Friday, November 22, 2013 by Western Gazette

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Western gets Rammed! Mustangs men’s volleyball team fell 3–2 to the Ryerson Rams >> pg. 7

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VOLUME 107, ISSUE 43

Forum over Kiwi Kraze being sued by franchisee PSC reaches Fro-yo company denies accusation they misled customers standstill >> Exclusive

Richard Raycraft NEWS EDITOR

Kelly Samuel GAZETTE

FRO-YO CHAIN ACCUSED OF MISREPRESENTING FAT CONTENT OF YOGURT. London-based frozen yogurt chain Kiwi Kraze is being sued by one of their franchisees, who claims that for over a year, the North London location (pictured) knowingly served yogurt containing fat while representing themselves as fat-free. The company has denied the claim, saying they themselves were misled by their supplier. Read the Gazette investigation on page 4.

Continuing difficulties to identify a clear mission and purpose for the Peer Support Centre were evident in a University Students’ Council town hall held in the Council Chambers Wednesday evening. “I was really happy that we had students at large who weren’t directly affiliated with council or the space come out,” said Sam Krishnapillai, USC vice-president internal, of the meeting. “It was incredibly useful in the sense that there was a lot of great feedback pertaining to the need of a social room.” While Krishnapillai was happy with the attendance and feedback, she felt that progress on the issue of the centre’s role was not achieved. The centre, which is part of the USC’s Peer Support Network, has been in a state of gridlock over the past few months, with debates over how it is used. Krishnapillai and her >> see PSC pg.3

Hep C flourishes in London opiate users Rates significantly higher than in general population Katie Lear GAZETTE STAFF A study has found an unusually high rate of hepatitis C among people who inject drugs in London. The Middlesex London Health Unit partnered with the Public Health Agency of Canada for the study, which was done in London over the past year. The study involved 204 injection drug users and found that 79.1 per cent of those participants tested positive for hepatitis C and 5.5 per cent of the sample tested positive for HIV. Of those, six of 10 people were unaware of their status. In this study, incidence of hepatitis C is 11 per cent higher than the national sample and HIV is 5.4 per cent lower than the national level. Additionally, a high number of respondents have partaken in risky injection behavior with 19.6 per cent of participants borrowing

needles from others and 26.6 per cent who have lent needles out. The high incidence of hepatitis C can be directly linked to these unsafe injection habits as well as HIV and other diseases transmitted through contact with blood. The study said that programs and services such as needle exchange and sexual health services should continue to be offered with additional harm reduction initiatives to further reduce the health risk. The MLHU makes clear that safe injection sites are not among the suggestions. “I just want to make it clear that we are not advocating for any [safe injection sites], we’re not planning for any, and there are no considerations at this point to ask for any,” said Dan Flaherty, communications manager for MLHU. Of the 204 participants, 57 per cent of respondents had an unstable housing situation and 44 per cent had less than $1,000

in monthly income. All participants were recruited from the Regional HIV/AIDS Connection’s Counterpoint Needle Exchange Program in London. According to Bryna Warshawsky, one of the authors of the study and director of Oral Health, Communicable Disease and Sexual Health Services at MLHU, London has a very active needle exchange, as well as people active in methadone programs. Currently, MLHU has plans to expand on the study. “We’re working on a comprehensive status report of people who use injection drugs and trying to look at the information that’s in the survey but also additional information like emergency room visits and use that to work with community partners to look at the strategies that we need to implement to help reduce the risk in our community,” Warshawsky said.

Bill Wang GAZETTE

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thegazette • Friday, November 22, 2013

Caught on Camera

Kelly Samuel GAZETTE

SPOTTED AGAIN. This beautiful pup made Gazette headlines a couple of weeks ago and was featured on CBC’s The Nature of Things last night — Sedona was taking a small break from studying at the Dog Cognition Lab in the Social Science building by taking a brisk walk on concrete beach.

CROSSWORD By Eugene Sheffer

News Briefs

Fontana pre-trial date approaching London’s mayor, Joe Fontana, is a step closer to his impending trial after being charged last year with fraud and breach of public trust. A pre-dial date has been set for November 26, with Justice Andrew Goodman hopeful that a trial date can be decided on as soon as December 10. Fontana has kept his position as mayor in the face of the

Solution to puzzle on page 8

three criminal charges laid against him last year by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Allegations began in October 2012 when the London Free Press reported he used federal cheques to pay the deposit on his son’s wedding reception at the Marconi Club, back when he was a Liberal cabinet minister in 2005. The charge of “an alleged inappropriate use of funds” by the RCMP referred to suspected

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Your Weekly Horoscope The week of Nov 22 – 28

This horoscope is intended for entertainment purposes only.

