Tuesday, April 9, 2019 by Western Gazette

SINCE 1906 TUESDAY APRIL 9, 2019 VOLUME 112 ISSUE 27

Western University’s Student Newspaper Provincial protests roll on PG3

Gazzie winners PG8

Science Behind: Mass extinctions PG10 “STUDYING” AT BARNEY’S SINCE 1906

WESTERN BREACHED BY IRAN IN 2014

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TUESDAY, APRIL 9, 2019 •

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inam teja

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Inam Teja visualizes the week ahead and then meets his goals. Game-planning life’s hurdles this academic year supported Inam while he balanced being Huron University College Students’ Council president, chair of the University Students’ Council’s advocacy standing committee and – as he says, most enjoyably – captain of his intramural water polo team. “The only thing stopping me from doing everything I want, a lot of times, is myself,” the fifth-year global studies and Ivey business student says. Our campus community drives Inam in these pursuits. A soph in his earlier undergraduate days, Inam’s favourite thing about Western University is the people. And in return for his immense service, his peers offered something in return: the nomination and win for our 2018-19 Student of the Year. Inam says he’s elated to win the award (without even knowing about the gift card or the T-shirt). The feeling of having others’ beliefs is a driving force for Inam and one he knows well. “It’s always the best feeling in the world that people trust you to look out for their student dollars or execute on their interests,” he explains. People might remember Inam from a satirical attempt to take student interests to the artificially intelligent side of campus life with Team AI. Partnered with Faculty of Information and Media Studies president Ariana Magliocco, the pair presented an alternative to the traditionally high tension University Students’ Council elections. As an opportunity to draw peers into the political sphere (including a Reddit AMA), as well as a vehicle for taking himself less seriously, Inam describes the campaign as the highlight of his year.

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Privately, time spent with friends, whether through breakfasts and dinners, board game gatherings or weekly euchre nights, keeps Inam focused on what matters. As a fifth-year — or as he remarks, “the old guy” — Inam’s watched his graduated friends begin new chapters. But he remains focused on the now, and entered this year determined to balance a life that left out the extra, unnecessary slots on his schedule. Publicly, given his senior political role on campus, this has looked like advocacy. Inam’s work pressing to improve campus, along with a heightened attention to the Ontario government’s effects on daily life — such as from repealing the sexual education curriculum — placed an onus on him to effectively perform. He recognizes the needs of others. He also sees himself as someone who can address those needs. This is evidenced by Inam’s upcoming fellowship, where he’ll support the economic development of a remote Tajikistani town. In his early 20s, with a strong educational backing and healthy family, Inam believes now is the time to deliver on his potential to global society. More specifically, he wants to help people defy the odds. As a “not straight, not white, not exceptionally wealthy” fraternity member (who also doesn’t drink), he’s used to challenging the norm. In a few months, he’ll depart Western and the community he loves. Though in turn, he’ll find more groups who can use his passion for people and service. And he wouldn’t want it any other way. “What I want to do with my life is really deliver prosperity to the people who need it most,” Inam says. Student of the Year voting was open to the campus community online from March 29 to April 4. ■ MICHAEL CONLEY

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news

• TUESDAY, APRIL 9, 2019

Western’s veteran protesters pushing to face down Ford EMILY TAYLER CULTURE EDITOR @EMTAYLER16 When members of the Ontario parliament returned from winter break on Feb. 19, they were met with nearly 200 students gathered outside the legislative building in Toronto. The protesters were assembled in the centre of Queen’s Park, hoisting signs and chanting “the students, united, will never be defeated” in front of a barricade of police and security guarding parliament. The faction of students from around the province congregated at its capitol to fight a series of Progressive Conservative grasps at colleges and universities. In the crowd was a coterie of Western University students — three graduate and two undergraduate. They were veteran organizers in the London area, coordinating local marches for various activist groups and unions. After realizing the movement needed leadership, the five banded together to form the London Student Coalition. Despite their persistence, the coalition was never content with the turnout at their rallies. Eventually, they reached out to similar groups across Ontario, leading them to the march in Queen’s Park hosted by the Canadian Federation of Students. The march on the capitol was the biggest demonstration the LSC has been a part of. The coalition members encircled a small raised platform at the foot of the legislature’s steps, listening to speakers from the CFS. Unknown to the LSC, a group of six demonstrators from four different coalitions were inside the building, being escorted by police out a side door. Their banners and antics had gotten them ejected from the gallery, and a video circulated in a media debacle raised the protest’s profile even more. Amid an ensuing political battle between students and lawmakers, the LSC felt onlookers had missed the point — nothing had changed in the legislature, PC policies were still rolling out and they were still disappointed in the march’s turnout. For the LSC, a movement that started as ragtag marches around London evolved in Toronto, but didn’t achieve enough. The coalition is turning back to grassroots activism, sobered but determined to prepare for a long-term battle. “I have no illusions that we’re going to get our demands,” said Ari Vangeest, a master’s student in sociology and one of the LSC’s founding members. “I have no illusions about the Canadian Federation of Students’ petition — I mean, it’s a really good statement, but really this is about building the ground game for four years from now, to oust the government.” LONDON TAKES ACTION Premier Doug Ford has tampered with education since his election in the summer, from the repeal of the 2015 sex education curriculum in elementary schools to a directive mandating that post-secondary institutions create free speech policies. Most recently, the PCs announced changes to the Ontario Student Assistance Program that eliminates free tuition for low income students and shifts to a loan-based program

instead of grants. Additionally, a 10 per cent tuition decrease for students will take $360 million from universities, as schools are expected to absorb the loss. The Student Choice Initiative has been implemented simultaneously, allowing students to opt-out of ancillary fees that currently fund student unions. As a shop steward of the sociology department for Western’s Public Service Alliance of Canada’s Local 610 and the secretary of the London North Centre riding association for the New Democratic Party, protesting is nothing new to Vangeest. He can be spotted at nearly every social movement held on campus: from bolstering pro-choice signs in front of Western Lifeline booths in the University Community Centre to working alongside PSAC in solidarity with postal workers. Vangeest used his years of experience to guide the LSC and shape the student protest movement around education, while also amping up the crowd with a megaphone at marches.

