability to provide services that support students. Even if one assumes services relating to mental health, safety and mobility are deemed essential and, therefore, not negatively affected, other services — such as bus pass distribution, the USC health and dental plan, the clubs system and employment and experiential learning opportunities for students — may be.

Feeling heavily impacted by this, two Western University students gathered others angered by the changes — via social media and word of mouth — and took to the streets with banners, signs and Western Marching Band members to have their voices heard.

Bridget Collrin, a fourth-year international relations student, and Lena Gahwi, a fourth-year international relations and women’s studies student, boldly stated their opposition to Ford’s new policies.

“The government should be empowering us to lead healthy lifestyles, and not making it more difficult,” said

Collrin during the speech before the march across campus.

“We will not stand quietly while a disengaged government pretends to be for the people. We are here and we are angry.”

Two of London’s MPPs also marched in solidarity with students. MPP Terence Kernaghan of London North Centre and Sattler, both Western alum, did not shy away from the fight for students.

“Doug Ford is trying to muzzle students. We will not take it. This rally just proves that Doug Ford is going to have a lot of opposition on his hands,” said Kernaghan to the crowd.

“Cutting OSAP grants and eliminating the grace period is a deliberate attack on students.”

An email from provost Andrew Hrymak to Western’s faculty stated that Western has “a robust planning process with mechanisms at our disposal to prioritize expenditures thoughtfully and prudently.”

The email continued, “While yesterday’s news is challenging, we have many means within our control to continue shaping how we deliver innovative and cost-effective programs and services that support our collective goal to achieve excellence in teaching, research and service.”

feature

• TUESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2019

“Doug Ford thinks that people should be searching for a job while they’re studying for their final exams.

Graduating from university should be a hopeful time, an optimistic time.

It shouldn’t be a time of anxiety. You shouldn’t be worrying about paying off your student debt before you’ve even had a chance to attend your convocation ceremony.”

TERENCE KERNAGHAN

MPP OF LONDON NORTH CENTRE

Governments raise tuition so university funding comes from individuals, not the government, Robert Andersen points out, professor of sociology and dean of social science at Western. Some students from low-income families afford university through grants, but as of now with grant cuts, many students may not be able to afford post-secondary education.

Andersen explains that, as a result, student tuition must be paid with less support, student debt becomes larger and, therefore, students from low-income families may be less inclined to pursue post-secondary education.

It would seem that Ford’s changes make it even harder for students from low-income families to get a post-secondary education. With their futures uncertain, student action seemed inevitable.

“A decrease in tuition benefits all students,” said Danny Chang, OUSA president and USC vice-president, in a statement. “However, we are concerned about the negative impacts that the announced changes to OSAP will have for students and families, particularly around debt. We look forward to sitting down with the government to discuss student concerns over what this means for the quality and affordability of our education.”

A 10 per cent tuition cut means cheaper education, but it also means Ontario universities and colleges will have to cut their operating budgets. That could mean anything from cutting some of the 200 clubs that exist on campus to cutting staff, faculty, courses and university services.

“Universities and colleges will have less money to spend.

They’re going to have to be more efficient. They’re going to have to find alternatives for revenue,” says Andersen.

As universities and colleges are now responsible for deciding mandatory fees from students which fund campus organizations, this may mean students can opt out of fees which are meant to hold school administration and the provincial government to account. “[Ford] wants free speech on campus, but he’s jeopardizing the very funding that allows things like the Gazette to function,” said Gahwi. “If you don’t have student writers and student thinkers and have their voices out there, then where’s the free speech at all? Without transparency, then we won’t be able to know what’s going on.”

Further, these changes affect services that improve the overall student experience for members of many campus groups.

“We’re here because we’re directly impacted by the changes through the ancillary fees and how they are being able to be opted out of,” says Quinn Fleming, the director of the Western Marching Band and second-year teachers college student.

“Cutting education never comes to any benefit. This is not where we should be going.”

Through unity and demonstration, these students are determined to keep the Ford government accountable for their actions.

Students like Collrin and Gahwi are adamant that conversations like these should continue, and they want to focus on the fact that they need to demonstrate rather than sit back.

Gahwi believes the things that Doug Ford does in a month will take years, maybe even decades, to undo, so she stresses students need to have their voices heard by keeping the conversation going.

“But we have to do more,” says Gahwi. “We have to break down the doors of every MPP; we have to fill their inboxes with emails; we have to show them what we are made of.

Pick up that phone and call your MPP, support candidates that will fight for our futures, but most importantly, do not sit on the sidelines.”

sports

TUESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2019 •

• 8

Western Mustangs’ Owen Sound connection CHARLIE MARSHALL SPORTS EDITOR @CWMARSHALL98 From the Ontario Hockey League to U Sports, Cordell James and Ethan Szypula have continued to build chemistry on and off the ice.