ARIES - Mar 21/Apr 20 LIBRA - Sept 23/Oct 23 It’s never too late to get healthy. Find time for some A little extra concentration will find you tackling your exercise and replace some calorie-laden foods with workload with time to spare. Commit your time now fruits and vegetables. You will appreciate having an and enjoy the time to take things slow later in the week. extra hop in your step. TAURUS - Apr 21/May 21 SCORPIO – Oct 24/Nov 22 A week of passion and romance awaits you and your Signficant changes are afoot and you are not quite special someone. Everything you do draws the atten- sure how to prioritize your goals. Enjoy the change, but tion of others. So make it work to your advantage. make use of down time to reestablish your priorities. GEMINI - May 22/Jun 21 SAGITTARIUS – Nov 23/Dec 21 It can be challenging to get your head wrapped around Though a pressing issue in your relationship may certain tasks. Somehow you will manage to pull eve- seem like it needs immediate attention, you have a rything together and get everything accomplished. lot of time to work through any issues. CANCER - Jun 22/Jul 22 CAPRICORN – Dec 22/Jan 20 Maintain your focus in the coming week no matter Your normally conservative approach won’t work this how difficult that proves to be. Personal concerns week. You have to take a couple of chances, or you may have you reeling, but your heightened focus will won’t accomplish much of anything. serve you well. LEO - Jul 23/Aug 23 You may have something on your mind, but now is not the time to share such concerns. Do your best to solve a problem on your own, but rely on the advice of others if need be.

AQUARIUS – Jan 21/Feb 18 You have only a few days to learn some new procedures at work. It is natural to feel nervous, but put aside those feelings and concentrate on the tasks at hand.

VIRGO - Aug 24/Sept 22 PISCES – Feb 19/Mar 20 Do your best to avoid being let down by the negative Don’t worry too much about an upcoming change attitudes of others. Friends or coworkers may just be in around the office. You’re in position to benefit from a bad mood, but that does not mean you need to be. some restructuring. FAMOUS BIRTHDAYS NOVEMBER 24 – Billy Connolly, Actor (71) NOVEMBER 26 – Natasha Bedingfield, Singer (32) NOVEMBER 28 – Ed Harris, Actor (63)

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NOVEMBER 25 – Billy Burke, Actor (47) NOVEMBER 27 – Brooke Langton, Actress (43)

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involvement in fraud, utterance of forged documents and breach of public trust; two of which are punishable with imprisonment. Ward 5 councillor Joni Baechler spoke about her concern of the increased media attention, especially with the upcoming municipal elections in October 2014. “It’s attention that is spent elsewhere and is a waste of time — of staff, of councillors involved — and we need to keep our eye on the work at hand and the council’s business of the day,” Baechler said. She was one of the few who supported the failed motion for Fontana to step down as mayor. She argued “any other public servant, be it an officer, a fire fighter, a teacher, a nurse, a doctor that had been charged, the standard is for them to take a leave of absence until the issue is resolved through the courts,” and disagreed that Fontana should have been an exception. —Tiffany Shepherd

Londoners charged in international child porn bust Three Londoners face charges of child pornography and distribution and production of marijuana after a search was done at an Exeter Road address on November 19. The London Cyber Crime Unit cooperated with the United States Department of Homeland Security for their investigation. A suspect living in Mainland, Texas allegedly produced the child pornography. Brandon Saunders, 20, was charged with distributing and possessing child pornography, but not its production. “Brandon Saunders was not charged with producing child porn, he was charged with distribution, possessing, and accessing it,” said Ken Steeves, media relations officer for the London Police Service. LPS did not know about the marijuana distribution or production prior to the bust — they were initially there for the child pornography investigation. Gilbert Saunders, 46, and Carie Urquhart, 47, face charges of possessing and distributing and intention of producing marijuana. “Child pornography is an ongoing issue so anything that assists with the protection of our children, we support,” Steeves said. —Ali Seven

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.

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thegazette • Friday, November 22, 2013

USC hosts 3rd Change Camp Peer Support Centre Commercialization among topics discussed talks unproductive >> PSC continued from pg.1

Courtesy of Jas Irwin

WE’RE GOING TO NEED MORE STICKY NOTES. Participants in Wednesday’s Change Camp “un-conference” suggested discussion topics by posting their ideas on sticky notes. Participants then put stickers on the topics they liked, and the topics with the most stickers were discussed in groups.

Soheil Milani CONTRIBUTOR On Wednesday night, the University Students’ Council held Change Camp, a forum for students to meet and discuss university issues. The conference was started two years ago to keep the USC in tune with student concerns. The USC is responsible for advocating on students’ behalf, and Change Camp is a way for students and councillors to voice their concerns in person. “It’s important people feel like they’re being heard,” said Jas Irwin, vice-president communications for the USC. She said she prefers this approach as opposed to, “Twittering at the USC or a suggestion box, which feels passive.”

