w w w .w e sterngazette.c a • @uw ogazette
It’s all over… Our O-Week coverage wraps up with an interview with Anjulie >> pg. 4
thegazette Keeping our honoraria since 1906
Thursday, September 13, 2012
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Volume 106, Issue 7
Campus culture blamed for binge drinking Cam Smith News Editor It’s all fun and games, until someone dies from alcohol poisoning. Last fall, a student at Acadia University in Nova Scotia died after over-indulging. This incident, combined with two alcoholrelated deaths at Queen’s University in 2010, prompted a study into the propensity for binge drinking among university and college students. Lisa Jacobs, researcher for the Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness, asserted the death of the Acadia University student was merely representative of a much more severe problem. “One of the reasons we wanted to conduct this research was because we knew this was a much larger problem than just Acadia University,” Jacobs explained. “It’s not only just those extreme cases— alcohol harm comes in many shapes and forms.” Universities and colleges are >> see report pg.3
Meghan Bhatia Gazette
Book Review
Western’s new book, The Tower, captures tradition, lacks zest Aaron Zaltzman News Editor In an effort to raise school spirit and educate students about the rich history of Western, the University Students’ Council has released the first-ever Western traditions book, entitled The Tower. Initially the proposal of the 2011-2012 USC executive board, the idea for the book came from North Carolina University, which produces a traditions book for its own students. “It was thought that creating a similar book at Western would help facilitate knowledge of Western’s rich history and experiences as well as providing students with a nice personalized keepsake from their time at Western,” Jeremy Santucci, vice president communications for the USC and composer of The Tower, explained. Aesthetically, the book is quite striking. One can easily imagine it ten years from now tastefully gracing a coffee table, with the beautiful photo of Middlesex College lighting up nostalgic conversations. It starts off very much like a high school yearbook, with messages from Western president Amit Chakma and USC president Adam
Fearnall, as well as faculty heads and affiliate principals. The statements, while by no means underwhelming, seem pretty standard and don’t give the impression of refreshing, genuine school spirit that the book seems to be trying to achieve. However, the history of Western section more than makes up for preceding pages. It manages to be both succinct and engaging at the same time, and though short, will definitely be the most entertaining section for history buffs. The rest of the book is dedicated to all the prominent events and experiences that make up Western life. On each page is a description of an event, such as Founder’s Day or Homecoming, along with a space for the student to attach a small photo of them participating in it. The idea is to fill every page with a memory, thus “completing” Western—academic achievements notwithstanding. While this aspect of the book is certainly clever, the ‘place memory here’ section of each page makes the whole thing feel like a paint-bynumbers guide to a university experience, with the final sum being somewhat bland. Maybe Western has a distinct lack of fun, zany tra-
Cameron Wilson Gazette
ditions—or maybe they were simply omitted—but either way the contents of the book are as glossy as the pages they’re printed on. For a generation raised to believe university was an all-you-can-eat buffet of national lampoonery, a book full of traditions such as Purple Finale and going to the bookstore feels a little like a whitewash.
Where is the page for stealing our rival school’s mascot? However, it seems that students will most likely have no problem discovering Western’s more racy traditions, such as floorcest, alcohol poisoning and Saugeen stripping. While these time-honoured rituals may be an integral part of Western’s culture, it seems the
university has nothing to gain by actively advertising them. Overall, The Tower is a good way to introduce frosh to some of Western’s more conventional experiences, which is ultimately the main goal of a traditions book.
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thegazette • Thursday, September 13, 2012
Caught on Camera
Andrei Calinescu GAZETTE
DOES ANYONE ELSE FEEL LIKE A HAMSTER IN HERE? Students zorb on Concrete Beach as part of the University Students’ Council’s Purple Fest festivities.
