Thursday, October 2, 2014

Going postal Western student Sarah Botelho sends out her first EP >> pg. 4

thegazette Stop resisting! since 1906

WESTERN UNIVERSITY • CANADA’S ONLY DAILY STUDENT NEWSPAPER • FOUNDED 1906

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2014

Student sues Western for 2009 Social Sci arrest Former Western student Irnes Zeljkovic is currently in court for his lawsuit against Western University and Campus Community Police Services for excessive use of force during his arrest in 2009.

Zeljkovic was arrested on October 14, 2009 in the Social Science Centre, where the arrest was videotaped by fellow students who later uploaded a video onto YouTube. To date, the video has been viewed over 400,000 times.

The video shows Zeljkovic being arrested by six officers who use punches, kicks and strikes with batons to subdue him while repeatedly shouting, “Stop resisting!”

Zeljkovic is suing the university and campus police for $950,000 in damages. Campus Police and Western declined to comment for this story.

At the time of the arrest, Zeljkovic was suffering from an acute psychotic episode while inside the Social Science Centre.

Zeljkovic was originally charged with mischief, resisting arrest, assault and escaping custody but completed a mental health diversion program and the charges were later dropped.

Michael Burgess, expert witness for the plaintiff on use of force, testified yesterday that the officers also used pepper spray in the altercation according to reports submitted by campus police officers. Additionally, the extent and style of force used was not consistent with training materials released by Ontario Police College. The trial is expected to continue for the next week.

• Katie Lear

Inside

•••

Mayoral candidate Steve Gardner

• P3

Unpaid internships crackdown •P3 Faces of Western: Luke Swanek •P5 Editorial: unpaid internships a bitter pill •P6 Purple Pipe Athlete of the Week: Amanda Boyles

•P8

TODAY high 21 low 10

TOMORROW high 23 low 12 VOLUME 108, ISSUE 19

Grad Club faces financial difficulty as costs mount

Kelly Samuel • GAZETTE

SAVE ME, I’M DROWNING. The graduate students on-campus watering hole, the Grad Club, located in Middlesex College, is in serious financial difficulties this year.

The Society of Graduate Students may be levying a fee on its members in order for the establishment to stay open at its current location.

Increased rent compounds $100,000 lost already this year Kevin Hurren NEWS EDITOR-AT-LARGE @KevinAtGazette

Graduate students may have to open their minds — and their wallets — if they hope to keep the Grad Club afloat.

A subsidiary of the Society of Graduate Students, the on-campus pub has long been considered a place for graduate students and professors to unwind between and after classes.

But in this past fiscal year, the Grad Club ended with a loss of over $100,000.

Now, as the university raises the pub’s occupancy fee from $9,700 a month to $11,000, the pub may be in jeopardy of losing its Middlesex College location.

“It’s become an issue,” said Raquel Rodrigues, accounting manager for SOGS. “The occupancy fee the university wants to charge […] obviously the Grad Club cannot afford.”

This increased fee is a consequence of several factors, explained Rodrigues. Not only is the square footage price for on-campus space going up, but issues with the janitorial union have also caused a campus-wide spike.

Many of the just over 5,000 graduate and PhD students at Western do pay a membership fee to SOGS, but these funds go towards the organization’s other pursuits and goals.

According to SOGS vice-president finance Indranil Chakraborty, the rise in occupancy fees for the pub is an unfortunate result of the university not seeing where the true value of the Grad Club lies.

“They don’t consider the Grad Club as a community space or an educational space – they consider it a business space,” Chakraborty said.

“This is where we have a difference.”

By community and educational space, Chakraborty refers to the exchange of ideas and knowledge that frequently occurs between

colleagues in the Grad Club. By creating this environment, explained Chakraborty, isolation between TAs, professors and other graduate students is broken down.

“We are not saying we will not pay the occupancy fees,” Chakraborty said. “We say make it less so that we can survive.”

This isn’t the first time the Grad Club has had to deal with increased costs. In 2004, the Grad Club expanded its space to include a larger kitchen — hoping to offer its patrons diverse food options.

In order to do so, the Club had to pay $15,000 to the university for the rights to serve food. This fee, in addition to the $500,000 cost of the actual expansion, had to be fully covered by revenues of the pub.

Now, with pre-existing deficits and the increased occupancy fees, SOGS may have to adopt a more involved relationship with the pub.

“The SOGS membership fee has been stagnant for a number of years

[…] but if the university doesn’t start treat the Grad Club like an educational space then we may have to increase it by maybe a few dollars to make it more sustainable,” Chakraborty said.

“We haven’t decided anything yet, but we have discussed in [SOGS] council that in the next budget there is a high probability we’ll be doing that.”

Grad Club management will also be looking into potential menu alterations, including increased prices for certain drinks.