The pairing, who have both been pivotal to the Mustangs scoring attack over the last two seasons, played together on the Owen Sound Attack of the OHL. James was a fixture on the Mustangs offence last season, finishing second on the squad in goals (9) and points (19) to teammate Trevor Warnaar. Szypula played in the OHL last year, but has had a similar offensive explosion in his U Sports rookie year this season, currently sitting second on the team scoring list to Anthony Stefano in both goals (7) and points (15).

Earlier this season, the first-year winger explained that building off old chemistry has helped him make the transition to U Sports.

“Me and Cordell used to be linemates,… so it’s good to kind of be back with him too and work with that chemistry we got,” said Szypula.

“I’ve been very fortunate to kind of be where I am. [Head coach Clarke Singer] has given me great opportunities. I’m very fortunate, and that’s a big thing for us. Luckily, we can keep it going and roll forward.”

The chemistry between the two has also shifted the play of James slightly. While the centreman has scored just three goals this year, he has also connected on nine assists — just one back of his season total from last year, with eight games still in hand.

KYRA KARAKATSANIS GAZETTE

Additionally, the second-year player has brought his defensive game to new heights, becoming a mainstay on the incredibly successful Western penalty kill. Add this all together and assistant coach Patrick Ouellet isn’t very concerned about the centre’s lack of goal scoring.

“Obviously we see Cordell as being a big offensive threat,” explained Ouellet. “The goals haven’t been coming, but he works hard; he does a lot of little things well. [He] plays well defensively, and he’s rarely out of position. He takes

his man down low as a centreman in the D-zone coverage. He’s always there on the back check.”

“Of course, we want him to be on top of our scoring and playing leaders and stuff, but that’s going to come, it’s going to come,” he added. “I’d rather him be hot in February and March, rather than October and November.”

If their assistant coach expects increased production in the playoffs, perhaps it’s promising that the former Attack players have already experienced sparks on playoff runs.

James was traded from the Barrie

Mustangs win third straight REBEKAH RODRIGUES SPORTS CONTRIBUTOR @SPORTSATGAZETTE Western’s women’s basketball team ended the week with a strong 64–58 win over the Waterloo Warriors, which marked their third straight win and moved them closer to a playoff position.

Waterloo started off strong but, after the first quarter, spent most of the game chasing Western’s lead.

Even by the end of the game, when the Warriors cut the Western lead to four, the Mustangs managed to cling on and get the win to improve to 4–11 on the season.

At the halfway mark of the first quarter, Western took the lead and never looked back Going into the second quarter up 34–29, Western kept the high intensity, hit almost every free throw and were, on the whole, successful from the 3-point line. The Mustangs shot 41 per cent from the field and 26 per cent from the arc.

The third quarter was Western’s most dominant, as the Mustangs took a 57–43 lead at one point.

Western’s dominance was attributed to the hard work and persistence of players like Brett Fischer, Laura Graham and Maddy Horst.

One of the Mustang’s standout players, fourth-year guard Horst, vocalized how important it was for the team to keep their winning mentality but also made it clear that winning is not everything to them.

“For us, it’s not really about winning right now,” she said. “We’re just trying to develop as a team and to get a win is a bonus, but if we can walk out of every game knowing that

Colts to the Attack in 2017 as part of a trade deadline push for the Memorial Cup. In 17 games of the 2017 Memorial Cup playoffs, the duo combined for seven goals and 15 points.

Unfortunately, the Sound were bounced from the playoffs in the third round by the eventual OHL champion, the Erie Otters, who were led by NHL prospects Dylan Strome and Alex DeBrincat.

The Owen Sound products will likely have another chance to charge into the playoffs this year with the

‘Stangs control destiny CHARLIE MARSHALL SPORTS EDITOR @CWMARSHALL98

ERIN GRACE GAZETTE

we’ve gotten better. I think that, at the end of the day, is more important to us.”

Their recent success has definitely contributed to the team’s winning mentality, as the Mustangs pulled off their biggest margin of victory of the season. This good run of games is a welcome positive for a team that has been hit hard with injuries to key players and was at one point reeling at 1–11 on the year.

Mustangs head coach Brian Cheng has been successful in adjusting the lineup to make up for the deluge of injuries and build the confidence of his team despite their early season struggles.

“It’s all about improvising and making due, and when the war comes, it’s not what the plans are: it’s how you execute the plans,” said Cheng. “That’s what we try to do.”

The game itself was also special,

as the team commemorated those who have lost their lives to cancer, those still battling it and those searching for the cure. The game, part of the “Shoot for the Cure” campaign, also celebrated the efforts of those involved in ONERUN to help raise money for cancer research.

