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Casting a spell Evanna Lynch, the actor behind the character of Luna Lovegood in the Harry Potter series, visited Brescia University College yesterday. >> pg. 4
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Volume 106, Issue 22
Google comes to Western London downtown Street View bike maps out entire campus
core on the upswing Aaron Zaltzman News Editor
OH GOD, WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR FACE?! While it may look the same old campus, this photo was taken through the lens of a Google Street View camera.
Julian Uzielli Online Editor It’s a small step for Google Maps, but a giant leap for Western— Google Street View arrived at the university yesterday. The add-on to Google Maps allows users to zoom in to campus at street level, and take a virtual 360-degree tour of its major streets and paths. However, so far the technology is reserved for main campus, and isn’t available at the affiliate colleges. After obtaining permission from Western, Google took the photographs in May using a car and a bicycle furnished with hightech camera equipment. Keith Marnoch, Western’s director of media relations, said the university was happy to give permission for Street View to come to campus, on one condition—that Google conceal the identity of anyone it photographed by blurring their faces. “Some of the communication we had with them was around the need for privacy, so if you see people in any of the images, hopefully for the most part they’re not identifiable,” he said. Google, reportedly, had no objections to the request. “They’re good with that, we were just making sure that that was part of what happens,” Marnoch explained. David Czosniak, a fourth-year biochemistry student, was on campus taking an intersession
course when the photos were taken. He followed the photographers, and managed to end up in several images that are now visible on the Web. “I had heard from one of my lab mates that they were coming around, so I kind of went scoping around a bit on campus and found them,” he said. “They were just driving around on campus on a bike, and I decided to go out of my way to get into a few of the shots.” Czosniak was happy to see himself in so many of the pictures, but said he was glad Google took measures to protect people’s privacy. “It’s a good thing that they blur out your face, because you don’t want the whole world knowing who you are,” he said. Western isn’t the first campus to
get the Street View treatment—the development comes on the heels of a big push by Google to add street view to 150 university campuses around the world, including McGill and UCLA, in time for the back-to-school rush in September. The feature was first added to London in 2009. Marnoch said Western was glad to be added to the Street View canon, and hoped the new mapping tool would prove useful for new and prospective students. “We see this as being valuable to people who use the campus, as well as those who are coming to campus as first-time visitors,” he said. “It’s a valuable tool that would be strange for us not to be offering, so we see it as a good thing.”
London’s downtown is looking up, according to new census figures showing the population of the area is growing five times faster than the rest of the city. “It’s probably a number of factors largely related to demographics,” Sean Galloway, manager of urban design for the city’s planning and development division, said. “People choose to live in locations that have a mix of retail, living opportunities, good amenities and wanting to be close to the action.” Judy Bryant, councillor of Ward 13, in which the downtown core is located, explained the population increase is a result of city hall’s $100 million investment in the area over the last decade. “When people move into the centre, they want to have all amenities available to them, including shopping, recreation and the quiet spots,” Bryant said. “That would be things like the new library, the John Labatt Centre and Covent Garden Market.” Bryant explained the original demise of the core could be traced to urban sprawl and development in outlying areas of the city. “It takes the energy out the downtown area and is also the most expensive kind of development,” Bryant said. “You have no roads or transportation to start with, and urban sprawl has been the demise of many cities.” However, the trend is also reversing in many cities across North America, including London.
“Downtowns all over the world are seeing rejuvenation because people desire a really active place to live that’s easy to get around,” Galloway said. “From an economic standpoint, the effect is quite big—you have a number of new jobs and economic opportunities in the core area.” “The population shift is a very sound economic move because all of the amenities are already there, so you don’t have to put in new infrastructure,” Bryant said. “Transportation is also excellent—one can walk to almost all the amenities they need or use public transport.” According to Galloway, the economic benefits go beyond easier development. “The downtown is the city’s identity,” Galloway explained. “If it’s thriving, then people have a more positive image of the city. That drives tourism and really promotes the city.” He cautioned, however, against highly aggressive commercial development in the core. “It’s striking the right balance between preserving the heritage downtown and taking opportunities to develop […] the area,” Galloway said. “It’s about getting density in the right spots and preserving the heritage.” However, Bryant said the downtown area is going in the right direction. ”In the end, the residential population will support the growth of the commercial centre,” Bryant said. “I think we have to stay on the same path—we have to encourage development, and overall make downtown a great place to live.”
Andrei Calinescu Gazette
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thegazette • Friday, October 12, 2012
Caught on Camera
Andrei Calinescu GAZETTE
GROOVY, DUDE. Students tie-dyed T-shirts on Concrete Beach yesterday as part of EnviroWestern’s annual EnviroWeek campaign.
Crossword By Eugene Sheffer
News Briefs
Zoos and aquariums to get increased protection
www.usc.uwo.ca/purpledoor Your Weekly Horoscope The week of Oct 12 – 18
This horoscope is intended for entertainment purposes only.
ARIES – Mar 21/Apr 20 You may need some creative strategies to clear up some conflicts in your schedule this week. You must be quite popular since you have so much going on.
LIBRA – Sept 23/Oct 23 Whether feedback from work is positive or negative, rest assured that hard work will ultimately garner some recognition. Keep working hard and all will work out.
TAURUS – Apr 21/May 21 There’s so much to get done this week that you may not know where to begin. Making a list of your responsibilities may help you get organized.
SCORPIO – Oct 24/Nov 22 No one is going to know how you feel unless you speak up. Don’t slink into the shadows; get out in the open and have your voice heard.