But even with these changes on the horizon, Chakraborty is confident that SOGS will not jeopardize the Grad Club’s role on campus.

“We will be running the Grad Club efficiently and economically viable, but at the same time economically viable doesn’t mean it should be a business model only. The executive all want to keep the Grad Club a community space, whether the university helps us or not.”

2•

thegazette • Thursday, October 2, 2014

Caught on Camera

Victoria Bucknor • GAZETTE

TRYING NEW THINGS, IT’S ALL ABOUT ALTITUDE. Tyson Whitehead has big hopes for making a Western Gliding Club in which students will have the opportunity to learn how to soar through the sky engineless. Seated on UC Hill, was this APIS13 glider plane that students will be able to learn first-hand from certified instructors how to operate.

CROSSWORD By Eugene Sheffer

News Briefs

Large turnout for Ward 6 debate

The Orchard Park/Sherwood Forest Ratepayers Group organized an all-candidates debate for Ward 6 on September 29 at the Orchard Park Public School.

Around 150 people attended the debate and asked various questions to six of the seven candidates running for city council.

“It was an all-candidates meeting

to help people make a decision on voting for ward councillor,” said Sandy Levin, an ex-councillor who organized the event.

He added that he was not surprised by the big turnout for the event.

“It was expected — we have a very interested and involved community and we always get good turnouts,” he said.

According to Levin, some of the

major questions raised by the attendees were about garbage collection, city budget and protecting the environmentally significant areas that are included in Ward 6.

Levin said Western students usually voted when a student from the university ran for council.

“Traditionally if there is no student candidate, Western students generally do not turn out in large numbers for the city election,” he said.

• Mohammad Abrar Abdul Hanan

Solution to puzzle on page 8

Event focuses on Indigenous graduate experience

Students are invited to Green Leaf Café on Tuesday, October 7, to discuss ways to engage the Indigenous community with graduate education.

This World Café event, hosted

by Indigenous Services, will focus on how to facilitate Indigenous and Aboriginal graduate student success.

Michelle Froman, the coordinator of graduate engagement for Indigenous Services, said this workshop is a crucial step towards enriching the educational lives of Indigenous students.

“We’re trying to improve and enhance Aboriginal graduate student experience — so being able to find out about any barriers or what’s not working can help us,” Froman said.

Although Western is one of the largest schools in Ontario, the funding for Indigenous and Aboriginal support still pales in comparison to schools out west, said Froman.

“Our numbers in Ontario are so big. We have so many Aboriginal and Indigenous students and people that we need to be able to serve better,” she explained.

The specific focus on graduate students for this event is a due to the small number of Indigenous faculty members and TAs. Speaking at the event is Dr. Michelle Pidgeon, an assistant professor at Simon Fraser University whose research focuses on the effectiveness of recruitment and retention of Indigenous students in postsecondary education.

The event will take place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. next Tuesday. Those interested are encouraged to RSVP

by Monday at is.staff@uwo.ca or by calling 519-661-4095.

• Kevin Hurren

The Cryptoquip is a substitution cipher in which one letter stands for another. If you think that X equals O, it will equal O throughout the puzzle. Single letters, short words and words using an apostrophe give you clues to locating vowels. Solution is by trial and error. © 2002 by Kings Features Syndicate, Inc.

•3

thegazette • Thursday, October 2, 2014

Influenza vaccine policy a success Amy O’Kruk NEWS EDITOR @AmyAtGazette

Courtesy of Steven Gardner

This is the second of fifteen mayoral candidate profiles.

Name: Steven Gardner Phone: 519-615-4273 Emails: gardnerformayor@yahoo.ca or gardnerformayor@yahoo.com Twitter: @GardnerForMayor Facebook: facebook.com/GardnerForMayor ABOUT THE CANDIDATE:

ABOUT THE PLATFORM:

Gardner frames himself as the people’s fighter. Pledging to ensure city hall works for the best interests of Londoners, Gardner is an advocate of transparency — promising that hidden agendas and back-room deals won’t influence his time in office.

To ensure this, Gardner develops a platform around what he calls the “three L” approach: listen, learn and lead.

These overarching themes influence Gardner’s platform points.

With an emphasis on making Londoners feel heard, the candidate plans to learn how to serve the city and eliminate inefficiencies in the structure of government.

“This October, you have a choice,” Gardner said. “You can choose the same old path or you can make history and bring positive change to London.”

When Gardner talks about listening, he doesn’t only refer to the citizens of London. Part of his platform also includes a point where he, upon winning, will sit down with the other mayoral candidates after the race to review the best points of their platforms.

As previously mentioned, Gardner’s campaign also includes an emphasis on transparency. By creating online forums, he says, Londoners will have better access to communicate with elected officials — as well as being exposed to easily digestible summaries of city council projects.