“It’s bigger than just basketball,” Cheng said. “It’s very important that we bring these issues to light,… and supporting ONERUN is an exceptional cause. I’m very proud that we could do that and have the community here to support,… so it’s a double win tonight.”

According to Cheng, the goal for the rest of the season is to keep performing, adapting and fighting for wins as the season nears its final stretch. After a win over Guelph on Saturday night, the Mustangs keep mooving up the OUA standings.

Western Mustangs, at a different level but with the stakes still high.

Until they are allowed an attempt to avenge their lost championship in Owen Sound, James explained that he is just happy to have a close friend with him on the team.

“Me and Ethan are good friends,” said James. “We played in Owen Sound for a couple of months there.

Playing with him is nice. We were good friends back in Owen Sound, we’re good friends here. So we [have] good chemistry, and it’s fun playing with him.”

The Western Mustangs men’s hockey team suffered a 7–1 trouncing at the hands of the Guelph Gryphons on Saturday night.

While it was just one loss in a long season, the Guelph matchup was emblematic of a concerning trend — the Mustangs often play down to their competition.

These past two weekends are a perfect case study of Western’s season as a whole: two good wins against a tough opponent and two blowout losses at the hands of sub-500 teams.

As a whole, the team owns an 8–7 record against teams with a losing record, but a much better 5–2 record against winning teams.

Of course, part of this evidence is skewed given that just four teams in the Ontario University Athletics west division currently own winning records.

But, as Western’s season winds down, all points are incredibly crucial in the playoff hunt, and they will need to feast on the bottom-feeding teams while they can.

But, the Mustangs displayed their ability to dominate matchups throughout their seven-game win streak this season.

Over those seven games, the team produced an impressive 29–9 goal differential against the Brock Badgers, Toronto Varsity Blues, Windsor Lancers and Gryphons.

In fact, if the first game of the streak against the Blues is left out

for argument’s sake, the disparity in goals for and against moves to a suffocating 23–5. Clearly Western has found a formula for success; they just need to rediscover the secret sauce.

After their split weekend, the team sits third in the West — three points up on the York Lions and five back of the Badgers and Ryerson Rams.

The Mustangs will have a chance to play the Rams on Friday night before finishing their season against teams with losing records the rest of the way.

Therefore, the top spot in the west is in the Mustangs sights, but it’s slowly slipping away.

Reassuringly, the Rams and Badgers have been playing poorly as of late. While Western has ripped off eight victories in their past 10 games, the Rams have dropped five of 10 and the Badgers have picked up six victories.

Assuming both teams continue this trend, the Badgers would hypothetically finish with 40 points and the Rams would complete their season with 38.

As a result, in this entirely imagined world that assumes sports are predictable (which they never are), Western could slip into second in the west by running the table in their final six games.

While it is highly unlikely for each aspect to fall in the Mustangs favour, it’s still possible.

Therefore, the Mustangs have been placed in the driver’s seat of their own destiny.

9 •

sports

• TUESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2019

Women’s hockey splits weekend road slate MIKE DEBOER MANAGING EDITOR @SPORTSATGAZETTE The Western Mustangs women’s hockey team split a pair of weekend road games, moving to 11–3–0–4 on the season.

On Friday, the Mustangs dropped a 5–2 decision to the Queen’s Gaels in Kingston.

The Mustangs goals were scored

by Claire Balas, who netted her first goal of the season and Alyssa Chiarello, who scored her sixth.

The Gaels’ got offensive production from Alex Maw, Caroline DeBruin, Katrina Manoukarakis and Taylor Hicks. Manoukarakis scored two goals, good for her seventh and eighth of the campaign. The five-goal output was the highest scoring performance for the Gaels this season.

About midway through the opening period, Western received the game’s first penalty. However, Western killed the penalty successfully, clearing the zone three times and allowing only one shot on goalie Carmen Lasis.

While the Mustangs outshot the Gaels 8-4 in the first period, it was Queen’s who headed to the dressing room with a 1–0 lead. With six minutes left in the period, Maw shot the puck from a bizarre angle, sneaking it past the post and behind Lasis for the goal.

Five minutes into the second

frame, DeBruin rebounded a failed backhand attempt and snuck the puck past Lasis to put Queen’s up 2–0.

Later in the second, Manoukarakis capitalized on the powerplay, getting around Mustangs defender Jessie Sanghe before netting the puck in the top corner to put her team up 3–0.

Adding insult to injury, Hicks intercepted a Western pass out of the defensive zone with three minutes left in the second, potting a goal past Lasis for the 4–0 lead.