GEMINI – May 22/Jun 21 You may be on the fence about making a large purchase, but the stars indicate that now could be a good time to buy and things will work in your favor financially.
SAGITTARIUS – Nov 23/Dec 21 Projects around the house seem to grow with every passing day. If you do not think you can get them all done on your own, it may be time to hire a professional.
CANCER – Jun 22/Jul 22 CAPRICORN – Dec 22/Jan 20 Instead of rushing along through the daily grind, take Experiencing car troubles? This may be the ideal some time to slow down and enjoy the scenery along time to go shopping for a new vehicle. A new ride the way. This will help you clear your head and relax. can lift your spirits and put to rest those fears about your current vehicle. LEO – Jul 23/Aug 23 The weekend will not be fun unless you finish up all of your work at the office. Don’t procrastinate and leave all the difficult tasks until next week.
AQUARIUS – Jan 21/Feb 18 Don’t work yourself silly. It’s good to be productive and company-minded, but not if it comes at the price of your health. Recharge before you tackle anything else.
VIRGO – Aug 24/Sept 22 There are serious things to consider with respect to your family life, and not all of the conversations will go your way. Be patient and work through everything a little at a time.
PISCES – Feb 19/Mar 20 While it can be challenging to sit idle, lazy days are very often great ways to catch up on some rest and personal time.
FAMOUS BIRTHDAYS OCTOBER 14 – Harry Anderson, Comic Actor (60) OCTOBER 16 – Angela Lansbury, Actress (87)
OCTOBER 15 – Emeril Lagasse, Chef (53) OCTOBER 17 – Eminem, Rapper (40)
Student Saving Tip: Use the coupons inside your Westernizer
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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In light of an Ontario Society for the Prevention of Animal Cruelty investigation into the conduct of Niagara Falls’ attraction Marineland, the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services will pursue a more powerful Animal Welfare Act. While the OSPCA investigation is ongoing, and senior communications manager Alison Cross has stated that details of the Marineland case are not currently available, minister Madeleine Meilleur pledged the Animal Welfare Act will be amended to address zoo and aquarium standards, if necessary. Such an amendment would further improve the OSPCA’s protection capabilities as granted by the Animal Welfare Act, described by London Humane Society executive director Judy Foster as “legislation that came into force in 2009 which allows us to investigate and inspect where before it didn’t allows us to do that. This refers to the previous OSPCA act’s exemption of animals under the care of licensed veterinarians. Contrary to the belief marine animals are exempt from the Animal Welfare Act, Cross stated the existing legislation protects all animals reported as in distress, but warned, “no specific legislation exists governing standards for zoo and aquarium facilities.” An amended act would address “some issues that arise when addressing the standards of care, as there are a lot of different opinions with regards to standards for marine animals,” she said. If no amendment takes place, both Foster and Cross affirm the existing legislation allows them to respond to animal cruelty complaints. “We will bring our specialists and experts in when necessary, and address each case individually,” Cross said. Foster stated the London Humane Society relies on public information and concerns to best protect animals, and will “absolutely follow up on every concern.” —Mason Zimmer
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thegazette • Friday, October 12, 2012
USC mulls MEX cash surplus Funds from overcharge to be reallocated Kaitlyn McGrath Associate Editor
One of University Students Council president Adam Fearnall’s platform promises may soon find its wheels. Currently, the USC has a surplus of approximately $130,000 from the $12.93 student fee that was collected in 2011-12 to fund the Mustang Express service. With this surplus, the USC hopes to fund a pilot project that would see a shuttle service to London transportation outlets, such as the airport or the train station, which would operate during the December and April exam periods. On Wednesday night, the USC finance standing committee voted to look into the feasibility of this project and bring it forward to council at the end of the month. Fearnall was pleased to know one of his platform visions could soon become a reality. “We wanted to make sure finance committee had an opportunity to be the ones to drive it though,” Fearnall said. “It was nice to see, and I was happy to see there were people at finance committee that saw value in the idea, and were willing to start the discussion at council.” Tony Ayala, vice-president finance for the USC, explained the reason for the surplus is because the $12.93 fee put forward was an estimate, and the price for the Mustangs Express service ended up costing much less. Although he explained the surplus could
file photo
be used for a similar service, the fee itself can only be put towards Mustang Express. “The new 2012-13 fee cannot be used to go to a new service,” he said. “Even if it’s similar. The referendum question was very clear that this $12.93 is collected directly for a midnight shuttle from the hours of 12 a.m. to 2 a.m.” Ayala explained if students enjoy the new exam shuttle service, a new referendum could be drafted for next year that would change the wording and include the new service in the fee. Currently, the USC is looking to implement the service in time for December exams.
New stress study poorly interpreted
“That’s the hope anyway—to try and hit the December exam period,” Fearnall said. “I think we have the capacity to be able to pull something pretty strong together if it’s council’s will.” Jackie Chisholm, a secondyear Ivey student originally from Nova Scotia, is excited about the potential service. “Out-of-province students are already paying a higher amount to travel to and from school, and the cab fare on top of that is brutal,” she explained. “It’s also hard to find people to share cabs to the airport with, as most people fly home at different times, depending on their exam schedule.”