Crossword By Eugene Sheffer
News Briefs
Jack’s jacks up cover Popular student bar Jack’s has implemented a three dollar cover on weekends to compensate for their new weekend pricing. According to Adam Campbell, manager of Jack’s, the bar has reduced their prices on drinks on Fridays and Saturdays. “Last year, on average, our drink prices were about four dollars per drink,” Campbell said. “We’ve now lowered our drink pricing to $2.50 for bottles of beer and mixed drinks.” As one of the only bars on Richmond Row open seven days a week, management felt that keeping students interested every single night could be a challenge—especially in comparison to other nightclub venues that are open two to three times a week. “I think everyone knows our bar does very well on our weekday nights. We found that once it gets to Friday and Saturday, a lot of people weren’t choosing Jack’s as their number one choice because they say ‘Oh, I’ve already been to Jack’s two or three times this week.’” Campbell made it very clear that the addition of a cover wasn’t profit driven by any means, and added that initial reactions to the change have been very positive. “As soon as we explained what we did with our drink pricing, everyone was super excited and really appreciative.” —Jesica Hurst
Western Serves gives back On Saturday, September 22, Western students, staff and faculty can leave the campus bubble to serve the community and take part in a campus-wide, all-day event dedicated to getting involved in organizations in the London community. The program is called Western Serves, and it’s organized by Community Service Learning. The event provides the students, staff and faculty of Western and its affiliate schools the opportunity to volunteer in nonprofit organizations in London. “Western Serves gives [volunteers] that opportunity to learn what happens in the London community, and how their involvement in the community cannot only impact the organizations they are involved with, but themselves—personally and professionally,” Dave Cano, community engagement coordinator for Western Serves, said. The event allows volunteers to get involved in a wide range of projects. “[Projects] range from gardening, house cleaning, cooking, painting, planting [and] providing help with special events, such as cookouts and bonfire events,” Cano said. “We’re all a part of the overall London community, and even bigger than that, the Canadian community. So we need to be connected to each other—we need to
CORRECTION NOTICE Please note, that due to a production error, an incorrect offer appeared in The Athletic Club ad on page 121 of The 2012 Westernizer. Please refer to The Athletic Club’s January divider ad for the correct offer information. The Ad & Marketing Office apologizes to The Athletic Club, its clients and Westernizer readers for any inconvenience caused.
Solution to puzzle on page 8
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understand what happens in the community, because in the end, it’s what is going to impact our lives and we can impact the lives of others as well.” —Jacqueline Ting
Doctors urged to get smarter Medical professionals stuck in their traditional ways may be urged to adapt a more modern technology as a form of communication in the near future. Ann Marie McKenna, a general internist at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, hopes co-workers and others who work in health care will ditch their pagers for something more efficient—a smartphone. “I would estimate over 95 per cent of my coworkers [still rely on pagers],” McKenna said. “A minority have switched over to having their locating departments text or call their cell phones—however, these are not sanctioned methods from a hospital IT standpoint, as a text message is insecure.” McKenna explained the three main reasons hospitals should adapt to a more updated technology revolve around simplicity, efficiency and an improved patient experience. “99 per cent of medical residents in our study already had a smartphone, which they routinely used at work. Tapering down the devices one must carry at work is appealing for that reason,” she said. “Receiving a numeric one-way page from a nurse can also disrupt work flow—one must interrupt a clinical encounter, find a phone, call back the telephone extension to which you were paged, then inevitably wait several minutes until the page sender picks up the phone. A text page, which provides the recipient with clinical information, helps them triage urgency and quickly reply via text to nonurgent messages.” According to McKenna, the main reason why hospitals haven’t updated their technology is because it requires a major investment by their IT departments in both capital dollars and personnel to implement communication changes across a ward or unit. —Jesica Hurst
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 • Thursday, September 13, 2012
Students shouldn’t need booze babysitting
Caught on Camera
Carma’s a Bitch
Julian Uzielli GAZETTE
WELCOME CHAIR-ITY. Western Law grad W. Geoff Beattie spoke yesterday at the announcement of the W. Geoff Beattie Chair in Corporate Law. The $3 million chair is a joint gift to Western Law from Beattie, Torys LLP and Western University.
Ontario government looks for innovation from PSIs Kaitlyn McGrath Associate Editor The Ontario government has asked post-secondary institutions to submit a strategic mandate agreement by September 30 with the aim of strongly influencing the future decision-making of universities. The document is meant to be an eight-page or less agreement between the government and postsecondary institutions, and should include a mandate statement from the university, a vision of what they would like to see the university as in the future and three main priorities of the university. Alysha Li, vice president university affairs for the University Students’ Council, explained the USC has been in contact with Western’s administration regarding the SMA. “The general idea is that we’re in conversation with them now, and to work on the draft together.” At the same time as the SMA was proposed, the Ministry of Training Colleges and Universities released a document titled ‘Strengthening Ontario’s Centres of Creativity, Innovation and Knowledge,’ which proposed innovative ideas to improve the post-secondary educational experience. Following the release of the document, several roundtable discussions occurred over the course of the summer. Li explained some of the changes included enhanced online learning, year-long learning and three-year degrees.
“Discussions were held for all the stakeholders to discuss the paper, and some of the ideas that were brought up from the government.” In reply to the government document, the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance released its own report titled ‘Education Reform’ explaining the specific ideas they would like to see implemented in Ontario’s universities.