Additionally, Gardner hopes to create “transparency ratings” for companies, non-profits and councils that are working with the city.

These ratings would be based on a combination of factors – including financial clarity, honest communication and monthly updates.

A flu shot or mask influenza program is coming back for its second year at London Health Sciences Centre and St. Joseph’s Health Care. The policy requires health care workers to get the flu vaccine annually or wear a mask when providing direct patient care.

London’s University Hospital was among the first in Ontario to step up and adopt the vaccine or mask initiative. This year the policy will kick into gear during the influenza’s peak season, from December 1 to March 31. Other hospitals that are picking up the program include Toronto’s Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and North York General Hospital. Pioneering health care centres closer to home, St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital and Sarnia’s Bluewater Health, also required staff to wear a mask if unvaccinated last year.

Dr. Michael John, medical director of infection control at LHSC, said that so far the policy has been successful.

“Our immunization rates went up among the physicians significantly,” John said. “From [percentages] in the 50s up to the 80s.”

John said the policy initially came to London through its physicians.

The LHSC’s Joint Medical Advisory Committee passed a resolution in favour of the program and a year later it was in place at hospitals. John added that the flu shot is especially relevant for students.

“I think it’s very important that if you’re at university to get a flu shot,” John said. “You’re in a sort of closed environment with lots of other people […] it’s a high-risk environment for getting the flu.”

Through the London-Middlesex Health Unit, students can pick up the flu vaccine for free from September to March in various health care clinics and participating pharmacies across the city.

John said that the flu shot can contribute to a more successful scholastic environment.

“If people are off ill, either the faculty or the students, that interferes with education,” John said. “There’s a good fix, just get your shots.”

Unpaid internship crackdown in GTA Megan Devlin ONLINE EDITOR @MegAtGazette

Nearly half of Toronto employers were in violation of the Employment Standards Act regarding unpaid interns in a recent blitz conducted by the Ontario Ministry of Labour.

Fifty-six surprise inspections were completed between April and June in the Greater Toronto Area.

Sectors visited included advertising, public relations, consulting services, computer systems design and information services.

Thirty-one of those businesses had active internship programs at the time of inspection. Forty-two per cent of those internship programs were breaking the law.

Five programs were in compliance with the ESA and 13 were exempt. Students interning for school credit are one of the ESA’s exemptions.

“There are some exceptions [to the ESA] but they are very limited, and the fact that you are called an intern is not relevant to whether your internship should be paid or unpaid,” a release from the ministry read.

The non-complying employers displayed a variety of violations.

Most common were monetary violations — not paying minimum wage and not giving public holiday or vacation pay to interns.

Bureaucratic violations were also common. Many employers failed to keep proper records of the hours their interns worked or their wage statements.

In total, the businesses owed

their interns $48,543 in retroactive pay.

All but one employer voluntary paid the wages owed. The ministry issued an order to pay wages for the remaining one.

“It’s a topic of importance […] We continue monitoring employers for compliance and we continue our education and awareness efforts as we have been doing for a number of years,” Bruce Skeaff, a spokesperson for the ministry, said.

Claire Seaborn, president of the Canadian Intern Association, was impressed with the ministry’s proactive blitz. “[We] would like to commend the Ministry of Labour for taking steps towards enforcing the laws surrounding internships in Ontario,” she wrote in a blog post.

Jen Carter, vice-president external with the University Students’ Council, knows the headache of unpaid internships very well.

“This blitz is definitely a step in the right direction, however this report didn’t tell us anything we didn’t already know. Unpaid internships are a systemic problem in Ontario,” Carter said.

“We do not want our students to be taken advantage of […] financial barriers may prevent some students from taking an internship because of their need to make a sufficient amount of money to pay for their education,” she continued.

Violating companies were not named in the report, but Skeaff said an information request can be filed which usually takes about three weeks to complete.

Environmental Awareness Week!

Oct. 6th - 9th Monday

Tuesday

Green Information Day!

It’s Easy to be Green Day!

Virtual Classroom with David Suzuki WSC Room 240 @ 12 PM

Environmental Booths @ the SLC 10 AM - 6 PM

Wednesday

Clean Up the Campus Day! King’s Campus Clean Up From 12 PM - 4 PM Clean Up from 12 Pm - 2 PM Refreshments & Food to follow at 2:30 PM

Featuring King’s Community Garden, Soy Candles, Swift Care Ontario, Vegetarian & Vegan Food Table, & Many More!

Make Your Own Lip Balm Workshop!

UCC Room 373 @ 3 PM

Thursday

Eco Fashion Day! Eco Fashion Booths @ the SLC 10 AM - 6 PM Browse Vintag, Come & B Second Hand, & Handmade Clothing, Jewellery, & Accessories!

Featuring Open Cage Jewellery, Artistic Day Dreamers, House of Wenday, a Student Sale Table, & Much More!