“The way you win elections in Canada is you knock on doors, you talk to people, you shake their hands, you look them in the eye and you tell them what you’re going to do.” Ari Vangeest Sociology masters student and one of the LSC’s founding memebers

“The way you win elections in Canada is you knock on doors, you talk to people, you shake their hands, you look them in the eye and you tell them what you’re going to do,” he said. “And then you have a rally in order to energize your base, but you don’t have a rally in order to bring people in… That’s what we have to be doing for the rest of the year.” Experience, or lack thereof, is the reason the coalition assembled just two months ago, after a dismal rally on Concrete Beach on Feb. 4 left protesters searching for leadership. The event was organized by Students for Ontario, a group based outside of London. The combination of novice protesters and organizers who were unfamiliar with the city resulted in a small turnout with no guiding force. After seeing the disorganization of the rally, the five students decided to form a coalition that would become a recognizable face for the movement. Alexis Pronovost, fifth-year English and creative writing student and founding member of the LSC, has been active in her opposition to Ford since his election in the summer. Growing up in London, Pronovost is confident she knows how to reach out to her community. Pronovost was a recipient of OSAP throughout her undergraduate degree, and she credits the program as the only way she was able to pursue post-secondary education. Fourth-year history student and LSC founding member Rosa Kniivila is in a similar situation. Before the changes, she received free tuition from OSAP, as she is not financially supported by her family. Under the

LIAM MCINNIS GAZETTE Four of the five coalition members pose with their red square pins. From left to right: Everett Newland, Alexis Pronovost, Jody Tomchishen, Ari Vangeest.

new OSAP structure, Kniivila already works more hours than she is in class in addition to volunteering. The cuts mean that she may not be able to finish her degree. “The way that things have been working so far is that I’ve been surviving, but barely,” she explained. “I would like to see a time where I don’t have to work more hours than I’m in school just to make ends meet.” The three students, along with masters students and PSAC 610 members Everett Newland and Jody Tomchishen, are the founding members of the coalition. STUDENTS TAKE QUEEN’S PARK Student protest groups are cropping up all over the province to combat what they consider undemocratic changes to the education policy. In their first coordinated dissent, CFS Ontario, aided by groups across the province (including the LSC), organized a rally to welcome back MPPs to Queen’s Park. Western’s Society of Graduate Students are a member of CFS, while the University Students’ Council is not. The turnout, however, was disappointing to organizers. Advertised as a cross-province march, the rally only saw approximately 200 students, most from schools in the greater Toronto area commuting to the city. The coalition believes the reading week date worked against them, as students had left the city for the week, especially after other student-led rallies on Queen’s Park saw much greater audiences. The march began in Toronto’s Yonge and Dundas Square winding through University Avenue and eventually arriving outside Queen’s Park by noon. The rally featured speakers from the CFS as well as their petition outlining five demands for the government: offer more grants than loans, eliminate tuition fees for all students, increase public funding for public education, protect students’ independent voices and defend the right to organize. The objectives are part of CFS’ We the Students: Week of Action campaign. The demands are campaign promises for the CFS’ petition, which was signed by each LSC member. Although MPPs were encouraged to sign the petition, the CFS made clear that the rally would not be a soapbox for politicians. Instead, they emphasized the student aspect of the movement. “The cuts to education are not an excuse… for politicians to get up on a platform and make a speech for a photo-op,” Pronovost said. “It’s not about the politicians. It’s about

how these cuts are affecting these individual students’ experience and that’s what’s more important.” Politicians from the NDP and the Liberal Party have since signed the petition, including the head of the federal NDPs, Jagmeet Singh, and London North-Centre MPP, Terence Kernaghan. Inside the capitol, student protesters disrupted the legislature, making headlines in a national news cycle. According to Chitta Chowdhury, a second-year political science student at the University of Ottawa and member of the Ontario Student Action Network, the disruption was planned a week prior. In total, six students collaborated in the stunt, hailing from four different groups: OSAN, Hamilton Student Mobilization Network, Independent Student Solidarity Collective at George Brown College and the Revolutionary Student Movement at York University, alongside Susi Hermanns, who members said was an independent protester. The students held a banner reading “free tuition now” and chanted “No cuts, no fees, tuition should be free,” at the MPPs and the Premier below the gallery. The demonstrators said they had not planned for the now-infamous independent protestor to break rank. Hermanns yelled “Doug Ford, you can kiss my ass,” while being removed from the legislature for the disruption. She later contradicted the reports, tweeting “I said Doug Ford is a fucking cracker. I said nothing about kissing ass.” In eyewitness videos, Hermanns can be heard shouting phrases which sound like both quotations. Ford responded severely in legislature, claiming the students have been “indoctrinated” with socialist ideas and that “they should have their mouths washed out with soap.” The Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities Merrilee Fullerton told the CBC that she respects the students’ right to protest while ensuring they “maintain respect for the processes within the chamber.” There has been strong support for Hermanns, who is a woman of colour, but her critics have called it a racial slur against the Premier. Faith Goldy, known white nationalist and former Toronto mayoral candidate, commented in a video on Periscope that the disruption was “a racist verbal attack that occurred in Ontario’s legislature.” When asked about what Hermanns yelled in the legislature, OSAN members stood by her. “We do defend that action, We don’t think that swearing is as

bad as actually damaging people’s lives, which is what Ford is doing,” Chowdhury stated. “So we don’t think that telling Doug Ford to kiss our ass when he’s actually ruining our lives is that terrible.” Chowdhury is not upset with Ford’s socialist quips either, saying some of her peers in the disruption embrace even stronger titles. “I mean, if he’s scared of socialists, he should be a lot more worried about us… [The protesters] either fully identify as communist, as anarchists, or anarcho-communists,” she said. “So being labelled as a socialist is not an insult at all.” This comment follows on the heels of Ford’s claim that student unions get up to “crazy Marxist nonsense” in an email to his supporters. Chowdhury clarified that OSAN is not a communist group. LOOKING FORWARD Just a month after their national media moment in February, the LSC held their final rally of the school year — and are finally pleased with the growing turnout. On March 20, SOGS and the LSC hosted a student walkout. This protest was in conjunction with CFS’ province wide event. Approximately 200 Western students and staff participated in the walkout — Western’s largest anti-Ford protest yet — On concrete Beach before marching down University College hill. The protesters bore signs and flags and sang. President of SOGS, Mary Blake, hosted the rally, accompanied by speeches from LSC members Vangeest and Newland among other union addresses. “We have seen through the rhetoric of branding of the so-called ‘student choice initiative’ as being for students,” she shouted into the megaphone. “And we have seen through the rhetoric of replacing OSAP grants with loans as making it somehow more accessible.” Her speech was met with a chorus of howls from rally-goers, who yelled “shame” at the Ford government’s changes. The LSC had previously been skeptical about hosting a walkout, as they didn’t feel they had robust student support. After ending the academic year with a bang, the coalition is looking at how to keep the momentum going. Despite the disappointing turnouts and program funding cuts from the provincial government that seem to be never-ending, Pronovost remains persistent. “We’re going to continue making noise about it until something changes.”

news

TUESDAY, APRIL 9, 2019 •

• 4

Professor investigates alternative bipolar disorder treatment KENDRA CAREY NEWS INTERN @UWOGAZETTE A new therapy aimed at benefitting those with bipolar disorder could be coming as a result of a new study being pursued by a professor at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry. Dr. Amer Burhan, psychiatry professor at Western, is leading a clinical trial examining the efficacy and safety of treating depression patients with magnetic seizure therapy as opposed to electroconvulsive therapy. According to Burhan, ECT or “electroshock therapy,” has been in use for over 70 years and has proven to be effective for some patients. ECT has been an option for individuals suffering from depression who have had little success with medications and psychotherapy.

However, there is a stigma surrounding ECT, which can be attributed to the treatment’s side effects, which include disorientation and memory loss “Over the years, we’ve been trying to minimize the memory impairment and cognitive side effects of ECT with some success, except that we have not been able to eliminate these side effects completely,” said Burhan, who is also a neuropsychiatrist at St. Joseph’s Health Care London. Though both treatments aim to create therapeutic benefits inducing seizures, ECT uses an electric field while MST makes use of a streamlined magnetic field. “The problem with the electric energy used in ECT is that it goes to other parts of the brain, while the magnetic energy is a bit more focused and it goes where we choose,” explained Burhan.

