Friday, June 6, 2014

W ESTER NGA ZET TE.CA • @ UWOGA ZET TE

thegazette Remembering who the true heroes are since 1906

CANADA’S ONLY DAILY STUDENT NEWSPAPER • WESTERN UNIVERSITY

FRIDAY, JUNE 6, 2014

VOLUME 108, ISSUE 2

Provincial candidates talk student issues

Judy Bryant

NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY

Kevin Lalonde

Salim Mansur

Deb Matthews

PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE PARTY

Nancy Branscombe Nancy Branscombe is a councillor for the City of London serving as the representative for ward 6.

Branscombe is a member of the civic works committee and community and protective services committee, among others. Branscombe wants to run for a seat in provincial parliament because she is “increasingly alarmed about the unchecked spending by the current Liberal government” and wants to protect Ontarians’ services by spurring on the economy.

Judy Bryant is a councillor for the City of London serving as the representative for ward 13. She is also a board member of the London Downtown Business Association, an organization that encourages economic development in the downtown core. Bryant wants to run for a seat in provincial parliament because she’s always had a passion for public service and she wants to now “serve London at a different level.”

Kevin Labonte is a graduate of Fanshawe College’s Law Clerk Program. He is currently employed at the law firm Judith Hull and Associates serving as their Law Clerk and Social Media Manager.

Labonte wants to run for a seat in provincial parliament because he saw that there is a disconnect between “good sensible policy and what the current elected members were offering Ontario.”

Salim Mansur is an associate professor of political science at Western University. He has published columns for the London Free Press and the Toronto Sun. Mansur wants to run for a seat in provincial parliament because he is frustrated with the state of the economy and Ontario’s debt load. He joined the Freedom Party to “bring sanity” back into how Ontario is governed.

Deb Matthews is the Liberal incumbent serving in London’s North Centre riding since 2003.

She currently holds office as the Deputy Premier of Ontario and is the Minister of Health and LongTerm Care. Matthews has a PhD in social demography from Western.

Matthews wants to run for a seat in provincial parliament because she wants to make a difference and to “try and actually narrow the gap between the rich and the poor.”

GREEN PARTY

FREEDOM PARTY

LIBERAL PARTY

Question 1: Thousands of students live in your riding, how are their needs reflected in your party’s platform?

The obvious and most important answer to this is so that high-quality, well-paying jobs will be available when they graduate if we can get the Province back on a path to prosperity. That is what our election platform is all about.

The NDP will freeze tuition and make provincial student loans interest free. Most importantly, we are going to be rewarding companies who create new jobs with a tax credit and we are encouraging jobs for the future in creative industries.

Students have the same concerns as most. [We are] advocating for a Social Innovation fund that will help entrepreneurs with grants, loans and mentorship programs.

We will also increase funding for public transit. [We] also focus on preventative medicine and healthy lifestyles.

Every student as a citizen has a stake in Ontario achieving a balanced budget, in reducing the debt burden of $288 billion and rising, and in seeing that electricity rates do not spiral out of their capacity to pay for them, and in restoring trust in government.

We are committed to maintaining the 30 per cent off tuition grant.

We’ve also capped tuition increases.

The next thing is that students want to get a job after they graduate, and this is a very high priority for us, in fact it’s our highest priority.

Question 2: How will you represent students’ interests in the legislature?

[A variety of ways], such as regular dialogue with young people, students and students’ Councils, liaising with other MPPs from all parties in ridings with post-secondary, etc.

Most importantly, I have a strong interest and will to work with young people in the riding.

One of the legacies of the Liberal mismanagement is the dire state of our many university buildings and campuses. We need to invest in our facilities. Another thing we need to look at is class sizes. More and more […] classes have more than a hundred students and this is not a way to provide a world-class education

I will best represent the student’s interest by listening to the students.

If a student has an issue, I want them to be comfortable enough to come to me with their problem​and trust that I will work with them to find a solution and advocate hard for them at Queen’s Park.

By remaining focused on the issue of bringing about a balanced budget, about cleaning waste, inefficiency, nepotism and corruption in government. Students are part of the larger society, not independent and apart from it, nor are their needs somehow fundamentally different from the rest.

I really believe in the power of education, I believe that one thing that sets us apart […] is the opportunity to have post-secondary education.

I am determined that everyone have the opportunity to get the education that they’re prepared to work for and that their financial circumstances never be a barrier.

Question 3: How important is it that young people come out and vote on June 12?

I think it is extremely important for young people and students to come out and vote. Every vote matters especially in close elections. If you support the views and direction of a political party, it is important to make the effort to mark your ballot so the youth vote will help shape the future of the province.

I can’t imagine anything more important. It’s a habit that one needs to develop and I’ve met a number of young student voters and just young people who were voting for the first time and they were really excited about it and they usually ask really good questions. I can’t overstate how important it is for young people to vote.

It is extremely important that young people vote on June 12. Politicians currently draft policies that will get them the most votes, if young people do not vote then their concerns will not be addressed and nothing will change.

Very important. It is about their future […] By not voting, by not taking part in the political life of your province and country, you as students are opting out of your own responsibility for which you have to answer, and also in the process electing members and parties to form governments who have regularly betrayed the trust given them.

It is so important. If young people voted in the same proportions as their parents and grandparents did we would have very different campaigns. I can’t say enough how important it is because the decisions that politicians make today will impact young people more than they will anybody else. It’s really important to me that young people understand the power of the ballot box.

Question 4: How important do you think students and education are to the success of London in the future?

London has very strong post secondary institutions like Western University and Fanshawe College, Ivey Business school and other fine academic institutions. Education and these institutions have had and will always have a huge role to play in the City of London and our success.

I can’t imagine anything more important than education here in London North-Centre. Every students needs to know that there will be a job available in their field.

Canadians come to train here to for jobs of the future and we need to make sure these jobs are Ontario and here in London.

London’s future depends greatly on retaining the brightest minds that come out of Western and Fanshawe.

London is failing to capture the talent that we’ve helped generate as more and more students leave the city after graduation. We must create a vibrant city that meets the needs of the students and create a place where they are willing to raise a family.

Very important. They are the future of this city, of this province, of this country. [Students not voting is] a reflection of the sort of government we have and we will continue to have, a government that excels in mismanagement and scandals as the Liberal government has done instead of responsible government that takes seriously the matter of trust between citizens and government.

It’s everything. One of our great competitive advantages is we have a really well educated workforce and that’s because people take on that responsibility […]. Well-educated citizens who can critically evaluate the decisions we make as a society.

Obviously Western is a huge economic driver in London, which is why London would be disproportionately hit with the Hudak cuts.

• Amy O’Kruk

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thegazette • Friday, June 6, 2014

The King is Dead, Long Live the Kingg

Iain Boekhoff • GAZETTE

TAG, YOU’RE IT. Officially beginning his year as USC president, Matt Helfand makes his new UCC office feel more like home by hanging a series of graffiti-themed photographs taken by his father.