Make Your Own Lip Balm Workshop!

UCC Room 373 @ 3 PM

4 •

thegazette • Thursday, October 2, 2014

arts&life

saywhat?

“Contentment is a creativity killer, but don’t worry - I’m very capable of making myself discontented.”

• Florence Welch

Western musician sends off first album

Second-year English student Sarah Botelho launches her first EP, Postcards, at London Music Club this Sunday. The EP includes “Astronaut,” which was featured in CHRW Presents: LDN. Kevin Hurren NEWS EDITOR-AT-LARGE @KevinAtGazette

When Sarah Botelho was asked to be a judge for CHRW’s Sound Off Series, she was a bit thrown off. After all, it had been less than a year since the second-year English student competed in the singing competition herself.

“I don’t really like judging these things – they’re students, I’m a student, so who am I to judge,” said Botelho.

But as little as Botelho wants to admit, she does have an advantage over the current contestants. After winning last year’s competition in April, she was awarded with the opportunity to record four songs with Western’s radio station.

Now, after recording a few more tracks over the summer, Botelho prepares to release her first-ever EP album.

“During that time I hadn’t written anything for two years, and [when I won] I went through a surge of writing in a month,” Botelho said. “A lot of the songs had a similar theme going so I thought let’s just do this right and put it all together.”

The EP, titled Postcards, features five original songs from Botelho – each inspired by unsaid thoughts from the songwriter.

“It’s called Postcards because all the songs on the EP are like a postcard or letter to someone. All different people, but something I’ve always wanted to say to them.”

For instance, the track “I Wish You Did” is not your average love song. Botelho channelled frustration towards herself into the lyrics, which sometimes makes sharing the song publicly a challenge.

I

T’S CALLED POSTCARDS BECAUSE ALL THE SONGS ON THE EP ARE LIKE A POSTCARD OR LETTER TO SOMEONE. ALL DIFFERENT PEOPLE, BUT SOMETHING I’VE ALWAYS WANTED TO SAY TO THEM.” SARAH BOTELHO

ENGLISH AND CREATIVE WRITING II

“I don’t even like playing it live that much because I think everyone’s going to know what it’s about,” joked Botelho.

Recording in the studio, however, offers a very different experience than performing live. In the studio, Botelho found that she was better able to tap into these new sounds.

“When you’re singing live on stage, I feel like you don’t really get to listen to yourself because you’re in the moment. In the studio, when you have the headphones on, you’re paying more attention to yourself,” she said.

Though the studio better allows for this solitary reflection, Botelho asserts that she could not have gone through this process alone. Among the list of people who helped her create the EP, Botelho names her roommates, her parents and, of course, the members of CHRW who helped get the process started.

“Everyone at CHRW has been super nice. I know they’ve pulled all-nighters to get everything

organized and they’d bring me tea while I was recording.”

Now, Botelho prepares for her EP’s launch party this Sunday at the London Music Club. In addition to performing her own set, Botelho will be selling the album to interested patrons.

Also performing on Sunday evening are fellow Western musicians Matt McGrath and Justin Maki.

Planning for the party has been difficult. While getting ready for the launch, Botelho has also had to keep up with her regular schoolwork. Majoring in English and minoring in creative writing, Botelho doesn’t receive the same resources or practice that those in the faculty of music would get. But her program, she says, informs not only her lyrical style but also influences her musical writings.

“One of the songs on the EP was inspired by a philosophy essay I wrote last year,” she explained. “I think being in English forces you to think about things in a different way.

Sometimes we’ll be reading something and I think that’d be a pretty good idea for a song.”

But even though she enjoys her program, Botelho still plans to shift her focus towards music. Relatively new to the music scene in London, Botelho looks forward to spending more time performing with other local bands. After graduation, she hopes to set her sights on a larger musical community.

“I want to move to a big city and give myself a year to do music and that’s all I’m going to do. Just music.”

Those interesting in listening to Postcards can purchase the EP online or at Sunday’s launch party for $5.

Doors to the London Music Club open at 7:00 p.m. with a $5 cover.

Courtesy of Edward Chow

On Disc

GGGGH Sarah Botelho Postcards

Jennifer Feldman • GAZETTE

On her debut EP Postcards Sarah Botelho sounds like a wizened chanteuse whose grave vocals shoulder the weight of experience.

Old soul is the word. In fact, Botelho is a second-year English student at Western.

Those English classes are paying off because Botelho has crafted an impressive lyrical showcase. Here’s a free sample: “You ask me for my name and what it is I do. So I tell

you I’m an astronaut because you’re too involved with you.” More? Later, she drops this bombshell. “Sorry to reveal this but I’ve never been to outer space”. You’re welcome. Her text successfully balances being imaginative while still decipherable.