The participants had the chance to choose their own topics of discussion. New to this year’s “unconference” was the conversation about the over-commercialization of the University Community Centre. Students still outraged at last month’s PINK campaign expressed their distaste, while others pointed to compromises — such as moving all advertising to the UCC basement — to make travel convenient and offensive material avoidable. The recurring issues of the night revolved around academics. Students brought up issues of professor and TA quality, standardization of teaching and grading within faculties, and online learning. Gucio Jim, a senator-at-large attending the event, attributed the issues to a lack

of funding. “Right now the university is strapped for funding. [The] provincial government could really help us. They’re cutting the amount they’re giving, and that’s affecting our universities,” he said. Jim pointed to the provincial government as a solution, and urged students to contact their elected senators who tackle these issues directly and bring them to the attention of the administration. The administration was not present at the event, which brings into question the potential of the night’s discussions to bring about actual change. Irwin and her colleagues recorded the discussions, and plan on compiling them into a report to be presented to the administration.

team have made attempts to give the PSN a more professional atmosphere, but students who frequent the centre, or used to, say that the efforts have alienated them. “I feel like there was a lot of understanding […] but on the flipside I don’t think I was given a lot of direction on how to make things better right now,” she said. The town hall was the first meeting on the centre since the results of a survey on it were received. Unfortunately, Krishnapillai says the survey did not provide useful feedback. 17 people replied to it, but according to Krishnapillai many of the anonymous responses focused on personal attacks and not constructive criticism and feedback on the space. Jasmine Irwin, vice-president communications for the USC, spent part of the meeting explaining the difference between advocacy and activism, an issue she thought relates to the use of the space. “In a lot of the dialogue I was watching online and also the conversations I was hearing around the space, a lot of what I heard was that the space was valued not only for community but also for grassroots assemblage, and a way towards activism and direct action,” she said. “Which I think is an incredibly vital and necessary part of a healthy university campus, and there’s nothing wrong with that.” “However, because the Peer Support Centre is run through the USC in a direct supervisor way I wanted to clarify the difference between advocacy — which is the political system the USC generally ascribes to — and activism, and

I feel like there was a lot of understanding […] but on the flipside I don’t think I was given a lot of direction on how to make things better right now. — Sam Krishnapillai

USC vice-president internal

why when used dually by the same organization it can often be working at cross purposes, and even damaging the work that the other side is doing,” she continued. Awareness of the space was another issue raised. Krishnapillai and Irwin confirmed that there were plans to raise awareness of the space, particularly through signage and advertising around the University Community Centre and campus. “There will be more signage in the building, there’ll probably be a couple Gazette ads that we’ll try to do, they’ll be more of a push to say, ‘Here’s the Peer Support Centre and here’s information on that,’” Krishnapillai said. “So there’s definitely a marketing campaign in the works.” “With that I hope will come increased visibility for the Peer Support Centre,” Irwin added. Irwin also commented on the toned down atmosphere of the most recent meeting. “I really hope that it is indicative that people are feeling a lot more at ease with what’s going on, and if not we’ll keep doing that until people feel like they have a good sense of what’s happening.”

News Briefs

No religious flags at City Hall City council approved a motion Tuesday to prohibit the flying of flags representing religious organizations on the community flagpole at City Hall. The idea was proposed by Cathy Saunders, London’s city clerk. She proposed to add the word “religious” to existing legislation that limits flags of political and commercial organizations, as well as organizations that espouse hatred, violence or racism. However, non-profit and charitable groups are currently allowed to use the community flagpole in connection with a public event. The proposal faced opposition from certain groups that point out the difficulty in making a distinction between religious and charitable organizations. Some religious organizers are worried that their events will be denied selectively. “We were undertaking a new policy related to the lighting of City Hall which contained this language so we wanted the two policies to be consistent,” Saunders explained. —Hassan Seede

Western prof makes 3D printing breakthrough A Western professor has made a breakthrough in the field of 3D printing.

Engineering professor Jun Yang, along with graduate student Tengyuan Zhang, are in the process of developing a 3D printing process that can modify an object’s surface properties. These modifiable surfaces add a dimension of functionality to 3D printed objects, which previously did not exist. The process called i3DP — initiator integrated 3D printing — allows for objects with the same shape to have very different properties. For example, Yang created a ball with 1.5 mm wide pores that perforate the ball’s mesh structure. Using this new process, the surface can be modified to make the ball superhydrophobic — repel water — or superhydrophilic — retain water. “We just don’t want a structure, but instead bring a function to that structure,” Yang said, in an interview with Western News. The process is quite versatile. It can adjust a material’s conductivity, give it antimicrobial properties, and even insulate it from electromagnetic waves. The i3DP printing process can be applied in many ways. For example, shower curtains could be made permeable to air, while still having them contain water. And eventually, it may even go as far as to making windshield wipers obsolete. —Vidhant Pal

NOVEMBER 28

7PM ALUMNI HALL Hosted By JESSI CRUICKSHANK

Speaking Presentations By SONYA JF BARNETT

• SLUTWALKTO CO-FOUNDER & FOUNDER OF THE KEYHOLE SESSIONS •

MARK HENICK

• CANADIAN MENTAL HEALTH ADVOCATE •

With Performances By SHANE KOYCZAN – POET MOLLY THOMASON – SINGER/SONGWRITER

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thegazette • Friday, November 22, 2013

Kiwi Kraze accused of misleading customers A franchisee is suing the London-based frozen yogurt chain, claiming the product was not always fat-free as advertised. The company says it immediately fixed the problem. An exclusive Gazette investigation by Aaron Zaltzman and Jesica Hurst.