News Brief
MLHU graphing health
Teens and youth have a rate of chlamydia 23 times that of all other age groups in London. This, and other statistics on the health, demographics and lifestyles of the population of Middlesex-London, can be obtained from a new website by the Middlesex-London Health Unit. The website makes information previously unavailable to the public accessible in the form of infographics, charts and tables. The site’s creators hope to raise awareness about the region’s bad habits that can lead to chronic health problems, such as heart and lung disease. “[The website has] things having to do with the demographics of the community, the rates of chronic disease, leading causes of death and hospitalizations, lifestyle behaviours that can lead to illness, communicable disease and immunization information, reproductive health and environmental health,” Evelyn Crosse, an epidemiologist at the MLHU, said. “It’s for public health staff, other community agencies who are planning and developing health-related programs for the
community, citizens who are advocating for health issues and would like to get a hold of some reliable statistics, students and researchers. So, really it’s available to anyone who wants to look at it and may need to use some of this information,” she explained. Crosse added she thought when people hear about trends, like increasing obesity rates, that are reported at a national level, it doesn’t have the same impact as it does when someone sees the rates and statistics about their local area. Crosse also suggested the website can be used as a reference for students. “If you were a student or researcher who’s doing a paper on something and needs to get some local statistics on a certain issue, they can go to this resource.” Hopefully, with the increased accessibility of these statistics, teens will be able to more easily see the detrimental consequences of unprotected coitus. The website can be found at communityhealthstats.healthunit.com. —Iain Boekhoff
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Smoth soundin’ off Cam Smith News Editor ‘Women shouldn’t read this article’ read the headline of a Maclean’s On Campus piece published Wednesday. Well, I guess I’m okay then, seeing as I’m a ‘man.’ What was this so blatantly exclusive article about, you ask? Well, to briefly summarize it, a study was recently published which indicated women exposed to negative media will experience a greater release of stress-causing hormones than men. Furthermore, these women would better be able to recall the details of the news later. Neither trait was observed in the male control study. Huh? Is this finally empirical evidence proving women are, in fact, sensitive creatures prone to overreaction? Personally, I think it’s horseshit. Apparently, at least according to this study, women do in fact become more stressed when exposed to negative media. Yet, I have to wonder why this study was even conducted. What were the researchers trying to prove, and more importantly, why were they trying to prove
Bad news is bad news. Responding negatively is the correct reaction, and the fact that it leaves a lingering impression on the minds of anyone is entirely unsurprising. So why segregate genders and interpret which it affects more? It seems to me the researchers had a point to prove, and a rather archaic one at that. The media’s response to this recent data was characteristically devoid of thought. Women shouldn’t read this article? That title alone has several absurd connotations. Firstly, it’s quite obviously alienating. Why shouldn’t women read it? The article apparently interprets the results of the study as negative. Bad news stresses women out, the results of the study indicate women become stressed when exposed to negative media, thus, the article represented bad news for women, and would induce stress. How utterly, painfully ignorant. This isn’t bad news, this is rather unsurprising science. It seems to me that the interpretation of both the survey and the article is that women are responding to negative media incorrectly. Becoming stressed is apparently wrong. Studies, and more importantly media interpretations of them, have lasting ramifications. It remains the duty of the media not to reinforce negative stereotypes and gender binaries with absurdist assertions.
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thegazette • Friday, October 12, 2012
Arts&Life
funfact A pregnant goldfish is called a twit.
Girls speaking out Cam Parkes Managing Editor Thursday marked the inaugural International Day of the Girl, and what better place to celebrate it than Canada’s only all-female postsecondary institution, Brescia University College? Grade seven and eight girls spent the day at Brescia, taking part in break-out sessions and listening to influential women speak. They also were treated to a short play, with five Stratford actors illustrating the impact five women had in the 19th century. Susan Truppe, MP for London North Centre and Parliamentary Secretary for Status of Women, was the guest of honour. She had an exciting announcement to make—introducing the Susan Truppe International Day of the Girl Scholarship. “This scholarship will go towards the cost of a Brescia University College education for a London girl,” Truppe said. “Phoenix Interactive Design and Labatt Breweries of Canada will each donate $10,000 to make a girl’s dream of post-secondary education a reality.” The scholarship will benefit a student entering Brescia from a London high school, ideally a young woman with demonstrated leadership qualities. The fund provides $10,000 per year for two years. Although the audience packing the auditorium reacted to this news
Cam Parkes GAZETTE GIRL POWER. Evanna Lynch, an actress known for her role as Luna Lovegood in the Harry Potter films, spoke at Brescia University College for International Day of the Girl yesterday.
with enthusiastic cheers, it was nothing compared to the response when the special guest speaker was announced. Evanna Lynch, also known as Luna Lovegood from the Harry Potter movies, was in town to tell her story of strength. Despite being a famous actress, Lynch admitted to being nervous right off the bat—an emotion not helped by her having to leave the podium to get a charger for her computer. However, when she began speaking, there wasn’t a hint of nervousness to be seen. “Women of all ages are sharing their authentic voices,” she said,
explaining why she had made the long trip to speak at Brescia. “That’s something I couldn’t pass up on.” Lynch went on to speak about her trouble with body image growing up and how she overcame it. She talked about how, to her, there wasn’t just one kind of strength. “You don’t have to march around on platforms,” she said. “You don’t have to pull a sword out of your vagina to be a strong woman.” While the audience got a laugh out of that, the message remained clear—strength comes in many forms, and women of all ages need to believe—to know—that they are capable of showing it.