Lyrics are just words on a page until someone brings them to life, and Botelho’s voice plays center stage. Her brassy crooning is dually contemplative — in addition to evoking a woman ruminating over life’s complexities, it also reveals a methodical artist who carefully orchestrates the seasons of her voice. She sounds cool, in control.

The instrumentation astutely provides a canvas for that voice to shine without interfering. The bulk of the 5-song EP weaves a minimal lounge-singer aesthetic rooted in piano musings and tactful percussion. It’s beer-sipping music.

More ornamental sounds bookend the record. The eponymous opening track incorporates harp, orchestral drums and cooing background vocals into a medieval chamber music tapestry. “Brace

yourself (…) ‘cus tonight we’re going everywhere,” she cautions as the ominous percussion builds toward the unknown.

Standout cut “Astronaut” climaxes the proceedings. The rich production embraces synth, dubstep rhythms, trap drums, vocal distortion and ethereal brushstrokes such as pings that sound like Marvin the Martian firing his laser gun.

Despite the shots fired, the voice stays cool.

Penultimate track “Mars” smoothly transitions into the closing smorgasbord. The propulsive beat hits almost as hard as a Just Blaze production and counterpoints the gentle acoustic strumming. Botelho switches up her flow and launches into staccato singing reminiscent of rap.

A little street cred garnishes a savvy EP from a confident songstress. They say people don’t send postcards anymore these days. At least they’ll have the chance to listen to some.

• Conrad Floryant

•5

thegazette • Thursday, October 2, 2014

Western grad shows off his rocking Pod Swanek creates project management tool for students

O Jonathan Hermina CONTRIBUTOR Though Luke Swanek’s history and philosophy degree doesn’t seem to have much to do with his current endeavours, Western can brag that this is where he got his start. After graduating in 2011, he decided to create a platform designed for the student population and he could not have imagined the success it would result in.

Swanek is one of the cofounders of Pod, which in his own words is, “a project management tool that lets you build communities.�

Pod is a management tool designed to help groups organize projects, tasks and events from a single platform. It was specifically focused on student clubs, taking feedback from executive teams to develop an efficient platform. “When we started we reached out to a number of student groups on campus,� says Swanek. “We took their feedback, spoke with a lot of student club executives here at Western, [...] kind of built what they said they needed.� “Summer happened, we started to scale up, working with major non-profits, credit unions and hospitals in Toronto. We were really kind of overwhelmed by the feedback that we got, we didn’t think that it would be that easy to grow to that scale.�

By September, Pod pushed out

UR GROWTH IS MORE THAN DOUBLING EVERY WEEK. THE VAST MAJORITY OF OUR USERS ARE STUDENT CLUBS RIGHT NOW. THEY’VE JUMPED OVER AND STARTED USING OUR PLATFORM.

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MOVIES GAMES REFRESHMENTS DOOR PRIZES

WESTERN ALUMNUS 2011 AND CO-FOUNDER OF POD

a brand new platform that got over 1,000 users over the course of the month. The rate at which Pod has been growing has been astounding, especially to Swanek. “Our growth is more than doubling every week,� Swanek says. “The vast majority of our users are student clubs right now. They’ve jumped over and started using our platform.�

According to Swanek, students at University of Toronto and other campuses have made use of the free platform and Pod has expanded to being used in a global market.

Swanek’s focus remains directed on the student population, specifically the university club scene, despite his rapid growth. “What we’re building is a project management tool for people that communicate,� Swaneck says. “We’ve just opened it up and made it free. But the big focus now is how are students using this, because that’s who we are and who we know the best.�

That isn’t to say that other

LATE NIGHT MOVIE MARATHON

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organizations haven’t been interested in getting a piece of the Pod pie. “We had too much attention, the Red Cross was calling us, some groups from the United Kingdom, southern United States, saying ‘I like what you’re building it’s really neat’ [...] Some web-development firms are using our software and we’re speaking with credit unions.�

Swanek, and the rest of the cofounders of Pod — including

Western alumni Neil Chudleigh and Bryn Jones — know who they’re dealing with and this includes the student community they grew out of. The software reflects the needs of the student, in part because it is 100 per cent free, but also because it was made with Western students, faculty and administration in mind.

If you or your group are interested in knowing more about or using Pod, you can join free of charge at joinpod. com.

LONDON

ROOMS 265 & 267

SECOND FLOOR UCC

Take note: The future of medicine is coming to a hospital near you.

IMRIS, a Canadian medical-equipment company, now headquartered in Minneapolis, is revolutionizing surgical procedures with the reinvention of the MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) and CT (Computed Tomography) machines.

Brain surgeries usually follow the same template: the patient gets an initial MRI or CT scan; his skull is cracked open, operated on and closed up; and he returns a few days later for a post-procedure scan. If the physicians discover they did not remove the entire tumor, they must repeat the above process, bringing unnecessary risk to the patient.