Students are doing our best to be able to understand the process, and be able to contribute what we can to the conversation. — Alysha Li
Vice president university affairs for the University Students’ Council
OUSA’s report highlights four main reforms, including improving teaching quality inside the classrooms, increased experiential learning, enhanced online learning and improved student mobility to allow students to transfer credits between universities in the province. “None of the enclosed reforms fundamentally change the structure of higher education in Ontario, nor do they propose removing any financial resources from
the system,” the report stated. “While the road to implementing minor change is never smooth, OUSA believes the following reforms are reasonable and [able to be implemented].” As a member of OUSA, Li explained the USC supports the reforms proposed, and hope these changes can occur across universities in Ontario. “Students are doing our best to be able to understand the process, and be able to contribute what we can to the conversation. We hope that our vision and our ideas will be able to be included as SMAs and in the future when we’re talking about transformation in postsecondary education,” she said.
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Alcohol abuse among university students is not a new phenomenon. One could even go so far as to say it’s become routine in Canada. Every year the Gazette and other campus papers are littered with stories about students who either couldn’t, or wouldn’t, put a handle on their alcohol consumption. The recent death by alcohol poisoning at Acadia University is only the most recent culmination of a seemingly unending chain of alcohol-related issues that plague campuses across the country. Going back only three years, you can find the drunken revelry in Kingston that resulted in a ban on Queen’s homecoming until 2014, two alcohol-related deaths at Queen’s in 2010 and the now-infamous Fleming Drive riot at Fanshawe College. On one hand, it’s somewhat understandable. University is usually the first time students are given real freedom from parental tyranny. It’s also a time for learning—many of us don’t have experience with alcohol until our first days in residence. However, one of the main reasons we’re af-
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Report slams high-risk student drinking >> continued from pg.1
“We see a lot of risky sexual behaviours from binge drinking as well.” Yet alcohol poisoning remains MLHU’s primary concern from binge drinking. “Alcohol poisoning […] is our number one area where we are concerned, because it can be a life or death situation,” Rennison explained. To combat the student drinking problem, Jacobs recommends a varied approach. “One of the main points in our report is that there is no single solution to it,” she explained. “Uni-
versities need to work with municipal governments and community partners to look at ways they can collaborate. We’re calling this a comprehensive approach.” Jacobs stressed the process of changing student propensity for drinking was going to be a lengthy process. “It’s going to take a while. We’re encouraging universities to take a long-term approach and keep students in the conversation,” she concluded.
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notorious for their drinking cultures. Jacobs asserted there were a number of reasons for this. “If you look at the evidence internationally, the highest risk population [for over-consumption of alcohol] is university-aged individuals,” she explained. “Some see it as a rite of passage. They’re leaving home for the first time, all sorts of things are going on that make them want to experiment more.” Jacobs also noted the media can play a large role in shaping student
ideas of alcohol consumption. “The people you see drinking in advertisements are not the 40 and 50-year-olds—it’s that young, hip university person,” Jacobs said. Despite it being such a large part of university culture, binge drinking provides a bevy of health risks for students, not all related to alcohols direct impact on the body. “We see short term health risks—like violence—which is a very big thing, including fights and intimate partner violence,” Melissa Rennison, a public nurse with Middlesex-London Health Unit, said.
forded such an opportunity to study away from home is the implied understanding that we know how to take care of ourselves. While most students in Canada handle themselves perfectly well at house parties, bars and homecoming, there are enough of us that don’t to warrant the report by the Nova Scotia department of health and wellness. To a point, it’s a numbers game—some people are going to screw up, and they deserve programs in place to help them when they do. But university is meant to prepare us for the scary “real world” that awaits us post-graduation, so at this point we should at least be far enough along so as not to need a report specially commissioned to keep us from drinking ourselves to death. That’s not to say I don’t respect how big of a problem alcoholism can be. It’s a nasty disease that can be particularly hard to throw, and any alcohol-related death really is a tragedy. But many of these issues can’t be chalked up to alcoholism. Binge drinking is an entirely different beast, and one that commands less sensitivity. It’s all well and good that our universities are looking to help keep us out of emergency rooms and drunk tanks, but honestly—we’re adults and shouldn’t need the help.
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thegazette • Thursday, September 13, 2012
Arts&Life
saywhat? If music be the food of love, play on.