Helfand begins new role Beginning a new summer job can be stressful for anyone, but when that job is running an organization with a budget of over $12 million, getting properly trained is crucial.

That’s why new University Students’ Council president Matt Helfand, as well as the five other members the USC executive, spent the past two months in a transition period learning the ins and outs of running one of the largest student

unions in Canada.

“There was a lot of professional development,” Helfand said. “They brought in a series of alumni, former USC executives and others to do a whole variety of different training.”

Helfand said that these speakers, who ranged from the head of human resources at The Globe & Mail to a USC president from the 90s, brought a depth of perspectives.

But nothing prepares you for a

job like throwing yourself into the daily work.

“The staff, some who are a lot older than you, will look to you for direction,” said Helfand. “Having to take the reins of the presidency right away is something I didn’t really expect.”

The transition period officially ended on Thursday, May 29 at a ceremony in The Wave.

• Kevin Hurren

rate [and] the establishment of the President’s Advisory Committee on Environment and Sustainability, which launched a 10-Year Vision and 5-Year Action Plan for Sustainability at Western in January of 2013.”

Western will also be switching to the City of London to process the school’s recyclable waste, allowing for a greater amount of plastics to be recycled from Western.

“This will help us achieve our goal to become a zero waste campus — 90 per cent or more diversion of waste from landfill — by the year 2022,” De Adder said.

• Aiden Booth

Student Alliance based on discussion groups hosted by OUSA in March. Central to these discussions among Ontario university representatives were the challenges that Aboriginal students face.

Vice-president Philip Lloyd of the Alma Mater Society at Queen’s recognizes that the Aboriginal youth population is skyrocketing.

“There is room to have more Aboriginal students on campus,” he said.

“Our recommendations are bold but they are also attainable,” Lloyd said. “I think we made a very strong case as to why this issue should be addressed immediately. [The post-secondary attainment gap] is something that has been recurring for some time.”

The policy paper proposes many solutions, most of which aim to solve the under-representation of and lack of support for Aboriginal students on campus.

Further, the paper offers some solutions to the educational barriers faced between kindergarten and grade 12.

Lloyd recognizes the importance for support systems available for Aboriginal student centres as a part of their development and success during post-secondary studies.

“I endorsed the paper wholeheartedly. I think that some of the main takeaways that resonate with me are that it is critical to Ontario’s social and economic prosperity that this widening university attainment gap is addressed for aboriginal Ontarians.”

Lloyd feels strongly that it is the provincial government’s responsibility to address the concerns raised in the OUSA policy paper and should be done so immediately, as the same problems surrounding Aboriginal students have persisted for quite some time.

• Rebecca Upson

The Puzzle Panel

News Briefs

Purple no more: Western goes green

For the second consecutive year, Western University has been profiled in The Princeton Review’s Guide to 332 Green Colleges: 2014 Edition.

Western and the University of British Columbia have been the only two Canadian universities profiled over the last two years.

More than 2,000 schools in North America, and over 100 in Canada, responded to the Princeton Review’s survey and had to achieve a score of at least 83 in a range of sustainable criteria to be profiled.

Stefanie De Adder, Western’s sustainability coordinator, commented by email on some of Westerns most notable achievements as being, “Our commitment to providing local and organic food on campus, our support of alternative modes of transportation, our waste diversion

OUSA calls for more support for Aboriginal students

A policy paper pertaining to Aboriginal students has been published by the Ontario Undergraduate

Partner Perceptions in Romantic Relationships Have you been in a romantic relationship with an opposite-sex partner for at least 3 months? Are you both at least 18? We would love to have you both participate in our study!!!

In this research, we are investigating romantic partner behaviour in a gaming context! This study should take approximately 10 minutes to complete, and you will each receive $5 (so, $10 per couple) compensation, for your time! This study is being conducted by Lorne Campbell, PhD, and Melanie MacEacheron, MSc, of the University of Western Ontario. Want to learn more? Tear off an email address and let me know!

partnerperceptions@gmail.com

CLUES ACROSS 1. Thyroidstimulating hormone 4. Spigot 7. Military mailbox 8. Electric auto company 10. Fastest man alive 12. Expressed pleasure 13. Venice beach 14. Teletypewriter (abbr.)

16. A young man 17. Evade 19. Volcanic Japanese mountain 20. Danson, Turner & Kennedy 21. March holiday 25. Fruit drink 26. Come about 27. Capital of Yemen 29. Tayra genus 30. Mandela’s party 31. Vestment

32. Eye exam instrument 39. Plural of 47 down 41. Ingest 42. Coneless volcanic craters 43. The woman 44. Make a mistake 45. Horse gait 46. Father of Lot 48. The destroyer (Hindu) 49. Remove 50. Remains after deductions 51. Clairvoyance 52. Gourde (abbr.)

CLUES DOWN 1. Contents lists 2. Condition of inedible food 3. Armed robbery 4. Traditional Asian beverage 5. Scarlett’s first love 6. Beg 8. Scotland’s longest river 9. Sums up 11. People of southern India 14. Expression of disappointment 15. Japanese electronics firm 18. And, Latin 19. Highest card in a suit 20. Paper Mulberry bark 22. Cattle farmer 23. Actress Lupino 24. Constitution Hall org.

27. Plant fluids

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Small social insect Shade tree Model Carol Classical singing dramas Swiss river Atomic #62 Felines Paddling Established beyond doubt Personal property Tennis great Arthur ____ Stock certificate Point midway between NE and E Egyptian cobra

Put your sudoku savvy to the test!

Here’s How It Works: Sudoku puzzles are formatted as a 9x9 grid, broken down into nine 3x3 boxes. To solve a sudoku, the numbers 1 through 9 must fill each row, column and box.

Each number can appear only once in each row, column and box.

You can figure out the order in which the numbers will appear by using the numeric clues already provided in the boxes.

The more numbers you name, the easier it gets to solve the puzzle!

For solutions see page 8

•3

thegazette • Friday, June 6, 2014

Mayor’s verdict next week Katie Lear NEWS EDITOR

London Plan unveiled to packed city hall

@KatieAtGazette

Hamza Tariq NEWS EDITOR

London Mayor Joe Fontana’s fourday long fraud trial heard its closing arguments on May 29, with superior court justice Bruce Thomas set to give his verdict on June 13.

Mayor Fontana is accused of using $1,700 of taxpayers’ money to pay for his son’s wedding reception on June 4, 2005 during his time as a federal Liberal cabinet minister. He faces three charges — fraud under $5,000, uttering a forged document and breach of trust by a public official. He has pleaded not guilty to all three charges.

The allegations against Fontana first surfaced on October 19, 2012, seven years after the cheque was written. The RCMP pressed charges against Mayor Fontana on November 21, 2012 after a brief investigation.

“If it wasn’t relevant, I don’t think the RCMP would have pursued it,” said ward 8 councillor Paul Hubert.

“And as an elected public official, a charge — no matter how large or small — of breach in trust is a serious thing.”