Enter IMRIS, whose scientists and engineers have developed the VISIUS iMRI (intraoperative MRI) and VISIUS iCT (intraoperative CT) machine. Situated between two specially designed surgical suites, the machines are stored in a structure similar to a garage. If a scan is required during surgery, the “garage

doors� open and the machines enter the operating room via rails on the ceiling. By having this technology onsite, surgeons get a real-time view of the patient’s brain, allowing them to assess brain shift and refine the surgical plan, prior to closing the surgical site. This leaves no doubt as to whether the tumor has been fully removed, or if more surgery is needed.

The company is developing an MRI-compatible image-guided surgical robot named SYMBIS, specifically designed for minimally invasive neurosurgery. SYMBIS can operate inside the iMRI machine, which means surgeons will be able to perform brain surgery while getting a constant real-time scan of the patient’s brain.

While SYMBIS may still be under development, once complete, the combination of iMRI and SYMBIS could very well be the benchmark when it comes to neurosurgery. • Shachar Dahan

www.westerngazette.ca

COPY CENTRE • DIGITAL MEDIA • GRAPHIC DESIGN • CUSTOM CLOTHING • PROMOTIONAL ITEMS

Info-Tech Info Session Discover the exciting career opportunities available at Info-Tech Research Group.

Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2014 5:30pm - 7pm UCC Room 210 Food and beverages provided.

Positions now open in London and Toronto: • IT • Consulting • Research • Business Development

RSVP at WWW.WESTERNCAREERCENTRAL.CA Info-Tech Research Group is the world’s fastest growing information technology research and advisory company, proudly serving over 30,000 IT professionals.

WHO’S INVITED: 3RD YEAR & ABOVE

Wesley McPherson Consulting Analyst

6 •

thegazette • Thursday, October 2, 2014

opinions

The distinction between “assistant” and intern” is a simple one: assistants are paid, interns are not. But of course interns are paid, in experience.

• Joyce Carol Oates, Beasts

Internship Fire with fire solves nothing hardships hard to avoid Jenny From The Block

An internship inspection blitz conducted by the Ministry of Labour resulted in the issuing of compliance orders to 36 of the 56 companies investigated.

Employment standards officers looked specifically into whether or not there were unpaid interns who could be considered employees of the companies and if they were partaking in work that deserved to be paid.

There are multiple problems that stem from unpaid internships.

Unpaid internships create a two-tier system, where only those who are fortunate enough to not need the wages can apply. Internships are often lengthy and run for months at a time, which is a large commitment to someone who cannot afford to go weeks on end without a paycheque. There are exceptions to the regulations, including internships that offer a credit for school.

But perhaps the worst thing about working for free is the hope that comes with the position. If you are 15 minutes early every day, complete each task with grace and poise, have a great attitude and outshine the office, you’re bound to be employed at the end of it all, right? For the lucky ones, yes. However, most leave internships the way they began them: looking for paid work.

So why are companies still able to run on free work from desperate job seekers, when the Ministry of Labour has rules and regulations in place against exploitation?

The biggest problem with unpaid internships doesn’t reside in the fact that you’re willing to give away your work for free. No, the larger issue is that many people are willing to do so. Obtaining an internship is as rare these days as getting a full-time job. Why would your employer hire you when they have a stack of eager applicants looking to do the same work you want to be paid for, for free?

If you’re a student, or have ever been rejected from a job due to lack of experience, you too will understand the familiar desperation to get your name out there — even if that means working for free.

And if unpaid internships are acceptable if you are getting a credit for school, perhaps they are not as bad as they seem. After all, the goal of an internship is to gain valuable life-experience and knowledge about the professional world.

While the Ministry of Labour should be applauded in their efforts to dismantle freeloading companies, it’s a large task at hand. Ideally, students should take a stand against giving away their services for free, especially when they become graduates.

Until then, no one is forcing students or graduates to work for free. It’s a hard pill to swallow, but in today’s economy, it’s the reality.

• Gazette Editorial Board

thegazette

Volume 108, Issue 19 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.

Editor’s Note: This column reflects the author’s personal response to an online comment that appeared under an apology from a letter writer. The comment has since been removed from the website for breaching our comments policy.

Jenny Jay ARTS AND LIFE EDITOR @JennyAtGazette

I am angry. No, I am furious and I think you should be too. On Sam Gray’s apology for his letter, a commenter named “uwohatesyou” said “I hear it’s really fun to douse yourself in gasoline and make a campfire, Sam. Now I’m not saying that what Gray wrote was okay.

Genetically deficient? Only donating because you hope the cute girl on stage with cystic fibrosis will live longer? These are harsh words to say the least, but telling someone they should kill themselves is equivalent.