— William Shakespeare
These kids wear purple for second time Kevin Hurren Arts & Life Editor Coming off a performance at Australia’s Soundwave Festival, These Kids Wear Crowns played Western’s closing O-Week concert Saturday night. Before the show, some members of the band talked to the Gazette about returning to Western, their experience playing internationally and other past tours. GAZETTE: You guys played Western’s O-Week concert last year as well. Since then, what has the band been up to? THESE KIDS WEAR CROWNS: We’ve been writing our second record. We did a pretty strong two years of touring with Jumpstart, which was our first major label full-length album. That actually went double platinum in a couple of places around the world so we were pretty well-received on that. We toured the world, and now, since September of last year, we’ve pretty much had the winter off and the spring off, and we’ve been writing and recording an album. It’s going to be out in the spring of 2013, so we have about six months to go. GAZETTE: LasT year’s show was certainly high energy and a lot of fun. How do you guys maintain that kind of energy after doing so many shows? THESE KIDS WEAR CROWNS: We all have a lot of energy. We always
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AND THEY’RE BACK. Canadian pop band These Kids Wear Crowns performed at Western’s O-Week for a second year in a row. They spoke to the Gazette about their return, and touring internationally.
give it 110 per cent, but we also party after too—we definitely don’t blow it all on stage. I don’t think we’re trying to have a high energy show, we just try to have a fun time and when we’re all together we just spur each other on, and it just goes up and up from there. GAZETTE: This past year you’ve played in a number of places around the world, like Australia and Singapore. What’s it like performing for international crowds compared to your Canadian home turf?
THESE KIDS WEAR CROWNS: They like us more. It’s just like any band that travels a long way to do a show—you’re just a bit more excited. I don’t know if we just play better over there, or what, but it goes off in other countries a lot more than it does in Canada. It’s funny, but Canada’s awesome and we love Canada. Frosh week shows are actually pretty insane—every show is kind of like a frosh week show in places like Singapore. Kids are pumped—and the schools are pumped and positive.
GAZETTE: On that note, where internationally—or in Canada— would you still really like to play? THESE KID WEAR CROWNS: We’ve never been to Europe. We did a tour with Simple Plan in Canada and then they went straight to Europe after, and we weren’t on that part. They’re managed by our manager and they told us all about it, so now we need to go. Hopefully we’ll be able to go with them next time.
GAZETTE: What was the Canadian tour with Simple Plan like? THESE KIDS WEAR CROWNS: It was amazing. It was us, them, All Time Low and Marianas Trench— so it was a pretty stacked line-up. It was across Canada and we played for 12,000 people at the Bell Centre in Montreal—it was sold out. The guys from Simple Plan are known to be the nicest guys. Everyone— the Marianas Trench boys—it’s all a big bro fest.
Anjulie stands behind more than her music Kevin Hurren Arts & Life Editor Anjulie may seem like a typical dance-pop performer with hit tracks like “Brand New Bitch” and “Everything I Do,” but this Oakville native cares about more than just the hair flips and fist pumps. After performing Saturday night at the O-Week closing concert, Anjulie headed to Toronto the next night for the Mac Viva Glam Fashion Cares. This 25-year-old benefit raises money for both the AIDS committee of Toronto and the Elton John AIDS Foundation. “I just got a phone call from my managers and they’re like ‘hey, do you want to do this event?’ And it’s really close to my heart because I know a couple of people effected by and living with HIV/Aids, so I really wanted to do it,” Anjulie says. The fundraiser also featured performances by Janelle Monae, Scissor Sisters, Sky Ferreira and Elton John. This event isn’t the first time Anjulie hasused her career to support a cause, as she has been involved with other charity initiatives like The Water Project, which works towards relieving communities around the world that suffer from a lack of clean water. “I think as an artist I have people who follow me and my career, and it’s a great platform to try to
speak my mind and do whatever I can to help the world—I hope to be able to have a bigger platform to help even more people,” says Anjulie, who credits her compassion and strength to her positive influence growing up. “I had a really strong female role model while growing up—my mother,” she explains. “I never have felt particularity insecure in the music business. I’ve always had this sort of fire burning in me, and even when I’ve had doubts— and of course I’ve had doubts—I’ve
always felt this push to do what I want to do despite, people saying you shouldn’t do it.” Though Anjulie earned a Juno nomination for Dance Recording of the Year, and her music is wellreceived by her Canadian fans, she hasn’t been completely spared from adversity. “I think that’s a really universal feeling if you’re somebody who wants to do something great, or maybe even not,” Anjulie expresses. “If you’re just trying to do your thing and people are coming
at you, you really just have to focus on what it is you want to say.”