Gazette Exclusive > Evanna Lynch Magic was in the air yesterday, as actor Evanna Lynch, know for her role in the Harry Potter films, visited London. Lynch was in town to speak at the annual Sophia Series lectures, and popped in to a fullday workshop for International Day of the Girl. The Gazette’s Cam Parkes had the chance to speak with her.
wanted to express. Having a profile and having recognition, it makes people listen to you. A lot of people just come for seeing the words Harry Potter there, or seeing Luna Lovegood. But then, once they’re in the door, they listen to your message and they hear you, and hopefully some of it means something and hits home. I always want to use the attention I get for that message.
Cam Parkes: I know you just talked about it for quite a while, but could you sum up why you’re all the way over here in London, Ontario today?
CP: I guess one of the main things you try to attract attention for is the Harry Potter Alliance—can you tell me a bit about that?
Evanna Lynch: Well, they [the
EL: The Harry Potter Alliance is
women at Brescia] reached out to me a few months ago, and said they wanted me to speak here. They explained what the Sophia Series was—it’s about all different types of women of all ages sharing their authentic wisdom and their voice. I just thought that that was a very honourable mission, and something I’d like to participate in, because I know I have moments where I just feel like I can’t do a certain thing. You always have to overcome those thoughts. I kind of want to encourage girls to not shy away from that, and to embrace that.
a non-profit organization. It was founded by a man named Andrew Slack, who is a Harry Potter fan himself. He is a very deep thinker, and he started to realize that the messages in the Harry Potter books had a much more profound meaning than just fantasy, and that they resonated in the issues that we’re experiencing in our world too. He also realized that all these young fans could devote all their love and, you know, obsession for the story to these issues, and it would be very powerful. It’s an amazing way to have Harry Potter as a part of our daily lives and also effect social change.
CP: Your fame as an actress—do you find it makes it easier to get a message out, or do you find that sometimes people find it hard to look past the character?
CP: Last thing, Evanna—could you sum up your message in a sentence or two?
EL: No, I see it absolutely as an op-
EL: Don’t write yourself off—you
portunity—these are things I’ve always thought about and always
have to pursue the path of creativity, and not one of negativity.
Falling into the dark side of love Brent Holmes Arts & Life Editor Out of Sight productions is taking on a new challenge with their upcoming show Fall of Love. While their previous productions have largely been comedies, director Steve Stockwell brings together a group of actors in this anthology dealing with the dark side of love. “With this production we wanted to challenge our core group of actors and take on far more dramatic roles in a more dramatic presentation,” Stockwell comments. “Our biggest challenge with that is getting some of the actors who are used to comedic roles to break out of that safety of comedy and develop more dramatic skills.” The show is comprised of four one-act plays, all of which were written in the early 20th century and present a surrealistic atmosphere. The plays featured have a great range in their presentations of their themes of love—Louise Bryant’s The Game features a metaphysical battle between life and death to decide whether a poet will be able to live his life without love, while Alex Gerstenberg’s Overtones features a conversation between two women who love the same man with the one’s inner thoughts portrayed by another actor. “We are calling them fractured love stories because they all examine the darker sides of love. Each script has a surreal element to it,”
Courtesy of Steve Stockwell
Stockwell says. “We been working as a group to help the actors develop interesting characters out of these dramatic pieces, especially from actors who haven’t had dramatic roles in the past.” Also included in the plays featured in Fall of Love is Alfred Sutro’s The Open Door, which deals with a confrontation between Sir Geoffrey Transom (Tim Ingram) and Lady Torminster (Annette Dennis), two friends linked through the latter’s husband and struggling with trying to profess their love for one another. For Dennis and Ingram, the show features new challenges, as it is a first major dramatic performance for each of them. However, it was a
show that they were both excited to do. “I thought it was an interesting script. I don’t have a lot of experience so it was an opportunity to tap into the different layers of the script and learn and grow as an actor,” Dennis says. “This is my first dramatic role. Anything I had done in the past has been very short little characters, and a little bit more dramatic like zombies,” Ingram adds. Ingram found the work extremely educating as he and Stockwell developed a character in Sir Geoffrey Transom that was very different than Ingram’s first impressions of the character.
“It was quite a bit different. The person responsible for all my reactions is actually the director,” Ingram notes. “I’ve been extremely pleased, and learned a lot because I don’t have experience [with this kind of performance].” For both Stockwell and his actors, Fall of Love has been a challenging new experience that brings its performers out of their comfort zone to present this unique set of plays. Fall of Love will be playing at the ARTS Project this Thursday to Saturday at 7:30 p.m. with a matinee performance on Saturday at 3 p.m. Tickets are $15. Friday’s performance will include a two- for- the- price- of-one deal on tickets.