Now I’m not getting defensive just because one of my best friends

committed suicide due to comments like this — or maybe I am, because perhaps I have the right to. We never think that our words have any impact in the world around us, but we forget that even as something as magnificent as the ocean is really just a collection of droplets. What I want to know is why do people think it’s okay to fight fire with fire? Claiming to be so disgusted with someone’s opinion or work and yet replying with statements equally as hurtful and offensive. Further, how can someone be okay with that?

Where does their conscience disappear to when these comments are made — why is it prevalent in social media?

That brings me to the idea of replying to things that go viral on the Internet.

Why is it that on Rebecca Black’s “Friday,” there are comments like “I think somebody did suicide when this came out” or in response to Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking ball:” “Fucking disgusting, skinny, pasty, skanky little cunt”. Besides the use of bad grammar and the slew of inappropriate words, what baffles my mind is that the levels of comfort people seem to feel with bashing another human being, and the inability to distinguish between the people themselves versus their artwork, music or opinions.

By all means, we are all entitled to our own opinions. We don’t need to like

We get letters!

London jab unwarranted Re: “Slight Birching performs only a slight set list” Wednesday, October 1, 2014 To the editor: I picked up a copy of The Gazette and was pleased to see a front-page dedication to the upcoming municipal elections and a commitment to getting students more involved in the city. As a Londoner, born and raised, I am often irritated by the influx of students who don’t venture past Richmond Row and know very little about this vibrant and ever-evolving community of ours.

Unfortunately, this feeling was cemented once again when I turned to page four for the Slight Birching review.

The performances aside, I was appalled at the description of the East Village Art Collective, which is an important and positive community space in London.

Jenny Jay stated that “while London has its perks as a city, it [EVAC] isn’t quite where you want to find yourself once the sun has set.”

I can only take this as a remark on the poverty of London’s East Village community, a fact that is well-known to Londoners. Objectively speaking, however, the crime statistics in London are focused on the downtown core, Riverside and Wharncliffe, and Old North neighbourhoods, all of which are inhabited

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.

Dear Life or frequented by Western and Fanshawe students.

EVAC is an initiative by citizens to create a positive space for people who live in and around the East Village. EVAC offers gallery space for local artists, a “Safe Space” two nights every week for at-risk women in the community, and a Free School every Wednesday evening for folks to learn and teach skills to others free of charge.

Rather than bashing a progressive space for being small and eclectic, get to know a bit more about the community that you are trying to be a part of.

• Brianne Savage Arts and Humanities III

(No) Beef with the Spoke To the editor: Today, I decided to go to the Spoke and try something new rather than my usual wrap or burrito. I went with the “Nacho fries” thinking that it would be a good choice. What I ended up getting was appalling. It was Nacho in name only.

An accurate title would be “Chili Cheese Fries.” There was no meat, no taco flavouring and all disappointing. The only nacho thing about it was the dollop of sour cream and the tomatoes. Don’t get me wrong, I ate it all, but still…needs meat.

• Garret Hop Hop MIT III

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

every song that comes out, every letter to the editor, or every article written on the Internet — but just because we have the right to dislike, does not mean we have the right to turn it into a personal attack.

This isn’t to say that everyone is as sensitive to comments regarding killing himself or herself or being called a whore.

Perhaps I’m being sensitive, perhaps they are triggers — but perhaps that is the point. Young adults who have experienced life will have triggers regardless of the context.

When responding to something we don’t like, we still need to remember that humans have feelings and triggers.

We need to be considerate. Even reading through YouTube comments to write this article had me scrolling through endless gay insults, rape jokes, sexual comments and suicide suggestions.

We may claim to be in a progressive age, but I for one have never been so disappointed in the lack of judgment people have when responding in such mannerisms.

I can only hope that when we disagree, Western students can make a scholarly point without the need to tell the author to douse their body in gasoline — let’s use that gasoline to fuel a worthy discussion instead.

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, Tristan Wu, Olivia Zollino

Your anonymous letters to life

Dear Life, Funny how the number of kids talking about AEO has declined since the start of actual evaluations.

Dear Life, Want more attendance at varsity sports? Engage the audience. The same shit year after year at football games is preposterous considering their budget.

Dear Life, To the person who didn’t get buffalo sauce on their Spoke wrap: The Spoke never uses buffalo sauce on their buffalo wraps. This needs to stop. It’s cheap and misleading and doesn’t taste nearly as good! wgaz.ca/dearlife

News Amy O’Kruk Hamza Tariq Katie Lear Olivia Zollino

Sports Bradley Metlin Nathan Kanter Robert Nanni Jr.

News-at-large Kevin Hurren

Photography Kelly Samuel Taylor Lasota Winnie Lu

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

Online Megan Devlin

Graphics Jennifer Feldman Illustrations Christopher Miszczak Graphics/Video Mike Laine

• Please recycle this newspaper •

•7

thegazette • Thursday, October 2, 2014

sports

today’stweet For clarification, which is next to impossible in this venue, Jose Bautista doesn’t tweet. A marketing firm takes care of his account.