The treatment works by using a metal coil to transfer high intensity magnetic field pulses to a focal point in the patient’s brain. Exposure is limited to protect surrounding brain tissue and mitigate harmful side effects. The result is increased blood flow to areas in the brain associated with feelings of depression. MST has had some success in treating major depressive disorder and unipolar depression. This encouraged Burhan to assess the effectiveness of MST in treating bipolar disorder through a clinical trial led by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. “The idea was that if MST proved to be as good as ECT in helping people — but with less cognitive side effects — then obviously we would have a better way of treating people with depression or, in this case, bipolar

LIAM MCINNIS GAZETTE Western’s Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, March 23, 2019.

disorder,” he noted. The trial will work by randomly selecting patients to receive treatment through ECT or MST. Subsequently, Burhan and his colleagues will evaluate the potential capability of MST in reducing unwanted side effects.

Burhan added that MST will not be suitable for everyone, especially those with prosthetic limbs or metal in their body. Those who are interested in participating in the study can be referred to Burhan’s clinic.

USC awards recognize outstanding students, faculty LIEM NGUYEN NEWS INTERN @UWOGAZETTE The 28th annual USC Awards Ceremony and Reception recognized the achievements of 13 exceptional students and faculty members at Western University on April 1. University Students’ Council

vice-president Danny Chang opened the ceremony, highlighting the role of the award recipients in furthering the mission of the USC and the students it represents. “Our award winners are prime examples of Western community members who go above and beyond, actively making Western a better place for every single person

www.AliceMunroFestival.ca Award Winning Canadian authors in Bayfield & Wingham

2019 Featured Authors: Mona Awad, Anthony De Sa, Alicia Elliott, Amy Jones, Andy McGuire, K.D. Miller, Nino Ricci, Anakana Schofield, Ian Williams, and Joshua Whitehead CROSSWORD SOLUTION Solution to puzzle on page 11

here,” said Chang. USC president Mitchell Pratt, general member of the Recognition and Awards Committee Tobiah Ng and director of Western’s Centre for Teaching and Learning Nanda Dimitrov presented a total of six student awards to nine recipients. The awards ceremony chair, Ayushi Bhatt, presented the teaching awards to four recipients. The first award presented was the Future of Western Award. This award was presented to Adam Dilouya in recognition of his significant involvement in artistic and philanthropic extracurricular activities. The Student Award of Merit was then presented to firstyear science student Rachelle Li for her athletic, academic and artistic achievements at Western and second-year English student Jerika Caduhada for her contributions to Western’s artistic community through numerous leadership positions. Third-year business student Angus Lai and third-year neuroscience student Mark Grinberg were

the recipients of the USC Alumni Award. Lai is significantly involved in the USC and currently serves as the vice-chair on the USC’s board of directors while Grinberg is heavily involved in Western’s neuroscience and biology communities. The Student Athlete Award was presented to first-year medical sciences student Ashlyn Hersey in recognition of her outstanding leadership and proficiency in volleyball. Further, the Honour W Award was presented to fourth-year health sciences student Camilla Parpia and fourth-year neuroscience student Peter Gariscsak to recognize outstanding contributions through volunteer service and extracurricular activities. Parpia is the coordinator of Health Promotions Western and is involved in planning the Western Student Research Conference. Gariscsak is notably involved in medical response care on campus, and he introduced the first standardized protocol for naloxone, a drug that can reverse the effects

of an opioid overdose, to be used nationally by emergency response teams. The final student award, the Tracey Knight Memorial Award, was presented to fourth-year student Cheryl Fernandes to recognise her involvement in USC clubs, as a USC science councillor and in the 2019 USC elections. Finally, the Award of Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching was presented to political science professor Nigmendra Narain, DAN management and organizational studies professor Philip King, Ivey Business School professor Scott Loveland and physics and applied mathematics doctoral student Mark Baker. Each of the recipients gave a two-minute speech after receiving their awards. “You have all achieved some truly amazing things here at Western,” concluded Bhatt. “Excellent teaching and global learning thrive together, and tonight, we celebrate this great milestone with both teachers and students.”

London’s first legal cannabis store draws huge lineup ALEXANDER SH LEE NEWS STAFF RANIA OSMAN NEWS INTERN @UWOGAZETTE, @_RANIAOSMAN_ Central Cannabis is London’s first-ever legal pot store and one of 10 marijuana retail outlets across Ontario that opened on April 1. Nearly 200 people lined up to be among the first to visit the only cannabis store located in southwestern Ontario. Located at 666 Wonderland, the store sells a wide range of products, including bongs, lighters and rolling papers. Central Cannabis is owned by Chris Comrie and operated by Jon Conquergood, CEO of Corner Cannabis.

“[We] expected a crowd and a lineup. People are excited to be here and to see, in essence, the first day of [ending] prohibition for [cannabis] retail in Ontario,” said Conquergood. He further attributed the store’s success to Comrie, Comrie’s family and the store staff. Central Cannabis features over 100 different strains of cannabis. Experienced sales associates walk customers through the available selections and help according to the clients’ needs. Customers are not allowed to smell or touch their products before taking them home. They are, however, able to smell samples displayed within the store. Immediately after legalization

in Canada on Oct. 17, 2018, cannabis has been sold through government-run online stores. On Jan. 12, 2019, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission Ontario awarded 25 cannabis stores with retail licences through a lottery system. A total of three retail outlets are set to open in London. “There a lot of steps through the process, challenges along the way, but as you can see, we’ve overcome them,” said Comrie. “This has been a great turnout.” The city will open two more stores on Richmond Street and on Wellington Road South, respectively. They will open when their retail store authorizations become effective.

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opinions

• TUESDAY, APRIL 9, 2019

Thanks for everything Magic Mike MIKE DEBOER MANAGING EDITOR I’ve never been a big fan of the “end.” I think it probably comes from some deep-seeded death anxiety within me — the inevitable ending of anything is too existentially troubling for my “sensitive” disposition. But I’ve arrived at another end; this one as hard as any I’ve had to go through. It’s time for some muchneeded catharsis. So this is it. I walked into the Gazette office four years ago with sweaty palms and trepidation. I had this elaborate, grandiose dream racing around in my head at the time — of being the next great cigar-smoking, crotchety sports columnist at some major American newspaper, penning my way to fame and fortune. But until you chase it, a dream remains a dream. So that’s what brought me to this little office on the second floor of the University Community Centre, tucked away down the hall, where the stories of this campus have been told for over a century. A dream. I’m not an emotional guy, but it’s hard not to tear up when I write this. More than classes and parties and pickup basketball in the Western Rec Centre, the Gazette was my university experience. I was able to pursue my dream here. It’s where I met some of my best friends in the world. It’s where I enjoyed experiences that will last a lifetime. And it’s where I learned to write, create and, surely most importantly, think