iwi Kraze, a popular frozen yogurt chain that has recently expanded throughout Ontario, advertises itself as fresh, delicious and healthy. On its website, the London-based chain proudly describes its yogurt as “an allCanadian proprietary blend, [that] is fat free.” However, recent allegations have come to light that this fatfree branding may not always have been accurate, and for over a year of its operations, the North London corporate flagship store served products labelled as fatfree that actually contained fat. These allegations come from Tom Stinson, the owner and operator of the Kiwi Kraze franchise located in Mississauga, and Karyn Butt, the store manager. When their location opened in September 2012, most of the products they received for sale contained fat, even though, they claim, they were sold on the idea of the franchise serving fatfree products. On July 10, 2013, Stinson initiated a civil lawsuit that alleged, among other things, that the North London Kiwi Kraze store knowingly served yogurt that contained fat, while advertising itself as being fat-free. Stinson is seeking damages in the amount of $530,000 because the system he bought into was based on a product that was fat-free, which was not the product he ended up serving. These allegations have not been proven in court. Stinson’s statement of claim alleges that Mark Wiebe, the sole officer, director and shareholder of Kiwi Kraze Holdings Ltd. and

Ari Psihopedas, described as the “directing mind” of Kiwi Kraze’s franchise operations, served fatfree yogurt for only a short period time of the store’s early existence. The lawsuit claims that “Until late 2012, the Kiwi Kraze frozen yogurt products contained between three and eight per cent fat; yet, the claimed fat-free makeup of the products was at the heart of the franchise concept.” The claim states that Wiebe and Psihopedas switched to a fat-free product supplier sometime in fall 2012, over a year after opening the North London store, in order to comply with their fat-free branding. Stinson and Butt claim that Wiebe and Psihopedas misrepresented their product to them, as well as to Kiwi Kraze customers. Stinson declined to speak on the record, deferring communication for this story to Butt. Wiebe and Psihopedas, however, deny any wrongdoing on their part, and claim that they themselves were the victims of misrepresentation. In a statement of defence they filed on October 9, 2013 in response to the lawsuit, they allege that their product supplier represented the products they were ordering as fat-free, which they subsequently learned was not true. In the statement of defence, Wiebe and Psihopedas “plead that some of the yogurt it sold was fatfree while some of the yogurt was not.” They claim that as soon as they discovered the nutritional information of the products they were ordering, they immediately switched to a provider that could supply fat-free products.

Mike Laine GAZETTE

he first Kiwi Kraze store opened on May 26, 2011 at 595 Fanshawe Park Road, just west of Masonville Place. However, the idea for the store began not in London, but in Idaho Falls, Idaho, where the first Kiwi Loco store opened in 2009. In the statement of defence, Wiebe states he and his wife were interested in becoming franchisees, but the owners were not interested in expanding to Canada. According to Wiebe, they suggested he begin his own franchise system, which would grow into Kiwi Kraze. When they first opened, Kiwi Kraze ordered their products from a dairy supplier called Foothills Creamery, through the Yogurt Distribution Company, an Ontario-based distribution company. According to Sam Haider, CEO of the Yogurt Distribution Company, the first products delivered to the North London store were fat-free. “Based on Mark’s requirements we did a private label for him, [which] means that it’s a custom mix that is exclusive to Kiwi Kraze […] that is made with his requirements,” Haider said in an interview. “He wanted a non-fat mix that was labelled as ‘Kiwi Kraze’ with his brand. And that’s what we did.” There is disagreement over the extent to which Kiwi Kraze products were advertised as fat-free at the time. Psihopedas said, “some of the products were advertised as fat-free,” and in the statement of defence, filed by him and Wiebe,

it states “it was never represented to [Stinson] that Kiwi Kraze only sells fat-free frozen yogurt,” and that it offered different products “including fat-free and sugar-free products.” However, Karyn Butt, the manager of the Mississauga franchise, said there was no ambiguity about how the yogurt was advertised. Butt said the product, with the exception of the no sugar added flavours, was “always” advertised as fat-free. “His flavour tags above that tell [customers] what the flavour is — strawberry, blueberry, cheesecake or whatever — they all said ‘nonfat,’” she said in an interview. According to Butt and another franchisee that wished to remain anonymous, the North London Kiwi Kraze store was advertised this way from the time it opened until the time of publication.

fter serving the private label yogurt mix from Foothills Creamery in the North London location for the first few months, in the summer of 2011 Kiwi Kraze had to switch to ordering off-theshelf products that contained fat, according to Haider. “[Kiwi Kraze] was growing […] and because of [Wiebe’s] growth, we were not able to promise him further private labels,” Haider said. “We told him that we would only be able to send him our regular mix.” According an invoice dated August 24, 2011 obtained by The Gazette, the new products being delivered to the store were: Miss Sharon’s Chocolate Yogurt Mix,

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thegazette • Friday, November 22, 2013