I’ve always felt this push to do what I want to do, despite people saying I shouldn’t do it. — Anjulie
Naira Ahmed Gazette
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thegazette • Thursday, September 13, 2012
A spark of brilliance Bret Holmes Arts&Life Editor GGGGF Directors: Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris Starring: Paul Dano, Zoe Kazan and Annette Bening Ruby Sparks is without a doubt one of the best movies of 2012. A meta-fictional Frankensteinmeets-Stranger-Than-Fiction, Ruby Sparks tells the tale of Calvin Weir-Fields (Paul Dano), a young writer suffering from writer’s block after publishing his first novel, which is a literary masterpiece. On a writing project from his therapist (Elliott Gould), Calvin accidentally writes his dream girl, Ruby Sparks (Zoe Kazan) into existence. Also the film’s writer, Zoe Kazan builds the plot slowly. The first act seems to drag on—especially during Calvin’s reaction to Ruby appearing in his apartment. It works, as this slow plot tricks the audience into thinking Ruby Sparks will be a simple love story—it’s not. It is an intensely smart deconstruction of the manic-pixie-dream-girl trope appearing in films such as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind or 500 Days of Summer. Calvin eventually discovers he can alter Ruby’s personality in accordance with his own desires, but finds this process damaging as trying to fix her gradually reveals his own flaws in dealing with relationships, culminating in some incredibly painful, hard-to-watch scenes when this idea is taken to its logical
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conclusion. As an actress, Kazan makes Ruby feel incredibly real. There is an intense awareness of physical space that she embodies, which makes everything she does interesting and compelling. Dano does a good job as a Woody Allen-like Calvin. However, his role is not a significant step in another direction for him—his role in There Will Be Blood is very similar. As smart as Ruby Sparks is, the film’s biggest downfall is its ending. The last scene leaves the final note too ambiguous as to what will happen to the characters. It could represent catharsis for Calvin, who struggles throughout the film to treat his characters as people, or it could undermine the entire point of the movie by suggesting a circular narrative. There is also a substantial section in the middle when Ruby meets Calvin’s parents that is in-
teresting and implies many things, but confirms none. While Calvin’s mother (Annette Benning) is an almost Oedipal reflection of Ruby that leaves many interesting questions, the big question left unanswered is whether or not she has also written her boyfriend (Antonio Banderas). What makes Ruby Sparks so powerful is how it reveals aspects of romantic comedies or chick flicks as an engine for male fantasies, and what these represent when taken to their logical conclusion. The result is a film that hits hard and is incredibly insightful with its observations, and despite its ambiguous ending, it offers a chance at redemption. There is a grace here that is unexpected and, as a result, powerful. This makes Ruby Sparks incredible, and definitely one of the best of the year.
Lifestyle Brief
Sizing up McDonalds’ nutritional information On Wednesday, McDonalds’ president Jan Fields announced her company’s plan to include the calorie counts on McDonalds’ menu boards in the United States. South of the border, the fast food restaurant mega-chain previously provided nutritional information only though their website, which health-sensitive customers could read at their leisure. However, in Canada, this information could be found on a nutritional information sheet, which the company had to provide. The move is implied to be a reaction to upcoming federal regulations in the United States, meaning more fast food restaurants will be gradually instituting these policies. The decision may result in changes, as fast food corporations in Canada have to increase their transparency. “If you’re going to list anything, list the calories,” comments Anne
Zok, nutritional manager at Western. “If it deters some people from making a decision based on calorie content, great. In all honesty, those individuals that want to turn a blind eye to it are going to.” Zok notes that for Western students, this information has been accessible for a while. She explains that in the residence operations, the daily menus are posted on the website—the same menus that are posted at the point of sale. The macronutrients—calories, proteins, carbohydrates and fats—are disclosed under the name of each item. She further notes retail operations on campus were also regulated by federal legislation requiring them to provide nutritional information. “For the most part it is positive—this is a small piece to the puzzle of getting Canadians or the Western community a little bit healthier,” Zok concludes. —Brent Holmes
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YOUR CALLING. CANADA’S NEED. According to the Fraser Institute, Canada is facing an imminent physician shortage, specifically in primary care. Ross University School of Medicine (RUSM) is helping to meet this need by training physicians who are entering nearly every area of medicine, including the critical demand in pediatrics, internal medicine and family medicine. • RUSM provides clinical rotations at affiliated teaching hospitals in the US. • RUSM has proudly graduated more than 9,000 physicians who are practicing across the US and Canada. • Provincial loans are available to those who qualify.
ATTEND OUR INFORMATION SEMINAR Saturday, September 15, 2012 • 10 am Toronto Marriott Bloor Yorkville Hotel To register, visit RossU.edu or scan this QR code. For comprehensive consumer information visit www.RossU.edu/med-student-consumer-info © 2012 Global Education International. All rights reserved.
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thegazette • Thursday, September 13, 2012
Opinions
For an adult, eating alone at McDonalds is admitting a kind of defeat.