critically about the communities and spaces in which I live. This newspaper has meant so much to me. As cliché as it may sound, I leave a wholly different person than when I arrived. In the moment, you often don’t appreciate it: filing stories late at night, interviewing angry coaches after games (most of them were lovely, despite the wretchedness of a loss), battling writer’s block. It wasn’t always easy. But as my time here begins slipping away, I’m so thankful for all the good and the bad that came with working at this place. I’ll cherish the memories forever. I also think some thanks are in order before I go. The most crucial ingredient for a journalist is having something or someone to write about. I want to thank the many people who have shared what they know and do with me — from athletes to coaches to students and everyone in between — so that I could share it with readers. I also want to thank my co-workers and mentors who made me a better writer and person by being around me. Your help and friendship has meant the world to me. And finally, I want to thank the readers who have engaged with this newspaper during my years here. Journalism matters when people actively strive to learn about the world around them. You’ve made this place matter. Thank you for that. It’s been a good run, and I’m so grateful that I chose to walk into this office four years ago, brighteyed and bushy-tailed. My hopes and aspirations have changed, as they often do with age and experience. I’ll never become that great cigar-smoking, crotchety sports columnist. But that dream never died, because it brought me to the Gazette. And that made it all worthwhile.

we get letters

Academia shouldn’t determine self-worth Some of the best acting is often done through improvisation. Take, for example, the improv in the legendary Pulp Fiction dance sequence or Robert De Niro’s iconic “You talkin’ to me?” bit in Taxi Driver; these unplanned episodes have cemented themselves as being among the most influential scenes in history. This year, my most important epiphany has been that effectively “following your dreams” doesn’t have to mean unconditionally sticking to the script you’ve written for yourself. My ultimate academic goal was o attend law school in Toronto, be it at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law or Osgoode Hall Law School. My stubborn attitude was basically “Toronto or bust,” and I planned on re-applying if I didn’t get into either school this year. I had a chip on my shoulder since I was accepted to the Northrop Frye Stream at Victoria College for my undergraduate degree, but I ended up having to stay in my hometown and attend Western University for various reasons. Regardless of how grudgingly I became a Western student, these past four years have been better than I ever imagined because I made a conscious decision to take advantage of a diverse range of opportunities during my time here. The end of the semester is always

a trying time for university seniors. For the past year, we’ve been fielding questions about what we’re doing after we graduate, and some of us may still be unsure. In my case, I recently accepted my offer of admission from Western Law after much deliberation and a brutal application process that included writing the Law School Admissions Test multiple times. I’d been rejected from UofT due to my non-competitive LSAT score, and I’d yet to hear back from Osgoode. In late March, I decided to just set my plans in stone. As much as I joke about having two brain cells, I generally consider myself to be a smart person. So when my November LSAT results were much lower than I anticipated based on my high practice test scores, I was devastated and disappointed with myself. Since the LSAT is generally viewed as a litmus test of dedication and intelligence, I berated myself heavily for my perceived failure. I knew this test is a standardized system that is not truly indicative of intelligence and potential work efficacy, and I knew my anxiety had a lot to do with my underperformance — yet, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I hadn’t worked hard enough, that I wasn’t smart enough for law school and that I’d never succeed in a high-pressure environment. I finally achieved a decent score

MICHAEL CONLEY GAZETTE

No BRT a loss for students BY GAZETTE EDITORIAL BOARD There once was a bright future for students: a fast, reliable transit system. London’s city council voted against Bus Rapid Transit passing through Western’s routes, citing potential for more traffic and harm to local businesses. It was disappointing for University Students’ Council executives — vice-president Danny Chang being the most vocal — and future students. Even though it would have taken years for the system to reach completion, BRT would’ve offered a better experience for those who commute daily. Bussing is the main form of mobility for most students. Many don’t have the luxury of a car and may not want to pay for an Uber or taxi every time they want to make it to class on time. They all experience the following at one point: waking up earlier than usual, worrying about the bus taking longer to arrive or not being able to board the bus due to overflow. With thousands of Western University students making up a large chunk of the London Transit Commission’s ridership, it doesn’t make sense that they’ll be left out of rapid transit. For the average student, this seems to be a problem worth caring about. Most of the Gazette’s editorial board agreed it was, as many rely on riding the bus to get around. Being both a university and college town, London could have benefitted: there would’ve been better mobilization, faster routes and less congestion in the long run.

Further, this may end up straining the city-student relationship, as the city, despite advocacy, hasn’t reached an agreement that will benefit all. And while BRT wouldn’t have benefitted current Western students, it could have been a vast improvement for future Mustangs. This proves a significant loss for students. Students must live close to campus for easier mobility, hence the congested areas downtown and around the intersection of Oxford Street and Richmond Street. BRT may have offered students the option of living elsewhere across the city, spreading students away from the busy streets surrounding the university. It would seem as though the city is abiding by the needs of the older generation and those who don’t bus, rather than doing what works best for its young people. The city has an obligation to support the needs of its student populations. Students vote in municipal elections, are part of the daily communal life, and the reason a number of local businesses exist. It is understandable London might not feel it owes this service, as many students will leave as soon as they graduate. But what would London be without students? And why would they stay if they don’t feel cared for? London is a host city, a home for many, and it will continue to be for the foreseeable future. That future should be transit-friendly for all.

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.”

after writing the test once again in January, which was my last shot at admission for fall 2019, and now I’m just psyched to burn (well, sell) my LSAT study books. My fixation on achieving a high LSAT score and the prestige of being offered admission by a Toronto school totally detracted from the joy and pride of getting into any law school. When I got my acceptance email during a Wednesday evening lecture, I texted my parents a dry “I got accepted to Western Law...” and felt quite numb about it all. I overlooked how hard it is to get into Western Law (last year, roughly eight per cent of applicants were admitted) and instead focused on what I hadn’t achieved. As I clicked through to confirm my acceptance, I broke

down crying when the screen told me I’d be removing myself from consideration for Osgoode. This messy experience ended up being the pivotal moment where I realized it was a mistake to be so short-sighted about where I was going pursue my graduate degree, when no matter where I go, I’lll end up working as a lawyer. One of my main gripes about attending Western Law was staying in London for another three years, but that concern isn’t as relevant as I thought it would be. I plan on working in Toronto over the next few summers and perhaps going on exchange. Also, as I’ve grown up here, I’ve learned that to make the most out of it you need to find your own people. As shitty as Richmond

Row bars are, and as toxic as Western white bro culture is, you’ll still be able to find people who get you. During undergrad, I met a lot of wonderful folks through the Fashion & Lifestyle Society, my current position as the University Students’ Council social media intern and Iconoclast, an arts and culture collective that I co-founded. London is never going to be as cool as we want it to be, so it’s important to appreciate it for what it is. Read the rest of this letter at www.westerngazette.ca. DIYANA NOORY FOURTH-YEAR STUDENT, ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE AND SCHOOL FOR THE ADVANCED STUDIES IN ARTS AND HUMANITIES

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TUESDAY, APRIL 9, 2019 •

• 6

Western was breached by By Liam J. Afonso and Martin Allen

n 2018, the FBI announced that hundreds of universities worldwide were compromised by a massive cyber-theft campaign backed by the Iranian government; 42 were in Canada, and one of them was at Western. The Mabna Institute, supported by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, tasked nine men in 2013 to harvest universities’ intellectual property and funnel it back to Iranian institutions — all nine are now on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Most Wanted list. Documents obtained by the Gazette reveal the extent to which Western University was both targeted and compromised by the campaign waged by the Iranian armed forces in 2014, a year into the attacks. According to emails sent by the Canadian government to universities, Western researchers were hand-picked for their work, and the hackers sought to hijack their university email accounts to access it. Mabna’s campaign was eventually dubbed “Silent Librarian.” Though Western, as a research university, is familiar with cyber-espionage threats, it is rare they are targeted by a foreign nation, and even rarer that their defences are breached.