Mike Laine Gazette
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thegazette • Friday, October 12, 2012
From Western bro to Family Guy
Richmond & Tower reaching new heights Devon Johnson Contributor
file photo
Emily Fister Gazette Staff
Next time you’re in lecture writing a blog post about the ups and downs of flirting via Twitter, hit ‘post.’ It just may get you to Hollywood. For Deepak Sethi, a Western alumnus who graduated in 2002, comedy writing wasn’t a required course to complete his science degree. However, post-graduation would hold a different fate. While working in Toronto at his father’s ethnic food distribution company, Sethi sought a creative outlet and started up a comedic blog in 2009. “I liked tackling stuff that people found devastatingly important—like the incorrect use of the word ‘literally,’” he says. “That would be an entire article, dissecting how the word seeped into the modern lexicon and has destroyed conversations all over the world.” With posts like “10 ways to be the worst Facebook friend ever,” Sethi developed his comedic chops and cut himself a slice of virtual celebrity. By August 2009, his readership reached 60,000. When the blog’s witty style caught the eye of actress Alyssa Milano, she tweeted links to it and spread the word in real life. The game of Hollywood telephone had begun. Ricky Blitt, writer of the Johnny Knoxville movie The Ringer and former Family Guy producer, passed Sethi’s work on to Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane. In 2010, Sethi left the basmati rice behind for a new family in Los Angeles—as Family Guy’s newest staff writer. Hired on for Season 10, Sethi began collaborating and cowriting episodes like the recently aired “Family Guy Viewer Mail #2.” Since his TV debut, the writer has continued to develop creatively. He produced and acted in a short film, Being Bin Laden, which recently premiered
at Montreal’s Just For Laughs comedy festival in 2011. And his most recent work is on Comedy Central’s new animated series, Brickleberry. Sethi may no longer eat at Centre Spot, but he hasn’t forgotten about the family that made him the outgoing and eccentric writer he is today. “Western’s a family,” he says. “We all try to help each other out.” As for his rapid-fire creativity today, Sethi mentions that his past as a residence advisor is particularly inspiring. “I think a movie about an RA could be funny, but you’d need a Hollywood spin on it—like the RA is a penguin,” he says, only half-joking. Seth is full of off-the-wall ideas. As part of the USC’s Backpack 2 Briefcase speaker series, the comedian hopes to give aspiring screenwriters some insight into the industry. Step one: don’t question yourself as a writer—keep being neurotic and weird. “If you can nail that, the world is your oyster,” he says. “Even if you’re violently allergic to oysters, it’s now an oyster, so how great is that for you. Now you can be neurotic about your newfound oyster.” With dreams of writing a children’s book and a musical, Sethi has plenty to be neurotic and weird about—in a dynamic way, of course. He recently sold his own TV show to CBC, hoping to return to the quirky styles of Canadian comedy. For now, he’s back to London to share some inspiration with his Western family. Staying true to his roots, Sethi spills Western’s best-kept secret to success— Wednesday nights at the Spoke. “Rick McGhie’s whimsical voice helped me become a better writer,” he says. So sing along to “Sweet Caroline” and keep on blogging in the free world, Western.
“We need to laugh at our politicians somewhat, and if we can’t do that then we are in trouble,” joke Ryan Cole and Kalina Hada-Lemon of theatre company Richmond & Tower Productions. Cole and his founding team have had tremendous success with their student-run theatre company, having put on several productions since their start in 2010. Their current play November revolves around president Charles Smith and his plan of swindling the American turkey and by-product manufacturers out of 200 million dollars. “[It is] definitely a satire [...], specifically satirizing politicians,” Cole says. “It takes a relatively negative view of politics in general. I’ve never directed a comedy before so this will be interesting because it will be my own spin on the play.” Humour is one of the qualities that Drew Moore brings to his character, president Smith, because of the play’s focus on poking fun at American politicians—past and present. “There’s definitely ‘Bushisms’ and some clear pokes at Clinton,” Moore says. “We pull their less admirable qualities from them, like Bush’s ignorance and Clinton’s brash, because we are willing to push the boundary. There’s a little bit of Nixon, but in the end he really is his own character.”
Alongside Moore, Sarah Farrant portrays Clarice Bernstein, president Smith’s liberal lesbian speechwriter. Farrant has been with Richmond & Tower for two years and chose to bring her own farcical twist to the character.
We do rough and tumble and nitty-gritty, down-in-the-trenches kind of theatre. November is real. The emotions are real. When you see it you’ll be impacted by it because it’s happening right in front of you. —Ryan Cole
One of the founders of Richmond & Tower Productions
“Ryan told me that my inspiration should be Sarah Palin,” Farrant says. “The character took me a while to figure out because the play is a satire, and my character has drastic mood swings—so it’s like deciphering when she’s one way and when she’s the other way,” Cole adds. In the theatre community of London, competition is fierce between companies, thus shock value is key.
“Especially when there is a surprising amount of theatre in London to compete with and to get people out to see your shows,” Cole explains. “It is expensive if you can’t get people to do that.” Cole emphasizes the difficult task of standing out amongst all the theatre companies in London. It may be a fortunate situation for up-and-coming actors, but challenging for the companies who are forced to accept this added pressure. However, Cole makes it clear that his company has a specific direction it would like to go in to ensure its success and longevity in London. “We’re looking to get the community more involved and to increase awareness to some extent. We have a very particular brand of theatre, and we don’t do garbled Shakespeare and cookie cutter musicals. We do rough and tumble and nitty-gritty, down-in-the-trenches kind of theatre. November is real. The emotions are real. When you see it you’ll be impacted by it because it’s happening right in front of you,” Cole says. Richmond & Tower is definitely on its way to becoming a well-established theatre company in London. The company, which started out with just five students, has now evolved into an establishment with 14 young actors. Richmond & Tower’s intense determination to give a real and raw performance will ensure their place among London’s theatre community.
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thegazette • Friday, October 12, 2012
Opinions
Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race.