—Jonathan Carroll, American author
Calorie counts Misguided trust given to corporate media not quite cutting it In a world where humans have ever-increasing knowledge about their own bodies and diets, McDonalds’ new policy to display calorie counts on their American menus is a step in the right direction. In a country with a 35 per cent obesity rate, corporations and the government alike should be doing everything they can to make the country healthier. It is possible that calorie counts will not deter the average McDonalds customer who walks into the restaurant ready for a fat-filled binge, but it is hard to see a downside to readily available caloric information. It’s good to know how many calories you are putting in your body, especially when eating out. People have become accustomed to nutritional information being readily available on everything they buy at the grocery store, so transparency at restaurants seems like the next logical step. In fact, it seems odd that such information was not always provided in the first place. McDonalds’ new calorie counts may create a following among other U.S. businesses, but do we really want all restaurant menus—fine dining included—besmirched with nutritional information? Such is the price of healthy living. It is possible that a separate, on-demand menu of caloric counts may work in these cases. McDonalds’ new nutritional transparency is a good business model, especially in a health-conscious society. McDonalds has already made efforts to promote “healthier” menu options, such as grilled chicken for happy meals and egg white-only egg McMuffins. Health-consciousness is good publicity, and is sure to increase profits—even if the restaurant is anything but healthy. Perhaps McDonalds will even be able to increase prices on low-calorie items if they become more popular. However, some could argue that displaying caloric counts isn’t nearly enough—it creates the illusion of more information, when caloric counts, realistically, don’t tell the whole story. McDonalds should display complete nutritional information on their menu—fat and sodium content included. Perhaps calorie-only displays will backfire, when a customer realizes a sandwich has fewer calories than they expected, and will feel okay ordering it. But in reality, the sandwich is still fat-filled and worse for you than many alternatives with similar calorie counts. —The Gazette Editorial Board
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As an intelligent citizen of this country, you have the right to be informed. We all make an attempt to ingest media that is unbiased and fair, but this can end dangerously. When I talk about censorship, I am not simply addressing the decision to restrict certain violent or sexual overtones and undertones from entertainment, but rather the ability of a corporation to use a media outlet for personal benefit. The allure of positive influence from the press is something many corporations are unable to resist. When a large readership puts their trust into a certain purveyor of news, the owner is able to use that medium to keep controversial events out of the public eye. In this way, the richest corporations can use media ownership to help their image, thus making them even richer. The idea that the information received by the public may be missing important facts is a terrifying prospect, and not one that should be ignored. By censoring the news for personal gain, the public could lose out on incredibly important information that pertains directly to them. The job of a news outlet, first and foremost, is to provide their readers with the truth about the world around them, but when that is compromised, all integrity is lost. As a society, it is important for us to hold our corporations accountable for their actions. Corporate censorship not only makes it difficult to fully comprehend the mistakes made by higher-ups, but also creates mistrust between society and the media. By controlling the information dispersed by the media, corporations are
Dear Life Your anonymous letters to life
put in a place where they emphasize a positive image, rather than emphasizing positive actions on their own part. In this scenario, the public does not care whether or not a corporation is conducting themselves in the correct way, because they are not given enough information to decide one way or another. This column is written as a reminder to err on the side of caution, and collect information in an educated manner. We are all educated students in a postsecondary institution, and it is our job to understand what is going on in the world around us, and to try and fix it. We as a society should not stand idle while we are denied important facts about the world around us. When insiders are the only ones with full access to integral facts they are able to use this as a further advantage. We should hold ourselves to a higher standard where we do not just blindly accept the information presented to us, but critically analyze it to make sure that we are not being duped. Censorship and agenda setting is a very real part of the world, and awareness is the first step towards accountability, and eventual elimination. We are the leaders and workers of the future, and can work together to make a better world, with a free flow of information. We do not deserve to have information hidden from us, especially if it is only hidden by personal agenda to boost renown. Everyone makes mistakes, but big mistakes should not remain hidden.
Dear Life, They removed the couches at Einstein’s. Where am I going to sleep now? Dear Life, Why is pathology at 8:00 a.m. on Monday mornings? I mean, seriously. Dear Life, Why do I only meet hot doctors when I’m sick and miserable looking? Dear Life, Is a hot dog a sandwich? Dear Life, All you have to say is “promise not to get angry,” and then you’re absolved of anything you say next. Dear Life, What are “The Seven Seas?” There are way more than seven seas. Dear Life, The three-quarter sleeve shirt is by far the worst style of shirt. Dear Life, I visited Laurier and checked out their newspaper’s Dear Life section. It wasn’t nearly as good. Submit your letters to life at www.westerngazette.ca/dearlife
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Gazette Composing & Gazette Advertising Ian Greaves, Manager Robert Armstrong
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Gazette Staff 2012-2013
Greg Colgan, Megan Devlin, Kevin Estakhri, Connor Hill, Elton Hobson, Kelly Hobson, Katherine Horodnyk, Sarah Mai Chitty, Victoria Marroccoli, Megan McPhaden, Megan Puterman, Chen Rao, Pat Robinson, Taylor Rodrigues, Nathan TeBokkel, Amy Wang, Hillete Warner, Kate Wilkinson, Usman Zahid, Mason Zimmer
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 • Thursday, September 13, 2012
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WELL IF BEING DISCHARGED FROM THE HOSPITAL ISNT THE BEST TIME TO ASK ABOUT A THREESOME THEN IM FRESH OUT OF IDEAS
— Oakland A’s starter Brandon McCarthy (@BMcCarthy32) tweeted upon being released from the hospital after being hit in the head with a line drive
Rundown >> The Mustangs women’s soccer team stayed undefeated this weekend with a 2-0 win over the McMaster Marauders > The Mustangs brought their undefeated record to Hamilton and escaped with a win improving their record to 2-0-1 > First year keeper Tori Edgar recorded her second shutout in the victory.