Kelly Samuel GAZETTE

Miss Sharon’s Fat Free Country Vanilla, Soft Serve (Tart) Yogurt Mix and Miss Sharon’s 3.3 Yogurt Mix. With the exception of the Fat Free Country Vanilla, all contain fat. According to Foothills Creamery, the fat content of these products is, respectively: 5g of fat per 100ml, 0g of fat per 100ml, 6g of fat per 125ml and 5g of fat per 100ml. According to Haider, Wiebe wanted to place another order for private label products, but the production took too much time to set up. Because of this, Haider said he offered to provide Wiebe with other products that were already being produced by Foothills Creamery — the off-the-shelf products — until Wiebe figured out “the way forward.” It was at that point that Haider told Wiebe which Foothills Creamery products he could provide him with. “I explained to him what our Foothills Creamery products were, gave him the information on the products available, and when he placed the order he got it,” he said. “He was aware of what the products [were] — I don’t know if he was aware of any particular nutritional information.” However, Haider explained the nutritional information is not only available on the Yogurt Distribution Company’s online portal, but the ingredients are also available on the boxes of the containers. According to Wiebe, however, the products that were delivered to the North London location were

misrepresented. “We were given labels that indicated the products were fatfree,” Wiebe said in an interview. Psihopedas claimed what Kiwi Kraze was given was not what they thought they were buying. “[We were] told by the supplier that every item Kiwi Kraze marketed as fat-free was fat-free,” Wiebe stated to The Gazette. Haider countered, in an interview with The Gazette, that the products could not have been misrepresented because each box is labelled. He said he believes this situation was about neglect, as Kiwi Kraze was going through “tremendous growth” at the time. “Everyone and their brother was asking [Wiebe] for a franchise and he had lineups and a very good season,” he said. “I would say in all fairness this would be considered a misunderstanding or confusion, or not having the foresight to check things.” However, Butt does not think Wiebe was lacking in knowledge about the products he was ordering. “He couldn’t have not seen the labels previously […] there was no possible way, it being that big on the box, on the jug,” she said. “We’ve all gone to buy milk from the grocery store. We all know how to read that label, the same way that we knew the minute [those products] dropped on our doorstep.” “They were not misrepresented.” The Kiwi Kraze franchise owner who requested to be kept anonymous also claimed the nutritional information had been available to

Mike Laine GAZETTE

Wiebe since they first met him. “I couldn’t tell you what happened before we met him, but when we met him they were receiving the same product and it’s labelled on the product,” the franchisee said. “When they receive [the product], it is labelled on the jug of yogurt itself that it contains fat.” Other franchise owners The Gazette contacted were either unwilling to comment or did not respond to requests for comment. Allegedly during this time, Kiwi Kraze continued to advertise the product as fat-free On May 11, 2012, a customer by the name of Miguel Kenedy posted on the “Kiwi Kraze – N. London” Facebook page, saying, “I tried Kiwi Kraze Yogurt and it was realy great but when we analised it we found to contain high milk fat. The same ingredients as ice cream. Is it intentionelly or are you pulling wool ove the public [sic].” The Kiwi Kraze account responded, saying, “Obviously a mistake has been made because our product is fat free as advertised.” The North London store continued to serve these products until sometime in the fall of 2012, although no sources could confirm the exact date.

ccording to the statement of claim, Stinson and Butt received the Foothills Creamery products on September 24, 2012 — three days before the Mississauga store was scheduled to open — and immediately discovered that many of them contained fat. Stinson demanded an explanation from

Wiebe and Psihopedas, who he claims in turn told him they had been unaware of the fat content of the products. Butt, however, said she didn’t believe them. An invoice for the Mississauga store dated September 24, 2012, which The Gazette has obtained, lists the same products that had been delivered to the North London store a year earlier. Stinson also alleges in the statement of claim they were instructed to remove the labels from product containers “to avoid damaging the Kiwi Kraze brand.” Wiebe and Psihopedas deny giving any such instruction. It was shortly after the Mississauga franchise opened that Kiwi Kraze corporate decided to switch product suppliers, and began ordering from another dairy supplier, Coppa Di Gelato, which provided Kiwi Kraze with fat-free yogurt, according to the statements from both parties. With the exception of ordering no sugar added products, Kiwi Kraze had stopped ordering from Foothills Creamery through the Yogurt Distribution Company. Psihopedas said the switch was made as soon as he and Wiebe discovered the nutritional value of the Foothills Creamery products they had been ordering. “We had to change manufacturers immediately,” Psihopedas explained. “Right when we became aware of it, we changed it.” Butt, however, does not believe that claim. She cites an instruction sheet, which The Gazette has obtained, that Butt said was sent to her and

other franchisees by Kiwi Kraze corporate. The sheet explains how to mix various yogurt bases with flavourings. Of the 77 mixes, 69 of them used either the 3.3, Soft Serve or Chocolate yogurt base, all of which contained fat.

sihopedas said the reason Kiwi Kraze selected Coppa Di Gelato was because of its superior nutritional value. He explained the new product, which was delivered to all franchises opened after the Mississauga location — starting with a machine in Saugeen-Maitland Hall, a residence at Western, on October 1, 2012 — “is beyond the best on the market right now, with how we put it together.” “As soon as all this happened, we cleared it up,” Psihopedas explained. “[We] got the best product available, and that’s all that Western has seen, and all the other stores.” “We’re very proud of our product, and we’re very proud of our manufacturer,” he said. The opening of the franchise in Mississauga was quickly followed by several others. In October 2012, the Kiwi Kraze dispensary was installed in Saugeen-Maitland Hall, and by the beginning of December three more franchises would open in Kanata, Vaughan and South London. There are now 13 franchises operating in Ontario, with three more opening soon, according to the Kiwi Kraze website. However, only the North London and Mississauga locations are alleged to have served yogurt containing fat that had been advertised as fat-free.