The Silent Librarian logs on Emails sent by the Canadian Cyber Incident Response Centre detail the methods Mabna used to infiltrate universities’ digital architecture, including specific accounts the attackers used as cover for their theft. Though the attacks took place in 2014, Canadian universities were first contacted by the government in March 2018. An email sent to a mailing list of university cybersecurity officials revealed the Iranian military was behind an attack the officials had likely detected, but not pin-pointed to a culprit. “[We are] aware of public reports surrounding malicious cybersecurity activities directed at multiple universities internationally,” one email reads. “[We have] received information from trusted sources on related activities affecting Canadian universities.” The March 2018 email summarized the “Typical Victim Environment” of compromised accounts, including that the “vast majority” of targets used Microsoft Outlook accounts and configured their mail to be synchronized or forwarded to different accounts or devices. Of the 320 universities targeted globally, 42 were Canadian. The cost to Canadian schools is unknown, though it cost 114 American universities $3.4 billion USD. Western corresponded directly with the CCIRC, now called the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, and the government described what had been compromised; though Western had detected the attacks at the time, the university was unaware it was a state-sponsored effort. In all, at least 40 Western researchers across four departments were listed with “research of interest,” whose accounts were consequently targeted. At least seven were compromised. Twelve people from Western’s nursing department were targeted, and two accounts were compromised. From biology, another 12 were targeted with only one breach. Eleven were targeted in chemistry, with four breaches. Nine were targeted from economics, but none were compromised. With the accounts commandeered, Western’s library proxy was breached and resources were harvested by an Iranian IP-address. “We caught it early, we expired the accounts, but they had logged on to the library catalogue system before we had closed all of them off,” explains Colin Couchman, Western’s director of Cyber Security and Business Services. “I can’t speak to what it is they copied, but they got access to some of those journals.”

KYRA KARAKATSANIS GAZETTE

“We caught it early, we expired the accounts, but they had logged on to the library catalogue system before we had closed all of them off,” explains Colin Couchman, Western’s director of Cyber Security and Business Services. were charged with conspiracy, computer intrusions, wire fraud, unauthorized computer access and identity theft. The defendants are members of Mabna, an Iranian education company that acts as a “pirated JSTOR” for the country’s academic and research spheres. Mabna stole more than 31 terabytes of data from universities alone. Printing out that much data would take the paper from 1.5 million trees. It is one of the largest state-sponsored hacking campaigns ever prosecuted by the U.S. Department of Justice, according to the indictment. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is a special branch of the country’s military: the

Advanced persistent threat On March 23, 2018, a New York grand jury indicted the nine men after an FBI investigation concluded they had conducted the cyber-theft campaign on behalf of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. They

SISSI CHEN GAZETTE

Guard is a common actor in the realm of cyber espionage and disinformation. According to the European Union Agency for Network and Information Security, Iran is one of “the three most capable and active cyber actors tied to economic espionage,” alongside China and Russia. They are considered an APT by the cybersecurity community — advanced persistent threat. Mabna targeted universities in 22 countries. They also attacked 46 private companies, the state governments of Hawaii and Indiana and the United Nations. University libraries pay steeply to access online intellectual property and to guard that access behind a proxy which requires username and password authentication. Foreign

governments target universities to bring this access to their own institutions illegitimately. This was the plan of Silent Librarian: get login info, use it to access intellectual property, steal it and sell it. Mabna hijacked access to journals, dissertations, theses and other data. Property from countless fields of research were targeted and exfiltrated to foreign servers. The institute targeted more than 100,000 accounts, 8,000 of which were compromised — across Australia, Denmark, Germany, Singapore, Canada and more. To get the account credentials, Mabna targeted them with the common cybercrime technique of phishing.

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• TUESDAY, APRIL 9, 2019

y 2014 Iranian cyberattack

LIAM AFONSO GAZETTE

Phishing tries to trick targets into revealing personal information — often login credentials — through individuals posing as legitimate sources. Attackers send wide nets of malicious emails to a high number of recipients with the hope that a handful will hand over their information. Spear phishing is a more deceptive and focused version of phishing, which typically targets a smaller group of victims and disguises its sender as a member of their group. Instead of sending a vague email to many recipients, spear phishing hand-picks individuals with personalised emails, often disguised as messages from friends or colleagues. “We detect these [campaigns] fairly quickly

“We detect these [campaigns] fairly quickly and fairly well, but there are lots of instances over the years where phishing campaigns have been successful,” said Couchman. and fairly well, but there are lots of instances over the years where phishing campaigns have been successful,” said Couchman. He added that around 10 individuals at Western fall for phishing scams every month. “The people out there that are trying to get into these institutions, that’s all they do,” says Couchman. “They spend their entire day trying to figure out how to get access to these

environments.” Cybercriminals will often spoof their email addresses to appear more legitimate. Like most phishing emails, the Silent Librarian attacks used deceptive hyperlinks to redirect victims from a seemingly innocuous email to websites propped-up by the Mabna institute, which were made to appear like Western’s own sites.

The purpose of these websites was to harvest the login credentials of victims, who had been led to believe that they were authentic Western pages. Documents reveal the institute mimicked Western’s URLs to further the disguise themselves. For example, one of the cloned URLs begins: h t t p s : / / l i b. u w o. c a - 1 . i n / c g i - b i n / login?url=http://sciencedirect/science/ article/pi/... Whereas a similar, legitimate Western Libraries URL is: https://www.lib.uwo.ca/cgi-bin/ezpauthn. cgi?url=http://www.sciencedirect.com

Western’s Firewall According to Couchman, these attacks are common across universities. However, state-sponsored cyberactivity, like the Mabna attacks, is a rare occurrence. Western uses an array of technologies to detect attacks and intrusions, says Couchman. One approach used is Security Information and Event Management, which aggregates data across the network and looks for deviations from normal activity. Once an anomaly is detected, SIEM can notify the system’s administrators and take action to remedy the threat. “We use these tools to detect where things are coming into the organization and to remedy those particular attack points accordingly,” explains Couchman. Once Western Technology Services detects a compromised account, standard procedure is to freeze the suspected account and force a password change, which can only be initiated by the user calling the WTS helpdesk and verifying their identity. If WTS detects a compromised system, each affected department and campus is notified. The WTS also has the ability to remotely isolate and lock out an affected server from the organization. Apart from Western’s internal security apparatus, the university also relies on other Canadian universities, which share information around threats as they emerge. Additionally, Western receives threat warnings from the CCCS, such as the warning that the 2014 attacks were related to the Mabna Institute.

sports

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• 8

THE 3RD ANNUAL GAZZIES

TEAM OF THE YEAR

FOOTBALL

FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

APRIL CLARK

MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

MAC CARTER

JACKSON BERE

GREG MARSHALL

The Western Mustangs football team followed up their 2017 Vanier Cup winning campaign with a perfect regular season, a Yates Cup and a Mitchell Bowl title.