—H.G. Wells, English novelist
A campus with Bipeds best beware bike paths a Street View Google Street View has finally come to campus, allowing students and buildings alike to be captured by Google’s rolling cameras. While cameras, and Google for that matter, have already invaded almost all aspects of public and private life, this doesn’t mean we shouldn’t question the increase in societal surveillance and passively accept its presence. No one enters campus thinking ‘gee, I’m so glad I’m in a Google-free safe haven.’ But Street View, while undeniably a useful tool for navigation, normalizes surveillance and can go so far as to record people in their most intimate moments. In fact, there have been several instances where Google has had to remove segments of its capturing stream when people are caught through windows in the nude, or behaving inappropriately. However, Google should be given kudos for taking steps to protect people’s privacy by blurring faces, diminishing the big brother element to some extent. And, on the whole, Western’s campus being accessible via Street View is probably a good thing for recruitment. Prospective international students who aren’t able to travel across the Atlantic or Pacific for the school’s open houses in November and March can now see the campus remotely. Additionally, one of Western’s main selling points is its beautiful, enclosed campus, which could prove to boost the school’s internationalization. Students unfamiliar with the Western bubble can also see how long it will actually take to walk between classes, as a straightforward map can be deceiving. However, Google Street View itself can be deceiving too. Just look at the new Ivey building, the Physics and Astronomy Building or the Western Recreation Centre—campus is always changing. In this sense, a virtual tour uploaded on Western’s website may prove more effective at giving students a strong comprehension of our campus. But, overall, Google Street View is a good thing, and one of the many wonders of modern technology. Yes, Street View may erode the private sphere, and yes, most of us would prefer not to be caught in a compromising position distributed globally on the Internet, but each and every one of us would gleefully follow the Google Street View car around if given the chance. —The Gazette Editorial Board
Uze Your Brain
Julian Uzielli Online Editor
Remember when you were a kid, and every time you did anything even remotely dangerous, you would first have to recite the appropriate safety precautions to your parents? Always wear a helmet when you ride your bike, look both ways before you cross the street—remember? What’s that? You have no idea what I’m talking about? Well, I guess that explains the hoards of students walking around our campus with such a cavalier disregard for safety. I ride my bike to school every day, and it seems that the longer I do so, the more likely it becomes that I’ll plough into some oblivious idiot who wasn’t looking where he was going and kill us both. You see that path, with the thing that looks like a bicycle painted on it
every few metres? Hint—it’s not for walking on. There are sidewalks that run parallel to literally every single bike path on this campus, and yet, for some reason, dozens of people every day take it as their right to obstruct the damn thing. You wouldn’t walk down the middle of Richmond Street without giving cars a second thought— why would you do the same thing on a busy bike path? You’d think if you’re going to be walking somewhere you’re not supposed to, you’d at least take some precautions—like, I don’t know, being aware of your surroundings. But in the past two weeks, I’ve had to stop suddenly at least three times to avoid hitting people who were crossing the bike path that didn’t even slow down—let alone look up from their text conversation, clearly of earth-shattering importance—before crossing. In that kind of situation, I’ll obviously do everything I can to avoid a collision. But on the path that has a picture of a bike on it, it’s not unreasonable for me to assume right of way. Cyclists certainly bear their own responsibility to be safe—last week I
Letter to the Editor
Dear Life
Walkout support seems suspect
Your anonymous letters to life.
To the Editor: There was recently a walkout at H.B. Beal Secondary School in support of the province-wide fight that teachers are having against Bill 115. The Bill seeks to limits the rights of teachers to participate in collective bargaining; the number of sick days and imposes a two-year wage freeze. There are many arguments in support of and against this bill, but what is more concerning are the walkouts that are talking place. The students who are taking part come in completely on the side of the teachers, and one has to wonder how much
Dear Life, Is my business teacher financially stable?
teachers are attempting to sway their views within class. Many students also blame their loss of extra-curricular activities not on the teachers, who are the ones who have cancelled them, but on the government. While the government has perhaps left the teachers feeling like they have no choice but to refuse to lead extracurriculars, it is still the teachers who have ultimately made this decision and it appears they may be having fair bit of influence on which side students take in the debate. —Emil Dunnston Political Science I
weeklypoll A recent survey at McMaster University revealed about 35 per cent of students considered themselves depressed. Have you suffered from depression while studying at Western? Yes — sometimes my workload is too much to handle. 79% No — I don’t get stressed out that much. 15% I don’t know. 6%
Volume 106, Issue 22 www.westerngazette.ca
Gloria Dickie Editor-In-Chief Nicole Gibillini Deputy Editor Cam Parkes Managing Editor
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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.
Gazette Composing & Gazette Advertising Ian Greaves, Manager Robert Armstrong
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Gazette Staff 2012-2013
Greg Colgan, David Czosniak, Megan Devlin, Kevin Estakhri, Connor Hill, Elton Hobson, Kelly Hobson, Katherine Horodnyk, Sarah Mai Chitty, Victoria Marroccoli, Megan McPhaden, John Petrella, Megan Puterman, Chen Rao, Pat Robinson, Taylor Rodrigues, Nathan TeBokkel, Amy Wang, Hillete Warner, Kate Wilkinson, Kartikeya Vishal, Usman Zahid, Mason Zimmer
Dear Life, If I’m not supposed to eat late at night, why is there a light in my fridge? Dear Life, Weldon and Social Science Centre look like they belong in Soviet Russia. Dear Life, Why must all five of my midterms fall on the same weekend? Dear Life, I’ve collected 89 BBM contacts over the years... I wonder how many of them actually still have BlackBerrys. Submit your letters to life at www.westerngazette.ca /dearlife.