• Toronto Sun columnist Steve Simmons @simmonssteve

Rundown >> The Western Mustangs women’s hockey team faced Penn State and Ohio State this past weekend • The ‘Stangs suffered a 5–2 loss against Penn and 1–0 shootout loss against Ohio.

Nathan Kanter SPORTS EDITOR @NathanAtGazette

Mustangs striker Amanda Boyle is adamant about a couple of pregame rituals. One, she must eat a banana, blueberry Greek yogurt, an apple and a cinnamon raisen bagel with peanut butter and jelly.

Two, Shania Twain and Taylor Swift must be playing in the dressing room before the team takes the field.

“Listening to some Shania Twain and Taylor Swift in the dressing room before games really helps,” she said. “I said we should put Shania Twain in pre-game and we did and it worked. So I’m saying keep Shania.

Keep it going — it’s clearly working.”

Whether it’s the music or not, it’s clear something is working for both the Mustangs women’s soccer team and its leading goal scorer, who has been named this week’s Purple Pipe Athlete of the Week.

Boyle scored four goals over the weekend in an 8–1 victory over the Waterloo Warriors to push the Mustangs to 9–1 on the season.

But it’s Boyle’s play over the course of the season that has warranted our attention, and why her being named our athlete of the week is long overdue.

Boyle has 17 goals this season in just 10 games, which is tied for not only the Ontario University Athletics lead, but also the Canadian Interuniversity Sport lead.

“Six to 17 is a really big jump and I’m really surprised myself,” she said, referring to her six goals last

season as a rookie. “It’s mind-blowing. I can’t handle how big of a deal it is. I really hope that I can keep it up.”

Boyle feels the biggest change between first and second year is familiarity with the team structure and her teammates.

“I think I have more confidence this season and I’m more comfortable with the girls I’m playing with this year,” she said. “We’ve been able to work and connect a lot more passes.”

The new-found confidence means Western is in perfect position in the standings with six games left in the regular season. They are just one point back of the division leading York Lions, but they have a game in hand, meaning a first-place finish is possible. And that’s exactly what Boyle said the team is eyeing, for the second season in a row. “[Our goal is] definitely to finish top in the division,” she said. “More time to rest [and] work on things that we need to work on, to focus on the other teams. Maybe do a little bit of homework.”

In order for that to happen, Boyle says there are a number of things the team needs to do.

“Communicating more, keeping on the path we’re keeping, maintaining a high-level in practice, focus, intensity and conditioning,” she said.

Plus one other tidbit that involves some luck.

“Maintaining our health,” she added. “We’ve had very few injuries this season which is really beneficial for us.”

Kelly Samuel • GAZETTE

Jonathan Dunn • GAZETTE

One win one loss in lacrosse This past Friday and Saturday, the Western Mustangs’ men’s lacrosse team took on the Brock Badgers and McMaster Marauders on Mustang Field. Although the Mustangs could not secure a win against the Badgers, losing 12–9, the Marauders proved to be no competition as the Mustangs won 18–3.

As the game started on Friday, Brock put up a tough challenge for the Mustangs. After a scoreless first quarter for Western and only two more goals for the next two quarters, Western was at an unfortunate 11–2 deficit going into the final quarter.

“We struggled with fundamentals,” said Mustangs men’s lacrosse coach Jeremy Tallevi. “On the positive side, the team didn’t quit and played an excellent fourth quarter.”

With two goals each from Mustangs midfielders Sam Neeb and Jordan Jones-Smith, the game came close to being tied.

Despite scoring an impressive nine goals in the last quarter, it still was not enough to capture the win.

The game ended at a close 12–9 loss for the Mustangs.

“We took too many penalties and allowed Brock to capitalize on their man advantage,” Tallevi said, noting that five of Brock’s goals were power plays.

Rebounding on Saturday, Western destroyed McMaster with an 18–3 victory. While the Marauders experienced scoreless first and final quarters, Western pummeled through their opponents in each quarter.

Saturday’s game saw 18 goals from 11 different Mustangs, four of which came from midfielder Patrick McCrory.

“Two games in 24 hours is tough,” explained Tallevi. “But we started [Saturday’s] game with the same energy and execution that we finished Friday’s game.”

Moving forward in the season, Tallevi recognizes that the team’s 4–2 standings are improvable.

“We aren’t in playoff form yet.

Over the next month we will keep working to get better.”

The Mustangs await tomorrow’s game against Toronto on Mustang Field, where they hope to resume their winning ways.

• Robert Nanni

8 •

thegazette • Thursday, October 2, 2014

comics

Comics are a gateway drug to literacy.

• Art Spiegelman

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