Naira Ahmed GAZETTE

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thegazette • Friday, November 22, 2013

Opinions

“A man’s grammar, like Caesar’s wife, should not only be pure, but above suspicion of impurity.”

—Edgar Allan Poe

U need 2 stahp this Contrary Ann

Mary Ann Ciosk ARTS & LIFE EDITOR If u can read wat im saying then wats the point of proper english? this is defs way eazier then actually taking tim to use full words capitalization grammer & spelling & u r saving time! omg i cant wait till we can just write r essays like this. What’s so bad about writing like a five-year-old if your audience can sift out your meaning from the sloppy mess of word garbage that you spew out? In university, we’re presumed to have had read a few books in our academic career — yet still we spell words like “grammar” incorrectly and write “then” with an e regardless of its usage as a comparison or as an indicator of time. Do we want to appear competent and intelligent? Or should we make people wonder how we passed high school English? People argue that it’s faster and easier to write “u” instead of spelling out the extra letters. But how much longer would it really take to spell a real word rather than just implying its existence? In a day, do these short forms save you even two minutes? These abbreviation-prone texters perpetuate the stereotype that we’re the “instant gratification” generation by degrading our language in order to save a miniscule amount of time. Why cook a delicious homemade stew when you can just get a year-old can of Campbell’s sodium-soup? And why even bother microwaving it for two minutes when you can just drink it immediately at room temperature? This need-it-now mentality sucks the joy out of life and reduces

us to lazy, inept shells of human beings. Some believe that slang such as “defs,” “awks,” “totes” and other cringe-worthy short forms are just part of a cool, youthful subculture. Clearly these abbreviations cannot be justified on the grounds of saving time when proponents of this style of speech also consider the unnecessary and excessive addition of the word “like” in sentences entirely appropriate. Let’s make this clear — you don’t sound cool. You sound like you’re trying too hard and have a poor grasp of English. Others argue that this minimalist approach to spelling, grammar and punctuation is simply the evolution of our language. Shakespearian high rhetoric is outdated in society today, and the “proper” English of our time will inevitably yield to slang and abbreviations in the future. We are on a linguistic trajectory towards Orwellian Newspeak. I’m not an authority on the history of the English language but the rules we have in place, the difference between “there,” “their” and “they’re” and the use of punctuation, are needed for clarity of meaning and those are not likely to go away. The title of the book Eats, Shoots and Leaves originated from an informational pamphlet on pandas’ diets. The author of the pamphlet mistakenly added a comma between “eats” and “shoots,” thereby turning the pandas from docile bamboo eaters into apathetic, gun-savvy killers. The English language can be beautiful and deepen one’s understanding and appreciation of the world. As Virginia Woolf said, “Odd how the creative power at once brings the whole universe to order.” Crafting words to eloquently and clearly communicate is an art that should be respected and preserved, not degraded for the sake of saving an inconsequential amount of time. Dont u think?

weeklypoll Question: Do you plan on staying in London after graduating? No — I want to live somewhere else 75%, 82 votes I haven’t decided yet 15%, 16 votes Yes — I’d love to stay in London 10%, 12 votes Vote on next weeks’s poll at westerngazette.ca

thegazette

Volume 107, Issue 43 www.westerngazette.ca

Julian Uzielli Editor-In-Chief Cameron M. Smith Deputy Editor Jason Sinukoff Managing Editor

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Letters to the Editor

Looking for sources with issues of wage Re: “$14/hr too big an increase,” November 20, 2013 To the Editor: I wholeheartedly agree with The Gazette Editorial Board that a minimum wage increase to $14 would be awesome, but problematic? According to whom? I know that conventional (conservative) wisdom holds that an increase in minimum wage goes hand in hand with employers tightening their belts — work hours get cut, and less people are hired into the work force. But again, according to who? From my own — admittedly casual — looks into economic studies, the evidence says differently. Raising minimum wage does not lead to an increase in unemployment, and in fact leads to an increase in quality of life. Yes, an increased minimum wage would likely lead to slightly increased prices, but individuals would still be left with greater disposable income. As for causing inflation, what inflation? Last I checked inflation was still at a 3-year low with no signs of budging. Is that not a good thing for depressed economies, or is Keynesian thinking really dead and gone? Maybe raising the minimum wage to $14 is too much too fast, but I won’t accept that on conventional wisdom alone. This brings me back to my original question, according to whom? The same people who committed to austerity in the face of economic crisis because of conventional wisdom? I’m so glad that they did, because the post-crisis recovery has been far better than anyone could have ever dreamt of… or not. To clarify, I know that The Gazette is not arguing against raising the minimum wage. I also agree that a much broader cultural shift is needed to solve the problems of unemployment, instead of the same tired arguments that austerity and “fiscal responsibility” will save us all. Guaranteed income might potentially work for a nation like Switzerland (with their wealth, population and social tradition of a more expansive welfare state), but perhaps not for a nation such as Canada or the United States (with much more liberal, privatized systems). What about spending your way out of a recession? Surely a big infrastructure project — let’s say improving Canada’s frankly laughable railways — would do the trick and reduce unemployment (and no doubt please some students at the same time). —Jack Blackburn Science IV