April Clark blew away the competition on the Western women’s hockey team this year. The thirdyear forward led the OUA, scoring race with 20 goals and 33 points in 24 games. In recognition of her impressive season, the St. Mary’s native earned honours as a First Team All-Canadian and was named the OUA Player and Forward of the Year.

Mac Carter played a large part in the Mustangs second-place finish at the OUA men’s golf championships this year. The fourth-year athlete finished his round five over par, defeating the field by three strokes.

Jackson Bere finished his impressive rookie volleyball season in the purple and white with U Sports AllRookie Team honours. The Toronto native led the OUA with a .421 hitting percentage and finished in the provinces top-10 with 57 blocks and 0.89 blocks per set.

Greg Marshall completed his 12th consecutive year as head coach of the Western Mustangs football team with a perfect 8–0 regular season record, a Yates Cup and a Mitchell Bowl title. The former running back has compiled 105 wins (regular season and post-season) as the Mustangs bench boss.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

COACH OF THE YEAR

Western alum wins NFL’s 1st and Future award

COURTESY OF TOPSPIN TECHNOLOGIES | FACEBOOK

MARK GARABEDIAN SPORTS CONTRIBUTOR @SPORTSATGAZETTE In February, London-based company TopSpin Technologies was awarded a huge honour from the NFL with the 1st and Future award. Theo Versteegh is the inventor of TopSpin360, the innovation that claimed this award for the company. The award came with a cash prize of $67,000 and two tickets to Super Bowl LIII. The TopSpin360 is a training helmet designed to strengthen the neck muscles of athletes to prevent whiplash concussions. Versteegh was a Western University student and varsity football player. He received his

bachelor’s, masters and doctorate from Western, attributing much of his success to the School of Physical Therapy, which supported him throughout his doctorate and his journey in designing the helmet. The idea for the helmet came about after Sidney Crosby suffered his second concussion in 2011. A few days after it happened, Versteegh found himself discussing the incident with friends after a game of beer-league hockey. “We were sitting down by the rink afterward, and given my physiotherapy background, I couldn’t help but notice that if he had a stronger neck, he wouldn’t have had such a violent concussion,” Versteegh said. After discussing ideas with his

colleagues, he attempted to design a helmet that would train neck muscles to absorb a blow and resist spontaneous movement. Months of building, remodelling and adjusting his approach lead to what is now known as the TopSpin360. “It’s a goofy looking version of a modified football helmet. It has a protruding arm that suspends a small weight. When the individual puts the helmet on, the coordinating contractions of the head get the weight to rotate, like a hoola hoop around the head,” Versteegh explained. “The faster the weight spins, the more centripetal force is generated; therefore, the stronger the neck needs to be to keep it spinning and the faster the neck muscles must respond to stabilize the head against the spinning weight.” The helmet trains the neck muscles to act faster and stronger so that when an individual is involved in hard contact, their neck muscles respond accordingly to prevent their head from swinging back and causing a concussion. Versteegh is a Mustangs football alumnus and explained that his relationship with Greg Marshall, the current Mustangs football head coach, drove this innovation. Versteegh

began his doctorate after coming up with his idea for the TopSpin360 and explained that Marshall was very supportive, allowing Versteegh to trial the helmets’ effectiveness on Mustang football players. The premise of the helmet is to alleviate the whiplash effect that occurs when someone is struck somewhere other than their head that may otherwise result in a concussion. “For instance, when a quarterback gets sacked and they fall onto their back, the head whips back and hits the turf. Based on the NFL’s research, this mechanism of injury actually leads to 50 per cent of concussions in quarterbacks. Having a strong, responsive neck would be able to prevent this type of concussion that occurs from direct contact of the head on a surface,” Versteegh explained. Versteegh said that although the helmet will not have an impact on direct head contact, it can help prevent indirect blow concussions, when contact is made somewhere besides the head. He went on to say that there is significant overlap between whiplash injury and concussion injury, so much so that they are difficult to differentiate from

each other in a lot of cases. Currently, the helmet has been used in Western’s varsity football and hockey teams, but Versteegh and his physiotherapy students are also beginning to integrate the helmet into training programs for Western’s women’s soccer team. “Interestingly, in women’s soccer, 34.5 per cent of all injuries are concussions versus about 25 per cent in football and 20 per cent in men’s soccer, so relatively speaking, there’s a much higher risk of concussion in women’s soccer. And with that, these female soccer players are an obvious target for this type of innovation. The current understanding, based on research for why the concussion rate is so high is that women have comparatively weaker necks and because of that they are less able to protect their heads from this whiplash subset of concussions.” Versteegh said that winning the 1st and Future award, along with its two tickets to the Super Bowl, was a dream come true. “We ended up going to the Super Bowl, so it was definitely something to tick off the bucket list and fulfill my childhood wish of always wanting to be able to go to a Super Bowl.”

Sean McGowan is a triple threat

COURTESY OF ALLAN FOURNIER

HANNAH DIEBOLD SPORTS STAFF @SPORTSATGAZETTE For most varsity athletes, dealing with the pressure of being dedicated in the classroom and on the field of play is already demanding enough. However, triple threat

Sean McGowan is a student, an athlete and the head coach of the Western Mustangs badminton program — and, somehow, he makes it look easy. Currently in his third-year at Western University, McGowan is finishing up his first season as the

head coach of the Mustangs badminton team. At the age of 13, McGowan began playing badminton, and though some would consider that being “late to the game,” he quickly gained momentum. During that time, McGowan was mentored by former badminton World Cup champion Ardy Wiranata. He described how his time working with Wiranata has allowed him to become the player and coach he is today. “[Wiranata] taught me to be a good badminton player myself, but more importantly, he taught me how to train hard and pursue training on my own,” said McGowan. After graduating high school, McGowan took a year off from school to play badminton on the national and international stage. He experienced success but

ultimately decided that he wanted to further his education and attend Western. Since playing for Western, he has won three Ontario University Athletics medals, including one silver and two bronze. Additionally, he was named to the OUA All-Star Team for his performance this season. Even in the midst of new responsibility, McGowan has been able to maintain his own training while overseeing the success of the Mustangs team. McGowan plans three practices and numerous conditioning workouts for the team every week. Additionally, coaching comes with a number of administrative tasks that include team finances, coordinating tournament travel plans and even organizing uniforms. Needless to say, the

transition from student-athlete to student-athlete-coach is a big one. With all of those added responsibilities, coaching is certainly a test of time management. However, the shift in the team dynamic that follows when a fellow player becomes the coach is more tremendous. “I used to be the kind of guy who always joked around, but now I have to be a bit more serious just in terms of making sure the team is organized and ready,” said McGowan. Though it may prove challenging at times, McGowan’s transition to coaching has been evidently rewarded. McGowan was rightly proud of the fact that even after losing two key players from last year’s team, the team was again able to attain an OUA bronze medal.