It was Balas who finally put the Mustangs on the board, taking a pass from Shana Alexander and firing the puck past Queen’s goaltender Stephanie Pascal to cut the Gaels lead to 4–1.

However, the third period would see Queen’s clinch the win, as Manoukarakis netted her second goal of the night. While Chiarello scored with a minute left in the game, the lead was too insurmountable to meaningfully cut into.

On Saturday, the Mustangs returned to their winning ways, scoring twice in the third period to beat the University of Ontario Institute of Technology Ridgebacks 2-1 at Oshawa’s Campus Ice Centre.

Chiarello scored her second goal of the weekend and seventh of the season, while Rachel Armstrong scored her fifth goal of the season.

UOIT’s lone goal was attributed to

COURTESY OF MUSTANGS ATHLETICS

Chelsea Ball, who netted her fourth of the season.

The Mustangs outshot the Ridgebacks 15–9 in the opening period, but neither team could break the scoreless deadlock.

Both teams saw power play opportunities in the first period.

Western had an impressive penalty kill, preventing the Ridgebacks from setting up their power play in the Mustangs zone. The Mustangs fired seven shots on UOIT goalie Brooke Vial during their power play, but were unable to score.

Mustangs top Guelph for fourth straight win

MIKE DEBOER MANAGING EDITOR @SPORTSATGAZETTE

Thanks to an impressive 23-point, five-rebound performance from fourth-year guard Laura Graham, the Western Mustangs women’s basketball team won their fourthstraight game on Saturday evening with a 70–66 win over the Guelph Gryphons at Alumni Hall.

With the win, the Mustangs improve to a 5-11 record on the regular season and move into sixth place in the Ontario University Athletics West Division standings.

Emma Johnson, Brett Fischer and Maddy Horst joined Graham in the offensive explosion, scoring 14, 16 and 10 points, respectively. Horst also added eight rebounds.

Guelph was led in the loss by Modupe Okeowo, who totaled a game-high 26 points, 10 rebounds, and four steals.

The Gryphons came out of the gate dominating on the boards, providing themselves with second chances and physical momentum.

However, the Mustangs shot lights out from beyond the arc and went into the second quarter with a 16–10 lead.

According to Graham, the Mustangs expected the Gryphons to come out firing on the offensive glass. And while the Mustangs did struggle rebounding, losing the battle on the glass 40–36, they were able to do enough to stunt the Gryphons early in the first quarter.

“Waterloo rebounded really well against us [on Friday] and we knew Guelph was going to be crashing the offensive boards all night, so trying to slow that down was definitely a focus,” said Graham. “We came in knowing that if we didn’t box out, it’d be a close game all night and that’s exactly what happened.”

Western struggled to score early

LUCY VILLENEUVE GAZETTE

in the second quarter, but a pair of clutch three pointers from Johnson and Horst helped keep the Mustangs ahead. Guelph continued to dominate in the paint, but the Mustangs began beating the Gryphons at their own game, grabbing a handful of offensive rebounds to head into halftime with a 35–28 lead.

“Keeping Guelph’s rebounding in check is always one of our primary goals because they’re elite at what they do,” said Mustangs head coach Brian Cheng. “At the end of the day, we try to get the players to understand that there’s always an opportunity for retribution.”

Turnover and ball movement struggles plagued the Mustangs early in the second half, and the Gryphons began speeding up their offensive tempo with fast break opportunities.

However, the Mustangs continued success at breaking scoring lulls from the three point line allowed them to regain momentum. With Graham heating up from the floor, Western headed into the final frame with a 57–42 lead.

Guelph’s rebounding sparked a Gryphons comeback. However, despite a late three by Okeowo

cutting the Mustangs lead to just two points, the Mustangs were able to hold the lead down the stretch and escape with the 70–66 win.

“This was a pretty sweet win for us after losing to Guelph earlier this year,” said Graham. “I think we were eager to show everybody that if we were healthy to start the season, this could’ve been the outcome. We’re still missing Julia [Curran], which is big, but hopefully, she’ll be back soon and we can keep improving.”

Despite the win, Cheng was still left wanting. His team still struggled on the boards, settled for threes and lost compare dealing with the Gryphons furious press. However, for a team that had one win in its first 12 games, the ability to overcome adversity and win its fourth straight game was a testament to the leadership and tenacity of this Mustangs squad.

“Guelph killed us on the boards earlier this season and left with a big win, but our players have built the mentality that there’s always another chance to get better and they never stop trying to improve,” said Cheng.

“That’s a rare trait. I think the win tonight was a summary of their will to get better.”

Twenty-eight seconds into the second period, UOIT opened the scoring, putting the puck in from a weird angle past Lasis. Her goal was assisted

by Nicole Zabel and Kassidy Nauboris.