Fontana’s assistant, Jennifer Buchanan, declined to comment for this story on behalf of the mayor, saying it would inappropriate to comment until after the verdict is announced.

According to reports by the London Free Press and on social media, Fontana’s defence admitted that he had altered the contract with the Marconi Club originally signed in October 2004 by changing the date of the event, changing the purpose of the contract from “wedding” to “reception” and replacing his wife’s signature with his own.

The contract’s date underwent several revisions, originally reading “June 25, 2005,” then “February 25, 2004” and finally “February 25, 2005.”

These dates are particularly significant to the case, as on February 25, 2005 former Liberal MP Ralph

@HamzaAtGazette

STEPHEN ORSER • WARD 4 COUNCILLOR

[The judge] wants equity and fairness because of the high stature of the mayor’s seat and he wants to make sure he gets his judgment right.

Goodale was visiting London.

Fontana’s defence claims he made an over-the-phone arrangement with the Marconi Club general manager, Vince Travato, for a reception marking Goodale’s arrival, but the event was cancelled when the MP was delayed in Toronto. Given the short notice of the cancellation, Fontana’s defence asserts he wished to honour the arrangement and pay the deposit of $1,700.

However, the Government of Canada cheque for $1,700 reimbursing Fontana for the Goodale reception was included in the final bill to pay for Fontana’s son’s wedding.

Fontana’s defence team argued that while the contract itself was altered, it was to make a new document to represent a verbal agreement to pay for the Goodale reception.

“I think in an era where there’s probably unprecedented skepticism and cynicism around elected officials, it draws into question the wisdom and character of that individual,” Hubert said. “I think people

are very interested in the character of the people who are elected.”

The crown argued that the alteration of the document was a forgery

by Fontana who intended to pocket the $1,700 by changing the contract to make it look like it was paying for a constituents’ reception and that he did not create a new, valid document out of the initial wedding reception contract.

Superior court justice Bruce Thomas was initially to deliver his verdict on June 6, however he has now pushed back the decision until two weeks after the closing arguments to June 13.

“I think that the judge now is seeing a big gap in reasonable doubt,” said ward 4 councillor Stephen Orser. “He wants equity and fairness because of the high stature of the mayor’s seat and he wants to make sure he gets his judgment right.”

“And so whatever judgment comes down I’ll respect, and I’m glad he’s doing it one day after the provincial election,” Orser said.

Carter is new OUSA prez Kevin Huren NEWS EDITOR-AT-LARGE @KevinAtGazette

After fielding so many questions about the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance during the University Students’ Council elections, you would think vice-president external Jen Carter would want to steer clear of the coalition. Well, think again.

On May 15, Carter was elected president of the alliance, beating out Brock’s student union vice-president external affairs, Drew Ursacki.

For those who don’t remember, Carter and the rest of Helfand’s slate ran on a platform dictating that Carter wouldn’t run for OUSA president unless the rest of council deemed it necessary.

A motion, however, was brought forward to council imploring Carter to run for the leadership role.

“It was very important to us to make sure that council had discretion in the matter,” said USC president Matt Helfand. “When the motion came forth, somewhat surprisingly, saying they’d like Jen to do this […] we are their executive and we are there to enact their vision.”

In response to the motion, Carter

outlined to the council what the consequences would be if she did or didn’t run for OUSA president.

“I presented to council what it would look like if I did a sole municipal focus and presented what it would look like if I ran for OUSA president,” Carter said. “Obviously there is a long held history of strong Western leadership at OUSA and the council asked me to continue that.”

After a unanimous vote in favour of a Carter presidency, she joined the race.

Although Carter initially decided not to run without council’s will, this did not affect her legitimacy as an OUSA presidential candidate — at least according to OUSA’s executive director Sean Madden.

“I think everyone sort of respects that it’s up to your home institution to decide for you if you can or can’t run,” Madden said.

But the council members weren’t the only ones to believe in Carter.

Madden went on to note that the voting members of OUSA appreciated Carter’s administrative experience, public speaking skills and emphasis on consensus building.

Helfand, too, was pleased to hear of Carter’s new position.

“I have a lot of faith in Jen

and I’m very happy for her because she’s a very competent individual,” he said.

As OUSA president, Carter will work the seven-member steering committee to guide OUSA’s goals and priorities for the next year.

“Right now we’re dealing with a lot of provincial elections stuff,” Carter said. “So we’re going to be focusing on tax credits, expanding student financial assistance to parttime students and looking at expanding eligibility for the Ontario tuition grant.”

The direction and planning for London’s future is underway with the unveiling of the “London Plan.”

The plan sets goals and objectives for the city for the next 20 years and if adopted, it will be the city’s new official plan. The plan was unveiled by city planner John Fleming before a packed gallery at city hall on May 22.

Two of the plan’s foremost goals are rapid transit and making London one of the greenest cities in Canada.

“The main goal of the London Plan is first and foremost building a city around public rapid transit.

So a lot of the driving force is about getting some rapid transit on the ground,” Galloway said.

In addition to city planners and the London council, up to 15,000 citizens have contributed to the forging of the plan via community meetings, events and online feedback according to Sean Galloway, manager of urban design for the City of London.

“The document is our contract with the public. It outlines how we want our city to grow over the next 20 years. It is the result of consultation with thousands of Londoners,” said ward 5 city councillor Joni Baechler.

Galloway said becoming the greenest city in Canada is a lofty goal, but something to strive for in the future.

“Other goals are to create exceptional places and spaces and to create great places to live,” he continued.

The last plan for the city was developed in 1989 and was quite different from the current one.

Although numerous natural heritage and forested areas policies have been kept from the previous plan, Galloway said there have been a lot of changes. A big change is the accessibility of the plan — from

a text-heavy, three-ring binder stored at City Hall to a photo and graphic-heavy book that’s easy to understand.

“It’s a lot more graphic, our plan is to make it a coffee table book,” he said.

According to Baechler, the plan should be implemented as it will be the document that guides the planning approvals processes.

Galloway explained that legislation dictates that everything should conform to the plan when public works take place.

“There will be a zoning law that comes with this and other tools that will be used to implement it through private land and whatever work we do on public land, so it’s a very powerful document,” he said.

The plan hopes to achieve its goals by 2035, but according to Galloway even if this doesn’t happen, it will still put the city on a very good track.

“My biggest worry is that council will pick apart specific elements and the result will be a document that isn’t cohesive in approach and we will not move this city forward with responsible growth and development,” Baechler said.

According to Galloway, the plan aims to attract employers, rejuvenate the job market and help the city retain more Western students after they graduate.

“The immediate impact of the rapid transit would be helping in connecting university students from Western to other parts of the city, whether it’s through a street car or a bus rapid transit,” he said.

“Overall we’re trying to make London a cool place,” he added.

The plan is available at londonplan.ca and is open to feedback from the public.

“There is no other plan like it in Ontario. It brings all the principles needed to build a progressive city of the future together in a comprehensive document,” Baechler said.

Your Weekly Horoscope The week of June 8 – 14

This horoscope is intended for entertainment purposes only.