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saw someone riding a bike, without a helmet, with a textbook propped open on their handlebars, presumably doing readings. That person is an idiot and should be forced to ride the bus for the rest of their undergraduate career. But it’s a very simple concept— sidewalks are for people, bike paths are for bikes. If you cross the path without looking—or are inexplicably using it as a sidewalk when there is a perfectly good one right there, with your music at full blast so you can’t hear my bell ringing—you’re not just endangering your own life, but mine as well. So next time you’re walking on the path and I blow by you yelling something about how you should get out of the way, don’t act like I’m the asshole. Use your brain and be aware of your surroundings. And if you do get hit when you were walking somewhere you shouldn’t have been, well, I guess you should have paid more attention to your mom when you were crossing the street.
News Alex Carmona Jesica Hurst Cam Smith Aaron Zaltzman Arts & Life Sumedha Arya Brent Holmes Kevin Hurren Sports Richard Raycraft Jason Sinukoff Ryan Stern Opinions Ryan Hurlbut Associate Kaitlyn McGrath
Photography Andrei Calinescu Ritchie Sham Cameron Wilson Graphics Naira Ahmed Mike Laine Illustrations Christopher Miszczak Liwei Zhou Online Julian Uzielli Web Cameron Wilson Video Chris Kay
• Please recycle this newspaper •
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thegazette • Friday, October 12, 2012
Sports
tweet of the week Hey JETS!!! I’m available! I’m ready, willing & able! Call my agent @jordanwoy & let’s make it happen.
Free agent receiver Terrell Owens (@terrellowens) letting the New York Jets know that his services are available in a desperate attempt to get back into the league
Rundown >> The Mustangs men’s and women’s rugby teams had decidedly different fates last weekend in their respective games > Taking on the Guelph Gryphons, the women fell by a lopsided score of 41–0 > Conversely, the men handily defeated the University of Toronto Varsity Blues by a score of 85–0.
Mustangs looking to bounce back vs Laurier Teams put identical 3–3 record on the line in Saturday’s tilt Richard Raycraft Sports Editor
The Mustangs are looking to snap a rare two-game losing streak when they head to TD Waterhouse Stadium Saturday afternoon to take on the Laurier Golden Hawks. The Mustangs are coming off a crushing defeat courtesy of the Guelph Gryphons last Saturday, losing 42–39 on a field goal in the last minute of play. Laurier managed to shut out their cross-town rivals—the Waterloo Warriors—12–0 in their last contest. Laurier had a lot of difficulty getting the ball in the end zone. However, as all 12 of their points came through field goals by kicker Ronald Pfeffer. Sitting at ninth in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport standings, the Mustangs could risk falling out of the top ten with a loss. The game will be a crucial one for the Mustangs. Aside from restoring confidence to the underwhelming team, they also need the win to secure a playoff position. To do so, they will have to get past their closest competitor—the Golden Hawks. The two teams share identical 3–3 records, as well as playoff aspirations. Western remains ahead of Laurier in the standings only on the basis of points scored—239 to Laurier’s 106. Western managed to defeat Laurier last season 34–28. “It’s always a special game when we play Laurier,” Greg Marshall, Mustangs head coach, said. “Certainly, rivalries between schools come and go, but this is a big match and we have a ton of respect for their football program.” With starting quarterback
Andrei Calinescu Gazette
Donnie Marshall’s ankle injury restricting him to the sidelines, all eyes will be on back-up Will Finch in his second start of the season. Finch is coming off a poor performance against Guelph, during which he threw six interceptions and was replaced by Blake Huggins in the second quarter. Should Finch look shaky, coach Marshall may be tempted to call on Huggins once again. “Will’s our guy, he’s our starting quarterback,” Marshall said. “Last week was unfortunate with the circumstances that he was in,
but Blake came in and bailed us out.” “Ultimately, we need Will to step up and play to the potential that he’s capable of playing at,” he explained. As always, the success of the Mustangs’ powerful running game will be key in determining the outcome. The Mustangs lead all of Ontario University Athletics in rushing yards with 1635. It will be led by stand-out running back Garret Sanvido, who leads the OUA division in touchdowns with 12. Sanvido also leads the OUA in
yards rushed with 905, averaging just under seven yards a carry. “It’s not just Sanvido, it’s the entire group,” Gary Jeffries, Golden Hawks head coach, said. “We’ve done well this year against the run, but this will certainly be our biggest challenge and there’s no question about that.” With the Golden Hawk’s defence keeping a close watch on the running game, the Mustangs may look to mix it up offensively. Should they decide to throw the ball, Finch will have many strong options downfield in Brian Mar-
shall, Justin Sanvido and Matt Uren. Western stands fifth in the OUA with 1409 passing yards. Primarily a passing offence, the Golden Hawks will have a choice to make at quarterback, as rookie Travis Eman and London native Steven Fantham have split duties for most of this season. Other keys for the Golden Hawks will be veteran receivers Alex Anthony and Anton Bennett. You can catch the game at TD Waterhouse Stadium Saturday afternoon at 1p.m.