Later in the second period, Sydnee Baker nearly tied the score up for the Mustangs as the puck appeared to cross the line. However after some debate, the officials ruled it a “no goal.”

Western’s special teams did not perform well in the second period.

Their penalty kill was porous, as the Mustangs continued to allow the Ridgebacks to put pucks on Lasis.

However, she shut the door and gave her team hope heading into the third period.

Chiarello tied up the score with six minutes left in the third frame.

Armstrong fed her the puck, and she beat Vial. Three minutes later, Armstrong fired a one-timer into the top of the net off a pass from April Clark, putting the Mustangs up with the eventual game-winner.

Western remains in second in Ontario University Athletics after the win, three points behind the league-leading Guelph Gryphons.

Men’s basketball wins seventh straight GREG SIDERIS SPORTS EDITOR @SPORTSATGAZETTE The last time the Western men’s basketball team lost to the Waterloo Warriors was two seasons ago. A much younger Mustangs team got off to a competitive start that day — trailing 41-39 after the first half — but fell apart to a Waterloo team that was able to shoot 50 per cent from three and 8–11 from the free throw line in the second half.

However, the Warriors faced a much more experienced and talented Mustangs squad this time around, and the result showed as the Mustangs won 95–81. Omar Shiddo came out of the gates with a shoot-first mentality, and he was able to get the Mustangs going with an efficient shooting performance.

Eriq Jenkins provided the Mustangs with a strong defensive presence. Jenkins was able to force multiple turnovers in the first half with a steal and drawn foul on a charging call that looked to have injured Warriors point guard Simon Petrov, who ended up playing seventeen minutes and laid a goose egg in the points column.

Freshman Aaron Tennant spoke very highly of Jenkins’ performance. “[Jenkins] is the type of guy that will do everything and anything to put the team in a position to be successful,” Tennant explained.

“You can feel the change in energy every time he steps on the floor, putting in 100 per cent effort until the final buzzer and setting the same standard for the rest of the squad.”

Nedem Hodzic was able to get under the skin of the Mustangs,

as his tough penetration play brought him into a lot of contact, sending him to the line often.

Hodzic registered 29 points, 10 rebounds and drew five fouls on the night.

The Mustangs had an excellent performance shooting-wise, as they hit 17–34 from the field in the first half to head into the locker room up 49–32.

Western’s poor shot selection and defensive woes allowed Waterloo to score 49 points in the second half. Mustangs head coach Brad Campbell with his team’s finish on the evening.

“We let down a bit and didn’t put the effort in necessary defensively,” Campbell said.

On Saturday, the Mustangs hosted the Guelph Gryphons at Alumni Hall. Twenty-five seconds into the game , Shiddo hit a three off a Julian Walker offensive rebound and kickout, which looked to set the tone for Western. However, the Gryphons responded with fourteen unanswered points in the next six minutes to take control of the game.

The Mustangs extinguished the large Guelph lead by the 6:27 mark of the second quarter with Aryan Sharma take to the hoop, giving the Mustangs a 22–20 lead.

The Mustangs did not lose the lead again, winning the ball game 72–53. Shiddo was able to help from the perimeter, going 4–6 from three and posting nineteen points on the night.

With the win, the Mustangs extend their winning streak to seven games and improve to 12-4 on the year, maintaining their top spot in the Ontario University Athletics West Division. Shiddo and the Mustangs head to Thunder Bay next weekend to take on the 4–12 Lakehead Thunderwolves.

culture

TUESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2019 •

SAMIT KHALSA GAZETTE Rick Mercer on stage at Mustang Lounge, Jan. 20, 2019.

Rick Mercer dissects his years of Canadian fame at Mustang Lounge CARMEN MALLIA CULTURE EDITOR @CARMMALLIA With arms flailing and spit bursting from his mouth, Rick Mercer discussed the time he got Pierre Berton — one of Canada’s most renowned writers and historians — to teach Canadians how to roll a joint during a skit on his hit CBC series, Rick Mercer Report.

“I knocked on the door, and he answered,” recalled Mercer. “The

fi rst thing he said to me was, ‘Did you bring the weed?’ ” This was just one of many humorous and heartwarming stories Mercer told during the Social Science Students’ Council’s Annual Symposium, which took place in Mustang Lounge on Jan. 20.

Throughout the event, which attracted roughly 250 attendees, Mercer reflected on his successful tenure as host of Rick Mercer Report that wrapped up its 15th and final

SCIENCE BEHIND:

Hibernation, diapause and climate change MELANIE DENOMME CULTURE CONTRIBUTOR @GAZETTECULTURE With a new semester beginning and the festivities of the holidays behind us, oftentimes all we want to do is crawl back in bed and hide until winter is over. But for a lot of other critters, instead of hunkering down in a heated home, they have to find some other way to last the season.