ARIES – Mar 21/Apr 20 LIBRA – Sept 23/Oct 23 Focus your energies in a positive way, Aries. You can Libra, do not panic when a glitch arises in your accomplish anything you set your mind to, and now plans. Just approach the situation from a different is the time to put your attitude to work. angle, and you will find a solution in no time.

TAURUS – Apr 21/May 21 Taurus, you are ready for something or someone new. Right now is a good time to reach out and connect with a new passion. Things will get more interesting rather quickly.

SCORPIO – Oct 24/Nov 22 Try not to push yourself too hard this week, Scorpio.

This is a good time to maintain a low profile.

Drawing too much attention to yourself might ruffle the wrong feathers this week.

GEMINI – May 22/Jun 21 You need to focus and get back to work this week, Gemini. Things have slipped out of your fingers, and it could take a little while before you get back on a schedule.

SAGITTARIUS – Nov 23/Dec 21 Sagittarius, something will bring a smile to your face early in the week, and there’s pretty much nothing that can put you in a bad mood. This is an ideal time to get things accomplished.

CANCER – Jun 22/Jul 22 Shop around for the best deals before making a big purchase, Cancer. A little extra work can lead to substantial savings. There are deals to be had, so be patient.

CAPRICORN – Dec 22/Jan 20 You are never one to walk away from a challenge, Capricorn. This week you will be presented with a big obstacle, and you will have to step up to tackle the hard stuff.

LEO – Jul 23/Aug 23 Expect to reach a milestone in your life, Leo. This may have something to do with your family or career. Either way, the praise you will receive is warranted.

AQUARIUS – Jan 21/Feb 18 Keep your eyes open and you just may stumble on something new and fascinating this week, Aquarius.

This is a good time to explore new ideas and apply them to your daily life.

VIRGO – Aug 24/Sept 22 Sometimes it can be easy for you to get fixated on a certain way of doing things, Virgo. There are really many different paths to the same outcome when you are open to ideas.

PISCES – Feb 19/Mar 20 Someone gets bent out of shape over something that seems laughable to you, Pisces. You may need to adjust your view.

FAMOUS BIRTHDAYS JUNE 8 – Joan Rivers, Comic (81) JUNE 10 – Leelee Sobieski, Actress (31) JUNE 12 – Chris Young, Singer (29)

JUNE 9 – Natalie Portman, Actress (33) JUNE 11 – Peter Dinklage, Actor (45) JUNE 13 – Tanner Foust, Race Car Driver (41) JUNE 14 – Lucy Hale, Actress (25)

Feed people, not Dumpsters St. Joseph’s Hospitality Centre is a ‘soup kitchen’ on Dundas Street. The Hospitality Centre serves over 300 meals to men, women and children each day in our community Monday to Friday.

There is a desperate need for donations of fresh fruit and vegetables. To make a donation contact the facility at 519-432-0660 or email stjosephshospitalitycentre@gmail.com Please consider donating the food that would normally end up in a dumpster to your local food banks and neighbours, let’s all let our dumpsters go hungry for a while.

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thegazette • Friday, June 6, 2014

arts&life

saywhat?

“When you work with people whom you respect and whom you like and you admire because they’re so good at what they do, it doesn’t feel like work ... it’s like you’re playing.”

• Stan Lee

Making some noise for summer festivals Growing festival culture pushes for more support from community Sara Mai Chitty GAZETTE STAFF arts@westerngazette.ca

Every summer, the Forest City hosts multiple outdoor events, festivals and concerts, filling London with music, culture and, to some residents’ annoyance, noise.

In the past few years, debates have sparked over whether the current by-law restrictions of a 90-decibel cap for outdoor concerts and an 11 p.m. curfew is enough for festivals, particularly the annual Rock the Park benefit concert.

This year, it was a debate over whether bars located in or near residential areas should be exempt from a pilot by-law that allows acoustic music on patios. The exemption was overturned and the pilot was allowed to go through for everyone.

Councillor Denise Brown, who brought the issue to council, has heard positive feedback from entrepreneurs and clients but noted the city is keeping track of any complaints filed for this type of noise.

Another controversy also occurred after the city implemented stronger measures against excessive party noise after the Fleming Drive riots, with many residents speaking out for more to be done, while students were upset that the measures were too strict.

Brad Jones, co-owner of Jones

Mike “Right Way” Lane • GAZETTE

Entertainment, which partners with Bethany’s Hope Foundation to throw Rock the Park, says the days of complaints about the concert are all over now.

“We haven’t had the complaints that we had early on. People know that it’s a great event, it’s a great fundraiser and I think people understand that now,” he says.

Annual events like Rock the Park or Sunfest are important for downtown vitality, according to Janette Macdonald of the Downtown London Business Association, and so is working together as a community to support visiting events.

“People who are moving to

downtown now, they understand that if you move into downtown it’s going to be a bit noisy and that’s kind of why you come,” she says, having just moved to the core herself. “You can’t appeal to everybody.”

Both she and Jones commented that the city is more than willing to bend rules to accommodate events in the city. When the Memorial Cup came to town last month, the city made allowed for outdoor concerts to be held.

While doing sound check around 3 p.m. for one Memorial Cup concert, Cheryl Finn, director of sports tourism and who brought the Cup to London, recalled the team received

On June 14-15, Centennial Hall will be powered up by superheroes when

a complaint about the noise even though they were within by-law specifications.

“I don’t believe the current by-laws deterred the success of the event,” Finn says. “Fans, visitors and organizers were extremely impressed by all of the activities that were happening as a result of the tournament.”

Cities and towns across the country play host to all kinds of festivals and every community accommodates in their own way.

The town of Montebello, Quebec, a population of 1,000 people, hosts an influx of punk rockers for an annual two-day outdoor concert in June called Rockfest.

Montebello is unique in that it has no noise by-law restrictions, but the event still requires working closely with the community to put it on, says festival founder Alex Martel.

“The community doesn’t mind putting up with the noise because it injects life into their sleepy cottage town and most of the shops make their year in that weekend,” says Martel, who started the festival because he felt nothing happened in his small town.

Local entrepreneur Dave Cook, owner of Habitual Chocolate and Fire Roasted Coffee, has a coffee shop right across from Budweiser Gardens and fully supports downtown festivals. He wants to see the

community come out in full swing for these types of events.

“If we can’t engage our community to come out in big numbers and support stuff like that, then everyone just kind of does their own thing. We’re not able to come together and celebrate,” Cook says.

“Without that I’m not sure what kind of activities would bring people on a group basis into the downtown.”

During the Memorial Cup, the outdoor concerts were held outside within barriers, which Cook would like to see broken down.

“It was an outside concert, but it wasn’t. There wasn’t really an open, public area. Perhaps the music component could be in an unlicensed area or something where people could walk by and all of a sudden there’s a live band that’s playing,” he suggested.

Cook believes that London’s ability to continue to host national events such as the Memorial Cup, and the upcoming 2016 Canadian Country Music Week, relies on getting the locals excited and showing up in mass numbers.