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• TUESDAY, APRIL 9, 2019

culture

PERIOD

TUESDAY, APRIL 9, 2019 •

MILLION YEARS AGO

Today

1.6

Tertiary

The K-T Mass Extinction between the Cretaceous and Tertiary periods marked

Cretaceous

65.5 144

Jurassic Triassic

208

The “Great Dying” marked period and the beginning

Permian

SCIENCE BEHIND:

Earth’s mass extinctions MELANIE DENOMME CULTURE STAFF @UWOGAZETTE

Quaternary

252

286

360

Most dinosaur-loving students today remember the BBC’s 1999 Walking with the Dinosaurs. Everyone knows the story: the incredible creatures roamed the Earth millions of years ago but were tragically — and wholly — obliterated in a massive meteor impact. But even the most hard-core dinosaur lovers are often shocked to hear that the mass extinction that marked the end of the dinosaurs, between the Cretaceous and the Tertiary periods (the K-T mass extinction), was nothing compared to the “Great Dying.” The Great Dying, also known as the “end Permian extinction,” was the mass extinction that marked the end of the Permian period and the beginning of the Triassic period 252 million years ago. It was an extinction event so massive that it took the earth about 10 million years to recuperate. Western University professor Cameron Tsujita and Earth Sciences graduate student Jordan Siewnarine are both keen to shed some light on this mystery. Tsujita specializes in post-mortem processes and paleoecology. Siewarnie is an ocean detective — trying to reconstruct what the sea would have been like in the Silurian period between 443.8 and 419.2 million years ago. So how is it that the Great Dying was more destructive than a meteor almost 15 kilometre wide hitting the Earth? And what could be more catastrophic than eradicating all dinosaurs (except birds, of course)? Both Siewnarine and Tsujita tell the same story. “It’s the greatest extinction event on the planet. Ninety-six per cent of species went extinct at the end of that time period. Something ridiculous like close to 98 per cent of sea-faring species and 70 per cent of land-going species went extinct,” Siewnarine explains. Around 96 per cent of species is a lot of species — and a lot more than the number that died during the K-T mass extinction. “In that extinction [of the dinosaurs], only about 74 to 75 per cent of species went extinct on earth,” says Siewnarine. “A change of 20 per cent is ridiculous — if 20 per cent of species went extinct today, that is already enough to call it a [mass]

Devonian 419

Silurian 444

Ordovician 505

Cambrian Proterozoic Eon Achean Eon Hadean Eon

SISSI CHEN GAZETTE

• 10

570

2,500

3,800 4,600

ANASTASIIA FEDOROVA GAZETTE

extinction event.” So what caused this extinction? Well, as it turns out, that’s still up for scientific debate, but a few main theories have arisen. “The end Permian extinction from my knowledge can be classified into two theories and a middle ground. There was the instantaneous event — [large meteors] and massive volcanism. And the other theory, the gradual event, they hint towards sea anoxia [a lack of oxygen in the water] and a gradual process that eliminated species that way,” Siewnarine explains. Because the crust of the ocean is constantly recycled, conclusive evidence of meteor impacts that could have caused this mass extinction are probably long gone. Nonetheless, there is one piece of evidence too strong to be ignored.

It’s the greatest extinction event on the planet. Ninety-six per cent of species went extinct at the end of that time period. Something ridiculous like close to 98 per cent of sea-faring species and 70 per cent of land-going species went extinct. JORDAN SIEWNARINE GRADUATE STUDENT IN EARTH SCIENCES

“So this was something called the Siberian Traps, and it was one of the largest volcanic outputs ... in the known history of the planet… The Siberian Traps was 1.5 million [square kilometers of lava].… Imagine a lava field the size of Texas. That’s what happened in a sort of short geologic time frame,” Siewnarine explains. However, a lava field the size of Texas is not enough to cause an extinction event that massive. The effects of these massive eruptions is what caused the long-lasting damage that changed the fate of the earth as we know it. “[Volcanism causes] all these bad elements to be released into the environment like sulfate, carbon dioxide, causing a runaway global warming effect. This causes a rise in temperatures globally, and once that happens, all these domino effects happen,” Siewnarine explains. These “domino effects” include anoxic and acidic oceans. Anoxia is often caused

by increasing temperature — like how a cold beer has more bubbles than a warm one. Acidic oceans mean that shelled creatures can no longer make their shells, as these shells are made of minerals easily dissolved by acid. “[A lot of shellfish are] filter feeders, so they don’t use photosynthesis, but they are a food item for a lot of animals. If you cut oxygen to the ocean,... you starve the food web and cause a collapse,” Siewnarine explains. This sounds eerily similar to climate change warnings today; greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide cause these destructive domino effects like ocean warming, anoxia and acid rain. Although the effects that humans have aren’t even close to the magnitude of the Great Dying, Tsujita, like other scientists around the world, believes that we are in the midst of another mass extinction. “Today, we are losing huge number of species over a relatively short period of time,” he explains. “If we make a rough estimate of that, the number of species that we have lost in the last 20 years would still be above the normal rates of extinction. So by definition, we are still dealing with a mass extinction.” As Tsujita warns, only the generalists survive mass extinctions. Tsujita describes a species specialized to its environment as a “canary in a coal mine,” and when we start to see these species die off, like pandas and polar bears, this is a warning that the most specialized creature of all, humans, should heed. “We should take pause at that and think that that is one of the reasons why they are particularly vulnerable is that they are so specialized. It’s the specialists that go first,” says Tsujita. After all this, you might be feeling like every day is doomsday. But even Tsujita describes himself as a “long-term optimist,” and Siewnarine keeps his head up, too. “I’m an optimistic guy to the end of time. Humans have the ability to change things around.… Once large scale companies realize this — we are feeling [the effects of climate change] now with the collapse of agriculture and the collapse of certain industries — once that paradigm shift happens, there may be a huge push toward fixing this.”

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‘No Second Chances’ for women in politics GABRIELLE GLASIER COPY INTERN @UWOGAZETTE On International Women’s Day this year, the No Second Chances podcast was launched, a part of the much larger Canada 2020 initiative. No Second Chances discusses the 12 women that have occupied Canada’s most senior political offices, with these positions being either prime minister or premier. From Kathleen Wynne, a former premier of Ontario, to Kim Campbell, a former prime minister of Canada, this podcast sheds light on the true nature of their political careers. Beyond this, the podcast uncovers why these women were never re-elected to office. Like the title suggests, these women were given no second chances. The podcast is spearheaded and narrated by Kate Graham, a teacher in both Western University’s and Brescia University College’s political science departments. Graham was also a candidate in the Ontario provincial elections for the Liberal party, and it was during her time in politics that the idea for No Second Chances was born.