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thegazette • Friday, November 22, 2013

Sports

gameday The Western Mustangs men’s and women’s volleyball teasm will face the visiting Guelph Gryphons on Saturday. The women’s team will take the court at 12 p.m. while the men will play at 2 p.m.

Rundown >> On Wednesday afternoon, 320 student-athletes were honoured at the annual Scholar Athletes Award Luncheon for achieving an average of 80 per cent or higher while participating in a varsity sport > Western holds the record for the highest number of student-athletes to achieve Canadian Interuniversity Sport Academic All-Canadians status.

Rams volley for a win against Western

Mustangs meet an unexpected loss early in season Caitlin Martin Newnham SPORTS EDITOR Western’s men’s volleyball team played their seventh regular season game this past Saturday against the Ryerson Rams. Unfortunately, the Mustangs lost 3–2 overall. The first two sets went to the Rams with scores of 21–25 and 24–26. However, Western gained momentum in the next two sets with scores of 25–17 and 26–24. The Mustangs ultimately lost the game in the fifth set with a score of 14–16. The Mustangs went into the game ranked ninth in the Ontario University Athletics, but have unfortunately dropped off the top 10 rankings since. “I think a lot of us went into the game thinking it was going to be an easier game [than] it was. Ryerson was coming off a tough loss to Windsor so our coach warned us that they would come out fighting […] After dropping the first two sets we knew it would be a fight to get back,” Mustangs’ offensive hitter Derek Kuiack said. In the first set, the Mustangs and Rams took turns claiming points until the technical time-out — the routine stoppage in play that happens when the leading team scores their eighth and 16th points. At this point, Ryerson pushed ahead to gain the last few points that they needed to win the set. Western led the second set until the technical timeout, which marked the point when Western and Ryerson reinstated their tug-of-war for points. Once again, the Rams were able to push ahead of the Mustangs to claim the set 26–24. “It is always tough to switch the momentum and come back from being down two sets. I thought we did an exceptional job to slow their offence and limit the errors on our own side, which ultimately allowed us to win the second and third sets,” Luke Sim, middle for the Mustangs,

explained. “Unfortunately, however, the fifth set did not go our way and we could not complete the job in a very close 16–14 finish.” The fourth set was a weak one defensively for the Mustangs, despite winning the set 26–24. Unfortunately, their hard-fought battle in the fifth was fruitless, leading to the Rams’ 3–2 victory. Despite the loss, Kuiack contributed an impressive 14 kills, and Sim produced 11 kills, three assists, two digs and two block assists. “A successful attacking performance from myself was mainly due to strong passing, and accurate setting by Sean McKay. Sean and I have been teammates for five years now, so he and I are on the same page with setting options and ball placement,”

Sim explained. Kuiack, like a few other Mustangs, has recently returned from an injury and attributed his success within the game to his excitement to be on the court again. “The Mustangs are battling some injuries but nevertheless are always a difficult opponent because of their style of play. They make very few individual errors per set, are consistent in all aspects of the game and really force the opponent to play at their best to have a chance to beat them,” Mirek Porosa, head coach for Ryerson, said. The loss for Western is early in the season, leaving plenty of time for Western to continue to improve in time for the OUA championship and the Canadian Interuniversity Sport

Jenny Vaughan is a champion. Captain of the team, leader of the pack, she is undoubtedly the future of women’s basketball — and that is why we bestow unto her the prestigious Purple Pipe award. The Western Mustangs women’s basketball team is dominating this season with their 5–1 record in six games. There is still a ways to go before the championships, but the team’s stellar performance so far promises a very successful season. This is in no small part thanks to Jenny Vaughan. Vaughan, one of the leaders of the Mustangs, commands a strong and swift offence whenever she is on the court. And when she

has the ball, Vaughan whizzes past opponents and takes it straight to the basket every time. Winning the All-Canadian award last year for her continual improvements as a player over the past four years, Vaughan has already been recognized as an outstanding player. Playing all six of the Mustangs’ games so far, Vaughan has been in action on the court for a full 223 minutes. And why does coach Brian Cheng give her so much time on the hardwood? Just look at her stats! Of the field goals she took, 46 per cent of them slammed into the net, 40 per cent of her 3-pointers went in and she has made 90 per cent of her

free-throws thus far in the season. Like that cliché, over-used quote, “you’ll miss 100 per cent of the shots you don’t take,” Vaughan will make almost 100 per cent of the shots she does take from the charity stripe. A positive powerhouse of skill, Vaughan has scored a total of 135 points and 22.5 points per game. She had 3.8 rebounds on average per game and 31 assists so far in the season. Unfortunately, the Mustangs will be losing Vaughan after this year, but it’s good to see their star player donning the purple and white once again this season. —Mary Ann Ciosk