“Music is just very polarizing,” Cook says. “I think we’ve really got to weigh the people who are supporters of this and weigh the people that are negative, and I think sometimes the quiet many that are supportive of it are drowned out by the few who are not happy.”

Fashion for summer

London comic con rises Conrad Floryan ARTS & LIFE EDITOR @ConradAtGzazette

Batman is coming to London. The caped crusader will be one of countless colourful characters brimming Centennial Hall June 14 and 15 for the Forest City’s inaugural Comic Con. The comic convention will offer entertainment for the whole family and will include displays of comic books and independent artists, art and makeup demonstrations, film screenings and even a few celebrity appearances. Eric Roberts (Runaway Train, The Expendables), C. Thomas Howell (E.T. The Extraterrestrial, The Amazing Spiderman) and Vernon Wells (Commando, Power Rangers: Time Force) will grace the festival to mingle with fans and sign autographs.

Star appearances are inherent to the booming Comic Con phenomenon. The San Diego Comic Con International is the largest event of its kind, presenting a broad range of pop culture and entertainment features across all genres and garnering extensive international media coverage. It has spawned similar events in Toronto, Ottawa and finally London.

“It was always something that we had thought about and discussed,”

says Jake Windatt, one of the key organizers. “Now’s the time, Comic Con in general seems to be pretty popular and geek culture seems to be growing in popularity as well and acceptance.”

Geek culture — people heavily interested in non-mainstream hobbies — has been steadily gaining approval as technological advance continues to isolate the individual from society and produce a culture that values individuality over conformity. Comic book characters have always had a huge following, but in recent years they have taken over media. Marvel Comics adaptations like Iron Man starring Robert Downey Jr. now dominate the multiplexes.

W i n d a t t ’s c o m p a n y, Grimbrothers Entertainment, has been hosting a horror movie convention in London called Shock Stock for the past four years. Last August he was prompted to organize Comic Con when Heroes Comics by Dundas and Richmond was named Canada’s top comic book store at the Joe Shuster Awards.

“I know some of the guys down there so I reached out to them and said, ‘Hey, you guys are the number one comic book store in Canada — you just won an award. How come there’s no Comic Con going on down here?” Windatt recalls. “They said it’s

something people have been wanting to do for so long and you guys should really get on this — people are dying for it.”

Although London has regular toy and collectible shows, it hasn’t hosted a comic book convention in 20 years. London has a vibrant comic book community and there will be another comic convention in October.

“I’m hoping it will gain a bunch of momentum and at least one if not both will become huge events attracting people from all over and bringing more comic book culture to London,” says Brahm Wiseman, owner of Heroes Comics.

In addition to comics, guests can expect a wide variety of entertainment. Roger Foley will be exhibiting Opera Plushies — cartoonish-like plush dolls based on past opera concert charitable events. He will also have vintage action figures on display and will be auctioning off a giant four-foot disco ball from the legendary Club Phoenix.

“There is going to be a lot of tremendous things that the organizers of Comic Con have put together,” enthuses Foley. “They’re going to have a big cosplay element to it so the official London Batman and London Dark Knight are going to >> see COSPLAYERS pg.5

Winnie Lu • GAZETTE

Circle skirts

Tanks/Tees

The Look: Circle skirts are a cute and fun option for summer; they’re comfortable and stylish. Whether you’re going to the beach, a summer concert, or just around town, circle skirts are definitely a go-to item. Circle skirts come in every colour imaginable, as well as many different prints and patterns. Pastel colours are really trending this summer and so a pale pink, blue or purple-coloured circle skirt would bring a pop of colour to any outfit.

The Look: Tank tops and baseball tees are another great summer trend for men. Graphic as well as basic tanks are becoming very popular and are perfect for layering under those breezy tops or denim shirts.

While pastel-coloured items are very popular among women this summer, the colour palette is also popular among men. Both tank tops and baseball tees make for great summer options for men; they are light and airy, and great for layering.

Where to get it: Circle skirts can be found at almost any retailer, including Forever 21, Urban Outiftters and American Apparel.

Where to get it: Urban Outfitters offers several different graphic tanks, as well as basic tanks and features many great shirts for layering with these.

• Jennafer Freeman

•5

thegazette • Friday, June 6, 2014

Uncovering talented London musicians Nathan Kanter SPORTS EDITOR

>> continued from pg. 4

@nathanatgazette

It may not be officially called “London’s Got Talent,” but that’s exactly what the “London Covers” contest displayed this past Saturday: excellent musical prowess. Five finalists, ranging in age from 18 to 23, performed at the London Music Hall in front of five industry professionals who judged their talents before narrowing it down to one winner.

Kelly Bain, Gareth Bush, Trevor Horman, Kira Longeuay and Bailey Pelkman were the five finalists, and all five agreed that the opportunity to perform live at the London Music Hall was something special.

Although it was a covers only contest, family and friends filled the venue for performances that ranged from an innovative guitar cover of Britney Spears’ “Baby” courtesy of Pelkman, to a rock cover of Pharell’s “Lucky” performed by Longeuay and her band.

It was the final performance of the night however that ended up swaying the judges, perhaps thanks to the use of a loop pedal. Pelkman, an 18-year-old from Strathroy, was crowned the winner after her second round performance of Pharell’s “Happy.”

“The final performance […] changed everything,” says Ajay Massey, one of the judges. “To me, a cover is taking a song and making it your own and the winner obviously did that.”

What was clear right from the beginning of the night was the impressive talent from every finalist.

“All five artists are really good and all five are really different. [There were] a ton of different genres and age ranges,” says Bush, who himself wowed audiences with his acoustic spin on Shaggy’s “It Wasn’t Me.” Justin Brown, co-owner of the

Winnie Lu • GAZETTE

COVER ME. Last Saturday, five finalists competed as part of the London Covers contest, which saw local musicians providing their take on popular songs. From left to right: Kira Longeuay, Gareth Bush, Trevor Horman, Bailey Pelkman and Kelly Bain.

London based marketing company and contest sponsor, Fourword Thinking, was also impressed with the performances across the board.

“Bailey is an amazing artist and all these artists did an amazing job,” he says. “We couldn’t have asked for a better turn out for the first year.”

The contest was first conceived when Jordan Sojnocki, a 23-yearold Western grad, was asked to find a way to promote arts and culture by the London Youth Advisory Council. Originally from Hamilton, Sojnocki noticed there wasn’t the same local music scene when he came to Western and felt he could do something about it. Along with Brown, he spearheaded the project by approaching bands already in the industry.

“They did it the right way,” says

Bush. “Jordan and Justin went around asking people who know their stuff, ‘What do people need to kickstart their career?’”

“I started to think: they need, obviously, to record their music, they need places to play and they need promotion,” Sojnocki recalls.

Which is how they came up with the impressive prize pack: a professional photo shoot and music video, professional recording time and, best of all, three future opportunities to open for bigger acts at the Music Hall.

Pelkman, who lists Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat as her top musical influences, is excited that she won.