“I heard a lot of things about Kathleen Wynne at the door and things that really surprised me,” Graham says. “Views that I would describe as sexist or homophobic.” Wondering if other women in politics had similar experiences with discrimination, Graham began to reach out. The series is mainly composed of interviews with female politicians, where Graham discuses the connections between each of their experiences. One such connection was a sense of community. Graham elaborates on this theme of community, saying, “It was always about something specific [the

women] wanted to change,… something concrete, and politics was a way to do that. It was about an underlying desire to make the world better or do something that helps other people.” The women had wanted to go into politics to help their community, not just for the sake of politics. In the first episode, titled “The Problem,” the notion of the “glass cliff” was introduced. “The glass cliff is actually a concept from business,” Graham says. “[It’s] where women tend to only get the top job… in really tough circumstances where it already looks like things are already headed south, in a difficult direction.”

Cutting through the cloud of vaping MUDIA IYAYI CULTURE INTERN @UWOGAZETTE Marketed as alternatives to smoking tobacco, e-cigarettes heat liquid into vapour, which the user then inhales. Millions of teenagers across Canada and America are using them. But these aren’t your parents’ cigarettes. Electronic cigarettes have found success among youth due to their unique and fun flavours — the same practice the tobacco industry was restricted from decades ago; the problem now is that research has found that effects of vaping may be just as detrimental as smoking cigarettes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in 2018 that more than 3.6 million U.S. middle school and high school students used e-cigarettes in the past month. In Canada, the University of Waterloo found that 3.9 million people under the age of 15 had tried an e-cigarette in 2015 — and these aren’t your parents’ cigarettes. Stanton Glantz, a professor of medicine at the University of California and the director of the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education, has been conducting research on tobacco and tobacco related issues for more than 40 years. Proponents of e-cigarettes may argue that vaping is relatively harmless and distinct from the negative effects attributed to tobacco-based cigarettes. But not only has continued use of e-cigarettes been linked to heart disease, stroke, lung disease and addiction, there is even new evidence of its ability to cause cancer. “There’s a bunch of things that e-cigarettes deliver that are carcinogenic. They deliver a lot of formaldehyde because when you heat up propylene glycol, you get formaldehyde,” explains Glantz. “There’s also a variety of other aldehydes, benzenes and heavy metals.” These chemicals have the

potential to disrupt bodily processes on a molecular level which could subsequently give rise to the development of cancer. Glantz also attributes the rising popularity of e-cigarettes in youth to the industry’s rigorous marketing campaigns. An extensive use of social media and the unique flavours combine to form a very appealing product for young people. However, the impact of peer influence on vaping should not be overlooked; it’s not uncommon to see a vape passed around at parties, similar to the history cigarettes have. Another myth surrounding e-cigarettes is the absence of its addictive effects compared to ordinary cigarettes. “It depends on the particular e-cigarette, because some of them deliver nicotine more effectively than a cigarette does and some less,” says Glantz. “The goal of the e-cigarettes is to deliver nicotine in a way that mirrors the cigarette and the extent that they do that. They could be just as addictive.” Nicotine is an active ingredient in most e-cigarettes and is the primary reason for dependency and continued use. As for any positive effects of choosing e-cigarettes over tobacco-based ones, Glanz argues there are none. “People used to think they’re not as dangerous as cigarettes, but more and more evidence is building up. They’re looking more and more likely to be about the same as cigarettes in terms of risk,” explains Glantz. “The risk profiles might be a little bit different, and the biological mechanisms are a bit different, but the overall risk is probably going to be about the same.” The truth is that e-cigarettes are harmful and should be used with that in mind. Although longitudinal research is still being conducted into their long-term effects, any beneficial or positive findings are not substantially promising.

Before any lasting damage is done, we must clear away this cloud of uncertainty.

Basically, women only get senior roles when the chances of failure are the highest, so the blame can be shifted to them if need be. “We tend to see women leading at times when [their party is] losing, and I think this conditions how we see women as political leaders,” Graham mentions when asked if the glass cliff is a deterrent for young women to enter politics. In the second episode, “Raising Leaders,” the political ambition gap is identified. Basically, the political ambition gap demonstrates that women hardly ever maintain political aspirations upon entering high school. These political ambitions vanish far more quickly for women than they do for men, and the gap only widens upon entering post-secondary education. In part, this is attributed to women underestimating their qualifications. The podcast states that, on average, a woman needs to be asked seven times to run for office before she considers it, whereas a man generally only needs to be asked once. When concluding the interviews, all of which are done in-person across the country, Graham presents

all the politicians with the same question: “If you could go back and you were 20 years old again, would you do it again?” All of the women said yes. “We hope to spark a conversation about why [in] Canada in 2019 we don’t see more women leading,” Graham says. “The timing is not coincidental; we currently have one female first minister, Rachel Notley, and she’s two weeks away from seeking a second chance.” No Second Chances airs every Monday until June.

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EVENTS JOIN MEDIEVAL STUDIES at Western for a lecture series at the Central Library on a variety of exciting topics!. Tuesday, April 9: Prof. Jane Toswell (English) will discuss Lord of the Rings. Tuesday, April 16: Prof. Rob Wardhaugh (History) will discuss Dungeons and Dragons. 7 PM at Stevenson & Hunt Room. A LECTURE BY James Ashby, Oversize, Overdue: The Architecture of the D.B. Weldon Library. Join us for a lively, informal discussion following Ashby’s lecture with panelists Michael McClelland (Principal ERA Architects Inc., Toronto), Sandra Miller (Architectural Conservancy Ontario, London), and David R. Murphy (Principal, Murphy & Murphy Architect, Inc.), London. Wednesday April 10, 3:00 p.m. Weldon Library, Rm. WL258, Western University

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12 • TUESDAY, APRIL 9, 2019

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gazette crossword

LIAM J. AFONSO GAZETTE Students soak up sunshine on a beautiful early spring afternoon, April 9, 2019.

word search

renovation word search allowance appliances architect asbestos awning baseboard beams casing caulking

change order circuit cloth concrete contractor expenses fiberglass fixtures forced air generator glazing grout

•

CLUES ACROSS

CLUES DOWN

1. Political action committee 4. Where sauces cook 8. Type of horse 10. Heavy sword (Brit.) 11. __ Nui, Easter Island 12. A type of burner 13. Spanish island 15. Rapid alteration of a musical note 16. Where priests work 17. Most impoverished 18. Tom Petty’s band 21. Luke’s mentor __-Wan 22. No longer is 23. Mandela’s party 24. Legislator (abbr.) 25. A type of “zebra” 26. The common gibbon 27. American icon 34. Hunting expeditions 35. What a princess wears 36. Switched gears 37. Protege to Freya (Norse myth.) 38. Serves 39. Darken 40. Fencing swords 41. Middle English letter 42. Go slowly 43. A type of flute

1. One who is rejected 2. Suitable for crops 3. Per __, each 4. Indulges 5. Preoccupy 6. NIN frontman Reznor 7. Posted 9. Infamous Ukraine village 10. Bizarre 12. One who loves to read 14. The products of human creativity 15. Extinct flightless bird of New Zealand 17. Famed Chinese American architect 19. These can be used to burn trash 20. Corpuscle count (abbr.) 23. Pokes holes in 24. Peter’s last name 25. Offered as a prize 26. French river 27. Young woman 28. A pot has one 29. Of the ears 30. Full of parasites 31. Dole out incrementally 32. Citrus fruit 33. Hearty 34. External form 36. Turn violently

For crossword solution, see page 11

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