The first image that springs to mind is the iconic bear tucked away in its den, sleeping until winter is over. But — as Jim Staples, a biology professor at Western University explains — there’s a lot more to it.

HIBERNATION “I’m interested in how animals in general can survive stressful environmental conditions,” Staples says.

There’s a lot of misconceptions about hibernation. Contrary to popular belief, most small mammals don’t hibernate. There’s even debate in the scientific community if bears are actually “hibernating” when in their dens. Finally, and perhaps most surprisingly, hibernation is not sleep.

Hibernation isn’t constant over the entire winter, and mammals will periodically arouse to do various things — such as sleep!

“The EEG patterns suggest that they’re not sleeping when they hibernate.” EEG readings show a marked difference between hibernating and sleeping — the latter of which displays REM-like patterns, a phase of sleep associated with high levels of brain activity and memory development.

In a general sense, hibernation is when an animal reduces its metabolic demand and body temperature to survive stressful environment

conditions, like cold weather and low food availability.

“It’s cold in the winter, there’s not much food, so how do you survive?

You reduce your metabolic demand, and that means you don’t have to eat as much, and you can survive on the body fat you have,” explains Staples.

Metabolic demand relates closely to energy demand and reducing it means the animal can run on less fuel. Even if animals pack on the pounds before winter, this reduction in metabolic demand has to be quite dramatic.

“We usually measure metabolism by the rate of oxygen consumption.… Normally, when a squirrel is awake, its breathing is at about 50 times per minute and its heart is beating 300 times per minute,” Staples says. “When they hibernate, they breathe once every two minutes and their heart rate goes down to three beats per minute.”

DIAPAUSE But it’s not just mammals that have developed means to survive the winter — insects have a similar method.

But to complicate things, insects are ectotherms — cold-blooded — meaning they cannot produce their own body heat. Jacqueline Lebenzon, a doctorate student at Western in the department of biology, studies how insects survive the cold weather.

In mammals, this is called hibernation, but in insects, this process is called diapause. Because there’s no consensus on whether these processes are identical, scientists are reluctant to call them the same thing. “[There are] two main ways [to survive the winter]: you can become really [freeze] tolerant and

season in April 2018. He also discussed Canadian history through a comedic lens and recalled the time he got a pigeon’s wing stuck in his mouth following a dentist’s appointment.

According to Mercer, he was strolling down College Street in Toronto following a dental cleaning when a pigeon flew directly into his mouth.

“I’m pretty sure there’s a list of things you are not supposed to do

survive the really low temperatures the winter has to offer, because that’s really the main issue, and then you can also enter diapause, which kind of helps you deal with the low resource availability issue,” Lebenzon explains. “Diapause is … shutting yourself down so you don’t have to deal with those conditions.”

Lebenzon also discusses the importance of freeze tolerance.

“Some insects can become freeze tolerant, so they can survive internal ice formation.… They can make a bunch of antifreeze molecules to put in their blood ... and that prevents them from freezing,” she says.

But insects can’t just hop right in to winter: prepping takes time.

“In the summer, if you were to take a cricket outside and freeze it, it’ll die,” she explains. “But if you take that same species from London in the winter … and freeze it, then it’ll thaw and keep hopping and survive.”

Meanwhile, the insects that aren’t diapausing migrate to warmer temperatures. Lots of invasive insects move indoors, where warm homes provide what amounts to a constant

SISSI CHEN GAZETTE

• 10

immediately following a deep oral cleanse. I’m pretty sure having a strange bird in your mouth is at the top of that list,” the television personality told the laughing crowd.

As he continued, Mercer explained he immediately ran to the nearest Rexall and downed a bottle of Listerine.

The evening was fi lled with comedic banter sizzling with Canadian history, reminiscent of “Rick’s Rant,” a segment where he would walk down Graffiti Alley in Toronto and rage in an inimitable and long-winded style critiquing the week’s Canadian political endeavours.

In an age mounted with satiric comedy filled with American political critiques, Mercer’s show provided a caustic outlook on the Great White North’s cultural climate. Throughout his time on Rick Mercer Report, the comedian poked jabs at just about every political organization in Canadian history.

He recalled some of his most memorable moments through five-minute video clips sprinkled throughout his set: one scene showed him playing hockey in former prime minister Stephen Harper’s house with his kids, another showed him and renowned Canadian hockey commentator Don Cherry trying on over-the-top suits Cherry is known for.

In an age when Canadian history is taught briefly in high schools, Mercer’s repartee on the topic provided everyone with the perfect outlet to learn about Canada’s past

— and enjoy it.