She just finished up her first year in Fanshawe’s Music Industry Arts program, so she will continue to be fully immersed in the music scene

in London.

“It’s great knowing that all of this opportunity lies ahead of me,” Pelkman comments.

Brown is already looking ahead to year two of the contest.

“What we’re going to do is segway this first year into the second year, so Bailey will be heavily involved in promoting year two,” he says. “We hope to hold the event at the London Music Hall again. We couldn’t have done it without them.”

His partner in crime, Sojnocki, is still amazed with year one.

“When this started off no one knew what to expect,” he says. “I’m still in disbelief of the numbers […] we had just under 40,000 different people hit our website during the contest. The community support is amazing.”

On Disc

Brent Holmes DEPUTY EDITOR @BrentAtGazette

Various Artists 94.9 CHRW Presents: LDN CHRW Highlight Tracks: “Astronaut Final” “Gatsby” “Shake Me Down” “Lego” “Does She Know” GGGGF If there is one thing that can be gleaned from listening to CHRW Presents: LDN, a compilation album put together by Western’s radio station, it’s that London is home to some unbelievably talented artists.

The album opens with a OneHit KO pop song. With a voice as powerful and distinctive as Florence Welch’s or Adele’s, Sarah Botelho’s “Astronaut Final” sets an atmospherically high bar for the album. Thankfully, the following

Cosplayers suiting up

song, Olivia & the Creepy Crawlies’ “Gatsby” simultaneously mixes its lighthearted sound with a well-constructed literary reference to The Great Gatsby. However, the most poetic lyrics of the album are by The Lifers’ “Lego,” which lays out its multifaceted metaphors brick by brick. Gareth Bush’s acoustic guitar and soft but passionate voice are wonderful in “Shake Me Down.”

Many of the artists blend multiple styles and influences well. Alyeus’ “The Archetype” has a hard-rock sound similar to Rush and Dream Theater. Meanwhile Clara Stegall’s bluesy sound on “Does She Know” mixes Adele-like vocals with a White Stripes -equese hook.

Abdurlahman Ali and Miles Xu provide some interesting tracks with songs in Arabic and Mandarin.

However, overall the compilation is weakened by a stronger first half.

Tracks like Say Hello’s “Hot Hot Hot” and The Bellows’ “Something (Sleeping)” don’t stand out as much against the earlier tracks of the album.

With such a wide-selection of styles and artists if one song doesn’t appeal to one’s taste, the next track likely will. 94.9 CHRW Presents: LDN is a fantastic introduction to the London music scene, giving listeners at least 14 new artists to seek out.

CHRW Presents: LDN will be released on Friday, June 20th. More information on the artists featured can be found at http://chrwradio.ca/LDN.

be there and their costumes are very well done.”

Cosplay, short for “costume play,” is a performance art in which participants dress up as their favorite characters.

Heather Reffle will be a featured cosplay guest as Kouki-li.

She will be appearing on the upcoming show FANatics on Rogers TV. Reffle will also host the Rogers TV booth at the convention.

“My cosplay specialty is wig dying and wig styling so I thought it would be cool if I did a demo of how I do it so I can teach other people,” says Reffle.

The creative costumes help make Comic Con a great event for children. Sunday, June 15th will feature superhero wrestling — Hulk, Spiderman and others will strap on their tights to try to answer the endless fanboy debates of which superhero reigns supreme.

“We’re kind of testing the waters this year to see what works and what doesn’t,” says Windatt. “We’re just looking forward to people coming in and having a good time.”

Tickets are available online at www.grimbrothers.com/ comiccon. $10 for a single-day ticket, $20 for a two-day pass, and kids 10-and-under are free.

A two-day pass grants a halfhour early entrance.

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6 •

thegazette • Friday, June 6, 2014

opinions

The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all.

• John F. Kennedy

Politicians need to realize students aren’t a fringe issue With less than a week to go in the provincial elections, students find themselves in prestigious company along with sex offenders, axe murderers and Justin Bieber, in that they are all not being talked about on the campaign trail.

Yes that’s right, students are being ignored. Parties approach elections similar Western approaches exam scheduling. While political leaders are busy dodging questions, coming up with creative lies and in general acting like teenagers, they neglect actual teenagers who could be voting for them.

University students make up a good chunk of the population and, more importantly, make up the chunk that will grow up to be active members of society. So why are student issues omitted from elections talk? Why aren’t parties thinking long-term by investing in education and improving access to education? Why isn’t the very important issue of the unsustainable model of university funding being addressed?

The future of this province depends on the education of its population, an education that extends not just from K–12, but through to university and college. With the province lagging behind other provinces economically and with a soon to be crippling debt load, it’s time for our leaders to make some tough decisions about where they want to spend their money — and there are very few places better than spending on education.

But, “students don’t vote” is the only attention we get every election. Sure, we are partly to blame, but it’s a two way street. It’s like a self-fulfilling prophecy of society saying students don’t vote, parties ignoring students on their platforms and in their campaigns because they think students don’t vote and then students not voting because nobody bothered to engage them, thus validating the “students don’t vote” mantra.

Low youth voter turnout is also a symptom of a larger problem. Ontarians in general are becoming disillusioned and dispassionate about politics and voting. You need only look as far as the governing Liberals’ many billions of dollars in scandals that have left them basically unscathed in public opinion polls to realize that people just don’t care about politics.

There are things that can be done to encourage civic engagement. Media focus on elections should not be about the cattiness of politics but the policies themselves. Politics needs to be broken down to understand the values of each party and how those values are physically manifested in the form of policy and implementation. Nobody needs to hear about how a particular politician insulted another — they need to hear about the issues that matter and how they matter.

But the overload of useless information is no excuse.

While politicians ought to be making more efforts to include and engage youth, students need to hold their end as well.

And while students can seek haven in their manufactured bubble that is the university lifestyle, they can’t then be upset that the real world isn’t pandering to that bubble. It takes money to run an election and politicians aren’t going to waste theirs on a vote that won’t come.

When students begin to take themselves and their civic responsibilities seriously, the rest will follow. Perhaps political parties think that addressing student issues is beating a very dead, expensive and fruitless horse when there’s a whole barn burning to the ground without realizing students and education are part of the solution to putting that fire out.

• Gazette Editorial Board

thegazette

Volume 108, Issue 2 www.westerngazette.ca

Iain Boekhoff Editor-In-Chief Brent Holmes Deputy Editor Richard Raycraft Managing Editor

Contact: www.westerngazette.ca University Community Centre Rm. 263 The University of Western Ontario London, ON, CANADA N6A 3K7 Editorial Offices: (519) 661-3580 Advertising Dept.: (519) 661-3579

The Gazette is owned and published by the University Students’ Council.

HAVE YOUR SAY The Gazette asked students if they are planning on voting in the upcoming elections? Why or why not?

Women aren’t a fringe group either Abracadabra Al-Azem

The playing field is not even. It never has been and pretending to be an ally while trivializing the cause does not help make it so.