Mustangs topple Warriors to remain undefeated Usman Zahid Contributor On Sunday, October 7 the Mustangs women’s hockey team took to the ice for the second time in as many days, shutting out the Waterloo Warriors 3–0 at Thompson Arena. The Mustangs faced off against the Warriors after defeating the reigning Ontario University Athletics champions—the Laurier Golden Hawks—by a score of 7–2 on Saturday. This was the first time the Mustangs had ever beaten Laurier, and this was also the first time Laurier lost their season opener in 18 years. The Mustangs came out playing hard early in the first period, forcing Waterloo to play in their zone and drawing an early penalty. However, they were unable to take advantage of this opportunity. The
Mustangs outshot Waterloo 13–11 in the period, and with less than five minutes left in the first, one of the officials took a puck to the face, which resulted in a stoppage of play. When play resumed, Western came out playing hard and with 15 seconds left in the period Cassidy Gosling scored the first goal of the game for the Mustangs. The second period started with a lot of back and forth play, and after an early Waterloo penalty, Stacey Scott was able to net another goal for the Mustangs with under nine minutes left in the period. Intermission came with the score at 2–0 for the Mustangs. “Western is a strong team, so we have to make sure we come prepared every game. The effort was there but we have to work on our puck handling,” Jenni Bauer, Warriors head coach, said. >> see wins pg.8
Corey Stanford Gazette
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thegazette • Friday, October 12, 2012
Western wins 3–0 against Waterloo >> continued from pg.7
The Mustangs came out of the gate in the third, putting a lot of pressure on the Warriors, drawing a penalty and scoring on the power
We played a very strong defensive game. We got a lot of penalties and we took ourselves out of our flow but 5 on 5 I thought we controlled the game. —Chris Higgins
Mustangs head coach
play courtesy of team captain Carly Rolph. Some of the Mustangs’ penalties gave Waterloo hope, but Mustangs netminder Kelly Campbell shut the door to complete the shutout with the final score at 3–0 favouring the Western women.
“We played a very strong defensive game. We got a lot of penalties and we took ourselves out of our flow, but five on five I thought we controlled the game,” Chris Higgins, Mustangs head coach, said. He went on to remark about the spectacular play of Campbell. “She gives us so much confidence. We know if we make a mistake, she is going to back us up, and nothing got past her today,” he said. However, Campbell was very modest about her incredible play against the Warriors. “I didn’t have to do as much today as I did yesterday. I had great defence in front of me and they made it easy for me,” Campbell said. “They played great, they got in there and their breakouts were awesome.” The Western women will look to stay undefeated as they look to play the Brock Badgers and Guelph Gryphons on Saturday and Sunday at Thompson Arena.
As the number one pick in the draft, Anthony Davis is almost definitely the most talented player coming into the NBA this season. Do you see him winning Rookie of the Year? Timothy B. Ityum, Ivey III
I cannot argue with the fact that Anthony Davis is the best rookie in the class with the brightest future, but he is in the wrong place to win the Rookie of the Year award. With three rookies potentially playing big minutes for the New Orleans Hornets—himself, Darius Miller and Austin Rivers—Davis is going to be asked to take on a bigger role than his current ability dictates. He is far from a finished product on the offensive end, and gaudy offensive numbers are seemingly a precursor for these types of awards. A player with a better opportunity to win the award due to his circumstances is Damian Lillard. Lillard, the new point guard for the Portland Trail Blazers, will look to continue his summer league dominance with his talent-filled supporting cast. LaMarcus Aldridge and Wesley Matthews should ease Lillard’s transition to the NBA. With the ball in his hands on every play, Lillard should have a greater opportunity to succeed on the big stage. Do you think Greg Marshall made the right decision in starting Will Finch, despite him having been limited in his practice reps in the previous week? Brock Sanders, Political Science IV In hindsight, it looks like a bad idea to have started Will Finch a
mere five days after he endured an emergency appendectomy, but can you really blame Marshall for putting the more polished, more talented player under centre? The season has obviously not gone according to script for the Mustangs football team, but the quarterback is hardly even the centerpiece of the Mustangs offensive attack. With two stellar running backs and an offensive line that matches up with any line in the country, the Mustangs often succeed on the ground in order to set up their air attack. With this in mind, do you blame Marshall for choosing to start the quarterback with real in-game experience this season? Finch is far from a finished product in his inaugural season in purple, but with early season practice reps under his belt, Marshall put trust in his offensive line and running backs to give Finch the support he needed. Obviously the game did not go as planned, and Huggins did spur the Mustangs charge in the second half, but Finch was probably the right choice—despite his lack of practice—under the circumstances. What is the deal with the format for the MLB division series? How does it make sense that the lower seed gets the chance to jump out fast with the first two home games? Mario Lee, Science I I will answer your question by asking my own. Why is it that the MLB playoffs are so full of whining and complaining this year? Every
team seems to have something to gripe about, whether it be blown calls or the format. Everybody just needs to play baseball. As for my thoughts on the format of the playoffs, I do not disagree with it so much. Yes, the division winner should have a decided advantage, but isn’t the extra day of rest afforded to them enough? The new play-in wildcard game gives the division winners and extra day of rest and the ability to send their top pitcher to the mound against their opponent’s tired lineup. The advantage afforded to the division winner with regards to the new playoff format lends the division winner enough of an advantage to compensate for the seemingly unfair format. Would the NHL owners be more inclined to hammer out a new collective bargaining agreement if one of their big name players suffered an injury overseas? Eden Wine, Classics III On the one hand, I can see the owners rushing to hash out a new CBA if one of their big players was injured. An example would be if Alexander Ovechkin tore his ACL while playing in Russia’s KHL. Capitals owner—Ted Leonsis —would probably want to bring his most profitable player back to Washington. The same goes for the other owners. However, I think that as long as there is a lockout, the owners wouldn’t care about their players— who would do no good to their team injured anyways, and want to wait until they are healthy again.
Corey Stanford Gazette
Baseball Picks
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