Johnathan Dunn GAZETTE

championship. It is important that the Mustangs peak during the playoffs, but play their best in every game. “As a team we have made some goals for what we think we can do this year. We will be working hard to competing in the OUA championships and winning the championship. We also plan on heading to our third straight CIS championships and competing to win a National championship,” Kuiack said. The team has been preparing to reach these goals in a number of ways. They have been reviewing opponents’ past games and devising systems that both give them an advantage over other teams and play to the Mustangs’ strengths. In addition, the Western men have been working hard in the gym

to prevent and recover from injuries. “The team continually works hard off the court in the weight room to enlarge our already ginormous muscles,” Sims quipped. “We understand how important it is to maintain our gains throughout the season in order to avoid injuries.” The Mustangs have started the season strong with a 5–2 record and plan to ascend through the ranks to the OUA playoffs, where Western can hopefully watch them excel and progress to the CIS championship. Their next game is against the Guelph Gryphons on Saturday. With Western in fifth place in the OUA and Guelph in ninth, the Mustangs have the opportunity to showcase their skills and hopefully add another win to their record.

Johnathan Dunn GAZETTE

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thegazette • Friday, November 22, 2013

Volunteer for Gazette Sports UCC Room 263

Kaitlyn McGrath ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Daniel Weryha SPORTS EDITOR

A few weeks ago Richie Incognito of the Miami Dolphins was suspended by his team after it was reported he was bullying teammate Jonathan Martin. So he’s 312 pounds, six feet five inches tall and a professional football player. His size doesn’t mean he’s immune from mental health issues. And his profession — NFL offensive lineman — doesn’t mean he should keep his mouth shut. Recently, former NFL quarterback Brett Favre was asked about the Jonathan Martin and Richie Incognito, and he said, “I’m not saying it’s right, and from a lockerroom sense or from a team sense, I’m not saying it’s wrong. It’s just the way it is.” And it’s not just Favre that holds the position that locker-room bullying is just a routine part of sport. After Martin left the team to seek medical treatment for emotional distress, many players, including teammates, said he should have taken it like “a man.” It’s a ridiculous response to the very serious issue of mental health. It doesn’t matter if it happens on a schoolyard or in a professional NFL locker-room —bullying is bullying. For those arguing that Martin should have sucked it up — that this is just part of the game, I’m pretty sure Martin signed up to play football, not be harassed. The abuse Martin endured is completely unacceptable, but the response he’s received is even more atrocious. Ryan Hamilton, a University of New Brunswick sports psychologist, says the reaction to Martin speaking out about mental health issues actually might have deterred others from doing the same. “If he would have been embraced and everyone would have been accepting and everyone would have understood, but the initial reactions to him talking about this and leaving the team were negative — they were about his weakness,” he said. “I don’t know that he is blazing a trail for other people with mental health issues to come forward.” The federal government is trying to pass legislation to prevent cyber-bullying. It’s about time sports leagues put in similar bans on abusive, belittling conduct.

While I refrain from downplaying the effects of mental health issues in the Martin–Incognito debacle, the result was unavoidable. Football is a sport that requires a significant level of aggression. We expect our professionals to step out on the field every Sunday and engage in 60 minutes of extreme body contact. Linemen slam bodies on every play — it’s the nature of their position. I find it hypocritical that we ask these athletes to tear their opponents to shreds on the field, and then chastise them when they bring that same level of intensity to the sidelines. Here are some facts about the issue that many of you may not know about. Incognito was paired with Martin as his senior mentor on the offensive line. The true investment on any football team is the man throwing the ball. It is a lineman’s job to protect him. Martin was accused of missing practices for unknown reasons, showing up late, and skipping out on workouts — the onus falls on Incognito to bring Martin up to speed. It’s hard to imagine what an argument between two goliaths would look like, but if Martin didn’t like the way Incognito was treating him, I find it hard to believe that he was too scared to confront him. Martin is six–foot–five, 312 pounds, and an early second-round draft pick — the expectations were high. If by some chance, Martin had to enter the game in relief of one of his injured teammates, his lack of preparation leaves his quarterback at risk of being hit hard in the backfield. Incognito’s methods were incredibly harsh and he is clearly a bully. Call me insensitive, but based on the nature of the sport, if Martin submits under the pressure of a borderline psychopathic teammate at the beginning of his second season, his time in the NFL is numbered. I agree with the indefinite suspension of Richie Incognito because it sends the appropriate message, but by speaking out Martin created an internal lockerroom investigation that crucified an entire team — there had to be a better way. It’s tough for players — who are so used to receiving preferential treatment in college — to adapt to living the life at the bottom of the food chain all over again.

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