Nusaiba Al-Azem OPINIONS EDITOR @NusAtGazette

Farishta Zarify

Political Science Alumni “No. Because I feel like I don’t understand the core values of any of the parties because I feel like it’s all basically politics and games and I don’t really know if my true values would be represented in any of the parties.”

Taylor O’Neil

2nd year; BMOS “I didn’t even know about it but I guess I will be. I’ll have to look into it. I guess [with] summer school I’m busy with my studies, I don’t really know what’s going on.”

Steven Hong

5th year; BMOS and Psychology “Ontario elections? Actually, to be honest probably not because I don’t know too much […] I know my vote counts but I just don’t know enough in order to make a wise decision.”

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.”

All articles, letters, photographs, graphics, illustrations and cartoons published in The Gazette, both in the newspaper and online versions, are the property of The Gazette. By submitting any such material to The Gazette for publication, you grant to The Gazette a non-exclusive, world-wide, royalty-free, irrevocable license to publish such material in perpetuity in any media, including but not limited to, The Gazette‘s hard copy and online archives.

It’s empowering to own your narrative, and that’s what’s been happening these past few weeks with the “YesAllWomen” hashtag that has taken Twitter by storm.

That’s also why it’s incredibly infuriating for me when people try to undermine that powerful experience.

On May 23 in Santa Barbara, California, a young man killed six people and wounded 13 others before committing suicide. Prior to his killing spree, he recorded a video and wrote a detailed manifesto revealing his motivation for these actions was hatred of women.

Women apparently owed the 22 yearold virgin sex, which is sadly something that many men hold and was the inspiration for #YesAllWomen.

The purpose of the hashtag was to create a space for women to air their grievances; a chance to explain why shootings like these are not simply isolated incidents but the result of systemic sexism, violence and misogyny.

While some men are actively partaking in #YesAllWomen, others are offended by the movement. In fact, some went so far as to create a competing hashtag, “NotAllMen,” to highlight what they perceive as unfair labelling of an entire gender.

I guess the irony of men taking attention away from the narrative of women discussing misogyny is lost on them.

What these men don’t understand is that for women, the violence in Santa Barbara was unique in scale but not in kind.

When I began to write this column and discussed it with a man in my life,

Gazette Composing & Gazette Advertising Ian Greaves, Manager Maja Anjoli-Bilic

Diana Watson

Gazette Staff 2014-2015 Christine Bonk, Sarah Botelho, Tabitha Chan, Jonathan Dunn, Spencer Fairweather, Conrad Floryan, Sam Frankel, Jennafer Freeman, Janice Fung, Stephanie Grella, Dorothy Kessler, Kevin Heslop, Jenny Jay, Nathan Kanter, Katie Lear, Emory Liu, Haida Liu, Winnie Lu, Cheryl Madliger, Sara Mai Chitty, Soheil Milani, Mackenzie Morrison, Robert Nanni Jr., Amy O’Kruk, Vidhant Pal, Lily Robinson, Morgann Sampson, Alex Seger, Tiffany Shepherd, Hamza Tariq, Tristan Wu, Olivia Zollino

he responded with some statistic proving men are victims of domestic violence as well. Most male responses to these “feminist” movements are similar — shifting attention to the plights of men, condemning the alleged misandry of the movement or defensively trivializing it.

Whether or not all men participate in rape culture, it exists. Whether or not all men abuse women, there are men who do. That’s the reason why it’s not only okay for #YesAllWomen to exist — it’s necessary.

When men try to create even playing fields by arguing domestic violence is a two-way street, they fail to take into consideration every single facet of the systemic hierarchy that disadvantages women, to which men have never been and are not subjected.

They fail to take into consideration the history of the marginalization of women and a present sexualization, objectification and trivialization of women in our culture.

The playing field is not even. It never has been and pretending to be an ally while trivializing the cause does not help make it so.

It baffles me — do the people who hijack positive feminist movements not realize that what they’re doing by undermining these movements is silencing the disenfranchised women they claim to stand by?

Essentially, the moment a man decides to defensively revert back to #NotAllMen in response to #YesAllWomen, he allies with the aggressor and becomes the man “YesAllWomen” references.

News Amy O’Kruk Hamza Tariq Katie Lear Olivia Zollino

Sports Bradley Metlin Nathan Kanter Robert Nanni

News-at-large Kevin Hurren

Photography Kelly Samuel Taylor Lasota Winnie Lu

Opinions Nusaiba Al-Azem Arts & Life Conrad Floryan Jennafer Freeman Jenny Jay

Online Megan Devlin

Graphics Jennifer Feldman Illustrations Chris Miszczak Graphics/Video Mike Laine

• Please recycle this newspaper •

•7

thegazette • Friday, June 6, 2014

sports

factattack The World Cup — of FIFA World Cup fame — is actually not a cup in any way shape or form; you cannot even drink champagne from it to celebrate!

Rundown >> In other coaching additions, the Mustangs have added two new coaches to the women’s hockey team > Dave Barrett will co-coach and Kelly Paton will be the player development coach > Associate coach Ted Brown will depart the program after six years.

Knowles named new coach of rugby team Eric Green CONTRIBUTOR sports@westerngazette.ca

The Mustangs men’s rugby squad will have a new head coach this coming season in David Knowles, who is set to take over from current coach Steve Thomas.

Thomas, who has been at the helm of the men’s team for the last five seasons, will take up the position of general manager. He will maintain his presence with the team in a more administrative capacity by supporting the coaching staff and organizing transportation.

“The time is right to move forward,” Thomas said. “The program needs to take it to the next level.”

Thomas believes that the addition of Knowles to the coaching staff will help to facilitate this step up using Knowles’ wealth of experience in rugby, both as a coach and a player. He will take over a Mustangs team that went 6–1 last season before falling to the Queen’s Gaels in the final.

Knowles will work alongside existing assistant coaches Richard Cooke and Peter Alport.

Knowles’ background includes performing as the player-coach of the Niagara Thunder, a seven consecutive-year run playing in the World Rugby Classic beginning in 2006, and representing Canada at the 2000 Rugby League World Cup. The 44-year-old — who also holds a brown belt in Brazilian jiujitsu — comes to the Mustangs after a year-long hiatus from coaching.

As a former assistant coach for the Guelph Gryphons and head coach

DAVID KNOWLES NEW MUSTANGS HEAD COACH

The only objective is to win. of the Brantford Harlequins senior team, he isn’t walking in unprepared.

While the change in staff can be expected to somewhat shake up the Mustangs training regimen, Knowles isn’t worried about the team’s luck this season.

“Western rugby is a program of excellence as it is,” Knowles said.

“Whether what we need is a little mental shift, a focus shift, a physical shift — we’ll see.”

Knowles isn’t wrong in his description of the existing squad, as five Mustangs were named to the Ontario University Athletics men’s rugby all-star roster last season.

The Mustangs’ Ade Ojo, Mike Turnbull, Geoff Warburton, Rory Tomlinson and Mike Penzack were all recognized for their excellent performances last season with this appointment.