“We have an education system designed to ensure that everything everyone knows about Canada, they learn from watching those Heritage Minutes,” says Mercer. “If it wasn’t for the Heritage Minutes and Pierre Berton, 90 per cent of us would be like goldfish: we’d have no idea where we were going or where we were headed.”

Mercer then described how he thought it was important to drop the notion that Canadian history is boring. Throughout the night — and during his career on-air — Mercer deterred this belief by discussing historical facts about Canada with humour and wit.

“Over 15 years, over 500 different locations all across the country — the north and the south — I’ve felt the same way every single time,” said Mercer midway through his hour-and-ahalf long performance. “The one similarity I’ve seen time and time again [across Canada] is a river of generosity that flows through the country.”

Exploring traditions and customs while travelling coast to coast, Mercer delivered an unapologetic Canadian show during his time on Rick Mercer Report, and during his time on stage, he was able to shine a spotlight on something all Mustang should hold deep in their hearts: Canadian culture.

But his set also begs the question: who will shine a profound light on our heritage now that Mercer is off the air?

summer for these critters.

Broadly, the solutions are similar: store excess energy and avoid the cold temperatures. In both cases, behaviour, physiology and biochemistry have become well-adapted for the cold so that the animal might survive.

“It might mean they would’ve lost time that they could’ve had more babies.… If climate change is going to reduce their food supply and they can’t put on enough fat, then they’re going to die. It’s already estimated that in one species of ground squirrel, 25 per cent of them do not survive the winter.”

This inconspicuous phenomenon seems to have a lot of wide-reaching implications, and not just for the bear in its den. Lebenzon stresses the ecological importance of insects — even if you don’t particularly care for creepy crawlies.

Lebenzon explains that, if the insects threatened are pollinators, there could be catastrophic effects on crop growth.

“The take-home message is that they’re not just bugs: they’re the most abundant animal in the animal kingdom. They make up over 75 per cent of all species. Millions have yet to be discovered. Even if it’s just one or a couple species that emerge [from diapause] early, it can have cascading effects on the larger world’s ecosystem.”

CLIMATE CHANGE People like Staples and Lebenzon are conducting the research needed to help animals (and humans) in the face of climate change. Changing temperatures can harm hibernation in a lot of ways. For insects, the effects are more obvious.

“The first thing that’s going to mess things up is those insects that respond to [day length]. Because, regardless of what’s going on outside, they’ll enter diapause when the day lengths are short.… When they come out of diapause, let’s say we get a freezing bout in March and April, and they can’t survive that,” Lebenzon says.

For mammals, as Staples explains, the effects can be a little subtler.

11 •

culture

• TUESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2019

BPW honours Anova and LPS Chief Pare EMILY TAYLER CULTURE EDITOR @EMTAYLER16 Content warning: This article discusses sexual violence. If you need support, call Anova’s crisis helpline at 1-800-265-1576.

“I was returning to my car when two men driving slowly with their trunk open got out of their car and chased me to the parking lot,” Kelsey Adams read. This is just one example of the 2,200 instances of sexual harassment pinpointed on the Anova Safe City London map in the past year.

Adams is the public education coordinator at Anova and the project coordinator of the UN Safe City project. Anova, the merger of the Women’s Community House and Sexual Assault Centre London, embarked on a mission to make London a UN Safe City through a five-year project. For the past year, Anova has focused on data collection through an anonymous CrowdSpot map where users pinpoint instances of sexual harassment on a map of London, with the option to leave a brief description of the event.

The online platform was meant to be accessible to young people, as although people of all ages can be victims, young women ages 15 to 24 are the most vulnerable to sexual violence.

Data collection ended in December, and the website has since been taken down. Anova is now preparing for the second step in the process: meeting with city councillors, public officials and universities and colleges to make recommendations for policy, infrastructure and educational programs.

Meeting with officials will take place from late February to early March.

Adams completed her undergraduate and master’s degree at Western University in women’s studies in 2014. In reviewing the data collected by the CrowdSpot map, Adams was not surprised by the amount of pins nor by their distribution: pins were mostly in highly populated areas, like the intersection of Dundas Street and Richmond Street. She was, however, surprised by the nature of violence alleged by the pins.

“I think certain trends that we’ve seen have been a lot of experience of verbal harassment, which makes sense as it takes place in public spaces,” she says. “What was surprising for me was the amount of following and stalking that women experienced.”

The nature of the pins will be taken into consideration when looking at recommendations for city officials. Infrastructural changes, like improved lighting, could help relieve the prevalence of this problem.

Western is a stakeholder and partner in this project, along with Western’s affiliate colleges and Fanshawe College. Western representatives will help analyze the data, specifically in areas on campus.

