w w w .w e sterngazette.c a • @uw ogazette
Getting our Mo on Gazette editors are growing out their ‘staches for charity. >> pg. 5
thegazette Giving a hoot since 1906
Friday, November 2, 2012
today high 13 low 0
tomorrow high 4 low -1
canada’s only Daily Student Newspaper • founded 1906
Volume 106, Issue 34
Movember moves to support mental health Kaitlyn McGrath Associate Editor
The month of Movember has arrived, and this year Western is hoping the campaign sees substantial growth. Last year, during the Movember campaign—which raises awareness and funds for men’s health—Western was the top fundraising school in Canada, collecting approximately $60,343. This year, Western aims to raise $75,000 for men’s health. Brett Larson, a fourth-year BMOS student and the Western representative for Movember, explained students can easily join Western’s campaign by simply signing up on www.movember. com. “They can join the Western team, which is the Western University Mo’s, or they can create their own team and join the Western network,” he said. “Our main goal is to get everybody focused on being aware of prostate cancer and men’s mental health issues.”
This is the fourth year Larson has participated in the popular November campaign that asks men to grow a moustache, and collect donations on behalf of their mo-growing efforts. Since its launch in 2003, the campaign has seen remarkable growth. “I think it really blew up because it’s cool—it’s a cool thing to do,” Larson said. “It’s different from any other charity out there. It’s something just for men, so all the guys think it’s awesome when they see the celebrities and athletes sporting this moustache, all for men’s health.” The Movember campaign has commonly been linked to prostate cancer, however, this year mental health issues have also been included. Erik Elmauer, co-chair for Movember Canada’s London committee, explained mental health, especially in young people, is an important issue. “You have one in five men suffering from a mental illness, and that’s a pretty staggering number, and you’ve got three out of
four suicides are men,” he said. “They’re raising awareness, they’re raising funds because without the funds we can’t really do the research.”
It’s something just for men, so all the guys think it’s awesome when they see the celebrities and athletes sporting this moustache, all for men’s health. — Brett Larson
Western’s Movember representative
Elmauer went on to explain student participation is a vital aspect of the campaign. “The biggest contributor to Movember within the city is the university crowd,” he said. Steven Mayen, a third-year
arts and humanities student, explained he’s been participating in Movember since high school because it’s a worthy cause. “There’s a lot of support and general awareness for different types of cancer, and when I heard about Movember I thought it was awesome. The NFL wears pink in October for breast cancer, and I wear a moustache in November for men everywhere.” Although this event focuses on men’s health, women are still encouraged to join the drive. “Girls can get involved as ‘Mo Sistas,’ so they can do everything and anything they can to help promote the event, and to help raise awareness,” Larson explained. “It’s about helping all of the men that are close to you.” Although not everyone is a fan of the ‘stache look, Elmauer explained the important thing to keep in mind is the cause. “It’s almost like a grey area growing a moustache—some people are for it, and some people are against it, but no one’s ever against men’s health.”
Liwei Zhou Gazette
Western slammed in free speech report card Aaron Zaltzman News Editor Canada’s universities, once a place where you would expect to see radical young minds challenging the status quo, are now “abysmal” in protecting the right to free speech, according to a report from the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms. The Alberta-based organization released its 2012 Campus Freedom Index, which examined the state of policies and actions governing free speech across 35 Canadian universities. The results paint a dismal picture. Each university survey had its administration and student union scored on both their policies towards free speech, and their actions and practices. Eleven of the university administrations received an ‘F’ in at least one category, as did four student unions. “The results confirm what many observers have long known,”
Michael Kennedy, co-author of the study, said. “Higher education in Canada has failed its duty of fostering free inquiry, critical reflection, honest debate and pursuit of truth.“ John Carpay, the other author of the study and president of JCCF, explained Canadian universities have lost sight of the goal of the right to free expression. He said there was too high of an emphasis on social harmony in many universities. “Universities don’t like to admit to censorship, so they raise safety and security and making people feel welcome […], but it doesn’t change the facts,” Carpay said. “It says that if you have an unpopular belief, you don’t have the same right to express that belief as other groups do.” “You cannot have freedom of speech, and the right to not be offended,” Carpay said. “The moment I have a right to not be of-
You cannot have freedom of speech, and the right to not be offended. The moment I have a right to not be offended, that’s the moment that everybody else has lost their freedom of speech. —John Carpay
Co-author of study and president of the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms
fended, that’s the moment that everybody else has lost their freedom of speech.” Carpay said universities across Canada had failed in their obligations to prospective students, to whom they promised, via their mission statements, not to censor expression on campus. “Any university that censors speech, totally or partially, is breaking its contractual obligations,” Carpay said. “Western, like other universities, makes promises to prospective students that they will have free speech rights on campus, and as such they are bound by contract.” According to the report, Western has broken that contract. The university administration received a passing grade for its policies, but failed in the actions and practices category—the University Students’ Council did even worse, failing in both. The administration was criti-
cized for not allowing Western Lifeline, a pro-life club, to host certain events on campus, a claim that was rejected by the university. Keith Marnoch, director of media and community relations for Western, said that incident fell under the purview of the USC. “Free speech is a cornerstone of democracy, and it’s integral to the teaching and research mission at Western, even when those ideas are unpopular and uncomfortable,” Marnoch said. “We believe the right to free speech cannot impede the right of any member of Western to study, work and conduct their activities in a safe environment.” Carpay admitted there might have been confusion in the report about the responsibility. However, he also said the university had failed to actively protect free speech, as opposed to passively allowing it. >> see free speech pg.3