Mustangs host Wickenheiser and the Dinos University of Calgary comes east for Sunday’s battle Ryan Stern Sports Editor It’s the equivalent of Michael Jordan at Alumni Hall, or Gretzky going five-hole on Josh Unice. Imagine Billy Jean King volleying in the University Tennis Centre or Jackie Joyner-Kersee running the track at TD Waterhouse Stadium. Sunday afternoon might be just an exhibition game for the women’s hockey team, but it is not any regular exhibition game. At 1:30, the Mustangs will be taking on the Canadian Interuniversity Sport champions, the Calgary Dinos, featuring Canadian gold medalist Hayley Wickenheiser. “Hayley is 34 so these girls have known her their whole lives and they have looked up to her,” Brian Gosling, Mustangs women’s hockey manager, said. “They are looking at it as a test playing against the best female hockey player in the world. Some of that is motivation, and some of it is awe, and I am sure they will be wanting her autograph after the game.” And for good reason. Her amazing hockey career aside, Wickenheiser recently received the honour of being one of the first two women ever to be represented in a sports video game. Along with U.S. Olympian Angela Ruggiero, Wickenheiser will be a playable character in EA Sports’ NHL13. Despite the star-struck nature of the young Mustangs, this game can be seen as a tune up for the all-important Ontario University Athletics season. Having lost in the OUA finals last year to the Laurier Golden Hawks, this Mustangs team will be looking to build on the promising season. “We are really excited about this year. We were unexpectedly in the Ontario finals, which was a real great result. We are hoping this game builds momentum for the rest of the year,” Mustangs marketing manager Jason Young said. “It is really exciting for us because it means that the women’s hockey team will be getting a lot of fans
coming in to see them play and grow throughout the season.” Along with the nature of this game as a tune-up for the season, this will be a great showcase for women’s hockey in southwestern Ontario. Having reached out to various groups in order to attend this game, the Mustangs should expect a sizable crowd as they take on one of the premier women’s hockey teams in Canada. “The CIS women’s hockey has been growing leaps and bounds, and I think this will be a showcase for our student body and our local community to come out and watch against a top caliber female hockey team in the country versus a young and growing team in
CIS women’s hockey has grown leaps and bounds and I think this will be a showcase for our student body and our local community to come out and watch against a top caliber female hockey team in the country versus a young and growing team in our backyard. — Brian Gosling Mustangs women’s hockey team manager
Nyssa Kuwahara GAZETTE
our backyard,” Gosling said. “We have reached to all of the local girls hockey associations, and we have reached out to the boys as well as far away as Sarnia and Windsor, as well as Waterloo. We have a lot of teams coming and we expect a lot of walk-ins.” The game should display a great deal of talent on both sides, but it is far from apparent whether the Calgary Dinos recent showcase of four games will be to their advantage or not. Having played in four ex-
BACK IN THE SWING OF THINGS. The Western Mustangs women’s hockey team is back on Sunday to take on the Calgary Dinos. Not only will this be a fierce and competitive game, but as a bonus, Hayley Wickenheiser will be on the ice as a member of the Dinos to challenge the Mustangs.
hibition games prior to their game against the Mustangs, the Dinos could be worn down, having travelled more than halfway across the country. On the other hand, their four games more than the Mustangs could become apparent if the Dinos show stronger team chemistry than a Mustangs team that is opening its exhibition season with
Mike Laine Gazette
this game. ““It is going to be a big litmus test for sure. Calgary is the defending CIS champ, but it is their fourth exhibition game in a row, so they will either be really tired or they will be a well-oiled machine,” Gosling said. “This will be our first exhibition game and we have seven new recruits. We are confident with the team and we feel like we are stron-
ger than last year, even though we are composed mostly of first- and second-year players”. Regardless of the outcome of the game, it promises to be an enjoyable showcase for all involved, especially with a pioneer of the game lining up against women who have watched her play their entire life.