Many of the pins were on campus’ residences.

Adams gave an update on the Safe City London project at this month’s Business and Professional Women Speaker Series dinner. The BPW is a group of working women advocating for women’s rights and equality through resolutions, lobbying and education. The speaker series, “Awareness Starts With Us: Improving the Lives of Girls and Women,” features speakers from various London organizations, including Anova’s retired executive director Kate Wiggins and Nancy Sutherland, CEO of the Sunshine Foundation.

The members of BPW also debate and pass resolutions at their monthly meetings. These resolutions act as recommendations for policy and are sent to the appropriate levels of government, whether that be locally or up to an international level, in some cases.

This month’s resolutions urge the Ontario government to increase funding of education and housing for victims of sex trafficking.

Doris Hall, former president of both local and national chapters of BPW, says that, although she has lobbied in the past, the resolutions are what initially drew her to the group.

“Locally, one of the things that I do, and the resolution committee is doing, is making sure that our brief gets to every member in London because they all have a vote,” Hall explains. “Even if it’s not something that’s pressing for them or something that’s happening right now, they have it in their drawer in case something like that comes up.”

Hall says that resolutions are meant to evoke action from officials but that BPW also awards commendations to people making positive changes in the community. January’s BPW dinner featured commendation of London Police Chief John Pare for his work with unfounded sexual assault cases.

In 2017, The Globe and Mail

EMILY TAYLER, KELSEY ADAMS GAZETTE

reported that one in five sexual assault cases reported to the police are dismissed as “unfounded.” The term unfounded is used by police to determine assault allegations as “baseless,” claiming there is not enough evidence to conclude a crime occurred or was intended.

Over the five-year review, London had a 30 per cent unfounded rate in cases reported, one of the highest rates of the 25 largest police communities in the country.

After the report was released, the London Police Service began an investigation to review all of their unfounded sexual assault cases since 2010 and rework police training and the way that these cases are processed to a more victim-centric approach. They have since reviewed 1,030 unfounded cases to determine if each was properly investigated.

The police classification unfounded will now only be used for cases that

have been dismissed from police investigation through credible evidence that the offence did not occur.

The London police cannot dismiss a sexual violence case unless they can prove it did not occur.

“We recognized we had to …

enhance our response to victims so that they felt confident coming forward to report and that they know they’re going to be treated with dignity and compassion,” Pare told the crowd after accepting his commendation.

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12 • TUESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2019

photo of the day

gazette crossword

MARTIN ALLEN GAZETTE Election Season. The USC presidential slates begin promoting their campaigns, Jan. 21, 2019.

word search

wedding word search aisle ascot blusher bouquet boutonniere bridesmaid buffet bustle buttercream cake

calligraphy candles centerpiece chapel charger chuppah cocktail corsage crinoline dais dinner engraved family

•

CLUES ACROSS

CLUES DOWN

1. Imitated 5. Explosion 10. One who writes 12. Large nests 14. Philly specialty 16. A form of “to be” 18. Automobile 19. A way to stand 20. Waterlogged land 22. A way to provide 23. We all need it 25. Stalk of a moss capsule 26. Promotional materials 27. Bashful 28. Ten 30. He captured Valencia 31. Quickly 33. Violent seizure of property 35. Fugazi bassist 37. Baseball great Davey 38. Large bird cage 40. British noble 41. They protect Americans (abbr.)

42. Economic institution 44. Pat lightly 45. Not even 48. Cools 50. Seat belt advocate 52. A dishonorable man 53. Smooths over 55. Moved quickly 56. Part of a play 57. South Dakota 58. Worsen 63. Madam Butterfly and La Boheme 65. Removes 66. Dull, brown fabrics 67. Comedian Rogen

1. 100 sq. meters 2. Dessert 3. One point south of due east 4. Profoundly 5. Swatted 6. Confederate general 7. Soviet composer 8. Japanese deer (pl.)

9. Tellurium 10. Burn with a hot liquid 11. Pupas 13. Famed chapel 15. Car mechanics group 17. Blocks from the sun 18. Numbers cruncher 21. Responds in kind 23. Shaft horsepower (abbr.)

24. Each 27. Fitzgerald’s wife Zelda 29. Tribe of Judah rep 32. Patti Hearst’s captors 34. “The Raven” author 35. Bars give them their own nights 36. Essential for guacamole 39. Currency 40. Golfers hope to make it 43. Touch gently 44. Does not allow 46. Cyprinids 47. Insecticide 49. Passover feast and ceremony 51. Patriotic women 54. Protein-rich liquids 59. Type of soda 60. Necessary to extract metal 61. Inform upon 62. A type of residue 64. Palladium

For crossword solution, see page 11

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