Ojo was further recognized for his contribution to the Mustangs’ 2013 silver medal game, being presented with the OUA’s Trillium award, which is presented to the best all-round player, as selected by the coaches.

“We have to finish the last game,” Thomas said of the Mustangs’ loss in last year’s finals. “We have to finish strong.”

“The only objective is to win,”

Courtesy of Mustang Athletics

FATHER KNOWLES BEST. The Mustangs men’s rugby team received a shakeup of its coaching staff, with David Knowles taking over from Steve Thomas, who has coached the program since 2010.

Knowles said, echoing Thomas’ sentiments for this year.

Knowles, who made the decision to leave the existing support staff in place, has met with his fellow coaches already. Having

also previously coached several members of the Mustangs’ squad, Knowles has high hopes for the upcoming season.

“The pieces are falling into place to draw up a roadmap to the finals,”

Knowles said.

The Mustangs rugby training camp kicks off this August and the men’s first game is scheduled for Wednesday, September 3 against the University of Toronto Varsity Blues.

Cup guardian shares history with community Robert Nanni SPORTS EDITOR @RobertAtGazette

After responding to an internship advertisement by CSTT Sports Management for his kinesiology program’s fourth-year field placement, Justin O’Halloran found himself with a new title — guardian of the Memorial Cup. “When I first began this project, I had no idea about the signifi-

cance of the Memorial Cup,” O’Halloran confessed. “I feel as if that is the case with a lot of people.”

The Canadian Hockey League first awarded the Memorial Cup in 1919, which continues to commemorate the Canadian soldiers who sacrificed themselves in World War I. As of 2010, it was rededicated to memorialize all fallen soldiers.

Despite having had no personal attachment to the Cup, it provided O’Halloran with a “different perspective.”

During his time in this role, O’Halloran transported the Cup to local London events that he organized. While on his travels, he met many emotionally involved individuals.

“I was approached by veterans from [World War II] who had played in previous Memorial Cups […] and veterans of Afghanistan who described the horrors they were exposed to.”

O’Halloran mentioned how eye-opening the experience has been for him as he partook in the events behind the scenes.

“You do not realize it, but someone has to bring the Memorial Cup to all of the games, dinners, photo shoots — that was me.”

Duties of the Memorial Cup guardian also included giving presentations to individuals of all ages about the Cup

Courtesy Justin O’Halloran

and what it stands for. The Western graduate describes a positive reception in his community tours — whether people knew what the Memorial Cup represented or not.

“I had the honour of giving a speech in front of entire local London schools to explain what the Memorial Cup really meant,” O’Halloran said. “It was a real pleasure to see the children walk into the gym and have their faces light up because such a prestigious trophy had come to their school.”

Though intended as a one-year position, O’Halloran began working with the 2014 Memorial Cup host organizing committee immediately after graduating with an honours specialization in sports management following the internship.

8 •

thegazette • Friday, June 6, 2014

2014 FIFA World Cup group predictions Nathan Kanter SPORTS EDITOR @NathanAtGazette

The 2014 FIFA World Cup will kick off June 12 in Brazil. In preparation, I’ve put together a preview so the casual soccer fan knows what to expect. For the hardcore fan, feel free to tell me I have no idea what I’m talking about — But I do warn you, I correctly picked the winner of the Memorial Cup in the last issue of The Gazette.

Group A – Brazil, Cameroon, Croatia, Mexico In the recently published fifth edition of “The World Cup and Economics,” American banking firm Goldman Sachs predicted that the host Brazilians will win it all.

Winning their group is all but a guarantee, though even that will mean a Round of 16 matchup against the Netherlands or Spain. Second in the group will likely be Croatia or Mexico, but I’m going with Croatia.

Group B – Australia, Chile, Netherlands, Spain Chile got screwed over. The two teams that met in the 2010 World Cup Final — Spain and the Netherlands — are both in their group. In almost any other group, Chile likely would have made it through. Spain will face off against Netherlands in the first match of Group B and whoever wins will likely top the group and avoid Brazil in the Round of 16.

Group C – Colombia, Greece, Ivory Coast, Japan This group is completely up for grabs. Colombia, ranked fifth in the world, is probably the favourite, though striker Radamel Falcao may not be healthy in time. Greece plays a boring, defence-first style but could sneak by on draws, while the Ivory Coast enjoys pushing the pace offensively, thanks to Didier Drogba, Yaya Toure and Salomon Kalou. Japan is very good tactically, but doesn’t carry the same athleticism as its opponents. I’m going with the Ivory Coast and Colombia.

Group D – Costa Rica, England, Italy, Uruguay Star Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez is still recovering from knee surgery and may miss some time, putting Uruguay’s fate in jeopardy.

England carries a much younger team than usual but have only failed to make it out of the group stage twice in their history, the last time coming in 1958. Italy’s fate likely lies on the shoulders of striker Mario Ballotelli. The highly skilled, yet often volatile forward can take over a game when he’s in the right mindset. When he’s not, however, results for Italy don’t usually pan out.

Things shouldn’t implode for Italy too early, so I’m predicting that Italy and Uruguay advance.

Mike “Right Way” Lane • GAZETTE

Group E – Ecuador, France, Honduras, Switzerland France tends to either go very far, or come up very short. This time around I’m betting on the latter. Franck Ribery is one of the best players in the world and they have depth at every position. Plus this group isn’t very strong. The Swiss appear to be the obvious choice to finish second, as neither Ecuador nor Honduras are particularly talented teams.

here and I’m saying they finish last.

Germany and Portugal go through.

that Belgium will finish first. The Russians look strong under Italian coach Fabio Capello, while the South Koreans are an improving squad who have made it past the group stage in two of the past three World Cup tournaments. And don’t count out Algeria, which carries a young and exciting crop of players. I’m going with the European teams, Russia and Belgium, in this sagging group.

Group H – Algeria, Belgium, Korea Republic, Russia A fairly weak group could prove to be a coming-out party for the Belgians, who went undefeated in qualifying and have an abundance of stars approaching their prime. But it’s far from a foregone conclusion

Group F – Agrentina, BosniaHerzegovina, Iran, Nigeria Argentina has the second highest probability of winning the tournament, according to Goldman Sachs, at 14.1 per cent. With Lionel Messi on your team, you always contend.

His supporting cast is strong and this group is weak. Nigeria is the reigning champions of Africa and I’m picking them to finish second.

Group G – Germany, Ghana, Portugal, USA Here it is — the “Group of Death!”

All four teams are strong. Portugal has Christiano Ronaldo, who has proven he can carry the team on his back. Germany rarely has a bad tournament and is probably the favourite to win the group. Ghana is arguably the best African team and boasts one of the strongest midfields with Michael Essien and Sulley Muntari. The U.S. got a bad draw

Puzzle solutions (from pg. 2)

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The Winner Lionel Messi may have come up short for the FIFA Ballon d’Or for the first time in five years, but I’m predicting he leads Argentina to the top of the football world in an all-South American final.