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thegazette • Thursday, September 13, 2012
Champs still strong heading into new season Women’s lacrosse team hopeful for 2012-2013 campaign Mac Heslop Contributor The champs are back. The 2012 women’s lacrosse team is looking ahead to another prosperous season atop the Ontario University Athletics standings. With stiff competition lurking in the form of Queen’s, Laurier and Guelph, the Mustangs must remain focused to ensure they repeat as OUA champions come October. After winning the OUAs last season, the team has reloaded with a wealth of new recruits and a solid core of returning veterans to anchor another championship run. “We have been fortunate to get outstanding freshmen over the past four years, and this year is no exception. Adding to our veteran squad will be Tawnie Johnson, Tasha MacDonald and Michelle Farrugia along with some excellent adds from across Ontario,” David Hastings, Mustangs head coach, said. Incoming freshmen will be looking to steal the show, but watch for breakout performances
from the trio of Rebecca Watson, Maddison Crowther and Tenyka Snider. “They have always been very strong players, but this year they could take it to a very high level,” Hastings said. The team will again be built from the net out with the return of reigning OUA all-star goaltender Caitlin Mancuso. “After winning the OUAs and going undefeated in regular season play last year, we set the bar high. This season we hope to achieve the same success we did last year, and with the group of girls we have, I believe we can do it,” Mancuso said. Veteran presence continues in the other three zones of the field —defence, midfield and attack— with notable returnees including Lauren Crape, Emmi Morris and Kristen Stafford. “With a few weeks of training hard, and with conditioning camp and tryouts under our belt, the team is anxious to start off the season. We are hoping to come out with some big wins to build up
momentum for the season,” Crape said. The team cemented its status as a championship contender with a 5-0 showing at the Toronto Earlybird Tournament last Sunday. The Mustangs were victorious on Sunday, but know they can’t let their guard down in the ultra-competitive OUA. This upcoming weekend consists of the Mustangs’ entire home schedule with games against McMaster, Laurier and Brock before an eight game road trip. A trip of this nature is common in lacrosse circles and the team is prepared for the challenge. “There’s a lot of practicing and team bonding involved. Team chemistry is very important and meshing well on the field is crucial,” Morris said. The Mustangs women’s lacrosse team is built to defend their championship and will do so on a platform of unity, commitment and determination. “I want to finish my last year of OUA lacrosse with another OUA championship,” Morris said.
Naira Ahmed Gazette
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Jamie wins it all
Former Mustang becomes Raptor Richard Raycraft Sports Editor
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UPCOMING EVENTS MEMBERS OF MTV’S “The Buried Life” will be speaking Wednesday, September 26 from 7pm 9pm in Mustang Lounge. The $12 ticket includes a free after party with members @ the Wave. Go to Western Connections, King’s Connection or online for tickets. (www.usc-online.ca/buried_life.asp). PURPLEFEST IS THE University Students’ Council’s annual welcome back week filled with concerts and other FREE programming for ALL students and will be taking place from September 11 - 13.
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Western’s own Jamie Hoffeldt has been chosen over hundreds of other candidates to become the newest member of the Toronto Raptor’s Dance Pak. Hoffeldt spent time with both the Mustangs cheerleading squad and Dance Pack while studying sports management with a minor in dance. Despite her commitment to her studies, her instructors at Western quickly recognized her potential. “A key goal for the Dance Pack over the past few years was to be effective ambassadors for the Western community, and to inspire students to pursue their dreams,” Elizabeth Morgan, coach for Western’s Dance Pack, said. “Jamie’s recent accomplishment is an example of the success of the program over the past two years.” The 23-year-old was selected as one of the nine finalists in the competition from a field of nearly 200 other hopefuls. Despite her success, she only decided to enter
the competition at the last minute. “I thought, if anything, it’s a free dance class—a chance to go to an audition,” Hoffeldt explained. “When I actually heard that I won, I can’t even explain the feeling.” The competition involved campaigning across all forms of social media, as the final spot on the Dance Pak went to the competitor who garnered the most votes. Hoffeldt was grateful for her school, and said that her time spent at Western, with its opportunities to perform in front of large crowds, was a key component in her success. “The Dance Pack at Western taught me how to perform dance in front of a sporting event, it taught me to pick up choreography quickly and it gave me a chance to perform on a larger scale,” Hoffeldt said. “The most important thing is that it gave me a lot of confidence as a dancer.” You can catch Jamie’s first game with the Raptor’s Dance Pak on October 8.
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